Book Spotlight on Holiday Ever After Anthology #romance #holidays

Holiday Ever After by the Los Angeles Romance Authors

@JewelQuinlan #LaraRWA #holidayeverafter

Blurb:

Baby, it’s cold outside! Come snuggle up with Holiday Ever After, a collection of 15 stories filled with love and passion sure to put you in the holiday spirit.

Get tangled up with a Regency tavern wench, your own Mr. Scrooge, or the ghosts of Christmases past and present. Open your home and your heart to visitors from far away. Is your secret Santa a Navy SEAL, a handsome jock, or an artist? Perhaps you’d like to ring in the holidays with that office party hottie, the sexy exchange student next door, or a Vegas stripper? Whether you like your holiday treats sweet or spicy, there’s something for everyone in Holiday Ever After.

Featuring stories by the Los Angeles Romance Authors (LARA), Holiday Ever After will keep you warm on a chilly winter’s night.

Where you can buy it:

Amazon  |  iBooks  |  Kobo  |  Nook  |  All Romance eBooks

Add it to your shelf on Goodreads

 

Enjoy this excerpt from My Oktoberfest Escapade by Jewel Quinlan:

Lars stopped us again, this time at a hat vendor. There were all kinds of hats. Some were traditional Bavarian ones like Lars’s. They came in green, gray, and brown with all different kinds of trim and decorations on them. Other, less expensive hats were on the comical side and shaped like kegs or mugs. One had beer holders with straws so the wearer could drink as they walked.

“You can’t leave without a souvenir,” Lars said.

I looked up from the stand of felt A-shaped hats I was examining.

He shoved some money and a receipt into his pocket and then presented a hat to me that looked like a full beer mug, complete with froth, and placed it on my head. I held still as he tugged the brim into position and arranged my hair, pulling the light-brown locks forward over my shoulders. He trailed his fingertips down the length of the last cluster of strands, making the base of my scalp tingle. We stood so close I could detect the mild scent of beer on his breath.

The boots I wore had a decent heel on them, but I still had to tilt my head back to meet his gaze. “How does it look?”

“Perfect.”

Our eyes locked, and it was as if time sucked us backward to that day so long ago when we’d said goodbye. It overpowered the world around us, forcing it into the background. All that existed was the two of us. As the longing in his gaze registered, my breath caught. Does he feel the same way I do? I got my answer when his lips pressed down on mine, and he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me tight.

About the Author:

Restless by nature, Jewel Quinlan is an avid traveler and has visited sixteen countries so far. Lover of ice cream, dark beer, and red wine she tries to stay fit when she’s not typing madly on her computer concocting another romance novel. In her spare time, she likes to do yoga, hike, learn German, and play with her spoiled Chihuahua, Penny.

For more information about Jewel Quinlan

Website | Facebook | Twitter  | Tumblr | Goodreads | Amazon | Instagram

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#TNTConfidential 12 Days of Christmas- GIVEAWAY- Day 10: Melissa Hosack & Saving Santa

Day 10 is here! Let's Give Melissa Hosack a warm welcome in today's #TNTConfidential 12 Days of Christmas! 

     What is your favorite thing about the Holidays? – 

My favorite thing about the holidays right now, hands down, is my son. He just turned four in November, and everything about the holiday is exciting for him. He’s made me feel like a kid again myself! Every Christmas carol is fun for him. Every holiday special is new and thrilling. Wrapping gifts is an exhilarating secret. Every little aspect of the holiday is magical for him. This has been an amazing Christmas season for my family. One I won’t forget any time soon.          
      What inspired you to write your book? – 

I had the idea and wanted to go for something very unique. I wanted more than the girl meets boy and falls in love around Christmas time. In my story, Santa is real. He’s smoking hot and a bit domineering. It was fun to take the classic holiday figure and spin him into a sexy stud. I felt it was a nice holiday story for those of us adults that still love everything about the holidays and would enjoy a very magical, yet sexy story. I was inspired by the challenge to write such a thing.

