A Holiday Romance Anthology to gift yourself and the romance reader on our Shopping list! By Peggy Jaeger

 I love holiday Romance books. RomComs, fairytales come true, secret babies...I don't care what the trope is as long as the story takes place at Christmas-time.

This year I was honored to be included in a brand new Holiday Romance Anthology called CHRISTMAS COMES TO DICKENS. 10 Bestselling and Award winning authors, all with a small town romance centered around the fictional New England town of Dickens ( Yes, think Charles!) and taking place in the weeks just before the holiday rings in.

 Dickens is a quaint New England town bustling with excitement and anticipation for the upcoming Christmas holiday. From the annual tree lighting in the town square, a snowman building competition, ice skating on Grosvenor’s Pond, and horse-drawn sleigh rides, you can take advantage of all the festivities. You’re even welcome to cut down your own Christmas tree at Gridley Meadows, or join in the caroling on the Common.

Dickens offers an abundance of heartfelt wishes and a few much needed miracles. Families reunite, new friends are made, and old flames take a second chance at happiness. All while celebrating this most joyful time of the year.

Included in the Anthology are the following stories:

Millie’s Awesome Holiday Miracle by Top 100 Author Nancy Fraser ~ She’s an overworked single mom struggling to make ends meet. He’s the handsome CEO who’s come to Dickens to save—or close—the toy factory. Can one precocious little girl bring a couple of much-needed miracles to the people she cares about most?

Miracle At Holly Hill Inn by Top 100 Author Maddie James ~ Ariana is looking for the perfect Christmas village. Instead, she finds the town Scrooge. Will two days snowbound together at Holly Hill Inn bring them closer together, or send them each on their merry way?

Holiday Hearts by Top 100 Author Caroline Clemmons ~ Laura Jordan’s beauty and sense of humor are more apparent than her sharp mind, soft heart, and strict code of right and wrong. Ward Callahan has avoided romantic complications to throw himself into building his ad agency. Once he meets Laura, he falls hard but must convince her that dating her boss is not inappropriate. Can he convince her he doesn’t want her heart only for the holidays, but forever?

The Tinsel Tango by Best Selling Author Bonnie Edwards ~ Brenna needs some R&R over Christmas in Dickens. Tango lessons from mysterious Jett…Smith? may bring her everything her heart desires, but his secrets may kill the love they find.

Wisdom of the Heart by USA Today Best Selling Author Liz Flaherty ~ They were best friends who fell in love, but that was high school. Life and families and other loves had happened since that dear and distant time. They're friends again, comfortable with each other and having so much fun at Christmas time in Dickens. They're not still in love, but...wait...could it be happening again?

Operation Snowball by Best Selling Author Kathryn Hills ~ Returning to small town life is hard for Army veteran John Gridley. The last thing he expects to find is love with the beautiful widow, Heather Murphy. Can the perfect Christmas tree and a missing cat named Snowball bring them together despite meddling townsfolk?

Angel Kisses and Holiday Wishes by Best Selling Author Peggy Jaeger  (That's me, hee hee!)

 ~ When Sage left town 18 years ago, she left Keith's heart in tatters. Now she's back, and he's wondering if they can put the past behind them and rekindle the love they lost.

Holly’s Wish by Top 100 Author Kathleen Lawless ~ What if the girl who got away is actually standing right in front of you? Years earlier, Nico and Holly shared one magical Christmas Eve. She never stopped wishing he’d find where she left her number.
When he does, is it too late?

Holiday Heart Wishes by Award Winning Author Lucinda Race ~ On her way into Dickens to visit family, Vera picks up Tony, a stranded motorist. Rather than part ways when they arrive, they discover their loved ones are intent on getting married. Can they slow down the older couple's rush to the altar? Or, will holiday heart wishes come true for everyone?

Santa’s Wish by Best Selling Author Jan Scarbrough ~ Will Christmas magic help them overcome Roz’s career ambitions and Cooper’s grief, and bring them together for a second chance at love?

The authors have even complied a Cookie Recipe Companion for the book featuring 20 cookie recipes for your holiday baking this year. CHRISTMAS COMES TO DICKENS lists for only 99cents and the Cookie Companion is the authors' gift to you for free!

