Lost Shepherd by Mike Judson

“Who were THOSE shepherds, and why were they so favored?” That one question stirred the imagination of author Michael I. Judson and led to the creation of Lost Shepherd, the fictional backstory of the first witnesses to the birth of the precious Babe of Bethlehem. After you read Lost Shepherd, watch for his answers to other compelling questions (his next books!)

When he’s not writing, he has a large family to love, gardens to grow, fun places to see, ancestors to discover, and even chickens to raise! He also has a full-time job that occupies the bulk of his waking hours. Though still a few years off, retirement beckons with aspirations of writing (with all the fun imagining and discovery that goes with it) becoming his full-time pursuit.

~ Facebook
   

Just who were the shepherds that were singled out from among earth’s inhabitants to hear the angelic announcement of Christ’s birth? What made them so special, or what uniquely qualified them to be His first witnesses? The Bible tells us very little about them. Now there is an answer!

Eleazar grows up awash in a culture of shepherding, but not among ordinary sheep. No, the flocks he and his companions tend are destined for sacrifice on the altar of the great temple at Jerusalem. Like his fathers before him, his life’s work fuels the faith of a nation that tirelessly awaits the signs of their long-foretold Messiah. But unforeseen circumstances lead Eleazar away from his purposeful existence and onto a path of doubt and life-altering decisions that threaten to destroy both his faith and his future. Only the miraculous power of the Christ Child can reclaim him and restore to him to a life of hope and peace—and to an understanding of his importance as a shepherd in Israel.

Lost Shepherd is a tale of real hope and redemption, of faith lost and reclaimed. Let the story transport you back in time as you discover anew the timeless healing power found only in the Savior Jesus Christ.

~ Universal Amazon Link
    
Q&A With the Author:

1.What inspired this Christmas/Winter book?

The idea for Lost Shepherd has been kicking around inside my head for more than 20 years. I love the Biblical Christmas story just the way it’s told, but those who are familiar with what’s written there know it is rather short on detail. I wanted to know more so I started reading it more carefully, in order to squeeze every bit of meaning from it that I could. As I did so, questions began to form in my mind: “Why shepherds? and why THOSE shepherds?,” “Why a manger for His bed?,” “Why an obscure village in Palestine?,” “Why angels?,” etc. Of course, most of those questions don’t get answered very well in the scriptures, so I started searching other sources and started piecing together the snippets of information I found. What I discovered is a beautiful, rich symbolism underlying the Christmas story that I wanted to share. I felt the best way to do that was to weave it all together into a fictional narrative that included characters mentioned in the Bible, and a few who are not. While the story I have written is fiction, I like to think that it may really have happened just the way I wrote it.

2.Do you have other Holiday books? If so, what are they are for which Holidays? If not, what other books do you write? 
I’m afraid I have no other books, holiday-themed or not. However, I do have in mind a sequel to Lost Shepherd that hopefully will not take nearly as long to write as my first book.

3.What is your largest unfulfilled dream, and what are you doing to reach it? 
Publishing a book has been on my list for a long time. I’m glad to finally achieve that goal and hope to write many more in the coming years. One unfulfilled dream is to actually visit the places I have written about, namely Jerusalem and the regions thereabouts.

4.Tell us about things you enjoy — what you do for fun or personal satisfaction besides writing? 
Gardening, and specifically, growing food, has been a passion of mine for my whole adult life. I am especially fond of growing and eating melons (watermelon, Crenshaw, cantaloupe, honeydew). I hope one day to own a large parcel of land where I can go nuts with my gardening obsession.

5.Are your characters/stories/scenes, etc. based on anything in real life? 
Of course, Lost Shepherd is based on the true Christmas story, and several of the characters are mentioned in the Biblical account, but most of my characters are fictional. I did mix a bit of genealogy into the book. One of the characters I gave attributes and experiences similar to those of one of my great-grandfathers.

6.Tell us one Christmas or Winter tradition that you love to do every year, and why it is so special to you. 
When I was two years old, my parents, for Easter, gave me a small little cloth doll. Apparently when I opened the plastic egg it was inside, I exclaimed, “Baby Jesus!” I don’t think that’s exactly who the doll was supposed to be depicting but the name and the association stuck. Since that time “Baby Jesus” has had a place of honor on my family Christmas tree. He is now my oldest (and one of my most cherished) possessions.

 

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The Gift of a Child by Donna K Weaver


Award-winning author, wife, mother, grandmother, Harry Potter geek, Army veteran, karate black belt, and online gamer girl.








