I will be highlighting wonderful Christmas novellas from now through the end of the year, right here on Chirp 'N Chatter...starting today! (Two novellas are featured below, each in its own post.)
We all love to sneak in a few minutes of relaxation during the busy holiday season. What better way to "escape" than into the pages of a sweet Christmas story? And where better to find that kind of reading than Pelican Book Group's annual Christmas Extravaganza, in which an entire two dozen novellas celebrate life, love and the Christmas Spirit?
Most of the books featured during the upcoming weeks are Extravaganza titles. A few are not. All are delightful, and sure to generate just the right mood to make the holidays cheery and bright.
Please check back in and take a look, every Tuesday and Friday throughout the rest of the year for Pelican titles. Drop in on Wednesdays and Thursdays for highlights from great Christmas titles not published through Pelican.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Christmas Extravaganza: Down in Yon Forest
by Clare Revell
There will be trouble in Paradise this Christmas.
Having suffered a panic attack during a performance, violinist Meredith Stranraer flees to the small town of Paradise where her grandparents live. For some strange reason, they don’t want her around, and their rejection is more than unsettling. It’s downright alarming.
There will be trouble in Paradise this Christmas.
Having suffered a panic attack during a performance, violinist Meredith Stranraer flees to the small town of Paradise where her grandparents live. For some strange reason, they don’t want her around, and their rejection is more than unsettling. It’s downright alarming.
Jeremiah Mantle is the local forest ranger. His assignment is to watch the girl in the red cloak from a distance--to protect her as well as the forest. Falling in love, however, is definitely not in his job description. But it becomes increasingly harder to deny their mutual attraction.
But this Christmas, something wicked waits in the woods, and a dark past seems determined to rip them apart.
Read an excerpt
Purchase:
Read an excerpt
Purchase:
ePub/Mobi/Adobe Kindle
About Clare Revell
Review:
I so enjoyed this Christmas tale -- and, oh what mesmerizing cover art! That alone would make me want to read the book, but here's a little secret...what's inside lives up to the promise delivered by that killer cover.
About Clare Revell
Clare is a British author. She
lives in a small town just outside Reading, England with her husband, whom she
married in 1992, their three children, and unfriendly mini-panther, aka Tilly
the black cat. Clare is half English and half Welsh, which makes watching rugby
interesting at times as it doesn’t matter who wins.
Writing from an early childhood
and encouraged by her teachers, she graduated from rewriting fairy stories
through fan fiction to using her own original characters and enjoys writing an
eclectic mix of romance, crime fiction and children's stories. When she's not
writing, she can be found reading, crocheting or doing the many piles of
laundry the occupants of her house manage to make.
Her books are based in the UK,
with a couple of exceptions, thus, although the spelling may be American, the
books contain British language and terminology.
The first draft
of every novel is hand written.
She has been a Christian for more
than half her life. She goes to Carey Baptist where she is one of four
registrars.
She can be found at:
Review:
I so enjoyed this Christmas tale -- and, oh what mesmerizing cover art! That alone would make me want to read the book, but here's a little secret...what's inside lives up to the promise delivered by that killer cover.
Meredith and Jeremiah’s attraction is instant and I always love a little spark that catches right away and builds throughout the story, ultimately becoming a force to be reckoned with. Shadows of a familiar fairy tale are delicately wound through the tapestry of this story line, in a bright, riveting thread that demands to be followed from beginning to end. An underlying mystery tantalizes—quietly seduces the reader’s attention, yet doesn’t overpower. Ms. Revell walks that subtle line with grace and finesse. Completely enchanting!
Mini-interview
Please
share a verse of scripture that is especially meaningful to you, and why it is
special.
And the other… well it’s the Trekkie in me. Yes,
live long and prosper is in the Bible. Deut 5:33 ;-)
(Walk in obedience to all that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.)
What
inspired you to write Down in Yon Forest?
I’ve always loved fairy stories. In fact, the first stories I ever wrote in
primary school, which I still have because Dad kept the books (!), were
rewrites on Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf. Over and over and
over. Don’t think I wrote anything else. Then I thought about putting it in a
modern setting and this is the result.
What
household task do you most dislike? Which do you most enjoy?
Ironing and dusting come a joint first in
the dislike stakes. I have to have ‘ironing music’ on, because I iron in time
to the music and it gets it done faster. Dusting is done when it has to be… ie,
when my parents come over.
I love cooking. Which is just as well, as
no one else much does it in my house. Though now the girls are older, they have
one night a week when they cook. I prefer proper dinners, not get it out the
freezer and chuck it in the oven dinners.
Please
share a verse of scripture that is especially meaningful to you, and why it is
special.
