Top Ten Tuesday: New-To-Me Authors I Read In 2017

January 2, 2018 By 44 Comments

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

2017 was a mishmash year for me as far as my reading habits go. As you’re about to see, I’m not the kind of reader who is forever loyal to one particular genre. I read everything from the mystery genre to science fiction to history.

I also wasn’t able to come up with a list of ten authors this week. When I find  someone whose writing style I really like, I dive into their backlist and try to read everything from them I can get my hands on whether they’ve written one other book or twenty of them.

It is so interesting to see how someone’s writing style has evolved over the years if I stumble across them later on in their career. I also enjoy spotting the similar themes that sometimes develop in a writer’s body of work. The best way to notice them is to read everything that author has written.

1. Eowyn Ivey.

I know I’ve mentioned her book, “The Snow Child,” in a previous Top Ten Tuesday post here. The more I read from this author, the more I enjoy her understated way of showing the audience what is happening in a scene.

2. David A. Hill Jr. 

“iHunt: Killing Monsters in the Gig Economy” is still the best book I’ve ever reviewed for Long and Short Reviews. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next.

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Everyone knows her as the widow of Martin Luther King, Jr., but until this year I had no idea she was an author or that she’d written a memoir about her life. It was incredibly interesting to see how she remembered their marriage and the early years of the civil rights movement.

4. Graeme Simsion.

Mr. Simsion has written two books so far about a character who has Asperger Syndrome. In “The Rosie Project,” this character tried very hard to find a wife. In the sequel, he had to figure out how to fix his relationship after a series of misunderstandings made his partner wonder if she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.

5. Eli Celata.

This author is working on a series of urban fantasy books about a guy who doesn’t realize he has magical powers until he goes to college. Based on how interesting “High Summons” and “Grimm Remains” were, I’ll be keeping an eye out for more tales from him in 2018.

6. Drew Hayes.

As soon as I read the title of “The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant,” I couldn’t wait to see if the storyline was going to be as wacky and memorable as I thought it would be. Spoiler alert: it was!

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Musings

Winter Blogfest: Joanne Guidoccio

December 28, 2017 By 12 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win an ebook of Too Many Women in the Room.

A Different Kind of Dessert

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 first in our household! I couldn’t help smiling at the looks of surprise exchanged by my father and grandmother. But their skepticism was short-lived. 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
Dash of salt
3 cups Kraft miniature marshmallows
2 cups coconut (amount may vary)

Directions

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

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Makes 36 snowballs

When Gilda Greco invites her closest friends to a VIP dinner, she plans to share David Korba’s signature dishes and launch their joint venture— Xenia, an innovative Greek restaurant near Sudbury, Ontario. Unknown to Gilda, David has also invited Michael Taylor, a lecherous photographer who has throughout the past three decades managed to annoy all the women in the room. One woman follows Michael to a deserted field for his midnight run and stabs him in the jugular.

Gilda’s life is awash with complications as she wrestles with a certain detective’s commitment issues and growing doubts about her risky investment in Xenia. Frustrated, Gilda launches her own investigation and uncovers decades-old secrets and resentments that have festered until they explode into untimely death. Can Gilda outwit a killer bent on killing again?

About the Author: In 2008, Joanne Guidoccio retired from a 31-year teaching career and launched a second act that tapped into her creative side. Slowly, a writing practice emerged. Her articles and book reviews were published in newspapers, magazines, and online. When she tried her hand at fiction, she made reinvention a recurring theme in her novels and short stories. A member of Crime Writers of Canada, Sisters in Crime, and Romance Writers of America, Joanne writes cozy mysteries, paranormal romance, and inspirational literature from her home base of Guelph, Ontario.

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Winter Blogfest: Carrie Lomax

December 28, 2017 By 3 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short’s Review Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win one Digital Copy of Holiday Heat (any format, please specify).

 Holiday Heat

With an extended family spread across the United States, the week from Christmas to New Years is a time for us to reunite, relax, and reconnect. I love sharing different traditions. For example, my aunt lives in New Mexico. Each year, she sends us pictures of luminarias—small paper lanterns made with a candle set in sand inside a paper bag—outside her home. When she visits, we put them out in the deep Wisconsin snow.

I lived in New York City for fifteen years, and my husband and I would take visiting family to see the shop windows along 5th Avenue. (Bergdorf Goodman has the best creations. [Link:  http://blog.bergdorfgoodman.com/video/bg-holiday-window-reveal/ ]) And no matter how small our apartment, every year, we’ve had a tree to decorate at Christmas.