~ Facebook ~ Website ~
~ Amazon
 
 “Recently widowed Rae Cavanaugh just survived the worst birthday of her life. She and her two young children must now face a holiday season filled with so many reminders of what they’ve lost. But when a coworker who’s raising his young nephew moves next door, Rae discovers that the support of a good friend, and the gift of a child, can bring back some of the joy of the season. 
 


**A Novelette**”














Q&A With the Author:
1.  What inspired this Christmas/Winter book?
The Story Behind the Story
A real event inspired this novelette. I originally wrote it for two reasons. First, to honor my sweet son David. Second, as a gift to my newsletter followers. 
While the friendship between Rae and Dylan is fictional, I shared the following with Rae:
· I lost my husband when I was twenty-six.
· I had two young children to raise alone.
· I experienced a dismal birthday that just happened to fall on the two-month anniversary of my husbands death.
· My son did for me what Preston did.
But Im a romance author at heart, and I fell in love with Dylan. He was perfect for Rae, but by the end of The Gift of a Child, it was still too soon after the death of her husband for her to fall in love again. Being the great guy Dylan is, he recognizes she needs time even though hes already fallen for her.
And thats when I knew there had to be another story, a true romance this time. Thats where the idea for The Forever Gift came from.

2. Do you have other Holiday books? If so, which Holidays? If not, what other books do you write?
I’m currently writing a book that’s set during Christmas of 1905 in WyomingA Lady for Luke. It’s part of my Lilac City Novella Series.
Torn Canvas, book 2 in my Safe Harbors Series, spans nearly three years but includes a Christmas wedding.

3. What is your largest unfulfilled dream, and what are you doing to reach it?
That’s a hard one. As a child, my career Navy father was stationed in Seoul, Korea. The country has changed so much since then, and I’d love to visit there again. But it truly is a dream. I have no active plans.
If I ever make enough money as an author to take my entire family on a cruise, I’d totally do that.
4. Tell us about things you enjoy what you do for fun or personal satisfaction besides writing?
I love to cruise. As a Navy brat, I’d sailed the Pacific three times by the time I was thirteen. That’s a bit of what inspired me to write A Change of Plans, book 1 in my Safe Harbors Series is the story of a woman who goes on a cruise and ends up shipwrecked after being attacked by modern day pirates.

I enjoy many things but especially reading. I love books! So far this year, I’ve read (or listened to via audiobook) 173 books. You can see them on my Goodreads Challenge here: https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/14884768
And I love to game. My favorite right now is League of Legends. It’s a battle arena game and inspired my Billionaires of REKD Series about four Harvard graduates and their journeys to love.
5. Are your characters/stories/scenes, etc. based on anything in real life?
As I’ve mentioned, The Gift of a Child was strongly influenced by a personal event, but except for my connections with Rae, the rest of the people are fictional. 
I think there’s always a little of an author that bleeds into real life. I spent over twenty years working as a city recorder. One of my duties was to run municipal elections. My own experiences plus those shared by others in my profession influenced some of the events in my book Swing Vote, book 3 in my Safe Harbors Series.

6. Tell us one Christmas or Winter tradition that you love to do every year, and why it is so special to you. 
When our children were still at home, we’d choose a family that was struggling and do a twelve days of Christmas ding-dong-ditch. For twelve days ending on December 23rd, we leave them an inspirational or humorous Christmas story/poem/etc. along with a treat that matched. I miss that.
 




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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2019 Margaret Margaret

Meldoy, Angel Creek Christmas Brides book 7 by Caroline Clemmons

 

Through a crazy twist of fate, Caroline Clemmons was not born on a Texas ranch. To compensate for this illogical error, she writes about handsome cowboys, feisty ranch women, and scheming villains in a tiny office her family calls her pink cave. She and her Hero live in North Central Texas cowboy country where they ride herd on their dog and three rescued indoor cats as well as providing nourishment outdoors for squirrels, birds, and other critters. 


The over fifty titles she has created in her pink cave have made her an Amazon bestselling author and won several awards. She writes sweet to sensual romances about the West, both historical and contemporary as well as time travel and mystery. Her series include the Kincaids, McClintocks, Stone Mountain Texas, Bride Brigade, Texas Time Travel, Texas Caprock Tales, Loving A Rancher, and Pearson Grove as well as numerous single titles and contributions to multi-author sets. When she’s not writing, she loves spending time with her family, reading her friends’ books, lunching with friends, browsing antique malls, checking Facebook, and taking the occasional nap.
 

