LIGHT ON THE HILL by KATHLEEN D. BAILEY

LIGHT ON THE HILL by KATHLEEN D. BAILEY
Friday, December 15, 2023 by Patti Shene

FEATURED BOOK: Hilltop Christmas

AUTHOR: Kathleen D. Bailey

PUBLISHER Elk Lake Publishing

GENRE: Contemporary Christian Christmas romance.

SERIES: The Hilltop series

TARGET AUDIENCE: Women in their 30s through 60s.

IT IS MY PLEASURE TO WELCOME AUTHOR KATHLEEN D. BAILEY TO THE OVER 50 WRITER. KATHLEEN SHARES A DELIGHTFUL CHRISTMAS EVENT OF THE PAST AND THE STORY SHE CREATED FROM THOSE MEMORIES.

KATHLEEN IS OFFERING TWO SEPARATE GIVEAWAYS! SIMPLY LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW TO ENTER THE DRAWING FOR AN EBOOK COPY OF HILLTOP CHRISTMAS AND THE DRAWING FOR A NEW ENGLAND GIFT PACK IN HONOR OF HILLTOP.

LIGHTS ON THE HILL

Kathleen D. Bailey

For 20 years, our family enjoyed a holiday event in the next town over: Lights on the Hill. Lights on the Hill was held the second weekend in December, at first on both Saturday and Sunday. It turned the village center of Candia, New Hampshire into a winter wonderland. The Candia Congregational Church was the starting point, with mainstage entertainment in the Sanctuary, a soup café in the basement, and a Christmas Shop where children could buy inexpensive gifts for their family members. The fun spilled over to the old one-room schoolhouse, home of the Cookie Walk; the Masonic Temple, with board games and coffeehouse-style entertainment; and the Old Library, where a church member displayed her 500-set Nativity collection. Community members brought their farm animals to the Parsonage barn. A bonfire on the Parsonage lawn gave the opportunity to roast marshmallows. Luminarias lit the way down the paths, and carols pealed from the church’s carillon.

Lights on the Hill gradually condensed into one weekend day, the second Saturday. Volunteers were dying off or finding other outlets. It never came back after COVID 19. There simply weren’t enough people.

But by then the bonfire had been lit in me, and I was merrily toasting my idea marshmallows.

WHAT IF…a small New Hampshire town held a Christmas Festival every year? What if church, town and school cooperated because it brought visitors, and their cash, to the village? What if the word spread, and people from all over the Northeast came to Hilltop, New Hampshire for a helping of what Christmas used to be? And what if hearts were mended, families reconciled, couples patched up over the three days of festival? WHAT IF the festival was greater than the sum of its parts, and pointed its attendees toward the risen Christ?

I made the festival three days instead of two, and positioned it on the three days before Christmas. I added sleigh rides, skating and a huge Christmas Eve potluck at the American Legion. I made the Christmas Eve services at the town’s two churches the culminating event of the festival. Then I happily “peopled” my small town with warm and quirky New England characters.

The result? My first book in the Hilltop series, Hilltop Christmas, comes out this fall from Elk Lake Publishing. It’s my first contemporary novel, my first full-length Christmas story, my first book with Elk Lake, and my first book set in my native New Hampshire.

And it tells the story of Jane Archer and the Rev. Noah Hastings, two souls who find God’s purpose for them through the Hilltop Christmas Festival. Here’s a teaser: “Jane Archer isn’t sure there’s a Heaven, and the Rev. Noah Hastings doesn’t want to imagine Heaven without her.”

Blurb for Hilltop Christmas:

When Jane Archer comes home to tiny Hilltop, New Hampshire, her goal is to take care of her convalescing grandmother and get back to her life in Boston as soon as possible. She doesn't expect to be saddled with the direction of the Hilltop Christmas Festival, three days of activities exalting the birth of a God she no longer serves. And she doesn't need a handsome young pastor hovering over her and way too interested in her soul.

The Rev. Noah Hastings didn't want to come to Hilltop, New Hampshire in the first place. Too small, too cold and too far from his California home. He has trouble figuring these Yankees out, with their "thin sharp faces and sharper wits." It's his first church, and his goal is to amass some "ministerial brownie points" and be out of there. But his early life with his father has left Noah with damaged confidence, and despite his call, he's not sure he can handle a pastorate, let alone Jane Archer.

