Since the big C is exactly one month away today I thought I would take a look back to my first published Christmas novella Dear Santa, Dear Dad. This remains a great favourite of mine with many of the elements of my other works although it differs in that there is no sex described. This is a very seasonal feel-good story full of gay romance and family reconciliation. My readers will recognise very realistic characters in a very real English rural setting, albeit blanketed in snow. This is a story of loss and reconciliation but also of a man re-evaluating his life after the loss of his wife and the much older rejection of his gay son. Does that sound too sad for Christmas? This story is full of hope, of love and all the fuzzy feelings of Christmas around a log fire.
The story is set in the far North East of England near Hadrian’s Wall which was the ancient border between England and Scotland. The fictional village is inspired by Heddon-on-the-Wall, a village in Northumberland, England, located on Hadrian’s Wall. The village is roughly 9 miles (14 km) west of Newcastle upon Tyne. The place-name ‘Heddon’ means ‘hill where heather grew’. The village is also popular with tourists on their way to visit the ancient Roman wall. The site contains the longest section of unbroken wall at its original and planned width, now known as Broad Wall. This whole area is a beautiful part of the UK given over mostly to farmland but also with stunning coastline with long unspoiled sandy beaches and many ancient sites such as the coastal castle at Bamburgh.
Two days before Christmas, widower Steven drives to the North of England to meet his estranged son, Andy, hoping for a reconciliation. Steven rejected his son when, as a nineteen-year-old student, Andy came out to his parents. Andy now enjoys a happy and fulfilling relationship with Peter, who initiates contact with Steven by forwarding an almost childlike letter to Santa, in which Andy asks for a father who loves him.
Andy isn’t quick to forgive his father, but the bad weather conspires to strand them all together over the holidays. Father and son experience a steep learning curve, not helped by Steven’s realization that his son’s lover is older than he is. But proximity and familiarity have a way of breaking down barriers, and if all three men can work together in the spirit of cooperation, this Christmas might be one that changes their lives forever.
Cover Artist: Alexandria Corza
Buy Links: