New Release -- MUSIC OF THE HEART -- Giveaway!

MUSIC OF THE HEART BOXED SET

Some song titles evoke memories not only of the song, but also of the time…the era…the place. They call for stories all their own, and at Fire Star Press they’ve inspired a new boxed set!

From the 1940’s through the 1980’s, each decade is represented by a song that was made powerhouse-popular during the time.

NEARBY by Tanya Hanson

With a marriage of convenience and an unexpected baby on the way, Stella Klenner fights her feelings for her bridegroom, the brother of her dead G.I. fiancé. But Coast Guard signalman Titus Myers keeps secrets of his own. Two lonely people in war-time wish for “Someone to Watch Over Me”… But can they work through guilt and grief to find new love and their own happy-ever-after?

           

LOVE AND PREJUDICE by B.J. Betts

Kort and Rebekah’s star-crossed love is torn apart by family bigotry. Though Kort’s been away at college, his return immediately kindles the old flame of passion for both of them—and they won’t let anything stop them from wondering what could happen “If I Loved You”… for love is the only thing that can break the bonds of hatred between two small town families.

CRAZY HORSE HIGH by Sara Swann-Barnard

Cynthia Ann Johnson is devastated to leave her California home for a barren Sioux Indian reservation just before her senior prom. When some of the Native high school thugs corner her, she is rescued by heartthrob Danny Silver Sky who risks everything to save her. Romance blossoms between them, and Danny must stand up to those who condemn their relationship—including Cynthia’s father. Can true love happen in “This Magic Moment”—an instant in time that defines everything?

A MELODY IN THE DARK by Ella M. Kaye 

Meladee Lerner is a single mom and struggling songwriter in hiding, escaping a marriage she never wanted. When a snow storm paralyzes the city, she and her young daughter run into Niall Dillon, a handsome, hard-working Pittsburgher with strong Irish roots and plenty of captivating charm. When near-tragedy strikes, Meladee and Niall fall under love’s spell quickly and realize that while they’re together, everything that comes their way will be “Wonderful Tonight”…

A DANCE TO REMEMBER by C. A. Jamison

Glamorous New York fashion designer, Erica Lime, has a messy life. She can’t cook and has lost her muse—and that elusive promotion is just out of reach. Because of one impulsive decision, she falls for stripper Ken Donovan, aka “The Phantom”, headlining in a nearby strip club. Though she tries to hold her emotions apart, memories of a magical night with The Phantom leave her with one burning thought:“I’m On Fire”… Will she complicate her life with an honest love?

Pull up a chair and settle in for five music-inspired love stories through the decades that will take you down a breathless walk through memory lane…  

Be sure and leave a comment for a chance to win a free ebook!

     

New Release -- THE BABY BARGAIN by Diana Tobin -- Giveaway!

After years of estrangement from her family, Lynn Baxter comes home to Webster, Maine, for her mother’s wedding—but she brings a load of secrets with her. The life she’s planned hasn’t worked out. She’s lost everything—her fiancé, her job, and the law degree she’d left home so eagerly to pursue. As Lynn makes amends with her sister, brother, and mother, she realizes Webster is where she needs to be to heal her heart and her wounded pride.

JC Benjamin is a farmer—and he loves that life. But seeing Lynn again for the first time since high school kindles emotions inside that he thought had died with the pain of divorce—and the departure of his ex-wife! JC wants Lynn just as much as he did all those years ago—but what would an upper crust woman like her see in a farmer? Much to his surprise and delight, Lynn gives him a chance to be the man he’s always wanted her to see…

When Lynn asks JC to give her a child, he bolts, fearing being trapped as his ex tried to do. But a sinister attack by a man from her past changes everything, and JC must face the truth—he can’t live without Lynn Baxter. It’s time for both of them to take a leap of faith after the hurts of their bitter pasts, but can they trust each other enough to find happiness? JC wants so much more from Lynn than what she’s suggested in THE BABY BARGAIN…but will she agree to be his wife, as well? 

EXCERPT

     He backed up a half-step. “Put them down, please.” She did as he asked, setting the can on the floor and the brush on top of the can. “Now, step over here.” He backed up another two steps. When Lynn was in front of him, JC wrapped his arms around her and hugged her to his hard body. “You are clever. I can’t believe all the thought and hard work you’ve put into this for me.”

