Seasonal love...

This is just a flying visit to the blog between hospital visits - the dh is not well but improving - to wish you all the very happiest Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

In the spirit of the season I'm tossing out all these books that are on special holiday bargain offers at the moments.

Wild Fire  and Eloping With Emmy are a crazy 99c everywhere  and For His Eyes Only is just $1.99 in the US.

In the UK quite a few of my books are available for just 99p - Vettori's Damsel in Distress, Her Pregnancy Bombshell, Secret Baby Surprise Parents...

Grab a handful for your own Christmas stocking and spoil yourself after the holidays when you have time for a little toes up..

Thank you for visiting the blog this year, chatting on Facebook and Twitter and dropping by my Instagram page. Hopefully the New Year will give me more time to be there.

All my best wishes to you for a merry Christmas with your family and friends and a very happy and peaceful New Year.

A Sweet Day Out and a unique giveaway!

Last week I had the kind visit that most of just dream about. I knew there was a chocolate factory just a few miles away in the village of Rode. Not a factory like well, you name any of those international companies that produce millions of bars of chocolate a week.

Choconchoc is the brain child of Flo and her father, Kerr. And their chocolate - the finest handmade Belgian chocolate - is not only the best you're ever likely to taste, but totally fun.

I mean, look at this! Prosecco and strawberries! And one that you all know is very dear to my heart. This new chocolate ice cream.

Flo's Dad carves the designs in his workshop. This is a sneak peek at the carving of a school satchel that he's created and which will be appearing in one of my favourite stores in a few months. That perfect "back to school" gift for a child you know. :)

This gorgeous chocolate unicorn is definitely going to be going to my unicorn-loving granddaughter very soon. And her little sister will get this adorable afternoon tea-set. Perhaps a cricket bat for my grandson. Or a pair of chocolate sports shoes. :)

Once the moulds have been carved, latex formas are created. These gingerbread men are for the Christmas market because, just like the publishing industry, they have to work months ahead. And the chocolate is pure so it has a shelf life of a year. As if you could ever keep it that long!

 Flo did give me the figures of exactly how many pieces of chocolate they will have to make before the holiday season. It was mind blowing when you consider that every piece is hand-poured, hand-finished and hand-packed. This is a place where every piece of chocolate is produced with love and I urge you to check our their website even if you are overseas, just for fun.

Now for the really good bit. Choconchoc have given me some chocolate treats that they produced especially to celebrate the launch of my new book, Her Pregnancy Bombshell.

There are two prizes -

The first is a little chocolate bookshelf. The second is a box of "love notes", each with a quote from the book.

Here's how you get your name in the draw. The bookshelf is a Facebook giveaway.  Click the link to my page, leave a comment on the #giveaway post  and I'll draw a winner on 15 May.

The love notes are something really special and will go to one of my very special newsletter subscribers. To be in the draw for this prize you have to be signed up to my newsletter - there's a link at the top of the bar.. Again the draw will take place on the 15th May, so do it now!

Finally a huge thank you to Flo and her team at Choconchoc for the very warm welcome and for donating these very special chocolate creations.

 

Christmas around the world

It's December, and here's a roundabout of a few of my Christmas titles available around this world this year!

Gekust met kerst / Verliefd in de sneeuw

Als Lady Rose toevallig haar lookalike tegenkomt, aarzelt ze geen moment. Zo kort voor haar huwelijk met de uiterst verstandige Rupert lokt de vrijheid, dus ruilen ze voor een weekje

Harlequin, Holland

Hamupipőke tűsarkúban

Amikor Lucy rádöbben, hogy dúsgazdag vőlegénye becsapta őt és megtévesztette a közvéleményt, elhatározza, hogy leleplezi. Az üzletember biztonsági őrei azonban a nyomában vannak, és ő egy áruház karácsonyi forgatagában keres menedéket. Futás közben elveszíti a cipőjét, amelyet Nathaniel talál meg. Elhatározza, hogy megvédelmezi a halálra rémült lányt… 

