We are so excited about this wonderful Anthology!
Let’s take a look at the 5 authors that put this together!
Rachelle J.
Christensen is a mother of five who writes romance and mystery/suspense and
solves the case of the missing shoe on a daily basis. She graduated cum laude
from Utah State University with a degree in psychology and a minor in music.
She enjoys singing and songwriting, playing the piano, running, motivational
speaking, and, of course, reading.
Rachelle is the award-winning author of six books, including
Wrong Number, Diamond Rings Are Deadly
Things, and What Every 6th
Grader Needs to Know, as well as the Rone Award-winning novella Silver Cascade Secrets. She and her
family live on a farm in Idaho.
Visit www.rachellechristensen.com
to learn more about upcoming books.
Social Media
Links
Facebook Author Page http://www.facebook.com/rachellechristensenauthor
Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/rachellewrites
Blog http://rachellewrites.blogspot.com/
Author Website http://rachellechristensen.com/
Facebook Author Page http://www.facebook.com/rachellechristensenauthor
Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/rachellewrites
Blog http://rachellewrites.blogspot.com/
Author Website http://rachellechristensen.com/
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3327139.Rachelle_J_Christensen
Amazon Author Page for Rachelle: http://www.amazon.com/Rachelle-J.-Christensen/e/B002UO5H48/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2?qid=1427567936&sr=1-2
Amazon Author Page for Rachelle: http://www.amazon.com/Rachelle-J.-Christensen/e/B002UO5H48/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2?qid=1427567936&sr=1-2
Author News signup: http://eepurl.com/eFD3o
Connie Sokol is a mother of seven, and a
favorite local and national speaker for over fifteen years. She is a TV core
contributor “Studio 5 with Brooke Walker” and a national blogger for www.ksl.com. She is one of seven female hosts of
The Living Room, an online value-based radio show where they dish on life,
loving, and learning (www.fromthelivingroom.com). Mrs. Sokol is a bestselling author
who has written 14 books, including her fiction: Christmas Kisses: An
Echo Ridge Anthology, and Caribbean Crossroads; and her
nonfiction: What Every 6th Grader Needs to Know, Faithful, Fit
& Fabulous, Simplify & Savor the Season, Create a Powerful Life Plan, and 40 Days with the Savior. Mrs. Sokol
marinates in time spent with her family and eating decadent treats. For her TV
segments, blog, podcasts and more, visit www.conniesokol.com.
Social media links:
Lucy McConnell has always been a reader
and a writer. Once caught up in a story, she disappears into a cave until the
first draft is done. She writes fantasy, clean romance, Christian romance,
historical fiction, and cookbooks (under the name Christina Dymock.) Her
Christmas romance, Blue
Christmas, was a top seller in seven Amazon categories on its own and
in thirteen as part of the Christmas
in Snow Valley Anthology.
When she’s not writing, you can find her volunteering at the
elementary school or church; shuttling kids to baseball, soccer, basketball, or
football, depending on the time of year; skiing with her family; wakeboarding;
cycling; baking; cooking; or curled up with a good book.
You can sign up for her newsletter and get the latest news here: http://wordpress.us8.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=bdba9ddb2c66cd77463f64638&id=9c679d9a1a
HEATHER
TULLIS has been reading romance for as long as she can remember and has been
publishing in the genre since 2009. She has published more than twenty books.
When she’s not dreaming up new stories to write, or helping out with her
community garden, she enjoys playing with her dogs and cat, inventing new ways
to eat chocolate, and hanging out with her husband.
Social
Media Links:
Cami Checketts is an idealist
who dreams of helping children around the world but can't keep up with the four
in her own home. Cami lives in a beautiful valley in Northern Utah where she
enjoys running, biking, and swimming during the two months of the year it isn't
snowing. A portion of the proceeds from Cami's books will be donated to The
Child & Family Support Center. For more information on this worthy cause,
please go to www.cachecfsc.org
"Christmas Kisses is a collection from
five bestselling and award-winning authors. Set in the snowy town of Echo Ridge
in upstate New York, these inspirational romances are sure to delight while you
sip cocoa by the fire and listen to Christmas carols."