Well, again there are two. The first one
hangs over my bed and has done since I was three or thereabouts. It’s actually
in the Bible twice. 1 Peter 5:7 and Psalm 55:22. It just reminds me of no
matter what there is Someone out there who has my back, even when it doesn’t
seem like it.
(Walk in obedience to all that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.)
Christmas Extravaganza: The Widow's Captive
by Lucette Nel
About THE WIDOW'S CAPTIVE:
Lucy Nel is a coffee addicted work-in-progress daughter of the Lord Almighty. She's a mommy to a rambunctious toddler and wife to her best friend and real-life hero. Along with three spoiled Pugs, they make their home in Gauteng, the smallest of nine provinces in South Africa.
About THE WIDOW'S CAPTIVE:
On the
run with two small children and a third due within weeks, Adeline Spencer fears
the approaching blizzard will seal their fate. An abandoned cabin is an answer
to her prayers. She hopes it will shield them from both the storm and the
enraged brother-in-law hot on her tail. But when a stranger knocks at the door,
she is convinced they have been found by one of Ward’s lackeys.
Blamed for the death of his friend, Sheriff Jonah Hale is determined to prove himself worthy of his badge, even if it means riding into a blizzard to check on a crazy miner. When Jonah reaches the cabin, he’s caught off guard by a pretty and very pregnant young woman wielding a skillet. Bound to a chair while the storm rages, and as Christmas settles in around them, he must find a way to earn Adeline’s trust…and perhaps her heart.
Blamed for the death of his friend, Sheriff Jonah Hale is determined to prove himself worthy of his badge, even if it means riding into a blizzard to check on a crazy miner. When Jonah reaches the cabin, he’s caught off guard by a pretty and very pregnant young woman wielding a skillet. Bound to a chair while the storm rages, and as Christmas settles in around them, he must find a way to earn Adeline’s trust…and perhaps her heart.
About Lucette:
Lucy Nel is a coffee addicted work-in-progress daughter of the Lord Almighty. She's a mommy to a rambunctious toddler and wife to her best friend and real-life hero. Along with three spoiled Pugs, they make their home in Gauteng, the smallest of nine provinces in South Africa.
During the
day, she's a bookkeeper. At night when the world sleeps, she delves into her
passion, creating interesting characters in historical settings.
She's a member
of American Christian Fiction and her dream
came true when she recently signed a contract with Pelican Book Group for her
Christmas themed novella, The Widow's Captive.
One of her
favorite quotes about writing is by C.S. Lewis: You can make anything
by writing.
Her favorite verse is Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Her favorite verse is Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Review:
Mini-interview:
First
page to last, this story is a wonderful, exhilarating, fast and furious ride…I
loved it! Sheriff Jonah—brave, kind and considerate, handsome and sometimes
downright huggable—is the picture-perfect hero. Adeline and her adorable
kiddies grab the heartstrings right from the get-go, despite their
less-than-welcoming first-time encounter with the hunky lawman. Throw in a
snowed-in cabin, a baby in a hurry to be born, and a bad guy with a gun and a
mean streak, and…well, what’s not to love? THE WIDOW’S CAPTIVE…captivates.
Absolutely recommended for readers who love a good cowboy tale, a nice Christian
romance, a chunk of charm and a peck of pizzazz.
Mini-interview:
Which character in THE WIDOW'S CAPTIVE did you most enjoy
writing? Why?
Ethan! I love the little dude
desperately trying to be a man, while he’s still just a little boy.
What smell do you love most, and why?
Petrichor. (I didn’t know there was
a word to describe the smell until I recently saw a post on Facebook.) It’s that scent you get when rain
falls on dry soil. I love it; it signifies a fresh and new start.
Please share a verse of scripture that is especially
meaningful to you, and why it is special.
Philippians 4:13 (NKJV))—I can do all things through Christ who strengthens
me.
I lost my mother as a teen. All of the sudden up
felt down and right felt left. This verse helped me cope with grieving and many
other challenges I’ve faced since then.
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Got my first review for "The First Noelle"
I was invited to visit Quills & Inkblotts, and what a wonderful visit it was! I'm lovin' Robin Scopee's review of my upcoming release, The First Noelle...and I sure did enjoy the mini-interview.
Come on over and join us...we're having a pre-Christmas blast!
Quills and Inkblotts: Author Interview and Book Review: "The First Noell...: 'Tis the season to curl up with a throw blanket and a good Christmas themed story, isn't it? Pelican Book Group is releasing their...
Come on over and join us...we're having a pre-Christmas blast!
Quills and Inkblotts: Author Interview and Book Review: "The First Noell...: 'Tis the season to curl up with a throw blanket and a good Christmas themed story, isn't it? Pelican Book Group is releasing their...