Puppies for Christmas Series by Josie Riviera

Unwrap the joy of the season with these heartwarming books filled with love, festive cheer, and delightful puppies! 📚🐶 All four enchanting stories are available at an amazing 99 cents each.

Puppy Love and Christmas Joy by Merrillee Whren. Embark on a journey of love and laughter, where a charming puppy plays matchmaker in the holiday season. Click to order this delightful story filled with festive cheer.

Fun fact: Did you know that puppies, like Christmas, have the magical ability to bring families closer and create lasting memories?

Mistletoe Mischief by Merri Maywether. Get ready for a romantic adventure sprinkled with mischief and holiday cheer, all accompanied by an adorable puppy.

Fun fact: The playful antics of puppies mirror the joy and spontaneity of the Christmas season.

Cocoa's Christmas Love by Josie Riviera. Love blossoms amidst festive decorations and the joy of Christmas.

Did you know that puppies, much like a cup of cocoa, can warm your heart and bring comfort during the holiday season?

The Holiday Puppy by Roxanne Rustand. As the holiday spirit continues to brighten our days, this book is the perfect holiday escape.

Fun fact: Puppies, with their boundless energy, embody the excitement and anticipation of the holiday season.

Experience the joy of love, seasonal delight, and the irresistible charm of puppies—order your copies now!

Free on Kindle Unlimited.

Grab your book today of Cocoa's Christmas Love today before price goes up.

Available in ebook, Paperback, Large Print Paperback, & Hardcover. Audiobook coming soon.

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

New Sweet and Wholesome Holiday Releases for October

Love puppies and love Christmas?

Several sweet romance authors have written Christmas stories with puppies in them and all the books are now available for pre-order and only 99 cents! See them all here. The stories release weekly from October 11 to December 6.

From Pat Simmons

A doctor. A nurse. A matchmaker.

Charity McCall couldn’t have survived the holidays without her petite Goldendoodle. She named him Dr. Avery because he healed her broken heart after a bad breakup. She plans to spend the holidays on the road away from St. Louis with her pooch in tow.

Sawyer Kahill needs a fresh start, so he relocates to Raleigh, working in the IT field. He’s enjoying life until his aunt has a health scare back in St. Louis.

After a chance meeting, will their paths ever cross again? Not unless they both come home for the holidays. Leave that up to the Lord and Aunt Edith. House Calls for the Holidays.

🎄 🎄 🎄

From Jean C. Gordon

My Puppies for Christmas novella Can't Say No to Puppies was so fun to write. I hope you find it just as fun to read.

IT'S A POTENT MIX

• A jilted bride and her ex's brother working on a Christmas puppy giveaway
• Add a matchmaking grandmother pushing a dating app
• Plus a wounded moose

Will it spark a forever Christmas love or a disaster of broken trust?

PREORDER YOUR COPY TODAY

AND CATCH AN EXCERPT ON MY OCTOBER 7 BLOG ~ RELEASES 10/18

🎄 🎄 🎄

From Josie Riviera

I'm so excited about my contribution, Christmas In The Air. My hero and heroine meet on a plane. Trouble is, the heroine is afraid of flying!

What if you told your innermost secrets to a guy you assumed you’d never see again? Christmas In The Air is a sweet, small-town romance filled with delightful characters and holiday cheer.

Pre-order your copy today. Available in ebook, paperback, large print paperback, hardcover, ad audiobook.

Measuring Things by Merrillee Whren

 

As you can see from the image above, today is National Tape Measure Day. I'm not here just to talk about tape measures, but I did find interesting information about tape measures. On July 14, 1868 Alvin J. Fellows received a patent for "Improvement in Tape Measures." He made life easier for many occupations that use measurements, such as carpenters, seamtresses, or electricians. The retractable tape measure improved on the previous bulky tape measures that didn't fit in a pocket.

But I wanted to talk about another kind of measurement. Word Count. That's a measurement for authors. Word processing programs give an exact word count for what I am writing. When I began writing with the thought of publication in mind, I discovered that many publishers want a certain word count, especially category romance publishers such as Harlequin. 

