Books Make Great Christmas Gifts

 by Dina Sleiman

If you're a book lover like me, you probably realize that books make great Christmas presents. You can hand select books that you think your friends will enjoy, especially hardback and early editions. Giving Christian fiction as a gift can be a subtle way to reach out to those in your life who don't yet know the Lord or who are struggling in their faith. Or, you can buy a book that you loved in bulk and give it to most everyone on your Christmas list. For this purpose I generally choose inspirational nonfiction, since it can bless a broad variety of people.

The Inkies have written tons of great books that would make amazing presents, including many Christmas novellas, books, and collections. Check out our books in the feature in the right hand column or search our names on amazon. And here are a few Inky written Christmas favorites to get you started (any Inkies feel free to add more.) Take special note of Debra Marvin's debut release novella, Desert Duet!!!

Desert Duet
A Wild Goose Chase Christmas
Mistletoe Memories Novella Collection
Christmas Traditions Novella Collection
Gold, Frankincense, and Murder

Ebooks Make Great Gifts Too!
Several above are only available as ebooks. While books are fairly typical gifts, perhaps you've never considered giving ebooks. All you need is the recipient's email address to send an ebook as a gift from amazon or barnesandnoble, just be sure you know which type of ereader they use before ordering. You can order now and schedule for a Christmas delivery or catch a good sale between now and Christmas. Ebooks are also perfect for last minute shoppers. You can order an ebook on Christmas day for a friend across the country and still get it to them in time.

Right now my Love in Three-Quarter Time, a Zondervan ebook original, is on sale for $1.99, and many of the Inky novellas are available for as low as $.99. Why fight the crowds at the mall when books make such great gifts?

What books have you received as gifts?

Special Guest Jan Elder and a Giveaway!

Please welcome author Jan Elder to Inkwell Inspirations! Jan's second novella, A Semi-Precious Christmas, released Dec. 1, just in time for holiday reading! Leave a comment below for a chance to win an ebook or PDF copy!

NIKI: Hi Jan! Tell us a little about your latest story. It's quite an adventure! 

JAN: My latest release, A Semi-Precious Christmas, is a contemporary Christian novella. Here’s a blurb about the plot:

"On a bright, crisp December morning, jewelry store manager, Peridot Keaton-Jones, arrives at work expecting to find her beloved uncle, Marty. Instead, she’s greeted by the muzzle of a gun pressed to her temple. When thugs assault her, threaten her life, and steal thousands of dollars worth of jewelry, Peri can only pray her uncle is late for the first time in his life.

Christopher Lane is a TV news cameraman in the right place at the right time. He witnesses the heist, calls the police, and offers help when Peri needs it most. She can't deny her attraction, but is he really her hero, or is he just after a story? And with Christmas right around the corner, can Peri and Chris avert a holiday disaster?"

NIKI: I have a particular soft spot for heroines with unusual names. 

Did something specific in your own life inspire this tale?

JAN: I got the idea from an incident featured on the local news. Right down the street from where my husband and I live, thugs robbed a high-end jewelry store, getting away with thousands of dollars worth of jewelry. We stopped by a few days later and the saleswoman we’re friends with told us the whole story, including her terror at having a gun pointed at her face. 

I got to thinking how I would feel and react if I were in the same situation. I put myself in my friend’s shoes and tried to relive the moment. What thoughts ran through her mind when confronted with her own mortality? What kind of people were the robbers? Had they been in jail before? Had they hurt anyone else? Everyone has good sides and bad sides. I wanted the reader to wonder, was there any good in them?

NIKI:   I'm glad to know someone else finds story ideas in random news items!

What’s your favorite holiday and why? (It doesn’t have to be Christmas, even though this novella is Christmas-themed!)

JAN: Sorry Christmas, but my favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. I love everything about it. The scrumptious food, (oh, how I love the turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing, not to mention the pie, glorious pie!) the warmth of a gathering of family and friends (my husband’s family gets together, plus my 92-year-old mother is included—thank you sister-in-law Karen.) But most of all it’s a time when I thank God for all of my many blessings. The gift of His love and salvation makes life worth living and all the rest is just gravy. J

NIKI: I'm a fan of holidays that don't involve lots of requirements and expectations. Thanksgiving is a good one!

What does your writing schedule look like?

JAN: I have a full time job so my writing time is limited to mostly weekends. I’m also a night person and my most creative time of the day is after the sun goes down.

Sometimes the two don’t work well together so Monday mornings can be rough! 

NIKI: I can relate! I think a lot of readers would be surprised to know how many of their favorite writers have "real" jobs on the side that keep them quite busy.

