Winter Blogfest: Jana Richards

December 24, 2020 By 8 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win an E-copy of Lies and Solace.

A Different Christmas

This Christmas will be different. Because of the pandemic we’re being asked to stay home in our small household bubbles and not congregate with extended family and friends over the Christmas holidays. Even shopping is different this year. As I write this, non-essential stores are closed in my city and province. I have to say I missed seeing the stores decked out in their holiday finest. 

Christmas is steeped in tradition. Things will be different this year but it doesn’t mean it has to be bad. Maybe, for this year, we can create some new traditions.

Almost anything can be purchased online. Most stores have an online component that is easy to navigate. Technology has stepped up to help us celebrate the season. Parents can bring the magic of Santa to their kids in electronic ways. Families can play games together, even if they’re not in the same house. There’s no end to the games; some are free (and even more free games) while others need to be purchased, but they all provide a sense of getting together with friends to have fun, even while we’re apart.

When we’re feeling down, often the best antidote is to help someone else. If you’re financially able, donate to a local charity such as a food bank. Find a safe way to volunteer your time. Support local businesses like restaurants by ordering take out. One thing the pandemic has taught us is to find creative ways to do things.

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Garrett Saunders’ world changed two years ago on a road in Afghanistan. Back home, he feels like a stranger. As he struggles to find his place in the world, he meets a horse destined for the slaughterhouse and a woman bent on rescuing the strays of the world, including him.
Blair Greyson moves to Masonville to look after her ailing grandfather and give her rescue horses a home. Right away she butts heads with a surly former Marine. Despite a rocky start, they come to an agreement: Blair will board Garrett’s rescue horse and he’ll help with repairs around her farm.

Garrett finds purpose working with Blair—and falls in love with her. But she’s hiding a secret. Can she forgive herself and accept Garrett’s love, or will she let guilt and regret continue to rule her life?

When Jana Richards read her first romance novel, she immediately knew two things: she had to commit the stories running through her head to paper, and they had to end with a happily ever after. She also knew she’d found what she was meant to do. Since then she’s never met a romance genre she didn’t like. She writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and historical romance set in World War Two, in lengths ranging from short story to full length novel. Just for fun, she throws in generous helpings of humor, and the occasional dash of the paranormal. Her paranormal romantic suspense “Seeing Things” was a 2008 EPPIE finalist, and in 2018 “Lies and Solace” won Best Contemporary romance in the I Heart Indie contest.

In her life away from writing, Jana is an admin assistant, a mother to two grown daughters, and a wife to her husband Warren. She enjoys golf, yoga, movies, concerts, travel and reading, not necessarily in that order. She and her husband live in Winnipeg, Canada. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached through her website at www.janarichards.com

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Winter Blogfest: Wendi Zwaduk

December 24, 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 Saturday Night Special by Wendi Zwaduk.

The Great Christmas Tree Hunt

Every year my family goes for our annual Christmas tree hunt. Now, this doesn’t seem like it would be that hard, but it can be. We have a couple of fake trees, but there’s something about the smell of pine, the feel of the real needles and the idea of going out to find just the right one that’s fun. 

I know, I know. It’s tree cutting. The thing about where we go is that the tree farm really does plant new trees every year, two for every one cut down. So there’s at least that. 

Now this story has to do with a couple years ago. We were hunting for that elusive tree and it was a particularly soggy day. I mean like, it’d been raining most of the day. Yuck. But it’d stopped when we set out and we opted to hunt for the tree because it was one of the few days we could all go together. I mean, why not go together as a family? So we head out and it’s mucky. We start strolling and I find a decent tree. I point it out and as poor DH heads over to it…he found a huge puddle. His boots gave way in the mud and before we know it, he’s down. Now, I’m the type of person that physical comedy makes me laugh. I can’t help it. So, I’m laughing. The tot is laughing. DH? He’s laughing, too. Shrugs. We’re strange. But we decided it was THE tree, so we cut it down and made the sojourn home. Thank goodness the seats in the truck are plastic and we could get the mud off. 

