Creating Holiday Memories by Laura Ashwood

One of my favorite things about Christmas is the memories that are created each year. When I think about Christmas, I am flooded with memories. When I was little, my grandparents on my mom's side lived in a tiny duplex and when the whole family would come for the holidays (they had 9 kids, so do that math!) we were stacked in like cord wood. No one even thought of getting a hotel. My bed was a little palette on the floor under the sink in the laundry/storage room with my cousin next to me in the narrow aisle between the shelves and the sink with another cousin at her feet in front of the washing machine. Those were great times. We'd giggle all night long, never caring where we were, just that we were there. It's coming back to my grandparent's on my dad's side after midnight mass on Christmas Eve and everyone else would be in the living room or getting ready for bed but my grandma and I would cut into a loaf of fresh baked bread and slather it with butter and a slice of cheese and have our own special treat. To this day (they also had 9 kids, so the house was FULL), I still can't believe we were able to have that special time alone.


Now that my grandparents are gone and I am a grandparent myself, it's important to me to create memories for my kids and grandkids that they can look back on. Part of the way I do that is in creating the atmosphere.

A beautifully decorated tree that fills the room with it's glowing lights and subtle pine smell brings me back to Christmases past without even trying. The ornaments I've inherited and will pass along are displayed front and center. The Mr. and Mrs. Claus to the left of the tree belonged to my husband's parents and bring a piece of them into the house.

The other thing I do is bake. I remember baking and frosting cookies with my mom as a child and being excited as an adult to go back "home" so I could eat those same frosted cookies.  Now that we have grown kids and grandkids, they can come "home" and have that same experience.

This year I made "baby Yoda" cookies for my daughter, who may have a tiny obsession with that character. I also made our family favorite, caramel puffcorn and yes, that IS a chihuahua cookie hiding with the baby Yodas.



The recipe for caramel puffcorn is:

1 bag (9 oz) Old Dutch Puffcorn
1 1/4 c brown sugar
1 cup butter
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 250°F. Over med heat, heat butter, sugar and syrup until sugar is melted. Once mixture has melted, remove from heat and whisk in the baking soda (this will cause the mixture to foam). Dump the puffcorn into a large roasting pan and pour caramel mixture over the puffcorn. I use a large heat-proof spatula (scraper) to gently stir until mixed. Place uncovered in oven for 45 minutes, stirring at least every 15 minutes. Remove from oven, pour on wax paper and spread out as much as you can. Cool, break apart and Enjoy.

What do you do to create holiday memories at your house?

May the good times and treasures of the present become the golden memories of tomorrow. Wish you lots of love, joy, and happiness. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

xo, Laura

This is my Gus "helping" us decorate our tree...

Just in time for your new year planning, I'm giving away to my readers not one, but FOUR of them on my blog! Good luck! https://www.lauraashwood.com/christmas-giveaway/

Favorite Holiday Board Games by Josie Riviera

One of my favorite holiday activities is getting together with family and friends and playing board games. Board game night is an inexpensive way to fill many evenings not only at Christmas, but throughout the year.

Board games are for all ages, and make you laugh and chat, think and strategize, and develop patience--especially when someone snaps up Park Place and Boardwalk. (Those of you who play Monopoly will understand.)

My family usually purchases a new game every Christmas, and then we set aside New Year's Eve to play the game together.

However, we oftentimes revert to our old favorites--mine being Monopoly, and our children and grandchildren choosing the game, Sorry.



Do you have any board game favorites? Please list in the comments below.


 Love a sweet emotional story and Kindle Countdown?

Snag my holiday romance, A Snowy White Christmas, only 99¢ for a limited time.

Speaking of New Year's, pre-order my newest sweet holiday romance, A Chocolate-Box New Years.

If you love Film Noir and pasta making and Italian food and star-gazing, (and chocolate, of course!) this book is for you. Order today on Amazon, and the full-length novella will be delivered to your inbox on New Year's Eve.

My sincere good wishes to all our readers for a beautiful, peaceful, and blessed Christmas season.
Happy Holidays!

