Christmas in July Reader Giveaway – Dennis Bailey
Dennis Bailey

Christmas in July Reader Giveaway

Happy Christmas in July! Welcome to the 3rd blog in this Christmas in July Reader Giveaway, which runs July 12-23, 2021. At the bottom of each author’s blog post, you will find the secret words. Write them all down and provide the entire answer on this Google form.

Note: You must grab all the secret words from every author in the Christmas in July Reader Giveaway to be eligible to win a $400 Amazon gift card. At the end of this blog post is a link to the next blog, and so on, to the final blog post (20 in all). At each blog stop, the author will also give away copy or copies of their featured Christmas book.

Hello, I’m Dennis Bailey and I’m the author of the “just in time for Christmas” thriller, The Boy Who Cried Christmas. Before proceeding further, I’d like to thank Sarah for inviting me to be a part of this giveaway and for giving me this opportunity to spotlight the novel. It’s the story of a skeptical young boy swept back in time to the doorstep of Christianity. There, in addition to an encounter with the newborn Messiah, the boy’s life is threatened along the way by both human and nonhuman antagonists before finally being returned to the present. But like the character from Aesop’s famous fable about a boy and a wolf, when Logan gets back he can’t get anyone to believe his story. And that’s when the fun really begins.

Following the release of my debut novel, Army of God, I had several ideas for a follow-up title. I also knew I wanted to eventually write a Christmas story. I just didn’t know when. To my surprise, it would turn out to be a lot sooner than I expected, the circumstances of which might interest you. Two years ago in December I was working on my second novel, an apocalyptic thriller, when I was overcome by what I can only describe as a severe case of Christmas fever. An idea popped into my head for a story about a spoiled brat who’s transported back in time to learn the true meaning of Christmas.

Despite knowing better—one of the cardinal rules of writing is to never start a new project before finishing the one you’re working on—it was too late. I’d been bitten by the Christmas writing bug. I worked feverishly to try and complete the manuscript in time for a December 2019 release, but my initial story was so bad I had to postpone it for another year working on the rewrite. I also knew I needed a twist from the tried and true, if not overused “protagonist travels back in time to learn lesson” formula of similar novels. I’ll leave it to you, the reader, to judge whether the delay and the twist were worth the wait.

I suspect many readers will not be surprised to learn that the part of my protagonist, Logan, was patterned after the title character from A Charlie Brown Christmas. Both are the same age and suffer from the same disillusionment about the true meaning of Christmas. But where Charlie’s revelation comes from his hearing of the Christmas story—Linus’s memorable recitation from the Gospel of Luke—I wanted Logan to have a more personal experience with the Messiah. Enter the character of Robert, and a journey back to Bethlehem. In using the vehicle of time travel, I not only wanted Logan to hear the message of Christmas, but to bring back a firsthand account to share with the world.

If nothing else, my hope is that in reading this book the reader will be able to experience a small taste of the wonder and excitement, the childlike faith that brought the Christmas story to life for Logan. It’s a story that hasn’t changed in over two thousand years, despite the best efforts of scoffers to ridicule it.

May the joy of the birth of Christ fill your hearts and homes this holiday season, and for all the years to come.

Now, it’s time to for the secret words: Feed the

Save the secret word(s), and when you reach the final blog, enter all the secret words on this form for a chance to win a $400 Amazon gift card!

Thank you so much for visiting! The next author on the tour is PeggySue Wells and her Christmas book Homeless for the Holidays. You can find it at this link. Remember, this Christmas in July Reader Giveaway will end on July 23 at 8 PM EST!

About the Author Dennis Bailey

Leave a Comment:

56 comments
Esther Searcy says July 12, 2021

Will have to check out your books…this one sounds like a lot of thought went into it. It intrigues me

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    Dennis Bailey says July 12, 2021

    Thank you, Esther, both for stopping by and for taking the time to comment. And I hope you will check out my books.

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Linda Gawthrop says July 12, 2021

I think the time away from the book you were working on was well worth it. Happy Christmas in July!

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    Dennis Bailey says July 12, 2021

    Thank you, Linda, for your kind words and for taking the time to stop by and leave a comment.

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Ali Floyd says July 12, 2021

This book preview reminds me of an episode of Adventures in Odyssey! With the imagination Machine! I don’t remember the name of it. Might be journey to Christ? Something like that. Anyways Jimmy goes back in time in the imagination station to Bethlehem when Jesus was born. It takes you through everything like you were really there! That’s one my favorite episodes!

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    Dennis Bailey says July 12, 2021

    Thank you, Ali, for stopping by and for taking the time to leave a comment. I hope you’ll take the opportunity to read the book to see how it measures up to your memory of the Adventures in Odyssey episode.

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Tammy says July 12, 2021

This sounds like a fantastic read! People say go back, and I think going back you could look in but visiting you would disrupt.

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    Dennis Bailey says July 12, 2021

    Thank you, Tammy, for your kind words and for taking the time to leave a comment. I hope you’ll take advantage of your inclination to read the story.

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Grace says July 12, 2021

“May the joy of the birth of Christ fill your hearts and homes this holiday season, and for all the years to come” Thank you & Amen. God bless you 🤗.

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    Dennis Bailey says July 12, 2021

    Thank you, Grace, for your visit and for taking the time to leave such a gracious comment. May God bless you as well.

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Jcp says July 12, 2021

Thank you so much for participating in the giveaway. I will look for your book.

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    Dennis Bailey says July 12, 2021

    Thank you, Jcp, for stopping by and for taking the time to comment. I hope you will enjoy the story.

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Dorothy Boucher says July 12, 2021

Love the cover to your book and sounds like a wonderful! Christmas read.
@tisonlyme143

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    Dennis Bailey says July 13, 2021

    Thank you, Dorothy, for your kind words and for taking the time to stop by and leave a comment.

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SARAH TAYLOR says July 12, 2021

Your books sounds amazing!

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    Dennis Bailey says July 13, 2021

    Thank you, Sarah, for your kind words and for taking the time to stop by and leave a comment. Hope you get a chance to read it.

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Ann Mettert says July 12, 2021

Sounds like a really interesting book.

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    Dennis Bailey says July 13, 2021

    Thank you, Ann, for taking the time to stop by and leave a comment. Hope you get a chance to read it.

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Rosanna says July 12, 2021

Thanks for the chance

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    Dennis Bailey says July 13, 2021

    Thank you, Rosanna, for taking the time to stop by and leave a comment. Hope you get a chance to read it.

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Chris Henderson says July 12, 2021

Love the added element of time travel in your new book!

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    Dennis Bailey says July 13, 2021

    Thank you, Chris, for your kind words and for taking the time to stop by and leave a comment.

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Glenda says July 13, 2021

Love reading Christmas stories. Especially the very first Christmas story.

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    Dennis Bailey says July 13, 2021

    Thank you, Glenda, for your kind words and for taking the time to stop by and leave a comment. I loved writing a story about the very first Christmas.

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Shannon Capelle says July 13, 2021

This sounds like a really great book!

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    Dennis Bailey says July 13, 2021

    Thank you, Shannon, for your kind words and for taking the time to stop by and leave a comment. Hope you get a chance to read it.

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Debra J Pruss says July 13, 2021

Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.

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    Dennis Bailey says July 13, 2021

    Thank you, Debra, for your kind words and for taking the time to stop by and leave a comment. God bless you as well.

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Karma Sixx says July 13, 2021

Wow this book sounds absolutely amazing. I am so excited to read it.

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    Dennis Bailey says July 15, 2021

    Thank you, Karma, for stopping by and for taking the time to leave a comment. I hope you find the book as amazing as it sounds.

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Nancy Shaw says July 13, 2021

I hope you have a wonderful holiday to you and your family.

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    Dennis Bailey says July 15, 2021

    Thank you, Nancy, for taking the time to leave a comment. I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday as well.

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Jill Tatum says July 13, 2021

Merry Christmas in July! Thanks for your participation in this give away. I am looking forward to reading your book.

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    Dennis Bailey says July 15, 2021

    Thank you, Jill, for stopping by and for taking the time to leave a comment. I hope you enjoy the story.

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Carey Bryson says July 14, 2021

Wow! The Boy Who Cried Christmas sounds intriguing! It’s going on my “to read” list.

