Blurb:
Novelist
Olivia St. Madeleine is intrigued by a handsome and mysterious stranger she
sees when she's Christmas shopping. Who exactly is he, and what is his story?
Gabriel Winter definitely has a
story. One he's been running from for years. He's renovating a house next door
to a friendly and persuasive grandmother, who is, unbeknownst to him, Olivia's
Nana.
Through Nana's insistence, Liv
helps Gabe wallpaper and paint, and in return Gabe fulfills one of Liv's secret
childhood dreams.
But past hurts and secrets
threaten to drive them apart rather than draw them together.
Will they find the courage to
share their secrets with each other and with God, and allow Him to redeem
Christmas?
Excerpt:
Liv picked up the Pa-rum-pa-pum-pum Peppermint lotion
from the seasonal display. Turning the bottle over, she pretended to read the
back label, but she focused her attention on the male customer in the center of
the store.
The salesgirl stuck to him like
a piece of chewing gum on the sole of a shoe in summer. Gooey and annoying.
Liv couldn’t blame her, though. He was
tall with dark brown hair, meticulously combed back from his forehead. His
olive skin enhanced his cleft chin. He wore a charcoal gray wool suit with a
white shirt, a red and navy striped tie, and black wingtip shoes. Maybe he was
an attorney.
Common sense told Liv to make
her purchase and leave. Intrigue argued she should browse and gather more
information. As “Jingle Bells” played over the speaker system, she ignored
common sense and crept closer to observe.
His brown eyes studied every
move the clerk made, as if he were considering her as possible dating material.
But that made no sense. Esscential Scents was a women’s store. Why would he be sizing up one woman while he was shopping for
another?
Because he wasn’t shopping. A policeman. Maybe
he was an undercover cop posing as an attorney, trying to sneak some
information out of the salesgirl. No, that couldn’t be right, either. So far, the sales clerk had done all the talking.
But then again, the best investigators were good listeners.
Miss Bubblegum rested a hand
on his forearm while she gestured toward the mountainous display of home and
body products in the center of the store. “And this is our most popular
fragrance, Scent-uous. A wonderful choice to pamper that special lady in your
life.”
The man slowly stepped away
and crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, I—”
The salesgirl turned and
gestured toward the right-hand wall. “Or what about these? Air and Sun. Part of
our new Earth Esscentials, all-natural collection. Very popular among the
professional crowd.”
His gaze focused on the clerk.
In silence, he nodded.
Liv recognized the look of
panic in the girl’s eyes. When she
was in college, she’d worked on
commission in a clothing store. The clerk knew she was losing the sale. But
what she didn’t know was that she
wasn’t losing anything.
Because it wasn’t a real sale.
The girl turned toward the
other side of the store. “Or how about…”
Or a secret agent. Maybe he
was a secret agent who’d ducked into the
store to avoid the men who were following him, and he had no intention of
buying anything. He was simply hiding. Liv glanced back over her shoulder. No
fishy characters lurked outside the store entrance. But of course, professional
spies looked just like a next-door neighbor. Nothing suspicious about them.
James Bond spoke, minus the
British accent, “Hey, thanks for your help, but I think I’d just like to browse a little…if that’s OK.”
“Oh,
sure. Of course. Enjoy looking around. I’m Candy, if you need anything.”
And who would she be if he
didn’t need anything?
“Thanks,
Candy. I appreciate your time.”
As the chime signaled the
arrival of a new customer, a new male customer, Candy dropped 007 like a
sun-scorched rock and scooted across the store toward the entry.
The spy wandered through the
tables toward the display framed by evergreen garland and white twinkling
lights on the left wall. His jacket was cut full enough to hide his shoulder
holster. He slid his hands into his pants pockets as he pretended to study the
lotions and perfumes stacked to the ceiling.
This was her chance. Liv
strolled up beside him. “Overwhelming, isn’t it?”
He turned toward her. His brow
wrinkled in surprise, and then a smile lit his face. "Sure is. Must be
over a hundred different choices.”
Curiosity fluttered her
stomach. She’d get to the bottom
of this. “So, are you shopping for anyone in particular?”
