Amy R. Anguish's Blog, page 26

Author Interview: Janet Ferguson

Sometimes, you discover an author and read every one of her books you can get your hands on. Because they're that good. Janet Ferguson is one of those authors for me. I found her through a freebie on one of her stories, won another one in a giveaway, and then I was hooked. Her tales are sweet and fun, with characters to root for and settings you want to visit. And today, I get the pleasure of introducing Janet to you. Make sure you read all the way to the bottom to find out more about her newest book set to release later this month.

​Hi Janet, most of your recent books have been set near the coast in Georgia and the gulf (including my favorite--St Simons Island, GA). Do you have a favorite beach you've visited? Why? 

It’s so hard to choose just one! I’ve loved all of them. The beach I end up going to most often is Fort Morgan, Alabama. It’s fairly close—four hours or so—and it’s a little less crowded and less commercialized on the peninsula. I usually go in the fall, and the temperatures are mild, but the Gulf is still warm. The butterflies migrate through the area sometime in October. Sometimes, I’m blessed to be there to see them.
 
Ooh! I need to check that beach out. It sounds amazing, and I love butterflies. What is it about the beach that makes you long to set stories there?
 
I love the beach. It’s like God opens a treasure chest and sprinkles prizes around for us to find. Shells, porpoise, heron, sand dollars, starfish, sunsets, the ocean breeze, sea turtles, glowing jellyfish, the stars, and the waves as constant as His love, and so much more.
This newest book coming out includes a marine biologist. What was the most interesting thing you discovered when you were researching that occupation?
 
I learned so much about manatees, since that is my marine biologist’s focus. They are truly gentle giants. I went to swim with them in Florida. I didn’t realize they migrated from Florida during the warmer months to Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas. They need to return home before winter, though, or they risk cold stress. Occasionally, they have to be rescued. The creatures also are recognized individually by their scars that often come from boat strikes.
 
I know this book ties in with your Coastal Hearts stories. Will we see any of the fun characters we've gotten to know in those books repeated in this one?
 
We see one character from the previous books, but not until the very end. It’ll be a surprise!
 
Surprises are fun! Can't wait to see this one.
If you're like me, you always have an idea for a future story percolating. Can you give us an idea of what we can expect to see in the future from you?
 
My next novel percolating is called Holding onto Hope. These characters will come from Healing Skye, and I plan to have them travel from Dauphin Island, Alabama, to Wyoming for a wedding.
 
Wyoming is about as far from the beach as you can get! Sounds interesting, though.
Which one of your characters has been the hardest for you to write thus far?
 
Wow! Hard question. Right now, I feel like Skye from Healing Skye was the most difficult. Partly because of her tough childhood and past, partly because of the research. But maybe because I just finished all the editing, ha!
 
Edits always make a book feel harder than the writing part. I can empathize with that.
​Okay, I always end with this question: can you leave us with one random fact about you that very few people know?

Hmm, depends on how well someone knows me. I’m deaf in my right ear, so I’m always circling people to get them on my good side so I can hear them 😊

Sounds like we're a matched set! I have some hearing loss in my left ear! Thanks so much for sharing with us today, Janet. I can't wait to read your story. People can’t be trusted.

 Animals always made more sense than humans did to marine biologist Skye  Youngblood.   After her mother’s suicide, she left Alabama and never looked back. These days, she pours her heart into protecting nature’s sea creatures. When she returns to Dauphin Island, Alabama, for a temporary manatee migration study, her dark past is much too close. She can’t let her guard down. But how can she keep her heart hidden when a kind man with a genuine smile makes her want a fresh start?

Charter fishing pays the bills for widower Pete Thompson and his little girl, but like his father, a pastor, Pete can’t help but fish for men. Only, after growing up under constant scrutiny as a preacher’s kid, Pete’s ways are a bit more unconventional. And the bulk of his life revolves around raising his precious daughter.

