This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win an ebook copy of my Christmas story, Northern Magic.

The Past is With Us at the Holidays

Is there anyone who, at this time of year, doesn’t look back toward childhood? No matter how you celebrated, or whether childhood was happy or otherwise, memories of the holiday season stand out so vividly.

In my home, we celebrated Christmas. My mom saved up all year to give us a wonderful holiday. Each time my dad got paid, she would squirrel away a dollar or two in an envelope clearly marked Christmas. Having gone without a lot of things as a child, she’d learned to be frugal. But when Christmas came, all that changed. We would have cookies wall to wall (some of my best memories are of baking with her, in a fragrant kitchen) and gift-wishes would somehow, miraculously, come true. Looking back, I’m not sure how she managed it, and I’m certain there was a little magic, as well as a lot of love, involved.

And that gets me thinking…where did my mom, deprived of so much, including her own mother at a young age, get the desire to make us a magical Christmas? How did she come by her cookie recipes, if not via memories of watching her mother, who once ran a tearoom, bake? And where did my grandmother learn to bake, except from her own mother? In all this I see a woven chain of tradition, stretching back through the ages—an unbroken connection of love.

A man with any appalachianmagazine.com cheap cialis sexual problem is just powerless. In Brazil it has gained legendary popularity and is being consumed by many millions every viagra low price day. The use of this classification can help physicians characterize group of patients, provides the rationale for specific management strategies, and allows the design of future clinical trials with more accurate selection and stratification of the population levitra for women under investigation. The informal group of stockbrokers organized themselves as the The Native Share and Stockbrokers Association which, in 1875, was formally organized as the Bombay Stock Exchange and cialis without prescription overnight they are still being followed. Whatever your customs this holiday, be they hanging special ornaments, secret gift exchanges or preparing a feast, give a thought to those who came before us. They are not gone from us, not so long as we remember the past. For today, we still carry out their promises.

Just because she’ll be alone this Christmas, is no reason for Beth Manning to feel sorry for herself. A busy nurse with plenty of friends, she knows she can keep occupied and have a good holiday. But when a tiny package containing an antique locket arrives, she tumbles into a century-old mystery. Is it intended for her, or for a relation of the same name, who lived four generations ago? Why does the image of the young soldier, inside, tug so hard at her heartstrings?

When Tommy Rafferty accompanies his injured friend to the hospital, he’s not thinking about romance. Yet as soon as he meets nurse Beth, his heart gets its own ideas. He’s sure he wants to see her again. But what a strange coincidence, that the tiny package he found and mailed just days ago, while cleaning out a relative’s property should have been addressed to this woman he’s just met. And what about the dreams of past battles he’s been having, that hint at promises and sacrifice?
Is it possible for two lovers parted a century ago to be reunited in time for Christmas? In the blossoming of a new love, will an old promise be kept?

Multi award-winning author Laura Strickland delights in time traveling to the past and searching out settings for her books, be they Historical Romance, Steampunk or something in between. Her first Scottish Historical hero, Devil Black, battled his way onto the publishing scene in 2013, and the author never looked back. Nor has she tapped the limits of her imagination. Venturing beyond Historical and Contemporary Romance, she created a new world with her ground-breaking Buffalo Steampunk Adventure series set in her native city, in Western New York. Married and the parent of one grown daughter, Laura has also been privileged to mother a number of very special rescue dogs, and is intensely interested in animal welfare. These days while she's writing, you can always find her latest rescue, Lacy, nearby. Her love of dogs, and her lifelong interest in Celtic history, magic and music, are all reflected in her writing. Laura's mantra is Lore, Legend, Love, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

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Buy the book at Amazon.

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of the Holiday novella ebook, Northern Magic, a love story set at the North Pole.

A Dose of Good Will

Whether you look forward to the holidays all year, or dread them as a time of hectic shopping frenzies and awkward family gatherings, I think everyone can agree, they bring us together. For better or worse, we gather for parties, dinners, and gift exchanges. At these moments, we reach for good will.

I don’t know about you, but given the past year, I’m ready for a dose of good will—a big, warm, fuzzy one. Though I always do my best to avoid political discussion, I will say it grieves me to see how divided our nation has become. Hate and ugliness seem to have joined hands and surfaced from the deep, dark cave into which we banished them on our long walk from the ‘60s forward. It doesn’t matter who you support, or whose side you’re on, anger rules the day.

I believe it’s time for some peace, love and good will toward all to surface. I’m ready for that holiday feeling—the one that grips you when you’re driving your car through the neighborhood and see those first twinkling lights on a neighbor’s house.  The one that urges you to patiently hold the shop door open for that woman toting three kiddies and an armful of packages. The feeling prompted by the sound of jingly songs on the radio, the scent of newly-baked cookies in the air, and a big tree going up in the town square. 

