Shannon here: Stacy Monson shares her inspiration for her latest Women’s Fiction title, Mountaintop Christmas. Comment or answer the question in this post to enter the drawing for an e-book copy of When Mountains Sing. Deadline: Dec 12th, 11:59 pm central time. All commentors will get an e-book copy of Mountaintop Christmas. Cutoff will be Dec 2nd, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Stacy:
What could be more romantic than a sunset Christmas wedding atop a snow-capped mountain, surrounded by friends and family? For Mikayla Gordon, pretty much anything.; she’s afraid of heights. The irony isn’t lost on her considering she’s an adventure guide for kids and teens, leading groups up the mountain for wilderness camping experiences. Mountain hiking is one of her favorite things to do, but not very practical in a wedding gown. So together with Dawson Dunne, the love of her life, and their intrepid wedding planner, they create a plan to bring the magical event to life that makes everyone happy. But as their carefully constructed plan falls apart, Mikayla is forced to make a decision that threatens the foundation of their relationship. Is their marriage over before it even begins?
Mountaintop Christmas is the sequel to When Mountains Sing, book 1 in the My Father’s House series. I wrote this story for several reasons, first of which is I wanted to see the hero and heroine married! At the conclusion of When Mountains Sing, Mikayla agrees to return to Colorado to work with Dawson and see if they can build a solid relationship after a series of misconceptions, lies, and shattered trust. Readers also asked for a follow-up as they, too, wanted to make sure these two outdoor enthusiasts got their happily-ever-after!
I started When Mountains Sing as strictly women’s fiction—the first of three stories that follows sisters on their separate journeys of discovering their true identities. I had
Giveaway
no “hero” in mind as I’d just planned to write Mikayla’s story of looking for her biological father and learning to appreciate her unique gifts and eternal value. Somehow Dawson snuck into the story.
First, he was a very minor character along Mikayla’s journey, the one who would point her in the right direction to search for her bio father. That morphed into being someone she encountered in a bit more prominent way once she reached the place where her bio father was last known. And then that darn character became the one to share his faith with her, introduce her to a relationship with God, and finally steals her heart! Romance was not even on her radar when she left home, but it turned out to be exactly what she needed.
It’s a funny thing when writing a story—we start out with one idea and very often find it hijacked by the characters themselves. Often, in real life, I find that same thing to be true. God puts people or events in my life for very specific reasons. And just like in my writing, I need to loosen my grip on where I think my life should go, what it should look like, and how it should turn out, and welcome the unexpected that He brings into my journey.
Mikayla Gordon had to do that in Mountaintop Christmas—release something to which she held tight, that she didn’t think she could release, in order to receive something better, far beyond what she could have dreamed. That required trust, faith, and even courage she didn’t know she had. But once she made the decision to reach for what seemed beyond her, God provided what she needed. She chose to step off terra firma, look past fear and give up control to receive the greater gift—marriage to the man God had unexpectedly brought into her life.
During this season of Advent, in the midst of these trying times, be ready for the unexpected and willing to receive what God has for you. May you be blessed with health, hope, and joy in the coming weeks.
About Stacy: Stacy Monson is the award-winning author of stories that reveal an extraordinary God at work in ordinary life. Her books include the Chain of Lakes series (Shattered Image, Dance of Grace, The Color of Truth), Open Circle, and the new My Father’s House series (When Mountains Sing, Mountaintop Christmas, and the prequel A Summer of Reckoning). She is a founding member of The Mosaic Collection – a collection of international authors providing a wide-array of faith-based fiction. Residing in the farmlands outside the Twin Cities, she is the wife of a juggling, unicycling newly retired physical education teacher, mom to two amazing kids and two wonderful in-law kids, and a very proud grandma of 5 and counting. Learn more & connect:
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Stacy’s Website Email: stacy@stacymonson.com Stacy’s Amazon Author Page
About the book – Mountaintop Christmas: In this sequel to When Mountains Sing, wilderness camp leaders Mikayla
Gordon and Dawson Dunne have planned their perfect mountaintop Christmas wedding, but unseen forces seem to have other plans. After facing numerous catastrophes, Mikayla will have to face the one thing that has terrified her since childhood or her hopes of a magical mountain wedding to the man of her dreams will be buried deep under the fresh coating of snow.
Can’t wait for the drawing? Worried you won’t win? Interested in Stacy’s other books? Get your copies now!
Mosaic Collection Books Mountaintop Christmas – Amazon
Question for Readers: Have you ever had to make a choice to give up something (that you valued or perhaps hid behind) only to find God had something better in store?
Come back Dec 4th for Hope Dougherty!
yes, my pride. learning now to stand on my own without parents support is hard and knowing when to ask for help when needed.
Shelia, that can be a rocky road, for sure. I was just talking with a friend about how/when we ask for help, and how allowing people to help us can be their way of serving. So I hear you on finding that balance – independence within community!
Yay! I was hoping for a sequel to When Mountains Sing! Can’t wait to read it. 😃
AND there’s a prequel as well – A Summer of Reckoning, in the Before Summer’s End anthology from last June!! That’s Dawson’s story!
“I need to loosen my grip on where I think my life should go, what it should look like, and how it should turn out, and welcome the unexpected that He brings into my journey.” So true. thank you, Stacy.
Still working on that, LeAnne!
I am looking forward to reading this book!
It was a joy writing it, Joan!
I have a winner! Maryann won the drawing. I appreciate Stacy for being my guest and everyone else for stopping by.