When he witnesses the car wreck of a new marine biologist on the island, it doesn’t take a genius to see that more than just her physical pain needs tending. Pete feels called to help Skye find true healing, but he’s navigating dangerous waters. And he’s not at all sure he’ll walk away unscathed.

Preorder for only $1.99! Check it out here. Janet W. Ferguson is a Christy Award finalist and the FHL Readers Choice Award winning author of realistic inspirational fiction. An avid reader, she loved books so much she found a job as a librarian so she could be around them all day. Then she turned that love of story into writing faith-filled novels with characters who feel like best friends. You’ll laugh and cry as the quirky heroes and heroines chase their happily ever after.

Janet and her husband live in Mississippi where they say y’all a lot, and she forces him to visit the beach as often as possible. They have two grown children, one really smart dog, and a cat that allows them to share the space.

Get a free novella https://www.janetfergusonauthor.com/get-a-free-novella.html

Behind the Story: the Facts

Every wonder how much of their own lives authors weave into a story?
I have said several times now, No Place Like Home is sort of my "what might have been" story. I made my main character a preacher's daughter and basically gave her my past. But also changed it a little. For instance, I don't have a twin--my sister is two years younger.
But a lot of what you find out she went through growing up, it's based on my memories and reality. And it wasn't always good things.
The differences? Adrian gave up on her faith--in God and His people. I did not.
Anything else based on reality in my book? Of course!
Monday, I told you about Memphis, and why I chose that setting.
Other things based on real experiences I've had: the job. I've never worked in IT or computer programming, but I did work as a timekeeper for a home healthcare agency in Texas for several years. And I was there when they switched the software used for their agency to keep track of time worked. It's where I got that part of the storyline.
And I love old musicals. A lot. So, Adrian's love of those is very much based on my own movie collection. Along with her tendency to hum without even realizing it. Yep. That's one of my habits, too.
There's probably more woven through the story, but I can't give everything away. ;-)
Still, I hope knowing about these few things will make the fiction even more powerful as it intertwines with the truth.

Just a few more days to preorder the ebook before the price goes up. Check it out here!

Behind the Story: Setting

Why Memphis? 
Surprisingly enough, I was chatting with some other authors in a Facebook group not too long ago and mentioned my book was set in Memphis. And they were surprised. I guess no one thinks of Memphis when they think romance ... or something.
​So, why did I choose such a place?
I love Memphis. It's where I spent the first two years of my marriage, where my husband's family was living when I first started dating him and they were still there until after our first child was born. I have so many sweet memories of that city, and still have plenty of friends there. And I needed somewhere not too far from Arkansas or St. Louis, the other towns in my book.
Through the story, Adrian gets to visit the river (where they watch fireworks), the Pyramid to check out Bass Pro with her nephews, and several barbeque spots. Because it's Memphis! 
It's only a couple hours from where I have her parents living in Sassafras, AR (yes, the town I made up for An Unexpected Legacy) and Little Rock, where her sister lives. And not too far from her "home" base of St. Louis, the town she always thought she wanted to live in, though she never really stays there for long.
Memphis has a Southern charm and enough fun amenities to make it an interesting location. And I really hope you grow to think of it as sweetly as I do after reading my story.
If you had to pick a spot to set a romance, would Memphis be on your list? Have you ever visited Memphis? Don't forget! Save money when you preorder the ebook! The price will go up on 12/7/21!

