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Thursday, December 06, 2012

CJ Carmichael - What Child Is This?




What would you do if a child in need showed up on your doorstep on Christmas Eve? Say she was around five years old. Dirty. Underdressed for the snow swirling outside. Would you invite her inside?

I guess you would. But what then?

Call the authorities? Or give her a meal and a warm bath? And if you did the latter, what would you think if you noticed her body was covered in bruises?

This is the terrible situation that Amy Gold, kindergarten teacher of Bandit Creek Montana finds herself facing in The Gift—A short Christmas novella I wrote last year. When I was thinking of an idea for a classic Christmas tale, I knew I wanted it to focus on a child who needed a special sort of angel in her life. Someone who would offer more than just a phone call to social services.

I believe lots of us think about children in need at this time of year. I volunteer for a charity that provides gift baskets to families where the mom is struggling with breast cancer while also facing financial difficulties. Wings of Hope, in Calgary, is my way of opening my door to a child in need at Christmas time.  And I’m sure all of you have your own way of helping others, to the extent that you can.

I’d love to give away a kindle or kobo copy of The Gift to 5 random respondents. Please just tell me which of the following covers appeals to you more. The brown cover was the original for this story. The blue-ish one is the revamped cover for this season.

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!
CJ

11 comments:

cathyann40 said...

I love love love the blue-ish one.
Cathy
cathyann40@Yahoo.com

erin said...

Thanks for the fun post! I'd have to say the new, blue one :)

efender1(at)gmail(dot)com

host said...

I like the brown one better
Thanks for the giveaway, the story sounds lovely.

Franalokas@yahoo.com

Cathy Shouse said...

I'd go for the blue one. Makes me want to walk right in there, like with the Chronicles of Narnia!
Would love to win a book

cathy underscore shouse at yahoo

girlygirlhoosier52 said...

I'm loving the blue with snow flakes...

Martha Lawson said...

I love the bluish one!! Very pretty.

mlawson17 at hotmail dot com

Pat Cochran said...

I like the blue-ish cover! I can feel the
warmth of the story radiating out to us!
I already know I will be reading this book.
Thanks for the giveaway!

Pat C.

Mary Preston said...

I like them both. They both appeal to me. My eye would go to the new cover first though I'd say.

CJ Carmichael said...

Thanks for your comments! I'll randomly select 5 winners at 5:00 p.m. MST. Spread the word to your friends--there is still time to enter!

Cheers,
CJ

squiresj said...

The bluish - it is more colorful. If I win, I will review you.
jrs362 at hotmail dot com

CJ Carmichael said...

Okay, it is 5 MST and I have gone to my favorite random number generator to pick the winners. I'll be sending you your books tomorrow. So maybe you can read it on the weekend! If you like the story, I'd sure appreciate it if you spread the word! :)

The winners are: cathyann 40, squiresj; erin, Cathy Shouse, host.

Have a great weekend everyone!