NOTHING SHORT OF A MIRACLE

Please welcome back Carol Henry, author of NOTHING SHORT OF A MIRACLE, an Amazon Encore Exclusive.

Gabriella Rumsey’s life is turned upside down when a car crash claims the lives of her sister and brother-in-law and she becomes an instant mother to her three-month old niece. Her family gone, her finances limited, her degree and career path on hold, how is she ever going to manage motherhood on her own?

 Chad Hempstead, an author of action-packed crime novels, is jaded by love. His ex-fiancée dragged him through court for financial gain. No way is he ever going to let a female take advantage of his fame and fortune again. But when he walks into his parents’ home and finds sexy Gabriella Rumsey, whose car he rear-ended two days earlier, ensconced in a Normal Rockwell Christmas scene, his heart has a hard time listening to his head. 

With the two of them living under the same roof during the holidays, it will be nothing short of a miracle if they are able to work out their differences, and keep their hands off each other long enough to discover the bonds that will bring them together.

EXCERPT:

The second he stepped inside, steam swirled around him. Across the room, a mirage of rich moist skin appeared as if in a dream. Long slender legs, hips, breasts, arms, stepped from behind the shower curtain. Gabby’s outstretched arm was as seductive as hell as she blindly searched for, and retrieved, a towel. She didn’t see him until she stepped from the tub while wrapping the large white towel around her gleaming body. She slowly tucked the ends into the folds that barely covered her moistened and full breasts.

Chad gulped.

Gabriella turned, looked up, and froze.

Chad couldn’t have moved if he wanted to. After thinking about her all night, seeing her undressed and dripping wet with bubbles sliding down her enticing body, his mind raced. His heart flipped over in his chest. His lower extremities hardened.

His dreams of her did not do her justice, nor did beautiful describe the golden goddess standing before him. The towel did nothing to hide her curves, which he could see were in all the right places. She wrapped the towel tighter around her wet, shower-spattered body, droplets clinging to her moist skin. But it was too late. Her naked body was etched in his memory forever. He didn’t want to apologize, but it was the right thing to do.

She stared at him for a second longer.

“Do you mind?” she whispered, her tone exasperated as water dripped and pooled around her bare feet on the floor.

Chad found it hard to speak.

Living with Gabriella Rumsey the next two weeks, a stone’s throw from his bedroom, was going to be hell.

AUTHOR BIO:

Carol Henry is the author of the ‘Connection’ series: Destination: Romance – Exotic Romantic Suspense Adventures, as well as contemporary romance, and historic women’s fiction. She is an international traveler, and travel writer of exotic locations for major cruise lines. Carol lives with her husband in the beautiful New York State Finger Lakes region where they are surrounded by family and friends. She is also an NYS local historian.

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WRAPPED UP IN YOU

Please welcome Erin Bevan, the author of WRAPPED UP IN YOU, released this November 30, 2016 by The Wild Rose Press. This story sounds like a Hallmark movie to me.

Princess Jenny Claus has thirty suitors to choose from to take on the role of Santa and her husband, and only three weeks to do it. When an outsider crashes into and destroys the toy factory, her Gala and the prospect of Christmas for children everywhere are ruined.

Logan Moss awakens from his plane crash, suffering from partial amnesia. Surrounded by a world he always considered make believe, he has a hard time accepting his new surroundings. Except for one snow princess who he’s deeply fascinated with. And when Logan realizes she only has three weeks to pick a husband, he begins to feel compelled to be that man. Problem is, he can’t remember if he has a wife.

With Christmas getting closer, Jenny has to make the hardest decision of her life…duty or love.

EXCERPT:

She gazed over the rest of his physique. Broad shoulders strained the stitches of his suit jacket, and from the looks of his chest, she would be willing to bet he hit North Pole Fitness on a daily basis. His grin showed snow-white, straight teeth, and a blush crept up her cheeks at his sparkling, undivided attention.

An answered prayer. At least God hadn’t taken a vacation day.

Her eye twitched again. Benigan must have thought she winked at him because his smile widened, and he twitched his eye back at her as he strolled away. She’d probably just filled the man with false  hope. Then again, his chances seemed pretty great compared to the others, so maybe she hadn’t. Was this small flutter in her stomach love? Was this what all the hype was about?

