Winter Blogfest: M.C. Roth

December 28, 2021 By 3 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win one free ebook of The Drumbeat of His Heart as well as the sequel A Song for His Heart.

A Fondue Mishap

Every year on Christmas eve, my family gathers for fondue. Unlike cheese or chocolate, we use little pots of hot peanut oil that stay warm over an open flame. With our special forks, wedip our meat of choice into the oil and cook it to greasy perfection.

We never miss a single year, and I’ve dragged myself to that table even on years when I had the flu. We load up our meat, or in my case battered mushrooms, and feast until we can’t eat another bite. Once comatose from calorie overload, we pass out in front of the fireplace.

It’s a very ritualistic thing for us, fireplace included.

The most memorable fondue happened when I was about twelve. As my father moved the pot of hot oil from the stove to the holder on the table, the handle gave way, sending the entire thing splashing my way.

The lit fuel from the burner spread across the table with the help of the oil, sending the whole thing up in flames, decorative tablecloth and all. Of course, I was the only one already sitting at the table because I was starving. I lost my pants to a grease stain, but avoided bursting into flames myself.

A good fire extinguisher saved the day, although the cookies did taste a bit funny with the extra bit of frosting.

I can imagine Trent and Ian starting a Christmas tradition like this of their own, and guaranteed, it would go up in flames.

A brush with death delivers Ian into Trent’s life, but there’s more to Ian than he shares—a hidden life, a hidden career and secrets that may tear them apart.

When Trent is almost hit by a swerving Corvette, he has no idea that the driver will change his life forever.

Freezing cold and soaked, Trent pulls the strikingly attractive Ian from the wreckage. Ian is everything Trent has been looking for in a man—beautiful, sexy—and he needs a place to stay for the weekend.

Trent is out and proud, and he prays he can keep his hands to himself with the gorgeous man under his roof. But Ian is the one who follows Trent into the shower, shows him things that Trent never imagined and takes the final thread of Trent’s virginity.

After a weekend of passion, Trent finds himself falling for Ian, even though they live a country apart. But there is more to Ian than what he says. A hidden life, a hidden career and more lies than Trent can imagine.

Ian’s secrets may tear their hearts to pieces—or transform their desires into something more.

M.C. Roth lives in Canada and loves every season, even the dreaded Canadian winter. She graduated with honours from the Associate Diploma Program in Veterinary Technology at the University of Guelph before choosing a different career path.

Between caring for her young son, spending time with her husband, and feeding treats to her menagerie of animals, she still spends every spare second devoted to her passion for writing.

She loves growing peppers that are hot enough to make grown men cry, but she doesn’t like spicy food herself. Her favourite thing, other than writing of course, is to find a quiet place in the wilderness and listen to the birds while dreaming about the gorgeous men in her head.

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Winter Blogfest: Antonia Church

December 28, 2021 By 4 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win a signed physical copy mailed to continental US address .

Come Together for the Holidays

Can we all come together for the holidays?

It’s the time of year when I believe in magic more than ever. Now, I’m a magic kinda girl all year round, but the evidence is more prevalent in the yuletide than say…Arbor Day. Not that I don’t love my palm trees, but you can’t really hang lights and top it with a star. Sometimes you need a good old-fashioned evergreen. It’s the season where everyone can gather around even the saddest little tree and Charlie Brown sing out our hearts in harmony. Where Pig Pens and Schroeders can join hands and the world maybe dials down the crazy for a little while.

I come from the great white north and transplanted in sunny central Florida, but the season isn’t besmirched by the lack of fluffy stuff on the ground. It’s been a different sort of Christmas these last few years where sand has repelled snow for my holiday staple. Hot chocolate swapped for sweet tea. Roasted chestnuts replaced by chilled pineapple. Snow boots and scarfs—no longer in my closet. Traded long ago for flip flops and beach towels.

But for a few weeks at the end of every year, my heart still beats with the sound of “pa rum pum pum pum”. The reason for the season is coming together and finding joy and peace within this big human family. We can all gather and sing and laugh and eat and build a snowman (or a sandcastle, if you’re me.) The gift we give each other doesn’t have to be wrapped in pretty foil or topped with a velvet bow, but rather something given in earnest from one to another—peace, love, and respect.

