Winter Blogfest: Ann Marie James


This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card and an eBook copy of Chasing the Dream.

Christmas Breakfast

Holiday traditions have a strange way of sneaking up on families. Growing up we never had a huge Christmas dinner. Our tradition was to have a huge Christmas breakfast instead. After my parents divorced, my brother, sister and I spent Christmas morning with my mom and stepfather, then my Dad would pick us up for Christmas with his side of the family. My mom and my stepfather always made sure we had a huge Christmas breakfast, before we left.

Dad eventually moved away and we didn’t see him all that often. However, the Christmas tradition stuck and grew to become an event where friends and family (including my Dad’s mother) would come for a grand Christmas breakfast at our house.

Leading up to Christmas, the refrigerator would be stocked with dozens of eggs and packages of bacon and loaves of bread sat ready on the counter for French Toast. The house was full of people talking and the scents of all the different breakfast items being made and coffee. After breakfast was over and clean up was complete, the rest of the day was ours to do with as we wished. Play with toys or read books that we received.

My favorite food was the French Toast. The smell of it makes me think of Christmas. My stepfather made the most amazing French Toast. It was golden brown and he slathered it in butter and syrup before he handed it over. People would wait in line to get it hot off the griddle. Which leads me to my giveaway…

For a chance to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card and an eBook copy of my debut novel Chasing the Dream: What food or scent makes you think of the holidays?

When Lee meets his fantasy man, his shy nature makes him want to run. But what will he do when his dream guy won’t let him?
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Saul Valencia. Tall? Check. Muscles? Check. Everything Lee Clark ever dreamed of in a man? Check. Bad case of nerves and feeling like an idiot whenever he’s around? Sigh. Check.

Being kicked out of the family home for being gay would have been bad enough, but Lee Clark also worked in his dad’s garage. Losing his family, his home and his job all in the same day left him floundering. He can’t believe his luck might be changing when he finds a job at Everyone’s Mechanic, another garage, where he’s accepted for who he is.

Then Saul, a former linebacker for the NFL Raleigh Raptors and a friend of Lee’s boss, walks into his life. The man is the embodiment of all his teenage fantasies, but Lee doesn’t dare hope Saul will ever actually notice him.

Intrigued from the start by the shy man now working for his business partner’s boyfriend, Saul struggles through bad advice and misunderstandings to convince Lee that he’s serious about wanting a chance with him. Getting Lee to give him a shot at romance was difficult enough, but when drama and blackmail from outside sources are added in, the relationship becomes almost impossible.

It will take the combined efforts of Lee’s garage family and Saul’s real one to set things right.

Ann Marie James is fluent in two languages, English and sarcasm. She believes that you will never learn anything new if you don’t read as much as you can, and/or talk to every stranger you meet. She always looks for the best in people and to treat people the way she wants to be treated. Above all Ann Marie believes in love, whatever form it takes. Relationships are hard, love is the glue that keeps it together.

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Comments

  1. Debra K Guyette says

    I do not like pumpkin pie but the smell is one I associate with Christmas.

    • Ann Marie James says

      I don’t like pumpkin pie either, but the smell of pumpkins spice is everywhere it’s true. Thanks for commenting. Happy Holidays!

    • Ann Marie James says

      I used a random number generator to pick a number. It picked number 1 so the winner is Debra Guyette. Congratulations Debra!

      A huge thank you to all who participated. I enjoyed the comments.

      Debra if you could email me your email address at authorannmariejames@gmail.com I will get you your prize.

      Thank you.

      Ann Marie James

  2. The smell of gingerbread cookies baking makes me think of Christmas.
    Merry Christmas!

  3. Your tradition of having a special Christmas breakfast rather than dinner sounds wonderful. We always had homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast and then ate a late lunch/early dinner.

  4. The smell of pine trees.
    Happy Holidays

  5. Jean Patton says

    The smell of Christmas pudding. What a great tradition having a Christmas breakfast.

    • Ann Marie James says

      I don’t think I even know what a Christmas pudding smells like but I’m sure it’s delicious. Happy Holidays! Thanks for taking the time to comment

  6. Shirley Emitt says

    The smell of cedar trees always make me think of Christmas.

    • Ann Marie James says

      Cedar trees? That is a new one. Sadly, cedar makes me sneeze so that wouldn’t be a good one for me. Thanks for commenting.

  7. bernie wallace says

    I like the smell of Christmas trees at Christmastime.

  8. I love traditions but I also love that sometime traditions look different and that is okay. I also grew up with parents that divorced when I was only a baby. I would spend one Christmas with my dad and the next with my mom.

  9. Cinnamon makes me think of Christmas. I like to buy the cinnamon-scented pinecones at Christmastime.

  10. Mysti Holiday says

    I have to admit, we neglect breakfast at Christmas–largely because lunch is SO huge! But homemade hot cocoa from scratch was a special treat for us on Christmas morning growing up. I tried passing it on to my kid, but she was decidedly unimpressed by it, lol.

    • Ann Marie James says

      And that is when traditions end. Lol. I love hot chocolate (with marshmallows of course) Thanks for commenting.

  11. I love the smell of the cookies and cakes prepared by grandma.

  12. Ann Marie James says

    Everyone,

    I used a random number generator to pick a number. It picked number 1 so the winner is Debra Guyette. Congratulations Debra!

    A huge thank you to all who participated. I enjoyed the comments.

    Debra if you could email me your email address at authorannmariejames@gmail.com I will get you your prize.

    Thank you.

    Ann Marie James

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