She’d expected a bolt of lightning to shoot from the sky, something earth shattering that would flip her whole world on its head to point her in the right direction. So far, all she got was a flutter…

A loud BOOM suddenly shook throughout the cottage walls as the lights flickered overhead.

Okay, that was definitely earth shattering.

She sucked in a breath and spun around to glance at her parents. The orchestra stopped playing while the party guests ceased their mingling and began speaking in startled cries and hushed tones.

Her father stood from his white and gold throne to place his hand on the small of her back.

“Dad, what do you think that was?” she whispered. “I don’t know.”

Sirens wailed in the distance as Peace and Joy, her father’s assistants, ran for the stage, each pressing a finger to their ear pieces.

“Ladies, what’s wrong? What’s happening?” her father asked.

“It’s the toy factory, sir,” Peace replied, nearly breathless.

“The toy factory? What about the toy factory?” Jenny grabbed her father’s arm and squeezed.

“A plane has crashed into it,” Joy answered.   “It’s on fire.”

AUTHOR BIO:

Erin Bevan was born and raised in Southwest Arkansas. She spent her teenage years working for her aunt at the local gas station, flipping burgers and making milkshakes, dreaming of the day when something better would come her way.

 Fast forward ten years later, she found herself stuck inside an apartment in South Korea, while her daughter went to preschool and her husband went to work. Alone and unable to speak the local language, she turned to books for a friend. After reading several in such a short time, she decided to try her hand at writing one.

 That first one sucked, but by the fifth and sixth book, Erin started to get the hang of this writing thing. Getting the first contract in her inbox was a dream come true. Now, with three babies at home, she squeezes in stories one word at a time, one sentence at a time, one day at a time. She’s a full time mom, a full time wife, with a little writer sprinkled in whenever she can get the chance.

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TIMELESS PASSION

Please welcome Kayden Claremont, the author of TIMELESS PASSION. If you like your holidays with a bit of sizzle, you’ll enjoy this story.

Museum director Tasha Banner needs a miracle. Without a great deal of luck and even more money, the pioneer museum will close. But when they demonstrate Hogmanay, a Scottish New Year’s tradition, a tall, dark, and yummy stranger walks through the door. Have the faeries sent her a miracle wrapped around the man of her dreams or will altering time bring disaster to them all?

Blacksmith Dougal MacBride walks into his home after a long day and finds strangers celebrating Hogmanay when it’s just days before Christmas. Confused beyond belief and incredibly aroused by the curvaceous bundle in front of his hearth, he is torn between the need to return to his time or remain in the present with the woman who may be his soul mate.

EXCERPT:

Dougal MacBride froze in his tracks in the doorway of his home.

“Happy New Year,” shouted a group of people he didn’t recognize. They stood in a small group gathered around his kitchen table.

They were dressed in strange clothing— brightly-colored coats on the men, women, and children alike. The women wore scandalous dungarees and their heads weren’t covered.

Fear gripped his throat and pounded at his temples. Who were these strangers and what were they doing in his home? They didn’t seem threatening, but Dougal looked around for a weapon and spotted the fire poker. “What are ye doing here?”

The strangers stared at him with eager anticipation, but for what he didn’t know. “Tell me, what are ye doing here?”

The only decently dressed woman stepped forward. Her floor-length dress was cinched tightly at the waist, accenting her full hips and ample bosom. Her blue eyes twinkled like the clear winter’s sky and her auburn curls, peeking out from under her white bonnet, framed a pretty face.

“Welcome to my home.”

“Yer home?”

The room felt warm to his cheeks, so he knew the fire had been blazing for a few hours. Whatever their reason for being here, he wouldn’t allow them to stake a claim to his home. He waved his hand at them, like swatting at bothersome flies. “Be gone with ye.”

The woman’s blue eyes clouded to a cool gray. “I’m Mrs. MacBride, the Scottish woman in the village and…”

“Yer not.”

AUTHOR BIO:

Kayden loves sexy, well-crafted stories of lust and love.  Her sensuous style drives the characters in lustful romps. When she is not crafting erotic romantic stories, she can be found crocheting or making jewelry.

Kayden is a member of Romance Writers of America, Toronto Romance Writers, and Writing Community of Durham Region. She hopes you enjoy her other books, Hell’s Bounty, Tartan Temptation, and Red Hot all published by The Wild Rose Press.

