Author Erin Stevenson shares about life while she was writing A Dream for Christmas.
When I was asked to write a devotional about my 2022 Christmas book, A Dream of Christmas, this page sat blank for a long time. I wrote the book about a year ago when I was in a different place in life. The past several months have brought some major changes, and in my recent personal time with God, I’m discovering that I’m too driven, too focused on planning out all the details, and too lacking in trust. He has allowed some pretty significant boulders to land in my path. I’m praying for wisdom on whether and how much to change course. Above everything, I want His will.
In A Dream of Christmas, the main female character, Charity, is in much the same boat. She made some mistakes in her past, but once she became a mother, her laser focus became doing whatever was best for her children—which is why she took the bold, risky decision to go on the run with them. But she continually second-guesses herself. She’s a relatively new believer, learning how to seek God’s will and how to recognize when He’s working in her life.
All my books, while different, center on a few common themes: the love between a man and a woman as God intended it, the family as He designed it (including blended families), forgiveness, second chances, and grappling with life’s problems according to scriptural guidelines.
If you’re by nature a planner, I invite you to sit back, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and just rest. Our world is filled with noise 24/7. You’ll hear God’s voice in the silence. Trust that He will take care of the details of your life. He’s promised it in His Word (Matthew 6:29-34).
When Finn Donovan answers a late-night knock at the door, there stands Charity Sullivan, the only woman he’s ever loved. He hasn’t seen her since the night nearly seventeen years ago when they shared a magical kiss after a months-long friendship.
But Charity isn’t alone, and her last name is no longer Sullivan. Her four children are with her, and she’s looking for a place to hide. Her marriage just ended, and her former father-in-law, a powerful, dangerous underworld boss, will stop at nothing to keep her from leaving with his grandchildren.
As Finn and Charity’s friendship rekindles, Finn’s protective instincts go on high alert. He’s never stopped loving her, but as an upright, God-fearing man, doesn’t want to take advantage of her vulnerability. Charity is drawn to Finn. She dreams of a future for them, but unanswered questions from the past stand between them.
When Charity receives a phone call telling her that her former father-in-law has discovered her whereabouts, she decides to go on the run again. But Finn isn’t having any of it. He has a Christmas dream of his own, and it won’t come true without Charity and her children.
Author Carol James visits today and shares a bit about her newest release and its connection to an earthquake.
“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,’’ says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
Isaiah 54:10
Mountains symbolize strength and constancy. But what happens in your life when the constants are destroyed?
Georgia’s known for peanuts, peaches, and humidity. Not earthquakes. Yet, the Atlanta area sits along the Brevard Fault Zone. I still remember being awakened in the predawn hours one morning by the shaking of my bed and the clanging of the handles on the armoire in our bedroom. After a few seconds, silence returned, and in the fog of sleep, I wondered if what I felt and heard was real or simply a dream.
The following morning, Atlanta news confirmed it. Overnight, we’d had an earthquake.
Our little rumble was nothing compared to the major earthquakes experienced in other areas of the world. No buildings fell. No mountains crumbled. But the minor shaking and confusion it caused were disconcerting.
Several years ago, our church suffered an emotional earthquake. A group had gone on an international mission trip (as numerous teams of volunteers did many times a year) to share the gospel. During that trip, one of the team members was killed in a tragic accident. This loss tore through our church, threatening to crumble our faith and peace. Our pastor reminded us, much more eloquently than I can, that serving the Lord can be dangerous on many levels. And while we’re not guaranteed safety, we are guaranteed God’s love and peace.
Isaiah 54:10 reminds us of that. No matter what tragedy befalls us, or what part of our world is shaken and crumbles to dust, God’s love and peace are constant and steadfast. Nothing—absolutely nothing—can overcome them. And not only that, but our Father, in His compassion, feels and shares our pain. He assures us that, during the times in our lives when tragedy befalls us and everything around us seems to be crumbling away, two things remain: God’s unfailing love and His covenant of peace.
In Choosing Christmas, both Angela Taylor and Adam Thornton have had their lives shaken to their cores. They struggle to overcome the physical and emotional scars of past tragedy and loss. Believing his choices are responsible for his father’s death, Adam battles both guilt and physical pain. Angela struggles with forgiving a mother who deserted her as a child. And the only way they know to do that is by choosing to draw strength from the gift of God’s unfailing love and peace in Christ Jesus.
Heartbroken over the unfair loss of a position in the school where she teaches, Angela Taylor is determined to find an AP position.
Adam Thornton has struggled for years to overcome the physical and emotional effects of a devastating accident that occurred when he was a teenager. A successful real estate attorney and part-time handyman, Adam uses his gifts and talents to serve others.
