Winter Blogfest: Jennifer Wilck

December 31, 2019 By 9 Comments


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

Hanukkah Memories

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 gets together one night to exchange gifts with the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. We all bring our menorahs—candelabras with room for nine candles—and we take big group photos of everyone lighting the candles. 

We get 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. 

Now that my daughters are away at college, I mail their gifts early, trying to figure out the exact right time so that everything arrives on time and we can celebrate with them over FaceTime. Technology is terrific for that, but I confess to missing having them home and celebrating in person. 
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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, some of which are mainstream and some of which involve Jewish characters. 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: Tena Stetler

December 31, 2019 By 17 Comments


This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win One $10.00 amazon gift card.

New Year’s Resolutions

When my hubby and I left the fifth wheel all snug in a storage space under its cover until next spring, I said the holidays will be here before you know it. He chuckled and said, “Don’t I know it.”

In the blink of an eye, Christmas is knocking at the door, filled with family, friends and a great time to be had by all. Another year passed, but what was accomplished? Surprisingly, I met all of my 2019 New Year’s resolutions of 5,000 words written each week, won NaNoWriMo, 50,000 words in 30 days (but it was close),a new book contracted, I managed two, and spend quality time with family and friends. My list was short but attainable.  I try to keep it that way each year. 

This year in front of the Christmas tree decorated with bright multi-colored lights and ornaments that evoke wonderful memories, I ponder what the New Year will bring. I hope to have more quiet walks with the dog, more playtime with our parrot, take time to appreciate  and enjoy each day,  and  while working towards my professional goals, gonna up my word count goal to 6,000 words written in a week this year, take more time for family and friends.  

What are your New Year’s Resolutions? 
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For several months a Scottish Highland Ghost has haunted Daylan, in his personal life, his professional life and at his forge. Yet, being a talented warlock, he is no closer to discovering what the ghost wants or why he chose Daylan. A trip to his estranged sister’s home in Colorado may have unforeseen consequences especially when family history leads him to a shocking discovery.
As his attraction blooms for Josie, a yoga instructor in his sister’s studio, he realizes there may be more to Josie than he can imagine. When an ancient rogue Fae Warrior set on revenge kidnaps her in an attempt to claim her as his own, a devastating curse comes to light.
Daylan’s world spirals out of control as he searches for Josie. Can he break the age old curse to save her and their future, or will she be lost to him forever?

Tena Stetler is a best-selling author of award winning paranormal romance novels. She has an over-active imagination, which led to writing her first vampire romance as a tween to the chagrin of her mother and delight of her friends.
With the Rocky Mountains outside her window, she sits at her computer surrounded by a wide array of paranormal creatures, with a Navy SEAL or two mixed in telling their tales. Her books tell stories of magical kick-ass women and strong mystical males that dare to love them. Travel, adventure and a bit of mystery flourish in her books along with a few companion animals to round out the tales.
Colorado is her home; shared with her husband of many moons, a brilliant Chow Chow, a spoiled parrot and a forty-five-year-old box turtle. Any winter evening, you can find her curled up in front of a crackling fire with a good book, a mug of hot chocolate and a big bowl of popcorn.

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Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Picture Books I Read In 2019

December 31, 2019 By 34 Comments

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

I wonder how many other Top Ten Tuesday bloggers love picture books? They’re something I often turn to when I don’t know what else to read or need something gentle for my mind. There are so many amazing picture books out there. Here are just a few of the ones I enjoyed reading or rereading this year.

1. Do I Look Odd To You by Rebecca McDonald

My extended family is multiracial. Every child in the family eventually asks about the various races that are represented in our family and why we don’t all look alike. I love this book’s approach to those questions.

2. Hello Goodbye Dog by Maria Gianferrari

What a beautiful story this was. It made me wish I could have a dog.

3. Islandborn by Junot Díaz

Lola was seriously one of the cutest protagonists I’ve met all year. I adored her.

