In Time for Christmas

Romance in the Rockies #2.5

by Heather Blanton

Charlene needs a miracle. God has one waiting … a hundred years in the past.

In Time for Christmas -- a Novella, is the story of Charlene Williams, a woman trapped in a dangerously abusive marriage. Disappointed that God hasn’t gotten her out of it, or even hears her prayers at all, she has shut down emotionally. When husband Dale becomes suspicious of her daily chats with the mailman, he whisks her out of town and abandons her on his family’s ranch—an isolated, dilapidated place no one has lived on for over forty years. With the promise that he’ll be back in a few days, he knocks her unconscious and leaves.

Charlene wakes up on the ranch—a hundred years in the past. Almost instantly she is drawn to Billy Page, Dale’s great grandfather. The connection is powerful and mysterious, but should she risk falling in love with a ghost? What’s going on here? Is Charlene dead, dreaming, in a coma, or simply experiencing a gift from her heavenly father? She’ll learn one thing for certain: God does see the tears of his children.

Genres: Christmas, Time Travel, Christian, Christian Fiction, Historical Romance, Romance, Fiction

150 pages, Paperback

First published December 18, 2013

About the author

“Heather Blanton is blessed with a natural storytelling ability, an ‘old soul’ wisdom, and wide expansive heart. Her characters are vividly drawn, and in the western settings where life can be hard, over quickly, and seemingly without meaning, she reveals Larger Hands holding everyone and everything together.”
MARK RICHARD, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, AMC’S HELL ON WHEELS, and PEN/ERNEST HEMINGWAY AWARD WINNER

I write Christian Historical Western Romance. Yes, that often entails the use of firearms in a threatening manner. Sometimes there are fistfights. There may even be politically incorrect but historically accurate language. But also, there is always an inspirational message and strong allusions (at least) to the gospel.

A former journalist, I am an avid researcher and endeavor to skillfully weave truth in among fictional story lines. I love exploring the American West, especially ghost towns and museums. I have walked parts of the Oregon Trail, ridden horses through the Rockies, climbed to the top of Independence Rock, and even held an outlaw's note in my hand.

I grew up in the mountains of Western North Carolina on a steady diet of Bonanza, Gunsmoke, and John Wayne Westerns. My most fond childhood memory is of sitting next to my daddy, munching on popcorn, and watching Lucas McCain unload that Winchester! My daddy also taught me to shoot and, trust me, I can sew buttons on with my rifle.

I can be reached several different ways:

http://ladiesindefiance.com/
https://www.facebook.com/authorheathe...
https://twitter.com/heatherfblanton
https://www.pinterest.com/heatherfbla...

I am a proud member of Western Writers of America.

My novels are all Christian Western Romance because this is the genre that lets me write about strong, pioneer women and men who struggle to find God and then live out their faith in real ways. Like good old fashioned Westerns, there is always justice, a moral message, American values, lots of high adventure, unexpected plot twists, and more than a touch of suspense. Of course, romance is always a strong element in my stories because it is such a beautiful gift from God and a perfect reflection of how he loves us: sacrificially and lavishly. My stories aren’t preachy or cheesy, but I hope they are inspirational, heart-warming, realistic, illuminating, and glorifying to God.

Reviews

[Joleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute little novella about a woman who travels back 100 years.

Charlene had spent the last two years abused by her husband. When he takes her to an abandoned farmhouse that he recently inherited and left her there, he figured he'd come back in a few days to a cowed wife ready to submit to anything.

Well, things didn’t turn out quite like that. After being knocked out by her husband before he left, Charlene woke up in the same house but at a different time.

Good story. I’m not a fan of novellas, nor time travel in Christian fiction, but it kept my interest and the romance was sweet.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed a time travel story and this holiday novella didn't disappoint.

Charlene Williams is the daughter of a small town preacher, but she abandons the faith she grew up with in the face of a cruel and abusive marriage. When her husband leaves her to fend for herself at the ruined ranch house on his family's land, Carlene is sure she'll starve or freeze to death. Instead, she finds herself with her husband's family; more specifically, his ancestors. Over the course of a few days, Charlene comes to understand the miracle God has performed for her, bringing her to a place of refuge, healing, and rebirth. But what will happen when her husband returns for her?