Pick up your copy today!
Let’s get a sneak peek into one of
these great stories!
Heather’s Random facts:
-I like to bake and make up recipes.
-I am an EMT-A and worked on a volunteer ambulance service
for five years.
-At one time, I owned over 150 chickens, ducks, geese,
guineas, and other assorted fowl.
-All four of my current pets are named after sweet
foods.
-I once laid 1800 square foot of tile flooring in a building
we owned.
Snippet from One Winter
Night:
Jonah stared at the invoice and wondered where he was going
to come up with the money. Was there any prayer that he would make enough in
the opening two weeks of the gallery to actually pay the incoming bills? Never
mind the artists’ commission on top of the expenses. His friends were putting a
lot of trust in him and he didn't want to let them, or himself, down. He didn't
know how to do anything but draw and paint—or at least that's what he'd
believed. When he lost that, he'd realized he had learned a few things at his
college job, and there was this option.
If he hadn't made so many contacts and so many friends, the
gallery wouldn't have been an option. Only now he had to make good on his
promises, and with a little over a week until the gallery opened, he wasn't
sure that was possible. If sheer desire could make it happen, he would have no
need to worry, but that wasn't enough, and the prep on the building still
wasn't done. He just hoped the advertising and word of mouth he'd been working
on would bring people in—no matter what condition the building was in on
opening day.
He filed the invoice to deal with after he'd made a deposit
or two then walked back out to the showroom. The work to restore the space had
finished only a week earlier, and he'd been busy framing pictures and uncrating
items since. It was going slower than he had expected. Then again, maybe that
had something to do with Sam—his nineteen-year-old employee, who apparently seemed
to think the start time for work was flexible.
Jonah sighed and checked his watch again. He only trusted
the kid to work for a couple more days, and then he'd have to let him go. Sam
wasn't a terrible employee, but he wasn't exactly stellar, either, and he
wasn't someone Jonah trusted to handle some of the more valuable
pieces—especially after some of the less graceful moves the kid had made:
knocking over displays, dropping one canvas, and breaking one side support,
making Jonah re-stretch it. Jonah got back to work on a frame for one of his
own paintings, one he'd done a couple of years earlier. It had been far too
long since he'd put paint to canvas. Or maybe it had just been too long since
he'd been able to do anything that wasn't plain mediocre. He ached for the way
painting used to make him feel.
He looked at the painting of a mother and child playing in
the park and remembered the way he'd planned the longer sweeping strokes, the
care he'd used to select the perfect shades of color and the way instinct,
coupled with years of practice had guided his hand. This piece had gotten
attention at the previous gallery where it had been placed, but it was one of
three pieces that hadn't sold during the consignment period, and when Jonah had
been unable to produce anything else, the gallery owner had offered to let him
take them back. Now he wasn't sure if it was more painful to see it as a
reminder of what he'd lost, or more hopeful as a reminder that he might,
someday, have it again.
He was almost loathe to sell the three final paintings,
though he desperately needed the money.
Like painting, framing was both art and science, and took
his concentrated effort. Thankfully, it didn't seem to need as much of the muse
as painting had, though he could become just as engrossed. Another thirty
minutes passed before Jonah thought about Sam again, then, irritated, he picked
up his phone to call the kid.
Sam answered the phone, his words tripping over themselves.
“Oh, Jonah, I'm so sorry. I should have called, I just wasn't thinking.”
“You weren't thinking that you were nearly an hour late for
work?” Jonah knew he wasn't succeeding very well at keeping the irritation from
his voice.
“I was in an accident on the way there.” His voice held a
slightly shaky quality. “I didn't think to call you. I'm so sorry. It's been
crazy.”