     Share a Holiday anecdote with the readers – 

    

      The Christmas story I would like to share with my readers is from my childhood. It isn’t one specific date but a tradition. When I was young, I remember spending part of every Christmas Eve at my grandparent’s house. When it got dark, my grandmother would tell us that Santa was on his way, but we couldn’t be at the house when he stopped by, or he wouldn’t be able to leave the presents. So every year, me, my siblings, and my two cousins would get all of our winter apparel on and take a car ride with my parents. We’d drive around and look at all the Christmas lights. We’d ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ for a while, all of us secretly amping up over the possibility of gifts upon our return. After about fifteen minutes, we’d head back to my grandparent’s house. Wouldn’t you know it, every year when we got back, Santa had arrived and the presents we received at grandma’s were under the tree waiting for us! Somehow, every year, we were all completely fooled by this ruse. We thought it was so magical and exciting that we’d missed Santa by only minutes! Yet we’d also feel so terribly relieved that we’d left the house just in time. It was a fun, silly tradition that has stuck with me through the years. I look forward to creating my own silly traditions with my son.

***

Saving Santa

Cara Faulk has always loved Christmas and delights in anything related to the holiday season, but even she finds it odd when two elves show up at her door offering her a paid vacation. As they approach their destination—the North Pole—things get even stranger. Cara is informed that the elves would like her to seduce Santa, because Christmas is in need of a Mrs. Clause.

Extremely reluctant about this new adventure, Cara is thrown once again when she is berated and hollered at in the elf workshop by none other than Chris Kringle himself. She doesn’t know what is more shocking, the fact that Santa is drop dead gorgeous or that he’s arrogant, self-centered, and anti-social.

Despite their less than stellar introduction, Cara finds she can’t resist Chris.  His life is enchanting, and his dedication to his work humbling. She finds herself drawn to him despite his egotism and their frequent shouting matches. The two dance back and forth between a love/hate relationship. Neither wishes to marry or be a part of the elves’ plot, but they can’t seem to keep their hands off of one another. As the holiday’s end draws near, Cara is torn with giving up Chris and the magical life she’s been introduced to and admitting that she might just be falling in love with Santa.

Available at: 
 Evernight Publishing || Amazon.com || Amazon.uk || ARe 

About Melissa

Melissa Hosack lives near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her husband Jeremy and their son Marshall Frost. Her favorite genre to write is Paranormal Romance.

Melissa attended London School of Journalism where she received her certificate in Novel Writing in 2011. She writes a monthly short story column titled Frequent Flyer for a government newsletter.

Melissa's first full length novel, Deadly Encounters of the Supernatural Kind, was released by Whimsical Publications on March 20th, 2009. The sequel titled Supernatural Kid on the Block was just released on December 13th.

Follow Melissa 

Google || Facebook || Twitter

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Tomorrow... Victoria Adams! 

#TNTConfidential 12 Days of Christmas - GIVEAWAY- Day 9- Freddy Mackay & Finding Home 1 and 2

Day 9! Already?! Santa will soon be here, but meanwhile the lovely Freddy MacKay is substituing him in today's  #TNTConfidential 12 Days of Christmas! 


What is your favorite thing about the Holidays?

My favorite thing about the holidays is the time people make for others. Family and friends remember how important we are to each other and make that extra effort to show their love and appreciation for one another.

What inspired you to write your book?

Snowed In: Finding Home 2 was inspired by a message from a friend. I don't honestly remember the message but it made me think of what would Geeves do if he had o go Christmas shopping by himself. ;)

Share a Holiday anecdote with the readers 

Elyzabeth asked us to share a holiday story with all of you. I wish I could share pictures of my Christmas story, but sadly, I cannot. Not due to the lack of pictures, however. The problem was, I had nothing to take pictures of. What pictures you ask? You know how when the family gathers around the Christmas trees and gives each others gifts and someone is there snapping pictures of half asleep adults desperately trying to stay awake long enough to experience the children's enthusiastic responses to the new toys they got? Yeah. Those. Well, if you don't happen to get any presents from your family or Santa that year, then you don't get your picture taken. That's right. My family forgot to get me any presents. They all thought someone else had gone and gotten something for me. And Santa forgot too. Now don't get to upset. Once my family realized what happened, they did feel awful, and I made out like a bandit the next Christmas. ;)

***

Snowed In: Finding Home 2

Home for the Holidays. Always good times, no?

