Sometime Christmas Brings Tears... by Christine Bush

Not so Merry Christmas?

For some folks, at least for certain seasons of time, the holidays are not quite as joyful as the Hallmark ads suggest.  It would be wonderful to have the proverbial glowing fireplace adorned with stockings, the amazing tree, the sumptuous Christmas dinner around a table filled with happy relatives.

Truth is, for some of us, having one or two of those components is a win.  For some, it may be just a dream.  Sometimes there has been terrible loss of a loved one.  Sometimes economic insecurity has made the holiday a crisis instead of a festival. Sometimes, illness, chronic pain,  depression, or PTSD from a life trauma has us in its grip.  Sometimes, religious doubt has crowded the soul.  Sometimes, family and friends have disappeared, and the feeling of being forgotten at the holidays can grip us.

Whatever the loss or sadness, we can hope that time and love and therapy will eventually make a dent in the burden.  It usually does, if we want it to.  But what can we do in the meantime?  If healing and adjusting and building new connections take a long time, where can we find some Christmas joy to get us through?

Since I was very young, reading romance novels was a major way I found to give my mind or aching heart a rest.  Being swept away to a new and happy world (yes, you know how it will end!) was a very healing thing. 

Later, I progressed to writing those stories, full of hope and positive character arcs and love.  I discovered that (both reading and writing) about certain issues (especially if I was dealing with those issues) was a great form of self therapy and very thought provoking. 

I began to write novellas (I loved to read them as they were short, as was my attention span at these times), and I centered several around Christmas and the holiday season.  If my characters could find hope at this time of year, maybe I could imagine it for myself.  It’s often worked, at least to some extent.

Here’s a few to think about, if the situation relates to you. And even if not, fun happy ending stories! All available in print and ebook! All short and sweet!

Christmas Daisy.  Daisy has hated Christmas since childhood trauma, but a teaching job with special needs children awakens her heart (and the hot, kindly principal gets an A+.)

Christmas Daisy by Bush, Christine (amazon.com)

 

Christmas Rose.  After heartbreak that leaves single mom Rose stranded in Las Vegas at Christmas, she takes a job as a companion for a cranky old guy who lives in the desert. Being rich doesn’t make you happy, when you are recovering from a stroke. She needs the money, but the situation in unbearable, and her patient’s grandson thinks he has all the answers. Hmmm. We’ll see.

Amazon.com: Christmas Rose eBook : Bush, Christine: Kindle Store

Christmas Holly.  Holly’s a city girl.  She thinks animals belong in the zoo. She wants no part of them.  And maybe kids, too. So what is she doing in a half deserted beach community in South Carolina, pet sitting for her country bumpkin - army sister who was suddenly deployed?  The widower next store might be hot and handsome, but he’s got a lot of baggage.  First, his wife had died and he’s been stuck in his grief. But second, he’s got a set of five year old triplets to raise.  Kids? Pets? A loving community of folks who care?  Holly’s going to have to redefine Christmas.

Amazon.com: Christmas Holly: 9781539503606: Bush, Christine: Books

 Christmas Laurel.  Laurel is back from her deployment, where she’d lost many of her beloved comrades. PTSD and a wicked case of survivor guilt have her fleeing to a rental cabin in the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina to escape the unavoidable Christmas cheer that the world seems to want to shove down her throat. Celebrating seems like an affront to her lost army buddies.  Her only companion is her “bomb dog”, Duck, who was retired right along with her after their last deployment. Being alone is a relief.  Except there is this one aggravating man over the hill in the next cabin.  But he’s a vet, too, and he’s dealt with many of those debilitating issues.  Can he show her what he’s discovered Christmas is about?

Amazon.com: Christmas Laurel: 9781517740849: Bush, Christine: Books

 Christmas with the Cat Lady. It’s Christmastime, and he hates it.  He’s lost his child to cancer, and his best friend / literary agent is afraid he’s going to implode. Plus, he’s on deadline for his next novel.  So he finds himself hidden away at a bed and breakfast in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania, supposedly to finish his book in the quiet countryside. And to avoid Christmas. But the woman who owns the house is apparently nuts.  She has cats. Lots of cats.  She feeds them, rescues them,  heals them, rehomes them, and keeps more than any sane person should. Why is he suddenly chasing kittens in an abandoned barn?  Why is he making meals for the poor and elderly in their little community? A little Christmas magic helps heal his aching heart.

