Thursday, September 12, 2019

Love and Hope at Christmas - Boxed Set #Giveaway

Christmas is a time of joy, hope, and love. These historical romantic novellas will take you to a simpler time where men were tough and women often tougher. From mail-order brides to matchmakers to small town romances, this collection has something for everyone.

Curl up in your favorite chair and step back into an old fashioned, Christmas romance.

Deb here. Inside this collection you'll find stories from twelve different authors. I asked them to tell me what inspired their stories...


Desert Duet by Debra E. Marvin:
Everything came from my decision to choose Humbug, Arizona as the setting. Humbug was a mining settlement in the Bradshaw Mountains (now completely remote and unused) but still of interest. To capture the essence of the area, I had to go with the appropriate time period and settled on the 1930s! I loved pulling in aspects of Old Hollywood and the era of gangsters. And oh yes, it can be cold enough to snow in Arizona's mountains!

Blurb: It’s 1933 in the good old US of A. In the midst of drought, the Depression, and gangsters on the lam, America finds solace in Hollywood's Golden Age.

Ex-pilot Eugene Tanner, determined to pen the lyrics for the movie industry's first "Best Song" award, books a rushed December stay at the remote Humbug Creek Guest Ranch (A Gold Mine of a Getaway!) Where better to find inspiration for an epic Western, than amid all that trail dust and burnt coffee?

Thea Knight gives up her short holiday break from the studio’s costume department to play cowgirl hostess at her family’s struggling guest ranch. But instead of helping their witty and handsome guest, she becomes his biggest distraction. Old flames and past regrets take a backseat when the pair become embroiled in a ghost town mystery marring Humbug, Arizona’s rustic Christmas. Thankfully, the cowgirl is as fast with her Winchester as she is with her comebacks
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Christmas in Winter Creek by Debby Mayne (link): 
Why I chose this setting:

I chose to set Christmas in Winter Creek in a small town in the South that was similar to Summerville, South Carolina, where I lived when I wrote it. People are friendly there and get involved in each other's lives, providing the perfect opportunity to fall in love ... and face conflict with a bunch of busybodies. I love books with a strong sense of community, so it seemed like a perfect fit.

Blurb: 
Landscaper Molly Bradford is caught off guard when the town matchmaker brings her together with Mayor Sam Maxwell, her sister's former high school boyfriend. As the two of them help decorate the small South Carolina town for Christmas, they're both forced to deal with their feelings for each other. Will romance bloom, or do they have different destinies?


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The Evergreen Wreath by Tanya Stowe (link):
Why I chose this setting:

I loved, loved writing The Evergreen Wreath. The story of the children, two young people struggling with adult issues, trying to survive and trying to take care of younger children tugged at my writer’s heart in more ways than I can count.
Blurb:
Twenty-year-old Levi Harper needs help. Life is difficult after his father and brother die in a mine cave-in but when pneumonia takes his mother, Levi can't manage the mine and his four younger siblings alone. He signs up for a mail-order-bride. Virginia Pepper is determined to escape her father’s unrelenting anger and all-too-ready fists. She’ll do anything to get on that train…even agree to marry a stranger. But she has no intention of trading one abusive man for another. Paper marriage or not, she’ll be on her way first chance she gets, no matter how sweet and kind Levi seems. As Christmas approaches, Levi counts down the days with a waiting, hopeful spirit. Can the Christmas season create a path for Levi into Virginia’s heart?

 

And here's a taste of more stories in this sweet collection~

Christmas Blessing by Martha Rogers (link):
As a mail-order bride, Nelle Pugh marries Riley Thornton and inherits a ready-made family. I loved writing Nelle’s story as she grew from a frightened, unsure woman who knows nothing about taking care of a home and family, much less a husband, into a loving, caring woman who proves herself to be quite capable. Riley’s heart of ice after his wife’s sudden death finally melts under Nelle’s charm and her love for his children.

A Tucumcari Christmas by
Gail Gaymer Martin (link):
After unhappy romantic relationships, Shelly Dawson avoids all male prospects and devotes herself to her position in a men’s clothing store, but when she learns her friend has fallen in love, she decides to surprise her with a visit. When she arrives she meets Mike Elliot who has come for a visit also with a secret he needs to share if he can find courage. With Shelly’s best friend already seriously dating, Shelly finds herself in the company of Mike. Though he is attractive and very nice, her past fears and flaws knot her into confusion and her forward step becomes a backslide. As time heals her wounds, a new piece of information puts their relationship in jeopardy unless she can understand that the news only adds to their relationship and is a blessing.

