Friday, March 22, 2019

From author Karen Schaler--"CHRISTMAS CAMP"--a heartwarming holiday story about a beautiful Grinch who’s determined to get her dream job even if it means spending a week at a Christmas Camp where she discovers an unexpected love (see my review)--also a Hallmark holiday film

Christmas Camp


 
Haley Hanson’s idea of the perfect Christmas is escaping to the Caribbean to work so she can avoid all the traditional Christmas distractions. Over the years, she’s sacrificed her personal life to climb the corporate ladder at a prestigious Boston advertising agency. Now she just needs to land a coveted Christmas toy company account to make partner. But first, her boss, Larry, thinks she needs a holiday attitude adjustment, so he ships her off to a Christmas Camp at Holly Peak Inn to help her find her Christmas spirit.

Arriving at the charming mountainside inn, Haley meets the owner’s handsome son, Jeff, and feels an instant spark, but resists the attraction, refusing to be distracted from her goal of doing all the required Christmas tasks as fast as possible so she can get back to work.

At first Haley struggles with all the traditional Christmas Camp activities. It’s not until she finally allows herself to slow down, live in the moment, and let Christmas back into her heart, that she begins to grow closer to Jeff. But when he finds out Haley’s come up with a plan to help his dad save the struggling inn while he’s been trying to convince his dad to sell it, their relationship takes a serious holiday hit.  Now it will take the magic of the season to bring these two hearts together.


MY REVIEW:  Screenwriter and author Karen Schaler puts her own special spin on contemporary holiday romance with the delightful "Christmas Camp". For Haley Hansen, ambitious brand strategist at a premier Boston advertising agency, the perfect Christmas holiday is a working vacation in a tropical destination where she can escape the Ho-Ho-Ho. She has her eye on a prized Christmas toy company's account as a clincher to make her a partner at her firm. However, her boss thinks her holiday attitude need a makeover, and he sends her to Christmas Camp at Holly Peak Inn to soak up some seasonal spirit. The inn is charming, and so is the owner's son, Jeff Jacoby. Haley resists all for as long as she can, but soon the warm atmosphere of celebration and the definite spark of attraction between her and Jeff opens her heart and mind. However, Haley's idea to help Jeff's family hold on to the struggling inn is not at all what Jeff wants--he hopes his family will sell the property. With Haley and Jeff at cross-purposes, will a Christmas miracle bring these two holiday hearts together as one? A very entertaining romance, "Christmas Camp" also offers some sweet treat recipes for readers.

Book Copy Gratis William Morrow Books via Library Thing


Christmas Camp Wedding (Christmas Camp #1.5) 



The delightful sequel to Christmas Camp is now available!

After finally becoming partner at her advertising agency, Haley Hanson barely has time to plan her Christmas Eve wedding with her fiancé Jeff. When their perfect location falls through at the last minute, they need to find a new venue, fast. But everything is booked for the holidays, except for the place where Haley and Jeff fell in love, Christmas Camp.

With time running out to transform the inn into a winter wonderland, Trisha, a top wedding planner is brought in to help; she also just happens to be Jeff’s ex-girlfriend.

Will Jeff and Trisha’s Christmas past get in the way of Haley’s Christmas future, or can Christmas Camp still work its magic for a holiday happily ever after?
  



 

Christmas Camp


A Hallmark Movies & Mysteries original movie. Haley, an advertising executive looking to get a promotion and who is not into Christmas, attends Christmas Camp to up her holiday mojo in the effort to pitch a toy company as a new client. Immersed in the holiday, she learns to slow down and appreciate life's sweetest moments, all while opening her heart to the possibility of love.


Karen Schaler

Image result for author Karen Schaler

Karen Schaler is a three-time Emmy award-winning storyteller, screenwriter, producer, author and national TV host. In 2017-18, Karen wrote original screenplays for NETFLIX, Hallmark and Lifetime holiday movies and signed a three-book deal with William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Karen wrote the original screenplay for the NETFLIX holiday hit, A Christmas Prince, premiering in 2017, that became the most talked about Christmas movie of the season that now has a sequel, A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding.

In 2018, Karen went on to write two more original TV Christmas movies for Lifetime and Hallmark.

Parlaying her screenwriting into a publishing deal, after writing her next original TV movie, Christmas Camp, and selling it to a major TV network, Karen also wrote Christmas Camp the novel that sold at auction to HarperCollins, William Morrow. The Christmas Camp novel and movie premiere in 2018. Also included in the publishing deal, Karen sold the sequel, Christmas Camp Wedding, and another novel slated for 2019.

In addition to her novel and screenwriting, Karen, after hosting ABC’s national travel show, created and trademarked her Travel Therapy TV segments featuring the most inspiring and empowering places to go around the world based on what you’re going through in life.

Travel Therapy TV airs nationally on top ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX and CW stations and streams internationally. Karen says Travel Therapy TV was inspired by her book, Travel Therapy: Where Do You Need to Go?

Karen is a sought after lifestyle and travel expert appearing on Good Morning America, TODAY, Fox & Friends, FOX, Inside Edition, Daily Mail TV, CNN, MSNBC, the BBC, and on dozens of radio shows and local TV affiliates across the country.

Karen credits her passionate and prolific writing style to her award-winning background as a television broadcast journalist where she has traveled to more than 68 countries.

Karen was the first journalist ever embedded with a combat Apache helicopter unit in Afghanistan where she wrote, produced and hosted an Emmy award-winning one-hour TV documentary that aired on ABC.

She was also the first TV journalist embedded with troops in Bosnia wrote, produced and hosted an Emmy award-winning half-hour TV documentary that aired on NBC.

Karen's publishing credits include The New Yorker, Boston Globe, AOL, New York Daily News, abcnews.com, Travel + Leisure, Town & Country, Islands magazine, Huffington Post, Delta Sky, US Airways Magazine, Hemispheres and SilverKris: Singapore Airlines magazine.

Karen grew up outside of Seattle and in Los Angeles and graduated with honors from California State University Fullerton with a double major in Broadcast Journalism and Sociology.

When Karen’s not traveling researching her next story you can find her in New York City, Scottsdale, AZ, and visiting her family in Washington State.

A favorite question Karen was asked once when she was still working as a TV correspondent came from an Oscar nominated screenwriter and author who asked her...

"What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?"

Karen's answer, without hesitation.

"Exactly what you're doing..."

And Karen says that question has fueled her forward every day since. 
 


 

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