Wrapping Up FREE BOOK WEEK ~ Jean C. Gordon

I’m wrapping up the Sweet Romance Reads authors’ FREE BOOK week with His Christmas Star, my favorite of all the holiday books I’ve written.

Get your FREE copy here through December 15.

HIS CHRISTMAS STAR

Connor Donnelly is done with romance.
Five years ago, Natalie Delacroix, the woman he thought he'd spend forever with turned down his proposal and left their small community of Paradox Lake to pursue her dreams. Dreams that didn't include Connor Donnelly. Since then, Connor has devoted himself to the community. Now pastor of the local Community Church, he's determined to make the first Christmas pageant he’s directed a success. If only he can avoid the matchmaking of his family and friends who don't want the handsome bachelor to spend the holidays alone.

Natalie Delacroix is back in Paradox Lake.
The successful broadcasting career she left the mountain town and Connor for hasn’t turned out quite the way she’d expected. This well-needed break that she’d intended to use to rechart her future is disturbed by family and friends pushing her to help the church—and Connor—with the holiday pageant.

With Natalie’s musical talents, long admired by Connor, the couple might just succeed in making it the success he wants. And because working so closely with Natalie stirs up old feelings, Connor starts to hope for a second chance with the one who got away.

As much joy as they've found working on the pageant together, Connor worries that Natalie will never be content with small-town life. Natalie knows she'll have to earn his trust.

Will the best intentions of family and friends backfire, or will Natalie and Connor find their love again under the Christmas Star? Find out in this heartwarming holiday reunion romance.

See His Christmas Star and my other holiday books here. And if you act today, you can still pick up the other Sweet Romance Reads authors' FREE BOOKS:

Lyn Cote: Winter’s Secret
Josie Riviera: Holly’s Gift
Merri Maywether: Meet Me By the Christmas Tree
Paat Simmons: Baby for Christmas
Roxanne Rustand: Dangerous December
Camille Elliot: The Spinster’s Christmas (Regency Romance)

My Heroine Forced Me to Give My Book Away. 😳 by Camille Elliot/Camy Tang

I am enjoying a cup of tea, minding my own business, and then—

THWACK.

Miranda, my heroine, storms into my writing room, trips over my knitting bag, and jabs a blunt knitting needle in my direction.

“You forgot to tell them,” Miranda says. She smiles politely but she’s waving that knitting needle in a rather threatening manner.

“Tell who what?” I ask, clutching my tea like a shield.

“The readers,” she says, frowning. “You forgot to tell them that my book—The Spinster’s Christmas—is free until December 7th.”

“Oh,” I say. “I was going to get to that—”

“Don’t make me use the other needle.”

And that is how this blog post came to be.

What is The Spinster’s Christmas?

It’s a Christian Regency romantic suspense novel and a prequel to the Lady Wynwood’s Spies series. (That’s right—this is where all the scheming and spying began.)

If you’ve ever wanted:

• A story with a no-nonsense spinster heroine (who can out-stare a naval officer)
• A broody, injured war hero
• Verbal fencing at a Christmastide house party
• AND a mysterious attacker in a hooded cloak…

Then, um, why are you still reading this post and not downloading the book?

It’s FREE. Until December 7. Everywhere.

Well, almost everywhere. It’s free on:

• My website
• Amazon
• Apple Books
• Kobo
• Barnes & Noble
• Google Play

(📚 All the links are on the book page here).

After that? It turns back into a pumpkin.

(Okay, not really. But it won’t be free anymore, and Miranda will glare at me again, and no one wants that.)

So go grab your free copy now.

Before Miranda gets the other knitting needle.
🧶

Want more free Christmas books? Here’s the full lineup, free only until December 7:

December 1st Lyn Cote — Winter’s Secret
2nd Josie Riviera — Holly’s Gift
3rd Merri Maywether — Meet Me By the Christmas Tree
4th Pat Simmons — Baby for Christmas
5th Roxanne Rustand — Dangerous December
6th Camille Elliot — The Spinster’s Christmas (Regency Romance)
7th Jean C. Gordon — His Christmas Star

DON'T MISS YOUR SEVEN FREE BOOKS this week! ____Roxanne Rustand

 

First of all: don't miss these pre-Christmas gifts! All of these books are FREE from December 1st through December 7th! 