~ Facebook ~ Website ~
~ Amazon
Such a tiny lie… 
Desperation drove her… 


She couldn’t know the risk… 


 


After the death of her grandmother, Melody Fraser must quickly leave what has been her home in South Carolina. There are those who think she murdered her Nana Fraser. She’s innocent but there’s talk about arrest and prosecution. To escape, this Southern Belle agrees to become a mail-order bride in far away Montana. Several of her friends will be living in the same town. Traveling so far to marry a man she’s never met is daunting. Surely things will work out, won’t they?

Nicholas “Nick” Walker is a doctor from Gettysburg whose wife and children were killed when mortar fire destroyed their home. Eager to escape the memories and ravages of the Civil War, he buys a medical practice in Montana Territory. He wants a competent nurse who can assist him with operations and care for patients as his plans expand for a hospital. He wants a well-organized wife to keep him company and start a family. With his usual efficiency, he combines the two into one job description when he requests a mail-order bride.
What will it take to teach Nick that—although she isn’t what he expected—Melody is exactly what he needs?

Top Ten List:
1.What inspired this Christmas/Winter book?
MELODY is one of a multiple-author project in which I was lucky enough to be invited to participate. Last year, there were five books and this year there are six. Mine is the second to be released this year. Since I love Christmas and read Christmas books all year, this was a good project for me. I was able to choose Melody’s plot and characters. The stipulations were that the heroine came from Charleston, South Carolina, and went to Angel Creek, Colorado. Each book has the same cover with only the author’s name and the name of the heroine changed.
2.Do you have other Holiday books? If so, what are they and for which Holidays? If not, what other books do you write?
My other Christmas books are STONE MOUNTAIN CHRISTMAS, MISTLETOE MISTAKE, and AN ANGEL FOR CHRISTMAS. The first two are historical western romances and the last is a contemporary romance set in Texas. WINTER WISH is a historical western romance in the box set CHRISTMAS WISHES: WISHES DO COME TRUE, set in Hopeful, Colorado. As you can guess, I write both historical western romance and contemporary western romance—but also time travel romance, and mysteries.

3.What is your largest unfulfilled dream, and what are you doing to reach it?
I’ve always wanted to make enough money to buy my husband something really nice, like a car or something. I’m writing as fast as I can but I’m not even close yet.

4.Tell us about things you enjoy — what you do for fun or personal satisfaction besides writing?
I love to read, especially books written by my friends. My husband (Hero) and I enjoy watching British or Australian mysteries or American shows like the Jack Ryan series. Although we don’t go much now, Hero and I enjoy travel. My youngest daughter and I like to browse antique malls. We used to have booths in a couple of malls but became too busy to buy stock. Dining with friends is always fun. Just yesterday I met with my book club for lunch and had a wonderful afternoon.

5.Are your characters/stories/scenes, etc. based on anything in real life?
I believe that everything we’ve seen or done becomes a part of us, and that comes out in our writing. I don’t consciously pattern characters after a person, although I may take a characteristic from one person and use it. Characters are composites of people I’ve known and those I’ve created.

6.Tell us one Christmas or Winter tradition that you love to do every year, and why it is so special to you.
When our youngest learned who filled the stockings at Christmas, she said, “So, you always know what you’ll have in your stocking? That’s not fair!”
The next Christmas morning when I opened my stocking, there was a small wrapped gift as a surprise. Our daughter had used her allowance at some time and purchased a set of tea bag holders. (I drink a lot of hot tea and use tea bags rather than loose tea.) You can bet I still have those and always will! Since that time, this has grown into a tradition of all four of us placing a small gift in each of the other three stockings. While she was alive, my mother joined in the tradition, too. This tradition is so important to me because it arose from our youngest daughter’s compassion and unselfishness and has become a part of our family’s Christmas each year.

