It's Beginning to Read Like Christmas on the Ranch 2023: Author Interview with Hope August

What made you decide to write Christmas themed books?
Older Hallmark and now Great American Family channel holiday movies. I just can't get enough of them. I also read a lot of sweet holiday romances. 

Could you give a short synopsis on the books for my readers?
My Sweet Paradise Resort Christmas series tells the stories of couples who find love at Sweet Paradise Resort. Readers will experience some of their favorite tropes including enemies to lovers, opposites attract, workplace romance, mistaken identity, and forced proximity. Each book invites you on a romantic, snow-filled holiday escape without leaving your home. These are clean and wholesome stories that can be read as stand-alones but are best enjoyed in order. 

What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?

I love decorating the tree as a family the day after Thanksgiving. Also, taking turns opening up one present on Christmas Eve. Oh, and driving neighborhoods admiring super extravagant Christmas displays. We recently started a tradition of completing a holiday puzzle in the month of December. Nothing too complicated. Just a few pieces a day for each family member. 

What’s next for you in writing? 
More Christmas romances of course! The next series will be a spinoff from Book 3 Christmas Cookies and Coworkers of the Sweet Paradise Resort Christmas series. Eve and Gabriel have purchased a new resort in the charming town of Starlight, Texas. The new resort (Sagebrush Dude Ranch) promises just as many holiday feels, even if snowfall is more intermittent. Three novellas in the Sagebrush Dude Ranch series should be out before the end of the year.

What’s the best writing tip you’ve learned or been given you’d like to share?
Write what you love reading. 
 
What do you know now about writing and publishing you wish you had learned sooner?
There's no perfect time to start writing. I've learned that waiting until you have "time to write" or "feel like it" is just another form of procrastination. It often means nothing gets finished. I have plenty of stories I've started and stopped over the years but never finished. I was waiting - for what? Some imaginary ideal time? I finally realized it didn't exist. LOL! It's the main reason it took me so long to publish my first book.
 

Any last words or tips? 

I just want to say how much I appreciate my readers. The feedback I receive is so encouraging and I often refer to it on days when it's hard to write. 
 
Are there any other books that you’d like to tell my readers about?
Yes, I'm so excited about my new full-length cowboy romance novel. It's with the editor now. If readers love these characters as much as I do, then this will likely turn into a new series with at least one Christmas novella in 2024.

That's all for today's interview. If you'd like to learn more about Hope's books, here are some links to get you started.
BookBub - https://www.bookbub.com/authors/hope-august
Website: https://hopeaugust.com
And here's a special bonus...Get a free short story to read to decompress and take a holiday break: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/gy70643sr8

It's Beginning to Read a Lot Like an International Christmas: Author Interview with Anna Jensen

What made you decide to write Christmas themed books? Could you give a short synopsis on the books for my readers?
I wanted to offer readers something from me at Christmas. I wondered about an advent or Christmas devotional, similar to others I have written, but then I got an idea for a fictional story.

I’d published an historical fiction novel earlier in 2021, and I fancied trying my hand at something more contemporary. Growing up in the UK, I was a member of an Anglican church. It was lively and fun but also centred on tradition, especially at times of the year like Christmas.

I decided to create a fictional church parish somewhere in London with a Christmas-loving vicar. In A Candle for Christmas, the first in the St. Saviours Seasonal Stories series, I wove four inter-related stories together around the four candles of advent – one for each of the Sundays in advent.

It was such fun to write, and enjoyed by readers, so I followed it in 2022 with The Nine Readings of Christmas, based on the service of Nine Lessons and Carols. I released a third novella, One Passing Easter, in the series this April. 

What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?
I find Christmas a tough time of year, to be honest! I moved from the UK to South Africa twenty-six years ago, and still struggle to get my head around the concept of a summer Christmas. So many of the traditions I loved growing up – dark evenings with candles and fairy lights; singing carols around our village; a long slow lunch, with mince pies and Christmas pudding; an afternoon winter walk on the beach – just don’t apply here. I think I wrote A Candle for Christmas out of my nostalgia for the familiar!

What’s next for you? 
I am currently writing my third historical fiction novel. Remembered Lives is a dual timeline story about the Anglo-Boer War and Liverpool Football Club (you’ll have to read it to understand the connection!).

Next year, I plan to continue the St Saviours series with a summer story – hopefully in collaboration with a friend to make it even more exciting!

What’s the best writing tip you’ve learned or been given you’d like to share?
Allen Arnold talks a lot about writing with God, rather than for him. It has revolutionised my writing, encouraging me to find the stories Jesus wants to tell rather than just conjuring up my own. It’s also a whole lot more fun! When I get stuck, I can just ask for help. I always come unstuck with great ideas or phrases which I know didn’t come from me.

What do you know now about writing and publishing you wish you had learned sooner?
I wish I’d realised that when we do it all with Jesus – the writing, the marketing, the hard work – it is so much more enjoyable and effective than when I thought of most things as something I had to hustle. His burden is light and his yoke is easy!

 Any last words or tips?
Connect with other authors and readers as much as possible! The upside of the global pandemic was that we all learnt new ways of connecting and building relationships. Journeying together makes the writing life so special.

Are there any other books that you’d like to tell my readers about?
I mentioned the historical fiction novels I write. I love exploring how ordinary people can do extraordinary things which impact into the future when our Creator God is involved – like when a stone is thrown into water, and the ripples seem endless. My series, The Ripples Through Time explores this concept.

Given Lives tells of a small village in the north of England impacted by the plague in 1665-6, and the decisions the community took to protect their neighbours. 300 years later, we are still talking about them. 

Secret Lives is a WW2/present day story of young women volunteers working for the British Special Operations Executive as cryptanalysts and code breakers. Sworn to secrecy about their war work, many lived their entire lives without even family knowing of their contribution.

That's all for today's interview. If you'd like to learn more about Anna's books, here are some links to get you started.

Website : https://www.annajensen.co.uk/

Amazon: https://www.annajensen.co.uk/shop This gives you options for UK, USA, and South Africa

And here's tip for my readers... Sign up for her newsletter and a receive a free ebook, Seeking Light – a novella set in Poldark’s Cornwall. https://www.annajensen.co.uk/news-social