Love Inspired Historicals discussion

Hello everyone! Karen Kirst here. We are hosting our December authors this coming week, and I hope you will all be able to pop by for a few moments despite the hectic holiday rush. We have some wonderful books out this month, so it will be worth your time. :)

On Tuesday, December 15, Winnie Griggs will kick off the Q&A with her book The Holiday Courtship .

On Wednesday, December 16, Linda Ford will be here discussing her latest release, A Home for Christmas .

On Thursday, December 17, join Jo Ann Brown in discussing her book Her Longed-For Family .

I look forward to seeing you all next week, and I hope you are having a wonderful Christmas season. :)

Good historical books and authors, I have all these books and read Linda's but others to read , will still stop by as love the see everyone,thanks for sharing.Merry Christmas.

Sounds fun! Looking forward to it.

Looking forward to this.

cool I will miss some of it as I have to go to the city on Wednesday and will not have access there.

Sounds like fun!

I'll be here! I'm looking forward to learning more about these books and visiting with everyone.

Don't forget, I'll be tossing the names of participants into the "hat" for the book giveaways. Stop by to visit with the authors and you might win one of their books in time for Christmas!

I have finals tomorrow so I'll be able to stop in after and the rest of the week! Yay! Can't wait! =D

Amanda wrote: "I have finals tomorrow so I'll be able to stop in after and the rest of the week! Yay! Can't wait! =D"

Amanda,
Know you will enjoy the rest of the weeks once you are done with Finals.

Amanda wrote: "I have finals tomorrow so I'll be able to stop in after and the rest of the week! Yay! Can't wait! =D"

Good luck on your finals!

I'll be by during the week. All these books look charming....and so festive! Merry Christmas!

Amanda wrote: "I have finals tomorrow so I'll be able to stop in after and the rest of the week! Yay! Can't wait! =D"

Hope the finals go well for you, Amanda. Good to all the tests done before Christmas.

Good morning, everyone! Today we welcome author Winnie Griggs. Born and raised in the bayou country of southeast Louisiana, Winnie moved to the opposite corner of the state when she married her college sweetheart over 25 years ago. She and her husband, along with their four teenage children, reside in Plain Dealing, a small community nestled in the piney hill country of northwest Louisiana. Winnie belongs to numerous writing organizations, including Romance Writers’ of America and several of its local and special interest chapters.



The Holiday Courtship

A Wife by Christmas

As Christmas approaches, Hank Chandler is determined to find a wife to mother his sister's orphaned children. When schoolteacher Janell Whitman offers to help him with his niece and nephew, she seems to be the perfect match—but she won't accept his proposal. Instead, she insists she'll find him another bride before the holidays.

Janell moved to Turnabout, Texas, to put her past behind her and focus on her future—one that doesn't include marriage. But while she plays matchmaker and cares for Hank's children, she loses her heart to the two youngsters…and their adoptive father. If Janell reveals her secrets to Hank, will he still want her to be his Christmas bride?

Winnie, congratulations on a gorgeous cover! How many books have you written for Love Inspired Historical and what is your favorite part of writing a book?

Good morning! Winnie, I've loved the Turnabout stories. Looking forward to reading this new one. Are their any favorite Christmas traditions in your story? I always enjoy stories that involve kids finding new parents after the tragedy of loss.

Hi Winnie! I love your cover! But I have a question...are the couple dancing? I keep looking at the cover and I can't decide. :)

Hi Winnie,
Your cover is lovely and the story sounds wonderful. I am interstellar yo read and find out what secrets the heroine is keeping to herself. Do you have a favorite character in this book?

Good morning Winnie, I have this book but not read yet, have been reading Christmas stories so yours is around the corner, looks like a wonderful story. A woman just has to help a man. Does the story tell why she does not want to marry? most women used to think that was their calling,marry and have children and raise a family.I too would like to know ..are they dancing? on the cover.

Winnie, welcome and merry Christmas to you!

What a gorgeous and festive cover.....and an intriguing secret in your story. Children, especially in Christmas stories, make for enchanting reading for me. With four of your own, I'm sure you are well supplied with childhood details.

I too am wondering about any traditions you may have tucked into this book.

Hello Winnie. Christmas and children make a lovely combination in a story, so glad to see both here. :)

What was the idea that sparked this story?

What a great way to start off winter break than with an Author Q&A! Thank you ladies for all the well wishes on my finals! They went quite smoothly thankfully =D

Good morning Winnie! What a beautiful cover! I'm new to the Turnabout series, what's the order of these books? This book sounds great!

You can leave me out of the drawing this month, I still have previous books I have won and haven't gotten to yet! =)

Hi all! I stopped writing my Christmas grocery list to come by and start taking down names for this month's book giveaways list. Please tell your friends to stop in and leave a comment for one of the authors and they will have a chance to win one of these wonderful books! The more the merrier!