I started writing a story on a typewriter and thankfully we got a portable computer, or I believe I would never have finished a novel. I was always a terrible typist, and a computer word processing program freed me to make mistakes and easily go back and correct them. The early word processing program I used didn't give word count. I could only estimate the word count using a formula that I barely remember, something about counting words on ten lines and then multiplying them by something. I could also estimate the word count by having twenty-five lines on a page with a certain kind of font. Usually that gave me an estimate of 250 words per page. 

When I finally started using a word processing program that gave me actual word count, I discovered that the estimates were off by quite a bit. Now I look at the word count in the corner to see how many words I have written each day. Sometimes it's disappointing when I don't write as many words as I intended to write. Other days I'm thrilled that I exceeded my planned word count for the day.

Like people who began using the new and improved tape measure, I love having the exact word count at my disposal every day. I recently finished writing my Puppies for Christmas novella. It came in at  38942 words. It is now in the hands of my editor, and if the past is any predictor, she will have me trim a few words. The novella will come out in November as part of the Puppies for Christmas promotion from some of the authors from Sweet Romance Reads.  

Who can resist two cute kids and a dog? They are working hard as matchmakers for their widower dad, but it's Christmas time, a time of year that makes him sad. So they have to work extra hard.

What is something that makes your life easier? A tape measure, a new appliance, or a new gadget of some kind?

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.

Cover Reveal by Merrillee Whren

 

Last fall a group of Sweet Romance Reads authors did a promotion in which we introduced Christmas novellas one week at a time for several weeks leading up to the Christmas holidays, and Puppies for Christmas was born. We used the cute little dog below to mark all the books.

A number of us plan to write more Puppies for Christmas novellas again this year. So the answer is: No, it's not too early to think about Christmas. In order to be ready for the promotion, we have to write the novellas. That takes weeks. Then we have to get them edited. We have to proofread. We have to format them for publication. There are a lot of things to do in order to get ready to publish a book. One very important item is the book cover. You know we all do judge a book by its cover. Although I'm still writing the book, I already have my cover. Here it is.

I'm adding this novella to my Happiness in Hallburg series. Here are the other two novellas I have written for the series.

You can find more about this series by clicking here.

 

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.

Holiday Free Book and Bargain Books!

Lyn Cote here~In the mood for a holiday romance plus mystery

AND FOR FREE?

How about my novel, Winter's Secret?

In a small Wisconsin town, winter brings a series of disturbing crimes. With God’s help, can sheriff Rodd and nurse Wendy crack the bone-chilling mystery — and the secrets of their own hearts?

For more info, click here.

How about another?

My "Puppies for Christmas" novella

Beneath Northern Lights

combines romance and mystery.

Only 99 cents~

Two wounded souls, a puppy, Christmas coming, someone out to destroy a man’s dream~

After a life-altering event, Nick's one goal--to race his beloved husky, Maddie, in the Apostle Islands Dog Sled Race. Megan adopts Maddie's pup, the runt, and soon helps "grumpy" Nick care for his dogs. Nasty pranks start--who's out to rob him of the joy of the race? 

For more info, click here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Puppies for Christmas! Have you read them all?

Christmas Redemption by Laura Scott $0.99

Did he deserve a second chance?

Jack Keller AKA Jessie Kramer has remained isolated, living off the land for several years, until an unseen force is nudging him home to Crystal Lake, Wisconsin to see his brother Ian at Christmas. When Jack finds an injured woman living alone in the woods, he feels compelled to help her and her German shepherd Sadie, along with Belle the puppy, survive. What he doesn’t expect is to be drawn to Raven in a way he’s never experienced before. And when he realizes Raven is in danger, he refuses to leave until the guy is caught.

Widower Raven Clark prefers animals over people, but when drifter Jack Keller does odd chores and makes pretty gifts for her, she’s plagued by curiosity about him. Who is this man God brought to her doorstep? When a blizzard hits, Raven insists Jack seek shelter with her, rather than sleeping in his tent. She soon learns Jack isn’t what he appears and is touched by his determination to protect her. Will Jack learn to forgive himself for his past mistakes and open his heart to love?

