About the Book

Book: A Canine Christmas

Author: Jennifer Sienes

Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance, Christmas Fiction, and Southern Fiction

Release date: November 18, 2024

What do you get when you mix a mail carrier, a monstrously large canine and his surly owner, and a mysterious death?

Amelia Hutchinson can’t seem to find her place in the world. Or maybe she’s just watched too many Christmas Hallmark movies. But come on, how come Aurora Teagarden and Hallie Dean get more exciting careers and all Amelia gets to be is a mail carrier? Not to mention, she’s living in her sister and brother-in-law’s guest house and the only man she could find was one who didn’t appreciate the purity ring her daddy gave her.

Rayce Jasper just wants to sell his late granddad’s farm and throw away the painful past that comes with it as soon as possible. But the memories of the man who betrayed him, a ditzy mail lady, and a strange request put a kink in his agenda.

As Rayce’s and Amelia’s worlds collide, neither of them can deny that God must be weaving His own Christmas story for the two of them.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Jennifer Sienes holds a bachelor’s in psychology and a master’s in education but discovered life-experience is the best teacher. She loves Jesus, romance and writing–and puts it altogether in inspirational contemporary fiction. Her daughter’s TBI and brother’s suicide inspired two of her three novels. Although fiction writing is her real love, she’s had several non-fiction pieces published in anthologies–two in Chicken Soup for the Soul. She has two grown children and one very spoiled Maltese. California born and raised, she recently took a step of faith with her real-life hero and relocated to Tennessee.

More from Jennifer

I’m often asked where inspiration comes for my books. Does it start with a character or a setting or maybe something from my own life? The answer is, “Yes.” Each of those have sparked story ideas. A Canine Christmas is my fourteenth book, but it’s the first (and possibly last) novel/novella motivated by a dog.

You would think it would be my own canine that inspired one of my books—but that’s not the case here. I have a short story in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Life Lessons from the Dog titled “Soul Sniffer” based on my late Bichon Friese, Einstein. He was also in Providence—and his name was Dashiell. I have another short story in Inspire Joy titled “Canine Redemption” about Cheyenne, a rescue dog we had for a short time. But an entire book? Never.

It started with my granddaughters’ Cano Corso, Porter. The biggest (and I mean that in every sense of the word) baby I’ve ever encountered. He’s massive, and yet hides behind eight-year-old Kennedy at the slightest loud noise. His size alone is enough to intimidate the average person, but he doesn’t have a mean bone in his body. However, he wasn’t the only inspiration for this Christmas novella.

The setting was influenced by my affinity for old family farms and historic cemeteries (of which there are over 33,000 in the state of Tennessee.) Add a ditzy mail lady who has an intense fear of dogs, and a disgruntled man trying to put his past to rest, and A Canine Christmas was born.

This is romance through and through, and it was a pure joy to write. I hope you’ll come to love Amelia and Rayce as much as I did—and of course, Porter, the canine matchmaker.

Interview with Jennifer

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I realized I wanted to be a writer when I was twelve. I thought that was unusual, but as I’ve interviewed other authors for my podcast, I’ve discovered this is more normal than not. I didn’t know what that would look like, but I loved creating stories or writing fanfic for popular television shows. When I got into high school, then college, I took every writing class I could. I was fortunate that my mom always encouraged me. Sadly, she passed away before I got my first book published.

How long does it take you to write a book?

The length of time to write a book depends on the length of the story. I have six novels published and A Canine Christmas is my eighth novella. The novellas take a couple of months. A full novel generally takes four to five months, although I’ve been much slower with my WIP because we built a house and had to move during the writing of this newest novel. Oh, and we got a puppy. I had forgotten how much time a puppy takes.

What is your real-life work schedule like when writing?

In a perfect week, I will be at my desk every morning (Monday through Thursday) to work on my WIP. I take an hour break at lunch and then I work on everything else related to writing after that. Blog posts, my podcast, newsletter, marketing, assignments for classes I might be taking. If I can’t get everything done in those four days, I will work on Friday and/or Saturday for a few hours. However, life doesn’t always go according to my schedule.

What does your family think of your writing?

I am so blessed when it comes to family support. My husband will do just about anything to protect my writing time. He’s my biggest encourager and has supported me from the very first time I told him I wanted to be a writer. I have two grown children—a daughter who is a librarian at Tennessee State University (and also loves to write) and a son who dabbles with screenwriting. They both are encouraging and supportive. My son doesn’t read what I write, but my daughter reads everything. I also have a sister-in-law who is very encouraging and reads everything I write. I know they’re biased, but it still feels good when they tell me how much they love my work.

How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?

A Canine Christmas is my fourteenth published book. I’ve written books previously that are sitting in a binder collecting dust on my closet shelf. Six of those books are novels and eight are novellas. I think my favorite so far is Night Songs, because it was my first Southern Fiction, and I had such a great time writing it.

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, November 21

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, November 22

Stories By Gina, November 23 (Author Interview)

Blogging With Carol, November 24

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, November 25

She Lives To Read, November 26

An Author’s Take, November 27

Guild Master, November 28 (Author Interview)

Locks, Hooks and Books, November 29

A Reader’s Brain, November 30 (Author Interview)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, November 30

MrsK Books to Go, November 30

Texas Book-aholic, December 1

For Him and My Family, December 2

Holly’s Book Corner, December 3

Back Porch Reads, December 4 (Author Interview)

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Jennifer is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf54104