Behind the Story: Gray

Ready to meet another character from No Place Like Home? How about Gray? Grayson Roberts is head of the IT department at Healthcare for All in Memphis, TN. Despite his office being small and in the "dungeon," AKA the basement, he loves his job, and is looking forward to working with Adrian Stewart to get the new software set up.
Gray can't help but have a good attitude about life. After all, God brought him through a lot when he was younger, and now that He's a Christian, hope is his strong anchor.
He loves to laugh and have fun, watch movies, and is as involved as he can be in church activities.
What he doesn't want is to start a relationship with anyone who doesn't have a faith similar to his. When he finds out Adrian is going to be sharing his tiny office space, he knows two things:He needs to clean up the disaster area that has formed on the extra table so she'll have somewhere to work.He better guard his heart but good, because she obviously isn't okay with praying or anything else to do with God.
Gray has been one of my favorite guy characters thus far, which is saying something, because I love them all. But his sunny personality can't help but win everyone over. Have you been won over yet? What if he brought you a cup of coffee and offered to take you to lunch?
Ready to snag your copy? It releases in just over two weeks, but if you order the ebook before then, you get it cheaper! Check it out here.

Behind the Story: Adrian

No Place Like Home releases in just a few weeks. In fact, the ebook should go on pre-order this week. That means it's time for me to start introducing characters. And let me tell you, this one is near and dear to my heart for multiple reasons. See what you think. Preacher's kid Adrian Stewart abandoned God as soon as she moved out of her father's house. After all, hadn't God abandoned her over and over again? How could she trust Him or any of His people after growing up in such an unstable past?
Moving every few years may not have given her a strong faith, but it has helped her adjust to her chosen job--software trainer. She travels for months at a time, working with home-health companies who need the computer program she helped design with LogMeIn, Inc. Spending all those nights in a hotel room doesn't bother her as long as she has her personal coffee maker, her collection of old musicals, and a few books and pictures. What more could she want? Adrian's twin Danielle can't understand how they could've turned out so differently when they grew up in the same house. But they're complete opposites in everything but looks. Adrian doesn't plan to spend enough time with her family to find a way to get back in their good graces, but her job is sending her to Memphis, just a few hours from her parents. And to work with a guy named Gray, who caught her attention in more ways than one the moment she saw him on a video conference.
Will spending time in the bluff city be good for her, or will it only confirm her plans to never put down roots?

Are you ready to find out? No Place Like Home releases Dec 7th!
Want a chance to win a copy of No Place Like Home?

I have partnered up with Celebrate Lit Publicity to do an amazing giveaway where you can win BRAND NEW, NOT EVEN RELEASED books releasing in December.  This means you get to read some of those books before the public does! Isn't that exciting?

You also have the chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card to load up the TBR pile!

 Be sure to enter Celebrate Lit's December New Release Multi-Author Giveaway going on now through November 20.
​
 Enter here: http://www.celebratelit.com/december-new-release-giveaway/

Author Interview: Liana George

I've mentioned before how blessed I am by getting to know other authors. Well, let me tell you. The one chatting with me today is a peach! Liana George is a fellow Scrivenings author, and she's here to talk about her debut novel, Perfectly Arranged. Read on, because you're going to enjoy this one.

Congratulations on your first book! From the moment you first got the idea to write this story, how long did it take to get here?
 
Thanks! I first got the idea for the book in 2007-2008 while living in China. I was asked to research an address on a business card for a family friend. I never did locate the property but always wondered what was there. Thinking it would make a good story one day, I tucked it away in my writing idea notebook. Sometime in early 2017, I finally figured out how to make a book out of the idea and started writing my novel in December 2017.
 
I know you've got two more books coming out in this series (and I'm so excited to read them and see what happens). Did you originally mean for this to be a trilogy, or did it take over and grow more than you thought it would? 
 
I’d always planned on it being a trilogy, but I never saw the story going the way it has, especially for books 2 (Perfectly Placed) and 3 (Perfectly Matched). But that’s the beauty of a story! It takes the author in the direction it wants to go sometimes, and we just have to go with the flow.
When and why did you first decide to become an author?
 
As a young girl, I loved to read and write stories. I even believed I’d be a Pulitzer Prize-winning author one day. However, fears and doubts caused me to lock that dream away for a very long time. In 2017, I found the courage I needed to revive that goal and began writing Perfectly Arranged. In 2021, nearly 40 years after I started crafting stories on the red shag carpet of my childhood home, my dream of being a published author has finally come to pass!
 
