Mystic Monday

Book Reviews

Okay, I had the opportunity to read some of the books available on HSN through Ravenous Romance as well as a lot of other books. I may not always get to read the books when the authors guest blog with us, but I do try to get to them and read at least one.

YA Spotlight Books
Give Up the Ghost by Megan Crewe - I really liked this story. Okay, yeah, so I've liked most of the stories by authors featured in the YA Spotlight. The characters were well developed, all of them, including the ghosts.

Cass McKenna started seeing ghosts the night her older sister, Paige, dies. The problem is, she didn't just see Paige, but she saw others and it scared her. It scared her so much that she tells her best friend all about it, to get some perspective, but that friend abandons her. The friend tells everyone Cass' secret and they all end up taunting her, making Cass an outcast, severing their friendship. Cass' social life deteriorates to the point that she prefers the dead to the living.

As an outsider, Cass sees the cruel treatment given to the lower students for what it is, cruel and mean. Wanting to balance the scales, Cass soon learns that her otherworldly connections offer insight to do just that, so she sets her sights on putting these "uppity" people in their place by humiliating them as much as they humiliate other people or have humiliated her. Now, after a couple of years in the school of her knowing things she couldn't possibly know, Cass has earned a relatively hassle free life, even though it's as an outcast. But that's okay, because she still has Norris' face and Bitzy's dancing to look forward to everyday.

In all of her standing up for the poorly treated, there's one thing Cass has yet to accomplish, and that's getting even with Danielle. In her pursuit for revenge, nothing could have prepared Cass for what happens next. She never expected to be completely discovered, but somehow, Tim seems to have figured it out. He approaches her not because he wants to make fun of her, but because he desperately needs to talk to his mother, to know that she's alright. She was the best thing in his life, and now she's gone, and he's left with a drunken father. Cass does find his mother, but Cass soon realizes that his mother makes it Cass' mission to save Tim. Can she do it? You'll have to read the book to find out.

This book has complex characters mixed into complex storylines and plot twists. It's a page turner! I definitely recommend it!

The Harrowing by Alexandra Sokoloff - So not what I expected! Yes, I expected a tale of ghosts, but not to the extent to which this story is taken!

FOR THE MORE MATURE YA READERS - due to the content in the story. This story takes place on a college campus, so it has drinking, sex and some drug usage and harsh language in it. We know that this behavior is typical of college kids, so be sure that your teen is mature enough to handle reading about these topics. There's also some violent sex depicted here, but it's not gratuitous in anyway, it's just slightly graphic and is probably not suitable for the under 17 crowd.

Okay, now that I've given the appropriate warnings, I can tell you what I found in the pages of The Harrowing: So, what happened that I didn't expect? Well, I didn't expect the degree to which Alexandra did her homework. She really delved into the religious aspect of the spirit world and used it to tell a gripping and scary tale of mammoth proportions. This is one book I can honestly say would make an awesome scary movie to rival The Exorcist, the original version.

Five students don't go home for the Thanksgiving holiday because they all have something to avoid, which means they are all vulnerable in ways they do not understand. The main character, Robin Stone, thinks she's all alone for the holidays, but slowly comes to find out that five other people share her predicament:

Patrick - the jock boyfriend of her annoying roommate Waverly, who she secretly has been crushing on since she met him

Martin - the quiet guy in her psyche class

Cain - the cute guy who happens to play guitar and studies law, but she's never really talked to him before

Lisa - the resident slut, or at least as far as the stories, rumors, and her own outward personality go

What about Robin? What is she? Well, she is someone trying to escape life. In fact, on that first day, she is so depressed with the way she sees her life going, she wants to die. In fact, that's how she learns she's not alone. Her situation isn't helped by Waverly, who constantly puts her down and makes her feel even more inadequate than she already does. She has no relationship to speak of with her mother, which is why she doesn't go home in the first place. In an effort to console her aching soul, she goes into Waverly's stash of alcohol and pills. Robin decides that this is the best weekend to end her sorry life and no one will be there to stop her. They'll find her body when they all return from their holiday and that will be that. Robin makes her way down to the dorm common room, half-drunk already, bottle of pills in the pocket of her black skirt. As she sits there further contemplating her death and her eyes adjust to the darkness of the room, she realizes that she is not alone.

This realization puts some sort of weird fear inside her, and when she sees Patrick strut into the common room, her thoughts move to the back burner as she wonders why he made Waverly think he was going home and why he doesn't want her to know and asks for Robin's silence. For now, she has something to distract her. But for how long?

The five students are bored of studying, want to connect but are afraid to because of what it might mean, what secrets of their lives might be revealed. So, they play games to avoid any real connecting. However, the one they choose to play connects them even stronger than they ever could have expected.

What game do they play?

Why, the Ouija Board of course! But not any ordinary board, but one of the original boards from the Baltimore Board Company in the 1920's. They find more than simple parlor tricks here, much more than any of them are ready to believe or able to handle. They open a door, a door that five students did once before. Those five did not survive. What did they open the door to? Only one of them knows for sure, but he wasn't sharing because he didn't truly believe, and thought to use this "game" to prove or disprove the beliefs he's been struggling with. The struggle that kept him from going home that weekend...

What they didn't expect is that their game would go beyond the weekend and have real world consequences. None of them realized that what they opened the door to could effect the mortal coil. But when they do figure it out, they are in a race to save themselves and each other from what they unleashed.

This is a well-constructed, well-developed tale of horror with characters so well-defined and real that it's hard not to identify with at least one of them. It's a page turner that draws you in deeper and deeper. It stays with you even after you close the pages. That is how deeply haunting The Harrowing is.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone 17 and older!

Adult Romance Books
Ripping the Bodice by Inara Lavey - This story is about a woman, Cassandra, obsessed with the bodice rippers from the likes of Kathleen Woodiwiss and a host of others. She has one idea of what the perfect man is, but finds her perfect man is not what she thought.

I was excited when I was given the opportunity to read it, but was disappointed in the outcome of it. The characters are flat and the plot is weak. In my opinion, it overuses a neat idea to the point of nausea for the reader. For the 192 pages, there's not much there when you subtract the blank pages in between each chapter and the overdone, super-cheesy romantic imaginings of the main character, there's not much room left to really develop the story or the characters created.

I was hoping the author would have explored the characters of Cassandra, Connor, Rafael and Val a bit more. Why does Val choose the superficial and overly-annoying Gerald? What happened in Cassandra's life that reinforces her sexual beliefs that bodice-ripping romance books initiated? What makes Rafael seem so cold and indifferent? What about Connor? Why does he understand these romance novels so well? How is it that he knows what Cassandra is looking for?

