Delicious and Easy Hot Apple Cider - Raine English

One of my favorite beverages to serve during the holidays is hot apple cider. Guests love it, and it’s easy to prepare. I thought you might like it as well, so I decided to share this delicious recipe. I hope you enjoy it!

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USA Today bestselling author Raine English writes sweet small-town contemporary romance, along with paranormal and Gothic romantic suspense. She’s a Daphne du Maurier Award winner and a Golden Heart finalist. To receive information on all her new releases, you can sign up for her newsletter, visit her website, like her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.

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What Are You Thankful For?

By Margaret Daley

With Thanksgiving next week (I can't believe it is already the middle of November), I started thinking what was I thankful for this year. Here is my list.

1. For God is in my life.

2. For my family—especially the times I've been able to spend with my two granddaughters.

3. For living in the United States—although I'm so glad that the election is finally over with.

4. For the beautiful weather this fall.

5. For my son and his dog escaping safely from his house fire.

6. For my friends.

7. For my vacation to St. Petersburg—gorgeous weather and the water was perfect. It was a much needed break from non stop writing.

8. For people who love to read books and the writers who write them—I love immersing myself in a good book. The past weeks I've been reading several books by James Rollins and loving every minute.

9. For being able to do what I love to do: write books and teach children with special needs.

10. For my husband who I have been married to for forty-six years.

Making this list made me stop and think about my last year. I think this is more important about Thanksgiving than the turkey dinner we have. The holiday gives us a chance to reflect what is important in our lives.

What are you thankful for this year?

My current book was just release yesterday. Deadly Night, Silent Night is the 8th book in my Strong Women, Extraordinary Situations Series.

Revenge. Sabotage. Second Chances. Widow Rebecca Howard runs a successful store chain that is being targeted during the holiday season. Detective Alex Kincaid, best friends with Rebecca’s twin brother, is investigating the hacking of the store’s computer system. When the attacks become personal, Alex must find the assailant before Rebecca, the woman he’s falling in love with, is murdered.

You can find out more about Margaret Daley at http://www.margaretdaley.com.

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Cranberry Days by Alicia Street

There are so many wonderful foods to eat this time of year, but one of my favorites is cranberries. They’re like a harbinger of the holiday season and bring to mind days of feasts and family and fun.

They’re high in vitamin C and disease-fighting antioxidants. And I love their color!

But you don’t have to wait for the traditional Thanksgiving cranberry sauce.

Here is a simple and fast recipe for Cranberry Scones.

2 cups flour

½ cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 stick butter, cold and diced

1 medium egg

¼ cup milk

¾ cup cranberries

Preheat oven at 375 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and powder.

Cut in the butter.

Beat the egg and add it to the mix, then stir in the milk.

Add the cranberries and toss to spread through the batter.

Spread mixture on baking sheet and cut into squares or triangles. Keep them about ½ inch thick. Makes about eight.

Bake 25 minutes.

These are great with cream cheese and a cup of hot chocolate.

Alicia Street is a USA Today bestselling author           
and a Daphne du Maurier award-winner.

A compulsive reader of every genre, she writes

both sweet and steamy romance. She spent many

years as a dancer, choreographer and teacher.

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What Happened on November 14?

History has always been fascinating to me. It's fun to look back and see what interesting things have happened in history on any given date. Some of them are good and some are bad. Here are few things that have happened in history on November 14.

In 1732 the first professional librarian in the US, Louis Timothee, was hired in Philadelphia. I found this interesting since my older daughter is an academic librarian.

For all of us book lovers, Moby Dick was published on November 14, 1851, and reporter Nellie Bly, aka Elizabeth Cochrane, set out to beat the fictional conquest of going around the world in 80 days. She completed the task in 72 days, 6 hours and 11 minutes.

I was reminded of two of the bad things from this date while we were traveling in Europe in recent years. On November 14, 1935, the Nazi's took away German citizenship from the Jews. Here is a photo of the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin, Germany.

 

 The other tragedy occurred on November 14, 1956, when the USSR squelched the Hungarian revolt. This is a photo taken in Budapest, Hungary. The photo below is a Soviet era car that is made mostly of cardboard and is left on the street as a reminder of the occupation.

 

Now let's move on to some more pleasant happenings for November 14. 

In 1968, Yale became a coed university.

In 1972, the Dow Jones closed above 1,000 for the first time.

In 1994, the first public trains ran in the English Channel Tunnel.

In 1997, the Lion King sets a daily Broadway sales record of $2,700,000.

In 2012, the smartphones app for Candy Crush Saga was released.

In 2013, a picture of one of the rarest mammals, the saola, an Asian unicorn, is released. 

Which one of these events is the most surprising or interesting to you? 

I will be giving away a print copy of my book Montana Match to someone who leaves a comment. If you live outside the US, I will send an e-book copy of another one of my books. I will draw the winner on November 15, 2016, at 9PM MST. 

Have you subscribed to our Sweet Romance Reads newsletter yet? 
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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. Connect with her on her Facebook page and sign up for her newsletter.

 

Thanksgiving by Cindy Flores Martinez

Sometimes I find myself complaining about the smallest things, like when the internet is too slow or the weather is still hot long after summer is over. And I have to remind myself how blessed I am to have the internet and access to air conditioning. There are so many people who would probably give anything to have them too.

