Archive | December 2014

The Second Day of Christmas – Maureen Bonatch

Dec15

On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me… One of my favorite all-time Christmas movies!

I admit that my favorite has changed over the years. That spot has been held by Christmas classics like: “Christmas Vacation,” “Elf,” “It Happened One Christmas,” and many years ago, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

Today, the number one spot goes to … drum roll … “Serendipity.”

Maybe it’s because I’ve become so attuned to the romance genre, but I fell in love with this movie long before I started writing. The movie stars John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. Their chemistry is undeniable. And the supporting cast is fantastic. I won’t spoil this movie for any of you by telling you too much, but it’s a must see. In fact, I think I need to watch it tonight!

And now, I’m happy to introduce today’s author, Maureen Bonatch! I hope you’re enjoying our Christmas event. Be sure to enter to win our daily prizes.

 

Destiny Calling by Maureen Bonatch

Maureen Bonatch DestinyCalling_w9052_300 Book Cover

Hope only wants to find out if her ability to infuse euphoria or despair with her touch makes her the devil’s spawn, or his exterminator. But when the woman who raised her is murdered by something not human, she loses the only family she knew and discovers one she might wish she hadn’t.

Drawn back to the home town she vowed never to return to, her ability is seen as an asset to everyone but Hope, and she doesn’t know who to trust. Her family wants her to help them overcome an enemy oppressing the human population, while the man of her dreams is courting her for the Underworld.

Pick up a copy today at Amazon or Wild Rose Press.

12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop Button with Frame

As part of The 12 Days of Christmas celebration, Maureen donated a $5 Amazon card, paired with a bag of heart-shaped pasta from Abigail Sharpe to the prize list. Click HERE for this and many more random drawings. To follow the celebration, find a new recipe, pick up a holiday decorating or shopping tip, click HERE.

About the Author

Growing up with four siblings had Maureen familiar with escaping into a good book, or the recesses of her mind. She realized later in life everyone didn’t have characters telling stories in their heads, or weren’t envisioning magic and mayhem within the everyday. This, and long walks in the beautiful state of Pennsylvania spawned a love of writing.

Since her desire to become a Solid Gold Dancer was thwarted when the show was discontinued, Maureen opted to pursue other paths. Attempting to conquer new endeavors proved fruitful with her first novella, while other attempts, such as challenging a fear of heights with parasailing, were unsuccessful. Therefore she’s chased other interests, though none-the-less-daring, but closer to the ground, such as belly-dancing, becoming a self-proclaimed tequila connoisseur, fulfilling her role as biker babe to her alpha hubby and surviving motherhood to twins (so far).

Penning stories boasting laughter, light suspense and something magical in the hope of sharing her love of finding the extraordinary in the ordinary world.

Connect: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest

The First Day of Christmas – Darcy Flynn

Dec14

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me …

A wonderful Christmas recipe and a fantastic author! Today is the start of our 12 day event. To start things, “sweet,” I’m sharing an old family recipe. These are the best sugar cookies you’ll ever eat! The secret, (yes, I’m telling!), nutmeg. Yum!

Swedish Sugar Cookies

4 Cups Flour          1 1/2 Cups Sugar         1/2 tsp. salt (optional)      1 tsp. soda      2 tsp. nutmeg

Cut in: 1 1/2 Cups shortening

Beat:

2 Eggs and combine with 1/2 Cup canned milk and 1 tsp. vanilla

Mix with dry ingredients. When I was a little girl and didn’t have the strength I do today, I used to have to get both hands in the mix and combine it by hand. Messy, but I enjoyed licking my fingers. Of course that was back in the time when eating raw cookie dough was okay. How times have changed!

Roll the dough very thin and cut with cookie cutters. Place on greased baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 5-8 minutes. Then the real fun begins! Here’s a photo of my decorated masterpieces! ENJOY!

Swedish Sugar Cookies

Swedish Sugar Cookies

And now…something else very sweet. Or, I should say, someone sweet. My guest author today is Darcy Flynn. I’m happy to say that she’s a friend of mine, and a very accomplished author. She writes sweet romance and I know you’re going to love her!

Rogue’s Son by Darcy Flynn

Darcy Flynn Rogue's Son Book Cover

Tough, driven Kit Kendall has replaced her frills and dresses with no nonsense haircuts and wranglers, years ago. As owner of Sage Brush, the once thriving west Texas bed and breakfast ranch, she now struggles daily to keep her business afloat. Since McCabe Resort Lodge reopened next door as a multi-million dollar hotel, her financial difficulties compound, as she suffers one cancellation after another.

Just when she thought things couldn’t get any worse, Kit’s childhood sweetheart turned nemesis returns as the new owner of the resort that’s now putting her out of business, resurrecting memories she thought she’d buried long ago.

