Did you know that today is exactly one hundred days before Christmas? Can you believe it? Are you ready?
Wait, it’s only September.
When do you usually start preparing for Christmas? Is September too early to prepare for Christmas? Tell me in the comment section.
Ah, Christmas. That time of the year when I find myself doing less but ending up busier than usual. This year, though, I plan to set aside some time to read.
What are your reading plans for the Christmas season?
I’m so excited about the Once Upon a Starry Night Christmas romance anthology. I’m humbled to be in the same boxed set as eleven other Christian authors, a number of whom have written a whole lot more books than I have. Some of these are InspyRomance authors. So I thought it’d be fun to give you a sneak peek of the first three lines of the three books written by the three of us in IR. With permission to post them here, of course.
“Eli Thornton’s left hand poised above the turn-signal lever, just as his right foot hovered over the brake pedal. At the last instant, his courage failed, and he drove his truck right on by the Flying Horseshoe Ranch. He eased up the road past the cluster of buildings beside the little lake.”
– The Cowboy’s Forever Crush (A Saddle Springs Romance Prequel) by Valerie Comer
“Sam Barlow ignored the ringing of his cell phone and stared at the computer screen in front of him. The audit he’d been conducting for the past two-and-a-half months was nearly done, all he needed was to finish the final report. He glanced at the calendar hanging on the wall in the small office he’d been using – December 21st.”
– One Sweet Christmas by Laura Ashwood
“‘Three! Two! One!’ the crowd shouted in unison.
“Standing by the Christmas tree in the center of the Midtown Village square, Pastor Eldon Kim pressed the big button on his hand-held remote. The lights on the twenty-foot tree sparkled in the cold November evening, the night after Thanksgiving Day.”
– Let Me Hold You (Midtown Christmas Book 1) by Jan Thompson
What friends-to-more romance novels have you read lately?
Let Me Hold You (Midtown Christmas Book 1) kicks off my new Christmas romance series set in metropolitan Atlanta, where I lived for 31 years. This novel is also my 31st book to be published.
Background: A ministry assistant at Midtown Chapel, Maggie Jacobs met Levi Theroux three years ago. After Levi broke up with his ex-girlfriend, he became very good friends with Maggie and her brother, Malachi. After Malachi left Atlanta, Levi continued his friendship with Maggie and they became best friends.
And then something happened to Maggie. She fell in love with her best friend. Unfortunately, Levi didn’t get the memo. In fact, he recruited Maggie to be his matchmaker. He believed that she could get him a dream date with his dream girl. Maggie was brokenhearted and decided to quit her job and leave town.
This novel covers a number of romantic tropes, including unrequited love, secret love, and slow burn romance. Primarily, it’s a best-friend romance. I’ve written several friends-to-more romance, but this is my first “slow burn best friend romance.” Have you read other novels like this? Tell us in the comment section.
I hope you’ll enjoy reading Let Me Hold You. It will debut in the 12-author, 12-book Once Upon a Starry Night boxed set. Look for it on October 1, 2023, on Amazon worldwide.
Happy Saturday Jan! This retiree – wife, mom, and Oma has been jotting down Christmas ideas for my family, plus all the upcoming area craft shows. So Christmas is in my thoughts, but with cooler weather in SW Michigan I look forward to fall with Michigan apples and fun at the area pumpkin patch with my granddaughter. Thanks for the glimpse into the upcoming release Once Upon a Starry Night. The set has been preordered. Enjoy your weekend. Our tourist town is having a Fall Fest on The Bluff overlooking Lake Michigan, plus on Sunday afternoon is the rededication of our newly restored 130 year old Maid of the Mist Fountain. A generous donor paid the $200K bill to have our town’s historic treasure restored. Happy Writing.
I usually start sewing Christmas gifts in August or September, and I start shopping for gifts in October. This year, my Christmas sewing is already done!
After Thanksgiving
I don’t buy presents. I give memories for gifts. I take my grandchildren to different places to enjoy experiences they probably wouldn’t have otherwise.
