Welcome to the Blog Tour for I'll Be Home by Sara Davison, Darlene L. Turner, Helena Smrcek, and Melanie Stevenson, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
About the Book
Title: I'll Be Home
Authors: Sara Davison, Darlene L. Turner, Helena Smrcek, & Melanie Stevenson
Publisher: Independent (Fab Four Press)
Release Date: October 29, 2024
Genre: Contemporary Christmas anthology
With chaos and confusion all around them, can they find their way home this Christmas?
The people in these four stories are all searching for something—an escaped convict, a job promotion from a love interest, connection to a lost parent, answers across time.
Christmas should be a time of wonder and celebration, but the obstacles each faces seem insurmountable. Even, at times, life-threatening.
Perhaps they will find what they are seeking during this season of miracles and hope. Or maybe, with God’s help, they will discover that the longing of their hearts takes them to places—and people—they didn’t even know they’d been searching for.
I’ll Be Home is a collection of four stories of faith, hope, love, (and trains) that will warm your heart, encourage your soul, and draw you home this Christmas.
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub
Guest Post from Authors
Sara Davison, Darlene L. Turner, Helena Smrcek, and Melanie Stevenson
Favorite Christmas memories of each story's main characters and individual story covers
Emory’s favorite Christmas memory was baking cookies with her mother and her sister, Autumn. She loved to taste the batter, and after they’d finished decorating, she would have a play-fight with them. In “Mistletoe and Mayhem in the Rockies,” Emory recreates this tradition and it’s the catalyst that brings her love of Christmas back.
Hunter’s favorite time at Christmas was Christmas night after everything was done. While most hated that Christmas was over, he loved to sit in front of the tree and stare at the lights, reflecting on God’s serenity. The peacefulness calmed him. His favorite hymn is “Silent Night” because it was his mother’s.
In “Just a Gilbert Blythe Kind of Girl,” Lucy’s favorite Christmas memories are the years her dad took her to see her mother play Anne of Green Gables in The Avonlea Christmas Show. That sparked a desire in Lucy to follow in her mother’s footsteps, especially after her mother dies in a plane crash trying to come home from New York to spend Christmas with them. Which means that, this Christmas, when she is offered the opportunity to play the same role on the same stage that her mother played, she will finally be able to honor the best memory she has. Until she discovers that memories aren’t always true …
August has good memories of growing up and spending the holidays with his parents and older brothers and sister. His one Christmas wish has never come true, though. Until this year, when he dares to hope that the girl next door might stop dreaming about a man who doesn’t exist and realize that everything she has ever wanted is standing right in front of her.
Nick’s favorite Christmas memory is listening to Grandma’s stories of Christmas past. Every Christmas Eve, after dinner, the family would sit by the fire, the room warm with the scent of pine and oranges. Grandma would pull Nick close and share vivid tales of growing up in the old country—the handmade gifts, simple meals, and candles lit in the window for those far away. Her stories were filled with the joy of simpler times, where the true meaning of the season was in the togetherness of family. Those evenings shaped Nick’s view of Christmas as a time of reflection and deep connection although, by the time he meets Joy in “Love Across Time,” his feelings toward the holiday season have definitely changed…
Joy’s favorite Christmas memory was baking cookies with her grandfather. Every year, they’d spend the afternoon in his cozy kitchen, the counters dusted with flour and the air thick with the smell of vanilla and cinnamon. He taught her how to roll out the dough and cut out shapes—trees, stars, and angels—before carefully placing them on the trays. Joy loved how her grandfather always snuck a little dough to taste, winking as if it were their shared secret. As the cookies baked, they’d sit together, sipping hot cocoa, waiting for the oven timer to ding. Those quiet moments, filled with laughter and the warmth of tradition, taught Joy that Christmas wasn’t just about the decorations but the love shared through simple acts of togetherness.
When we meet Porsha in “Where My Heart Belongs,” we learn she hates Christmas. I know (as Porsha would say). Before the fateful Christmas when her father left, Porsha’s favorite memories were the Christmas mornings as a family where she and her parents would gather by the tree in their pajamas and open presents while songs like, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” played in the background. Now, her favorite memories are the first Christmas spent with Grant when she found her faith in the ice chapel… and the extra special event the following Christmas Eve.
Grant’s favorite Christmas memories are the ones spent with his family at his parent's log cabin. Those memories include shared laughter over turkey dinner, singing Christmas carols by the fire, and nibbling home-baked Christmas cookies. Tradition dictates one present each on Christmas Eve, which turns into a favorite Christmas memory for Grant when he gifts Porsha with a birch bark scroll, the words inside asking her out on their first date. That favorite memory is rivaled only by the precious one they share the year after (insert winky face, as Porsha would say).
Also Available
About the Authors
Sara Davison is the author of The Night Guardians, The Rose Tattoo, two sparrows for a penny, and In the Shadows series, as well as the standalone, The Watcher. A finalist for more than a dozen national writing awards, including the Christy Award, Davison is a Holt Medallion, Cascade, and two-time Carol Award winner for romantic suspense. She lives in Ontario with her husband, Michael. Like every good Canadian, she loves coffee, hockey, poutine, and apologizing for no particular reason.
Connect with Sara by visiting saradavison.org to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.
Darlene L. Turner is an award-winning and a Publishers Weekly best-selling author and lives with her husband, Jeff in Ontario, Canada. Her love of suspense began when she read her first Nancy Drew book. She’s turned that passion into her writing and believes readers will be captured by her plots, inspired by her strong characters, and moved by her inspirational message.
Connect with Darlene by visiting darlenelturner.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.
Helena Smrcek is an award-winning author, screenwriter, public speaker and writing coach. She is known for her thrilling and heartwarming stories. Her career began as a high school freelancer, leading to three decades in publishing. She co-founded Write!Canada and The Word Guild and has graduated from multiple writing programs.
Connect with Helena by visiting helenasmrcek.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.
Melanie Stevenson is an award-winning author and lives in Ontario, Canada, surrounded by her husband and four children. She attended the University of Waterloo and obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts. Melanie's first book, One More Tomorrow, was shortlisted in the Word Alive Press publishing contest out of over two hundred entries across North America and was published in 2019. In 2020, she won Best Romantic Fiction for One More Tomorrow and Best New Canadian Author at The Word Awards—Canada's top Christian literary awards. Her mission is to create stories of excellence that impact hearts and lives. Paper, canvas, and dirt are her favorite blank pages.
Connect with Melanie by visiting melaniestevenson.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.
Tour Giveaway
(1) winner will receive a $25 Amazon card plus a paperback copy of I'll Be Home!
Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight October 29, 2024 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on November 5, 2024. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US/CAN only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.
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Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