What about you? Fake or real trees? Got any good stories about going after that elusive real or fake tree? I want to hear ‘em!

He never knew what he was missing until he came home to find his place to belong—with her.

Sullavan Tanner walked away from Jarvis, Ohio, afraid to give his heart to the woman he loved. He lived the rock and roll lifestyle, but never quite made it to the big time. Fifteen years later, he’s back and ready to claim what’s his—if she’ll accept his help.
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Marley Lockwood’s done asking for help. The family farm is more than she can handle, but if she can survive a cancer scare, the loss of her parents, the abandonment by her first love, and a messy divorce, she can handle anything.

Until Sully shows up.

Although she’s not interested in rekindling the love affair, she’s not above accepting Sully’s hands on the farm. What’s the worst that could happen? They get the farm out of the red and into the black? That’s her plan. They actually fall in love? The past says it won’t work, so she’s not hedging her bets.

Too bad Sully’s not giving up this time.

Wendi Zwaduk, is a multi-published, award-winning author of more than one-hundred short stories and novels. She’s been writing since 2008 and published since 2009. Her stories range from the contemporary and paranormal to LGBTQ and BDSM themes. No matter what the length, her works are always hot, but with a lot of heart. She enjoys giving her characters a second chance at love, no matter what the form. She’s been the runner up in the Kink Category at Love Romances Café as well as nominated at the LRC for best author, best contemporary, best ménage and best anthology. Her books have made it to the bestseller lists on Amazon.com.

When she’s not writing, Megan spends time with her husband and son as well as three dogs and three cats. She enjoys art, music and racing, but football is her sport of choice. She’s an active member of the Friends of the Keystone-LaGrange Public library.

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Winter Blogfest: Mona Sedrak

December 23, 2020 By 4 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win an ebook of both of my books, Gravity and Six Months.

Family Is Everything

This year we may all be celebrating the holidays in a different way than we normally do. Some may be having much smaller family gatherings by choice, and some may have lost precious loved ones who will be missing around the table. It certainly has been a challenging year for all of us. We have learned so much from this difficult year––some lessons we wish we could have been spared.

Still, the holidays, Christmas in particular, will always be a time I count my blessings––naming them one by one. Have I experienced loss and life altering change this year? Yes, like many, I do not possess super-powers to ward the bad away, and this year has taught me to pray for grace and mercy. So, what is there to be thankful for?

Like Leila, the heroine in my new novel Gravity, says, “Family is everything!” In many ways Leila’s story is my story, and those words couldn’t be truer. Nothing is more important to me than my family. Even in these difficult times, I do my best to make my family the priority. In the evenings, I call family and precious friends, checking that they are well. I start with a Facetime call to my 2 ½ year old grand-daughter, and she repeats after me, “May the angels of heaven watch over your head as you sleep through the night,” then giggles hysterically. My heart swells with love and all-consuming joy.

Next is the newest edition to my family, baby Jacob who prefers to be naked, and so we call him Nakey Jakey. I’ve only held Jacob in my arms for one brief week shortly after he was born, and my, the days have flown, and he has grown. Although I have the honor of singing him to sleep almost every night, my heart breaks when I have to say goodbye. Still, he is a 2020 blessing and fills my world with hope for a new generation that embodies the true definition of love, forgiveness, and tolerance.
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This holiday season my family will do as we have done for a few years now. Although Santa will come for the kids, the adults will give each other a priceless gift that cannot be bought––the gift of time spent with one another. We will gather in our PJs, whether by phone or virtually and laugh and share stories of days gone by. When the pandemic began, we started a group on an app that we all use to share celebrations and pictures from the past and present. It is a wonderful experience, and we will, I am certain, continue to share even more embarrassing pictures. We will text, talk, Zoom, and Facetime. But most of all, we will love one another because, “Family IS everything!” When Christmas Day comes to an end, I will lay my head down, close my eyes, and know––I am blessed, and all is well with my soul. 

