Love Comes to Christmas

Christmas Memories

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When I was growing up, we usually didn’t have a Christmas tree. This picture of me and my family was taken in 1953 and one of rare times we had a tree. I’m on the far left. You see, my parents later joined a church that believed it was wrong.

The other time I remember we had one was the year my brother came home on leave from the army after being stationed in Germany for two years. I was 15 or 16 and it was a big deal.

We were so excited to see him and finally have him back with family. I remember my mom baked for days before his arrival. She made everything she knew he liked and we cleaned house until it sparkled. She wanted everything perfect.

I always hated not having a tree and after I left home and got married, I always made sure we had a tree. There might not’ve been much under it, but my children had a beautiful tree. In the beginning, it was always live and I remember well going to the tree lot and picking one out. That was fun. But as the kids got older and allergies began to be bad, we went with artificial. My kids couldn’t wait to get it set up and always loved to decorate it. That was special to us.

Christmas means a lot to me and it also does to Gillian Everly in Love Comes to Christmas. In fact, she owns a Christmas store and sells everything related to the holidays. But someone is trying to make her think it’s haunted, which she doesn’t believe for a second. She knows it’s someone who breaks in and makes her toys come to life, jarring her awake. She is also a very accomplished pianist and is preparing for a big program on Christmas Eve. But will she get to?

A new customer, a rancher named Brett Love, is trying to make sure she’s able to perform. So he loans her his dog named Zema as protection. Gillian and Zema get along famously, so much that Brett gets a little jealous. Along the way, love grows between Gillian and Brett and she sees his big heart that’s longing for a family.

I really enjoyed writing this and hope you find the warmth seeping into your heart as you read it.

I hope you have a blessed Christmas and the very best 2025.

I’m giving away a copy of Love Comes to Christmas (print or ebook) to one commenter so tell me a favorite Christmas gift of yours. Maybe it was a puppy or a pony. I always wanted a horse but never got one except the stick kind.

Blessings and love to all,

Linda Broday

Christmas Stocking Sweethearts! Linda Broday

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Are you familiar with the Christmas carol, Love Came Down at Christmas? It was written and sung in 1895. This song plays an important part of Love Comes to Christmas. My character Gillian Everly is a very talented pianist with plans to perform on Christmas Eve. But sometimes plans go awry.

A haunted Christmas shop? Sudden, mysterious occurrences in Gillian Everly’s beloved Christmas store keep her unsettled, still she doesn’t buy into ghosts and spirits. An intruder has to be getting seemingly through locked doors. With a big Christmas Eve performance planned, she doesn’t have time for strange shenanigans.

Brett Love, a new customer, is taken by the beautiful shop owner and tries to help. He loans her a dog to keep her safe against whatever is happening in the shop. It seems the perfect solution.

The unthinkable happens when Gillian confronts the intruder, and she’s left with a maimed hand. Will she ever be able to perform again? Watching another dream die will shatter her fragile hope.

I hope everyone has the best Christmas ever!

I’m giving away a Christmas ornament to two people so leave a comment.

And don’t forget about the awesome Grand Prize Quilt to be given away!

Now, let’s play a game!

Yes, we know. It’s that time of year when we sometimes feel less kind than we should.

Re-write the sentence in red to something less naughty and more nice.  For example:

NAUGHTY:  “Grandma’s eggnog is too thick and chunky.”

NICE: “Isn’t it wonderful Grandma is still with us to make her eggnog?”

OUR HOUSE IS SO SMALL, IT FEELS LIKE EVERYBODY IS ON TOP OF EACH OTHER.

Here’s an ornament I’m giving away but it might not be exactly the same.

All entries will be eligible for our oh-so-beautiful Grand Prize, too!

Winners announced Sunday, December 15!

(USA Winners only, please.)

In the event the piano ornament becomes unavailable, we will happily make a substitute.

Surprising Facts Plus a Christmas Novella!

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As most people already know, I’m a bit of a history buff. I’m always running across things that surprise and interest me, so I found an article quite by accident that’s provided material for a blog.

With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, it’s a given that we’ll be eating tomatoes. But did you know that in the early 1800s, tomatoes were only used as medicine and not eaten? In fact, people thought they were unappetizing, poisonous in fact!

Compliments of Pixabay

An Ohio doctor put them in pill form and sold them as a medicinal tonic that would cure indigestion, jaundice, and a host of other problems. But when F. & J. Heinz began making and marketing ketchup, people decided they were tasty.

In 1883, the Supreme Court declared tomatoes as fruit due to them having seeds and growing from a flowering vine.

This has always been a bit weird to me because they seem to be a vegetable.

But ketchup changed the way people thought of tomatoes and began eating them.

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Compliments of Goosebumps on Pixabay

Another weird article I saw was about cucumbers. They weren’t well liked prior to the 18th century and people saw them only as food for livestock. They called them “cowcumbers” and that continued until after 1870.

Louisa May Alcott joked about cowcumbers in a letter to her sister Anna. Food was a scarcity from the 14th century to the 20th and people could’ve been eating them all along. Just seems so strange to me to starve when there was food.

So when you’re eating your Thanksgiving dinner, you’ll have something to tell your guests. Tomatoes were medicine and cucumbers were cowcumbers. HaHa!

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I have a new Christmas novella coming on November 30th. LOVE COMES TO CHRISTMAS is #7 in the Christmas Stocking Sweethearts series by seven of the Fillies.

I loved writing this story and making some Christmas magic. It stars Gillian Everly and Brett Love. Also Zema the border collie.

It’s available for preorder HERE.

The launch date is Dec. 4th and I’ll have a post then also and tell more.

But, here’s a blurb. Also, there is no mention of tomatoes or cucumbers in this story.

Someone is going to great lengths to convince Gillian Everly her beloved Christmas store is haunted. Sudden, mysterious occurrences keep her unsettled, still she doesn’t buy into ghosts and spirits. An intruder has to be getting seemingly through locked doors. With a big Christmas Eve performance planned, she doesn’t have time for strange shenanigans.

Brett Love, a new customer, is taken by the beautiful shop owner and tries to help. He loans her a dog to keep her safe against whatever is happening in the shop. It seems the perfect solution.

The unthinkable happens when Gillian confronts the intruder, and she’s left with a maimed hand. Will she ever be able to perform again? Watching another dream die will shatter her fragile hope.

Tell me if you’ll be eating tomatoes and/or cucumbers this Thanksgiving. Or you might mention if you like this cover. I’ll give away a $10 Amazon gift card.