The blog post from Charlotte is one of the funniest and more honest ever.

Christmas Comes to Morning Star (The Maidels of Morning Star Book 3) by Charlotte Hubbard released yesterday in the Hamish, Inspirational romance genre.

Founded by five unmarried and enterprising Amish maidels, the new Morning Star Marketplace in small-town Missouri is preparing for a joyous Christmas season. But will the holiday also bring
unexpected tidings of love?

Twin sisters Molly and Marietta Helfing are eagerly anticipating Christmas, with Marietta fully recovered from cancer and their noodle making business thriving. But Molly clearly misses having former tenant Pete Shetler and his rambunctious dog, Riley, around. Marietta can’t ignore Molly’s feelings for Pete—or the anxiety it stirs within her. Convinced her illness has made her unmarriageable, Marietta wonders what kind of life she’ll have if her sister marries—despite Molly’s promise never to leave her behind. . .

Then a fire destroys the home of Amish neighbors and Molly and Marietta graciously make room for widower Glenn Detweiler, his dat, and his two young boys. When Pete returns to help the family rebuild, Molly relishes her reunion with the handsome carpenter, while Marietta delights in mothering Glenn’s boys—and is surprised by her poignant bond with their quiet, brooding father. Soon everyone is wondering if this season will bring the blessing of a merry double wedding to Morning Star . . .

Ebook: • Kindle •• Kobo •• Google Play

Print: •• Amazon •• Amazon UK •• Amazon Canada •• Barnes & Noble •• Books-A-Million •• Chapters Indigo •• IndieBound ••Kensington •• Target •• The Book Depository ••Walmart

“I like that smile on your face, Jo. You’re happiest when you’re baking, ain’t so?”

Jo’s stomach fluttered when Michael stepped into her shop. His evergreen wreath suggested that he had something other than flirtation in mind, and that was just as well, wasn’t it? “That fresh wreath smells just like Christmas,” she said. “I suppose you and your dat make those at your Queen City greenhouse, jah?”

“We do,” Michael replied. “And we’ve brought enough of them to hang on everyone’s shop entry for the holiday season.”

Jo stopped stirring her frosting to gaze at him. “That’s very generous. “You fellows have gone all out to decorate The Marketplace for us, and I really appreciate it.”

The blush that tinted Michael’s cheeks told Jo that he felt every bit as shy around her as she was near him.

“It’s been a boon to our nursery business, selling our plants here,” he said with a dimpled smile. “But more than that, Dat and I, well—we’ve really enjoyed coming to Morning Star to spend time with you and your mamm. And—and my invitation to come to Queen City and see our greenhouses full of poinsettias still stands.”

Jo swallowed hard. How many times had she dreamed of taking Michael up on his offer? “I—we’ll see,” she hedged. “Baking for the Christmas season is keeping me busier this year—”

“But if you can spare a couple of weekdays in early December, the sight of all those bright red poinsettias will take your breath away,” Michael insisted.

Jo’s heart was pounding so hard that Michael could probably hear it. What a joy it would be see those greenhouses filled with such vibrant Christmas flowers.

As she once again noticed how slim and attractive he was, however, Jo was even more aware that she probably outweighed him by thirty pounds. A guy like Michael would never see beyond her thick glasses—and even though he’d never met her deceased dat, there was no getting around the fact that Jo had been created in Joseph Fussner’s image.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

In 1983, Charlotte Hubbard sold her first story to True Story. She wrote around 70 of those confession stories, and she’s sold more than 50 books to traditional or online publishers. A longtime resident of Missouri, she’s currently writing Amish romances set in imaginary Missouri towns for Kensington. She now lives in Omaha, NE with her husband of 40+ years and their Border collie, Vera.

Why release a Christmas story in summer?

Short answer: Because that’s when my publisher scheduled it.

My other answer: I confess I was dumbfounded when I saw the August release date on this story! Ordinarily, Christmas stories are released in October, to give the book time on the store shelves to sell to a large readership before the holidays. My editor did say that the August 24th date, in particular, was advantageous because Walmart calls that Super Tuesday and gives books coming out that day an extra oomph in promotion. I’m grateful for that, because a LOT of my readers shop at Walmart—and because nationwide and online, Walmart has become a HUGE market for inspirational books.

Another spin to this: hey, we’ve had a pandemic that has changed EVERYTHING, and it has affected the publishing industry in a big way. My editor and the other people at Kensington have been working from home for more than a year, and I’m not sure when they’ll return to the offices in New York City. Could be they were doing their best to keep up with skyrocketing paper prices, disruptions in shipping, and so many other headaches, that August was where my book landed.

Because CHRISTMAS COMES TO MORNING STAR is the 3rd book of the Maidels of Morning Star series, I hope readers have been eagerly awaiting this story no matter when it comes out! At the end of the day, that’s the whole point of writing books! If you’re new to my Amish stories, I hope this one will interest you enough that you’ll also try MORNING STAR and FIRST LIGHT IN MORNING STAR, which came out previously. The 4th/final book, LOVE BLOOMS IN MORNING STAR, will be out in late spring of 2022. 

Thanks for reading this post, and for following my tour!

www.charlottehubbard.com

Facebook — www.Facebook.com/Charlotte.Hubbard1

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This post is part of a tour. The tour dates can be found here:  

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION

• $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC

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