Because life is better when we all come together.

Kane Cambridge is a descendent of the secret royal family of the United States. She is the American Princess.

Kane Cambridge does not lead a fairy-tale life. She works in an office, her boyfriend just broke up with her and her future looks mundane and unexceptional. Where is the rom-com ending that she’s watched in a hundred different movies?

Kane is visited by a mysterious benefactor who reveals that he is the grandfather she never knew. He arrives with a lesson in American history. The original framers of the Constitution wrote a clause that created a ceremonial position for American royalty. Kane’s ancestor was a secret queen of the United States, and now Kane is the American Princess.

American Royalty is the story of an average woman who discovers her own independence and grows to accept her position as a princess. Among her potential suitors are a sexy sultan, a prominent British prince and a brave commoner who is her soldier in shining armor. Will she choose the traditional path or make her crown an American version—all rock ’n’ roll and a little risqué?

Antonia Church Is a romance author, traveler of the continental US, beachcomber, free spirit.

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Winter Blogfest: Kristian Parker

December 23, 2021 By 2 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the first installment in my Speak Its Name series, To Light A Fire .

The Magic of Christmas

Christmas was a magical time when I was small. We would have nearly twenty family members descend on the house to play raucous games like Team Charades, Wink Murder and Pass the Parcel with more elaborate forfeits each year.

I would get so excited that sleep on Christmas Eve was an alien concept and certainly not one I was going to let get in the way of starting the big day.

My poor Mum would have to practically pin me down and sing carols in my ear as Dad carefully put the pillowcasesfilled with presents at the end of the landing. Knowing they had a huge day ahead, they would creep into bed and try to stay as still as possible.

I can remember lying there, thinking I really should try and sleep. But by two in the morning, it would become too muchand I’d creep down to the end of my bed and peep out. There they were. A great big pile of wrapped boxes delivered by actual Father Christmas. I could wait no longer.

With a warcry of “He’s been!” I would thunder down the landing and straight into my parents’ room. They probably got about ten minutes sleep maximum. But with my angelic blonde curls and grinning face, who could resist?

The next hour consisted of me trying to control my trembling hands while I ripped open parcel after parcel. I had a big extended family so I was very lucky. Star Wars toys were usually the big-ticket items with a Millennium Falcon one year followed by an AT-AT the next.

Once I’d finished, the bed was awash with torn wrapping paper. Mum would always be on the lookout for big bits for the Pass the Parcel game.

Then it was my Dad’s cue to take me downstairs and let Mum get a couple of hours. We would take a selection of toys and books. We had a coal fire in those days so Dad would stoke up the fire and we’d play for a bit. When dawn was breaking, he would wedge me in the chair next to him with a book or two. The heat and Dad’s soothing voice usually sent me off.

Dad would sit back, close his eyes and listen to the crackling sticks on the fire. Just as he fell asleep the telephone would go.

My Grandad would ring early to see what time I’d woken up. The ring of the phone would make my eyes burst open. For a second, I wondered why I was asleep downstairs then I’d remember.

“He’s been!”

 

Frank never thought he would find love…until he met his friend’s servant.

It’s 1922 and Frank Harris has finished his exams at Cambridge. He had planned on going home to his parents’ Midlands shop until his friend Charlie Fitzwilliam issues a surprise invitation to stay at his family’s stately home.

Frank has nursed a secret attraction to Charlie since their first meeting and can’t resist a chance to spend time with him, but once there, it’s Tanner, a manservant, with whom he instantly falls in lust.

Charlie tries to force a local girl on Frank, and although Frank knows he should keep up appearances, it’s Tanner who sets a fire in him.

To Frank’s astonishment, Tanner is attracted to him too, and their mutual passion kindles, then burns strong. Only, their feelings must remain a secret—discovery would mean the ruin of them both.

But how long can love that blazes this bright be hidden?

 

I have written for as long as I could write. In fact, before, when I would dictate to my auntie. I love to read, and I love to create worlds and characters.

I live in the English countryside. When I’m not writing, I like to get out there and think through the next scenario I’m going to throw my characters into.

Inspiration can be found anywhere, on a train, in a restaurant or in an office. I am always in search of the next character to find love in one of my stories. In a world of apps and online dating, it is important to remember love can be found when you least expect it.

