It’s that time of year. The time when autumn arrives and Christmas reads start appearing in bookstores. I’m one of those readers who saves up my Christmas reads to enjoy in December, but I start buying them as soon as they pop up on my radar.
This year, I decided to try a little Christmas story experiment. Thanks to the fabulous success of our Petticoats & Pistols Pink Pistol Sisterhood Series, I got a taste of indie publishing, and I’m hungry to explore new opportunities in that arena.
In 2021, I published a Christmas novella collection called Under the Texas Mistletoe. When we were preparing this anthology for publication, one retailer reached out to my publisher and requested that I come up with some bonus content to include in a special edition of the book that would only be available on their site. So I did. I wrote a novelette inspired by the classic carol The Twelve Days of Christmas, only I gave it a cowboy twist.
If you happened to purchase the special edition version of Under the Texas Mistletoe through ChristianBook.com, you likely read this story. However, this story was not available from any other retailer, including Amazon. And when the print copies sold out at ChristianBook, I received the rights back to the story. Now that I’ve learned the ropes of indie publishing, I’ve decided it’s time to share this story with all the readers who didn’t get a chance to read it back in 2021.
I’m delighted to introduce you to . . .
The Twelve Days of Christmas get a romantic Texas twist!
Anna King has pledged her heart to Simeon Shepherd, but her father refuses to grant her hand to the young farmer. Simeon determines to be patient and earn David King’s respect over time with hard work and evidence of his ability to provide. However, when a wealthy new suitor arrives in Bethlehem, Texas to woo Anna with her father’s support, patience is no longer an option. Simeon has twelve days before Christmas to best his rival and prove once and for all that he is Anna’s true love.
I love this short story. It’s quirky and fun and cowboy sweet. It truly is short, too. Only about 8,000 words, the perfect size for a quick break during the busy holiday season. It also includes a bonus Christmas devotional.
It’s available for preorder now, for only $0.99 and will release on October 10.
Short stories are a bit of a different animal from novels or even novellas, so I have no idea how this little experiment will work, but I’m excited to give it a try.
How do you feel about short stories?