                    💕💕💕

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, with lots of good food and people to be with.  

Our long Thanksgiving weekend brought a bit of a surprise. We ended up with our most significant November snow event in 117 years--fourteen inches! But fortunately, our family members all made it home before then.

We were blessed when our neighbor arrived unannounced with his big Bobcat and cleared our driveway, the long lane down to the barns, and the front barnyard. Our snowblowers couldn't handle the deep, heavy snow, and our big tractor needs some work, so his help was another reason to be thankful for this season.

So how about you? Did you stay at home, or travel for the holiday? Did you do a lot of cooking? Do you enjoy having menu items that are traditional, or are you more inventive?

We had sixteen relatives this year, down from our usual twenty-one. Still, it's quite a production. Daughter Emily prepared half of the main menu items at her home, I did the rest at ours, and then everyone else brought some extras.  

So much fun!

Wishing you all my best for a wonderful Christmas season,

Roxanne Rustand
USA Today Bestselling Author

Sweet Romance Holidays Continue Day 4. by Pat Simmons

 Snow came early, and so did the Arctic blast to St. Louis, Missouri. Looking out the window makes me want to go back to bed and take books with me. I'll settle for my e-reader too. Today, I'm introducing A Baby for Christmas, which is part of the Sweet Romances Holiday Reads, for free.

A Baby for Christmas is book 2 in the Love at the Crossroads series, but can be read as a standalone. I've written 13 Christmas stories, and by far, A Baby for Christmas has sold the most copies.

Here's what it is about:

Love is patient. Solae Wyatt-Palmer has her limits. Love is kind. Fire Captain Hershel Kavanaugh will risk his life and give Solae the world, but not a diamond ring.
Solae is done with second and third chances at love. She believes a husband and family are out of her reach until she meets the father of two adorable boys. The couple’s magnetism is undeniable. Solae wouldn’t blink at the chance to become a mother to them.
Fear of repeating his mistakes, Hershel doesn’t have a proposal on his agenda. Maybe he should because he’s about to lose the love of his life.
Will the couple allow past disappointments to keep them from seeing their blessings?
Both need a Christmas miracle.

Grab it today while it's free: https://books2read.com/u/490k0m 

And don't miss the other freebies from Sweet Romance Reads authors

Cozy up with SEVEN (7) sweet Christmas romances—absolutely FREE December 1-7!

From snowy small towns to second-chance love stories, these heartwarming reads are the perfect way to kick off the holiday season.

 

Here’s the lineup of our own SWEET ROMANCE READS authors:  (click the titles to see more.)

December 1st Lyn Cote-Winter’s Secret

2nd Josie Riviera-Holly’s Gift

3rd Merri Maywether- Meet Me By the Christmas Tree

4th Pat Simmons-Baby for Christmas

5th Roxanne Rustand- Dangerous December

6th Camille Elliot-The Spinster’s Christmas (Regency Romance-)

7th Jean C. Gordon-His Christmas Star

Pat Simmons is a multi-published Christian romance author of forty-plus titles. She is a self-proclaimed genealogy sleuth, passionate about researching her ancestors and casting them in starring roles in her novels. She is a five-time recipient of the RSJ Emma Rodgers Award for Best Inspirational Romance and a recipient of the 2022 Leslie Esdaile Trailblazer Award. Christmas Dinner was also an Emma Award winner for Book of the Year. Christmas Dinner and Here for You were featured in Woman’s World Magazine.

As a Christian, Pat describes the evidence of the gift of the Holy Ghost as a life-altering experience. She has converted her sofa-strapped sports fanatic husband into an amateur travel agent, untrained bodyguard, and GPS-guided chauffeur. They have a son and a daughter. Pat holds a B.S. in mass communications from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, and has worked in radio, television, and print media for more than twenty years. Visit her at www.patsimmons.net.