After the gifts are open, the week before New Year is a time for visiting and catching up with loved ones near and far. It’s this time away from work and school that I look forward to each year. Which is why I chose this time to set my first Christmas-themed book, Holiday Heat.

Where better to recover from the heartbreak of a broken engagement than with family?

Though she’s terrified that her family will “lose it” over the engagement that didn’t happen, they’re the supportive rock Alyssa needs. Her own mother plots to hook her up with the hot guy who lives next door. And it’s her sister, Janelle, who sets in motion the dating contest that forces Alyssa and Marc to work through their lack of trust, and find a way forward. Without family, Alyssa and Marc wouldn’t find their New Year happily ever after. Here’s an excerpt:

“Alyssa. I wondered if you were coming home for the holidays.” 

“You did? I mean, of course. I always come back for Christmas.” She felt faint. What fresh hell was this speaking words business? If she did fall over she’d blame it on the balmy weather. Marc never spoke to her, except to tease.

“You didn’t last year.”

“I can’t believe you noticed,” Alyssa blurted. She’d been in Connecticut with Zach’s family.

“I’ve always noticed,” Marc replied with a half-grin that hit her like a tractor-trailer.

This holiday season, I hope you’ll find joy in reconnecting with the people you love, whether you’re celebrating with family or finding a community far from home.
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One Unforgettable Christmas Week
A broken engagement.
An ill-advised fling.
A reality-TV-inspired dating contest.

A competition between one woman’s heart and her head — with her future on the line.

The Bachelorette
Alyssa Carlisle arrives home for the holidays nursing a fresh Christmas Eve heartbreak. A hookup with her hot neighbor seems like the perfect rebound. He’s never looked her way, but Marc De Luna’s just what she needs: a no-strings attached, super sexy vacation fling.

She never thought he’d want more. She’d be a fool to believe it. Setting aside her ambition is out of the question.

The (Play) Boy Next Door
Marc’s had it bad for his aloof, ambitious neighbor ever since her family moved in. Her engagement to a rich boyfriend was enough to send him packing for an extended trip — anywhere — as long as it’s far away from any reminder of Alyssa. Now that he’s is out of the picture, Marc ‘s not about to pass up his chance to claim her as his own.

When her ex makes an unexpected appearance, Marc’s got a fight on his hands — and he’ll do whatever it takes to win.

About the Author: Carrie Lomax grew up in the Midwest before moving to New York City for 15 years. She lives in Maryland with two budding readers and her real-life romantic hero.

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Winter Blogfest: Emily Carrington

December 28, 2017 By 1 Comment

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win one copy of A Very (Psychic) Vampire Christmas, which comes out right before Christmas. I will choose a randomly drawn person from the comments.

The Point of a Parrada

The point of a parrada is to sneak up on your friends. What’s a parrada? It’s a group of friends armed with guitars, maracas, and other instruments who surprise others with their sudden music during the Christmas season. The songs aren’t necessarily religious, but occassionally Jesus is mentioned.

This tradition is most common in Puerto Rico and Cuba. I stumbled upon it while doing research for my Puerto Rican-based psychic vampires. Although the story takes place a little south of Buffalo, New York, these psychic vampires bring their customs with them. Some, like piñatas being used mostly for a child’s birthday, are captured and rewritten by the werewolves who live in New York. Others, most notably the parradas, grow with the werewolves to lend their spirit.

The werewolves of Charles McLaughlin’s pack aren’t exactly celebrating Christmas since they follow the moon goddess and are rejoicing at the coming of the longest night of the year. But they learn to embrace new traditions. They have to. Charles’s mate, Luis, is a psychic vampire and brings with him a whole island’s worth of habits.

For me, singing is a crucial part of each Christmas season. I sing at the Protestant version of midnight mass after opening one Christmas present early. Please share your traditions with me. I will randomly select a comment and award that person a copy of A Very (Psychic) Vampire Christmas on January 3rd.

Happy Holidays!

