Back in 2022, I bought a pre-made book cover from Covers & Cupcakes LLC.
I had no idea what I’d do with it. but the image of a snowy mailbox with mountains behind it just spoke to me.
I started thinking about that cover, and a storyline about a woman who was a Santa expert came to mind.
Then I started thinking about letters. Actual, in-the-mail, hold-in-my-hand letters. Hardly anyone takes takes the time to write a pen to paper letter these days. In fact, I’ve had several friends mention how much they miss receiving letters.
So, that got me thinking about how special and meaningful a hand written letter can be.
And I started thinking about a series of stories that begin with a letter.
The cover I originally bought became the cover for the first book in my new Christmas Letters sweet and wholesome contemporary romance series.
And the idea for the Santa expert story became the third book, which I wrote last, because the second book and fourth books are about cousins, so I wrote those together in an effort to keep as much consistency between the books. (And that wasn’t confusing at all!)
Christmas Letters is a series about four friends, all experts on something related to Christmas, and their journeys to finding love.
He can’t save Christmas, but he can save her tree farm.
Dr. Jaxon Frost, a highly regarded authority on Christmas trees, is known nationwide for his expertise in the field. Preferring solitude, he dedicates his life to his work. However, his routine is interrupted when he receives an unexpected letter from Holly Crest Tree Farms, seeking his assistance in identifying a disease affecting their Christmas trees. Jaxon heads to the farm and is caught completely by surprise to find the owner isn’t a crusty old farmer, but a beautiful woman who captures his interest and admiration. He will do anything to help Jaylyn save her trees, even at the risk of losing his heart.
Jaylyn Smith carries the weight of immense responsibility as the owner and manager for Holly Crest Tree Farm, a family-owned business passed down through four generations. The fate of their cherished legacy, symbolized by their beautiful Christmas trees, rests solely on her shoulders. When she can’t identify a disease attacking a section of trees, she reaches out to an expert for help. Jaxon Frost is nothing like she expected, but everything her heart has been longing for.
Will their collective efforts salvage the valued heritage of her family?
Discover the answer in Dear Mister Frost, a heartwarming and sweet holiday romance that exudes warmth, laughter, and the joy of the festive Christmas season.
He can’t create a miracle, but he can give the gift of love
When heirloom ornament maker Sam Silver receives Erika Esposito’s heartfelt letter, he is deeply moved by her plea for a special ornament for her dying son, Joey. Despite having shut himself off from the world due to his own personal trauma, Sam feels compelled to step out of his shell to help Erika and Joey.
Erika, who has already experienced a profound loss with the unexpected death of her husband, is desperate to bring some joy into Joey’s life as he battles cancer. She reaches out to Sam, unaware that her plea will bring not only hope but also the possibility of finding love again.
Rich in Christmas spirit, Dear Mister Silver offers a tender and heartwarming holiday romance. Sam’s journey as Ornament Guy, crafting heirloom ornaments as a way to rebuild his life, takes on a whole new meaning as he pours his heart into creating a special ornament for Joey. Through his efforts, Sam not only brings joy to a little boy but also discovers the wonder of opening his heart to love.
Filled with warmth and touching moments, this story reminds readers of the magic that shimmers in acts of kindness, and how love and hope can be the greatest gifts of the holiday season.
She’s striving for success, not searching for romance
Lyra Nicholas is a renowned expert on all things related to jolly old Saint Nick. When she receives a letter from Tucker Lee, a rancher in a small Oregon town, she hesitates to consider his request to help his sister with a museum exhibit. But something in the note intrigues her, and she soon finds herself in The Dalles, preparing for a grand Santa installation. Then she meets Tucker and finds herself falling love.
Tucker Lee will do anything for his sister even if it means groveling to a snooty Santa expert to set up an exhibit at the museum Remi manages. Expecting an old, dowdy female, Tucker is taken aback when he meets Lyra, a beautiful young woman who makes him realize there may be more to life than running his ranch.
As they work together to make the exhibit a success, sparks dance between them like twinkling tree lights.
