New Release!

2015/October by Marji Laine 2 Comments

Woohoo! (Happy Dance!) My newest story is available earlier than I expected! I’m so excited!

Warm Mulled Kisses is a collection of full-length novellas from the writers of the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the American Christian Fiction Authors. This book has been so much fun to work on, and our fearless leader, Lena Nelson Dooley has worked tirelessly on the project!

And that’s just one of the early Christmas gifts for you! This book, all 10 stories, all 661 pages, is only 99¢ right now! I can’t guarantee the price for long, so grab it while you can and slip into the holiday spirit every time the temperature dips!

Here’s the short versions of the stories. Which are you most excited to read?

Reindeer Games – by multi-published author Lisa Crane

Luke Anderson is only at the mall as a favor to his sister and her two children. When he sits down in the only open chair he can find in the food court, he never imagines his life will be turned upside-down. A woman he knows only as Callie, dressed as one of Santa’s reindeer, leads him on a merry chase. Will Luke get the Christmas gift he really wants? Will he find the intriguing woman with the amazing green eyes? Maybe, just maybe, with the help of the whole city … A modern-day Cinderella with a twist of mistletoe, Reindeer Games will have you laughing and sighing.

No Thank You – by multi-published author Lena Nelson Dooley

Social Director Scarlett McKaye loves planning things down to the last detail. But what she didn’t count on was having to spurn the bold advances of a reckless suitor. When she was in college, her reckless fiancé was killed. She never wants to stand by the grave of the man she loves again. How far will daredevil Derrick Greene have to go to cancel Scarlett’s reservations?

A Riveting Christmas – by multi-published author Jackie Castle

In 1945, Charles Madison returned home from WWII full of hope and a fistful of sweet-scented letters from his childhood friend and girl of his dreams. Eager to resume his life and enjoy some hard-earned peace, he aims to marry Emma Rose who was as exquisite as the flower she was named for. But when Charles steps off the bus, he’s greeted not by a pretty rose, but a thorny bush he barely recognizes.

Emma Rose Carter fought her own war while the men were away. She faithfully wrote to the soldiers fighting on the front lines, offering encouragement and prayers. However, her father’s death at sea send her mother into depression, and Emma Rose now works two jobs to help keep the family afloat. Left feeling greasy and haggard at the end of every workday, she has no patience for men seeking a dolly that will hang on their arm. She’s looking a true friend who will stand with her and walk out whatever bombs life drops on them.

Will she find her heart’s desire in her ol’ pal Chuck or in the ambitious factory boss who promises to sweep her off her feet?

Christmas Apples – by multi-published author J. A. Marx, and debut author Sydnie Shreffler

Bailey Chapman’s son asks for only one gift for Christmas—a daddy. Carrying the burden of her husband’s death, Bailey makes her annual visit to her hometown to take care of her husband’s estate. Her old high school nemesis drops a hurdle in front of her that compromises her schedule. Overwhelmed at having only eight days to complete the task, Bailey fears she will not finish in time for Christmas, much less have any presents to bring home to her two children.

Mason Tolman, marine-turned-bored banker, hasn’t forgiven himself for the accident that almost killed his high school sweetheart. When Bailey walks into the bank, carrying with troubles beyond her ability and resources, Mason resolves to help her, if only to atone for the accident.

Stepping out in faith, Bailey allows Mason to assist her. As they disassemble the estate room by room, they discover treasures that will change the future of the entire town. But can those treasures merge their mismatched paths into one?

Santability – by debut author Marilyn Eudaly

Radio Personality Trudy Moore needs the Santability promotion she designed to impress the new owners of K-FOLK radio. Now is not the time for her and her partner, Jim Cooke, to find a new venue for their talent.

Gunnar Stone is the corporate vice president with power to cancel Jim and Trudy’s “Cooke’n Up Moore Country” morning drive-time show. Trudy sees Gunnar as a grinch stealing the joy out of the Christmas season.Gunnar sees Trudy as a hazard to his career.

When New England based Clear Signal Broadcasting Systems buys K-FOLK radio in Arlington, Texas, everyone knows change is inevitable. Bah humbug attitudes prevail. The mystery of the mistletoe which appears and multiplies does nothing to lighten the mood.