Cowboy, entrepreneur Sam Dawson has returned to Sugar Creek, Texas after six years of exile with a secret that could destroy Kit’s happiness. He left town because of it and for the past two years has secretly tried to make it right. Having failed, he now returns to make one last attempt to undo the tangled web created by his father.

Set in motion by his father’s Last Will and Testament and with the clock ticking, Sam has only weeks to convince Kit to sell him her ranch or reveal the truth that will break her heart.

Pick up a copy today at Amazon.

12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop Button with Frame

As part of The 12 Days of Christmas celebration, Darcy donated a package full of author swag, paired with a $10 Amazon card from Jennifer Faye to the prize list. Click HERE for this and many more random drawings. To follow the celebration, find a new recipe, pick up a holiday decorating or shopping tip, click HERE.

About the Author

Joy Dent writes sweet contemporary romances as Darcy Flynn. Her life is a gumbo world. Take a little New Orleans heritage, some art, music, dance and add a lot of love and time to simmer and all you have is spice, flavor, and a memory of something so fine you can’t wait for another helping. Her fiction is a few B&Bs, a bit of moon magic and a lot of problems mixed with a healthy portion of sweet romance. Add a dash of sizzle and a lot of sass and all that’s left is magic.

A native of New Orleans, Darcy swapped her city roots for garden boots when she and her husband moved to their farm in Franklin, Tennessee, where Darcy is surrounded by her beautiful gardens and a menagerie of living creatures–English setters and Millie Fleur chickens, being her favorite.

Although, published in the Christian non-fiction market under her real name, Joy Dent, it was the empty nest that turned her to writing romantic fiction. A lover of lighthouses, Darcy’s first novel, Keeper Of My Heart, is set in a small Maryland fishing village on the Chesapeake Bay. Her short story, Sealed With a Kiss: Prequel to Keeper of My Heart is available on Amazon and Smashwords.

Connect: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest | Google+

The Joys of Moving

Dec13

And you thought I’d be posting Day 1 of the 12 Days of Christmas!

Well…not only did I fool you, but I fooled myself. Leave it to me to be a day off and several brain cells short. If you’re confused, blame me. I can’t seem to keep track of the days of the week. I had it in my head that today was the kick-off for the event, but today is the day I was supposed to make the announcement that I made yesterday. (Insert rose-colored cheeks)

And why am I so frazzled? Imagine having to move three times in less than six months. It does something to the brain. I can honestly say that I’ll be able to list “professional packer” as one of my outstanding abilities on my next job application. My hope is that I’ll be able to stay in the same place for a little while longer than the last one. No, I’m not running from something or someone–that only happens in my books–I’m keeping up with my husband who was transferred with his job. The good thing for me is that I can write anywhere.

So please come back again tomorrow for Day 1 of the 12 Days of Christmas. The author I’ll be introducing is a very good friend of mine and I’m excited that she’s #1 on my list! AND the theme for tomorrow is “Dessert Recipe.” I’ll have a good one for you.

orlando26

Tomorrow the Countdown Begins!

Dec12

I’ll never forget participating in a grade school Christmas program when I was in the fourth grade. It’s amazing how certain childhood memories stick in our minds over others. I feel extremely blessed to have had many happy memories from my youth.

In the fourth grade we did a rendition of “A Partridge in a Pear Tree.” At a time when the “Partridge Family” was a big hit, the song left me hopeful to say the least! Even at that young age I thought that David Cassidy was pretty cute. “Cute” sums up my age at the time in a nutshell.

Aside from my Christmas wish that David Cassidy would appear magically on our stage, I enjoyed performing. Even without him.

I was one of the Four Calling Birds. If I remember correctly, we even had feathers! But the thing I recall the most is that I held a cardboard telephone. When it came to my part in the song, following “Four Calling Birds,” I picked up the cardboard receiver and said, “Yackety, Yackety, Yack.” Cute, right? Actually it was. My parents loved it and because I was number four in the song, I got to repeat it over and over again.

I’m sharing this fun Christmas memory to help kick off the 12 Days of Christmas event that starts officially tomorrow! Every day for the next twelve days I’ll be introducing an author and telling you about her latest release. In addition, I’ll be sharing more memories and other fun stuff. Each day will have a theme.

I hope you’ll stop by and check it out! And please, share some of your Christmas memories with me. I love this time of year and hope that you do, too!

12 Days

12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop!

Dec8

I’m so excited to announce an upcoming Christmas event that I hope you all will follow:

The 12 Days of Christmas

Join me and a group of incredibly talented authors as we share Christmas recipes, memories, favorite things, and of course blurbs on our current books! And to make this even more fun, prizes are involved!

To get a preview and see who will be participating, check out the link to our event. A great big THANK YOU goes out to Cynthia Gail, who has done a fantastic job of organizing and orchestrating this wonderful event.

http://bit.ly/1FDRSsU

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas!!