Meet Me Under the Mistletoe by Jenny Bayliss

Annie Sharpe has got it all: two beautiful grown up sons, and this acclaimed restaurant that she owns with Max, her handsome husband. “The Winter of Second Chances” is the second stand alone novel and was released in 2021. And maybe, just maybe, it is been right under her nose this entire time. Odds must be in her favor, right?īut with every new date more disastrous than the one before it, and the entire town keeping tabs on her misadventures, she has to remind herself that sometimes love, just like mistletoe, shows up in places that it’s least expected. However then her best friend goes and signs her up for this dating agency which promises to help singles find love before the holidays come. The sleepy town of Blexford, England, is not brimming with too many prospects, and anyway, she’s found fulfillment in her designer career, and her delicious side gig baking for her old buddy Matt’s neighborhood cafe. When it comes to relationships, Kate Turner (age 34) is ready to say “Bah, humbug”. “The Twelve Dates of Christmas” is the first stand alone novel and was released in 2020. She wound up having to cut 30,000 words before she even started editing, because she had a complete back story from birth to present day for each character. It was her second novel and she was fraught with doubts about if she could even write another book, and if she was just a one hit wonder? She believes this panic translated into a massive over write. Jenny found she was very nervous writing “The Winter of Second Chances”. She finds they’re enhanced, since with age comes this deeper self confidence and sense of knowing exactly what they want. It’s something she finds ludicrous since women do not stop being vital, interesting, and sexy when they hit middle age. This is because, despite all of the inroads that are made, we live in a world where women past age 40 are typically perceived as being “over the hill” and just dismissed to a supporting actress type role in their own lives. And to show this woman’s journey while she finds that she’s still the leading lady in her own life, and that happiness, love, and fulfillment are there for the taking, even with slightly saggy boobs and laugh lines.

Jenny wanted to write a story about a woman in her 40s beginning again, one with grown up kids and business success, and all of the baggage and wisdom that an older character would be carrying with them.

She was a professional baker for a number of years, before returning to college at the age of 39 to study part time for a degree in Creative and Professional Writing from Canterbury Christ Church University. She also loves books, writing, reading, and listening to them. Jenny Bayliss likes long walks, stationery, baking days, and shamelessly wearing party dresses to the supermarket.

Meet Me Under the Mistletoe by Jenny Bayliss