Winter Blogfest: Mariah Lynne

December 31, 2020 By 12 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win  an e-book copy of The Duchess’ Necklace.

My Dog Sam Was Part German Shepherd

My dog Sam was part German Shepherd, part Golden Lab, and part comedian. From the moment his golden brown eyes met mine, I knew I was in for a heck of a ride.

Sam was ninety pounds, full of energy, curiosity, and spunk. He didn’t have a mean bone in his body unless that is you threatened to harm his family. I watched him lick a baby’s feet and swim with ducks. We adopted Sam when he was nine months old from a shelter after his last owner moved and left him tied to a fence. 

He did have a romantic side that led to an encounter with a female sled dog but since we’re in the holiday season, I thought I’d share a short Christmas memory.

At that time, we lived in New England so of course December was cold. Sam, a big brown scruffy dog, had a bushy brown and black heavy coat of fur. He loved being outside especially in the snow. Our friend, who owned a local pub aptly called “The Dog House”, had to put his dog to sleep and didn’t want to get another because of his erratic work schedule.

Local pub owner Dave had constructed a large heavy doghouse for his late dog out of barn board. One day, he showed up at our house with it on the back of his pick-up. Soon after he met Sam, he knew he wanted Sam to inherit this amazing doghouse. He advised us to keep it filled with hay so Sam could enjoy the wintery outdoors for as long as he wanted. Sam loved it and loved to jump on its flat roof to watch people and pets walking up our quiet street.

We alternated years visiting my mother-in-law for Christmas or her coming to us. This was our year to cook the holiday meal and Sam was thrilled to have her company so much so he would sneak out of his bed when we were all asleep and lay by her bedroom door. That particular year, Christmas was a beautiful snowy day the kind Sam loved to frolic in. After we opened presents, I stuffed the turkey and put it in the oven. I asked Sam if he wanted to go outside, but evidently the aroma coming from that roasting pan sent Sam’s nose and stomach into a frenzy. He kept sniffing the air and stayed in the kitchen not wanting to miss anything turkey.

I set the table in our cozy dining room and checked the holiday feast. The turkey looked beautiful as did all the trimmings. Sam’s eyes were glued to my process of placing all this wonderful food into serving dishes. He had a healthy hearty breakfast so I was sure it was just his curiosity.

As my husband carved the turkey, even through the noise of an electric knife and all of our chatter, we heard loud slurping noises coming from the kitchen. I got up to see what that noise was. Did I leave the water running? Was something dripping? No to both but I did leave the turkey pan on the extended oven rack to cool. Sam was a big guy so the rack was level with his mouth. I walked into the kitchen to watch him continue to slurp up all the remaining juices in the roasting pan. Thank goodness I had already strained the bones out to make some gravy but did leave a generous amount of juices in the pan much to Sam’s happiness. He heard me enter and looked up at me with those huge big brown eyes and wagged his tail not skipping a second of his slurping. I didn’t know whether to laugh or scold him. You guessed it. I laughed and gave him a big hug even with all that turkey juice on his face. My husband always said I would make a terrible dog obedience trainer.

Sam lived to be fifteen and had a happy life and we shared many more wonderful memories together. I named the character of the dog in “Paws for Christmas” after him.
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It’s the Holidays and Jessica Munroe seems destined for misery. Nonetheless she is trying to make the best of it. Her fiancé Jake, an emergency room doctor, dumped her for his nurse and just two weeks prior, she had to put her dog, her best friend, Mazy to sleep.

The pain of losing both the man she loved and her best friend has taken her to a new low. Jessica, determined not to stay down, is now hard at work trying to push through the holiday season by doubling up on Christmas lights and decorations she’s putting up outside her residence.

As Jessica works, a big brown scruffy dog appears in her yard and refuses to leave when she tries to shoo him away. He’s filthy, looks hungry, and seems like he needs help. A dog lover, Jessica takes him to her vet who discovers a metal bone shaped tag buried in his matted fur. The tag reveals his name, Sam, and a phone number to call if he is lost or injured.

Sam’s owner Trey Musgrove is in the hospital the victim of a head-on collision. Now Jessica’s life is about to change forever thanks to Sam, this big brown scruffy lovable dog.

Side effects of reading PAWS FOR CHRISTMAS are a happy heart, an uplifted spirit, new confidence in the future, and a smile on your face!

