
About Keeping Christmas

I received a complimentary copy of this book for review through Celebrate Lit. A positive review was not required.
Mary’s Review:

Keeping Christmas (Volume 1) brings readers a taste of Christmas in contemporary and historical settings through the lenses of six authors. The first story contains an overly energetic dog and his role in bringing together an electrical engineer and a landscaper, the second is a sweet story about beauty and kindness told through the eyes of a young milkmaid, the third takes readers to Japan to see the role of a noodle shop in spreading the gospel, the fourth deals with belonging and being valued by others, the fifth includes Queen Victoria and her daughter as characters and deals with healing the wounds of the past, and the sixth explores the reign of Herod and the journey of one of his scribes.
My favorite story was probably The Girl from Dalarna. I loved the character growth and the perseverance, and I so enjoyed getting to explore her world alongside her. She was a darling.
I also enjoyed how the authors Swanson and Havig set up Sydney’s story and sprinkled in bits of humor.
Mom was right about one thing… her aunt Lucille would turn over in her grave if she knew Sydney was using that money to fund a landscaping business instead of as husband-bait.
The Lights of Castlebourne
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About the Authors
USA Today Bestselling author of Aggie and Past Forward series, Chautona Havig lives in an oxymoron, escapes into imaginary worlds that look startlingly similar to ours and writes the stories that emerge. An irrepressible optimist, Chautona sees everything through a kaleidoscope of It’s a Wonderful Life sprinkled with fairy tales. Find her at chautona.com and say howdy—if you can remember how to spell her name. Cathe Swanson writes books with creative plots and engaging characters of all ages, to glorify God and entertain and bless readers. Her heartwarming stories will make you laugh and make you cry – and then make you laugh again. Olivia Talbott grew up in Montana, but currently lives in Kentucky with her husband and two daughters, a few sheep and a border collie. She loves words, traveling, pickles and having deep conversations about how Jesus changes everything. Visit her at oliviatalbott.com. Kathleen J. Robison is an Okinawan-American, born in Okinawa, and raised in California, Florida, Mississippi, and Singapore. Her travels and her family are the sources of her inspiration for her books. Kathleen and her Pastor husband have eight adult children. Seven are married, blessing them with eighteen grandchildren and counting. Her ethnically diverse background extends to her family of currently thirty-five personalities which provide many opportunities to share God’s amazing love amidst the challenges of real life. Denise L. Barela is a twenty-something-year-old writer with a passion for fiction, her faith, and just being creative in general. When she’s not working away at her desk, you might find her reading a good book or following Alice down the rabbit hole… Marguerite Gray enjoys the study of history, especially when combined with fiction. An avid traveler and reader, she teaches French and Spanish and has degrees in French, Spanish, and Journalism from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas and a MA in English from Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene. She has two grown children and currently lives with her husband in north Louisiana. She writes historical fiction. Author of Biblical fiction, avid reader, pastor’s wife, Naomi Craig loves reading the Bible and imagining how things were at the time. When she’s not serving in various areas at church, trying to stay on top of mountains of dishes or convincing her rescue dog, Freeway, to be cute on command for Instagram reels, you’ll most likely find her enjoying a good book and a cup of coffee. Naomi co-hosts #BehindTheStory with Naomi and Lisa, an author interview show on YouTube and your podcast platform of choice.More From Denise
Hello everyone! I’m excited to share this set of stories with you! All the authors have worked hard to bring you some Christmas joy and magic. We’ve each picked a castle to center our stories around. I mean, Christmas and castles go well together, don’t you think? You’ll get to explore different castles in different time periods while also getting to know all the characters in each story. That’s a lot of new friends to make! For my story, I jumped on the chance to write about a castle that inspired the castle that always brought me joy growing up (if I’m being honest, it still brings me joy). I’ve always been a huge Disney nerd, and Princess Aurora has always been my favorite Disney princess. Growing up, I was blessed to be able to visit Disneyland for most of my life, and Sleeping Beauty’s castle was my favorite thing (I was so sad when they closed the walk-through part for several years). Even without the attraction part of it, I loved walking into the park and seeing it stand at the end of Main Street. I actually teared up seeing it for the first time after Covid. What does all this have to do with my castle story? Well, in 1869, King Ludwig II of Bavaria began construction on Neuschwanstein Castle. This castle served as the inspiration for Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. Let me tell you, if you thought Disneyland’s castle was beautiful, it’s got nothing on Neuschwanstein. If I were to pick a castle to live in, it’d be this one. Setting aside the Disney connection, I was even more intrigued when I learned more about the king who commissioned it. The king was not very popular towards the end of his reign, and the day after he was sent to Berg Castle, he and a doctor were found dead in Lake Starnberg. The weird part? They ruled it a drowning, but there was no water in their lungs and clear signs of foul play. Oh, but that’s not the only interesting fact this castle houses. This castle became a hiding place for some of the art the Nazi’s stole during World War II. Part of me wonders if any pieces are still hidden there. The Monuments Men group actually cataloged art found there, and it’s been preserved. Here’s a fun article from The Met all about it! I hope you enjoyed learning about the castle that inspired my story!Blog Stops
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, October 20
Through the Lens of Scripture, October 20
Library Lady’s Kid Lit, October 21
Texas Book-aholic, October 22
For Him and My Family, October 22
deb’s Book Review, October 23
Inklings and notions, October 24
Holly’s Book Corner, October 24
Locks, Hooks and Books, October 25
Lots of Helpers, October 26
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, October 26
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, October 27
By the Book, October 28
Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, October 28
She Lives To Read, October 29
Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, October 30
Mary Hake, October 30
Blogging With Carol, October 31
Simple Harvest Reads, November 1 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)
Literature Approved, November 1
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, November 2
Giveaway
To celebrate their tour, the Celebrate Lit Authors are giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
I am so glad you enjoyed it! The Lights of Castlebourne was fun to co-write, and we’re already brimming over with ideas for the series.
Sounds like a great collection of stories. Thanks.
I’m so glad you enjoyed Girl From Dalarna! Thank you ever so much for reading and reviewing.
These sound real good. Thanks.
This sounds like a great set.