I’ve written three Christmas novels so far – well – four, technically, as I’ve just finished my Christmas 2019 release. And I usually end up writing them during the summer months. So, I think I qualify as a Christmasaholic.
Quite simply, I LOVE Christmas. But that doesn’t mean every single one has been perfect. We had the year that chicken pox meant we had two very poorly children indeed. And the first year after my Dad died. My tears plopped down onto my Christmas dinner plate as I ate, knowing nothing would ever be quite the same again.
As in life, Christmas can’t always be full of laughter and happiness. But having experienced the sad times is precisely why the excited inner-child within me wants to trim up on the first of December. And keep alive the things that have become traditions in our family.
It’s never about the presents, although buying things for the kids is always fun. It’s standing in the kitchen making homemade mince pies, and alternative ones because I hate mincemeat.
And the memories. The year our fully-decorated, six-foot tall blue spruce tree decided to topple over and I rushed to stop it. Painful.
The first year the whole family came to me for Christmas dinner and the duck looked half-raw, so we had cold pork instead. And the year the turkey was attacked by a neighbour’s cat as it sat on the window sill, cooling.
Sitting around the dinner table pulling Christmas crackers and telling silly jokes at the tops of our voices because my partially-deaf uncle forgot to put in his hearing aid.
After attending midnight mass one year it began snowing as we walked home. That was truly magical.
We end up having three Christmas celebrations now, because our family is spread around the UK. I’ve discovered that Christmas isn’t just for the 25th of December. It’s about the spirit of the thing – goodwill to all men and the memories you make. And that comes from your heart, not in a nicely wrapped box. Or a delivery from the supermarket.
I hope everyone has a truly wonderful Christmas. But if this year turns out to be your Christmas from hell, focus on getting through it as best you can. When you come out the other side pick a date and have an alternative celebration. Cheesy Christmas hits and all. Then set your sights firmly on next year!
Snowflakes Over Holly Cove by Lucy Coleman
Published by Aria on September 18, 2018
Genres: Adult Fiction — Christmas, Contemporary, Romance
Add to Goodreads • Amazon • B&N
The perfect Christmas romance for fans of Karen Swan.
As the snowflakes start to fall, the village of Holly Cove welcomes a new tenant to the beautiful old cottage on the beach…
For lifestyle magazine journaist Tia Armstrong, relationships, as well as Christmas, have lost all their magic. Yet Tia is up against a Christmas deadline for her latest article ‘Love is, actually, all around’…
So Tia heads to Holly Cove where the restorative sea air, and rugged stranger Nic, slowly but surely start mending her broken heart.
Tia didn’t expect a white Christmas, and she certainly never dared dream that all her Chiristmas wishes might just come true…
Set in Caswell Bay on the stunningly rugged Gower Coast, the cottage nestles amid the limestone cliffs and the woodlands; the emotions run as turbulently as the wind-swept sea.
As cosy as a marshmallow-topped cup of cocoa, fall in love with a heart-warming festive story from the bestselling author of The French Adventure.
About Linn B. Halton
From interior designer to author, Linn – who also writes under the pen name of Lucy Coleman – says ‘it’s been a fantastic journey!’
Linn is the bestselling author of more than a dozen novels and is excited to be writing for both Aria Fiction (as Lucy) and Harper Impulse (as Linn); she’s represented by Sara Keane of the Keane Kataria Literary Agency.
When she’s not writing, or spending time with the family, she’s either upcycling furniture or working in the garden.
Linn won the 2013 UK Festival of Romance: Innovation in Romantic Fiction award; her novels have been short-listed in the UK’s Festival of Romance and the eFestival of Words Book Awards.
Living in Coed Duon in the Welsh Valleys with her ‘rock’, Lawrence, and gorgeous Bengal cat Ziggy, she freely admits she’s an eternal romantic.Linn is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and writes feel-good, uplifting novels about life, love and relationships.
Read a chapter from each of her novels here! | Linn on Twitter | Lucy on Twitter
Facebook | Amazon Author Pages: Linn B. Halton and Lucy Coleman
Giveaway
A surprise Christmas parcel from Linn is up for grabs this month!
The parcel includes a book, a bauble, and chocolates!
