One Last Celebrating Christmas Books 2025: Author Interview with Jillian Walsh

What made you decide to write a Christmas themed book? Could you give a short synopsis on the book for my readers?
I decided to write my first Christmas book in the series, honestly, when I started reading other clean romance Christmas books! The magic of Christmas, the settings, and all the wonderful plot devices that are possible when it comes to the holiday season really feel infinite. It was the Christmas season of 2021 when I first started reading Christmas romances and couldn’t get enough, and the moment struck that I just had to do one of these festive, snowy books with all the feels. So I started this series in early 2022 and completed it in 2023.

Here are some details of A Mistletoe Romance. 

One small town. One December. One chance to believe again.
Returning to her charming Pennsylvania hometown for the holidays stirs up painful memories for Jocelyn about a car accident five years ago, reminding her why Christmas lost its magic. But determined to survive the season for the sake of her sister, Jocelyn keeps her heart guarded and her expectations low.

That is, until she meets Wade Olsen—a kind, handsome stranger whose easy smile and gentle warmth make the sugar cookies sweeter, the carols easier to bear, and the snowfall magical once more. As the town of New Haven Falls glows with Christmas cheer, Jocelyn begins to wonder if love—and the season itself—might still hold room for hope.

A Mistletoe Romance is the first of three novels in the clean and sweet NEW HAVEN FALLS series. 

What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?
Decorating the house and the tree while playing holiday music is always the starter to my season and always happens right around Thanksgiving for us. Baking sugar cookies with my kids just like I used to do with my grandmother and then decorating them with frosting. (My twenty-two year old daughter has already taken on this tradition herself every year when she comes home, and honestly, she is way better at it than I am. Can someone say artist, please?) And going to 'see the lights’: driving around with the kids to see homes decorated with lights, and often getting out to walk around and see them on foot. I live in southern California, so we don’t have snow to play in, but I grew up in Pennsylvania, so I remember how magical the snow can make everything feel. For now, though, neighborhoods full of colorful holiday lights do a very nice job of creating that magical feeling.

What other books are in the works?

This particular series is probably complete (although it could be added to, and I think about that sometimes), but I recently went back and wrote a prequel novella for it which provides the love story for the main character’s older sister and takes place six years before Book One. 

I’m in the middle of writing a series called Meet Me for Romance. These are completely standalone romances, united by vacation and travel themes but not by character associations or setting. I wanted to live vicariously through my characters as they trot the globe because I love to travel and I don’t get to do it enough. Right now, these take places mostly in beachy destinations, so the first one is a trip across the islands of Tahiti on a yacht. The second is a small-town Florida Keys story with a hurricane, and the third, which I’m publishing in January, is another small-town-feel story which takes place on the island of Nantucket. I’m going to keep adding to this series, but I’ll also be starting a small-town contemporary cowboy romance series in 2026 in between "Meet Me" books, which I’m very excited to get to!

What’s the best writing tip you’ve learned or been given you’d like to share?
One of the best writing tips I’ve ever been given is to trust the emotional truth of the story more than the “rules.”Craft and structure matter, but if a scene feels emotionally honest, the story will hit the right notes regardless.

In clean romance especially, I’ve learned that what’s left unsaid is often more powerful than what’s spelled out. A lingering look, an unfinished sentence, or a quiet moment can carry just as much weight as a dramatic declaration.

Another tip I return to again and again is to write the characters as real people first, and “romance characters” second. When I focus on their fears, wounds, and hopes, rather than the trope I’m trying to hit, the romance unfolds naturally and feels earned.

And finally, something practical but essential: finish the book. You can revise a messy draft, but you can’t revise a blank page. Give yourself permission to write imperfectly, because that’s where the heart of the story is.

What do you know now about writing and publishing you wish you had learned sooner?
I wish I’d understood earlier that there’s no single “right” path to success. Comparison can be discouraging if you choose to let it but incredibly freeing once you realize every author’s journey looks different. Steady progress, consistency, and patience matter far more than chasing trends or overnight success.

Any last words or tips?