All of these questions arise, but none of them are answered and yet we're supposed to believe that in just 3 days, Cassandra can change her outlook on romance that has been in existence her entire life.

I wanted to believe it, but there's just not enough to the characters or the plot to make it believable. It's a good start, but it needs much more work on the characters and plot before I would honestly recommend this one to anyone.

Erotica tries to distinguish itself from porn by declaring that if you remove the graphic sex scenes within the story, the story still floats. While with porn, there really isn't much to it besides the sex scenes.

My impressions of this book - that it's more like soft porn than a romance novel. Take away all the sex scenes, or hints of sex, and there's not much left to it to enjoy. How can there be when it's limited by 192 pages and 16 of them are blank and 3 of them are the title pages? Not to mention the close to 20 pages of the unnecessary cheesy romantic imaginings of the main character.

I don't mind graphically described sex scenes, but I do need a decent story to go with them and well-defined characters. People complain about the bad rep that Erotica gets, well, then change the way you write them. Add more content and develop the characters and storylines enough to be believable!

Haunted Seduction by Morgan James - So far, I'm only 23 pages in and not as turned off by this one as I was Ripping the Bodice. Of course, I wasn't impressed by the first chapter because it seemed to throw in what I consider to be gratuitous sex and not really relevant to the story, at least not right away. In fact, even though I understand why the author wanted to start with that chapter, it should have been marked as a Prologue or skipped entirely. What little information there was in that first chapter could have been sprinkled in later.

As unnecessary as I feel the first chapter is, I already feel like there is more substance to this story and the characters. Jaz seems much more defined compared to Bodice's Cassandra. No, the reason that I like this one has nothing to do with the fact that Jaz stumbles onto a defunct amusement park.

This story is proving to be a page turner already. I went to scan a few pages and had difficulty "putting it down" to come back and finish this post.

So, I guess I'd have to say that I'd recommend this one, as it seems to have a decent story with it. However, it too is only 192 pages and has a blank page after every chapter. The question here is: Does it make efficient use of the space allotted to it? I'll let you know.

Supernatural Sunday with DragonSlayer Fiona Jayde

Thank you for joining us today, Fiona. It’s a pleasure and an honor to have you here.

Fiona is multi-published with books in all heat levels from contemporary to sci-fi. In April 2010, Devil’s Isle will be released by Red Sage Publishing and in Spring 2010, Pas De Deux will be released by Samhain Publishing. Her newest release, DragonSlayer, was recently released by Noble Romance Publishing. Other publishing houses that Fiona has worked with are Ellora’s Cave, Cobblestone Press and Changeling Press. To learn more about Fiona, visit her website.

