Holiday stories and holidays have always been a favorite pairing of mine, since childhood.
I was raised on re-runs of "Miracle on 34th Street" and "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Holiday Inn and "White Christmas" from the time I was old enough to love, love, love romance...
Nothing has changed.
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| This Two-in-One is on shelves at Walmarts and Krogers and all kinds of cool places right now for $4.99. Or you can find it here at CHRISTIANBOOK.COM. |
And, as evidenced by the high sales across all venues for holiday-themed-everything, it's a solid idea for authors.
If there was a holiday themed anthology, count me in!
If a series needed a holiday story, I was on it!
If I had a spare two or three weeks, I was writing a Christmas story. Not because of the sales. Not directly. But because of reader satisfaction, and my goal is to help women see a bright future for themselves no matter what the past has wrought...
And to leave readers feeling better than they did when they opened to page one, and what better time for us to feel like absolute overcomers than Christmas?
These aren't lofty goals. They're simply good goals, because people love a feel-good holiday story as evidenced by the huge increase in streaming service stations offering lots and lots of Christmas movies! Hallmark... Hallmark Movies and Mysteries... UpTV... Lifetime Channel....
And so many more.
I am proud to write feel-good stories, and especially delighted to feature this fun anthology I did with Mary Connealy and Margaret Brownley. These three wonderful novellas were released under kind of a veil of obscurity three years ago, but we regained rights to them this year, and released them LAST WEEK!
Yes, you can BUY CHRISTMAS AT STAR INN RIGHT HERE.
:)
You're welcome. My goal was to make that easy for you!
And we are so happy to have done this, I can't tell you. No one wants to see their work lingering in a dusty cabinet, right? So being able to re-package these stories, get them out there is a thrill.
Today I'm giving away copies of this wonderful anthology and copies of this 2-in-1 from Love Inspired! One paperback copy and one e-copy of "Christmas at Star Inn" and one paperback copy of my 2-in-1 with Jill Hart... Feel free to let me know in the comments which one you'd prefer.
Mary, Margaret and I are proud of this endeavor... we love it because we were able to dovetail three great stories around one great premise, an inn, run by a slightly eccentric woman named "Angel Rafferty" and how the accidents of time and place might not be so accidental, after all. And isn't that just the way life often is?
Leave me a comment below, telling me what you love or don't love about the holidays... and we'll hug you, so don't be embarrassed!!!!... and that will get you entered in the drawing.
And, as always, wishing you God's sweetest blessings for strength in times of trial, triumph over adversity and warmth when the cold winds blow.
So the FIRST COMMENT was a random magazine offer. I did not click on it, LOL!
ReplyDeleteGood morning, Seekerville! Coffee and eggnog await you!
Good morning, Seekerville! I love Christmas stories! I already have coffee, but sign me up for some eggnog...and maybe a sugar cookie for breakfast. ;)
ReplyDeleteOh, huge thanks to Beth Jamison of Jamison Editing for the beautiful cover of "Christmas at Star Inn"!!!! Good morning, Beth!
DeleteMorning! I'll stick to coffee this morning. I've never acquired a taste for eggnog :) I'm probably not alone in saying that I love the holidays, but I hate the way it makes us crazy. Even trying to do a minimal Christmas can end up making us tired and grumpy, the absolutely opposite of peace on earth. So I try to keep it simple, focus on Jesus, and not worry about all the little stuff that never gets done. Every year I try to buy fewer presents, give more of my time, watch another Christmas movie, sing another Christmas song, and enjoy the goodwill toward men that never lasts long enough.
ReplyDeleteMerry early Christmas, everyone!!
Glynis, I am in total agreement. Keep a Simple Christmas.... it's easier said than done, and it's not about the money. (For real, this time!) It's about losing the holy day in the crazy of a secular frenzy.
DeleteBut on the plus side, I'm in a real winter storm right now, big, huge flakes pounding down around me and the temperatures plunged yesterday, breaking all area records in Western NY... and we still have leaves on the red maples, the oak trees and the willows. Quite a sight and perfect for finishing my Love Inspired Christmas story for 2020! :)
Turning this on because I love Longfellow's words, so perfect then. And now:
I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day/Peace on Earth
I'm glad this story has another life! I, too, love Christmas stories! And I really enjoy writing them. The only difficult part is that you're sometimes writing it in the summer. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I know that can be hard. I have some CDs that Beth Jamison made for me and they move me right into the spirit of the season. Mary, Did you Know? Breath of Heaven... Joseph's Song... I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day... and a bunch of other thought-provoking hymns. That sets my mind and emotions where they need to be to wrap the characters in pretty Christmas paper!