     His praise pleased her even as a worrisome thought flitted through her mind. Was she repeating her Donny mistakes with JC? No. “It’s for me, too. You said you’d share your profits with me and I can sell my cookies. Plus, I can do what I want when not waiting on customers.”

     “All true,” he agreed, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “You’ve got to remember, my mother and ex-wife never wanted anything to do with the stand, the farm, nor my father and me.”

     “Your mother and ex-wife were idiots,” she spit out, then wondered if she’d overstepped the bounds of friendship.

     JC pulled her tighter against him and chuckled. “Keep talking like that and you’ll give me a swelled head.”

     She rubbed her belly against the front of him. “Think I already have.”

Be sure and leave a comment for a chance to win a free ecopy of THE BABY BARGAIN.

     

New Release -- THE GUARDIAN by Gil McDonald -- Giveaway!

Mike, a thirty-something “regular guy”, befriends an older man as an act of kindness that takes a turn he never expected. When Mike shares a meal at a local diner with Bill Crowley, he begins to wonder if Bill is demented. After all, the elderly man claims to have fought with Admiral Nelson—in 1798!

Bill has a thousand stories, and they are all convincing. When Mike visits Bill at his home, he finds something even more astonishing: Bill’s collection of antiquities. Bill wears a beautiful gold ankh around his neck—and vows that he’ll give it to Mike if Mike will promise one thing. Mike covets the mysterious ankh—all he has to do is agree to take care of the collection...

It seems simple enough, but will Mike become THE GUARDIAN? And will the bargain bring him what he wants most? Sometimes, the old saying is true...Be careful what you wish for—you may get it!

EXCERPT

     “If I told you my nineteenth birthday was in the year 1799, you would struggle to believe me, would you not?”

     I did some quick mental arithmetic. Then, I did it once more, just to be sure. I’m certain my eyes were on stalks when I looked at him again. I shook my head and smiled.

     “Uh—that would make you something like—two-hundred-and-seventeen years old, Bill! I don’t think so. Really. Look, let me take you back to your home. My car’s just around the corner.”

     I was sure by now that he must live in some retirement home and his mind wasn’t quite all there. Maybe he’d escaped from the wardens. He must just have got his dates mixed up. It’s easy done once you get older. Gramps used to do it all the time.

Be sure and leave a comment for a chance to win a free book!

      

New Release -- BLACK AND BLUEBERRY DIE by Livia J. Washburn -- Giveaway!

A Fresh Baked Mystery

In the latest from the nationally bestselling author of The Candy Cane Cupcake Killer, Phyllis Newsom returns with a blackberry and blueberry pie recipe that’s to die for…

It’s late summer in Weatherford, Texas and Mike Newsom’s childhood friend is sweltering in prison for a crime he claims he didn’t commit, murdering his wife. So instead of asking his mother to please stop investigating a murder, as he usually does, he asks her and Sam to please help his friend.

Danny Jackson, found guilty of beating his wife Roxanne to death at the ritzy hair salon where she works, was sentenced to prison for 30 years. His pleas of innocence fell on deaf ears, so it’s up to Phyllis to find what actually happened. She finds there are a lot of secrets and lies being told, and Roxanne was in the middle of them all.

Though Phyllis doesn’t want to get mixed up in another murder investigation, her son rarely asks for favors, and certainly not favors like this.  She has to untangle the lies and comb out the facts to find what happened that dark night.

Includes recipes!

EXCERPT

Mike nodded. “Final game of the season my senior year. We were playing Stephenville, and whoever won would be district champs. The score was tied late in the game, and we had the ball on our own nineteen yard line. It was third and eleven, and we couldn’t try to throw for a first down because our quarterback had a rubber band for an arm. So he hands the ball to me on a sweep, and Danny, who’s playing right tackle, makes the best block you’ll ever see in your life. Takes out their defensive end and two linebackers. I got outside, juked the defensive back who came up, and realized that not only was I going to get the first down, if I could get past the safety I had a clear shot down the sideline.” Mike shrugged. “So I ran over him and was off to the races.”

“I remember that game,” Phyllis said. “It was one of the most exciting things I ever saw.”

“But you were on your nineteen, you said...” Sam commented.

“Yeah, the DB I put a move on finally caught up to me and brought me down at the Stephenville one. Our quarterback snuck in on the next play, and that was the game. But I never would have gone for eighty and basically won the game if it hadn’t been for Danny’s block.”

