The temperature has cooled, and more Christmas advertisements arrive every day.

The close of autumn has, in some ways snuck up on me. In others, I’m part of the crowd who’s already anticipating the holiday season. Months ago, I chose November 1 as the release date for the paperback version of my Christmas novella, An Awestruck Christmas Medley.

As I prepare for that launch, I’ve been revisiting the pages of the story, which are filled with Christmas shopping, corny holiday wear (think: felt antlers and the like), hot cocoa, and so. much. snow.

Suddenly, our weather here in eastern Wisconsin, where we’ve had one or two frosts, seems headed in the right direction.

My goal in writing the story was to fill in the time gap between books 1 and 2 in the Rhythms of Redemption Romance series. If you’re not familiar with it, each book in the series follows one of the band members of the rock band Awestruck. Book 1, To Bring You Back, starred the lead singer Gannon Vaughn and Adeline, the woman he lost to poor choices eight years before.

The Christmas novella was a fun way to explore what happened on the tour that has started by the end of book 1 and to introduce the perspectives of the heroes who will star in the rest of the series.

But this novella, like the season we’re poised to enter, is about more than surface holiday cheer and an opportunity to spend time in a fictional world.

Gannon is now on a mission to battle whatever the weather throws at him and deliver the perfect Christmas gift to Adeline. The rest of the band, with problems and goals of their own, tags along.

The gift and the time with Adeline are important to Gannon because he wants to make up for some trouble they’ve experienced, thanks to his year-long tour.

As I set out to write the story, I didn’t see the tie-in to the real Christmas story.

Later, as I prepared to publish the novella, I had forgotten the connection again.

But, thankfully, I’d made a note in the acknowledgements of the novella, and that reminded me.

The four hundred miles and fourteen inches of snow Gannon faces to restore his relationship with Adeline are nothing compared to the lengths God went to as He provided the means for His children to spend not only one holiday, but rather, all of eternity with Him.

The gift Gannon gives is only the merest shadow of the gift God gave us—Himself.

God loves His children so much more than any fictional hero could ever love his fictional heroine. Whatever lengths a human hero, whether imagined or real, would go to in order to prove his love or restore a damaged relationship, God has done more.

God loves His children so much more than any fictional hero could ever love his fictional heroine. – @emilyrconrad shares about An Awestruck Christmas Medley and a giveaway! #christianromance #mustreads #newrelease Click To Tweet Whatever lengths a human hero, whether imagined or real, would go to in order to prove his love or restore a damaged relationship, God has done more. @emilyrconrad on An Awestruck Christmas Medley and a giveaway #christianromance… Click To Tweet

That first Christmas, He sent Jesus to live among us, fully God and fully man, Emmanuel. Jesus served and loved and lived the perfect life, and when the time came, He died to pay for our sins. And then He defeated death by rising from the grave, so that all who believe in Him will enjoy a restored relationship with God.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:16, ESV

And that’s why hope and restoration are themes throughout my fiction and my life.

It’s the basis for this quote from Awestruck’s drummer, John, in An Awestruck Christmas Medley:

“If ever there was a time for hope, Christmas had to be it.”

So, if you’re looking for some Christmas cheer with a dose of deeper meaning, I hope you’ll enjoy this latest installment in the Rhythms of Redemption Romance series. I do recommend reading To Bring You Back first to avoid spoilers.

Email subscribers receive an ecopy of An Awestruck Christmas Medley as a welcome gift, but if you’d rather not subscribe or if you’d prefer a paperback, you can order here or through other online retailers.

I’m also currently a part of 2 giveaways.

The first is a bundle with some goodies tied to An Awestruck Christmas Medley. It includes a paperback copy of An Awestruck Christmas Medley, a spruce tree grow kit, a journal, a bookmark, and a guitar pick. Enter right here through November 1, 2021.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The second is a multi-author giveaway. You can enter to win an ecopy of To Bring You Back as well as more than fifty other inspirational romances and an ereader. Click here to learn more and to enter through November 3, 2021.