December Book News

Holiday books and fun!

Happy holidays to all!

If you’re like me, while you’re enjoying the fun and beauty of December, you’re also reflecting on the past year and thinking ahead to how you’d like 2026 to shape up. The end of the year 2025 also concluded my Adelaide Creek Harlequin Heartwarming series. Book 5, A Wyoming Family Holiday, covers Bethany and Sloan and their unusual Thanksgiving celebration and a Christmas romance. Like most Heartwarming line stories, a new family emerges, maybe even more than one.

Meanwhile, my fourth Harlequin series takes my readers to a new town in a new state, Windsong Lake, Colorado. Book 1 is done, and my 2026 plan includes finishing books 2 and 3.

When attorney Sloan Lancaster returns to Adelaide Creek to care for his father, he’s shocked at Winding Creek Rehab and Care Center’s run-down state. He considers moving his dad but is drawn to his high school crush Bethany, in charge of the facility’s restoration. Moved by Bethany’s community spirit and her adorable young daughter, Heidi, Sloan makes an anonymous donation to the center as the holidays bring them all closer. But when Sloan’s identity is revealed, Bethany pulls away, anxious about conflict of interest. Can she overcome her fears to embrace Sloan’s support—and build the loving family she’s always wanted?

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The Interview: Lisa MacDonald on Planning and Goals

As for planning, I asked my friend Lisa MacDonald, a multi-published author and business coach for over 30 years, to share her thoughts about taking time in December to plan for the new year. Thanks, Lisa!

Question: As an author, business owner, and a business and book coach, you’re in a good position to talk about goal setting and planning for a new year. Do you believe most everyone can benefit from planning, regardless of their work—and not wait until New Year’s Eve to get started?

Lisa says: You might find this surprising, but no, I don’t believe everyone benefits from goal-setting or planning for a new year. It only works for certain types of people, those who actually want to change and grow, but not individuals who simply go through the motions because it’s January and that’s what we’re supposed to do.

If someone is unmotivated, resistant, or perfectly content where they are, in other words, settled, comfortable, and have no desire to stretch, goal setting can become a burden. These individuals benefit from being okay where they are.

Some people are triggered by the word “goals.” You’d be surprised by how many people have a stressful reaction to that word. In those cases, I often reframe it as “objectives,” “aspirations,” or simply “what you want to bring into the new year.”

And as for timing, New Year’s Eve is often the worst moment to plan. Most people are celebrating, going to parties, or drinking, not exactly the environment where you can connect with who you are, what matters most, and to what you’re committed to changing.

For those ready to create change, I recommend planning earlier in the holiday season. I like to plan in late December, when the days are dark and all the holidays are winding down. This is a good time to carve out space, get quiet, and connect with my deeper yearnings. This is when I create intentions, objectives, or aspirations that feel aligned with my purpose. No forced dates on the calendar.

Question: Many in my audience are writers, but all are readers with various careers and lifestyles and full, busy lives. Do you recommend we set overall goals for a year out? Or, do you recommend short-term planning? Or both?

Lisa says: I’m a big believer in choosing a single “word of the year,” which captures the essence of what you want to bring into your life. It acts like a compass. It keeps you connected to the deeper intention behind all the smaller goals and decisions you’ll make. But when it comes to actual planning, I don’t recommend mapping out an entire year, especially for business people. Things shift too quickly, markets change, opportunities appear, life happens, and a rigid year-long plan often becomes irrelevant by spring.

Instead, I recommend quarterly planning. A 90-day window is manageable. It’s long enough to accomplish something meaningful but short enough that your mind doesn’t get overwhelmed or lost. Each quarter, I encourage people to choose one breakthrough goal — one major objective or aspiration that, if achieved, moves everything forward.

You can certainly outline what you hope for in quarters two, three, and four, but keep it flexible. The magic is in staying responsive to changing conditions.

Quarterly planning also creates built-in reflection points. At the end of each 90-day cycle, ask:

• What worked?

