Back in 2021, I had a great idea for an erotic horror story for a contest. It is what I believe is the first original take on A Christmas Karole in a very long time. The story needed Karole's neighbors to be well known to the reader, so the lives of her neighbors were explored to set up the Big Finish. Unfortunately, I missed the contest deadline, so I shelved the story for a year. But I fell in love with my characters. I wasn't ready to set them aside. I wanted to explore their past. What drives them? How did they get where they were when the horror story began? Since I outlined their lives in a "Ghost of Christmas Past" kind of way, I sat down and started writing to fill out their story even more, and the more I wrote, the more I fell in love with Don and Lanh.
Don Campbell (Donovon, not Donald!) is the only son of a widowed farmer, Ralph Campbell. His mom died when he was eight and for the next eight years he's lost in a cloud of sorrow and loneliness. Being poor, he's picked on in school constantly. His only passion in school is swimming, but he's kept from trying out for the team by upperclassmen. He has an option to join the team. Little did he know it was all another prank.
Lanh Nguyen was a tiny Vietnamese-American girl, the youngest of six, three brothers and two sisters. Because the family business and her older siblings were such a burden on her mother, Lanh was raised by her oldest sister, Tam. Lanh is a hard working genius with an accent because she learned to speak Vietnamese first and all of her older aunts and uncles spoke it exclusively, so for years English was a second language to her. She, like Don, was a target of taunting and pranks, but as captain of the debate team, she was merciless.
At the Christmas Dance, Don was told he would have a spot on the swim team if he got a girl on the dance floor to embarrass herself. Lanh was told a very nice boy wanted to teach her to dance. When they were pushed together on the dance floor, the DJ played an extremely romantic song and they were caught in the spotlight, but the prank backfired when Don and Lanh's eyes meet and they fell for each other. From that moment on, they were no longer lonely.
They were two social outcasts headed for a sad, untimely end, but they found a kindred spirit in each other that crossed the racial divide and they leaned on each other for support. Lanh was made the woman of the Campbell household and practically adopted by Don's dad, Ralph. She soon found a love for life on the farm and became a great help with the dairy herd. Don took the teasing and kidding from Lanh's older siblings and became a tremendous help at the family restaurant.
As they drew closer to each other, they learn to depend on each other in school. Lanh takes it upon herself to help Don get his grades up because, after his mom died, he just didn't care. Don stood up to the racial assaults on Lanh and protected her from attacks of other kinds. First Love follows Don and Lanh's journey from high school losers to gold medal champions, published authors, and eventually their path takes them to the altar.
First Love is a sweet introduction to Don and Lanh. Their teen woes taught them to lean on each other, to trust each other, because, as we all know, our teenage dreams have a way of falling apart.
Here's where you can find the complete book