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NOT YOUR MAMA’S MAMBO

When the overbearing parents of billionaire Mike Woodley move back to town and reclaim the family home, he’s ready to escape to his new house. First, he needs an interior decorator. Local artist Darren Williams could be the answer to his prayers, until he insults her. But to pay off yet another of her sister’s gambling debts, she puts her bruised ego aside and accepts the job. 

As they work on Mike’s house, the sexual attraction between Mike and Darren ignites, though neither wants anything more than a fling. Darren is still getting past the death of her fiancé, and the marital discord in Mike’s family has discouraged him from settling down. Still, they can’t stay away from each other, until family matters intervene. Before their relationship can move on, Mike has to confront his family’s expectations and Darren must allow her own family to help her for once.

EXCERPT:

Did he have any idea how this mere contact awoke the nerve endings behind her ear? Momentarily, she was glued in place, telling the rest of her body to ignore the shock waves rippling down her neck to her lower region.

Even in the room’s dim shadows, she could tell when his eyes went smoky. “This room is giving me ideas I probably should ignore.” He paused, stared directly in her eyes, giving her a chance to decide the next move.

He was coming on to her. No mistake. She’d never been propositioned by a guy she barely knew. Well, maybe at a rave when she was much younger, but that didn’t count. Nothing from those days was real. Did he actually expect her to roll around naked on this wood subfloor? She couldn’t help glancing down. “Uh…”

“Let’s check out the other rooms.” His voice had gone hoarse, urgent.

AUTHOR BIO:

Barbara Barrett spent her professional career as a human resources analyst for Iowa state government, and that training has stayed with her in her writing of contemporary romance fiction. Now retired, Barbara spends her winters basking in the Florida sunshine and returns to her home state of Iowa in the summer to “stay cool.” Married to the man she met her senior year at the University of Iowa, they have two grown children and eight grandchildren. Not Your Mama’s Mambo is her eighth romance novel published by The Wild Rose Press and her third and final one in the “Sullivan’s Creek Series.” Her previous works include: And He Cooks Too, Driven to Matrimony, Saved by the Salsa, The Sleepover Clause, Tough Enough to Tango, Seduction on Wheels and Keeping It Casual. In October 2016, she joined Roxanne St. Claire’s Barefoot Bay Kindle world with her first novella, Paradise by Designs.

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CHE GELIDA MANINA

Please welcome M. S. Spencer. Her Christmas story, CHE GELIDA MANINA, is part of the EXQUISITE CHRISTMAS anthology and was released November, 2015. This story is about a second chance at love.

Che Gelida Manina is a sweet, romantic story of how love can come a second time around—if you let it.

Grace is devastated by the loss of her husband—the most romantic person she has ever known—and is determined to avoid any contact with the things they had loved. She refuses to walk her beloved beach, or light candles under the stars, or listen to his favorite opera, La Bohème.

When she meets Edward, she insists that he abide by her wishes. He does without argument, but as the weeks go by, she begins to wonder if she’s made a mistake. Will she let the chance of an unexpected happiness slip through her fingers? Will Edward?

EXCERPT: The Leap

“I don’t want to stay here, Amelia.”

“But Mother, you love Sarasota! You love the sun, the people, the beach. Why this sudden desire to move to Morocco?”

“It’s always been a dream of mine.” Grace knew her daughter wouldn’t buy it, but didn’t want to tell her how desperately she needed to get away from Florida. Since Jack died nine months before on Christmas Eve, she couldn’t bear to go to the Gulf…or listen to his favorite opera, La Bohème…or even light candles at dinner. Jack had been the most romantic man in the world and the love of her life. Now that he was gone, all desire for romance had gone with him. It was only because of her promise to him to stay through one last Christmas that she had remained.  I’ll keep my promise, but I’ll be out of here by Boxing Day.

“Well, it makes no sense.” Amelia switched gears. “Just yesterday Brad was saying you should come up here to Portland—”

“Not on your life. I may be a doting grandmother but I don’t think I could handle twin toddlers twenty-four-seven.”

The woman at the other end of the phone sniffed. “Hmmph. Well, we don’t want you alone on Christmas Eve, Mother. Brad would be happy to book a flight for you.”