A short Christmas trip home should be more relaxing for Geeves and Max than their normal graduate school studies. At least, it was supposed to be. Unfortunately, Max's sister, Courtney, has had an abrupt change in attitude and behavior, making the once amenable teenager a nightmare to deal with. Geeves's ex-boyfriend popping up at an inopportune time doesn't help matters.

A shopping trip to the mall proves to be Geeves's downfall, though, when his heart makes a purchase that will change all of their lives. A purchase that sends Courtney running smack dab into a snowstorm and Geeves chasing after the confused girl.

Available at: 

Mischief Corner Books

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

ARe

Snowed In: Finding Home 2 is the sequel to the story Moving Mountains: Finding Home 1.

Nerd. Geek. Dense. Stupid. Social reject. George had heard it all growing up. Being an Aspy, a person with Aspergers, he had gotten used to never fitting in and not understanding people. His doctorate became his life, and unexpectedly, so did a fellow grad student in his lab. But when the relationship ended with George getting dumped unceremoniously by email and left to handle the gossip alone, George wasn't sure his heart could handle being in a relationship again and decided it was best to focus on his thesis.

A year later things hadn't changed. Well, except a restlessness eating away at George that had started six months earlier. A field research trip to gather more data might just be the thing he needs. Luckily his friend and lab assistant, Max, is out in the field with him. Little did he know this trip would change their relationship permanently, something his heart might not be ready for.

About Freddy

I grew up and went to college in the Midwest where I currently reside with my family. I spend most of my time playing sports and running around outside. And honestly, that much has not changed since I was little, except who is included my activities. I also have a healthy geocaching addiction. It's so much fun! I enjoy spending my time traveling when I can, and I hold the view that a person should continually to learn about new things and people whenever possible.

For more information on Freddy's work, please visit:

Website: Freddy's Stereograph
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/FreddyMacKay
Blog: http://freddymackay.blogspot.com
Email: freddy.m.mackay@gmail.com

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Tomorrow... Melissa Hosack!

#TNTConfidential 12 Days of Christmas-GIVEAWAY- Day 7- Iyana Jenna & A Boyfriend for Christmas

Please give Iyana Jenna a warm welcome on today's #TNTConfidential 12 Days of Christmas- day 7. It's cold outside! 

What is your favorite thing about the Holidays?

My favorite thing about the Holidays - I think it will be the memory of those times when I was little. The songs I heard from all the places in this small city I spent my childhood, Christmas trees I saw through the windows in the houses along the streets, the cookies and berry drinks I got from the houses I visited. I really loved those times.

What inspired you to write your book?

I wrote a small snippet about a man asking for a boyfriend from God. This story is kind of the answer to that snippet and the idea came a part from the title. My sister told me about this movie with the same title and I was interested in writing a story using that title. Mind you, I didn't watch the movie. I don't know what it's about until now.

Share a Holiday anecdote with the readers 

I'm afraid I don't have any Holiday anecdotes. I just remember that our family always got a lot of cakes when I was a kid. Cakes were all over our house even on my bed. We shared and gave the cakes to neighbors and other people but I always asked my mom to spare the soft and juicy fruit cake. I loved that one!

Cold, injured, and afraid his ex-boyfriend will come find him, Oliver chooses instead to run away from the hospital and hide in his cabin on Christmas Day. Little does he know that Santa Claus and the Big Boss will drop a surprise for him through his fireplace. The surprise's name is Derek.

