Christmas Crackers by Susan R. Hughes

Growing up in Canada, Christmas crackers have always been a part of my Christmas dinner tradition. I didn’t realize until recently that this is a distinctly British custom, passed along to the Commonwealth nations, and many Americans may not be familiar with it. For those of you who aren’t, here’s a short explanation.

Christmas crackers come with many different wrappers, but they basically consist of a cardboard tube wrapped in bright paper that is twisted closed at both ends. A “banger” (a chemically impregnated card strip) is threaded through the middle, so that when you pull the ends of the cracker, it splits with a bang (much like a cap gun). Typically the joy of opening a cracker is shared by two people, with one pulling on each end.

Store-bought crackers usually have a small toy or trinket, a joke or riddle on a slip of paper, and a tissue-paper hat inside. My mother has made homemade crackers using cloth and toilet paper tubes and fills them with more extravagant surprises and chocolates. Crackers are typically opened just before the Christmas dinner, and those who get into the spirit will wear the hats throughout the meal.

Tom Smith of London, England, invented crackers in 1847, as a promotion to sell his bon-bon sweets, which he sold in a twist of paper. The banger was added to emulate the crackle of a log on a fire, and eventually the crackers increased in size and trinkets and hats replaced the sweets.

I can’t imagine sitting down to Christmas dinner without finding a cracker next to each plate. Whatever the rituals may be in your home, I hope your Christmas was a peaceful and merry one!

Susan R. Hughes writes contemporary and historical romance novels set in Canada. She lives in Ottawa, Ontario, with her husband and three children. Learn more about her books at www.susanrhughes.weebly.com

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Babies at Christmas by Susan R. Hughes

There’s just something about a baby born at Christmastime that readers can’t get enough of. My first holiday romance novel, A Baby for Christmas, sells better than any of my other books all through the year. Two years after its release, I’ve finally gotten around to working on a sequel, although it won’t be ready for publication until next fall. The title, as you may be able to guess, is A Baby for New Year’s (or should it be New Year? I haven’t decided).

This time, the plot revolves around a heroine whose young niece is having a baby and needs her help. The hero is the heroine’s former brother-in-law (family complications are half the fun). Usually I write my Christmas romances in the summer, but I’m getting an early jump on this one. There are advantages to writing so far in advance. I’ll have plenty of time for revisions, editing, and gathering the thoughts of my beta readers. And it’s certainly a nice change to be writing about a season as I’m experiencing it, rather than trying to describe winter weather during the hottest days of July.

It’s not all smooth sailing, though. About a third of the way into a manuscript, I usually hit a wall. I look back through everything I’ve written so far – stuff I thought was brilliant while I was writing it – and decide it’s just awful. But I keep going, work through it, revise and edit until eventually the story and the writing are the best they can be. I can’t wait to see if readers of A Baby for Christmas like the sequel just as much.

Susan R. Hughes writes contemporary and historical romance novels set in Canada. She lives in Ottawa, Ontario, with her husband and three children. Learn more about her books at www.susanrhughes.weebly.com

 

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Halloween Memories by Susan R. Hughes

Halloween is still a month away, but since candy and costumes have already arrived in stores, I figure it’s not too early to get into the spirit of the season – especially since I’ve got a brand-new Halloween romance novella to introduce.

When I was a kid, Halloween was a much-anticipated holiday. My mother always made my costumes by hand, and I was extremely proud to wear them. I wish I had the time and skills to make my kids’ costumes like she did. I remember going with her to the fabric store to choose a pattern and material. My favourite was the bat costume (pictured - me with my friends in 1980).

My friends and I decorated pillowcases to hold our haul of candy. We spent a couple of hours trick-or-treating, hitting as many houses as possible before the neighbours ran out of candy and started shutting off their lights and/or we got too cold (if it was a chilly autumn). We loved the houses that were copiously decorated, and all the better if they had eerie lights and music. We always ended the night at my aunt and uncle’s house, where we’d sit by the fire and stuff ourselves with candy and roasted pumpkin seeds. 

After I got too old for trick-or-treating, I looked forward to someday taking my kids through the neighbourhood and re-experiencing the excitement through their eyes. My girls are ten and six years old now, just the right age to get the most from the celebrations. To this day, we continue the tradition of stopping in at my aunt and uncle’s house at the end of the evening. It just wouldn’t be Halloween otherwise.

My new novella, Halloween Kisses, combines the magic of romance and Halloween. It’s available now on pre-order from Amazon for only 99 cents.

 

One kiss can change everything. Dulcie has had a secret crush on her co-worker Rowan for ages, but she’s too shy to let him know, and preoccupied with raising her rebellious teenage sister. When she bumps into him in the darkness of a haunted barn, she can't resist stealing just one kiss. 

That kiss enchants Rowan. If only he could figure out the identity of the woman whose kiss haunts him. While running from a troubled past, he may find that the woman he least suspects could lead him out of the dark forever.

Susan R. Hughes writes contemporary and historical romance novels set in Canada. She lives in Ottawa, Ontario, with her husband and three children. Learn more about her books at www.susanrhughes.weebly.com

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Once Upon an Addiction by Susan R. Hughes

If you have Netflix, you also need self-control. I’ve got one and not the other. I’ve been binge-watching the first four seasons of Once Upon a Time. It’s taken me all summer to get through all eighty-nine episodes. Last week, I finally reached the last episode, just in time for the new season starting in late September.

All it took was one episode to get me hooked. Perhaps the show resonated with me because, with small kids, I’ve watched so many Disney movies based on fairytales. The show is not appropriate for young kids, but within its storylines are themes of family, courage, loss, sacrifice, forgiveness, the power of true love, and discovering that home is where the heart is (or in this case, a town in Maine populated by storybook characters transported into our world by an evil queen’s curse).

The central character is Emma, the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, who has grown up in our world in the foster care system and doesn’t believe in magic. The young son she gave up for adoption, who was raised by the evil queen, finds Emma and brings her to Storybrooke to save the town from the curse that is keeping them trapped there, unaware of their true identities.

The premise might sound preposterous, but it doesn’t take long to find yourself ensnared in the plot. Each episode flips between events in the past and present, with a theme linking the two parts, and characters who have depth beyond their animated counterparts. The heroes have strength and heart as well as human weaknesses, and the women aren’t helpless princesses waiting in towers to be rescued; Snow White knows how to wield a sword and vanquish a foe. Even the villains win our sympathy with backstories that explain how their hearts turned dark. The struggle between good and evil within the individual becomes the focus of many of the storylines.

I find it fascinating the way the writers weave diverse fairytales together into an intricate plot, including not only classic tales like Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, but also Frankenstein, The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan (who knew that Captain hook could be sexy?). Throughout the seasons, new details and revelations keep us guessing and craving more.

The show is its own curse, eating into my reading and sleeping time. I’ve spent too many evening sitting up late, glued to my TV set, telling myself I’d watch just ten minutes more and go to bed (fat chance). Now I need to wait a month for my next fix. At least I won’t be able to binge-watch anymore – I’ll have to watch season five once a week as the episodes are broadcast on ABC. Can’t wait!

Do you have a favourite show that’s become an addiction?

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Susan R. Hughes writes contemporary and historical romance novels. Want to keep up with news from Sweet Romance Reads authors? Sign up for the SRR newsletter today. Like chatting about Sweet Romance? Join the authors of Sweet Romance Reads in our cyber Café!