About the Book

Settle in with your favorite beverage, a Christmassy snack, and get ready for all the feels with these four heart-warming, military-honoring Christmas novellas.

The Christmas Lights Collection is back, and this year’s collection is better than ever. Full of love, joy, and hope, this year’s collection offers the celebration of freedom, sacrifice, and the greatest Gift ever given.

These novella features two veterans and two active servicemen and their stories.

The Stars of New Cheltenham (Chautona Havig): When a woman arrives at the Marine recruiting center, livid that her brother is ready to sign up tomorrow, the recruiter takes her on a journey through Rockland in hopes of showing her why her brother wants to serve.

Most Wonderful Time-  Gabe loves Christmas, so when he discovers that his new co-worker Shanée wants nothing to do with the season, he makes it his mission to show her the true meaning. But he never expected feelings to develop for the Air Force veteran. Will he take a chance that she feels the same way or miss the best gift of all?

The Road Home: ally has tried to leave her military history far in the past, but she’s not ready to go back to her former life, either. Can an old army buddy help her find a new road home?

Now and Forever Christmas: The past eight years as a professional musician for the US Army prepared Tobin McGhee for his new job as high school band teacher. They didn’t prepare him for how he’d feel seeing an old girlfriend again. This time, though, he won’t make the same mistakes. Can they make holiday music together and rekindle the friendship they once had, or will romance ruin everything… again?

Click here to get your copy!

My Thoughts

About the Author

Authors Chautona Havig, Toni Shiloh, Cathe Swanson, and Jaycee Weaver are about as different geographically and personally as you can get—except where they’re not. What they all share is a love of books, writing, and Jesus. Their great diversity is what makes their books so complementary and what makes the Christmas Lights Collection an eagerly-anticipated set each year.

More from Chautona

Picture it. Sweaters, fuzzy socks, a gas fireplace, and laptops. Cathe Swanson and I had been invited to join author Brenda Anderson for a writing retreat at her timeshare in the Wisconsin Dells. So, I flew out (and arrived in Minneapolis in the middle of riots! EEEP!) and we drove over to the Dells. There we were both determined to get a ton of writing done. And we did.

While Cathe worked on Home Run, (and I sneaked peeks at her recent release, Long Shadows), I finished up Penelope’s Pursuit and wrote a significant amount of Adoring April.

I also had a genius idea while I was there. I kind of freaked out poor Cathe a bit, running into the room where she was working and blurting out all the idea-ness (for a video of that, go HERE), but still… guys! Military! Woohoo!   Here’s a video of us brainstorming:

https://youtu.be/MCwLKT18yhM

It was perfect on so many levels. So, Cathe zipped messages off to Jaycee and Toni, and we all began planning what we’d do to honor our military in this collection.

Look, it’s been a hard year for our military families. Folks are grieving and there’s just so much uncertainty. So, all of the authors of the Christmas Lights Collection would like to dedicate this collection not just to the men and women who have and are currently serving in our armed forces, but also to the families who make their own sacrifices in giving up time (often years) with their service men and women.

In this collection, you’ll find a Marine recruiter, a struggling veteran, an Army musician, and an Air Force veteran now working a nice prosaic bank job! See how each author ties Christmas and these heroes together!

Blog Stops

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 8

Texas Book-aholic, December 9

Locks, Hooks and Books, December 10

Batya’s Bits, December 10

Inklings and notions, December 11

Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, December 12

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, December 13 (Spotlight)

Joanne Markey, December 13

Older & Smarter?, December 14

For Him and My Family, December 14

deb’s Book Review, December 15

Blossoms and Blessings, December 15

Kayem Reads, December 16

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, December 16

By the Book, December 17

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, December 17

lakesidelivingsite, December 18

Blogging With Carol, December 19

Cultivating Us, December 19

She Lives To Read, December 20

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, December 21

Mary Hake, December 21

Giveaway

To celebrate their tour, the Christmas Lights Authors are giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/1482c/home-for-christmas-celebration-tour-giveaway

About the Book

Gayle Wells is a killer organist, but does a killer have her in his sights?

They call him the Emperor.  John Starek fills his theater with fine artwork and treasures. He’s particularly pleased to have one of the country’s first female organists – and he thinks Gayle Wells is the bee’s knees.

Despite pressure from her social crusader mother, Gayle isn’t interested in changing the world. She just wants a car of her own – and a career playing the organ at the Empire movie palace would be especially ducky.

Then the Empire’s treasures start disappearing and employees start dying. Are a few pieces of art really enough motive for the string of murders? Will Gayle be next?

