Do You Ever Go Novembering? by Alicia Street

I do. Novembering is what I call indulging in the deep nostalgia that takes over my brain in November. To me, it's a month for remembering. The summer is truly gone, and with Thanksgiving approaching and the Christmas holidays right around the corner, I can’t help but go back to thoughts of years past.

                                                                               Image courtesy of Creative Commons Soerfm-Larsso

I love to take walks in the crisp autumn air and remember all the things I’m grateful to have lived and experienced. All the people who’ve touched my life and the things I’ve been lucky enough to do. A few years back, my mom passed away just before Thanksgiving, so memories of her warmth always fill me when I see the leaves turning gold. And I can’t seem to stop myself from collecting the prettiest autumn leaves and pressing them into the pages of a book—a yearly ritual my mom and I began when I was seven years old.  

I was one of four children and both my parents came from large families, so the fall and winter holidays meant our house was often filled with cousins and aunts and uncles and neighbors and the excitement of food and crafts and festivities. Novembering is also that special feeling I get from returning to familiar rituals—like making cranberry sauce from fresh berries or sticking cloves in oranges to make pomanders or finding my Grandmother’s big serving platter for the turkey—the kinds of things that I've shared with family and friends year after year. 

I can’t help the childlike giddiness that fills me with precious memories whenever November rolls around. By the time I get through the month and Thanksgiving arrives, I’ve catalogued a whole life’s worth of thankfulness.

Do you ever go Novembering?

Alicia Street is a USA TODAY bestselling author and a Daphne du Maurier award-winner. She spent many years as a dancer, choreographer and teacher and is a compulsive reader of every genre. She loves watching old black-and-white movies and inventing new recipes for soups. Alicia often writes in collaboration with her husband, Roy, and is grateful to have the kind of marriage that proves romance novel love really exists.

You can connect with Alicia at her website or visit her on Facebook or Twitter. Her sweet romance novel, TOMBOY BRIDE, is on sale for just $0.99. Find it on Kindle or Nook. 

What Time of the Year Is It? by Merrillee Whren

As readers we like to know about the setting for a book. Some readers like long, elaborate descriptions. Others prefer a short description and much more action in a story. As part of the setting the author must give the reader an idea about the time of the year in which the book takes place.

If rooftops are covered in snow and trees are draped in white or lights are strung on the bushes, the reader knows it is winter, at least in the northern hemisphere.

Have you ever read a book where January is hot? If you have, you may be reading a story set in Australia. If you live in the northern hemisphere, you have to adjust your thinking when you read a book set in the southern hemisphere or vice versa. For the convenience of today's blog, the references will refer to the northern hemisphere.

If the author mentions azaleas in bloom, you can count on a spring setting. Tulips and daffodils would also signal spring.

Summertime would find the characters wearing shorts, going to the beach or attending a baseball game.

Colorful leaves, a pumpkin on a porch or a Thanksgiving meal would let the reader know it's a fall setting.

Does it make a difference to you in which season of the year a book is set. Do you have a favorite? Do you like stories set around holidays, especially Christmas?

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  thirty-five plus years, and has two grown daughters. Her latest book, A PLACE TO CALL HOME, is available at all major ebook retailers.You can find the buy links at her website. Connect with her on her Facebook page.

It’s a Homemade Christmas! by Aileen Fish

Our family has started a new tradition in recent years for our gift giving. We make all our gifts now. Since there are up to 12-15 of us gathering in any year, we’ve streamlined our production a bit. No bed-sized quilts or afghans, but maybe table-runners and scarves or hats.

This is part of my gift-making this year, carefully disguised as a mess to keep family from figuring out what I’m doing. I think the duct tape is kind of scary if you’re on the receiving end! And notice the laptop in the middle where I looked up tutorials and ordered more goodies.

In the past, I made sugar and salt scrubs, soaps, bath fizzies and lotions. My sister-in-law makes beautiful jewelry. My brother-in-law makes the best chili ever! And last year one of my sons-in-law made home brewed beer for the guys.

We’ve had jerky several years in a row by different people. Chicken breasts and steaks work well for this. I made mine in a dehydrator, and my sons-in-law used smokers.

Anything that can be canned is great salsa, spaghetti sauce, jams, relishes, pickles…you name it! Canning jars can be bought year-rounds at Amazon.

Jewelry supplies can be found at many online shops. I like Fire Mountain Gems, as they have sale prices as low at $.70, and give discounts based on the number of items ordered. I usually start at Amazon for any tools and supplies since I have Prime membership so the shipping is free. Look at Pinterest for ideas. Many of the pinned photos link to a tutorial.

It’s fun to involve the kids, too. Baked goods like cookies and breads work well. The dollar stores have tins for $1 (naturally!) so it can be very budget-friendly.

Do you enjoy making gifts for others, at the holidays or other times of the year? What types of things do you/have you made?

~*~

USA Today Bestselling Author Aileen Fish is an avid quilter and auto racing fan who finds there aren't enough hours in a day/week/lifetime to stay up with her "to do" list. There is always another quilt or story begging to steal away attention from the others. When she has a spare moment she enjoys spending time with her two daughters and their families, and her fairy princess granddaughter. Her books include The Bridgethorpe Brides series and the Small Town Sweethearts series.