Peace,

Emily Carrington


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A werewolf and a psychic vampire, mated for two years according to werewolf custom, are planning to get married to comply with psychic vampire tradition. Unfortunately, as much as they want to participate in a sexualized version of a Catholic wedding, they are cock blockd by the psychic vampire matriarch. She wants her son to stay away from his werewolf lover—and she’ll stop at nothing to break them up.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author: Hi, I’m Emily. Welcome to my SearchLight world full of magical creatures, inclduing dragons, genies, and psychic vampires. If you’re curious about how dragon politics work over in China, check out my website: www.emilycarrington.com

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Winter Blogfest: Matilda Janes

December 27, 2017 By 8 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win a $20 electronic Amazon gift card emailed to the winners email.

How Can You Go Wrong with Deep Fried and Drizzled in Honey!

For the holidays my family makes a traditional Christmas dessert using my great-grandmothers recipe from her hometown located in the Puglia region of Italy. In her dialect the dessert is called Purciddi. It’s deep fried dough flavored with anisette or Sambuca. Add toasted almonds and drizzle it all with warm honey. Top with cinnamon and colored sprinkles.Yum!

She loves to frost cookies. Now he’s going to frost hers.

Santa’s eldest daughter Chrystal Claus is curvy, cute and loves to bake. Opening her bakery has been a dream come true. She loves to watch her customers smile after they’ve eaten one of her treats. It’s her gift and she’s never been happier. That is until Jack Frost comes back in to town, seemingly intent on disrupting her life with his scowling eyes and his grumpy growls and all his bulging muscles she can’t help but notice. After he embarrasses her she decides she can’t stand the handsome jerk. But when she’s kidnapped, Christy discovers not all is as it seems.
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Jack Frost has been waiting for Chrystal Claus for an eternity and when she comes of age Jack wants to claim his mate. But it isn’t to be, bound by a promise; Jack reluctantly leaves Christmas Town. When he returns years later he can barely contain himself. He wants nothing more than to claim his mate and no one will stand in his way. Or so he thinks.

Can Chrystal accept being Mrs. Frost? Will Jack convince Chrystal that being naughty can be nice?

About the Author: I’m a wife, a mother and a lover of paranormal and erotic romance. When I’m not hanging out with my family or working, you can find me at my computer writing or with my phone in my face reading.

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Winter Blogfest: Cynthia Sax

December 27, 2017 By 10 Comments

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

Put Your Name On Your Gift List

This is the time of year when we often think of others. We’re trying to make holiday dreams come true. We’re baking cookies for loved ones, giving to toy drives (something the Dear Wonderful Hubby and I LOVE to do), buying presents for the people and furbabies who matter the most to us.

One of those people should be you.

If you’re reading this, you’ve survived all of the challenges this year flung at you and, if your year has been anything like mine, there have been quite a few of these. You’re a little bit older, a little bit smarter, a little bit stronger. You might have done things and tackled situations you never thought you could. You might not have handled everything perfectly. You ARE human. But you handled it and that’s the important part.

After doing all of that, you deserve a present, a gift from you to you, a thank you for being so freakin’ awesome. This present doesn’t have to be huge. It could be your favorite hot chocolate topped with those tiny marshmallows or an hour on Saturday morning for yourself or a Wonder Woman ornament for the tree. The important thing is you show yourself the love and caring you show others.

It might feel selfish but it is often necessary. It takes energy to care for others, to turn holiday wishes into reality. We should ensure we are in the right place, have enough strength, to do this. If, for example, a quiet moment looking up at the stars on a snowy night gives us that strength; that’s a great use of our time.

Love yourself this holiday season. Put your name on your gift list.

Half Man. Half Machine. All Hers.

Rage, the Humanoid Alliance’s most primitive cyborg, has two goals—kill all of the humans on his battle station and escape to the Homeland. The warrior has seen the darkness in others and in himself. He believes that’s all he’s been programmed to experience.

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Joan, the battle station’s first female engineer, has one goal—survive long enough to help the big sexy cyborg plotting to kill her. Rage might not trust her but he wants her. She sees the passion in his eyes, the caring in his battle-worn hands, the gruff emotion in his voice.

When Joan survives the unthinkable, Rage’s priorities are tested. Is there enough room in this cyborg’s heart for both love and revenge?

FREE at all booksellers, my gift to you.

About the Author: USA Today bestselling author Cynthia Sax writes contemporary, SciFi and paranormal erotic romances. Her stories have been featured in Star Magazine, Real Time With Bill Maher, and numerous best of erotic romance top ten lists.

She lives in a world filled with magic and romance. Although her heroes may not always say, “I love you,” they will do anything for the women they adore. They live passionately. They play hard. They love the same women forever.