Mariah Lynne takes readers on breathtaking adventures. Whether travelling through time, solving a crime, or finding love in unlikely situations, her heroines are strong willed independent women whose memorable stories keep the pages turning.
A graduate of Syracuse University, Mariah resides on a beautiful Florida Gulf Coast island, Ft. Myers Beach. Because she loves where she lives, Southwest Florida becomes the backdrop for all of her stories. Before writing fiction, she owned a business on the Beach and wrote weekly columns for two island newspapers.
Mariah is a member of Romance Writers of America and Southwest Florida Romance Writers where she served as Membership Chairman for five years. An animal lover, she served three years on the board of directors for a county wide no-kill animal shelter, The Animal Refuge Center and was honored to be selected Parade Marshall for the annual island Shrimp Festival Parade 2010.
Her books include PAWS for CHRISTMAS , THE DUCHESS’ NECKLACE, SHADOWS ACROSS TIME, and THE LOVE GYPSY also available as an audio book. Her short stories “Love at First Flight” and “The Kaine Mutiny” are published in Vols. 1 and 2 of FROM FLORIDA WITH LOVE, while “Claws for Justice” is included in NINE DEADLY LIVES a mystery anthology featuring cats. Her very first book, SEABLISS, a cozy island mystery now out of print will be re-released as an e-book and in print in early 2021.
When not writing, Mariah, a former video retailer, enjoys watching movies, travelling having recently been stranded because of the pandemic in Australia, swimming, and spending time with her husband Jerry. She still misses her amazing dolphin hunting dog Max, a shelter adoptee.

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Winter Blogfest: Diane L Bator

December 30, 2020 By 5 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win an ebook copy of The Bakery Lady. Simply comment on my post and tell me your favourite holiday treat!.

Pepto Bismol Christmas Cookies

Growing up, my mom always made Christmas special and I vowed that I would do the same when my three kids were born. Nothing says Christmas like a six month old and a cat rolling around beneath the tree knocking ornaments off, right? Or my personal favorite, Nerf wars around the Christmas tree. Now that they’re grown up and on their own, the tree is safer but the holidays will be much different. But there are some things will remain the same even if they’re done from afar.

Over the years, I’ve adopted a few recipes that I’ve made my own and now have to mail to my kids:

  • Nuts and bolts are a staple that everyone asks for. 
  • Who can resist caramel popcorn warm from the oven? It’s just as addictive cold too.
  • Gingerbread cookies are another favourite.
  • Pepto Bismol sugar cookies…

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Yup, you read that right.

One year I tried to make sugar cookies and tinted half the batch red to make into candy canes. The red didn’t work so well. It turned bright pink. The cookies, however, became an instant hit. The kids have stories of teachers who ate them in class while teaching, we have friends who ate them all before they even went home, and I can attest to eating more than my fair share. I’ve never made plain white sugar cookies since.

When the kids were younger, we also made gingerbread houses a few years in a row, including a large gingerbread church for a wonderful woman who used to babysit the kids. She shared it with her family for Christmas that year.  Those gingerbread houses were the inspiration for my novel The Bakery Lady where Christina Davidson struggles with building the perfect gingerbread house, or any gingerbread house for that matter! All I had to do was recall the very first house I built and a story was born.

While the instructions for the gingerbread houses require a little more detail. I’d love to share my Pepto Bismol Cookie recipe. I hope you enjoy!

Peppermint Christmas Cookies (aka Pepto Bismol Cookies)

Sift together in one bowl and reserve:

2 ¾ cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

Put:  ¾ cup soft margarine in large bowl.

Add: 1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp peppermint extract

Beat with mixer or wooden spoon until mixture is light and fluffy.

Beat in flour mixture blending until smooth.

Chill 1 hour or until firm.

Roll out onto floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness.

Cut with cookie cutters.

Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Decorate as desired.

 

Happy Holidays!

Diane Bator

From the moment Leo Blue meets the local tattoo artist’s sister Christina, he’s drawn into a web of bread dough and lies. Christina Davidson has returned to Packham with a duffle bag full of secrets. Leo soon discovers her biggest secret is Christina’s alter ego and her husband, who stands accused of murdering an up-and-coming artist. He promises to help set things straight and plans to bring husband and wife together for Christmas—even if it costs him his sanity and the love of his life.

Diane Bator is the author of several mystery novels—and series. She’s a member of Crime Writers of Canada, Sisters in Crime Toronto, International Thriller Writers and the Writers Union of Canada. When she’s not writing, she works in a small, professional theatre which will one day be subjected to immortality in a whole new series.

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Winter Blogfest: Cassie O’Brien

December 30, 2020 By 6 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win a paperback copy of Once Upon A Christmastime and a hamper of Christmas chocolate..

