(POST 2 of 2 for Thursday)
Hello everyone, Winnie Griggs here, and I get to wrap up our Cowboys & Mistletoe Two Truths and a Lie posts. I hope you all have been enjoying them as much as we Fillies have. It’s always so fun to share festive silliness with special friends, which how I feel about this wonderful community that’s developed and blossomed here over the years.
Christmas books are not only fun to read but to write as well. For the writer it allows us to tap into everything we love about the season and it can bring up memories, both happy and emotional, as well as bittersweet thoughts of what used to be.
I’ve written a number of books set around the holidays, but today I want to feature His Christmas Matchmaker. I love Janell and Hank, they are such engaging, honorable characters who are perfect for each other – they just take a while to figure that out. But it’s the two children in the story, Chloe and Alex, who really touched my heart. Recently orphaned with one of them rendered deaf by the same accident that took their parents, they are truly hurting. And gruff, confirmed bachelor Uncle Hank means well but he has no idea how to help or deal with them. The fact that it’s just a month until Christmas drives this home all the more. Janell, a schoolteacher, recognizes that this newly-formed family is hurting and impulsively steps in to help.
Here’s a little more info:
A guilty secret…
Vowing to put her past behind her, schoolteacher Janell Whitman has resigned herself to spinsterhood and she’s erected walls to guard her heart from all but her students.
A solitary heart…
Hank Chandler is quite comfortable with his uncomplicated bachelor life. But when he suddenly finds himself the guardian of his orphaned niece and nephew he knows all that will have to change. Not only do the children need a mother’s love, but he’s not fit to be a single parent. So he’ll need to marry quickly, whether he wants to or not.
A Christmas bargain…
Seeing their need, Janell impulsively reaches out to help the hurting Chandler family. But when Hank proposes a businesslike marriage she draws the line at becoming his wife. She softens her refusal, however, with a counteroffer – she’ll take care of the children after school and help him find an appropriate wife in time for Christmas. After all, with a man as great as Hank, how hard can it be?
But as the holiday grows closer, it seems increasingly difficult to find a suitable candidate––not to mention even harder to deny their growing feelings for each other. It might take a miracle for these two hearts to become one, but Christmas is the season of miracles–and love.
And for my prize, I’ll be giving away a signed copy of one of my other Christmas titles, Her Holiday Family, along with a fun reader ornament.
And now, on with the fun!!
Below you will find three statements, two are true, one is not.
Guess which is the lie in the comments to be entered in the drawings.
Winners and answers will be announced on Sunday 12/03.
- I LOVE Christmas decorations and must have hundreds of tree ornaments alone. In fact I have a walk in closet dedicated just to the storage of my Christmas stuff. Because it became impossible to use all of my decorations on the tree at one time, several years back I began doing themed trees, which allows me to rotate them in and out. Some of the themes I’ve done over the years include angels, bells, stars, snowmen, and even a fairytale theme – but my favorite was the year I did a nativity themed tree.
- When my children were very young I started a tradition of buying them one ornament of their very own each year so that when they grew up and moved away they would have a ‘starter set’ of ornaments of their very own. My plans, however, met with mixed success. Two of my kids took theirs when they established their own homes, two of them still have their collections boxed up and stored in their former closets here at my house with the intention (or so they say) of taking them ‘someday’.
- My siblings and I are all big on Christmas candy and treats and when we have our extended family gathering, which usually includes over 45 people, we all try to outdo each other. In fact there are usually more sweets than ‘regular’ food. My personal specialties are peanut butter fudge and a rice krispie based candy – and I like to experiment with at least one new item each year. As for the scrumdiddlyumptious candy my mom used to make, while my other relatives vied for her pecan pralines, I’d pass those up and go straight for her coconut pralines!
Thanks again for stopping by to play 2 Truths And a Lie with us this week. Remember that the answers and winners will be announced on Sunday.
And if you missed any of the 11 posts this week there’s still time to go back and get all caught up. Winners won’t be drawn until Saturday