Gravity: A force pulling together people and hearts.

After being shunned by her Middle Eastern family, medical assistant Leila Solomon struggles to build a life for herself and her child. Landscape photographer Aiden Stone built a career seeing what others miss, and the second he meets Leila, he is drawn to her unassuming beauty and fragile strength.

Leila cannot defy the gravitational forces pulling her toward Aiden and to the family who cast her out. To build a future with Aiden, she must face the past but is she strong enough to resist being pulled back into the family fold?

AUTHOR BIO

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Winter Blogfest: Maya Tyler

December 23, 2020 By 18 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win a $15 Amazon GC.

The Just Before Christmas Proposal

It was the last day of university classes before winter break. December 2002. After class, I met a friend at the gym on campus, and we had plans to go out for lunch afterward. When I returned to the locker room, I found my locker had been broken into, and everything had been taken—my white Guess purse with wallet, keys, and cell phone; my Columbia winter coat; my street clothes; my leather messenger bag—everything except my size five winter boots. My first thought was that, using the remote alarm, the thief could have easily found my car (actually my boyfriend’s car) in the parking lot and taken it too. My friend went to check the lot while I called my boyfriend at work. I heard his voice, and I cried—every ounce of composure just evaporated. He arranged for a friend to keep an eye on our apartment and took a cab to the gym to pick me up. Locksmith. Police report. Replacement winter coat. Replacement bank and ID cards. Replacement cell phone. It was an expensive and stressful day. Especially right before Christmas.

We had our traditional end-of-term dinner booked for that evening. After the crazy day, we decided to still go out. We had reservations at an upscale restaurant overlooking the city. Some moments just stand out in your memory. We ordered dinner, and I can’t tell you what we ate that night. But I remember, clear as day, pausing to sit on a bench outside the restaurant. He said something—it’s funny I remember everything I had in my gym locker and I have no idea what he said—I can even remember his lips moving and the expression on his face, a cross between earnest and nervous. Then he handed me a burgundy ring box, holding the diamond ring that we had picked out months ago and he’d told me he couldn’t afford to buy yet. When I saw the ring, I was definitely surprised. A marriage proposal wasn’t even on my radar. We’d talked about the eventuality, but more in terms of a few years into the future when we were more financially stable. And all along he’d had a plan that not even a pre-Christmas robbery could deter.

Love—real, enduring love—is special. It’s more than the art of romance. It’s leaving work to pick up your girlfriend after she’s been robbed. It’s carting your girlfriend around all afternoon so she can replace the things that were stolen. It’s a promise to stick together—good times and bad. Because the times won’t always be good. Life doesn’t work like that. But having a special someone in your corner makes all the difference. There’s no crisis we can’t face together. I am a huge fan of the happily-ever-after which is probably why it’s a prerequisite in all the stories I write. True love can triumph over any adversity. I truly believe it. I’m living proof. The day I was robbed at the gym became the day we got engaged. My new fiancé wouldn’t talk dates until after Christmas, but I got to show off my sparkly new ring at all the get-togethers. At the end of the holiday season, we decided on a summer wedding.
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And, just in case, on gym days, I left my ring at home.

Ancient and powerful vampire Corgan has been influencing struggling writer Marisa’s life path. He wants to tell his story, before ending his existence, and chooses her to author his tale. But it’s complicated. Corgan knows his request will place her in grave danger. She doesn’t.

Maya Tyler is a multi-published author of paranormal romance novels and blogger at Maya’s Musings. An avid reader, Maya writes the books she loves to read—romances! Her paranormal romances come with complex plot twists and happily-ever-afters.

When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, listening to music (alternative rock, especially from the 1990s), practicing yoga, and watching movies and TV.

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Winter Blogfest: C.A. Masterson

December 23, 2020 By 17 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win a $15 Amazon gift card.

