Christmas in July -- An Amish Country Christmas

Yes, I know it's July -- but the weather has been  unseasonably cool, and there is nothing wrong with a little Christmas at any time of year!  I found a very nice touch of the holiday this week in An Amish Country Christmas by Charlotte Hubbard and Naomi King.  

This book is an anthology of two stories written by the author's self-described "both of me."  (For anyone who doesn't know, Charlotte Hubbard writes under two different names for separate publishers.)  These stories bring together characters from the Seasons of the Heart series and the Home at Cedar Creek/One Big Happy Family series -- and they fit together quite nicely.

Both stories feature fast-paced romances between some of the livelier supporting characters from Willow Ridge and Cedar Creek -- developing much more quickly than would likely happen in a real setting.  But remember . . . it's Christmas time in a fictional location, and just about anything can happen at this magical time of year.  When you mix the scheming Coblentz twins with the Kanagy brothers and the spunky Hooley aunts with a couple of bishops, you are bound to come up with fun times.  And the extra large collection of recipes for Christmas goodies that Charlotte/Naomi shares at the end of the book is a special bonus.

I recommend An Amish Country Christmas for a good read at any time of the year. 

About the Book

In Willow Ridge, Missouri, the Christmas season is a time when faith brings peace, family brings warmth and new romance brings sparkling joy. . .

 “The Christmas Visitors”

For spirited Martha Coblentz and her twin Mary, the snow has delivered the perfect holiday and birthday present to their door—handsome brothers Nate and Bram Kanagy. But when unforeseen trouble interrupts their season’s good cheer, it will take unexpected intervention—and sudden understanding—to give all four the blessing of a lifetime. . .

“Kissing The Bishop”

As the year’s first snow settles, Nazareth Hooley and her sister are given a heaven-sent chance to help newly widowed Tom Hostetler tend his home. But when her hope that she and Tom can build on the caring between them seems a dream forever out of reach, Nazareth discovers that faith and love can make any miracle possible. . .

About the Author

Drawing upon her experiences in Jamesport, the largest Old Order Amish community west of the Mississippi, longtime Missourian Charlotte Hubbard (a.k.a Naomi King) writes of simpler times and a faith-based lifestyle in her Amishseries. Like her heroine, Miriam Lantz, Charlotte considers it her personal mission to feed people—to share hearth and home. Faith and family, farming and food preservation are hallmarks of her lifestyle, and the foundation of her earlier Angels of Mercy series. She’s a deacon, a dedicated church musician and choir member, and when she’s not writing, she loves to try new recipes, crochet, and sew. Charlotte now lives in Minnesota with her husband and their border collie.

A fun little story -- A Matchmaker in Middlebury

A Matchmaker in Middlebury, by Anita Higman, is a fun little story of matchmaking gone . . . well, not wrong, but different from how it was intended.  You could easily read the entire ebook novelette in an hour or so for an enjoyable break from whatever your day happens to be bringing you.

This story can easily stand on its own, but the characters and events will be much more meaningful if you also read the full-length novel that is the prequel:  A Marriage in Middlebury.  You can check out my review of that book here.

Instead of telling you more about the story myself, I'll just invite you to keep reading and enjoy seeing what Anita has to say for her story and for herself.  And be sure to read all the way to the end of the post to find a chance to win your very own copy of this novelette or its prequel book.

Thanks to Anita for sharing her gift of writing with us readers and for providing a little extra insight into this story.

Q & A for A Matchmaker in Middlebury -- Anita Higman

 

1. Tell us a bit about your novelette, A Matchmaker in Middlebury.

This novelette can be read as a standalone story, but it is also a sequel to the book, A Marriage in Middlebury. This new mini-tale is mostly comedy and could be considered dessert and coffee rather than a heavy meal. Matchmaker is priced at 99 cents. I hope you find it to be a tasty treat!

Here’s a blurb: 

Meredith Steinberg takes the stage again in A Matchmaker in Middlebury and is given another chance to dance with destiny and meddle in the romantic affairs of two lovelorn singles. But Meredith’s skills as a yenta are stretched to the limit as she discovers that her golden egg-of-a-plan has a perilous crack. In the end, however, heartstrings are indeed knotted together as two singles find tender love—they’re just not the two people Meredith paired for marital bliss…

 

2. Since A Matchmaker in Middlebury is a romantic comedy, do you consider yourself a funny person?

Sometimes I am. It depends on my mood. I don’t like hearing jokes or telling them, but I do like situation comedy, where people do and say off-beat things. I am a big fan of P.G. Wodehouse, and I’ve listened to hours of his work on CDs. He is an absolutely brilliant storyteller, and he’s hilarious. Anyway, his work sort of jangled my funny bone enough that I wanted to give comedy a try. I usually have some humor in my books, but this was a leap for me. I sincerely hope readers get some chuckles out of the story.

