The first time I read a “Farm Fresh” story by today’s feature author it made me want to pack up the family and visit the Pacific northwest! I started reading these stories before blogging so you can find Berry On Top here on the blog and my ratings and a few other reviews by visiting my profile on goodreads.

About the Author

Valerie Comer’s life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for stories of contemporary Christian romance. Like many of her characters, Valerie grows much of her own food and is active in the local foods movement as well as her church.

She only hopes her imaginary friends enjoy their happily-ever-afters as much as she does hers, shared with her husband, adult kids, and adorable granddaughters.

Valerie is a USA Today bestselling author and a two-time Word Award winner. She has been called “a stellar storyteller” as she injects experience laced with humor into her green clean romances.

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Be sure to check out Valerie’s website! It is loaded with great information about her books, farming, and writing!

Five Favorites

What are five of your favorite Christmas traditions?

Valerie: 1. Christmas Eve service at our church. I love the carols and candlelight while we focus on the Christ Child!

Beth: That sounds lovely! I always look forward to Christmas Sundays! 

2. Christmas morning stockings. Our kids didn’t want to give up their stockings when they reached adulthood! Instead, we all agreed to pick up a few small items for everyone else’s stocking. This makes it a lot more fun and a lot less pressure on Mom and Dad.

3. The ‘can’t miss’ event of the season is with my side of the family. Many years ago, my sister and I agreed we got enough turkey already. Since then, we’ve done a festive hors d’oeuvres meal together, followed by carols, the Christmas story, and gifts.

With half a dozen little people in the extended family, we’re slowly removing the gift portion in favor of a Christmas craft. The real joy is time spent together.

Beth: Great ideas! We love stockings and little people, too.

4. Sourdough waffles with bacon and cheese served with real maple syrup is our traditional Christmas breakfast. Yep, cooked bacon and shredded cheese go right in the waffle maker on top of the sourdough batter. If you’ve never tried it, you should. Soooo good.

Beth: Since my husband is the food enthusiast, I’ll let him try them first! 😉

5. Decorating Christmas cookies together. My mom always had her grandkids over for an afternoon in December to decorate sugar cookies and/or gingerbread men.

This is a tradition I haven’t quite managed to establish yet with my own grandgirls (ages 6, 4, and 4), partly because we don’t all live in the same town. One of these years we’ll make it happen.

Beth: Cookies are a great tradition! I adore cookies.

Books

Would you tell us a little about your new series?

Valerie: I’ve created a completely different set of traditions for my Christmas in Montana Romance series, as both stories center around pageantry.

I’ve never been tempted to enter myself or my daughter in a beauty pageant, but it was a fun premise to work into a romance series with all the glitz at Christmas.

The first two stories, More Than a Tiara and Other Than a Halo, have been released. Let me tell you about the second book.

Even though she’s a new woman in Christ, single mom Bren Haddock was no angel as a teen. Now managing the Hiller Farm for a CSA, life is good until a friend offers to enter her daughter into the Little Miss Snowflake Pageant.

Old insecurities flare when she meets the intriguing head of marketing the pageant.

Rob Santoro isn’t so sure about handling the pageant portfolio until he meets Bren. Soon he’s fallen for her and her two kids. When a Thanksgiving adventure goes awry, he’s left wondering how to love a woman who refuses to be loved.

What will it take for Bren to retire her tarnished halo and move into the future God has for her?

Goodreads | Amazon

What can you tell us about what you are currently working on?

As for what’s upcoming, I’m working on a large group project right now that will span 2017 and 2018. It’s focused on my first love: romances that blend foodie themes with faith. I can’t wait until we can invite readers into our new world of stories!

Beth: Thank you so much for sharing about your Christmas traditions and your Christmas series! It was such a pleasure to have you on the blog today, Valerie!

 

Your turn, readers! Tell us your favorite Christmas traditions.

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