June wrote: "Good morning! Winnie, I've loved the Turnabout stories. Looking forward to reading this new one. Are their any favorite Christmas traditions in your story? I always enjoy stories that involve kids ..."

Hi June. Thanks for those kind words about my series :) One of the traditions my heroine brings forward from her childhood is building and decorating gingerbread houses. In fact they build two of them, making it a friendly competition of sorts :)

Dorothy wrote: "Hi Winnie! I love your cover! But I have a question...are the couple dancing? I keep looking at the cover and I can't decide. :)"

Hi Dorothy. Isn't it lovely - I think the art department did a fabulous job! But no, they're not dancing, just 'gazing lovingly' at each other

Brittany wrote: "Hi Winnie,
Your cover is lovely and the story sounds wonderful. I am interstellar yo read and find out what secrets the heroine is keeping to herself. Do you have a favorite character in this book?"

Oh my Brittany, that's like asking if I have a favorite among my children . But if I HAD to pick a favorite, I always fall a little bit in love with my heroes as I write their stories

Paula-O wrote: "Good morning Winnie, I have this book but not read yet, have been reading Christmas stories so yours is around the corner, looks like a wonderful story. A woman just has to help a man. Does the story tell why she does not want to marry? ..."
Hi Paula. Yes. She's hiding something from her past - it's hinted at throughout the book, but you have to wait until the last third to find out what it is

Sherida wrote: "Winnie, welcome and merry Christmas to you!

What a gorgeous and festive cover.....and an intriguing secret in your story. Children, especially in Christmas stories, make for enchanting reading for me. ...I too am wondering about any traditions you may have tucked into this book. "
Hi Sherida. And Merry Christmas to you too! I already mentioned the making of gingerbread houses. But there is one scene I had a lot of fun with where the hero and heroine are up late and discuss their childhood memories of Christmas while sitting by a fire.

Winnie wrote: "Sherida wrote: "Winnie, welcome and merry Christmas to you!

What a gorgeous and festive cover.....and an intriguing secret in your story. Children, especially in Christmas stories, make for encha..."

Sounds great....imagining sitting by the fire discussing favorite traditions. Thanks, Winnie!

Wendy wrote: "Hello Winnie. Christmas and children make a lovely combination in a story, so glad to see both here. :) What was the idea that sparked this story?"

Hi Wendy. Great question! Janell has appeared in almost every book of my Turnabout series, either in person or through passing mention, so I thought it was about time she got her own story. . It took me a little while to figure out her backstory, but when I discovered she had a beloved younger sister who went deaf, I realized just where I needed to take this story. Oh, did I mention Hank's niece was rendered deaf by the accident that killed her parents?

Amanda wrote: "What a great way to start off winter break...Good morning Winnie! What a beautiful cover! I'm new to the Turnabout series, what's the order of these books? This book sounds great!..."

Hi Amanda - thanks for stopping by on your break. The Holiday Courtship is the 7th book in the series, but they are all can be read as standalone books. Here is the complete list in order from first to current.
Handpicked Husband
The Bride Next Door
A Family For Christmas
Lone Star Heiress
Her Holiday Family
Second Chance Hero
The Holiday Courtship

Karen wrote: "Good morning, everyone! Today we welcome author Winnie Griggs. Born and raised in the bayou country of southeast Louisiana, Winnie moved to the opposite corner of the state when she married her col... Winnie, congratulations on a gorgeous cover! How many books have you written for Love Inspired Historical and what is your favorite part of writing a book? "

Hi Karen. Thanks for hosting the Q&A this month! I just realized I skipped right over your question! So far I've written 13 books and one novella for LIH. As for my favorite part of writing a book, hmmmm, I suppose that would be the discovery process, those little tidbits of character that unfold as I'm writing that surprise me and touch me in unexpected ways.

Winnie,
I love the Turnabout series. The cover makes you want to see what is going on.
When you started the Turnabout stories , did you know how many books would be in it?Do you get the next story while finishing the current one?

Amanda wrote: "What a great way to start off winter break than with an Author Q&A! Thank you ladies for all the well wishes on my finals! They went quite smoothly thankfully =D

Good morning Winnie! What a beauti..."
Glad that your inals went well.

Hi, Winnie! I'm looking forward to revisiting Turnabout; The Holiday Courtship sounds delightful! As you wrote Janell's story, did she surprise you in any way?

Melinda wrote: "Winnie,
I love the Turnabout series. The cover makes you want to see what is going on.
When you started the Turnabout stories , did you know how many books would be in it?Do you get the next stor..."

