About the Book
Book: Keeping Christmas Volume II
Authors: Chautona Havig, Tabitha Bouldin, Susan K. Beatty, Jennifer Sienes, Melissa Wardwell, and Stacy T. Simmons.
Genre: Christian Christmas Romance
Release date: October 18, 2022
In castles far and near, long ago and yesterday, find happily-ever-afters wrapped in love and tied with Christmas joy.
Escape to Greenaway (by Chautona Havig): She just wanted to escape another holly, jolly family holiday. Because snowbound in a castle B&B with one of Santa’s elves (or as good as) is so much better. With the help of the castle’s owner, Tonya plays matchmaker in a bid to get that Christmas-loving girl out of her hair.
The King’s Promise (by Tabitha Bouldin): In a world of airships and kings, a prince makes a promise that tears him away from his love. An ordinary baker’s daughter finds herself caught in the middle of a game where the winner earns the queen’s crown. They both want what they can’t have as they struggle toward a seemingly impossible happily ever after.
A Castle for Christmas (by Susan K. Beatty): Sadie Foster abhors wealth. Will Randolph, on the other hand, works for the uber-wealthy owner of an over-the-top castle on the California coast–Sadie’s father. When Christopher Foster leaves the castle to her, Sadie doesn’t want anything to do with it or his money. But what if Sadie and Will use the castle and her inheritance for the good of others—together?
An Irish Christmas Heart (by Jennifer Sienes): Will she choose love or an arranged marriage? In the midst of post-famine unrest, Eleanor Blake, daughter of an English nobleman, is thrown into a maelstrom of emotions. How will she escape the duty for which she was born and the confines of the ill-fated Menlo Castle of Galway, Ireland to find her true love?
Christmas at Curwood’s Castle (by Melissa Wardwell): A Christmas party at Curwood Castle should have been Angel Davis’ Cinderella moment. Especially when her dear friend Jimmy arrives. Instead, one obstacle after another threatens to break any chance at a happily-ever-after.
Christmas in the Cotswolds (by Stacy T. Simmons): She’s a paleontologist and ardent Jane Austen fan. He’s enmeshed in the exactitude of mathematics, can they find common ground? Do opposites attract, will the romantic castle, and dashing duke be the undoing of Victoria’s plans?
Grab a mug of something hot and delicious and curl up somewhere comfy. Your literary chariots await to take you on a journey from an early twentieth-century castle in the San Gabriel Mountains of California all the way across the pond to the beautiful Cotswolds of England. These six novellas, all set in castles real and fictional, celebrate the heart and joy of Christmas in this second volume of castle Christmas novellas.
Click here to get your copy!
About the Authors
USA Today Bestselling author of Aggie and Past Forward series, Chautona Havig lives in an oxymoron, escapes into imaginary worlds that look startlingly similar to ours and writes the stories that emerge. An irrepressible optimist, Chautona sees everything through a kaleidoscope of It’s a Wonderful Life sprinkled with fairy tales. Find her at chautona.com and say howdy—if you can remember how to spell her name.
Jennifer Sienes holds a bachelor’s in psychology and a master’s in education, but discovered life-experience is the best teacher. She loves Jesus, romance and writing—and puts it altogether in inspirational contemporary fiction. Her daughter’s TBI and brother’s suicide inspired two of her three novels. Although fiction writing is her real love, she’s had several non-fiction pieces published in anthologies including several in Chicken Soup for the Soul. She has two grown children and one very spoiled Maltese. California born and raised, she recently took a step of faith with her real-life hero and relocated to Tennessee.
Tabitha Bouldin is a student at Southern New Hampshire University, where she is currently pursuing her Bachelor’s in Creative Writing. As a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), she works with critique groups and provides endorsements for other authors. Tabitha’s genre of choice is Contemporary Christian Romance which she describes as: Adventure with heart. Tabitha spent ten years working as a Medical Assistant before God opened the door which allowed her to become a stay-at-home-homeschooling-mom and author.