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Winter Blogfest: AE Lister

December 23, 2021 By 3 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win one free electronic copy of Various Persuasions, Book One in the Persuasions series. .

A Family at Christmas

Christmas is my absolute favourite time of year. I grew up in a family of six – my two parents, two brothers and one sister. Christmas morning was chaotic and exciting and full of joy. Well, maybe not from my mother who always got pretty stressed out managing her four hyper kids and preparing for the large Christmas dinner. In her later years, once we were all adults, she gave the holiday meal prep up and either took us all out for supper on Christmas at a fancy hotel or ordered the food to be cooked and picked up by my dad and a helper (one of us).

Although it was very busy at Christmas, we had the benefit of not having to travel or host out-of-town visitors, since both my parents were only children and their elderly parents lived too far away for a holiday visit (England and Nova Scotia).

Although my upcoming novel, Various Distractions, doesn’t take place at Christmas, it is very much about family. In this case, found family.

Nic and Vincent, who meet in Various Persuasions (book 1 – an electronic copy of which will be given away here today), are enjoying a blissful interlude now that they have accepted the fact that they want to be together. Life is pretty damn good at the beginning of the book. But then, the distractions begin. A friend of Nic’s needs a place to conduct her Dominatrix activities, and his basement seems like the only option. Then, Vincent’s cousin needs a place to stay. Finally, something occurs that makes it necessary for Daphne to recommend someone to help with domestic chores at the house.

One thing leads to another and soon Nic finds himself embroiled in a new, broader relationship with Vincent. By the time the book ends, a family has emerged, that one person finds himself clinging to out of love and a need for protection.

To me, Christmas time especially is all about family. But it doesn’t have to be the family you were born into. A found family is just as valid as a traditional family, perhaps more so. Because it is composed of those individuals you have chosen to enhance your life, and whom you make a point to offer your own love and assistance.

Family is family, and this is never so apparent at Christmas. Enjoy the season with whomever you are celebrating and remember that traditions can be started whenever you like, and continued into the future by those who make them important.

Book two in the Persuasions series

When life is perfect, you know it’s gonna throw you a curveball…or four.

Nic and Vincent have been riding the high of a new romantic relationship that works so well they are on the verge of officially moving in together—but then the distractions begin. Their friend Daphne needs a temporary dungeon space, and Nic’s basement seems the perfect solution. Vincent’s gay seventeen-year-old cousin, Taylor, needs a safe refuge from his uber-religious parents. When Vincent suffers an unexpected injury, Nic asks Daphne to suggest someone to help with domestic duties around the house.

These combined circumstances lead to a less-than-ideal home life for Vincent and Nic, who struggle to find alone time. But life has a way of giving people what they need, and the arrival of Matteo to help with chores around the house sets into motion an opportunity the three must decide to follow to its logical conclusion or abandon in order to maintain the emotional safety of all the participants.

AE Lister is a non-binary author with a vivid imagination and a head full of interesting characters. They write LGBTQ+ stories with consent-based kink and a dash of romance.

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Winter Blogfest: Michal Scott

December 23, 2021 By 2 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win an ebook or print version of my latest novella Who Can Find A Virtuous Woman? in the anthology Falling Hard.

Blue Christmas: Grief and the Holidays

Turn to someone and say, “‘Tis the season…” that person will smile back at you and probably say “To be jolly.” Then the two of you will laugh and sing “Fa la la la la la la la la.” The assumption is everyone is getting ready for the most wonderful time of the year. After all, to everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven. But what if your time and purpose are at odds with the majority of the people around you?

Loss at any time is painful, but experiencing loss when everyone else is smiling, laughing and giving good cheer can be doubly painful. A sense of isolation — or worse a sense of having no right to your feelings — can set in because everyone else seems oblivious to your pain. The pressure to stiff-upper-lip-it is great. Sometimes greater than people can bear. This is why as minister for pastoral care, I developed a Blue Christmas service for First Presbyterian Church in Jamaica NY (FPCJ) as a way to acknowledge, affirm and offer comfort to those for whom crying during this season is more natural than singing.

