Favorite Supernatural Holiday Carols

Favorite Supernatural Holiday Carols

Who doesn’t like a playlist of holiday favorites?  Whether you’re rocking around the Yuletide tree or mixing punch in your festive cauldron, no party is complete without a soundtrack of traditional and contemporary tunes. We consulted with the good folks over at CSUP—the station that puts super in supernatural—to get their most-requested numbers for the season. 

Here we go with the countdown:

1.       God Rest Ye Hairy Gentlemen

2.       Silent Night, Howly Night

3.       Here Comes Santa Claws

4.       Jingle Hells

5.       We Three Kings Disoriented Are (aka the mummy song)

6.       O Come, All Ye Fateful

7.       The Little Dragon Boy

8.       It Came Upon a Midnight Drear

9.       What Child is This? (Theme from The Gingerbread House in the Woods)

10.     The First Nom Nom (the werewolf did say)

For those of you planning a sing-a-long this season, drop by the station for song sheets and a hot drink between now and New Year’s Day.  Our doors are always open! As for whether you ever leave again, your mileage may vary.

Gifted: The Dark Forgotten

Dark Forgotten Series
Book Five
Sharon Ashwood

Genre: Paranormal romance/urban fantasy

Publisher: Rowan and Ash Artistry

Date of Publication:  November 11, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-7750279-3-5

ASIN:  B07K5DYCBK

Number of pages: 124

Word Count: 35,000

Cover Artist: Wicked by Design

Tagline: Who says the holiday season is just for humans?

Book Description:

For all the holly-jolly times, family gatherings are complex no matter who—or what—you are. When you’re hunting for the latest “it” toy to stuff a stocking, it doesn’t matter if you’re alive or Undead, fanged or furry—you’re just as desperate to be the cool dad. And then there are the family grumps who never send cards, the ones who eat all the good candy, and those who drool and dig up the neighbor’s yard.

No, the Yuletide Season isn’t for the faint of heart—and sometimes it’s downright demonic—but holiday miracles make it all worthwhile. Chance encounters and unexpected forgiveness remind us that joy doesn’t come in a gift-wrapped box.

This novella from the Dark Forgotten world catches up with favorite characters for a fresh take on the holidays. Those visiting the world for the first time will understand why Chicago Tribune called it “simply superb.”

Grab this book and return to the world of the Dark Forgotten. Santa Claws is waiting!

Amazon

“Don’t you want to go see Santa Claws?”  Errata Jones asked in her husky, teasing voice.

“Meh,” Perry Baker replied, still grumpy at the prospect of crowds and gift-giving decisions. Plus, it was cold, gray, and rainy—a typical December day in the Pacific Northwest.

“Where’s your boundless holiday spirit?” She turned into the parking lot outside the Fairview Sports and Recreation Center. It was the final day of the Yuletide Holiday Market, an arts and crafts event by and for the local supernatural community. “Counting today, there’s only three shopping days till Christmas.”

“I really hope you’re not going to make me sit on Santa’s knee.”

“I don’t think so, darling. That would be weird, even for us.”

Errata swung her Jaguar coupe into the last parking space, beating out a massive pickup by a whisker. The truck made a sound like a startled dinosaur as it lurched to a stop on the frosty pavement. Turning off the Jaguar’s ignition, Errata smoothed her chin-length, jet-black hair, then glanced in the rear-view mirror, looking pleased with herself. Perry twisted in his seat to see the pickup driver turn a Christmassy scarlet and lurch off. 

Perry willed his heart to resume its normal rhythm.  Errata was a werecougar, and there were reasons cats shouldn’t drive. Werewolves like him were another matter. Wolves appreciated order, including stop signs. Cats did things because they could—like pester him into going to this stupid craft fair. 

That’s what he got for befriending a feline. He cast her a sidelong look, taking in her high cheekbones and smooth, golden skin. It was all he could do not to reach over and stroke her hair, but that would be crossing a boundary. She’d made it clear from the start that cats walked alone.