I know you handwrite your stories before typing them. How long does it take to actually write a whole book by hand? Does this help you catch more things since you have to write it twice basically before sending it in?
 
For some reason, creativity flows better for me when I write by hand, but like you said, it takes much longer! On average, I can handwrite one chapter (roughly 3500-4000 words) in three days and I usually write two chapters a week. At first, I would manually type my handwritten notes into Word, which would add another 3-4 hours of work to my week. Thankfully, I discovered the ReMarkable tablet which allows me to write to my heart’s content then converts my handwritten notes to typed text. It isn’t perfect but it’s a huge time-saver! I don’t usually catch things in this phase as much as I do when I review the book in chunks every few weeks.
 
A big chunk of your novel takes place in China, based on some of your experiences from when you lived there? What were the top three things it was hardest to get used to when living in a different country?
 
Oh, I have to pick just 3?? Hmm, well I guess I would say the biggest thing was hunting for food we were familiar with (Dr. Pepper, cereal, Mac-n-cheese, etc). I would often have to go to several small stores to find what I needed in addition to getting some of the basics from the Chinese markets.
 
The other two were (1) the language issues – I knew some Chinese, but it was challenging to communicate with my driver, house help, and in public. Thankfully we had “handlers” who could translate for us in a jam and since it was obvious that we were foreigners people were patient and understanding with us; and (2) the sheer amount of people everywhere! No matter where you went – sidewalks, restaurants, stores – there were crowds in every direction. Eventually I acclimated but it took a while.
 
Can you give us a sneak peek into something we can expect in the next book?
 
I’ll give you three words – love, mystery, death
 
And I always end with this question: Can you tell us one interesting fact about you that very few people know?
 
I once rode a donkey up Mt. Sinai (Egypt) in the middle of the night so I could see the sunrise. Quite the experience!!

Okay, that is really cool!

Did you enjoy getting to know Liana more? Want to keep up with her or check out her amazing new book (seriously, I've read it and highly recommend!)? Keep scrolling.
Perfectly Arranged

Book One of the Hopeful Hearts Series

Short on clients and money, professional organizer Nicki Mayfield is hanging up her label maker. That is until the eccentric socialite Katherine O’Connor offers Nicki one last job.

Working together, the pair discovers an unusual business card among Ms. O’Connor’s family belongings that leads them on a journey to China. There the women embark on an adventure of faith and self-discovery as they uncover secrets, truths, and ultimately, God’s perfectly arranged plans ​Liana George is a sought-after speaker, blogger, and author. Before pursuing a career in writing, she was a professional organizer and the former owner of By George Organizing Solutions in Houston, Texas. Her debut novel, Perfectly Arranged, was inspired by one of her eccentric clients and Liana's love for China, where she lived for two and a half years. When she's not putting things in order or scribbling away, you can find her reading, traveling, or playing tennis.
 
 
Connect with Liana at: www.lianageorge.com or through any of these social media platforms:
 
Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest
YouTube or YouTube organizing videos
 YouTube writer videos
LinkedIn
Amazon Author page
Goodreads Author page
BookBub Author page 
Mailing List
Twitter