 

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2019 Margaret Margaret

Recipe for Disaster by Allie York

Allie York is back but with her first-ever YA novel, Recipe for Disaster. For Aimee, all it took was a misdialed number to bring “Muffin Guy” into her life and a texting relationship that ends up changing her life. Fans of Kasie West and Miranda Kenneally will adore this humorous, angsty wrong number young adult romance. 
About Recipe For Disaster 
Title: Recipe for Disaster
Author: Allie York
Release Date: December 12, 2019
Publisher: self-published
Genres: Young Adult
Word Count: 72K

 

World’s best muffins:

 

Step 1: Preheat oven to 375
Step 2: cream the butter and sugar until light
Step 3: Add eggs one at a time
Step 4: Forget you have a new phone in a new area code and call a random guy
Step 5: Continue to text random guy until you develop not-so-random feelings
Aimee’s life was stable, normal, and loving; until it wasn’t anymore. In the blink of an eye, she lost her childhood home, her best friend, and her sanity in one swoop.
But a misdialed number brings her an unexpected friend and a lot of new feelings.
Life is finally looking up and Aimee sets out to live life to the fullest with her newfound friend. That is until…Aimee’s text life and real-life collide to ruin everything.
Read Now and Read FREE on Kindle Unlimited
Add to Goodreads here
Excerpt 
Copyright @ Allie York 2019

 

Muffin Guy: Marry me. Now.

Muffin Guy: Okay that was a little creepy. Sorry. I don’t think I have ever had anyone quote The Dude for me. It’s amazing.

Muffin Guy: I would need to try to muffins before proposing marriage anyway. What if they suck? I think about leaving him hanging, just to see how many texts I can rack up before he gives up, but I can’t.

Aimee: My muffins are world-class. I’m talking good enough for the Queen Amidala and The Emperor or some royalty from this universe. Don’t ever doubt my muffin making abilities. Now let’s talk about that marriage proposal. We can’t base a whole relationship on one cult classic and some Star Wars references. And what if you’re ugly? If he can insult my muffins, I can insult his appearance. It’s only fair.   

Muffin Guy: Touché. I already told you how hot I am, so that is absurd. Don’t let the eye thing throw you off, it only adds to my sex appeal. Where can I get one of your muffins? I’m not sure I can take that at face value. I need to do research.

 

Aimee: Only place you can get my muffins is from me. I need to go get ready for a thing tonight. Have a nice night, Muffin Guy. I know if he keeps texting me, I’ll never get ready for the event, and Dad will kill me. Without Hali to get my hair and makeup done, it will take me an eternity.

Muffin Guy: Date?

Aimee: Only with my family. My life is very boring. So boring that I spend the day texting strangers.

Muffin Guy: Mine too. Have fun tonight. If it gets too boring, shoot me a text. If nothing else, I am good comedic relief.

Read Now and Read FREE on Kindle Unlimited

Author Allie York

Allie is a mom and dog groomer by day. At night she is posted at her laptop writing or reading in a cozy corner. She has a soft spot for gooey romance, over-creamed coffee, and anything cute and furry.





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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2019 Margaret Margaret

Miss Dashwood’s Dilemma by Arabella Sheraton


Arabella Sheraton grew up on a diet of Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, and many other writers of that period. From Jane Austen to Georgette Heyer, Arabella has found both enjoyment and inspiration in sparkling, witty Regency novels. She also loves history and generally finds the past more fascinating than the future. Arabella wrote her first Regency romance to entertain her aged mom who loved the genre. Arabella is honoured to share the adventures of her heroes and heroines with readers.

 

 


In this delightful traditional Regency romance, Miss Diana Dashwood accepts an invitation to Lady Prescott’s Christmas party at Camden House, in the countryside. But things do not go quite as she imagined. Through an unexpected event, she is forced to spend the night in a woodsman’s hut with one of the guests. What a scandal! Of course, Sir Gareth Blakely must propose, and he does. Unfortunately, Miss Diana Dashwood has already been engaged to and broken off her engagement from Sir Gareth Blakely after a bitter quarrel. Is it likely she will bow to social pressure and accept his proposal, one made only to save her reputation, and if they marry, does their union stand a chance of survival? And what about the pretty heiress, Miss Jemima Plymstock, whom everyone thinks is the lady Sir Gareth had his eye upon? Headstrong and proud, Miss Diana Dashwood is caught in a dreadful dilemma. A must-read for Regency fans!

 

Q&A With the Author:


1.       What inspired this Christmas/Winter book?
Miss Dashwood’s Dilemma was inspired by the idea of a young woman in the Regency era having accidentally said yes to two suitors. My original plan did not work out but as the story progressed, I found the new story idea worked better. Miss Dashwood had broken her engagement to Sir Gareth, and knew another suitor would propose very soon. However, the dilemma arises on Christmas Eve when she is stranded with him in a cottage in a forest during a snowstorm and, to save her reputation, Sir Gareth announces they are engaged. But Diana Dashwood does not want to be engaged to Sir Gareth because she does not think her reputation needs saving. But of course social rules prevail. The story worked out much better than my original idea and has a lot of drama, wit and charm.

