Guest Post - Vicki Delany

I am thrilled to have Vicki Delany here today, She has a brand new book series out that will get you in the Holiday spirit. Rest Ye Murdered Gentleman was released on November 3rd.



Too Much Christmas? Is that even possible?

By Vicki Delany

I love Christmas. Almost everyone loves Christmas.

Although most of us would agree that Christmas can come too soon. We complain (I certainly do) about decorations in the stores and seasonal ads on TV before summer’s even over, never mind Halloween arrived.


But still, a lot of us do our shopping ahead of time. I know people who buy decorations for next year the week after this year’s Christmas, and who start shopping around the time they put away the New Years’ Decorations. Certainly, it’s a wise woman (or man) who starts her baking in plenty of time. A traditional Christmas cake or old-fashioned English pudding, full of rum or brandy, or sometimes both, needs to be started months ahead to be perfect for the big day.


And it’s precisely to help out those early birds that the town of Rudolph, New York celebrates Christmas all year round. Don’t rush to your atlases or Google maps looking for Rudolph because I made it up. It’s the town at the center of my new series, the Year Round Christmas mysteries from Berkley Prime Crime.

Rudolph wants to be known as America’s Christmas Town and everything in Rudolph is about celebrating the holidays. All year round. They have a Santa Claus parade twice a year. The usual one the first Saturday in December, and then another for Christmas in July.


In Rudolph everyone gets into the spirit of the thing. Victoria’s Bake Shoppe is famous for its gingerbread. There’s Candy Cane Sweets, the North Pole Ice Cream Parlour, The Elves Lunchbox, Cranberries Coffee Bar, Touch of Holly Restaurant, The Yuletide Inn, the Carolers Motel. (Looking at this list it seems as though the residents and visitors to Rudolph like to eat a lot.)


The series protagonist is Merry Wilkinson, owner of Mrs. Claus’s Treasures. Merry’s dad, Noel, is Santa Claus. Yes, Merry knows that he isn’t really Santa, but she does sometimes wonder. He has a way of knowing exactly what someone wants before even they do.


But presents, decorations, ornaments and even food isn’t what the holidays are about. Or it shouldn’t be. In in Rudolph, as well as in real life, they know that. They know that Christmas is about friendship, family, and love. What we sometimes call Christmas magic.

Everyone loved being in the parade, but getting ready and assembled in all the chaos was extremely stressful. Children, not to mention their mothers, could be brought to tears, and more than one fist fight usually threatened to break out. Over the years, I’d heard hundreds of people swear never to do it again. A month later they’d be back, signing up for the parade once again. As the pure young voices rang out, I could see people visibly relaxing. Grins appeared on ruddy faces, and folks gave their neighbors warm smiles and exchanged handshakes. The Christmas magic was back.

Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen by Vicki Delany

And a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all.


Vicki Delany is the author of the Year Round Christmas mystery series, set in Rudolph New York, “America’s Christmas Town.” The first book in the series, Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen, was released on November 3rd. Under the pen name of Eva Gates, she is the national bestselling author of the Lighthouse Library series, the most recent of which is Booked for Trouble.