Cynthia has loved the same wonderful man forever. Her supportive hubby offers himself up to the joys and pains of research, while they travel the world together, meeting fascinating people and finding inspiration in exotic places such as Istanbul, Bali, and Chicago.

Sign up for her dirty-joke-filled release day newsletter and visit her on the web at www.CynthiaSax.com

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Winter Blogfest: Gail Koger

December 26, 2017 By 35 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card.

Locked Out On Christmas Eve!

I put the finishing touches on the tree, and noticed that the outside lights were off.  I flipped the switch for the porch lights, and nothing happened. Hmmm. Had I overload a circuit breaker?  I had gone a tiny bit overboard with the decorations.  Pulling on my slippers, I went outside to check the circuit breaker panel. Nope, everything was good.

Then it hit me. Those pesky gophers had chewed through my power lines again. I headed for the front door and turned the handle. Crap! The door was locked. My dogs looked out the window, and innocently wagged their tails.

Just friggin’ terrific. It was midnight, colder than a grave diggers’ ass, and I was wearing a ratty nightgown. Thankfully my friend, Chris, had a key to my house. The bad news was she lived several miles away.

My teeth chattering, I hurried down the sidewalk, and suddenly my residential street was busier than the freeway at rush hour.

A kid stuck his head out the driver’s window and hollered, “Hey baby, need a ride?”

I increased my pace and yelled, “No thanks.”

Another car slowed to a crawl and kissy noises emitted from the interior. Really? My granny gown wasn’t the least bit sexy.  I gave him the one finger salute.

Tires squealing, they took off yelling naughty words.

They were definitely getting coal in their Christmas stockings. Trying to keep to the shadows, I stepped on a beer bottle, and the next thing I knew I was face down in a prickly bush. Ouch!

I wiggled out of the bush.  God, I hated idiots who felt they had the right to toss their trash anywhere they pleased.  My hand closed over the bottle, and I was suddenly blinded by a brilliant white light. Shading my eyes, I waved the beer bottle at the nice cop.  “Hi there. Kinda nippy tonight, isn’t it?”

“Are you drunk ma’am?”

I babbled nervously, “Do I look drunk?”

Laughter in his voice the cop answered, “Yes ma’am you do.”

He dangled a pair of handcuff in front of my face before I realized it was Chris’s husband. “You’re such a jerk, Ed.”

“So I have been told. You lock yourself out again?”

“Yes, could you give me a ride?”

He opened the back door on his patrol car, and gestured. “Climb on in.”

I let out a long sigh. “Why can’t I sit in the front seat?”

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“Very funny.” I climbed in.

Before he shut the door, Ed quipped, “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you…”

“Shut up, Ed.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He shut the door and proceeded to drive all the way back to my house with the overhead lights flashing psychedelically.  Ed parked in front of my house, and hit the siren for a long ten seconds. “Whoops!”

Faces appeared in my neighbor’s windows. “You’re a real riot.”

Laughing, Ed opened the car door, escorted me up to my front door, and unlocked it for me.

“When did you start carrying my key with you?”

“Right after you locked yourself out of the house for the eighth time.”

“Oh. Thanks.”

He plunked a Santa hat on his head. “I live to serve. Ho. Ho. Ho.”

“Boring night, huh?”

“Yup, Merry Christmas.”

Tihar travels to Earth to find and claim a Jones’ female. He knows they are fearless, psychic warriors and talented in bed sport. Ten minutes after meeting Sarah, Tihar knows the feisty, little human is the one he has been searching for. Now he must convince Sarah, she’s meant to be his.

The first-time Sarah sees Tihar, she’s a bit freaked out. The Askole warrior has tentacles, snakelike features and black armored-plated skin. Even weirder she finds him strangely attractive. Tihar’s torso is sculpted perfection and his black scales are kind of sexy. Who knew challenging Tihar to combat would start the Askole mating dance. He thinks Earth girls are easy and he’s about to learn messing with a Jones female is never a good idea.

As the two grow closer, their romance comes to a screeching halt when Askole rebels attack Tihar’s home world. He tells Sarah she is his heart’s destiny and he will love her to the end of time. He abruptly severs their mental bond and disappears. Reeling from shock, Sarah won’t let a galactic war stop her from hunting him down. Can the two of them find their way back into each other’s arms?