But when you’re finished surfing her website, don’t forget to click back here and read her exciting interview!

~~~~~

GRACEN: Fiona, many of us in America celebrate Christmas. However, you have a similar tradition in Russia with a New Year’s Tree. Can you tell us how that is similar or how it differs from our American holiday?

FIONA: There are a lot of similarities and differences. I grew up in the Soviet Union, where any sort of religion was prohibited. New Year took on many characteristics of Christmas with a decorated tree, plenty of tinsels, presents, and a big white-bearded guy in a red suit. The guy was called Grandfather Frost, and he had a grandaughter (whose name loosely translates to a figure made of snow).

GRACEN: That’s interesting! Do you have any other similar traditions? Like decorating your house, inside and out, having house parties, making cookies, etc.?
FIONA: Oh yeah, we had huge New Years parties! It was the only time we were allowed to stay up till midnight!

GRACEN: I know you don’t celebrate Christmas, but this question doesn’t have to be centered on Christmas. Other than money (because who doesn’t want more of that), what would be the perfect gift you could receive?

FIONA: Gosh, you know, I don’t really know. A book is always a perfect gift J

GRACEN: If you could give any of your characters a gift, which would it be and what would you give them?

FIONA: LOL honestly? Peace. I torture those guys, especially now that I’m writing longer stories. They do get their peace at the end, but then of course, there’s always sequels!

GRACEN: I need to brag on Fiona a moment because she creates amazing cover art for our books at Noble Romance Publishing. When I received the mock-up of Elfin Blood, I was amazed by how well you captured the essence of my book without having read it. So, do you have a process you follow when creating cover art? How do you think you get inside the head of authors and work up such spectacular book covers?

FIONA: Oww – thank you so much! I’d say a little luck and a lot of feedback. I try to capture the essence of a mood and a story – and make them pop with dramatic colors or lighting. Sometimes when reading a Cover Art sheet, an image pops into my head and I know exactly what I want for a cover. More often then not, I hunt for pieces/elements of a story and then somehow jigsaw them together to make sense in the overall composition.


GRACEN: Now, let’s get to your writing:

Why the paranormal genre? What was the draw for you?

FIONA: Actually I write in a lot of genres, paranormal being one of them. The beauty of paranormal is that I am the mistress of my universe and am not limited by rules of the “regular” world. A heroine with angel wings? Why the heck not!

GRACEN: If you could describe your writing with a word or phrase, what would it be? Please delve into the core of your writing to tell us what word or phrase you want readers to take with them when they've finished reading your story.

FIONA: Sharp. I love kick-ass action packed prose, and that is what I want to convey to my readers with every scene and every phrase.

GRACEN: With the current movement to encourage people to give books as gifts, what, in your opinion, makes your story unique? What makes it stand out among all the others?

FIONA: I think DragonSlayer is a perfect gift for someone who enjoyes high “classic” fantasy coupled with a strong romance and a kickass heroine. (Who has swords. Two of them)

GRACEN: Do you prefer throwing snowballs or serving hot cocoa? Does that show through in your writing? If so, how?

FIONA: Throwing snowballs. Definitely. (I’d burn the cocoa… or spill it on myself)

I think this definitely shows in my writing - bring up the earlier word – sharp. I am very physical and tomboyish. My way of dealing with stress is to beat up my punching bag rather then take a long bath. It definitely comes out in my writing – I tend to be drawn to action packed sizzling scenes.

GRACEN: Who decides what your characters do, you or your muse? What kind of influence do you have over your story, or is the muse always the one stuffing the stocking?

FIONA: Its very much a collaborative process. I’ve turned into a die hard plotter, so I usually know exactly what will happen going into the store. Then a character will look me dead in the eye and say something so outlandish and so incredibly perfect that I just have to go with it.

GRACEN: What character did you have the most fun creating and why?

FIONA: I really enjoyed Xara from DragonSlayer. She reminded me a lot of Buffy The Vampire Slayer in the earlier seasons (I LOVE Buffy!). Similar vulnerability, similar struggle between emotions and duty and strength and destiny.

GRACEN: If you had the opportunity to meet just one of your characters in real life, who would it be and why?

FIONA: I think I’d really like to meet both Xara and Griall from DragonSlayer in real life. I’d want to watch Griall turn into a dragon!!! (I’ve always had a fascination with dragons)

GRACEN: Which of your characters would you /never/ want to meet under any circumstance and why?

FIONA: I don’t think I’ve ever made a character whom I wouldn’t want to meet… Even the evil ones needed a little love.


Website: www.fionajayde.com

Trailer For DragonSlayer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI-FdNMi0qo&feature=player_embedded


BLURB:

*A Dragon's Curse*

Griall must find the woman who can release him from his curse before he becomes a Death Beast like his father. Even if the man inside him craves the Dragon Slayer's touch, he knows she must destroy the beast who shares his skin before it's too late.

*A Slayer's Pride*

Xara cannot escape the lie upon which her life is built. A Slayer who has never fought a dragon, she’ll never feel feel strong enough to be the one Griall seeks. Surely, a Slayer wouldn’t allow herself to love a beast! Xara must find a Slayer’s power to kill this dragon before his curse destroys them both.



EXCERPT:

She couldn’t breathe with his hands on her, couldn’t think with him this close. A dragon. An enemy. Her body did not care.

"Don’t touch me."

He gave her a mocking, lethal smile. "What will you do to make me stop?"

She plowed her fist into his face, heard the crack of bone. Watched as that sensual mouth bled, those light eyes narrowed. Surely he'd shift into the dragon now. His scales, his teeth would cool the lust inside her belly.

She willed him to turn into the beast. Lifted a fist again. Froze mid-swing when he pulled her toward him, tumbling them both onto the grass. She rolled on top of him, struggling to push his arms over his head. The fire in her belly flared as she cradled him between her thighs, the heat of his arousal hot and urgent against her.

She arched toward him, as forbidden pleasure coiled. While her head screamed stop, arousal bloomed inside her as she struggled, pushing herself into him, wanting more, needing more contact.

Her hands were now above her head, his heat fueling the tension gripping every muscle. Watching her eyes, Griall took his weight off her, eased to the side, claimed both her wrists in one large fist while she struggled to breathe, to calm, to think.

Slowly, his free hand traveled up, those clever fingers brushing over her lips, tracing a dark path over her neck.

She should have stopped him. She did not.

Starlight Saturday

YA Author Spotlight Presents...

Christine Hart!!!

I've asked Christine Hart back to promote her second book, Best Laid Plans, and because I just enjoy talking to her! She's such a neat person and has some true life adventures!

Don't believe me?

Well, I happened to catch her before she has to leave for her fellowship. Her fellowship is taking her to Kenya where she'll be taking some writing workshops! Talk about an adventure for Christmas!

Speaking of adventures, going to college or university might not sound like an adventure, but for some people it is.

Why?

Because getting there isn't easy. Some people has finances in the way, some have their own ambitions (or lack thereof) in the way, and some have family in the way. For Robyn, her family has always struggled with money. When they inherit an apple orchard in British Columbia from her grandmother, Robyn begins to hope that she'll be free to attend university. However, her hopes are crushed when her parents still struggle to pay the bills and need her to pitch in with her hard earned money and quit school to work in the orchard. Robyn soon realizes that if she wants her dreams to come true, she'll need to leave her family behind. But she's a smart girl, she knows she can't leave without a plan or she'll end up lost and alone on the streets.

So, does her plan work? Is she able to leave town? You'll have to read the book to find out what kind of obstacles she encounters along the way!

In the meantime, let's get to the interview:

Q: Do you have a movie that you must watch every Christmas? What's your favorite Christmas movie? Do you have a favorite Christmas character or character type?

A: I have a few favourite Christmas movies, but our family tradition is National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation – every year. I come from a family of comedy fans.

Q: Do you have any Christmas traditions like decorating your house, having house parties, making cookies etc.?

A: I used to decorate my house more than I have in the last few years, mostly because I’ve been busy writing, but also I moved back to Victoria, BC, away from friends and family. My husband and I usually travel back to the British Columbia Interior during the holidays.

Q: If you do make Christmas Cookies, what kinds will you be making this year? What was your all-time most favorite Christmas Cookie that you ever made? Why? Care to share the recipe?

A: I’m a gingerbread gal all the way – including decorative icing. I used to use store-bought dough, but I try to make from scratch now. I recently worked for a local spice company that manufactures an awesome blend of Gingerbread Spices.

Q: Do you celebrate St. Nick’s Day? Why or why not? On what day do you celebrate it, on December 6 or some other date? Are the stockings a big deal? What is the biggest present you’ve received/given for St. Nick’s Day?

A: I feel a bit silly answering this one; I hadn’t heard of St. Nick’s Day before this question. I’m familiar with Saint Nicholas, of course, but we don’t celebrate on December 6th in Canada – that I know of.

