Celebrating Christmas Books 2024: Kindle Unlimited Style!

I am an avid reader; however I rarely sit and read a book for more than 15-20 minutes at a time. I do however usually have my kindle e-reader readily available. That means it always comes with me if I have a doctor's appointment, hair appointment, nail appointment, or anything else that would require a wait time. 

If I'm busy working on my computer until late at night, I usually take time to read a chapter or two on my kindle before I go to sleep to take my mind off of what I've been working on.

For years, I didn't want to have anything to do with E readers. I was still of the mindset that I wanted to hold a book in my hand. Well, I still get to do that with my kindle because it has a cover that opens and I’m holding it as if it were an actual print book. What I also like about the kindle is that I can read it with or without my glasses since I control the size of the font. I also like the kindle because it lights up for easier reading at night.

My only negative is that I don't see the title of the book each time I open my kindle to read. It just directs me to the last page I've read which only shows the page text without a title.  So oftentimes I'll need to go back to my library to see which book I just opened as I tend to read a few different books at a time. 

Because I like to read a lot of books, kindle unlimited it's a great option. I can stuff my kindle with lots of books for the price of just one book a month. Right now Amazon is offering a special rate for new subscribers. Here's the link to that special promotion https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/hz/subscribe/ku

You can try it for three months for only 99 cents! After that time frame, if you don’t cancel, you will then be charged $11.99 per month. So if you haven't tried kindle yet, now is a good time to look into it. And you don't have to buy a kindle product, you can also read the books on some of your other devices. Check Amazon for full details.

All three books you see around this post are part of  kindle unlimited - plus several more of mine as well. Here's a special note about the book you see to the left of this paragraph. I'm donating ALL my royalties from The First Noel to a prison ministry that gives hope to the incarerated. You'll find a link to this ministry on the  page for the book on Amazon. This also includes kindle pages read. So please go through them a page at a time.

You can also search for books on Amazon that are in KU.  And there are many Facebook group sites for KU readers broken down into categories or just showing as new releases. If you love to read like I do, this would be a great gift to yourself! HAPPY READING!

It's Beginning to Read Like Christmas 2023: Wishing You a Merry Christmas

It's been a busy Christmas blog posting for me this year. I started my first post about Christmas books back at the end of October. Since then I've done two postings a week introducing you to various authors and providing many opportunities to easily get free books in the process.

I've also been active with the Facebook group, Clean Christmas Romance Readers. I participated in their 25 Days of Christmas online party where games were played, favorite traditions about Christmas shared, and eBooks were given away. I also was a part of their Christmas in July promotion.

And of course my biggest writing project of the year was working with 11 other romance authors to create a box set of Christmas themed novellas. I’ve enjoyed getting to know them through online chats and getting additional tips on writing as

well. I'll be working with a few of them again with a new Christmas box set for 2024. I just started the book for that one but only have 3000 words of a rough draft so far. My early stages of writing usually have me playing in my head with several different plot lines. I know how I want my book to finish, but I've got to decide which of those plot line routes I'll be taking.

I also have another Christmas book in the final edit. It’s a time travel Christmas romance. I'm not sure if I want to do that as a standalone book or try to place that in another box set with other authors. I had a lot of fun doing the research for that book which starts in the present day and goes back to 1955. That book tells the tale of a young woman who's too much of a workaholic.

She’s transported back to 1955 by Santa and gets to spend time with her beloved grandfather who died when she was young and learns through her time in that era of the importance of valuing friends and family.

During this year, I’ve published a number of books. I hope you'll check them out on Amazon. I've written fun books for kids, sweet romances, devotionals for families, and even a cookbook.  Here's the link so you can find them all and see what's coming next as well. 

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Christine-L.-Henderson/author/B09L2Y7XNP

I'm personally not participating in any eBook giveaways at this time, but I’m still going to point to some others as a special Christmas gift. Here's an assortment of free eBook reads from romance, to mystery, to thrillers. Some are Christmas themed and some are not.   https://books.bookfunnel.com/christmas_stories_for_leads

         Merry Christmas and all the best for the coming New Year!

