I've been enjoying Romancing the Blog lately, and a couple of days ago one of the bloggers focused on Christmas books - love them or hate them. I'm definitely a lover, and for years those Signet Regencies Christmas anthologies were a must buy for me - particularly when a Carla Kelly story was in them. I was hoping they'd keep the anthology going even though they cancelled the regency line, but it doesn't appear they did. I comforted myself this year with a lovely set of old Mary Balogh stories (see my review on romancereaderatheart.com). 
   I've actually been writing Christmas stories since before I read romance. I find time of year to be very important to my writing. I always have to know the date when my book starts. One of my college professors actually tried to get my first Christmas story published, but it was too late to get it into the anthology she had in mind. That story was a family ghost tale, and it came from a dream I had. One of these days I'll have to pull it out and see how it stands up from the perspective of nearly 20 years.
   This year, I wrote a Christmas story in the spring, right after I moved to an area where it seemed like we were having early summer in April. I sold it though (maybe I was feeling wintry because my new husband was out of town) and it's now available in the gorgeous Holiday in the Heart romance anthology from Highland Press, which you can get from Amazon in our store on the main page of heatherhiestand.com.
   Now, it really is the season, and I'm contemplating a new Christmas story, this time a romantica by my Anh Leod alter ego. I'm finishing two projects though, one set in June 2006 and the other in March 1844, so I probably won't get to it before Christmas. But it's been fun to think about as I enjoy Christmas preparations!
   What is your favorite story season?