Amazon B&N Apple GooglePlay Kobo

 

My "Puppies for Christmas" novella

A Christmas Puppy To Cherish

is my inspirational contemporary romance and only 99¢!

You don’t need ears to hear God’s plan. All you need is an open heart…

Pre-order your ebook copy today!

A MISTLETOE PUPPY

The Puppies for Christmas series,  Book #2

by Roxanne Rustand 

Just  $0.99  through December 31st

Kate Larssen runs the local animal shelter in Mistletoe Falls, a small, scenic town in Minnesota.  Widowed last Christmas, Deputy Brad Bailey is trying his best to raise his sad, lonely six-year-old, Janie. When he finds a stray dog and her puppies while on duty, he brings them to the shelter, where he and Kate meet.
Neither has any interest in commitment, and for good reasons. But friendship...maybe?
Hoping to lift Janie's spirits, he brings her to see the puppies, and that friendship begins.  

Can a litter of adorable golden retriever puppies and a lonely little girl bring Brad and Kate together by Christmas? 

This novella is also part of Roxanne's own six-novella Christmas series, Coupled by Christmas.
Each novella is just $0.99  

For more information on this series or to find buy links, CLICK HERE. 

For Roxanne's newsletter and monthly contest for free prizes, CLICK HERE.

 

 Puppy Love and Jingle Bells releases today!

 

     When elementary school teacher Sedona Welch sets a goal to lose fifteen pounds, she doesn’t expect to barter her tutoring services in exchange for personal training, especially with a handsome personal trainer.

     Cody Dunn has all he can deal with taking care of his eight-year-old nephew, Mason. Cody finds an ally in Sedona as she helps him negotiate the guardianship of this troubled boy. But he doesn’t anticipate his nephew’s love for a cute little puppy or his own attraction to Sedona.

     Can well-meaning friends, a little boy, and a puppy help this reluctant couple find love at Christmas?

 

Get your copy for 99 cents at these retailers!

Amazon

Kobo

Apple

B&N

National Stop Bullying Day by Merrillee Whren

Usually I try to blog about something fun, and in the past on October 14, I have posted photos of desserts because it's also National Dessert Day. But today's blog is on a more serious note. Many years ago, I was an elementary school teacher. So I witnessed how bullying could affect some of my students. Every year it seemed as though one or two children in my class were bullied. 

In 2009, many years after I stopped teaching, a group of students from St. Stanislaus Kostka in Michigan City, Indiana, made the second Wednesday of October National Stop Bullying Day. You can read more about the day at this link. It is a sad thing to be bullied, and bullying is also bad for the person doing the bullying. I think it is a tough situation to handle. Awareness is a starting place.

I have a novella in the Puppies for Christmas. The little boy in the story is the victim of bullying. I don't want you to think the story is a downer. It has its lighthearted moments as well, but it does highlight an issue that is a problem for children and even adults. 

     When elementary school teacher Sedona Welch sets a goal to lose fifteen pounds, she doesn’t expect to barter her tutoring services in exchange for personal training, especially with a handsome personal trainer.

     Cody Dunn has all he can deal with taking care of his eight-year-old nephew, Mason. Cody finds an ally in Sedona as she helps him negotiate the guardianship of this troubled boy. But he doesn’t anticipate his nephew’s love for a cute little puppy or his own attraction to Sedona.

     Can well-meaning friends, a little boy, and a puppy help this reluctant couple find love at Christmas?

Have you ever been the victim of bullying or know someone who was bullied? How did you handle it?

Be sure to check out all the novellas in the Puppies for Christmas. They are all 99 cents. So get your copies now! You can find them at these links.

Oct 1st-Beneath Northern Lights by Lyn Cote

Oct 8th-Mistletoe Puppy by Roxanne Rustand

Oct 15th-Christmas Redemption by Laura Scott

Oct 22nd-Puppy Love and Jingle Bells by Merrillee Whren

Oct 29th-Joy Comes to Bedford Falls by Susan Aylworth

Nov 5th-A Christmas Puppy to Cherish by Josie Riviera

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.