In Time for Christmas is a short story about the power of faith and the strength of God's love. I'm glad I spent an afternoon in Heather Blanton's world.

[Anna Hurtt · Rating 4 out of 5]

What does time travel, inspirational romance, a wounded heroine, and an abusive monster have in common? This novella, of course! I've never read a book quite like this one, but I really enjoyed it. I loved the underlying message: God cares about our problems and will rescue his children, but only in his way and his timing.

I really liked the heroine. She seemed real and authentic... not a weak and powerless cut-out copy like some romantic heroines can be. The villain was believable and quite evil. I hated him thoroughly. I fell in love with the hero, of course.

All in all, an intriguing and enjoyable read. I highly recommend it.

[Karen Cornett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would give "In Time for Christmas" a 10 star rating if possible

Heather Blanton has become my favorite author. She writes with a perfect mix of intrigue, interesting twists, life's struggles, romance and best of all happy endings resulting in learning to trust in the Lord to work out His best in the lives of those He loves. I also enjoy the opportunity to learn more about the everyday struggles of those who lived so many years ago........before we became to civilized to appreciate what God has provided for us.

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this on the Kindle

This was a nice easy time travel book you have Charlene being abused by her husband who takes her & leaves her at an old family ranch & she goes back in time to 1903 where she meet his Great Grandfather & she sees the difference between them even if they do look alike

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tough and touching novella that has time travel, forgiveness, sweet romance, and ultimately getting back into God's embrace. First time reading this author's work, loved the cover and the story :)

[Anna Bowling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trigger warning for emotional and physical abuse.

This story has a lot of things I love to find in historical romance. Our heroine is a domestic abuse survivor, and much of her journey involves her relationship with her abuser, a relationship that is ongoing at the start of the tale. There's also time travel, present to past, my favorite direction for this trope, and especially at Christmas, yes ma'am, I am there. There's also an inspirational element that, while not intrusive, is strong, steady, and deftly handled. While this is a part of the author's Romance in the Rockies series, it's billed as a standalone, and I was pretty okay with that.

I may not be the target audience for western historicals, but I do love seeing characters whose faith plays an integral part of the story, and I definitely saw that here, both for our modern day heroine, Charlene, and our early twentieth century hero, Billy, as well as his grandmother, the sprightly Miss Kate. The author's love of the Colorado setting shines through, and there were enough hints about the other stories in the series to be intriguing rather than infodumps, which I greatly appreciated. I may have to mosey over in their direction next time I have a taste for the home and hearth flavor that Ms. Blanton does well.

While I would have liked to see Charlene being more proactive regarding her situation at the start of the story, Ms. Blanton nailed the experience of a survivor in the thick of the abuse. Dale, Charlene's abuser, could come across with broad strokes at times, which I can accept in a novella better than in a novel. My favorite part was the epilogue, where Charlene really did end up having it all, an achievement she definitely deserved. Perfect read for a cozy Christmas season's afternoon, so grab an afghan and some cocoa and enjoy.

Three and half stars.

[Julie Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS by HEATHER BLANTON
Loved the summary of this book and the beautiful cover pictured.
Story starts out with Charlene and she's married to a businessman, Dale. He's beat her ever since they got married. She ran back to her family and when he came to get her he told her he'd beat his family if she ever ran away again.
She's endured two years with him now and has had it-she wants to go home for Christmas. He takes her-gives him time to spend with his lady friend, but he abandons her with no food, clothing or water. He brought her to the Page ranch-his family's ild dilapidated place.
As he leaves he hits her and she falls, hits her head. When she comes to she's at the ranch but 100 years earlier. Love hearing how the grandson, Billy tends to the ranch with others and his grandmother Miss Kate. She fits right in helping them all out and she prays Dale never finds her...
Story goes to the future and he had forgotten to get her a few days after he dropped her off-it's been over a week now.... Miss Kate had also been in the same circumstance so she told Charlene she could stay as long as she needed to. Bily takes a shine to her also..
Love the detailed descriptions of the ranch itself, buildings and how they even tend to the garden. Had to look up a few words to find out what they meant as I had never head them-priceless! - love a book that teaches me things.
She opens up to their questions and answers them truthfully. Life and death matters and miracles are explained in the Bible!
Charlene's not seen her parents in years and she knows what she has to do to end the suffering...other works by the author are highlighted at the end.
I was given the book by Book Fun (The Book Club Network) and here is my honest review

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, it was once again cover love. I was intrigued by the woman on the cover, her dress and the beautiful house in the background.