The essence of Christmas, the joy of family, delightful humor, and heartfelt emotions take center stage in Dear Miss Nicholas, a wholesome and uplifting holiday romance.
She’s not about to give him a second chance, even when it comes to love
Halston Baker’s career took a nosedive when she crossed paths with Kutter Hayes five years ago. Now, Halston has rebuilt her life and found success as a gingerbread house designer. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to showcase her skills at a Las Vegas resort with a life-size gingerbread village. Little does she know that Kutter, the man who turned her life upside down, is also in town for the finals rodeo. Despite her head shouting at her to stay far away from the troublesome cowboy, her heart has other plans.
Kutter has his own plans and ambitions for his career as a stock contractor and not a single one of them involve fiery, feisty Halston. She blames him for ruining her dreams, and is as prickly as his grandmother’s pin cushion. But as Kutter spends more time with Halston, he realizes there is far more to the fascinating woman than her ability to create amazing gingerbread houses.
As the magic of the holiday season wraps around them, Halston and Kutter must decide whether to follow their hearts and pursue love or step away from what might be their chance at a happily ever after.
Dear Miss Baker is a treat for the senses, combing the flavors of the season with the joys only Christmas and first love can bring in a wholesome holiday romance.
What about you?
Do you like to receive or write letters?
What’s the most meaningful letter or note you’ve ever received?
Or who would you like to receive a letter from?
Share your answer in the comments for a chance to win a digital set of all four books!
After spending her formative years on a farm in Eastern Oregon, hopeless romantic Shanna Hatfield turns her rural experiences into sweet historical and contemporary romances filled with sarcasm, humor, and hunky western heroes.
When this USA Today bestselling author isn’t writing or covertly hiding decadent chocolate from the other occupants of her home, Shanna hangs out with her beloved husband, Captain Cavedweller.
I love to receive letters, but I don’t enjoy writing them (I’d make a terrible author)! I remember writing home every week while I was in college, and it took almost as long as studying for my classes. I struggled (and still do) with what to say.
This little series sounds so fun!
Thank you, Ami! Sometimes it is hard to find just the right words for a letter. I’m with you – I love receiving them! Have a lovely day!
I loved getting letters from family the old-fashioned way. My mother passed away 5 years ago, and one of my favorite memories are to take her letters I received from my trunk and re-read them. It makes me feel like a part of her is still here.
That is so special, Julie. I’m sorry she is no longer there to write letters to you, but what a keepsake you have in those letters.
Thinking of you and wishing you joyful days ahead!
This sounds like a delightful series. I’m not very good at writing letters but I do write to all the family members in the military.
That’s wonderful you write to your military family members. Letters are such a precious treasure to them!
Have a delightful 2024!
I like to receive actual letters. My best friend sends me beautiful hand made cards with special notes for birthday, anniversary, holidays, and sometimes just because. They are such a treat to receive. I have read all 4 of this series and loved them. My favorite is the last one because they were in Las Vegas for the NFR. That is on my bucket list.
Oh, those handmade cards and notes sound lovely! So fun your friend sends them to you!
And I’m so glad you enjoyed the series. I hope you get to cross the NFR off your bucket list someday!
Happy New Year and thanks for your readership!
Hey Shanna! These books sound wonderful! Oh the joy of receiving and writing letters! My best friend in school when we were in 4th grade wrote letters to each other during the summer. My father asked why don’t we just call each other? Mailing a letter cost 5 cents! Wow. I told him it wasn’t the same. He laughed and said it was ok.
But the sweetest letter I have was when my parents wrote to each other the summer before they were married. Mom worked at State Farm in Jacksonville and my father was on his parent’s farm at home. My mother took those letters scanned them side by side(his and hers) on a pillow with their wedding pic above those letters. Wish I could post it here! That Christmas, my two brothers and I passed around our pillows and read those letters. My children enjoyed reading them. I told Mama that was the most precious gift she ever made us. I have it displayed next to my wedding dress in my bedroom. The bodice of the wedding dress is my mother’s. Part of the wedding dress is over 43 years and the other is over 67 years!