What other stories do you have available?

JAN: My first book, Manila Marriage App, is also a contemporary Christian romance. The novella released in April 2015 and it’s part of Pelican’s Passport to Romance series. Here’s a bit about the plot:

It all began as a lark. Shay Callahan’s life was just fine, thank you, but when the seemingly misogynistic missionary, Timothy Flynn, places an advertisement for a wife in a Christian magazine, she decides to give it a whirl and sends in the five-page application. Why not? After all, she’s not currently seeing anyone, and this man truly needs to be taught a lesson.

Finding out she’s Dr. Flynn’s pick of the litter, Shay hops on a plane and flies to The Philippines. The strategy is to jet in, enjoy an exciting two-week vacation, and jet out again, all at his expense. Instead, her plan backfires. The handsome missionary man is not what he seems, and the foreign land has far more to offer than she could imagine.

Embark on a tropical adventure with Shay that challenges everything she believes.

Oh, and Niki, your book, Santiago Sol, a scintillating story set in exotic South American, is part of the same series! For those of you who haven’t read it, check it out. I highly recommend it!

NIKI: Thank you! You have been such an encouragement to me with the Passport to Romance series. Manila Marriage App was too much fun! (Here's the link: http://amzn.to/1l6yZtR )

Favorite Christmas memory, song, book, or recipe?

JAN: Would it be silly to say that I love the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer? I have great memories of being a little girl snuggled in her jammies watching the television special with my family. In fact, I love it so much my dear husband bought me a copy for Christmas a couple of years ago. Now both of us watch it every Christmas along with a plate of sugar cookies and a cup of cocoa.    

NIKI: Not silly at all! In fact, my hubby and I just watched Rudolph tonight. It's hard to believe it's been around since 1965!

Thank you for coming to visit all of us, and sharing your latest release! I'm looking forward to many more to come!

For all of you looking for an exciting and romantic Christmas read, download your own copy of Semi-Precious Christmas HERE for just 99¢!

About Jan: Jan Elder is a contemporary Christian romance writer. With a zeal for telling stories other women can relate to, she strives to write the kind of book that will strengthen the reader’s faith, while also providing an entertaining and engrossing love story.

Besides writing romance, she enjoys the occasional hazelnut cappuccino while watching Turner Classic Movies. Always an avid reader, she devours books voraciously, both Christian and secular. She was born a cat-lover, and all novels present and future will include a feline in some way or another.
Happily married for twelve years to loving (and supportive) husband, Steve, the two live in central Maryland along with Jamie (a tuxedo cat), and Shu-Shu (a tortoiseshell cat). On the weekends, Jan and Steve comb the nearby countryside in search of the perfect ice cream flavor.

Connect with Jan at:

http://janelderauthor.com

https://www.facebook.com/janice.elder.author

https://twitter.com/JanElderAuthor

Chapel Springs Survival by Ane Mulligan

 WELCOME GUEST BLOGGER ANE MULLIGAN!

The second book in my Chapel Lake series, Chapel Springs Survival, came from a real life event—and became a mother's retribution. Insert creepy music and evil laughter.
 The day started out normal, boring even. Then I got a phone call from our eldest son.

"Hey, Mom. I emailed you some pictures. Take a look and call me back." Click. He hung up. Without asking how I was.

I hurried to my computer. I opened his email, and the first photo was of a nice looking, very Latin appearing young woman. Something told me she wasn't from here. I clicked on the second photo—a photo with her in a wedding dress. I hit speed dial.

It seems our eldest son, a widower with two children, had gotten himself a 21^st Century mail order bride. He met her in a chat room for women in Columbia, South America, to meet and marry American men. They communicated for a year, then he flew to Columbia and married her. Without us knowing anything. He came back and spent the next year trying to get her into the U.S. legally.

Did I mention it was without us knowing anything?

He didn't tell us until she got here. Our two grandchildren knew. His brother knew. But we didn't. Do you remember that old margarine commercial, where the woman said, “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature” and zapped someone? That’s what I said. I told him for not telling me, it was going in a book. And it did.

Now, I have to tell you that any similarity between our son's story and my book stops there. Our daughter-in-law turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to our Michael. We adore her and our two step-grandsons and the newest Mulligan grandson.

Now, that wouldn't have made a good story. There was no conflict. But add Claire Bennett into that mix, and there's plenty. To find out how it turns out, be sure to buy Chapel Springs Survival, out now!