4. The Water Princess by Susan Verde

I live in a part of the world that always has enough water and occasionally has far too much of it. This made me grateful for all of the rainy and snowy days I’ve known.

5. Duck for Turkey Day by Jacqueline Jules

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6. Dragon Dancer by Joyce Chng

Chinese New Year sounds like such a fun holiday.

7. Sing to the Moon by Nansubuga Nagaddya Isdahl

I totally empathized with this character’s boredom on a rainy day, and his solution for it was delightful.

8. Looking for Lord Ganesh by Mahtab Narsimhan

There were so many delightful plot twists in this tale that I immediately went back and read it again after the first time I finished it.

9. Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China by Ed Young

If you ask me, there’s always room for more adaptations of classic fairy tales. I can’t get enough of them, especially with illustrations as eye-catching as these ones were.

10. Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford

It isn’t always easy to discuss slavery with small children. I like the approach taken here. It’s honest but doesn’t go into more detail than little ones need. And Harriet Tubman is someone everyone should know about!

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Winter Blogfest: Karen Michelle Nutt

December 30, 2019 By 28 Comments


This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card (eCard).

Hark! Ye Merry Readers

Christmas music on an old wooden table with Christmas lights romantic scene with selective focus

In my short story, Fake Marriage with a Dash of Desire, featured in Hot Western Nights, my heroine of the tale loves to sing, and at Christmastime, would surely partake in good cheer by playing Christmas carols. Believe it or not, some of our most popular Holiday songs were written in the18th and 19th centuries.

 

Charles Wesley wrote Hark! the Herald Angels Sing in 1739 and appeared in John Welsey’s collection of Hymns and Sacred Poems. The original hymn began with “Hark how all the Welkin rings”; however, in 1782, the lyrics became “Hark! the Herald Angels sing/ Glory to the newborn king”, which is how we sing it today.

 

O Tannenbaum (Oh Christmas Tree), written in 1824, was a German Christmas song based on a folk song. Tannenbaum is a fir tree, and though the lyrics speak of faithfulness and the symbol of constancy, this song became a favorite at Christmastime.

 

Joseph Mohr composed Silent Night in 1818. Sometime before Christmas Eve, Mohr brought his ‘Silent Night’ Lyrics to Franz Xaver Gruber and asked him to compose a melody and guitar accompaniment for the Christmas Eve mass. (A river flooding had damaged the church organ.) It is unknown what inspired Mohr to write the lyrics, or what prompted him to create a new carol. An interesting tidbit: It wasn’t until 1995 that researchers uncovered that Mohr had written the words in 1816, and Gruber composed the music in 1818. Until then, they thought Haydn or Mozart had been the composer.

 

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Enjoy the rendition of the song on YouTube performed by Annie Lennox. The imagery is unique with its Victorian Christmas-card-feel but with a twist of medieval and pagan qualities.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlsJD8RlhbI]

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

Jewel ran away from home, not wanting to marry a man twice her age. Nash stands to lose his inheritance if he does not find a bride in three months when he turns thirty. Both are at the mercy of their families, but the two concoct a plan that just might work.

A fake marriage. Later, a quick annulment. What could go wrong? Blame it on the hot summer nights, or toe-curling kisses, but pretending to be married isn’t as easy as it sounds.

 

Karen Michelle Nutt resides in California with her husband. Though her three children are grown and starting their own adventures, she still has a houseful of demanding pets. Jack, her Chorkie, is her writing buddy and sits long hours with her at the computer.

When she’s not time traveling, fighting outlaws, or otherworldly creatures, she creates pre-made book covers to order at Gillian’s Book Covers, “Judge Your Book By Its Cover”.

Whether your reading fancy is paranormal, historical or time travel, all her stories capture the rich array of emotions that accompany the most fabulous human phenomena—falling in love.

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Winter Blogfest: Joanne Guidoccio

December 30, 2019 By 10 Comments


This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win a free eBook of A Season for Killing Blondes.