Amazon.com: Christmas With the Cat Lady eBook : Bush, Christine: Kindle Store

 

 

Christmas with the Crazy Cowboy.  Gracie is a widow and a single mom who has uprooted her whole life to relocate way from NYC to find peace for her seven year old Asperger- diagnosed son who had suffered much bullying and educational neglect in the city school.  Her corporate work will be done from home, and she’s planning to teach her son herself.  When there’ a knock on the door during a snowstorm right before Christmas, the last thing she expects to find on the doorstep is a stranded cowboy, carrying his saddle.  Life has its twists and turns. Can Gracie’s heart bear it?

Christmas with the Crazy Cowboy: Bush, Christine: 9798573516462: Amazon.com: Books

 

Christmas with the Carmichaels. Gabby is retired from teaching, adjusting to widowhood.  Is life over?  Her daughter wants her to move in, and be safe during her “waning years.” Is she right?  On a snowy night right before Christmas, her car breaks down, and she needs help.  When a senior citizen widower named Leonard answers the knock on his door, both lives begin to change.  He’s caring for his three “more-than-a-challenge grandkids”.  Maybe they both have the courage to live out another exciting chapter in life.  But will their grown up kids ever understand that love can bloom at any age?

Amazon.com: Christmas with the Carmichaels: 9781730892639: Bush, Christine: Books

 

I wish you a season of peace, love, and healing, my friends.  And I’d love to hear from you!

Love, Christine

Christine Bush is a USA Today Bestselling author of romance, romantic mystery, and suspense.  She can be found living in the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania with her husband and 2 lazy cats, and spending time with her 14 grandchildren.   When she’s not writing, she’s teaching Psychology at a local college, and working with clients in her private practice as a Marriage and Family Therapist. She loves to hear from readers and writers!

 

 
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Christine-Bush-Author/213919128638762
http://www.amazon.com/Christine-Bush/e/B001KHSLRG/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1392688497&sr=1-2-ent

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like . . .Blue Christmas ~Jean C. Gordon

Posting my blog a little late today. I got distracted designing a poster about our church's Worship Service for the Weary yesterday and forgot today was my blog day. Unfortunately, for too many people--those who have lost a loved one or are suffering from other grief and stress--the December holiday season may not be joyous. Our Worship for the Weary is for those people. 

I haven't attended our service before, so I went to Wikipedia for some background. Blue Christmas (also called the Longest Night) is a day during Advent that marks the longest night of the year. Blue Christmas worship services are traditionally held on or around the longest night of the year, which falls on or about December 21, the Winter Solstice. There is an interesting convergence for this day as it is also the traditional feast day for Saint Thomas the Apostle. This linkage invites making some connections between Saint Thomas's struggle to believe in Jesus' resurrection, the long nights just before Christmas, and the battle with darkness and grief some people may be struggling with.

The worship often includes opportunities to express grief, pain, and heartbreak, as well as to focus on the promise of hope found in Christ. Candles, arranged as an Advent wreath, may be lit during the service, and empty chairs may be reserved to commemorate those lost during the previous year. The images of the winter solstice, including the beginning of increasingly longer days, are a significant part of the imagery used in this worship event.

Have any of you attended a Blue Christmas Service? I plan to go this year. I lost a dear, long-time friend and my favorite brother-in-law this year and have faced some daunting challenges with our special needs son.

On a more joyful note, through the end of December, you can read all of my Christmas books free in Kindle Unlimited, including my newest release, His Christmas Star.

SEE THEM ALL HERE

EXTRA TREATS FOR YOUR HOLIDAY EVENINGS!

 

Do you enjoy Clean or Christian novels at a super bargain price?  Read on for four brand-new Christmas titles that you will enjoy!!

The Holiday Puppy will be "hot off the press" on December 14th.

 CLICK HERE and you can buy it now for just 99 cents!

Here's a quick description:

With her daughter off to college and her job ending, widow Emma Brookes wants one big adventure before starting her life over:  her lifelong dream of going to Hawaii.

A stray puppy on Waikiki Beach looks so bedraggled that she can't help but pick him, hoping to find his owner.  When she meets a kind, handsome man on the beach who offers to help her, sparks fly.

But after she witnesses a murder, her life turns upside down.
And now she's the target of a dangerous man who wants to see her dead. 

But please don't stop here!  

There are three more titles to enjoy in our 2023 Puppies for Christmas series...and they are only 99 cents each.
Just click on each title to learn more!

Puppy Love and Christmas Joy, by Merrillee Whren

Mistletoe Mischief, by Merri Maywether

Cocoa's Christmas Love, by Jose Riviera

 

Enjoy--and I hope you have a wonderful Christmas season!

