Christmas Magic and a Christmas Giveaway for You

A Small Act of Grandparent Bravery

I got extraordinarily brave Saturday. I was keeping three of my grandkids including my twin grandsons who at the age of six must drink high energy water every morning when they pop out of bed. That energy doesn't run out until about fifty "go to sleep" orders have been issued well after dark. That wasn't the brave part. The brave part was that I took them to our local town's Christmas parade. It helped that my other son and his family was there to help me keep an eye on the kids.

A Small Town Parade
 
I was a bit concerned disappointment awaited in the wings when, before we left home, one of the boys started talking about how we might be on television. Not until he mentioned seeing the big balloons did I realize he was thinking we were going to be on the sidelines of a parade like the Macy's parade he'd watched on Thanksgiving. Their cousin, my older grandson, and I tried to ratchet down their expectations without totally stealing their excitement. 

We found our viewing spot in front of one of the churches, and then had to wait for the parade. And wait. And wait. Waiting is not what these two kids do best! Plus, it was cold. Before we spotted the police cars' flashing lights or heard the marching band's drums, the boys were ready to give up on the parade ever coming and call it a night. But I persevered. I'm good at that. Maybe eventually they will be too. 
 
Do we see Santa?

Finally, the police cars came, sirens sounding to lead the parade. The kids spotted Grinch on one of the floats and the Nativity scene on another. Santa finally showed up too, riding on a firetruck. My daughter-in-law took this picture as the boys were peering ahead to catch sight of Santa. Kids are such fun at Christmas time. And even better, when we took them to church Sunday morning and our pastor asked the kids why we celebrated Christmas, one of the boys was eagerly ready with the answer, "to celebrate Jesus being born."  

A New Christmas Contest


Christmas is a great time for thinking about giving and so time for me to have a Christmas Giveaway Contest. If you get my newsletter, you may have already read all about it and entered. I sent out the newsletter Friday to share that my book, Christmas at Harmony Hill, was a free download for twenty-four hours. The free is gone, but the e-book price is reduced for a while longer if you would like to check it out at your e-book provider. Christianbook.com also has the hardback copies at an even cheaper price.
Amazon Kindle
Nook Books 
Christianbook.com

If you'd like to get my newsletter (more book freebies and contests are on the horizon) and aren't signed up, just let me know or sign up here. 

The newsletter also let readers know about my Christmas giveaway. Since many of my books deal with family relationships, I picked the lovely three generation figurine above for first prize. Plus the winner will get his or her choice of one of my autographed books. Second prize is the Peanuts perpetual calendar with smiles waiting on every day and also the choice of one of my books. To enter, you can leave a comment here with a way to contact you via e-mail or Facebook (without this important information I can't find you should you be a winner) or send me an e-mail (annhgabhart at yahoo dot com) and I'll throw your name in my giveaway hat. Any e-mail will do, but for fun, you can tell me your favorite thing about the Christmas season. Deadline for entries is midnight EST December 31. You must be 18 to enter and have a USA or Canadian mailing address. Next time, I'll come up with something not so hard to mail to include you international friends.

Last Week's Winner of the Christmas Stories

Carolann won last week's giveaway - the Christmas stories. Rose McCauley's Christmas Grace, and my Christmas at Harmony Hill. Thanks to all of you for your comments. It's always fun hearing what you have to say.  

Chance to Win a Couple of Christmas Books

Do you like Christmas stories? 

Rose Allen McCauley visited my blog on Sunday and we're giving a free download of her new book to someone who comments on her guest post or tonight's post. I'll draw for the winner Sunday, and so far the odds are very good. Along with Rose's book, you can win a copy of my Christmas Shaker book, Christmas at Harmony Hill. (An autographed print copy.) If you don't have an e-reader, Rose says her book will soon be available in print as well. So answer one of the questions on the post tonight and join in the giveaway fun.

The Greatest Christmas Story

The greatest Christmas story is straight from the Bible in Luke and Matthew. Luke tells about the angels giving the Good News to the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks about the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger and Matthew has the story of the visit of the Wise Men. In spite of every church Christmas pageant you've ever seen, the Bible doesn't say how many wise men came to visit Jesus, only that they brought three gifts. But three works pretty well when you're assigning parts for those Christmas plays at church. 

Did you ever have a part in a Christmas play at your church?

Maybe you were a shepherd or a wise man or an angel in a Christmas play. Could be you were picked to be Mary or Joseph or even one of the sheep or other animals. I love Christmas pageants. I don't think I was ever an actor in one, but I've helped with a lot of them with my kids and the other kids in the church. 