Josie Riviera is a USA TODAY bestselling author of contemporary, inspirational, and historical sweet romances that read like Hallmark movies. She lives in the Charlotte, NC, area with her wonderfully supportive husband. They share their home with an adorable shih tzu, who constantly needs grooming, and live in an old house forever needing renovations.

 

To see her latest family adventures, follow her on Instagram.

And remember to join our Sweet Romance Reads Facebook cafe.

 

 

Bargain Books by Josie Riviera and Lyn Cote and Alicia Street

It's a Kindle Countdown Sale for my sweet holiday romance!

Candleglow and Mistletoe is only 99¢ for a limited time.

 Noelle Wentworth doesn’t mind getting away from St. Augustine to fill in at her ailing aunt’s candle shop.

A few weeks in Snowing Rock will help her get past the humiliating memory lapse that ruined an important piano concert—and, ultimately, her marriage to her overbearing duet partner.

She’s mentally rehearsing for her comeback performance when the bus she’s riding in slides off an icy mountain road.
And one deep, calming voice emerges from the confusion to slow her racing heart—right before his ruggedly handsome face kicks it back into allegro.

Gabe Waters is usually prepared for anything—as a professional stuntman, his life depends on it—but nothing prepared him for Noelle, the unattainable high school crush whose bravery saved him from more than just a bully’s flying fist. There’s no hint she recognizes him, but Gabe knows that face, those eyes…and he sees something that wasn’t there before. Distrust and apprehension.

Their unexpected attraction kindles something as warm and sweet as a holiday candle.
But the weight of their pasts could turn the promise of love to ashes.

Available in ebook, Paperback, Large Print Paperback, and Audiobook. 

Grab your copy today!

           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lyn Cote here~I have two book bargains. First my Christmas novella, Loving Winter.

99 cents throught November 23rd!

Happily single, Winter Woodard is looking forward to a busy, holiday season. But...

And it all begins with her cousin’s wedding where Winter meets the man the ladies around town have been buzzing about. Single by choice, Clay Dixon, the very successful football coach at the local high school, has rebuffed all offers of “home-cooked meals,” keeping the female population at bay. That’s fine with Winter. She’s her own woman, thank you very much. 

Then bad things begin to happen. And unexpectedly Clay Dixon stands by her through a holiday season fraught with unnerving and destructive setbacks.

Is someone out to ruin Woodard Greenery’s, all she has left of her beloved grandfather and mother?

Welcome to Steadfast, a small town whose people and mysteries you may never forget~

For more info about this book and my free ebook Winter's Secret  (and to sample other authors of sweet romance), click here. And HAPPY HOLIDAY READING!

https://books.bookfunnel.com/j02cvyh5nf/2h2cfq2074

                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alicia Street here - and I have one bargain book and one FREE book.

                                              The Christmas Honeymoon is 99¢

Quiet librarian Serena always loved Christmas, until she was jilted before her December wedding. A year later, while trying to rekindle her tarnished holiday spirit, she meets Damien, handsome daredevil—and a total Scrooge. Their unlikely mutual attraction brings on a challenge that leads to one very romantic Christmas.

The Sweetheart Test is FREE through November 19

Megan lived for her career, but a turn of events challenges her driven nature and she decides what she really needs is a man who is a sweetheart. Can Mac, a workaholic billionaire she is dating, prove he can pass the sweetheart test?

New Release by Merrillee Whren

Today the final book in my Front Porch Promises series, A PLACE TO FIND LOVE, releases. Click on the title to read an excerpt. Even though I have a Christmas background, the cover doesn't look much like Christmas. It looks like summer. The story in the majority of my books have a time span of several months. This particular book starts in early summer, but the epilogue ends the following February. In between my hero has a special Christmas surprise for the heroine, because he knows how much she likes Christmas decorations. Here are several buy links.
Amazon
Apple
B&N
Kobo