I wish I had learned earlier that my backlist is one of my greatest assets. Every book I write builds trust with readers and gives them another reason to stay with me. Especially because I don’t always write quickly (although sometimes I do, and I’m working on getting faster because it’s fairly essential for an indie author, at least the way I see things), I’ve found that focusing on long-term relationships with readers—rather than just individual launches—has made the entire process more sustainable and rewarding.

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

So many! I have another five-book series called One Sweet Day, which, overall, uses the ‘found family’ trope as a theme. It follows five couples in their twenties who started out as friends or ‘friends of friends’ in a very real way on the Door County peninsula of Wisconsin (small-town theme, too), as they navigate the ups and downs of their lives. The series is already six years old but is getting more page-reads and sales than it ever did back when I released it, and I love that! (See earlier backlist comment.) It’s less conventional than my newer series because I was new at all of this (it was my first series), but each book has a lot of heart. These are still some of my very favorite characters I’ve ever written.
 

That's all for today's interview. To learn more about Jillian's books, check out these links. 
Website: https://jillianwalshromance.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jwsweetromance/

And here's a special tip for my readers... Sign up for Jillian's newsletter and you'll get the prequel to the New Haven Falls series for FREE. It's called A Snowfall Romance. Get it here:  https://dl.bookfunnel.com/x4jtbbsxyf 

It makes a nice opener for the three-book series.

It's beginning to read a lot like Christmas 2025: Author Interview with Deborah Raney

What made you decide to write a Christmas themed book? Could you give a short synopsis on the book for my readers?
I’ve always loved Christmas books, especially novellas. In fact, the first (and only historical) novella I wrote was a Christmas book. Gifts of the Season contains two novellas, Christmas then and now. "Circle of Blessings" is set in Dakota Territory in 1864 and tells the story of Stella Bradford’s unexpected romance with the English professor at her college. “Measured with Love” is a contemporary tale set in a Mississippi River town in Southeast Missouri (where I happen to live). Benji Gabriel believes the chef’s position she’s just taken at an award-winning bed and breakfast is temporary—only a stepping stone to greater things. Her boss—and God—have other ideas.

What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?
"Circle of Blessings” from Gifts of the Season is based on a family tradition from my own family. Each Christmas, we would take our kids out to eat with the intention of blessing our server with an extra generous tip. We would pray for the server ahead of time, and one of our rules was that we would leave the restaurant without waiting to see that person’s reaction…we simply trusted that God would use that gift to bless the server in ways we will surely never know this side of heaven.

Recently, I’ve loved what has become a tradition of setting up our Christmas tree on our screened porch, and leaving it up and decorating it for Valentine’s Day and again at Easter. It adds the twinkle of lights and pretty decorations throughout the long winter months and makes Christmas seem to last longer.

What’s coming up next?
I’m working on the third book in The God Who series, Who Names the Stars. The first book, Who Touches the Mountains, is a Christy Award finalist this year and I’m thrilled about that. I’m especially looking forward to teaching at the Seaside Scribes conference at Myrtle Beach in January, and at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference’s 50th anniversary in May. Teaching the craft of writing is one of my favorite parts of my writing career.

What’s the best writing tip you’ve learned or been given you’d like to share?
Even though this may not apply throughout a long career, it’s still good advice for beginning writers: Write what you know. Yes, if you write more than a few books, you’ll need to research new things and write about characters who are very different from you. But when you are starting out, I think you find your truest voice when you are writing about characters much like you and settings with which you are intimately familiar. Once you’ve mastered the craft of writing, then you can stretch yourself writing what you don’t know but are willing to learn.

What do you know now about writing and publishing you wish you had learned sooner?
That the publishing world is ever-changing, ever-challenging, and sometimes brutal. I have had a wonderful career, written many books that I’m proud of and that readers loved, but at the same time, I’ve often been disappointed by rejections, poor sales, one-star reviews. It’s all part of the business of being a writer and I wouldn’t trade it for any other job I can think of (except being a stay-at-home mom, which, if you do that job well, you quickly put yourself out of a job.) The relationships I’ve formed with other writers, readers, and professionals from the publishing world are golden and have enriched my life so wonderfully. So hang in there. For every disappointment there is a success. For every challenge, there will be a triumph.