The very best new year to you and CC Shanna!
What an amazing gift your mother created, Tracy! That is the coolest thing! And I love that you have part of her dress in your wedding dress. That is just awesome! So fun you and your friend wrote letters back and forth as kids.
Wishing you a beautiful, blessed 2024!
My husband wrote me a letter for my birthday about 5 years ago and I keep it in my Bible. Very sweet. Things he wanted to say but he put them on paper instead.
What a treasure to have that letter from him. Such a keepsake! Wishing you a glorious 2024!
I am not much of a letter writer. I send cards to what family I have left. I would rather talk to someone. I don’t even like texting on the phone.
My dad is the same way. He would much rather talk to someone on the phone than write a note! Have a beautiful year, Sharon!
I haven’t in a while but yes it’s always nice to receive or give handwritten letters or cards. My first friend moved when I was in like second grade and we continued to stay in touch through writing letters well into our twenties before life got in the way. Luckily we got back in touch through Facebook not too many years later.
That’s wonderful you were able to get back in touch with your friend. It is so nice to receive handwritten notes. Thanks for stopping in today! Have a beautiful year!
I do enjoy letters. I have several friends who send a letter at Christmas catching us up on the whole year. I am not a good letter writer as I have nothing to say. I do postcrossing where I get postcards from people around the world. I enjoy that. I liked reading about your books.
Oh, the postcrossing sounds so fun! It is so nice at Christmas to catch up on life with our friends and loved ones. Wishing you a beautiful 2024!
I used to write and receive letters all the time, and I loved it. I don’t do nearly as much writing and snail-mailing letters now. I’m using more emails and writing in my career instead of writing letters, but I do look back on those days with fond memories. For one thing, it is how my mother liked to keep in touch.
That’s lovely you kept in touch with your mother through letters, Janice. Emails are so much easier to send and so helpful for business purposes. Wishing you beautiful days ahead!
I treasure the ones I received from my grandma.
A friend and I used to exchange them, but she stopped, and after a few unanswered letters, I stopped, too. Not all friendships last a lifetime.
That’s wonderful you had special letters from your grandma. I know what you mean about not all friendships lasting a lifetime. I had a pen pal from Austria when I was a freshman in high school and we wrote back and forth for more than a decade until we both got busy with life and marriage and just stopped. I wish I’d kept in touch with her!
My husband has always been very sweet and romantic when it comes to voicing (words on paper) his feelings towards me. It has become a tradition for birthdays and anniversaries. I love these letters and keep them from year to year. In reference to your Dear Series, I have read them and I cannot praise them enough. they are all beautiful stories, deep from the heart. Particularly touching was Dear Mr. Silver. Thank you for your outstanding story lines, Shanna. God bless you and your career.
Oh, that is the sweetest, Judy! Each letter must be such a treasure to you! Thank you for reading the series and for your kind words. I’m so, so pleased you enjoyed them. Blessings to you!
Shanna, congratulations on your new series! Each one looks so delightful. I love these beautiful covers. They’re really special. I like to receive letters but I’m terrible about writing them. I have a longtime friend that only corresponds with letters and I owe her one but can’t seem to sit down and make time to answer. I will soon. I don’t want my friend to think I died. Ha!
Hi Linda! It is hard to find just the right words to say, but there is nothing like going through the junk mail to find a letter from someone dear. I hope you and your friend continue to correspond for many years to come!
I dislike writing letters. It’s not like a conversation where you have a two way conversation so to me it’s like a gossip where you’re talking about yourself or your family.
My aunt was a great letter writer. When ever someone had good news, bad news or what ever the situation was you would receive a letter or card from my aunt. I have so many letters and cards from her that shared in the good times and the not so good times or just a little note to say she was thinking of me or saw something that reminded her of something that I would like. I so miss those letters.
