Christmas Lights by Vikki Kestell, Cathe Swanson, April Hayman, and Chautona Havig

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About the Book

Four novellas in a variety of genres—that’s all they are. Just four stories to quiet your heart and soul as you embrace the beauty of the Christmas season. Inside, you’ll find Vikki Kestell's historical romance and a reminder that the Lord’s plans are always just what we need. You’ll be introduced to Cathe Swanson's  unlikely romance about a woman who sets out to do one good deed and is drawn into the lives of a cast of eccentric elderly people. You’ll meet April Hayman and her southern madcap mystery featuring an FBI agent, a con artist or two, and a few eccentric elderly people of her own. And you’ll find Chautona Havig's Christian fiction novella that blends comedy, suspense, with a garnish of romance.

In the hope that through these Christmas stories your heart will be lightened and brightened, we offer you this collection. Merry Christmas! And a happy, light read!

 

My Review

Christmas Lights certainly did what I hoped it would do by reading the title- put me into the Christmas mood! It was a unique opportunity to read the offerings of different genres and authors to help me ring in the holiday season. While each book is totally unique and ambitious in it's own way, I was able to get that warm, fuzzy feeling from a feel-good read in each book.

 

In The Heart of Joy, we read of a lonely widow who has thrown herself into serving down-trodden women. She avoids the hope of loving anyone again because her love for her late husband is still such as strong presence in her life. Can she accept her husband's best friend as a suitor? I was touched by the spiritual aspect of this book in unfolding the plan that the Lord had for the character's lives which were contrary to what they had planned for themselves.

 

In Snow Angels, we find an unexpected setting for a feel-good Christmas novella- a homeless shelter. I have to say it was an unexpected setting. We follow our heroine as she learns the importance of seeing all men as equal no matter where they find themselves in circumstances and how everyone should be treated with dignity. We see her reach out to to others in need and find an unexpected treasure along the way. I have to applaud the ambitiousness of working from this setting and with this plot, because it's a sad, eye-opening look into the life of the homeless which touched me in a special way.

 

In Trip the Light Fantastic, we find a humorous yet serious character that I identified with highly due to his clumsiness :) He is a dedicated agent who is committed to finding his promotion and helping his family out how he can while depriving them of his time and presence which in the end is what we all need from each others- love and attention. I found the story line mischevious, endearing, and humorous and I have to admit that Landry was my favorite character as well. 

 

In Christmas Stalkings, we find a humorous but suspenseful tale of a "crazy cat lady," or so we have heard them called. This book was every bit as humorous as it was suspenseful, while we wonder who would want to bother sweet Wendy and threaten her and her cats, we have an amazing revelation that turns us on our heads when we realize the true colors of the characters that Wendy rubs elbows with frequently. You will laugh and sneak along with Wendy in this endearing, suspenseful tale.

 

Thank you ladies for the endearing, inspirational, suspenseful, humorous, Christmas read!

 

*I received this book for free and all opinions given are my own.

 

 

 

About the Author

Vikki Kestell is the author of the acclaimed inspirational series, A Prairie Heritage—a compelling saga of family, faith, and great courage. Vikki’s contribution to this collection, The Heart of Joy, asks, “Can true, enduring love happen twice in a lifetime?”  





 


Cathe Swanson: Author of contemporary mystery and romantic suspense, Cathe brings us Snow Angels – an entertaining companion novella and introduction to her upcoming Great Lakes series.  






 
April Hayman : Author of Heirlooms of Deception series, debuts with a novella featuring mystery, humor, and “divine intervention.”









 

Chautona Havig: Author of the Amazon bestselling Aggie’s Inheritance, Past Forward, and HearthLand series, Chautona brings humor, stalkings, and stockings to this collection.

 

 

 

 

 

Guest Post from the Authors

The Christmas Lights Collection formed in the spring of 2016 with the idea of bringing four novellas together with one unifying theme: light. After all, each author in this collection has one primary focus in life: Jesus. And in the book of John, He is called the “Light of Men.”

We thought we’d share what inspired our novellas and pray that these books are a delight and encouragement to all.  

The Heart of Joy: This novella is a spin-off story from Vikki Kestell’s Prairie Heritage series and features one of her most beloved characters, Joy Thoresen, from book three, Joy on This Mountain. After three years of widowhood, Joy mourns not only the loss of her husband but the child someone has kidnapped as well. Only her faith sustains her through difficult days.