Often held on the longest day of the year, Blue Christmas services let people who are mourning know that they are not alone, that they are not forgotten, that they have a right to what they’re feeling. Hymns and songs sung are usually in a minor key. Prayers shared acknowledge sorrow and pain and affirm the reality of loss. Readings from authors like Ann Weems who write meditations based in their own experience of suffering are read. Old Testament scriptures point to people journeying from darkness to light. Psalms chosen are often ones of lament like Psalm 22 or looking for help like Psalm 121. New Testament readings focus on a hope that is always there, even when you can’t feel it. Candle lighting is coupled with litanies that reflect and affirm the reality of loss, that banish as much as possible feelings of shame or blame. In the service I designed for FPCJ attendees were invited to come forward and light candles as an act of agency that shows even when we feel most helpless we always have power. As a reverse offering, attendees were invited to take a scripture stone (glass stones with scriptures on them) from the offering plates to take home as reminders that the word of God is always available and present.

 

Here are two sample order of service so you can see what I mean: https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/blue-christmas-a-service-of-reflection-for-the-longest-night, https://youngclergywomen.org/blue-christmas-service-when-christmas-hurts/. If you’ve never attended one, find acommunity near you that’s offering one then go. FPCJ’s Blue Christmas services were some of the most life affirming events I had the honor to participate in.

‘Tis the season for decking the halls and gift giving, but for some it is a dark night of the soul. If this is the case for you or someone you know, I hope this blogpost can serve as a reminder that there is comfort and strength for you in this time of loss, and that as the old Negro spiritual proclaims, “trouble don’t last always.”

Sentenced to hang for a crime she didn’t commit, former slave Mary Hamilton was exonerated at literally the last gasp. She returns to Safe Haven, broken and resigned to live alone. She’s never been courted, cuddled or spooned, and now no man could want her, not when sexual satisfaction comes only with the thought of asphyxiation. But then the handsome stranger who saved her shows up, stealing her breath from across the room and promising so much more.

Wealthy, freeborn-Black, Eban Thurman followed Mary to Safe Haven, believing the mysteriously exotic woman was foretold by the stars. He must marry her to reclaim his family farm. But first he must help her heal, and to do that means revealing his own predilection for edgier sex.

Hope ignites along with lust until the past threatens to keep them one breath away from love…

Michal Scott is the erotic romance pen name of Anna Taylor Sweringen, a retired United Church of Christ and Presbyterian Church USA minister. Inspired by the love mystics of Begijn, Audre Lorde and bell hooks, Rev. Anna writes erotica and erotic romance with a faith arc, hoping to build a bridge between the sacred and secular, spirituality and sexuality, erotica and Christ, you and a well-written, spiritually stimulating, and erotically arousing story. She uses story settings to give insight into the African American experience in the US.

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Winter Blogfest: Cassie O’Brien

December 23, 2021 By 7 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win a paperback copy of It’s Christmastime Once More. A paperback copy of Once Upon a Christmastime. A selection of Christmas themed chocolate items and a boxed Christmas cracker. (Photo available if req.).

The UK is Christmas Crackers

It wouldn’t be Christmas in the UK without these little cardboard tubes of joy decorating the festive dinner table. We Brits pull a world beating 154,000,000 of them each year – yep – that’s 154 million.

Invented by the sweet maker, Tom Smith, in the early 1840’s, the tissue-wrapped tube contained candy in the form of sugared almonds and a love motto. They did not sell well. Then, while watching the crackling logs on his fire in 1861, inspiration struck and the cracker, as we know and love it today, was born.

The candy was replaced by a small gift, the motto rewritten as a riddle or groan inducing corny joke and the explosive ‘snap’ added. Rebranded as ‘Bangs of Expectation’ the new format was an immediate success and has remained a firm favourite ever since, although we had to wait until 1869 for our paper crowns, when they were added to the contents by Tom’s son, Walter.

Modern day crackers, while containing the same range of contents, come in a huge price range depending on how valuable the gifts are inside. A supermarket budget box, containing a small plastic novelty, will set you back £2.99, while at the other end of the scale, a box of 6 from the Royal Mint are priced at an eye-watering £5,000, but then they do contain a diamond and 18ct gold necklace amongst other items of solid gold.

