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Catherine Castle

~ Romance for the Ages

Catherine Castle

Tag Archives: Christmas novella

Thursday Christmas Reads-Christmas on Ocracoke by Christina Sinisi

12 Thursday Nov 2020

Posted by Catherine Castle in Book excerpts, Christian fiction, Christmas Reads, clean romance, Holiday Reads, Romance, Sweet romance

≈ 6 Comments

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Christina Sinisi, Christmas novella, Christmas on Ocracoke, clean romance, Sweet romance, Thursday Christmas Reads

Christmas is coming and it’s time for Christmas Reads! I love Christmas, Christmas books, and Christmas movies. So For the next few Thursdays I’ll be sharing Christmas Reads, and some Christmas book excerpts, courtesy of the book authors, with you. First up on the holiday blog is Christina Sinisi with her sweet, inspirational  Christmas novella

Christmas on Ocracoke.

Welcome, Christina! Please tell the readers the origin of your Christmas book.

I’d be happy to share that story, Catherine.

Christmas on Ocracoke happened because of a series of lovely coincidences. First, my sister and her husband purchased a vacation home on Hatteras Island large enough for the whole family to spend holidays together without having to split time between hotels. The purchase actually happened last fall, but I was too swamped with grading to come over Thanksgiving. So, my first visit was for the week between Christmas and New Year of 2019. While there, I drove my mother and myself on to the ferry and we visited Ocracoke Island.

Ocracoke Island, for those of you don’t know much about the Outer Banks—and I was one of you, is the most southern inhabited island of the long, thin streak of islands that make up the Outer Banks. It’s only reached by boat and it was hit hard by Hurricane Dorian last September. Even though the hurricane had also come through the Charleston area, I’d put it out of my mind. Driving down that two lane strip of road on the island, the effects of unbridled nature were all too obvious. There were mountains of debris in several stacks, nestled between trees standing tall as if they’d shaken off the damage where silly humans couldn’t. My mother and I (and my sister, her husband, and daughter in a separate truck) drove to a restaurant I’d found in the little newspaper that advertised to be opened but wasn’t. It was boarded up and may never reopen. The beauty of the island and the harsh circumstances–I fell in love.

The story came about because the drive from Charleston to this little island that looks to be just above South Carolina’s border the way a pelican flies takes eight hours! I was stunned. The miles of bridges and the strips of land between the ocean and the sound–it truly feels like you’re going to another planet. It felt like anyone moving there would be starting a whole new life. Then, why would someone start all over like that? Why would someone move to what feels like the edge of civilization?

She would have to be running from something, or someone. Thus, Annie Hanahan was born. She has a son because there needs to be a really important motive and there is no stronger motive than protecting one’s child (writes a mother). Plus, I love having a child steal the show.

The hero is the man needed for the job in such a circumstance as a devastating hurricane. A man who can fix things and is willing to step up in an emergency. Trey lives there (in a house that strangely resembles my sister’s rental if you’d like to reserve a week) part time, and he is a man of faith who serves others. I don’t know about you, but I fell for him fast!

Christmas on Ocracoke

By Christina Sinisi

Reeling from the upheaval of a failed marriage, Annie Hanahan is desperate for a new start—and when she inherits a cottage on Ocracoke Island, she may finally get it. Without a second thought, she packs up and leaves everything behind: her first name, her job, and her ex-husband, because more than anything, she wants to get her son away. Maybe now she can get her son away from his father’s partying and neglectful ways. But when she arrives in the Outer Banks, she finds the island—and her promised refuge—ravaged by Hurricane Dorian.

When their parents died in a tragic car accident, Trey Kingsley dropped out of college to raise his sister. Now that she’s grown and moved away, it’s his turn to find a life of his own. As a contractor who has given so much of his time to helping Ocracoke recover from the devastation of Hurricane Dorian, it surprises no one when he offers to help the beautiful newcomer, but something is holding her back. Life keeps throwing them together, though, or perhaps God’s hand is giving them a nudge. Will a little bit of divine intervention be enough for a Merry Christmas on Ocracoke?

EXCERPT:

            Annie scanned what seemed like a deserted island at this time of night. Charleston was on the coast, but Hatteras was a different world. There was a stoplight a few blocks away, and a few shops had interior lights glowing, but overall, there was a sense of being at the end of the world.

            And Ocracoke was south, farther away from everything.

            She breathed in air pregnant with salt and moisture and let it go. James would be safe in the SUV while she dragged their suitcases upstairs. He slept with his neck at a jagged angle, his forehead heavy against the side of the car seat. Tenderness stopped her in her tracks for a minute, or maybe it was sheer exhaustion.