Available at: Amazon || Leap of Faith Publishing

About Iyana

Iyana lives in Jakarta, a city famous for its traffic jams, a lot of cars and motorcycles, and people selling stuff on the roads. You can spend two hours on the road going to a place you can reach in half an hour in a normal situation. Thanks to the traffic jams, though, Iyana can come up with a lot of stories, mostly shorties, as she prefers to spend the time during her trips writing into her cell phone rather than sleeping.

Another thing Iyana loves is kitties. Right now she has five of them. Their names are Larva, Nyil, Cil, Mermood, and Horus. When she doesn’t write, she plays with them, or they would play with her when she writes.

Follow Iyana

Twitter || Facebook || Blog

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#TNTConfidential 12 Days of Christmas- GIVEAWAY- Day 6: Doris O' Connor & For the Love of Mutt

Welcome to #TNTConfidential 12 Days of Christmas Day 6! Today's visiting author is Doris O'Connor. 

What is your favorite thing about the Holidays?

Spending time with the family. Our eldest has flown the nest, and she's coming home for ten days over Christmas, so that will be awesome. I'll have all my brood under one roof again—bliss. J

  What inspired you to write your book?

A submission call sparked my muse, and then I had the heroine in my head getting annoyed with folks calling Christmas the holidays. It kinda went from there, and took on a life of its own, as my stories always do.

   Share a Holiday anecdote with the readers

My story is set around a homeless shelter, and that's largely due to my gran. Every Christmas she prepared several food and clothing parcels, and we used to take them down to the local homeless shelter. My gran was a great believer in the fact that there is always someone less fortunate than you out there, and it's your duty to look after those people. There for the grace of god go I and all that.

We can all fall on hard times, and Christmas can be an extremely hard time for lots of people. I know it was for my gran. She lost her husband on Christmas Eve, just after the war, when my dad was still quite small. My grandfather was driving home for Christmas and was run off the road by a drunk driver.

My gran soldiered on, like she always did, but I always thought how unfair that had been. He survived Nazi Germany and being incarcerated in a concentration camp, only to be run off the road like that.

Life is cruel and unpredictable at times, and we got to live in the moment. That's one of life's lessons I learnt from knee high, and every Christmas I raise a glass to my amazing gran.

****
For the love of Mutt

  

A homeless shelter at Christmas may seem an odd place to find one's soul mate, but love knows no boundaries—or does it?

Anja has grown fond of the wolf-like dog hanging around the shelter. With her soon to be ex -boyfriend putting pressure on her, her canine friend proves to be more reliable than any human could ever be. If only he were more than just a dog.

Helping others is not always easy to do, unless Ethan can do so undercover. However, hiding your true self brings problems of its own. Finding a mate had not been in Ethan's plan of action, but Anja's easy acceptance of Mutt breaks through all of his defenses.

The problem is he is not what he seems, and will his deception by proxy prove the end of them before they even have a chance at love?

Available at: 

Breathless Press || All Romance Ebooks || Bookstrand || Amazon.com 

About Doris: 

Glutton for punishment would be a good description for Doris... at least that's what she hears on an almost daily basis when people find out that she has a brood of nine children, ranging from adult to toddler and lives happily in a far too small house, cluttered with children, pets, dust bunnies, and one very understanding and supportive husband. Domestic goddess she is not.

There is always something better to do after all, like working on the latest manuscript and trying not to scare the locals even more than usual by talking out loud to the voices in her head. Her characters tend to be pretty insistent to get their stories told, and you will find Doris burning the midnight oil on a regular basis. Only time to get any peace and quiet and besides, sleep is for wimps.

She likes to spin sensual, sassy, and sexy tales involving alpha heroes to die for, and heroines who give as good as they get. From contemporary to paranormal, BDSM to F/F, and Ménage, haunting love stories are guaranteed.

Stalking Links

Website Blog Twitter Facebook Pinterest Evernight Publishing

Amazon All Romance E-Books BookStrand Barnes&Noble

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