Happy Samhain...er...Halloween....er...All Saints' Day Eve.....er BOOK BIRTHDAY!

October 31 is a busy day around here. 

Halloween, of course, comes to mind first. And the original Celtic celebration of Samhain. The religious holyday of All Saint's Day is also in the mix. 

I try each year to not think about or look forward to the Christmas holidays until long after Halloween. I don't care if the stores have already brought out their holiday merchandise or if the Christmas shopping adverts have begun. . . I ignore the whole Christmas business until its time.  

Um. . . until this year, that is! Yes, in a small way, I've been thinking about Christmas for some months now. I've been living in the Highlands with the winter snows swirling around me as I wrote a lovely Christmas story about the magic and hope of the season. In my defense, the Christmas festivities in the medieval Highlands is completely different from the way we celebrate them now.

And now, the true conflict happens today -- my Christmas book is available on Halloween! Yes, I have to begin celebrating the Christmas holidays today. I mean, there's nothing more exciting than when a book is released and gets into the hands of READERS! Book birthdays are THE BEST day! 

This story - A Highlander's Hope in CHRISTMAS IN KILTS - is very special to me. 20 years ago, while writing my first series - the MacKendimen Clan series - I always wanted to give a particular character her own happily-ever-after. But, for many reasons, I never wrote that story. Then, a few years ago, I planned out the novella for Robena MacKendimen, and again, never got the chance to write it. So, when St Martins Press/Swerve (then) editor Lizzie Poteet asked me to write a holiday story, it was this one I really wanted to tell. I'm thrilled that they gave me this chance to tell this emotional, sexy story of a man who knows what/who he wants and a woman who deserves happiness and hope in her life.  I hope that readers will enjoy it as much as I did.

As a reader, I always glommed the Regency Christmas anthologies each year. For me, they were the perfect length for the busy times when I had little bits of time to actually read. I could read a novella in a few hours and enjoy a complete story. Rinse, repeat over and over throughout the crazy, busy end-of-year festivities. How about you - do you like to read Christmas stories now? Or do you save them for closer to the actual holidays? Do you like full-length or the collections of shorter works better? 

Post a comment and I'll pick 3 people to receive a digital copy of ONCE FORBIDDEN, the story that leads into A HIGHLANDER'S HOPE... 


 Terri is working on new stories for Harlequin Historicals and a few surprise projects, too. You can always find news and updates about her stories and events on her website or connect with her on Facebook.

Christmas in July? What?

  
    I know that, for many people, it's almost painful to even think about Christmas in July. I confess - I'm usually one of the last-minute-louies who don't think about it until it's breathing down my neck in early December. I also know that many people are already planning and shopping for the holiday that won't arrive for 5 more months.

   Down at the Jersey shore (the REAL Jersey shore, not the one on the show), many families who hail from different parts of Philly celebrate Christmas in July because they won't be together at holiday time. In Wildwood, several blocks decorate their houses, turn on Christmas music and exchange gifts during July.

For most of us, though, it's hard to even think about winter, snow and Christmas.And when summer is here and temps and humidity are high and heavy, it's even more difficult to get into the Christmas spirit.

But, authors must be able to shift their seasons when they write. Sometimes, we have little control over the way our stories are scheduled to be written and released and we find ourselves writing Christmas stories in the heat of the summer and summer stories in the freezing temps and snow of winter.

Like I have just done.

Last year, I was asked to write a Highland holiday novella by a publisher and snapped at the chance to write for them. Though completed some time ago, I've just been working on revisions and have been writing scenes of swirling snow, Christmas (Christ's Mass at that time) and Hogmanay. Each chapter into the story brought winter more fully on the lands and, though I was sweating through a heat wave here in NJ, my characters were trudging through FEET of snow and making their way through their daily lives in the Highlands of Scotland. The funny part is that I found myself dressing for their weather instead of my own!

Now that the story is in and done, I can settle back firmly into summer....and enjoy my 4+ months until I have to deal with Christmas.... Not really - the Christmas stories, books, collections, etc. will begin to 'hit the shelves' in early October so my focus will be on it by then!

So - do you begin thinking of Christmas early? Or are you a procrastinator like me? More important, do you like to read Christmas romance stories, novellas, collections? I tend to read the anthologies of novellas or short stories during the busy holiday season - I can finish one story in a sitting amidst the crazy schedule.  Let me know and I'll choose a person at random to receive a copy of my upcoming holiday story and a little goodie or two, too!

   Terri's Christmas story - which could be described as 'The Highland Harlot's Happy Holidays'! is titled A HIGHLANDER'S HOPE and part of CHRISTMAS IN KILTS, from SMP Swerve. The collection will be released on 10/31/2017. Terri's story is part of her MacKendimen Clan series and features one of the characters in ONCE FORBIDDEN, Book 2. A LOVE THROUGH TIME, Book 1, is currently available only in Lords of the Highlands, a special Amazon exclusive boxed set. Visit her website for lots more info. 

(and Merry Christmas....in July!)