A Moment With… Liz Fenwick

I am so delighted to be welcoming Liz Fenwick to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, The Last Christmas.

When a final goodbye in Cornwall is only the beginning…

Meredith Tremayne Russell has spent her life mapping the world, first in intelligence during WWII, and later as a professor. But at ninety-eight with time running out, she faces a journey she cannot chart, a return to her old Cornish home to sell it and to scatter her beloved husband’s ashes. 

With her is her twenty-five-year-old granddaughter, Grace, a dyslexic who believes she is a failure in a family of academics. For Grace the trip is a welcome escape from her mother’s demands. But when she unlocks her great-grandmother’s abandoned art studio, she finds a legacy of a passionate artist and a French resistance fighter.

As Meredith relives the frozen December of her 1946 wedding, she understands her final mission isn’t to say goodbye to her old home, but to draw one last map—showing Grace how to navigate a life of her own making.

To talk about what makes a Christmas novel, it’s over to you, Liz. 

What makes a Christmas Novel?

We have Christmas movies and we have Christmas novels. We could venture into the whole Die Hard debate – Christmas movie or not. It takes place at Christmas – tick. There is Christmas music in the soundtrack – tick. There is a man flying to spend the holiday with his family – tick.  Then things are blown up, people are killed, but there is a happy ending. So, you could argue it is a Christmas movie, just not like White Christmas, The Holiday or Love Actually.

But that question had me thinking about The Last Christmas. When I think of Christmas movies or books certain things come to mind, like Hallmark movies, funny jumpers, hot chocolate, snow, and ghosts. I’ve written two Christmas novellas before – A Cornish Christmas Carol and Delivering Christmas – I understood the ingredients list. But with The Last Christmas I knew I would be pushing the boundaries a bit – not as far as Die Hard though.

There is an argument that A Christmas Carol began the genre. Dickens understood how a good story works. Christmas Stories play on nostalgia and hope. The rest of us following in his footsteps have had a lot to live up to. In writing The Last Christmas I was carrying this with me. It isn’t a story of hot chocolate and happiness, but it is a story of love surviving, how generations can make mistakes, and a story or families broken but surviving. It is a huge risk that people might be expecting something a little lighter, a bit more like Delivering Christmas, but I hope that readers will enjoy the story. It does have ghosts, Christmas trees, and a Christmas wedding. Maybe if I’m lucky readers will see it along the lines of It’s a Wonderful Life… a tale of a life well-lived but lessons still to be learned even for someone of ninety-eight years.

About Liz Fenwick –

Liz Fenwick, dubbed ‘the queen of the Cornish contemporary novel’ by The Guardian,  is an award-winning author of emotional, immersive, feel-good fiction.

Her books are filled with history, mystery and love. She loves stories that pull her into their world like they did when she was young so that’s what she writes.

When she’s not writing, she’s procrastinating on Instagram, plot walking, reading and painting.

he lives in Cornwall with her husband and two mad cats.

Say hello to Liz on X, Threads, TikTok and Instagram. 

The Last Christmas was released on 22nd October 2026. Click to buy via Liz’s website, Amazon UK, Amazon US and Waterstones. 

Win A Paperback Copy Of The Last Christmas. 

Do you live iin the UK?

If your answer to that question is yes, would you like to win a paperback copy of The Last Christmas?

Well, here’s your chance. We have three copies to give away to three lucky winners.

For more details on how how to enter, head on over to Gleam.

UK only.

*Terms and Conditions –

UK entries welcome.  Please enter using the Gleam link above. 

The winner will be selected at random via Gleam from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  

I (Novel Kicks) am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

by

Laura

I'm Laura. I started Novel Kicks back in 2009 as I wanted a place to discuss books and writing - two loves of my life. As someone who has anxiety, these two things give me, and I am sure countless others, a much needed escape.
There is a monthly book club, writing exercises, prompts, reviews, author interviews, competitions and guest posts. I cover many genres and I hope there is something for everyone.
I grew up by the sea in Dorset and currently live in Poole with my husband, Chris and three cats. I love writing and have a BA (Hons) in Creative Writing from Falmouth University. I am writing my first book. If only I could stop pressing delete. Chris has threatened to stop it from working. Haha.
I have always loved creative writing since I was in first school and would very much like to meet my teacher, Miss Sayers, to say thank you for all the encouragement she gave me then.
When not writing, I love reading, cats, Disney, singing (I can't sing but this doesn't stop me,) and falling into a good TV show or film. If I could step into any fictional world, it would be amongst the characters in ABC's Once Upon a Time.
I love reading many genres and discovering new authors.