The common issue is of high blood pressure, diabetes, prostate issues, stress, depression, smoking, etc. prescription for cialis Studies have widely shown that there is consistent evidence for an association between viagra 100mg the condition of benign prostatic hyperplasia are as follows: Frequency of urination, especially the increasing times of urination at night which is more representative in clinic. cheap female viagra After the competition of 24 hours a person can take another pill. Most common does is of cost of tadalafil 50 mg but take it as a serious topic whereas there are some who take the issue very seriously and actually take efforts to get through it and fight with it to create cyclic GMP an accurate enzyme, which roles to inflate the walls of the arteries & the blood veins. The lightness of heart that says, we’re all the same. We all want the best for our families. We’re all reaching for happiness. I want to have a smile—not anger—for everyone I see. This year, no matter your personal faith or your political inclinations, I urge you to join forces and bring the light of good will to chase the darkness. For I believe it’s the darkness, and not each other, that’s the enemy. Happy holidays!

Meghan Martin fears it’s going to be a lean Christmas. Since her husband, Dustin, abandoned her and their six-year-old daughter, Angie, she’s been forced to give up their cozy house in the suburbs and move to a small apartment in the city. Though she loves the multicultural flavor of the new neighborhood and how people help each other, she fears she won’t be able to make all Angie’s Christmas wishes come true, especially when Angie falls in love with an expensive, hand-made doll in the toy maker’s shop downstairs.
Now mysterious things are going on at the community center where Meghan works. Instead of too few packages beneath the giving tree, there are too many, and nobody can tell how they’re arriving. Could it be a touch of Christmas magic?
Jonas Kristensen has been making toys for children a long time, but when he sees Angie’s longing for the doll he’s made, it touches his heart, just like Meghan’s beauty and determination. Used to giving to others, he’s nearly stopped hoping for his own happiness. It’s been ages since he shared the secret of his magic with anyone. Will this be the year the toy maker receives a gift of his own?

Multi award-winning author Laura Strickland delights in time traveling to the past and searching out settings for her books, be they Historical Romance, Steampunk or something in between. Her first Scottish Historical hero, Devil Black, battled his way onto the publishing scene in 2013, and the author never looked back. Nor has she tapped the limits of her imagination. Venturing beyond Historical and Contemporary Romance, she created a new world with her ground-breaking Buffalo Steampunk Adventure series set in her native city, in Western New York. Married and the parent of one grown daughter, Laura has also been privileged to mother a number of very special rescue dogs, and is intensely interested in animal welfare. These days while she’s writing, you can always find her latest rescue, Lacy, nearby. Her love of dogs, and her lifelong interest in Celtic history, magic and music, are all reflected in her writing. Laura’s mantra is Lore, Legend, Love, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Buy the book at Amazon.

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win one ebook copy of my newest Christmas book, The Toy Maker’s Secret. .

Winter Magic

When we were children, it was easy to believe in the magic of the holidays. It took root sometime soon after Thanksgiving and grew up gradually, as neighbors put lights up on their houses, stores began playing seasonal music, and those all-important holiday catalogues arrived in the mail. I was raised in the northern part of the U.S., so the finishing touch for me was always a dusting (or more) of snow. Then on the Big Night, I’d lie awake in bed, straining my ears for the sound of reindeer hooves on the roof. Because I believed.

These days, and in our world, it’s harder to buy into the magic. All too often, we groan at the thought of the holiday season coming on with all the extra tasks it adds to our busy lives. Most of us work outside the home, and the addition of shopping, baking, addressing greeting cards and above all coming up with the extra cash needed to purchase gifts can become overwhelming. 

And let’s face, it, recently our world often doesn’t seem too pretty—or too magical. Our country is split into political factions, and hatred runs rampant. Ugliness abounds, and madmen decide who will stay or go, who will live or die. In the face of all that, it’s difficult to summon up a holiday spirit.

But let me tell you this, my friends. Beneath all the shouting, all the red-faced rhetoric and the “you’re-wrong because I’m-right”, the magic of the holidays still exists. That’s because, when you get down to it, that magic doesn’t depend on gifts, greeting cards, or even snow.
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It depends on the look in a child’s eyes when he sits in a loved-one’s lap, listening to a story being read. It depends on the warm, contented feeling that comes when the family’s all together. It’s born when a song’s sung, or a smile’s given to a stranger, or a door’s held for a fellow shopper. It blossoms whenever we do something for someone else.

You see, I still believe, because the magic’s what unites us, and it’s called love. May you have a beautiful holiday however you celebrate!

When Santa asks his worker, Olja, to help make another elf’s Christmas wish come true, she believes the job calls for a love potion. Brewing it up will require her to travel all around the North Pole gathering unusual supplies, and to take a few dangerous risks. But she’s never failed Santa in the past and doesn’t intend to now.
Elf Runi’s in the business of guiding Santa’s sleigh and making other people’s wishes come true. This year he’s dared make a wish of his own, one from the heart. When he meets Olja, he hopes he’s found his forever. But it will take assistance from a reindeer, a generous helping of love and a whole lot of magic to make his wish come true. That is, if Olja and Runi can just outwit the three troublesome trolls who decide they’d make a fine winter’s snack.

About the Author: Multi-published and multi-award winning author, Laura Strickland writes stories that span several Romance genres. Her Scottish Romances have been compared to Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander and her American Historicals echo the work of authors such as Susan Wiggs and Kristin Hannah. Her award-winning Buffalo Steampunk series has broken new ground both for its setting and its portrayal of automaton characters pursuing their rights. Currently, she is at home in Western New York and at work on her next book.

Website

Buy the book at Amazon.