New Christmas Story Free on Kindle December 8 - 12

 

From December 8-12, my new Christmas story, The Christmas Quilt, is free on Kindle. 

After her husband suddenly died on Christmas nearly three years ago, Laura Fontaine lost her holiday spirit. She lives alone with her rescue dog, Scout, and her only goal is to reach January, when life can return to normal. But when her teenage granddaughter, Gabby, comes for a two-week visit, Laura’s plan for a quiet December falls apart. In an attempt to bond with the young woman she barely knows, Laura teaches Gabby how to quilt, helping to stitch her own heart back together in the process.

While several of my books include Christmas scenes, I’ve long wanted to write a Christmas story. In the middle of October, I decided this was the year. It probably would have been better to decide that earlier in the year! But the characters moved into my brain (as characters are prone to do) and I started writing feverishly whenever I had a free moment to tell their story.

My preferred way to write stories is to do it longhand in a notebook or journal and then type. There was no time for that with this project. Most of it was written on my laptop, but a good chunk was done on the Notes app on my phone whenever I found myself waiting for a few minutes. I’m thankful to God for giving me the time to write it. I finished the draft on Thanksgiving, then edited it, created the cover, and uploaded it to Amazon on December 2nd.

It’s terrifying to put a story out into the world. What if people hate it? I don’t do well with rejection. I’m also horrible at selling my stories. I see other authors online who are really good at it, but I find it hard to ask people to spend their hard-earned money on something I wrote. There are so many good books in the world, and this book will not change your life, but if you enjoy Christmas stories and/or books about quilting, you might like it. I had fun writing it, and I hope some people enjoy reading it.

If you download it while it’s free or purchase a copy, I would be very thankful. Every time someone reads my stories, it gives me some encouragement to keep writing.

Wishing you many Advent/Christmas blessings! 

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Purchases made after clicking a link help support the author. Thank you! 

 

Free Sample: 

One

 

Laura Fontaine sighed as she looked at the wall calendar, which featured a cheery Christmas scene. She used to love Christmas, but ever since her husband, Steven, had left this world Christmas morning nearly three years ago, the season had lost its luster. She still went to church, still was thankful for Jesus’ birth, still sent gifts to her grandchildren, and donated to the toy collection for children in need, but her heart wasn’t in it. She was just going through the motions. The lights and ornaments and songs that used to bring her such joy now only made her hurt, reopening the wound of grief that had managed to scab over the rest of the year.

They had gone to bed that Christmas Eve the way they always did, with an “I love you” and a kiss goodnight, but when she woke in the morning, she found him on the floor of the bathroom, and no matter what she did, she couldn’t wake him up. The autopsy said he had a massive heart attack. They assured her that there was nothing she could have done to save him, but how had she not heard him fall? She should have been there with him. He shouldn’t have died alone. When he left, part of her died as well. The next day, she had packed up all the holiday decorations and shoved them in the basement. They hadn’t seen the light of day since. And now, the spirit of Christmas that the world embraced during December only served to cause her pain.

“Well, nothing to do but get through it,” she remarked to her faithful brown and white canine, Scout. “In less than a month, it will all be over, and life can go back to normal.”

 She emptied a can of cream of potato soup into a bowl and put it in the microwave to warm up. Freezing rain pelted the window over her kitchen sink. The greyness outside her home in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, matched her mood. There was only enough light to see the ice sticking to the trees. The road was becoming a skating rink. Fortunately, she had already spread ice melt on her stairs and walkway in the hope that it would help prevent those areas from icing over completely. Liam, the sixteen-year-old boy from next door, would come over and shovel in the morning if it got too bad. He mowed her lawn in the warm weather as well. She paid him, of course, but he was helpful to have around. She didn’t know what she would do when he went away to college.