Harlequin, Hungary

ALL' IMPROVVISO UN MILIONARIO

Lucy Bright si trova in un mare di guai: inseguita dagli scagnozzi del fidanzato non sa dove rifugiarsi. Il suo volto è troppo noto. Non le resta che confondersi tra la folla dei grandi magazzini più esclusivi di Londra, dove di certo nessuno guarderà una donna in cappotto rosso e con le scarpe in mano.
Nathaniel Hart è proprietario e direttore generale dei grandi magazzini Hastings & Hart. Tutto ciò che succede nei suoi locali non sfugge al suo occhio vigile, così non può fare a meno di notare il comportamento insolito di quella bellissima e misteriosa bionda. Chi è e perché si guarda intorno con aria impaurita? Ma la vera domanda è: perché dopo un solo fugace incontro lui non riesce più a togliersela dalla testa?

Harlequin, Italy

Idylle dans le désert

Ressembler trait pour trait à Lady Rose a toujours été un atout pour Lydia. Un atout qui se transforme même en conte de fées quand la princesse lui demande de passer, à sa place, une semaine de rêve dans le désert. Seulement, dès que Lydia croise le regard de jais de Kalil al-Zaki, le prince chargé de l'escorter à Bab el Sama, elle sent le trouble la gagner. Comment, dans ce décor des Mille et une Nuits, résister à cet homme fabuleux ? Comment, alors que tout son être brûle de mieux le connaître, ne pas lui révéler la femme qu'elle est vraiment ?

Harlequin, France

Lucy Bright nie wierzyła własnemu szczęściu, gdy ona – zwykła sekretarka – została narzeczoną multimilionera. Niestety okazało się, że ich związek to jedynie trick medialny. Na konferencji prasowej Lucy zrywa z „narzeczonym”, a uciekając przed dziennikarzami, wpada w ramiona przystojnego Nathaniela Harta. Kiedy Lucy znika w tłumie, Nathaniel postanawia za wszelką cenę ją odnaleźć. Czy pomoże mu w tym jej zgubiony czerwony pantofelek?

Harlequin, Poland

Lucy Gordon/Liz Fielding 

Från att ha varit modeoraklet Rupert Henshawes sekreterare är Lucy Bright nu plötsligt innefolkets favorit – och det stundande äktenskapet med honom har verkligen fört henne till himmelriket. Men då Lucy upptäcker att Ruperts intresse för henne egentligen bara är en väl genomtänkt pr-kupp inser hon att hon är grundlurad. Efter en presskonferens hon helst av allt vill glömma flyr hon förkrossad fältet, och var kan man bättre gömma sig än på ett varuhus där julhandeln pågår för fullt? Lucys hjärta är krossat, men när hon av en slump hamnar i famnen på en annan man verkar det som om det finns en chans till ett lyckligt slut ...

Harlequin, Sweden

Ein Traummann zu Weihnachten?

Lucy fühlt sich wie im Märchen. Verkleidet als Cinderella, findet sie sich plötzlich an der Seite eines reichen Geschäftsmannes wieder. Doch dann entdeckt sie: Es ist alles eine Publicity-Maßnahme, um dessen schlechten Ruf aufzupolieren. Schockiert will sie den aufdringlichen Reportern entkommen – und läuft dem attraktiven Londoner Unternehmer Nathaniel Hart in die Arme. Vom ersten Moment an lässt er ihr Herz höher schlagen. Aber kaum glaubt Lucy, endlich ihren Traummann gefunden zu haben, muss sie ausgerechnet an Weihnachten fürchten: Nathaniel sucht nur eine Affäre
… 

Harlequin, Germany

A SURPRISE CHRISTMAS PROPOSAL

Her Christmas gift came in a small velvet box...

"Isn't it strange how things turn out? A week ago I was virtually jobless, almost homeless, and had totally sworn off men--a sad way to be before Christmas, don't you think? Now I'm not only working for the most gorgeous man alive, but I'm living in his house!"