Curl Up with Something Sweet This Holiday Season by Merri Maywether

The days are dark this time of year. I mean that literally. By five, we are in the house drinking tea. It’s the time of year when we sit by the fireplace. In other parts of the house, we have the candles glowing and are sitting under cozy blankets. 

Before we settled in Montana, I asked my father-in-law what people do during the cold, dark season. I can still remember his Do you really need to ask expression when he said, “Read.”  

Now that I live here, I get it. Long nights make wonderful reading moments.

Which makes me happy to share this week’s offer with you.  

This week, the Sweet Romance Reads authors are sharing cozy holiday reads—absolutely FREE from December 1-7.

From snowy small towns to second-chance love stories, these heartwarming reads are the perfect way to start the holiday season!

Here’s the lineup:

• December 1st: Lyn Cote - Winter’s Secret

• 2nd: Josie Riviera - Holly’s Gift

• 3rd: Merri Maywether - Meet Me By the Christmas Tree

• 4th: Pat Simmons - Baby for Christmas

• 5th: Roxanne Rustand - Dangerous December

• 6th: Camille Elliot - The Spinster’s Christmas (Regency Romance)

• 7th: Jean C. Gordon - His Christmas Star

My book, Meet Me By the Christmas Tree, is today's free read.

Hollywood action star, Liam Lane, is searching for his mystery woman—the one who vanished after sharing a fleeting moment, leaving behind only an heirloom angel pin. He has six days to find her, but what he doesn’t know is that Holly, the friendly small-town woman helping him navigate Paradise Hills, is the very person he’s looking for. It’s a cozy story filled with missed connections, festive cheer, and the kind of love that only a holiday wish can bring to life.

These sweet reads are only available for a limited time. Make sure to visit the blog, the Facebook group, or Amazon daily to add a free, sweet read to your holiday TBR.

Merry Christmas!—Merri

 

Lyn Cote Invites you...

  

If you read ebooks...here’s the deal! I'm sharing a week of free Christmas books, mine and my friends', starting today!!

FREE Holiday Romance Alert! 

Cozy up with SEVEN (7) sweet Christmas romances—absolutely FREE December 1-7!

From snowy small towns to second-chance love stories, these heartwarming reads are the perfect way to kick off the holiday season.

 

Here’s the line up of our own SWEET ROMANCE READS authors:  (click the titles to see more.)

December 1st Lyn Cote-Winter’s Secret

2nd Josie Riviera-Holly’s Gift

3rd Merri Maywether- Meet Me By the Christmas Tree

4^th Pat Simmons-Baby for Christmas

5th Roxanne Rustand- Dangerous December

6th Camille Elliot-The Spinster’s Christmas (Regency Romance-)

7th Jean C. Gordon-His Christmas Star

In my Winter’s Secret, I can't wait for you to fall in love with Wendy's story of suspense, hope, healing, and unexpected romance. Click here for more info.

SO MARK YOUR CALENDAR! Grab them all while they're free—your holiday TBR pile just got a whole lot merrier!

Wait -there's more!

Believe it or not—One more SPECIAL deal! 

My boxed set The Preacher's Daughters Complete Series 1-4, normally $9.99 will be on sale Nov 30^th-Dec 6^th for 99c. An early Christmas gift for you.

The scoop

The time has come for a family secret to be revealed~

Hannah, Abby and Lucy, the preacher’s daughters, band together to seek the truth their much loved mother needs but refuses to face. And ultimately they will all be blessed in ways they don’t foresee, especially a forever love.”The feeling of family support was skillfully woven through the stories of these sisters.” Click here for more info.

Why not forward this to a friend who might enjoy these special Christmas deals!? Or post it on your Facebook page? Merry Christmas!—Lyn 

Christmas in Hawaii 🌺 … with ex-crushes and contraband.

Hi everyone! This is Camy Tang.

