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A festive Q&A with Anita Faulkner, author of The Gingerbread Café

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We sat down with Anita Faulkner author of A Colourful Country Escape to find out more about her latest book, The Gingerbread Café and what she loves so much about the festive season . . .


What do you love most about this time of year?

I love the sheer cosiness of it. If you live somewhere on the chilly side (like I do!) it’s a time to wrap up toastily in your fluffy dressing gown and treat your toes to some festive slipper socks. As the nights draw in you can swish the curtains shut and the long-awaited pyjama o’clock gets earlier!

And of course, you have every excuse to stir up the richest hot chocolate, wriggle under a blanket and immerse yourself in some feel-good festive reading. Delicious!


What inspired you to write a novel set in a year-round Christmas café?

I always love a story where somebody inherits something lifechanging. (Because who doesn’t dream about a big win?!) I wanted the windfall to be a place that our Christmas-loving Gretel would adore – even if she seriously doesn’t want to be in charge of it. And of course something that would bring our Christmas-allergic Lukas out in hives.

A Christmas-themed café seemed like the perfect thing – with the added bonus that it’s a business model that isn’t really working. (Unless one customer and her ferret are enough to pay the bills!) So Gretel’s challenge is absolutely on.


Gingerbread is a key part of the novel – do you have a favourite festive treat for this time of year?

I don’t think there’s a festive treat that I wouldn’t add to this list! I usually feel like some sort of festive squirrel as I scurry around the shops, gathering gingerbread houses, mince pies, Christmas puds, panettone, stollen … and that’s before I’ve thought about the savoury options. (Anyone for pigs in blankets and a cheese board?!)

What I loved about my research for The Gingerbread Café was finding some sweet treats which were brand new to me. I especially enjoyed discovering the sugary, crescent-shaped biscuits called vanillekipferl which are relevant to Gretel’s Austrian heritage (and that she keeps stashed away in the cupboard – and may or may not share!)


Your debut novel A Colourful Country Escape, was set during the summer, while this one is set during winter – which was your favourite season to write about?

I’m a big believer in embracing every season. Don’t they all have something special to offer? The seasons and weather can be especially fun to play with when you’re writing romance, as both can be so symbolic and you can use them to reflect characters’ moods.

I love the idea of love blossoming in spring or blooming in summer, on hot sunny days or amid a riot of wildflowers. The sights and sounds of summer can be gloriously happy if we want them to be. Summer is a true party for the senses, from the tickle of pollen to the hypnotic hum of bees.

But I equally adore an affection that flickers to life under falling snow and knitted blankets. From icy cold walks with mittens and bobble hats to cosy nights in with candles and cinnamon hot chocolate, there is so much to play with in this season. And when you add the joy of Christmas to the mix, the opportunities for fun are endless…


What are your favourite festive traditions, and did any make it into the novel?

You can’t have Christmas without a festive tune or two, which is why I couldn’t resist giving the café a wayward jukebox that plays exactly the tune you wish it wouldn’t. (‘Lonely this Christmas’ and ‘Run Rudolph Run’ being songs that Gretel absolutely does not need to hear!)

Christmas always feels like a time for extra baking and crafting, and there’s plenty of both between the pages of The Gingerbread Café. From Lukas and his mouth-watering desserts to Gretel and her burnt biscuits, it’s all going on. But I must admit, my cooking skills are about as good as Gretel’s! Her messy kitchen disasters were often inspired by my own.

And not to go on about pyjamas… but much like Gretel, I do wear my festive ones all year long! (Even if I wouldn’t go the whole hog and wear a knitted penguin jumper in July.) But those fleecy p.j.’s are just so comfy…