“A baby and a wedding,” Thomas exclaimed, beyond thrilled. “Our girls, both so happy. This is the best Christmas we’ve ever had!”

“I think it might just be one of the best Christmases we’ve all had,” said Faye. Then she cleared her throat and stood tall. “An especially fun one for me, since I finally figured out how the Internet works, and learned you can do almost anything on it—including becoming an ordained wedding officiant. Are we all here?” There were murmurs around the room as this was confirmed. “Well, then! Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate Christmas—and to witness the wedding of Cassandra Goodwin and Miguel Rodriguez.”

Cass squeezed Miguel’s hands gently, then reached up to adjust his bow tie. He cleared his throat and looked down at Cass, his eyes full of emotion.

The couple’s friends and family pulled closer, and there was just enough room for all of them to surround Cass and Miguel in front of the glittering tree. Jake encircled his hands around Charlie’s waist and rested them there, an expression of perfect joy on his face. Outside, the snow continued to fall, blanketing the town in peaceful silence, while inside the house voices, laughter, and spirits rose, and love was all around.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful to:

The Agents—Carolyn Forde and Samantha Haywood, and the rest of the team at Transatlantic Agency.

The Editors—Tara Singh-Carlson, Deborah Sun de la Cruz, and Kimberley Atkins. (And Margo Lipschultz, too.)

The Publishers—Putnam, Penguin Random House Canada, Hodder, and their outstanding teams.

The Coven, who were there from the beginning when we first cooked up this idea over afternoon tea and pastries.

The Writers, who kindly read early drafts, offered generous words, and cheered us on with their friendship.

The Readers, who enthusiastically supported this new endeavor.

The Pets, Fred and Oscar, for being our furry muses and foot warmers during writing sessions.

The Families—Like our characters Cass and Charlie, we’re both lucky to have excellent ones.

Each other.

Love,

Marissa and Karma

a.k.a Maggie Knox

The Holiday Swap

MAGGIE KNOX

A Conversation with Maggie Knox

Discussion Guide

A Conversation with Maggie Knox

Readers might be surprised to learn that Maggie Knox is the pseudonym for writing duo Karma Brown and Marissa Stapley. How did you both come to co-write The Holiday Swap?

Late fall 2019 we were at different stages of the book process—Karma was gearing up for promoting her soon-to-be released novel, and Marissa was editing her latest—and were bemoaning how isolating author life can be, and how much fun it would be if we could instead collaborate on our projects. Instead of shrugging away that thought, we continued our conversation . . . “If we did collaborate, what would we write?” Because it was nearly Christmas, and Hallmark Christmas movies were streaming, we said, “What about a holiday romance? Something sweet and hopeful. Now that would be fun to write!” Neither of us had written a romance, nor had we co-authored anything, but we forged ahead regardless. And the idea that started mostly as a musing between friends turned into The Holiday Swap.