Francesca’s Chocolate Snowballs

Scalilli. Turdilli. Crostoli. Grispelle. Biscotti. Pizzelle. I have fond memories of all those Italian desserts my mother and grandmother prepared during the Christmas season. They would start baking early in December and then make more batches as the month progressed.

While I enjoyed partaking, I was not overly thrilled with the amount of work involved. In fact, delicious and labor intensive would be two apt descriptions for many of the entrées and desserts that emerged from my mother’s kitchen.

One Christmas in the early 1970s, my mother presented a different kind of dessert. She placed a dish filled with unusual shapes on the table and said, “Help yourself to a snowball.”

A dessert that didn’t end in a vowel…definitely a mangiacake food!

*Definition of mangiacake: From Italian mangiare to eat + cake, apparently with dismissive reference to the type of food regarded as typically favored by non-Italians in Canada.

But there was nothing dismissive about those snowballs. Delicious and easy-to-prepare, Francesca’s Chocolate Snowballs became part of our family’s Christmas tradition.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

4 ounces Kraft Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp milk
2 cups icing sugar
2 squares unsweetened chocolate
¼ tsp vanilla
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3 cups Kraft miniature marshmallows
2 cups coconut (amount may vary)

Directions

  1. Combine softened cream cheese and milk until well blended.
  2. Gradually add sugar.
  3. Melt chocolate and add to mixture.
  4. Stir in vanilla and salt.
  5. Fold in marshmallows.
  6. Drop rounded teaspoons of the mixture in coconut and toss until well covered.
  7. Place on baking sheet.
  8. Chill for 24 hours or until firm.

Makes 36 snowballs

Hours before the opening of her career counseling practice, Gilda Greco discovers the dead body of golden girl Carrie Ann Godfrey, neatly arranged in the dumpster outside her office. Gilda’s life and budding career are stalled as Detective Carlo Fantin, her former high school crush, conducts the investigation.

When three more dead blondes turn up all brutally strangled and deposited near Gilda’s favorite haunts, she is pegged as a prime suspect for the murders. Frustrated by Carlo’s chilly detective persona and the mean girl antics of Carrie Ann’s meddling relatives, Gilda decides to launch her own investigation. She discovers a gaggle of suspects, among them a yoga instructor in need of anger management training, a lecherous photographer, and fourteen ex-boyfriends.

As the puzzle pieces fall into place, shocking revelations emerge, forcing Gilda to confront the envy and deceit she has long overlooked.

A member of Crime Writers of Canada, Sisters in Crime, and Romance Writers of America, Joanne Guidoccio writes cozy mysteries, paranormal romances, and inspirational literature from her home base of Guelph, Ontario.

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Winter Blogfest: Laura Strickland

December 30, 2019 By 5 Comments


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. 

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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.

 

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Winter Blogfest: Laura M. Baird

December 27, 2019 By 11 Comments


This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win a digital copy of Rory’s Christmas Angel, delivered via Amazon. 

Appreciating the Little Things

My first Christmas away from home and family was spent in Honduras while serving in the U. S. Army. I did rotations of temporary duty there, and when I realized I’d be there for the holiday, it struck me that this was my life now. No longer would I have the easy ability to return home for every holiday, birthday, or anniversary.

I also realized that we (as in my fellow servicemen and women) were a family of sorts and were going to have the best holiday we could while away from our true family. After all, we signed up for this and had to make the most of it. Luckily, my closest friend was also on the same rotation, and I was oh so happy we’d be spending the time together. 

Our conditions were pretty simple, living in what were basically shacks. I liked to think of them as rustic cabins. We had a mess hall (our version of a cafeteria) along with a small store where we could purchase items sent down from the states. Having fresh bread and soda was an actual luxury! Within our officers’ section, they had a simple kitchen set-up that only they were allowed to utilize. However, an exception was made when I proposed cooking the holiday meal for our intimate group of enlisted personnel and officers.

