Friday, October 06, 2017

Heartwarming Holiday Wishes


I've been talking about my PTA Mom Holiday Series the last week or so, but I'm not the only one with the holidays on my mind!  Some friends have a new holiday bundle coming out and Liz is stopping in for a visit to tell you about it.  I know I for one can't wait!! 

Thanks for having us here, Holly!
I so love that magic is part of this year’s Christmas Town theme. This seems weird to me because I do not embrace things paranormal. I am so pragmatic that I look askance at the color turquoise (one of my favorites) because, you know, it’s not a primary color and it takes several other colors to make it and sometimes it’s not how you imagine it, but then…oh, gosh, it’s beautiful.
          As is the magic that is Christmas.
          When I was a kid, I was sooo envious of the Christmases enjoyed by my more moneyed friends. They got dolls every year and it was always the ones that were most in demand. Their forays through the pages of Sears’ Wish Book weren’t necessarily trips in futility—they might actually get some of the things whose descriptions they circled carefully.
         I wanted to have money when I grew up—surely that’s where the magic was.
          When my husband Duane and I had our kids, we tried to make sure their Christmases were enviable. Not so they would be envied, but because we were such big kids ourselves. I’m almost positive we bought some of their presents because we wanted to spend Christmas Eve night after they went to bed playing with the toys before we wrapped them and put them under the tree. We found the magic again and again.
          It was there when my husband sat up with me while I finished sewing our daughter’s Holly Hobby dress.
          It was there when I drove past a grocery store where a Salvation Army officer stood out front in the freezing cold and played “Silent Night” on a trumpet.
          It’s there when we ring bells and watch people put money in the red bucket and say “Merry Christmas” over and over again.
          It’s there when we pay for bags of groceries for people less fortunate than ourselves and take angels off trees to fulfill the wishes of children we don’t know and send checks to organizations who make things possible in impossible situations.
          It was there the year my son-in-law and daughter bought ping pong ball pop guns for every person in our family and we spent the most hilarious half hour ever shooting each other and traumatizing the cat (who forgave us all—probably because we never shot her.) We still tell the story of my granddaughter, probably all of seven, saying, “I’ve got balls and I’m not afraid to use them.”
          The magic was on our country road the Christmas Eve we drove home through softly falling snow and had to come to an abrupt stop to allow a handful of deer—I’m convinced there were eight plus one with a red nose—to cross the road in front of us. Our kids sat spellbound in the back seat. We were pretty spellbound up front, too.
          The magic is in Christmas Eve church services, in story-time at the library, and in Hallmark movies. It’s there on the bridge with Jimmy Stewart in It’s A Wonderful Life. In the eyes of every child and adult who believes in it.
          But it’s never, not even once, been in the money.
          We hope you find the magic in Heartwarming Holiday Wishes. We loved writing our stories and planting our magic stockings.
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This holiday season, warm your heart with 10 connected sweet, clean & wholesome holiday romances set in Christmas Town from 10 Harlequin Heartwarming authors who are USA Today bestselling authors.

This collection of PG-rated holiday romances are all set in Christmas Town, Maine, a location introduced in the 2014 Harlequin Heartwarming release Christmas, Actually. A Heartwarming Holiday will bring you laughter, tears, and happily-ever-afters (no cliffhangers), for more than 1000 pages.
Santa's Secret Heart by Anna Adams
Merry Christmas Carol by Melinda Curtis
Miracle on Joyful Street by Liz Flaherty
Finding His FiancĂ©e by Christmas by Cheryl Harper
The Christmas Window by Tara Randel
Mistletoe and Holly by Leigh Riker
Gingerbread Girl by Carol Ross

The Christmas List by Anna J Stewart

A Case for Christmas Magic by Amy Vastine

Jingle Bell Love by Cari Lynn Webb
iBooks: Coming soon!

Harlequin Heartwarming author Liz Flaherty believes in all that Christmas magic she writes about—and really, in magic even when there aren’t any holidays involved! Her next Heartwarming, The Happiness Pact, will be out in December. You can find her at https://www.facebook.com/lizkflaherty (and she hopes you do!) or reach her at lizkflaherty@gmail.com .



20 comments:

  1. Thanks for the shout out, Holly! This is such a wonderful series to write in and a wonderful group of authors to write with - truly "Heartwarming."

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    1. It is the best of writing sisterhoods!

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    2. It's my pleasure! I always love having friends in for a visit!

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  2. Anonymous9:27 AM

    I am so excited to help celebrate Heatwarming Holiday Wishes and the amazing authors that make it possible to sit down with this collection of Heartwarming stories and be swept up in the magic of the holiday. My sister's and i were ones that were eagerly circling everything in the Wear Wish Book. My Dad worked for them! He had no peace starting in October as that was the first question that would greet his as he came in the door "Did you bring the Wish Book home Daddy?" What fun it was when it would come! No, we didn't get Every thing.Mom & Daddy grew up poor and they tried to make the holidays special and they did. I know when I sit down to read this #Heartwarming collection it going to take me back to the holidays of my childhood. Can not wait to celebrate with all of you on the 12th. Millie

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    1. Thank you so much, Millie. We all appreciate your support and your friendship!

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    2. Millie, I'm so glad you are celebrating the holidays early! LOL

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  3. Thank you so much for hosting us, Holly! Liz, I love this post. I hadn't thought about the Sears catalog in so long. Trips of futility indeed, Lol! I don't think I ever got anything from it but it was so much fun dreaming. And my Christmases were still magical.

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    1. It was a catalog to dream on, wasn't it?

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    2. Carol, It's my pleasure!!

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  4. Liz- I love your post - I believe in the magic of the season too! And now I'm doing an online search for ping pong ball pop guns because that sounds like something our family needs this Christmas. I love that. Thanks for sharing such a heartwarming post to get us ready for the holiday season!

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    1. Thanks, Cari. I have wished a hundred times that we had video of it, but I'm not sure that would have captured the magic. I will admit I was still finding ping pong balls under furniture an embarrassingly long time later.

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    2. Cari, I'm so glad you are getting ready for the holiday season...hope you find the ping pong ball pop guns!

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  5. Thanks for hosting, Holly! Liz - I used to go through and mark all the things I wanted in the Sears Catalog when I was a kid! I completely forgot about that. I also loved Holly Hobby. LOL

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    1. I did, too. Lots of circles in those catalogs!

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    2. My pleasure, Amy!!

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  6. I miss that Sears catalog, LOL. And yes, I think the older we get the more we realize all the "stuff" doesn't matter at all. It's the time and (hopefully) peace of the season. Great post!

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  7. Growing up living on a farm in Canada, we bought a lot from the Sears cataloge, and during Christmas time through the Sears Wish Book. Items would be delivered to the local depot which was much closer than the Sears store in the city.

    Enjoyed reading about all the Christmas memories for you. Very heartwarming! :)

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