“You know I can’t, dear.”

“Oh, bother the promise. Dad would understand.”

Grace thought of Jack’s last whispered request. “No, he wouldn’t.”

“Okay, okay.” Amelia paused. “Did you sign up for Friends.com yet?”

“No, and stop badgering me.”

“All I ask is that you think about it. It’s about time you got out of the house. The site’s supposed to have a ninety-percent success rate in matching people.”

“I doubt that. Gotta go, dear.” Grace hung up and stared at the website on her computer screen. She hesitated, then clicked “Your Friends.com Profile.” She wrote quickly and furiously, tossing her thoughts out before she lost her nerve.

Recently widowed woman, 60, seeking companion for excursions—bird watching and sightseeing. Not interested in romance or personal confidences. No moonlit beach walkers please. No candlelight dinners. Love of opera a deal-breaker.

She typed in her credit card number and clicked ‘Submit,’ then returned to her profile and reread it. “Oh dear, that sounds awfully negative…”

Her finger hovered over the ‘Delete Post’ button when a message popped up. “Edward Harper has emailed you.” She opened it.

Widower, 62, happy to oblige. Coffee today?

Next to the message was a man’s photograph. She studied it, trying to plumb its secrets—a broad face, the planes of the cheeks flat and tanned. Little crinkles of skin at each temple hinted at a quiet sense of humor. His bright hazel eyes under a thatch of brown hair smiled at her, as if willing her to say hello. She pressed ‘Reply’ and typed in, “Yes.”

AUTHOR BIO:

Although she has lived or traveled in every continent except Antarctica and Australia (bucket list), M. S. Spencer has spent the last thirty years mostly in Washington, D.C. as a librarian, Congressional staff assistant, speechwriter, editor, birdwatcher, kayaker, policy wonk, non-profit director and parent. She has two fabulous grown children, a perfect granddaughter, and currently divides her time between the Gulf coast of Florida and a tiny village in Maine. She has published ten romantic suspense novels.

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BREAKFAST WITH SANTA

Please welcome Carol Henry. Her Christmas story, BREAKFAST WITH SANTA, is part of the Lobster Cove series published by The Wild Rose Press.

Six years ago Katelyn experienced heaven in Mark Logan’s arms. But when Mark joined the Special Forces, he left her with shattered dreams—and, unbeknownst to him, carrying his unborn baby. Now, he’s back in Lobster Cove, and she’s engaged to another man. But with her fiancé in Norway, Katelyn volunteers to play an elf at the annual Breakfast with Santa event.

 Mark Logan-aka Santa–can’t keep his eyes off Katelyn in her sexy elf outfit, which brings back feelings better left hidden. After all, he only returned to Lobster Cove to keep his two-year-old son safe from kidnappers, not to rekindle an old romance.

EXCERPT:

Mark had all he could do to keep his eyes and mind on the kids all morning. Carrying on a conversation with them while watching Katelyn Sullivan out of the corner of his eyes was driving him nuts. She was more beautiful now than she had been six years ago. And hot damn, the elf outfit was just about the sexiest getup he’d seen in a long time. On her, it was like a beacon sending out come-hither signals, like the lighthouse next to her parent’s restaurant. And he had no trouble receiving those signals—loud and clear. They had drifted apart after high school when she went off to attend college and he joined the military. Was she in a relationship now? There’d been rumors, but folks in town weren’t being very forthcoming with details. Lobster Cove’s rumor mill tended to be part myth, part truth, and all wrong sometimes, if he remembered correctly. Hell, he could only imagine what they’d been spreading about him—where he had disappeared to, and why he was back with a two-year-old son in tow. Secret missions for the military left little room for confiding in family or sharing secrets with loved ones. Not sure what his parents had told anyone, but he did know they’d kept his career and his wife’s death to themselves. Of course, they didn’t know the entire story, either.

Dammit! He was tired of guarding secrets.

Katelyn herded a pair of twin boys in his direction. His heart raced as she drew near enough for him to touch her. Instead, he lifted the two four-year-olds on to his knees.

“Ho, ho, ho, Miss Elf. Who do we have here?” He looked directly into her eyes instead of the boys’, hoping she’d recognize him.

She didn’t.

“This is Ryan and Ethan Holmes, Santa. They have a list for you to take back to the North Pole.”

Mark ignored the list and continued gazing into Katelyn’s baby blues. The boys wiggled, diverting his attention back to the main reason he was there—to play Santa. He sighed as she walked away, and vowed he’d find an opportunity to talk to her before the end of the day.

Author Bio:
Carol Henry is the author of the ‘Connection’ series: Destination: Romance – Exotic Romantic Suspense Adventures, as well as contemporary romance, and historic women’s fiction. She is an international traveler, and travel writer of exotic locations for major cruise lines. Carol lives with her husband in the beautiful New York State Finger Lakes region where they are surrounded by family and friends. She is also an NYS local historian.

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A WITCH’S HOLIDAY WEDDING

Please welcome Tena Stetler, who writes for The Wild Rose Press. Her Christmas story, A WITCH’S HOLIDAY WEDDING, will be released on December 9.

Elemental witch, Pepper McKay and former Navy SEAL, Lathen Quartz have built Lobster Cove Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center on enchanted McKay land. During a romantic interlude on Halloween night, Pepper happily agrees to become Lathen’s wife. What better day than Winter Solstice for their wedding in a town that loves celebrations and Christmas. However, planning a wedding and operating their wildlife center takes a toll on both Pepper and Lathen.

When the couple takes a much-needed break for Thanksgiving with family in Colorado, a Maine snowstorm fills the center with injured wildlife. Lathen finds himself drawn into a covert military mission, while trying to deal with issues concerning friends and family. Pepper wants to cancel the wedding. Is she having second thoughts? Will the nosy McKay ghosts, Lathen’s werewolf pack, Pepper’s parents, and her best friend help or hinder the wedding and holiday plans?

EXCERPT:

A strong arm whipped around her waist, the air whooshed out as she squealed. Pepper balled up her gloved fist as a large warm hand wrapped around her wrist. “I’ve seen you defend yourself. Not going to chance it.” A deep voice chuckled behind her.

“Lathen — I’m going to…”

He spun her around and covered her cold lips with his warm ones. Werewolves run several degrees warmer than most of the population, one of the many things she loved about him. She relaxed into him, their parkas making a wisping sound as the material rubbed against each other. “That’s better,” he murmured against her lips.

All at once the lights in the town square blinked on. Low positioned red and green laser light decorations sparkled over the snow-covered ground and onto the gazebo complementing the white lights. From the other direction, a blue laser sprinkled tiny snowflakes across the building. Evening fell quickly in December.

“This is absolutely beautiful,” She breathed against his chilled cheek and whirled out of his hold taking in all the lighted decorations not visible earlier. Then she pointed toward the bulletin board. “I’ve been reading the town’s holiday events, Lobster Cove really embraces Christmas.”

“Told you.”Lathen said smugly. “Even some of the boats docked in the harbor are decked out with colored lights.”

“Christmas was just another day, too much to do and no funds to do it with at Salem’s Sanctuary. This year will be soooo different.” Pepper reached for his hand and twined her fingers through his.

“Did your folks celebrate Christmas—Oh, witches don’t believe?” A brown paper bag in hand, he reached in and handed her a lobster burger. “There’s fries in the bag.”

She took her glove off and held the warm burger in her hand, took a bite then peered into the bag, and snatched a couple french fries. “Irish witches do—we have enough mortals in our family that Christmas is a tradition, even if beliefs are different. It’s just that I wasn’t in a position to have reason to celebrate after becoming an adult. Made bad choices in men. Loved my work, but the pay was—lacking though the rewards made up for it.”

“I see.” Lathen scrubbed a hand over his chin. “So things are going be a lot different for you, as well as Gwen this year.”

The warmth in his voice made her smile. Yes indeed, things would be different. “Yep.”

Author Bio: Tena Stetler is a paranormal romance and cozy mystery author with an over-active imagination.  She wrote her first vampire romance at the age of  thirteen, to the chagrin of her mother and the delight of her friends. Colorado is home; shared with her husband, a brilliant Chow Chow, a spoiled parrot and a forty-year-old box turtle.  Any winter evening, you can find her curled up in front of a crackling fire with a good book, a mug of hot chocolate and a big bowl of popcorn.  Her books tell tales of magical kick-ass women and mystical alpha males that dare to love them.