Jonah set down the stack of matting samples, focusing closer
on the conversation. “What happened, are you okay?”
“I broke my leg. The x-rays just came back. The doc says
it's going to be a couple of weeks before I'm up and around. Even then I'll
probably have crutches. I still have to get my cast. I'm sorry I won't be able
to help you out any more.”
Jonah felt bad for his earlier irritation. “Oh, man, that's
terrible. Do you have someone there for you?” Not that he could afford to lose
even a little more work time if Sam was already out of the picture, but no one
deserved to sit at the hospital by themselves.
“My sister is coming from Albany to pick me up. I'll visit
her for a while. My car is totaled. Not sure how I'll get around. Idiot driver
hit me at the intersection.”
“Don't worry about work. I'm sorry this happened to you.
Take care of yourself.” Jonah wished him well and ended the call. He did feel
bad for Sam, but dang it, he didn't know what he was going to do without the
help. Sam was only hired on a temporary basis, but Jonah went from somewhat
overwhelmed to super stressed in a heartbeat. “Eighteen-hour days, here I
come.”
He remembered his grandma was expecting a visit
in a little while and decided to put it off today. She would understand if he
had to change his visiting schedule to every-other day until the gallery was up
and running. The thought made him feel bad, but he didn't have much choice at
this point. He picked up the phone to call her.
And a fun Q&A with the author!
1 What is your favorite part of writing? I love the discovery of the first draft. Even
though I generally have an idea of what’s going to happen, there are always
surprises as you go along and you never know exactly how it’s going to turn out
until you put your fingers on the keyboard and start typing.
2. Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp? Having a message is a funny thing, even when
I try to embed a subtle one in fiction, half the readers get something totally
different, and there could be a dozen different takes on what a story means,
depending on what they need or are looking for at any given time. Most of the
time I don’t worry about a specific message when I’m writing, but if I’m
writing good characters with real troubles, something will work its way into
the story tapestry even if I didn’t plan for it to be there.
3. Do you recall how your interest in writing originated? I have lots of friends who wanted to be
writers from the time they were able to pick up a pencil. I loved books from
the crib, and almost always had a story going on in my head, even if I wasn’t
reading something at the time, but I had zero aspirations of being a writer
until I was a senior in high school—and that was short lived. I actually
graduated from college with an English lit degree (why would I waste my time
with creative writing classes. Poo-poo) and three months later one of the
stories in my head refused to go away, so I started jotting it down. I didn’t
even own a computer at the time, but once I started putting pen to paper, I was
hooked.
4. Give us an insight into how your writing day/time is structured? Right now I have an early morning class most
days and then come home, take care of homework (take a nap because my class is
way too early) and in the afternoon I write for a few hours. I try not to get
caught up in email and social media during this time, but it’s not always easy.
Then in late afternoon, early evening, I try to get any writing-related and
housekeeping issues taken care of. I’m lucky to have a great husband who helps
with things around the house.
5. Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it? That having people counting on me can be a
great motivator! No, really, I pick up little things along the journey with
every book. I think being in someone else’s head teaches us a little more
compassion, hopefully gives us a little broader world view. Plus, I got to
learn a few things about watercolor painting, which was kind of fun.
6. What is the thing you struggle with the most while writing? And
how do you defeat it? Procrastination when I’m feeling a little stuck, or when I just
plain don’t want to work on edits (edits are the bane of my existence.) Having
a firm deadline really helps—so much! I can let myself procrastinate for a day
or two if I’m about to dive into edits, but if I let it go too long, then it
just gets easier and easier to keep procrastination. The best way to handle it
is just to confront it head on. If I sit my butt in the chair and get to work, it’s usually far less
traumatic and awful then I think it’s going to be, and when I finish a solid
edit, I love the book so much more.
Follow
along on the Facebook event page to get an inside look at all the stories in
this Anthology.
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