The Tradition of the Christmas Goose in Olde England

Christmas is coming. The goose is getting fat.

Please put a penny in the old man’s hat

If you haven’t got a penny

A ha’penny will do

If you haven’t got a ha’penny, then God bless you. 

Whilst turkey was first eaten at Christmas during the reign of King Henry VIII (1509-1547) it remained an expensive luxury in the south of England until the well into the 20th century. Even in the Victorian era, a fat goose was the more normal highlight of the feast.

The birds were raised in East Anglia and herded along Drovers’ roads to London to be sold fresh in time for Christmas. Daniel Defoe recorded that 150,000 were driven from East Anglia to London each year, a journey that took three months to complete. To protect their feet, the geese had theirs tarred and sanded.

In London itself, many working-class citizens banded together to form ‘goose clubs’ as a way to make the Christmas meal more affordable. Each individual paid a few pence a week towards the purchase, and unlike the scene in the Cratchit household as portrayed in the Hollywood version of ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens – most family homes did not have an oven in which to roast one.

As a boon to the neighborhood the local baker normally agreed to leave his oven alight. The goose was prepared, stuffed to eke out the meat, then cooked as a community effort which was then shared out between the contributors.
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Lady Caroline’s Unexpected Christmas Guest
The last thing Bertie expected to do whilst attending the Duke of Avondale’s Christmas house party was to fall in love. Can he persuade the shy and reclusive Lady Caroline he is the man for her?
The Darling Dowager’s Christmas Treat
The Duke of Ancester is not a man to take no for an answer and certainly not from the young widow he has decided to marry. To escape his persistence, Isabella departs the capital, and travelling incognito, sets out to spend Christmas at the remote property she owns in Yorkshire. But the duke is hot on her heels.
Fairy Dust Wishes
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and the shop floor of Robins and Son’s department store is thronged with customers. Working behind the perfumery counter, Megan encounters the shop’s seasonal Santa, and her generosity in helping him out of a fix changes her life forever.
Elle’s Christmas Surprise
Elle knows just what she wants for Christmas. Some quiet time in the company of a good book and a bottle of wine and definitely no turkey and tinsel parties. Bah humbug! Her giftshop is busy with customers, her plans are in place, until a blast from her past walks in with other ideas in mind.

A festive collaboration between the authors Cassie O’Brien – mum of four – writer of romance for Totally Entwined Group and committed party animal with a love of champagne and high-heels and Raven McAllan.

Cassie O’Brien – mum of four – writer of romance for Totally Entwined Group and committed party animal with a love of champagne and high-heels.

Raven lives in Scotland, along with her husband and their two cats–their children having flown the nest–surrounded by beautiful scenery, which inspires a lot of the settings in her books.

She is used to sharing her life with the occasional deer, red squirrel, and lost tourist, to say nothing of the scourge of Scotland–the midge.
Her very understanding, and long-suffering DH, is used to his questions unanswered, the dust bunnies greeting him as he walks through the door, and rescuing burned offerings from the Aga. (And passing her a glass of wine as she types furiously.)

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Winter Blogfest: Avery Easton

December 30, 2020 By 12 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of Love Me A Little in a format of your choosing: Kindle, paperback, or audiobook.

Getting In The Holiday Spirit with Musicals

When Judy Garland sings “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” to Tootie in Meet Me In St. Louis, I have a hard time keeping it together. There’s a reason I write romances centered around Broadway–music has a way of making a story soar. 

Just one song can bring a tear to my eye. When the Whos down in Whoville start singing “Welcome Christmas”? You’ll find me needing a tissue. And if a little kid is singing (lookin’ at you, Love Actually), forget it. It doesn’t even have to be an emotional song. But if there’s a melody, and bonus, a key change, I’m going to get goosebumps and probably cry. 

I’ve always been this way, and that’s why musical theatre means so much to me. Music can bring us together in a way that not much else can. When we all come together to sing and our voices blend… it doesn’t matter if you’re a trained vocalist or can’t carry a note. That’s true magic any time of the year. But especially around the holidays. 

Every year around this time, I throw a huge holiday party and we all gather around my piano and sing every carol and festive song in the songbooks. This year, I will miss gathering my friends close, arms around each other, and singing our hearts out. 

This year, I will have to keep myself company with all the music from movies and musicals on my Christmas playlist, which is almost all I will listen to until December 26th. And of course, I’ll watch the classics: Meet Me In St. Louis, White Christmas. I’ll throw Mame in for good measure (we do need a little Christmas, right this very minute!). 

