Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Romancing Christmas



Christmas, to me, is a family-centered holiday season (so much more than a single day) brimming with expressions of love, faith, family, giving, nostalgic traditions, new commitments, and so much more. I think that's partly why I'm drawn to read Christmas romances all year long; I want to hold onto those special, heart-warming sensations always.


I've read so many truly outstanding Christmas-themed romances during my decades-long romance-reading addiction, that when I made the leap from reader to writer, I knew I wanted to write at least book set at Christmastime. Instead, I've written at least one holiday-setting book each year.


Somewhere along the way, #4 hopped in line before #3, causing plenty of confusion and impatience for U.S. Marshal turned small town Sheriff August "Gus" Rose to finally see his own happily ever after. Gus faces more angst, physical danger, and heartache on his journey than do most of my characters. His story was originally titled A Christmas Courtship, but that ended up not being powerful enough to reflect Gus's story. Thus A Christmas Courtship became The Marshal's Surrender. Gus's story debuts next month, December 2016.

THE MARSHAL'S SURRENDER

He’ll surrender his tattered heart. And his life…

Colorado, 1900

Sheriff August (Gus) Rose is a one-woman man. Too bad the only gal he’s ever loved is married… again. Even if he were ready to court someone new—which he’s not—Noelle Finlay would be his last choice. After all, her brother stole Gus’s bride-to-be last Christmas.

The holiday season evokes unwelcome memories and he’s almost glad an unruly gang provides a distraction. But petty vandalism rapidly escalates to hanging crimes—and the marauding bandits have targeted Noelle.

With his reputation as a lawman under fire and his tattered heart tangled up in Noelle, he discovers he’s not only capable of loving her… he’ll willingly die to save her.
Copyright © 2016 Kristin Holt LC


THIS NOELLE

Christmas Eve, Colorado 1881

A Surprise Delivery…
Caroline Finlay never knew losing a child so soon after his birth would wreak damage on her heart and her marriage. She’s coping, barely, until she learns her husband, Phil, has a secret that could shatter their future… a secret suddenly made very public.

A Christmas Baby…
Phil Finlay thought he’d never have to confess his greatest mistake… until a young man shows up on the church steps, the Sunday before Christmas with a newborn baby girl, and announces Phil’s her father. It’s snowing. The baby is in desperate need of care. Whether it’s his or not—and she might well be—he’s out of time and has no choice but to confess he sought solace in the arms of another woman.
How dare he burden his heartbroken wife with the care of a baby… his baby… born of an illicit affair?

…A Season of Miracles.
Is it possible for marriage, strained by the loss of a newborn son, to survive the appearance of an illegitimate daughter?

What would you do?
Copyright © 2016 Kristin Holt LC

Together with the novella-length title This Noelle, my GIFT to my newsletter subscribers (December 2016), this series will contain five books, with many more to come. My recent release, Courting Miss Cartwright is an-unnumbered tie-in to the Holidays in Mountain Home Series, as it takes place in the same fictitious town in 19th century Colorado. Some of the series's characters show up as secondary characters in Courting Miss Cartwright.



Happy Holidays! I hope your choice of reading material enriches your enjoyment of the season.


Hi! I'm Kristin Holt, USA Today Bestselling Author.
I write frequent articles (or view recent posts easily on my Home Page, scroll down) about the nineteenth century American west–every subject of possible interest to readers, amateur historians, authors…as all of these tidbits surfaced while researching for my books. I also blog monthly at Sweet Americana Sweethearts (first Friday of each month) and Romancing the Genres (third Tuesday of each Month).



I love to hear from readers! Please drop me a note. Or find me on Facebook.





Copyright © 2016 Kristin Holt LC

6 comments:

Connie said...

Am I understanding you correctly that you will give The Noelle to us, your newsletter followers in December, and we can purchase The Marshal's Surrender?

Connie said...

I mean - This Noelle?

Connie said...

Do you know when both of these will be available in December? Can we pre-order the first book? I think I get your newsletter because it would not let me sign up with my email. It said my email was invalid. Is it their way of saying I am already signed up?

Judith Ashley said...

Love it when an idea just bursts apart and many more stories flow forth. And in your case it keeps the Christmas spirit alive all year long! Plus fans appreciate it when characters they've come to love reappear throughout a series---I know I sure do!

Kristin Holt said...

Dear Connie White--

Yes! You're right! My Christmas gift to my newsletter subscribers is THIS NOELLE, a novella-length title that will be delivered via my newsletter on Christmas Eve! It's not too late to sign up. Feel free to do so--I'd love to share this story with you. KristinHolt.com/newsletter

I'm so sorry to hear you've had trouble registering for my newsletter. I'll go check my MailChimp newsletter list and see if I can find your name, Connie. It's possible you're already registered and that's why the system fought you. If that's not the glitch, I'll see what I can do to be of help and remove the problem. I work hard to ensure my every-once-in-a-while newsletters contain information readers truly want...not just advertisements.

THE MARSHAL'S SURRENDER is now available for pre-order on Amazon. You can search for it by title, or access easy links on my author website, KristinHolt.com/books (scroll down as the page runs vertically). This title is 99-cents during the pre-order period and will be $2.99 regularly, so if you're planning to buy it, might as well pick it up while it's 2/3 off.

You--and all readers!--are genuinely welcome to contact me directly through my website. [KristinHolt.com/contact-kristin] (note: Kristin has no e!) Whether it's a glitch with newsletter registration, questions such as you've posed here, Connie, comments about a book you've read, wondering when another title will be on my to-be-published list, suggestions for a character you'd love to see have his or her own story, or something else "real", please, don't hesitate! The only contact (emails) I don't reply to are the spammy ones. =)

Thank you so much for your interest in THE MARSHAL'S SURRENDER and THIS NOELLE, Connie. I'll look for you on my newsletter list and on Facebook, as I'd genuinely like to ensure you receive this information.

Warm regards,
Kristin Holt

Kristin Holt said...

Hi Judith--

Oh, you're so right! Series and recurring characters are a joy for readers and for writers. I never knew, when I began this series, that it would be more than an individual title. The world of Mountain Home, Colorado has exploded. =) In a good way.

Happy Holidays!
Kristin Holt