Errata finished preening and gave him an arch look. “Shouldn’t you be shopping for your human, what’s-her-name?”

Perry released his seatbelt. “Her name is Tiffani. With an i.”

“Tiffani. Of course it is.” Errata patted his cheek with a pitying look. “Come on. First fifty guests get a goodie bag.”

“She’s fun,” Perry said, sounding defensive even to himself.

“Humans generally are,” she said agreeably. “You should buy her something really nice.”

“Men don’t shop before December 23rd,” he protested as he got out of the car.

“Friends don’t let friends give their sweethearts, even ones named Tiffani with an i, gift cards.”

“But gift cards make sense.”

Errata flung the end of her scarf over her shoulder with a flick of one gloved hand. “Be grateful you have me to watch over you.” She clicked the locks and swept toward the entrance of the building, leaving Perry to catch up.

“Cats,” he grumbled. “What do you want for Yule?”

“Not a gift card.”

About the Author:

USA Today bestselling author Sharon Ashwood is a novelist, desk jockey and enthusiast for the weird and spooky. She has an English literature degree but works as a finance geek. Interests include growing her to-be-read pile and playing with the toy graveyard on her desk. As a vegetarian, she freely admits the whole vampire/werewolf lifestyle would never work out, so she writes her adventures instead.

Sharon is a winner of the RITA® Award for Paranormal Romance. She lives in the Pacific Northwest and is owned by the Demon Lord of Kitty Badness.

Website        www.SharonAshwood.com

Twitter         https://twitter.com/RowanAshArt

Tumblr (The Prattler) http://rowanashart.tumblr.com/

Instagram     https://www.instagram.com/rowanashart/

Pinterest       https://www.pinterest.com/rowanashart/

Facebook     https://www.facebook.com/authorsharonashwood/

Goodreads           https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1880316.Sharon_Ashwood

Bookbub      https://www.bookbub.com/authors/sharon-ashwood

Newsletter    https://www.subscribepage.com/r3k5m7

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Christmas Countdown by Ani Gonzalez

The Christmas Countdown
Holiday Lake
Book One
Ani Gonzalez

Genre: Romance, Romantic Comedy

Publisher: FAC Publishing LLC

Date of Publication: 12/1/2018

Number of pages: 175

Word Count: 35k

Cover Artist: Ani Gonzalez

Tagline: A perfect Christmas in twenty-four hours? What could possibly go wrong…or unexpectedly go right?

Book Description:

For the residents of Holiday Lake, Minnesota, there is no such thing as too much Christmas cheer. The tiny town prides itself on celebrating the holiday every day of the year and their halls are decked with boughs of holly all year round.

Yet this December twenty-third, professional holiday decorator Nat Quinn, known as "The Christmas Queen”, has had enough. After a hectic year helping clients set up the absolutely-perfect-to-the-last-detail backdrops for the festive season, she is ready to relax. That’s when divorced billionaire and workaholic Cyrus Blackstone makes a proposal she can’t turn down: Provide the perfect holiday for his children in exchange for the beach vacation of her dreams.

A perfect Christmas in twenty-four hours? That’s a tall order, even for the Queen of Christmas and her team in Holiday Lake. As Nat races to fulfill her assignment, she realizes that the real challenge isn't the tinsel and pudding... it’s not falling in love.

                                                                          Amazon

Excerpt

CYRUS ENDED the call, satisfied. That was one action item taken care of.

He headed for a built-in mahogany cabinet that served as the study's bar and grabbed a bottle of scotch and a glass. A perfect Christmas with his kids. This was worth celebrating.

He sat on his desk chair and poured the amber liquid into the glass. The cut-glass pattern made everything sparkle, which was rather festive. Now all he had to do was get the kids on the plane. Everything else would be taken care of.

Happy as Cyrus was about giving his children the perfect Christmas, there was more to his feeling of jubilation. He smiled as he realized that the quirky holiday decorator had improved his mood. She seemed almost entirely too Christmassy to be real, but she also appeared to be someone you could count on, a quality that was lacking in this world.

