Spotlight & Giveaway: Noel, Alabama by Susan Sands

Posted October 20th, 2020 by in Blog, Spotlight / 62 comments

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Susan Sands to HJ!
Spotlight&Giveaway

Hi Susan and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Noel, Alabama!

 
Hi Everyone! I’m thrilled t be here!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Noel, Alabama is the second-chances story of Bailey Boone and Seth McKay and is set in Ministry, Alabama, the same fictional town as my four other Alabama stories. Bailey, a film studio location manager in L.A. has returned to her hometown with a cast of actors and film crew after being booted from their current winter wonderland in the middle of filming.

Seth is the sheriff of Ministry, and Bailey’s ex. They have a past that is long and complicated, but unresolved. Bailey’s arrival throws the entire town into chaos, and Seth’s heart.

Bailey chooses Ministry for filming because nobody does Christmas like Ministry, Alabama. She knows it will be difficult to face Seth, but it’s her only option on short notice to save the film and get the promotion she deserves.

While offering to help Bailey however he can, he realizes she’s living her dream. The one she’d left him and her home for at eighteen. But he also falls for her all over again, which is problematic because there’s no solution for that.

Bailey spends time with her dad and Seth after getting hurt at the town’s 5K Jingle Jog. Uncovering some old family mementos in the attic brings back memories Bailey has worked hard to forget. Seth the only man she’s ever loved. And it seems she still does.

And unexpected early inheritance gives Bailey the opportunity to take a new career path, one that could include Seth.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

“Junior over at the taxidermist’s office preserves my babies for perpetuity so I can always have them by my side,” she said by way of explanation.
“O-oh. I’ve never heard of doing that with cats,” Bailey said, working not to pass judgment of this strangeness.
The woman giggled. “That’s alright. Some people think it’s pretty weird but I don’t give a dog’s behind about their opinions.”

“Where homemade casseroles were the currency of family pride, and bless your heart may be murmured sympathetically because one lost a family member or more likely muttered as a verbal eye roll.”

“The mere mention of Seth McKay brought to mind the mental picture of the grown-up Seth. And how he filled out his Wranglers. Yes, she’d noticed he still wore the same brand as when he was nineteen. They were utterly timeless in her opinion.”

 

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

  • Fun Fact: My maiden name is Noel. Total coincidence that my publisher coined the title–I think.
  • Not Fun: I wrote this entire book while in COVId-19 lockdown. It was strange not mentioning masks and social distancing in the story.
  • Not Fun: I signed the contract for this book while sitting in the hospital at the bedside of my mother who was semi-conscious while suffering from a fall after discharge from the hospital after major spine surgery.

 

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

I love real people, so I write real characters. They are flawed and they make mistakes. They are funny and sometimes say the wrong things. They are people I would like to know.

 

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

My secondary character, Alexis stole my heart. She popped out with this line that I think is one of the best in the story:

Alexis took Bailey’s hand. “Seth or no Seth, Bailey, I think you should go for this. We need to stop plotting our futures and our happy endings with men in mind.”

 

Readers should read this book….

Because it’s a story of two people who forge a new pathway toward a future that might be uncertain. They’ve pretty much given up on being together. It’s filled with humor, discovery of the past, and lots of holiday fun!

 

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

I’ve just signed a three-book contract for a Louisiana series. These are books I’ve had in my mind and heart for years. They are steeped with moss-draped ancient Oaks and deep waters in a town as old as the Louisiana Purchase. Spicy food, family, and secrets surround a historic property.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

 

Giveaway: 1 signed copy of Christmas, Alabama
1 signed copy of Noel, Alabama
$20 Amazon Gift Card

 

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: What’s your favorite holiday tradition?

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from Noel, Alabama:

Chapter One
“Anybody got an idea here? Anybody at all?” Mr. Stone, the location manager for the film, and Bailey’s boss, yelled. His face was beet red, almost as red as his skinny pants. He had a yellow sweater tied around his neck, where the veins popped out prominently.