Her career and future blurred by hurtful words, Trudy is caught between condemnation and forgiveness.

Saving Christmas – by multi-published author Patricia PacJac Carroll

Priscilla Christmas Humphry stared out on the bleak street of Al Drado, Texas. It had none of the holiday look of Baltimore. And it certainly didn’t have Eugene. Although, he said he’d come and take her away to marry her, he’d not shown up yet. Father had it in mind for her to marry a cowboy. Priscilla slammed her fist on the counter. That was not going to happen.

Rancher Steve Matthews wasn’t really looking for a wife, but after he went to the bank and saw Priscilla staring down a bank robber, he couldn’t get her out of his mind. She did come with a tall attitude and biting wit, but there was just something about her that drew him to her.

A fun story of twists and turns and father knows best.

The Gift Quilt – by debut author Kathy Wall

Ashley McDonald intends to bury her guilt by becoming a medical missionary. While waiting for the mission board to decide her fate, she cares for an elderly woman who introduces her to the gift quilt and to her grandson. Both cause Ashley to question her future and her faith.

Dr. Michael Davis accomplished his goal of becoming a medical doctor. Now he’s ready to start a family—only there’s no woman in his life who draw his interest. He meets Ashley, the woman his grandmother’s been raving about. She’s perfect, except she’s going to Africa in a few months.

Learning the truth of the gift quilt opens Ashley’s world to new possibilities, but could it also provide the answer to Michael’s dreams for a family.

No-L, No-L, No-L – by multi-published author Marji Laine

Noelle Arcoli fully expects to her father to promote her to the head of Arcolli Labs when he announces his retirement. He doesn’t. Instead, he worries that her dedication to her job has left her with no laughter, no love, and no life.

She is truly No-L.

He presses her to settle down and raise a family. She misunderstands that this is his stipulation for her becoming president. Having always done her best to please her papa, she attempts to get back into the dating game to at least try to obey his wishes.

But Donovan Arcoli has been grooming Nick Bannister for the position. Not that Nick wants the job. He’s been like part of the Arcoli clan since he became a teenager, though, and will do anything for the only true father-figure he ever had.

Noelle’s stress brings out Nick’s protective nature. In an effort to encourage her, he draws her out privately, as a friend. Yet the more time they spend together, the more his affection becomes less and less brotherly. Could he hold the answer to all of her problems?

A Groom for Christmas – by multi-published author Anne Greene

In 1851 when her father dies of cholera, Felicity Daniels is stranded at Ft. Laramie, one-third of the way to Oregon Territory. She owns two fully-loaded prairie schooners and the oxen to pull them. But her room and board at Sal’s Boarding House and the feeding of her oxen dwindle her papa’s money stash. All her life, due to her father’s vigilante life-style and the revengeful bad men on his trail, Felicity moved from one town to another with no opportunity to put down roots. She desperately wants the six hundred forty acres of free land offered in the brochures that set numerous wagon trains on their way northwest over the Oregon Trail.

Ben Bonneville has problems of his own. Living for the past two months at Sal’s Boarding House, he’s attracted to Felicity. But a wife doesn’t fit into his life’s plan. His mother needed expensive medical care that put Ben into great debt, so he’s off to join the 1849 Gold Rush. He’s committed to panning gold to pay his mother’s medical debts back East, and then becoming a circuit-riding preacher in the Gold Rush towns. Ben sympathizes with Felicity’s plight, but he hardens his heart.

A Christmas Mosaic – by debut author Karen Jurgens

Carlie Livingston is steering into her last year of college in Oxford, Ohio, confident that she and Lance Holloway are headed to the altar after graduation. Those plans are wrecked, however, by her dad’s infidelity, causing her parents to walk through a messy divorce. Will she have the same fate if she marries her college sweetheart who comes from a secular family? Her mother insists she will.

She tests God’s Word by letting Him take the wheel of her life. But if God is in control, why are all her close relationships crumbling? Nothing makes sense.

Just when it appears hopeless, Clay McKinney two-steps into Carlie’s life, promising to provide everything she’s looking for. But if he’s God’s answer, why can’t her heart release Lance? Where will her final destination be on this journey of trust?

Your turn: Which story are you most looking forward to reading?