Thursday, September 28, 2017

Meet the Authors of Sweet Christmas Kisses 4 - Raine English and Denise Devine





Christmas in Walnut Creek
Raine English
 
 
 

“I absolutely love second-chance stories and when that story is as sweet as Christmas in Walnut Creek the love was instantaneous. I was born, raised, and still live in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont which serves as the setting for this story. Trust me when I say that snow, power-outages, and impassable roads are a part of life during a Vermont winter!

Christmas in Walnut Creek is the story of Jillian and Dane. They are a married couple that own and operate a beautiful inn until Dane takes on a great job offer that moves him to New York. Jillian is left to run the inn and as the months wear on (and loneliness sets in), Jillian decides that a divorce is the best option. It isn’t what she truly wants but she steals her heart against the hurt of his absence all while keeping a secret.

A holiday blizzard ensures that Dane (who was on his way to visit his parents while trying to figure out how to win Jillian back) is stranded at the inn. There are a few uncomfortable moments, a bit of heat, and a wonderful ending that prove that love can conquer all.”

~Heather G., Amazon Reviewer

 
 
 
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Once Upon a Christmas
Denise Devine
 
 
 
 
Like the reviewer above who said she loved second-chance stories, I too, am in love with the idea of two people reuniting and reconciling their past. I also love the idea of setting my story in a small town. I spent 5 years of my youth living in several small towns and I learned a lot about the unique characteristics of small town life that makes it so interesting. Here are ten true facts about small-town living in Minnesota:

The gossip mill is very active.
Everyone knows everyone else’s business.
Everyone has an opinion about everyone else’s business.
Many people are related to each other in some way. Distant relatives are referred to as “shirttail” relatives.
“Main Street” is usually only 1-2 blocks long.
There are usually more churches than beer joints.
People are very conservative and opinionated.
Most people drive pickups.
Hunting and fishing is a way of life.
Most little towns are principally one or two nationalities (Scandinavian, German, etc.).

In Once Upon a Christmas, the town is called West Loon Bay and it’s on Lake Tremolo. Though we have over 10,000 lakes in Minnesota, there is no such lake called Lake Tremolo. (Do you have any idea how hard it was to come up with a unique name?? Yikes!) I thought long and hard about what to name my lake and I eventually came up with the word tremolo. What makes that weird word so great? The dictionary describes it as “a wavering effect in a musical tone” and the word tremolo is used to describe the call of a loon—which is the Minnesota state bird.

There are many more stories to come set in this town. This year, the story is about Ashton. Next year it will be about Allyson and the year after that, Grace.
 

Newsletter URL:  http://eepurl.com/csOJZL
 

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Sweet Christmas Kisses 4
only 99 cents for a limited time
 
Amazon:          http://a.co/600caJ1
B&N:              http://bit.ly/2g8xyO8
Kobo:              http://bit.ly/2xgU0sG
iTunes:            https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1285643154
Google:           http://bit.ly/2viH7g4 

2 comments:

  1. So excited about reading both stories in our Sweet Christmas Kisses 4 boxed set. Denise--I'm a musician, and we use the word "tremolo" all the time. :)

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  2. Am so looking forward to reading both stories! I love small towns and second-chance romances....

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