Knowing when the next transport would be arriving, I made a “shopping list” a few friends state-side took care of, sending down not only food items, but decorations as well. We turned our tropical setting into a holiday spectacle with Christmas trees, cardboard snowmen, and plenty of silver garland; right down to our military-issued green socks for stockings being hung from the rails on our wooden porches with candy canes nestled inside.
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When it came time for our holiday dinner, I took pride in being able to cook a traditional feast consisting of turkey, dressing, potatoes, and vegetables. (I’m certain we had some sort of dessert, but honestly can’t remember if it was pumpkin pie or other.) 

Once the meal was ready, I was asked to say a prayer (being the facilitator of the event) and readily thanked God for all he provided us, including the bond we shared in our time together. It was a memorable holiday indeed, making the most of what we had and who we had around us. And I for one know that when I spent subsequent holidays and time with family and friends, I simply enjoyed the gatherings; uncaring of fancy dishes or the number of presents under the tree. For me it was about quality time together.

Frankie Chandler left the Navy to become a rural veterinarian while also helping raise her nephew. State Trooper Rory Sanders is raising his daughter after the death of his wife. Neither is looking for love, but fate has a way of intervening.

Wife, mother, grandmother; veteran, dental hygienist, romance author. I write what I enjoy – contemporary romance with humor, emotion, and always a happily-ever-after. When not writing or reading, I’m enjoying time with family in the Pacific Northwest and dreaming of worldly travel with my husband.

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Winter Blogfest: Ellen Mint

December 27, 2019 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 Pride & Pancakes..

Hot Cocoa Pancakes!

People always start these recipe blog posts with a meandering story no one reads, so here goes:

One December 25th, I was trapped in a cave as a wild Yeti prowled the mountainside. He’d snapped my climbing gear, leaving me stranded with only a snuggie to wrap around my shoulders. Starving, I ripped into the stack of presents I’d been trying to leave for all the good little mountain gnomes and winter fairies. But seeing as how I faced being dinner for an abominable snowman (who did much less singing than cartoons had led me to believe) I needed them more.

All I found was a hand wrapped skillet, in no way a passive-aggressive gift, a pancake mix stuffed inside an oven mitt, and three packets of hot cocoa without the marshmallows. While, as everyone knows, that is the worst kind of hot cocoa, I instantly had an idea on how to survive the freezing Yeti attacks.

Hot Cocoa…you already know what I’m making. You read the headline.

Ingredients

1 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking

powder

1/2 teaspoon baking

soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

2 packets hot coca

1 1/4 cup milk

1 egg

4 tablespoons melted 

butter

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topping

1. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and cocoa mix in a bowl.

2. In another bowl, whisk together butter, milk, and the egg. Add a little vanilla if you wish.

3. Stir the flour mixture into the milk until both are wet with some lumps.

4. Heat skillet to medium. Pour batter and cook until some bubbles appear on the top, usually about two minutes. Flip to cook for another two minutes.  

5. Top with whipped cream and enjoy!

As the delectable scent of pancakes frying on the skillet combined with the rich chocolate from the hot cocoa danced through the air, I heard a deadly growl. The yeti began to paw at the rocks that I’d once thought were unmovable. Apparently, Yetis didn’t know the meaning of the word impossible. Or the meaning of any other word because they don’t speak English.

Grabbing the delectable pancakes, I leaped deeper into the cave when a massive head poked in. Snow drenched its scraggly white fur, horns of an undead gray scratching along the rocks as two eyes of coal hunted through the darkness. In that moment, pity for this massive creature overtook me. Here he was, his hair matted with ice and snow, his poor horns scraped on the ends, wasting his Christmas night hunting for what he saw as an invader of his mountain.

With my heart in my throat, I extended the plate of pancakes. Hot steam snorted from his nostrils smoking so thick through the air I lost sight of him. A giant paw with two-inch claws picked at the pancakes. Impaling them deeply upon his nails, he hoisted the fluffy chocolate griddlecakes up into the air and inhaled them in one big gulp.

