Freebies and Exclusives

On October 29, 2020 By margueriteg20163 Comments

Happy Fall and weekend! I hope you are finding the little blessings of each day, those small things that satisfy your yearnings. Well, I have a few “novel” ideas to offer.

The first is a free short story, “The Pull of Time,” with the sign up for my quarterly newsletter. This story offers the reason for the birth of the Revolutionary Faith series. Here is the link to join my newsletter and how to receive the free short story. http://eepurl.com/gF-3I1

The next item you will have to wait to receive. If you purchase Wait for Me as a pre-order in eBook form, you will receive as a bonus “Adventure’s Cost,” a short story featuring Lucy March, on release day, February 9, 2021. I know, that is a while to wait, but it is free with the pre-order purchase. Here is the link for the pre-order http://www.celebratelitpublishing.com/posts/book/wait-for-me/

Other than that, I will be giving away books over the next few months before Christmas. Stay connected for that information.

Happy October. Let me hear from you on this blog.

Review and Giveaway Secret Beach Boyfriend

On October 28, 2020October 27, 2020 By margueriteg201616 Comments

About the Book

Book: Secret Beach Boyfriend

Author: Kari Trumbo

Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance

Release Date: September 29 , 2020

She met Rafe on the beach when she was just five and it seemed like fate tied them together. When a chance encounter returns him to the islands twenty years later, Annie finds her beach friend has grown up and now needs her help.

Damaged and scarred from a past that still hasn’t healed, Annie needs help of her own. True to character, Rafe comes up with a perfect solution, but a temporary island romance does not fit into his agenda at all.

Will an offer to be her secret boyfriend give her heart a second chance? How can it turn into something more and prove there’s power in prayer and that love can triumph over a painful past?

He was Annie’s hero long ago, but can the man he has become save her now?

Secret Beach Boyfriend is the third “Merriweather book” in a new series featuring five islands, six authors, and a boatload of happily-ever-afters.

The Independence Island Series: beach reads aren’t just for summer anymore.

Click here to get your copy!

My Review

Back on Merriweather Island the day-to-day jobs and tasks of living continue. I love this series because previous characters appear, and their characters deepen as the island life draws more growth and characters. With a few glimpses into the reality of past, and present, hurts and pains, Annie confronts her own misgivings and misunderstandings by helping Rafe reconnect with his parents. Their plans do not take into consideration that their own lives could beg for change too.

These characters carry the burdens of the past. Don’t we all? We allow situations and circumstances from childhood to determine our motives, anxieties, hopes, and failures. That is human nature. But what if in the adult version, we confront the issues and settle the events in their proper place—the past—and move to a fuller, controllable life. It might take counseling, a good friend, a death, or any confrontational episode to persuade us to see the possibility of a better self.

About the Author

Kari Trumbo is a bestselling author of Christian historical and contemporary romance novels. Her books are known for characters who feel real, settings you could move to, and faith woven between the pages. She makes her home in central Minnesota with her husband of over twenty years, two daughters, two sons, and never enough time.

More from Kari

Have you ever hunted for seashells on the beach?

This sweet story actually starts twenty years before the moment you open the front cover. Years before, on a solitary beach, a little boy comforts a girl he finds crying by offering to help her find seashells. He doesn’t know why she’s crying, just that he can help. Even though he knows his mother will be angry with him.

You see, Rafe (that’s the little boy) has a mother who has minor OCD and doesn’t let him go on the beach. But when Annie (that’s the little girl) is obviously heartbroken, he can’t leave her sitting there and not do anything. At that moment, a hero is born.

It’s the little things that make a hero. That moment in time when he made a choice to put Annie above his own discomfort created a past for them both, an anchor they could both look back on. It was pivotal enough for them both that they remembered it years later. Rafe, because he hid the shells and cherished the one time he got to collect them. Annie, because she was going through something no child of five should have to. His kindness was a glimmer of hope.

Fast forward twenty years and these two meet again, but don’t realize right away they are the people they’ve been thinking about on-and-off for most of their lives. Interestingly enough, that part of my story is true. I had a friend I met at a local beach when I was too young to recall names or anything else of great significance other than the feeling that it was the best day ever. She made me her best buddy for the day, and that stuck with me.

When I think of this story beyond the printed page, where Annie and Rafe live on in my mind, I have to wonder if shells will continue to be a theme in their lives.

