The Nick Before Christmas

January 11, 2024

The Nick Before Christmas

by K.L. Brady

GENRE: Romance

Will an angel's dire warning, a quest to discover a second act by Christmas Eve, and a touch of Christmas Magic lead Nickie Wright back to the one that got away?

Nickie Wright is ready to celebrate the big 5-0 for Christmas in July, but a hot flash leads her to a sobering revelation: her life has hit rock bottom. Her successes--the home and the car--feel empty. Her vision board has been a waste of time, her job is unfulfilling, and she's mulling over a proposal from Smith, who she's not sure she likes. The best day of her life spirals into the worst. During a near-death experience, a meeting with her guardian angel presents Nickie with an ultimatum - either go to heaven or return to Earth and find her second act by Christmas Eve. If she fails, her future's bleak -- her life will be filled with days no better than her worst.

Her second act sets her on a collision path with Evan Goodman, the man who makes her content, and Jordan Devlin, the first love who drives her crazy. She's torn between two worlds--contentment and safety, passion and excitement.

Time is running out for Nickie.

She only has from Christmas in July until Christmas Eve to find her calling, follow her dreams, and figure out which romantic interest will help Nickie embrace the best of herself.

The Nick Before Christmas is the perfect romantic comedy to help you find your calling and renew your faith. It delivers unforgettable moments of self-discovery and romance. It's an enchanting story to fill your heart with joy this Christmas.

Enjoy an Excerpt:

Sasha approached…and based on the sound of footsteps, she wasn't alone.

"Nickie? Uh….You have company?"

"Who?"

Into the threshold stepped Evan…and Jordan, both carrying sizeable brown shopping bags scented with contents that smelled a whole lot like dinner.

Evan ghosted her for weeks, dropped off the radar. J. Dev blew her off and was off parading with Ava, or so she thought. Now both stood in her living room, in the flesh, at the same time. She had no idea how to handle this. Nickie had never been a juggler so two potential courters in her presence, in her house, wasn't a situation she expected to face. She couldn't have orchestrated this cluster if she tried.

Their faces sapped the air out of her lungs. Laying the blame on Sasha wasn't an option.

Her stomach growled, reminding of her greatest need in the moment. If worse comes to worst, Nickie pledged to keep the dinner and cannoli...and dump the two unexpected guests.

"Jordan, Evan…what a surprise to welcome you…both…in my living room…right now,” Nickie said, her eye volleying between them so as not to give one more attention than the other.

Evan glanced at Jordan without speaking a single word, and Jordan returned the favor. She suspected each was eager to learn what the other had to say.

About the Author:

USA Today Bestselling author K. L. Brady is a D.C. native and award-winning author of 20 novels. She self-published her first book, THE BUM MAGNET, after an Oprah "live your best life" moment, which was picked up by Simon & Schuster in a two-book deal. She’s been publishing romantic comedies ever since.

K.L. is a Washington football fan and professed nerd-girl who loves all things Star Trek, Star Wars, and Big Bang Theory. She lives to write stories involving hilarious quirky characters looking for love. She's hard at work on her next several projects, including Sincerely, Santa, a heartfelt romantic comedy that also celebrates the special friendship between her late mother and grandmother.

Q&A With the Author:

What was your inspiration for writing this book?

The Nick Before Christmas was really inspired by a couple of life events. The first was my quest for my own second act about ten years ago. All my life I had wanted to be a fiction writer, but I kept talking myself out of it, telling myself I wasn’t qualified, didn’t have the skills to write a book, let alone a book that people would actually read. So, I dedicated all of my energy to my day job which was research and writing for a law enforcement agency. Fast forward to a breakup from a “the one,” I finally did what I convinced myself I couldn’t do—wrote a book. At that time, it was very cathartic and helped me to heal after a major heartbreak. What started out as cathartic turned out to be a second act that I never knew I needed. I’ve been writing books ever since. The second was my mom’s passing – she died six weeks after I found out she was sick, and I never got to say goodbye. This book allowed me that goodbye in a way that I think was authentic to my relationship with my mother. She was funny. She was Christmas crazy. She is missed—every single day.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

There is a love triangle that I believe reflects the kind of people one encounters when on a quest for a second act – the people you want and the people you need. I loved writing those characters and the situations that reveal the differences between the two. The people you want will allow you to live and maneuver within your comfort zone. They are safe and easy—no conflict. The people you need are the people who challenge you and push you outside of your comfort zone and force you to confront characteristics that bring you discomfort. There’s always a tension and conflict, even if positive, that makes you want to strive toward something better, greater. Nickie, the main character, gets involved with men that reflect these people in life…and they both play their own roles in getting her to (and through) her second act.

Do you have any other books you are working on that you can tell us about?

Yes, I’m working on a new Christmas romance called, Sincerely, Santa. It really explores forgiveness at Christmas time. Sometimes, we can be more forgiving of others than we are ourselves…and we have to live with us. Sincerely, Santa centers around a character, Julia Reed, who has a difficult time forgiving herself for a mistake she made when she was a kid. She gifts wishes to kids for Christmas and fulfills their wishes to Santa, but she doesn’t celebrate Christmas for herself. It takes a new guy in town, who is also struggling with his own version of self-forgiveness, to help her realize the err of her ways. The two main characters, the besties – Julia and Fran -- are named after my mother and grandmother who were besties in real life at the end of their lives.

Can you tell us about what you have planned for the future?

What I would love to focus on this year and next is finishing what I’ve started. I have about six books that I had planned to write over the years and I either got distracted and never started them OR I started them and never finished them. I’m at the place in my life and career that I’m ready to get those books done. I have outlines and story ideas for them, I’ve just always been on the pursuit for something new, something different. Now I want to finish them all. For those who have followed my back list, the books include follow ups to: Worst Impressions, Soul of the Band, 12 Honeymoons, Love is in the Cards and a spy novel series under a pseudonym. That’s a lot of work. Thankfully I have a great deal of the foundational work completed on those works. I just need to finish them.

Anything more you would like to say to your readers and fans?

Thank you so much for joining this blog tour and coming along for my writing journey—my second act. If you love Christmas stories or romantic comedies with the undertone of life lessons, then you will enjoy my stories, and I hope you will pick one (or all) up today.