Sneak Peek Excerpt & ARC Giveaway - - The Twelve Months of Christmas

 

One of the things I look forward to every fall is a new holiday-themed book from Sheila Roberts. Filled with heart, charm, and humor, reading a Roberts' books is like curling up in front of a roaring fire with a mug of hot chocolate, a cozy blanket, and more than a few chuckles. In other words, a whole lot of enjoyment. Here's a sneak peek from her upcoming novel, The Twelve Months of Christmas. I'm eager to read it. 

...PJ  

The Twelve Months of Christmas

by Sheila Roberts

Publisher: MIRA

Release Date: October 3, 2023

Sunny, Arianna and Molly are having three very different but equally terrible Christmases. Sunny is a newlywed with two new stepkids who want nothing to do with her; Arianna is newly divorced and hates having to send her daughter off to spend the holiday with her dad; for Molly, nothing is new, but her job at the post office is getting very, very old.

The whole Christmas season has been a bust all around. But Sunny and Arianna have a wild idea: What if they had a Christmas do-over in January? February? On Saint Patrick’s Day?

Christmas all year long—what could that look like? As these three determined women chase the perfect holiday through twelve months of cooking disasters, over-the-top festivity, and lots of laughter and tears, they’ll discover perfection is way overrated.

Excerpt

The Twelve Months of Christmas

by Sheila Roberts

Molly was pooped and her feet hurt. The last thing she wanted was to go out. But when Arianna had called, she was insistent that Molly go out to dinner with her and her new friend Sunny. 

            “You can rest your feet at Horse and Cow,” she’d said. 

            So here they were, in the popular pub that had been part of downtown Bremerton for seventy years. It was small and noisy but offered plenty of atmosphere, displaying all kinds of submarine memorabilia as a tribute to the city’s naval history. And it served the best burgers in town. 

            With her blond hair and happy smile, Sunny was well named. Molly was instantly charmed. 

            And felt old next to these two, especially when Sunny talked about doing a repeat of Christmas with a party in January. “It would be so much fun,” she enthused. 

            “And so much work,” Molly said. This all sounded like a pain in the posterior to the bushed postal worker. 

            “Not necessarily. If we all pitched in,” Sunny argued. 

            “Of if we went somewhere,” said Arianna. “Like up to the mountains.” 

            A whole day driving up to the mountains, wandering around in the cold. “You two have fun. I don’t ski.” 

            “Me, neither,” said Sunny, “but I like to go inner tubing.” 

            “I’d probably fall off,” Molly said, and Arianna frowned in disapproval over her lack of enthusiasm. “Plus, it would take hours just getting there.” 

            “But your granddaughter would love it,” said Arianna. 

            “Paisley’d love going to a movie, too. And I can sit through that.” Their hamburgers arrived, and Molly dug into hers. 

            “What if we went somewhere nearby?” Sunny said. She snapped her fingers. “Ice-skating!” 

            “There’s no rink here,” said Arianna. 

            “There is in Edmonds. We catch the Kingston Ferry, and it’s only a quick ride away. I bet Sophie would love it.” 

            “So would Paisley,” said Arianna, looking at Molly. 

            “I wouldn’t have to skate, would I?” Molly asked. 

            “You can take pictures,” Arianna told her. 

            “I could do that,” Molly said. 

            And, after her holiday slacking, her daughter would be thrilled to see her doing more activities with Paisley. Maybe Ava would come, too. 

            “It would be a great Christmas do-over,” Sunny said, and chomped on a French fry. 

            “I’m all about trying again,” said Arianna. “I need some holiday happiness. I have a whole year worth of misery to make up for.” 

            “This could be a good start,” Sunny said. 

            “Maybe it will be enough to hold me through February,” Arianna said and frowned. “That’s going to be a fun month, with Valentine’s Day to look forward to.” 

            Sunny turned thoughtful. “What if you had something else to look forward to?” 

            “Christmas in February?” Molly joked. Oh, no. She could tell by their expressions that the other two were taking her seriously. 

            “Oh, yes!” Sunny enthused. “Let’s leave our trees up and decorate them for V-Day.” 

            “Heck, let’s leave them up in March and decorate them with shamrocks,” said Arianna. 

