All Jingled Out: Done with the Dashing / My True Love Gave to Me (Steeple Hill Christmas) [Paperback]

Pamela Dowd (Author), Christine Lynxwiler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2004

Authors Christine Lynxwiler and Pamela Dowd deliver two witty, contemporary tales of motherhood and the trappings of "the perfect holiday." Penny Lassiter’s comfortable Christmas traditions are upset by her husband’s off-the-wall plan to reconnect with his family through a cross-country RV trip. Will Christmas on the road lead to peace and goodwill—or mere holiday mayhem? In the second story, Maggie Mackenzie confronts her own people-pleasing tendencies as she tries and fails and tries again to simplify her Christmas preparations. Can these two mothers survive the season without the pomp and circumstance?

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

In two witty, contemporary tales of motherhood and the trappings of "the perfect holiday," can two mothers survive the season without the usual pomp and circumstance?

About the Author

An avid reader and author of both fiction and non-fiction, Pamela Dowd has been an educator, a legal assistant, and a children’s clothing designer. She has contributed to many magazines, story collections, and the greeting card business. Pamela lives in East Texas with her husband, Rodney, where she can be spotted three to five times a week indulging in her favorite two hobbies simultaneously—reading and walking.

Along with her husband, Kevin, and their two young daughters, Christine Lynxwiler works, plays, and worships God in a charming little town nestled in the Ozark Mountains. She loves auctions and also enjoys trout fishing and kayaking on the beautiful Spring River with family and friends. She has several series fiction credits to her name.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc; 1st edition (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593104189
• ISBN-13: 978-1593104184
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,496,819 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Award-winning Arkansas author Christine Lynxwiler lives with her husband and two daughters in the beautiful Ozark mountains. She has been writing toward publication since 1997 and sold her first story in 2001 to Barbour Publishing. Since then she's written sixteen Christian romance novels and novellas including the best-selling Arkansas, which has sold over 150,000 copies worldwide. Christine is a four-time winner of the prestigious American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year Award.

Christine's newest release, The Reluctant Cowgirl, received a 4 1/2 star review from Romantic Times and was an RT Top Pick for April, 2009. Besides The Reluctant Cowgirl, her latest novels include Promise Me Always, Along Came a Cowboy, and Forever Christmas, which recently hit the CBA Fiction Best-seller list. Also just out is Alibis in Arkansas, three cozy mysteries complete in one volume, co-written with two of her sisters Sandy Gaskin and Jan Reynolds.

When Christine isn't at her computer, you'll often find her cheering and coaching at one of her daughters' softball games, kayaking down beautiful Spring River with her family, or getting together with friends from church.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "All Jingled Out", December 7, 2004

By 

Rose A. Mccauley (KY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: All Jingled Out: Done with the Dashing / My True Love Gave to Me (Steeple Hill Christmas) (Paperback)

I just finished laughing my way through my reading of "All Jingled Out". The two contemporary stories are ones any wife and mother can identify with. In "All Done with the Dashing" it takes an almost tragedy for Maggie Mackenzie and her family to let go of some of their holiday traditions in order to enjoy the true meaning of Thanksgiving and Christmas.

In Christine Lynxwiler's first person story "My True Love Gave to Me", we take a road trip with Penny Lassiter, holiday planner extraordinaire, and her family, a trip planned by her husband that Penny and the kids don't want to be on. They slowly change their minds as they learn about Christmas by serving those less fortunate and spending time with each other. I loved this whole book including the titles of the twelve chapters which can be sung to the tune of "The Twelve Days of Christmas"

I highly recommend buying this hilarious and heartwarming book to get you in the spirit of the true meaning of Christmas. Rose McCauley

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A warm collection of stories to inspire holiday spirit, July 11, 2007

By 

Donna K. "bookcrosser" (Long Island, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: All Jingled Out: Done with the Dashing / My True Love Gave to Me (Steeple Hill Christmas) (Paperback)

Done With The Dashing by Pamela Dowd: It's easy to relate to Maggie's feeling about being "all jingled out", as most of us find that the holidays to be more stressful than relaxing. She was generous to a fault, and it was sad how her family took advantage of her over the years. At times, I wanted to slap some sense into her husband and sisters for being so clueless, and at other times, I wanted to shake Maggie for allowing herself to be treated as a doormat by them. It was an interesting spiritual journey to resolve these issues (I loved the Martha and Mary biblical analogy) and to set boundaries within the family dynamics in order to reclaim oneself.

My True Love Gave to Me by Christine Lynxwiler: Although I appreciated the emphasis on moving away from the commericialism of Christmas and finding the true spirit of the holiday, all the talk about Christian women being submissive to their husbands, rather than coexisting in a partnership with them, bothered me so much that it hindered my enjoyment of this story. It was very heavy-handed on the preachiness, and it's unrealistic for a husband to make such drastic plans and decisions without consulting with his wife first, expecting her to happily follow along regardless of her feelings. While a valuable lesson was expressed, I felt hit over the head by the message, instead of having it wash over me comfortably.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars done with the dashing, April 26, 2005

By 

J. W. Ferguson (Kilgore, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: All Jingled Out: Done with the Dashing / My True Love Gave to Me (Steeple Hill Christmas) (Paperback)

In her hilarious and touching novella "Done With the Dashing," Pamela Dowd has created a heroine in Maggie Mackenzie -- an overworked, overstressed but endearing mom -- with whom all readers can relate. I breezed through it in one sitting, and promptly did the dishes and straightened the house for my own multi-tasking mother. Highly recommended reading for moms everywhere -- as well as for people who live with moms.