Christmas WITH HOLLY

HALLMARK HALL OF FAME
Showing: Dec 20, 22, 23 on Hallmark Channel

The newest Hallmark Hall of Fame production, Christmas with Hollypremieres December 9 on ABC (9/8C), with encore presentations on the Hallmark Channel. Based on Lisa Kleypas' Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor, Christmas with Holly resonates with romance and humor.

“I’ve been holding on to my old dreams.  But I realize I need to make room for new ones.”  So says Maggie Conway, played by Eloise Mumford (The River, Lone Star), in the film.  She’s decided to move on in life after being left at the altar months earlier.

Maggie relocates from Seattle to a smaller, calmer place – specifically, Friday Harbor, Washington State.  It’s the kind of town where everybody knows everybody – but not in a nosy way.  Everybody cares for everybody, too.  She opens a toy story that’s dedicated to kids, encouraging them to explore their imaginations.  As Maggie says, “Kids need to play make believe.  Imagination helps to make their dreams come true.”

The “Holly” in Christmas with Holly is six years old.  Her single mom died a few months earlier.  In accordance with her wishes, her 25-year-old brother Mark, played by Sean Faris (Hallmark Hall of Fame’s The Lost Valentine, Leverage) now has full responsibility for raising Holly.  Mark – who runs the town’s coffee shop -- has help from his two older brothers. 

All three uncles have their hearts in the right place.  But they’re charmingly inept in their new roles – and they’re not helped by the fact that Holly hasn’t uttered a word since her mom died.  That’s where Maggie comes in.  Despite the approach of the busy Christmas retail season, she gives extra attention to Holly every time the young girl comes into Maggie’s welcoming shop.
SPOILER ALERT! Don't read further if you haven't read the book and don't want to know too much!

Maggie assumes Mark is “spoken for” during the whole getting-to-know-you dance, because Mark is in a relationship with Shelby, played by Alex Paxton-Beesley.  But that relationship is floundering, and by Christmas Eve Mark and Maggie discover they’ve fallen in love.  All three of them – Mark, Maggie, Holly – are starting to think of a life together as a loving family.

The teleplay for Christmas with Holly is by P’Nenah Goldstein (Hallmark Hall of Fame’s Loving Leah and November Christmas); it is based on the book Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas.  It is directed by Emmy Award winner Alan Arkush (The Temptations, Caddyshack II).  Brent Shields (Firelight, A Smile as Big as the Moon) is Executive Producer; Andrew Gottlieb (Beyond the Blackboard, The Lost Valentine) is producer.

RELATED
One or more characters in this book also appear in:
   

Order the Book:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
BooksAMillion
Kindle
Kobo Books

Preview

REVIEWS for Rainshadow Road:

Publishers Weekly
"Kleypas (Love in the Afternoon) finds a little romantic magic in this spritely charmer. Mark Nolan's happy-go-lucky bachelorhood is interrupted by the death of his sister and his subsequent guardianship of her six-year-old daughter, Holly, who is traumatized into muteness and desperately seeking a maternal figure. Enter Maggie Collins, a toy shop owner who lost her own husband to cancer. As the holiday season draws closer, Maggie, Mark, and Holly begin to spend more time together, and Maggie and Mark's attraction becomes too powerful to ignore. Kleypas's holiday offering is sweet, romantic, and genuine, and avoids, thankfully, all the cheesy holiday miracle clichés. A solid romance with strong leads, this is a refreshing holiday treat."

Romantic Times
"Kleypas can do no wrong. If you want a fantastic read, pick up this poignant, hearbreaking and deeply satisfying book. Kleypas has a knack for making readers cry, laugh and cheer--often within the first couple of pages."
Annette Elton