The Gift of Christmas

by Diana McCollum

“The Gift of Christmas” is an anthology of short stories set around Christmas time. This book came out a few years ago, but is worth reading today.

All the contributing authors are multi-published. The stories are from all different genres.

One in particular touched my heart, The Cancer Christmas by Melissa Yuan, Melissa reveals how, when her father was diagnosed with a brain tumor, she dreaded the upcoming holiday season. But her father, along with her infant son, taught her the most important Christmas lesson of all.”

The stories are filled with miracles, mystery and magic!

The only children’s story:  Metro’s Mountain Cabin by Susie Slanina, “Metro the dog spends a snowy Christmas with friends in a mountain cabin. As with all the Metro books, some events are true and some are imagined. For children ages 7-12 and the young at heart.”

Christmas Miracles by Pamela Cowan, “an Heirloom box of foreign coins presents a series of odd twists of fate . . . bringing a struggling family some luck—good and bad—and maybe even a miracle.”

The Nest by Courtney Pierce, “Estate sales can be magical. For baby boomers Jean and Spence Collins, the purchase of a once-cherished ornament transforms their Christmas holiday from routine to extraordinary.”

Isabella’s Christmas Box by Paty Jager, “Anthropologist Isabella Mumphrey must unlock the secrets of the Mayan Puzzle Box in time to celebrate Christmas with DEA Agent Tino Constantine.”

The Mermaid’s Treasure by Anna Brentwood, “Will the discovery of an antique brooch, hidden for decades in an old trunk, bring a young woman closer to her deceased father? Or will it cause her to question everything she’s ever believed in?”

Don’t Forget the Mistletoe by Christy Carlyle, “Two people may love each other deeply but the timing isn’t right. Allowing the mistletoe to serve as a message between Amelia and Benedict may give them a second chance for love.”

First Love by Judith Ashley, “Falling in love is easy for everyone—except Ashley. Her past has left her with distrust, hesitation, and a fear that she will never be married or have children. Join Ashley on her journey to finding and accepting love.”

Christmas with You by Jane Killick, “Sylvie is thrilled when her airline pilot husband is able to change his work schedule to spend Christmas with her and their young son, but all is not as it seems in this story of a family Christmas overshadowed by fate.”

Career Conundrum Christmas by Jamie Brazil, Caught between past and present, fine art appraiser, Sara, wants to honor her father’s decorative arts legacy while forging her own future. But will the career opportunity of a lifetime dry up like her overcooked holiday turkey if she accept Ben’s marriage proposal?”

The Hogmanay Stranger by Maggie Jaimeson, “The Sweetwater Canyon family celebrates Hogmanay in Scotland with Rachel’s father, Gavin Cullen. Clearing the cobwebs of the past year in order to begin anew is a tradition with special meaning. Will a stranger help them all to remember what is most important in life and thus free them from the past?”

A Marine’s Christmas Proposal by Susan Lute, “Celebrating Christmas is the last thing on his mind when David Randal leaves behind his military life to take care of his orphaned nephew. But finding work in a depressed economy is tough: and job-hunting in December is nothing short of an act of desperation. So when a temp job casts him as ‘Girl Friday’ to a notorious workaholic lady boss, even this Marine knows the greatest risk might lead to the greatest reward of all.”

All these great stories are in the anthology 

"The Gifts of Christmas", so buy your copy, grab a hot cup of coco or tea, maybe some popcorn, and read a short story or two to relax during this busy time of year! You won't be disappointed!

Do you have a favorite Christmas novel or anthology?

Leave a comment to be entered into a Christmas drawing for an Amazon card!!!
Drawing open till December 4th!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!

Winter's Kiss - a Holiday Themed Anthology

Fall in Love this Winter!

Winter is the perfect season for curling up with a good love story. Add in a cozy fire, a steaming cup of your favorite beverage, and you’ve got the makings of a great evening. What’s even better than this? Curling up with six romance books for the price of one!

I’m excited to introduce to you Winter’s Kiss, a novella collection of Christian romance books by six bestselling authors. Grab your copy for only 99 cents today!

And You Came Along – Elaine Stock

Five days before Christmas, single parent Jacey Tucker thought the broken pieces of her life were falling into place until an eviction notice and termination at her job sends her and her little boy scrambling out of town.

Zander Paxton, a detective recovering from an injury and loss of faith, needs to start the next season of his life but he isn’t sure how or where. As Jacey heads south and Zander heads north, they get caught in a blizzard...and trapped together in a remote cabin.

