Saturday, October 21, 2017

The Colors of Christmas by Olivia Newport

colors of christmas celebration tour FB banner copy

About the Book

Colors of Christmas cover
Name of book: Colors of Christmas
Author: Olivia Newport
Genre: Contemporary Christmas
Release Date: October 1, 2017
Christmas in Blue
Angela just wants Christmas to be over. Instead, she finds herself in charge of the town’s celebration, and everything goes from bad to worse. Can she rescue Christmas for the town—and herself?
Christmas in Gold
When eighty-year-old Astrid moves into an assisted living community and meets a young woman on the brink of despair, she resolves to stir up Christmas hope one more time.  
 Click here to purchase your copy.
My Review
This book is two stories. One is Christmas in Gold features Astrid. In this book she's an 80 year old woman. This story focused on WWII in Germany. I'm not a big war story fan. I have read so many, it was such a devastating and brutal time with so many losses. However, Astrid's story was a good one, as she works to help other's change their lives. She reminds me of someone the amazing women who survived the most horrible situations during that war. The impact her life has on others is a strong point of this story. It might need kleenex if you start crying. 

Christmas in Blue features Angela , who is deeply depressed.  She's suffered a great loss and is barley dealing with it. Her heart is broken, her grief is overwhelming. Even Christians don't always know how to handle loss. She finally gets a precious dog named Blitzen and all kinds of things start changing. Who's this guy that has the town all a stir? Is he going to make her situation better, or worse? Will Angela pull out of her situation and make Christmas happen for the town, even if she can't feel it yet? This first book was pretty good. It showed Angela's situation quite well and you should really read the ending. I found this story to be realistic in many ways, and thankfully not as in need of possible tissues. 

 Both books are memorable reads, even if difficult ones for me at the moment because of the topics they deal with. This isn't a light fluffy read, but it is a poignant remind of lives and focusing on God at Christmas time. 

About the Author 

Olivia NewportOlivia Newport’s novels twist through time to find where faith and passions meet. Her husband and twentysomething children provide welcome distraction from the people stomping through her head on their way into her books. She chases joy in stunning Colorado at the foot of the Rockies, where daylilies grow as tall as she is.

Quest Post from Olivia Newport

We All Have a Story
I’m younger than most of the people I exercise with. It started when I had a lot of pain in my feet and needed low-impact classes with the option of sitting down and learned I didn’t have to be a senior citizen to take their classes at my gym. Then I discovered how tough most of them are. Years later, though my feet are better, these are still my people.
A couple of years ago, while we waited for the younger and allegedly-but-not-really-tougher crowd to clear out of the group exercise room so we could invade it, a woman I would not have guessed to be 80, because she could out-cardio and out-lift me any day of the week, mentioned she had been widowed since she was 39. And she’d been widowed the first time at 19. And she’d grown up in Germany while Hitler was intent on destroying Europe and life was not easy.
Then the changing of the guard happened and I was left with my mouth gaping. I knew I had to hear this story. The next week after class, we went across the parking lot to Culvers for lunch and I scribbled notes on the backs of a pile of brown napkins while Astrid talked. Later she let me read the account of her life that she had written herself.
Astrid faced so many tragic circumstances, but she would be the first to tell you that God was with her even before she knew how to call on him. Many people with her life story would have found plenty of reason to wallow and stagnate. But not Astrid. Truly she is one of the most hopeful people I know.
Her story was the beginning of Colors of Christmas, which includes two stories. Astrid’s is “Christmas in Gold,” and the other is “Christmas in Blue.” Astrid inspired me to write about hope for a time of year when the Christian message resounds with hope yet so many people struggle to grasp hope for themselves. I pray these stories will help many recover a sense of hope afresh.
Olivia Newport chases joy in Colorado at the foot of the Rockies, where daylilies grow as tall as she is. 

Blog Stops

Books N Baubles, October 17
Bukwurmzzz, October 17
Bigreadersite, October 19
Blogging With Carol, October 21
A Greater Yes, October 22
Mary Hake, October 22
Daysong Reflections, October 22
Baker Kella, October 23
Remembrancy, October 24
Carpe Diem, October 25
autism mom, October 25
Bibliophile Reviews, October 25
A Reader’s Brain, October 26
By The Book, October 26
The Power of Words, October 26
Pause for Tales, October 27
Splashes of Joy, October 27
Jeanette’s Thoughts, October 28
Karen Sue Hadley, October 28
Vicky Sluiter, October 29
Pursuing Stacie, October 29
Just Jo’Anne, October 30

Giveaway

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To celebrate her tour, Olivia is giving away a grand prize of a Christmas Bundle Bonanza which includes 7 Jumbo rolls of Christmas wrapping paper, 2 sets of stick-on gift tags, 2 packages of Christmas cards and envelopes, 2 collections of Christmas novellas—18 stories in all, and a signed copy of Colors of Christmas!!
Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! https://promosimple.com/ps/c319

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