But when trouble attacks the beloved Festival, Jane and Noah must work together to uncover the culprit and accept God's plan for them.

DON’T FORGET TO LEAVE A COMMENT TO BE PLACED IN THE DRAWINGS TO WIN AN EBOOK COPY OF HILLTOP CHRISTMAS OR A NEW ENGLAND GIFT PACK IN HONOR OF HILLTOP BETWEEN NOW AND MONDAY, DECEMBER 25TH AT MIDNIGHT MT.

BY LEAVING A COMMENT, YOU GRANT PERMISSION FOR YOUR EMAIL TO BE REVEALED TO THE AUTHOR IF YOU ARE THE WINNER TO FACILITATE RECEIPT OF YOUR BOOK.

Kathleen Bailey is a journalist and novelist with 40 years’ experience in the nonfiction, newspaper, and inspirational fields. Born in 1951, she was a child in the 50s, a teen in the 60s, a young adult in the 70s and a young mom in the 80s. It’s been a turbulent, colorful time to grow up, and she’s enjoyed every minute of it and written about most of it.

Bailey’s work includes both historical and contemporary fiction, with an underlying thread of men and women finding their way home, to Christ and each other. She has published five titles with Pelican/White Rose in the Western Dreams series: Westward Hope, Settler’s Hope, The Logger’s Christmas Bride, The Widow’s Christmas Miracle, and Redemption’s Hope. Her first Hilltop story, A Hilltop Christmas, was published by Elk Lake in fall 2023

In addition, she publishes local history nonfiction with Arcadia Publishing and has co-authored Past and Present Exeter, New Hampshire, September 2020; New Hampshire War Monuments: The Stories Behind the Stones, August 2022; and Growing Up in Concord, New Hampshire in the 50s and 60s in 2023.

She lives in New Hampshire with her husband David. They have two grown daughters.

For more information, contact her at [email protected]; Kathleen D. Bailey on Facebook and LinkedIn; or her website .

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Comments

Natalya Lakhno From California At 12/21/2023 4:15:55 PM

Thank you for sharing! I would love to attend an event like this!

Reply by: Patti Shene

Hi Natalya. Thank you for stopping by. Merry Christmas!

Cleo Lampos From Oak Lawn, IL At 12/18/2023 5:11:43 PM

What an enchantingly friendly and wonderful community this book promises to portray. I grew up in small towns, and recall how important some of these events were to the mental health of all and the spirit of belonging. Good job.

Reply by: Patti Shene

Hi Cleo. Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing with us. I used to enjoy the Winter Carnival in Saranac Lake, N.Y. Have a Merry Christmas!

Erin Stevenson Quint From Idaho At 12/15/2023 6:49:27 PM

I was privileged to read the ARC for this wonderful story. It has something for everyone. Small-town charm, Christmas magic, romance, and a dash of mystery.

Reply by: Patti Shene

Hi Erin. Sounds like my kind of story. Thank you so much for stopping by. Merry Christmas!

Becky Van Vleet From Colorado At 12/15/2023 11:28:15 AM

Kathleen, I enjoyed reading about how this new book has come about. I'm also an Elk Lake author and I first saw your new book on the Elk Lake FB page. I love the cover and what a wonderful story line. I wish you the best with your writing endeavors! Merry Christmas Patti and Kathleen!

Reply by: Patti Shene

Becky, thank you so much for stopping by. Kathleen's story sounds wonderful! Merry Christmas!

Kathy Bailey From Raymond, New Hampshi At 12/15/2023 8:50:18 AM

I am so happy to be on Patti's blog and to share this book, which is so special to me. I need to update one thing in my blurb: The book is out NOW, not "coming this fall." This is what I get for doing stuff way in advance. Love to hear from you, KB

Reply by: Patti Shene

Kathy, that you for sharing your book and the story behind it. The Light on the Hill celebration sounds wonderful. So glad you experienced that and created a story out of it. Merry Christmas!