So Long, July—and a Giveaway

By Kathleen Rice Adams

Where did July go? Like the other summer months, July is sneaky. Even inside a locked room with no windows, June, July, and August will find a way to slip through a tiny crack in the wall and disappear before anyone notices the devious glint in their eyes.

Along with July, Prairie Rose Publications’ Christmas in July heroes and heroines rode off into the sunset, secure in the knowledge they had found everlasting love. The Prairie Roses enjoyed what we trust will become an annual event. We hope readers did, too.

Before the characters and the month disappear over the horizon, though, we'd like to applaud two more authors and their books. Without its authors and their fertile imaginations, PRP would be no more than a dream. Thankfully, some dreams come true.

Phylis Miranda—living proof that not all Texans are as wild and woolly as the still-untamed land in parts of the Lone Star State—resides in the Texas Panhandle. She sets her stories there, bringing to life an area with some of the state’s rawest, most breathtaking scenery. A New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Phyliss collaborated with Jodi Thomas, Linda Broday, and Dewanna Pace to produce six western historical romance anthologies published by Kensington. Those anthologies introduced me to Phyliss, Linda, and Dewanna, and I became a fan of their work.

That’s the magic of anthologies: Readers “meet” authors with whom they’re unfamiliar, and thus begins a love affair with tales that otherwise might have gone unnoticed.

Phyliss is one of the original Prairie Roses: Her heartfelt “A Christmas Miracle” appeared in PRP’s debut anthology Wishing for a Cowboy, which bowed in November 2013. A Christmas Miracle is now available as a standalone novella.

Mattie Jo Ashley has lost too many people she loves. First, her outlaw father then her mother. She is determined not to lose her baby sister to a mysterious disease.

Because she feels shamed by the problems her father forced upon the townspeople of Carroll Creek, Texas, and now suffers their disdain, Mattie Jo cannot turn to her community for help. She has no choice but to seek aid from the shy, but skilled local doctor.

Dr. Grant Spencer has every confidence in his abilities as a third generation doctor, but is sorely in need of self worth in other areas of his life.

When Mattie Jo unleashes havoc in the community and takes Grant to the brink of testing his courage and fortitude as both a doctor and a man, all discover the true Christmas spirit and the power of genuine love and acceptance.

Tanya Hanson is another of the original Prairie Roses. She and her husband always seem to be gallivanting off to some exotic location. She’s a native Californian, so she’s a little wacky around the edges…but if there’s one thing the Prairie Roses embrace with unrivaled gusto, it’s wackiness. We may seem staid and proper in public, but no one would believe the kinds of shenanigans that go on behind the scenes.

In addition to western historical romance, Tanya also writes inspirational romance. Her alter ego, Anya Novikov, writes young adult novels. “Covenant,” her first story for Prairie Rose Publications, appeared in Wishing for a Cowboy and now is available as a novella in its own right.

Alone, abandoned, struck with guilt and grief, mail-order bride Ella Green refuses to celebrate their first wedding anniversary by herself on the Nebraska homestead. Her fault Charlotte died. Her fault her husband couldn’t stick around. So it’s back to Pennsylvania. Until the snow hits.

But do the springerle cookie molds depicting her life–Carsten’s hand-carved courtship gifts to her across the miles–still have more story to tell? Or is it truly The End?

Widower Carsten Green took on a bride merely to tend his little daughter. Unbeknownst to Ella, he gave her his heart instantly. Yet he believed she’s got no reason to stay after the child’s death. So he’s left her first.

How can the Christmas blizzard separating them warm their hearts, brighten their future, and ignite love gone cold?


The women who formed PRP’s “foundation stock” are all charming, warmhearted, hardworking ladies, and those traits show in their fiction. No matter the characters or the challenges they face, every story ends with a sigh-worthy happily-ever-after ending.

Just like July.

Our most sincere thanks go to everyone who joined us on the first Christmas in July adventure. As a gesture of appreciation, we’ll give away two more e-books today: one copy of A Christmas Miracle and one copy of Covenant. Be sure to leave an email address with your comment!