When real-estate rivals Grace and Alex submit matching bids to buy Christmas Manor, the manor’s whimsical owner proposes a tie-breaker: a nine-clue scavenger hunt within the manor with a Christmas Eve deadline to locate the key to the manor. Grace and Alex reluctantly team-up, race to untangle the clues, and try not to fall for each other.

Comps: The rivals-to-romance banter of CHAMPAGNE PROBLEMS meets the competitive goal of saving Winter's Inn in SNOWED-INN CHRISTMAS. Plus, WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING: Lucy’s desire to have her happily-ever-after. 

SYNOPSIS:

"A rivals-to-romance tie-breaker competition for Christmas Manor."

For years on Christmas Eve excited families would drive past Christmas Manor and wave to Mr. & Mrs. Bergstrom, famous Christmas Angel Tree-Topper makers who loved waving back dressed as Santa and Mrs. Claus, seated in their sleigh on the snowy front lawn, ready to fly away with their team of magical reindeer. Ten years ago, sadly, it all ended with Mrs. Bergstrom’s passing. Mr. Bergstrom simply walked away from the manor.

This year, with only a week before Christmas, career-driven Renovation Architect, Grace, 32, a Carhartt-rugged ginger with a bold rebellious heart, who loves everything about Christmas, receives a private invitation to visit and bid on Christmas Manor, a home she's dreamed of living in since she was a girl, but can’t possibly afford.

As Grace joins the other bidders waiting to enter the manor she playfully dances up then down the porch steps, trips on the last step in front of business rival, Alex, 33, a successful, serious-minded, Property Developer, who believes Christmas is a frivolous waste of time, and who lets Grace tumble into the snow then comments: “Balletic”. Grace responds: “I planned it that way.”

Inside the manor they meet broken-hearted showman, the mysterious Mr. Bergstrom, who’s ready to let go of his past. After Alex boasts to Grace that she’ll never be able to out-bid him, she bids way beyond her limit to bluff him. She’ll soon learn Alex needs to buy the manor so he can flip-it to his wealthy client and earn a commission big enough to save his widowed sister from creditors.

Three days later, Grace and Alex are called back to the manor. Not only have they outbid everyone they’ve submitted identical bids. Mr. Bergstrom, (who believes Grace and Alex together will breathe new life into Christmas Manor), proposes an extraordinary tie-breaker: a nine-clue scavenger hunt within the manor with a Christmas Eve deadline to locate the key to the manor hidden along with a treasure of equal value.

With only one day 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.

This leads Grace to solve the 2nd clue, which points to the Christmas Angel on top of the manor’s very tall synthetic Christmas tree. Grace climbs over a balcony to reach the angel, but needs Alex’s help to not fall. Together they fall into the massive tree and WHOOSH-CRASH ride it to the floor.

In spite of several more hijinx-fueled setbacks 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.

With only minutes left before the midnight deadline, they find the golden key which leads them to the ten-foot-tall lady-nutcracker statuette with a red-velvet heart on her chest. The key unlocks her heart and reveals the key to the manor and the treasure. Alex, knowing how much Grace wants manor, chooses the treasure. It's a bright new beginning for Grace and 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 trying so hard to not fall for each other, all either of them wants is to spend Christmas together.

Theme: Rivals-to-Romance. Chasing “Happily-Ever-After” never turns out like you’d expect. But somehow always guides you to what you've needed all along. The trick is, you must 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 hard-working adults 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, romance and just a bit of Christmas Magic.

Main Characters: Grace and Alex, are well aware of each other though they’ve only just met in person.

GRACE, 32, is a career-driven Renovation Architect who brings historic buildings back to life in innovative ways. Grace loves everything about Christmas. She’s an optimist who doesn’t wait for permission to do what must be done. Being the “Take Charge” type prevents anyone else from deciding what her life is about. GRACE'S TRANSFORMATION: Grace is not looking for romance. Certainly not with cynical, arrogant Alex who believes Christmas is a frivolous waste of time. As they work together to solve clues, Grace learns to be more collaborative. As she tries to restore Alex’s appreciation for Christmas magic her heart softens toward him, especially after she learns why it’s so important for him to be the protective big-brother to his sister Laura. When they solve the final clue, and reveal the key to the manor as well as the treasure, and Alex chooses the treasure so Grace can have the Manor, Grace knows she’s fallen in love. She's become someone capable of selflessly sharing her Happily-Ever-After.

ALEX, 33, is a career-driven, serious-minded Property Developer who buys historic buildings, tears them down, then flips the properties to the highest bidder. Growing up with divorced parents lost to their own self-interests made Alex cynical, about everything, especially Christmas, but inspired him to become a protective big brother to the one person he cares most about, his younger sister, Laura. ALEX'S TRANSFORMATION: Alex was not looking for romance either. Teaming-up with "Take-Charge" Grace is challenging and teaches him to be collaborative as well. His heart warms to how brilliantly creative and selfless Grace is. By the time they solve the final clue, Alex has fallen in love with Grace, and Christmas.

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 they played Santa and Mrs. Claus. Sadly, ten years ago, after Julia’s passing, Charles became a recluse. Today 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: As a Production Designer and Lead Graphic Designer I've earned a Regional Emmy plus I've worked on two Academy Award Winning Features FARGO and THE BIG LEBOWSKI. I was also the Minneapolis-based Graphic Designer for JINGLE ALL THE WAY and THE MIGHTY DUCKS.

Today 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.

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.