Q: Even if you don’t put one up, do prefer real or artificial trees? Why?

A: I prefer artificial trees. I wish I could say it was strictly environmental, although that’s a huge factor. I have an artificial tree for convenience. It saves the time spent getting the tree and it’s easier to clean up after.

Q: Have you ever made your own Christmas presents or decorations? If so, what were they? Were they successes or failures? Did you have fun while making them?

A: I’ve been making arts and crafts since childhood, so it seems natural to me to make centerpieces, gift decorations, and even presents, handmade from scratch. I definitely always have fun!

Q: What foods will be at your Christmas celebration this year? What is the most unusual food that you saw at a Christmas feast? Would you eat the fruitcake or use it as a doorstop?

A: This year Christmas looks a bit different for me. I’ll be attending writing workshops in Kenya, but I’m really interested to find out how they celebrate over there.

Q: Do you celebrate Christmas on the Eve or Day? Why?

A: We have a family dinner on Christmas Eve, but save presents for the morning. Then we have another family dinner that night. I’m not really sure why. It’s just our tradition.

Q: Who, if anyone, in your family plays Santa Claus to hand out the presents? Or do they just “magically” appear under the tree? How do you handle presents that just don’t fit under the tree?

A: Our presents do tend to magically appear, but I suspect my mother wears the Santa Claus hat. My sister and I have outgrown the big presents that wouldn’t fit under the tree, but if I think back, a few tree branches were sacrificed to make room for the odd box many years ago.

Q: Tell us 3 funny or strange things that happened to you, or someone you know, on past Christmases.

A: When I was a kid, I had a strange knack for coming down with a major cold or flu each Christmas. I’d often manage to get sick on other holidays too – Halloween, Easter, birthdays – all the good ones.

Q: Do you send out greeting cards to your friends and family? Why or why not? What greeting do you like to see on the greeting cards you send? On the ones you receive?

A: I used to send out greeting cards, thoughtfully written in lovely metallic pen. But they’ve gone the way of decorations and baking – crossed off the to-do list when writing takes precedence. I’ve sent electronic cards before and even posted a card collage on my blog. Not having time for real cards makes me appreciate the ones I receive even more, so regardless of what they say, I’m impressed.

Q: Other than money (because who doesn’t want more of that), what would your ultimate gift be?

A: Travel. I love to experience faraway places and connect to new and interesting parts of the world. It doesn’t make sense to everyone as it leaves behind only souvenirs as a tangible presence. But I’ve never been much for expensive things or acquiring ‘stuff’, so a fascinating trip is the best present for me.

Now, let’s get to your writing:

Q: Why the young adult genre? What was the draw for you?

A: I found my way to YA literature through a bit of meandering, actually. Trained as a journalist and business communicator, I had technical writing skills. But I still loved to draw and paint. It didn’t take much searching to connect the two pieces, so I started out trying to write picture books and illustrate them myself. However, it had been many years since art class and the stories that came more naturally fell into the young adult category. I started dabbling and soon had my first manuscript.

Q: If you could describe your writing with a word or phrase, what would it be? Please delve into the core of your writing to tell us what word or phrase you want readers to take with them when they've finished reading your story.

A: Personal. I tell stories that, while fictional, come from my own experiences or those of the people closest to me. I take the saying, “write what you know,” very much to heart. I try to create characters that make meaningful connections with readers, inspired by the many characters in other stories that have stayed with me over the years.

Q: With the current movement to encourage people to give books as gifts, what, in your opinion, makes your story unique? What makes it stand out among all the others?

A: I think my setting is unique, for young adult readers, in that I try to authentically represent rural British Columbia. Much of the YA literature I enjoy is, naturally, set in urban environments that foster fast-paced stories. But coming back to, “write what you know,” I’m best suited to writing within the parts of BC I know best – the Okanagan and Vancouver Island.

Q: Do you prefer throwing snowballs or serving hot cocoa? Does that show through in your writing? If so, how?

A: Today, I’d have to say hot cocoa. I even have a recipe (hint: the secret ingredient is vanilla extract). But I used to throw snowballs and I’m always trying to find that girl again, even if only in my head.

Q: Who decides what your characters do, you or your muse? What kind of influence do you have over your story, or is the muse always the one stuffing the stocking?

A: My characters make most of their own decisions, but I do have to take over from time to time. Every so often, one of my protagonists will crawl too far into her head and I’ll have to step in and keep her moving to get the story back on track.

Q: What character did you have the most fun creating and why?

A: I’m working on several projects at the moment that have all been fun so far – a new young adult title and a trilogy for more of a “new adult,” or early twenties audience. I’ve been envisioning my trilogy as sort of an older youth cyberpunk story. I heard the term “new adult” recently and I got excited, realizing that if the term had arisen, then enough authors were thinking of their stories in the same terms.

Q: If you had the opportunity to meet just one of your characters in real life, who would it be and why?

A: I’ve been writing speculative short stories for adults – I’d love to meet any of those characters in person. All the usual suspects are in there; demons, witches, cursed women, mutants.

Q: Which of your characters would you never want to meet under any circumstance and why?

A: Well, I’d have to say Ryan, the antagonist from Watching July. He’s the only one of my characters that is an actual murderer. I think he’s pretty dangerous.

Q: If you could give any of your characters a Christmas gift, who would it be and what would you get them?

A: I would get Robyn, my protagonist from Best Laid Plans, a gorgeous winter pea coat. She’s in Ontario now and has never had a proper warm coat to begin with.

Q: If you could be any Christmas Character, who would it be and why?

A: I’d like to be Cindy Lou Who. It would be so wonderful to experience the holidays again with that level of anticipation and excitement.

BLURB: Best Laid Plans

Robyn Earle has dreamt of a better life as long as she can remember. Trapped by poverty, an alcoholic father and a depressed mother, Robyn feels like her dreams of attending university and having a career are impossible.

After meeting her first boyfriend, tasting the affluent life of her aunt, and watching her younger sister deal with an unplanned pregnancy, Robyn understands that only she can turn her life around – and the only problems she can solve are hers.

Clinging to the hope that she can both fix her family and make her break for a cosmopolitan life, Robyn is forced to make a choice between her family’s future and her own.

EXCERPT:

After a quiet, tense car ride, Robyn arrived home to find the front screen door dismantled on the porch.

“Why exactly is the screen door off its hinges?” she said, knowing fully that she was looking at another one of her father’s repair projects.

“Never you mind; I’ve got it under control. Go eat your dinner,” her dad grumped.

“Mom … Dad’s wrecking the door!” she called ahead bravely as she walked past.

“Don’t be such a wiseass!” said her dad with a snap.

Robyn knew he was going to have a lot of trouble with that door. He had tried to fix the tool shed, several tattered apple baskets, broken ladders, and even the roof last year. His attempts to fix things usually ended in a crappy job, the problem made worse and left hanging, or marginally improved by one of his buddies coming to ‘help out’ with a six-pack.

PHANTASM FRIDAY RECIPES

With Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas fast approaching, I’m constantly thinking of food. What to make, if I have the necessary ingredients, or making a grocery list for the items I need. My mother is even calling and asking questions about the upcoming Christmas meal.

Food…food…FOOD!

I’m thinking…ham or turkey? Or both? Pecan pie or Red Velvet Cake? Or both? Dear God, how does one pick between those two? *licks lips in anticipation* Dressing, peas, Mayonnaise Biscuits and Chicken Corn Chowder are Christmas meal staples, so I know I have to purchase the necessary ingredients for those items.

So, with food on the brain, and with everyone sharing their favorite Thanksgiving meal last week, and Nicola Cornick sharing her Husband’s Macadamian Nut Cookies, yesterday (go here to read), I thought it’d be fun to share some recipes with one another and maybe we’ll each find something new to put on the Christmas table this year. But it doesn’t have to be a Christmas food item. I’d still love to hear your favorite food.

So, provided it doesn’t violate trade secrets, share, share, share your favorite recipes! ;-)

I’ll share several of my favorite recipes with you, all of them easy, because with my boys’ busy schedule, I need fast and easy.

Mayonnaise Biscuits
1 cup self-rising flower
4 teaspoons of mayonnaise
1 cup of milk

Mix all ingredients together and pour batter into muffin pan. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20-30 minutes or until golden on top. Voila! You have the easiest biscuits ever created! This is my husband’s grandmother’s recipe and everyone I’ve ever cooked these for love them. Most of the time when I ask what I can bring to a gathering, “Mayonnaise Biscuits” is what comes out of everyone’s mouth. LOL

A way to give them a little pizzazz is to add some shredded cheese into the batter and bake as above. Yummy!