I want the kids to tell the old, old story every year wearing those fuzzy, too long wise men and shepherd robes. I want to see the angels draped in white sheets with tinsel halos and cardboard wings that always end up a little crooked before the great announcement is finished. At our church gathering tonight, we were saying how little girls were always the angels. Yet in the Bible any time an angel is actually named, it's a man's name and often described as men, like the men Abraham fed in the Old Testament before they told him he would have a child in the next year and Sarah, eavesdropping, laughed. In spite of all that, we decided we couldn't imagine little boys doing the angels' parts in our Christmas pageants. They much prefer the shepherd role or bringing the gifts. 

What's your favorite carol?

My husband says all the carols are hard to sing and I guess he's right. He's the singer in the family. I just try to make a joyful noise and maybe that's why I like "Joy to the World." It probably is the easiest carol to sing. You can belt that one out pretty good.  But I like them all. They tell the Christmas story in song. 

I hope you get the privilege of having the Christmas story told to you by a cast of children. I've seen many and I have never been disappointed in the story they tell. 

Remember, leave a comment to have a chance to win Rose's download and a paper copy of my book. And make sure to include a way to contact you. 

As always, thanks for reading.

Cows, Pigs and Dogs and a Captive Audience

The Mystery Revealed 

 The guesses were fun. All of you were ready to be out on the farm. And I finally fooled some of you. That made me smile. But a few of you were right. It wasn't a cow. Or a pig. My daughter-in-law knew who it was on first glance, but she privately messaged me her guess so as not to mess up the fun. Above is the "rest of the picture." Meet my neighbor dog, Roxie. She's a sweet dog but she does have a drooling problem and when she shakes her head you have to dodge those "slingers."

A Cow Picture for the Cow Guesses

For those of you who guessed cow, here are the color cows we have. But I could almost see what you were seeing in the mystery photo. Almost. I was really expecting somebody to say panda bear. Maybe I need to go look at a panda bear picture myself. And the pig guesses, well, there are black and white pigs, but I don't have any pictures of those.

On to the Winners

I did draw for the two winners of Orchard of Hope. Susan from CA and Mary Preston. So far I haven't exactly been able to contact them. I'm having trouble with that lately. But I have sent Susan a Facebook message and I'm hoping Mary will send me a message on Facebook or leave a way to contact her in a comment here. If I don't hear from them, I'll draw more winners next week. 

Meanwhile - You Might Win Christmas at Harmony Hill

You can hop over to WFBC Media Center Blog to read my Christmas themed interview there and leave a comment on that that blog for a chance to win Christmas at Harmony Hill. I shared a couple of recipes too. One for the Christmas punch my aunt made when I was a kid and I've carried on the tradition and another for Hummingbird Cake. Don't ask me why they call it hummingbird cake. I have no idea!

A Captive Audience 

Tomorrow morning I'm going to one of my granddaughter's school and talk to some school kids. That's why they're a captive audience. Their teacher will insist they listen to me or at least I hope they will. Two first grades, two second grades and two fifth grades - in three different sessions. I love talking to kids but I'm a little worried I won't be able to keep their attention for the time the librarian has scheduled for me. And three sessions is a lot of talking. I'm hoping I won't let my second grader granddaughter down. Pressure's on! Prayers appreciated!  

 

Christmas at Harmony Hill Celebration Giveaway

I sent out a newsletter Sunday. If you're on my newsletter list you already know about my new celebration giveaway, but if you're not, you can find out about it here. 

I'm celebrating my birthday and the September release of Christmas at Harmony Hill by giving away some prizes. The book is in stores and available online. I do hope you will enjoy the story when you get a chance to read it. Back to the giveaway. For the prizes, I picked Shaker Christmas decorations - what else? 1st prize is the "Hands to Work; Heart to God" ornament and one of my books (winner's choice). 2nd prize is the mini-quilt hanging with embroidered Christmas trees (13.5" by 16") & a copy of one of my books. (Again winner's choice.) 

Then my "never win" prize for those of you who say you never win is a lovely book about tea, a Melody Carlson Christmas book and a copy of one of my books. To enter you can e-mail me from my website or leave a comment here with a way to contact you if you happen to be one of the lucky winners. Remember to tell me if you're one of those "never win" people. I know the feeling. Deadline for entering is midnight EST September 30, 2013. Contest open to residents of the United States and Canada and those 18 or over.