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ESCAPING CHRISTMAS

Please welcome Lisa DeVore, who writes for The Wild Rose Press. Her Christmas story, ESCAPING CHRISTMAS, was released in 2014. I like the idea of romance and suspense set during the Christmas season.

Author, Alexandra Storm, escaped to the mountains of Colorado to avoid everything about Christmas, including her ex-boyfriend. He dumped her on Christmas Eve two years ago, and the holiday has haunted her since. Her plan is to write her way through the dreaded Christmas cheer. But, she didn’t expect her new landlord, Zach Camden, to be a hunky savior on a snowmobile. After learning of her aversion to the holiday, he vows to give Christmas back to her. The attraction is undeniable, but she doesn’t need another failed romance. And she most definitely doesn’t need a reunion with her ex, or the escalating threats from an unknown enemy. As the danger increases, will she survive the season and allow love to restore her holiday spirit?

Excerpt:

The silence was creepy.

She pulled the nightshirt over her head and stopped, putting an ear to the bathroom door. She swore a creaking sound came from the front of the suite. Must have been a door above her closing. She finished dressing and hung the towel on the rod. Alex opened the door and noticed the room was dim. She didn’t remember shutting the light off. Her instincts were warning her something was wrong, but all Owen’s talk about danger probably had her paranoid. She had checked the lock on the door before going for her bath…hadn’t she?

Something wasn’t right. Alex walked slowly down the hallway to the living room, struggling to see in the dim light. She strained to hear, moving toward the kitchen. She needed a weapon. She had no time to react to the gloved hand that covered her mouth. Alex slammed violently into someone’s stone hard chest.

“Listen carefully,” a menacing voice growled in her ear. “Finish your book and stay away from Owen Banks. He’s off limits to you, so don’t even think about a reunion. If he comes sniffing around again, you better convince him you’re through. And if you say one word about his marriage, a lot of people are going to get hurt. We’ll start with your boyfriend. You do get around, don’t you, Miss Storm? Are we clear on what’s expected of you?”

Alex nodded, biting down on her lip like the nervous child she used to be. She closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. Fear was at the forefront, but she was desperately trying to remember the voice. She swore she recognized the voice.

Author Bio: Lisa DeVore has always dreamed of being a published author since she wrote her first “book” at age eleven. Living in her NE Ohio town with its own castle led to an active imagination. She splits her time between family, writing, and utilizing her accounting degree. She’s an avid reader, loves dolphins, the beach, and hearing from her readers on Facebook or Twitter. Lisa is married to her best friend, and they have two sons and a daughter.

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A MAGICAL HIGHLAND SOLSTICE

Please welcome Mary Morgan, who writes for The Wild Rose Press. Her Christmas story, A MAGICAL HIGHLAND SOLSTICE will be released on December 2!

Laird Cormac Murray has witnessed how love destroyed his own father after the death of his mother, and he vows to never take a wife. Yet, when he comes upon a bewildered lass traveling alone, he finds his heart will no longer listen to his mind. In the end, Cormac risks everything to claim the love of a woman not of his time.

Eve Brannigan loves helping others and baking. After winning a contest, she is stunned to learn that the Clan Murray has requested her assistance to cater to their guests during the holiday season. When a lost path in Scotland leads her to a handsome but gruff Highlander, Eve fights the temptation to allow love to enter her heart for the first time.

Can the Fae and the magic of the Yule season bring together two souls who have forsaken love? Or will tragedies from the past separate the lovers forever?

Excerpt:

Giving her no time to protest, he grabbed her around the waist and hauled her up onto Fingal. When he mounted his horse and settled behind her, Cormac felt her body stiffen as he placed an arm around her waist. He leaned next to her ear. Her mass of curls brushed his face, and he inhaled her scent—one of different spices. Lust instantly surged forth, powerful and intense. “Relax,” he urged in a hoarse voice. Though he found it difficult to do so himself.

He felt her tremble, but she nodded. Giving a tug on the reins, they moved up the path.

With each steady trot, her body swayed and Cormac tried to focus on the road. The castle.

Fighting in the lists. Bathing in the icy waters of the loch. Anything, but the soft curves of the lass’s body pressing against his own. What was wrong with him? He prided himself on being a man always in control of his emotions—especially his lustful ones. Yet, now he found himself confused, tongue-tied, and his gut twisted into knots.