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    Dennis Bailey says July 15, 2021

    Thank you, Carey, for your kind words and for taking the time to comment. I hope you enjoy the story.

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S says July 15, 2021

I love Christmas Stories! Thank you for the chance to win!

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    Dennis Bailey says July 15, 2021

    Thank you, S, for stopping by and taking the time to comment. Hope you get a chance to read it.

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Teresa S Mathews says July 15, 2021

Oh, for the chance to be there when our Savior was born! This is one Christmas story I have to read this year, it sounds marvelous. I’m sure dear Logan will be a changed young man.

Thank you so much for being a part of this fabulous giveaway!

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    Dennis Bailey says July 15, 2021

    Thank you, Teresa, for your kind words and for taking the time to stop by and leave a comment. I hope you enjoy the story.

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Cheryl Ruesch says July 15, 2021

Thank you Dennis, sounds like a great book.

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    Dennis Bailey says July 15, 2021

    Thank you, Cheryl, for stopping by and taking the time to comment. Hope you get a chance to read it.

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Donise Cinnamon says July 16, 2021

I am glad that Sarah invited you to participate. I look forward to reading your book and I think that I will get some extra copies to put in some church libraries or to give as gifts or both. I will pray on this.

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    Dennis Bailey says July 18, 2021

    Thank you, Donise, for your kind words and for taking the time to stop by and leave a comment. I hope you will enjoy the story.

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Lelia (Lucy) Reynolds says July 17, 2021

Sounds like a great book. Thank you for sharing.

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    Dennis Bailey says July 18, 2021

    Thank you, Lelia, for your kind words and for taking the time to stop by and leave a comment. I hope you get a chance to read it.

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Carolsue says July 19, 2021

When entering the words for the contest, do they have to appear exactly as shown on each page or should the phrase appear with correct punctuation, capitalization, etc. Or does it matter? Thanks

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Linda Moffitt says July 20, 2021

Thanks for being part of this fun blog hop

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    Dennis Bailey says July 20, 2021

    Thank you, Linda, for stopping by and leaving a comment. It’s fun for us, too!

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Sunnymay says July 20, 2021

I like reading about Christmas stories and ones with a twist are even more to cherish. The references to A Charlie Brown Christmas bring up fond memories.

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    Dennis Bailey says July 20, 2021

    Thank you, Sunnymay, for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment. I hope you get a chance to read the book and see the twist for yourself. And, of course, don’t we all love Charlie Brown?

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Christine L. Henderson says July 12, 2022

Usually when a group sets up a “blog hop” each post refers back to the original post so ALL the authors benefit. There’s no mention if yours is the first or fourth as it only runs 12 days but includes 20 authors. And the next blog link you’ve shared doesn’t work so this blog hop goes nowhere. Makes it hard for the promotion to work.

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    Dennis Bailey says July 12, 2022

    This is from last year’s (2021) Christmas in July giveaway. Thanks for leaving a comment anyway.

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David Waters says December 25, 2022

Originally posted on 12/24/22 on Kindle.

Thank you, Dennis Bailey, for the most inspiring Christmas story I’ve ever read, with the exception, of course, the original reason for this season we call Christmas, the story of the birth of our Savior as told in the Bible.

I read about 1/3 of this book after reading Army of God just over a month ago. I kept meaning to pick it up and finish but never got around to it. I made it my mission to finish reading this book Christmas Eve day. I think that I was meant to wait until now to complete this book. It was a great way to celebrate the joyous occasion of Christmas.

This will be a memorable experience and possibly a Christmas tradition for me for my remaining years here.

Thank you again,
David =-)

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    Dennis Bailey says December 26, 2022

    Hello David,

    Thank you for your kind words and for taking the time to visit my website and leave a message. So glad to hear the novel touched you in some way and that you consider it worthy of making it a part of your Christmas tradtion. As you may have surmised, it was written to remind people of the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and to that end, I’m grateful to learn it succeeded with you as a reader. There is no higher praise for an author than to learn his message was received as intended. Again, thank you!

    I hope you and your family enjoyed a Merry Christmas!

    With warmest regards,
    Dennis

    Reply
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