He sipped his drink, feeling the fiery liquid slide down this throat. That had been a good negotiation.

And he was looking forward to the next one. As Nat had said, everyone wanted the perfect Christmas and it wasn't all that easy. An eleventh-hour version would, he was certain, encounter a few challenges, and he had a feeling he would enjoy maneuvering through them with Ms. Quinn. He felt a lot more confident after talking with her, like a weight had fallen off his back.

Leah walked into the studio, all well-tailored slacks and glossy hair. She definitely wasn't the slouchy sweater and Ugg boots type.

"The kids are packing," she said, a tinge of worry in her voice. "They sound really excited. Is she going to do it?"

"Of course," Cyrus replied. "Did you have any doubts?"

"Some," Leah exclaimed with a happy smile. "She was dead set against it. How did you convince her?"

"Money, flattery, and bottomless margaritas," he replied.

But that wasn't quite accurate. Ms. Quinn had given in when he'd mentioned his kids. That had been her weak spot. It made sense that a holiday specialist would be a sucker for kids. They were the point of her job, after all.

"How much do you know about this Nat Quinn, Leah?" He asked.

"She's fantastic," Leah answered, eyes shining. "You know Christmas is not my thing, so it takes quite a lot to wow me."

Cyrus nodded. Leah was Jewish, and she'd worked for some of the wealthiest families in Manhattan and London. She was notoriously hard to impress.

"But the Hagens hired me one week before Christmas and I was blown away. We drove up to the lodge and it looked amazing with a ten-foot-tall tree, garlands everywhere, and Mrs. Hagen's favorite vintage German decorations. Ms. Quinn even found the large old-fashioned bulbs that Mrs. Hagen wanted. She had an intact set and everything."

Cyrus suppressed a smile. At least he wasn't demanding rare Christmas lights and antique ornaments. Ms. Quinn was likely relieved about that.

"Christmas dinner was divine," Leah continued. "The main restaurant has an all-year-round holiday buffet with a citrus cranberry chutney that is out of this world. You can use it as a sandwich spread for the leftovers too."

His nanny's eyes grew dreamy as she described the food.

"And the pastry shop makes this amazing Black Forest cake with cherry Kirsch." Leah gave a deep sigh of longing. "It has so much alcohol you can't drive after you eat it, but it is delicious. Absolutely worth being housebound afterwards."

"So you want to go back for the food?" Cyrus asked, swirling the amber liquid in his glass.          

His question was greeted by an awkward silence.

Leah avoided his gaze. "Er, not exactly. The town is lovely and the people are, um, quite pleasant." She paused. "Particularly Ms. Quinn. She even gave us some Chinese food for Christmas Eve dinner, which was very thoughtful." Her eyes grew dreamy again. "The kung pao chicken was delicious. I hear the place closed though, which is a pity."

Cyrus smiled. "Let's hope Ms. Quinn can whip us something similar despite the time constraints. Given what we've given her to work with, we'll be lucky if she can find a Christmas tree."

"Oh, but I'm sure Noah's dad—"

Leah raised her hand to her mouth, eyes wide.

"Oh?" Cyrus raised a brow. "Who's Noah?"

A tinge of pink spread across her cheeks. "No one. I'll, er, go check on the kids now."

And she hurried out of the room.

Cyrus sipped his drink. Leah had been working for him for almost two years now, and she'd become part of the family. Yet he'd never seen her blush, not once.

Holiday Lake was going to be a lot more interesting than he'd expected.

He turned on his computer. A picture of his kids popped up on the screen. It was from the last time he'd taken Jack to the FDNY open house. His son stood in front of a fire truck grinning widely while his sister made bunny ears behind his head.

It was Cyrus’s favorite picture, partly because he'd made it to the field trip for a change, but mostly because Jack was wearing a t-shirt that read "Firefighters Like It Hot", seemingly oblivious to the double entendre.