So deep in his thoughts, he did not notice Fingal veering off the main road until the lass let out a giggle. She had the most musical sound, and he found himself smiling. Guiding his horse back to the path, he could hear his men doing their best to contain themselves. A glance back confirmed William was coughing loudly and Gordon trying his best not to fall off his horse. 

“I swear Fingal, I am tempted to trade ye in for another horse. Ye must be going blind, or worse, old.”

His horse let out a large snort.

Eve clicked her tongue in disapproval. “For shame, Mr. Murray. How cruel. I think he’s a kind animal. Perhaps it’s the man holding the reins who can’t see clearly the path in front of him?”

The lass was quick with the wit, he mused. “I dinnae ken your word, but ye may call me Cormac.” He leaned near her again. “And I can assure ye, I am nae blind, nor old.”

Author Bio:

Award-winning Scottish paranormal romance author, Mary Morgan, resides in Northern California, with her own knight in shining armor. However, during her travels to Scotland, England, and Ireland, she left a part of her soul in one of these countries and vows to return.

  Mary’s passion for books started at an early age along with an overactive imagination. She spent far too much time daydreaming and was told quite often to remove her head from the clouds. It wasn’t until the closure of Borders Books where Mary worked that she found her true calling–writing romance. Now, the worlds she created in her mind are coming to life within her stories.

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A KISS UNDER THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

Please welcome Peggy Jaeger, who writes for The Wild Rose Press. Her Christmas story, A KISS UNDER THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS will be released on Novemer 30!

With Christmas just a few weeks away, Gia San Valentino, the baby in her large, loud, and loving Italian family, yearns for a life and home of her own with a husband and bambini she can love and spoil. The single scene doesn’t interest her, and the men her well-meaning family introduce her to aren’t exactly the happily-ever-after kind. Tim Santini believes he’s finally found the woman for him, but Gia will take some convincing she’s that girl. A misunderstanding has her thinking he’s something he’s not. Can a kiss stolen under the Christmas lights persuade her to spend the rest of her life with him?

EXCERPT:

At twenty-four I still lived under my parents’ roof, had no full-time paying job other than helping my father with his business books and those of a few of his business associates, and my love life was nonexistent.

It wasn’t that I didn’t get asked out or date. I did. Often. Plus, I was perpetually being set-up by the aunts and uncles. I’d had a steady boyfriend all through high school, but we went our separate ways when we each left for college. My choices had been limited in recent years to guys I met in college–who were all looking to score, not forge a life-time commitment—and then in accounting school who were, for lack of a better word, boring and absorbed either in numbers theory, finding jobs after graduation, or in just getting into my pants. The men my extended family routinely set me up with were mostly thick necked, uneducated, wise-guy wannabes who wanted a conventional Italian bride they could keep barefoot, pregnant, and cooking.

So. Not. Me.

I needed to make some decisions about my life, and make them soon. First, pass the exams and get licensed. Then, look for a real job so I could afford to live on my own. This one might be the hardest to accomplish since my parents were old-school thinkers who believed girls should stay home until they were married. They couldn’t understand why I didn’t want to go from their house to a husband’s house, and never experience what it would be like living on my own.

Lastly, I wanted to find the one special guy I could commit to. A guy who’d be family oriented like me, want kids, the minivan, a house in the ‘burbs, the whole family-comes-first-and-always mentality I’d been breastfed on.

I wasn’t too picky. Obviously I didn’t want him to look like a troll, but nice looking wouldn’t hurt since I’d be spending eternity staring across the kitchen table at his face. A good-paying job would be nice in a career where I didn’t need to worry he’d make one wrong move and wind up as fish food in the Meadowlands marshes.

Don’t laugh: have I mentioned my Uncle Sonny?

Peggy Jaeger is a contemporary romance author who writes about strong women, the families who support them, and the men who can’t live without them. 

Peggy holds a master’s degree in Nursing Administration and first found publication with several articles she authored on Alzheimer’s Disease during her time running an Alzheimer’s in-patient care unit during the 1990s. 

A lifelong and avid romance reader and writer, she is a member of RWA and her local New Hampshire RWA Chapter.

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