~~~~~

Chicken Corn Chowder
2 chicken breasts
4 cups of milk
1 can of Cream of Potato soup (if you want more potatoes, then add a 2nd can)
2 cups of shredded cheese
2 cans of Mexican Corn (1 can works just as well if you’re not a huge fan of corn)

Boil the chicken until done, then shred it. Combine all ingredients in a large boiler and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently or the milk will scorch. Once the cheese is melted, it is ready to serve and eat! Chicken Corn Chowder is great with Mayonnaise Biscuits too.

~~~~~
And every year we bake Peanut Butter Cookies especially for Santa Claus.

Peanut Butter Cookies
1 cup of peanut butter (your choice of creamy or crunchy)
1 cup of sugar
1 egg

Spray a cookie sheet with a non-stick spray. Mix all ingredients, form into balls, place on cookie sheet and use a fork to flatten them. Bake at 350 degrees until toothpick comes away clean.

~~~~~

I hope you all enjoy these recipes as much as we do here in our home. Now, your turn…The Moonlighters want to know your favorite recipes.

WARNING: If you don't share, we'll sic one of Santa's elves on you...

SANTA'S FEARSOME ELVES IF YOU DON'T PLAY NICE

SCARED YET?

All photos taken from Photobucket and no copyright infringement is intended.

Twilight Thursday

The Heart of Christmas


Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing three very terrific and talented authors who've been brought together into one scrumptious anthology,
The Heart of Christmas, Mary Balogh, Courtney Milan, and Nicola Cornick!!!

Mary has a tight schedule today, but had a few minutes to squeeze in some questions. She’ll join us a bit later and said to start the interview without her. In that case, let’s start with some fun holiday trivia:

ME: Do you have a movie that you must watch every Christmas? What's your favorite Christmas movie? Do you have a favorite Christmas character or character type?

COURTNEY: The answer is boring: No. I don’t even have a television. Also, I have a day job in addition to my writing, so I don’t have any spare time. This means I don’t watch movies.

I do like to put the Messiah on in the background while I work.

NICOLA: I watch “Mamma Mia!” every holiday. It’s not a Christmas movie but it is something that I can sit down to watch with my family and friends. It brings us all together and it’s warm, romantic, happy and feel-good. Plus those lovely sunny seaside scenes are just what I need when I’m shivering in a cold English winter!

ME: Do you have any Christmas traditions like decorating your house, having house parties, making cookies etc.?

COURTNEY: If there is any consistent tradition, it is my inability to even accomplish the most basic of crafts (see: lack of spare time. See also: klutziness). I don’t even want to think what would happen if I tried to put up Christmas lights.

NICOLA: We always decorate the house. We have an old cottage and we hang fairy lights, cards and decorations along the beams. My husband makes the Christmas Cookies!

ME: If you do make Christmas Cookies, what kinds will you be making this year? What was your all-time most favorite Christmas Cookie that you ever made? Why? Care to share the recipe?

COURTNEY: I’m not the person to ask for recipes—a character trait that I managed to channel into my novella, the heroine’s brother manages to burn things that no sane person could ever burn. In honor of terrible cooks, both real and fictional, I present:

Worst. Cookies. Ever.

Stir together 3 C flour, 1 t baking soda, ½ t baking powder. Forget you already added baking soda, so add another tablespoon.

Cream together 1 C butter, 1 C sugar, 1 egg (include generous portion of shell). Unlabeled soy sauce looks just like vanilla, so add a teaspoon.

Blend dry ingredients with butter mixture. Drop in cookie-sized blobs on baking sheet. Bake at 375 F.

Start reading novella by Mary Balogh--or Nicola Cornick--or, ahem, Courtney Milan. Forget cookies for three hours, until the smoke detector goes off. Open windows and turn on fan to dissipate smoke, even though it is extremely cold outside. Sheepishly remove charred bits from oven and hide them from family.

NICOLA: My husband is a bit of a star in the kitchen and he makes the best macadamia nut cookies I’ve tasted. He adds white chocolate to represent the snowflakes! Here is the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1/2 cups brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

12 oz. white chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups chopped macadamia nuts

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Lightly grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

Cream butter and sugars in large bowl until blended and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.

Blend in flour, baking soda, and salt.

Stir in white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until firm. Remove to wire tray to cool.

ME: Do you celebrate St. Nick’s Day? Why or why not? On what day do you celebrate it, on December 6 or some other date? Are the stockings a big deal? What is the biggest present you’ve received/given for St. Nick’s Day?

COURTNEY: I don’t celebrate St. Nick’s day, because I have never heard of it. If you want to know what day I don’t celebrate it on, it is on all days, and the biggest present I have ever received for St. Nick’s Day is nothing, which, coincidentally, is the biggest present I’ve ever given, too.

NICOLA: December 6th is my aunt’s birthday so there is always a family celebration dinner that day. We celebrate Christmas with stockings and presents and all the works on 25th December.

ME: Even if you don’t put one up, do prefer real or artificial trees? Why?

COURTNEY: Real. I love the scent of pine tree, and nothing says “Christmas” to me like the smell of Douglas Fir in the air.

NICOLA: I love the scent of real Christmas trees but the ceilings are so low in our cottage that most of the real trees are too big to fit inside! Instead we have a beautiful golden tree that we decorate with angels and lights, and that fits on the window seat in the living room.

ME: Have you ever made your own Christmas presents or decorations? If so, what were they? Were they successes or failures? Did you have fun while making them?