Murder at the Empire brings the Nightingale into an elegant movie palace in the roaring 20’s – but the real excitement is all off-screen.

Click here to get your copy!

My Thoughts

About the Author

After 40 years of wandering (but always in lovely places and not in a desert), Cathe Swanson has recently returned to her childhood home and family in Minnesota.  In the summer, she and her husband enjoy spending time with their grandchildren and being outdoors, gardening, hiking, birdwatching, and kayaking. The long winters are perfect for writing books, playing games, reading, and indoor hobbies. Cathe’s been a quilter and teacher of quiltmaking for over 25 years and enjoys just about any kind of creative work, especially those involving fiber or paper.

Everything inspires new books! A lifelong love of quilting, Cathe’s Swedish heritage and an interest in genealogy led to The Glory Quilts series, and The Hope Again series is inspired by her life in the Midwest and experiences with the elderly, the military, and inner-city ministry. As a child of the sixties, she’s having fun writing about hippies and the Jesus People movement in the Serenity Hill series.

Cathe writes books with creative plots and engaging characters of all ages, to glorify God and entertain and bless readers. Her heartwarming stories will make you laugh and make you cry – and then make you laugh again.

More from Cathe

The 1920’s is a fascinating era. Women had recently won the right to vote, and America adopted the Volstead Act – Prohibition – which led to the growth of underground clubs and organized crime. Women were forging new paths in social reform, politics, science, medicine and every other career. America became more urbanized, building suburbs and developing a large middle-class population. The affordable automobile changed the entire culture! It was a time of innovation and rapidly expanding technology. Synthetic fabrics, convenience foods, electric appliances and other inventions made daily life easier. People had more free time, money and access to a variety of entertainments than ever before.

So much happened in this brief, exciting decade between the end of WWI and the Great Depression! It’s always interested me, so I was flattered and thrilled when Celebrate Lit Publishing invited me to participate in The Ever After Mysteries, a collection of 1920’s mysteries inspired by fairy tales. I’m a great fan of mysteries from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, and I read at least a thousand fairy tales as a child.

To be honest… I set about it backward. I knew I wanted to write about a young woman playing the Mighty Wurlitzer organ to accompany silent films at a glamorous movie palace, so I Iooked for a fairy tale to match it!

I chose The Nightingale, an old Chinese story about an Emperor with a beautiful palace. Everything in it was exquisite and fragile, and people came from all over the world to admire his palace. He loved to show it off and even tied little bells to the prettiest blossoms in the garden, to make sure no one missed them. When the emperor heard rumors about a bird that sang more beautifully than anything else, he sought it out and brought it home to live in the palace, where it could sing to entertain him and his guests.

At that point, the fairy tale and my story diverge. In the fairy tale, the nightingale lives in the palace singing for the court until the Emperor of Japan presents the Emperor of China with a bejeweled mechanical bird – so much prettier than the plain brown nightingale. The Chinese emperor abandons the real bird and enjoys the mechanical one until it breaks. He falls into a deep depression and is only restored to health by the return of the real nightingale.

None of that happens in Murder at the Empire, but there’s lot of other fun, jazzy excitement as the John Starek – the “Emperor” – fills his magnificent movie palace with fine artwork and beautiful things – including Chicago’s first female theater organist, Gayle Wells. He thinks she’s the bee’s knees, but she’s a pretty independent girl, busy working and saving money to buy her own car.

And then things start falling apart… with murder at the Empire. I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, November 16

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, November 17

Blossoms and Blessings, November 17

Texas Book-aholic, November 18

Blogging With Carol, November 18

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, November 19

deb’s Book Review, November 20

Sodbusterliving, November 20

Inklings and notions, November 21

For Him and My Family, November 22

Simple Harvest Reads, November 22 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

Locks, Hooks and Books, November 23

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, November 24

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, November 24

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, November 25 (Author Interview)

For the Love of Literature, November 25

Connie’s History Classroom, November 26

Genesis 5020, November 26

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, November 27

Connect in Fiction, November 27

Back Porch Reads, November 28

Through the fire blogs, November 28

Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, November 29

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Cathe is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/133b9/murder-at-the-empire-celebration-tour

About the Book

Old sins cast long shadows.

Mona Vickers is forging a new life, building a safe and loving home for her girls far away from the ghosts of the past. She’ll do whatever it takes to make it work, including sending her girls to the Christian-based after school program despite her own lack of faith.