When Angela is hired as an AP at the school where Adam’s mother is the principal, Angela and Adam find they share a past… an unexpected connection. And they must choose whether to surrender to the pain of that past or find hope for the future in the spirit of Christmas.
Author Valerie Massey Goree shares about her hero in Shadows of Time
Cullen hosts a Bible study on God’s grace. Dealing with guilt-inducing issues from his past, Cullen has a hard time accepting grace, so his lesson is as much for himself as for his audience.
My heroine is in the audience, but while Cullen is making the presentation, he doesn’t know Anna is ready to explore accepting Jesus as her savior. She has always believed she isn’t worthy of God’s forgiveness, and with an atheist mother, she’s had no foundation upon which to build her faith.
The illustration Cullen uses to describe God’s grace convinces Anna that she is worthy of forgiveness. He describes grace as a free gift available to all who believe. But as with any gift, it must be accepted, opened, and used.
“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 NIV
Cullen concludes his lesson by reminding us we must live in grace, get back on track when we fall, and tell other people about the amazing gift.
I don’t know about you, but I struggle with the reality of God’s grace, freely given and available to me all the time. Why would God care about a wretch such as me? The first verse of the wonderful hymn “Amazing Grace” says it all. ‘Amazing grace—how sweet the sound—That saved a wretch like me!’ God’s grace is limitless. He has more than enough for every one of his children. Oh, how precious life is when we live within God’s grace.
Shadows of Time is a romantic suspense under the umbrella topic of My Mother’s Secret. And what a secret Anna’s mother kept for decades.
Long estranged from her genetic scientist mother, artist Anna Knight is stunned by the contents of her mother’s will. Determined to ascertain the source of her wealth, Anna hires tech guru Cullen Kincaid to investigate.
Details the guitar-playing Bible-teaching computer expert discovers could drastically alter Anna’s future.
When mutual attraction blossoms, can she overcome her feelings of worthlessness? Will Cullen follow his heart without knowing the truth of Anna’s birth?
Valerie loves to hear from her readers. Check out her website to learn more about her romantic suspense novels and Glenn’s non-fiction books or to sign up for her monthly newsletter ValerieGoreeAuthor.com, or visit her on Facebook, BookBub, Amazon, or Goodreads
How do I know Jesus is real? As a Christian, I believe, but have been challenged by that age-old question. My answer is simple. Jesus has always been there for me, even before I was saved and didn’t realize it. He was there, never more so than when we lost my mother to liver failure at the age of 63, a bleak time for myself and my family. Mom needed a transplant, yet we couldn’t bring ourselves to pray for someone to die, so she could live. We put the decision in God’s hands.
My father and I went to the hospital every day. It didn’t matter that I had to drive an hour to pick up Dad and another hour’s drive to the hospital. We visited. The week Mom slipped into a coma, we still visited. When my brother and sister went to see her that weekend, there was no change in Mom’s condition. However, on Monday, Dad and I found her bright and alert. She spoke with us, and then she sent Dad away so I could have some quiet time with her. I’ll never forget what she said.
“Maggie, I had a visitor Saturday night.” A visitor? I knew my brother and sister were there, but Mom shook her head. “This was the middle of the night,” she said.
“Who, Mom?” I asked again.
Mom grew quiet. She smiled and held my hand. “Jesus.”
My breath caught. I felt as if my heart stopped beating, but I knew what she spoke was true.
“Jesus came and sat alongside me. I told him I wanted to go home.”
Where some might question such an occurrence, I never thought to do so. I believe Mom saw Jesus that night. Upon thinking more, I realized He visited me, also. Mom’s sickness took a toll on the entire family. Sleep was impossible. I often woke and sat at the table in the dark. Sometimes I prayed. Sometimes I forgot how to pray.
There didn’t seem to be an easy answer. But that Saturday night, I woke around three a.m., as I often did. Only instead of getting out of bed and sitting at the table, a comforting warmth spread over me. More like through me, you know? The feeling was all-encompassing, something I couldn’t deny if I wanted.
A soft voice whispered to my soul. “Everything is going to be OK.” That’s all. Those simple words by an unseen, but deeply felt presence, brought such a tranquil peace to my body and soul, I nodded and went back to sleep.
It was only after my visit with Mom, did I come to the realization that both of us, indeed, had a special visit from Jesus. He sat with my mother on her last lucid day on this earth. The last day she spoke to any of us. She passed later that week, and I knew she had gone home.
I remember a time when I was filled with shame and guilt and doubt because of the kind of life I was living. My husband and I attended a new church, a place we’d never set foot in before and there, in the quiet of the service, I heard God say, very plainly, “You are forgiven.”