Her latest release is an anthology of the first three novellas in the Small Town Sweethearts series, appropriately titles Small Town Sweethearts.

Stay up to date with book releases at her website http://aileenfish.com or on Facebook.

Something About A Cowboy

by Shanna Hatfield

 This week I'm up to my ears in cowboys and Christmas fun. (What a great problem, huh?)

The sight of a cowboy in a pair of dusty boots with his hat settled just so on his head never fails to make me smile.

My appreciation of cowboys and the western way of life came naturally, growing up as a horse-crazy girl on our farm in Eastern Oregon.

The fact my oldest brother spent weeks (and sometimes) months at a time working on remote ranches next door to the edge of nowhere only added to my fascination. He’d arrive home full of exciting tales of daring that made me sit up and take notice. Sometimes, he brought along a fellow cowpoke in need of a home-cooked meal and a few days of rest before they headed back to boonies.

As a little girl, I’d listen to them talk about a way of life that seemed to be all but disappearing. They always smelled like leather and horses and sunshine - a scent I still love to this day.

When I began writing sweet romances, it was a natural fit for me to make most of my heroes cowboys. Some of my stories take place in historical settings, others are modern day, but they common thread is that the men live by an unspoken code of honor I always associate with cowboys. With those boots and hats, it can be a lethal combination to the hearts of unsuspecting women.

In The Christmas Cowboy and Wrestlin’ Christmas, the first two books in the Rodeo Romance series, neither heroine wants to fall for a cowboy.

Here’s an excerpt from The Christmas Cowboy -
Quickly jumping off the fence, Tate jogged toward the stands. Kenzie looked around, getting her bearings, as he hustled up the steps and squatted down beside her.
“Dewdrop, I didn’t think you’d be able to make it.” He took her hand in his and squeezed her fingers. The warmth in her eyes as she gazed at him made his heartbeat kick into overdrive. Maybe she cared about him more than she wanted to admit.
The jubilant smile on his face made her glad she raced through her presentation, ran through the hotel as if the building was aflame, and pleaded with the taxi driver to put some hustle in it so she’d arrive at the rodeo on time.

And an excerpt from Wrestlin’ Christmas -
Tall and brawny, Cort McGraw happened to be one of the most handsome men she’d ever seen. From his silvery-gray eyes rimmed with black eyelashes to the dimple in his all-too-attractive chin, she wished Kenzie had given her some warning. If she’d known what he looked like, that he was so young, rugged, and hunky, she would have told Tate not to bother sending Cort to her place.
Mercy, he smelled good, too. Even now, his manly, musky fragrance filled her senses. Annoyed with herself for savoring his heady scent, she brushed at her nose, hoping to chase away the lingering aroma of his aftershave.

Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund®

Now through Dec. 24, I’ll donate 10 percent of the net proceeds from all book sales to the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund. The JCCF is a non-profit organization that assists rodeo athletes who’ve sustained catastrophic injuries and are unable to work for an extended period.

 I first learned about them when I was researching details for The Christmas Cowboy. Because they were so great to work with, I wanted to give a little something back. This is my second year to donate to JCCF.

Debuts and Freebies

In addition to all the cowboy fun this wee, the third book in the Hardman Holidays sweet Victorian romance series releases Thursday, Nov. 13!
The Christmas Calamity takes readers back to Hardman just in time for the holiday season. Preorders are available now for just $1.99 on Kindle. You can reserve your copy here: http://amzn.com/B00OGOO994
Arlan Guthry hasn’t got a chance once Alex the Amazing rolls into town…
Dependable and solid, Arlan Guthry relishes his orderly life as a banker’s assistant in the small town of Hardman, Oregon. He has good friends, a great job, and the possibility of marriage to the town’s schoolteacher. His uncluttered world tilts off kilter when the beautiful and enigmatic prestidigitator Alexandra Janowski arrives in town, spinning magic and trouble in her wake as the holiday season approaches.

In addition, the first book in the Hardman Holidays series, The Christmas Bargain, is available for free Kindle downloads Nov. 11 through Nov. 15!

You’re Invited to PARTY!

You’re invited to join in the online Cowboys & Christmas Facebook Party today, Thursday, Nov. 13 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (PST). Drop in anytime during those four hours to enter to win great prizes, chat with guest authors, and more! Here’s the link to the party: http://tinyurl.com/cowboychristmasparty 
The wonderful and fabulous Melinda Curtis will  be a guest author at the party at 1:30 p.m. (PT).

 

Enter to Win Prizes!

To enter the drawing for an Amazon gift card, autographed books, chocolates, original western artwork, and more fun goodies, fill out this form.
http://tinyurl.com/cowboychristmasprizes 


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A hopeless romantic with a bit of sarcasm thrown in for good measure, Shanna Hatfield is a bestselling author of sweet romantic fiction written with a healthy dose of humor. In addition to blogging and eating too much chocolate, she is completely smitten with her husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller.
Shanna creates character-driven romances with realistic heroes and heroines. Her historical westerns have been described as “reminiscent of the era captured by Bonanza and The Virginian” while her contemporary works have been called “laugh-out-loud funny, and a little heart-pumping sexy without being explicit in any way.”
She is a member of Western Writers of America, Women Writing the West, and Romance Writers of America.
Find Shanna’s books at:
Amazon | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords | Apple
Shanna loves to hear from readers! Follow her online:
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