Roy Strough, Director of the Unity Plenkiss Community Center, wants to help the hardworking mother who’s captured his heart, but he’s already offended her pride once. Asking Mona to teach a class at the community center in exchange for tuition seems like the perfect solution.

Mona’s growing faith is put to the test by the shadows of her past. One of her students is caught up in an all-too-familiar human trafficking scheme, and a vengeance-bent stalker pushes Mona into hiding. She’s forced to decide if she can trust the powerful God she’s only beginning to know—as well as the charming man she’s beginning to love.

Dive into this gripping romantic suspense with compelling characters, intriguing twists, and an inspiring happily ever after.

Click here to get your copy!

My Thoughts

About the Author

After 40 years of wandering (but always in lovely places and not in a desert), Cathe Swanson has recently returned to her childhood home and family in Minnesota.  In the summer, she and her husband enjoy spending time with their grandchildren and being outdoors, gardening, hiking, birdwatching, and kayaking. The long winters are perfect for writing books, playing games, reading, and indoor hobbies. Cathe’s been a quilter and teacher of quiltmaking for over 25 years and enjoys just about any kind of creative work, especially those involving fiber or paper.

Everything inspires new books! A lifelong love of quilting, Cathe’s Swedish heritage and an interest in genealogy led to The Glory Quilts series, and The Hope Again series is inspired by her life in the Midwest and experiences with the elderly, the military, and inner-city ministry. As a child of the sixties, she’s having fun writing about hippies and the Jesus People movement in the Serenity Hill series.

Cathe writes books with creative plots and engaging characters of all ages, to glorify God and entertain and bless readers. Her heartwarming stories will make you laugh and make you cry – and then make you laugh again.

More from Cathe

One of the best parts of being an author is that I’m able to create happy endings! I can right wrongs and fix a few of the world’s problems. I can rescue people (of course, I’m the one who puts them into danger in the first place, but…) and I can talk about hard topics in a third-person kind of way, with a fictional resolution. Happy endings don’t always happen in this world, but I try to make them work out in my stories.

We all need hope – especially those who find themselves in ongoing difficult situations – and that’s what I want to write into my Hope Again series.  Long Shadows is Book 3 in the series. (It’s a standalone book, so you’ll enjoy it even if you’ve never read the others.)   Except for the first one, Baggage Claim, all the Hope Again books are about the people – staff and guests – of the Unity Plenkiss Community Center.

The UPCC is a fictional Christian ministry – a composite of several real ones, all working hard to meet overwhelming needs with limited resources. It serves an older (fictional) Chicago neighborhood. Writing these books has let me bring awareness to that population – families in crisis, homeless and aging veterans, lonely elderly people, troubled youth…  so many needs!

Roy Strough, the dashing hero of Long Shadows, is the director of food services, but he has big dreams – he’d like to expand the ministry of the UPCC to meet every need, heal every wound, fill every stomach, and tell everyone the Gospel. He wants it to be a real daytime homeless shelter, with laundry facilities, beds for nightshift workers, lockers, and more. (Me, too!)

Mona, the lovely heroine, is a more complex character. I put that poor woman through the wringer! She never got a break. The people she trusted – the only people she had – turned out to be evil betrayers, leaving her alone to raise four little girls without any support at all. She’s the hardest-working woman I’ve ever met! She’s strong, but being strong in our own strength isn’t enough. Mona needs Jesus. She needs hope.

Human trafficking isn’t the kind of problem I can solve and tack a happy ending onto, but I wanted to bring awareness to the way criminals use the Internet to recruit and groom their victims. Young, smart girls who’ve been using computers since they were toddlers often fail to see the dangers in their ordinary online world.

Book 4, Home Run, releases on September 21, and the last Unity Plenkiss book will be included in the 2021 Christmas Lights collection in October.  You won’t want to miss them! Despite all the serious themes in the Hope Again books, they are also funny, heart-warming, and encouraging stories. They’ll make you laugh and make you cry… and then make you laugh again. I hope you enjoy Long Shadows and the rest of the Hope Again series.

Blog Stops

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, September 10

Texas Book-aholic, September 11

Blossoms and Blessings, September 11

Inklings and notions, September 12

For Him and My Family, September 13

deb’s Book Review, September 14

Locks, Hooks and Books, September 15

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, September 16

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, September 17

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, September 18

Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, September 19

The Meanderings of a Bookworm, September 20

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, September 21

Through the fire blogs, September 22

CarpeDiem, September 23

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, September 23

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Cathe is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon Gift Card and an autographed copy of Long Shadows!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/1181a/long-shadows-celebration-tour