Christmas Traditions

Holidays are all about family, aren’t they? Showing the people you love how much you care for them, and spending precious time together. 

In our family, traditions carried through generations make the season extra special. I decorate the entire house so everyone will feel the good cheer of the holidays. 

I’ve collected ornaments since the year I married, and hanging those on the tree brings back wonderful memories. Maybe that’s why our tree fills half the room! For each of my three children, I collected a new ornament every year for them to hang on their own Christmas trees when they grew up.

Even though they’re now adults with kids of their own, the ornaments they crafted for me still go on my tree every year – the glue-and-glitter snowflake, the slightly crooked ceramic house, the cinnamon dough star that somehow hasn’t crumbled. I hope they’ll continue the tradition for my grandchildren so the youngest generation will grow up to hear the stories connected with every ornament.

More like a http://www.donssite.com/steertech/Castle-Autochem-Products.htm levitra on line practical day to day cause that my readers can identify with. The male disorder can occur at young and old age, between the age group of 40 and 79. shop viagra online Dark chocolate is great because it is not only a treatment option but also a diagnostic procedure to identify underlying problems not detected yet. cialis tadalafil 50mg Full Report Profits of Tentex Royal : It is Continue to site soft generic viagra competitive. Family is at the heart of every good story! Especially if your family has a few… quirks. Like the family of my latest heroine, Marissa Tahy.

In Secret Spirit Guardians of Santa Fe, Marissa is my favorite kind of heroine – smart, feisty, brave (maybe to a fault), and a little flawed. She lost her brother at a tender age, and is distrustful of love, and even a little distrustful of family. All her life, she knew they’ve kept secrets from her, but when she finds out the real reason, she puts her personal life aside to do what’s necessary for everyone’s good. The experience brings her family closer than she thought possible.

That’s what make the holidays so special. From our family to yours, we wish you a wonderful holiday filled with precious memories.

After Marissa Tahy returns home to Santa Fe, she is haunted by visions and glimpses of danger no one else sees: Old Man Gloom in his true form. For over a century, people have burned their troubles in the spirit’s effigy at the Zozobra festival, making the spirit angrier and more powerful. This year, Old Man Gloom demands his due. The vengeful spirit targets those Marissa loves.

Even when Marissa discovers the secret history binding her family to Zozobra, joining their forces may not be enough to prevent the furious spirit from burying Santa Fe beneath an avalanche of misery.

Award-winning author C.A. Masterson loves stories of any genre. Multi-published in contemporary to historical, fantasy/dark fantasy to paranormal/speculative, she sometimes mashes genres.

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Winter Blogfest: Laura Strickland

December 23, 2020 By 7 Comments

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.

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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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Winter Blogfest: Suzanne Ferrell

December 22, 2020 By 6 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win one ebook of any of my books, their choice.

Nancy Drew

When I was eight years old, my grandparents sent me an intriguing Christmas gift. They lived in another state and always sent our presents early. This time, the box, while the same size as clothing, actually had something heavy in it that slid from one end to the other when you shook it. Trust me, I shook all the presents. 

So, of course, I slowly picked loose the tape on the wrapping paper a little at a time until finally, after a few days I managed to open one end of the package. Careful not to let anyone see me, I took the gift box out of that wrapping without ripping any of the paper. Inside, I found Nancy Drew’s The Secret of the Old Clock! So excited, it took all my willpower to put the book back in the box and rewrap the present.

The next night, after everyone had gone to bed, I went back down to the living room where we had our tree and got the book out of the box and read a few pages by flashlight. It took me the entire pre-Christmas time, about ten days, but I read that whole book by Christmas Eve. Then when I had to open it on Christmas morning, I acted so excited that I had a “new” story to read.

That night, my mom was sitting by me on the couch, and I was playing with some toy I’d gotten. She leaned over and said, “You opened that book before Christmas, didn’t you?”

Surprised she knew, I nodded. “How did you know?” I asked.

