Monday, December 17, 2012

FUN CHRISTMAS-THEMED READS


Get into the spirit with these 
awesome holiday reads.


A Spirited Season by Karen Cantwell, Misha Crews, and Laura Lucas
Anthology, $1.99 Kindle, Nook, Kobo

What's a holiday without a little spirit? Join authors Karen Cantwell, Misha Crews, and Laura Lucas for half a dozen comical, fun, and warm-hearted Christmas tales. Soccer mom, Barbara Marr, is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Scary in "A Christmas Peril." Delaney Pearce isn't looking for a magic genie, but she finds one in "Make My Wish Come True." An antique ornament brings two lonely souls together in "Two Turtledoves." A jealous husband gets an unexpected surprise when attempting witchcraft to solve his marital problems in "Squawkin' Around the Christmas Tree." Something just isn't right when the lights go out during Kendall Rhodes' Christmas Eve party in "Jingle Spells." A rough-around-the-edges cell tower repairman discovers love in the least likely place in "O Christmas Tree."All profits from the sales of A Spirited Season will go to Children's Miracle Network Hospitals because everyone deserves a miracle.



A Bibliophile Christmas by Karen Wojcik Berner

Short Story, 99¢, Kindle, Nook, Kobo



From the author of A Whisper to a Scream (The Bibliophiles: Book One) and Until My Soul Gets It Right (The Bibliophiles: Book Two) comes a heartwarming holiday tale of friendship and family. Sarah Anderson and Annie Jacobs have not had the best of years. And now, here come the holidays. Great. Sarah's husband Tom is stuck in Boston after a nor'easter dumps a foot of snow on the day he is scheduled to leave for home. And Annie is working hard at picking up the pieces of her life after a painful divorce. But, maybe with a little help from their friends, Christmas won't be a total wash after all.



This holiday season, take a break from all the hustle and bustle, pour yourself a beverage, and have A Bibliophile Christmas.





It's a Dunder-Bull Wife by Karen Cantwell

Short Story, 99¢, Kindle, Nook



Dunder-Bull – the perfect little town bordering Barbara Marr’s not-so-polished Rustic Woods. Everything in Dunder-Bull is five-star rated, including the wives. As Barb puts it, “Dunder-Bull Wives make Stepford Wives look like couch potatoes.” Succumbing to the need to “measure-up,” Barb decides to prepare a grand and luscious Christmas feast for a party of twenty. The problem? Barb can’t cook her way out of a turkey-roaster bag. In usual Barbara Marr fashion, chaos ensues. Will she survive? Will her family fall victim to salmonella food poisoning? Will Martha Stewart ridicule her publicly?



A Barbara Marr Holiday short story, sure to tickle your funny bone and touch your heart at the same time. All profits from the sales of this short story go to the charity, Make-a-Wish Foundation.






Mistletoe in Manhattan by Talli Roland

Novella, 99¢, Kindle



As Little Missington's first Christmas baby in fifty years and the daughter of Christmas When You Like It party-planners, Holly West has been surrounded by the holiday spirit since birth. Trouble is, she's not exactly filled with festive cheer. In fact, Holly can't wait to ditch the tinsel and Santa suits for champagne and celebs, and become a party-planner to the stars.



When British TV star Dean Layton hires her parents' company to throw his holiday bash in Manhattan, Holly jumps at the chance to help, confident she can handle a little Christmas in exchange for access to Dean's exclusive world.



But New York and Dean's over-the-top demands are more than Holly bargained for. Can Holly deck the halls and make it a party to be proud of, or will this Christmas be one she'll never forget . . . even if she wants to?



One Snowy Night Before Christmas by Pamela Fryer

Novel, $2.99, Kindle



Jessica Jeffries hates Christmas. With all the commercialism, stress and chaos, there are a lot of people who feel the same way. But Jessie has more reason than most for hating it. She’s been robbed, dumped, caught pneumonia, broken her leg, and this year she ran over Santa Claus with her truck.



Tom Dunham’s holiday is turning out to be pretty awful. Not only is he suddenly responsible for a six-year-old daughter he hasn’t seen since infancy, but Amy holds him personally responsible for uprooting her, making it impossible for Santa to find her on Christmas morning.



Things go from bad to worse when Tom’s car breaks down on a freezing mountain road, but he gets a reprieve when a young woman who looks more like a Victoria’s Secret model than a tow truck driver comes to his rescue. Suddenly things are looking up—until she runs over an old man with an eerie resemblance to St. Nick.