My favorite letters are from husband. He knows that I prefer his cards and letters than the commercial made cards. They have more meaning coming from him. I’ve kept them all. He gives me a letter for my birthdays and anniversaries.
At Christmas we write letters to go with our annual Christmas photo card of our family. For 40 years, I wrote those letters than when my husband retired in 2009, I told him it was his duty to write our Christmas letters to our family and friends. We have done 54 Christmas letters with photo cards. We share the main events of our family in our letters. We spend extra to send the letters and cards to my relatives in the Philippines but I know they like them and enjoy reading them.
The letter series were enjoyable to read especially all taking place in the Christmas season.
I actually have never written a letter or received any! But it does seem more fun and more unique than modern communications 🙂 I love old fashion things and that sounds like something I’d enjoy, but sadly I don’t have that many friends that seem to enjoy those things. I love this whole series, currently reading the last one-Dear Miss Baker.
I use to cherish writing letters my favorite writing buddy he was an old fishing friend of our family that resided several states away and could no longer travel north in the summers to see us.
He use to write poems and slip them in with his letters and occasionally send little treasures he had found along the river banks in Arazona.
Oh, that is so sweet, Crystal. How fun he wrote poems and sent little treasures too! That is wonderful you have those memories.
I had a pen pal from Hawaii when I was in middle school. After a while, we just quit corresponding.
I loved all four books in The Christmas Letters.
Thank you, Bonnie! So appreciate you reading them. That is so fun about your pen pal. I hope you have a wonderful year ahead!
I do like writing and receiving letters. When go through cancer treatment when Covid was a restriction, I started writing to my grandkids and sending money in each card for treats. It’s been three years now and the grands still like receiving letters now and then.
My favorite letter was from my died before he passed away. He signed it, “Oceans of love.” Someday I’ll see him again and I’ll know what that “ocean of love” is all about. Love you Shanna!
Oh, Kathy! I love that your dad sent you that note with “oceans of love!” And that is so sweet about your grands still enjoying the letters. So wonderful you write them. You are a jewel! Wishing you joy and blessings in the year ahead!
JOY is my word for this year.
That is a great word!
I absolutely love these covers! Each one’s so unique and gorgeous! I see why you wanted them! My favorite is the last one with the blue mailbox ? and the cardinal’s. My favorite letter came from my husband on Valentine’s Day he had a postcard blanket made with a hand written letter on the blanket! I was amazed and so excited, because my husband is romantic in his own way! He hasn’t never done anything like that before and it really surprised me! I was in awe of him! I cuddle up with it and read! Makes me feel so loved!! ?
Thank you so much, Sheila. She did such a great job with the covers, and I love Dear Miss Baker’s cover too! That blue mailbox really stands out!
How sweet your husband wrote a note for the blanket. What a gift to treasure. You are literally wrapped in love!
Have a beautiful 2024!
Yes! I couldn’t have described it any better! I love the blanket and I truly treasure! Thank you!
This is another AWESOME series by Shanna – don’t enter and yes isn’t getting anything in the mail but bills and junk mail a surprise these days????
Thank you, Teresa! And yes, anything beyond junk and bills is a treat to find in the mail!
I love receiving letters. I love to write them also. My problem is, I can think of all kinds of things to write but when I sit down to write, my mind is absolutely blank. Lol
I know what you mean, Barbara! Sometimes it is a challenge to find just the right thing to write. Wishing you beautiful days ahead – and a mailbox full of sweet letters!
I love receiving them!! I used to love writing them as well, but I’ve gotten out of the habit….
It is so easy to get out of the habit. Wishing you many lovely notes filling your mailbox this year!
Absolutely enjoy receiving letters. My most treasured one was the one my grandmother wrote and illustrated with stick figures of family members and extended family members and what they were doing while I was in the hospital as a very young child with polio.
How fun you have the letter your grandmother wrote and illustrated. What a special thing she sent while you were in the hospital. Wishing you joy in the days ahead!
I have a friend I write to several times a month. We have exchanged letters for about 20 years. I love getting her letters as we follow eaxh others lives!
