Amanda Tru [Tru - Under the Christmas Star

Published by
Olivia Kimbrell Press

Under the Christmas Star, Crossroads Collection 3, Copyright 2018 by the authors. All rights reserved. This book is an anthology of collected works of fiction. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, or recordingwithout express written permission by the authors and publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed or broadcasted articles and reviews.

Comfort and Joy , Holiday Hearts series Book 4, original copyright 2018 by Lesley Ann McDaniel

Brushed with Love , original copyright 2018 by April Hayman

Tangoed in Tinsel , original copyright 2018 by Chautona Havig

Shattered Pieces , original copyright 2018 by Alana Terry

Under the Christmas Star , original copyright 2018 by Amanda Tru

Each book in this collection is the intellectual property and the copyrighted material of the respective author and/or publisher and is reprinted as a part of this collection (anthology) only once and only by permission of the owners. The publisher makes no claim on, or to, the property of the owners which exceeds that permission. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the authors imagination or intended to be used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, organizations, places, or persons living or dead is purely coincidental and beyond the intention of either the authors or the publisher. The characters are products of the authors imaginations and used fictitiously.

PUBLISHED BY: Olivia Kimbrell Press*, P.O. Box 470, Fort Knox, KY 40121-0470. The Olivia Kimbrell Press colophon and open book logo are trademarks of Olivia Kimbrell Press. *Olivia Kimbrell Press is a publisher offering true to life, meaningful fiction from a Christian worldview intended to uplift the heart and engage the mind.

Scripture quotations from the Holy Bible are excerpts from many versions and are reproduced in strict accordance with the copyright of the owners.

Cover Design and Title Graphics by Chautona Havig

Fonts: Eras Medium and Austina

Library Cataloging Data

Names: McDaniel, Hayman, Havig, Terry, Tru, Lesley Ann, April, Chautona, Alana, Amanda (Lesley Ann McDaniel, April Hayman, Chautona Havig, Alana Terry, Amanda Tru)

Title: Under the Christmas Star; Crossroads Collection 3 / Lesley Ann, April, Chautona, Alana, Amanda McDaniel, Hayman, Havig, Terry, Tru

p. 825 6 in. 9 in. (15.24 cm 22.86 cm)

Description: digital eBook edition | Print on Demand edition | Trade paperback edition | Hardcover Case Laminate edition | Kentucky: Olivia Kimbrell Press, 2018.

Summary: Five of todays Best-selling Christian Authors weave five unique, connected stories where handmade Christmas ornaments lead to miraculous answers to prayer.

Identifiers: ePCN: 2018960476 | ISBN-13: 978-1-68190-134-3 (ebk.) | 978-1-68190-135-0 (POD) | 978-1-68190-136-7 (trade) | 978-1-68190-137-4 (hardcover)

1. clean romance love story 2. male female relationship 3. holy matrimony marriage 4. womens inspirational 5. happily ever after ending 6. Christian fiction mystery 7. Christmas holiday

by Lesley Ann McDaniel

by April Hayman

by Chautona Havig

by Alana Terry

by Amanda Tru

W hen I look at my Christmas tree, I see more than just ornaments. I see the stories and memories of a life of Christmases. From the ornaments that hung on my tree as a child, to the Babys 1st Christmas ornaments belonging to my own children, to the ones created by little hands and bestowed on me with love, every ornament is a special story. For each and every one of them, I can tell when and where and how I got it. I can point out to you the skater ornament my sisters and I fought over every year when growing up, the angels and snowflakes my grandma made by hand, and the glass icicles my husband and I chose the first year we were married. Of course, we have some plain ball ornaments, but even those I can recount how we got them on clearance and felt excited to be able to afford something so elegant.

On its basic level, I think thats why we decorate Christmas trees. We are making something beautiful out of our stories and memories, reminding ourselves of what truly matters.

Such is the premise of Under the Christmas Star . Each of the five books in this set includes an ornament that is so much more than an ornament. Each book tells its own story while the last book adds another dimension to those ornaments hanging on the trees of random people.

So let me be the first to welcome you to Crossroads! If this is the first Crossroads Collection youve encountered, youre in for a treat! If you are already familiar with this series and have read the other two, welcome back! This collection of books is different from the normal boxed set you are likely familiar with. First of all, each book is a stand-alone novel that, while it may be connected to the authors other series, is also a complete book. Each Crossroads Collection is stand-alone as well. However, the set is intended for you to read the five books in order. Though they are written by five different authors with unique settings and plots, the last book in the series ties them together as a whole. Part of the fun and surprise is seeing how the seemingly unrelated stories are tied together in the final book.

About a year ago, I had an idea for a unique collection where every author could write what they wanted, but the last book in the set tied everything together. I roped four other authors into trying the idea, and the first Crossroads Collection was born. Out of the Blue Bouquet proved amazingly popular, with readers loving how the flower delivery mistakes in each book were tied to the final book. With a slightly different concept, we tried the idea a second time, and Yesterdays Mail met with rave reviews. Now we are at the third in the series, and for this one, we decided to go for a Christmas theme!

Under the Christmas Star includes brand-new, full-length books, some of which are by authors familiar to Crossroads readers, but weve also included two new authors. This, like the two other sets, is a limited-time collection, meaning that at some point, it will be disbanded as a boxed set and the books will be published individually at higher price points.

When planning a Crossroads Collection, I tell each of the authors the basic idea, but they are completely responsible for writing their own story any way they want. I, then, attempt to write around what they write, adapting my plot to meet what each of their storys needs.

As I mentioned before, Under the Christmas Star is based on a simple idea. Each of the books in the set includes a Christmas ornament. The ornament could be bought, given as a gift, or even found. Each author simply needed to let me know what that ornament looked like and how it was obtained. We then worked together, and I interwove their plots with my own in varying degrees. Some of the connections were quite intricate, involving my careful reading and study of my colleagues book in order to get it right. Sometimes, we even shared characters and had to check with each other to make sure the borrowed characters remained true. It was a fun but involved process, and the end result is an amazing collection that is beautiful in the stories and the deeper truths portrayed.