Cyrus clicked on the Internet browser icon and waited for the program to load. An e-mail came as he waited. The sender was Nat Queen at TheChristmasQueen-dot-com and the subject line read "Contract for Immediate Signature." The words were punctuated with a dozen exclamation marks.

Ms. Quinn, it appeared, was quite efficient, a woman after his own heart.

When his browser window opened, he typed in "Nat Quinn Holiday Lake Minnesota." A surprisingly large number of sites popped up, most of them featuring the Christmas Queen motto and a mistletoe crown logo.

Ms. Quinn, it turned out, was a busy gal. She'd appeared on various morning shows, giving holiday decorating tips. She wrote a column on how to plan the perfect holiday. She had authored numerous magazine articles on virtually every challenge one could encounter during the holidays, and at least three of the articles dealt with gravy consistency. She had done sets for holiday movies.

No wonder she longed for a beach holiday. The poor woman must be exhausted. She even had a sponsorship agreement with a candle company. The ads boasted that her Citrus Cranberry Christmas Delight Candle was their all-time best-seller.

Well, there were worst things one could be remembered for.

He clicked on her website, TheChristmasQueen.com, and was immediately assaulted by loud music, The Carol of the Bells, if he was not mistaken.

It seemed the otherwise admirable Ms. Quinn had one serious character flaw: She was one of those people who had pop-up music on her website.

He muted the sound and scrolled down. There was another mistletoe crown logo, a recipe section, and several pictures of lavishly decorated houses.

Leah had not exaggerated. Ms. Quinn could put on a show. She'd even done a party with a real sleigh and live reindeer. He peered at the computer screen, jaw dropping in disbelief as he counted the animals. Eight reindeer, all suitably labeled. She'd done a holiday party with eight reindeer.

Maybe she could do Christmas in a day.

He kept browsing through her site. She had social media accounts with current pictures of the town. It had snowed recently and Holiday Lake could rightfully claim that it would be a white Christmas. The bakery that Leah loved was shaped like a Swiss chalet with twinkling lights and a giant Black Forest cake replica in front.

The Chinese restaurant, it turned out, was re-opening. Leah would no doubt be overjoyed. The Bavarian Brathaus sounded intriguing and the Holiday Lake Inn would be sponsoring a Christmas carol concert tomorrow night. The kids would enjoy that.

Holiday Lake seemed to have a fetish for measuring things. All their statistics were carefully noted on the various websites. They'd received sixteen inches of snow last week. The Holiday Lake Inn's all-you-can-eat turkey buffet had served seventeen gallons of citrus-cranberry chutney on December 26 of last year. Year-to-date, the tree farm had sold eight hundred and twenty-two trees.

He scrolled through the social media accounts and checked all the friends lists, but try as he might he could not find what he was looking for.

There were no clues as to Leah's mysterious Noah.

And there were no pictures of Nat Quinn. The Christmas Queen seemed surprisingly shy. No pictures of herself on her website. No selfies on her social media. Nothing.

But then he checked the images search tab and found that the local Christmas tree vendors had a picture of her. The image was blurry, so all he could make out was a slender woman standing next to an enormous Christmas tree, but clicking on the picture took him to the tree seller's website.

And there she was. Nat Quinn had filmed a television segment with Northstar Tree Farm, which had aired on the Minneapolis public television station. The tree farm had the video on its website.

He clicked play and sat back to watch.

Nat Quinn was a tall woman with bright red hair, green eyes, and a loud cheerful laugh. She knew more than any human being should about decorative conifers, and she could make a Christmas wreath in five minutes flat. She liked Balsam firs because they looked shaggy and natural, but she admired the Fraser fir's longevity. She wielded a chainsaw like a pro and she did not like artificial trees. As far as she was concerned, they were an abomination in the eyes of the Lord. She owned thirty-seven ugly Christmas sweaters and her favorite featured an unhappy-looking antlered Chihuahua. And she was single.

