Christmas Movies...and Christmas stories! My favorite~ Tanya Hanson.

I am an absolute sucker for Hallmark movies any time, but at Christmas, I overload the DVR with them. My guilty little pleasure each night is staying up late to slaver over them, likely with a steaming cup of pumpkin spice coffee at my side. 

Sometimes hubby wrecks my routine and joins me. Bless his heart. Last night as I savored one with him at my side, he mentioned:, I bet he/she she finds whatever they lost just in time. I bet the kids become friends. I bet he/she fall in love. I bet it does snow on Christmas Eve.

Okay, why not? I said. What Christmas movie doesn’t have the blizzard stop at the right time? The gentle snowfall START at the right time? The old man making peace with his son? A special kiss under the mistletoe? The little boy getting exactly the present he’d ached for? Finding the lost money or Old Ebenezer waking up in time to make everything nice… Come on!

Well, with this attitude in mind, it’s no wonder my latest release ended up set at Christmas. The heroine Tiffany (named for my dear friend and neighbor) has been abandoned and disowned by her own family. She blames herself. She comes to work at nanny at Hearts Crossing Ranch, where the baby’s uncle, hottie cowboy Bragg Martin, tries to lead her to peace and faith…and love. All the while a big “bag o’ rocks” hangs around his own neck. The thing is, I’d sold this novella on a one –paragraph synopsis, so upon setting down to write the story and delve into its why’s and wherefore’s, I realized the plot just begged to take place at Christmastime.

You can probably predict the rest, but I hope you’ll read Right to Bragg anyway. I’ll be giving away a watermark PDF copy today to one commenter from all of my posts today...leave your e-mail address. I'll be pulling one name from the Stetson soon.

BLURB:

Disowned by her family, Tiffany Vickers faces a lonely Christmas and takes great comfort in the baby boy in her care. Her faith in tatters, she guards her heart against the baby's uncle, handsome cowboy Bragg Martin, a man with baggage of his own. While Bragg longs to open his heart and family to the lovely nanny, he doesn't understand her interest in his arch enemy. Saving a man's life and saving Tiffany's faith bring the couple together…and home to Hearts Crossing Ranch. 

EXCERPT:

     Tiffany got up for another cup of coffee, Matty’s eyes watching her every move.

     “He sure notices you,” Bragg remarked as the baby drained the bottle.

     “Yeah. We bonded right off. I’m so glad about it.” As she’d made a snap decision just then, she rushed on. “I left behind my precious nephew. I guess in my psyche somewhere I figured maybe nanny to Matty might help ease that hole in my heart.”  Gently she rubbed her hand over Matty’s head, the edge of her hand tugging at Bragg’s shirt and causing a funny havoc. Mostly though he listened to her pain.

     She sank back down into a kitchen chair, resting her cheek in her hand. “I was with Connor from the moment he was born. Paul and Diana wanted me there. Then things went haywire. It was my fault. You talk about forgiveness, but there isn’t any in this case. And I miss that little boy. Oh, I miss him so. I need him. His love was unconditional, you know. He’s three now. I can’t let him forget me.”

     Bragg’s heart tugged at the agony on her face, and Matty’s little hand flailed. Tiffany took it at once. “It can’t be that bad, can it?”

     “I’ve been disowned, so, yeah, Bragg. It’s that bad.”