“I understood a little of that,” Carolyn said. “You’re saying you owed this man a debt.”

“A big one. Because that was the night I finally got up the courage to ask Sarah to go out with me, and...well...”

“And now you’re married and have a beautiful son and of course you feel grateful to Danny for whatever small part he might have played in you and Sarah getting together,” Phyllis said. “But still, he killed his wife.”

“That’s just it, Mom,” Mike said. “I’m not convinced he did.”

Do you have that moment when someone did something that changed your life? Mine would probably be my brother Bruce sleeping late on a day he was supposed to ride to college with James Reasoner. If Bruce had been timely, I never would have gotten to know James, who became my husband 40 years ago.  Leave a comment for a change to win a free ebook of Black and Blueberry Die.

BUY LINKS   Barnes and Noble    Smashwords    Kobo    iTunes

     

Celebrate & FAMILY SECRETS book offer

To celebrate this final day of the

 PRAIRIE ROSE PUBLICATIONS 

3rd Birthday Bash, 

I am featuring 

FAMILY SECRETS

published by Fire Star Press,

a Prairie Rose Publications imprint.

 For an opportunity to win a free copy, please leave your comment below.

About Family Secrets:

Jennie Graves Howell has a secret, including being thought of as a loyal wife to her husband serving in Afghanistan, a husband who has demanded a divorce.

     Jennie’s family do not want her to delve into the past. Grandpa Mike refuses to talk about his experiences in the Vietnam War and the aftermath. He wants the biggest mistake he ever made to remain hidden in the past, including family members Jennie never heard about until hints of their existence begin to seep through the cracks of secrecy.

      Her new friends at the Golden Oaks Family Ties club are willing to teach Jennie the skills she needs to unlock her family’s secrets, but is she willing and emotionally strong enough to learn what her family has kept hidden?

Excerpt:

“So you’re not afraid of opening Pandora’s Box?” Kaylee asked.

            “I don’t see it as Pandora’s Box. I see it as—well, not like a treasure chest—more like a strong box with important information inside that can be of great value if only I can unlock it.”

            “And your grandpa is the key, no?” said Lupe.

            “No…” Jennie hesitated. “He’s the lock. He’s the one who keeps everyone from talking about it so it stays hidden away.”

            “So, what’s the key?” asked Kaylee.

            “I think it’s more of a case of who is the key?” said Donna.

            The room grew silent as everyone looked at Jennie.

            “I guess I’m hoping I’m the key,” Jennie said….

Family Secrets is available on Amazon, including

Kindle Unlimited.

CLICK HERE

The Backstory of BLACK AND BLUEBERRY DIE by Livia J. Washburn -- and Giveaway!

 When I finished writing and turned in the 10^th Fresh Baked Mystery, The Candy Cane Cupcake Killer, I thought it was going to be the final visit with Phyllis Newsom and her friends. I was taking care of my father, and that was becoming a full time job. It was also the last book under contract and the publisher wasn't getting in any hurry to offer me a new contract. The books were still selling well, but there had been changes in the company and they were cutting back on their mysteries. So after much inner turmoil, I decided to end the series.

My father passed away August 17^th, 2015. He left me the responsibility of being his executor, which was a new and complicated job. His house needed work, and Dad was a pack-rat, so there was a lot to go through. He had built their bathroom cabinets when he was almost eighty, and they were a bit of a mess. Rather than buy new materials, he used old homemade cabinets and re-cut them, added bolts to make the doors stay closed, and he wasn’t worried if they were the same size or how they looked as long as they functioned. My parents helped us build our first home when we got married. They knew we wanted to write, and the pay was undependable, so we never had to worry about a mortgage, we did it all ourselves. This meant I knew which side of the saw to use. I tore all of the doors out and gave the cabinets a new face. Did you know you can buy cabinet doors on Amazon in many sizes? I covered the facing with plywood to provide a smooth surface, adding boards behind to make the openings the same size, and painted it all. I enjoyed using the skills Daddy taught me.

While this was going on I had time to publish other authors’ books and make covers for them, but little time to write. After the full 10 yard, roll-off dumpster left Dad’s place, I started wanting to write again. Fans had written asking when the next Fresh Baked book was coming. Since I no longer had a contract with the previous publisher, I could write it when I had time and publish it through Fire Star Press, which is run by my business partner and friend Cheryl Pierson and myself. I had what I thought was a good title, so I designed the cover first to see if I could capture the feel of the series. Once I had the cover, it was time to get to work. But what would I write about?

