When real-estate rivals Grace and Alex submit matching bids to buy Christmas Manor. The manor’s whimsical owner proposes a tie-breaker: a scavenger hunt within the manor with a Christmas Eve deadline to solve nine clues leading to the manor’s deed and a treasure of equal value. Grace and Alex reluctantly team-up and despite everything that goes wrong they may just find romance too.

COMPS: The sweet competitive & collaborative romance of A MERRY LITTLE EX-MAS. The rivalry, banter and mutual goal of saving Winter's Inn in SNOWED-INN CHRISTMAS. Plus, WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING: Lucy’s determination to make her happily-ever-after come true. 

SYNOPSIS:

Two day before Christmas, Renovation Architect, Grace, a Carhartt-rugged ginger who’s known to be “the take-charge type”, receives an invitation to bid on her dream home, the legendary Christmas Manor. When Grace arrives she clashes with cynical Real-Estate Developer, Alex, who’s serious to the point of being arrogant.

In a moment of whimsy Grace dances down off the manor's porch steps, trips on the last step in front of Alex who lets her tumble into a pile of leaves. Alex comments “balletic”. Grace responds with, “I planned it that way.”

The manor is not only Grace's dream home, it's an urgently needed new location for the Renovation Architects business she runs with her father. For Alex, buying the manor then flipping it to his billionaire client, is his best chance to earn a commission big enough to rescue his widowed sister from creditors.

Hours later, Grace and Alex learn they’ve submitted identical bids. They’re called back to the manor where the reclusive & mysterious owner, Charles, a sad-eyed former showman who's secretly searching for the best new caretaker, proposes an extraordinary tie-breaker: a scavenger hunt within the manor featuring nine clues and a Christmas Eve deadline to track down the deed to the manor hidden with a treasure equal in value to the manor.

With only 14 hours to chase down the nine clues, Grace and Alex reluctantly agree to work together.

The first clue leads them to find the secret door into the attic. Once inside they discover an archive of Charles and Julia Bergstrom’s wonderful life together, their achievements and charitable community awards. Grace and Alex realize Julia was the heart of Christmas manor and meant everything to Charles. The Christmas Angel Tree-Toppers she designed were everyone’s favorite. Especially Julia’s. Grace solves the 2nd clue, which points to the Christmas Angel on top of the manor’s 25 foot tall Christmas tree. Grace climbs over a balcony to reach the angel, but needs Alex’s help. Together they fall into the massive tree and ride it to the floor.

In spite of their hijinx-fueled setbacks, mishaps, and the huge fight about Grace being responsible for losing their most vital clue, a golden key, Grace and Alex have truly gotten to know and value each other.

Now, with only minutes left, they find the golden key which leads them to a ten-foot-tall lady-nutcracker guard with a red-velvet heart on her chest. The key unlocks her heart and reveals the deed and the treasure. It's a bright new beginning for Grace and for Alex. Grace's dream home, Christmas Manor, is hers at last. Alex, with the treasure, has the means to save his sister. Yet in this moment, after all they been through, all either of them wants is to spend Christmas together.

Theme: Chasing “Happily-Ever-After” never turns out like you’d expect. Not even close. Yet, what you do end-up with is somehow, better. The trick is, you need to be open to selfless-love which, as it turns out, may actually be the foundation of Happily-Ever-After.

Why now? It's my hope people will see themselves in this story about two, head-strong professionals rediscovering the power of collaboration and selflessness over competitive self-interest.

Who is the demographic? Adult Women and Men equally. Because this is a grounded story about two competitive professionals determined to beat the clock and win the prize. There's comical hijinx, fun stunts, romance and just a bit of Christmas Magic.

GRACE MITCHELL, 32, is a career-driven Renovation Architect. A Carhartt-rugged ginger with a bold rebellious heart. An optimist known to be “The Take-Charge Type”. Grace doesn’t wait for permission to do what needs to be done. Grace’s need to be in control isn’t an ego thing, it’s a self-protection thing she developed while she and her big sister, Emily, were growing-up in an over-scheduled life driven by her Mother. Being the “Take Charge” type prevents anyone else from deciding what her life is about. What is Grace missing? Grace lives a life of purpose and loves being a Renovation Architect for other people’s incredible homes. Grace needs this chance to buy and restore her dream home: Christmas Manor.

ALEX EMERSON, 33, is a career-driven Real-Estate Developer. Grace and Alex are well aware of each other though they’ve never met. Alex buys historic buildings, tears them down, then flips the properties to the highest bidder. He’s square-shouldered and serious to the point of being arrogant. He tends to rely on his cynical sense of humor and bland charm. Alex’s flaw is his cynicism. He needs to learn not all people choose self-interest over the greater good. Growing up with parents who were caught-up in their own self-interests. Alex happily looked-out for his younger sister, Laura. For Alex, buying the manor, tearing it down, then flipping the property to his billionaire client, is his chance to earn a huge profit which he needs to rescue Laura from creditors.

MR. CHARLES BERGSTROM - 77. The last Bergstrom, in a long line of Bergstroms who first arrived in Minnesota in the early 1900’s and established, The Bergstrom Family’s Christmas Tree Farm. By the late 1980’s Charles, a whimsical marketing genius, along with his artist wife, Julia, had founded “C & J. Bergstrom Christmas Ornaments”, an internationally successful Christmas ornament manufacturing and distribution company. Together, they built Christmas Manor on this very spot. For many years played Santa and Mrs. Claus. Ten years ago, after his wife Julia’s passing, Charles became a recluse. He feels it’s time to let go of the past. Choosing the best new caretaker for Christmas Manor is his way of ensuring the legacy of Christmas Manor lives on.

Why Me: I especially love writing Elevated Christmas RomComs with authentic and relatable relationship struggles. (Films similar to: MY SECRET SANTA, CHAMPAGNE PROBLEMS, THE HOLIDAY, LOVE ACTUALLY and WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING), which have done very well internationally. Christmas RomComs are their own unique Genre, intentionally created to be hot-chocolate for the soul. The characters' stories are sincere, light-hearted, hope-restoring escapist entertainment in its purest form. There's even a built-in ticking-clock counting down to Happily-Ever-After.

I've been lucky to study with Blake Snyder, Jen Grisanti, Jessica Bendinger, and now the wonderful Holiday RomCom Writer, Carley Smale.

I’m on the verge of earning my first “Produced Writer” credit with MERRILY ALL THE WAY, an elevated Holiday Rom-Com which has been optioned by Collab Content Entertainment.

Check-out my Stage 32, MERRILY ALL THE WAY, Writer Success Blog (you’ll laugh, I promise): https://www.stage32.com/blog/m...