DM Davis - A Sweet Enemies-to-lovers Christmas Novella

Posted on 23rd of December, 2019 by Naomi Bolton

D.M. Davis is a Contemporary and New Adult Romance Author. She is a Texas native, wife, and mother. Her background is Project Management, technical writing, and application development. D.M. has been a lifelong reader, and wrote poetry in her early life, but has found her true passion in writing about love and the intricate relationships between men and women. She writes of broken hearts and second chances, of dreamers looking for more than they have and daring to reach for it. As our Author of the Day, Davis tells us all about Warm Me Softly, a Christmas enemies-to-lovers novella.

Please give us a short introduction to what Warm Me Softly is about.

Warm Me Softly is an enemies-to-lovers novella set in New York City during Christmas time. Maggie is a lonely shop keeper who loves her memories, living her life for the ones she's lost. She's torn between holding on to the past or selling off her inheritance for a chance to discover her passion. Marcus is a real estate developer who's been after Maggie's properties for years. Somewhere along the way his desire to buy her out morphed into the need to win her heart.

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What inspired you to write a love story with an inheritance at its center?

To answer this question, I need to give a little background. Warm Me Softly was originally part of the Winter’s Edge historical fiction anthology that had a common theme running through each story: wolfs-head knifes that were forged in the Roman Empire. Seven heart-warming (and sometimes harrowing) tales of the daggers’ two-millennia journey and participation in the winter celebrations of friends and family through the ages.

My story was the modern-day tale that wrapped up the anthology. In thinking how the knives would apply to Warm Me Softly, it seemed like an antique store was the perfect place. But most twenty-somethings don’t own antique stores. Hence came the idea of Maggie inheriting the store, and other properties, from her grandparents. With New York being the real-estate mecca that it is, having Marcus be a real estate developer after her inheritance was an ideal fit to add in the angsty conflict needed to make it an enemies-to-lovers love story.

You are a firm believer in second chances. Why?

As much as we’d all like to think we’ll find our soulmate in high school or college and live happily ever after with our first loves, that rarely happens. Our first loves are our training ground in discovering who we are as a person but more importantly, who we are as a life-partner. I like the idea of broken hearts getting a second chance at love, at happiness, at their forever after. It takes strength to be open and vulnerable to love after heartbreak, but the reward is that much richer because you know what it’s like to live without it. You can’t appreciate the rainbow without a little rain.

This story originally appeared in the Winter's Edge Anthology. In which ways did you revamp this book?

The Winter’s Edge Anthology is g-rated. I prefer to write steamy romance and always intended to revisit Marcus and Maggie’s story to make it richer by adding in more emotion and the steam that was hinted at but never shown on the page in the original version. Warm Me Softly has been republished as a standalone steamy romance with new scenes and heat level. Though still a novella, it’s about 5k longer than its predecessor. Now, I’ve had requests to make it a full-blown novel. It’s an idea I’m throwing around. I wouldn’t mind spending more time with Maggie and Marcus.

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What makes Warm Me Softly such a great holiday read?

For me, Thanksgiving and Christmas is about friends and family, tradition, and taking a moment to slow down and appreciate the current state of your life. Maggie has lost her family, has few friends, and is not living her true, authentic life. She’s wrapped up in her past, heartsick, and lonely. What a horrible way to spend the holidays. Marcus isn’t a stranger to Maggie, but when she finally opens her eyes and sees Marcus for who he really is, she finds her own Christmas miracle. It’s a story of loss, remembrance, and transformation that will warm your heart for the holidays and all year through.

Is there something that compels you to write? And do you find that writing helps you achieve a clarity about yourself or ideas you've been struggling with?

Heartache and the pursuit of love compel me to write. The need we all have as humans to be seen and heard, to connect on a deeper level, and to be loved as we are is what I strive to put on the page. My personal issues, beliefs, find their way to the page as well. At the heart of it, I’m in every story, every character, every word.

In real life, do you believe that love conquers all?

I believe love has the potential to conquer all, but we have to be open to accepting it, giving it, and learning the lessons it has to teach. I believe once you find love, all your issues work their way to the surface. It isn’t all hearts and roses. Love is hard work. Falling may be easy, but landing and keeping it is the challenge.

Do you aim for a set amount of words/pages per day?

No. I wish I did. I’m not there yet. I have goals I try to accomplish each day, but that does not equal a word count, I’m too much of a pantser to be tied to a number.

Do you ever have days when writing is a struggle? What is your average writing day like?

I do have days where writing is a struggle, but it’s not usually because the words won’t come. It’s a challenge to find the time, the dedication to writing instead of other administrative type tasks. I need a PA (personal assistant). Any takers?

What are you working on right now?

I’m deep into The Price of Atonement, Finding Grace book 2. I’m also in the planning stages of Until You Believe, Until You book 4. And…I’m working on a secret project I can’t talk about, but I’m crazy excited about! I’m hoping to get them all published in 2020, but the secret project will drive my dates.