When I was a kid, I started singing Christmas carols in September. I once started a club called Christmas Carols Throughout the Year. It didn’t do well and fizzled by January. My friends were all sick of the music by then. Over the years, I picked up more of the humbug vibe myself. But inside, I always held out for Christmas.

When I got older, I started writing holiday-themed stories for my friends. It was a unique gift and people always seemed to appreciate it. One year, I created a short story about a cop who brings Christmas to a lonely widow, and my friends adored it. They thought it should be made into a longer story. I considered it, but put the story away and figured “some day.” Last year, I pulled it out, brushed it off, updated it, and released it as a quick holiday read on Amazon. It became an instant hit, and sold copies almost every day, all year long. Why? I think it’s the feel-good romance plus the spirit of giving that people enjoy. The story offers what our day-to-day lives sometimes lack: hope.

The holiday season renews hope, don’t you think? We look forward to the new year, the end of the old year, and to seeing friends and family. We plan gifts, parties, write out cards, and send letters. We sweep out the old to make room for the new. We decorate. The holidays can be a wonderful season, especially for children.

For those facing tough times, job troubles, family moving away, the loss of loved ones, uncertain health… the holidays have a different feeling. I wanted to write a story that would address those feelings, and not just a feel-good everything-is-okay story — at least I didn’t want that to be all it was about. So I gave my heroine serious problems, put her smack in the middle of a predicament, and then opened the door to a bit of hope.

A Romance for Christmas begins on Christmas Eve, and the end of a year in which everything Dara loves has been lost. Everything but her little girl and a fierce determination to survive. When a cop brings Christmas to her door, he brings another gift she never expected to get.

Publisher: Romance Lives Forever Books
Genre: Sweet contemporary romance, holiday romance
Heat Rating: Sweet

Excerpt from A Romance for Christmas

“Mommy?” Christine’s young voice broke in on her thoughts.

Dara put down the romance she’d been re-reading, the favorite she’d had since she was sixteen. She’d sold all her others at a yard sale the previous week. “What is it, sweetie?”

“Why don’t we has a real tree for Chribmas?”

“Why don’t we ‘have’,” she corrected. “Come sit by me.” Dara patted the couch and tucked her chenille robe closer around her.

One arm around Matilda, her cloth doll, Christine climbed up beside her mother and cuddled.

Matilda’s going to need stuffing before long. Her head flopped forward, face against her flat chest. When did the lace on her dress get so ragged? Dara smoothed the doll’s dress. “Remember when Daddy went home to heaven before Christmas last year?”

Christine knuckled her eyes and yawned. “I ‘member.”

“And then Mommy got hurt in the car accident and couldn’t go to work?”

“Uh huh.”

Dara took a deep breath. “Well, it meant there was no money for a real tree this year. But I’m sure Santa will still bring you presents.” Gifts Dara bought by selling her entire collection of romance novels at a yard sale at her friend Sherilyn’s house. “And we drew a tree, right?” She pointed at the crayon-bright drawing taped to the wall. Construction paper ornaments decorated each branch.

“But it doesn’t smell like a Chribmas tree.”

Dara hugged her. “I know, baby. I know.”

“How will Santa leave his presents?” Christine pulled away and got on her knees. “He can’t put them under the tree, Mommy.”

“Oh, honey!” She ruffled her daughter’s hair, swallowing the lump in her throat. “Santa will find a way.” She leaned forward and kissed her little girl. “We should get you in bed so Santa can come. He can’t leave presents while you’re awake.”

A Romance for Christmas

A sweet feel-good holiday romance that reaffirms all you love about Christmas. It’s Christmas Eve, and the end of a year in which everything Dara loves was lost. Everything but her little girl and a fierce determination to survive. When a cop brings Christmas to her door, he brings another gift she never expected to get.

Amazon https://amzn.to/1wpW8qE