About the Author: I was a 9-1-1 dispatcher for thirty-one years and to keep insanity at bay, I took up writing. Not to worry. The insanity isn’t catching – much. Other than the addiction to chocolate and the twitch in my left eye, I’m good. Next up in the Coletti Warlord series is Crossing Quinn.

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Winter Blogfest: Linda Nightingale

December 26, 2017 By 8 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win Angel Wing Earrings: Ear crawler with crystal drop.

Southern Pecan Pie

As you get older, it feels a bit strange to turn over the holiday celebrations to your children. You’re accustomed to buying and preparing the turkey and other dishes for Thanksgiving and Christmas and hosting the holidays at your home. Then one day your son says that Thanksgiving will be at their house. You take a step back and think, ‘What?’ then perhaps ‘wow, someone else to stand up for hours and do the cooking and serving.’  Thoughts come fast ‘they won’t use the china and silver because they won’t want to hand wash them.

In the end, you relax into the idea and have a wonderful time: 1) with someone else frying the turkey; 2) making the side dishes (except of course they’ve requested you bring the Squash Casserole and Green Bean Casserole—well established staples for the holidays); and 3) sit down while someone else serves a delicious meal that refers back to item 1—you didn’t have to cook!

In the spirit of the holidays, here is the handwritten recipe my mother used for the southern pecan pie she always served at the holidays.  This delicious pie was as traditional to us as the Christmas Pudding is to my British former husband:

Southern Pecan Pie

Mix 1 cup sugar with 1 tablespoon of flour

Add 3 unbeaten eggs, 1 cup white Karo syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla, ¼ lb. margarine, mix well.

Do not heat – place pecans in pie crust and pour mixture over pecans

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My book has nothing to do with the holidays unless you count that it is about an angel:

Gylded Wings is a dark fantasy from The Wild Rose Press.

Angels in slavery? Brit Montgomery cannot believe it, until she is sent on a rescue mission to another dimension and witnesses the cruel practice first hand. The angel, Gyldan, is the most beautiful being she’s ever seen. She is drawn to him but sometimes beauty disguises wicked secrets. This man who rocks her world seems more demon than angel.
Gyldan, born into slavery, has one desire—fly free. When he escapes to Earth, he faces an alternate self-realization full of dark glory…and disbelief. Gyldan is bent on experiencing his newfound powers unmindful of the harm to Brit or others.
Confused and hurt by Gyldan’s erratic evil actions, Brit turns away. While Gyldan’s journey of self-discovery pulls him further distant, Brit finds acceptance in a solitary, comfortable life of her own until she realizes the day of reckoning has come. Will Gyldan be her final ruin or has he come back to her with a gift more precious than life itself?

About the Author: Born in South Carolina, Linda has lived in England, Canada, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Atlanta and Houston. She’s seen a lot of this country from the windshield of a truck pulling a horse trailer, having bred, trained and showed Andalusian horses for many years.

Linda has won several writing awards, including the Georgia Romance Writers Magnolia Award and the SARA Merritt. She retired from a career as a retired legal assistant, just joined the Houston BMW Club, and the stars in her crown—two wonderful sons. In a former life, she must have had to walk everywhere because today she is into transportation with fine taste in expensive horses and hot cars! She likes to dress up and host formal dinner parties.

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Winter Blogfest: Peggy Chambers

December 26, 2017 By 7 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win a signed paperback copy of Secrets of Sandhill Island to a winner within the United States.

Stocking

Many years ago, my mother had a very “crafty” friend (one who enjoys crafts) who made stockings for my parents at Christmas.  They were already grandparents, and past the time for stockings, but it could have been they were enjoyed with too much eggnog. However it happened, the stockings were darling. The man’s stocking looked like a bare foot with an extra-large big toe, but the women’s stocking was a very lady-like boot.

Years later I found them in her sewing basket when I cleaned out her home.  They were too cute to throw away.

As life will do, my life changed dramatically after my parents died and my children married, divorced, and married again.  I inherited extra (and I will say fabulous) grandchildren.  They were half grown and had other grandmothers, but I still considered them mine.  And they were hard to buy for at Christmas. Then I remembered the stockings.

I used to sew a lot.  I made my wedding dress and my daughter’s wedding dress.  But the sewing machine had been gathering dust in the corner for some time and I was out of practice. I pulled the two stockings from the bottom of the sewing basket and made patterns from them.  Then I dug through the old fabric that was held captive in my grandmother’s antique dowry trunk sitting at the end of my bed.  I found velvets, satins, bits of fur, sparkles, ribbons, and other things to make four new stockings that I hoped the grandkids would think were their very own.