• What didn’t?

• What obstacles showed up?

• What strengths did I discover?

• Is this still the right direction?

From there, you adjust and set up the next quarter.

On top of that, I recommend a simple rhythm:

A monthly check-in: How did the month go? Am I moving toward my quarterly goal?

A weekly CEO meeting with yourself or your team: What were my three wins of the week? What lessons did I learn? What decisions need to be made?

So yes, choose a word for the year and anchor yourself to it, but let your specific goals unfold in short, focused quarterly cycles. That combination creates clarity without rigidity, and momentum without overwhelm.

Question: In your experience, what is the most significant reason that so many of us don’t reach our goals, let alone fulfill our dreams?

Lisa says: In my experience, the biggest reason people don’t reach their goals is that they’re often pursuing the wrong goals. Many people choose goals that don’t come from their core desires or deeper purpose. They chase the clichés — make more money, lose weight, write that book — not because they truly care about those outcomes, but because they think they’re supposed to want them. And without a true emotional connection, motivation fades the moment things get difficult.

Many often fail to reach goals because they try to do too many things at once. A scattered focus leads to scattered results. When someone has six, ten, or twenty goals competing for attention, their energy becomes diluted and their mind becomes fatigued. One focused goal is far more powerful than twenty half-hearted ones.

I recommend one main breakthrough goal in business, one in health, and one in personal life — and that’s it. One per category per quarter. Anything more than that pulls you in too many directions. A confused mind shuts down; a focused mind moves forward.

The goals that actually work, those we stay committed to, are the ones that matter so deeply that quitting doesn’t feel like an option. These goals keep you plugged into what achieving them would mean for your life, your family, your health, or your long-term stability. With that level of meaning, you’re willing to push through discomfort and setbacks.

Reaching meaningful goals also requires setting up the right support system:

• building accountability

• tracking progress

• reviewing metrics

• creating an environment that reinforces your intentions

• surrounding yourself with supportive people

• designing routines that match your personality and energy

Finally, many give up because they don’t see their progress, and discouragement takes over. That’s why I recommend identifying three wins every week and reviewing them monthly. When you can see that you’re growing, even in small ways, it becomes easier to stay committed and keep making measurable progress.

Question: Will you tell us about your projects—I know you write novels with romantic elements and a touch of magic. What’s ahead for your writing in 2026?

Lisa says: Thanks for asking. I have an exciting writing year ahead. In the first quarter of 2026, I’ll be relaunching Chasing Mr. Wrong. It’s getting a fresh update and a new look, and I’m thrilled to bring that story back to readers.

Then in quarter two, I’ll be releasing the fourth book in my Hooked-In series — Loving Mr. Impossible. It’s a humorous romance, with emotional depth, and the touch of magic that my readers expect–I can’t wait to share it.

If everything lines up well, I’m hoping to release a third novel later in the year. It’s an ambitious goal, but I’m energized and excited for what’s ahead.

Alongside my fiction, I’ll continue doing the work I love, helping other writers bring their books to life and supporting entrepreneurs in building businesses on their terms. For me, that means helping people align their work with what they most want to create, how they most want to show up, and what truly matters to them. I’m excited to help people move toward the kind of growth that feels authentic, sustainable, and true to who they are.

Lisa J. MacDonald is a business and book coach who helps purpose-driven entrepreneurs clarify their goals and move forward with aligned, sustainable success. Lisa has been a writer and coach for over 30 years. An award-winning author of 35 books and a Pushcart Prize nominee, she writes clean romance as Anastasia Alexander. Lisa is known for cutting through complexity, identifying the core issues in both business and book projects, and guiding clients to build momentum with clarity and confidence.

Learn more at: https://www.castledreamswriting.com/ and https://authoranastasiaalexander.com/

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New Releases from My Author Friends

So many books! Check out this month’s roundup of new releases.