Melissa Wardwell resides in Owosso, Michigan with her husband and three teen-aged children.She doesn’t mind alternating between the world of writing and the reality of being a mother, but she would rather sit with a good book or a good friend and a cup of coffee. When she isn’t penning works of fiction, she is busy reviewing books for her blog, Back Porch Reads. To see more from Melissa Wardwell, visit www.melissawardwell.com
Who says you can’t begin a new career after middle age? Certainly not Susan K. Beatty. She is passionate about writing about finding courage through faith and grit, particularly through the trials of breast cancer and other life trials. Her daughter is a metastatic breast cancer “thriver” and has been an inspiration for her writing. Susan’s first novel, Faces of Courage, debuted May 2021, as part of the Faces of Courage series, including several novelettes. She is also the author of An Introduction to Home Education (AKA California Homeschool Manual). Susan is a professional writer/journalist and is active in the writer community. She is proof you can begin a fiction writing career at any age.
Stacy T. Simmons writes uplifting fiction that delights the reader’s romantic sensibilities. Thirty-four years of marital bliss is a great contributor. She is a mom of two grown children, and she and her family have a menagerie of pets she likes to call “Noah’s Ark.” You can find her working on her next manuscript with a piece of dark chocolate and a cup of coffee nearby. Connect with Stacy on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and her blog, Fueled by Faith and Caffeine.
More from Tabitha
Castles near and far. Over time and across worlds both real and fictional. When it came time to write for Keeping Christmas, the world opened up to offer each of us a jewel for our stories. While I chose to base my castle off of a real castle in Romania, others chose a different route. Yet we all came together with a singular mission to write stories about Christmas and to bring the joy of Christ into each and every book. Keeping Christmas is about more than overseeing a holiday. It is looking back through the years of Christmases far and wide, from our real world through fantasy lands some of us dreamed up, and keeping the spirit of the season alive.
Come and keep Christmas with us as we journey across land and sea, through the skies on an airship, and deep into the contemporary halls and towering turrets. Here you’ll meet characters to fall in love with and read stories that span the ages, from a scribe in King Herod’s castle to a paleontologist in the Cotswolds.
My Impressions
Wow! Please don’t ask me which of the six novellas in Keeping Christmas II by Celebrate Lit authors is my fave. I may tell you, “all of them!”
I love Chautona Havig’s story, Escape to Greenaway, because Havig had me laughing within minutes of starting the novella. Snarky, unlikable characters transform into caring friends when trapped in a castle during a snowstorm.
From there, I entered a totally different world, Tabitha Bouldin’s historical steampunk tale, The King’s Promise. Yet, it was so much fun to read about a forbidden match, and a competition to find the new queen of the realm. I love the direction Bouldin takes the novella.
Susan K Beatty’s contribution, A Castle for Christmas, is enjoyable as we see two people of opposite thinking start to work together for a common goal. I appreciated the emphasis on prayers by the two main characters. They both took their problems and worries to God, as we should.
An Irish Christmas Heart by Jennifer Siennes shows the historical conflict between the English and the Irish. Mrs. Doyle wins my vote for best supporting character of the book. She is a spiritual mentor, wise, loving, and able to get involved in others’ lives without being a busybody.
In Melissa Wardwell’s story, Christmas at Curwood’s Castle, a party at a local castle is the backdrop for the reunion of two lifelong friends. This one had a few unexpected twists and played out differently than I had imagined.
One of the most romantic was penned by the late Stacy T Simmons. A paleontologist falls for a Duke she meets while on holiday in the Cotswolds. I loved seeing Victoria able to mix business and pleasure, and do her job well. The dreaminess evoked by this couple make the novella a fave.
I received a copy of the book from Celebrate Lit. I also bought a copy. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.
My Rating
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Magnificent!! Just a great, feel-good, faith-filled Christmas read!
Blog Stops
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, November 16
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, November 16
Through the Lens of Scripture, November 17
Library Lady’s Kid Lit, November 18
By the Book, November 18
Inklings and notions, November 19
deb’s Book Review, November 20
Blogging With Carol, November 20
Texas Book-aholic, November 21
Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, November 22
For Him and My Family, November 22
Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, November 23
Older & Smarter?, November 24
Mary Hake, November 24
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, November 25
She Lives To Read, November 26
Holly’s Book Corner, November 26
Simple Harvest Reads, November 27 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)
Splashes of Joy, November 28
Locks, Hooks and Books, November 28
Writing From the Heart Land, November 29
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, November 29
Giveaway
To celebrate their tour, the Celebrate Lit Authors are 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/22acd/keeping-christmas-volume-two-by-celebration-tour-giveaway
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions 