Kristen Casey

Well, December has started off with a bang for me. <ugh>

I spent a couple of unscheduled days in the hospital, got home, and promptly caught a virus (TBD on whether it’s THE virus). I’m exhausted, behind on everything, and completely resigned to the fact that 2020 is just gonna keep on living its worst life until we kick it out the door.

Even though I’ve been under the weather, I woke up with a bit more energy today and realized it was time for this year’s edition of Gift Ideas for Romance Readers – and there’s no better way to thrill the bookworms in your life than to give them… you guessed it: books. And book swag. And more books.

After putting together this list, I’m looking forward to the holidays more than ever! So, let’s dive in.
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Why not head off the beaten path this year and hunt out books by lesser-known indie authors using hashtags like #indieauthor and #supportindieauthors to search on Instagram and Twitter? You’ll be supporting true small businesses and making a positive impact on the lives of creators everywhere. If you choose diverse stories by groups that have been historically marginalized by traditional publishing (#ownvoices, #brownnipplechallenge, #wocinromance) you can make an even bigger difference and ensure that all voices have future representation on the page. There truly is a story out there for everyone on your list, so start searching and buy from independent bookstores whenever possible! Your reading friends will love you and your author friends will, too!

*For that busy friend who needs a quick hit of sweet romance? Try “A Weekend with Warren” by @renepennpics.
*For the young adult who loved The Hunger Games? Get them the Watcher series from @authorajeversley.
*For your favorite neighborhood romance author? The adorable gear from @romancewritergifts is gonna fix them up.
*For your BFF who can’t get enough of fantasy and steampunk? Gotta go with “Black Ice,” a super-cool Snow White retelling from @juliablakeauthor.
*Do you need epic hoodies for your book club girls? Make a beeline for the awesome merch at @blknbkish.
*Have that pal who totally misses when we could all hop a train for the city whenever we felt like it? Send her to Manhattan with my Triple Threat series!

*For that friend who is ALL IN on the holidays this year, and also likes some emotion with her HEA: “Dear Santa” by @kristen_granata !
*For that pal who can’t keep her bookworm energy contained to the page- how about some cute gear from @queenbee_reads ?
*Got a bestie who can’t get enough of paranormal love? Grab up the new @moniboyce anthology “Christmas Nibbles.” It benefits the National Domestic Violence Hotline!
* For the ladies in your life who appreciate those super special, handmade gifts, you’ve got to head to the enchanting shop of @protagonistcrafts !
*For your badass buddy who still needs some suspense along with her candy canes, pick up “Bernadette” by @tkcherryfiction !
* For the reader pal who always has four books going at once, books stashed in every bag and pocket and piled on her nightstand- there are the amazing bookmarks of @alicia_marks_it !
* And last, for that one friend who, like many of us, is desperate to leave this wackjob year behind — try “The Gift of the Sea” by @authortbishop ! Golden age of piracy, representation, and a guaranteed escape from whatever we’re calling 2020 these days!

That’s it for now! My enormous revision of Finding Home is wrapping up and will be hitting shelves soon, the Second Chances series will soon have its new name (Lost & Found), and the Triple Threat box set is nearly complete. How are you doing? Are you coping with any unexpected twists in these last few weeks of 2020?

If so, I hope you hang in there and weather these last few weeks like the troopers I know you are. We can’t be together as we’d like but we can still keep each other safe and make some space for joy.

Which is to say – Happy Holidays to you, my lovely, bookish friends! Thank you so much for your support this year and I look forward to sharing new stories with you in the new year!

XO,

Kristen