2.       Do you have other Holiday books? If so, what are they are for which Holidays? If not, what other books do you write?
I write Regency romances which are set at different times of the year and actually are perfect for reading during the holidays. Lord Blackwood’s Valentine Ball is the only other book so far that is set specifically on Valentine’s Day.

3.      What is your largest unfulfilled dream, and what are you doing to reach it?
My largest dream which I am aiming for is to have any of my Regency romances reach #1 on the Amazon book list. I hope readers will help me up the ladder!

4.      Tell us about things you enjoy — what you do for fun or personal satisfaction besides writing?
Writing is such fun that I’m not sure anything else compares, but reading, music, travel, art, culture, theater and ballet also provide great satisfaction and enjoyment.

5.      Are your characters/stories/scenes, etc. based on anything in real life?
While my characters are all fictional, there’s no doubt that people I have met over the years do pop into my mind and their traits often help solidify characters’ quirks.

6.      Tell us one Christmas or Winter tradition that you love to do every year, and why it is so special to you. 
Will I sound greedy if I say that having homemade mince pies and Christmas cake is an absolute must at any celebration over the festive season? It comes from my childhood, my grandmother actually, who used to make her own mince pies and Christmas cake and these were absolutely delicious!

 

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2019 Margaret Margaret

Unmasking Lady Caroline by Mindy Burbidge Strunk

“Mindy loves all things history and romance, which makes reading and writing romance right up her alley. Since she was a little girl, playing in her closet “elevator,” she has always had stories running through her mind. But it wasn’t until she was well into adulthood, that she realized she could write those stories down. Now they occupy her dreams and most every quiet moment she has-she often washes her hair two or three times because she wasn’t paying attention when she did it the first time. Which usually means really clean hair and a fixed plot hole. When she isn’t living in her alternate realities, she is married to her real-life Mr. Darcy and trying to raise five proper boys. They live happily in the beautiful mountains of Utah. 

 

Peter Blythe, Earl of Rockwell fled England when he was thrown over in favor of his father. Now after nearly ten years, he has returned to England to assume his family title. When he asks a young woman to dance at a masquerade ball, he is intrigued by her wit and charm. The only problem is she refuses to give him her name.

When Lady Caroline unexpectedly meets the man she has always loved at a masquerade ball and he does not recognize her, she is determined to keep her name a secret. What starts out as a game soon becomes much more when she realizes she still loves him, all the while knowing if he knew her true identity, he would never feel the same for her.

When they both return home to their neighboring estates for the holidays, acquaintances from years past threaten to sever more than just their childhood friendship.

~ Universal Amazon Link
    
Top Ten List:


1.What inspired this Christmas/Winter book?
A friend and I wanted to do a collaboration with some other authors. We knew that we wanted to do it for Christmas and we knew that we wanted the opening scene to be set in the same ball. AS we started working on it, one of us mentioned a masquerade ball and it all moved from there.

2.Do you have other Holiday books? If so, what are they are for which Holidays? If not, what other books do you write? This is my first Christmas book. Although, I am planning to have several out next year. Currently, all of my books take place in the Regency time period.

3.What is your largest unfulfilled dream, and what are you doing to reach it? I don’t really know. I really want to take my family to England and then Europe, but my littles are still a bot young to appreciate what they would be seeing. But I think in another couple of years, that will change. I am currently squirreling away money for the plane tickets so when that day comes, there will be nothing to stop it.

4.Tell us about things you enjoy — what you do for fun or personal satisfaction besides writing? I love to read, I know duh. I love to binge-watch Amazon Prime while I clean the house and fold laundry or Paint my house. I love to quilt, scrapbook, and craft. Most of those have taken a back seat since I started writing full time.

5.Are your characters/stories/scenes, etc. based on anything in real life? All of my characters have a bit of me in them. Sometimes it comes out as their snarky and sarcastic personality. But sometimes it is as small as describing the feeling I had when I had a similar experience to them. Some of the places I base off of previous trips I have taken to England and some are based on dreams I have had.

6.Tell us one Christmas or Winter tradition that you love to do every year, and why it is so special to you? Decorating the Christmas tree has always been a favorite for me. When I was a kid, we would order out pizza form out Favorite local place and watch a Christmas movie while we decorated the tree and put out all of the decorations. Every ornament had a memory attached, even if it hadn’t been my memory, to begin with, it became my memory after hearing it year after year.

 

To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our  Official Event page Part 2 

 

 

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2019 Margaret Margaret