Four sweet Christmas stories from your favorite romance authors to
warm your heart for the holidays.
Halo's Wish-Sharon Kleve: Halo Ann Carlyle wishes for a home, family,
and a boat-load of pets. What she gets is a bruised hip, a lump on the head, a
broken ankle, and her new yellow Honda Civic is demolished. Rich McFarland, a
sexy veterinarian, keeps showing up in the most unexpected places, promising
everything she's ever wanted. Halo believes she only has time to pursue her
career as a pet detective and must ignore her growing attraction to achieve her
dreams. Will Halo trust her heart, and find a way to get both before Christmas?
Excerpt:
She'd just placed another call through to Pemsky's office, which
went straight to his voicemail, when the office door opened. Halo smiled and
looked up into dreamy, gold-flecked green eyes, short sandy brown hair, a
slight cleft chin, and full lips set in a hard line. Even with the stern look
he had on his face, my hormones jumped into overdrive.
Mr. Dreamy cleared his throat—she must've been staring. In her
most professional voice she said, "Good morning. How may I help you?"
He removed a piece of paper from his shirt pocket and unfolded the
sheet.
"I was parked in front of the Beacon Hill Ale House and my
driver's side mirror was sideswiped by one of Pemsky's Security's SUV's Friday
night."
Halo loved the Beacon Hill Ale House. Every
Saturday night the Ale House allowed local bands to jam together. That's where
she'd met her last loser boyfriend.
She'd had a lot of loser boyfriends. She's currently on a hiatus from dating,
but she wouldn't mind jumping back into the dating game for this dream-boat.
He handed her the piece of paper.
"I wasn't able to get a look at the driver, but I got the
license plate number of the vehicle that hit my car and drove away."
He emphasized the last part.
"I'm very sorry about your car. I'm sure Mr. Pemsky will be
happy to cover the damage." Halo checked the company log and Pemsky's name
popped up as the driver—she gulped.
Sharon Kleve's Bio:
Sharon Kleve was born and
raised in Washington and currently lives on the Olympic Peninsula with her
husband.
Sharon is a writer of
paranormal and contemporary romance. She loves romance. She loves reading
romance, living romance, and especially loves writing about romance. She gets
no greater feeling than watching her characters come alive in each other's
arms. Most of all, she loves giving her characters the happily ever after they
deserve—with a few bumps and bruises
along the way.
One of her favorite things
to do is picking up a new book and sinking into the story, immersing herself in
the emotions between the characters. She hopes to inspire her readers the same
way her favorite authors have inspired her.
When not writing, she can usually
be found either curled up in her recliner with her cat and a good book, or in
the kitchen baking sourdough bread or bagels.
Find
out more about Sharon Kleve by visiting here:
Central Bark at Christmas-Jennifer Conner: When Tennyson’s boyfriend left her for her best friend from
high-school, all Tennyson received in the break up was her dog. She’s
sworn off men and now is
rebuilding her life. The only thing Par does is work. He barely has time to do
anything he wants for himself other than take his dog to the dog park. When Par
and Tennyson find an abandoned dog at the park named Duke. Will they find room
in their hearts to take him in? And can this Christmas season weave some
special magic for the two of them?
Excerpt:
“I’m happy this wasn’t your worst
date ever, because I had a great time.” He lifted her chin with the tips of his
finger. Slowly he lowered his head until she thought she would die of anticipation.
He clamped his hands to her waist and gazed into her eyes. “You’re so
beautiful…” There was depth and sincerity in the tone of his voice. She felt
special. Desired. He dropped his head and kissed her.
Gentle at first and then deep.
She couldn’t breathe. He’d sucked all the air from her lungs, but there was no
way she wanted him to stop. As she brushed his firm lips to hers, she relished
the feel of her blood simmering in her veins. Par slid his fingers through her
long hair to cradle and position her head to kiss her even more thoroughly.
His lips pulled away from hers
and he stepped back. She reached for the roof of the car to steady herself. Oh.
My. God… could this man kiss.
“Not bad for a first date,” he
whispered and then kissed her gently again.
Okay…
so it was a date. After that kiss it turned into an ‘official date’ and
she had no regrets at all.
Jennifer Conner Bio:
Jennifer Conner is a best-selling Northwest author who has
over thirty short stories on ebook and three full-length books in print. She
writes in Contemporary Romance, Paranormal Romance, Historical Romance, and
Erotica. Shot in the Dark hit Amazon at #1 in Romantic Suspense and Christmas
Chaos was #2 in the Romance category. Her novel Shot in the Dark was a finalist
in the Emerald City Opener, Cleveland, and Toronto RWA contests.
Jennifer
is an Associate Publisher for the indie e-book company Books to Go Now that
resides in the Seattle area. Books to Go Now offers professional editing, cover
design, multiple book format file creation, and most important--publicity.
Their staff works to help make our author books a success one book at a time.
She lives in a hundred year old house that she grew up in. Her semi-small town
holds an interesting mix of resident hillbillies, yuppies and Navy Seals. And
of course Seattle, only a few miles away, is the birthplace of Starbucks so
coffee is always on the check list. She blows glass beads with a blow torch,
(which relieves a lot of stress and people don't bother you).
Find
out more about Jennifer Conner by visiting here:
Christmas Wishes-Danica Winters: For most, Christmas is a time for family, love, life, dreams, and
wishes—but not for Lee Llewellyn, a mother who has recently lost her son to an
accident and her husband to the resentment it caused. In a chance encounter,
she is given the gift of company on Christmas, but is she ready to move forward
and start living again?
Excerpt:
A solitary
snowflake landed on the pine wreath in Lee Llewellyn’s hands. Its lacy white
edges curled around the warm boughs like melting fingers, dripping down the
pin-point needles and falling unceremoniously to the frozen grass of the
cemetery.
The grass
crunched under her feet as she made her way to the familiar marble headstone
with the bird inscribed in the black-inked stone. Last week’s roses lay at the
base, their heads drooping in icy lamentation. The aged, brittle roses reminded
her of the way she always seemed to feel—frozen in time, waiting for someone to
pluck her from her stupor, only to be replaced.
Today the
flowers would stay. Lee couldn’t bring herself to destroy their despondent
beauty. They could stay one more week. Daniel wouldn’t mind—or at least, she
hoped his spirit wouldn’t. In truth, he’d never been one for flowers anyway. If
anything, the flowers were more for her, like the wreath in her hands. Curling
the velvety red ribbon so it sat perfectly at the center, she laid the circular
wreath next to the roses, careful to leave her son’s name legible.
She read
each word as she had done a thousand times before. Daniel Edward Llewellyn.
Born May 10th, 1990. Died December 23, 2010.
The tear
trickled down Lee’s cheek, unchecked by time or self-control. She couldn’t
imagine a time when the deep pain of those words would leave her unaffected.
Yes, they were only words, little letters etched into stone, but they signified
so much pain and so many memories. They meant everything to her, just like
Daniel.
Danica Winters Author Bio:
Danica Winters is a bestselling author who is known for writing
award-winning books that grip readers with their ability to drive emotion
through suspense and often a touch of magic. When she’s not working, she can be
found in the wilds of Montana testing her patience while she tries to
understand the allure of various crafts (quilting, pottery, and painting are
not her thing). She always believes the
cup is neither half full nor half empty, but it better be filled with wine.
Find
out more about Danica Winters by visiting here:
Barnes and Noble Page: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/danica-winters?keyword=danica+winters&store=allproducts
Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=%22Danica+Winters%22&t=none&f=author&p=1&s=none&g=both
Christmas Hope-Casey Dawes: Clara Misowski is convinced Sam Richards’
cheese making operation would be a perfect stop for her culinary tour group.
He’s adamantly opposed to anything to do with a group of women on his farm. Can
she convince him to open his heart to company, Christmas, and maybe even her?
Excerpt:
Other
than getting better at making the best sheep’s milk cheese in the country, his
life could remain just the way it was.
The
phone rang.
“Richards
Handmade Cheese.” He forced his voice to be calm and pleasant. Calls at this hour might mean new orders.
“Is
this Sam Richards?” The woman’s voice was sweet, but one he didn’t recognize.
“Speaking.”
“Oh,
good! I was hoping it would be you. I have a proposition for you.”
Probably not a new order.
He’d had a few of these calls since that damn reporter interviewed him—women
who thought he needed rescuing from a gloomy life, and who were prepared to do
it.
He
hadn’t been that miserable looking during the television interview, had he?
Trying
not to let his wariness carry into his voice, he asked, “How can I help you?”
“My
name is Clara Misowski, and I have a tasting party business called The Perfect
Plate, located in New Jersey. I make arrangements for groups of women to sample
food directly from the source, like your cheese farm. The producer gives a
demonstration of what he or she does, my clients sample your products, and buy
something.” Clara paused. “Well, most of the time they buy something. But never
mind. You get publicity and I get paid to arrange the trip.” She paused for a
brief moment. “It’s a win-win!”
He
almost groaned aloud. A pack of women on his farm would be worse than being
stuck in the barn with the sheep during a three-day winter storm. “Sorry,
I’m...”
“No,
don’t hang up! Please...I mean...”
“Lady,
I raise sheep. I make cheese. Occasionally, I force myself to market it.” He
gripped the phone tighter. “You saw the television interview, right?”
“Uh,
yeah.”
He
tried to expel the gruffness from his tone. “You sound nice enough, but I’m not
running an entertainment center for a gaggle of women from...where did you say
you were from?”
“New
Jersey. Morristown.”
Wherever that is.
He made his voice polite, but firm. “I’m going to hang up now and feed my dog.”
“What’s
the dog’s name? She was so fun to watch on the TV.”
He
glanced at his dog who looked at him with alert brown eyes and thumped her
tail.
“Maggie
May. Now I...”
“I’d
love to meet Maggie May. Can I at least come up and discuss this with you in
person?”
“The
answer will still be ‘No.’”
“Please?
I promise I won’t take up too much time.”
The
scent of warm venison stew wafted toward him, and a pang of hunger hit his
stomach. “Do whatever you want, lady. I gave you my answer.”
Casey Dawes Author Bio:
With a few marriages, two sons, and three step-children, her personal life was a challenge when she met and married her current husband who has proved to be the love of her life. They reside in Montana where she quilts, writes, and coaches on the banks of the Clark Fork River. The couple has been adopted by two gently used cats.
Find out more about Casey Dawes by
visiting here:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/wisewomanshining/
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