Bailey, Jem, and Alexis, along with a handful of other assistant producers, directors, and higher-ups sat, all tense, because the worst-case scenario had befallen them.

The director, Brad, was equally red in the face. This meeting wasn’t going well. “Since we’ve spent a couple million dollars already to shoot this picture, only to lose our location because of—” The director’s disgust could be felt like a wave throughout the room.

The reason they’d lost their filming location was the singular fault of a minor actor’s amorous exploits with the mayor’s wife in the town where they’d been shooting the project. The mayor had kicked them out, effective immediately, using a clause in the contract where he’d found a decency loophole, and that, as they say in the business, had been a wrap.

Bailey, as assistant location manager, somehow felt as if she should do something, even though losing their Christmas location smack in the middle of filming wasn’t anything to do with her.

Before the idea was fully formed, and as the knot formed in her belly, Bailey stood and spoke, not nearly as loudly or confidently as she’d hoped. “I’ve got a place for us—I think. I might be able to fix this. Give me a week to see if I can work it out.”

All heads turned and eyes fixed on Bailey. Oh God. She would have to go back to Ministry, Alabama. She would have to go home. “My hometown in Alabama. It’s the most Christmas-y of all the Christmas places you’ve ever been. The gigantic tree in the town square rivals Rockefeller Center, I swear.”

The producer, who’d sat quietly stewing throughout the meeting, skewered her with a stare. “You’ve got a week to secure lodging for all of us, plus the trailers, and base camp. Stone will fill you in.” He indicated with a dismissive hand to her pinched-lipped boss.

Now she’d done it. There was no going back.
***
“Are you sure this is going to work?” Alexis asked. “Sounds like you put yourself in a pickle if it doesn’t.”

“I’m almost sure,” Bailey said, biting her lip. But there were so many reasons she personally rebelled against the entire idea of it. “I mean, I think I can get what I need back home for the scenes we still have to shoot. They’re all exterior, so that should give us some flexibility.”

“But Alabama.” Alexis made a face.

“Yeah, you have no idea. But not for the obvious reasons,” Bailey said.

“Sounds like heading back home isn’t your first choice.” Alexis raised her eyebrows in question. “Do tell.”
“Long story. But it will be great to see my daddy.”

“Oh, that sounds charming. Daddy. Kind of like Gone with the Wind. I can’t wait to meet him.” Alexis was a friend, and Bailey was thankful she would be joining her on this adventure home.

“You’ll love Ministry. If only for the shock value and the pizza.”

“Pizza?”

“Best pizza you’ve ever had.”

“Can’t wait.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Bailey Boone wasn’t like the other girls in Ministry, Alabama. Her creative soul drove her from home—and Seth McKay—at eighteen. Now she’s home with a film crew to save her current Christmas project—and maybe get that promotion. But will Seth, her ghost of Christmas past, give her a reason to stay?
Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | kobo | Google |
 
 

Meet the Author:

A self-described late bloomer, Susan Sands began writing her first novel at age forty. She compares her challenging journey to publication as “raising another child—a difficult one.”

Susan has published five southern, contemporary women’s fiction novels set in Alabama. She describes her humorous small-town stories as fun, romantic, and filled with big family love. Susan also writes authentic place-as-a-character southern fiction with a humorous voice in addition to her Alabama series.

Susan has three grown children and lives with her dentist husband in Roswell, GA. She has a degree in elementary education, is a member of the Georgia Romance Writers, the Romance Writers of America, the Atlanta Writer’s Club, Womens Fiction Writers of America (WFWA), and the Broadleaf Writers Association. She participates in book festivals, book clubs, and writer’s conferences around the South. Susan is the recipient of the 2017 Georgia Author of the Year award for romance.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram |
 
 
 

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62 Responses to “Spotlight & Giveaway: Noel, Alabama by Susan Sands”

  1. Jeanna Massman

    We usually host a Christmas Eve gathering for family and friends but probably not this year.