I started making my Christmas cards back in July!! I’m still not finished, as life keeps getting in the way, but at least they all have the design stamped on the front! Some have one color (of three) done, only five more to color that one color, then on to the next one! I won’t decorate for Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving.
Ooh, 100 days sounds a long time but it will go quickly!
The anthology sounds great, they are intriguing first lines from all the InspyRomance authors!
I always end up in a rush however early I seem to start on Christmas stuff lol.
thank you for being here today. I tend to shop or sew all year for Christmas. We start putting up our decorations after Thanksgiving. I read Christmas books all year long and sing Christmas Carols all year long
It is not too early to order Christmas books. When I was making crafts for Christmas, no I would start working after the New Year on the crafts. I have not purchased anything for Christmas at this time. Thanks for sharing. God bless you.
I can’t believe how fast time flies…
Hi Renate! Ooh the cooling weather would make me think that Christmas is coming. But fall is lovely too and I love the changing leaves.
Thank you for preordering the box set. Hope you’ll enjoy all 12 books. Ten are novellas, but two are novels.
Wow that’s amazing that someone donated for history. I love history and I’m glad to hear they’re preserving a piece of history.
Thank you for your comment and have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
Yes, same here. That’s when we put up the Christmas tree.
Thank you for your comment and have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
Congratulations! That’s great that your sewing is done for this year’s Christmas!
I used to sew a lot but these days I haven’t been able to do it. I enjoyed sewing a lot and made gifts.
Thank you for your comment and have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
That’s a wonderful gift of quality time, Bonnie. Glad you’re able to do this with your grandchildren. Something they can look back at in years to to come and smile. What a thoughtful gift!
Thank you for your comment and have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
Nice! Making handmade Christmas cards sound fun. And they can be collectibles also.
Christmas in July used to be “early” to me, but not anymore.
We also don’t generally pull out the Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving. In some years past, we had the Christmas tree up when we had our Thanksgiving meal, but usually we don’t.
Thank you for your comment and have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
IKR! 100 days will zip by.
Thank you for your comment about the anthology. I hope you’ll enjoy the twelve Christmas stories in the box set.
Have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
Nice! I’ve been listening to Christmas carols early this year because of this novel I wrote for the Once Upon a Starry Night anthology. We also have a playlist on Apple Music, so I’ve been listening to that since August.
JanThompson.com/starrynight-applemusic
That’s fun that you sew/shop all year long for Christmas. One of my Christmas books begins in July because that’s when the main characters start preparing for the holidays.
Thank you for your comment and have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
I know! More than half the year is gone. In fact, 2024 is only four months away :-)
Debra – I agree. I’ve been wondering whether to wait until next year to write the next Christmas book, but a lot of people (myself included) think about Christmas year round, partially thanks to Christmas in July.
I also haven’t bought anything for Christmas yet — except the Once Upon a Starry night box set!
Thank you for your comment and have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
I have read freinds to more books Jenny Glazebrook’s Where our hearts lie is one of these and it was her first CCR and part of the Trinity Lakes series. I think this is one of the best books in the series.
I am reading Melody Carlson’s Christmas novella right now.
The Box set does sound interesting. I have had a few authors talking about it in Newsletters including Camy Tang. I recently moved and ironically I have been thinking about Christmas and where I will put the tree etc. I normally have the majority of my Christmas gifts bought by now but as I moved I haven’t been buying much through the year due to not wanting to have extra to pack.
Thank you for your comment! That’s nice that Christmas is on your mind. It’s been on my mind too since I’m in the box set with Camy. I’m also in another anthology (suspense genre) with her for 2024.
I hear you about deciding where to put the tree in a new place! When we moved, we gave away all our Christmas trees (some were given to us second-hand, and one we bought a long time ago). So when we got here, I went and bought one that fits our small house. It was on sale, so I was happy about that.
Sounds like you have fun novels to read. Happy reading!
Thanks again for your comment and have a wonderful week!