Blog Stops

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, October 26

Locks, Hooks and Books, October 27

deb’s Book Review, October 27

Connect in Fiction, October 28

lakesidelivingsite, October 28

Artistic Nobody, October 29 (Guest Review from Joni Truex)

Godly Book Reviews, October 29

Ashley’s Bookshelf, October 30

Adventures of a Travelers Wife, October 30

Livin’ Lit, October 30

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, October 31

Life, love, writing, October 31

Sara Jane Jacobs, November 1

Batya’s Bits, November 1

Daysong Reflections, November 2

The Meanderings of a Bookworm, November 2

Blossoms and Blessings, November 3

Where Crisis & Christ Collide, November 3

Simple Harvest Reads, November 4 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

Splashes of Joy, November 4

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Kari is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/102a8/secret-beach-boyfriend-celebration-tour-giveaway

Be sure to leave your comments here on my blog!

Christmas gifts in October?

On October 22, 2020 By margueriteg20167 Comments

It’s that time of year again. What time? Operation Christmas Child through Samaritan’s Purse. And now, more than ever, I am conscious of all the children in the world who need a little sunshine. And personally, I need to spread a little hope, even if beyond my borders.

So, I have my boxes on the table ready to be filled. I know its not even Halloween or Thanksgiving yet. But my spirit and attitude soar when I glance at the boxes surrounded by happies and little pretties.

If you’ve never participated in this project, you might want to gain information from Samaritan’s Purse. The shopping for special items takes me from thinking of myself to the part of me who wants to give to others, especially children. I’ve tracked my boxes in the past years as they traveled to Mexico, Panama, Ukraine, Guatemala, and Colombia. I wonder where they will go this year.

It might be a little early to say Merry Christmas, but why not? I plan on enjoying and celebrating the season beginning with these boxes.

For more information go to: www.samaritanspurse.org/occ

Have you participated in anything like this or with Samaritan’s Purse?

Review and Giveaway A Christmas Tale for Little Women

On October 21, 2020October 20, 2020 By margueriteg20166 Comments

About the Book

Book: A Christmas Tale for Little Women

Author: Linda Brooks Davis

Genre: Christian Historical Fiction

Release Date: September 15, 2020

Broadview is attired for Christmas. Oklahoma heiress, Adelaide Fitzgerald, is hosting two young girls who have chosen to celebrate Christmas with Auntie Addie rather than their family in Colorado.

Adelaide must give these girls a Christmas like no other. Has she thought of everything? What would top off this holiday in an extraordinary way?

The answer lies just the other side of Rock Creek. But what will it take for her to realize it is the Christmas topper she’s been seeking?

It’s 1912, and Adelaide Fitzgerald’s view of Christmas is about to emerge as a tale for a lifetime.

Click here to get your copy!

My Review

I love prequels even after reading the first novel in a series. This one is a lovely surprise during the Christmas season. The title intrigues me—Little Women. I am from a family of four girls with the glorious birth order of number one. Reading about the antics of girls opens floods of memories. In fact, we’re still creating new mischievous and productive endeavors. The bond of siblings and friends endures the years and with four the bond survives the frays and cuts of life.

Addie’s care of children in this novella inspires lives, the good of the community, the cause of Christ, acceptance, imagination. Sometimes we are at our best when dealing with the welfare of children or of others in general. Once the light is taken off us, love and generosity can abound.

About the Author

Linda Brooks Davis is a lifelong Texan who devoted 40 years to special education as a therapist, teacher, and administrator. She retired in 2008 and now writes full time.

Linda’s debut novel, Amazon best-selling The Calling of Ella McFarland, Book One in the Women of Rock Creek series, is set in 1905 Indian Territory prior to Oklahoma statehood. It won Jerry Jenkins Operation First Novel in 2014 and subsequently, ACFW’s Carol award for debut novel 2016. The sequel novella, A Christmas to Remember, is set in 1908 Oklahoma. A second novella, A Christmas Measure of Love, is set in 1910 and is the prequel to Linda’s second full-length novel, which is set in 1914, Amazon best-selling The Mending of Lillian Cathleen, Book Two. The third novella, A Christmas Tale for Little Women, releases in 2020 and is set in 1912. It is a prequel to Book 3 in The Women of Rock Creek series, The Awakening of Miss Adelaide, which is set in 1918.