What’s your newest release that you’d like to tell my readers about?
Who Stirs Up the Sea is the second novel in The God Who series from Raney Day Press. It has been one of the most fun-to-research books I’ve written, including a week-long research trip on beautiful Saint Simons Island, Georgia, and a DNA test my character takes, that I took too, for research’s sake. I think you’ll love the romance that grows between my Emma and Tadhg.

That's all for today's interview. To learn more about Deborah's books, start with these links.
Website: http://www.deborahraney.com
Facebook Readers Group: http://tinyurl.com/DRreadergroup
Instagram: http://instagram.com/deborahraney
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/deborahraney/
X: https://twitter.com/authordebraney
Goodreads: http://tinyurl.com/DRGoodReads
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/deborah-raney

And here's a bonus for my readers, leave a comment on this post and we'll pick one reader who'll receive a copy of Deborah's book, Gifts of the Season. So do that now. It can be as simple as I want to be in the giveaway. We'll chose a winner next Saturday!

Celebrating Christmas Themed Books 2025

It's that time of year again. Get ready for a joyful journey through the world of Christmas-themed books! Starting today through Christmas, my blog posts will be filled with chats from various authors, who will share their unique writing approach for holiday books. You’ll hear about heartwarming children's tales to cozy mysteries, romantic comedies, and nostalgic historical romances. 

In these posts, each author will share their favorite Christmas traditions, the inspiration behind their festive books, and valuable writing tips. Plus, you'll get an exclusive sneak peek into their upcoming projects. And since we’re celebrating the season of giving, there will be an assortment of giveaways sprinkled generously throughout the season!

To kick it off, I’m highlighting my own Christmas themed books. This is my favorite season of the year and I love writing stories set in this time frame. I've written two this year. The first book is The Innkeeper's Son: Witness to a Miracle! It's a fictionalized account of the birth of Christ as told by a young boy who was there. Here are the details... 

Marcus's play time with his toy soldiers is interrupted when his mother asks him to deliver blankets to a poor couple staying in a stable down the road. Frustrated, Marcus grumbles—"Nothing exciting ever happens in Bethlehem."

Or so he thinks.

What begins as a simple chore turns into an unforgettable night of excited shepherds, choirs of angels singing, and a very special birth. In the quiet of the stable, he meets a newborn baby—Jesus—and feels joy stirring in his heart. There’s something different about this child… something powerful and wonderful.

This book would pair well with one of my other books, The First Noel: Digging Deeper into Christ's Birth. This Advent devotional includes additional Biblical insights into that time period with links for more details.

When you buy this book, you will be supporting a prison ministry that gives hope to the incarcerated and guidance when they are released. All my royalties from this book are being donated to EE Prison Ministries. Learn more about what they do here: https://eeprisonministry.com/services/about-us.

The second book, Falling in Love Despite Christmas Miscalculations, is a sweet romance. Here are the details...

Natalie Baynton has finally landed her dream job at Rothwell’s, the glitzy fashion store in Aspen, Colorado. This coveted apprenticeship is her one shot at becoming the store’s major fashion buyer, and she’s determined to succeed. Nothing will get in Natalie’s way. Romance is the last thing on her mind—until she meets Alexander.

Alexander Davies-White, a brilliant numbers whiz from Britain, is on track to become Rothwell’s next CFO. His past romances have always been more about image calculations than chemistry, leaving him longing for something genuine. Arriving in Aspen two months early to observe the store staff incognito, he meets Natalie. Captivated by her charm and ambition, Alexander pretends to be a personal shopper to spend time with her.

As their connection deepens, Alexander's ruse grows increasingly difficult to maintain. Will a season of miracles bring them together? Or will Christmas miscalculations shatter their chance at love?

So, snuggle up with a cup of hot cocoa or cider and join me in celebrating the magic of Christmas in the most delightful way—through the joy of reading from now till the end of December. I'll be setting up eBook giveaways throughout that time.
If you'd like to learn more about these books and others I've written, here's the link to my Amazon author page. https://www.amazon.com/stores/Christine-L.-Henderson/author/B09L2Y7XNP