Cyrus found himself smiling. Nat Quinn was adorable.

She was also dead serious about Christmas.

She was the perfect choice for this job. Even the single part. Not that he cared, of course, not personally. It just left her free to concentrate on the job.

That was the important consideration here, the job.

But there was something. He scrolled up. He could swear he'd seen—

He laughed as he reached the top of the website. There it was in all its glory—The Northstar Tree Farm's Christmas tree counter.

And it read "zero."

There were no trees left. Zero balsams. Zero Frasers.

Nada.

He was still laughing as he pulled up Nat's email, opened the contract, and affixed his electronic signature.

He couldn't wait to see what the Christmas Queen would do.

About the Author:

Ani Gonzalez is a USA Today bestselling author of holiday-themed romantic comedy and cozy mystery stories set in Banshee Creek, Virginia (The Most Haunted Town in the USA!) and Holiday Lake, Minnesota (Where Every Day is Christmas!). Her books feature feisty, irrepressible heroines dealing with holiday mayhem, paranormal critters (ghosts, cryptids, pagan gods...the sky's the limit) and mysteries. They find love and laughter (and sometimes corpses) along the way, and readers get to follow them every step.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AniGonzalezAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/_ani_gonzalez

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14252282.Ani_Gonzalez

Website: http://www.anigonzalez.biz

Blog: http://anigonzalezblogs.blogspot.com

Newsletter signup: http://anigonzalezblogs.blogspot.com/p/newsletter-signup.html

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal and Pre-Order The Way of Thieves by K.N. Lee and Craig A. Price Jr.

The Way of Thieves

An Epic Fantasy Adventure

The Red Rogue Trilogy

Book One

K.N. Lee and Craig A. Price Jr. 

Genre: Medieval Fantasy/ Epic Fantasy         

Print Length: 276 pages

Word Count: 70k

Publisher: Captive Quill Press

Publication Date: February 19, 2019

ASIN: B07KX4584K

Cover Artist: Jacqueline Sweet

Book Description:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Half-Blood Dragon, K.N. Lee, and USA Today bestselling author, Craig A. Price Jr. comes an epic magical heist fans are calling Oceans Eleven meets Game of Thrones.

Magic. Danger. A gang of thieves unlike any you've ever seen.

Pre-Order at Amazon

About the Authors

K.N. Lee is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She is the author of the Dragon-Born Saga, Eura Chronicles, Wonderland University, and the Chronicles of Koa series. When she is not writing twisted urban fantasy, epic tales of dragons, pirates, and mermaids, and dark poetry, she does a great deal of traveling and spending time with her family. Wannabe rockstar, foreign language enthusiast, and anime geek, K.N. Lee also enjoys gaming and sketching. She is a winner of the Elevate Lifestyle Top 30 Under 30 "Future Leaders of Charlotte" award for her success as a writer, business owner, and for community service.

http://www.knlee.com

http://www.subscribepage.com/knleestars

http://www.Facebook.com/knycolelee

http://www.twitter.com/knycole_lee

Craig A. Price Jr. is a USA Today Bestselling Author. His novel, The Crimson Claymore, an Epic Fantasy Adventure novel that has garnered millions of reads, was featured in fantasy, had more than 17,000 votes, and more than 1,000 comments/reviews on the social networking platform for readers and writers, Wattpad.

https://www.facebook.com/CraigAPriceJr

http://www.craigapricejr

http://www.craigaprice.com

Meridian Chronicles: Black Widow Curse and The Coven by MD Fryson

Thanks for stopping in to read my guest post!  So just a little about myself…I never set out to be a writer. I have always enjoyed reading, but I was lucky to get than in every day with a demanding work schedule.  I was a single mom for quite a long time and worked a lot of hours.  Horses, training and showing was a major thing for me for a long time and was a form of therapy and a distraction.  Well I haven’t been able to ride in a long while, so writing became an outlet.  Then one day I said, I think I will just publish it and see what happens.  It may sound a little off the hip but that is how I am on some things!  I still love horses and I believe when my kiddos are older ( I have 3, infant to teenager), I will ride once more.  Like most things that are worth it…horses take a lot of time and well, they deserve it!  Back to my book…

Meridian Chronicles:  Black Widow Curse & The Coven is the second book in the series, with two more books left in this series.  I really had a lot of fun writing this one because it talks about Tarot Card readings, magic, witches and fairies while wrapping it up into some romance.  What can I say?  I like a little romance in stories!