Linda and her beloved husband Al worship and minister at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio and dote on six grandchildren. Readers may contact Linda through her website, www.lindabrooksdavis.com.

More from Linda

Everyone worked at my home on a South Texas farm near the U.S. border with Mexico.

My playmates were children of Hispanic laborers. Language never hindered playing la casa, making mud pies, or rocking los bebés. Frijoles and tamales served from stewpots over open fires tasted delicioso in either language. I learned outside their homes a broom works great on hardened soil.

Daddy paid workers on Saturdays, some by the hour, others by production. Lining up, they extended their hands, and he laid cash across their open palms. They checked the figures they had scribbled on paper scraps, trusting el patrón to correct discrepancies. Humble, grateful people, they showed respect.

My father verified immigration paperwork for those whom he housed. Others lived in the shadows, arriving around sunup and disappearing before sundown. Each evening a car or truck would rattle alongside the field, and the shadow worker would slip inside. Then the vehicle would clatter toward the horizon. And returned another day.

Occasionally, however, an alarm shouted in Spanish would sound across the field. Dropping his cotton sack, a worker would dash toward the cotton trailer in the turn row. Like hounds burrowing under a house, he and a compadre would leap over the trailer’s sides and dig a hole in the freshly picked cotton. The first crawled in, and the other covered him.

The immigration officer making his rounds would walk into the field and occasionally stomp around inside the trailer, searching for man-sized lumps. I never witnessed the discovery of a shadow worker, but I heard about them on other farms. Worst of all, I heard about tragedies. With very little oxygen between tightly packed fluffs of cotton, a man could suffocate and occasionally would. I wondered what would lead a man to take such chances and how my law-abiding, God-loving father justified his complicity. So, I asked, and he answered, “Desperation, sugar. All they want is work. A man wants to provide for his family wherever or however he can. I can’t turn them away.”

Sounded like work was a gift. Huh? my ten-year-old brain asked itself.

Years later, I understood this principle. The second chapter of Genesis shows us that God created man not to laze around all day, but to work.

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. Genesis 2:15

Therefore, not only in “the beginning,” but on our farm in 1956, a man’s strength to work was God’s gift. The opportunity to work was Daddy’s gift to the men. The fruit of each man’s labor was the gift he sent home each week and the fulfillment of his need to provide for his family.

At Christmas we enjoyed preparing bushel baskets of meats, fruits and vegetables, candy and nuts, and toys for each family. I wondered about those who stayed around for a single day. Would their children find fruits, nuts, or even a piece of candy on Christmas morning?

Answers evaded me then—-as they do now—-but as a writer in my eighth decade of life, one truth I hold onto is that the strength for each day of writing and less pain in my arthritic hands and back are gifts from God. Each opportunity to write is an opportunity not only to entertain but to inspire readers to seek God in their everyday lives. Each word, unique turn of a phrase, or plot idea . . . is my gift to Him.

Protecting our safety is a far more complicated endeavor in 2020 than it was in 1956. Threats arise like none presented five decades ago, but work is still a gift. God wired it into our DNA. Come to think of it, the ideas for A Christmas Tale for Little Women and the subsequent novel—one set in the southern tip of Texas, a story about a loving, destitute man who wants only to provide for his family—are gifts.

Those diligent workers of 1956 and other years deserve a story that honors them. My gift to them and to Him is A Christmas Tale for Little Women.

Thank you, Lord.

Note: Photos from Pixabay

Blog Stops

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, October 20

Blogging With Carol, October 20

Through the Lens of Scripture, October 21

Connect in Fiction, October 21

Get Cozy Book Nook, October 21

She Lives To Read, October 22

Artistic Nobody, October 22 (Guest Review from Joni Truex)

For Him and My Family, October 23

deb’s Book Review, October 23

Splashes of Joy, October 23

Connie’s History Classroom, October 24

Jeanette’s Thoughts, October 24

Locks, Hooks and Books, October 25

Book Bites, Bee Stings, & Butterfly Kisses, October 25

Mary Hake, October 25

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, October 26

Ashley’s Bookshelf, October 26

KarenSueHadley, October 27

lakesidelivingsite, October 27

Pause for Tales, October 27

Older & Smarter?, October 28

Inklings and notions, October 28

Betti Mace, October 29

Captive Dreams Window, October 29

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, October 29

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, October 30

CarpeDiem, October 30

Texas Book-aholic, October 31

Batya’s Bits, October 31

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, November 1

Moments, November 1

Lighthouse Academy Blog, November 1 (Guest Review from Marilyn Ridgway)

