Carol James and Redeeming Christmas

 

Redeeming Christmas

Carol James

PBGroup Christmas Holiday Extravaganza

December 1, 2020, Romantic Novella, 111 pp

Ebook $3.99

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About the Book

Novelist Olivia St. Madeleine is intrigued by a handsome and mysterious stranger she sees when she's Christmas shopping. Who exactly is he, and what is his story?

Gabriel Winter definitely has a story. One he's been running from for years. He's renovating a house next door to a friendly and persuasive grandmother, who is, unbeknownst to him, Olivia's Nana. Through Nana's insistence, Liv helps Gabe wallpaper and paint, and in return Gabe fulfills one of Liv's secret childhood dreams.

But past hurts and secrets threaten to drive them apart rather than draw them together. Will they find the courage to share their secrets with each other and with God, and allow Him to redeem Christmas?

 My review

I adore a little bit of reality check in my romantic fiction. And not mincing situational reality with saccharine. We’re all broken—all of us—and we know it. How we face it shows our true character. This author knows how to pack a lovely punch in a short story. Like your good reads in little bites around the holidays? Redeeming Christmas is a perfect fit.

 Gabe is one of those rare creatures, a humble rising star entrepreneur, while Liv is a novelist who views the world through internal description. Told through both their eyes, their budding romance starts innocently during a holiday shopping event. When they realize they’re temporary next-door neighbors, one precious grandma who’s been praying for them before they were born, takes off her velvet gloves, knows how to use a cell phone, but makes sure Liv carries her pepper spray during their home decorating adventures.

 Of course everyone is too good to be true—on the outside! That’s what makes awesome romance. It’s the twists on the inside of the heart and the depth of reality that make this charming tale more than a gooey peppermint mocha at Christmas. Absolutely delightful for the dedicated inspirational romance reader. Just right amounts of everything packed in a lovely story.

 About the Author

Streams in the Wasteland, Redemptive Romance by Carol James:

Carol is an author of inspirational fiction. She lives in Lilburn, Georgia, a small town outside of Atlanta, with her husband, Jim, and a perky Jack Russell "Terrorist," Zoe.

Season of Hope with Carol James

Pelican Book Group, July 19, 2020
ISBN 9781522302858
310 pp
Contemporary Inspirational Romance
Ebook $5.99
Print $16.99

Buy the Book:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/30mNHV9

Pelican Soft Cover: https://bit.ly/2MGgewZ

Pelican Ebook: https://bit.ly/2MGe28A

Barnes and Noble Soft Cover: https://bit.ly/2BIhkGo

Barnes and Noble Ebook: https://bit.ly/30lXZF9

About the Book:

Hope Stockton’s life is dead, frozen in a winter of guilt, deceit, and fear. When handsome young pastor, Josh Lewis, comes to serve in her church, she wonders if she can trust him with her past. Will he be able to help her answer the questions that have been buried in her heart for years? Or will his own secrets drive them apart and prevent him from helping Hope find her spring of forgiveness?

Set in small town Texas in the years during and following the Vietnam war, Season of Hope is a story of forgiveness and restoration.

About the Author

Carol James is an author of redemptive romance. Her debut novel, Rescuing Faith, was an Amazon number one best-seller. She lives in a small town outside of Atlanta, Georgia with her husband, Jim, and a perky Jack Russell "Terrorist," Zoe.

Having always loved intriguing stories with happy endings, she was moved to begin writing to encourage others as she'd been encouraged by the works of other authors of inspirational fiction.

Carol enjoys spending time with her husband, children, and grandchildren, traveling with friends. She volunteers at a nearby school and serves in the production department at her church. She’s a Frappuccino and soccer aficionado.

www.carol-james.com
Facebook.com/CarolJamesAuthor
https://www.instagram.com/caroljamesauthor
https://twitter.com/CarolJamesAuth

A Brief Interview with Carol:

What do you love about your new book: I love the truth illustrated in Hope’s life - that even when we feel unworthy to be a child of God, the Father is always pushing us with His perfect love.

What do you hope readers will tell others after they’ve finished the story? I hope readers will tell others that they laughed with Hope and Josh, cried with them, and mourned with them. I hope they will take away and share the truth illustrated in Hope’s life - that absolutely nothing we can do, no matter how bad we believe it is, will ever separate us from the love of God in Jesus.

Tell us about the most difficult part of the book to write.