Handcarved Christmas by Cynthia Hickey (link):
Laura Worth answers an advertisement for a bride and leaves Missouri to meet her groom in Montana. When she gets there, she realizes her husband-to-be, Ben Cooper, has no knowledge of having sent for her. She is devastated, even more so when she breaks a precious heirloom. Ben's heart goes out to the beautiful woman and he marries her in answer to his mother's dying wish. As Christmas approaches, the two wonder whether their marriage will hold the love and intimacy God intended it to have. Will Ben win the heart of his unexpected gift?


A Christmas Belle by Anne Green (link):
Amanda Jeffrey, mail-order bride, arrives in the Wild West expecting to wed a cowboy. Frank Calloway, Sheriff of Angel Vale needs a mother for the baby left on his doorstep. But can the delicate Southern belle with the disappointed expression accept a Southern man, rather than a cowboy, after another Southern groom jilted her at the altar? And is the delicate southern belle strong enough to handle life in the rugged western boom town?
Available in digital ebook at Amazon 

Find more unforgettable romance and mystery at:
www.forgetmenotromances.com www.takemeawaybooks.com

Deb's giving away the digital ebook version of this collection to three readers. NOTE:  I can gift this collection to you or one of your friends. Share the link with your Christmas Fiction loving friends!
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16 comments:

  1. I subscribed
    I prefer to start Christmas stories in December and don't decorate until then either. And by New Year's the decorations are down.

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    1. Elaine, you're such a faithful visitor already! Thank you!

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  2. Hi Elaine! I have a hard time starting Christmas stories until it's December, also! But I see that the publishers start putting them out in October because there's such a large market for them. Thanks for commenting!

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  3. I'm actually reading a Christmas story now for an author friend. It's a little disconcerting when it's been so hot this summer! I usually don't start decorating until the first part of December unless some of my family helps me over Thanksgiving weekend. I don't put as many decorations up anymore, because I realize I'm going to have to put them all away again in a few weeks. I just put a little bit up each day when I feel like it, and the same with taking it all down again afterward. If I'm lucky, I can get a couple of grandkids to help. I DO have my fall decorations up, though! They stay up until I put the Christmas ones up.

    Congratulations on your new book collection! I'm looking forward to it!

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    1. This one is a compilation of stories that have been out. 're-released' might be the term. Thanks! I agree. I don't feel like decorating until about Dec 20 myself...

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  4. I can read a Christmas story any time, but they're especially nice when it's actually Christmstime. I don't like it when they stretch "Christmas" from September to February. It makes actual Christmastime (for me, from the day after Thanksgiving until the day after New Year's Day) less special. This looks like a wonderful collection!

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  5. Hi Debra, I start reading about this time of year and I continue through early January. I love Christmas stories and I appreciate your giveaway. I also submitted to Inkwellinspirations.

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    1. Thanks Connie! I appreciate it. You've been an encouragement to me for a long time!

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  6. I subscribe. I love Christmas stories and will read them year round. There are several stories that I try to read every year. We usually wait to decorate for Christmas though until the day after Thanksgiving.

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    1. Thanks Joy! That means a lot. I love knowing that readers have the chance to see what our awesome reviewers are up to and hopefully everyone finds some new authors and stories to love.

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  7. I don't usually start reading Christmas stories until after Thanksgiving and I don't put up the tree until about two weeks before Christmas. These stories sound really good for those cold winter nights! Thanks for the giveaway chance to win.

    Oh, and I already follow the blog ;-)

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  8. you're welcome, Trixi. Thanks for being one of our reviewers!

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  9. Hi Ladies! I’m looking forward to this box set. It sounds like awesome books by awesome authors. When will it be released? I love Christmas and I read Christmas books year round.
    I would love to have this set!

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  10. Already a follower!
    I love Christmas and read Christmas stories all year round :)
    Just yesterday my girls were signing Christmas songs...and my hubby complained LOL

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We, the ladies of Inkwell Inspirations, would love to give free stuff to everybody. Since we can't, we will often have a giveaway in conjunction with a specific post. Unless otherwise stated, one winner will be drawn from comments left on that post between the date it was published and the end of the giveaway as determined in the post. Entries must be accompanied by a valid email address. This address is used only to contact the commenter in the event that he/she is the winner, and will not be sold, distributed, or used in any other fashion. The odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. NO PURCHASE, PLEDGE, OR DONATION NECESSARY TO ENTER OR TO WIN. ALL FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL AND MUNICIPAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS APPLY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

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