A ROOM FILLED WITH GIFTS FOR THE KIDS

Please welcome one of my best friends, Anna Jeffrey, an award-winning author. Not only does she write as Anna Jeffrey, she has also co-written books as USA Today bestselling author Dixie Cash. As you'll see below, she's also a gifted artist as well as an accomplished author.

Remember to comment during Advent to be eligible for the Christmas Eve drawing of the Kindle Fire 7.

What is your favorite childhood Christmas memory?

Christmas at my great-grandpa’s house, when all of the family would come and bring presents. I was around 5 to 7 years old. At that time, my great-grandparents had 9 kids living, and most of them had kids of their own, so it was a lot of people. The Christmas tree was usually in the corner of the living room, which was a room never used at any other time of the year, and the presents would stretch out to the center of the room. Oddly enough, one of my most vivid memories is that my grandmas always got pots and pans for presents.

This photo is my great-grandpa's house in West Texas where I spent the first 8 years of my life. The people on the porch are my great-grandpa and great-grandma and 7 of their 9 kids. This picture was taken when the house was fairly new, somewhere around 1900 and was where the whole family gathered every holiday. The lumber for the house was hauled by horse and wagon from Abilene, which was about 80 miles away. I don't know who built it in the first place, but it had 8 bedrooms. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the inside.

This is an oil painting I did of the old gas station and mechanic's garage not far from my great-grandpa's house. It was also the post office. The white stuff on the ground isn't snow. It's cotton. The cotton gin was just down the road from it. It's gone now, but when I was a kid, it was a thriving business.

What is your favorite adult Christmas memory?

When my husband and I lived in Idaho, one Christmas Eve we had a heavy snowfall that didn’t let up for days. All around our house, the depth was about four feet. My daughter and her husband had gone to his family’s house for the holiday, so my husband and I were alone. We and some friends did a progressive dinner riding on snow machines. We always had a white Christmas in Idaho, but we usually weren’t out in the weather and usually didn’t have quite that much snow. It felt very Christmas-y.

Is there a Christmas song that’s your favorite?

A.   Secular: “White Christmas” sung by Bing Crosby

B.   Religious: “O Holy Night” sung by any large choir

Tell us about your family’s Christmas traditions.

They are long gone now, but my great-grandpa used to always give all the kids a bag of apples and oranges. Don’t know where he got them at that time of year in West Texas.

The coat is an opaque water color I painted of my husband George's

old work coat hanging on the door of his  cabin in the mountains about 

50 miles from McCall, Idaho. We used to spend a lot of time up there. 

Talk about silence! 

What about Christmas do you most enjoy?

Most people seem to be happy at Christmas. They seem to work at it.

The old barn is an oil painting I did and I don't even remember where

it is. Obviously in the Northwest somewhere.

Is there something about this holiday that drives you crazy?

Not any more. I used to work in the retail business, so all of it drove me crazy in those days.

What do you hope for this Christmas?

Time and good health and a little more good will.

This is an oil painting of a deteriorating gold mining dredge in Warren Creek, Idaho. This is how they pulled many dollars worth of gold from that area. I don't know how old it is, but it wasn't far from George's cabin. Believe it or not, one year, I won the Blue Ribbon and the "Best of Show" ribbon at the Idaho State Fair with this gold-mining dredge. Interesting history.

Do you have a treasured Christmas food?

Christmas cookies and candies. I used to make both and give for Christmas presents. In Idaho, we had wonderful fruit available at that time of year. I always made chutneys and various jams and fruit honeys to give for presents. One of my faves was pear honey. Larruping!

Divinity Fudge

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup white Karo syrup

2 large egg whites, stiffly beaten

1/2 cup water

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon cream tartar

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts

 Beat egg whites until stiff and set aside. Cook sugar, Karo, water, salt, and cream of tartar until it forms a hard ball in water. Pour over stiffly beaten egg whites. Add vanilla and nuts. Beat and pour into lightly buttered pan to harden.

Warning: Do not make this on a cloudy or rainy day or it may not harden. 

Do you have a book you’d like to share?

Since I mentioned Idaho, I'll share a book set in Idaho: THE LOVE OF A COWBOY, book 1 of the Callister Trilogy.

THE LOVE OF A COWBOY was published as a result of winning a contest. It started out to be a saga about a legendary ranching family: Luke McRae, his parents and his siblings and the various dramas that affected their lives. The editor who judged it and bought it wanted to pluck out only Dahlia and Luke's story. The revision was a daunting process that required cutting around 50,000 words. The editor encouraged me every step of the way and in the end, my debut book became a work I'm proud of.

