Carol's Choice: A Western Christmas Carol by Kimberly Grist

After the deaths of her mother and stepfather, twenty-year-old Carol Stone finds herself in reduced circumstances with two younger siblings to care for. The suggested marriage of convenience is out of the question, so she stalls for time. When Carol learns she is the sole heir of a small home in Carrie Town, a newly expanded railroad village, she throws caution to the Texas wind and packs her bags.

Though warned of the extreme change in lifestyle, she’s shocked at the smallness of the Sunday House. And why didn’t she think to ask about indoor plumbing?

Leaving her lifestyle of shopping, lavish parties and holiday endeavors for a simpler life is a temporary solution until she can make a match of her own design. Carol struggles to let go of the past, embrace the present, and hope for a better future. What she doesn’t bargain for is the handsome livery-stable owner, who understands the true meaning of family and Christmas. Will love conquer lavish?

File Size: 4251 KB
Print Length: 116 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1082358932
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Forget Me Not Romances, an imprint of Winged Publications (July 22, 2019)
Publication Date: July 22, 2019
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B07VL5NP6K


Purchase here!

Task it Tuesday - Nov 12

Originally created by The Geeky Blogger, Task It Tuesday is a weekly meme to help you--and me--get things done. The challenge is to post a task or list of tasks you want to complete before next Tuesday. These tasks can help you with your blogging life, reading life, personal or professional life.

In checking, September 24 was the last time we had a Task it Tuesday. I would say I've been a bit distracted. :) This is what the list looked like then:

• Daily Bible reading
• Exercise four times a week (never happening, but the doctor says so)
• Blogging
• Get the yard ready for winter
• Clean the house
• Finish cleaning my office
• Get 6 hours of sleep a night
• Edit a manuscript
• Compile additional content for the hardcover release of A Christmas Kindness in 2020

What did I accomplish?

• My Bible reading has been a bit more sporadic than I would like, but several times a week I am spending time in the Word. This will require some additional discipline in 2020.
• I have not exercised and I have gained a tiny bit of weight. I need to consider a plan for how to use my barre, the cookbooks, and the workouts I have here to exercise regularly; if for no other reason than to help me be in better shape in case I need to defend myself while out showing houses. 
• Blogging is fairly regular, but you'll see big gaps when I got so busy I barely slept. I've decided to stop populating my Christian book blog for a while. I will use this blog to post about those titles. I need to better focus my activities.
• Made good progress on the yard, but the vegetable garden still needs to be taken care of. Might try that this week. 
• My office is CLEAN!!! It took almost three days, but my closet is free of stuff I don't want; my TBR pile has been organized and I donated some books; all my real estate supplies now fit in the closet with the overflow of books in boxes; and I can see my floor. 
• My sleeping habits have definitely improved, but I still abuse myself a couple times a week and stay up too late.
• Finished that manuscript. Now, I am waiting for the copy to come back from the publisher so we can catch anything that might have been missed.
• Some material has been put together for A Christmas Kindness. 

Here is this week's task list:

1. Daily Bible reading
2. Exercise twice
3. Get 6 hours of sleep at least 5 nights
4. Start editing a new manuscript
5. Blog
6. Complete two pages of additional content for A Christmas Kindness
7. Prepare for a closing

What are you working on this week? Anything you need to stay focused on to complete?

Mailbox Monday - Nov 11

Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.

We are somehow at Monday again. This week we are expecting a bit of the wet and white stuff. Doubtful it will be much, but thankfully the leaves are picked up and the trampoline mostly dismantled for the season.

Since I was kind enough to myself to take a weekend off, I began the task of cleaning my office. I've done little pick ups here and there, but now that I am treasurer for two organizations and am sick and tired of boxes of books stacked in my upstairs hallway, I need to deep clean and organize.

These are magazines I saved for two decades for some crazy reason. They are getting recycled.

I've stopped most of my subscriptions because I never get around to reading them. Why waste the money?