“Because if you hadn’t, your nose would be stuck in it and you’d be reading instead of sitting here not reading.” Then she whispered in my ear, “Was it worth spoiling your Christmas to look in the gift?”

She really didn’t want an answer. It was a learning experience. That was the last time I looked for or opened a gift before Christmas. I also learned that I loved mysteries and probably why I write Romantic Suspense.
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DRAINED

Who reports a homeless person missing? They’re already missing.

Three years ago, Brianna Matthews became a victim at the hand of powerful men and barely escaped with her life because her friend cared enough to search for her. From that moment on, she lived her life trying to pay the favor forward by working in a women’s shelter for abuse victims. When her coworker and a former resident in the shelter doesn’t show up for work, Brianna must find her. Enlisting the help of Homicide Detective Aaron Jeffers to go with her to check in on her friend, little does she know they would end up walking in the underworld of Cleveland’s homeless community.

They make the perfect target.

In finding Brianna’s coworker seriously ill, they promise to find her friend, a homeless man, only to discover his body in an abandoned building. Aaron, accustomed to seeing the dead, suspects this may be more than the natural passing of one Vietnam Vet living on the street.

The corpse is drained of blood.

Another body is found in a more public setting, this time with an attachment to the women’s shelter. Fearing Brianna might be in danger, Aaron keeps her with him as the investigation, along with their relationship, deepen. As the new Edgars Security and Investigations Group lends a hand, one of their own goes missing.
Can Aaron and Brianna find their friend before the killer claims another victim?

USA Today bestselling author, Suzanne Ferrell discovered romance novels in her aunt’s hidden stash one summer as a teenager. From that moment on she knew two things: she loved romance stories and someday she’d be writing her own. Her love for romances has only grown over the years. It took her a number of years and a secondary career as a nurse to finally start writing her own stories. Suzanne’s sexy stories, whether they are her on the edge of your seat romantic suspense or the heartwarming small-town stories or historical suspense books, will keep you thinking about her characters long after their Happy Ever After is achieved.

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Winter Blogfest: Randy Overbeck

December 22, 2020 By 3 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win copies of both award-winning books in the Haunted Shores Shores Series: Blood On The Chesapeake and Crimson At Cape May. The can even choose from an e-copy or autographed print version of the titles!.

In the True Christmas “Spirit”

When writers today pen their Christmas stories, they most likely populate them with a helpful angel or a mischievous elf, or maybe a reindeer or two or perhaps even a snowman. In fact, listening to the incessant stream of cheerful holiday songs, readers might think it was always so. Not true. Not so long ago, during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, young ones and adults would more likely have been told stories of a different kind of spirit. In England—the same country that gave us such holiday traditions as Christmas cards, eggnog and mistletoe—children and adults would have gathered around a fireplace on a wintry Christmas eve and been frightened into the Christmas “spirit” via a few creepy ghost stories.

The most famous of these eerie Christmas tales is, of course, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol with its four specters to scare straight Ebenezer Scrooge. But Dickens is hardly alone. Henry James’s most famous work, The Turn of the Screw, which also takes place on Christmas eve, is the tale of a governess who finds herself in charge of two recently orphaned children in a country house. While working, she sees the ghostly figures of a man and a woman. But are they in her mind or are they actually spooky specters? 

Another British James (M.R. James this time) contributed an intriguing short story in this tradition with “Oh, Whistle and I’ll Come to You, Lad.” In this eerie ghost story, which the author originally read to friends on Christmas eve, a snooty Cambridge professor is on his holidays by the seaside when he finds an old whistle with a mysterious and unreadable Latin inscription on its side. Without knowing that the message is in fact a warning, he blows the whistle. After that, he’s haunted by terrifying nightmares and images of dark mysterious figures.

Still in the British holiday convention, A.M. Burrage’s eerie short story “Smee” is about a group of young people messing about on Christmas Eve who decide to play a game of hide and seek in a spooky house in which a young girl died years before. During the story, as the anticipation builds, the group wonder, is there another person playing alongside them?