 I decided to have the victim work in a beauty shop. My mother and father had a beauty shop, Paul’s Beauty Shop, attached to our house. They were both licensed hair stylists. Daddy was a handsome ex-Marine, and Momma was a beautiful long-legged bleached blonde accountant. She started out a brown-haired beauty, but Daddy loved her as a blonde, so he bleached her hair. I will admit she did look good as a blonde. They built the shop and took classes when I was two. I heard the story many times about how I took a few years off Momma’s life by popping up on the roof when they were shingling it. I liked to climb, and there was a ladder…enough said. One of Momma’s clients was the elementary school principal. She talked Momma into going back to college and getting a teaching degree. She also helped get her hired as a first grade teacher when she graduated. Momma was the reason I had the idea of this series in the first place. She was a retired teacher at the time and devoting many hours to volunteering. Sadly she developed dementia and couldn’t read the first book when it was published. I couldn’t really share with her how much she influenced me with a love of reading, and how to cook, and the value of education. I helped Daddy take care of her for 10 years. Dementia sure does rob a family. Daddy was having trouble with it himself at the end. The man who taught me how to build a house could no longer take care of himself. It was heartbreaking. They were my heroes.

Family is the reason the series was created and family helps in all ways to this day. My husband James is with me from the beginning with plot suggestions, editing, and he is my main taste tester. (Unless it’s a dog biscuit. I have plenty of four-legged taste testers for those.) Shayna, my oldest daughter, a high school chemistry teacher, takes care of the home and our 5 dogs when we run off to write in a quiet cabin. Joanna, our youngest, is a third grade elementary teacher and gives the books their final edit. She has been doing this since book one.

So Black and Blueberry Die allowed me to revisit wonderful memories of growing up in a beauty shop with some fun twists of fiction. In conjunction with the big Third Birthday Bash celebrating Fire Star Press, Prairie Rose Publication, and the other imprints Cheryl and I publish, I will be giving away 2 early ebooks. The book doesn’t come out until September 2^nd, which would have been Daddy’s 89^th birthday. It will be released in trade paperback and ebook only. There will not be a mass market paperback edition. 

 

Thank you all for helping me celebrate my latest book and our big Publishing Birthday Bash.  The winners of the ebooks of Black and Blueberry Die will be announced Friday, September 19^th. For a chance to win, just mention what your favorite food is to take to parties. I like to bring homemade rolls. They can be as difficult or easy as you want. A warm roll with a little butter is hard to beat.

New Release -- Home for the Heart by Sarah J. McNeal -- Giveaway!

Lucy Thoroughgood has gone and done it now—fallen in love with Hank Wilding, a man she’s known all her life. He’s content with friendship, but Lucy’s heart has flown the coop and she knows she’s in love with the determined bachelor. When she visits him with a proposition—to let the orphans she cares for learn to ride his horses during the summer—he surprises her with one of his own. She must accompany him to the dancing lessons he’s signed up for.

Secretly pleased, she hopes that perhaps this arrangement might lead to more than friendship. But Hank’s loved hard and lost, with his engagement to one of the popular town girls going south two years earlier. He’s sworn to never lose his heart to another—including Miss Lucy Thoroughgood.

A teenage orphan, Chayton, could be the key to thawing Hank’s heart—but danger follows the embittered boy. Will Hank be able to give Chayton the home he yearns for—or will the boy’s past bring only sorrow to those he cares for? When a Lakota premonition becomes reality, Lucy’s life hangs in the balance. Will Hank have the chance to let Lucy know how wrong he was?

EXCERPT

     In the quiet of the barn filled with the smell of fresh hay, horse manure, and leather tack, Hank sensed rather than heard someone enter the building. Ah, the smell of sunshine and roses. Must be Lucille Thoroughgood. Without turning to look at her, he set the pitchfork against the wall of Lonesome’s stall. “What do you want, Lucy?” he grumbled as a greeting.

     “Mr. Wilding, I have something I’d like to propose to you.” Her voice sounded tense. When he turned to face her, he saw those blue eyes dart away from his to peer at the straw on the floor. She promptly straightened her spine and must have forced herself to look him straight in the eye. Her starched manner made him want to mess with her.