There are a lot of characters within the series.  Some will pop in and out throughout the books, however, the main focus in this book is the romance between Meridian and Aiden and how her curse is affecting their relationship and her own destiny.  Not to mention the side plots going on.  Of course, I set one of the places in Salem Massachusetts…because I love that town!  My husband and I went there and the only thing we regret is not getting back fast enough…so another fun thing to add to my list.  

A lot of the inspiration behind the love story comes from my own personal experiences in my life.  A lot of course is figurative and fiction in the story, but the overall theme within the pages holds a message. The old saying that true love can conquer all.  The catch is, you have to let it!   I had to kiss a lot of frogs before I found my best friend and husband…and as much as I would have liked to have avoided them all, had I not taken the roads I did, then they wouldn’t have ended with me finding my best friend.  

If you do get the chance to read it, I hope you enjoy it!  Thanks for playing along.  

~MD Fryson

Meridian Chronicles: Black Widow Curse and The Coven
Meridian Chronicles 
Book Two
MD Fryson

Genre: Paranormal Fantasy

Publisher: AMF Publishing

Date of Publication: Sept. 29th, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-692-12117-7

ASIN:  B07FDB677Q

Number of pages: 408

Word Count: 91,410

Cover Artist: Todd Engle

Tagline: Dark Paranormal Fantasy

Book Description: 

Exiled from her realm, living with the Black Widow Curse, Spirit Guide is at the whims of the dark one and a dark witch.  Fairy Nymphs may help and a high demon has grown tired of the politics. 

Will she break her curse with her twin soul?

Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/-JBhIUwdXgo

  

Books2Read

Excerpt:

In the empty space above the center of the table a heat emerged and with it a face that appeared through the smoke and flames that engulfed the space above the table.  The demon did not make a total appearance but almost appeared as though he was checking a part of himself through from his own realm.  “Oh, dark sister, you call upon me. What do you wish to know from the dark places I only know?”  the demon asked.

“Oh, dark one, hear my plea. I beg of you to unveil the workings of the curse on Meridian!” Raina shouted out.

The demon answered Raina, with ease. “The curse bestowed on the once-spirit guide is The Black Widow curse, and one that only a dark one can cast.  A dark one born of a demon with powers for only the dark with a heart of black.”

“Dark one, I am in your debt. We understand, on the surface, who has cast this curse on Meridian.  We now need to understand how we may find a way to break this curse,” Raina spoke to the demon.

The demon gave his answer in riddle form.

The being whose work is dark can only be stopped with the twin soul.

 The being you seek is hard to hold.

 Spirit guides who engage with a mortal are not pure of heart in that act, but in the face of true love all remains intact.  

Meridian does not trust herself in her choice.

She will not listen to her inner voice.

So many can enter her mind, her greatest challenge in the true find.

The demon disappeared and was gone from sight.

About the Author:

MD Fryson is a wife and mom to three boys.  When not writing, she likes to read, hike, jog, garden and she loves to travel.  Favorite place aside from the U.S.A. is London England where she has some family. 

One of her favorite authors is Cassandra Clare.  She also likes to read inspirational and anything on astrology.  Lover of all music, she is an equal-genre-tunity.

Apart from her family she can’t live without, is the ocean and beach vacations,  chocolate, coffee and tons of creamer where her husband asks if she would like some coffee to go with her creamer. 

