Christmas stories by MJ Fredrick (With a novella giveaway)

About this time every year, my grandmother would start stocking up on Christmas books. She loved the novellas by different authors that the publishers would put out. We found a lot of new authors that way, because she'd give the books to me when she was done, and I'd race to read them before Christmas.

She passed away in 2004, but every time I see a set of Christmas novellas, I think how she'd be gobbling those down right about now. She didn't watch as much TV as I do, and she'd take advantage of the long evenings to read and read.

Now novellas don't have to be bundled in groups for people to enjoy. Thanks to digital publishing, they can read novellas all the time. I have to say, I'm a huge fan. But I also like discovering new authors, like I did back in the day with my grandmother's books.

So Trish Milburn, Tanya Michaels and I took a trip to Alabama and worked on a set of related Christmas stories set at the beach. This is what we came up with:

Christmas isn’t always snow-covered with a frosty chill in the air. Sometimes it’s sandy beaches with balmy breezes.

And sometimes we find love in the most unexpected places, a place like Starfish Shores.

Here Comes McBride by Tanya Michaels

Shelby James has only truly loved one man — but Finn McBride broke her heart when emotional baggage from his past came between them. Now, Shelby is serving as maid of honor at a beach wedding where Finn is the best man. Will reuniting with Finn be a Christmas miracle, or the worst mistake she's ever made?

Two Hearts a Leaping by MJ Fredrick

After a break-up with her high school sweetheart, Harley Blume retreats to her brother's home in Starfish Shores to lick her wounds and figure out what she's doing next. But her brother is in the Coast Guard reserves and heading out of town, leaving her in the care of Liam Channing, his best friend since they played college football together. She's never been able to keep her tongue in her mouth when good-looking, easy-going Liam is around. How is she going to find her way if she can't keep her balance?

Cruisin’ for a Kiss by Trish Milburn

When Avery Phillips loses her magazine job right before Christmas, she heads back home to Starfish Shores to spend the holidays with the grandparents who raised her. The plan is to hit the job search hard so that she has a new position when the New Year arrives. What isn’t part of the plan is heading up a remodeling effort at her family’s beach motel or falling for the man helping to save the business into which her grandparents put a lifetime of work. As Christmas draws closer, will Avery stick to the original plan to leave town again or take a chance with Luke Taylor and a new life she never expected?

Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Kobo.

How about you? Are you hooked on holiday books? How do you find new authors? One commenter will win a copy of my other Christmas novella, Sanctuary with the Cowboy.