A heartwarming small-town Christmas romance about second chances, friendship, and the courage to start over.

When Carol Nelson returns to snowy Wayland, Wisconsin to settle her mother’s estate, she expects a quick visit—not a season of unraveling secrets, rediscovering home, and confronting the past she tried to outrun. With her two best friends unexpectedly moving in for the holidays and her childhood house suddenly overflowing with memories, Carol must navigate grief, friendship, and a mysterious box of her mother’s unfinished craft projects.

Then Jacob Wilson appears—the boy she once loved, now a steady, quietly handsome small-town lawyer determined to help her piece together a tangled estate…and maybe mend what was lost between them. As Christmas approaches, Carol uncovers long-buried truths about her family, the Friendship Group her mother cherished, and the life she might still claim if she’s brave enough to stay.

Filled with cozy winter nights, community warmth, emotional healing, and sparkling holiday charm, The Christmas Locket is a feel-good women’s fiction romance perfect for fans of small-town Christmas stories, second-chance love, found family, and heart-tugging seasonal reads.

A young woman at the crossroads of life and death embarks on an extraordinary journey across time in an epic novel about beauty, hope, endurance, and endless loves.

Most humans cower in the face of Death. Not Nella May Carter. She sees him. She doesn’t hide. Instead, she bargains.

Born enslaved in eighteenth-century Georgia, Nella still believes in the will to survive amid the most untenable of conditions, in the glory of life, and in the ultimate goodness of the human race. She asks that Death, doubtful and curious, allow her to live long enough to prove it. He’s giving Nella all the time in the world.

Challenged, Nella embarks on an epic journey across the globe and centuries. Each new incarnation records the joys and losses, and the friendships and heartbreaks, throughout her lifetimes. When she meets handsome and passionate professor Sebastian Moore—the first man to whom she has ever revealed her secrets—Nella yearns for the mortality that escapes her. She can’t bear to leave this love behind.

As Death keeps watch, has Nella’s journey come to an end? Or is a new one just beginning?

Ever wish your yoga teacher could whisper calmness and clarity into your ear when life gets messy?

That’s the feeling you’ll find in Don’t Ugly Cry While Driving—a collection of down-to-earth stories that blend humor, honesty, and yoga philosophy to help you navigate everyday chaos with a little more grace.

Life is unpredictable. Family can be complicated. The world can sometimes feel heavy, especially in our day-to-day details and when it comes to the p-word: politics. But through these pages, you’ll be reminded that you’re not alone—and that mindfulness, gratitude, and self-compassion are free, practical tools for real life.

Each story offers a moment of reflection, a touch of encouragement, and a journal prompt to help you go deeper into your own self-growth—so you can live better with yourself and others.

Fiona Gordon is starting over. Unbeknownst to her, so is her roommate George Manchester, although he’s been dead for over a century.

After a painful divorce, Fiona is trading big-city bustle for the sleepy charm of Brentford, Connecticut, and a job as director of the town library. She doesn’t realize that George—a dashing but irritable 19th-century gentleman trapped in a portrait—is going with her. Desperate to reunite with his lost love, Rose, George needs Fiona’s help. But first, he has to convince her he’s real.

As Fiona adjusts to her new life, she tries to keep her fascination with George secret—or risk being thought weird, to say the least. But when new friends turn out to have their own secrets, she must reconsider whether keeping things hidden is a good idea.

Searching for George’s Rose, organizing the library, and trying to figure out a new friendship almost overwhelm Fiona until she realizes that love, redemption, and perseverance can jump-start second chances that transcend even the boundaries of time.

Heartwarming, witty, and laced with supernatural intrigue, A Field Guide to Library Ghosts is a story of letting go, finding hope, and daring to believe in the impossible.

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Curl Up with a Book by Virginia McCullough

All of my women’s fiction titles are available on Amazon or you can “borrow” them on Kindle Unlimited. Reread a favorite or mention to a friend.

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season!