Without giving away too much information (because it’s a crucial plot point), the scene in Season of Hope I struggled with the most and rewrote many, many times is the one in which our hero, Josh, returns from a fishing trip. He enters the guesthouse only to discover Hope sitting on his bed, and he realizes she has gone through his things. I won’t say what happens at this point, but I had to make certain that their reactions were true to the situation and their personalities.

What are you reading now? I’m just beginning News of the World by Paulette Giles, a historical fiction book a friend loaned me. It’s set in post Civil War Texas, and deals with the return of a young girl kidnapped by the Kiowa tribe. My friend recommended it because she knew my husband and I were originally from Texas, and that all my novels are set there.

What’s next for you? I just completed a Christmas novella entitled Redeeming Christmas that will release in December of this year, and I am currently editing a novel based on a trip I took to Longfellow’s Wayside Inn in Sudbury, MA where I discovered the Secret Drawer Society. My husband and I spent hours reading the hidden letters. (If you’ve never heard of this group, look it up online. It’s fascinating.) I knew then I wanted to include this concept in one of my novels. The working title for this piece is A Time for Singing. And the hero and heroine write anonymous letters back and forth and hide them in a secret drawer in a local inn.

Carol James and her new Christmas story

The Unexpected Christmas Gift

Carol Wilson James

White Rose Publishing, a division of Pelican Ventures, Inc.

December 1, 2019

Holiday extravaganza inspirational romantic novella

113 pp

$3.99

Buy on

Amazon 

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Publisher’s Store 

About the Book

Eli Walker is a fun-loving entrepreneur. His job is to advise and restructure struggling companies. Holly’s mission is to save the company she works for by finding new customers at a trade show in Dusseldorf.

But when she fulfills her promise to her boss to visit the cathedral in Cologne, her quest changes.

Filled with twinkling lights and snowflakes Christmas markets and a romantic Ferris wheel Eli and Holly’s time together in Germany is an unexpected gift. But when they return home Eli must make a decision that could cost him what he wants most in life...Holly.

My review

This sweet little inspirational romance has all the very best parts of holiday reads. I adored it all, the absolutely charming setting of Germany, the sweet characters with their foibles, the love at first scent, and even the disaster of a Jurassic-sized conflict. My inner editor totally went to sleep. I want to be Holly’s parents. They’re so cool. I want to go to…oh, wait. I’m getting ahead of myself.

When two lonely strangers on an international trade show trip accidentally, coincidentally, wind up sharing all kind of marvelous adventures in Germany, of course it’s natural to fall into each other’s arms. Been there!!! It happens. And when they’re both on the same page, reveal their deepest fears and dark secrets and vow to stay in touch when they’re back home in Texas…and everything is going so well…the perfect Bam! threatens to erase the magic. How these two work out the unresolvable problems is a lovely, lovely thing.

Great characters and an adorable storyline will charm the Christmas Grinch. Take a couple of hours and steal away to Germany for a lovely little bite-size holiday read.

About the Author

Carol James is an author of inspirational fiction. ​She lives in Lilburn, a small town outside of Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, Jim, and a perky Jack Russell “Terrorist” named Zoe. An English/education major, she has taught students as young as kindergarteners and as old as high school seniors. 

Having always loved good stories with happy endings, she was moved to begin writing as a ministry––to encourage others as she’d been encouraged by the works of other authors of inspirational fiction. 

Retired from her "real" job, she enjoys spending time with her husband, children, and grandchildren, traveling with friends, volunteering at and serving on the board of a nearby Christian school, and serving in the production department at her church. She is also a soccer fan extraordinaire and keeps her DVR busy recording Atlanta United and English Premier League games. And, most days in the late hours of the night or the wee hours of the morning, she can be found bringing her newest novel to life.

The Waiting by Carol James

The Waiting

Carol James

January, 2019

White Rose, an imprint of Pelican Ventures LLC

Ebook $5.99

Buy on Amazon 

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Pelican Book Group site

About the Book

When Katherine Herrington was a teenager, she made "The List" and believed God would bring her the husband she desired. That faith helped her to keep life under control just the way she likes it. But then Katherine loses her mother, her job, and her boyfriend, and after years of praying, she accepts the probability that God's answer is, "No." 

A professional soccer player, Sam Tucker has lived the life of a celebrity in the UK only to discover that, despite all the wealth and fame he has acquired, his life is empty. He returns to the one place where life last had meaning, and goes in search of the one woman he's loved since he was a teenager—Katherine. He wonders if she'll remember him after all these years... And fears she just might.

