Q&A With Rachel Holm 

I am delighted to be doing this Q&A with romantic comedy author Rachel Holm who Mickey Mikkelson connected me with. Rachel Holm is the author of the novels Capitally Matched, Capitally Engaged & Carry Me Through Christmas.

 Rachel W. Holm (rachelwholm.com)

Q: Rachel, can you give a brief description of each of your novels?

A: Carry Me Through Christmas follows Blaire, a prodigal daughter returning home to save her town by planning a successful Christmas festival. To do so she must work with the rival town’s CFO Cole (who just happens to hate Christmas) overseeing her budget. Think Hallmark Christmas movie meets Parks and Rec, with a little more romantic spice thrown in.

Capitally Matched kicks off my Brandt Brothers series, a series of five interconnected standalones about five brothers set in Washington, DC. In Capitally Matched we find Hayden and Charlotte both sharing the same apartment unexpectedly. They both have reasons for not wanting any distractions in their lives, so a low-stakes prank war ensues to try to force the other out (but turns out they were actually flirting the whole time.)

Capitally Engaged starts with Jax, a political reporter, finding herself in the middle of an IBS flare up in the middle of the Capitol Visitors Center, with all the bathrooms out of order. Preston, the Chief of Staff for a Senator, rescues her, taking her to his boss’s office to use the bathroom, only to have the Senator burst in, forbidding any unapproved visitors from entering their offices. Quick on his feet, Preston introduces Jax as his fiancé, and they enter a mutually beneficial fake engagement.

Q: What made you choose to write romantic comedies & in your opinion what makes the perfect romantic comedy?

A: I like to think I’m pretty funny in day-to-day life, so I enjoy bringing that to the page. I’m a huge romance fan, because I enjoy knowing that we’re going to end in a Happily Ever After, it’s the journey to that ending that’s different every time. And finally, I’m always going to pick a form of entertainment that makes me laugh rather than feel scared, or cry. Put that all together, and romantic comedy was pretty much my only option.

A perfect romantic comedy will have good banter, characters you want to root for, and an outlandish situation or two, but will also tap into other real emotions and issues. I want something that will make me laugh while also possibly making me think or reexamine something about myself. 

Q: Are you currently writing another romantic comedy? If so, can you reveal any details about the plot, title & release date?

A: I am! The third book in the Brandt Brother series, Capitally Unexpected, will be released on March 20th, 2025. This book will find two characters dealing with the fall-out of an unexpected pregnancy following a one-night stand that was hinted at in Capitally Engaged. 

Q: What emotions and lessons do you want readers to feel and learn after reading each of your novels?

A: Overall, I hope that they’ve laughed, and maybe cried or teared up a little – there are some hard moments around grief and loss that I tackle in my books. For Carry Me Through Christmas, I hope it’s helped them get in the Christmas spirit and want to visit a small-town holiday festival. For Capitally Matched, I hope they’re willing to put faith in themselves and take a risk. And finally, for Capitally Engaged, I hope it’s perhaps the first time they’ve seen a heroine with IBS – girls with “tummy troubles” deserve love too. 

Q: If Hollywood were to get the rights to your work, who would be your dream cast? The entertainment industry needs new original content again. 

A: Carry Me Through Christmas – Dakota Johnson and Theo James

Capitally Matched – Elisabeth Olsen and Chris Hemsworth

Capitally Engaged – Lizza Caplan and Nicholas Holt