For a little incite into the heroine, Whitney Hamilton, here is an interview.
Interviewer: Tell me the most interesting thing about you.
Whitney: Maybe that I speak five languages, English, French, German, Dutch, and Spanish
Interviewer: Wow! How did you come to learn so many languages?
Whitney: Languages have always come easy for me, and I studied a couple in high school and college and learned the others on my own because I worked as an interpreter in my previous job.
Interviewer: What is your job now, and do you still use your language skills?
Whitney: I used to live in Atlanta, but I had to move home to Pineydale, Tennessse, because my mother needed me to help with my ailing father. I was fortunate to find a position with the company where I interned when I was in college. I haven't used my language skills much in this job, but the company owner is planning to expand his business overseas, so I'll get the opportunity to use those skills again.
Interviewer: Even though your father was ill, were you happy to return to your hometown?
Whitney: Sadly, my father passed away a couple of months ago, and now I'm caring for my mother, who seems to have developed dementia. This has been tough, and Pineydale has a lot of bad memories for me.
Interviewer: Do you mind telling me about them?
Whitney: I'm not going into detail because I hurt a number of people, and I deeply regret that. So being back in my hometown brings up all those painful memories.
Interviewer: On a lighter note, what do you like to do for fun?
Whitney: I've been pretty focused on my job and taking care of my parents. I haven't made much time for fun. I do like to play golf, but that's usually business related. In fact, my boss asked me to take the new employee out for a golf lesson, not something I'm looking forward to because he's the younger brother of my old boyfriend. Too many bad memories there.
Interviewer: I guess that didn't bring us to a lighter note. Let's try something else. What do you like to read?
Whitney: Again work and taking care of my mother have occupied my time, but my coworker has challenged me to do more Bible reading. I'm up for the challenge.
Interviewer: That's a good challenge to take. If you could go back in time, where would you go, and why?
Whitney: That's easy. I'd go back to the summer of my high school graduation and stand up to my parents and not let them dictate where I should go to college. The one bad decision to do as they said rather than what I wanted led me to make a bunch of other foolish decisions. I'd like to undo them all, but I know that's not possible. I have to live with those and try to do better going forward.
Interviewer: That's a good way to look at it. We can't change the past. Now for the last questions. What is most important to you, and what do you want out of life?
Whitney: Right now the most important thing is taking care of my mother and making sure she gets the help she needs. Since I travel a lot for my job, I need a caregiver who will be there while I'm gone. As far as what I want out of life, I want to do well in my job and find peace with those I've wronged and peace with myself. I'm learning that God will help me in that quest.

As a reader, which do you prefer? Books that have a longer time span or books that have a shorter time span?

Merrillee Whren is the winner of the 2003 Golden Heart Award presented by Romance Writers of American. She is married to her own personal hero, her husband of forty-plus years, and has two grown daughters. Connect with her on her Facebook page and sign up for her newsletter.

 

October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month by Josie Riviera

Did you know that October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month?

Approximately 3.3 million dogs are put in shelters each year. Sadly, oftentimes these dogs are abused and abandoned.

But two things are certain: 

Each dog deserves a forever home, and

You’ll be saving a dog’s life if you adopt.

Interestingly, in a recent study from Amazon Audible and dog behaviorist Cesar Milan, audiobooks were found to calm dogs in kennels.  A recommended list of audiobooks includes To Kill a Mockingbird and Anne of Green Gables.

Audiobooks for Dogs.

When you adopt a dog, the benefits to humans are unlimited. Studies prove that an animal can improve your health and make you happier. And, your dog will love you unconditionally.

If you can’t adopt a dog, consider volunteering at your local shelter. Dog walkers are always appreciated!

Many of my readers are aware that I own a 7 year old shih tzu named Henry. (He's Batman in the above photo!)

Although the dog isn’t referred to by name, there is a shih tzu mentioned in my inspirational holiday romance book, Holly’s Gift.

Still on sale for only 99¢, and free on Kindle Unlimited.

Also available in Paperback and Large Print Paperback.

Six of our sweet romance read authors wrote a heartwarming series set in Snowflake, a fictional small-town in Colorado.

My contribution was Holly’s Gift (Small-Town Christmas Wishes Series Book 5)

Miracles don’t always come easy. Sometimes it takes a secret wish to light an angel’s way.