My office closet floor is totally empty right now. That hasn't happened in I don't know how long. I'm going through the boxes of books to make sure I want to keep everything in them. If not, they are making their way out to the library. 

I won an Amazon gift card from a company event and used it to pick up three new books. Two arrived on Sunday.

I am expecting the final one tomorrow. 

On this Veteran's Day, I wish to extend my sincere thanks to all who have served our country. May God bless you and your families. I was thrilled to hear President Trump proclaimed November as National Veterans and Military Families Month. 

I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Mailbox Monday - Nov 4

Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.

Welcome to the first Monday in November. The air has turned cool and crisp here. We had our first frost this weekend. In some ways, I'm glad. I love the fall scents that carry on the wind as I travel around town and visit houses. In other ways, it seems like I've run out of days in the year to accomplish goals I set in January. Some have been met, some are close to done, and some are too far away for me to imagine the end of the year will bring success. Such is the story of life these days. I'm proud of what I've accomplished so far.

In my reading world, I've tried to be kind and not request too many books for review. There are days I've stumbled, but overall I didn't do too badly. Bookworms can never have enough books anyway.

Here are some digital books I recently acquired:

I love children's books, so these will be fun reads. Look for my reviews at The Children's and Teens' Book Connection.

Hope you have a blessed week.

Mailbox Monday - Oct 28

Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.

Welcome back to Monday. I thought my schedule would loosen up a bit, but it didn't. A new listing, a charity event, showings, preparing for two closings this week, and blogging at the 4RV Reading, Writing, & Art News and the Christian Children's Authors blog did not allow for a lot of free time. Oh, I managed an open house, a company meeting where I won an Amazon gift card, an educational panel on crumbling concrete, two doctors appointments, and an oil change and tire rotation on the car too. Where did making supper and doing laundry get done? Who knows, but somehow it came together.

I'm so thrilled that one manuscript I was editing is now done. I can't wait to see this book hit the market. I'm glad to know the author is working on a sequel.

My mailbox held a few treasures this week. I love seasonal titles. No one needs to give me an excuse to read one of Karen White's books either. Challenge is I haven't read the previous two books in the Tradd Street series; so now I need to decide if I read this one anyway or go back and read the others first.

I was asked to give a reading of my book, A Christmas Kindness, at an upcoming Christmas event at a local church. I ordered 25 copies, but didn't want to go too crazy. The publisher is re-releasing the softcover next year under my married name (I used my maiden name on this one) and also is releasing a hardcover version in 2020. I'm working on the additional material for the hardcover right now.

That's it from my neck of the woods. How about you? Any seasonal offerings in your mailbox? It is definitely that time of year.

New Release: Western Christmas Wishes by Brenda Minton and Jill Kemerer

Two tales of holiday homecoming.

Spend the holidays with family in these two Western novellas!

Home is where the heart is in His Christmas Family when Laurel Adams comes home and discovers a foster kid and a seriously charming horse trainer living on her grandmother’s ranch. And in A Merry Wyoming Christmas, single mom Leann Bowden is starting over when she and her daughter are rescued from a snowstorm. Might the dashing cowboy be the Christmas gift they’re dreaming of?

Series: Love Inspired
Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Love Inspired; Original edition (October 15, 2019)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1335479511
ISBN-13: 978-1335479518

Click here for online retailers!

Mailbox Monday - Oct 7

Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.

Miss me? I disappeared for a bit, but it wasn't intentional. I shared some of my crazy calendar in this Task it Tuesday post. Here are more goings on:

• Took on a new editing project.
• As a result of the book promotion workshop, I also picked up a new client looking for editorial development.
• Listed a new property.
• Attended the WriteAngles Conference and met with an agent. She wants me to tweak some of what I wrote and submit it to her. Happy dance!!!
• I'm working on additional material for A Christmas Kindness, which will be released in hardcover by 4RV Publishing next year. 

This week I will be taking the next step in my real estate career by studying for my broker's license. 

Not much reading going on lately, but I picked up this book at the conference.

What was in your mailbox? Anything exciting you like to share?