Giving Thanks for Veterans: Author Interview with Linda Shenton Matchett

How did you come up with the idea for your Thanksgiving book? Could you give a short synopsis on the book for my readers?
Francine’s Foibles is part of Thanksgiving Books & Blessings Collection Six, and she was a secondary character in Estelle’s Endeavor, last year’s TB&B story which took place in 1944. I wanted to explore what life in America would have been like after the war ended. Men were coming home in droves, many with physical disabilities, but also with psychological trauma. I remembered my mom talking about her job at Fort Meade typing up discharge papers for soldiers, so I decided to use that as my setting. 

A display about the Seabees at the museum where I volunteer gave me the idea to use that branch of service for my mail protagonist. Because most Seabees were older, that allowed me to make my characters in their mid- to late-thirties.

Here’s the blurb:
She's given up hope. He never had any. Will they find it together?
 
World War II is finally over, and America is extra grateful as the country approaches this year’s Thanksgiving. But for Francine life hasn’t changed. Despite working at Fort Meade processing the paperwork for the thousands of men who have returned home, she’s still lonely and very single. Is she destined for spinsterhood?
 

Grateful that his parents anglicized the family surname after emigrating to the United States after the Great War, first-generation German-American Ray Fisher has done all he can to hide his heritage. He managed to make it through this second “war to end all wars,” but what American woman would want to marry into a German family. Must he leave the country to find wedded bliss?

How do you and your family celebrate Thanksgiving?

I love Thanksgiving because it’s about togetherness. While growing up, no matter where we lived, we drove to Maryland to see my maternal grandparents and extended family. At a minimum there was twenty people there, but typically many more. Therefore, my favorite tradition is to have lots of people around the table. We don’t have a traditional meal. My husband loves to cook, so he determines the menu. One year we had lobster. My brother and his family were visiting and had never eaten lobster.

What’s next? 

I have a yet-untitled story appearing in A Merry Heart Christmas Anthology. Nurse Gwen Milford was a secondary character in A Doctor in the House, and I thought she deserved her own story. The book takes place in the months leading up to and during the Battle of the Bulge, and she is part of an evacuation hospital that moves from Belgium into Germany as the Allies advance. I have several stories planned for 2024.

What’s the best writing tip you’ve learned or been given you’d like to share?
You can’t edit what you haven’t put on paper. I dislike rework in anything I do, so in the beginning of my author career, I struggled with first drafts. I tried to make them perfect as they were coming out of my head which often led to writer’s block. Shut off your internal editor, and just get the words written.

The journey to publication is a marathon, not a sprint. Naively, I thought I’d write a manuscript, find an agent, and receive a publishing contract within a short period of time. For most authors, that’s not reality. There’s a lot to learn about the craft of writing as well as the publishing industry. Tenacity and a willingness to learn are important traits.

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

I’ve written thirty-four books, but I have two series that I greatly enjoyed writing and have been very popular with readers. The first is Sisters in Service, about three sisters who serve in different ways during World War II: Spies & Sweethearts, The Mechanic & the MD, and The Widow & The War Correspondent. 

The second series, Gold Rush Brides, is a multi-author project in which I wrote the first three stories. Gold Rush Hannah is set during the 1829 Georgia rush, Gold Rush Bride Caroline  features Hannah’s daughter and is set during the 1859 Pike’s Peak rush, and Gold Rush Bride Tegan features Caroline’s daughter and is set during the Nome rush in 1899. I loved researching all of these stories and learned a tremendous amount about US history.

That's all for today's interview. If you enjoy a well-woven story, but have never read a historical novel, give one of Linda's a try. You might find she's your next favorite author.

Website: http://www.lindashentonmatchett.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LindaShentonMatchettAuthor

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lindamatchett

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/linda-shenton-matchett

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15140007.Linda_Shenton_Matchett

And here's a bonus for my readers, leave a comment on this post about something you're thankful for and we'll randomly pick one reader who'll receive a copy of  of  Linda's eBook, Francine’s Foibles. So do that now. We'll chose a winner next Tuesday!