No, I was not prepared for Charlene’s story. This novella dives right into the thick of things.

Charlene is the daughter of a pastor, and married her husband in a rush. Everything changed after that. The abuse set in, both verbal and physical. To top it off, Dale thinks she’s having an affair with the mailman! To say the least, he’s beyond certifiable.

Charlene has secluded herself from her family since her marriage. She no longer goes home for the holidays, and in fact rarely keeps in touch with them. Dale has a threatening hold over her that makes contact with her family rough and difficult.

Dale’s plan is to drop Charlene off in the middle of nowhere on his family’s dilapidated, rocky ranch where there won’t be another soul for miles, let alone heat and food. Something about being at the Rocking J sets Charlene in the past, and it is most definitely a strange blast from the past. She comes face to face with Dale’s grandfather, Billy Page, and sets off a chain of events that sets even Dale on the edge of fear.

I hated Dale, with a passion, as did Billy Page. It was odd having Charlene blast into the past and set off a ripple effect in time, revealing to Billy the horror that is his grandson even though Billy doesn’t know that little detail. All he knows is that he wants to beat the crap out of Charlene’s husband…and he gets his chance. It seems the time travel is not limited to just going back in the past…

[Patricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a novella--like 150 pages or so. Just a heads up in case you don't notice that sometimes. I don't really like novellas but this was long enough to tell the story. There were things I liked about this story and things I didn't like at all.

What I liked:
It was a clean story.
I liked the characters of Billy and Miss Kate.
I like time travel, speaking generally and not specifically.
The Bible reference was interesting. I had not taken notice of its possible time travel-ish interpretation before.
I guess having God effect the time travel was OK.

What I didn't like:
This story had a lot of potential but didn't live up to it. I can't even put my finger on it.
[SPOILER] Technically, even if the marriage was a fraud (and I didn't quite catch how that could be even if the preacher had a bankrupt church since he was still a preacher?), Charlene did not know that nor did she know her husband was killed at the end. However, she goes on to marry Billy. Not a really Christian theme.
It was very weird to me how Miss Katie even surmised that Charlene was from the future. In fact, I thought perhaps I had paged past something in my Kindle and so I went back carefully over the pages. Of course, once she disappears from the kitchen without a trace, THAT may have given cause to wonder. Prior to that, it was just too vague for my taste.
The premise that Charlene had no escape from the abuse except to time travel with God was an unsettling idea and not very empowering for any abused women who may find themselves in that circumstance.
This was a dark story.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hadn't read this author before this, but I won't hesitate to do so again. I enjoyed the book immensely. It was well written, the characters were well developed, the storyline was good, couldn't see any big problems with editing. Nothing that I could find fault with. I've read a few time travel books in the time travel genre, however this one had a little "twist". Interesting and I loved it. The fact that Charlene was a "preacher's daughter" but could still make mistakes was a real plus for me. It shows that everyone is human. The book does not "preach" at you, but instead tells a story with a lesson we all can learn. I'll definitely be reading more of Miss Blanton's books as I like her writing style. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys romance and time travel especially, however I think that almost everyone would enjoy it.

[Barbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

[4.25 stars] I don't like cheesy time travel premises, but this was thoughtfully done and believable in the same way as Jack Finney's "Time and Again." The Christian element was not heavy-handed at all, but rather sincere and authentic, and the dialogue was really natural for the most part (there were a couple of phrases of Charlene's that struck me as a tad cliché). The characterization of both Dale and Billy seemed spot on, and I could practically feel the evil lurking under Dale's façade and picture his nasty sneer. I was both surprised and impressed by the way the tension was resolved. I won't spoil it but suffice it to say, that's not how I thought it would go! In short, "In Time for Christmas" is a lovely quick read that will fit perfectly into any snowy afternoon (or morning, or evening) this Christmas season.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spectacular!