Sara Jane Jacobs, November 2

Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, November 2

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Linda is giving away the grand prize package of all 6 eBooks in the The Women of Rock Creek Series!! (The Calling of Ella McFarland, A Christmas to Remember, A Christmas Measure of Love, The Mending of Lillian Cathleen, A Christmas Tale for Little Women, and The Awakening of Miss Adelaide)

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/10264/a-christmas-tale-for-little-women-celebration-tour-giveaway

Be sure to leave a comment and enter the giveaway.

Counting Down to Release Day

On October 15, 2020October 15, 2020 By margueriteg20161 Comment

February 9, 2021 is less than four months from now. I’m so excited about holding the last book of Revolutionary Faith in my hands. Wait for Me throws the characters into emotional and physical dilemmas most people will never have to face. I hope you are ready to fall into step with Louis and Elizabeth on their journey.

Here is an excerpt from Chapter one of Wait for Me.

Chapter 1

Charles Town, South Carolina, January 1777

Elizabeth Lestarjette tugged at an escaped ringlet. The pull kept her focused on the present news, rather than the what ifs of the past or the speculations about the future.

Her brother’s fevered body struggled on the bed in the caretaker’s cottage. With few options, the hidden room posed as a safe place to sequester George. The fever had raged for two weeks, ever since Christmas Eve.

No, no, no. You can’t die like this. Not with Louis gone. I don’t think I could stand to lose you now.

Stay tuned for more info as the date draws near….

To pre-order Wait for Me with a bonus short story please follow this link:

http://www.celebratelitpublishing.com/posts/book/wait-for-me/

Review and Giveaway Light in the Mountain Sky

On October 15, 2020October 14, 2020 By margueriteg201611 Comments

About the Book

Book: Light in the Mountain Sky

Author: Misty M. Beller

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release Date: September 29, 2020

This epic journey may seal her fate forever.

Determined to prove her worth, Meksem fiercely fought to earn her place among the warriors in her Nez Perce camp. When her half-sister is captured by an enemy tribe, she refuses to trust the rescue to anyone else. But her new friends insist on joining her mission, and she battles between relief and frustration at their presence. Especially the white man who peers at her as if he can see through the face of the warrior she struggles so hard to maintain.

Spaniard Adam Vargas thrives on adventure wherever his travels take him. He’s fallen in love with this Rocky Mountain wilderness, as well as the spotted horses the Nez Perce tribe raise. His fascination with this Indian maiden-turned-warrior catches him off guard though, including the way she seems to be fighting for more than her sister’s safe return.

The journey proves more perilous than any of the group expects, and the secret Meksem hides becomes impossible to conceal. If they live through this mission, the life they knew will never be the same again.

From a USA Today bestselling author comes another epic journey through breathless landscapes and intense adventure.

Click here to get your copy!

My Review

1831 future Idaho Territory

The journey. So much can happen to us before reaching a destination. I love the planning of a trip or vacation—sometimes months of anticipation. Then, the beginning of the journey—a road trip or a flight or a train ride. The thrill of arriving spurs me on with excitement. I don’t want this part to end. Of course, the destination or the goal is the purpose, yet it is over so quickly.

Meksem has a journey, a long trail to her destination. Hers is treacherous and unsure. Definitely not a vacation. Also, her journey becomes one of trust and change in herself. Don’t the most important journeys in life invite us to change? Even a venture into a new day holds that possibility that God desires growth and closeness even in the unseen dangerous endeavors.

Join other readers as Misty Beller winds her journey through the perils of the mysterious, beautiful mountains on a quest for rescue from more than the obvious dilemma. A journey of love, trust, and renewal.

About the Author

Misty M. Beller is a USA Today bestselling author of romantic mountain stories, set on the 1800s frontier and woven with the truth of God’s love.

She was raised on a farm in South Carolina, so her Southern roots run deep. Growing up, her family was close, and they continue to keep that priority today. Her husband and children now add another dimension to her life, keeping her both grounded and crazy.