As God weaves together a rejected proposal, a mission trip, and a devastating storm to turn their hearts toward Him and toward each other, Katherine and Sam will have to let go of their fears, find forgiveness and trust, and realize that their future together was worth the wait.

My Review

Yes, I needed tissues at the end, which is saying a lot since at the beginning I really didn’t think I was going to like these people. They were too…realistic. I like my take-me-away fiction to take me away from all that. But I was compelled to follow these two oddball people in The Waiting, which is not Amish fiction, by the way; just really sweet and wholesome even with some pretty significant tension. Hence the reality part; hence the tension.

I am accused of not letting my characters out of the bag of life when I choose to let them exercise self-control and not use sex for recreational purposes. I think it’s awkward to forcedfeed vicarious lifestyle choices on others without opportunity to make choices and changes. James’s characters, Katherine and Sam, are certainly flawed, but modernly appropriate. Katherine is so wound-up following rules she made for herself, in being so regulated that she forgets to stop and enjoy life. Sam, the professional athlete with a self-realized dream life, wakes up alone one day and realizes his life is one meaningless mess, lived for all the wrong reasons. When these two hook up, you want to cheer for them. They have issues to deal with, of course. And they frustrated me, but in a good way. This is a romance, so of course it has a given outcome, but this is one journey readers of romance will enjoy.

Told in multiple perspectives, this lovingly created romance hits all the right highs and lows.

About the Author

Carol James is an author of inspirational fiction. She lives in Lilburn, Georgia, a small town outside of Atlanta, with her husband, Jim, and a perky Jack Russell "Terrorist," Zoe.

Having always loved intriguing stories with happy endings, she was moved to begin writing to encourage others as she'd been encouraged by the works of other authors of inspirational fiction.

Retired from her "real" job, she enjoys spending time with her husband, children, and grandchildren, traveling with friends, volunteering at and serving on the board of a nearby Christian school, and serving in the production department at her church.

She is also a soccer fan extraordinaire and keeps her DVR busy recording Atlanta United and English Premier League games.

And, most days in the late hours of the night or the wee hours of the morning, she can be found bringing her newest novel to life.

Carol James Christmas novella Marys Christmas Surprise

Mary’s Christmas Surprise

Carol James

White Rose Publishing, a division of Pelican Ventures LLC

Holiday Christmas Extravaganza romantic novella

December 1, 2018

$2.99 ebook

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Barnes and Noble 

About the Book:

Mary Sherman’s Christmas is nothing like she’s planned. Her fiancé has called off the engagement just days before Christmas, and her parents have gone on an anniversary cruise around the world.

Suddenly alone for the holidays, Mary returns to the comfort of her childhood home to spend Christmas in her parents’ empty house.

There’s only one problem. The house is not empty. Unbeknownst to Mary, her parents have taken in a boarder, a handsome carpenter named Jake Wolesky.

​Mary’s Christmas surprise may make this the best holiday ever.

My review:

Carol James’s sweet holiday novella is a great bite-size escape from the busyness of the season. Take an hour or so to read the adventures of a young professional man and woman who meet by accident while on leave from their personal traumas.

Mary has spent years waiting for other people to make decisions that impact her future lifestyle and career. Joseph, aka Jake, needs a break from his mother’s bitterness in watching her ideal of a perfect family collapse around her. Jake and Mary meet accidentally when Mary calls the police on an intruder in her parent’s home, which she expected to be empty when she unexpectedly goes home to lick her wounds in private.

It’s a good thing the two grown single adults are on the same page regarding morals and high ground, and decide to refrain from sleeping in the same house. It also doesn’t take long for misconceptions, mayhem, and mistletoe to work its magic.

About the Author:

Carol James is an author of inspirational fiction. She lives in Lilburn, Georgia, a small town outside of Atlanta, with her husband, Jim, and a perky Jack Russell "Terrorist," Zoe.

Having always loved intriguing stories with happy endings, she was moved to begin writing to encourage others as she'd been encouraged by the works of other authors of inspirational fiction.

Retired from her "real" job, she enjoys spending time with her husband, children, and grandchildren, traveling with friends, volunteering at and serving on the board of a nearby Christian school, and serving in the production department at her church. 

She is also a soccer fan extraordinaire and keeps her DVR busy recording Atlanta United and English Premier League games. 

And, most days in the late hours of the night or the wee hours of the morning, she can be found bringing her newest novel to life. https://www.carol-james.com