A Christmas novella to add to your holiday traditions.

Homeless for the Holidays

PeggySue Wells
Sep 7, 2018 · 8 min read

Christmas is coming, and Jack Baker’s finances, friends, and future are as gone as last year’s holiday. One year ago, Jack Baker had it all — a beautiful family, a lucrative career, and a generous bonus to spend on the annual Baker family Christmas extravaganza. Now the Bakers are homeless, and clueless about what to do next. Amidst the holiday traditions and trappings, one family learns what is truly important when they lose all they have and find they have everything.

“Gladdening and humorous assurance that the best things in life have nothing to do with things. Add this heartwarming story to your favorite holiday traditions.” — Richard Paul Evans, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of 43 books including The Christmas Box

What if you had everything … and in a matter of months, lost it all? Homeless for the Holidays is the story of one family that learns what is truly important when they lose it all and find they have everything.

The Story Behind the Story

Available now, Homeless for the Holidays, is the hope-filled novelization of a film with the same name, based on the real life experiences of producer George Johnson. Unemployed, Johnson penned the screenplay in three weeks. Though the usual budget for a film like this is $1.5 million, George kept costs to $30 thousand. Expecting fifty people might show, open auditions were announced in the Auburn, Indiana newspaper. Eight hundred actor-hopefuls auditioned. All together, there were five hundred people in the cast.

The film featured local residents including media personalities who played themselves in the scene where main character, Jack Baker, opened his front door to find his cul-de-sac filled with television and radio crews. In the media crowd was Marsha Wright, Johnson’s friend who loaned her house — decorated for Christmas — as the setting for the Baker family home. Marsha agreed to novelize the story, inviting author, PeggySue Wells, into the writing process.

“A screenplay tells a story in 120 minutes,” PeggySue said. “A book allows the author to tell a far longer, embellished tale. Writing from a screenplay is akin to receiving a newly constructed home on a bare lot and having the freedom of an unlimited budget to decorate and landscape.”

Drawing from seasons she experienced growing up, and as an adult, when employment and finances were less than adequate, PeggySue added the between-the-scenes details of what life could look like as a family faced an extensive period of unemployment. She shared the completed manuscript with folks who had been unemployed and homeless, adding what she learned from them to the manuscript.

PeggySue’s favorite character in Homeless for the Holidays is the Baker’s son, Adam. The mother of seven, she mined Adam’s sense of humor and quick wit from quips made by her own young adults. The generous review provided by The Christmas King, Richard Paul Evans, made her heart happy.

“The world needs hope more than advice,” PeggySue observed. “Throughout Homeless for the Holidays hope shines bright.”

What Others Are Saying

Because what happened to the Bakers in Homeless for the Holidays happens to hundreds each week across the country, this novel is not just inspiring and uplifting, it is an important testament to the fragile times in which we live and why the love of family is more vital now than ever. ~ Ace Collins, award-winning author of the In The President’s Service series

Most of the world is one paycheck from poverty. If you have been to the brink, skated near to losing it all, or wondered how someone ended up in such a hard place, you will cheer, cry, and feel with each member of the Baker family in Homeless for the Holidays, helps you think through, pray through, and navigate your own life’s priorities. If you want the holidays and life’s everydays to reflect what is most meaningful, this is the book for you — and all those you love. ~ Pam Farrel, author of Men are Like Waffles, Women are Like Spaghetti

I loved Homeless for the Holidays. An enjoyable and excellent read with unpredictable twists and turns, this story is a great reminder that life can change in an instant and that family is more important than material possessions. ~ Crystal Bowman, award-winning author of M is for Manger

I absolutely loved this book. Homeless for the Holidays is a wonderful heartfelt Christmas story with a message of hope for families in, and through, the tough times. ~ Jayme Lee Hull, host of Face To Face Mentoring Podcast

In Homeless for the Holidays, PeggySue Wells and Marsha Wright masterfully weave a story of terrible loss that reveals what is most important in life I was inspired by her tale of love, redemption, and discovery. ~ Susan G. Mathis, author of The Fabric of Hope: An Irish Family Legacy

Homeless for the Holidays is a poignant story of a family’s struggle to embrace the things that truly matter in life. Readers will see themselves in the challenges the Bakers face and become cheerleaders for this family to overcome their problems. Well-written and engaging, Homeless for the Holidays is an inspiring story for any time of the year, and once you begin this journey with the Bakers, you won’t stop until it’s over. ~ Linda Gilden, author of Words to Live By: 52 Ordinary Words that Lead to an Extraordinary Life

Homeless for the Holidays updates the timeless script from the classic film, It’s A Wonderful Life in a way that is bluntly honest, deeply moving, and scary. This is the story of a family sacrificing everything they hold dear only to discover something that is really worth holding onto. Because what happened to the Bakers happens to hundreds each week across the country, this novel is not just inspiring and uplifting, it is an important testament to the fragile times in which we live and why the love of family is more vital now than ever. ~ Ace Collins, award-winning author of the In The President’s Service series