A Different Kind of Christmas – Carole Towriss
Robinson Taylor Mitchell, unwelcome at home, wants a special someone of his own to celebrate with—someone like Juli, who’s just moved to town but won’t give him the time of day.

Juliana Hellisch won’t be home for Christmas for the first time ever. She’s stuck in Brandon Beach working off school debt as a nanny to an adorable three-year-old. She meets Rob, but there’s no way she’s getting involved with another rich snob, not after what happened last time.

To Gain a Bodyguard – Tanya Eavenson
Undercover ICE agent Madi Reynolds has spent years infiltrating a human-trafficking ring, but when her life is threatened, she is forced to walk away and advised to leave the country.

War Veteran and ICE agent Brice Johnson faces the biggest assignment of his life—protect the woman he loves.

Tropical Kiss and Tell – Liwen Y. Ho
Micah Chan has loved Lucy Choi ever since they were kids, but life—and some regretful decisions—stopped him from pursuing her. Now he has a choice to make: Let her marry another man or break up her engagement to make this Christmas the most memorable one of their lives.

Carousel Christmas – Laura V. Hilton
Romance sparks for Noelle and Nick as they work together to decorate the carousel barn and relationships begin to be healed.

Christmas Reflections – Ginger Solomon
Marisol Jones never expects to marry. Most men can’t see past her scars, but Garth Simmons isn’t most men. He doesn’t seem to notice her imperfections and neither does his daughter.

Meet the authors of Winter’s Kiss!

Elaine Stock writes contemporary fiction, fusing romance, family drama, and psychological suspense in a "clean fiction" style, suitable for teens to any age adult. ALWAYS WITH YOU, her debut novel, is a 2017 Christian Small Publishers Association Book of the Year Award winner in the fiction category.

Website : http://www.elainestock.com

Everyone's Story Blog: http://elainestock.com/blog

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ElaineStock

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorElaineStock

Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/ElaineStock

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/1JYAwNy

An unapologetic Californian, Carole Towriss now lives just north of Washington, DC. She loves her husband, her four children, the beach, and tacos, though not always in that order. In addition to writing, she binge-watches British crime dramas and does the dishes for the fourth time in one day.

Website: www.caroletowriss.com

Twitter: @CaroleTowriss

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NovelistCaroleTowriss

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/ctowriss

email: carole@caroletowriss.com

Tanya Eavenson is a bestselling and award-winning inspirational romance author. She enjoys spending time with her husband and their three children. Her favorite pastime is grabbing a cup of coffee, eating chocolate, and reading a good book.

Website: http://www.tanyaeavenson.com/

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Tanya-Eavenson/e/B00B2UO5TE

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tanya-Eavenson-129609683872033/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6913760.Tanya_Eavenson

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/tanya-eavenson-9d088e1d-ab19-49c0-a25a-72f623418d75?list=author_books

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tan_eave

Liwen Y. Ho writes sweet and inspirational romance infused with heart, humor, and a taste of home (her Asian roots). She lives in California with her techie hubby and their two children, and blogs about her life as a recovering perfectionist.

Blog: www.2square2behip.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/2square2behip

Twitter: https://twitter.com/2square2behip

Instagram: www.instagram/author.liwenho

  

Laura V. Hilton is an award-winning, sought-after author with almost twenty Amish, contemporary, and historical romances. When she’s not writing, she reviews books for her blogs, and writes devotionals for blog posts for Seriously Write and Putting on the New.  Laura and her pastor-husband have five children and a hyper dog named Skye. They currently live in Arkansas. One son is in the U.S. Coast Guard. She is a pastor’s wife, and homeschools her two youngest children. When she’s not writing, Laura enjoys reading, and visiting lighthouses and waterfalls. Her favorite season is winter, her favorite holiday is Christmas. 

blogs: http://lighthouseacademy.blogspot.com/  & http://lauravhilton.blogspot.com/ 

twitter: @Laura_V_Hilton

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Laura-V-Hilton/161478847242512

Pinterest:  http://www.pinterest.com/vernetlh/

Ginger Solomon is a Christian, a wife, a mother to seven, and a writer—in that order (mostly). She writes or reads inspirational romance of any genre, and if she’s busy homeschooling, doing laundry, or fixing dinner, it’s on her mind. She’s a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, president of her local writing group, and blogs regularly for InspyRomance.com and at gingersolomon.com.