     “A proposal?” He moved closer to her…maybe too close. He felt something shift in his chest like a warning bell. “Well now, I haven’t ever had a lady propose to me before,” he joked, badly, just to get her goat. Generally, women were not to be trusted. He’d learned that lesson the hard way. But Lucy was his old friend since grade school. Even though she must have been born straight-laced and proper, she spoke her truth, plain and simple. Beneath that barbed wire exterior beat a heart of gold.  

     Lucy propped her fists on her hips and he thought she looked like a charming sugar bowl all ruffled up in her pink flowered dress and her sweet, straw hat that sat askew on her gleaming brown hair. She knitted those brows together and narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m not proposing marriage to you, Mr. Wilding. I’m proposing a business deal…sort of.”

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#NewRelease -- FLAME -- #Giveaway

The National Cheyenne Rodeo holds promise to seasoned rodeo contestants and fans of a grand finale for the season. No one expects one of the leading contenders for team roping, Randy Murray, to lose his life in a freak accident in the final round.

Devastated by her husband’s death, Cindy Murray faces life-altering decisions. How can she deal with the sudden death of the high school sweetheart she’s planned a life with? What will she do with the ranch that had been the dream she and Randy had shared? And, most importantly, how will she deal with the pregnancy she had never expected—alone?

Cindy faces another crisis when she finds a pregnant horse dying in a trap. Can she save FLAME, the orphaned colt? Life is fast becoming overwhelming for her—but she has to do what’s right. From the ashes of her hopes and dreams, a new beginning becomes possible.

Have you ever competed in or watched a rodeo? Shelby will give an e-book of her new release to someone who comments on today's post.

Excerpt

(Cindy has lost her young husband to a rodeo accident. Now she's faced with being forced to ride just a few short days later, competing in the barrel racing events against her best friend in order to have the money she needs to pay for her husband's funeral and the upkeep of their little ranch.)

“Fourteen point two!” Helen announced, riding up to us and dismounting. “That’s my best time, ever. Good girl, Starlight.”

“Wow! Good job,” I said. “I guess that means I’m up.”

I mounted Ginger and headed out to the arena.

I waited in the holding area for the timer to go off and signal the start of my ride. The few seconds I sat in there felt like hours as my thoughts raced. This was the most nervous I had ever been before competing. It seemed like everything was riding on this. My ranch, Randy’s funeral expenses, all my payments I would have to make between now and next season…that would all be taken away if I screwed this up.

BUZZ!

I was off. I turned around the first barrel at a furious rate. I slowed as I pulled on Ginger’s reins into the turn. I kicked, and did the same around the second—and off to the third. I rounded it. I was pretty sure my time was good so far. I kicked and whipped Ginger to go faster to the finish line.

All of a sudden, I felt dizzy. Everything was starting to go dark. I couldn’t tell where I was anymore…or what I was doing. I felt sick, and then…everything went black.

Find Flame here:

Amazon  •  Barnes & Noble  • Apple  •  Kobo  •  Smashwords

Debut author Shelby Anne Watts is a nineteen-year-old junior at Northeastern State College in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, where she is a science education major. She lives in a small rural area in southeast Oklahoma with her brand-new husband, horse Snowy, a rescue mule named Molly, two dogs, and a cat.

#NewRelease -- SNOW SOUNDS -- #Giveaway!

Three years ago, heartbroken nurse Melaine Landa found escape from her painful divorce in handsome Tanner Harris’s arms. Their one magical night is behind them, but the memories and feelings they experienced resurface when they come face-to-face again. Tanner heads the ski patrol, and Melaine has been hired to run the health clinic at a ski resort in California. But this job is important to Melaine for a reason she’s shared with no one else—her young step-daughter lives nearby. 

Melaine can’t look at Tanner without remembering the precious hours when he was her everything. Desire for this complex and sexy man still simmers inside a heart that is vulnerable, unwise, and reckless. 

Tanner is determined not to let his emotions get the best of him where Melaine is concerned. She’s said he didn’t understand—and he still doesn’t. Things seem more complicated now, and there’s even more at stake. 

But when the mountain rumbles and a deadly avalanche comes rushing down on them, everything changes. Love, living, and being together are all that matter, in these SNOW SOUNDS…

EXCERPT
     The mountain waited. It could be patient for the blan-keting snows that turned Mammoth Lakes into a mecca for California's skiers. For tens of thousands of years, the seasons had played their songs on rock and trees and water and earth. Antlike people scurried about its base, putting last winter behind them and preparing for the next. Those who toiled to control the mountain might not have ageless perspective, but the mountain did. Long after these intruders left, the songs and seasons would continue.

