Christmas isn’t always “Jingle Bells” and “Ho, ho, ho.” In these Twelve Tales of Christmas, even Santa has to deal with unexpected German Shepherds and reindeer who suddenly want to learn the tango. A dryad works feverishly with a teenage boy to save her tree, now in a stand in his living room, and everyone begs Death to hold off for just one more day.
And nobody knows what to do with the fire-breathing dragon. He’s not going on the Christmas card list anytime soon.
Come enter worlds of beauty and dread. Join a house hob as he raises his cup of eggnog high, and enjoy yuletide yarns delicious enough to tempt even St. Nick.
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Praise for Twelve Tales of Christmas:
“The tales in this compilation re-instilled in me that which I tend to forget in the day to day humdrum of what can some days be my life. The things that I deem of deep and intrinsic value have been re-awakened.
All I can say to the author is, ‘Thank You.’ ” J.P. Wilson, author of Through the Mind’s Eye
“Is there anything more magical than Christmas time? Step into any one of Cathleen Townsend’s fantasy stories, all set during Christmas and discover there can always be a little bit more magic.” Cammie Adams
“The stories are wonderful, poignant, and easily put me in the Christmas mood!” Terri Schrandt, author of Better Blogging with Photography
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More reviews available on goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36668014-twelve-tales-of-christmas?ac=1&from_search=true
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Twelve Tales of Christmas is available at all major retailers:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0784FSL94/
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0784FSL94/
Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0784FSL94/
Amazon Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/Twelve-Tales-Christmas-Contemporary-Brighten-ebook/dp/B0784FSL94/
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/761587
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/twelve-tales-of-christmas-cathleen-townsend/1127586165?ean=2940154641859
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Cathleen_Townsend_Twelve_Tales_of_Christmas?id=fLsYEAAAQBAJ
So peek inside for a little Christmas cheer when the season starts to wear on you, or to get in the holiday spirit. 🙂
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Avid writer and reader of Faerie tales and noblebright fantasy.
Cathleen Townsend 
Cathleen, this sounds like a wonderful collection of original Christmas stories. I love the cover – you did a great job all around. May you enjoy the fruits of your loving labor and this season.
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Bravo!
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Thanks so much! 🙂
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Thanks, Sharon–especially for the cover comment. I tried a similar cover in digital first and decided it wouldn’t work. Then I painted a false start before I threw up my hands, spouted epithets, and began over with this one. This book was tough. It seemed like every phase took way longer than it should.
I really hope I get better at publishing over time. 🙂
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That’s an interesting comment about getting better at publishing. You know I have no publishing experience despite having completed 3 books and am nearly done with the fourth. Seems like so much to demand, that writers be great at writing and also great at business. You’re doing well.
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Thanks, Sharon. 🙂
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Congrats, Cathleen! Perfect timing for a Christmas debut. Just downloaded my copy and can’t wait to get reading… MERRY CHRISTMAS! ❤ xo
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Thanks, Bette! Hope you like it. 🙂
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Holiday Hugs! ❤ xx
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Awesome! We need Christmas stories with dragons!
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Absolutely. I was drawing a blank for my last story when I realized, “Wait–I don’t have any dragons.”
So I fixed that. 🙂
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Reblogged this on Haddon Musings and commented:
Different and I am sure very enjoyable Christmas tales from Kathleen.
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Thanks so much, Bernadette–I really appreciate it.
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Cathleen, your book has put me in the Christmas mood! You make these sound so tempting…the fire breathing dragon on no one’s Christmas card list! A reindeer fed up of snow! Best of luck with these and I look forward to reading them…you’re right, this time of year is perfect to sit down with shorter reads for a relaxing cosy break! Argghh…I’ve been reading up about amazon and its pricing and looks a minefield! Best of luck with your latest book and wishing you a great week! 😀😀
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You’re right about the pricing labyrinth. It’s easy to get lost in opinions–because more than one system works–but just in case it helps, here’s how I approach pricing.
Right now I have a very small audience. My goal isn’t to make money off my books, at least not yet. Not many people are really going to care how hard I work, how much this means to me, etc.They’re going to care if my book seems like something that might be fun. If I keep the bar to entry low–free or $.99–folks are more likely to pick up my book on impulse. If I give them a reading experience they enjoy repeatedly, they may be willing to wait for more, check up on new releases dates, etc.
In part, this is modeled on my own reading experience, and it’s affected by the fact that I spent a good chunk of my life struggling to pay the bills. I often learned of authors via the library, or sometimes from the recommendation of a friend. In both cases, my intro was free. The first time I read LOTR, it was from a library. I went on to buy (with babysitting money) everything Tolkien ever wrote.
So, I’m willing to give away several books to try and acquire some reader trust, enough to make charging three or four bucks worthwhile later. But that’s an easy conclusion for me to reach. I’ve got eight novels and one more collection drafted already, and four of those books are pretty polished. I’d probably have a different plan if I only had a few books in me.
And thanks so much for your kind words. They mean a great deal. For all my veneer of adult behavior, releasing a book reduces me to near-childlike vulnerability. Every compliment is treasured. When I’m down about writing, sometimes I go to Amazon and goodreads to reread my reviews on Dragon Hoard. They still perk me up. 🙂
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Cathleen, I agree wholeheartedly with your pricing ideas – and I read the same. Will often ‘pick’ up a book around that price range on a whim. Reading KDP Publishing rules I noticed that you are not allowed to offer a book for free unless you are either part of KDP Select or offer it for sale elsewhere. I think this is right?