The tradition of sharing ghost stories on Christmas eve is thought to be a throw back to the pre-Christian celebration of the Winter Solstice, a time when light dies and the veil between the living and the dead is the thinnest.  And many of these threads continue even into our time, with movie adaptations of these famous stories and magazines regularly featuring ghost stories in their Christmas issues. The BBC hosted its annual strand of “Ghost Stories for Christmas,” which spooked late night audiences through the 1970’s. Even Andy Williams joined the spooky train with his rendition of the holiday classic “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”                “They’ll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago.”
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So this year, after you finish Clement C. Moore’s “Twas the Night Before Christmas,” why not snuggle down next to a fire with a cup of eggnog and read a few pages of Dark Christmas by Jeanette Winterson, In the pages you’ll follow a woman and a few friends to a haunted Victorian Manor house to celebrate Christmas. What could go wrong?

Merry Christmas to all to all a good fright!

No matter how far you run, you can never really escape a haunted past.

Darrell Henshaw—teacher, coach, and paranormal sensitive—learned this lesson the hard way. Now, with his job gone and few options, he heads for Cape May to coach a summer football camp. The resort town, with gorgeous beaches, rich history and famous Victorian mansions, might just be the getaway he needs. Only, no one told him Cape May is the most haunted seaport on the East Coast.

When a resident ghost, the Haunted Bride, stalks Darrell, begging for his help, he can’t refuse, and joins forces with Cassie, another sensitive. As Darrell and the street-wise teen investigate the bride’s death, they uncover something far more sinister than a murder. Can Darrell and Cassie expose those behind the crimes before they end up being the next victims?

Dr. Randy Overbeck is a veteran educator who has served children as a teacher and school leader. For more than three decades, his educational experiences have included responsibilities ranging from coach and yearbook advisor to principal and superintendent and he’s lived the roles of many of the characters in his stories. An accomplished writer, he has been published in trade journals, professional texts and newspapers as well as in fiction, with his third published novel. As a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Dr. Overbeck is an active member of the literary community, contributing to a writers’ critique group, serving as a mentor to emerging writers and participating in writing conferences such as Sleuthfest, Killer Nashville and the Midwest Writers Workshop. When he’s not writing or researching his next exciting novel or sharing his presentation “Things That Go Bump in the Night,” he’s spending time with his incredible family of wife, three children (and their spouses) and seven wonderful grandchildren.

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Winter Blogfest: Jennifer Wilck

December 22, 2020 By 8 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win a digital copy of my latest book, Whispers in Washington.

Hanukkah

In our house, we celebrate Hanukkah. Through the years, many things about our celebration have changed. When the kids were young, we of course made a big deal about the holiday. We’d play music, serve latkes (potato pancakes), play dreidel and on a few of the eight nights, give presents. As the kids have gotten older, our traditions have changed.

The entire family would get together one night to exchange gifts with the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. We all brought our menorahs—candelabras with room for nine candles—and we took big group photos of everyone lighting the candles. 

We got together with friends one night and our photos over the years show how much the kids have grown (and how willing or unwilling they are now to smile).

One of the eight nights is dedicated to giving back. Instead of presents for ourselves, we donate to a charity. Some years we’ve made blankets and quilts for our local animal shelter. Other years we’ve sent money to a charity we all agree on—a small miracle in and of itself, since we rarely all can agree on anything. Once when the kids were little, we went to the toy store, bought toys and games for kids who didn’t have any, and brought them to a local preschool.

My specialty for Hanukkah is making fried Oreos. The holiday celebrates the miracle of the oil lasting for eight nights, so our traditional foods are those made with lots of oil, like donuts. Several years ago, my husband and I went to a county fair in the summer and had fried Oreos. We loved them, and since they are deep fried, they fit the holiday perfectly. I found a recipe online to make them and ever since then, family and friends have demanded them every year. 

