It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (Reads) GIVEAWAY: The Christmas Bargain (+ Q&A)

today’s book: The Christmas Bargain

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 FIVE DAYS away – and only three days left of the Christmas Reads Giveaway after today. I hope y’all have enjoyed this year’s book spotlights and guest posts! And we’re not quite done yet! 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 contemporary romance with an accidental fiance – plus I chat with author Lisa Carter about her new book!

THE CHRISTMAS BARGAIN
SERIES: Truelove Matchmaker #5
GENRE: Inspirational Contemporary Romance
PUBLISHER: Love Inspired
RELEASE DATE: November 1, 2020
PAGES: 184

She needs a date for a wedding.

But a fiancé wasn’t part of the plan…

Unwilling to attend a wedding alone, artist Lila Penry makes a deal with Sam Gibson—art lessons for his adorable niece in exchange for being her date. But their Christmas agreement becomes a nightmare when everyone thinks they’re engaged. All Lila wants is to leave town for her dream job…so what happens when Sam steals his way into her heart?

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I am so delighted to welcome Lisa Carter to the blog today to chat about The Christmas Bargain! If you’ve never had the chance to meet this sweet author in person, you are really missing out!

Lisa: Apples—I’ve inherited the best apple pie recipe with a fool-proof homemade crust. I’m willing to share.

Carrie: yum! I think you need to be passing that along 😉

Lisa: Coffee and Tea—I’m an equal opportunity caffeinator. I love exotic coffees. I collect them during my travels. My favorite is Kona. Every afternoon, I take a break from writing and have tea o’clock. In December, I’m drinking my favorite minty Christmas tea by Stash called “Christmas Eve.”

Carrie: ooo that sounds so cozy!

Lisa: Netflix

Carrie: We may have to subscribe to Netflix one of these days again …

Lisa: North Carolina has both—why must I choose? I like the ocean in the winter when I practically have the Outer Banks to myself. I love the mountains spring, summer and fall. Nothing beats the tapestry of leaves on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Carrie: Yes! Exactly. Georgia (our new home state) is very similar.

Q: Around here I like to say that reading is my superpower. If YOU had a superpower, what would it be?

Lisa: Soooooo, Carrie . . . I asked my children this question about me. This is what they came up with—mindreading because I always seem to know what people, i.e. them, are thinking. Or a close second, I have a ninja like sneakability. I can be on the perpetrator of misdeeds before you even know I’m there. And then there was the whole teacher look/death glare thing . . .

Carrie: hahahahaha i love this!

Q: If you knew you were only going to be allowed FIVE books for the rest of your life, besides the Bible, which five would make the cut?

Lisa: So like you mean I’ve inherited a castle in Scotland? Or I’m embarking on an adventure around the world with Indiana Jones?

Carrie: Yes. Exactly. LOL

Lisa: I don’t read a lot of non-fiction, but an absolute must would be Randy Alcorn’s Heaven. I grew up reading Mary Stewart. I adore Catherine Palmer’s Treasures of the Heart series set in exotic locations I yearn to visit. And did I tell you about how I collect children’s picture books like Jan Karon’s Miss Fannie’s Hat or Barbara Cooney’s Miss Rumphius?

Wait. You said FIVE? For the rest of my life? Yeah. Sorry. That’s not going to work for me. Do you even know me?

Carrie: HAHA!! Yeah it’s a horribly unfair question. Who came up with that anyway? Oh yeah… lol (PS – I collect children’s picture books too & I ADORE Miss Rumphius!)

Q: Do you have any strange writing habits/quirks?

Lisa: I have to know my characters very well before I can visualize/hear them in my head. As with most writers, the normal ship sailed without me a long, long, long time ago. 🙂

Just so you know, the characters don’t talk to me—that would make me psychotic. They talk to each other in my head. And their story unfolds like a movie reel in my mind while I type as fast as I can to capture it.

Carrie: Oh yes, talking to each other in your head is so much different than talking to you 😉 LOL

Q: What surprised you about The Christmas Bargain or your characters as you wrote their story?

Lisa: Lila and Sam were so funny together. I had such a good time writing them. And researching resort destination, winter wedding venues.

Carrie: I love winter weddings!

Q: Some authors like to hide little things in their stories. Is there anything you have hidden in The Christmas Bargain? 

Lisa: My previous series with Love Inspired was set on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Just to amuse myself, I’ve inserted hints of characters from that series into the Truelove Matchmaker series as walk-on players. You’ve got to really be paying attention to find them, though. Let me know when you do. 🙂

Carrie: oh how fun!!!

Q: What do you most want readers to take away from The Christmas Bargain?

Lisa: The heart of this story is about learning to believe what God says about us.

Rather than trusting God’s desire was for her good, Lila thought she knew better and tried to ensure the outcome she desired. But her attempts only made the situation worse. And almost cost her everything. On their journey of faith, Lila and Sam learn to embrace the truth about themselves and the truth of how God sees them.

I struggle with that, too. Sometimes, I find myself listening to the negative voices around me. All too often, I’ve believed lies about myself, instead of believing the truth of what God says about me.

But God never lies. He loves me. He is faithful. And God is so very, very good.

This is why I wrote this story. It is my prayer that readers will walk in truth. The lies of the Enemy seek to steal our joy, to rob us of our hope for the future, and to destroy the truth about who we are in Christ Jesus.

I pray that we will no longer give place to the lies we have believed about ourselves. But we will see ourselves as God sees us—as His beloved, precious children.  May we always live in light of the happily-ever-after for which we’re truly made.

Carrie: All my yeses to this! Amen ♥

Thank you so much for taking time to talk with me! 🙂 Before we say goodbye for today, tell us what‘s coming up next for you.

Lisa: I just turned in book #7 in the Truelove Matchmaker series set in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Christmas Bargain, book #5, came out in November. Please be on the lookout for A Chance for the Newcomer, book #6, which releases May 2021.

In the meantime, my youngest daughter got engaged, so I will be planning a wedding for next autumn. I’d also love to be able to work on several in-progress romantic suspense projects in my virtual drawer. Stay tuned.

I’m looking forward to a lovely family Christmas. Wishing everyone a happy Christmas, a healthy New Year and the all the books your heart can desire in 2021.

Multi-published, Daphne and Carol-award winning author Lisa Carter likes to describe her romantic suspense novels as “Sweet Tea with a Slice of Murder.” Her latest suspense novel, The Sound of Falling Leaves, released in October.  In addition, she writes contemporary romance with Love Inspired, the popular Matchmaker series, set in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. Lisa enjoys traveling and researching her next fictional adventure. When not writing, she loves spending time with family. A native North Carolinian, she has strong opinions on barbecue and ACC basketball. In the interests of full disclosure, she’s also the kind of person who licks the icing off the cupcake first.

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Lisa Carter is offering a print copy of The Christmas Bargain to TWO of my readers! (US only. 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 Christmas Bargain by Lisa Carter?