So, with all my good wishes for a jolly, snap, banging time – Happy Christmas, Everyone!t

Four Romantic Christmas Stories

Secrets And Christmas Surprises
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One Mistletoe Kiss
Aran Vair was Arietta’s childhood hero, and although they’ve drifted apart over the years, her feelings haven’t changed. A snowstorm reunites them, but when Aran suggests a friendship-based marriage, it’s not a prospect Arietta can contemplate. Living as an independent woman in the cottage she owns will be preferable – unless Aran can persuade her otherwise.

The Best Gifts Aren’t Wrapped
Lauren hates Christmas. It’s a painful time and her heart is locked as securely as her front door to keep the world and its festivities out. Joe, a divorcee with two sons, arrives on her doorstep with an uncooked turkey in his hands. There’s a power outage, and if can use her oil-fuelled Aga, his children can still enjoy their Christmas feast. And maybe she would like to join them.

Christmas By Candlelight
When Arietta’s husband, Tai, walks out her, she hightails it to the rural cottage she inherited from a long-dead ancestor and namesake, to lick her wounds. She converts the property into a B&B, and as Christmas approaches, she anticipates taking a relaxing break – until like a bad penny, Tai turns up. The ashes of their relationship are not quite dead, and as the flames rekindle, Arietta questions herself. Was she too hasty in running away?


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

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

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Winter Blogfest: Tanith Davenport

December 22, 2021 By 3 Comments

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

A Three-Bird Roast for Christmas

You know the one thing I always champion at Christmas? Not having turkey.

I grew up being told in adverts, by friends and by relatives that turkey was what you have at Christmas. You spend hours roasting it, you gorge yourself on it, and then you spend the rest of the week eating turkey sandwiches because there is half a ton of meat left in the fridge. Turkey all the way.

But we never had turkey.

I think this was because my family only consisted of my mother, my father and myself. It offended my father’s sensibilities to buy a bird that would barely get eaten. So instead he would order either a duck or a capon, apart from a couple of years when he decided to try goose. He eventually gave up on that as he was the only one who liked it, although we did appreciate how much goose fat was left over.

And why not? I love duck, I love chicken, so why not have them for Christmas?

Nowadays we have a bit of a compromise. We spend Christmas dinner with my in-laws, who always make a turkey crown, and on Christmas Eve my husband and I get either a duck or a three-bird roast. That’s probably excessive for just the two of us, but there’s something quite decadent about a three-bird roast, and what the heck, it’s Christmas. Let’s be decadent.

But I will always value trying something new for Christmas dinner. Duck. Chicken. Hell, get a couple of guinea fowls if it’s just the two of you. Pile your plate high with all the trimmings and enjoy.

And happy eating!

Tamar Steele, a successful medium for a paranormal investigative team, should be happy with her life—but life seems to be against her. Her psychic field is being mysteriously blocked, causing her physical pain and, worse, making it more and more difficult for her to come, creating stress in her relationship with long-term boyfriend Jason.

But then, during the filming of a paranormal TV show, Tamar picks up on Leslie, the recently murdered sister of her co-worker Hana—who later tells her the murderer was in the room with them. Knowing the best way to enhance her psychic ability is through sex, Tamar must rekindle her troubled relationship with Jason and rebuild their passion as she fights to solve the murder. Can she find the killer in time?

Tanith Davenport began writing erotica at the age of 27 by way of the Romantic Novelists’ Association New Writers’ Scheme. Her debut novel “The Hand He Dealt” was released by Totally Bound in June 2011 and was shortlisted for the Joan Hessayon Award for 2012.

Tanith has had short stories published by Naughty Nights Press and House of Erotica. She loves to travel and dreams of one day taking a driving tour of the United States, preferably in a classic 1950s pink Cadillac Eldorado.
Tanith’s idea of heaven is an Indian head massage with a Mojito at her side.

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Winter Blogfest: Sandra Carmel

December 22, 2021 By 5 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win an ebook for the first in series from my two trilogies: Capture (book 1 of a steamy paranormal sci-fi trilogy, The Cure, featuring vampires) and Last Hope (book 1 of a steamy contemporary romance novella trilogy, Intertwined Love).