“I’m sorry, Scout, no walk for you this evening.” The dog whined in response. “Oh, don’t give me that,” she said as she rubbed his floppy ears. “You had a walk this morning. You will be fine.” She would have to put him outside later to do his business, but that would be the extent of her travels for the rest of the day. She had her soup and a novel to read. Maybe she’d work on her quilting for a bit. She and Scout would have a cozy Friday evening at home. All would be well.

She went to fill Scout’s bowl with food. He sat patiently until she gave him the signal to go eat. He was a forty-pound hound mix she had found at the shelter two years earlier. She had done her best to train him and help heal him of his traumatic background, but he could still be a handful. It didn’t matter. There were only the two of them in the house and she loved him. He had rescued her as much as she had rescued him. He gave her a reason to get out of bed in the morning.

She took her soup out of the microwave, topped it with cheddar cheese, and added some oyster crackers before sitting at the table. She put her hands around the bowl to warm them, said a quick blessing, and then picked up her spoon. She was about to take her first bite when her phone began to ring.

It’s probably a spammer, she thought as she made her way to the kitchen island where she had left her phone. Everyone she knew well was aware she preferred to text. She reached her phone and saw the caller ID. Rachel. Her thirty-nine-year-old daughter lived in Virginia. They usually spoke only about once a month and had talked on Thanksgiving. Oh no, what’s wrong? She took a deep breath and answered the call.

“Hi, Mom, how are you?”  

“I’m good. We’re having a bit of an ice storm here, but Scout and I are doing fine.”

“That’s good . . .” Rachel’s voice trailed off. Laura’s heart beat loudly as she waited for her daughter to get to the reason for her call.

The silence hung on the line. Finally, Laura said, “How are you?”

“I’m good. Everything’s good…Busy. Work. Gabby. There’s never enough time. I wish there were two of me.” Rachel offered an awkward laugh.

“I understand. I used to wish that too.” She remembered those years of not having time to breathe, but then everyone left and life became too quiet. “How is my granddaughter these days?”

“She’s actually why I am calling. I was hoping you could do me a favor. I know it’s a lot to ask…”

“What is it?”

“Well, my job wants me to go to New York to their corporate headquarters for a couple of weeks until Christmas. It’s a big opportunity for me. It might mean a promotion and more money. They will have training and networking events. I really need to go.”

“Well, yes, it sounds like a good opportunity.” Laura knew Rachel worked hard to support herself and Gabby, especially since her ex-husband was out of the picture. “What do you want me to do?”

“Would Gabby be able to come and stay with you for the duration? I figured we could meet at Bradley Airport. You could pick her up there and then I could get a flight to New York. I’m sorry. I know this is short notice. I don’t have anyone else to ask and I don’t want to leave her on her own for that long.” She paused. “She has been a bit challenging lately. Maybe it will do her some good to spend some time with you.”

I don’t even know her. Laura looked over at her wall of photos. Rachel had faithfully sent her a school photo of Gabby every year and she watched her grow up in her daughter’s Facebook posts, but the last time she had seen her in person was when Rachel and Gabby had come up for Steven’s funeral and they had barely spoken then. Now, Gabby was fifteen, almost sixteen. What am I going to do with a teenage girl for two weeks?

“I already cleared it with her high school.” Rachel’s words broke into Laura’s thoughts. “They are going to let her do her work remotely.”

“Oh, that’s good.” I hadn’t even thought about school. “Well, yes, of course. I’d be happy to have her. When will you be heading up here?”

“They want me in New York on Monday. I know this is terribly short notice. I figured we could fly up Sunday.”

Oh my, that soon? Laura nodded. “Yes, the weather should be better by then.”

“I’ll text you the details once I’ve made the flight arrangements.”

“Sounds good.”

“Thanks so much, Mom. I love you. See you soon.”

“I love you, too,” Laura said as the phone went silent.

 Her stomach churning with nerves, she took her now lukewarm bowl of soup, poured it into a storage container, and put it in the fridge. Maybe she would feel like eating tomorrow. Scout looked up at her expectantly. She handed him a dog treat. “Well, buddy, it looks like you and I are going to have some company.”