Podcaster, Bookfluencer, and Debut Novelist Becca Freeman on Her Love for Christmas, the Support of the Bookstagram Community, and the Importance of Platonic Love in Fiction
“The most impactful and enduring relationships in my life have been my friendships.“
By Sherri Puzey
Becca Freeman is the co-host of Bad on Paper, a weekly podcast about books with an affiliated monthly book club, and she’s also the co-creator of RomComPods, a fictional rom-com podcast that brings listeners the happily-ever-afters their ears are craving. In the late fall of 2022, Becca announced to her loyal Instagram followers that she had just inked a two-book deal with Pamela Dorman Books. The Christmas Orphans Club released this week and is the perfect fun and cozy holiday read. Zibby Mag spoke with Freeman about her favorite holiday traditions and how her love for Christmas inspired her debut novel. Keep reading for the full interview and Freeman’s recommendations for other great holiday reads!
Zibby Mag: Can you share the inspiration behind your debut novel The Christmas Orphans Club?
Freeman: In December of 2020, I kept getting asked on Instagram about my favorite Christmas books, and I didn’t have a great answer. A lot of Christmas books are set in small towns and very family-centric, and I found I couldn’t really relate to them. So, I started to think about what I would want in a Christmas book. For me, that was NYC (no one does Christmas like New York!), friendship, and non-traditional celebrations. The seedling of the idea for The Christmas Orphans Club was born.
Why did you want to set your book at Christmastime? What are some of your Christmas traditions, and what do you love about the holiday?
I’ve always loved Christmas. The decorations, the food, the movies! But as someone with a non-traditional family (my mom died when I was a teenager), the day itself can be a bit of a bummer. I was really excited to create a group who has a tradition that—to them—is better than the standard holiday celebration.
For me, one of my absolute favorite holiday traditions is going to see The Nutcracker at the New York City Ballet. The company is so talented and seeing the show at Lincoln Center always makes me feel lucky to live in New York. I also need to make an annual visit to Rolf’s, which is the most over-the-top Christmas-themed bar in NYC. I was really excited to be able to include Rolf’s in the book.
One of the central themes of The Christmas Orphans Club is found family. What about found family is meaningful to you?
As I mentioned, my mom died when I was a teenager. She was a single mom, so my biological family is quite tiny. And being unmarried myself, the most impactful and enduring relationships in my life have been my friendships.
I have a very tight-knit group of college friends, whom at this point I’ve known more years in my life than I’ve not known them. And with that comes… baggage! They know where the bodies are buried. They know the good, the bad, and the ugly. They know about that New Year’s you tripped down three flights of stairs and left the party with a man in a khaki suit (just a random totally made-up example that definitely didn’t happen to me). As a reader, I feel like we spend so much page space devoted to romantic love, but I see fewer books about platonic love. I really wanted to explore the ups and downs of that type of long-term friendship.
What do you hope readers will take away from reading The Christmas Orphans Club?
I hope it makes you want to call your best friend as soon as you finish the last page and tell them how much you love them.
We saw pictures on Instagram from the incredible “Christmas in July Pre-Pub Party” you threw to celebrate your book. How has your experience as bookfluencer and podcast host impacted the way you are marketing your book and engaging with readers? Do you feel more equipped for the marketing and publicity aspects of the publishing process because of your background?
One of my bookstagram friends said it’s like I have an entire book nerd army behind me, and I really feel that in the lead up to publication. This is a community I’ve swam in for years as a reader, and it’s been so incredible to see them embrace me now as an author, too.
Writing a book is really hard, but it is maybe equally hard to market a book, and I’m so grateful to have this pre-existing community who have cared about and championed this book from day one instead of having to go out and find those people from scratch.
The cover of your book is so fun! Did you have a specific cover direction in mind? How many rounds of covers did it take to land on the final version?
I’m so glad you love it! I do, too. It was really important to me that the book feel Christmas-y without feeling traditional, because the story in the book is anything but! So from the start I really wanted to avoid the standard red-and-green of it all. The cover we landed on was the third round as we narrowed in on the perfect look and feel for this book. The design team at Penguin is so massively talented and collaborative, and it was such a wonderful experience to work with them to bring the story to life visually, especially as a reader who very much judges books by their cover!
What other holiday rom-coms would you suggest readers pick up after finishing your book?
My absolute favorite is One Day in December by Josie Silver, which, like my book (I hope!), is festive without being too saccharine. Or if you’re looking for something steamier, I wholeheartedly recommend In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren.
Posted September 29, 2023