DeleteYes, music makes the season for me!
DeleteIt speaks to my soul, Missy... it sets the mental stage for the human mixed with the Divine. O Holy Night!
DeleteRuthy, another good post and so true. I do love a Christmas story, I think because of the Christmas miracles He doth wrought, the biggest being Himself. On a writing level, there's so much to mine here -- every human emotion is on fire at Christmas, your joy is deeper, your pain is sharper, you miss people more etc. (Fun fact, I cannot watch "It's A Wonderful Life" with other people, it just sears me to the bone.) I enjoy watching, reading and writing Christmas. That includes the whole arc from Thanksgiving to New Year's.
ReplyDeleteI have a Christmas novella coming out with Pelican Dec. 1 and I know I won't make any money, it's a novella for Pete's sake, but I wanted to add something, in my small way, to the body of Christmas literature. My current WIP is a Christmas novella for 2020.
A Christmas book, or a Christmas scene in a longer book, is a vehicle to express our faith.
Ruthy, please put me in the drawing for either of the paper books. I have a Kindle, but am always afraid of spilling hot chocolate on it as I snuggle under a throw, drink a hot beverage, watch the snow fall outside and read a Christmas book. I am so there...
Holiday Kaybee
I love this, Kathy! And I find that the larger our body of work, the more we can expect from the paychecks because we've given folks a lot of options in any season. I know I wax on about write, write, write, but it's because it's proven in fact. And gosh, we just plain get better the more we practice!
DeleteWhat I love about the holidays is time with my husband and kids. We love to just stay at home and be together. We enjoy watching movies, eating popcorn and drinking hot chocolate. What I don't love is the mind set that you have to go, so and spend all the money you have. My kids do enjoy gifts, but they also enjoy that time with the family.
ReplyDeleteJoy, I wish I'd realized that 25 years ago. I let myself get too caught up in the gift-giving of Christmas... shame on me! Partly because I was a poor child and longed for the TV images of home, sweet home... but I was also an adult and should have reined myself in. But eventually I saw the light. And I'm so glad I did!
DeleteIt took me a while to figure out too. As for which book would I choose! Either one. They are both written by some of my favorite authors. :)
DeleteMy husband is a paramedic and officer in his department and very often works holidays. His birthday is Christmas Day. The children have grown up moving Christmas and Thanksgiving around on the calendar. We just celebrate a day he’s home. It works especially well now most of them and grown up. They just have two holidays.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite thing about Christmas is everything. Except wrapping gifts.
I love to gather supplies and set up a hot chocolate bar, hang candy canes on miniature Christmas trees for visiting children, and I love to shop! I love the Christmas specials, the Christmas novels, cookies, and peppermint mochas ❤️
Dalyn, I'm the same way about wrapping gifts!! Not fun at all for me. But boy, my dad sure loved to wrap them. Now that he's gone, I'll try to think of his joy in wrapping and giving gifts.
DeleteDalyn, I'm totally in on this. We celebrate Thanksgiving after Thanksgiving to give our married kids a chance to just "be" on Thanksgiving. That way they can visit other family members and not be rushed, but with out of town kids, too, we celebrate whenever we get a chance to be together... and it's not often, so when it happens it's a huge delight just to be present! And maybe some really good food. :)
DeleteFun post, Ruthy! I love everything Christmas. Hubby and I have been watching the Hallmark movies like crazy already. I started reading Christmas books in October and still have more to read than I will have time for. But I would love to be in the drawing for the 2-in-1 book. I have already read the Star Inn story, which is very good! I do want to try to write a Christmas book one of these days.
ReplyDeleteSandy, I expect you'd love writing a Christmas story one day! And I'm putting your name in right now, I got that old cat dish out (washed it, too!) and your name is right in there. I love that Love Inspired re-releases so many of my books... and I love when I hear from new readers who've never read some of my Allegany County and Kirkwood Lake stories... this is just plain wonderful!
DeleteAnd I'm so glad you loved the Star Inn stories. We loved writing them!