Meet sassy, smiley Sophie Harrington. Read in her own words how a much-needed job brings her up close and personal with rugged bachelor Gabriel York. Although Sophie is hardly a waif or stray, Gabriel ends up taking her in as a temporary lodger in his exclusive London home. How long before he realizes Sophie isn't just for Christmas--but for life...?

Harlequin, North America

The Magic of Cookies

It's my great pleasure to welcome Jennifer Faye to my blog today - who is going to share her love of cookies, and how making them together creates a special bond.

Over to Jennifer - 

I’ve always had a fondness for cookies. As a kid, my aunt couldn’t bake enough of them at the holidays to fill me up. ;-) I can remember trays and trays of them filling my grandmother’s dining room. It brought the family together in the evenings as they perused the large assortment and tried to narrow down their choice. But being a kid, I wasn’t the least bit worried about my waistline and as kids do I was going with the adage, first come first served. ;-)

 

But I remember how it would bring the family together. The kids would sit around with their milk and cookies. And the grownups would have theirs with coffee and good conversation. It’s amazing how some dough and sugar draw people together. The conversations start with something like, “You know the other day…” Soon the smiles and belly laughs follow.

A similar event happens for Kara and Jason in my current release, SNOWBOUND WITH THE SOLDIER. Instead of them reaffirming family bonds, they find themselves realizing what they could have if they could resolve their issues.

 Kara was in charge of rolling out the already made and chilled cookie dough, as well as working the oven. That left him and Samantha to do the decorating. Bowls of various colors of icing lined the table. In addition, there were red, green and white sprinkles of varying shapes and sizes. Kara certainly seemed to think of everything 

 

“What’s that?” he asked, gesturing to the cookie Samantha was about to decorate. “A pony?” 

She giggled. “Mommy, he doesn’t know what a reindeer looks like.” 

“He doesn’t. Well, I guess you’ll just have to teach him these things.”

“See? These are the antlers.” Samantha grew serious and pointed to the cookie. “And if I put this red ball on its nose, then it’s Rudolph.” 

Every time the child smiled it was like warm sunbeams hitting Jason’s chest. He couldn’t resist a bit more teasing. “I don’t know. Still looks like a pony with a bad cold.”

The sweet chimes of Samantha’s laughter pealed through the kitchen. Even Kara was smiling and shaking her head. He had no idea until that moment how rewarding he found the sound of laughter from these two special ladies. So why was he hesitant to lay the whole truth on the line with Kara? Why couldn’t he take the next step necessary to ensure he didn’t lose her, now that he’d broken through her stony barrier?

I thought I’d share this really yummy recipe that Kara used to make those magical cookies. ;-) They are easy, fast and tasty. How could you ask for more?

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Rolled Sugar Cookies

8 oz Cream Cheese, softened

¾ cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

3 tsp vanilla

2 ¼ cups flour

½ tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350°F

Beat cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla until well blended.

Add baking soda. Blend. Slowly add flour, blending after each small addition until all flour is blended.

Place in a Ziploc bag.

Refrigerate for an hour minimum.

Roll and cut into your favorite shapes. And decorate.

Bake 6 to 8 minutes.

And enjoy!

P.S. if you are wondering, yes, I really did bake those Christmas cookies in October. Just for you. :-) When my family heard what I was up to, they rolled their eyes and snickered. They said, who bakes Christmas cookies in October? I must admit I never had before now. But the family quit laughing when the cookies came out of the over and they got to eat them. ;-) BTW, I totally understand if you want to print the recipe and save it for December…like normal people. LOL.

P.S.S. I apologize that the cookies aren’t decorated better, but my helpers were otherwise occupied. So that left me to do it all. Normally I make the dough, roll them out and bake them, but I do not decorate. So I did my best. ;-)

Available at:

Amazon   |   Amazon - UK   |   Barnes & Noble   |   Harlequin  |  iTunes  |  Waterstones

The Book Depository   |   IndieBound  |  eBooks.com  |  Mills & Boon UK

Books-A-Million   |   Indigo   |   Walmart  |  Booktopia  |  Mills & Boon Australia

There is also a Rafflecopter with 10 Fabulous Prizes! Enter now to win. (2) autographed copies of Snowbound With The Soldier + swag / (1) $10 Starbucks GC / (7) Snowbound With The Soldier ebooks / OPEN INTERNATIONALLY! 

