It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (Reads) GIVEAWAY: A Star Will Rise – A Mosaic Christmas Anthology II

today’s book: A Star Will Rise

Welcome to another post in my annual blog series spotlighting new and recently-released Christmas reads! (Over 50 this year – And I’m SO EXCITED about it!)

Christmas is only NINE days away (Yes that’s right – we’re in the SINGLE DIGITS now!) and I think we all could benefit from some extra Christmas cheer this year, right? Continuing through just before Christmas, I’m going to spotlight several new/recent Christmasy releases. So… snuggle in, grab your fave hot beverage and comfiest blanket, turn on some Christmas tunes and start your bookish Christmas list! Oh… and did I mention there are GIVEAWAYS with EACH POST in this series??!! (Because authors are awesome!)

Today’s first book is a collection of Christmas stories by The Mosaic Collection authors -and all 7 authors share some heartfelt thoughts on their contribution to the anthology.

A STAR WILL RISE
SERIES: A Mosaic Christmas Anthology #2
GENRE: Inspirational Christmas novella collection
RELEASE DATE: October 6, 2020
PAGES: 411

Christmas should be a time of wonder and expectation, but what if tragedy, illness, family secrets, or betrayal strip away every belief in what the future holds? And in a good and loving God?

When circumstances beyond their control dramatically alter their lives, can broken, betrayed, and disillusioned people rediscover their faith and come to see that God’s plans are far better for them than the ones they had imagined for themselves?

Brenda S. Anderson | A Christmas Homecoming
Eleanor Bertin | Love and Unexpected Stress Responses
Sara Davison | Sixty Feet to Home
Regina Rudd Merrick | The Twelve Days of Mandy Reno
Angela D. Meyer | Returning to Christmas
Marion Ueckermann | One Christmas Wish
Candace West | A Garland of Grace

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Also available to read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

by the authors of A Star Will Rise : A Mosaic Christmas Anthology II

A Star Will Rise is The Mosaic Collection’s second Christmas anthology. It’s available in paperback and ebook on Amazon at bit.ly/AStarWillRise.

An early review:

As a general rule, I don’t care for short stories; however the short stories in A Star Will Rise break that rule all to pieces. I loved every single one from the first through the last in the collection. They are filled with grace, redemption, reconciliation, and forgiveness. There’s even a little romance sprinkled in. They are all well-written with great characters. I will admit to getting a little teary-eyed in some, but it was because of the tender feelings that they evoked, not sadness.  I highly recommend this whole collection. 

I received a complimentary copy, but I pre-ordered one too.  I chose to write a review and share my opinion of this outstanding collection of short stories.

Lisa Stillman

Brenda S. Anderson – 

Here’s a teaser for A Christmas Homecoming, A Coming Home Series short story:

“Our love story is definitely not typical. It began on a day not unlike this one, when your grandfather was on his way to propose to his girlfriend. Only two weeks later, he proposed to me.”

Intrigued? I hope so! In this story, those of you who read Pieces of Granite and other books in my Coming Home series will recognize the main characters, Marlene & Bernie Brooks, the parents of Debbie, Ricky, & Marcus. They needed their own love story, and it ended up surprising me!

What has recently taken you by surprise?

Eleanor Bertin –

Expectations can be wonderful—like the expectation, kept for thousands of years, that God would keep His promise and send us a Saviour. And expectations can turn sour, if they’re based on faulty thinking or fear. This Christmas, Mosaic’s Christmas anthology A Star Will Rise carries the theme of Expectation.

In my story, readers of my novels will recognize Anna, a 60-something widow and her son Jesse, who has Down syndrome. When I wrote Jesse into my first novel, Lifelines, my own son with DS was only a young teen. Now Timothy is 23.

Love and Unexpected Stress Responses is based on a message I received last November from my neurologist-nephew, about new research that could lead to a treatment for Down syndrome. I found my own expectation for Timo’s future all bound up in fear of change and an unknown future. Naturally, I inflicted my own angst onto my poor unsuspecting character, Anna Fawcett, giving her an anxious month of December.

But not to worry, God soothes her fears and by the end of the story, she’s facing an entirely different kind of expectation—this time a very exciting one!