My latest contemporary romantic suspense, The Lone Rice Ball, just released on Amazon a few weeks ago!

I really loved writing about the heroine, Mimi, because way back in Sushi for One, she—

A hand slams down on my computer keyboard. Mimi is standing there, glaring at me.

“You are not going to repeat that old story from your first novel!” she yells at me.

“But you were so clueless and your sense of timing was impeccable—”

“That was—” She hesitates. “—years ago! And my sense of timing wasn’t my fault—Lex always had to open her big fat mouth right when she really should be shutting up.”

“She’s gotten better. I mean, it was six—”

Mimi slaps both hands over my mouth. “You don’t know when to shut your big fat mouth, either!”

She’s so short that I just have to stand up to get out of the range of her attempts to muzzle me. “I thought you were okay with your age,” I say.

“Sure, I’m okay with it, but it still doesn’t mean I’m okay with it.”

I blink at her. “I have no idea what you’re saying.”

“Forget my age. And all those terrible stories of my misspent youth. Focus on the fact the book has romance! And beaches! And undercover investigators! And second chance romance!”

“I get the feeling you’re really excited about the romance,” I say dryly.

“Wouldn’t you? It’s a Christmas love story in Hawaii. What’s not to like?”

I can’t argue with her.

Well, if you like romance and suspense, you’ll enjoy The Lone Rice Ball and Mimi’s travails with dating at her ag—mmmph!

“This is Mimi. Just buy the book! Or read on Kindle Unlimited! You won’t regret it!”

Buy The Lone Rice Ball on Amazon

Wrapped Up in Christmas Faith by Janice Lynn

What a great month it's been! So much to be thankful for and one of those things is that I have a new book that came out on November 13th. Yay! Wrapped Up in Christmas Faith is the latest story in my Wrapped Up in Christmas series. Each book is stand alone, but best read in order. I absolutely love writing this series because it embodies so many things that I adore--small town, falling in love, veterans, humor, Christmas. Sigh. Just saying those things makes me smile. In Wrapped Up in Christmas Faith, Maggie is a veteran who has been knocked off her feet, but is ready to not just get back up, but to run toward the life she wants back. If that means she has to go to a Halloween party dressed as a fairy tale princess when she's more comfortable in a military uniform, then she'll don those borrowed glass slippers. Little did she know that she'd meet her Prince Charming and have her life take off in a completely unexpected direction that she'd ever envisioned or thought she wanted.

Here's a short snippet:

"I need to see your foot, Princess."

Maggie had moved from the porch to the yard, taking up residence on a garden bench with a view of the back side of the house where most were gathered to watch the partygoers. Sitting in her gown hadn't been easy. After making sure the bench was clean, she'd tucked the full, gauzy skirt to the side. 

Even before her gaze collided with golden brown honey that twinkled with merriment that couldn't be missed even in the dim light, she knew who had sought her out. She'd always had good awareness of what was around her. Never quite to this level, though, because she'd felt him coming toward her. She wasn't surprised he had. There had been something in the way he'd looked at her that she'd known their paths would cross before the night ended. 

She'd even played over what she'd say to him when it happened. The cad.

So, the story does have a Halloween party early on, but it is a CHRISTMAS story, I promise. :) Just having Maggie and Walker meet while dressed in borrowed matchings costumes made for such a great cute meet because being dressed that way was so out of Maggie's comfort zone. 

Do you like holiday books that cover enough of a timespan that it incorporates snippets of more than one holiday? Or do you prefer your holiday stories to focus on just one special occasion during a short time frame

USA Today, Wall Street Journal, & Publishers Weekly Bestselling author JANICE LYNN lives in Tennessee with her Prince Charming and their princes and princesses, her vivid imagination, an adorable Maltese named Halo who's the true royalty of the house, and bunches of unnamed dust bunnies that moved in after Janice started her writing career. In addition to writing romance, Janice is a nurse practitioner, a quilter, a military mama, and an avid supporter of the Quilts of Valor Foundation. www.janicelynn.com  

Wrapped Up in Christmas https://amzn.to/4gvI1wP

Wrapped Up in Christmas Joy https://amzn.to/47wB8qW

Wrapped Up in Christmas Hope https://amzn.to/3Twuye

WRAPPED UP IN CHRISTMAS LOVE Amazon Barnes & Noble

Wrapped Up in Christmas Faith https://amzn.to/3K7n009

. 