A No-Nano Year

Do you know about Nanowrimo?
Something tells me if you've been following me very long, you do. Why? Because I love Nanowrimo.
What is it?
It stands for National Novel Writing Month, and it happens every November. And, up until now, I've only missed it a few years. In fact, except for my novella that came out last month, every single book I have published was written during Nanowrimo.
But this year, I am not planning to participate in my favorite writing program.
​Why? ​Well, I have multiple reasons.
One, I have a book releasing December 7th (yay!), and that means last-minute edits, lots of writing marketing posts, and other release stuff that needs to happen in November leading up to my fifth full-length novel coming out. And I'm so excited about this book, y'all. So, I want it to have as much time as I can give it.
Two, I've already written two and a half novels this year. And a novella. Seriously. I didn't even mean to write that other half, but it wouldn't leave me alone, so I worked on it when I could and now don't have as much to write next year. But since my goal was to write two novels and a novella this year, I've already passed it.
Three, I'm sort of tired. True statement. I'm working preschool, and being an author, and a mommy, and teaching Bible school. And sometimes, I need to take time and slow down for a minute. I can't do it much longer than that, because I don't know how to be bored, but I do know when I've been pushing myself too hard, and I'm almost there this year. So, I'm trying to be good and save some ideas to write next year.
In the meantime, I'm rooting for all my friends and fellow authors who are participating in my favorite time of year. I wish you many, many words (or at least 50k), and that they're at least mostly good ones!
Have you ever had to keep yourself from doing something you love to do? Ever taken time to focus on other things instead, knowing it was the better choice?

Retreating to Advance

If you've followed me for any amount of time at all, you know Heather Greer and Erin Howard are two of my writing sisters. We have our YouTube channel, Once Upon a Page, which has been going for two years now (almost 100 episodes!). And for the second year in a row, we organized a retreat for other writers to join us for three days of writing, encouragement, and fun. Last year was a blast (here's my post about it), but this year was even better. First of all, we doubled in how many people attended, which was amazing. We had authors from TN, KY, IL, and AR, too. And it was a blast getting to know them and hear about their stories.
The weather was warm and mostly sunny, so we could spend time outside as well as inside. All the devos and talks were uplifting (I can say that because I led two of them--ha!).
And we actually got some writing done as well as recording more videos for the YouTube channel.
Fun fact: a writers' retreat is one of the only places on earth where it's okay to ask how many people someone has killed that day.
There are always resources and facts you can learn from authors who have been at it more than you have, and we had someone join us this year who is about to publish her 100th novel! Susan Page Davis is amazing, and I highly recommend her books, too.
Laughter is better than anything in the world when you've been in a slump, like I had slid into the last month. I'm feeling much more motivated now.
AND ... best of all, maybe ... I have the promise of a couple more contracts. :-) Heather, Erin, and I have been talking about our trilogy (with maybe Regina Merrick joining us to make it a quadrilogy). And this year, we took the opportunity to pitch it to our publisher while we were all together. And she put us on the calendar for 2023. I'll be sharing more about it soon, but to say I'm excited is an understatement.
​Have you ever had to retreat in order to advance? Let me tell you, it's worth it. I'd love to hear about any experiences you might have had that are similar.

Author Interview: Michelle de Bruin

It's always a pleasure to have one of my fellow Scrivenings Press authors on here for an interview. Today, Michelle de Bruin is joining us, talking about her newest book, which sounds amazing, and some of the fun research that went into it. Read on!

Michelle, congrats on the recent release of your fourth book. Can you tell us if this book is connected to your last series or is this a completely new series?

​This book starts a new series, but the characters in this book are people we met in my first series of books.

Your characters in this book are older than the ones in your last few. Was that easier or harder to write? Why?

Even though these main characters are older than the ones in my first book, they are actually close in age to myself, so creating them and writing their story came pretty easy because I thought about how I would handle the situations that came up in the book. Some of the events, like second marriages and the arrival of grandchildren have happened to people in my era of life. I could develop these characters with an accurate level of maturity because of the realistic responses I've witnessed to these sorts of circumstances.

What was one of the most interesting things you uncovered when you were researching for this story?

Writing this story required research of the first airplanes ever invented. Here are some interesting facts I learned about the Wright Model B pusher biplane while writing this story:
The biplane required 100 yards to take off.
It was produced between the years of 1910 and 1914.
It had a 39 foot wingspan and a 4 cylinder engine.
It's speed was on average 44 mph.
President Theodore Roosevelt was the first American President to fly. In October 1910, a man by the name of Arch Hoxsey took the President as a passenger on his Wright Model B. Speaking of planes, I know one of your characters flies a biplane in this novel. Do you have personal experience with flying? How did you come up with the idea to make him a pilot as well as a doctor?

