Blue Chow Christmas: The Hart Family (Have A Hart Book 4)

by Rachelle Ayala

  Rattler’s Baseball Series

  Playing the Rookie, A rookie pitcher and a sports intern on the rebound connect to get over their exes.

  Playing Without Rules, A ballplayer's girlfriend hides his daughter from him because she fears he's like his abusive father.

  Playing Catch, A baseball catcher meets his match with a troubled bartender who can’t seem to keep her panties on.

  Christmas Romances

  Christmas Stray A couple grieving for their son is snowed in with a stray puppy and a little boy. Is there room in their hearts for a Christmas miracle? [Gold Award Winner, 2016 Readers’ Favorite]

  Deck the Hearts, A Christmas Creek Romance

  Can Holly’s jolly Christmas spirit help Grinchy Gordon Gills save the town of Christmas Creek?

  Her Christmas Chance: A Christmas Creek Romance, A woman with cerebral palsy and her tomcat disagree about the attractive ex-con living next door. Will a dose of Christmas magic reach through his dark secrets?

  Sweet Romance: A Veteran’s Christmas Series

  A Father for Christmas Sweet romance between a homeless veteran and a single mother whose daughter asks Santa for an unusual gift. [Gold Award Winner, 2015 Readers’ Favorite]

  A Pet for Christmas A veteran suffering from PTSD fights to return from Afghanistan and give his family their Christmas wishes.

  A Wedding for Christmas A Christmas wedding seemed perfect for Kelly and Tyler, until a female soldier from Tyler’s past and the man who fathered Bree make requests that cannot be ignored.

  Sweet Romance: Have A Hart Romance Series

  Christmas Lovebirds Can two little lovebirds and Christmas cheer open Melisa’s heart to giving Rob another chance?

  Valentine Hound Dog A fashion designer and her basset hound puppy convince a burned ex-firefighter that beauty is never skin deep and neither is love.

  Spring Fling Kitty A stray cat shows a fire chief and his fiancee’s sister that doing the wrong thing is sometimes right when it comes to love.

  Blue Chow Christmas Brian and Cait have been married for twelve years, but their secrets could blow them apart. Can two lost chow dogs and a special boy open their feelings up for true love and commitment?

  Valentine Wedding Hound Jenna loses sight of the true meaning of her wedding when she signs up for a reality show full of tricks and dares.

  Sapphire Falls World

  Going Haywire, Vampires, zombies, and wolves, oh my! Honey’s vacation with her ex-husband goes haywire when he tries too hard to get her back.

  Going Toe to Mistletoe, Candi’s fed up with love and down on her luck. Troy gives advice to the lovelorn, but it hasn’t done his love life much good. Will a small town Christmas wedding open their hearts to love?

  Going Hearts over Heels, A city girl trades places with a country boy over Valentine’s Day.

  The Remingtons World

  Leap, Laugh, Love, A pro surfer on holiday after being attacked by a shark gets tangled up with an Army Ranger on leave with a mission.

  Blush of Love

  A hot New Year's Eve date with bad boy Gunner Gibson leaves Safire wondering if it's love at first blush.

  Laguna Beach World

  Lucky in Laguna Scriptwriter Lucky Lenigan regrets writing dog walker Tally Tallahan into a reality show as another man’s love interest.

  Historical Romance

  Michal’s Window, The young Princess Michal loves her father's enemy, the upstart David who becomes king.

  Author’s Note

  Asperger’s syndrome is a high-functioning form of autism distinguished by the absence of language difficulties. Symptoms include difficulty with communication, awkwardness in deciphering other people’s intentions and emotions, the need to be alone, obsessive and “narrow” interests, and avoidance of stimulation. Each person exhibits different symptoms and behaviors. Asperger’s syndrome is no longer a separate diagnosis from other autism spectrum disorders.

