One of the pleasures of reading fiction (aside from getting lost in the story) is the chance to explore worlds and/or careers of which I’m unfamiliar. In Stacy Simmons novella, Christmas in the Cotswolds in Keeping Christmas, Volume II she gives us a glimpse into both. I’ve never been to the Cotswolds, nor have I read books in this setting. And a …
How can we not think of fairy tale princesses when a story setting is a castle? I’m excited to read Melissa Wardwell’s Christmas at Curwood’s Castle in Keeping Christmas, Volume II to see how she weaves a modern-day Cinderella moment into a contemporary novella. Christmas at Curwood’s Castle (by Melissa Wardwell): A Christmas party at Curwood Castle should have been …
When I think of modern-day castles, I think of Hearst Castle or The Biltmore. Grand palaces that are beyond what we peons could ever imagine living in. Susan K. Beatty writes of just such a castle in her novella A Castle for Christmas in Keeping Christmas, Volume II. A Castle for Christmas (by Susan K. Beatty): Sadie Foster abhors wealth. …
The week before last, I posted excerpts and links for Keeping Christmas, Volume I here on my website. This week, I’m highlighting Keeping Christmas, Volume II. Yes, there is another six-novella collection of Christmas stories set in or around castles. Because I have an actual write-up on the inspiration behind my story, An Irish Christmas Heart (and because it’s my …
About the Book Book: Jeanette’s Gift Author: Blossom Turner Genre: Christian Historical Romance Release date: October 11, 2022 This life wasn’t the one she dreamed of, but happily ever afters don’t always come when and how we expect. At twenty-nine, Jeanette Williams has watched each one of her four sisters marry and start families of their own. It’s hard not …
What better genre to read for Christmas than Biblical fiction? And no one does it better than Naomi Craig in her Keeping Christmas novella The Weary World Rejoices. Behind the elaborate furnishings of Herod the Great’s palace, conspiracy and distrust run rampant. Mysterious visitors from the east challenge everything Amal thinks he knows as palace scribe. Will his quest to …
I love Christmas, romance, and dogs. Put them all together, and you have me hooked. Just reading the short blurb from Cathe and Chautona’s Keeping Christmas novella has me ready to dig in. He bowled her over at first sight–his dog, that is. Sydney just wanted a chance to do the landscape design at Castlebourne. She never dreamed the owner’s …
As an Okinawan-born author, Kathleen Robison brings a flavor of authenticity that’s so important to novels and novellas set in a foreign country. Because my own son lived in Japan for several years, I have a fondness for this beautiful country. In Kathleen’s Keeping Christmas novella, we are taken to the ancient land of shoji screens and tatami mats, where …
When I think of castles, I most often think of them in Germany or France. What a treat to have a story not only based in France, but written by an author of Marguerite Gray’s caliber and education. It couldn’t be more authentic unless we experienced it first hand! In Crystal Clear, Marguerite’s Keeping Christmas novella, Rosalind’s muddied past and …
Who doesn’t love the idea of a Swedish castle? Author Olivia Talbott’s Keeping Christmas novella is set in this beautiful country. Here’s the blurb from The Girl from Dalarna: She’s the most beautiful woman in Sweden, but she doesn’t want to be. A simple life among milk cows is all she desires. Will a scandal upend her plans and ruin …