For fun, you can share a favorite birthday memory and in the weeks ahead, I'll share a few of them forward if you give permission. I've got some good birthday memories to share too. While I may not enjoy counting up my birthdays, I still love having them. The last few years I've had to celebrate my birthday at the National Quartet Convention. At least my husband has plenty of booths to look for a last minute present for me. One birthday, a few years ago, he bought me presents at a truck stop on the way home from one of the Patriots' concerts. Actually, I really liked the t-shirt with Labrador dogs on it. And the truck stop sack made good wrapping paper too. LOL. 

I've already gotten a lot of neat birthday memories from those of you who get my newsletter. Some of the stories have made me smile. Some have made tears pop up in my eyes. Here's one of the smiling memories from Sandi. 

My best birthday memory is when I was soon to be 17.  My birthday is in July and I was working as a waitress the summer before my senior year.  I'd had a horrendous day at work and wanted to go home and go to bed--or hide under the bed or just die (teenagers are sooo dramatic). My two best friends showed up just as I got home and they insisted that I go "out" with them. I refused to clean up or put on new make-up--I had cried on the walk home and I looked rather dreadful, but after much coaxing (and threatening from my mom who had joined the discussion for some reason), I decided to join them. My friend Ruth said she had to stop at her boyfriend's house to pick up something and I assured her I'd be the one in the car..."Jim" came to the door and insisted I come inside. I was pretty worn down by then so I went in...surprise--all of my best friends and some I didn't even like were inside and they all screamed "happy birthday" in unison. Fortunately, my mom had packed a bag with make-up and fresh clothes in it and had secretly given it to one of the girls. 

And now we hear from Donna about how we can't know what tomorrow holds, but we can cherish the good times we have with family. 

My best birthday had to be two years ago. My family (daughter, son-in-law and 2 grandkids) were away on a camping trip on my birthday. My sister ... invited me and my boyfriend over to celebrate my brother-in-law's birthday. Unknown to me, it was not only my brother-in-law's party but one for me too. Out came a separate cake for me with candles, and they all sang Happy Birthday, and even had presents. My sister had invited her kids and grandkids to this party and it was a wonderful, birthday surprise for me. Little did we know that a year later my sister would be fighting for her life battling cancer. She's had surgery, radiation and is doing better.  So, thank you Big Sister, for everything.  I love you. 

Donna's sister's name is Diane, so if you have a minute, whisper a prayer her way. I do so appreciate all the prayers you've whispered my way and my mother's way as her dementia steadily worsens. Prayers are powerful. 

Thanks for reading and I hope you'll join in with my giveaway fun and come back for more stories in the weeks ahead. And if you don't get my newsletter and would like to, just let me know.

Ready, Set, Go - Winners Picked!

"Good things come to those who believe, better things come to those who wait, and the best things come to those who don't give up."

This is Riggs, my son-in-law and daughter's dog. They picked him as a pup because he seemed to be the quietest and listened the best. He must have been on his best behavior that day because he's rarely been quiet or still since. Here he's watching me waiting for me to throw a stick for him to fetch. See his paw up - ready, set, go. 

But you know, I think we can learn a few things from Riggs. First, he's always ready for a good time. Second, he can have fun with whatever stick he might find, whether it's no more than a twig or a branch he has to break down to size. Third, he keeps his focus. He'll stand like that and watch the stick he brought you or the ball he wants you to throw for long minutes until you know what? You pick it up and throw it. Then he's gone like a flash to bring it back to you and start the whole cycle over again. He never seems to get bored at doing what he does best - fetching. 

It's time for me to be ready, set, go on a new story. I've found the stick (got the idea). Now all I need is the belief that the stick (the story) is worth pursuing and the focus to keep my eye on that story. I need to keep trying to do what I do best and that is tell a story. 

Meanwhile, thank you all so much for leaving comments this week and entering my drawing for a copy of Christmas at Harmony Hill.  I used Random.org to choose my winner. And the winner is -- Central East 2. (I'll be sending you an e-mail, Central East 2, to get your mailing address and then will send your book.) And because I had so many wonderful entries and because nearly all of you said you liked Christmas novels, I got in the Christmas spirit in August and picked a second winner. Linda McFarland, you're my extra winner this time. (Sending you an e-mail too, Linda.)

I also have copies of Small Town Girl to send out to the winners over on Seekerville. Had a great time talking to everybody over there about books and writing. 

Now you can read about my experience of having my first child on Lyn Cote's Blog. And guess what? You can leave a comment there to have another chance to win Christmas at Harmony Hill. It's such fun to give away books and I'll enjoy hearing what you have to say about my post on Lyn's site.