I bought you book and look forward to reading it…I smile at your words that every compliment is a treasure …how true – I think many of us writers feel vulnerable – after all we are putting our work out there for everyone, to read, enjoy and possibly judge harshly. It’s scary. Just from your post today I know I’ll love your book and be able to leave a positive review!
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What a great friend you are, Annika! Be sure to give me a heads up when you want a review or interview and I’ll be happy to return the favor. I like the world better when we lift each other up.
You can’t offer a book for free on Amazon unless you can give them a link where it’s free elsewhere–and they want retailers: iBooks, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, etc. Smashwords or Draft to Digital alone won’t get it done.
I believe with the Select program you get five free days every three months. I’m not sure because I haven’t personally used it yet. I may once I start charging for books.
The best advice I can give you is to get it done early, like…a month at least. But I don’t do well with deadline stress. Some people find it motivating. I start finding it hard to think, and then I resent that. Starts up a weird cycle I can do without. However, do what works for you. 🙂
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Wonderful, Cathleen. I just got my copy from Amazon and will try to get a review asap! Happy Holidays 🙂
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Thanks so much, Diana. It’s a better book because of your input, and that’s a wonderful gift. 🙂
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Thanks, Cathleen. I’ll get a review done today 🙂
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Another gift! This is shaping up to be a great Christmas already. ❤
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I’m so envious of any writer that has a Christmas story to tell — let alone twelve! Congrats, Cathleen!
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Yeah, that bit actually got tricky. Collections are sneaky that way. This is my second, and both times I had to write 15-16 stories to get twelve that worked in a collection. For this book, one version had too many grandmothers. One had too much death. That sort of thing.
One really good result from that experience, though, is that I look at rejection in a completely different light. I’ve rejected seven of my own stories over the two books. They were good stories, too, but they just didn’t quite work in the larger work. I figure it’s something like that now when I submit a story and it’s not accepted.
Anyway, I wrote this because I like fantasy Christmas books, and there aren’t actually that many. And it’s the kind of book that automatically gets a resting time, so it can be promoted and reread for several years. These were all things I was looking for. I hope that as I get more experienced at publishing, having to release a book at a certain time won’t be so stressful. 🙂
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Well, I absolutely wish you the best of luck with Twelve Tales! And those “rejected” stories will probably find their way into a different collection, or simply be published as one-offs (perhaps in a magazine or literary journal?). I’m thinking very casually right now about a collection of prose short stories in the style of the old newsprint comic books and after-school animated series from the eighties I grew up on; anthologies are a very different challenge from writing a long-form novel, I’m discovering! I hope you’ll post more essays about the process in the coming weeks and months so I can learn from your experience!
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I could, I suppose. It would be a useful sort of post, and that kind of thing is what I like to blog about.
Thanks for the encouragement! 🙂
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Congratulations, Cathleen!
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Thanks so much, Jennie! It’s very cheering to be cheered. 🙂
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You are welcome! 😀
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Lots of congratulations to you, Cathleen, on Twelve Tales!
They sure look an exciting collection and I downloaded my copy from Smashwords. Can’t wait to read and review 🙂
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I hope you like it. 🙂 Thanks for reminding me that this is the exciting time. I’ve put out a book, hoping other people would enjoy it. No book is for everyone, of course, but this is when I get to share my work and find readers. That’s really an an awesome thing. 🙂
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I like your enthusiasm and positivity!
I am already mid way through the book and liking it very much! Love the language. It’s very polished 🙂
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Thanks! Our very own Diana Wallace Peach helped me a great deal with that. 🙂
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Cathleen! How exciting! I just bought it (i know, late to the party) and look forward to reading! I need to get some of my reviews done, including one for Stolen Legacy. You are so talented–a great writer AND painter/cover designer! Can’t wait to have coffee with you next week!
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I’m looking forward to it a great deal as well. Internet connections are great, and I enjoy them a lot, but there’s nothing quite like face to face. ❤
And you're quite an artist, too, with your photography. Art is in the eye, not the hand.
I know the feelings that go with catching up on reviews. (Will I ever be caught up?) I have to remind myself how much these mean to other authors to get it done. 🙂
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Read the first three chapters of your new Christmas book! LOVE!!! I’m going to get some reviews done this weekend 🙂
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Bless you! You know that’s the quickest way to an author’s heart. 🙂
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Congratulations Cathleen. I have returned to such wonderful news! Just downloaded my copy and would get back to Amazon soon with the review. Wishing you great success dear friend. 🙂
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Thanks so much, Balroop–and I wish you the same! 🙂
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I loved the book very much, Cathleen and the review for your excellent book is up on my blog.
Here is the link
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That review was an incredible gift. Thank you so very much. It made me smile–I’m still smiling! I may break out in random grins for some time over this. 🙂
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I am so glad to have read the lovely stories. Some of them touched me in unexpected ways.
After reading the first one, ‘The Gift’, I resolved to send gifts to the orphanage for Christmas.
After reading, ‘Department Store Santa’, I realised how fortunate we are to have families by our sides and adequate material comforts.
Thanks so much!
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I’m so glad you like them. I wanted my writing to tempt people to virtue. 🙂
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[…] Thank you to Cathleen Townsend, author of Twelve Tales of Christmas. […]
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