About the Book

Book: Promise Me Christmas

Author: Marguerite Martin Gray

Genre: Christian Historical Romance, Christmas

Release Date: October 17, 2023

Would Amy ever see him as anything other than a former Loyalist who destroyed her home?

One more building, one more road, one more disaster reconstructed.

But George Elliot remains trapped in the past, reliving his role in the destruction of Charles Town. Through the support of his family and two Patriot generals, he is allowed to pursue a life among them but struggles to find purpose. Forgiveness lurks but has not quite settled his unsteady heart.

Amy Engle strives to help the men who are alive but hurting through her work at the hospital. Some men fail to grasp God’s forgiveness and struggle to heal mentally from the brutality of war…George Elliot being one of them. These men need a place to heal, and Amy proposes to open a mission to do just that with George at the helm. Amy’s prayer is that this will give George purpose and confidence.

What she didn’t count on was her heart’s commitment to the man.

With the devastation of war that left nothing unscathed, the people of Charles Town could use a dose of Christmas miracles. If there are any that remain after the devastation of war.

Can they determine in their hearts to find comfort in love, promises, and forgiveness?

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I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions given are my own.

Author Interview

What/Who inspired you to write on the main themes found in the book?

I am fascinated with history and what men and women had to do to secure peace and a valuable way of life. Our American history is full of characters and situations that involved faith, sacrifice, forgiveness, and determination. In this novel, the main characters face a way of life after the American Revolution.Freedom was gained with a price—lives lost, lives changed, battle scars and wounds to incorporate in their new lives, financial ruin. Hope and forgiveness played a major role in moving forward.

Which character in your book do you relate to the most?

Elizabeth Elliott Lestarjette holds my heartstrings. I’ve seen her grow from an eighteen-year-old youth to a mature woman with children and a family. She endured things that she never thought possible in a world that changed and developed daily. In my lifetime, I’ve seen changes and stepped into a new worldunaware of what was expected of me. I’ve had to carve out my space and reinvent myself many times. Huzzah for women willing to step out and accomplish things for the good of mankind, even out of their own comfort zones.

If you could meet your characters in real life, what would you talk about?

Well, since I love history, I’d want to know about the day-to-day life in a “war” infested area. Charles Town went through battles, a siege, and an occupation. How did the families exist? How did they get food? What did they do with their children? One question I would ask is about relationships. Why would someone marry and have children during a war taking place at the backdoor? Life is hard enough in a peaceful environment. But a war? I’d ask them where they got their strength. Many were believers in our all-powerful God. That answers many concerns. The characters (and I) try to follow God’s directions.

What did your research process look like for this book?

Promise Me Christmas leans on the research of the first five novels in the series, Revolutionary Faith. That research included about 45 books and months of research, some in Charleston, SC. For this extension, I researched the first years after the war, a time of reconstruction and new government. Every area of life had to be reinvented. A clean slate with new rules.

What made you choose the setting/time period for this book?

The American Revolution was the setting for the Revolutionary Faith Series. I chose that time after I did research for my family tree. These characters come from the pages of the first books. I tie up some loose ends and create new adventures and scenarios for the next phase of the new nation.

About the Author

Marguerite Martin Gray is the author of Hold Me Close, Surround Me, Bring Me Near, Draw Me to Your Side, and Wait for Me– Revolutionary Faith Series Books 1-5, Labor of Love and Promise of Purity, Gardens in Time Series Books 1 and 2, and Room for Love, Suamalie Islands Year One. Besides researching her novels, she enjoys studying history and writing fiction. An avid traveler and reader, she teaches French and Spanish online. She currently lives in North Louisiana with her husband and rescue pets. Her two adult children and t

wo grandsons keep her up to date and young.

More from Marguerite

I have desired to revisit my beloved characters and charming Charles Town. The Lestarjette family and their potential adventures sprout to life in my imagination if not on paper. Marriages, jobs, children, new nation?

In Promise Me Christmas I get a glimpse into the colorful lives of familiar heroes and heroines, villains and enemies, major and minor roles as after war scenarios surface. As minor, supporting characters make their presence known, I realize in life there are no minor roles. Each human being has a purpose and a God-given mission.

Think about all the people who stand in the peripheries of your life. They are as important in the scheme of life as your close family and friends. In this novella, I hope to emphasize God’s promises and hopes through people who are flawed, hurting, healing, and making efforts to exist and prosper in a town devasted by war, death, and poverty.

We might not have gone through a war, siege, and occupation by enemy forces, but we can grasp the hopes and promises of Christmas through the lenses of sickness, death, broken relationships, financial woes, and natural disasters.

I hope you enjoy this Christmas novella from my heart of hope and promises to yours.