Did that change my life? Not completely, but it did set me on the path to change. Isn’t that what faith is all about–changing as we get to know Him and hear His voice in whatever means He uses to speak to us?
When I start writing a book, I don’t always know the referencing scripture. Most of the time, I don’t even have a blurb or tagline or anything to develop the story around. I’m 100% panster when it comes to creating, but somewhere along the journey, these things fall into place (especially if I’m listening to the Holy Spirit, who guides my stories as well as my life). This is what happened with Kyleigh’s Cowboy. A secondary character, a young woman whose life has been anything but easy, comes to know the Lord from hearing His voice, even though she never knew Him before and had no idea at first WHO was talking to her! Thus, our defining or supporting scripture…
“The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have drawn you with loving-kindness.
Jeremiah 31:3
The Bible gives us many scriptures that assure us God speaks to those who “have ears to hear.” It also gives us vivid imagery of Jesus’ invitation to turn to Him and let Him into our hearts, minds, and lives. Let us be quick to listen and to act, but most importantly, to move toward Him instead of away in our darkest times.
Dear Lord, Whether audible, a whisper on the wind or a gentle knock on our hearts, may we be quick to hear, listen and obey Your voice.
She’s attempting to start a new life. He’s roamed for more than a decade. Can they let go of the past and grab hold of the future?
Seven years after the death of her husband, Kyleigh Winters turned their old vacation home into a brand new guest ranch. Not willing to join the ranks of lonely women trolling the bars or online in search of a man, Kyleigh is sure if God wishes her to have another husband, He’ll send the perfect someone in His own time. But will she be open to the possibility of new love when He does?
Searching for a place that calls to his soul, Lance Stevens has been a roaming cowboy for ten years since retiring from the Marines. He finds that sanctuary the moment he drives through the Silver Star’s gate and meeting the lovely owner speaks to more than his soul. Will he open to the healing power of love?
Get Pamela Thibodeaux’s second chance romance novella today and see how love and faith conquers all. Kyleigh’s Cowboy releases 10/18, but you can preorder it today!
Award-winning author Pamela S. Thibodeaux is the Co-Founder and a lifetime member of Bayou Writers Group in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Multi-published in romantic fiction as well as creative non-fiction, her writing has been tagged as “Inspirational with an Edge!” ™ and reviewed as “steamier and grittier than the typical Christian novel without decreasing the message.” Sign up to receive Pam’s newsletter and get a FREE short story!
Hi Stacey, thank you for having me here! I’m excited to share about my newest novel, A Dim Hope!
A Dim Hope is a story about not giving up—about pressing on. In the book, Amber, the main character in my story, is faced with many challenges. Not only does she face emotional challenges, but she’s also actually fighting for her life in a man-against-nature type plot. It is hard, and she wishes things were different. In fact, more than once, she is given the opportunity to back out of the adventure she’s been handed—to give up and go back to “normal.”
Of course, the problem with giving up is she would be returning to a “normal” full of problems. If she faces her challenges head-on, she might find the answers she needs to fix some of her problems.
Isn’t this how it is in life? We can settle for the status quo, but we won’t ever see things from the mountaintop. Maybe we don’t even have a choice to settle. Life has thrown us mighty challenges, and we do not get the choice to “give up.”
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:14
It is my sincere hope and desire that A Dim Hope will give encouragement to Christians to keep going. Don’t give up! No matter the challenges we face, through God, we will always be victorious.
Does Amber find victory over her challenges? I won’t spoil the story for you, but I will say she finds more than she could ever imagine when her trials began!
Amber is in trouble. Her sister is dying—and so is her homeland. The Lifeforce stones that power their world are waning, and no one knows why. When the rulers of the land prepare a scientific expedition to study the place where the veins of the Lifeforce run deep, Amber is forced to travel as a servant with the expedition. Though Amber has longed for adventure, her dream always included her sister. Now her only wish is to return home with a cure before it’s too late.
Crops are wilting, food is scarce, and sandstorms, avalanches, and earthquakes threaten to doom the expedition. Besides this, there are more sinister forces at work. Quiet arguments and missing supplies lead Amber to believe their efforts are being sabotaged. She uncovers clues, but the real source of their trouble—and hope—lies in places she never expected.
About the Author
KATIE CLARK started reading fantastical stories in grade school, and her love for books never died. Today she reads in all genres; her only requirement is an awesome story! She writes young adult speculative fiction, including her romantic fantasy novel, The Rejected Princess, her Beguiled Series, and her dystopian Enslaved Series. You can connect with her at her website or on social media @KatieClarkBooks.