 Have you ever adopted an animal from a shelter? Please leave your comments below.

Josie Riviera is a USA TODAY bestselling author of contemporary, inspirational, and historical sweet romances that read like Hallmark movies. She lives in the Charlotte, NC, area with her wonderfully supportive husband. They share their home with an adorable shih tzu, who constantly needs grooming, and live in an old house forever needing renovations.

To see her latest family adventures, follow her on Instagram.

And remember to join our Sweet Romance Reads Facebook cafe.

The Sound of Silence by Josie Riviera

How many times have you gone for a walk outside without your phone and headphones? My husband will rush back to our house if he forgets either, because for him, silence is a real trial. In fact, many people associate silence with loneliness and solitude.

I, however, prefer absolute silence, especially when I write. Perhaps because I’m a musician, if I hear music, I start analyzing the chord structure, or tuning in to the lyrics.

Studies indicates that silence reaps both spiritual and emotional benefits. Many people in today’s culture depend on tech devices: phones, incoming text messages, and the constant distractions of social media clutter our thoughts.

However, silence is said to soothe the mind and restore stability.

The following are some ideas to get you in the habit of entertaining silence:

Walk silently with a friend, or by yourself

Employ deep breathing exercises

In the morning, engage in a few moments of private prayer before beginning your day.

Have you ever made a deliberate decision to entertain silence and be alone with your thoughts? Please leave your comments below.

Be sure to pre-order your ebook of Holly’s Gift at the introductory sale price of only 99¢! Delivered straight to your inbox on September 30^th, this inspirational romance will warm your heart for the holiday season.

Miracles don’t always come easy. Sometimes it takes a secret wish to light an angel’s way.

When Holly steps into a homeless shelter looking for an MIA piano student, she notices a distinct lack of Christmas cheer—because a handsome building inspector is forcing the shelter to temporarily close down.

Holly knows bad guys—she was married to one. Yet when the man asks her out, she finds absolutely not warring with absolutely yes.

Tim Stewart doesn’t hold his breath waiting for God to answer prayers. He went from homeless desperation to television stardom to relative obscurity while God stayed silent. But when Holly barrels into his life, her steady faith sparks hope for a dream of his own. Even if it means praying for a Christmas miracle—one last time.

Order your copy of Holly's Gift for only 99¢ today!

Enjoy all six books in the series by our very own Sweet Romance Reads authors:
Mia’s Gift by Cindy Flores Martinez
Caro’s Gift by Jean C. Gordon
Nate’s Gift by Jackie Castle
Sara’s Gift by Kimberly Rose Johnson
Holly’s Gift by Josie Riviera
Taye’s Gift by Pat Simmons

Josie Riviera is a USA TODAY bestselling author of contemporary, inspirational, and historical sweet romances that read like Hallmark movies. She lives in the Charlotte, NC, area with her wonderfully supportive husband. They share their home with an adorable shih tzu, who constantly needs grooming, and live in an old house forever needing renovations.

 

To see her latest family adventures, follow her on Instagram.

And remember to join our Sweet Romance Reads Facebook cafe.

The holiday are just around the corner... Roxanne Rustand

I don't know about you, but the older I get, the faster the months and years seem to fly. Goodness--seems like summer just started, and here we are in September!


Something that makes the holidays seem even closer is that I've been working on five Christmas novellas--and now I have the covers.  Makes it seem more real, looking at the cover art!  Here are two of them.

It was such fun writing these sweet romances, that take place in London, Ireland, Scotland, Paris and Montana.  Adventure, the Christmas holidays, and finding that perfect someone when my heroines least expected it--it was a joy to read "The End" on each of them.

But it isn't so easy, trying to think up a series title!  The cover artist kindly came up with "Coupled by Christmas" because I am so slow and inept when it comes to naming anything. Especially a series!   :)

Do you like that one, or do you have any ideas that would work?
If you have any thoughts either way,  I would be grateful!

Thanks in advance!

Blessings,
Roxanne Rustand