Christmas in Australia

While you northern hemisphere dwellers are freezing your bits off over Christmas, in Australia, we’re often scorching hot. Though, I’m from Melbourne, which I believe is world-renowned for its unpredictable weather. Four seasons in one day is no exaggeration. I remember one Christmas in particular, where it reached 40 degrees Celsius and dropped down to 17 in just a few short hours! I’ve included a photo of Mum and I on Christmas Day a couple years ago all decked out in our summer gear.

My background is Italian; however, I’m born in Australia, and so we don’t have the standard Christmas staples when it comes to our shared feast. It’s a big, extended family affair and there can’t just be meat and veges. Oh no! Some sort of pasta, usually several options such as gnocchi and lasagna are included as well as specific Italian festive food e.g. arancini (aka rice balls with essentially a meatball in the center), and savory donuts, some with anchovies. And then, of course, there’s dessert. But not just one—multiple. From a fruit platter, to cheesecake to apple slice to rum balls and cannoli. I come away almost every year, feeling like I’m about to burst.

I was going to say, ‘enough about me’ but apparently it’s not. LOL. I can’t possibly finish this blog post without some mention of my passion—writing racy, flirty and downright dirty romance. Speaking of which, my steamy contemporary novella, Last Hope, book one of the Intertwined Love trilogy, has strong links to Christmas. It deals with some tough but rewarding challenges, physically, mentally and emotionally for Cole and Hope on their journey to love, which I feel fits with the whole spirit of the season. What better time than Christmas to inspire hope and joy? And on that note, wishing you and your family a safe and lovely festive season and happy and prosperous New Year.

A perilous journey to the peak of love…

Cole, a cutting-edge game software company CEO, organizes a Christmas present his long-term girlfriend, Hope, will never forget—a marriage proposal at the top of Sydney Harbour Bridge on Christmas Eve. And it ends up unforgettable all right, but not in the way he’d envisaged.

While on a mountain climbing trip, he has an accident and sustains a life-changing spinal injury, forcing him to miss their special date, leaving Hope stranded, alone and without answers. Cole struggles against his heart’s desire and cuts Hope out of his life without explanation, determined not to burden her with his disability. Can he confront his fears, pull himself back together and rekindle a relationship with the love of his life?

Sandra Carmel is an Australian author of racy, flirty and downright dirty romance novels, novellas, short stories and poetry, who enjoys stimulating herself and others with words. An obsession with classic romance novels, particularly Jane Eyre, and her infatuation with Mr Rochester were key motivators in commencing her romance writing journey. So far, she has taken the scenic route from steamy paranormal to sci-fi to contemporary, creating provocative stories that delve beneath the surface of desire. She reads and writes a lot, frequently disrupted by her ever-attentive, cheeky cats, and sinfully amorous array of book boyfriends.

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Winter Blogfest: Susan Mac Nicol

December 20, 2021 By 6 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win a $5 gift card and an e book of reader choice of any of my back list books..

What does Christmas– the Season of Goodwill – Mean to Me?

Two homeless older men rewarding manager man for gift of food

In the words of Natalie Imbruglia, I’m a little torn. There’s good and bad aspects. I’m going to tackle them both. I love the vibe and hype of the season, shopping for presents for people andt seeing all those sparkly lights. I’m not religious so Christmas for me has never been about Jesus or anything remotely biblical.

Christmas for me is the shiny season. It’s the vibrancy of coloured lights and tinsel. It’s the silky sheen of wrapping paper and the twinkle of baubles on the tree, the smell of spruce, and orange chocolate, and mulled wine. It’s a sensual time when everything meshes together into a festive package of scents and sights that stirs the senses and brings families and friends together. It’s a time for kindness, when soup kitchens are manned by volunteers willing to give up their time to contribute to making someone’s else life a little bit happier for a while. It’s also the time you can get your own back on grumpy Aunt Mabel, who insists on giving you socks each year. The dildo you bought for her will go down a treat. She may even find a unique use for it, ‘stirring’ the Yorkshire pudding mix perhaps. *sniggers*

It’s also the time of a high suicide rate, a plethora of homeless people on the streets, watching with jaundiced eyes as those more fortunate than them strolled past in laughter and merry cheer, while carting presents that would probably have bought a week’s shelter and food for one of these street people. This season is a time of extremes-—one parent buying their kid a Ferrari or a football team, another just managing to scrape together enough money to buy their child a football or a toy truck; of one-upping the Joneses, of making sure things are bigger and better than the other person’s offerings.