~*~*~*~

ANE MULLIGAN writes Southern-fried fiction served with a tall, sweet iced tea. She firmly believes coffee and chocolate are two of the four major food groups. Novelist and playwright, Ane is the executive director of Players Guild@Sugar Hill, a new community theater and president of the award-winning literary site, Novel Rocket. She resides in Sugar Hill, GA, with her artist husband and a dog of Biblical proportion. You can find Ane at her website, Novel Rocket, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+

http://www.anemulligan.com/

CHAPEL SPRINGS SURVIVAL 

A mail-order bride, a town overrun with tourists, and illegal art.  How on earth will Claire and Chapel Springs survive?

Claire Bennett's Operation Marriage Revival succeeded and life is good. That is until the mayor's brother blabs a secret: Claire's nineteen-year-old son has married a Brazilian mail order bride. When Claire tries to welcome her, she's ridiculed, rebuffed, and rejected. Loving this girl is like hugging a prickly cactus.

Lydia Smith is happily living alone and running her spa—then the widow on the hill becomes a blushing bride. Then her groom's adult son moves in—on everything.

From the first sighting of a country music star in The Painted Loon, Chapel Springs is inundated with stargazers, causing residents to flee the area. When her best friends put their house on the market, Claire is forced to do something or lose the closest thing to a sister she’s got. With her son's future at stake and the town's problems to solve, it's Claire's who needs a guardian angel.

December Again

It’s December.

For a lot of people, despite taking time off from work for the holidays, it’s the busiest time of the year. You have to send Christmas cards, making sure you don’t forget anyone – at least not anyone who sent you a card last year. You have to go all over town to buy presents, especially to all those little out-of-the-way shops you never go to any other time of the year. You have to make sure the house is sparkling clean for company. You have to put decorations on every weight-bearing item in- and outside your home. You have to wrap presents. You have to buy at least three times more food than anyone can eat, and it must take hours to prepare and be timed perfectly so it’s all ready at the same time. And, while your guests are sleeping off their over-feasting, you have to clean up all the dishes and pots and pans, pack up all the leftovers (remembering to parcel out some of the choicest bits for people to take home with them).

And besides your own festivities, there are usually myriad parties and events to attend. There’s a party at school (which means you have to make something for little Johnny to take) and a party at the office (which means you have to make something for you or for little Johnny’s daddy to take – perhaps both). There’s your family and his family to keep happy, even when they schedule must-attend events at the same time on the same day. There are Christmas lights to see and Santa to visit and a production of “The Nutcracker” is a must, not to mention Christmas band concerts and school plays and even football playoffs for the high school team. You have to fight through miserable traffic and, sometimes, miserable weather to get it all done. But you have to get it all done, right?  Ummmm, right?

No.

Trust me on this one, you don’t.

Sure there are people counting on you, and you don’t want to disappoint anyone. But it’s really okay if you don’t do everything. You don’t have to be a Martha scrambling to get it all done. It’s okay to be Mary and just bask in the wonder and joy of the One who is the reason we have Christmas in the first place.

You don’t have to have a huge feast. And if you do, you don’t have to do it all yourself. Recruit everyone to help you. And, if nothing else, make sure they help you clean up.

Don’t miss your little ones’ concerts and plays. They’re only little once, and you’ll be surprised how quickly they’re gone.

Spend time with your parents and grandparents if you have them. They won’t be around forever either. But in both cases, you’ll most likely find that they would rather have the gift of you than any other gift you could give them. They will remember good times spent with you much longer than that toy that broke before New Year’s Day or the sweater that was stuffed into the back of a drawer and forgotten.




You don’t have to go to every party, every gathering, every event you’re invited to. Give yourself time to breathe. Take time to enjoy the season. Take time to relax. Whatever time you have off from work should be a time of refreshing, not a beat down. Do the things you want to do, not because you have to, but because you enjoy them. And remember to be thankful.

Have a truly merry Christmas!

DeAnna Julie Dodson has always been an avid reader and a lover of storytelling, whether on the page, the screen or the stage. This, along with her keen interest in history and her Christian faith, shows in her tales of love, forgiveness and triumph over adversity. She is the author of In Honor Bound, By Love Redeemed and To Grace Surrendered, a trilogy of medieval romances, as well as Letters in the Attic, The Key in the Attic, The Diary in the Attic and The Legacy in the Attic, contemporary mysteries. Her new series of Drew Farthering Mysteries debuted in the Summer of 2013 with Rules of Murder, followed by Death by the Book and Murder at the Mikado in 2014 from Bethany House. Another Drew Farthering Mystery, Dressed for Death, is due out in Spring of 2016. A fifth-generation Texan, she makes her home north of Dallas with three spoiled cats.