Yes, I know we just had Halloween…
I know it’s only November first, but I am in that Christmas spirit because that’s kind of how publishing rolls, my friends and as the publishers roll… Well, so do the authors! And this author has some fun stuff to celebrate this fall…
First, my just released (non-cowboy!) book “At Home in Wishing Bridge“, the second book of my “Wishing Bridge” series, has been on the Amazon bestseller list for weeks and spent a lot of time at #1 so there is a reason to celebrate right there… and readers are loving it. And that makes authors the happiest of all.
And Love Inspired has re-issued this beautiful story from my “Kirkwood Lake” series. “The Lawman’s Holiday Wish is a story of old wrongs, quick judgments and slow healing… but when God gives us a whole new beginning… a beginning with three precocious five-year-olds… well, that’s the kind of Christmas dream we all love to see! Love Inspired doubled the fun by pairing me with Gail Martin and her book “The Christmas Kite”. You can find this on AMAZON, and in Walmart now!
But being a Western blog, let’s see if I can pull something out of my Christmas Stetson!
Yes!
🙂
First, we’ve got an amazingly fun duo with my good Western buddy Linda Goodnight. I was blessed to be part of a novella duo with her… Western-and-cowboy-themed…. and so I was able to add a “Shepherd’s Crossing” novella to my series set in Western Idaho. The “Shepherd’s Crossing” series brings three Southern beauties… real Steel Magnolias… to a sheep ranch left to them by a benevolent uncle. And there just may be some rugged cowboys who know a good thing when they see it and have the brains enough to keep these girls well above the Mason-Dixon line… despite the cold and wind and snow. Shepherd’s Crossing… where love conquers all. Eventually. 🙂
This beautiful story pairs a single mother with a cowboy who’s spent a bunch of years alone… but Christmas isn’t just a season of miracles. It’s a season of family… friends… and second chances. And Ty Carrington gets his second chance in “Falling for the Christmas Cowboy” my half “A Cowboy Christmas”! And today I’ve got two copies of “A Cowboy Christmas” to send out this week (it’s catch up week on the farm now that pumpkin season is over!)… so you can win it before you can buy it! This book hits stores in two weeks… and on sale for Kindle December 1st!!! PREORDER HERE! (I can’t make it much plainer than that, can I, darlings???)
And then, for the historical lovers among us (of which I am one!) here is my historical novella Christmas collection “Christmas on the Frontier”.
Three great pioneer Christmas stories bring us back to a simpler time… maybe a holier time… a time before Christmas became synonymous with commercialism. A time when a baby in the manger was enough to make us bow our heads… take a knee… pray as one. A time to be grateful for the little things. A time when little was taken for granted because our very hold on life and liberty was tenuous back then and no one had the luxury to be jaded.
“Her Christmas Cowboy”, “A Town Called Christmas” and “His Beloved Bride” make up a wonderful collection from my heart… to yours.
I’m also giving away two Kindle copies of “Christmas on the Frontier” today…. to start your November off right.
Leave a comment about holidays below… what you love? What you don’t love! What makes you laugh or cry? Are you a Hallmark binge watcher? Or a binge reader? Are you Pinterest crazy? Or do you wing it with cookies from Wegmans or Harris Teeter and a Stouffer’s lasagna in the oven?
Because there’s value and joy in both ways!
Four winners today to kick off our Christmas season, then rejoin me in a month when we celebrate Christmas novellas here with the fillies… and I’ll be giving away copies again. Keepin’ it simple. Keepin’ it real. Keepin’ it prayerful in times of trouble…
“For unto you is born this day a Savior which is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign unto you. You will find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” Luke 2, 11-12
Oh, those shepherds! Those angels!
Can you even imagine what that must have been like?
And today I get to kick of this holy and happy season with you! Bring on the eggnog, my friends! And the cookies. (Who doesn’t love cookies?) And let us rejoice together!
Love the atmosphere of the holidays.
Oh, me too… The happy side and the helpful side! It helps us get over ourselves and look out for others.
Growing up I never liked Christmas because my parents never bought me any presents. They made me watch my brothers open presents while I sat there and cried.,when I had children I made sure they had a great Christmas. Even though they are older they still love to talk about their stockings which they still get every year and us going to Christmas Eve Service every year.,I made Christmas special for them so they would never feel the pain I did
Deana, that’s so sad. I’m sorry you had to go through that. At least now you can enjoy the pleasure of the holidays through your children.
