DIFFICULT TO SAY GOODBYE (AND A GIVEAWAY!) — by Robin Lee Hatcher

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In the fall of 2009, when I came up with the idea for a three-book series and named it The British Are Coming series, I didn’t know that it would be contracted by two different publishers over the next seven years but, for different reasons, wait another six years before I actually wrote the first book as an indie release. Nor did I know that it would grow from the three initial novels to a series of one novella and five novels.

Over the course of these books, I have loved writing about the American bison, about Yellowstone National Park, about the cattle on Eden’s Gate Ranch, about the Palouse horse (we now call them Appaloosa). And I’ve loved watching the town of Gibeon come to life.

It was a bittersweet moment when I wrote the ending to To Fall in Love at Christmas, the sixth and final book. I had half-hoped another character would raise his or her hand and say, “Excuse me, but you need to write my story.” That’s what happened with books five and six. I was willing to add a seventh. But no one demanded their own story, and I finally had to accept that the series was done.

I confess that I loved ending the series with a Christmas romance. And who better to experience a Christmas romance than a frontier pastor.

When I introduced Reverend Truman Blankenship in To Marry an English Lord (book #2), I expected him to be a minor character. But over the course of the next books (To Capture a Mountain Man, To Reveal a Reckless Love, and To Find Where She Belongs), he proved himself an important part of the community and a truly good friend to the heroes and heroines of the earlier books. Not to mention, his one obvious attempt to find a wife had failed because she was already in love with someone else. I felt I owed him a happy ending.

In keeping with the “British coming to America” theme of the series, I decided to bring a Scottish-Canadian nurse into Truman’s life (Canada was, after all, part of the British Empire in the 1890s). Alice MacPherson was raised on a religion of rules, so very different from the joyful faith of Truman Blankenship. And so began an unexpected courtship.

To Fall in Love at Christmas (set in eastern Idaho in 1897) released earlier this month, and I have delighted in the feedback from readers who are loving this final book as much as I do. And if it is as hot where you live as it is where I live, spending some time with the cold, snowy days in Gibeon, Idaho just might be the treat you need.

Giveaway

I’m offering a giveaway of To Fall in Love at Christmas to one lucky reader, so please, everyone, don’t forget to comment!

My question is, do you love to travel at Christmas, or are you a homebody during the holiday? If you travel, where do you like to go? And if you stay home, what’s your favorite tradition?


PS  I am more than halfway through the writing of my next book, the first of a planned seven-book series. If you’d like to stay up-to-date on my releases, please take a moment to subscribe to my newsletter.

61 thoughts on “DIFFICULT TO SAY GOODBYE (AND A GIVEAWAY!) — by Robin Lee Hatcher”

  1. As a child, we always traveled to see my grandparents in Tennessee. Now that I have my own grandbabies, I prefer to stay closer to home so we can see them.

  2. I’m a homebody but I’d love to travel with friends or family playing Santa along the way!

  3. I like to stay home. Family is all close and we get together for meals, games and sometimes presents. Also love going to Christmas Eve services

  4. I like to stay home. Family is all close and we get together for meals, games and sometimes presents. Also love going to Christmas Eve service’s. Just love Christmas.

  5. Our extended family is all over the map, but we are homebodies in our mature years. We attend Mass (sometimes Midnight), enjoy cooking/eating a festive meal, open gifts, and just hang out together.

  7. I’m more of a homebody, especially during Christmas, I like participating in the community event with all the family, its very family oriented and makes for great memories and connecting with neighbors and friends, such as the tree lighting and the gift giveaways and santa’s scavenger hunt for kids.

  8. I am more of a homebody during Christmas. My brother and I usually donate Turkeys and hams to a local Veterans organization, and we spend Christmas celebrating with other veterans.

  9. I’m a homebody. I live in northwest Ohio and it gets cold and windy here. I hate the cold. lol

  10. My siblings live far apart now, so we gather at Christmas for dinner. It’s about a 2 hour drive and I enjoy the laughter, catching up and seeing everyone who can make it.

  11. I love being home for Christmas. Being home entails many things to me. First of all, family arrives, and we get to play in the snow with our grandkids. I love the preparation of baking and meal prep. It is my total joy to have Christmas dinner. It is a quiet time of the year in central Minnesota. I love the peaceful feeling of thinking about the true meaning of Christmas. I look forward to catching up with you Robin and checking on your books again. Thanks for coming to P&P’s.

  15. We’ve only ever traveled at Christmas once–the year my sister died, we went out to CA to spend the holiday with our kids instead of them coming home. But being in their home at the holidays was being home because it was our kids…

  16. We travel during Christmas to relatives about three to four hours away. Sometimes I would like to stay home because traveling can be weary, but then we wouldn’t get to see family.

  18. Good morning Robin! I’ve read all of the British are Coming series except 5 or 6 books. I enjoyed them!

    I like staying at home, but I have two family members who can’t travel. So, we go to them.

    Thanks for dropping today!

  19. As a widow with no children, I stay at home during Christmas. I get together with family in town.

  20. I much prefer to stay at home for Christmas. We have a large family and gather both Christmas Eve and Christmas day. I have 2 children who live in Virginia (I live in New York), so we don’t celebrate with them each year, but last year we did an early Christmas with my daughter and her family in early December. But, being home at Christmas is best.