Roxanne Rustand

Bargain Books: Kindle Unlimited 2-in-1 Collection

Now both books in one volume. Enjoy this compilation of two of Cheryl St.John's most beloved books in one volume. Previously published individually as HEAVEN CAN WAIT and RAIN SHADOW, Jakob and Anton Neubauer find the road to wedded bliss rocky and full of twists and turns.

HEAVEN CAN WAIT

Jakob needs a wife. A farmer needs a helpmate and–it’s better to marry than to burn. The beautiful young woman in the bakery is the most fascinating person he’s ever met, and he wastes no time asking her to marry him.

Lydia has dreamed of life outside her strict community. Words like ‘handsome’ are vain and worldly, but the tall fair-haired Outsider sets her heart—and her world on fire. For the first time Lydia has a choice, and she chooses to marry the strapping suntanned farmer and leave all that’s familiar behind.

Jakob soon questions his ability to replace all she’s forfeited and prove himself worthy of such a precious gift. He offers love and passion, but will she ever fit into his world?

“HEAVEN CAN WAIT was like a special gift.” – author Liz Flaherty

RAIN SHADOW

Raised by the Lakota Sioux and traveling with the Wild West Show, Rain Shadow won't settle for les than making a name for herself. She is unprepared for a forced stay at the home of Anton Neubauer while her son recuperates. He is a rock, a man who has lived on and farmed the same several hundred acres since he was young.

The exotic Lakota princess Rain Shadow’s proud confidence was appealing, but rare glimpses of vulnerability draw Anton even more surely. As a star attraction in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, she was unforgettable. If only he’d met her before his heart had turned to stone. But fate, two little boys and two old men conspire to keep them together, and it’s too late to deny their passion once love is part of the equation.

“…a beautifully moving novel by an author who knows how to create sympathetic characters.” – Affaire de Coeur

GET YOUR COPY
or
READ FREE WITH A KINDLE UNLIMITED SUBSCRIPTION

When Characters Don’t Do What the Author Planned by Lyn Cote

 

What’s the author to do? To think? 

Well, usually I smile because that means that my characters have become REAL. Once a reader said to me, “You act like these characters are real.” And I said, “Within the pages of the book, they are!”

If my characters do not behave like real people with minds of their own, I haven’t done my work right. And readers will shut the book sooner than later. ‘-( I think it has to do with the working of my conscious and my unconscious mind not communicating till I’m actually writing!

Early in my writing career, I began a scene where are my heroine was to drive into town to visit her grandmother's grave at the cemetery. Imagine my surprise when she started driving toward the local nursing home to visit grandma.We wrestled with the steering wheel for a few moments and then I gave in. And she was right; grandma needed to be alive. She was a major mover in the story. But who knew? My heroine did. 

For my holiday story, Mavis’s Forever Christmas ,I had provided a future hero for Mavis at the end of the previous book, Ellie’s Forever Family. But when I began to work on the new manuscript, Mavis rejected him. And insisted that she had someone different in mind. I was flummoxed. But I had learned by then just to give in to my character. I let her have the man she wanted. Why not?

Here's the scoop: MAVIS'S FOREVER CHRISTMAS

A later in life hero and heroine join forces to help an expectant mom and a stray mama dog and her pups~

Never married, Mavis, a retired college librarian, has made a new life for herself near her “adopted” niece Ellie. Over a year ago, John lost his wife, who was Mavis's best friend for nearly forty years. He has spent the past months traveling with his trailer, trying to figure out this new life. But when his only daughter Ellie faces complications with a difficult pregnancy, he’s pulled back to her hometown. 

Helping Ellie brings Mavis and John close once again, and new feelings and attractions spark. Maybe falling in love isn’t just for the young, but is it right? And it feels like a betrayal of his wife and/or her best friend, but is it? By a Carol Award-winning author, this emotional, small town, family drama will touch your heart. And an adventurous little puppy will make you smile. CLICK HERE to learn more.--Merry Christmas, Lyn

Holidays and Family - Laura Scott

 

Holidays and Families by Laura Scott

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are (like me) looking ahead to Christmas. The best thing about the holidays is being with family. 

Oh, I know sometimes families can be trying. But with larger families like ours it's one of the few times we are all together. And that is truly something to celebrate!

One of our family traditions is to play games. There are so many of us now, with kids being married with spouses that we sometimes have two or three games going at one time. 

So tell me, what are some of your family traditions? Inquiring minds want to know. 

