Favorite Holiday Romance Movies by Phillipa Ashley (and GIVEAWAY!)

I love holiday romance movies – or should I call them vacation romance movies?
When Laura asked me if I had any favourites, I did a quick poll of my readers and Facebook friends and got some surprising answers. Some of the most popular were Roman Holiday, The Notebook, The Holiday, Grease, Letters to Juliet and Shirley Valentine. Other candidates were Three Coins in the Fountain, French Kiss, Mamma Mia – not all vacation romance films, strictly speaking and I haven’t seen all of them, but I do now have a new To Be Watched list!

My number one holiday romance movie has to be Dirty Dancing. Yes, it’s a classic dance movie but it’s also about a vacation romance between the innocent, idealistic Baby and worldly wise, experienced Johnny. I love this film and have watched it over and over again. Of course it’s a great fun movie and the music and dance scenes are classics. But I think the deeper themes about growing up and not judging people by first impressions, resonate too. Johnny teaches Baby about the realities of life, but she also teaches him about standing up for what you believe in.

I’ll admit to needing a tissue at several moments; especially when Baby stands up to her father. These days, I always want to cry at the uplifting ending, especially since the late great Patrick Swayze is no longer with us.

I got the idea for my own holiday romance book, Wish You Were Here, from a trip to the stunning French island of Corsica. Before the books starts, the heroine, Beth Allen meets Jack Thornfield on a hiking trip. As leader of her tour, Jack seems strong, tender and capable – and he’s also totally gorgeous! Beth falls madly in love with him and is convinced he feels the same. They part, having vowed to stay together forever but then Beth gets home to England and the harsh reality of life. She never hears from Jack again and although she’s devastated, she has to move on.

Wish You Were Here opens eight years after that trip. Since then, Beth has lost her mother to cancer, her father is recovering from a serious accident and her younger sister needs money to take up a place at college. Beth needs a job fast and is thrilled to land an interview for a dream position at a London travel company.

But she’s in for a shock when she finds out who her new CEO is...

Do you have any favourite holiday romance movies or novels? Or do you have a vacation romance story of your own?

Thank-you Phillipa Ashley for the great guest blog! There is nothing I like better than a good holiday romance movie, unless it is a good holiday romance book like Wish You Were Here! Stay tuned for my review of Wish You Were Here which will appear on my blog next week.

Giveaway Details
Beth from Sourcebooks has been kind enough to offer one copy of Wish You Were Here by Phillipa Ashley for a giveaway.

If you would like to win a copy of Wish You Were Here please leave a comment about what intrigues you about the novel, guest blog, or answer Phillipa Ashley's question about your favorite holiday romance movie, novels, or story of your own.

As part of your comment, you must include an email address. If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner.

For an additional entry, blog about this giveaway or post it on your sidebar. Provide a link to this post in your comment.

I will be using random.org (or a monte carlo simulation in excel) to pick the winners from the comments.

This contest is only open to US and Canadian residents (Sorry!).

No P.O. Boxes.

The deadline for entry is midnight, Friday July 8th.

Good luck!