God has placed a desire in Misty’s heart to combine her love for Christian fiction and the simpler ranch life, writing historical novels that display God’s abundant love through the twists and turns in the lives of her characters.

More from Misty

Early Nez Perce Business Women

As I’ve been researching for my current Call of the Rockies series, I’ve had the pleasure of diving deep into the culture of the Nez Perce tribe. I found it interesting that one of the primary food sources of The People (as they called themselves) was camas roots.

But what really drew my notice was how the women would cultivate entire fields of camas root, store what they needed for their family through the winter, then use the extras for bartering. Some savvy women would become quite wealthy from their business dealings!

The bulbs of the camas plant are full of calories and nutrients, and each fall, Nez Perce families would travel to their particular camas meadow (a section of land whose camas rights had probably been passed down from generation to generation within their family). Many of these meadows were located near present-day Weippe, Moscow or Grangeville, where the onion-shaped bulbs grew thickly.

Women used pointed wooden tools to harvest the bulbs, and could often gather over 50 pounds a day, satisfying their full winter’s supply within just a few days.

Native American peoples who ate camas include the Nez Perce (Nimíipuu), Cree, Coast Salish, Kalapuya, and Blackfoot, and Yakama, among many others. Not all of these people groups harvested camas themselves. Instead, many relied on trade in order to procure it. Trade networks were established all the way from the Rockies to the Pacific Ocean, and a shrewd businesswoman who tended her camas meadows well could provide everything her family needed and more!

Blog Stops

Blessed & Bookish, October 15

Connect in Fiction, October 15

lakesidelivingsite, October 15

For the Love of Literature, October 16

Betti Mace, October 16

Texas Book-aholic, October 17

21st Century Keeper at Home, October 17

Inklings and notions, October 18

Adventures of a Travelers Wife, October 18

jeanette’s Thoughts, October 18

Older & Smarter?, October 19

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, October 19

For Him and My Family, October 20

Mary Hake, October 20

She Lives To Read, October 21

Writing from the Heart Land, October 21

Locks, Hooks and Books, October 22

Simple Harvest Reads, October 22 (Guest Review from Mindy Houng)

Artistic Nobody, October 23 (Guest Review from Joni Truex)

Blossoms and Blessings, October 23

Ashley’s Bookshelf, October 24

reviewingbooksplusmore, October 24

Bizwings Blog, October 24

Connie’s History Classroom, October 25

Book Love, October 25 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

Sara Jane Jacobs, October 26

Bigreadersite, October 26

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Misty is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/101f7/light-in-the-mountain-sky-celebration-tour-giveaway

Be sure to enter the giveaway above. Good luck and happy reading!

Bring on the Fall Multi Author Giveaway

On October 12, 2020October 11, 2020 By margueriteg20162 Comments

Hello Readers!Fall is officially here! The leaves are turning, the weather is cooling, and it is time to curl up with a book!

We want you to have a chance to win 40 of books or a $350 Amazon card to buy a ton of books yourself in the Celebrate Lit Bring on the Fall Multi-Author Giveaway!

Click here to enter: https://promosimple.com/ps/1004c/bring-on-the-fall-giveaway

The event and giveaway is going on now through October 18!

Bring Me Near is the book I’m giving away! Please enter and look at all the awesome books!

Lucy’s Story with Pre-order

On October 8, 2020October 8, 2020 By margueriteg20161 Comment

With my Revolutionary Faith Series coming to an end, I find there are so many characters with their own stories. Jeannette’s story was at the end of Draw Me to Your Side. I’ve even written her into another novel set in France. I’ve written Tom’s short story. George deserves one too.

For my last book in Revolutionary Faith, Wait for Me, I’ve included Lucy March’s story. Remember her? She is Elizabeth’s cousin who lives in the back country outside of Charles Town with her family. Did she always live there? What did she think of life on a farm? Who was Clifford March? Of course, she deserves more than a short story.

You can read about Lucy in Adventure’s Cost. You receive it as an eBook bonus if you pre-order Wait for Me from Celebrate Lit. http://www.celebratelitpublishing.com/posts/book/wait-for-me/ It will be sent on release day, February 9, 2021. The print format will also have Lucy’s story at the end.