            The sound of tires bouncing over the speed bump at the entrance to the motel broke her out of her reverie. The man driving the extended cab monstrosity lifted his chin in greeting and parked a couple of spots down the line.

            Annie ducked her head and gathered James’s things. She lingered for a few seconds until she heard the truck door slam shut, waiting for the man to go inside and disappear. Hoisting the heavy diaper bag on one shoulder, she juggled her purse and overnight bag on the other.

            “Hey, let me help you with that.”

            The deep baritone caught her off guard, and she did a little dance, startled.

            “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. I just wondered if you could use some help carrying stuff. Promise I’m not a creep. I could just carry your bags to the top of the stairs, drop them off.”

            Annie narrowed her eyes. “How would you know my room is at the top of the stairs?”

            The man leaned against the cab of his truck, jean-clad legs outlined by the waving street lamps. He held out two hands, palms up in surrender. “Nothing diabolical. When I checked in earlier, the girl said the only room left after that was next to mine. Yeah, I know, she should never have said that, but she did, and she’s young.”

            Annie’s whole head dropped in shock. “She did what? I can’t believe.”

            The diaper bag slipped off her shoulder, and she almost lost the bag. The man crossed the gap between them with a few fast steps and caught the bag before it hit the ground. “Here, let me get that. I saw the car seat earlier, so I’m betting you want to get that little one to bed.”

            “Earlier?”

            “Yeah, has your foot dried yet?”

            “I’m sorry?” Annie knew she was tired, but this man couldn’t be the one who’d come to her rescue earlier. “That was you, back in Florence?”

            “Yeah, thought I’d get it out there. The coincidence is crazy. And I promise you that I didn’t follow you all the way here. I have a construction company, do work out here. Plus, I got here before you did.”

            Annie swayed where she stood. “Okay. This is weird. What’s your name? Did you say?”

            “Trey, Trey Kingsley,” he said and shifted bags to stick out a hand. “I’m working on a rental house, checked into the motel long term while I’m working. Jenny’s just got comfortable with me since I’m almost a local now.”

            “Nice to meet you, Trey.” She shook his hand, barely making physical contact. She’d play nice, get her stuff to her door, and then triple lock it with a chair propped against the handle. “Um, thank you for the help.”

            “You’re welcome.” He shifted the bags and stepped out of the way, waiting for her to retrieve James. “Normally, when one person gives their name, the other returns the favor.”

            “Oh, I’m sorry. I must be more tired than I thought. That last part of the drive was a killer.” She blinked at her horrible choice of words. She babbled to cover up her nervousness, which never worked. “I’ve never been here before, so it was actually a little bit terrifying, no streetlights, and the ocean right on the other side of the dunes like that.”

            Trey chuckled. “So, I don’t get your name? That’s okay, I get it. You don’t know me, midnight, cheap motel.”

            Annie’s mind blanked, and she stared at the hollows in his cheeks, shadowed in the dim street lights, and beyond all reason, she trusted him. “Sorry. Yes, all those things, but no. My name’s Annie.”

            “Good to meet you, Annie.” Trey gave a nod as if to emphasize the point and led the way up the metal steps, his work boots thudding with each riser. “I’m staying here because any remodeling work needs to be done in the off season. The rental houses are pretty booked up here in the summer.”

            Annie hesitated, not taking the leap to tell him why she was here on this chilly November night. “Well, this is my room. You can just drop the stuff there.”

            Trey grinned, and now in the brighter light, she got the full impact of his dark red hair and bright blue eyes. “Well, it was nice to meet you, Annie. If you need anything, I’m right next door in 202. Otherwise, I’ll see you at breakfast?”

            Annie fought to keep her eyelids from closing on her as she stood in place, hand clutching the doorknob. “I don’t know if I’ll make it. I may be sleeping in for a change.”

            Trey nodded, exuding charm and maybe mischief. “Well, on that note, I’ll be heading away from your door. Good night, Annie.”

            Annie found herself alternating between staring at James’s diaper bag and watching Trey walk away. She’d had enough southern charm to last her a lifetime, but it didn’t stop her from enjoying the view.

BUY LINK

In the meantime check out Christina’s other Christmas book on her

Amazon Author Page

About the Author:

A member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, Christina Sinisi writes stories about families, both the broken and blessed. Her works include a semi-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest and the American Title IV Contest in which she appeared in the top ten in the Romantic Times magazine. Her published books include The Christmas Confusion and the upcoming Sweet Summer, the first two books in the Summer Creek Series, as well as Christmas On Ocracoke. By day, she is a psychology professor and lives in the Lowcountry of South Carolina with her husband and two children and cat Chessie.