Thanks for reading. Oh, and if you want a smile about Riggs, go to my Facebook page and see his video. :)

 

 





 

That Winning Feeling - A Shaker Christmas is Here

When the delivery guys bring me a carton and I open it to see a new book spill out, I feel like a winner. So I'm giving away a copy of the just arrived Christmas at Harmony Hill to share that winning feeling. Keep reading to see how to enter your name in a drawing.

As a fiction writer, I spend day after day with my fingers on a keyboard and my mind in a world that doesn't even exist, putting words into the mouths of imaginary people. Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever get the story told.
But then that great day comes when the new book lands on my doorstep, all dressed up in its beautiful "meet the world" clothes. 

Yesterday I got to experience that fun day with my Shaker Christmas book, Christmas at Harmony Hill. The official release date is September 15, a birthday present for me, but it could be the book is going to sneak into stores a few days or weeks early. I personally am not going to admit to being a year older until the actual day, so the birthday is not coming early. Just the book. LOL. 

I've never written a Christmas novella before. I've had Christmas scenes in my books. One in Orchard of Hope, the second book in the Heart of Hollyhill series. That reissue will be out in another month. I love having books come out, but this year it's kept me hopping. I also wrote a Christmas scene in the Rosey Corner book I just finished. All kinds of interesting things can happen around a Christmas tree or in the case of the Shakers, in a Shaker village.  

The Shakers didn't do elaborate Christmas celebrating back in the 1800's. They generally had a worship service where they received imaginary gifts - thing like robes of love or baskets of blessings. But before Christmas they had a day sometimes called Sacrifice Day and other times called a Day of Atonement. On this day they were to seek out and ask forgiveness from any person they had wronged in the past year. They were also obligated to forgive and forget the wrongs done to them. I used that in my story as both of my characters, Sister Sophrena and Heather, had people in their lives they needed to forgive. 

I do hope readers will enjoy going back to Civil War times for my Christmas story. One of you can get an early copy to read since to celebrate these books showing up on my doorstep, I'm giving a copy to one of you who comments on this blog. I'll draw for a winner on Sunday. That will make two Sundays in a row I'm giving something away. Last week my mystery picture winner was Ann M. who said she wanted either Words Spoken True or Small Town Girl. I'm having trouble deciding which one to send her. Decisions. Decisions. Anyway, this week maybe you'll be the lucky winner. I won't have to decide which one to send you. You'll get Christmas at Harmony Hill. :) 

Just leave a comment. You can tell me if you've ever read a Christmas book. I'll be guessing that you haven't read a Christmas Shaker book - yet!

I'll also be giving away a book to someone who comes over to my guest post on Seekerville on Friday, August 23, and leaves a comment there. I'll be giving away Small Town Girl. That's a lively site with lots of comments, so I'm looking forward to talking to the readers there.

I always look forward to talking to you here. Thanks for reading.  

Mysteries and a Winner Revealed

 Those mystery photos turned out to be a lot of fun for me. The guesses were very creative. Most all of you got the first photo right. But Sarah said the one thing she was sure of is that it wasn't a fence. I guess she thought I'd be sneakier than that. Judy guessed that it was a fence and a book cover. So she was seeing "the whole picture." It's the picket fence on the cover of my coming Shaker Christmas novel, Christmas at Harmony Hill. That little dab of red must have given it away to Judy. 

The guesses you made for photo two were the most fun. Here's some of them: peach, two dogs or cats lying next to one another, a purple cone flower, a horse's back end, an elephant's back end (somebody thought I was brave to take that photo, but I can sort of see that elephant), a cow's tongue, and then those of you who must have been licked by plenty of dogs' tongues and recognized Oscar's tongue. It might have been a bit more mysterious than most dogs' tongues because Oscar's tongue has those black splotches. Fun guesses all and got my imagination going seeing what you were seeing. Having a hard time seeing that peach, though.  

And now the last picture. It fooled most of you, but a few of you got it right. There were some interesting guesses on this one too. Sandi guessed those buckeye shells like the photo I posted on my Facebook page not long ago. Great guess, Sandi, but wrong! It's a walnut. One person said she could almost smell it.  Black walnut outer shells have a very strong odor. 

Two people guessed all three mystery photos. And now the winner of my drawing for a choice of one of my books --Ann M. I'll be in contact, Ann. Tonight things are difficult as I'm at Mom's house and the modem here decided to give up the ghost. Finishing this on my iPhone. So please forgive the centered type. I have no idea how to fix that.  

Thanks for joining in with my mystery photo fun. We'll do it again sometime, just as soon as I go to the zoo and get those elephant pictures. :)