Deanna, what a sad story… but you turned it into a blessing. Good for you! You gave your children the gift of memories… time… the grace of a lovely and loving holiday. Go you!!!
Cookies are the best part of the season.
I do love cookies!!!!
I love the atmosphere the Christmas season brings.The celebration of our Lord’s birth, the music, smells and the smiles & kindness it brings
out in people.
Carol, me too. I love that we can look at all sides of the Christmas experience and help as needed… and celebrate, too.
God is good!
Congrats on all the Christmas books, Ruthie! I love Christmas stories. I love to imagine how the sheer simplicity of holidays on the American Frontier held a deeper meaning. Those people sure had reason to celebrate each day even just to be alive. Times were so hard. One of the holiday movies I watch every year is The Homecoming about the Walton family when all the kids were so young. I always cry no matter how many times I watch it. John Boy was thrilled to get a Big Chief tablet and a pencil. He didn’t ask for more because he knew how hard his father worked to just get that much. Today’s kids would throw a big fit if that’s all they got. They’re so spoiled and entitled.
Linda, I love that, too! And John Boy… oh be still my heart, that was such a perfect character. Full of yearning and wanting to help and yet still wanting to be his own person. I loved the Waltons!!!!
I’m asking Santa to bring me more Ruth Logan Herne books for Christmas! Love your stories!
Oh, I love you! 🙂 Santa loves to deliver books! Laughing!
Ruthy, I love Christmas. I read Christmas books from October on and listen to music and watch Hallmark. Please put me in the drawing!
Sandy, I’m happy to! And I just sent out those books we talked about… I mailed them this morning so you should get them next week. And thank you so much for using one of my books for your book club. That means so much to me!
I love Christmas! I like putting up the tree and having it to curl up next to every night and read. I like making cookies too! Even now (some 50+ years), I still hold to family traditions – watching Rudolph and Frosty, putting up the stockings, and leaving Santa cookies and milk.
I love all these things, Linda! 🙂 Those shows are such a part of our childhood, aren’t they? And our kids’ childhoods!
And I’d eat your cookies! Ho! Ho! Ho!!!
I love Hallmark Christmas movies!
Denise, me, too! I’d love to see them put an element of faith back into them like they used to with the Hallmark Hall of Fame productions… They don’t have to do it with all of them, but it would be lovely to have some sprinkled in! One of my bucket list dreams is to have a book turned into a Hallmark or Inspy channel movie…. How fun that would be!
I love to read Christmas stories all year round! Many times I request books at the library and learn they are ‘in storage’ but the employees always meet my requests. Christmas on the Frontier is waiting to be read on the Kindle; just had to buy me a Ruthy book!
Hey, Judy!!! Thanks for stopping over! I hope you love Christmas on the Frontier. It’s so much fun to write historicals. They take me back to a time when people had no choice but to focus on the basics… and not get all glitched up over themselves. They were people of courage and vision, and from that vision came our industrial revolution and modern times….
Of course, being human, we’re still not satisfied. Oh we are silly creatures, aren’t we??? 🙂
Congrats on all the releases. I want to read them all! I love all holidays. I can watch Hallmark Christmas movies and read holiday books any time, but I want the shopping and decorating to go in an orderly fashion, holiday to holiday and not skip Halloween and Thanksgiving to get to Christmas. Thanksgiving especially seems to have disappeared or focuses too much on Black Friday. I have some special holiday foods I like to make (like an all-orange meal for Halloween 😉 ) but don’t make the huge variety I used to. I’m retired now and want to fit in all the fun I can without overdoing it with so many preparations I lose sight of just enjoying the seasons.
Sally, there is nothing wrong with a little bit of order in our lives! I’m a big fan. And I love Thanksgiving but I do decorate earlier now so that if we have family come north for Thanksgiving, it’s festive…. Not everyone can come home for the holidays so sometimes we make the holiday come to them.
And you hit the nail on the head: Too many preparations spoil the pleasure of the holiness. That’s the other reason I aim to have all the crazy done by December 1. So I can enjoy those 23 days of waiting with faith, hope and love…. which means Hallmark Channel and old favorite movies! It’s a Wonderful Life… Miracle on 34th Street… The Muppet Christmas Carol!!!
I love that my extended family still celebrates a traditional Polish Wigilia Christmas wafer and meal on Christmas Eve for 6 generations now. Any opportunity to gather with friends and family during the holidays makes it a special time. ??
