It’s hard to believe we’re approaching the final quarter of 2021, but here we are! Next month, I have three books coming out!
This and Every Christmas(Sinclair Sisters Book 1)first appeared in last year’s Christmas Lights Collection (Hearts Aglow). It will be available in eBook and paperback October 1. Christmases past and present collide in a humorous yet bittersweet tale of a widowed tree-farm owner and his daughter’s music teacher as they collaborate to create a future worthy of her family’s wacky traditions and his family’s legacy.
Save the Date is FINALLY hitting shelves October 12. We’ve been working on this anthology for well over a year now, but due to many of our authors (and publisher!) facing illnesses, injuries, surgical complications, and the loss of our friend and co-author Marion Ueckermann, we had to push the release date out a month. I can’t wait to share Braver With You with you (ha ha!). This set will only be available for a limited time, so be sure to grab your copy wherever eBooks are sold.
Last but not least, the 2021 Christmas Lights Collection, Home for Christmas, will be out October 28th. Featuring military heroes and heroines from varying branches and occupations, this collection includes the second Sinclair sister’s story, Now and Forever Christmas, as well as tales from Chautona Havig, Cathe Swanson, and Toni Shiloh.
I hope you enjoy these books as much as I’ve enjoyed working on them. Until next time, be blessed!
And boy, what a month it’s going to be. I’ve got a ton of bookish things on my calendar that I want to share with you, and I hope you’ll stop by and participate in some of them! Especially because most of the news I’m sharing involves tons of giveaways for books and Amazon gift cards (and who doesn’t want all that this time of year?)!
If you aren’t already subscribed, I highly recommend joining my email newsletter. Not only will you receive a free book, it’s the best way to get the latest updates. I try to only email 1-2x a month and make it worthwhile and not overly salesy. Yeah, I know, that’s not really a word (though it definitely IS a feeling, am I right?).
Okay, so here you go, with links and all, come join the fun:
December 1 — Becoming Us release day! It’s available NOW in paperback AND eBook, and is FREE to read via Kindle Unlimited. This collaboration with Jenn Faulk is one of my favorite projects of my writing career so far! We’d greatly appreciate your reviews when you’re finished (your honest reviews, however simple, are essential!).
December 2 — I’m blogging over on Inspy Romance! I’ve crafted a post FILLED with excellent reading options to last you the whole month long, and I’ll be choosing one lucky winner from the comments to receive a copy of Love, Laughter, and Luminarias!
December 1-24 — The Bookish Advent Giveaway by Chautona Havig features 24 days of book giveaways from Christian authors (including ME!) PLUS a $350 Amazon gift card grand prize! Check daily on Instagram, IGTV, Facebook, and HERE to enter.
December 1-31 — A HUGE Christian eBook giveaway happening over here all month long. Discover some great new-to-you Christian authors and get free books, including my newsletter exclusive, Just Say Yes, plus a chance to win a $30 gift card to the eBook retailer of your choice.
December 7-12 — I’ve teamed up with Celebrate Lit for their 2nd Annual Merry Christmas Readers event. Enter for your chance to win 45+ books or a $500 Amazon card to buy a ton of books yourself! The link to enter is HERE, but it won’t be active until the 7th, so check back then.
December 6-12 — Hallee Bridgeman is hosting her annual Christmas blog scavenger hunt! With 35+ authors participating, we’ll be awarding $350 Amazon gift card for first place, $250 Amazon card for second, and $150 Amazon card for third. The fun begins Sunday the 6th, and all scavenger hunt answers can be found using Amazon’s “Look inside” feature! START HERE on the 6th and follow the links at the bottom to enter and then visit the next post for their clue.
December 7-20 — Something Borrowed goes on tour with the amazing bloggers at Celebrate Lit! This super fun collection will make nearly 30 stops with spotlights and reviews, and for readers, a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card, a set of 4 jewel pens, and a custom designed box of assorted chocolates from Chocglitz and Cream!