Interesting question. The use of a biplane in this story is a metaphor for my spiritual journey. The Lord has given me the image of an airplane for ministry, based on the passage from Malachi 4:2 that says, "But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings." I wanted to incorporate that idea into a story about a person who ministers healing through their vocation.

What is one of the strangest things medicine-wise you've uncovered that they used to do back in the 1900s when your story is set and people wouldn't dream of doing now?

Just the whole concept of doctors who practiced medicine in the rural areas going to people's houses to treat them. We would never do that today. People come to town to the clinic or for a stay at the hospital. But 100 years ago, women gave birth at home. Medical procedures were conducted in the kitchen. Funeral visitations happened in the parlor or the dining room. The country doctor had a unique place in the community he served and also an exhausting job that never let up. I attempted to show that in the story when Dr. Kaldenberg got called to help at the orphanage with the fever outbreak. Instead of going home for a day off after missed nights of sleep, he had to put in a full day of delivering a baby and working in his clinic.

Can you give us a sneak peek into something you're working on for the future? Got any fun stories planned to come out down the road?

More stories I'm working on are the second and third books to this series. In my first series of books, we met Lacy Jones and Agnes Harper. Lacy was a student in the country school where Karen Millerson taught. Agnes was a little girl that Karen and Logan De Witt saved from pneumonia. They are grown up now, and travel together to Oswell City, the town where Coming Home to Mercy took place. Lacy enjoys photography, and receives a Kodak camera for her eighteenth birthday. On the way to her destination, she meets Conrad Van Drunen. Conrad is a widower of two small children, and friend of Dr. Matthew Kaldenberg. In the third book, Agnes, who wishes to be called by her middle name of Rose, meets Timothy Ellenbroek. Timothy is the son of Oswell City's mayor, and has been serving as a chaplain in World War I. He returns to his hometown and starts his life over, which includes a relationship with Rose.

And, as always, what is something fun very few people know about you that you can share with us today?

Something fun that very few people know about me is the fact that I have learned how to paddleboard this summer. Our family went to Door County, Wisconsin on vacation in 2019 and rented paddleboards one afternoon. It was so much fun. My sons and I like to kayak, so picking up this new skill of paddleboarding fits well into our enjoyment of the water. My husband bought me a paddleboard for my birthday last fall, and this spring, I finally got to use it. We live near a lake with lots of calm water inlets, so I've found a few places to take it where there are no waves. Such a good time! Paddleboarding is the closest I will ever get to walking on water, hee hee.

That sounds like a lot of fun! Thanks so much for sharing with us today!

To learn more about Michelle's newest book and how to keep up with her, keep reading below. Coming Home to Mercy

A society woman leaves her comfortable lifestyle so that she can help her daughter adjust to the arrival of twin sons in a small town where the courageous doctor teaches her about taking risks.

Wealthy and sociable Margaret Millerson has always thought of her brother’s Chicago mansion as her home. But when she receives the telephone call that her daughter has given birth to twins three weeks ahead of the expected due date, Margaret must leave her comfortable home, her family, and her friends to travel out of state. While she is helping her daughter care for the infants, Margaret becomes reacquainted with the town’s doctor, Matthew Kaldenberg.

