Christmas From the Heart by Sheila Roberts-Review, Interview, & Giveaway

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 4, 2019

Sometimes you need to look beyond the big picture to see what really matters

Olivia Berg’s charity, Christmas from the Heart, has helped generations of families in need in Pine River, Washington, but this year might be the end of the road. Hightower Enterprises, one of their biggest donors since way back when Olivia’s grandmother ran the charity, has been taken over by Ebenezer Scrooge the Second, aka CFO Guy Hightower, and he’s declared there will be no more money coming to Christmas from the Heart.

Guy is simply being practical. Hightower Enterprises needs to tighten its belt, and when you don’t have money to spare, you don’t have money to share. You’d think even the pushy Olivia Berg could understand that.

With charitable donations dwindling, Olivia’s Christmas budget depends on Hightower’s contribution. She’s focused her whole life on helping this small town, even putting her love life on hold to support her mission.

When Guy’s Maserati breaks down at the edge of the Cascade foothills, he’s relieved to be rescued by a pretty young woman who drives him to the nearby town of Pine River. Until he realizes his rescuer is none other than Olivia Berg. What’s a Scrooge to do? Plug his nose and eat fruitcake and hope she doesn’t learn his true identity before he can get out of town. What could go wrong?

••••••••

REVIEW:CHRISTMAS FROM THE HEART is a stand alone, contemporary, adult, holiday romance story line focusing on CFO of Hightower Enterprises Guy Hightower, and Olivia Berg, manager of the charity Christmas From the Heart.

Told from three third person perspectives (Olivia, Guy and Morris) CHRISTMAS FROM THE HEART follows Olivia Berg’s battle to procure and maintain donors for her struggling charity Christmas From the Heart. When Hightower Enterprises, their oldest and most prolific donor, pulls out of the charity drive, Olivia becomes aggressive in an effort to ‘guilt’ Guy Hightower into donating to her organization. Months will past, as the holidays approach, and Olivia continues to vent about Hightower’s non-participation in the holiday event. Several days before Christmas, Olivia will ‘rescue’ a stranger from the side of the road, a stranger with whom Olivia will begin to fall in love. Enter Guy Hightower aka Joe Ford. What ensues is the building friendship between Olivia and Guy, and the fall-out when Joe Ford’s true identity is revealed.

Guy Hightower had no desire to spend his Christmas holidays in Pine River, Washington, but a detour on his way home to visit family, resulted in Guy’s car needing repairs, and our hero, face to face with a woman he has battled, online, for months. Olivia Berg continues to struggle to gather money for the Christmas charity but when a seemingly well-to –do stranger lands in Pine River for the holidays, Olivia pulls out all the proverbial stops, in an effort to wine and dine for friendship and money. Meanwhile, our heroine, continues to wait for the ‘one’ believing ‘Joe Ford’ is the one to give her, her own, happily ever after.

The relationship between Olivia and Guy is an enemies to friends to something more but Olivia has no idea that the handsome stranger is the man she has ‘hated’ for close to a year. Ever persistent, Olivia battles between head and heart with her attraction to a man who is only in town for a short while, an attraction that is complicated by the affections of her home-town friendship with another man who is willing to give Olivia everything and more. There are no $ex scenes; the romance is almost non-existent; the hero keeps his distance knowing he has lied about his identity, and herein lies the problem-I didn’t feel the attraction between our leading couple. There is no romance, no love, no physical contact therefore the palpable sexual energy is missing.

The secondary and supporting characters include Guy Hightower’s Pine River rival, Morris, a man who has loved Olivia Berg for most of his life. Morris isn’t willing to sit back and let ‘Joe Ford’ take the woman he loves but Olivia struggles with her attraction to ‘Joe’ and the sure thing back home.

CHRISTMAS FOR THE HEART is a charming story; a sweet look at small town lifes.

Copy supplied by the publisher

Reviewed by Sandy

TRC:Hi Sheila and welcome to The Reading Café.

Congratulations on the recent release of CHRISTMAS FROM THE HEART?

Sheila: Thank you, and thank you for having me.

TRC:We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?

Sheila: I live in the Pacific Northwest and have been happily married for about a million years. Before I stumbled into my writing career I was busy trying to make it as a songwriter. That didn’t work out as planned but that’s okay. I love sitting around making up stuff!