I held my breath, terrified that once he finished with dessert, he’d turn on me.

The yeti’s massive black tongue lolled around his mouth, licking down giant fangs before the turned to me. Pulling the lips back in a terrifying rictus he said, “Damn, that’s good.”

If this holiday season, you find yourself trapped in a cave (or a house thanks to a blizzard), and have a packet of hot cocoa and pancakes at hand, why not give hot cocoa pancakes a try?

When Beth Cho is tasked with interviewing elusive musician Tristan Harty, it’s hate at first sight. Despite his sapphire eyes and lithe frame, he’s got to be the most infuriating man on the planet.

Tristan Harty is already sick of reporters and this one is proving no different. Sure, she might be adorable with her ebony hair and big brown eyes. But her incessant need to dig into his past is dragging on his last nerve.

The bickering duo vow never to meet again, but Mother Nature has other plans for them, trapping them in a Vermont cabin via a blizzard. The more Beth learns about the aristocratic Tristan, the harder it is for her to keep her professional distance, just as Tristan discovers a familiar heart beating in the beautiful reporter’s heart.

But what happens when the snowstorm’s over, and the melted Tristan and enamored Beth are free to leave? Can their reluctant attraction bloom into a deeper love with the thaw of their judgmental ice. Pride & Pancakes is a sweet yet steamy contemporary story inspired by Pride & Prejudice.

Ellen Mint adores the adorkable heroes who charm with their shy smiles and heroines that pack a punch. She has a needy black lab named after Granny Weatherwax from Discworld. Sadly, her dog is more of a Magrat.

Her first two books, Undercover Siren and Fever are available in both ebook and paperback. Gettin’ Lucky and Reefcake are two of her newest paranormals in the Wild Ménage series. Her next book Pride & Pancakes is to be released by Totally Bound. Look for it Christmas 2019.

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Winter Blogfest: Stacey Wilk

December 27, 2019 By 24 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.

Holiday Traditions

I love dessert. It’s my favorite meal. In fact, if I could eat sweets instead of real food, I would. My sweet tooth lends itself to my fancy for baking. If you ask me to bake you anything, I will. If you ask me to make you dinner, my skin starts to crawl, my eye twitches and suddenly the idea of cutting the grass with a pair of scissors becomes very appealing.

Christmastime provides me a good excuse to stretch my baking wings. All the possible cookie choices! Some years I make more than others, but every year I make Tarallis. Those are Italian buttery cookies my family has made for decades. The Tarallis are a popular southern Italy cookie (my baking family is from Calabria) and can be made in varying ways. Understand that my way is best. That’s why I won’t link you to someone else’s site about them. So, if you’re interested in learning more about these or other Italian cookies, you’re on your own this time.

Why are mine the best? Because of my grandfather. Pop-Pop was a baker by trade and an excellent one. (I’m not showing favoritism either. Anyone who ate his pastries and cakes would have told you the same.) He was also one of my favorite people in the whole world. He taught me how to bake. (Among other things like how to drive and to stay away from boys. Though I didn’t listen on that last one.) He taught me to bake by marching over, assessing my progress, grabbing whatever was in my hand and saying in his heavy Italian accent only strangers heard and with complete love, “What are you doing? Let me do that.” That was when I took a step back and handled the clean-up.

I lost him twenty years ago. Christmas and those Tarallis give me an excuse to bake and when I bake, I feel like I’m spending time with him. He is the person I think of as I crack an egg, or line a pan with parchment paper, or make sure I stir in only one direction. I don’t like to let this time of year go by without baking something. If I had my way, he’d be baking with me (though he’d be 98 now. Not sure how much baking he’d be doing.) But having him to bake with now, is not the way the story goes. Instead, my holiday tradition has been to bake in his memory and hopefully the results would do him proud.

What are your holiday traditions? What makes your holiday complete? Who do you share them with?

