Meet Karen Schaler, the writer behind Hallmark and Netflix's Christmas movies

For author and screenwriter Karen Schaler, Christmas is a year-round affair. In the last 18 months, Schaler has written the screenplay for three holiday films, published three books about Christmas, and even set up a Christmas Camp for adults.

It's no wonder that she's earned herself the moniker "Christmas Karen." But Schaler's work is a far cry from her roots as an Emmy-winning war reporter in Afghanistan and Bosnia.

She joined q's Tom Power live in studio to tell us what drew her — and millions of others — to the land of holiday films and novels, and how her journalism unlocked the secret to writing a holiday movie.

Schaler's new holiday movie Rediscovering Christmas premieres on the Lifetime channel on Sunday, Dec. 15. Her latest novel Finding Christmas is out now. 

Download our podcast or click the 'Listen' link near the top of this page to hear the full conversation with Karen Schaler.

— Produced by ​Ben Edwards and Vanessa Nigro