Christmas in July

The concept of Christmas in July actually came from a girls camp in 1933 in North Carolina. The girls had a Christmas tree, presents, and even a visit from Santa. From this little celebration, the idea of having Christmas in July has grown. While not very common here in the northern hemisphere, south of the equator it is winter and many countries take part in winter festivities. Sometimes people in the northern hemisphere also partake in Christmastime activities as well. Think about it. There are no holidays between the first week of July and Labor Day in September. That's a long time to go without something fun to celebrate!

Some people go all out and put up Christmas trees, decorate their homes, and have holiday parties during July. Even some television stations get into the theme. The Hallmark Channel is showing Christmas movies right now as part of their Christmas in July celebration.

That's why I am so glad my book was released at this time. It's a great time to pick up a copy and get into that Christmas spirit! Right now on Kindle it's only $3.99! I am hoping to see the paperback version out by the end of the week.

Pick up your copy on Kindle today and get into the spirit!

"The Search for Mrs. Claus" for Kindle

First review: 5 stars!

The first review is in and it's a 5 star review! Oh this made my night! Thank you to reader Samaire Provost for your review and kind words!

I immediately read through my Kindle copy of the my own book and found a few errors that I didn't catch during editing. I've sent that info back to the publisher and they are working on correcting the errors prior to releasing the print version of "The Search for Mrs. Claus." If you're ready for a print copy of this book, stay tuned. It's definitely in progress. You can purchase the Kindle copy here on Amazon right now for only $3.99!

I'd also like to invite all of you to attend my virtual release party that I am hosting on Facebook next weekend. it will be July 12 from 3:00PM to 6:00PM EST. This will be a fun gathering to celebrate the release of my book, talk about Christmas things, play games, and even win a prize or two! Please come by, invite your friends, and come have a jolly good time with me that afternoon!

Christmas in July - "The Search for Mrs. Claus" Virtual Release Party

The Book is Available!

The Search for Mrs. Claus is available on Kindle right now for $3.99! Please click on the above link to purchase! The print copy will be available soon!

Please purchase your copy, review it, and let me know what you think! Constructive criticism is always appreciated!

T'was the night before the book release...

T’was the night before the book release

And all through the author’s house

Everyone was excited including

The kids, the pets, and the spouse!

Amazon was loaded on

Her computer’s screen.

Barnes and Noble was up as well.

T’was all that she had seen!

Everyone was counting for

The clock to strike midnight,

For then there would be a brand new book

She’d taken the time to write.

The cover art has been designed.

The editing was through.

Now it was time to pass the book

Into the hands of you!

So take some time, buy this book,

And read to your heart’s content.

Share the story with your friends

And be a part of this big event!

Read it, love, it, and review it please.

We love to hear your applause!

Thank you for taking the time to read

“The Search for Mrs. Claus!”

I'll post the links tomorrow so that you can buy a copy! Stay tuned!

2 Days To Go!

I heard back from the publisher today. Everything's ready to go for the big release on Friday! Two days left until "The Search for Mrs. Claus" is available for you!

Releasing this book has been very much like the coming of Christmas for me. First was the writing of the story. Believe it or not, this novel was my NaNoWriMo project from November 2013. I've participated in NaNo several times but this was the first novel I ever finished during that month. Most NaNo projects usually don't turn out that great but I really fell in love with the story in my mind as I was writing it. It basically wrote itself. I love how I was able to sit back and let the thoughts flow out of my mind and onto the screen of my computer. While writing it, I was basically watching the story unfold in my mind like a movie. That was one of the most fun parts of writing this! I was seeing the action in my mind as it came to life on the computer screen.

After the writing was done, I did my first edits. It was then that I submitted the novel in the hopes that it would be chosen for publication. I was ever so pleased when it was selected!

Then the waiting game really began. The novel spent time with the editor and the formatter. My husband and I designed the cover art in the same way that wrapping paper is carefully chosen for a special present. Finally, today I heard back from the publisher. Everything's a definite go! I can't wait for Friday when I will see this novel available!

Yes, I can't help but feel like a kid at Christmas right now, sitting by the fireplace, listening and waiting for Santa to arrive. It's going to be hard for me to go to sleep on Thursday night because I know something wonderful will be waiting for me on Friday morning!

Five Days Left!

That's right! There are only five days left until "The Search for Mrs. Claus" will be available!

Everything is on track for the release date. I heard back from my formatter today. Then book is formatted and ready to go. The cover is designed. The editing is done. The formatting is done. I'm excited and nervous all at the same time!

This is going to be a great week for me. I've taken two days off from work for this book release. I'll be off on Thursday and Friday. Thursday is also my anniversary and my husband and I have plans to do some things together. That will be nice! We're going to go see Maleficent that afternoon. Dinner still hasn't been planned yet but I am sure I will cook something incredible! And of course I'm off on Friday too, as that is the official release date for this book! We have to put in for vacation far in advance at my job and I was so glad that I was able to get this day off.

Today is also Father's Day. I was fortunate to spend the evening last night with my dad. His band was playing at Maguire's here in Senoia. We went to hear him perform and had a great time! We're looking forward to seeing him again soon. I hope you all were able to spend time with your father this weekend as well.

My website is live!

I am so excited to share that my website is live! There is still more work yet to be done but the bones are there and it's ready for visitors! I invite you all to stop by and check it out.

Courtney's Website

I've also placed a link to it over in the "Links" section on the right of this blog.

We're down to six days to go until the release date! I am quite nervous about it, much like the nerves of a mother on her child's first day of school. You prepare. You write. You edit. You rewrite. Then that fateful day arrives and you send your baby out into the world! Well that day is right around the corner for me.

I'll definitely be looking for reviews of my latest work as soon as it's out! Would you be interested in reviewing it? If so, let me know!

Cover Release!

T-9 and counting until "The Search for Mrs. Claus" will be released! I am so excited about this release that I don't know what to do! Now that we're in the single digits I wanted to release the cover for you all to see!

The image of the Christmas tree was taken by my husband and I designed the rest of the cover art. I hope you all like it as much as we do!

Stay tuned as we are in the home stretch of the release countdown! Thanks for all of your love and support!

The Search for Mrs. Claus - release trailer

The Search for Mrs. Claus Trailer

44 Days and Counting!

Happy Tuesday friends! Take a look above. Santa Claus is coming to town...or at least the tale of how he met and married his bride is! He's given me an early release day present: a countdown clock for the blog! This way everyone can see how much time is left until the release day of The Search for Mrs. Claus!

Thinking back on the writing of this novel I am reminded of the Christmas presents that I've received over the years. I can vividly remember the Christmas when I got my ten speed mountain bike! I was nine years old and I'd been asking for a ten speed for a while. My mom advised me to be really good and Santa Claus might bring me one for Christmas. Well, Christmas morning arrived and I woke up and hurried to wake my parents! See, there was a rule in our house on Christmas morning. Parents had to see the presents first. Otherwise, everything disappeared. I was always terrified of my presents from Santa being magically whisked back to the North Pole if my parents didn't see the gifts first so I always ran to wake them up on Christmas morning. My dad went out into the living room and turned on the Christmas lights. He then called me to come on in. I ran into the living room and a huge grin spread across my face when I saw that gorgeous black ten speed sitting beside the Christmas tree! Santa came through on his promise and I couldn't wait to get outside and start riding that amazing new bike!

Tell me about your most memorable Christmas gift. What really sticks out in your mind as a special present?