Celebrate Lit / December 2, 2024

A Canine Christmas

About the Book A Canine Christmas

Book: A Canine Christmas

Author: Jennifer Sienes

Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance, Christmas Fiction, and Southern Fiction

Release date: November 18, 2024

What do you get when you mix a mail carrier, a monstrously large canine and his surly owner, and a mysterious death?

Amelia Hutchinson can’t seem to find her place in the world. Or maybe she’s just watched too many Christmas Hallmark movies. But come on, how come Aurora Teagarden and Hallie Dean get more exciting careers and all Amelia gets to be is a mail carrier? Not to mention, she’s living in her sister and brother-in-law’s guest house and the only man she could find was one who didn’t appreciate the purity ring her daddy gave her.

Rayce Jasper just wants to sell his late granddad’s farm and throw away the painful past that comes with it as soon as possible. But the memories of the man who betrayed him, a ditzy mail lady, and a strange request put a kink in his agenda.

As Rayce’s and Amelia’s worlds collide, neither of them can deny that God must be weaving His own Christmas story for the two of them.

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My Thoughts on A Canine Christmas

A Canine Christmas is a wonderful light and fluffy holiday novel of romance. And of dogs of course! You’re going to love it! I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and the novel. I started it, knowing that I would love it because I love this author. She does an amazing job of taking real life, a life that is hard and messy, and putting it into her books in a way that is compelling and honest.

In this novel we have Amelia. She’s currently a mail carrier. And when she encounters a new name on her route she’s curious. But that curiosity soon turns to horror when a huge ( and I mean gigantic) dog bounces out the front door straight at her!! Mind you, the dog isn’t actually mean and doesn’t actually make any contact, but she does fall and get slightly hurt.

The dog’s owner feels bad, somewhat, but he doesn’t see what the big deal is. His dog is trained. And he’s not mean at all. Why is this new mail person so scared? And why does he care?

Rayce has some things to figure out. Why he’s still so angry at his grandfather after 20 years of no contact and his dying? Maybe he should find out why this happened? But he doesn’t want to. He wants to erase that time, sell this house, and get out of here.

This story is fun. It reads quickly. The characters are wonderful. They’re engaging and feel like they’re alive right next to me. I hope you get the chance to read this novel. You’ll love it too.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from Celebrate Lit. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

About the Author of A Canine Christmas

Jennifer Sienes holds a bachelor’s in psychology and a master’s in education but discovered life experience is the best teacher. She loves Jesus, romance and writing–and puts it all together in inspirational contemporary fiction.

Her daughter’s TBI and brother’s suicide inspired two of her three novels.

Although fiction writing is her real love, she’s had several non-fiction pieces published in anthologies–two in Chicken Soup for the Soul. She has two grown children and one very spoiled Maltese. California-born and raised, she recently took a step of faith with her real-life hero and relocated to Tennessee.

More from Jennifer

I’m often asked where inspiration comes from for my books.

Does it start with a character or a setting or maybe something from my own life?

The answer is, “Yes.”

Each of those has sparked story ideas.

A Canine Christmas is my fourteenth book, but it’s the first (and possibly last) novel/novella motivated by a dog.

You would think it would be my own canine that inspired one of my books—but that’s not the case here.

I have a short story in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Life Lessons from the Dog titled “Soul Sniffer” based on my late Bichon Friese, Einstein. He was also in Providence—and his name was Dashiell. I have another short story in Inspire Joy titled “Canine Redemption” about Cheyenne, a rescue dog we had for a short time.

But an entire book? Never.

It started with my granddaughter’s Cano Corso, Porter.

The biggest (and I mean that in every sense of the word) baby I’ve ever encountered. He’s massive and yet hides behind eight-year-old Kennedy at the slightest loud noise. His size alone is enough to intimidate the average person, but he doesn’t have a mean bone in his body. However, he wasn’t the only inspiration for this Christmas novella.

The setting was influenced by my affinity for old family farms and historic cemeteries (of which there are over 33,000 in the state of Tennessee.) Add a ditzy mail lady who has an intense fear of dogs, and a disgruntled man trying to put his past to rest, and A Canine Christmas was born.

This is romance through and through, and it was a pure joy to write. I hope you’ll come to love Amelia and Rayce as much as I did—and of course, Porter, the canine matchmaker.