romance with a Christmas or holiday theme
I’m excited to have my friend, author Barbara White Daille, visiting today. Her new book is One Week to Win Her Boss, a sweet Christmas romance. In this book, it’s Cinderella vs. Scrooge. You’ll love the story!
Single mom Amber Barnett loves family, kids, Christmas…and unfortunately, her boss, confirmed bachelor Michael DeFranco. It’s a crush she really needs to get over. Except, when she’s temporarily forced from her apartment, her only option is to stay at Michael’s private ski lodge, where she’s the housekeeper. No problem. Her handsome boss rarely visits Snowflake Valley unexpectedly, plus he’s spending the holidays with his family. Or so she thinks.
A stormy Christmas Eve reunion leaves Michael seeking the solitude of his lodge, where he finds Amber in residence—and in trouble. Attempting to save her from her matchmaking family, he announces they’re a couple. His good deed backfires when they’re instantly included in each and every holiday event in town. So much for solitude.
Only the more time he spends with the beautiful, cheery brunette, the more he yearns to make things real between them. But he and Amber want different things, and Michael could never be the family man she’s looking for.
Genre Sweet romance
Book heat level: PG13
Entangled Publishing https://entangledpublishing.com/one-week-to-win-her-boss.html
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076PJ7SNN
Barnes and Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1127274067
iBooks https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/one-week-to-win-her-boss/id1299758237
Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/one-week-to-win-her-boss
Check out Barbara’s Book Birthday giveaway on another site: http://bit.ly/owrafyzXtx
Barbara White Daille lives with her husband in the sunny Southwest. Though they love the warm winters and the lizards in their front yard, they haven’t gotten used to the scorpions in the bathroom. Barbara also loves writing, reading, and chocolate. Come to think of it, she enjoys writing about those subjects, too!
Barbara wrote her first short story at the age of nine, then typed “The End” to her first novel many years later…in the eighth grade. Now she’s writing contemporary romance on a daily basis. Sign up for her newsletter to keep up with the latest in her writing life: https://barbarawhitedaille.com/newsletter.
Website https://www.barbarawhitedaille.com
Blog http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com/blog
Twitter https://twitter.com/BarbaraWDaille
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/barbarawhitedaille
Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/529361.Barbara_White_Daille
Amazon Author Page http://bit.ly/azbwd
People and pets will go hungry this Christmas. It’s sad that in the midst of all our plenty, there are still some who won’t get enough to eat. Why not be a blessing this Christmas? If you want to offer help and make a difference, here are some concrete things you can do.
You can offer help in a concrete way. Instead of stocking up on cranberry sauce and stuffing, here are some items people need every day of the year. Donate these and you help people long after the holidays are over. Once you determine a place to donate, consider offering some of these items.
1) For people on food stamps and other assistance, a food allowance is provided, but it doesn’t cover diapers, paper towels, toilet paper, or cleaning supplies. When it’s on sale, stock up and donate some of the extra.
2) Personal hygiene products are vital. Consider picking up small travel sizes (handy for those who are homeless).
3) One of the biggest needs is for baby food and formula. Getting the dry powder to mix is great, and less expensive. If you get coupons for these items, stock up when they go on sale. Offer help personally if you know someone with a baby by bringing coupons, offering to drive them to the store, shop for them, or even to just sit down and talk. New parents are often exhausted. Having someone offer help might make a big difference.
4) Healthy snacks for children to pack in lunches, such as granola bars, milk boxes, juice boxes, and fresh fruit like apples and oranges. These keep well.
5) Salt, pepper (especially the type in small shakers), mayo, ketchup, mustard, barbecue sauce, sriracha, salsa, and other condiments such as salad dressing.
6) Donate non-perishable proteins. Pick up cans of tuna, chicken, ham, beans, jars of peanut butter, or almond butter.
A site in the Atlanta area for helping families is Papa’s Pantry. They let families come in and shop at no cost for what they need in a small store of donated items. The site is always in need of donations. They also teach workshops such as budgeting, job-finding skills, resume creation, and how to coupon. Knowledge and skill help break the cycle of need.
When people are in tough financial straits, they sometimes have to surrender their animals to a shelter because they can’t take care of them anymore. That’s so sad! Do you have a pet? When you shop for your own, grab a few extra cans of dog and cat food. Even one can of food will make a difference to a hungry animal. Local shelters love getting extra food. They can use old blankets and towels too. Call your local shelter and ask what they need most. After a natural disaster such as a wildfire, flood, or earthquake, consider contacting one of the service agencies that help homeless pets. One in the Atlanta area is the Homeless Pets Foundation.