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Author Bio

Jennifer Faye is a two-time RT Book Reviews TOP PICK author. Maybe that’s partly due to the fact that she has spent most of her life with her nose in one book or another. It was only natural that she dreamed of becoming a romance writer and spinning the tales of the imaginary people running around in her mind. But first life took her on a couple of detours. Refusing to give up on her dreams, she finally succeeded in getting her name on a book cover. She currently resides in Pennsylvania with her very, very patient husband, one amazing daughter (the other remarkable daughter has flown the coop to chase her own dreams) and two spoiled rotten cats. When she’s not glued to her laptop writing another contemporary romance (which isn’t often) or enjoying some family time, she loves to get lost in a good book, cross-stitch, embroider, quilt, knit, watch hockey (go Pittsburgh Penguins!), and garden. Jennifer loves to hear from readers--you can contact her via her website.

Author Links

Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads / Google+ / Tumblr

Baby, It's Cold Outside - but snuggle up, it's Christmas!

My second guest helping me celebrate my 20th anniversary are a group of hugely popular authors who have collaborated to produce a sizzling anthology of contemporary Christmas romances - Baby It's Cold Outside

I have no doubt that the cover will have you racing to the bottom of the page to click the "buy" links, but I did ask Kate Hardy, whose story is called Tis the Season to Kiss Santa (well, yes!), and the other authors, to tell me a little bit about how four authors collaborate on a project like this - and what they love about Christmas.

This is an anthology of books by four authors. How did that come about?

We’d heard that Entangled were looking for Christmas stories and we all really wanted to write one – especially one with snow – so we decided to pitch together, and Entangled loved our ideas.

How did you work together?

By email – Amy Andrews is in Australia, Aimee Carson is in the US, and Heidi Rice and I are in the UK, so email was the best way of dealing with all the time zones! So we bounced ideas off each other, made suggestions, and were basically each other’s cheerleaders. We have to credit Heidi with genius when it comes to titles :o)

What is/Is there a theme running through the stories?

Yes – they take place on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day – and all our couples are brought together by a snowstorm. Hence ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’… but it’s definitely warm inside!

What, or who, was the inspiration for your story?

Kate: Making gingerbread men with my daughter and discussing the possibilities of making a gingerbread Christmas tree out of stars. That’s when I thought about having a pastry chef as a heroine – one who loves Christmas. And who better to pair her with than a man who hates Christmas?

Heidi: I used to have this great recurring dream as a child of getting stuck in a sweet shop overnight and being able to take anything I wanted. So when we came up with the snowed-in idea, I nabbed Christmas Day so I could fulfill my fantasy - which has matured somewhat since my childhood and now involves getting stuck in a luxury department store overnight with a hunky guy! So basically, the inspiration behind this story is my Curly Wurly addiction as a kid!

Amy: Initially it was a clip of Lady Antebellum singing Baby, It's Cold Outside and then I had a vision of my heroine all alone in a snowed-in cabin, tipsy on egg nog to keep her warm because she couldn't find any matches to light the fire, and I knew a strapping young man was going to come through the door and light her fire in more ways than one!

Aimee: Being snowed in one holiday season at the Seattle airport. Fortunately the weather cleared in time for me to make it home for Christmas.


Can you describe your book/ the anthology/ in a sentence or two?

Kate: TIS THE SEASON TO KISS SANTA With the help of a sprig of mistletoe and some snow angels, a recently single pastry chef teaches a highly successful and sexy Scrooge the true meaning of the holidays on a snowy Christmas Eve that quickly heats up.