Hi Melinda. I actually had conceived this as a four book series. Giving each of the bachelors in the first story, Handpicked Husband, their own book. But almost from the first, the character of Eileen Pierce intrigued me and I wanted to dig deeper into how she came to be the person she was in HH. So when I turned in the fourth book, I spoke to my editor about doing one more. And she was not only on board with that, she encouraged me to keep the series going even longer if I liked. So right now, I'm thinking there will be eleven books total - at least that's the plan right now :)

Hi Winnie, Wasn't sure if I was going to make it to the party today. My eye doctor appointment office was an hour behind schedule . My appointment was at 1:35, I got there at 1:10 and didn't get called back until 2:30 and finally checked out at 3:30. The upside is my eye is healing right and I got a lot of reading time in.
I'm happy to see you have another book releasing !!!!!

I'm really enjoying getting to know the characters of Turnabout and being to see how past characters are doing.

Eleven books! That's awesome Winnie.

Winnie wrote: "Melinda wrote: "Winnie,
I love the Turnabout series. The cover makes you want to see what is going on.
When you started the Turnabout stories , did you know how many books would be in it?Do you g..."

Thank You. Hoping more than eleven books because I love the characters and the town. Glad that there are more to look forward to.

Britney wrote: "Hi, Winnie! I'm looking forward to revisiting Turnabout; The Holiday Courtship sounds delightful! As you wrote Janell's story, did she surprise you in any way?"

Hi Britney. Yes, there were a few things I discovered about Janell that surprised me, mostly having to do with her backstory. But to tell you what they were would be to reveal spoilers so I'm afraid that's all I'm going to say

Jennifer wrote: "Hi Winnie, Wasn't sure if I was going to make it to the party today. My eye doctor appointment office was an hour behind schedule . My appointment was at 1:35, I got there at 1:10 and didn't get ca..."

Hi Jennifer. Sorry you had to deal with delayed appointments today - I ALWAYS take reading material with me when I have a doctor apptmt. Thanks for taking the time to stop by!

Jennifer wrote: "I'm really enjoying getting to know the characters of Turnabout and being to see how past characters are doing."

Wow - thanks for those very nice words!!

Melinda wrote: "... Hoping more than eleven books because I love the characters and the town. Glad that there are more to look forward to. ..."

Thanks Melinda. The only reason I would stop at 11 is that at that point I'll be at the turn of the century and I really don't see me writing stories set into the 1900s

Winnie, Will you have a new book out for the Barbara Vey Luncheon?

Jennifer wrote: "Winnie, Will you have a new book out for the Barbara Vey Luncheon?"

Hi Jennifer. My next book will come out in March, but it won't be a Love Inspired book. I've revamped one of my very first books, that was published with a secular publisher, and am working with a small press to reissue it. If things go as planned, I hope to be able to bring some copies with me

Love the cover and the premise. sorry I am late. busy day as I head to the city this afternoon and have so much to do. (add the fact we are in a heatwave and roadworks outside my door) did I mention heatwave.

Winnie, I remember way back when you're re saying there would be four books and then a few more sneaking in as you went.

Excited to see which other characters make up the last four books.

Winnie wrote: Hi Britney. Yes, there were a few things I discovered about Janell that surprised me, mostly having to do with her backstory. But to tell you what they were would be to reveal spoilers so I'm afraid that's all I'm going to say "

I can't wait to read and find out more! :)

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Today we welcome veteran author Linda Ford.
Linda is the author of 50 books with more scheduled for release. She writes for Love Inspired Historicals. Her writing has been described as deeply emotional with a touch of humor.
Linda grew up devouring books and making up stories in her head, often late at night when she couldn't sleep. But she hadn't planned to write. Instead, she dreamed of running an orphanage. In a way, that dream came true. She married, had 4 homemade children, adopted 10 and lived her dream. She lives on a small ranch in western Alberta, where she can see the mountains every day. She and her husband continue to enjoy their children and grandchildren. Linda also provides care for a paraplegic, double amputee man. She still finds a great deal of enjoyment and satisfaction in creating imaginary worlds only now she does it on paper or rather, at the computer.

A Home For Christmas

The Cowboy's Family

Missy Porter knows all too well about losing a family, so she'll do anything to keep cowboy Wade Snyder and his orphaned niece and nephew together. Even put her own plans of independence on hold—temporarily—to help care for the children during Christmas. But in helping to fix this family, she realizes she wants to be more than just the nanny.

Wade has never recovered from the unexpected loss of his wife. Now he doesn't think he can be the family man that little Annie and Joey deserve. So he's determined to find the children a loving adoptive home. But with Missy by his side, his long-forgotten dream of happily-ever-after might just be within reach…

Christmas in Eden Valley: Forging a future in Canada's west country

Thanks for joining us, Linda! From the book blurb, it sounds like your hero really loved his late wife. Was it difficult to portray him falling in love with the heroine?

Hello Linda,

Oh, another Christmas story with children ~ how lovely!

What was the idea that sparked this particular story?