Homeless for the Holidays is a true-to-life story that left me full of emotion, long after I turned the last page. The Bakers could easily be you or me. When tragedy strikes, the family experiences a long road of heartache that transforms their hearts to reflect the true spirit of Christmas. A touching holiday story of redemption that will please readers, both young and old. ~ Ginny Hartman, author of the The Unconventional Suitors series

I admit — I am a Christmas-aholic! Homeless for the Holidays warms the heart, and reminds us where joy comes from and how to share that joy with others. Buy copies for the people in your life who are struggling with finding the joy of the season. ~ Carol McLeod, author of Guide Your Mind, Guard Your Heart, Grace Your Tongue

Homeless for the Holidays is a poignant but delightful story of a family who, through no fault of their own, loses everything they once thought mattered — only to find those things that truly do. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who enjoys characters with heart and stories with a purpose. ~ Kathi Macias, author of Unexpected Christmas Hero

Traumatic losses like job termination, mounting debt, family tension, hopelessness, and depression can be closer to home than we think. PeggySue Wells and Marsha Wright masterfully tell this story of burgeoning trials that compel a family to seek the silver lining in every circumstance. Readers will value the life lesson that we learn what matters most when we have endured some of the most painful scenarios imaginable. ~ Michele Howe, author of Navigating the Friendship Maze

In Homeless for the Holidays, PeggySue Wells and Marsha Wright masterfully weave a story of terrible loss that reveals what is most important in life. I was inspired by this tale of love, redemption, and discovery. ~ Susan G. Mathis, author

A Gift For You

Monday, October 8 is our Single Day eBook push for Homeless for the Holidays. Get the ebook is .99 that day.

Join the Launch Party

· Be generous. Share the October 8 date with your network so they can buy the book while it is at this special launch price.

· If you have friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, and business associates you want to remember, this is a great opportunity to send the ebooks.

· The paperback version of Homeless for the Holidays is a thoughtful gift, especially as people are making their Christmas list and checking it twice.

· If you would like to give Homeless for the Holidays as a donor gift for your ministry, use as a fundraiser for your school, or to support other big ideas, let us know and we will make arrangements for discounted bulk numbers.

About the Authors

PeggySue Wells is the USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of twenty-eight titles and an audio finalist, including Rediscovering Your Happily Ever After, Bonding With Your Child Through Boundaries, The Slave Across the Street, Slavery in the Land of the Free, and Chasing Sunrise.

Program producer, connector, and optimistic dream driver, she enjoys dark chocolate, Savannah Grey tea, and writing from her home in the 100-Acre Wood in Northern Indiana. Okay, it’s actually five heavily-treed acres but looks like a hundred from her office windows.

PeggySue is the mother of seven and “Mimi” to her grands, otherwise known as her “Grammy Awards.”

Marsha J. Wright is the daughter of pioneer aviatrix, Margaret Ray Ringenberg, and served as her mother’s speech writer, correspondence secretary, and the author of Maggie Ray, World War II Air Force Pilot. Her writing credits include short stories, articles, thirty musicals, and her mother’s biography.

Wright attained her private pilot’s license at age seventeen and raced with, and against, her mother in numerous air races. She holds degrees from Fort Wayne Bible College and Ball State University, and has studied at Jerusalem University College and Taylor University in Fort Wayne. Musician and author, Wright and her husband, Stephen, have five children and a pile of grandchildren. They live in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Be Part of the Team

Want to be part of the book launch team for Homeless for the Holidays? It’s easy. Here’s how.

Choose 3–6 ways each week to spread the news now through October 30 (longer if you wish). Example tasks for launch teams include, but are not limited to:

· Tweet

· Facebook posts

· Host a guest blog on your site (Copy and paste the Story Behind the Story above)

· Instagram posts

· Pin to Pinterest

· Participate in #HomelessfortheHolidays on your posts

· Participate in book give-aways

· Write an Amazon review

· Write a Goodreads review

· Write a Bookbub review

· Post a picture of yourself with the book

· Write a review of the book on your site

· Host a Link-to-Purchase on your site

· Participate in Twitter Parties

· Host or participate in Facebook parties for Homeless for the Holidays

· Retweet and repost any “media hits” (interviews, reviews, podcasts, pictures of others with the book, etc.)

· Host the author at an event in your community (book party, author talk at a school, book club, community event)

· Ask your library to carry Homeless for the Holidays

· Ask your bookstore to carry Homeless for the Holidays

· Be creative! Let people know the book is releasing October 8 and that it is a book worth sharing.

Resources

Homeless for the Holidays Book and ebook

PeggySue Wells

PeggySue’s Blog

Richard Paul Evans

PeggySue Wells

Written by

Optimistic dream-driver, PeggySue Wells is a bestselling author, tropical island votary, history buff, and great connector.

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