FREE Today: Too Young for Christmas
“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…”
Actually, Christmas has really snuck up on me this year. Between the end of my first semester of college in another country, and a lot of busyness in the week since I’ve been home, it’s hard to believe today is the day before Christmas!
BUT, this day is special not only because it’s Christmas Eve—I also have a special Christmas present for all of you loyal blog readers. Today is release day for a Christmas short story that has a special place in my heart.
Previously published in a limited-time Christmas anthology, this now-standalone short story is free—today through Boxing Day!
Too Young for Christmas
“Age is just a number with Jesus—and nobody’s too young for Christmas.”
Callie’s words used to be Brett’s anchor—now they only deepen the sting of guilt. Everybody said he was too young for this, and he’s beginning to think they were right.
For as long as he can remember, Brett has felt inadequate, unimportant, overlooked. Now, almost the only person who believed in him lies in a snowy grave, and Brett has to figure out where life goes from here. Memories of Callie’s faith in him fall as thickly as the treacherous snowflakes, but Brett is haunted by old insecurities and fresh, raw guilt.
Does God really knit together the good and bad of our lives in His great plan? Can He use the small and insignificant for His purpose? And does “nineteen-year-old single dad” sound plausible as anything beyond a shocking news headline?
Originally published in Seize the Night (Seize the World #1), this heartrending and heartwarming Christmas tale will remind you of the things that really matter—and the God who stepped into little Bethlehem two thousand years ago.
The Writing of Too Young for Christmas
When the Seize the Night anthology opened, I fell in love with one of the picture prompts that were the jumping off point for the anthology submissions. The picture showed a teenage guy holding a little baby boy in his arms. Instantly, the pieces of a story began swirling in my mind, and pretty soon, I knew I had the backbones of a sweet (and sad!) little tale.
But I couldn’t decide how to begin it—how to tell it. I had a story, but I didn’t know how to give it voice.
I don’t think I’ve ever had as much difficulty writing a short story as I did with this one. I wrote three or four attempted beginnings and scratched all of them. Scenes floated in my mind, but I couldn’t figure out where to begin or how to tie them together. Finally, I decided to start at the end and work backwards, using a series of flashbacks to tell a story that was somehow one continuous whole, and also a collection of snapshots. The result is the story I call Too Young for Christmas.
Get Your Copy of Too Young for Christmas Today!
Too Young for Christmas is FREE on Amazon, December 24-26. I know the holidays are busy, but don’t miss your chance to grab this sweet little story while it’s on sale!
Whether you save it for the quiet of the after-holiday lull, or steal a few moments to read it curled up by the Christmas tree today or tomorrow, I hope you enjoy this little Christmas tale as much as I do.
If you’d like another Christmas story to read, check out our recently published third story in the Library Blitz series:
Some things just don’t mix. Christmas and world wars being two of them. Or at least, that’s what Nora is desperately telling herself . . .