COURTNEY: Any such hypothetical attempts would have been abject failures, and thus, if they would have occurred, which they didn’t, I would pretend they never existed.

NICOLA: I have to admit that I haven’t made my own presents or decorations because I have no talent whatsoever in that direction. My creativity takes a different form! My sister-in-law, however, makes all her own Christmas cards and we know that each year we will get a beautiful, personalized homemade card from her, which I think is wonderful.

ME: What foods will be at your Christmas celebration this year? What is the most unusual food that you saw at a Christmas feast? Would you eat the fruitcake or use it as a doorstop?

COURTNEY: I will eat anything if I am on deadline and hungry enough: fruit cake, small bats fried and served with peach chutney, Cheetos. This questionnaire presupposes a level of free time that I just don’t have.

On Christmas day, I will probably spend a few hours writing. Mr. Milan will think about dinner.

NICOLA: We are having Christmas with my husband’s family this year so I’m not sure what is on the menu. It will be a lovely surprise! Where I come from in the North of England it’s traditional to eat fruitcake with cheese. A delicious slice of cake and a crumbly Wensleydale cheese is a real Christmas treat.

ME: Do you celebrate Christmas on the Eve or Day? Why?

COURTNEY: On the day. Why? Because I am unoriginal enough to celebrate Christmas day on Christmas day.

NICOLA: We go to the Midnight carol service on Christmas Eve and then we celebrate with the family on Christmas Day.

ME: Who, if anyone, in your family plays Santa Claus to hand out the presents? Or do they just “magically” appear under the tree? How do you handle presents that just don’t fit under the tree?

COURTNEY: Well, right now “my family” is me and my husband and the dog and cat. My husband and I give our presents to each other. The dog and the cat just chase each other and don’t notice their presents at all.

NICOLA: All the presents appear under the tree and then all the children hand them around to everyone on Christmas morning!

ME: Tell us 3 funny or strange things that happened to you, or someone you know, on past Christmases.

COURTNEY: I’m getting the impression that you think I must be this crisp, cool, put-together woman who has time for arts and crafts, and who remembers all sorts of details. The truth is, I’d be hard pressed to remember three things that happened to me today. Most of my life is really a gigantic blur. Asking me to delve into years past… it’s just not going to happen.

So here’s a funny thing that happened to me today: I remembered to get cat litter from the store, and I’m not even out yet. This is massive.

NICOLA: Well, I can think of a couple of tings. There was the year that my husband and I were attending a Christmas Ball at the local Air Force base on Christmas Eve and it snowed so much we were all stuck and ended up having to dig the cars out in our ball gowns and dinner jackets and dress uniforms! Then there was my spooky Christmas story when we were living in a haunted cottage a few years ago. I was carrying the presents downstairs and had my arms full so when I got into the living room I jokingly asked the resident ghost to turn the lights on for me. All the lights came on and the music started to play and I was so shocked I nearly dropped all the presents!

ME: Do you send out greeting cards to your friends and family? Why or why not? What greeting do you like to see on the greeting cards you send? On the ones you receive?

COURTNEY: I always intend to, and then remember that I haven’t sent anything on December 23rd and tell myself, “Next year, send cards early!” It never happens.

I don’t care what greetings I get. I’m just delighted to hear from people who I care about.

NICOLA: Somehow, this question just disappeared…hmmm…wonder how that happened?

ME: Other than money (because who doesn’t want more of that), what would your ultimate gift be?

COURTNEY: Time. I would rather get time than money.

NICOLA: I’d like to give the ultimate Christmas gift of snow on Christmas Day to my nieces and nephews. It doesn’t snow much here in the South of England any more (the time we were snowed in was 20 years ago!) and I know that they would be beyond excited if it did. And I’d enjoy that quite a lot too!

ME: It’s time for us to take a short break as Mary has just arrived! While she gets settled into her chair for the interview, let’s take a break with a glimpse into the first of three stories in The Heart of Christmas anthology, This Wicked Gift by Courtney Milan:

BLURB:

William White wanted Lavinia Spencer the first time he saw her working in her father’s lending library. When her father becomes ill and the family finances take a turn for the worse, he realizes that necessity might force her to marry someone else—an unacceptable future, as that would mean he could never have her. He wants her forever, but on his salary that’s outside the realm of possibility. Instead, he’s willing to settle for a bare—in fact, one might say a naked—minimum. But when he sets his plan in action, he discovers that finances or no finances, there are some things money just can’t buy. That’s not going to stop him from trying to purchase them.

EXCERPT:

He set his hand deliberately atop hers.

Oh, she knew she should pull away. Pull away, and slap him for taking liberties with her person. But the evening’s events had left her so cold—and his hand was so warm—and by all that was holy, after a year of encouraging Mr. William Q. White to do more than just look at her, she was not about to raise objections to a little liberty.

“I know what ‘Vinny’ is short for. As it happens, I prefer Lavinia.” He leaned over her.

He said it as if he preferred her, not just her name. Lavinia’s lungs seized. She could smell the starch of his cravat. He’s going to kiss me, she thought. Her nipples pressed, painfully peaked, against her stays. His thumb ran along her wrist, down the curve of her fingers. Lavinia felt her lips part. She might even have arched up towards him, just a little. She focused on the pink of his mouth, so close to hers.

He’s going to kiss me, and I am going to let him.

Instead, he released her hand. She could still feel the imprint of his fingers against hers as he stepped away.

“Miss Spencer, I do believe we’ll talk tomorrow.” He smiled. Before she could point out that tomorrow was Sunday and the lending library would be closed, he tipped his hat at her and set it on his head. “Come find me at one.”

And then Mr. William Q. White strode away, the tails of his coat flapping at her. The bell jingled. The door shut. Lavinia raised her burning hand to her unkissed lips and looked down.

It was only then she realized he hadn’t been angling for a kiss at all.

He’d taken the slip of foolscap containing the address of the man who’d cheated James.

ME: Well, now, that was a tantalizing tidbit! Does anyone else feel warm? Is it suddenly hotter in here, or is it just me? Well, the show continues! Welcome to the set Mary! Glad you had some time in your day to join us! Now that I have all three of you here, I’d like to get to the writing portion of the interview.

ME: Why the Romance, Historical, or Regency genre? What was the draw for you?

MARY: There are two main reasons why I write romance. The news media bombards us with far too much doom and gloom. There is very little to balance it. But I refuse to accept that the world and humanity are so without hope. I also believe that love is the most powerful force there is, weak as it sometimes seems. I like to write stories in which love prevails and committed relationships work. I refuse to believe that these themes are unrealistic. And even if they are, readers need something with which to relax, something about which to feel good.

