It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (Reads) GIVEAWAY: The Evergreen Bride

today’s book: The Evergreen Bride

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 ONE WEEK away (How did that happen?!?) 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 book is a historical romance novella that i called ‘breathlessly romantic’ – plus author Pam Hillman shares the inspiration for The Evergreen Bride and its journey back to her.

THE EVERGREEN BRIDE
SERIES: A Mississippi Piney Woods novella
GENRE: Inspirational Historical Romance
RELEASE DATE: October 31, 2020 (re-release)
PAGES: 65

Mississippian Annabelle Denson dreams of visiting cousins in Illinois and seeing a white Christmas. In the face of her excitement, Samuel Frazier hides his growing affection for her behind a quiet smile and a carpenter’s lathe.

As her departure draws near, Samuel starts to worry that if she goes, Annabelle won’t return. Can he convince her to return to the Mississippi Piney Woods — and to him?

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by Pam Hillman, author of The Evergreen Bride

I’m a Mississippi girl, born and raised here. While Washington state is more readily known as the evergreen state, Mississippi could give Washington a run for her greenness. It would truly be a Christmas miracle for us to have a white Christmas. And that’s where the idea for The Evergreen Bride came from.

A few years ago, Barbour Publishing put out a call for Christmas novellas that involved some kind of gift, in the tradition of the 12 days of Christmas song. One of the suggested titles was The Evergreen Bride, and I was immediately drawn to the title and the idea of writing a story set in Mississippi, my home state.

The callout came across my desk on January 7 and one week later, I sent in my synopsis. Here are the first few paragraphs.

Pastor’s daughter and interim schoolteacher, Annabelle Denson, has always dreamed of a white Christmas like her Illinois cousin describes in her letters, but given the fact that Annabelle lives in Mississippi where snow is as scarce as hen’s teeth, she never expected her wish to come true. All she’s ever known are the tall, loblolly pines that stay green all winter long.

But her dream is on the verge of becoming reality. Her cousin has invited her to visit during Christmas. Will her short adventure turn into something more, and will she fall in love with one of the handsome beaus her cousin has mentioned in her letters? As she prepares for the trip, she’s blissfully unaware of the broken heart she’s leaving behind.

My proposal continued on, but I don’t want to give away any spoilers. Suffice it to day, my proposal was accepted and a few months later, I turned in my manuscript, the final version very close to everything I’d laid out in the proposal. Then later, I was able to write another story set in the Piney Woods, The Lumberjack’s Bride, where Annabelle’s cousin from Illinois comes to Mississippi. I pulled from Mississippi’s history in logging, strong men and women determined to carve a life out of the pine forest. Men and women living with the scent of pine needles crushed underfoot, the sweet nectar of honeysuckle, the soothing sound of a nearby creek. There’s just something special about sharing these stories from my neck of the woods with readers.

When I received the rights back to both these novellas, I decided to publish them as part of a collection called the Mississippi Piney Woods Novellas. I’m excited to bring my readers these two novellas again, along with more stories set in the Piney Woods in the coming months.

CBA Bestselling author PAM HILLMAN was born and raised on a dairy farm in Mississippi and spent her teenage years perched on the seat of a tractor raking hay. In those days, her daddy couldn’t afford two cab tractors with air conditioning and a radio, so Pam drove an Allis Chalmers 110. Even when her daddy asked her if she wanted to bale hay, she told him she didn’t mind raking. Raking hay doesn’t take much thought so Pam spent her time working on her tan and making up stories in her head. Now, that’s the kind of life every girl should dream of.

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Pam Hillman is offering an ebook copy of The Evergreen Bride to one of my readers! (Open internationally but 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 The Evergreen Bride by Pam Hillman?