Raise a glass to celebrate love, community and Christmas spirit with four festive rural stories from favourite authors, all featuring the iconic setting of Australian small-town pubs.

A Gingerbread Christmas by Alissa Callen

City-girl Tory Halifax is on a mission to bring joy, and gingerbread, to small-town Windamere. Christmas grinch Blake Randall is hibernating with his kelpie until the festive madness ends. But when his adorable twin nieces gatecrash his farm, trapping him in a tinsel nightmare, there's only one person he can turn to. Can Tory help Blake create new holiday memories to ensure he'll never spend Christmas alone in the pub again?

A Jillaroo Until Christmas by Stella Quinn

Reluctant backpacker Micky Harding needs to get out of her comfort zone. How hard can it be to jillaroo? For Gulf Country grazier Steve Bruce, a useless station hand who's too sweet to sack is just one more problem. Add a very pregnant cow, an abandoned goldrush pub, and a fall-in-love situationship between two people who are adamant their stars do not align, and you've got a cracker of a country Christmas.

Love on the Menu by Pamela Cook

After inheriting a country pub, chef Cassidy Butler is opening her dream restaurant. Nate Willis, the boy who broke her heart, runs the pub across the road. Cassidy vows to take his customers, starting with Warrinbah's Christmas Long Table Lunch. But with bad reviews, boycotts and other disasters, Cassidy's dream will implode if she doesn't ask her enemy for help-and acknowledge there's still a spark between them.

The Kiss Before Christmas by Penelope Janu

Lily Campbell runs her own fencing business, and doesn't need anyone's help. So when a handsome city lawyer retrieves her runaway wheel, she surprises herself by thanking him with a kiss. After all, she'll never see him again. But Xavier Lucas, unexpectedly down to earth and the only person who can save Ballimore's pub, keeps turning up. It's a bad idea to date someone from such a different world, but after that kiss, what if Lily wants more?