Hello, January by Merrillee Whren

January 2025 is nearly half over. January can be warm or cold, depending on where you live. I live in southern Arizona, and January in this part of the world is not especially cold. January in the southern hemisphere brings with it warm, if not hot, temperatures. We occasionally get snow in the valley, but that is rare. We definitely get snow in the nearby mountains, as you can see from the photos above. Southern Florida has a warmer winter climate than southern Arizona. We recently enjoyed those two sunsets while in southern Florida near the beach as we took in a few warm days.

In January, people think about new beginnings. Some make resolutions or goals for the new year. In my book, A Match to Call Ours, my heroine Brittany Gorman is definitely looking for a new beginning. She has recently lost her job and broken up with her boyfriend of eight years. It is time for a new start, and it's January in Montana, where you find lots of cold and snow. You can find buy links for this book by clicking on the title of the book above. 

Here is a photo taken by a friend who lives in western Montana.

I lived in Montana when I was in elementary school. I walked to school in some really cold weather, dressed in so many clothes I looked like the Michelin Man. We skated, sledded and built snowmen. We had a great time in the cold, cold weather. Now I choose to live where the winters aren't so cold. I like to see snow once at Christmas and then not again unless it's in the mountains near us. Here is the snow we experienced in Massachusetts just before Christmas.

So whatever your weather is in January, enjoy this beginning of a new year and be sure to check out A Match to Call Ours, the first book in my Front Porch Promises series.

What kind of January weather are you having?

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.

New Year, Same You: Finding Joy in January by Josie Riviera

After December's busy holiday season, January offers a welcome change of pace. While everyone else scrambles to make (and break) ambitious resolutions, I've learned to approach this month differently.

Instead of trying to reinvent myself, I use January to enjoy simple pleasures. My winter evenings are spent with a cup of tea and a good book—no guilt, no pressure, just relaxation. There's something special about settling in with a story while winter weather swirls outside.

My only January tradition is choosing one word to guide my year. Not a resolution to break, just a simple focus. This year, my word is "appreciate"—a reminder to notice everyday moments of happiness, from that first sip of morning coffee to losing myself in a captivating story.

If you're looking for your next great read, the complete Sweetwater Springs series is my newest release and now available in a boxed set. These three sweet romances will transport you to a charming small town filled with hope, heart, and the kind of community we'd all love to find.

Grab your copy today at the special introductory price!

Remember, January isn't about becoming a new person. It's about taking time to enjoy life exactly as it is—perhaps with a good book in hand.

What helps you find joy in January?

Josie Riviera is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary, historical, and inspirational romances that read like Hallmark movies. She lives in the Charlotte, NC, area with her wonderfully support husband. They share their home with an adorable Shih Tzu, who constantly needs grooming, and live in an old house forever needing renovation.

Sign up for her newsletter and get a FREE ebook on her website: josieriviera.com

My Retrospect Returns with a Free Kindle Book ~ Jean C. Gordon

Hope you had a blessed holiday season and are off to a wonderful 2025.  I'm up to 2011-2012 in my book retrospect.

Inside Tidbits

As I've mentioned, early in my writing career, I was aiming to sell to the Harlequin Romance line. In 2011, I didn't make that sale, but I did sell to Harlequin Love Inspired. I was at a romance writer's conference pitching another already finished book to editors. It kept getting shot down because the hero and heroine were estranged but still married. When I got to the Love Inspired editor, I pitched my book, and the editor asked if I had anything else. I pitched a story that was no more than an idea I had. She said to send her a proposal for that one. I quickly wrote three chapters and a synopsis and sent it off to Harlequin. Not long afterward, I got The Call for Small Town Sweethearts and started my time with Love Inspired.

The 2021 Sweet Romance Rerelease

After Small Town Sweethearts went out of print with Love Inspired, I updated the story and rereleased a sweet (rather than inspiration) version, Trusting Her Heart, as the first full-length romance in my Paradox Lake Sweet Romance series.

Spending time in the small town of Paradox Lake, NY, is the last thing that Emily Hazard wants to do. Her childhood memories, including the despised nickname Jinx, are anything but fond. However, Emily’s brother Neal is deploying overseas and needs someone to stay with his teenage daughter Autumn while she finishes her senior year. Emily is going to attempt to juggle working remotely as an assistant art director for an advertising agency in New York City and keeping an eye on her niece.

With his career and life in flux, Drew Stacey is currently working for a group of non-profits that is planning to rent the Hazard family's campgrounds on Paradox Lake for a summer program. Deciding it's a good idea to have a man around while he is gone, Neal has asked Drew to stay at the house with Emily and Autumn while Drew prepares the campgrounds.

A minor fender-bender as soon as she hits town, has Emily battling old insecurities. However one person doesn’t view her as a slightly klutzy disaster magnet, and that's the disturbingly attractive Drew. The spark between them is immediate, but Emily’s emotional blinders regarding the town threaten to derail any prospect of a relationship. Can Emily see beyond the past?

Any fan of sweet romance will love settling into the stories of small-town love in the Paradox Lake Sweet Romance series. Grab your tea or coffee, settle into your favorite chair, and be swept away into the cozy Adirondack town, where complex characters navigate challenging situations as they find their way to love. Whether it’s love at first blush, old flames reuniting, or second chance romance, you’ll find pure reading enjoyment and satisfy your craving for sweet, wholesome romance.

Welcome to Paradox Lake


Part of an ongoing series full of familiar faces, each story will stand on its own. With novel and novella lengths available, there’s something for everyone. Paradox Lake is written by USA Today's Bestselling sweet romance author Jean C. Gordon, who’s penned stories for the No Brides Clubs Series, Indigo Bay Series, and Harlequin Love Inspired, as well as for multiple sweet romance collections.

GET YOUR KINDLE COPY FREE UNTIL JANUARY 11

Available in KU, Kindle, and Paperback

Happy New Year! Roxanne Rustand

How were your Christmas and New Year's Eve this year? Busy, or quiet and peaceful?

Ours was busy, with at least twenty of us here to celebrate. Now that all of the cooking and cleaning and gift wrapping is behind us, the house seems so quiet.  

Our living room isn't large by any measure. But it does feel good to just sit back in a recliner in my heavy velour pajamas and fuzzy Christmas socks (as you can see), with a Kindle in my hands.

I love every single minute with our kids, grandkids and extended family. But now it's time to get to work! 

The business of writing doesn't follow a day job  time clock, as I set my own deadlines. But now I need to get busy on a boxed set of my own, my part of a ten-author anthology that will be out in late May, and  a new release this spring. Next month I can let you know about those titles.

I would love to hear about the foods you enjoy at Christmas. You will be an inspiration to me when we reach Christmas 2025!  

Leave a comment, and you will be in a drawing for any one of  my ebooks.  You can see them my clicking HERE,  Be sure to select "sort by publication date" at the right, though, as otherwise some very old titles show up at the top.

Wishing you all my best in 2025!

Roxanne Rustand

www.roxannerustand.com