I LOVE the holidays! Memories from the past, plans for this year, and hopes that I will have more in the future. My holidays have changed due to not having my parents but it is those sweet memories that I carry. This year I am planning for a Christmas with my husband, daughter and 5 year old granddaughter, Good Lord willin'! I love the white lights on the tree when all if the other lights are off, I love the Christmas music now playing, and I love reading the story of Jesus Christ's birth. My only negative thoughts are due to the commercialism that seems to increase every year and that Thanksgiving is almost overlooked! ,
ReplyDeleteYes, I love Christmas books and Christmas movies. I would love to win a print copy of Christmas at Star Inn or a copy of your 2-in-1.
Thank you & Blessings
Oh, what a beautiful gift to have your daughter and granddaughter with you. Christmas through her eyes.
DeleteThe commercialism is a downer, but you've done what you can to be separate from that, so go you!
Every time I see a Lexus Car-for-Christmas commercial, I cringe, because if that's your idea of what it's all about, how awfully, awfully sad. :(
That baby, born to the poor, born in a stable/cave, and laid in a manger.
Oh be still my heart.
I LOVE Christmas, despite the stress and ugly stuff with family that sometimes follows the season. I keep reminding myself it's all about Christ and we try our best to keep it focused on His birth for our young ones so that we don't get caught up in the presents and fun things associated with the holiday. I especially love reading Christmas stories and all the cheesy movies. LOL We don't have cable so I have to wait for our library to get new ones so I can borrow them. I'd love to win a copy of either book. :) Blessings, Lee-Ann B
ReplyDeleteOh, Lee-Ann, stress and ugly stuff is such a waste of God-given energy, isn't it? When we are so blessed with so much.... And we forget that our "normal" is someone else's dream come true as they sleep on grass mats and eat a bowl of rice/day.
DeleteBing Crosby's "Count Your Blessings" reminds me that counting what I'm blessed with is so much more fun than wishing for more. And yes to cheesy movies! :)
I'm tucking you into the drawing!
I like when the tree is up and you can sit by it and read.
ReplyDeleteI would love the paperback 2-in-1.
Thanks for the chance.
Linda, isn't that like a sublime setting? Sitting by the tree, in peace, reading? You're in!
DeleteI love a lot of things about the holidays, but especially baking a lot of cookies and then giving them away. I tend to plan things out, like when to decorate, write the cards, bake, and then I don't feel stressed. And the best thing is always when my kids and grandkids come home! I just finished Cowboy Christmas Homecoming, am currently reading The Lawman's Yuletide Baby, and have Christmas at Star Inn ready to go on my Kindle. Thank you for writing!
ReplyDeleteOh, bless you! What a fun bunch of Ruthy Christmas reads, LOL! You are so welcome, I am absolutely living my dream and so glad you're loving those stories.
DeleteAnd I love The Lawman's Yuletide Baby.... My niece works in a crisis pregnancy unit and it's moment to moment success or sorrow. :( But she's a sweetheart and a blessing to so many, Linda!
Thank you so much for posting, and I love giving cookies away, too. Sharing makes it way more fun!
I love the closeness of family and sharing our faith. I also love decorating for the holidays.
ReplyDeleteLucy, me too. That's the biggest blessing of all. And I love decorating, we've got some post-farm-season cleaning to do before I can start, but I do love it... bringing out the outdoor Nativity set that I love... and Grandma and Uncle Chuck's Santa and reindeer.... But we have to get warmer temps for that, because I have to stake each one into the ground with two stakes to keep them upright in December winds... and right now there are seven inches of snow and frozen ground. WHAT??? :) Next week it's climbing back into the 40's for a couple of days, so I'm hoping that gives me my outside window of opportunity. We decorate outside early, not because we're rushing the season, but in WNY, with Lake Ontario breathing down on us (or Lake Erie!) we know our window of time can close from day to day... and once it's done. It's done!
DeleteI love how we reach out to those we haven't seen for a long time - Christmas cards, visits, etc. My favorite part! We take TIME to do things we usually don't and that's the best part of the holidays!
ReplyDeleteValri, I agree! The gift of time is the most wonderful thing!
DeleteDear Ruthy, I love so much about the holidays: the music, the smell of the Christmas tree, the movies. The only thing I don't really love is how traditions sometimes become weights and musts. However, Christmas is a blessing, and between Thanksgiving and Christmas I love being reminded about the miracle of Christ's birth and just slowing down and trying to be thankful for what I have and what's around me. And I love those movies too!
ReplyDeleteTanya, you nailed it. It's not any one thing, it's the chorus of beautiful, poignant things that surrounds the season, that surrounds the miracle. And slowing down... so hard to do when there are kids and jobs and schedules, isn't it? But I know just what you mean! Wonderful.