COURTNEY: I’ve always loved historical romances, and so it just seemed natural to write one when I started…

What? You don’t believe that? Okay, I admit it. I write historicals because I have this dream that in two hundred years, when my debut novel is in the public domain, someone will write Proof by Seduction and Zombies.

NICOLA: Well, first of all I knew that I had to be a historical author because history has always been so vivid and fascinating for me, ever since I was a child. Within that the Regency has always been one of my favorite periods to read and write about because of the intriguing contrasts between the glitter and glamour of high society and the darker side of life. I think that’s a rich background to explore. Then there is the fact that it was a period of huge change with the Napoleonic Wars, the Industrial Revolution, travel and exploration… It ‘s a very exciting period of history against which to set a book.

ME: If you could describe your writing with a word or phrase, what would it be? Please delve into the core of your writing to tell us what word or phrase you want readers to take with them when they've finished reading your story.

MARY: Passion, I think, is the one word I would like readers to apply to my work. Passion for life and—more important—passion for love. Love is such a vast, many-faceted thing. Romantic and sexual love are only two facets of it. My stories concentrate on these two, but I like to include others. I like to show that my heroes and heroines have to accept and love who they are before they can offer all the love they are capable of giving or accept all the love others are willing to offer them. In building stories around this basic theme, I become passionate about my characters and their love stories.

COURTNEY: The only phrase I can think of to describe my writing is: “indescribable with a word or phrase.”

NICOLA: Stimulating! Hopefully they are fun and stimulate thought, conversation, ideas…

ME: With the current movement to encourage people to give books as gifts, what, in your opinion, makes your story unique? What makes it stand out among all the others?

MARY: A Handful of Gold is the love story of polar opposites. The hero is wealthy and jaded. He is not interested in joining his family for Christmas but chooses instead to spend the holiday with a friend and their mistresses—except that he has to hire someone for the occasion. The heroine is poor and puts her family before all else. Her sick sister needs medicine, and Verity is willing to give herself in order to provide it, even if doing so means spending Christmas away from her family as the mistress of a man she does not even know. But Christmas does not fail either one. It has miracles in store for both.

COURTNEY: My novella is unique in that it is packaged alongside stories from Mary Balogh and Nicola Cornick. This really makes it stand out, as Mary Balogh and Nicola Cornick are both fabulous authors.

NICOLA: I aim for all my books to be fresh, fascinating and unusual. They might have a different background (my next Regency is set in London and the Arctic) or they might have a new twist on an old Regency theme.

ME: Do you prefer throwing snowballs or serving hot cocoa? Does that show through in your writing? If so, how?

MARY: Remaining neutral on this one.

COURTNEY: I actually prefer throwing hot cocoa, if you must know, and yes, my penchant for not choosing either of the obvious answers does show through in my writing.

NICOLA: Interesting question! I’m the one who enjoys serving the cocoa although I was in the school rounders team so I can throw pretty well! There’s usually a best friend character in my books who is on hand to offer the hero or heroine tea and advice if required. Perhaps that’s me with my hot cocoa!

ME: Who decides what your characters do, you or your muse? What kind of influence do you have over your story, or is the muse always the one stuffing the stocking?

MARY: The thing about a muse is that it is not really an external thing, something that invades one's mind from outer space or another dimension. It is something that is there in one's sub-conscious all the time. Sometimes I am tempted to say that I have no control over either my characters or my stories. Certainly they seem to create themselves. But I am not a medium. I am a writer with a powerful imagination. There is not room for it all in my conscious mind, so when it comes bubbling out from the sub-conscious it seems as if it has come from nowhere. It is all me, however. And it is the conscious part of my mind that shapes it all into a meaningful whole.

COURTNEY: I don’t have a muse. They forgot to issue me one. I write by the process of rewriting everything that doesn’t work, and then going back and relentlessly rewriting everything that still doesn’t work. I stop when either (a) everything works or (b) I can’t possibly look at the story any longer.

NICOLA: I tend to have an idea of what my characters are like when I embark on the story, but my muse will always pick up my ideas, shake them around and change them without warning. I’m used to this now and I’ve learned to follow my instinct.

ME: Okay, everyone, it’s time to take a short break as Mary has another stop in her schedule to make and needs to leave now. When we return, we’ll continue with this very fun interview! Now, let's check out A Handful of Gold by Mary Balogh

BLURB:

Julian Dare, Viscount Folingsby, does not want to go home for Christmas because his father has a potential bride waiting for him there, and Julian does not like the girl. Instead, he chooses to accept an invitation from a friend to spend a cozy Christmas at the friend’s hunting box. Each of them is to take a woman with him. Since Julian does not currently have a resident mistress, he decides to invite Blanche Heyward, a beautiful dancer and the newest sensation at a London opera house. His motives are entirely selfish and self-centered. He wants a good time.

That is all.

Verity Ewing, whose stage name is Blanche Heyward, is actually a respectable lady, but she needs money, and plenty of it, in order to keep her sister alive. She needs more than even her scandalous employment as a dancer can bring in. And so she accepts Julian’s invitation, sacrificing herself for her sister’s sake. Her motives are entirely selfless. She expects this to be the worst Christmas of her life.

Neither gets quite what they wanted or expected. Julian does not have a particularly good time--not in the way he anticipated anyway. And Verity does not have the worst Christmas of her life--far from it.

In fact, the magic of Christmas has strange and wonderful things in store for this unsuspecting and entirely ill-assorted pair.

EXCERPT:

Verity Ewing, alias Blanche Heyward, dancer, has accepted an invitation to dine tête-à-tête with Julian Dare, Viscount Folingsby after the opera one evening. She suspects that he wants her as his mistress, and she is considering accepting if he offers. She desperately needs the money for her ailing sister. But the prospect of sinking so low horrifies her. She is already hiding from her mother and sister the fact that she is a dancer. Julian for his part is intent upon persuading Blanche to spend Christmas with him at his friend's hunting box in the country. The evening is going well for him. But Verity is very uncomfortable and not at all sure she can go through with her plan. That is when she unwisely picks up a pear from the dish of fruit on the table.

"You came to London to seek your fortune?" he asked. "You have not danced anywhere else?"

She hesitated. But she did not want him to think her inexperienced, easy to manipulate. "Oh, of course," she said. "For several years, my lord." She smiled into his eyes as she reached for a pear from the dish of fruit. "But all roads lead eventually to London, you know."