If you need to buy an ebook as a gift for someone on your list this year, I really recommend gifting them this one. Hours of reading pleasure filled with second chance romance, reunited lovers, and HEA's to fill anyone's holiday fix. Forget Hallmark, Netflix, and Lifetime movies - they are all basically the same plot with different actors! The book is always better than the movie, anyway, hee hee.

En joy, and happy reading!
Oh, and if you're looking for me, I'm here: FOLLOW ME

FAIR SALES--FOR THE BIRDS?

Fair Selling—For the Birds?

The three-day Holiday Fair in Greenville, SC, attracts substantial crowds, people who buy all manner of Christmas gifts, holiday decorations, foodstuffs and household gizmos. So having three authors split the $300+ cost of a booth to sell our books sounded like a grand idea. Out of the thousands of shoppers, surely hundreds would be eager to buy our traditionally-published trade paperbacks for avid readers on their Christmas lists.

At least that’s what two of my published friends—Kathleen Delaney and Ellis Vidler—and I thought. Were we right? No. Was it worthwhile? Yes. Would I do it again? Maybe.

Here’s a rundown on pros and cons for authors contemplating selling at a fair.

Dwindling Pool of Paperback Buyers—I’d estimate half the folks who stopped by our booth said they only buy e-books and/or anticipated receiving an e-reader for Christmas. We gave these folks bookmarks. Will they actually download our books after they unwrap new e-readers? Don’t know. I saw no instant surge in my e-book sales ranking. If I did this again, I’d investigate adding one of the new cell phone-scan barcodes to my bookmark to encourage immediate downloads.

Buyer Psychology—While the three of us write very different books, we all pen adult suspense/mystery with varying degrees of romance. Several potential buyers voiced reluctance to buy books from one or two of us as it might hurt the feelings of the passed-over author(s). A few years ago, Ellis shared a booth with a children’s author and this problem didn’t surface. So sharing a booth with authors who target very different audiences might improve sales. On the other hand, I had a delightful time chatting with my author friends during slow periods.

Do You Like To Read?—In an attempt to lure people to our booth, we’d call out to passersby. Do you like to read? I was astounded at how many people answered with a gruff “no.” At one point, we got the giggles thinking of follow-up questions to the naysayers like Can you read? or Are you a snake handler? On the pro side, we met and talked with many avid readers, librarians, and lovers of suspense and mystery. We tried to recommend books that fit their tastes even if we weren’t the authors, and we invited many of them to come to our local Sisters in Crime chapter. I have to believe there’s a long-term payoff in such interaction.

Book Covers/Geography—I attribute more than a third of my fair sales to the image of a lighthouse on the cover of DEAR KILLER and my ability to talk about my book’s South Carolina Lowcountry setting. These buyers purchased DEAR KILLER because they or their friends and family vacationed in the Lowcountry. If your setting has a strong tie to a popular vacation Mecca and/or the location of the fair, it will definitely help sales.

Books As Gifts—Most people bought our books for themselves rather than as gifts. This surprised me. I attribute it to uncertainty about whether or not a gift recipient would like the book. In contrast, they could make a judgment for themselves based on the back-of-the-book blurb, paging through the book and talking to the author. Our sales also may have been hindered by competition from a used book booth just down the aisle from us that was selling books by “big name” authors.

Time, Dollars and Sense—On the first two days, the fair ran from 10 a.m.-8 p.m., while the Saturday hours were 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Add booth setup/takedown, planning and travel time and you’re talking about investing the equivalent of a 40-hour work week. In my case, my “profit” would translate into an hourly rate well below the minimum wage. Actually, if I subtract the amount of money I spent at the concession stand and on gifts from other Fair vendors, I’m not sure I broke even. However, I did get all my Christmas shopping done, and I had fun.

For the Birds?—To raise money for an animal sanctuary, our neighboring booth let people photograph rescued birds of a feather including a Muscovy duck, a screech owl and a barn owl. There was always a crowd. Maybe next time I’ll bring a hawk to my booth and hint that it only attacks people who don’t read.