DeleteYou listed almost all my favorite Christmas movies, Ruthie. I never expected to write a Christmas story, but inspiration hit, and I am tackling a fun story called My Mama Dated Santa as my nanowrimo challenge this year. It's doing crazy things to me because I am normally one of those who don't do any Christmas until after Thanksgiving, but this year, my writer brain is steeped in it right now and it's coming out in songs stuck in my head, and the urge to put decorations up much too early.
ReplyDeleteHahahahahaha! I love that premise, Amy!!!! And I've become one of those who doesn't negate decorating early anymore because I know families who do it so that Thanksgiving isn't forgotten... that it's a full-fledged kick-off to the beauty of Advent and Christmas.
DeleteAnd we have out-of-town family coming for Thanksgiving this year, so I'm hoping to get some things done pre-Thanksgiving... and then to just relax and have fun with beautiful family. Best gift ever!
My family knows it can't be Christmas until I watch Alastair Sim in Scrooge! :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, The Man Who Invented Christmas has quickly become a favorite of mine, too.
I guess I just like me some Charles Dickens. :D
I love Dickens. I actually loved reading Dickens. Can you imagine if you sent a Dickens novel in to a publisher now????
DeleteRED LINES ALL OVER.
"Get to the point, Charles."
"That's depressing, Charles."
"No one will understand that word, Charles. I believe you manufactured it."
I can just imagine!
Those would have been some spectacular rejections! LOL
DeleteI love the beautiful lights & my wonderful family. Thanks for the chance.
ReplyDeleteOh, Nancy, you said it simply and beautifully. The lights of Christmas are a blessing in the cold, gray north.... They light the shortest day and send us back toward the seasons of warmth and growth. There is something so beautiful about that! And bless you and your family!
DeleteI love the sense of wonder during the holiday season. I love Christmas themed books for that reason as well.
ReplyDeleteMindy, me too... whether it's a child's wonder at the beauties of Christmas decorations and lights and dancing snowmen or the sweet joy of putting yarn in the creche to "warm" baby Jesus when he's born... and I love writing Christmas stories for that very reason. They bring heart and joy alive!
DeleteI love a good Christmas story. I purchase Christmas at Star Inn right here on the site. I am such a reading addict Kindle keeps my house from getitng overrun with books. Christmas can be a mixed bag for me. The larger my family gets the less I spend on everyone. Time spent with family, decorating and ohh the Christmas music are my favorite parts. Not a fan of Black Friday, crowded stores. online shopping makes it easier not to spend too much. It's harder these days to get children focused on Jesus rather than the presents. That makes me sad.
ReplyDeleteCindy, hi! Oh, thank you so much for buying it, you just made our day!
DeleteI love reading, too... and those Christmas movies! And we have a big family, too, so I understand completely. I used to do Black Friday. Me and my daughter and my niece, but now we stay home, and celebrate Thanksgiving on Friday so that no one is tugged in the wrong direction or tugged back and forth on Thanksgiving. It's such a good plan!
And I was guilty of too many presents... I'm looking back and seeing how dumb I was. But I learn (eventually!) and now I just look forward to the beauty of the season, the prayerfulness of Advent and the joys of that baby's birth.
While decorating, of course, because I still want to be part of the celebrations!
Love this post and can never get too much of Christmas, now or all year long lol. I love Christmas stories, Christmas movies, snow, decorating. I think November and December should be one long holiday where you didn't have to work and could just sit back and read and watch movies and watch it snow and decorate and cook and eat and spend time with family and friends for two months. How much longer till I retire? Love this time of year, can't you tell?
ReplyDeleteI love being around family at Christmas. We try to keep things simple around here. With just me and the hubs at home now, I don't put all the decorations up that I used to (what goes up must come down again!) I don't have the energy to do everything, so we concentrate on relationships and what Christmas is all about.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to be in the drawing for either book, Thanks a bunch for the post and the chance to win!
I love celebrating Christ!
ReplyDeletePlease enter me in the drawing.
Ah, Christmas. I love being in this collection with you and Margaret.
ReplyDeleteI love Christmas stories, Christmas music, Christmas movies....can you guess that I just love Christmas? If I was talented enough to get a book published, I think that I would also center it around the holidays. Perhaps November and December because my Daddy loved Thanksgiving and I would love to honor him also. There is nothing better than remembering Christmas Past and also, honoring Christ in Christmas Present! I would love to be entered into your drawing.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas!