Carpe Diem!

jenniferjbunderle.net

  • HOME
  • Blog
  • Book Reviews
  • Meet JJB
    • You CAN make a difference (right where you are)!
    • Chronic Pain/Illness
    • Faith
    • Living and loving in a ‘foreign’ country
  • 31 Days Writing Challenge

Book Review – Christmas Lights, a Collection of Stories

November 28, 2016 By mominator 3 Comments

christmas-lights-banner

 About the Book

collection-coversm-200x300   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!

To purchase your copy, click here.

About the Authors

vikki

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?”

catheimage

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-portrait

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

chautona-200x300

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

My Review

I am glad to have the opportunity to read this delightfully diverse Christmas novella collection!  These are heart-warming, inspiring, intriguing, humorous and well written stories; each one quite different from the other.

Book One (The Heart of Joy, Vikki Kestel) – Impeccably written and I was immediately drawn into and mesmerized by the story.  Thoroughly inspiring message of abiding faith and love despite pain and loss.  Redemption. Engrossing. Beautiful. Inspiring.  Want much more from this author – she is a truly gifted writer!

Book Two (Snow Angels, Cathe Swanson)  This smooth writing pulls you right into the story and the characters immediately engage the reader. Such a sweet, sweet story. Deep characters, strong storyline, unique and meaningful.  Something everyone should read and ponder their own motivations, reactions, biases and judgments.

Book Three (Trip the Light Fantastic, April Hayman)  Initially I was confused by the two seemingly separate storylines but it all came together beautifully with a very satisfying ending indeed! My husband could relate to poor Trip as he was being schooled in the important differences between a pillow sham and a pillow case. Interesting characters with an intriguing plot twist!

Book Four (Christmas Stalkings, Chautona Havig) Learned a great new word = superfluity.  An unusual Christmas story with interesting details and development that pulls you right in. I couldn’t put it down until the mysteries were solved!  A must-read for both cat and Christmas tree lovers!

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book.  A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

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

e5f4939d-cd96-45de-b748-8fb15bc1a0af

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

Share
Shares 0

Filed Under: Book Review Tagged With: April Hayman, blog book tour, book review, Cathe Swanson, Celebrate Lit, Chautona Havig, Christian author, Vikki Kestell, women's fiction

Comments

  1. Caryl Kane says

    November 29, 2016 at 20:48

    Great review!

    Reply
  2. Chautona Havig says

    December 3, 2016 at 01:53

    Thank you for such a lovely review! I’m glad you enjoyed the books! I’m working on the prequel/sequel to Stalkings right now–from Neal’s perspective. I’d be happy to send you a copy when it’s done if you’d enjoy “the rest of the story.”

    Reply
    • mominator says

      December 3, 2016 at 09:19

      OOOOOH! I would love to continue with the Stalkings story! Awesome! Many thanks! <3

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

About Me

As my life has taken on new dimensions and I’ve wondered whether or not I could continue to make a positive impact on the world, the notion of creating and actually writing this blog became bigger and bigger. Read More

Recent Posts

  • Fibromyalgia affects YOU, too! May 12, 2017
  • A SPRING OF WEDDINGS – Review & GIVE AWAY!! May 5, 2017
  • RESTORING the LOST PETAL – review and encouragement for you! April 29, 2017
  • THE SOUND OF EMERALDS Review and GIVEAWAY!! April 28, 2017
  • FINDING HOPE IN SAVANNAH – Review and Give AWAY!! April 14, 2017

Archives

Search this website…

Categories

Copyright © 2019 · Lifestyle Pro Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in