3. The heroine, Meredith, is a real hoot. Was that character inspired from someone you know?

It was a little bit. I have a lovely friend named Martha Marks, who’s done some stand-up comedy, and she inspired me to write this quirky and loveable character. In fact, I dedicated this novelette to her.

4. Do you think laughter is important in today’s culture? 

Very much so. We seem to wake up angry and move way too fast. I think there is plenty of medical evidence now that shows we humans need to laugh more. It’s good for our health. And that’s what I hope to give readers—the gift of laughter. 

5. What new projects do you have on the horizon?

I will have a new novel coming out later in 2014 entitled, A Question of Destiny. Here’s a sneak peek at the blurb for this book. 

Ian Chalmers, a multi-millionaire, is so captivated by Lucy O’Brien when he hears about her heroism that he decides to change Lucy’s life by giving her part of his fortune and by introducing her to his faithful and unmarried assistant, Andrew Whitfield. After Lucy accepts Ian’s ten million dollars, she struggles with the pressures and temptations that arise from living in the city with her newly acquired windfall. She wants to simplify her life by moving to the Texas Hill Country. But Lucy and Andrew have grown to care for each other, and with her move so far away, and his passion for living in the big city, they finds themselves at a crossroads. Through their menagerie of choices and follies, will Lucy and Andrew find their destinies in life and in love? 

 

6. Where can readers interact with you?

I have a Contact Me button my website at http://www.anitahigman.com or you can catch up with me on my Facebook Reader Page.  I’d love to hear from you! 

7. Where can we find this novelette, A Matchmaker in Middlebury? 

Here’s the link!

GIVEAWAY ENDED!!!

Here is your chance for multiple entries for the giveaway of Anita's books. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

Engaging story -- Undetected

Dee Henderson's Undetected is her latest book, and I found it to be a very enjoyable read.

It was a little bit of a slow start, but soon I was caught up in the story.  There is a lot of technical detail about submarines and scientific topics, but once I got through the first several pages of that, I found it very interesting and an integral part of the story.  The slow, detailed growth in the characters and the romantic elements kept me engaged to the very end.

You won't find the faster-paced suspense here like Dee's O'Malley series and some of her earlier work.  But you will find an intense story with a lot of depth to the plot and the characters.  I highly recommend you give Undetected a try.

Thanks to Bethany House for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

About the Book

When asked what he does for a living . . .
Commander Mark Bishop is deliberately low-key: "I'm in the Navy." But commanding the ballistic missile submarine USS Nevada, keeping her crew trained and alert during ninety-day submerged patrols, and being prepared to launch weapons on valid presidential orders, carries a burden of command like few other jobs in the military. Mark Bishop is a man who accepts that responsibility, and handles it well. And at a time when tensions are escalating around the Pacific Rim, the Navy is glad to have him.

Mark wants someone to come home to after sea patrols. The woman he has in mind is young, with a lovely smile, and very smart. She's a civilian, yet she understands the U.S. Navy culture. And he has a strong sense that life with her would never be boring. But she may be too deep in her work to see the potential in a relationship with him.

Gina Gray would love to be married. She has always envisioned her life that way. A breakup she didn't see coming, though, has her focusing all her attention on what she does best--ocean science research. She's on the cusp of a major breakthrough, and she needs Mark Bishop's perspective and help. Because what she told the Navy she's figured out is only the beginning. If she's right, submarine warfare is about to enter a new and dangerous chapter.

About the Author

Dee Henderson is the author of nineteen novels, including Unspoken, the novella Jennifer: An O'Malley Love Story, New York Times bestseller Full Disclosure, the acclaimed O'Malley series, and the Uncommon Heroes series. Her books have won or been nominated for several prestigious industry awards, such as the RITA Award, the Christy Award, and the ECPA Gold Medallion. Dee is a lifelong resident of Illinois. Learn more at www.deehenderson.com.