“A friend.”
“I see. A good friend?”
He pursed his lips and looked
far away as he constructed his cover story. He leaned his head to the side.
“Not yet. But I’m working on it.”
A vague response.
She nodded. “Age?”
“Mine?” He raised his eyebrows and grinned.
Trying to distract her with
humor. A good ploy. “No, your lady friend.”
“Whoa,
there. I’ve learned never to
try and guess a lady’s age.”
Slick. “I can suggest some general
scents that would be popular with most women, but if you could give me a
ballpark age, I can point you toward some that might be more appropriate.” She
picked up a bottle of shower gel from the display in front of them. “For
instance, this Cotton Candy scent would not go over well with a mature woman.”
As he removed his hands from
his pockets, his brown eyes sparkled. “You’re right. OK. Seventy. Ish.”
“Seventy?
Ish? Really?”
He nodded.
“Then
this”—she returned the Cotton Candy gel to the display—“would be completely
wrong. What you want is a classic scent.” She led him across the showroom to
the back corner. Liv gestured toward the left side of the display like a
gameshow hostess. “Lavender. In fact, that’s why I came into the store. To buy some as a Christmas gift for my
grandmother.” She grasped the tester and spritzed some of the perfume onto a
card. Then she waved it through the air for him to smell. “My nana loves it.”
He smiled. “Soft and
old-fashioned. Classic.”
“This
next one, Texas Rose, is my nana’s second favorite.”
He followed her farther back,
“Do you work here?”
“Me? No. I’m just a customer.”
“Well,
maybe you should,” he muttered.
Whether he intended her to
hear it or not, she caught his barely audible response. She’d pretend she hadn’t heard him to give him a
chance to elaborate. “Pardon?”
“Sorry.
Just thinking out loud. Thanks so much. You’ve been very helpful, and I don’t want to keep you from your shopping.”
She was dismissed. She’d failed in her mission. “You’re welcome. Enjoy.” She
grasped a floral travel bag filled with an array of Luscious Lavender products
and headed toward the register. Once she paid, her Christmas shopping would be
completed.
~*~
Liv perched on the
wrought-iron cafe chair outside the mall coffee shop and sipped her peppermint
mocha. Her journal lay open on the table before her. This had been the last
available spot, but she couldn’t have chosen a
better one. Its placement was perfect for people-watching. A sea of mankind
surged up and down the mall corridors. She loved shopping this time of year.
Trips to the mall offered plenty of material for work.
A young father, most likely,
with two preschool children nibbling on cookies sat a few tables over. He’d probably picked them up from
daycare and brought them here to shop for a surprise Christmas gift for their
mother. The cookies were bribery to ensure their silence.
Or perhaps he was a widower.
This was the first Christmas after his wife had died. He was fighting to
overcome past memories and make this season joyous for his children. But it was
hard. Painful. How could he hold everything together? Liv’s eyes burned as tears threatened. The little girl had her mother’s blonde hair and blue—
“Hello,
again.”
Liv jumped at the greeting.
She’d been so lost in
thought that she hadn’t noticed the
attorney-cop-spy now standing beside her table. He held a paper cup from the
coffee shop in one hand and a large shopping bag from Esscential Scents in the
other.
“Hi.
Well, looks like you found something.”
“I did.
Thanks to you and your guidance.” He scanned the seating area.
She looked again too. Still no
empty tables. A captive audience could produce an abundance of information.
"Please, won’t you have a seat?”
“Thanks.”
As he sat and placed his
package on the concrete floor beside his chair, his suit coat fluttered open.
No shoulder holster after all. His gun must be jammed in his waistband behind
his back or in an ankle holster.
"I’m Gabe.”
She grasped his offered
hand—his smooth, well-manicured offered hand. Secret agenting must pay well.
”Liv. Nice to meet you.” She nodded toward his shopping bag. “So what did you
decide on?”
“I
went with the lavender.”
“Good
choice.”
His gaze rested on her open
journal. “Looks like you might be in the middle of something.”
“People-watching.
The journal’s in case I observe
something I need to record.”