  People with Asperger’s syndrome are fully capable of being in caring relationships, even if they sometimes have problems interpreting emotions. They want to be accepted and loved like anyone else, and their partners and loved ones will need to learn to accommodate their needs, as in any loving and healthy relationship. They feel emotions very strongly, but may express it differently or be unable to communicate it easily.

  Each individual is different, and not everyone will have every symptom or trait. My portrayal of Brian Wonder is of one individual and how he copes and adapts as he convinces himself that he is a loving and capable husband.

  Many Thanks

  I’m so grateful that I got to fully explore Brian and Cait’s relationship in Blue Chow Christmas. In the first two books, Brian was detached toward Cait and the family, but in Spring Fling Kitty, he showed his true caring self by comforting Nadine when she was distraught over Connor’s burns. He was also the quiet one behind the scenes who made sure Nadine and her mother were comfortable during their first visit to the Hart family homestead. I knew then and there that I had to explore why Brian seemed so distant to Cait when he obviously cared about her and her family.

  Writing about Brian’s autism/Asperger’s syndrome and trying to understand him and how he is different opened me up to examining concepts and clichés that we take for granted. His quest for self-understanding as well as acceptance for his different way of looking at things was poignant and reminds us to be tolerant and accommodating to people who are different.

  The heinous topic of sexual abuse of a teen boy by an older woman is something that used to be glossed over, but is now treated seriously. Boys are just as much victims as girls, and their emotional wellbeing needs to be protected, and the crime punished to the fullest extent. I hope I treated this topic sensitively and brought awareness to these unfortunate situations.

  Brian’s story turned out a lot more complicated than I thought, but I am heartened that with Cait’s unyielding love, the support and acceptance of her family, and any counseling they will receive, that their lives will be immensely improved and that they will build a stable and loving foundation for their own future family.

  The two blue chow dogs, Sierra and Melia, were inspired by my sister, Charleen Chu’s real life pets. Obviously, all events in this story are pure fiction, but I enjoyed writing about these two intrepid and brave dogs, and hope I imparted a little bit of their dognalities into the story. Their picture appears on the cover, and I thank Charleen for letting me use their image.

  Because of the complicated subject matter, I received tremendous encouragement and help from my beta readers and long term reading friends. Some have had experience teaching children on the autism spectrum, and others have family members who have autism. They were wonderfully open about sharing their experiences with me, and I thank them in my heart, but will not call them out individually, because everything shared is kept in confidence. Thank you for being so open and honest to speak your minds and look over my portrayal of Brian and Glen and giving me specific feedback.

  Thanks also to everyone who helped with beta reading and critiquing of Blue Chow Christmas. You’re all so wonderful to me. Amber McCallister, Angelica Berglund, Angi DeMonti, Audrey Griffis, Barbara C, Chantel Rhondeau, Cathy Zaramba, Chrissy Whelan, Dianne Kenes, Eileen Aberman-Wells, Frances Hampton, Gina, Kris Woltzen, Marie Smith Fowler, Melissa Santoro, Patricia Rose, Phylis Carpenter, Rebecca Austin, Sherelle Ellis, Sophie Koufes, Susan Delamare, and Terri Merkel.

  Thanks to Brittney Becker for editing and Kimberly Dawn for proofreading.

  Finally, my sincere appreciation to the readers of the Have a Hart Series. Your encouragement and emails mean a lot to me and help motivate me to deliver more Hart family stories.

  Meet Rachelle

  Rachelle Ayala is a USA Today bestselling author of dramatic romantic suspense and humorous contemporary romances. Her heroines are feisty and her heroes big-hearted. She writes sweet and funny stories, and believes in the power of love and hope.

  She is the
winner of multiple awards, including the 2015 Angie Ovation Award for best Multicultural Romance with Knowing Vera and the 2015 Readers’ Favorite Gold Award for best Christian Romance with A Father for Christmas. Christmas Stray won the 2016 Readers’ Favorite Gold Award for Christian Romance, and A Pet for Christmas received an Honorable Mention for 2016.

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