The cast recordings of She Loves Me, Elf, and A Christmas Story will feature heavily, and of course the Muppet Christmas Carol. It doesn’t get better than “It Feels Like Christmas”. There are also the Broadway Carols for the Cure compilations. The cast of Hamilton singing “Joy to the World”? Yes very much, thank you. 

And for me and every other theatre kid that came of age in the late nineties, Rent is a necessity. It starts and ends on Christmas Eve and is therefore a Christmas musical. 

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So Judy’s song hits different this year. But I will still get in the spirit, grateful for the health of my family and friends and the technology that keeps us together. I will keep the faith that better days are ahead. 

Someday soon, we all will be together, if the fates allow. Until then… we’ll have to muddle through somehow. 

Happy holidays, to one and all.

Heartbroken, Evie O’Hara is trying to move on after her world was changed by a tragic accident. She seeks comfort in her favorite showtunes, sung by her one-time Broadway crush. Although fiercely protective of his privacy, stage and screen star Ethan Carter is lonely. Happy enough with his career and his dog, he still feels an emptiness in his life.

When her best friend gifts her with a weekend trip to New York to see Ethan perform, Evie is thrilled when he singles her out of the crowd. For the first time in over a year, she feels almost…happy. And while inviting a fan backstage, even a pretty one, isn’t what Ethan would normally do, something tells him that Evie is different.

They spend an idyllic, passionate weekend together, forging a deep connection. Neither is ready to say goodbye forever. The odds seem against them as they battle Ethan’s enthusiastic, often intrusive, fans, the hundreds of miles between them, and Evie’s fear of risking her heart again. But if the magic of that first wonderful weekend can endure, theirs could be a love that hits the right note–a love that lasts forever.

With over ten years of wedding planning experience and a lifetime onstage, Avery Easton knows romance. She began writing stories in a pink Snoopy notebook when she was seven years old, and hasn’t stopped since. If she’s not reading, writing, or planning weddings, you can find her cross stitching or belting out showtunes. She lives in Chicago with her husband and two adorable cats.

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Winter Blogfest: Mandy Swiftson

December 30, 2020 By 10 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win a signed paperback copy. I will post to wherever the winner is.

The Magic of Christmas

Santa is real! Let me just start by making myself clear on that point, so all of this is hypothetical anyway :-p

Do you think you should ever tell a child that Santa isn’t real, or do you think they should discover it for themselves?

Me personally I still believe so it isn’t a question I can answer, (you have to believe in him, right?)

I clearly remember my brother telling me there was no such thing and that Mum and Dad just brought the gifts and hid them. 

I was devastated. He took great pleasure in my distress, but then he was that kind of brother.

When would it be better to spoil the illusion? I think once a child stops believing it somewhat spoils the magic of Christmas.

So many things change, writing to Santa, getting a letter back, cookies, carrots and milk left out for Santa and the reindeer, laying awake as long as you possibly can to try and catch Santa or hear the sleigh bells, and no matter what you always seam to be asleep when he comes.

I guess it would depend on the child and if there are any younger siblings, if one child knows the truth will they like my brother take pleasure in spoiling it for the younger ones? Or would they play along?

To me I don’t think you should ever come out and tell a child, yes at some point they will question but lets face it, in this day and age there are so many things that happen to steal our children’s innocence, from clothing to TV to bad things happening, so why cant we just allow this small piece of innocence to remain in childhood as long as it’s needed?

I love Christmas, from the pretty twinkling lights to the gifts shared to family fun times, but when you have child believing in the whole magic and wonder of Santa and the north pole and flying reindeers and magical elves it is so much better. So much more fun and so much more special.

Let’s keep Santa alive.

I believe!


All your life you are taught to forgive. It doesn’t matter who or what your beliefs are, even as children we are taught we should forgive.

Is forgiveness ever the wrong thing to do?
What if forgiving someone alters your life in ways you could never imagine?
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Is it still the right thing to do?
Surely there must be exceptions to the forgive and forget rule?

One forgiveness.
One mistake.
One life-altering decision.

Which is right? Which is wrong?
Forgiveness or survival?

I am a married lady, on the higher side of 45, I have lived in Nottingham England (Robin Hood Land) all my life apart from a few years where I moved to the posh Harrogate, I am not posh and it didn’t work.

I am a bit like Henry V111 but instead of “divorced beheaded died” I have Alcoholic, Psycho and died. So I am a bit of a serial name changer, I am married to hubby number 4 but I know this time I have found my soul mate. He is the fish to my chips, the salt to my vinegar, the yin to my yang. My Dude is my life.