Website

Inspy Romance Blog

Facebook Author Page

Twitter @GingerS219

Pinterest

Amazon Author Page

You can find Winter's Kiss here:

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0767LWGCL/

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/winters-kiss/id1293778445

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/winters-kiss-elaine-stock/1127196238

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/winter-s-kiss-10

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Elaine_Stock_Winter_s_Kiss?id=g7Q4DwAAQBAJ

Holiday candy-making and a good book by Paty Jager

Growing up, Thanksgiving to Christmas, our house has always been filled with aromas of baking. Spices, chocolate, sweetness. The counters overflow with baked goods cooling, piled on plates, and carefully layered in airtight containers. The freezer becomes a booby-trapped appliance with bags and containers of goodies shoved in every available space.

  

The wonderful smells mingle with pumpkin pie, turkey, ham and at Christmas the tang of pine and cinnamon.  I’ve heard it said smells can trigger memories. Any time I smell the nostril tingling scent of cinnamon I’m taken back to the two story farm house my parents, siblings, and grandparents lived in when I was young.

My grandmother’s claim to fame at Christmas was her cinnamon candy. 

Here is the recipe: Old-fashion Cinnamon Candy

1 pint Karo syrup

2 cups sugar

1 bottle cinnamon oil

6 drops red food coloring

powdered sugar, desired amount for coating

Directions:

1.  In a sauce pan, bring syrup and sugar to the hard- crack stage—about 300 to 310 degrees.
2. Add cinnamon oil and food coloring.
3. Stir quickly and pour into a well greased cookie sheet. 
4.  Let candy harden.
5. Crack into pieces and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

In my Christmas Story, Christmas Redemption, the hero has been in prison for ten years for something he participated in as a young man. When he returns home to confront his father, he finds his mother in her kitchen baking. The smells take him back to his childhood. 

Blurb for Christmas Redemption a story in the Silver Belles and Stetsons Christmas Anthology.

Van Donovan returns to Pleasant Valley, Oregon where twelve years earlier as a boy of fifteen he left in handcuffs after standing guard for a bank robbery. He's learned a trade and excelled at it and is ready to prove to his father and the town he can amount to something.

Upon his return he learns the fate of the daughter of an innocent man who died in the robbery crossfire. To make amends he takes her out of the saloon and gives her a job, not realizing she'd been squatting in the very building he'd purchased for his business.

Can two battered hearts find solace or will the past continue to haunt their lives?

Excerpt:

The leafless cottonwood trees appeared stark and ominous hovering around the farm house. The two-story structure held pleasant memories. His mother’s cooking and laughter. Would she welcome him back or follow her husband’s lead? His stomach knotted, and he once again wished Tessa were by his side.

A multi-colored mutt ran out of the barn barking. Half-way to the wagon, he stopped and looked back toward the barn. A girl of about eight strolled out of the building wrapped in a heavy coat, scarf, and mittens.

“Button. Stop barking,” she said when he stopped the wagon in front of the house. His mother’s eyes stared at him from the child’s face. This was his sister Grace.

“Is your ma or pa home?” he asked uncertain what to do. He wanted to pick her up and hug her, but reasoned she wouldn’t care for a stranger grabbing her.

“Ma’s in the kitchen. Christmas is coming.” She put a hand on the dog’s head.

“It sure is. How about you take me to the house then rustle your ma out of the kitchen so I can talk with her?” He started walking to the familiar front door.

Grace grabbed his hand. “We can’t go in that door. Ma doesn’t like snow on her wool rug.” She tugged him to the back of the house.

Van smiled and allowed his sister to haul him around to the back of the house. The garden patch looked larger. And the cellar which he’d help dig was grown over sprouting pale weeds through the six inches of snow.

Grace pulled the screen door open, then shoved the door into the kitchen. Familiar aromas wafted around Van’s head. He sniffed and savored each spicy nuance.

His ma turned. “Grace, shut the door, I have bread ris—”

Ma was the same other than gray wisps in her dark brown hair. She blinked, and her hands clasped in front of her chest.

“Hello, Ma.”

“Van?” She took a step toward him. He smiled and nodded, and she lunged into his arms, crying.

He hugged her tight as tears burned his eye sockets. His heart, that had been torn in two when he never heard from her, slowly melded back together. “I’ve missed you,” he said, holding on, wishing he had all those years back.

She drew out of his arms and studied him. “My, you turned into one handsome man.” She wiped at the tears on her face with her apron. Then motioned to Grace. “Come say hello to your big brother.” His mother’s smile warmed him like a toasty fire on a cold day.

“My brother? I thought pa said—” Grace stared up at him quizzically.

This is one of the 9 heartwarming Christmas stories you'll find in the Silver Belles and Stetsons Christmas Anthology.  

Amazon 

Paty Jager writes murder mysteries and steamy romance starring cowboys and Indians.

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