Okay, that’s it. (Whew!) I’m tired already and the fun is just beginning today. But praise the Lord, His mercies are new every morning and He is faithful to sustain me through the season. He’s faithful to sustain YOU, too, if you only turn to Him and ask!
As you enjoy all the blessings (and probably a few hardships) of this holiday season, I pray you will find love, joy, and peace in abundance. I pray you and yours will find grace and mercy when you need it most and expect it least. I pray you will remember the Greatest Gift, that of our Savior Jesus Christ, who loves you infinitely more than you can imagine.
The rule of three is a principle in writing that suggests a trio of events or characters is more humorous, satisfying, or effective than other numbers1. We see the number used all over the place from religion to advertising content. Being the smallest number that can establish a pattern, three gets things stuck in our heads.
I mean, come on, look at this list:
Faith, hope, love
Stop, drop, roll
Father, Son, Holy Spirit
Blood, sweat, tears
I could go on. For a long while. I mean, I am a writer after all, and a fairly decent researcher, word lover, and random trivia memorizer. But that’s a rabbit trail we don’t need to travel. Today, I want to talk about three new books!
Eyebrow raises and widened eyes are the typical response I get when people find out I wrote three Christmas books this year, all set to release within a week. I know. It was a crazy decision, but I knew God called me to each one for a different reason. And knowing I was responding to that call gave me a measure of peace rather than stress because if God calls, He also is faithful to equip, and He will always work things for His good and His glory.
Enter the first story, Always Been Yours. I started writing it last November after our Once Upon a Christmas collection came out and we first began brainstorming Something Borrowed. Not only did I enjoy telling the story of a *slightly* dramatic, big-hearted, confident plus-size heroine and the injured best friend who’s been in love with her for years, but Toni, Mikal, Teresa, and Andrea have forged a deep, abiding friendship that has been an answer to prayer for each of us.
The story itself is a little lighter on the faith elements than many of my other books, but it was what poured out and I know God can use it (and will)! Not everything we do as believers has to be explicitly Christian in order to convey His message or heart. Hanady accepts people for who they are and doesn’t quite understand when others don’t. I love that about her!
Then there’s Christmas Mercy. Earlier this year when I was finishing up Whatever Happens Next, I knew Vera and Edie would need a story of their own. I’ve long wanted to write a second chance romance, so when Amanda Tru announced her idea for this season’s Crossroads set (couples once jilted), the outline I’d already sketched was too coincidental to be anything but a God idea. The faith threads are woven into their daily lives, though still not overpowering, as Vera and Rob come to understand grace, mercy, forgiveness, and restoration.
And finally, This and Every Christmas.I was a little nervous, to be honest, when it came time to write a third book for the 2020 Christmas Lights gang. After months of quarantine, stay-home orders, political vitriol, and other negativity sucking up my creativity as well as a bit of burnout from already completing 3 1/2 other books (that half is still a WIP), I basically got on my knees and begged for something to spark.
While working on other things, I suddenly had a clear picture of a young boy and girl meeting between the pines on a Christmas tree farm every year on the same day over the course of several years. Most titles don’t come to me until the book’s been written, but this one I knew right away. I also knew they went their separate ways, Noah got married and had a daughter and later became a widower before they met again as adults. Trusting God to carry me through writing this story resulted in a completely different style of tale than I usually write, but one of the most enriching experiences I’ve had as a writer to this point.
Seeing the Rule of Three playing itself out in such a positive way this season has been a balm to my heart this year. Has it been stressful? Sure. Exhausting? Absolutely. But it’s taught me to let go of my illusions of having any control whatsoever, trust the Great Storyteller, and follow His lead. And what a rewarding life lesson for us all in this dumpster fire of a year, am I right?
What trios have you experienced this year? Have good things come in threes for you? Comment below and let’s chat about it!
1Quoted from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_three_(writing)