     Although this wasn’t her first time here, Melaine Landa couldn’t imagine looking up at Mammoth without being touched by the mountain’s power. Until a few seconds ago, she’d been filled with awe and peace, the sense that she’d come home.
     But that was until the builder of the nearly completed first-aid clinic she stood in had said the one name she hoped she’d never hear again.
     Tanner Harris.

     Now, there was only the name. And the memories.

Be sure and leave a comment for a chance to win a free ebook!

BUY LINKS    Barnes and Noble     Smashwords     Kobo 

#NewRelease -- SANTA NICK by Diana Tobin -- #Giveaway

Merry Christmas to all!  My name is Diana Tobin and I love this time of year.  For many years I collected so many ornaments and decorations I could’ve put a certain card store out of business; or, perhaps, I kept them in business.  I also spent a lot of time painting a ceramic village, which my granddaughter now sets up each year, complete with Santa in his sleigh flying overhead.  Not any easy task, trust me.  Over the years my family’s traditions have changed and grown along with the change and growth of the family, as well as changes and growth in the valley we call home.  What never changes is the magic of Christmas.  I believe in magic and miracles, especially when powered by love, and while it can happen any time of year, it is strongest now.

Wanting to share some of the fun and excitement of our traditions, a Christmas story seemed the best way.  You can get a peek at some of the happenings around our town, while sharing in the joy of love.  And, who better to bring about the magic of Christmas than Santa, or in this case, Nick St. Clair in SANTA NICK.

Blurb:   With Christmas on the way six year old Faith Reynolds is determined to get the very best present ever for her widowed mother – a new husband – but one that would be a nice daddy, too.  Though Faith’s mother, Jenny, is not a big believer in Santa, a chance meeting with handsome high school teacher Nick St. Clair might just change everything.

Nick portrays Father Christmas at the yearly holiday celebration in nearby Jacksonville. When he hears Faith’s heartfelt Christmas wish, he makes one of his own – and Santa Nick gets what he wants!

But Jenny’s heart has been betrayed by her deceased husband, and she’s not sure she can ever trust again.  Can Nick bring the joy of Christmas and a loving relationship into Jenny’s life?  Making Jenny and little Faith his own family could be the Christmas magic they all need!

Excerpt:

Nick slid his arm along the back of the bench behind Jenny, turning to speak to her and Faith.  “You don’t have your Christmas tree yet?”

Jenny could feel the heat from Nick’s body and had to stop herself from leaning into him.  “We’re going to look for one this afternoon.”

“My uncle has a tree lot.  If you can wait until I finish out here, I’ll take you out to get one,” Nick offered.

“You mean we can chop one down,” Faith asked with excitement.

“Usually we take a saw,” Nick said on a chuckle.

“Won’t it be too dark by then,” Jenny asked.

“I think we can close the North Pole early today.”

“Oh, puleez, Mama.”  Faith bounced up and down on the seat as she clung to Jenny’s arm.  “Can we go cut down our own tree?”

Nick put his lips near Jenny’s ear.  “It’s something she asked for,” he whispered.  He felt her shiver and hoped he was the cause, not the weather.

Jenny moved closer to Faith before turning toward Nick.  She didn’t meet his gaze, looking just beyond his shoulder.  “Are you sure it will be all right if you leave early?”

“I’m sure of it,” he stated.  “Especially if I find a replacement elf for our ailing one.”

Faith stood up to ask more questions of the driver giving Jenny a chance to speak some what privately with Nick.

“Did she really ask to cut down a tree?”  She turned her head and found her face much too close to Nick’s.  If she leaned forward just the tiniest bit her lips would be on his.  She could see, for the first time, what it was like to kiss a bearded man.  Realizing where her thoughts were going, she faced forward, gazing at the brick building across the street as if she found it mesmerizing.

Nick leaned a bit closer, letting his chest touch her shoulder, but keeping his lips to himself.  “It was one of her wishes,” he said quietly.   “I can’t tell you what else she asked for.  At least, not till after Christmas.”

I hope you enjoy SANTA NICK.  I wish you all the joy, love, and magic of the season! 

What is your favorite Christmas decoration?  Comment and you just might win a free ecopy of Santa Nick.

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