I have an older sister and an older brother plus an array of nieces and nephews, some blood some adopted, but I love them all.

I currently work in a betting shop which whilst I love it can sometimes be stressful.

I am Big, I am Inked, My hair colour changes like the weather (which in England can be four seasons in a day) and I am in your face loud. I don’t do egg shells and I don’t do cotton wool.

I am very much the kind of person who is happy in herself and if someone doesn’t like me they can turn right around and find the door they came through.

I have worked hard and shed many tears to be happy in my own skin.

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Winter Blogfest: Beth Carpenter

December 29, 2020 By 41 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card. Open internationally.

The Moose That Attempted to Eat Christmas Lights

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The first year after we moved to Alaska, I’d made arrangements for the teenager down the block to babysit while my husband and I attended his company Christmas party. Alas, just before she was due to arrive, she called to say she couldn’t leave her house because there was a moose in her yard attempting to eat the Christmas lights.* Turns out that being late because of a moose that refuses to leave is not an uncommon excuse in Anchorage.

Despite the unique challenges—or maybe because of them—I I love Christmas in Alaska. Yes it’s cold and dark (only five-and-a-half hours of daylight in Anchorage on winter solstice) but the Christmas lights reflect against the snow, lighting up the night. A Christmas star perches on the mountain and shines out over the city. Children squeal and giggle as they sled down the hill in the park across the street. And the whole city looks like a Christmas card. 

Outdoorsy people in Anchorage don’t let winter slow them down. They cross-country ski or ride fat-tire bikes on the trails all across the city or ice skate on Westchester lagoon. On one day shortly before Christmas, the Alyeska ski area in nearby Girdwood hosts a “Santa skis free” day, and the mountain is covered with Santa’s doppelgangers swooshing down the runs. The rest of us enjoy watching the snowfall through the window while we sip hot chocolate beside a crackling fire. 
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This year after Christmas, we probably won’t be gathering downtown for fireworks as usual. Still, the days will start to get longer, the moose will still roam the streets, and we’ll ring in a new year. Here’s hoping it’s a good one, in my hometown and yours. 

*FYI, the moose did not actually bite into the lights and eventually wandered off, unharmed. 

A little mix-up…

Could make her Christmas wonderful!

Natalie Weiss is mortified. After mistaking handsome Tanner Rockford for his cousin, she’s followed him to rural Alaska. Now she’s stranded—until Tanner invites her to spend Christmas with his family in their rustic, cozy cabin. But in this idyllic winter wonderland, Natalie discovers the family she’s never had…and the love she never knew she needed. But what happens when they all discover why she’s really there?

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Beth Carpenter is thankful for good books, a good dog, a good man and a dream job creating happily-ever-afters. She and her husband now split their time between Alaska and Arizona, where she occasionally encounters a moose in the yard or a scorpion in the basement. She prefers the moose.

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Winter Blogfest: Christy Nicholas

December 29, 2020 By 14 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win a free ebook of my timeslip romance, Past Storm and Fire. 

December Celebrations

Ah, December. The ringing of jingle bells until you want to smash the little buggers whenever they appear, the mad dash for holiday gifts, the dreaded anticipation of hordes of relatives appearing at your doorstep.

And yet, it is a time of serene beauty and joy. It is a time of solitude and dark nights, a time to contemplate the love in your life, and all your blessings. One of my favorite things to do on snowy evenings is to sip a cup of coffee while the weather covers the outside world in a blanket of white splendor, at least in the northern hemisphere. To sit and read a new book during this time is part of the season’s enchantment.

How can we keep from singing?

Nights are made bright with blankets of pristine snow sparkling in the sublime moonlight. Days are made sweet with the ringing of children’s laughter in the snow. And the food… oh, so much food! Candies, cakes, roasts, and eggnog. 

Last year, my husband, who loves anything to do with the Norse and Viking warriors, got a cookbook based on traditional Norse recipes for Yule. He roasted wild boar for our Yule meal, with rosemary and a cherry glaze. He added several root vegetables, such as turnips, rutabaga, carrots, and beets. Now, I’m never a big fan of beets, but these were lovely in a mix with the roast boar juice. 

No matter what your beliefs, no matter what your religion, December is a month of peace and joy. So, Merry Christmas, Happy Channukah, Joyful Yule, and Happy Kwanzaa. Enjoy those things in life that you hold dear, now and throughout the year. 