  3. Sonia

    My favorite holiday tradition is baking Christmas cookies while enjoying the family stories 🙂

  4. Diana Hardt

    My favorite holiday tradition is making my dad’s Christmas cookies with my dad.

  6. Mary Preston

    In our family the youngest person present always puts the Angel atop the Christmas tree when we decorate it. On Christmas morning the oldest person present always plays “Santa” handing out the gifts from beneath the tree. Traditions are all important.

  9. Tiffany Greene

    My favorite holiday tradition is my kids and I going to my parents house to exchange gifts with my family (brother, his wife and three boys) (Sister, her husband and kids) We usually have dinner and sit around and enjoy being together!

  13. Laurie Gommermann

    We go to the local tree farm Wild Rose Choose and Cut in central Wisconsin to cut down our tree.

  15. Janine

    I have been wanting to read this book. My favorite holiday tradition is driving around at night looking at the lights and decorations on houses.

  20. Debbie P

    My favorite holidays tradition is making Christmas cookies. Also going to church on Christmas Eve then coming home and staying up late getting things ready for Christmas Day for the most part with just lots and lots of candles lit.

  27. Carol

    For the holidays, all of my sisters meet up for thanksgiving dinner. We usually don’t see each other on Christmas

  32. Pammie R.

    The holidays in my hometown mean a lot of community activities. Those are the traditions I do year after year. This year, the majority of them will be cancelled, scaled back, or radically changed, but I hope to join in on as many as possible.

  33. Athena Graeme

    I am crazy about the holidays. I especially follow the Icelandic tradition of giving books on Christmas Eve, curling up in bed with a box of chocolates and a new book!

  35. Kay Garrett

    My favorite holiday is Christmas. I love how it seems to bring out the best in people. We actually think of others instead of it being about just “me”. I love the traditions and memories that flood back from years past around the holiday and the chance to make new ones in the present year.

    My favorite Christmas tradition from Christmas’ past was my Dad always arriving very early so he could go down the hall saying “Hohoho Santa’s been here!” and waking up our daughter to go see what was under the tree. It was a tradition that we all loved – including his granddaughter. When she had just turned a teenager, she actually woke up very early to get dressed and fixed up (you know teenagers when it comes to having their photos taken) and then crawled back into bed just so Pappaw could “wake her up” Christmas morning like he always did. I cherish these memories since both Dad and our daughter are together now having Christmas in heaven. <3 Mom joined them a few years later.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

  38. Tina R

    My favorite holiday tradition is placing a white dove on our tree at midnight on Christmas morning for each immediate family member who has passed away. It’s our way of having our loved ones with us during the holidays.

  44. Marcy Meyer

    My favorite holiday tradition is Christmas morning with my boys. Opening presents and stockings.

  45. Nicole (Nicky) Ortiz

    Christmas Eve dinner with my mom’s side of the family. We have a big dinner and them Santa comes to pass out presents and take pictures.

    Thanks for the chance!

  46. Karina Angeles

    Decorating the tree with the kids and listening to and singing Christmas songs.

  47. rkcjmomma

    Baking Christmas cookies and candies with my 4 kids while listening to Christmas music and then making trays for family and friends for gifts!

  53. peggy clayton

    My favorite traditon is mailing out 20 advent calenders to grandkids, nieces and nephews and friends that have children that we are close to we also enclose a book with each one and it is Hallmarks Currant year Christmas book, We always write something to the kids and date it and mail them in the same large envelope!

  58. Teresa Williams

    We live in North Alabama so we travel to the south to my sisters for Christmas Eve party all 36 of us then Christmas day with my daughter, two grandchildren ,and two great granddaughters.

  60. stephaniegrant4

    My favorite holiday tradition is doing the Santa Clause bit for my little. I enjoy playing Santa so much, I kinda dread him getting to old for Santa.