            “Let’s hire leprechauns to come clean our houses and bring us energy drinks,” Molly said. These two were getting out of control. 

            “What if you could do Christmas all year?” Arianna mused. She turned to Molly. “I know how people treat you at the post office during the holidays. Wouldn’t it be nice to enjoy that holiday cheer without the stress of the Christmas rush?” 

            Actually, it would. But she didn’t need twelve months of it, did she? 

            “Christmas all year long—my step-kids would love it!” Sunny exclaimed. “What if we did something different around the twenty-fifth of every month to celebrate Christmas?” 

            It sounded like work to Molly. 

            “I’m so in,” Arianna said. “This last year has been miserable, and I’ve had enough of that. I want to make my life worth living again.”

            “A new one is waiting,” said Sunny, who was obviously an optimist. “And I’m determined to spread the love to my in-laws.” 

            “I could stand to rediscover my joy,” Molly admitted. “But all year long?” 

            “Why not? It would give us something to look forward to every month,” said Sunny. 

            “A new year of new beginnings,” Arianna added with a smile. 

            “I’m all about that,” Sunny said. “No matter what life throws at us we can keep our stockings hung and fill our lives with good stuff.” 

            “Keep up our trees and our spirits,” chimed in Arianna. She looked expectantly at Molly. 

            It all sounded great, but Molly still hesitated. “Umm.” 

            “No grumpy postal patrons involved. Good times with your granddaughter,” Arianna said. Then she added the kicker. “You can make up for falling asleep during her winter program.” 

            “Okay, I’m in,” Molly relented. Maybe, if she had a whole year, she could even find time to make those bonbons with Paisley. 

            “All right! Here’s to twelve months of Christmas,” Sunny said, raising her glass of beer. 

            Arianna raised her glass also. “Twelve months of Christmas. Better attitudes, better times, cookies, presents …”           

            “And a partridge in a pear tree,” Molly finished and raised her glass of Pepsi as well. She had to be out of her mind to let these two talk her into this. 

            But maybe she needed something fun to look forward to every month. Maybe she could rediscover the enthusiasm she’d once felt for the holidays. For life. She’d fallen into a rut. It was way past time to crawl out. She only hoped she’d have the energy. 

            After Arianna dropped her off, she texted Mia. 

Molly:  You will not believe what your daughter has just suckered me into. 

Mia:  Neighborhood block party? 

Molly: Worse! Christmas all year long. 

Mia: Sounds charming. Ho, ho, ho. 

Molly:  I ho, ho, hope I survive it! 

            This was going to be an interesting year.

 ~~~~~~~~~

Readers, would you be up for celebrating each month, all year long? What would that look like in your life? 

Have you read Sheila Roberts yet? Or seen the television movies based on her books?

When do you start reading holiday books? Or, like me, do you read them all year long?

Two randomly chosen people who post a comment by 11:00 PM, September 15 will receive a print ARC of The Twelve Months of Christmas.

*U.S. only

*Must be 18

Sheila Roberts 

Before launching her author career, Sheila Roberts owned a singing telegram company, wrote music and played in a band. Now Sheila is the USA Today bestselling author of more than 50 novels, including ON STRIKE FOR CHRISTMAS, which was made into a Lifetime Network movie. Also adapted for the small screen, Sheila’s THE NINE LIVES OF CHRISTMAS is a perennial Hallmark channel favorite, and CHRISTMAS ON CANDY CANE LANE debuted on The Great American Family Channel in December. The author has sold more than three million copies of her novels. A cancer survivor, she is a sunny extrovert who loves to entertain her girlfriends and readers at author events and visit with book clubs. Sheila resides in Washington state with her husband, not far from where THE TWELVE MONTHS OF CHRISTMAS takes place. For more information about Sheila, visit www.sheilasplace.com. 

    Sheila’s author Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/funwithsheila

 

    Sheila’s Instagram author page: https://www.instagram.com/sheilarobertswriter/ 

    Sheila’s TikTok page  https://www.tiktok.com/@sheilarobertswriter

    Sheila’s BookBub page:  https://www.bookbub.com/authors/sheila-roberts 

    Sheila’s Goodreads page:  https://www.goodreads.com/sheilaroberts