I want to give a shout out to Rob’s Rescues near Atlanta, GA. http://www.robsrescues.com/ Rob writes a column every month for four magazines in the Cherokee and Cobb county areas north of Atlanta. He profiles one dog and one cat each month from both the Cobb County Animal Shelter and Cherokee the County Animal Shelter and tries to get them adopted. He does pet food drives in local businesses and animal hospitals, and gives pet food to people who can’t afford to feed their pets. He has done interviews with people like the Gwinnett County Sheriff about the Jail Dogs Program. He’s been doing this since May 2015. The unusual thing about Rob is that he is still in elementary school! Just goes to show that to help others, you only have to be willing.
I urge you to click the Rob’s Rescues link, visit his site, and help him accomplish his mission of feeding pets.
Welcome to the Holly Jolly Hop. This hop runs from 13 – 20 Dec 2016, and is held on Facebook. There are 60 authors taking part, which means multiple prizes and opportunities to win.
The Prize for my stop is (winner’s choice) either a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card. My prize is open internationally for Amazon readers, and the US for Barnes and Noble. Your prize will be emailed to you, so if you win, I will need your email.
The featured book for this hop is A Romance for Christmas. This sweet feel-good holiday romance reaffirms all you love about Christmas. It’s Christmas Eve, and the end of a year in which everything Dara loves was lost. Everything but her little girl and a fierce determination to survive. When a cop brings Christmas to her door, he brings another gift she never expected to get.
I don’t bake often. Since I retired, I try to grab lunch and dinner out with friends, or pick up convenience foods. My local grocery stores have wonderful, fresh made items prepared and all I have to do is take them home and pop them in the microwave. But when it’s Christmas, I love to make bread pudding. This recipe is easy, and it’s a favorite.
You can download and share this recipe in pdf format. It includes the Bread Pudding recipe plus bonus recipes for Sweet Butter Topping and Cinnamon Sprinkle
Bread Pudding Ingredients
1 loaf whole grain bread, broken into small pieces
2 12 oz. cans evaporated milk
1 cup water
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
5 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup butter, softened
(Optional: Add 1 cup raisins)
Place broken bread pieces in a large bowl. If using, add the raisins.
Combine milk, water, vanilla, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon, and sugar, and blend well.
Pour over the bread and toss to coat. If dry, add 2-3 teaspoonsful of water, one at a time, until bread is well moistened.
Pour mixture into a greased 13×9 inch baking dish.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes or until set.
Serve warm with ice cream, or drizzle with your favorite icing. Download the PDF for additional recipes.
ON DECEMBER 13th go to my Facebook page: http://facebook.com/kayelleallen.author and find the post for the Holly Jolly Hop. It’s right at the top. While there, comment with the name of a friend you’d like to see at Christmas. That’s all there is to it!
If you like my page I can tag you if you win. This is not required but greatly appreciated. Tell your friends about this giveaway. Like this post, share this post, tag a friend, tap someone on the shoulder, etc.
You must enter on Facebook. Comments here are great, but they won’t enter you into the Holly Jolly Hop.
The next Holly Jolly Hop stop is here: https://www.facebook.com/mjohnstonwriter/ and you’ll also see that link on my Facebook page. For more fun hops and goodies from other events, visit Fiction Books, Readers, Writers, and Reviewers on Facebook. Have fun and enjoy hopping!
Enter to win the Grand Prize Kindle Paperwhite and find a list of all stops and giveaways on the hop on CM McCoy’s website. http://www.cmmccoy.com/blog/holly-jolly-holiday-giveaway-kindle-paperwhite-or-50-gc/
The Holly Jolly Hop giveaway is open until 11:59pm EST, 20 Dec 2016. The prize from me is open internationally. Other authors in the hop may have different requirements. Random winner selected from comments. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Facebook is not responsible for the Holly Jolly Hop giveaway.
Who doesn't want to go home for Christmas? In the sweet holiday story, A Romance for Christmas, a widow with a small child answers a knock at her door late on Christmas Eve. When she answers, everything changes. This holiday tale is a story of love, loss, and the spirit of giving.
Everyone should stay home for Christmas -- that was Dara's belief. If her late husband had listened to her, he would still be here. Their daughter would still have a father. But job and duty had overshadowed family, and home. He would never be home for Christmas again...
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Dara was gaining strength daily, and would finish therapy the first week of January and return to work. Disability paid for the basics - lights, phone, water, trash collection, and she'd never bought anything on credit, refusing to dig herself into a hole she'd never escape once it got started.
She went to the closet and pulled down a box with a ball, crayons, paper, and three books. A friend had brought over a few things as well. This wasn't the grand Christmas she had wanted for her daughter, but all the other valuables had been sold. There was nothing left but her wedding ring.
She didn't wear it. Removing it had been part of saying good-bye to Jack.
They said it would help, and it had. Sort of. But not much.
Dara sank into one of the kitchen chairs and put her face in her hands.
Sometime later, when the doorbell rang, she grabbed a paper towel and dried her eyes. The clock over the stove said nine o'clock. Who would be calling at this hour on Christmas Eve? She stuffed the wet towel in her robe pocket on the way to the door.