Normally, I would implore you to hold them tight and fierce, for tomorrow is a new day with new opportunities and possibilities. However, this year, we must be content with electronic greetings and long-distance hugs. However, while we deal with the strictures of this chaotic time, we can hold in our heart the hope of a more intimate season next year. Be of good cheer!

Why do I say ‘happy holidays’ rather than ‘Merry Christmas?’ Not because I hate Christmas or Christians, or want a war on any of them. I say ‘happy holidays’ because there are many different holidays in this time, holy days observed by many different religions. Here are just a few of them!

Some December festivals:

  • Advent (Nov 29th-Dec 24th)
  • Boxing Day (Dec 26th)
  • Chanukkah (Jewish Festival of Lights)
  • Christmas (Dec 25th)
  • Hogmanay (Dec 31st)
  • Hogswatch (From Discworld – fictional)
  • Jolabokaflod (Dec 24th Icelandic tradition of gifting books and reading them all night)
  • Krampusnacht (Dec 5th)
  • Kwanzaa (Pan-African Festival)
  • New Year’s Eve (Dec 31st)
  • Saturnalia (the Roman Winter Solstice)
  • St. Lucia’s Day (Dec 13th)
  • Yule (Pagan winter festival/Solstice)

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So, brew yourself a warm cup of cheer, grab a brand-new book, and sit by that magical window to read on a cold midwinter night as the world’s liminal enchantment commences.

A transatlantic journey, a quest for lost family, and a magical brooch.

Wealthy Valentia has the perfect life—except for the nightmares that plague her, foretelling disaster if she doesn’t find the brooch her grandmother lost decades ago in Ireland. The night her family’s hotel burns to the ground, Valentia knows she can no longer wait. Risking a perilous Atlantic voyage, she heads to Ireland to discover her heritage.

But the journey exacts a terrible toll, and her health deteriorates. Struggling to navigate a new country, cope with the desperate poverty, and untangle a complicated web of family secrets, Valentia fears she’ll never find the brooch in time to save her sanity—until she discovers a clue which sends her on a desperate trek across the Irish countryside, despite the dangers.

As the clock ticks down, her grasp on sanity slips through her fingers, forcing her to fight for a centuries-old legacy or lose everything.

Celtic Fairies, Fables, and Folklore! Bestselling author (top #100 Amazon)

Christy Nicholas, also known as Green Dragon, is an author, artist and accountant. After she failed to become an airline pilot, she quit her ceaseless pursuit of careers that begin with ‘A’, and decided to concentrate on her writing. Since she has Project Completion Compulsion, she is one of the few authors with NO unfinished novels.

Christy has her hands in many crafts, including digital art, beaded jewelry, writing, and photography. In real life, she’s a CPA, but having grown up with art all around her (her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother are/were all artists), it sort of infected her, as it were.

She wants to expose the incredible beauty in this world, hidden beneath the everyday grime of familiarity and habit, and share it with others. She uses characters out of time and places infused with magic and myth, writing magical realism stories in both historical fantasy and time travel flavors.

Combine this love of beauty with a bit of financial sense and you get an art business. She does local art and craft shows, as well as sending her art to various science fiction conventions throughout the country and abroad.

 

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Winter Blogfest: Sarita Leone

December 29, 2020 By 4 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win a digital copy of Sterling’s Way.

Pumpkin Bread

The holidays are a time for family, fun—and food! Families and friends gather around kitchen or dining room tables and spend hours catching up. Good times, right? 

That is the way things are now, but it is also part of holiday celebrations that took place in the frontier days of the wild west. Sure, there may have been a train robbery, cattle rustling, or dustup at the local saloon thrown in, but back in the day families did settle around camp fires and kitchen tables to share the joy and tastes of the season. 

A Wylder Christmas, set in the Wyoming territory in December 1878 features a holiday celebration. Every family in town contributes to the festive food tables—the way many of us do potluck dinners now. Gertie, one of Wylder’s most helpful citizens, bakes one of her family’s treasured treats. Her pumpkin bread is praise-worthy and loved by all. 

I bake pumpkin bread for our festivities, too, so I’m sharing my recipe with you. It may not be as great as Gertie’s, but I hope it adds some cheer to your holiday table!  

Pumpkin Bread  

½ cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

½ cup light brown sugar

½ cup sugar

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla 

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 ½ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg
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¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup almond milk (you can use your milk of choice here)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

Grease and lightly flour a bread pan.

Combine wet ingredients in one bowl. 

Combine dry ingredients in a second bowl. 

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until the batter is smooth. 

Pour into bread pan. 