As he sipped his coffee, his
chocolate eyes sparkled. “Private detective?” He grinned.
She returned his smile. “Writer.”
“Really?
Have anything published?”
“A
few novels.”
“Anything
I might have heard of?”
“I
doubt it. No offense, but you’re not exactly my
target audience. I write romance.”
“Oh,
so I get it. Men aren’t romantic.”
“My
heroes are very romantic.”
“But
not real men.”
“Let’s just say romance
is not the genre of choice for most ‘real’ men. Action, sci-fi, mystery.
Stuff like that. But a smart man could learn an awful lot about women by
reading a romance novel or two.”
“I’ll keep that in
mind.” He nodded. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and glanced at the
display. “Duty calls.”
Definitely an undercover cop.
He inserted his hand into his
inner jacket pocket and extracted a business card. He held it out to her. “In
case you ever want to change careers and go into sales, my company’s always looking for good
people. From what I saw earlier, you’d be quite a
success.”
She studied his card. Gabriel
Winter, CEO, Sales Solutions, Placing people in perfect places. “Your busy
season, huh?”
“Not
really. The last thing my customers want to see this time of year is some sales
rep coming in to take them away from their buying customers.”
She winked. “I meant your
name.”
“Oh.
That.” Smile lines radiated from his eyes. “Most people don’t even catch it, but of course
you would. Your life’s all about words.”
He stood. “Would you happen to have one of your cards on you?”
She reached into the side
pocket of her purse, withdrew a business card, and offered it to him.
He studied the rose and gray
rectangle. “Olivia St. Madeleine,
Novelist, Creating Beauty from Ashes.” As he raised his
eyebrows, his gaze met hers. “You were destined to be a romance writer from
birth. Your parents chose the perfect name.”
“Actually,
my agent did. My real name’s Olivia Slootsky. Don’t get me wrong. It’s a fine name, but I ask you,
who’s going to believe
a person with that last name writes romances?”
He chuckled. “Well, Olivia St.
Madeleine Slootsky, thanks again. Running into you has been the best part of my
day. Have a happy holiday.”
As he turned and walked toward
the exit door, she reached for her journal and her pen. His mahogany eyes
blazed with merriment. The warmth of his smile sent delicious shivers down her
spine.
Buy Links:
Pelican: https://bit.ly/3okBD0z
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3dNAyJG
Carol James is an author of
inspirational fiction. She enjoys creating Redemptive Romance. She lives in a
small town outside of Atlanta, Georgia with her husband, Jim, and a perky Jack
Russell "Terrorist," Zoe.
Having always loved intriguing stories
with happy endings, she was moved to begin writing to encourage others as she'd
been encouraged by the works of other authors of inspirational fiction.
Her debut novel, Rescuing Faith,
has been an Amazon number one best-seller.
Carol enjoys spending time with her
husband, children, and grandchildren, traveling with friends, and serving in
the production department at her church. And most days, in the late hours of
the night or the wee hours of the morning, she can be found bringing her newest
novel to life.
Please attach cover and
head shot (if you want it added, personally I hate the things) separately.
Questions:
1.
Why this book? What inspired
you to write it?
I have
always loved the Christmas season. For me and my family, the holiday has always
been a time of joy and celebration. But I know that for many the weeks and days
surrounding Christmas are filled with memories of failure and loss. In writing Redeeming
Christmas, I wanted to show that no failure, no loss is beyond God’s redemption.
We have only to offer them, and He promises He will redeem them.
2. What is your
favourite Christmas carol/song and why?
I can’t pick only one.
I can narrow it down to two that I love equally.
Lo! How a Rose Ere
Blooming - I
love this because not only does it have beautiful words, but the harmonies are
exquisite and fun to sing a cappella. Almost madrigal-like.
My other favorite is Joy
to the World! The lyrics and music resound with pure joy at Christ’s birth.
And shouldn’t all creation sing?
3. What is the best
Christmas present you ever received and who was it from?
The very best Christmas
present I ever received was from my husband. He gave it to me on Christmas Eve
in 1970, and I still have it today. My engagement ring.
Comments
Good luck and God's blessings
PamT