  22. Good morning, during the Holidays especially Christmas I am a homebody. I love staying at home decorating for Christmas and have my family over for dinner and spend quality time together. Your books sound like Great reads. My favorite Holiday is Christmas and I Love Everything about Christmas. Have a great day and a great weekend. Thank you for the chance at your Great sounding book.

  23. I always had Christmas at my house until last year. Our family is too large for my house now so one of my daughters has it at her house (a mile from us). That’s all we travel at Christmas.

  26. I am a homebody at Christmas. My favorite tradition is reading from Luke 2 on Christmas Eve. Thank you for the opportunity. God bless you.

  27. I am more a homebody and if I at Christmas it is to visit my family and they are only about fifty miles away.

  29. We don’t travel during the holidays, everyone comes to us. My most resent favorite tradition is Christmas on New Years Eve. My family is huge so we get together after Christmas. We fill out a questionaire on what we would like and then on New Years Eve we draw names. We spend the whole day shopping. We gather together and play games and then open presents. Its fun and different than tradional celebrations.

  30. We have 12 grandchildren so we like to travel for Christmas. We live in NC. where it’s hot. But we like to go north for the snow like Upstate New York. Share all the the love and festivities together as a family its so much fun even though we’re older. We back up our car with everything presents food clothes you name it it’s in there. And to all Good Night

  32. I have always spent Christmas at home! First with my parents and now with my husband, daughter, and granddaughter. Our tradition as a young married couple was Christmas Eve with my parents & Christmas Day with my in-laws. They are all gone so we now celebrate with our small family.

  33. Absolutely stay at home,Totally a homebody for Christmas. Have the house completely decorated inside and outside With lots of lights, trees and Santa’s, I just love decorate for Christmas. Just me and my sister, but we have two traditions reading from Luke and a Iceland tradition reading a new book received from someone else and drink hot chocolate or eat chocolate til Christmas Day. We listen to Christmas music and with all the lights on throughout the house looks magical.

  34. My husband & I are home bodies at Christmas. Our families live close with only my sister out of state. So, we spend time with them during the holidays.

    My favorite tradition is every year we buy an additional piece for our nativity & then put the scene together & on display.

    Merry Christmas in July.

  35. I Always Love staying at home and having the Grandchildren help with decorating the tree and hanging the stocking and then watching Christmas movies together Have a Blessed weekend!

  36. We raise livestock and they have to be taken care of even on Christmas. So, Christmas is at our house with kids and grandkids. Fortunately our house is big enough that we find space for everyone to sleep and we celebrate for several days. Everyone pitches in to help with chores, keeping the wood box full for the fireplace, and meals, snacks and more delicious food than we can ever eat all of. We also have hills for sledding when the weather cooperates which it did not in 2025. If it’s too stormy to drive to Christmas Eve service we do a candlelight service in our living room with a fire in the fireplace and the tree lights on. Some years we have celebrated on a day other than December 25, but for us it is the things we do that day, not the day on the calendar, that is important.

  37. I prefer to stay at home over the holidays. I like our family traditions: tree decorating , cookie baking, Christmas carols, Christmas movie marathon, decorating , buying and decorating the tree, gift wrapping, writing Christmas cards, spending time with family and friends.

  38. I love to stay at home at Christmas and celebrate with our family. We don’t always celebrate on Christmas Day due to the careers of our son who is a police officer and our son-in- law who is a minister, neither of which are usually off on ChristmasDay. My husband was a police officer for 30 years and we were rarely celebrated Christmas on December 25. We celebrated whatever day he was off. I love to bake and decorate and be with my family during the holidays

  39. I do like to travel for Christmas! When I do, I go to TX to visit friends!! We have a great time driving around looking at lights, and the last time I was there at Christmas, we even had our pictures taken with the Grinch!!

  40. In years past we used to travel every Christmas to my parents, but now that they have both passed away we stay home at Christmas. I loved hosting our grown sons and their families.

  41. Thanks everyone for all the comments. I did a poor job of keeping up and found I was repeating my answers. So I’ll just say, Merry Christmas in July, and I hope you’ll get a chance to read To Fall in Love at Christmas soon, whether you travel for Christmas or stay at home.

  42. I am a homebody. Also I can’t travel. I enjoy baking cookies with my mom and my daughters.

  43. I’m a homebody at Christmas. I’d rather be all warm and snug at home than traveling amongst the crowds.

  44. I stay home now and have only the Christmas tree lights on in the living room…such comfort!

  45. I’m a homebody no what time of year. Nothing like my own bed. Thank you for the giveaway opportunity.

  50. We used to travel back to North Dakota for Christmas every year, but now our kids are grown and we have 6 grandchildren nearby. I also have to be careful about traveling during the winter when a lot of people get sick. I am immunocompromised due to kidney failure and transplant.

  51. I prefer to stay home at Christmas. Our anniversary is Christmas Eve so when our children were younger we would allow them to open one of their gifts since we would be opening our gifts to each other. For Christmas breakfast we always have scrambled eggs with cheese, sausage or bacon and homemade biscuits.

  52. I love spending it at home with my family making precious memories. I love driving around with my family to look at Christmas light displays while listening to Christmas music.

  53. I love to spend the holidays with our family and friends around home. It is harder for me to travel in the winter because of illnesses that usually hit then. I’m a kidney transplant recipient, so my immune system is compromised.

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