An animal lover of all sorts, horses hold a special place in her heart from when she used to ride, train and show.  

www.mdfryson.com

https://www.mdfryson.com/meridianchroniclesmdfrysonblog

https://twitter.com/madelyn_fryson

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17352162.M_D_Fryson

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Christmas Tradition of Making Music

           Music is an important part of just about everyone’s Christmas, whether it’s Christmas carols at the church Christmas program, a rerun of Bing Crosby singing in ‘White Christmas’, or the incessant Muzak playing at the malls.  As a singer and musician, Christmas music is an especially important part of my Christmas.  I have been making music for the holidays since I was a teenager playing the organ in a little Baptist church, and it continues to be an important part of my Christmas celebration every year.

            I have made Christmas music just about everywhere.  In that small church, at the school where I taught for many years, in the televised choir of a large suburban congregation, in the back of a truck on a Christmas caroling hayride, on a barge floating down the San Antonio River with the Boy Scouts, for church senior groups, in the dining rooms and halls of nursing homes.  I’ve made Christmas music in every one of those places.  My opportunities to make Christmas music grew exponentially when I learned to play the dulcimer and ukulele and joined The San Antonio Riverpickers, a mountain music band that features dulcimers and old-time Appalachian tunes, and Ukulele Ladies and Gents, which plays all kinds of music including lots of island songs.  With these two groups, I have expanded my holiday repertoire beyond the usual Christmas carols and radio and movie songs.  I also find myself playing in venues that are an adventure in themselves.

Riverpickers does a lot of street festivals around the holidays, most notably Christmas in Comfort and Dickens on Main in Boerne.  We mix in a few Christmas numbers but play mostly mountain tunes, as very few carols sound all that good on a dulcimer.  Our audience seems to enjoy the old mountain tunes as much as they do the carols.  Playing for a street festival can get interesting in terms of weather, however.  After all, we are playing outdoors.  We’ve played with the sun shining in our eyes on a stage facing a setting sun, and under chilly cloud cover with rain threatening.  We’ve played in the hot-this is Texas and it can still be hot in December.  We’ve played in the cold.  Really cold.  Our record cold-weather performance was an hour-long set in Boerne a few years back.  The sun had gone down, it was twenty-nine degrees and the wind was blowing.  It was so cold the instruments all had to be retuned, not a problem unless you play a hammered dulcimer with forty-plus strings.  (My fingers burned for a solid hour afterwards.)  We promised ourselves afterwards we’d never again play below forty degrees, but I honestly don’t think it would stop us.  Street festivals are just too much fun to pass up.

The ukulele group is just the opposite.  We stay inside where it’s nice and warm and play Hawaiian Christmas music, complete with hula dancers and red and green Aloha shirts.  And we sing them in Hawaiian!  Of course, we do other Christmas songs also.  The ukulele group plays many different places, including churches and libraries and a lot of nursing homes.  Although we play for someone or something every month, the holidays tend to be our busy season.  So far, we have one performance scheduled right before Thanksgiving and four during December.  And that’s so far.  There may be more.

Making all the performances can get hectic in an already jam-packed season.  Occasionally we must skip a party or another event to play and sing.  But making music, especially Christmas music, deeply enriches our holiday.  I cannot imagine Christmas without it.

Noelle
The Smoky Blue Series

Book 10

Emily Mims

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Boroughs Publishing

Date of Publication: Nov. 20, 2018

Word Count: Approx. 74,000

Cover Artist: Boroughs Art Department

Tagline: Ike and Cassie love each other. But her daughter stands between them.

Book Description:

He’s found the wife who’d run from him five years ago. But it will take a Christmas miracle to keep her in his life.

A terrified Cassie Jeffries fled Tennessee to protect her newborn daughter from her father’s wrath, abandoning her young husband in the process. Ike has tracked her down-not because he wants her any longer, but at the behest of her dying grandmother. Her love for Ike is still strong. He still loves her, too-but wants no part of her daughter Noelle.