Sara Davison – 

God and Jonas Kendall have plans for his life. Big plans. When those plans come to a crashing halt one night, so does Jonas’s faith in a good, caring God. Which is kind of a problem since he is the pastor sent in to fill the pulpit in a nothing church in the nowhere little town of Elora for the month of December. Could be a really long Advent season …

Those of you who have read Lost Down Deep or my stories in the other two Mosaic anthologies will recognize the little town of Elora, which is the setting of this story. A few old friends may pop in to say hi as well. The theme of A Star Will Rise is expectation. Jonas has great expectations for his life and all He thinks God has planned for him. When those plans don’t come to fruition, his faith is severely tested as he questions everything he has believed to be true about God and about himself.

Have you ever been sure that God had a plan for your life and then it didn’t work out? How did you deal with that? Is there a Scripture verse you have found helps you to trust in God and His plans even when you don’t understand them?

Regina R. Merrick – 

Have you ever had your expectations to come crashing down on you? It’s even worse when it happens at Christmastime!

God has a few things to teach law-student Mandy Reno when things just don’t seem to be going her way. She is stuck at her grandparents’ house in her tiny hometown of Clementville, Kentucky, studying virtually and working part-time at the local diner due to a global pandemic. When she realizes that her parents, on a mission trip to Brazil, are unable to get home for Christmas for the same reason, Mandy’s expectations of what might be her last Christmas “at home” are ruined. Young Sheriff Clay Lacey attempts to make it up to Mandy—but will she see it for the gift it is, or run for the hills when she realizes who is behind twelve days of surprises?

Also in the RenoVations series, you’ll recognize characters from my story “RenoVating Christmas” in Hope is Born, the anthology from last year, and from my novel, Heart Restoration: RenoVations Series, Book 1.

Do you remember when Christmas changed for you, as an adult? It’s not fun, and Mandy wants to hold on to the Christmas feeling that her mom brings every year. She has to learn, as do we all, that Christmas isn’t about who is with us, but who we’re celebrating!

Angela D. Meyer – 

I love the feeling of anticipation for the season that reading Christmas stories brings. Don’t you?

Here’s the teaser for my short story, Returning to Christmas.

When Josie’s abusive husband is killed in a car accident, the landlord threatens to collect rent from her by any means necessary. Josie flees with her son to a promised haven in another city, but the offer is retracted before she arrives. With nowhere to go, will Josie find the courage to live a life without fear and return home in time for Christmas to the family she left eight years ago?

Have you ever persevered through a seemingly insurmountable obstacle and found your hopes fulfilled?

Marion

In One Christmas Wish Marion takes us to a place that has recently grown dear to her heart… the beautiful West Coast of South Africa!

Can one start over by disappearing?

With a change of identity for both herself and her infant son, Delaney and Aidan Jamison flee a bad situation to start a new life far away from everything they love. Soon, they settle into a relaxed lifestyle in a small town on the western coast of South Africa. Well, as relaxed as Delaney can be while looking over her shoulder every day.

Then came those fanciful wishes made on a shooting star with her kind—and handsome—neighbor that first Christmas Eve. And everything changed. Again.

Candace

Have you ever visited the Rocky Mountains of Colorado? My short story, A Garland of Grace, will take you there in The Mosaic Collection’s latest Christmas anthology, A Star Will Rise.

About A Garland of Grace:

The season of giving has robbed Ivy Brentwood. In an instant, her world screeches to a halt when her parents place a letter into her hands. A letter written by a stranger. Her twin sister Holly.

Hurt and disillusioned, Ivy wonders how she can heal when another part of her is missing. 

Will the season hold a gift that goes beyond any Christmas gifts imaginable?

Our theme in this anthology is expectation. At Christmastime, expectation seems tangible—the fellowship, family gatherings, the Christmas plays, the carols, and the stories of Jesus’ birth.

Sometimes disappointment shatters our expectations, but then grace steps on the scene. A helping hand or a kind word can restore hope to our hearts.

Who has God used to make a difference in your life?

click on each author’s headshot to learn more about her!

The Mosaic Collection Facebook Readers’ Group

The Mosaic Collection authors are offering TWO print copies of A Star Will Rise (one to keep, one to gift) plus a $20 Amazon gift card to one of my readers! (US/CAN only for print – ebooks if international winner. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.) This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

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What about you? What makes you want to read A Star Will Rise by these 7 fabulous authors?