Speaking of families, if you've read my Finnegan First Responders series you know these books are all about family. And the last book in the series, Christmas Crisis will be available on Dec. 5th. (The ebook and audiobook is already for sale on my website.)

The Finnegans discover they are cousins of the Callahans. And the Callahan siblings help the Finnegans throughout the series. In Christmas Crisis, Elly, the youngest Finnegan brings both families together in a Christmas Day reunion. Don't miss the exciting conclusion to the Finnegan First Responders series!

Christmas Crisis by Laura Scott $3.99

Walking the line between danger and love!

Active Shooter at the Christmas parade…

EMT Elly Finnegan instinctively jumps into the line of danger when a gunman opens fire at the Christmas parade. Despite hating the sight of blood, she acts exactly as she’s trained to do. Tactical officer Joe Kingsley is there, too and they work together to save lives. But when more shots are taken near her home, Elly and Joe realize the danger is far from over.

Joe promises Elly’s brother Rhy that he’ll protect the youngest Finnegan sibling with his life. But as danger stalks them, it proves a difficult promise to keep. This shooter wasn’t your typical rage filled young man—this guy had a cold and deadly purpose. And it was up to Joe and the rest of the tactical team to uncover his motive before he strikes again. Can Joe keep Elly safe so she can celebrate her Christmas family reunion with the Callahans?

Amazon B&N Apple GooglePlay Kobo Laura's Website

Cheryl St.John: Making Crafts vs Gathering Craft Items

I have learned the hard way that buying and storing craft items is a completely different hobby than actually making the crafts. A while back I realized I would never crochet again, so I gave yarn, hooks and patterns to my daughter and granddaughter. At 13 my granddaughter Elli could crochet better than I ever did in my whole life. She's selling things she's made next weekend at a homeschool craft fair.

Last summer our grandson returned from Texas to stay with us for a while, and I did a crazed declutter of my so-called craft room in order to fit in a bed, wardrobe, two desks and his stuff. All those totes of things I’d been planning to do “someday” had to go. Letting go was a relief. I don’t feel guilty about not making them anymore.

Not to worry about my creativity though. I still have remaining projects that I will actually do. I have a couple cases of wine glasses to paint, small jars to hold salves, spice containers to hold seasonings, a rather large storage container for making and repairing jewelry, a small tote for making pumpkins from sweater sleeves, and supplies for collages.

Every year I make my own old-fashioned Valentines with paper doilies, copies of vintage Valentines I print and cut, jewels and little flowers and heart-shaped buttons. Last evening I sat and clipped wire Christmas tree hangers into smaller pieces and made tiny hangers for the tiny ornaments that go on my tiny trees.

What craft projects do you enjoy and actually accomplish?

I have 2-in1 reissue of two of my best selling western romances releasing December 5th. Dutch Country Brides will be available to purchase or read in Kindle Unlimited. Here's the info:

Enjoy this compilation of two of Cheryl St.John's most beloved books in one volume. Previously published individually as HEAVEN CAN WAIT and RAIN SHADOW, Jakob and Anton Neubauer find the road to wedded bliss rocky and full of twists and turns.

HEAVEN CAN WAIT

Jakob needs a wife. A farmer needs a helpmate and–it’s better to marry than to burn. The beautiful young woman in the bakery is the most fascinating person he’s ever met, and he wastes no time asking her to marry him.

Lydia has dreamed of life outside her strict community. Words like ‘handsome’ are worldly, but the fair-haired Outsider sets her heart—and her world on fire. Leaving all that’s familiar behind, she chooses the strapping suntanned farmer. Jakob soon questions his ability to replace all she’s forfeited and prove himself worthy. He offers love, but will she ever fit into his world?

“HEAVEN CAN WAIT was like a special gift.” – author Liz Flaherty

The exotic Lakota princess Rain Shadow’s proud confidence was appealing, but rare glimpses of vulnerability draw Anton even more surely. As a star attraction in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, she was unforgettable. If only he’d met her before his heart had turned to stone. But fate, two little boys and two old men conspire to keep them together, and it’s too late for denial once love is part of the equation.

RAIN SHADOW

Raised by the Lakota Sioux and traveling with the Wild West Show, Rain Shadow won't settle for les than making a name for herself. She is unprepared for a forced stay at the home of Anton Neubauer while her son recuperates. He is a rock, a man who has lived on and farmed the same several hundred acres since he was young.

“…a beautifully moving novel by an author who knows how to create sympathetic characters.” 

                                                                                             – Affaire de Coeur

 

Western Romance

AVAILABLE IN KINDLE UNLIMITED DECEMBER 5th

CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS!

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