She was startled by the look of naked desire that flared in his eyes for a moment as he followed the movement of her hand. But it was soon veiled behind his lazy eyelids and slightly mocking smile.

"Of course," he said softly. "And those of us who spend most of our time here are only too delighted to benefit from the experience in the various arts such persons as yourself have acquired elsewhere."

Verity kept her eyes on the pear she was peeling. It was unusually juicy, she was dismayed to find. Her hands were soon wet with juice. And her heart was thumping. Suddenly, and quite inexplicably, she felt as if she had waded into deep waters, indeed. The air fairly bristled between them. She licked her lips and could think of no reply to make.

His voice sounded amused when he spoke again. "Having peeled it, Miss Heyward," he said, "you are now obliged to eat it, you know. It would be a crime to waste good food."

She lifted one half of the pear to her mouth and bit into it. Juice cascaded to her plate below, and some of it trickled down her chin. She reached for her napkin in some embarrassment, knowing that he was watching her. But before she could pick it up, he had reached across the table and one long finger had scooped up the droplet of juice that was about to drip onto her gown. She raised her eyes, startled, to watch him carry the finger to his mouth and touch it to his tongue. His eyes remained on her all the while.

Verity felt a sharp stabbing of sensation down through her abdomen and between her thighs. She felt a rush of color to her cheeks. She felt as if she had been running for a mile uphill.

"Sweet," he murmured.

She jumped to her feet, pushing at her chair with the backs of her knees. Then she wished she had not done so. Her legs felt decidedly unsteady. She crossed to the fireplace again and reached out her hands as if to warm them, though she felt as if the fire might better be able to take warmth from her.

She drew a few steadying breaths in the silence that followed. And then she could see from the corner of one eye that he had come to stand at the other side of the hearth. He rested one arm along the high mantel. He was watching her. The time had come, she thought. She had precipitated it herself. Within moments the question would be asked and must be answered. She still did not know what that answer would be, or perhaps she did. Perhaps she was just fooling herself to believe that there was still a choice. She had made her decision back in the greenroom—no, even before that. This was a tavern, part of an inn. No doubt he had bespoken a bedchamber here, as well as a private dining room. Within minutes, then…

How would it feel? She did not even know exactly what she was to expect. The basic facts, of course…

"Miss Heyward," he asked her, making her jump again, "what are your plans for Christmas?"

ME: Well, that was quite a juicy tidbit! It was pretty warm before, but it feels even hotter now! Who turned the thermostat up? No one owning up to that huh? Oh well, let’s continue on with the interview before I get completely distracted.

ME: What character did you have the most fun creating and why?

COURTNEY: Lavinia Spencer, without a doubt, was ridiculously fun. She is practical yet optimistic, wise and yet young, innocent and yet worldly.

NICOLA: In this particular story, The Season for Suitors, I enjoyed creating the heroine, Clara Davencourt. She is a girl with a lot of courage. She proposed to the hero rather than waiting for him to propose to her!

ME: If you had the opportunity to meet just one of your characters in real life, who would it be and why?

COURTNEY: I would find it seriously disturbing if I met any of my characters in real life, and would take it as a sign that I had been working too much and needed to go see a shrink.

NICOLA: That’s a tough choice! I’d quite like to meet the cast of characters in my most recent trilogy, The Brides of Fortune. They heroines had such a strong friendship uniting them and the heroes were the sort of men I admire, fighting for the things that they believed in.

ME: Which of your characters would you never want to meet under any circumstance and why?

COURTNEY: I never want to meet any of them (see above note re: tenuous grasp on reality). Especially since I write in historical times. Regency England doesn’t have a working 3G network, and so my iPhone wouldn’t work back then. All kinds of uncomfortableness would result.

NICOLA: Hah! That would be Sir Montague Fortune in The Brides of Fortune. He was completely lacking in the generosity, kindness and the Christmas spirit.

ME: If you could give any of your characters a Christmas gift, who would it be and what would you get them?

COURTNEY: Confession: I am happy if I manage to get my parents Christmas presents before December 24th. Christmas shopping is stressful enough as it is for me, shopping for people who do exist; I can’t possibly think of adding in shopping for people who don’t actually exist. My characters are fictional, and so I’m perfectly happy not getting them anything, and I’ll write them as perfectly happy not receiving anything, either.

NICOLA: Well, Seb Fleet in The Season for Suitors could do with a ladder for Christmas to save him risking life and limb climbing up to Clara’s window on the ivy!

ME: If you could be any Christmas Character, who would it be and why?

COURTNEY: If you haven’t noticed by now, it’s Scrooge of Christmas Present, all the way. Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses? Bah humbug!

NICOLA: I’d like to be The Ghost of Christmas Past in A Christmas Carol so that I could go back in time and have a good old nostalgic look at happy Christmases through history!

ME: Let’s wrap up this marvelous interview with a glimpse into The Season for Suitors by Nicola Cornick!

BLURB:

Two years before, Clara Davencourt had proposed to the Duke of Fleet and been rejected. Now she needs his help in dealing with the Ton's most notorious fortune hunters.

EXCERPT:

Until that moment, he had promised himself that he would walk away. Clara Davencourt was not for him and in the thinking part of his anatomy he knew it. He was full of good intentions. And then she gave her hand to Lord Elton to lead her into the dance, and a powerful wash of possessiveness swept through Fleet and he started to walk towards her.

One kiss. He would take one kiss and then he would leave her alone forever. He promised himself that.

He noted the precise moment that she saw his approach. Her blue eyes narrowed with a disbelief she could not quite conceal. She caught her full lower lip between her teeth for a second before she turned aside to respond to something that Elton was saying. The same honey coloured curl that he had touched earlier in the darkness now curled in the hollow of her throat. She looked both fragile and formidably determined. He could see defiance radiating from every inch of her body...

ME: I don’t know about the rest of you, but it’s sweltering in here now! I think I need to go find that thermostat readjust it before I melt! But before I do that, I would like to thank Courtney, Mary, and Nicola for joining us today! It’s been a real treat and I hope that you’ll find The Heart of Christmas in your stockings, shoes, or whatever when St. Nick comes to visit (whatever time of the year he stops by) because it is such a treat!

Please look for these books also by our visiting authors:

   

For more information on these and other books by these authors, please visit:
www.courtneymilan.com
www.marybalogh.com
www.nicolacornick.co.uk