Dr. Matthew Kaldenberg stays busy caring for the health of the citizens of his small town. His profession offers him daily practice in defeating death, his greatest enemy. During the twenty years since losing his own wife and baby in childbirth, Matthew has saved his money for the purchase of a flying machine. But when Matthew takes Margaret for flights on his biplane, he learns that his dreams of rising above the griefs and losses of his past come with a cost. He doesn’t want to lose the trust of the people he cares about most, or the chance at a relationship with Margaret.
​
Both Matthew and Margaret must make difficult decisions to hold on to the love they have discovered. Will Matthew’s heart recover from sorrow? Will Margaret find her true home? Michelle De Bruin lives in Iowa with her husband and two teenage sons. She has a bachelor’s degree in Religion with a Christian Ministry emphasis, and in Music. Michelle is the spiritual services provider for an organization that offers services for people with mental and physical disabilities. In this role, Michelle teaches Bible studies, leads retreats, and writes a weekly devotion for the staff. Michelle is also a chaplain for the local hospital, Pella Regional Health Center. She has been a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) since 2015. Michelle writes inspirational historical romance about people who live in rural communities. Characters that bring to life the delights of farm and small-town living, whispers of Dutch heritage, and Christian faith make Michelle’s stories distinct. A romantic at heart, Michelle is always on the lookout for glimpses of God’s love through the window of a good story. Visit Michelle’s website to learn more about her books, read devotionals and book reviews, and to join her newsletter. https://michelledebruin.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichelleDeBruinsAuthorPage/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichelleDAuthor

Christmas in September

Are you tired of learning about the characters in my upcoming story and ready to read the book already? I'm ready, too! And I have good news!

​It comes out tomorrow! 
I never thought I'd want to write a Christmas story. But I enjoyed doing this one.
I never thought I'd want to include a child in a story. But Hailey really adds some fun moments to this romance with all her eight-year-old sass.
I never thought I'd be able to write a novella, but now I'm working on another one!

In other words, this story has helped me overcome a lot of things I never thought I'd do. And I hope you enjoy it, as well as the other four stories, as much as I did.
Today is the last day for pre-order, which means the last day to snag the ebook at two dollars cheaper than normal. Check it out here. And keep reading to find out what the other stories are about, too. ;-) ​A collection of Christmas romances by five multi-published authors.
Mistletoe Make-believe by Amy Anguish – Charlie Hill’s family thinks his daughter Hailey needs a mom–to the point they won’t get off his back until he finds her one. Desperate to be free from their nagging, he asks a stranger to pretend she’s his girlfriend during the holidays. When romance author Samantha Arwine takes a working vacation to St. Simon’s Island over Christmas, she never dreamed she’d be involved in a real-life romance. Are the sparks between her and Charlie real? Or is her imagination over-acting … again?
A Hatteras Surprise by Hope Toler Dougherty – Ginny Stowe spent years tending a childhood hurt that dictated her college study and work. Can time with an island visitor with ties to her past heal lingering wounds and lead her toward a happy Christmas … and more? Ben Daniels intends to hire a new branch manager for a Hatteras Island bank, then hurry back to his promotion and Christmas in Charlotte. Spending time with a beautiful local, however, might force him to adjust his sails.
A Pennie for Your Thoughts by Linda Fulkerson – When the Lakeshore Homeowner’s Association threatens to condemn the cabin Pennie Vaughn inherited from her foster mother, her only hope of funding the needed repairs lies in winning a travel blog contest. Trouble is, Pennie never goes anywhere. Should she use the all-expenses paid Hawaiian vacation offered to her by her ex-fiancé? The trip that would have been their honeymoon?
Mr. Sandman by Regina Rudd Merrick – Events manager Taylor Fordham’s happily-ever-after was snatched from her, and she’s saying no to romance and Christmas. When she meets two new friends—the cute new chef at Pilot Oaks and a contributor on a sci-fi fan fiction website who enjoys debate—her resolve begins to waver. Just when she thinks she can loosen her grip on thoughts of love, a crisis pulls her back. There’s no way she’s going to risk her heart again.
Coastal Christmas by Shannon Taylor Vannatter – Lark Pendleton is banking on a high-society wedding to make her grandparent’s inn at Surfside Beach, Texas the venue to attract buyers. Tasked with sprucing up the inn, she hires Jace Wilder, whose heart she once broke. When the bride and groom turn out to be Lark’s high school nemesis and ex-boyfriend, she and Jace embark on a pretend romance to save the wedding. But when real feelings emerge, can they overcome past hurts?