Ike is beyond shocked to learn that the child he thought was his is in fact the child of his wife’s rape. He still loves Cassie, but every time he looks at Noelle he’s reminded of his own failure to protect the woman he loves. And Cassie is adamant. She will have no part of a man who can’t love her daughter. But danger lurks for Cassie’s child. Will Ike be able to protect Noelle from the threat that seeks to destroy everything his wife holds dear?

  

Amazon     Boroughs Publishing

 “Yeah, it’s easy to love those blue-eyed blonds, isn’t it?” Wade gibed. “Those dark ones, man. They’re a lot harder to love.”

            Ike felt his temper spike and tamped it down. “It would be hard to love any child who looks like the man who raped my wife,” he replied softly. “It wouldn’t matter if they were white, black, or purple with stripes down their back.” More was on the tip of his tongue but he bit it back. He already sounded enough like an ass.

Wade gave him a go-to-hell look and glanced to one side. Cassie stood there, her face pale and her expression one of horror. Ike felt himself cringe. She’d heard every word.

He started to say something but clamped his mouth shut. He couldn’t defend a statement like that and he knew it. But it had been the unvarnished truth. Noelle was a visible reminder of Cassie’s violation. He didn’t know how to get around that.

Cassie disappeared into the house. It was time to make his case one more time and then get the hell out of here. Ike nodded to Wade, thanked Angie for her hospitality and followed Cassie inside, where he found her in the kitchen by herself. “You leaving now?” she asked as she transferred leftover vegetable sticks into a plastic bag.

“Not until you agree to come see Granny Mae.”

“Then you better wash your clothes and buy another tube of toothpaste. I’m not going to let you pressure me into a decision that’s not in Noelle’s best interests.”

“Damn it, Cassie, what about Granny Mae? Your grandmother’s dying. The only thing she wants before she goes is to see you and Noelle. Are you really going to deny her dying wish?”

“That’s right. Play the guilt card.” Cassie snapped the bag shut and practically threw it in the refrigerator. “I told you last night. Granny Mae is a woman of the holler. She’s not going to want to see Noelle. And even if she did, what part of ‘Hugh Siler will kill her’ did I not communicate fully to you?” She turned to Ike, her eyes blazing. “I’m not the sweet, gullible girl you knew before. The one who could be persuaded or guilted into doing just about anything you wanted me to. So don’t try that crap with me. No way in hell am I giving you any kind of answer today. Don’t ask again.”

“All right. All right. Calm down. No answer today. I get that.” He paused. “But I will say it again. Granny Mae will want to see you both. Your daughter will be in no danger from your father. So please, Cassie. Will you at least think about coming? Will you do that much? You could come for a few days, maybe a week after ‘Wizard of Oz’ finishes its run. Please, Cassie? For Granny Mae? Please?”

“I will think about it but no promises.”

“Thank you. I’ll need your contact information and would like you to have mine.”

They exchanged phones and entered the necessary information. “I guess I’ll be going,” he said as she handed him back his phone.

“One more thing.”

“What’s that?”

Cassie hesitated. “Never mind.”

“No, say whatever’s on your mind.”

“Noelle. She’s not responsible for the circumstances of her conception. She’s a beautiful, wonderful child. Everyone who knows her loves her.”

“I’m sure she is and I’m sure they do. I’m not proud of my feelings toward her, Cassie. Just so you know.”

About the Author:

Author of thirty-six romance novels, Emily Mims combined her writing career with a career in public education until leaving the classroom to write full time.  The mother of two sons and six grandsons, she and her husband Charles live in central Texas but frequently visit grandchildren in Tennessee and Georgia.  For relaxation she plays the piano, organ, dulcimer, and ukulele.  She says, “I love to write romances because I believe in them.  Romance happened to me and it can happen to any woman-if she’ll just let it.”

Website Address:   www.emilymims.com

Twitter Address:  @EmilyMimsAuthor

Instagram Address: mims_emily

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmilyMimsAuthor

a Rafflecopter giveaway