The Billionaires' Christmas Club by Theresa Ragan & D.D. Scott

Novella, $2.99, Kindle, Nook



Grayson Hawk is a self-made billionaire. Although he dates a string of beautiful women, his work and fear of commitment keep him from forming any sort of lasting relationship. But a bet with good friend, Roswell Bellesconi, just might change everything: Grayson must temporarily trade his Manhattan penthouse for the streets of Brooklyn, NY, to find out if his Christmas donations make a difference at The Next Step, a non-profit organization that helps the homeless find jobs. Within hours of being dropped off, things go from bad to worse when Grayson tries to stop a purse snatcher in action. Hit over the head, Grayson wakes up in a strange new place where he is forced to see the world through new eyes.



Roswell “Ross” Bellesconi was born into an Italian royal family worth billions, and he’s spent his entire adult life protecting those just like him as a Personal Security Expert. He knows money and power, and he knows how to protect those who have it. What he doesn’t know is the first thing about women. So, when his bet with his buddy Grayson Hawk, leads him to serve From Dreams to Reality, an organization that helps women realize their dreams of owning and running successful businesses, Ross is in way over his royal head.



Murder Trims the Tree by Deb Baker

Novella, $2.99, Kindle, Nook, Kobo

When Gertie and her cohorts decide to do their court-ordered community service at the local assisted living home during the Christmas season, they get more than they (plea) bargained for.




















The Christmas Grandma Ran Away From Home by Nancy Warren

Short Story, 99¢, Kindle



For every woman who's ever felt overwhelmed and under-appreciated at Christmas comes the story of a decent woman, a widowed grandmother, respected matriarch of a big, noisy family who snaps one holiday season and decides to run away for the holidays. Little does she realize what adventures are in store.



Long time widow Sandy Forbes is breaking out this Christmas. In her 71 years on earth she has stuffed and cooked 55 Christmas turkeys, baked hundreds of pies, turned out thousands of shortbread cookies and hoisted enough pine trees in her living room to reforest the Amazon. Her family love her. They come to her for every occasion, eating, drinking, squabbling and then leaving her with a mass of dishes andcrumpled holiday wrap. But this is the year everything changes. When she wants someone else to take over for one year, the family lays a big guilt trip on her and Grandma rebels. Sandy’s giving herself a gift this Christmas. She’s running away from home for the holidays.



Buffalo Nickel Christmas by Larry Enright

Novel, $2.99, Kindle



It’s Christmas Eve in sleepy little Gambier, Ohio, and a massive snowstorm is giving the rural town more than just a white Christmas. Roads are closed, everything is shut down, and the monster outside is angry, rattling the windows and howling in the chimney.



Harry Ryan has decided to stay at school over winter break to finish his term paper, but it’s not going well, and now he regrets the decision that has left him stranded so far from his family. You see, as well as being Christmas, December 25th is also Harry’s birthday.



As he looks out his window at the stark and beautiful campus, at the icicles on the bushes along Middle Path, and the snow pasted on the windward sides of trees, and the layers of vanilla icing covering the world’s chocolate cake, it reminds him of a Christmas a long time ago.





Hope for the Holidays by Dana Taylor

Anthology, $1.99, Kindle, Nook





Raise your spirits with these three stories of hope, family, and a touch of the angelic.



"Shiny Green Shoes"--1935 was a hard year on old Route 66. The unlikely friendship between a young, black girl and an aging white actress brings hope to a town down on its luck.



"Refiner’s Fire"--Nestled in her beautiful home in the San Diego hills, Dina Stein is determined to celebrate Hanukkah even without her ungrateful daughter. Getting caught in a natural disaster isn’t on her agenda.



"Patty’s Angels"--Los Angeles, 1960. California is a state of growing contrasts. Downtown LA and the suburbs are only minutes, yet worlds, apart. A little girl named Patty brings people together, with the help of her celestial best friends.





For a chance to win all of these festive stories, click here




a Rafflecopter giveaway

3 comments:

Caroline Clemmons said...

Ladies, I look forward to reading these stories to add to my holiday season. Merry Christmas and/or Happy Hanukkah to you.

katsrus said...

Those all sound wonderful! Love Christmas stories. Thanks for the giveaway.
Sue B

Karen Wojcik Berner said...

Thanks so much for featuring us today, Caroline. Happy Holidays to you and your family.