Belle Stanhope had plans. Good plans. Practical plans.
None of them involved Hudson Carver.
The florist with the crooked smile had become a distraction she neither wanted nor could avoid. Which was inconvenient, considering the Pretty River Inn and the upcoming bachelor auction left little room for distractions.
For years, Hudson had been content with the life he'd built beneath Christmas Mountain. His flower shop, his workshop, and the friends who had become family were more than he'd ever expected. Then he met Belle Stanhope.
As Christmas approaches, the carousel's calliope sings off-key, and the old magic he'd left behind stirs once more. The life he'd built and the life he wants are no longer the same.
In Forest Falls, wishes have a way of finding the people who need them most.
✨ Author Interview
I wanted to create a small-town Christmas series, but with a little more magic tucked beneath the snow. The original inspiration for Forest Falls actually came from the Scenic Caves near Collingwood, Ontario. Walking through the caves, crevices and rock formations, I loved the idea that those passageways might lead somewhere completely unexpected. They became the inspiration for the hidden elven world beneath Christmas Mountain.
From there, I let my love of whimsy and fae folklore take over. Forest Falls grew around the mountain—a town where magical characters can live alongside everyone else, a steam train winds through the snow, and an old carousel in Riverside Park might be far more than it appears. The carousel was already part of the magic in Mary Christmas, the first Forest Falls Frolic, but with The Midnight Carousel, I wanted to discover what other secrets it might be keeping.
How would you describe your book in a sentence to readers who haven’t discovered it yet?
The Midnight Carousel is a romantic Christmas fantasy about unexpected love, hidden magic, and the choices we make when the life we’ve built collides with the one we thought we’d left behind.
Was there anything you needed to research or learn while writing the book, and did you discover anything that surprised you along the way?
This story didn’t require the kind of intensive research some of my other books have, but I did spend time looking into vintage carousels, their history and the craftsmanship behind those beautifully carved horses. What surprised me most was how individual the horses could be, each with its own expression and character.
The carousel itself was already part of the magic of Forest Falls. It first appeared in Mary Christmas, along with some of the other rather unusual characters who call the town home. For The Midnight Carousel, I wanted to explore that magic more deeply and discover what other secrets the carousel might be keeping. That’s where research gave way to imagination—and Hudson’s story began to take shape.
What was most important to you when creating the world and atmosphere of the story?
Originality was really important to me. There are so many wonderful small-town Christmas stories, so I wanted Forest Falls to have its own personality rather than feel like a version of somewhere readers had already been. I wanted characters who were a little unexpected, with their own histories, quirks and secrets—not simply the same familiar magical characters in a different setting.
That carried over into the town itself. Forest Falls has all the things I love about Christmas—snow, lights, an old inn, a steam train and a carousel—but there is something slightly unusual beneath all of it. Magic is simply part of the town, and not everyone walking down Main Street is necessarily what they appear to be. I wanted it to feel whimsical and inviting, but also leave readers wondering what else might be hiding there.
Which character was the most interesting or challenging for you to write, and why?
Belle was probably the most fun for me to write. She’s practical, independent and quite certain she knows what she wants—or at least she thinks she does. I enjoyed putting her in situations that challenged that certainty, especially when Hudson and the rather unpredictable magic of Forest Falls kept getting in the way of her carefully made plans.
She also has a dry sense of humour and isn’t easily swept off her feet, which made the relationship between her and Hudson especially fun to write. The more determined she was to remain sensible, the more I enjoyed making her life decidedly less so.
Did the story or any of the characters evolve in unexpected ways while you were writing?
Absolutely. Belle and Hudson frustrated me because they took far longer to get together than I intended! I kept waiting for them to cooperate and give me a little more spice, but apparently they had other ideas. Their relationship developed much more slowly and naturally than I’d originally planned, and in the end, I decided not to force it. The tension between them became part of the fun of the story. Sometimes your characters have their own ideas about how their romance should unfold—and these two definitely did.
What does your writing process look like — are you a planner, or do you prefer to see where the story takes you?
I’m a full-fledged pantser, although I always start out pretending I have a plan! I usually know where the story begins, have a general idea of where I want it to end, and have a few key moments in mind along the way. Then I start writing, and everything is subject to change.
Characters develop differently than I expected, new ideas appear, and sometimes the story simply heads in a direction I hadn’t considered. I’m quite happy to change things on the fly if the story feels better for it. For me, part of the fun of writing is not knowing absolutely everything that’s going to happen before I get there.
What do you hope readers will feel or take away after finishing your book?
I hope readers finish The Midnight Carousel believing that a little magic can be found almost anywhere, if we’re willing to look for it. Forest Falls is filled with magical characters and impossible things, but beneath all of that is the idea that magic can also be found in unexpected people, second chances and the places that somehow feel like home. Mostly, I hope readers close the book smiling—and perhaps look at the next old carousel they pass a little differently.
If you could step into the world of your novel for a day, where would you go and what would you most want to experience?
I’d definitely want to cross the threshold into Christmas Town. I’d love to see it for myself, meet the elves and find out just how much of Forest Falls they’ve been quietly influencing all along. And I’d spend some time with Aredhel. I’m not entirely sure even I know everything that goes on inside her head, and I created her! She knows far more than she ever lets on—and I have a feeling she may have a story of her own to tell very soon.
Just for fun — if your book were adapted for the screen, who would you love to see in the cast? 🎬
I think Zooey Deschanel would make a wonderful Belle. She has that slightly quirky, dry sense of humour I associate with her, while still being able to play someone very grounded. Hudson is harder! Maybe Theo James—he has the charm, but also that hint of mystery that would make you wonder whether Hudson is quite what he seems.
And, of course, whoever played them would have to be willing to share the screen with a magical carousel. I’m afraid that part is non-negotiable.
✨ Review
fun I was going to have watching Belle and Hudson make such hard work of falling in love.
Belle is perfectly capable of dealing with a busy hotel, demanding guests and whatever else the day throws at her. Put Hudson in front of her, however, and things have a habit of going wrong. Hudson isn't much better. He is clearly smitten, but actually doing something useful about it seems to be another matter entirely. I spent a good part of this book thinking, will one of you PLEASE just kiss the other one!
I liked that Hanna Park didn't hurry them. By the time things do start moving in the right direction, I had been waiting for it for so long that it felt completely deserved. There are some genuinely funny scenes between them too, which stopped the romance becoming too sweet.
Then there is everything happening around them. Forest Falls at Christmas is busy, snowy and slightly bonkers, and gradually some very peculiar things begin creeping into what initially appears to be an ordinary festive town. I won't explain any of them because I think they are much better encountered without warning.
I have to give a mention to the bachelor auction as well. I am saying absolutely nothing about what happens, but it was probably the scene I enjoyed most in the entire book. Belle certainly surprised me!
I finished the book wanting to know where Hanna got the idea for Forest Falls and all the strange magic hidden beneath this little Christmas town. Luckily for me, I had an interview with her coming up, so I got to ask! (see above)!
By the end I had become ridiculously invested in Belle and Hudson. This was funny, romantic and wonderfully Christmassy, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
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