What a great book! This is a novella, a short book. It's the story of Charlene a modern woman married to Dale, an abusive husband. Dale takes Charlene to his great grandfather's old ranch in the middle of nowhere, without food or supplies and leaves her there to "break" her. All of a sudden Charlene finds herself transported into the past, in 1903. There she finds Billy Page and his grandmother Kate on the ranch in its hat day. Charlene then learns the ways of that era and is happy with Billy and Kate. But alas it's not to be and she's transported back to her own times. It takes her through prayer and believing in herself to deal with Dale when he comes to retrieve her. The book has a wonderful ending and I won't divulge all that happens. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a good, clean book.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the things I love about Christmas stories is that they aren't shy about miracles. The miracles in this book are big ones. It requires some suspended disbelief, but that's the fun of it. The book starts out with a heroine in extreme danger. I won't go into detail except to say there's violence in the book that may be more edgy than readers of a sweet romance are looking for. It didn't feel gratuitous, though. Those concerns aside, this book is a quick read, well-written, and very original. It also has a satisfying ending, which can be hard to come by in a shorter novel. If you enjoy both contemporary and historical Christian romance, this one's a two-fer!

**As with all my reviews, this review is based on how well a book met my expectations and my own taste as a reader.

[Daniela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping tale.

This is the first story that I read of this kind. At first I did not realise that Charlene time-travelled and I was a little bit confused. However, after I realised that fact, I started liking the story more and more.

The Christianity aspect was a plus in this tale.

Was not expecting that kind of ending though. I can't say that I did not enjoyed it, but I was imagining something else.

[Diane Estrella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good storyline and I liked how the author found a Biblical Scripture to "support" time travel. Clever and suspenseful.

There were scenes included in the book which depicted spousal abuse but not graphically and not gratuitously. They were there to explain the gravity of the abuse being suffered by Charlene and the danger she was in.

I "purchased" this book on Amazon when the author offered it to readers for free. Yeah me!

[Judy A. Ptacek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Time travel

Beaten and abused by her husband Charlene only remained in the marriage because of the threats of his to kill her parents or another person from her hometown. To punish her for asking to go home to see her parents for the holiday, he abandons her at his ancient farm house. She falls back a hundred years. I won't spoil the story by telling all but she gets pulled back. I recommend reading this time travel story.

[Joan Arning · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate to give a book this low a rating but I stayed confused during the book. It takes the main character back and forth between today and 100 years ago. I would have thought she was mentally ill but at the end, her parents were included. I thought the book was totally weird! Someone who enjoys time warp stories would probably enjoy this book.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short time-travel Christmas story

Overall good Christian Christmas novella.
A few typos here and there that I overlooked.
It was excessively violent in a few places for my tastes.
I bought it for free so it was worth the download.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book

What a wonderful Christmas story that combines time travel and love in a fantastic way. The way God and his love for was woven through the story was exceptional. You must read this book.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this for free from Kindle unlimited (like my new favorite thing ever) Anyway, It was a pretty solid read I liked how she leaned on her faith in God but they only new each other for a few days and she is willing to leave her family? Kind of a stretch for me to believe.

[LOIS C. RAWSON · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is a good one

Written and thought about by the frontier world I had a hard time following the story. It's a good one once you get the hang of it. The spiritual theme does come through.
.

[Donita Corman]

I enjoyed this unusual story. It had my attention from the start. .It left me wondering if Charlene was in a coma or if she lost grips with reality..she was an abused wife and was this time travel a coping mechanism or did God show her a way to true love?

[Elise Blomberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick read. A lovely, romantic Christmas story - time travel with a Christian twist. This is the first book I've read of Heather Blanton's and plan on reading more.

[Tammi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I've been on Heather Blanton reading binge and this novella does not disappoint! It ties in with the Defiance Series in such a creative way. I highly recommend this author and all the books she writes.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book and most of the characters. The subject was a little different than what I've read before.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a sweet time travel romance. It does have a message concerning domestic violence. Love going back in time.

[Phyllis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this story, but just couldn't.

[Deloris Mercer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

Thank you Msn. Blanton for a refreshing and surprising book. Characters are good setting is great, some surprising twists. Look forward to more from this author.

[Cat Bras · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice book. I really enjoyed the story line and the characters. It was kind of hard to swallow the abuse scenes but in the end of the story, I was happy with the outcome!