Heidi: TIS THE SEASON TO LOVE SHOPPING One unlucky-in-love workaholic, one sexy single dad, a snowed-in department store on Fifth Avenue and a sprinkle of fantasy shopping make for one hot wish come true for two strangers on a chilly Christmas Day in New York City!

Amy: TIS THE SEASON TO BE KISSED A down-on-her-romantic-luck kindergarten teacher plans to drown her New Year’s Eve sorrows in a gallon of spiked eggnog, but the arrival of her best friend's sexy younger brother threatens to melt the snow piling up outside the tiny Vermont cabin.

Aimee: TIS THE SEASON TO BE TEMPTED

After  the worst year ever, a jilted music manager rings in the New Year alone, swearing off men forever. But things get complicated when her brother's best friend, the perfect man with the perfect body, tempts her to break her vow—if only for one hot night!

What do you love about this book?

We have four completely different takes on the holidays – and I hope readers have as much fun reading it as we did writing it!

Who, if Hollywood came calling, would you choose to play your hero?

Kate: Robert Downey Junior. (Think Chaplin rather than Tony Stark – though I love the Marvel films!)

Heidi: I'm leaning towards the super-delicious Matt Boomer of White Collar fame (Google him, you won't be sorry!!!) for my sexy photojournalist hero Ryder Sinclair but I feel a lot more research on YouTube may be called for before I can make a definitive choice.

Amy: Zack Efron. The grown up Zack with the buzz cut from The Lucky One - not the teenager from High School Musical!!

Aimee: The super hunky Kiwi Karl Urban.

What do you love most about Christmas?

Kate: getting to see family and friends, sharing good meals and talking too much, laughing too much and playing board games (especially when we change the rules!).

Heidi: That wonderful feeling of expectation and sparkle that goes with the Season – which isn't so much to do with getting presents anymore but all about the anticipation of seeing family and friends, seeing the Christmas lights everywhere lighting up the dark nights, going to parties and generally enjoying the social whirl (but if my husband's reading this, I still want that Orla Kiely purse!)

Amy: You know - I just love everything about it! I love the whole season! But I mostly love the general good mood people are in, how we all seem to walk around with a spring in our steps and smile at strangers and bid them Merry Christmas. I love the whole goodwill to all men thing!

Aimee: Spending quality time with my kids while eating all sorts of delicious food. It's a twofer!

PS!  There's a download of the bookj for one commentor!

Baby It's Cold Outside is available here at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

WHAT I DID ON MY HOLIDAYS...

Didn't you just dread that first week back at school when you had to write an essay on what you did on your holidays?

It was such fun doing it, but having to write about it... duh...

Well, this is my report on my holidays.

The first great thing that happened was that there was no snow.  I'd always sworn I'd never travel on public holidays and especially at Christmas (vivid memories of my parents getting stranded in Spain one year), but I need not have worried. It wasn't sunny, but no snow and only one shower of rain to disturb the fun.

There were no strikes - I refer you to my previous comments about travelling on holidays.  The air traffic controllers all stayed at their desks, the baggage handlers did their thing and so did pilots, air cabin crew and groundstaff.

Thanks guys. I hope you all have a fabulous New Year.

Holland was lovely. It was great to see the family, have a cuddle with the grand-dogs and do some site-seeing.

We visited Vincent Van Gogh's house (bought a sweet little "sunflowers" lunchbox for my granddaughter), window shopping and lunch in Breda and a day in Arnhem, visiting historic sites with my d-i-l's parents.

There was also a memorable Christmas lunch at a Japanese restaurant with the entire family. Lots of fun.

There was  a momentary lapse from the diet with local New Year treat - olieballs (see picture above) and pancakes. I am now back on the wii and toning up in time for the RNA Awards Reception in March!

The journey home was a breeze with a trip on the Dutch High Speed train to Schipol and a smooth flight home.

It's the first time in twenty years I haven't been in charge of the cooker on Christmas Day. I'm thinking that I could easily give it up for good!

So, what did you do on your holidays?