So, like a piece of tinfoil, there’s a dull and shiny side to the season. It’s a pity we can’t find it within ourselves to bring the season of goodwill to all men to people the whole year around instead of just a few short-lived days. That as a species we can’t simply adopt an attitude of love and acceptance to all mankind as we work together to keep this world of ours from spiralling into decay.

In the true spirit of giving, why not buy a homeless person a cup of coffee. Drag out those old blankets you have in the cupboard, give them a wash and let the people suffering the cold have them. Donate to a deserving charity, like one that teaches people about respecting diversity. Show a starving pet some kindness. You don’t have to give much – just a little.

https://give.thetrevorproject.org/checkout/donation?eid=63307

www.crisis.org.uk

www.bluecross.org.uk

Being in love is tough enough at eighteen, but being in love and outed to your dad is a disaster that will take more than a little holiday magic to fix.

Bringing lovers together, one book at a time

Susan writes steamy, sexy and fun contemporary romance stories, some suspenseful, some gritty and dark and hopefully always entertaining.

She loves going to the theatre, live music concerts (especially if it’s her man crush Adam Lambert ) the divine Cumberbatch, walks in the countryside, a good G and T, lazing away afternoons reading a good book, and watching horror films.

She’s also Editor in Chief at Divine Magazine, an online LGBTQ e-zine, and a member of The Society of Authors, the Writers Guild of Great Britain, and the Authors Guild in the US. Susan is also an award-winning script writer, with scripts based on two of her own published works. Sight Unseen has garnered no less than ten awards to date.

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Soft Heart by Megan Slayer – Spotlight and Giveaway

December 15, 2021 By 3 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Megan Slayer will be awarding a prize pack featuring a necklace made by the author to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Can two broken souls be repaired with a lot of love and a little power from the gods?

Leto, the goddess of motherhood and womanly demure, wants to be anything but bashful. Working in Las Vegas in the music business has proven she can’t be coy if she has desires, but the man she loves isn’t available. What’s a goddess to do?

Help break a curse, that’s what.

Tommy has loved Leto since the day they met, but he never thought she’d want to be with him. He’s also got a girlfriend. When his girlfriend leaves him for his brother and curses him, it’s up to Leto and Tommy to admit their deepest desires—they want to be together.

There’s just the matter of breaking that pesky curse…

Enjoy an Excerpt

“Ha,” Missy said. “I curse you to stone.” She laughed and walked away with Duncan. “Jerk.”

She’d really done it—she’d left him for his brother. His stomach roiled. How could she be so cruel? She knew he and Duncan didn’t get along. How had his life fallen apart so fast?

He moved to push off the railing, but his limbs refused to cooperate. What? He tried to look at his hand, but he couldn’t lift his arm. “Leto.” He needed help. Was he having a stroke? “Leto.”

Could she hear him? Crap. Where was everyone? In the recording studio, in the sound-proof room…

Leto rushed out to the patio. “Tommy?” She spotted him and her eyes widened. “Oh, no.”

“What…?” His voice faded. No, no, no. Where had his voice gone and why in the hell couldn’t he move?

Leto patted her thigh and nodded. “This is bad. This is very bad.”

No kidding. Why wasn’t she calling someone? How about the ambulance? The guards? He tried to open his mouth, but he seemed frozen.

Leto trembled. “I’ll be right back.”

Call the medics, he wanted to scream. He glanced at his hand. His skin had turned ashen … like stone. Oh, crap. He must be dying. Why couldn’t he move? Missy hadn’t touched him, so she couldn’t have poisoned him. What was going on?

Leto returned a moment later with Hera.

“He’s been cursed. I know curses and this is a problem, but I don’t know how to fix it,” Leto said. “What do we do?”

Hera stroked his arm. He felt her, but also seemed like he was looking at himself without being in his body.

Hera sighed. “This appears to be a curse and he’s screwed.”

©Megan Slayer, 2021, All Rights Reserved

About the Author:

Megan Slayer, aka 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 white hot 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 nominated at the LRC for Best Author, Best Contemporary, Best Ménage, Best BDSM 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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