Adventure’s Cost even gets its own cover. Isn’t she lovely? Thanks again to Roseanna White for her awesome artistic cover.

I appreciate your anticipation with me! Four months and counting.

http://www.celebratelitpublishing.com/posts/book/wait-for-me/

Review and Giveaway Wish Upon a Star

On October 4, 2020October 3, 2020 By margueriteg201610 Comments

About the Book

Book: Wish Upon A Star

Author: Tabitha Bouldin

Genre: Holiday Fiction

Release Date: December 1, 2018

Bryce Masters had everything he needed…or so he thought. His six-year-old daughter, Anna, would disagree. They were going home, moving back to Jingle Junction where Bryce would take over the local bookstore just in time for Christmas. Losing his wife, Molly, during the birth of their daughter six years ago was tragic, but Bryce has no idea just how much it weighs on young Anna’s heart until she confesses her deepest wish. What Anna wants for Christmas is a mother, but Bryce’s heart is not ready to love again. Only God can give Bryce the desire to make Anna’s wish come true. Only He can heal the hurt and open Bryce’s heart to the power of love. But Bryce will have to be willing to listen. And when the perfect woman reveals a secret that could devastate them all, will Bryce be able to look beyond what was and accept what might be?

Click here to get your copy!

My Review

I love the Christmas element with the innocence and exuberance of the six-year-old Anna. Jingle Junction—who wouldn’t want to go there! Add a bookstore and the setting is perfect, a place I’d want to hibernate. I can smell the pages and see the shelves. I could almost exist in that scenario without a plot!

But there is a marvelous plot. It is the perfect taste of Christmas where wishes and dreams collide with everyday decisions and options. The newness of Christmas each year provides hopes for the six-year olds or the seasoned adults. The opportunity to hope for change, for a chance to do or be something or someone different. Most of the fun of the wishing star is the journey, one of tears and laughter. You know the one I mean—life. And what better way to seek affirmation of begin alive than at Christmas amidst the lights and the stars.

About the Author

Tabitha Bouldin has a Bachelor’s in creative writing from Southern New Hampshire University, where she graduated with honors. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and has been published with Chicken Soup for the Soul. When she’s not homeschooling her kids, you’ll find her curled up with a book. Tabitha’s genre of choice is Contemporary Christian Romance which she describes as: Adventure with heart.

More from Tabitha

Wish Upon a Star owes its existence to Hallmark’s Christmas movies. I could, and often do, watch their Christmas movies all through the year. Doesn’t matter how cheesy the storyline, I love them all. While I wanted to bring that sense of fun and feel-good romance, I needed a little oomph. So, I took some inspiration from “The Christmas Shoes” by NewSong. For the record, I love Hallmark and NewSong equally, so putting the two together was a natural fit.

The intention wasn’t to make a sad Christmas story, but there’s some pain Bryce has to manage while learning to love again. The best things come from overcoming that thing you never thought you could do. When you press on, with God’s guidance and with His approval, anything is possible. Bryce needs this reminder that even in the darkest nights, God is there.

Wish is part of the funky town I created and dubbed Jingle Junction, a place where it’s all Christmas all the time. Jingle Junction has only a few rules. First off, you can have any business you want, as long as the business name is an alliteration. Second, community is the name of the game. When someone’s in need, everyone pitches in to help.

For this story, I wanted to highlight homecoming. To do that, I needed Bryce to have a reason to come back to Jingle Junction. That’s where the song came in. If you don’t know the song, it’s about a little boy who wants only one thing for Christmas, and that’s a pair of shoes for his dying mother. I listen to “The Christmas Shoes” at least a dozen times a year. It’s heartbreaking but wonderful. It has that bit of hope I needed for Wish. For my story, Bryce’s daughter, Anna, lost her mother when she was born. The only thing she wants is the one thing she’s never had: a mother. It’s also the one thing Bryce cannot give.

The plan had always been to return to Jingle Junction. Bryce wants to raise Anna in the hometown where he was born, and he’s finally gotten the opportunity to make good on the plans he and his wife made when they first learned of her pregnancy. It took him six years to make good on his promise, and he’s not sure he’s made the right decision.

Wish Upon a Star is one of those books where I wanted to challenge myself by writing only from the male point of view. Although I always write alternating point of view in my romances, Wish has always been Bryce’s story. A story of coming home.