Twenty-five years ago, Savannah Savage-Montgomery spoke four little words that sent her first love running. Forced to get on with her life, she met another man, married him, and raised a family. Now her past has returned, and JT’s presence threatens to unhinge the emotional façade she constructed.​JT Davies left Heritage River as the least likely to succeed, but he’s back and ready to prove his worth, especially to the only woman he’s ever loved. He’ll start by winning the catering spot for the town’s anniversary event. But the problem is he’ll have to push Savannah out to do it. ​​Savannah wants to protect her reputation and her late husband’s memory, but she can’t stay away from JT. She will be forced to choose between a happy family, a successful business, and the only man who ever made her feel like herself.
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Stacey Wilk wrote her first novel in middle school to quiet the characters in her head. It was that or let them out to eat the cannolis, and she wasn’t sharing her grandfather’s Italian pastries.
Many years later her life took an adventurous turn when she gave birth to two different kinds of characters. She often sits in awe of their abilities to roll their eyes, stay-up all hours of the night, and misplace everything. She does share the cannolis with them for fear of having her fingers bitten off.
Because of the extraordinary characters in her home, including a king who surfaces after dark and for coffee, she writes novels in multiple genres about family, home, and second chances.
When she’s not creating stories in make-believe places, she can be found hanging with the cast members of her house or teaching others how to make make-believe worlds of their own.

Stop by for a visit and make sure to bring some cannolis. www.staceywilk.com Or her private Facebook group for her amazing readers – Stacey’s Novel Family https://bit.ly/2FK8Lae Or her newsletter – https://bit.ly/2A0jEFk

 

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Winter Blogfest: January Bain

December 26, 2019 By 17 Comments


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

What is the Perfect Story for Christmas?

Christmas is truly my favorite time of the year! And this year it has even more special
meaning than usual because I’m going to write my very own Christmas story set in Sweetwater, North Dakota and Joy’s All Things Christmas Shoppe! So of course, I had to watch ALL the Hallmark movies on tv that thankfully are shown every hour by the hour, looking for the inspiration for the perfect story. I’ve been thrilled with stories of small-town heroes, small-town celebrations, and best of all, lonely people finding and helping each other during the magic that is Christmas. I’ve watched the heroine and hero fall in love over coffee, and Christmas tree decorating, over Christmas Pageants, and racing about solving a scavenger hunt, during cookie making and crafting gingerbread houses, and over the simple pleasure of sitting before the fire together, eating popcorn and watching a Christmas movie. And after watching oodles and oodles of them, I’ve come to the conclusion there is no one perfect story, but hundreds of them! All entrancing you with the magic of the season. And on that note, I wish all of you the very best and may you live your own perfect Xmas story, whether in real life or through the pages of a book, and be blessed with the gift that is Christmas.

Fondest regards,
January Bain
Storyteller
(and writing from a very small town in Canada)


Charm McCall, armed with a library full of Agatha Christie stories and her unique witchy gifts, knows how to solve a small-town murder…
Charm McCall, the oldest of the McCall triplets by a whole day—or one minute before midnight if one’s being picky—is the designated driver for her whole town. Why, if it wasn’t for her, Snowy Lake would incinerate or fall into Hudson’s Bay. With her unique abilities, she’s all set to keep her family and town safe and on its proper course.
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Charm knows just what to do. What’s breaking a few laws if she can sleuth out the culprit? She knows the people of Snowy Lake better than any new lawman possibly could. So why can’t he just leave her be to get on with things?
And why does he have to be so darn hot?

 

I think I’ve wished on every falling star, every blown-out birthday candle, and every coin thrown in a fountain to be a storyteller. And I know where it all began! I was blessed by being read to by my mom every night at bedtime. 🙂
I love spending hundreds of hours researching the unusual and the mundane to create books that feature strong, kickass women, hot complicated men who aren’t afraid to take risks, and wild adventures full of twists and turns.
You can find me hard at work every morning without fail in my office with a furry baby trying to prove she does a better job of guarding the universe than anyone.
I enjoy talking books, so please connect on Facebook!

 

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