The Joy of Sending (and Receiving) a Little Note by Merri Maywether

In the age of emails and social media, a letter or a note is a rare treasure.

When I was teaching, my students gave me little pictures that now decorate my walls. On days when I'm feeling blue or frustrated, or wondering about the state of the world, those pictures and notes remind me that there is good in it.

Some of my students joined the military after graduation, and then it became my turn to reciprocate. During basic training, I'd send them a note or two or three—small reminders that someone back home was thinking of them.

I've also been on the receiving end of those meaningful military notes. When my son was deployed, he sent me letters. It was the hug my mother's heart needed. In a couple of words, he let me know that he was okay. 

Then, once after a different assignment, his major wrote to me. The Air Force reassigned him, and our time to reconnect was spent on what they required of him. The major thanked me for my son's service and said kind things that softened the ache of not being able to see him.

These experiences became the heart of Tis the Season for Falling in Love. Reese is deployed several times, and Maya, his best friend's younger sister, writes him notes—those rare treasures that bridge distance and remind us we're not alone. 

Letters have a way of doing that, don’t they? They hold moments still—capturing thoughts we might be too shy to say aloud. They give us space to think, to feel, and to connect.

Maybe that’s why I love them so much. In a world where words disappear as fast as we type them, a handwritten note lingers.

So, here’s my small challenge for you this season: Send one note—to a friend, a loved one, or even someone who simply made your day a little brighter. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Just honest.

Because the smallest words, written with heart, can become someone’s favorite keepsake.

I'll close this month's blog wishing you a season full of kind words, warm connections, and love that lingers—just like a letter.

Fall Reflections by Merrillee Whren

 

Fall is a colorful time of year in many regions of the country. Here in southern Arizona, nothing much changes in the landscape unless you go to a higher elevation. The most noticeable thing in fall is cooler weather. I took the above photo last fall on our cruise into Canada. The photos I took don’t come close to showing the spectacular colors we got to see.

 

Setting is important to the books I write. Sometimes setting sets the mood for the character and the character’s thoughts. Out of the nearly thirty books I have written, only three start in the fall. Although these three books start in the fall, the stories end near the Christmas holidays. Here is the opening from A Family to Call Ours, the fourth book in my Front Porch Promises series.

 

The sideways rain drenched Caleb Fitzpatrick as he slogged down Main Street. He dodged puddles and wielded his umbrella like a shield against the precipitation coming from the dark-gray clouds, but his attempt to stay dry proved unsuccessful. Why had he traded a sunny beach in Florida for the dreary early October weather in Hawthorne, Massachusetts?

Family. The family business. The family legacy. He was the only child who had chosen to walk in his parents’ footsteps. He wanted to protect everything they had built and step into their shoes when they retired. A warm, sunny climate couldn’t lure him away from this all-important obligation.

That was the most important reason. He’d gone to Florida to do a job for his family’s accounting firm. That job was over, and despite the temptation to stay in the warm Florida sun, he had come home. His parents needed his help even if they didn’t think they wanted or required it.

 

My other two books set in the fall are Second Chance Gift and Kirsten’s Mission. You can find an excerpt and buy links by clicking or tapping on the book titles.

 

 

 

I know many people love fall. It isn’t my favorite season because it means winter is coming, and winter is definitely my least favorite season. What is your favorite thing about fall? What is your least favorite thing? 

 

Merrillee Whren is the winner of the 2003 Golden Heart Award presented by Romance Writers of American. She is married to her own personal hero, her husband of forty-plus years, and has two grown daughters. Connect with her on her Facebook page and sign up for her newsletter.