Oh, that is so wonderful, Sharon. How amazing you’ve kept up your correspondence all these years. I love that! Happy New Year to you!
I love receiving cards/ notes from others… seems like it happens only around the holidays though…
At least we still get them then! Have a wonderful 2024!
I love to receive and write letters! The problem is, not too many want to write back! Lol!! I make my own cards, and all of my insurance clients get cards I make for their birthdays and for Christmas. I’ve had clients ask if I’ll still be their agent if they move away, as they want to keep getting the cards!
That is so neat you make cards. I bet your clients do love them! What a special thing for you to do! Have a fabulous 2024!
I have a friend I write letters to ( sent to his guardian and read to him) but the friend is nonverbal and can’t write back to me due to a disability but I would love to receive a letter from this friend. Thank you for the giveaway.
Oh, that would be lovely. May it be so! Have a fabulous year!
I love to get letters and write back but all my family is gone now.I still have letters from them that I read now and then.No one likes to write letters now days.If I could get a letter I would want one from My Mom,my Grandpa and brother they all wrote the best letters.The kids all text but its not the same as having a letter in hand that you can read over and over.The world has lost so much by not keeping in touch by letters.I have tried to tell my kids and grandchildren that but they just don’t understand.
Hi Karen,
It’s wonderful you have those keepsake letters. I do think we’ve lost something special by not writing letters anymore. I hope more people will come back to it.
Have a beautiful 2024!
Hi, your series sounds great and I love your book covers! Yes I love to receive letters and notes on birthday cards, my husband my daughter and our grandchildren always write very nice notes on my bday cards especially, and I love them all. I used to write letters and note cards all the time to my parents and family. Alot of times just to let them know I was thinking of them. Now a days phones and texts make it so much easier and handier , but for me I will always have a special place in my heart for letters or note cards which are handwritten. Have a great day and a great rest of the week.
Oh, thank you about the book covers! That is wonderful you get handwritten birthday notes. Love that! There is just something special about reading a note someone took the time to write. Have a beautiful rest of January!
I’ve had several penpals in my life and enjoyed corresponding with all of them. I don’t write much anymore, other than a quick note here and there. I really need to get back into it.
That’s so fun you had penpals. Love that! Wishing you a year full of treasured letters!
I love to receive and send letters to special people in my life. I have a bag I call “ This is my Life” full of letters and cards that are special to me most from my children. My most special letter is from my father that I hadn’t seen since I was 5 ( long story) some days I like to sit and read them all.
I LOVE getting postcards. I love seeing where people have been and appreciate that they think of me when they are on vacation and send me one!
I love receiving hand written letters but am terrible at writing them. I have decided that I am going to write more letters and hope others enjoy them enough to write back. I recently found a card written by my husband who passed away a year ago. I treasure seeing the words in his handwriting.
Hello Shanna- I’m so grateful you wrote this series. I have thoroughly enjoyed each and everyone.
They could all be Hallmark movies. I truly mean that.
I love sending letter, sending cards, and I also love receiving them. It’s so much more personal to open a letter from someone and read their handwriting.
For the last 10 years. I had a penpal in Louisiana, her son and I were co-managers at Seaboard and work best friends. His mother was from England and her and I wrote letters all the time. Sadly she passed away in October and I so miss not getting a letter from her. Lee, her son & I talk at least once a month and I’ve told him how I miss not receiving her letters. He’s told me many times how excited she would get when she received one from me about Kansas.
I believe we all should get back to sending little personal messages to our loved ones.
I have a pen pal that we exchange letters about once a month. We talk about things going on in our lives it’s nice. I love to send her stickers or bookmarks too.
I do like receiving letters and writing them. I have an old friend back home with whom I exchange letters usually at Christmastime. It takes me awhile to get started on her letter, but once I do the letter ends up being pages and pages long. When I was in high school I would write to soldiers in Vietnam. That was so interesting. I wish I had keep the letters. They would be even more interesting now. The answer to one of your questions would be–I would love to get a letter from one of those soldiers now, to hear how they are doing today.