Vikki’s goal in writing is to provide FaithFilledFiction to Christians, and this novella is no exception. She worked to show that even amid our sorrow, the Lord brings good, hope-filled gifts to us even when we think we’re not ready for them. She also desired to fill in small, time-veiled gaps in Joy’s story. The Heart of Joy puts the finishing touches on Joy’s story.  

Snow Angels: The idea for Snow Angels came to Cathe in slow increments. The idea of using homeless veterans originally prompted research into homeless shelters and programs, but the scope of those became too much for a novella. Still, those characters had stories Cathe wanted to tell, so she continued her research and became increasingly concerned with the plight of homeless veterans—particularly the women. For some reason, we often forget that women serve, get PTSD, and end up on the streets just like the men.

Cathe wanted to combine those realities with other misconceptions that often blind us to the person behind the façade. She wanted to demonstrate how people in otherwise normal lives also can be thrust into situations that trigger PTSD and how those people work through it. Of course, with such a heavy topic, Cathe chose to write the story with a liberal dusting of humor to lighten the mood as you read.

As her debut novel, Cathe introduces readers to characters we’ll see more of in her Great Lakes series and paves the way for her upcoming novel, Baggage Claim, releasing in early 2017.  

Trip the Light Fantastic: April has been working on a mystery surrounding, of all things, Shakespeare’s inkwell! So, when she was invited to be a part of the Christmas Lights Collection, April decided to do an introductory novel to her Heirlooms of Deception series and Lance “Trip” Devereaux was “born.”

April admits to loving another character, Landry, just a little bit more than the others. Yet, he could never be a main character. He’s too much of a rascal and a mastermind, so he works best from the shadows. While this book wasn’t about him directly, it could be about someone similar—someone who works in the light but has lost his way and needs help from God and some new friends. Trip the Light Fantastic is a sideways introduction into a character that April hopes will entertain readers for more books to come.

April set her series in Mississippi where her grandparents lived, so the books are rich in southern manners, mannerisms, and manors! Well, there’s one plantation belonging to her irascible but charming con-artist. Watch for a book set at the Crawford house in Spilled Ink, releasing in December 2016.  

Christmas Stalkings: A couple of years ago, Chautona was on a Facebook group and a young woman admitted to having seven Christmas trees. Intrigued, she named it the “Seven Tree Obsession” and wondered what kind of character would have seven trees—and why. Well, the more she thought about it, the more interesting it became. After all, what would happen if ornaments got moved around when she wasn’t looking? Who would do that? Why? And what could she add to complicate it?

So, when the opportunity to do the Christmas Lights Collection came, Chautona decided she wanted to do that story. It seemed easy enough to contain into forty-thousand words. HA! But she got in her car, turned on her trusty voice recorder, and in the three-hour trek to her ACFW meeting, she schemed, plotted, and laughed until her sides ached at the ideas she came up with. Half never made it into the book, of course, but that’s okay. Chautona has a prequel/sequel planned for it. Lord willing, New Year's Revolutions will release on December 31. It’s the “Paul Harvey” version—the “rest of the story.”

While Christmas Stalkings does stand alone, Chautona wanted to explore Neal’s side of things a bit. So she is. It’ll be the fastest “write-to-publication” she’s ever done, but she just had to try. So, for NaNoWriMo Chautona is off to try to figure out what’s up with Neal and why he’s such a crusty curmudgeon. He’s too young for that! And maybe, just maybe, he’ll embrace a “new life” in the New Year.

Blog Stops

 

November 15: Bibliophile Reviews

November 16: blogging it out

November 16: God’s Little Bookworm

November 17: A Reader’s Brain

November 17: Blogging With Carol

November 18: Reading Is My SuperPower

November 18: Proud to be an Autism Mom

November 19: Daysong Reflections

November 19: Splashes of Joy

November 20: D’S QUILTS & BOOKS

November 20: Christian Bookaholic

November 21: Bigreadersite

November 22: A Baker’s Perspective

November 22: A Greater Yes

November 23: Back Porch Reads

November 24: Blossoms and Blessings

November 25: Reviewing Novels Online

November 25: A Path of Joy

November 26: Bukwurmzzz

November 27: Raining Butterfly Kisses

November 27: Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations

November 28: Once upon a time

November 28: Carpe Diem

Giveaway

To celebrate their tour, the authors are giving away a $25 Amazon gift card! Click the link below to enter.
Be sure to comment on this blog post to claim nine extra entries in the giveaway! https://promosimple.com/ps/a8ae