I cut, pinned, sewed, and graded seam allowances turning the tiny toes (now I know why the first one used felt and topstitched the stocking).  Some of the toes looked a little like they had arthritis.  But I tied bows on them and made one look like a court jester.  The two lady’s boots faired a little better.  It was fun dressing them up with pearls and sparkles.  I even added a high-heel to the pattern and the boots had only had one turn, not five toes.  When they were finished, I somehow imagined they would look better.

I THINK the grandkids liked them.  The older ones – from a big city – thought the handmade gift was precious, even if a little deformed.  They were not used to homemade (I mean handmade) items.  Maybe I made an impression as grandmother number three.
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But, I think my sewing days may be over. I used to have more patience.

On a tiny island in a ramshackle beach house, Meg, an heiress, is hiding from her family’s dubious past. Her true love, Evan, died thirty years ago in a storm at sea, she thought. Did her father really have her lover killed and if so does everyone on the island know about it but Meg?
Alex must try to befriend Meg’s son Jon if he is ever to win Meg over. And with his past problems with women, he wonders why he even tries. After all, he is just a starving artist and has little to offer her.
Now that Alex has warmed her heart again, Meg realizes she has friends and a life outside her vegetable garden. But, who is blackmailing her?

About the Author: Peggy Chambers calls Enid, Oklahoma home. She has been writing for several years and is an award winning, published author, always working on another. There aren’t enough hours in the day. She has two children, five grandchildren and lives with her husband and dog. She adores travel and the great outdoors, even if it is just taking the dog for a walk and once ate wart hog pizza for lunch when she followed her husband across deepest, darkest Africa. She even climbed the pyramids at Chichen Itza.

She attended Phillips University, the University of Central Oklahoma and is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. She is a member of the Enid Writers’ Club, Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, Inc., and Oklahoma Women Bloggers. There is always another story weaving itself around in her brain trying to come out.

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Winter Blogfest: Deanna Wadsworth

December 25, 2017 By 3 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win one ecopy of my first holiday erotic romance, SECRET SANTA.

A Cookie Recipe and a Giveaway!

December is such a hectic time of year for me. As a professional hair stylist and nail tech, my day job is twice the workload as usual. So I don’t do the whole Christmas cookie extravaganza. I don’t even get as fancy cookie making as Daniel and Clay do in my latest book WELCOME HOME, SOLDIER. Thanksgiving is more my jam, I host it every year and pick up a lot of stragglers who don’t have family plans. I leave Christmas to the friends with kids.

But one thing I always do is make is my great-grandmother’s Scotch shortbread. Have you ever had shortbread? It’s kind of like a snowball but creamier. Probably because of the powdered sugar. I’m not much of a baker so I won’t pretend to know the science of why these cookies melt in your mouth, but they do. And this recipe is crazy easy! So from my home to yours, here is the recipe:

Scotch Shortbread

  1. Cream 1 cup butter and ¾ cup powdered sugar until light and fluffy
  2. Stir in 2 ½ cup flour
  3. Press into 8×8 pan
  4. Bake 300 for 25-30 min
  5. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and cut warm

I hope you try this recipe. Perhaps my family’s shortbread can become a holiday tradition for your family too. Enjoy this excerpt from WELCOME HOME, SOLDIER, one of the thirty holiday romances in the Dreamspinner Holiday Advent collection.

WELCOME HOME, SOLDIER

Clay and Daniel fell in love as enlisted men during Desert Shield, but Don’t Ask Don’t Tell meant they had to keep it secret. After Clay’s convoy was ambushed, PTSD changed him, and their relationship ended in a horrible fight on Christmas Eve.

Twenty-five years later, they’ve reconnected on Facebook, and Clay finds out Daniel will be alone on Christmas Eve. Impulsively, he sets out for Daniel’s hometown of Gilead, Ohio—where Daniel is now the mayor—to surprise him with a visit. But a blizzard strikes and Clay wrecks his car. All hope of seeing Daniel is lost—until a mysterious old man named Nick offers Clay a ride. The weight of past wounds and the scars of war might make their reunion awkward, but Clay is willing to take the risk to win back his lost love. Despite a lifetime of disappointing holidays, Clay hopes that this soldier is finally coming home for Christmas

EXCERPT

“Want some coffee?” Daniel said to avoid blurting, Damn the years treated you well!

