Sorry! I’ll bet some of you pulled a face when you saw that title, right? After all, it’s only just October. Who wants to think about Christmas books already?

Well, I did promise in my last blog post that I’d be back to reveal my new cover for Saving Mr Scrooge, and the thing is, in the publishing world we do think about it quite early on. You’d be amazed how many readers start clamouring for Christmas books from as early as August, and that’s why many publishers start releasing them early. They’re incredibly popular, and just about every author (particularly in my genre of romance) seems to write them these days. When you think about it, why not? After all, Christmas is a happy, feelgood time (at least in theory!) and it brings out the best in people. It’s all about love and family and home, the perfect time to set a romantic novel. And, believe it or not, they sell all year round, too. Not just in November and December.

With the way the world is today, it seems to me that we need something to look forward to more than ever, and Christmas is always special. It may well be true that, in reality, it often feels like a huge anti climax – never as brilliant as we expect it to be. But in fiction, Christmas can be perfect, bringing love and happiness to our protagonists, and leaving the reader with that joyful, cosy feeling of satisfaction as they close the book or switch off their e-reader.

So, I make no apologies for talking about my Christmas books. I love them all, and if you want to be uplifted and taken away from this gloomy world, they’re a good place to start.

 

Home for Christmas

The first of my Christmas books was Baxter’s Christmas Wish, which became the first in my Home for Christmas series. Baxter has had FOUR different covers, bless him. He’ll be getting dizzy! He now has a brand new cover to make him fit in with the covers of the other two Home for Christmas stories, The Other Side of Christmas and my most recent novel, Christmas with Cary.

 

Christmas with Cary is out on November 2nd and it’s available for pre-order now (just saying!) Here’s the blurb:

You never forget your first love.

Molly’s spent every Christmas she can remember surrounded by her family. But this year is different. This year, Molly’s all alone in a strange town. She’s left her family behind, and she’s not sure where she can call home any longer.
All Molly has with her are a few clothes in a suitcase, and a collection of her old friend’s Cary Grant films. Except, there’s one more thing she’s brought along – the whole reason for her Christmas visit.
In her possession is a small, crumpled piece of paper, and on it is written the address of the love of her life.
Molly and Cary have had many chances over the years, but somehow life kept getting in the way and they always ended up apart once more. Yet Molly has never forgotten the first man she gave her heart to, and now she has one last chance to win him back.
But will Cary welcome her home, or will he tell her what she dreads to hear – that they’ve had their chance, and it’s all too late. That’s if she can even find him…
A lovely, festive story about hope, forgiveness, and never giving up on love – however long it takes.

Aw, doesn’t that sound lovely? It is! If I say so myself, it’s a sweet story of first love, and I am so fond of Molly and Cary. I really hope you’ll enjoy reading their story.

 

Saving Mr Scrooge

After Baxter came Saving Mr Scrooge, the second (standalone) novel in my Moorland Heroes series, and here we are at the whole point of this blog post. Although I loved the cover for that book, believing it to be perfectly “Scroogey” (yes, I just made that word up) it didn’t, in all honesty, fit with the genre. Saving Mr Scrooge is quite an emotional book, yes, but there’s loads of humour in it, too, and the serious cover didn’t reflect that. So I’ve had a new cover made which fits in much better with other books in the contemporary romance/romcom categories. Here it is:

 

 

It’s very different to the style of my other book covers, and I absolutely love it. Next up will be a new cover for Resisting Mr Rochester and I can’t wait to see what my lovely cover designer comes up with for that. In the meantime, here’s the blurb for Saving Mr Scrooge, which you can buy here.

 

Love, forgiveness, and the magic of Christmas…
It’s the time of peace on earth and goodwill to all men, but at Carroll’s Confectionery Factory on the North York Moors, the meaning of Christmas seems to have been forgotten. New boss, Kit Carroll, is hardly winning friends with his high-handed attitude, his foolhardy approach to production, and his tight-fisted treatment of the factory’s employees.
Marley Jacobs, his self-styled PA, is determined to make him see the error of his ways, and return the festive spirit to Carroll’s. Unfortunately, the little matter of their previous relationship and Kit’s callous treatment of her when they were teenage sweethearts keeps getting in the way of her good intentions.
With encouragement from co-worker Don, romantic sister Olivia, and — astonishingly — the usually sceptical Great Uncle Charles, Marley decides to save this modern-day Mr Scrooge from himself, despite having no well-meaning ghosts to help her.
But revisiting the past doesn’t just stir things up for Kit. As Marley struggles to deal with bittersweet memories, present-day events take a surprising turn. Can the future be changed, after all?
And is it only Kit who needs saving?

 

Bramblewick

Then there are my Bramblewick Christmas books: Christmas at the Country Practice, A Merry Bramblewick Christmas and Christmas at Cuckoo Nest Cottage. These are lovely, festive stories and I’m so fond of them. I do love my Bramblewick characters, and following their lives through the festive season was always a joy.

Belle, Book and Christmas Candle

 

And finally came Belle, Book and Christmas Candle, the first of my Witches of Castle Clair stories. Set in a fictionalised version of Knaresborough, these magical romcoms begin with a story set firmly during the festive season. If you’re not into witches and magic, don’t let that put you off. These books are, first and foremost, romcoms, with lovely romances, lots of humour, and one of the most interesting families you’re ever likely to meet! Plus there are cats. Three of them. And ravens. And Belle is very Christmassy, so you know… give it a try!

 

I’m seriously thinking about returning to Skimmerdale for next year’s Christmas offering. There will be a Christmas novel as the final instalment of my new three-part series in 2021, but I have a real longing to be back in the Dales, catching up with Eliot and Eden. So next year, there might well be two new festive books from me, fingers crossed!

You can check out all my books and find buying links to them all here. I hope you find something you enjoy. Happy reading!

Have a great week