Place pan in the oven and bake for about an hour. When you’re getting close to the full hour, check for doneness by inserting a knife near the center. When the knife comes out clean, the bread is done. 

Cool on a wire rack before cutting. 

Inside tip: I bake an extra loaf or two to use for toast or even French toast! Yum!   

Can a Christmas miracle bring a southern belle into the arms of a Union soldier?

Violet Bloom leaves Charleston to come west as a mail-order bride. But when she steps off the stagecoach, she&’s greeted by tragic news. She vows to begin anew in Wylder, to lay haunting memories to rest, and find peace.

Former Union soldier Thomas Harvey’s dreams of homesteading are crushed, along with his heart, at the passing of his wife. He moves to town and struggles to survive—not for himself, but for his spirited young daughter.

After Thomas rescues Violet during a snowstorm, neither has any thought of romance. But Christmas magic is in the air. It’s a time of forgiveness and new beginnings—even for lost souls.

Sarita Leone loves happy endings—in life and on the page.

When she’s not busy writing her next novel, this adventure-loving yoga teacher likes to hike, travel, and dance beneath the stars. She studies languages, enjoys making a mess in the kitchen, and never says “no” to fun. Finding pockets of peace everywhere she goes, this author plans to make every moment of this journey count.

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Winter Blogfest: DK Marie

December 28, 2020 By 8 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win a free digital copy of one of my books (reader picks the story of their choice)..

A short Christmas story with the couple from Fairy Tale Lies.

Greta collapsed onto the couch. “The Christmas party was fun, but I’m exhausted.” She kicked off her favorite pair of black Louboutin. “My toes are screaming at me.” 

Jacob sat next to her, bring her feet onto his lap, he said, “If it helps your legs looked sexy as hell in those heels.”

“At the beginning of the night, yes. At two in the morning, no.” 

His strong thumbs rolled circles into her arch. Her eyes rolled closed, and she moaned in exquisite pleasure.

He stopped, and she peeked at him through cracked lids. His eyes seemed to blaze and sparkle with amusement.

“Did you just have an orgasm?”

She giggled. “Maybe. Your fingers are magic, Husband.” 

“Say that again,” he demanded gently, pulling her onto his lap.

“Magic fingers,” she teased. 

He kissed along her neck, seeking out the spot that always made her melt into a puddle of need. “The other one…”

“Husband?”

“Yes. That one.” He drew her ear lobe between his lips before kissing and nibbling to her secret erogenous spot, right below. 

She sucked in a gasp of desire, her nails digging into the soft fabric of his shirt. Finding a breath around her growing need, she said, “It’s been three years, hasn’t it lost its luster?” 

“Nope. I’ll never tire of hearing it on your lips.” His hand slid up her leg, taking her dress with it. When he reached the lace top of her stocking, his hand stilled. “Are you wearing one of those hot garter things?”

“I am,” she whispered, lifting her hips so he could continue.

“I get to unwrap my favorite present. This is a very Merry Christmas, indeed.” 

His words reminded her of the one she’d wanted to give to him for over a week. Excitement overruled her scorching lust. 
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He must have noticed her mood shift because his busy, wonderful hands stopped, and he laid back looking at her. “What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing. You just reminded me of the gift I have for you.” 

“Is it better than this one?” He ran a finger along the delicate lace of her stocking.

“Oh, I think you’ll like it.”

“Hmm, I’ll admit, the mystery in your voice has me curious.” He trailed a palm up her body, resting it on her left breast. One brow ticked. “And your heart is racing. What did you get me? A pet lion?” he joked.

“That wouldn’t be the first time in Detroit,” she laughed. “But no.” 

Standing, she walked to their Christmas tree, admiring the gold star with its twinkling lights that nearly scraped the ceiling. However, her favorites were the bulbs. Some were from Jacob’s childhood. Others they picked out since marrying. 

She scanned the tree, looking for them. Selecting a special one each year was a tradition carried over from Jacob’s family. Her gaze landed on their wedding bulb, then the one of their first Christmas. 

Bending, she shuffled the gifts until finding the one she sought. It was wrapped in red paper with white snowflakes. The box was no bigger than that of a regular-sized coffee mug. 

He met her at the tree, and she handed him the package. After unwrapping it, he gently removed next year’s Christmas bulb. 

He let out a whoop of pure joy, and spun her around. Then with eyes wide, and glistening with tears he read the words inscribed on it out loud. “Babies First Christmas.” 

Greta and Jacob aren’t looking for love, but when they meet their attraction is white hot, melting away all self-restraint. Both times.