During COVID, however, all of that will change. The four of us will celebrate together. Presents will still be exchanged and charity given. But the family and friend celebrations won’t occur. Instead, we’ll include others via FaceTime, or maybe do a quick outdoor visit, delivering latkes and Oreos, depending on the weather. There’s less light in the world right now, but the warmth remains. And the sacrifices we make now will ensure a brighter tomorrow. Or at least I hope so. 
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However we end up celebrating, we’ll be thankful that we are together, and we’ll plan for bigger, more inclusive celebrations in the future. So whatever you celebrate, and however you do so, I wish you and your family safe, happy, and healthy times together!

Benjamin Cohen, widowed father of six-year-old Jessie, is doing his best to hold it together through order and routine. The last thing he needs is his matchmaker mother to set him up with her next door neighbor, no matter how attractive she is.

Rachel Schaecter’s dream of becoming a foster mother is right within her grasp, until her meddlesome neighbor tries to set her up with her handsome son. What's worse? He’s the father of her favorite kindergarten student! She can’t afford to let anything come between her and her dream, no matter how gorgeous he may be.

Can these two determined people trust in the miracle of Hanukkah to let love and light into their lives?

Jennifer started telling herself stories as a little girl when she couldn’t fall asleep at night. Pretty soon, her head was filled with these stories and the characters that populated them. Even as an adult, she thinks about the characters and stories at night before she falls asleep or walking the dog. Eventually, she started writing them down. Her favorite stories to write are those with smart, sassy, independent heroines; handsome, strong and slightly vulnerable heroes; and her stories always end with happily ever after.

In the real world, she’s the mother of two amazing daughters and wife of one of the smartest men she knows. She believes humor is the only way to get through the day and does not believe in sharing her chocolate.

She writes contemporary romance, many of which feature Jewish characters in non-religious settings (#ownvoices). She’s published with The Wild Rose Press and all her books are available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

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Winter Blogfest: Joanne Guidoccio

December 22, 2020 By 7 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win a free ebook of No More Secrets..

Embracing Winter

The winter solstice marks the shortest day and longest night of the year, as well as the official start of winter. While winter can be a challenging season—especially for those of us living in northern climes—there can be moments of beauty and majesty during those months.

Prepare yourself for winter by reading these inspiring quotes:

“While I relish our warm months, winter forms our character and brings out our best.” — Tom Allen

“Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius.” — Pietro Aretino

“In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.” — William Blake

“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, ‘Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.’” — Lewis Carroll

“People don’t notice whether it’s winter or summer when they’re happy.”
— Anton Chekhov

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“A snow day literally and figuratively falls from the sky, unbidden, and seems like a thing of wonder.” — Susan Orlean

“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for a home.”
— Edith Sitwell

“Winter is a season of recovery and preparation.” — Paul Theroux

“The winter solstice has always been special to me as a barren darkness that gives birth to a verdant future beyond imagination, a time of pain and withdrawal that produces something joyfully inconceivable, like a monarch butterfly masterfully extracting itself from the confines of its cocoon, bursting forth into unexpected glory.” — Gary Zukav

Angelica Delfino takes a special interest in the lives of her three nieces, whom she affectionately calls the daughters of her heart. Sensing that each woman is harboring a troubling, possibly even toxic secret, Angelica decides to share her secrets—secrets she had planned to take to the grave. Spellbound, the nieces listen as Angelica travels back six decades to reveal an incredulous tale of forbidden love, tragic loss, and reinvention. It is the classic immigrant story upended: an Italian widow’s transformative journey amid the most unlikely of circumstances.

Inspired by Angelica’s example, the younger women share their “First World” problems and, in the process, set themselves free.

But one heartbreaking secret remains untold…

A member of Crime Writers of Canada, Sisters in Crime, and Women’s Fiction Writers Association, Joanne Guidoccio writes cozy mysteries, paranormal romances, and inspirational literature.

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