TRC:Who or what influenced your career in writing?

Sheila: I had been writing stories since I was a child, so I guess you’d say I was already priming the pump back then. I’ve had some wonderful friends along the way who encouraged me when the going got tough and will always be grateful to my friends Susan Wiggs, Debbie Macomber, and Jill Barnett for their support.

TRC:What challenges or difficulties did you encounter writing and publishing this story?

Sheila: I can’t say that I struggled very much with this story. I loved my characters and
it was simply fun to write. But then, Christmas is my favorite holiday and I love Christmas stories.

TRC: Would you please tell us something about the premise of CHRISTMAS FORM THE HEART?

Sheila: This is a Scrooge story, with this particular Scrooge stuck in the home town where the woman whose charity he left hanging lives. (Strictly a business decision, you know. Nothing personal.)I’m happy to report that my modern day Scrooge learns his lesson.

TRC:Is the story part of a series?

Sheila: This particular book stands on its own.

TRC:What kind of research/plotting did you do, and how long did you spend researching plotting before beginning CHRISTMAS FROM THE HEART.?

Sheila: No matter how easy you think a book is going to be to write, there’s always research to do. For this one it was researching the distance from one place to another, calculating how long it would take to drive. And, of course, business details had to be run by someone as I am not a corporate girl. In fact, I remember my husband once shaking his head and telling me I’d never have made it in the corporate world. Good thing I was happy in the world I’m in!

TRC:How difficult is it to write a ‘holiday/Christmas’ story line- off-season?

Sheila: I’m always happy to celebrate Pre-Christmas with a story so this was fun.

TRC:Do you believe the cover image plays a deciding factor for many readers in the
process of selecting a book or new series to read?

Sheila: It’s hard to speak to that with any authority since I’m neither an artist nor a marketing expert. All I can say is I personally am always attracted to a pretty cover.

TRC:When writing a storyline, do the characters direct the writing or do you direct the
characters?

Sheila: I direct them and they so as they’re told. ? One of the things I love about being a
writer is the fact that it’s the one place I get to be completely in charge!

TRC:The mark of a good writer is to pull the reader into the storyline so that they
experience the emotions along with the characters. What do you believe a writer must
do to make this happen? Where do you believe writer’s fail in this endeavor?

Sheila: I think a writer really needs to be able to step onto a character’s heart and
mind. If you do that then your character’s feelings and behavior will ring true. Sometimes writers focus on all bad in their villains and all food in their heroes, and that tends to make characters one dimensional because we’re all a mix of good and bad, wise and foolish.

TRC:Do you listen to music while writing? If so, does the style of music influence the storyline direction? Characters?

Sheila: I’ll sometimes listen to music… always instrumental though. Otherwise, I get
distracted and start singing along!

TRC:What do you believe is the biggest misconception people have about authors?

Sheila: That what we do is easy.

TRC:How should authors measure a book’s success?

Sheila: If readers enjoy reading what you wrote then you’re a success.

TRC:What is something that few, if anyone, knows about you?

Sheila: I’m pathetically impatient.

TRC: Who is your favorite author (living or dead)?

Sheila: Oh, good grief, I have a ton! John Grisham, Lee Child, Donald E. Westlake, Susan
Wiggs, to name a few.

TRC:On what are you currently working?

Sheila: I’m actually working on next year’s Christmas book! Ho, ho, ho.

TRC:Would you like to add anything else?

Sheila: Only that I am so grateful to be able to something I love so much for a living.
Thank God for readers. They make that possible.

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food
Thai

Favorite Dessert
Cake!

Favorite TV Show
Dancing with the Stars

Last Movie You Saw
In the Theater? The Greatest Showman

Dark or Milk Chocolate
Both

Secret Celebrity Crush
Johnny Depp

Last Vacation Destination
England

Do you have any pets?
Not any more. The only animal in my house now is my husband!

Last book you read
Blue Moon by Lee Child

TRC:Thank you SHEILA for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations on the release of CHRISTMAS FROM THE HEART. We wish you all the best.

Sheila Roberts and Harper Collins are graciously offering a paper copy of CHRISTMAS FROM THE HEART to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.

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9. Giveaway open to USA only

10. Giveaway runs from September 29-October 4,2019