“Sure, I’m freezing.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t know about the storm. It’s been all over the news.”

Clay grinned. “You know me. I never think things through first.”

He chuckled. “Since you’re here for the evening, do you want to help me make cookies? It’s sort of a cliché Christmas thing to do, but….”

“Sure.” The grin splitting Clay’s face was electric, and Daniel’s belly fluttered.

Daniel had not forgotten Clay’s toothy grin and those dimples. Back during Desert Shield, the dusting of a youthful beard had hidden his dimples, much to Daniel’s chagrin. But now Clay was clean-shaven, his cheeks a little pink from the elements. The long lean line of his throat, his solid Adam’s apple that bobbed when he talked—all exposed for Daniel’s viewing pleasure. He’d always had a thing for Clay’s neck. Weird, but he couldn’t help it. Clay had stayed in great shape too, unlike the twenty pounds Daniel needed to lose.

Making cookies isn’t helping that! And you were probably going to eat them all yourself!

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And here Clay was, looking like some sort of body-building Daddy.

Once Daniel got Clay a mug of coffee to warm up, he busied himself placing the fresh cookies on a cooling rack.

“What? No cutouts?” Clay said, startling Daniel with how close he stood.

He hadn’t realized Clay had come up beside him. Swallowing hard, he glanced over his shoulder and up. Clay was bigger, wider than he used to be. And damn, the gray hair looked good on him.

Daniel managed to sound calm, though Clay’s nearness made his heart race and his skin warm. “Nah, a cookie’s a cookie.”

“But it’s Christmas, Danny. Shouldn’t we make Santa or candy-cane cookies?”

“I just wanted cookies.” Call me Danny again, please! “No need for theatrics.”

“Theatrics? C’mon, you gotta have cookie cutters around here somewhere.” The hopeful glint in his expression tugged at Daniel’s heart.

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Come on, Danny.”

And then, just like old times, Clay took over, tossing Daniel’s practical plan out the window and making everything more complicated.

But definitely more fun.

With a mismatched collection of cookie cutters, and Clay armed with the rolling pin and leaving a flour mess all over the counters and floor—which George happily licked up—soon they had a tray of hearts, moons, and trees ready to go into the oven. Clay insisted Daniel add food coloring to the frosting, one bowl of green and another of red, which turned out pink. Though he didn’t think it necessary, it was impossible to say no to Clay.

Especially with those dimples and that sexy throat, and the way Clay called him Danny with his now-rougher voice.

You’re hopeless!

Thanks for hosting me and if you share a comment (or better yet a cookie recipe of your own) then you will be entered to win my first Christmas story: SECRET SANTA—Just who was it that came down Adam’s chimney? Find out in this superhot holiday story!

Clay and Daniel fell in love as enlisted men during Desert Shield, but Don’t Ask Don’t Tell meant they had to keep it secret. After Clay’s convoy was ambushed, PTSD changed him, and their relationship ended in a horrible fight on Christmas Eve.
Twenty-five years later, they’ve reconnected on Facebook, and Clay finds out Daniel will be alone on Christmas Eve. Impulsively, he sets out for Daniel’s hometown of Gilead, Ohio—where Daniel is now the mayor—to surprise him with a visit. But a blizzard strikes and Clay wrecks his car. All hope of seeing Daniel is lost—until a mysterious old man named Nick offers Clay a ride. The weight of past wounds and the scars of war might make their reunion awkward, but Clay is willing to take the risk to win back his lost love. Despite a lifetime of disappointing holidays, Clay hopes that this soldier is finally coming home for Christmas.

About the Author: Deanna Wadsworth might be a bestselling erotica author, but she leads a pretty vanilla life in Ohio with her wonderful husband and a couple adorable cocker spaniels. She has been spinning tales and penning stories since childhood, and her first erotic novella was published in 2010. She has served multiple board positions at her local RWA chapter and is the current President-elect 2017 for Rainbow Romance Writers of America. When she isn’t writing books or brainstorming with friends, you can find her making people gorgeous in a beauty salon. She loves music and dancing, and can often be seen hanging out on the sandbar in the muddy Maumee River or chilling with her hubby and a cocktail in their basement bar. In between all that fun, Deanna cherishes the quiet times when she can let her wildly active imagination have the full run of her mind. Her fascination with people and the interworkings of their relationships have always inspired her to write romance with spice and love without boundaries.

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