KEEPING CHRISTMAS - Dan Walsh - One Free Book

Dear Readers, I love reading Dan’s books, so when my copy of Keeping Christmas arrived, it was the first Christmas book I read this year. It’s a very good book that helps us recognize what the true focus of the holiday should be.

Bio: Dan Walsh is the bestselling author of 15 novels including The Unfinished Gift, The Discovery, and When Night Comes. He’s won 3 ACFW Carol Awards, 3 Selah Awards and three times his books have been finalists for Romantic Time’s Inspirational Book of the Year. A member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and Word Weavers International, Dan writes fulltime in the Daytona Beach area. He and his wife Cindi have been married 39 years and have 2 grown children and 2 grandchildren. You can find out more about his books or follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads or Pinterest from his website at http://danwalshbooks.com.

Welcome back, Dan. Do you have a favorite genre to write? If so, what is it?

I guess I have two: Inspirational and Suspense. By inspirational, I mean the novels that I’m mostly known for writing. Sometimes people refer to them as romance, but they aren’t traditional romance novels. They’re more like relational dramas with a love story woven in.

If you didn’t live in the part of the country where you do, where would you live?

I really like the area of the country I live in now (Daytona Beach area). I’ve traveled quite a bit and have seen some really beautiful areas, but I’ve never really wanted to move there. I think I’d rather stay put but would love to have more money to travel more often.

What foreign country would you like to visit and why?

Probably Ireland. I’m 100% Irish and whenever I see movies or pictures from there, they almost beckon me. I talked with many people who have visited and that has only made me want to visit more. My second choice, would be to visit England and northern France on a World War II historical tour.

I’m ¼ Irish, and the Irish movies call to me, too. One of my granddaughters went to Ireland this year. And since French was my second teaching field when I received my BA, I’d like to visit France. Now describe what you think would be the most romantic vacation you could take.

My wife and I have had several of these in our 39 years together. I was only 19 when we got married and really botched our honeymoon. I made up for it on our 10th anniversary, for which I saved money 5 years. After that, I just kept on saving every month, so that we could take a wonderful trip on all of the “big” anniversaries (15th, 20th, 25th, etc.). I can think of several places we would like to go back to for round two. The only thing that would make it better is if we could have fewer people nearby (fewer tourists, more private beach, etc.).

Where would you like to set a story that you haven’t done yet?

Perhaps somewhere in New England.

What is the main theme of Keeping Christmas?

It’s about empty-nesters overcoming the shock of experiencing decades-long Christmas traditions suddenly coming to a dramatic halt in a single year. It’s about the value of trying to keep a growing family together around the holidays. And about the need to focus on others during the holidays and not just on yourself.

Tell us about the story.

I love the Christmas season, and so does the main character in this novel, Judith Winters. Usually. But this year something has changed. Her husband Stan’s hobby is fishing; Judith’s hobby is her family; her kids and grandkids. They are empty-nesters now and, unfortunately, their children have all moved away, too far to make it for either Thanksgiving or Christmas this year. She lives in a beautiful little town in central Florida called Mount Dora, known for its extravagant Christmas decorations and displays. But she’s finding it very hard to get in the Christmas spirit. She does her best to get out of this funk, but can’t seem to shake it. So her friends, family, and especially her husband set a plan in motion they hope will turn everything around.

Please give us the first page of the book for my readers.

Judith Winters never understood why they called it Black Friday. That might be a positive term for retail stores, but it was also a color often associated with mourning and funerals. That was closer to how she felt today. She had been staring at her perfectly brewed cup of coffee long enough for it to go from warm to cold. What time was it now, 9:30? How’d it get to be 9:30 already?

For her, the day after Thanksgiving had never been about shopping. Even when her two daughters, Anna and Suzanne, lived at home. Now, they shopped on Black Fridays as soon as they were old enough to drive. Spent every Thanksgiving evening rummaging through newspaper flyers looking for the best deals, then up before the crack of dawn. Judith never tried to stop them. She knew they’d find out when they were married and had kids of their own. Shopping on Black Fridays wasn’t as much fun with a lot less money in your purse.

They understood that now, her two girls. Even Suzanne, who had just became a mom this past year. Judith had spoken to both of them at different times yesterday on the phone. Anna in Richmond, Suzanne in Fort Worth. They laughed when Judith had asked them how early they’d be hitting the stores today.

But Judith wasn’t laughing now. Those conversations were the main reason Judith was sitting there, staring at her coffee all this time. They were talking on the phone, not around the dinner table. 

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Probably the easiest thing is just to visit my website and check out my homepage. There are buttons there to connect to my blog, send me an email, sign up for my newsletter or follow me on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and Pinterest. They can find me at: http://www.danwalshbooks.com

Thank you, Dan, for sharing this new book with us. I know my readers will be eager to read it.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.

Keeping Christmas - Christianbook.com (On Cyber sale - best price)
Keeping Christmas: A Novel - Amazon
Keeping Christmas: A Novel - Kindle

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