This series sounds like a fun read. I love the covers. Thank you.
I love to write and receive handwritten letters! I would love to receive a letter from my great great grandmother telling me what it was like as a indian princess. her father was a cheif
I am not much of a letter writer and I usually don’t really receive letters or haven’t in many years. Now my best friend that I grew up with always writes a little letter in my birthday card from her and I do the same when I send her one. It kind of a keeping up type of letter.
I live in California and my cousin is in Iowa and we like to write back and forth so this series should be right up my alley. We talk on the phone sometimes but we enjoy writing and she’s never touched a computer so email is out. I really look forward to her letters.
I enjoy getting real letters in the mail, and I still write actual letters to a few people. I think it’s important to keep it up so it doesn’t become a lost art.
I wholeheartedly agree! Keep on writing them!
Have a beautiful 2024!
I love to receive letters and I love to write them. Especially now when there is so much when others don’t send cards and letters. I love to make cards that go with my letters. When my mom was alive, we would send letters back and forth all the time. She was my critic/helper with my making cards.
How sweet you and your Mom did letters and cards together. Love that! It is such a special thing to receive a card or letter in the mail. So wonderful you still send them!
Happy New Year!
I love this series. Waiting patiently for Dear Mr. Baker. I would love a physical copy of these books.
Thank you, Rhonda! So glad you are enjoying them!
I do miss getting and writing letters. When I was in the Peace Corps, (before cell phones and computers to communicate), I wrote letters home to family and friends every week and got letters from them. I have all of them. Those I wrote to my parents are really a journal of my experiences. Of course there are things I wish I had written in a journal that I definitely didn’t tell them. I am so glad I have them. I also saved all my husbands letters from before we were married and afterward when he was deployed in Southeast Asia.
I think the one that made the biggest impression was a Valentine’s card and letter he sent me while I was still overseas. I had gone home for a few weeks after being overseas for 2 1/2 years and bumped into my now husband who I had not seen in about 7 years. We had kept in touch, but only a Christmas card and a few letters a year. When I went back to my assignment, I told some of the local teachers I worked with that I had bumped into an old friend. When February rolled around, they kept teasing me about getting a Valentine card from him. No way I said. You only get one from someone you cared for and seeing someone for a few hours in seven years did not make a relationship. Imagine my surprise when I was with them at the Post Office and there was a card and letter for me from him. It was the first Valentine I had ever received (not counting grade school) and told of possibilities I had never expected. I still have it.
Hi Patricia!
Oh, that is amazing about the Valentine card your husband sent to you. You must have made quite an impression on him when you bumped into each other. What a beautiful story! That is so neat you saved all those letters that are a journal of your experiences. I love that! So glad you have them.
Wishing you a fantastic 2024!
I love to write and send letters and cards! Just a short note to let someone know you are thinking of them can go a long way. Love this idea for your series, of reaching out through actual mail.
Thank you, Ellie! I loved the card you sent to me. It was so sweet of you! Have a beautiful day!
I used to send cards and letters all the time when I was younger. I would send them to my aunt who was in her 90’s as well as friends who were having health issues as well as ones who did not get out much. Now that I am one who does not get out much, I do not send out cards or letters much anymore. A letter that I would cherish is anything that was sent by my Mom before she passed away. I have some letters from my aunt before she died also. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.
Oh, how lovely you have those keepsake letters! Wishing you beautiful, joyful days ahead!
yes, from friend
I love letters!! I not only enjoy writing and sending them, but I truly enjoy receiving them. I think answering which letter is my favorite letter is such a hard question to answer because I really love all letters!!! As far as who I would like to get a letter from..I would have to say, I am not picky..i just like to get one.
I wrote letters when I was much younger! Love the written words. When I read posts like this, I want to sit down and write, but life and things get in the way. I really appreciate authors who have the determination to put their thoughts on paper!
Thank you, Sherall. Sometimes life does just get in the way! Have a lovely 2024!