Connect with Christina at her Website/Blog: Facebook: Goodreads

Wednesday Writers Welcomes Back Patty Smith Hall

28 Wednesday Oct 2015

Posted by Catherine Castle in books, Christmas Reads, Wednesday Writers

≈ Comments Off on Wednesday Writers Welcomes Back Patty Smith Hall

Tags

A Home for Christmas, Author Patty Smith Hall, Catherine Castle's Wednesday Writers blog series, Christmas Mail Order Angel series, Christmas novella, Christmas romance books

PattyToday Wednesday Writers welcomes author Patty Smith Hall. For your reading pleasure today,  Patty has an excerpt from her Christmas book, A Home for Christmas. She’s also giving away an Ecopy of the book to one lucky commenter, so be sure and drop Patty a line after you’ve read her excerpt. I’ll choose a winner from the commenters on Tuesday, November 3 after 1 p.m. EST.

By the way, I love Christmas romances and will be featuring some beginning in November on my Holiday reads blog series.

Patty, before we delve into the excerpt, please tell the readers a little bit about  the book that is being showcased today. 

A Home for Christmas is a novella I wrote in the Christmas Mail Order Angels series along with Cynthia Hickey, Darlene Franklin, Gina Welborn and several others. Set in the mining town of Angel Vale, Wyoming in the late 1870s, the premise of the series is a promise made by one of the men to send for a bride from his mother’s hometown of Melville, Maine. Other men looking for wives join in and after several letters back and forth, a group of women arrive to meet and in some cases, marry their intended groom.

How did you come up with the concept of your novella?

Well, I always dare to be different! As I was reading everyone else’s stories(and by the way, they’re fantastic!) a seed of an idea popped into my head—what happens when the intended groom rejects his bride? The more I thought about it, the more I loved the idea but I had to come up with a believable reason why this man would reject Margaret Cobb after he’d paid for her travel expenses. Now, I love the wounded character—all of us are scarred in some way or another but Margaret’s problem had to be visible as well as emotional, something a person would notice in a heartbeat. So I gave her a port wine stain on her face that her father told her was her punishment for killing her mother in childbirth.

Ooh, I can see what kind of complications that could lead to. So, without any further delay, let’s check out Patty’s blurb and excerpt!

A Home for Christmas

By Patty Smith Hall

Is she cursed?

All of her life, Margaret Cobb has felt cursed, the port wine stain on her cheek a punishment for her mother’s death. But she dreams of a home and family. When the opportunity arises to be a mail order bride for a man in Angel Vale, Wyoming, Margaret risks everything familiar for her chance at happiness, only to be rejected once again. That is until assayer Avery Waldwin offers to marry her.

Or the answer to Avery’s prayers?

Avery Waldwin needs a mother for his young daughter, even if it means marrying a woman he’s never met. A marriage of convenience was all he’d hoped for, but there’s something about the kind, Godly woman that draws him to her. As the Christmas season approaches, both Avery and Margaret discover there’s only one present they each want—the gift of love!

 

 

EXCERPT FROM A Home for Christmas

 

“If you don’t want me, I understand.” Her fingers fumbled with the ribbons of her bonnet, then tugged it off, loose springs of honeyed blonde hair tumbling over her shoulders to her trim waist.

“Why would I. . .” His question trailed off as his gaze met blue eyes the color of the morning sky. Then his focus shifted, taking in the dainty slope of her nose, the too full lips, the tiny dimple in her right cheek.

Movement caught his attention and Avery followed her hand as she pressed it to her left cheek. “I know I’m not attractive but I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t stare.”

Avery blinked. Was the woman mad? Didn’t she have an idea just how lovely she was?

Margaret lifted her hand, her fingertips lingering over an area high on her cheek. A dark reddish purple spot stained her skin. Was this the ‘situation’ she’d spoken of? The reason Winslow had cast her aside? “Papa said this is my punishment for causing my mother’s death. So if you’d like to rescind your proposal, I completely understand.”

Avery watched her for a moment longer, a peace he couldn’t quite comprehend settling over him. Whether she knew it or not, Margaret Cobb was the answer to his prayers.

 

7cc4e0_900d010bb5d34c33811c79ec9f3f359aAbout the Author:

Patty Smith Hall is a multi-published author with Love Inspired Historical and Heartsong. She currently serves as president of the ACFW-Atlanta chapter and lives in North Georgia with her husband of 30+ years, Danny; two gorgeous daughters and a future son-in-love. Her new release, A Home for Christmas is now available on Amazon.

 

LINKS:

Webpage: pattysmithhall.com

Facebook: Patty Smith Hall

Amazon page for A Home for Christmas

Want to learn more about Patty? Check out her interview from an earlier visit to this blog.

 

 

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