The first is a stormy spring afternoon, spent indulging in each other’s bodies. They parted ways convinced they’re nothing more than an erotic chapter in the other’s life. However, when they unexpectedly meet again, Jacob isn’t willing to let Greta slip away. He convinces her to give them a chance.

Lust turns to love, but resentments fester. People close to Greta repeatedly interfere until Jacob’s convinced Greta will never see him as anything more than a blue-collar nobody. A temporary indulgence. Greta fears she isn’t strong enough to stand against both her family’s scorn and Jacob’s growing anger.

As tempers flare and passions deepen, Greta and Jacob have to decide if their love is strong enough to shatter the cynicism and misconceptions of what it means to be each other’s fairytale ending.

DK Marie’s a voracious reader. Her number one love is romance and devours any and all of its genres, but also enjoys thrillers, horror, and non-fiction. Basically, if there are words on a page and a spectacular story, she’s diving in, heart and soul.

However, there’s one thing she loves even more, and that’s writing her own steamy contemporary romances. Her three books out now, Fairy Tale Lies, Love Songs, and Taste of Passion readers are calling compelling and addictive. They’re a mixture of heart, heat, and humor. Brimming with confident heroines and kind heroes, all living, loving, and lusting in and around her hometown of Detroit, Michigan.

When not falling in love with her characters, DK Marie is laughing, relaxing, and planning her next adventure with her family. Okay, and also drinking boatloads of coffee, chatting on social media, and dreaming about her next travel destination

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Winter Blogfest: Helen C. Johannes

December 28, 2020 By 19 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win one Kindle copy of Lord of Druemarwin.

Favorite Christmas Treat: Chocolate Angel Pie

My mother-in-law was famous in the family for her pies. Every holiday celebration we all looked forward to a piece of any of her fabulous creations. We had the traditional pumpkin and mince pies, but one almost everyone wanted a piece of was her Chocolate Angel Pie.

This particular confection required a meringue shell laced with walnuts and filled with a special chocolate/whipped cream combination. Not being a whiz at meringues myself, and witnessing how this kind of crust/shell crumbles and defies easy removal from the pie pan for even the most expert bakers (including my mother-in-law), I have since adapted the recipe.

If your family craves chocolate for the holidays, and you are contemplating a small gathering, this recipe will satisfy both, plus add the delightful pizazz of the unexpected to your dinner. And it’s surprisingly easy. (Something we all need during the holiday rush.) 

Chocolate Angel Pie

1 plain pie crust, baked and cooled (premade or from scratch)

Filling:

1 bar (4 oz.) Bakers German Sweet Chocolate (found in stores alongside the usual Bakers Chocolate)

3 tablespoons water

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½ cup finely chopped walnuts

1 cup whipping cream or 2 cups Cool Whip or 1 package Dream Whip, prepared as directed

Break chocolate into pieces into a small saucepan. Add water. Stir chocolate in the water over low heat until melted; cool until thickened, a few minutes. Blend in 1 teaspoon vanilla and nuts. Whip cream or Dream Whip or measure Cool Whip. Fold chocolate mixture into whipped cream. Pile into baked pie shell. Refrigerate. Serve with more whipped topping, if desired. Enjoy!

“I read this book in a span of hours. I have work I should have done yesterday that I did not do today because I had reading to do damnit …. The romance was well done, steamy. A good book!” Netgalley Reviewer 613674

Lady Raell can fight, ride, and argue politics as well as her brothers. Only being mistress of her father's household keeps her in skirts. In Naed, the new Lord of Druemarwin, she has found devotion, a kindred spirit, and a marriage promise. But when a forgotten and unwanted betrothal comes to light, she has no choice but to run.

Amidst sweeping revolution, Naed must rally his people, fend off assassination attempts, and fight against claims he's a traitor. Then he discovers everything about his lineage and family is a lie. And his beloved belongs to another.

With lives and a kingdom at stake, Raell and Naed must find a way to protect the innocent and save their love.

“I Truly loved this book the setting, the plot, the writing style, the plot twists and the characters in the book were amazing. I would reread this again.” Nicole b, Netgalley

Helen C. Johannes writes award-winning fantasy romance inspired by the fairy tales she grew up reading and the amazing historical places she’s visited in England, Ireland, Scotland and Germany. She writes tales of adventure and romance in fully realized worlds sprung from pure imagination and a lifelong interest in history, culture, and literature. Warriors on horseback, women who refuse to sit idly at home, and passion that cannot be denied or outrun—that’s what readers will find in her books.

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