Can you believe Christmas is right around the corner? To celebrate, we asked the authors from the anthology Longing for a Cowboy Christmas to answer some fun Christmas themed questions! Their answers certainly have us Longing for a cowboy Christmas of our own!   What’s the best part about writing a Christmas book? Rosanne Bittner: The best part about writing a Christmas story is that it takes me into that “miracle” mood that seems to be a part of the Christmas holiday. I always try to include some kind of little miracle in my stories. In last year’s anthology, Christmas In A Cowboy’s Arms, my story miracle was the healed awakening of an unconscious little girl. This year, in Longing for A Cowboy Christmas, my miracle surrounds the birth of a baby boy the mother wasn’t sure she could love. Anna Schmidt: For me the holidays are a magical time of sharing and giving and FORgiving. To be able to tell stories that convey those things is a gift in itself. Margaret Brownley: I always seem to be writing a Christmas book during the searing heat of summer.  To get in the right mood, I try to imagine a reader…

What do you wish for most this holiday season? Leigh Greenwood: I’m seventy-five so a year with no health issues would be wonderful. Rosanne Bittner: What I wish for most this season is health and happiness for my entire family. Linda Broday: For me—good health and the ability to keep writing all the stories that are in my head. For the world, I wish for peace and precious harmony. People need to learn how to get along and treat each other with respect and dignity. There are so many homeless people and children in orphanages and foster care who need a warm smile—to know they matter to someone. Margaret Brownley: I wish a Christmas miracle for every person who suffered a loss during the hurricanes. Anna Schmidt: Peace and genuine kindness to all…so very weary of the in-fighting and need to win at any cost. Amy Sandas: This holiday, my biggest wish would be to spend time with my sister and her family. She lives across the country from me and we rarely have an opportunity to get together at all let alone to celebrate the holidays. It would be pretty great if we could find a way to bring…

I didn’t set out to write series. I fell into it by accident. I was watching the movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers with my younger son about twenty years ago. We didn’t pay much attention. He was eight and preferred trying to wrestle his father to watching a musical even though it was his idea to watch the movie together. (Since he’s never watched a musical before or since, Providence’s hand must have been at work.) After it was over, I thought that seven brothers looking for wives would make a good idea for a series, never dreaming it would turn out to be an idea for me. Sometime later, I realized I had a group of brothers in my head. I didn’t know where they’d come from or why they were there, but they were remarkably well defined. A little bemused, I asked my agent what I should do about them. She suggested that I write a proposal, let her send it out, and see that happened. Thus was born the Seven Brides series. A John Wayne movie, The Cowboys, gave me the idea for my The Cowboys series. He recruited schoolboys to help with a cattle drive….