Spotlight & Giveaway: Celebration at Christmas Cove by Carrie Jansen

Posted November 5th, 2021 by in Blog, Spotlight / 36 comments

Today, HJ is pleased to share with you Carrie Jansen’s new release: Celebration at Christmas Cove

 

Spotlight&Giveaway

 
In this humorous and heartwarming romance, sparks fly between a woman who can’t wait to leave a wintry New England island, and a widower who would do anything to stay.

 
Travel magazine writer Celeste Bell is in a terrible mood. Not only was her flight to the Caribbean diverted to a Massachusetts island, now it looks like she’ll have to spend Christmas there. Single and still mourning the loss her mother a year earlier, Celeste is desperate to avoid any emotional entanglements and all holiday festivities. She just doesn’t feel like celebrating.

But that’s exactly what community center executive director Nathan White and his young daughter, Abigail, want to do. Nathan is entirely focused on making sure that his daughter has a happy Christmas, especially with the knowledge that if he can’t raise money for the community center soon, it will close and they’ll have to leave the island. When he meets Celeste, Nathan begins to feel a connection and wonders if he’s brave enough to risk his heart once more.

Thawing their frozen hearts and saving the community center will require a Christmas miracle. But tis the season…

 

Enjoy an exclusive excerpt from Celebration at Christmas Cove 

When the plane finally rolled to a stop and the cabin lights came on, Nathan noticed Celeste was trembling. She’d been so sympathetic when he’d mentioned his meeting with the foundation, he wanted to reciprocate her kindness.

“You’re going to need this.” He handed her his overcoat, half expecting her to refuse it, but she nodded compliantly and put it on.

As if in a daze, she disembarked the plane before Gary had a chance to retrieve her carry-on from stowage. Nathan waited to take it and then had to jog to catch up. As she trudged toward the terminal, she kept her chin tucked to her chest, her ponytail flailing wildly above her head. Nathan’s coat hit her legs just below her knees and her hands disappeared within its sleeves. She looked so downcast he had a fleeting urge to wrap his arm around her. Instead, he opened the door and the wind pushed her inside.

Almost immediately they were greeted by one of the five IslandSky employees who lived on the island. “Hi, Nathan. How was your meeting?”

“Hey, Patty. It was all right, thanks. They said our proposal was strong, and they’ll let us know the final outcome sometime after Christmas.”

Although Nathan’s statement was technically true, he felt a twinge of guilt for misleading her. Not just because he was putting a falsely positive spin on his meeting, but also because Patty, along with all the other residents on Sea Spray Island, had no idea how much was really at stake.

They shouldn’t have even known he was meeting with the foundation rep to discuss the grant application in the first place. However, the community center’s receptionist, Samantha, had a bad habit of sharing the information she gleaned when screening Nathan’s calls, and rumors on the island spread faster than the common cold. So, thirty minutes after the rep phoned last week to invite him to a meeting, virtually everyone on the island, including his daughter, knew he was going to Boston to today. Ironically, since Nathan had been at the garage having his tires rotated when the call came in, he was the last person to find out about the meeting—his mechanic told him.

At least Nathan and the board of directors had been able to keep the center’s financial crisis under wraps after the death of their major benefactor. The staff and islanders knew he’d applied for a grant, but they had no idea how big or how crucial the monetary award was. And Nathan had no intention of telling anyone else, including his staff, about the outcome of the meeting until he’d called the board president, Mark Gilchrist, tomorrow. In turn, together the two of them would tell the rest of the board members the outcome. If I’m lucky, they’ll break the news to the public so I won’t have to, he thought.

Patty squinted at him and puckered her lips to one side, as if she wasn’t quite buying his answer, but fortunately, she moved on to question his traveling companion, who still appeared a little peaked.

“You must be Celeste Bell, the passenger scheduled to continue on to New York,” Patty deduced. “Sorry, hon, but there aren’t going to be any more flights in or out tonight, unless Santa himself shows up with a sleigh and eight flying reindeer.”

Once again, Nathan anticipated an expression of dismay, but Celeste merely nodded and asked where the rental car agency was located.

“It’s in that direction.” Patty jabbed her thumb toward the opposite side of the terminal lounge, which was just a large rectangular area with two vending machines standing back-to-back in the middle of it and a row of blue plastic chairs around the periphery.

Celeste scanned the room. “I’m sorry, where?”

“That way. About two miles up the road.”

Nathan winced. Patty could be . . . imperceptive at times. Way too literal. He trusted her intentions were good and she earnestly meant to be helpful by providing Celeste the information for which she asked, even if it wasn’t the information she needed to know.

