Celebrating Christmas Books 2024: Author Interview with Cathe Swanson

What made you decide to write Christmas themed books? Could you give a short synopsis on the books for my readers?

I’d been writing stories for a long time and even had a couple manuscripts completed when, in 2016, Chautona Havig invited me to participate in a multi-author collection of Christmas stories. I wrote Snow Angels for that collection, and I’ve now written five other books around it, to complete the Hope Again series.

We’ve done the Christmas Lights Collection every year since then, so I have a lot of Christmas books! Some are standalone books, but three of them—Snow Angels, Hope for the Holidays, and The Road Home—are within the Hope Again series.

In addition to those shorter Christmas books, the series includes three romantic suspense novels. (That’s not how I would do it now, as a more experienced author!) Most of the series is set at the Unity Plenkiss Community Center in Chicago. It’s a Christian ministry providing meals, shelter, and other resources to veterans, elderly people, and families in crisis in a rundown Chicago neighborhood. Parts of the stories are heartbreaking, but there are many laugh-out-loud instances, and all the books have happy endings. The Christmas books are especially heartwarming. They’ll make you laugh and make you cry. I like to say that it’s just like reading a Hallmark movie!

What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?

I like to decorate my home. As I get older, I tend to start earlier and leave it up later, because I want to revel in the Christmas spirit longer. A recent holiday tradition we’ve instituted is having pizza (NOT homemade) for Christmas dinner when the children and grandchildren come over instead of a big feast. Because I was the only one working on the meal, I was always stressed and tired—and it made such a big mess for me to clean up later! Now, we have a super easy spread of pizzas, and I get to enjoy the time with my family. We exchange presents and play games.

Because none of our children live very nearby, we are flexible on which day we celebrate—it’s usually within a week or two of Christmas, but it’s seldom on the 25^th.

What’s next? (future books, novellas, special appearances you want to mention)

Currently, I’m working on a series of novels set in the 1960s and 70s. They are all mystery/suspense with some romance. Because I grew up in this era, I’m enjoying the research and writing. The books are Christian fiction, so they don’t include details of the more “liberated” aspects of that turbulent time, but the world changed drastically back then. The various plots have Cold War politics, drugs, Vietnam, back to the land movements (hippies), and the Jesus People!

 What’s the best writing tip you’ve learned or been given you’d like to share?

Just do it! Jodi Picoult said, “You can always edit a bad page. You can't edit a blank page.” It’s easy for me to get caught up in wanting to make my writing perfect, so I keep re-writing what I already have instead of moving forward. Although I don’t participate anymore, NaNoWriMo helped me learn to write fearlessly, to get the story down and then go back to shape it up later.

What do you know now about writing and publishing you wish you had learned sooner?

 Mark Dawson said, “There’s never been a better time to be a writer.” This is an age of opportunity for creative people, if we just seize the moment without fear. We have more control over our career than ever before, if we’re willing to put in the work and not be deterred by setbacks. Also, it is a profession, and we shouldn’t be ashamed of wanting to make a living from what we do. OR, we can make it a hobby or ministry. It’s up to us.

Any last words or tips?

As Christians, our first object in life is to glorify God. Even when our books aren’t overtly evangelical in content, they still need to adorn the gospel and reflect the nature of Christ. This is an opportunity to minister to the world. That includes believers as well as non-believers.

Are there any other books that you’d like to tell my readers about?

The 2024 Christmas Lights Collection, An Evergreen Christmas, is available on Amazon in print, eBook, and Kindle Unlimited. This 9th annual collection includes stories from Chautona Havig, Jaycee Weaver, Teresa Tysinger, and me, Cathe Swanson!

The collection includes four contemporary Christian romance novels featuring Christmas trees! Christmas Lights Collections are only available for a few months before disbanding, so get yours now!

That's all for today's interview. I encourage you to check out her books. Below are links to direct you to them.

https://www.facebook.com/CatheSwanson
https://www.instagram.com/CatheSwanson/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15754310.Cathe_Swanson
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cathe-swanson
BookBub Author Page
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Cathe-Swanson/author/B01LW5WB2H
https://www.pinterest.com/catheswanson/

And here's a special tip for my readers...You can get a free ebook copy of Potato Flake Christmas when you subscribe to  her monthly newsletter! Be the first to learn of upcoming new releases, events, and subscriber-only giveaways. https://catheswanson.com/newsletter

Celebrating Christmas Books 2024: Author Interview with Tamie Dearen

How did you come up with the idea for your Christmas book?

Could you give a short synopsis on the book for my readers?
My new standalone romance, St. Nick and Me Are Mint to Be, released on December 3. This novella is related to my Underground Granny Matchmakers, and tells the story of the 4rth MacIlheron sister, Syanne. It's also a part of a 12-author group series called Christmas Kisses and Cookie Crumbs. We all got together and decided to write Christmas short-stories related to one of our own series. We call them bite-sized Christmas treats. The only tie between these 12 books is that they are all sweet, clean, Christmas romcoms and each one features a special Christmas recipe. My book features one of our family recipes, Chocolate Mint Brownie Bars.

The book starts out with Syanne at the airport talking on her phone to her sister about her ex boyfriend, whom she has just caught cheating. The hero, Reid, can't help overhearing the conversation. And as he listens, he gradually becomes emotionally involved, outraged at the ex's behavior. Then the ex shows up at the airport and confronts Syanne. Reid finds himself desperate to rescue this woman he hasn't even spoken to. He throws his arm around her shoulder, glares up at the cheating ex and says... (Well, you have to read the story to find out. LOL And it's only 99 cents.)

What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?
I think our favorite Christmas tradition is on Christmas morning. We make a special family recipe coffee-cake, light a candle, sing Happy Birthday to Jesus, and blow out the candle. One of our daughters and her family live too far away to be home at Christmas, so we each do a cake in our own homes and sing together via FaceTime.

What’s next? (Future books, novellas, special appearances you want to mention) I'm working on a new book that will tie in with the Limitless Sweet Billionaire Romance Series, but will start a new spin-off series. Like the Limitless guys, our hero has a disability. He's a vet who lost his hearing in a blast and had to return stateside. Now he wants to cut himself off from society. But when he crosses paths with woman in danger, his protective nature and sense of honor kicks in.

What’s the best writing tip you’ve learned or been given you’d like to share?
They say to "write what you know." But authors can learn and "know" a lot of different things. If you want to keep writing for years, you need to write what you love. For me, that means I prefer books with some angst and character growth, whether the book is a light romcom or a more serious romance. I want my readers to love my books, but the most important reader I need to please is me. Eventually, if you stay true to yourself, you will find your audience--fans who love everything you write.

What do you know now about writing and publishing you wish you had learned sooner?
It's wonderful that your book is distinct and stands out from all the others in the genre. But for marketing purposes, the readers are more interested in how your book is the same as all the other books they are reading.

Any last words or tips?
Write your blurb first. Writing your blurb first will force you to think about the tropes and important plot points you want to include. That way you can find a way to work them into your story as you write.

Are there any other books that you’d like to tell my readers about?
I mentioned the Limitless Sweet Billionaire books, which is one of my most popular series. You can get a great deal on the 7- book bundle at my store.

That's all for today's interview. I'm a fan of Tamie's books, so I hope you'll click on the links to learn more about her books.

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/tamie-dearen

Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Tamie-Dearen/author/B00FS21B4Y
Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/%22Tamie%20Dearen%22
iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/author/tamie-dearen/id819513899