If It's Fall, Christmas Can't Be Far Away

Sandra Robbins here.

Everywhere I look in my hometown I see signs of fall. Displays of pumpkins, corn stalks, and chrysanthemums decorate yards up and down the streets, and the leaves are turning. My one disappointment is that we're not going to have the beautiful fall color on the trees that we usually do. That's because of the drought we've had in our part of the country. The leaves look dead, and it's not going to take much wind to knock them right off the trees.

The signs of the season aren't the only thing I love about this time of year, though. When the middle of October gets here, I know that Thanksgiving and Christmas aren't far off, and I get excited. This year, though, I have another reason to be excited about Christmas. I have a book releasing from Love Inspired Suspense in December.

I never dreamed when I wrote a suspense novel about a woman newspaper reporter's attempts to stop a vigilante who is hoping to spark an all-out war between rival gangs in a small town that it would turn into a Christmas novel. After the book had been contracted, my editor asked if I could incoroporate a Christmas theme in the book. Even though I was a little unsure how to do it, I agreed, and the book Confidential Source became Yuletide Defender.

I had a great time thinking up the mayhem that a purse-snatching Santa could inflict on my poor unsuspecting heroine with his scheme to track her every movement. In fact as I did research for this book, I became a little concerned about the technology that is available these days that can allow someone to invade the privacy of a person's life. Of course, justice does prevail and wrongs are righted by the time the last page is read.

In the spirit of the season, the story also shows how God's love can take away our doubts and fears. As the hero finds out, God can also heal the ache in a heart that's longed to be a part of a family that loves each other.

I'm really looking forward to this book's release. Yuletide Defender will be in stores on December 7. It is already available for pre-order at several online sites.