“So then, how would someone rent a car from here?” Her tone indicated she’d snapped out of her stupor.

“They’d call Buddy—he’s the rental car manager—and he’d pick them up and take them over to the agency. Simple as pie.”

“Okaaay.” Celeste drew the syllable out as if struggling to keep her patience. “Would you happen to know how I can get Buddy’s number?”

“It’s taped on the wall above the courtesy phone over there, but he’s off-island for the holidays, so if you call him, you’ll get a recording telling you to call Beatriz. But since Beatriz has three little ones, she’s probably getting ready for bed. You’ll have to wait until her husband comes home from the restaurant before she can drive over to get you—”

Celeste’s complexion was going pink, and she looked as if she was on the brink of either screaming or sobbing, so Nathan cut in. “Listen, my sister will be here in a sec to pick me up. She’ll be glad to give you a ride to the nearest inn, okay?”

Before Celeste had a chance to reply, Patty threw in her two cents. “That’s a great idea. I already logged off the computer so I can bring it home with me, and I’ve got a few bins to empty before I lock this place up. How about if we wait until tomorrow morning to reschedule your itinerary? Whether another plane arrives early tomorrow or the one you just took continues on to New York, it wouldn’t leave until nine-thirty, even under the best of conditions. I’m an early riser because of my grandbaby, so give me a ring anytime after five-thirty, and I’ll get you squared away. Here’s my contact info.” She fished a card from her pocket and pressed it into Celeste’s hand. With a wave over her shoulder to Nathan, she tottered toward the office.

“Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable,” Celeste muttered.

Nathan understood her frustration, but he hoped Patty was out of earshot. “Welcome to Christmas Cove,” was all he could think to say.

From CELEBRATION AT CHRISTMAS COVE published by arrangement with Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. Copyright © 2021 by Carrie Jansen.

Excerpt. ©Carrie Jansen. Posted by arrangement with the publisher. All rights reserved.
 
 

Giveaway: One physical copy of CELEBRATION AT CHRISTMAS COVE

 

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and post a comment to this Q: What did you think of the excerpt spotlighted here? Leave a comment with your thoughts on the book…

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Meet the Author:

Carrie Jansen earned an MFA in creative writing and published many poems and short stories before becoming a novelist. An avid bodyboarder and beach walker, she spends as much of the year as she can on Cape Cod, where she draws inspiration for her contemporary romances. She also writes Amish romance novels under her pseudonym, Carrie Lighte. Learn more online at carriejansen.com.

https://bookshop.org/books/celebration-at-christmas-cove/9780593438954
https://www.amazon.com/Celebration-Christmas-Spray-Island-Romance/dp/0593438957
 
 
 

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36 Responses to “Spotlight & Giveaway: Celebration at Christmas Cove by Carrie Jansen”

  2. Diana Hardt

    Nice cover. I liked the blurb and excerpt. It sounds like a wonderful book.

  9. dodgerfannnat

    I love a story with a Dad and a child who wants to make Christmas special for his child and a main character who is not into celebrating Christmas for a special reason. Melting hearts is always a good trope. And you don’t see too many books with a Patty in them. Being that is the name my family calls me, how could you go wrong. LOL.

  10. Pat Lieberman

    Having a hard time getting my post to appear. Not sure which email I use for this blog. (ladbookfan….) Anyway love a Dad who wants to make Christmas special for his child and a h/h who does not want to celebrate the holiday for special reason.

    • Pat Lieberman

      That is me above, Dodgerfannat and Pat Lieberman. Guess it took awhile to post. Was not sure which email I used.

  19. Eva Millien

    The excerpt has me hooked, I can’t wait to find out what happens next In Celebration at Christmas Cove! Thanks so much for sharing it with me!

  20. Dianne Casey

    Love the cover. I really liked the synopsis of the book. Looking forward to reading it.

  23. Bonnie

    What a wonderful book for the holidays! Great excerpt. I’d love to read more.

  29. Laurie Gommermann

    ChristmasCove sounds like a nice place to visit especially over the holidays. I like that the father puts his daughter’s needs first.
    Celeste sounds like she could use a break from her hectic life.
    I like the willingness of people to help those in trouble.

    I’m interested!

  30. Summer

    Already a strong sense of community which is always good in a warm Christmas story.

  32. Patricia B.

    Thank you for the excerpt. It tells us a bit about the island and the circumstances. We find out a little about the two main characters and the life upsets they are facing. This sounds like an enjoyable read with two people I would enjoy getting to know.