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MY REVIEW:<\/strong><\/p>\n The Yuletide is the latest release in The 12 Brides of Christmas novella collection that is being released during the weeks leading up to Christmas 2014 by Shiloh Run Studios. Short but sweet, this tale is just the right length for an evening relaxing by the fire after a long day of shopping or other holiday preparations.<\/p>\n With a historical setting on the prairies of Nebraska, this Christmas love story features Ewan Murray who loves his life-long friend Kate McDougall but because of circumstances beyond his control, has very little chance of winning her from the banker’s son who is much more able to provide for her. Challenged by her father to earn $70 by Christmas in order to win her hand, Ewan works as hard as he can but has little hope that he can achieve his goal in time.<\/p>\n Although in some aspects, “The Yuletide Bride” is somewhat predictable, it is peppered with interesting tidbits such as handmade reed flutes, Kate’s efforts to learn to play bagpipes, and a tense snowstorm rescue. Ewan’s faith and integrity combine to make him a worthy hero. The contrast between Kate’s two suitors will have the reader rooting for Ewan’s success.<\/p>\n Another fun story from The 12 Brides of Christmas collection.<\/p>\n This book was provided for review by Shiloh Run Studios.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n More About The Yuletide Bride<\/em> with Michelle Ule<\/strong><\/p>\n How about a short novella story that features a young man working hard to save up the incredible sum of $70 to win the hand of his young sweetheart in 1874\u00a0Nebraska?<\/p>\n What if we mix in\u00a0pan pipes,\u00a0bagpipes, a fiddle and an unhappy teamster who could never understand mathematics?<\/p>\n Barbour Publishing first approached a handful of writers about putting together this innovative collection around the infamous Christmas carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas. We were asked to choose one of those days, come up with an alternate title and write a story.<\/p>\n I figured most writers would aim for \u201cfive golden rings,\u201d so I steered in a different direction, to one of the more obscure titles: 11 Pipers Piping.<\/p>\n They\u2019re in\u00a0The Yuletide Bride.<\/em><\/p>\n You just have to look for them.<\/p>\n I’ve been a musician since I received a piano for Christmas when I was six. I studied piano all through school and eventually extended my love for music to the woodwinds. After a short detour into percussion, I’ve learned to play the flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon,\u00a0alto recorder\u00a0and alto saxophone.<\/p>\n At our current church, I sing in the soprano section of the choir and play in a woodwind ensemble (clarinet\u2013everyone\u2019s favorite instrument!) once a month.<\/p>\n Since I also dance four days a week, you can say that music runs through my life all the time!<\/p>\n For this Christmas novella, I wanted to write a fun story that incorporated those eleven pipers and that also touched on a theme pertinent to many these days:\u00a0making enough money to live on.<\/p>\n Ewan faces the biggest challenge of his life when his longtime sweetheart\u2019s father asks him to prove himself capable of supporting Kate. He has to earn $70 by her Christmas birthday, or he\u2019ll give her hand in marriage to a local banker.<\/p>\n Kate, for her part, learns what it means to be a helpmeet as she watches and tries to help Ewan earn the money for their future.<\/p>\n And then there\u2019s the bagpipes . . .<\/p>\n I didn’t do any particular research while working on this book other than an attempt to play the bagpipes owned by my friend Bill Cummings, former North America clan chief for the Cummings line. We’ve got a video of me attempting to be a gawk, er, sound out of the pipes and it was fun to try.<\/p>\n In terms of Christmas celebration on the prairies of Nebraska\u2013chosen because it was one place where reeds grew where it might snow at Christmastime\u2013I relied on the stories told me by my grandmother of her family\u2019s childhood, and also what I read in\u00a0Laura Ingalls Wilder\u2018s\u00a0Little House<\/em>\u00a0books. The striped candy Ewan associates with Christmas is a direct nod to young Laura.<\/p>\n I\u2019m a genealogist and my massive family history (available in the\u00a0Library of Congress\u00a0and featuring more than 900 end note citations) is suitably called\u00a0Pioneer Stock<\/em>. I love the stories I unearthed about my family as I wrote that book before Ancestry.com was invented\u2013so I did all the library-visiting research myself. While my mother was born in Sicily, my father\u2019s ancestors first arrived in North American in 1627 Maryland.\u00a0I loved researching and writing about their lives set against American history.<\/p>\n I have an entire page on my website devoted to\u00a0my genealogy. Check it out if you think you might be related to me!<\/p>\n The Yuletide Bride<\/em>\u00a0is the first of two parts of a story concerning the MacDougall family. In writing this first Christmas novella, I discovered one of the seemingly \u201cthrow away\u201d characters, actually had more poignancy and heft to him than I realized. I\u2019m delighted Malcolm will have a story of his own in next summer\u2019s\u00a0The Sunbonnet Bride.<\/em><\/p>\n For quarterly information on Michelle\u2019s writing and to keep tabs on what\u2019s happening, subscribe to her email newsletter, by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Who is Michelle Ule?<\/strong><\/p>\n You can learn more about Michelle and read her twice-a-week blog at\u00a0www.michelleule.com<\/a><\/p>\n You can also find her on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0Pinterest<\/a>\u00a0(for\u00a0a\u00a0Yuletide Bride<\/em><\/a>\u00a0 Pinterest board, along with one about all the authors of\u00a0The 12 Brides of Christmas<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" MY REVIEW: The Yuletide is the latest release in The 12 Brides of Christmas novella collection that is being released during the weeks leading up to Christmas 2014 by Shiloh Run Studios. Short but sweet, this tale is just the right length for an evening relaxing by the fire after a long day of shopping […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,57,116,41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","category-christmas","category-novella","category-romance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17888"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17888"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17888\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17911,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17888\/revisions\/17911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/divider2.png\" "\\"divider2\\"")
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\nEwan Murray and Kate McDougall hold a mutual appreciation for music\u2014and each other. But as she comes of age, Ewan realizes he must do something to prove his worth to her banker father. Will a refurbished heirloom and a sudden snowstorm be the key to earning permission to marry?<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\nMichelle Ule is the author of five novellas and a\u00a0Navy SEAL\u00a0novel, including\u00a0The Dogtrot Christmas<\/em>\u00a0which appeared in the\u00a0New York Times<\/em>\u00a0best-selling\u00a0A Log Cabin Christmas Collection<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>(with Margaret Brownley) and last year\u2019s best-selling\u00a0<\/em>A Pioneer Christmas Collection<\/em>\u00a0(co-authored with Vickie McDonough and Margaret Brownley!)<\/em>. A native of San Pedro, California, she played in the\u00a0UCLA band\u00a0and every year bakes a\u00a0Ule log\u00a0for her family\u2019s Christmas celebration. She lives in northern California these days where she writes, reads and plans the next trip to an exotic location.<\/p>\n