Barb, that’s so cool! That’s an old tradition that I used to hear of from Polish kids in my elementary school… but the bigger Polish groups lived in a different parish, St. Stanislaus so I didn’t know many Polish kids growing up. What a great tradition to maintain. In “More Than a Promise” I layered in some Polish customs. Elle’s family was Polish and her aunts and cousins loved to carry on Polish traditions, so it was fun to re-visit them!
Hi Ruthy, thanks for sharing all of your Christmas stories. I love the beauty of the best Christmas story of all because the birth of that special baby gave us the best gift of all. I don’t love the commercialization that accompanies Christmas. I love Hallmark movies but I have to catch them when my husband isn’t here and I also love Christmas books and read them as much as I can. I am a fan of Pinterest but I usually end up making the same Jam cake, peanut butter fudge and Red Velvet cake. Tradition, you know!
Please add my name to the Christmas stocking for your book giveaway!
what you love? What you don’t love! What makes you laugh or cry? Are you a Hallmark binge watcher? Or a binge reader? Are you Pinterest crazy? Or do you wing it with cookies from Wegmans or Harris Teeter and a Stouffer’s lasagna in the oven?
Sorry, forgot to delete your questions!
Connie, you’re in! And hubby’s not a Hallmark Channel kind of guy, huh? A lot aren’t! They think they’re sappy, but they’re innocent and feed that romantic part of a gal’s heart.
I love that romantic part of us!!!
What is jam cake????
I must know!
Not sure why, but my comment disappeared. Will try to remember it.
The family gets together at Grammy and Gramp’s for a nice holiday dinner after which gifts are opened. An hour or so after dinner and gifts, it is time for dessert.
I used to do so much for the holidays. We have been so busy the past few years that we haven’t been able to do the decorating and baking I used to. I miss the baking. I used to do teddy bear bread for the teachers, etc., gingerbread cookies, sour cream crescent cookies, toffee bar cookies, mincemeat pies, my grandmother’s filled cookies, and many more.
I would love to binge watch Hallmark, but my husband can’t handle it all.
I have a love of nativity sets and have several. I may not get a tree up and decorated, but the nativity sets will be put out.
Thanks for helping start getting us in the holiday mood.
Patricia, that sounds absolutely lovely… and Nativity sets make everything seem poised, ready for the celebration. The dinner at Grammy and Gramps: Love it!
And you know for us bakers, we can still bake and donate what we’ve made… Or give as gifts in tins.
I love baking too, but there isn’t a crowd of people here to eat it anymore so I bake and freeze some… And sometimes I just bake for others. It keeps me happy. It’s like reasonably priced therapy!
I like books and movies about older times when more effort was put into a family or group gathering rather than the commercial side of the holidays we have today, as well as the enforced and heightened sense of speed and time, running around for it all. I love reading about homemade gifts people made for one another or something special–not necessarily new–that a person had always admired. Or a favorite Christmas pudding or the like. And the holiday spirit among the group without TV.
Having said that, my son and I are the only family we have left so we get to have our quiet, not rush-around holiday. I can’t say I miss the rushing around and the extra pressure, but I do so miss family getting together. I especially miss my mom who we lost 4 years ago this Christmas Eve. And we just lost my Mom’s 15-year-old cat last week while my son was in the ER. So I have no doubt that this holiday will be subdued. That cat was like another grandson to my mom, and that cat treated my son like they were brothers. So instead of a big celebration, I think this holiday will be much more about quiet meditation, contemplation and prayer for us.
Eliza, that sounds lovely. A quiet Christmas is never a bad thing and you’ve shown us the other side of the holiday. Not everyone is ready for carols and lights and Dominic the Donkey… Life hands us turns and twists and some Christmases and Thanksgivings are better suited to remembrance. Loss can be a tough thing to handle during the holiday season.
Hey…. Winner time!
Winners of “A COWBOY CHRISTMAS” my contemporary duo with Linda Goodnight (I love Linda Goodnight!!!) are MJSH and Denise. Email me at loganherne@gmail.com with your snail mail addresses, darlings!
Barb Mikler Crandon, I’m going to send you a copy of “More Than a Promise” because I think you’ll love the Polish elements… and hopefully I got them right!!!!
And winners of a Kindle copy of “Christmas on the Frontier” are Carol Luciano and Debra Guyette!
You can message me your snail mail addresses on facebook (and friend me if you haven’t already!) or e-mail them to me at loganherne@gmail.com
And thank you for playing and chatting with me today!
I’ve been on a Hallmark Christmas movies binge!