 So, I began the habit of making a mental list of things that I’m thankful for. Here are a few of them:

1. Electricity – Having access to electricity makes life amazing! I shudder when I imagine what it would be like without it.

2. Shelter – Even though my home is in desperate need of costly repairs, I have a safe place to live. What if I didn’t have a home at all?

3. Food – My dad often told me that when he first came to America from Mexico, he was overwhelmed when he walked into a supermarket and saw all the food that was available. He had grown up in a big city, but even so, he had never seen so much food available in one store and so much variety, especially fruits and vegetables. And then there are people who won’t live to see another day because they don’t have food. I am thankful for having access to life-giving food.

4. The Internet – In honor of all those who don’t have a connection to the World Wide Web, I will be thankful that I do, even when it’s slow or isn’t working and a service technician isn’t available for days. Most of the time, it is awesome.

5. Life – Just getting up in the morning and walking without assistance is the biggest blessing of all. Yes, my body aches like crazy sometimes and sometimes I’m dizzy and my head hurts because of allergies or for whatever reason. But there are people who can’t get out of bed at all and who never will again.

There’s so much else to be thankful for, like family and friends, and just too many things to name. I will be reflecting on them this thanksgiving season – and all year long.

What about you? What are you thankful for?

Here’s wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

Cindy Flores Martinez is a USA Today bestselling author. She writes sweet, Christian and Spanish romance. She has an MFA in Creative Writing with an emphasis in Screenwriting. Her debut novel, Mail-Order Groom, started as a screenplay and movie project, which she shopped around Hollywood, New York, and other parts of the world. You can learn more about her at www.cindyfloresmartinez.com

Thanksgiving Conversation Starters by Josie Riviera

Thanksgiving is near, and I'm assuming you have the perfect recipes for Thanksgiving dinner.

So instead, I'll concentrate on some great conversation starters to ensure a smooth, pleasant holiday meal for your family and friends. Here's some safe ideas that should maintain everyone's interest and won't ruffle any feathers. (Pun intended!) :)

 First, let's begin with the classic conversation starter:

What are you most thankful for?

If your friends and relatives flew in for the holiday, you can always begins with, "How was your flight?"  Then, initiate a conversation regarding airline travel and ways to improve the process. For instance, did you know that although many airlines board from back to front, it's considered the slowest and least efficient method? According to Mythbusters, one of the fastest methods of boarding is no method at all, simply boarding altogether with no seat assignments!

Here's some other ideas for interesting conversation starters:

What are you most looking forward to in the upcoming holiday season?

Who's the funniest person in the room?

Engage parents and grandparents with these questions:

 Where and how did you first meet?

How did you celebrate Thanksgiving when you were a child?


Do you have a favorite conversation starter when dining with family and friends? 
Please share in the comments below. 



 USA TODAY Bestselling author Josie Riviera writes Historical, Inspirational, and Sweet Romances. 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 an old house forever needing renovations.

For more conversation starters which will be posted later this month, check out my new website and subscribe to my blog and newsletter at josieriviera.com

In the mood for a sweet contemporary holiday romance?

Snag a copy of Candleglow and Mistletoe, on sale for only $.99!

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Party for a Cause by Shanna Hatfield

As a writer, sometimes the research I delve into for my stories takes me places I never envisioned and provides the opportunity to meet some incredible people.

Back in 2013, I was researching details for The Christmas Cowboy, the first book in my Rodeo Romance series. I wanted to know how much medical care an injured cowboy would receive at a rodeo versus going to the hospital.

In the story, the hero is a saddle bronc rider named Tate who sustains an injury at a rodeo. In an attempt to get my facts straight for the story, I reached out to the Justin Sportsmedicine Team®. Through mobile medical centers, they provide care at more than 125 PRCA rodeos annually. Their responses to my questions were extremely helpful and I was so impressed with them, I wanted to do a little something in return.

So I launched a campaign to donate a portion of my book sales to the JCCF during the month of December.

Last year, I included the month of November to my promotion, giving two months to raise donations for JCCF.

Help a Cowboy, Read a Book!

November 1 through December 24,  ten percent of the net proceeds from all Shanna Hatfield book sales will be donated 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. Every book purchased during this promotional period adds to the donation total. Don’t forget to include books on your Christmas lists!

If you enjoy rodeos and the cowboys who make them possible, I hope you’ll take a look at the JCCF. It’s a great organization that really does make a difference when these cowboys are injured.

To kick off my campaign and celebrate the upcoming holiday season, I’m hosting the 3rd annual Cowboys and Christmas Party on Facebook today! (Nov. 10. ) Come join in the shenanigans, prize drawings, giveaways and fun! 

http://tinyurl.com/cowboychristmasFB3 

You might even see a few familiar faces from Sweet Romance Reads among the guest hosts!

And even if you can't make the party, you can still get in on this giveaway for a $50 Amazon gift card! Enter here!

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 USA Today Bestselling Author Shanna Hatfield writes character-driven romances with relatable 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." 

Convinced everyone deserves a happy ending, this hopeless romantic is out to make it happen one story at a time. When she isn’t writing or indulging in chocolate (dark and decadent, please), Shanna hangs out with her husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller.

Find Shanna’s books at:

Amazon | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords | Apple | Audible

Shanna loves to hear from readers. Follow her online at:

ShannaHatfield | Facebook | Newsletter | Pinterest | Goodreads | You Tube | Twitter