THE LOVE OF A COWBOY Summary:

When Texas beauty Dahlia Montgomery and her best friend journey to Idaho for a change of scenery for the summer, the last thing she expects to encounter is Luke McRae, a lean, rugged cowboy intent on sweeping her off her feet and into his bed. Dahlia can't resist his rugged cowboy swagger and his sky blue eyes, even though she knows he can break her heart.

Luke is part owner and manager of the legendary Double-Deuce Ranch in the Idaho mountains. With the ranch, and alcoholic ex-wife, a shrewish mother and three kids to worry about, he has no interest in romance. But that doesn't mean he has given up on casual sex with beautiful women...But is either he or Dahlia prepared for the consequences of a sexy summer romp?

Amazon buy link: http://a.co/fDj3pay 

Anna Jeffrey, Author

A few words about Anna Jeffrey….

Anna Jeffrey is an award-winning author of romance novels as well as romantic comedy/mystery. She has written 10 romance novels and co-authored 7 as USA Today Bestselling author, Dixie Cash. Her most recent book is “The Cattleman.”

She loves most things western, from the customs and culture to the philosophy of life. She enjoys many hobbies, i.e., reading, painting and drawing, crafting, needlework and beading. Anna is a fifth generation Texan. She was born and grew up in West Texas, where most of her family members were farmers and ranchers or worked in the oil fields. She left Texas for many years and lived in four of the western states, a rich experience she’ll never forget. These days, she’s back home in Texas. She and her husband currently live in a small town not far from the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

Website: http://annajeffrey.com

Blog: http://annajeffreyauthor.wordpress.com 

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

Twitter: @AnnaJeffrey

Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/annajeffrey/my-anna-jeffrey-books

Like my Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Anna-Jeffrey/e/B001IR3EO8

ANNA JEFFREY, MULTI-TALENTED WOMAN OF THE WEST

About twenty years, I met author Anna Jeffrey at an RWA chapter meeting in Fort Worth. With her sister Pam Cumbie, the two make up the romantic comedy/mystery writing team of Dixie Cash. On her own, Anna is a very talented author. (As a friend, she is a hoot and a half.)

Like me, Anna grew up in West Texas. She’s a fifth generation Texan who loves most things western from the customs and culture to the philosophy of life. Most of her family members were farmers and ranchers or worked in the oil fields.

For those of you who have never lived in West Texas, it’s another world. That’s not a criticism, just a fact. Anna and I didn’t grow up in the same town, but the atmosphere was the same. We grew up during the great oil boom, an era filled with “real-life” fictional characters who cry to be written into a story. As well, farms and ranches were a part of the landscape. 

Talented in many areas, Anna painted a scene anyone from West Texas would recognize. Many little crossroads in farming communities had a cotton gin, a café/store which sold gasoline, and at least a couple of houses for the gin’s manager and head ginner. By the way, the white in Anna’s painting is not snow, it’s cotton/cotton lint blown from the gin. The stuff drifted for hundreds of yards.

Store/post office of Peacock, Stonewall County, Texas

Anna has worked in various areas from store owner to realtor and author. Thank heavens she has kept writing sexy contemporary romance with an edge as Anna Jeffrey and the romantic comedy/mystery series written with her sister as Dixie Cash. In fact, Anna is a USA Today bestselling author. Her books have won the Write Touch Readers’ Award, the Aspen Gold, the More Than Magic, and the NEC Readers’ Choice awards.

Here’s a painting multi-talented Anna did of her husband’s coat hanging on the door of his mountain cabin in Idaho. The medium is opaque water color.

Coat belonging to Anna's husband George
in his Idaho mountain cabin

Also an Idaho subject is the painting of this old abandoned gold mining dredge. Can’t you just imagine the stories that went on while this was in use?

Gold mining dredge, Idaho

A subject I love is this old barn Anna painted in oils. I love the colors and the contrast of the yellow at the bottom and the green forest behind.

I love old barns and this one appeals to me

After leaving Texas for a while, Anna lived in California, Arizona, Oregon, and Idaho. The latter is the setting for her first books written as herself, the Callister series. These were my first introduction to her writing and I loved each of those books.  Her series set in Texas include the West Texas series, the Strayhorns, Miranda’s Chronicles (erotic), and—if you crave longer books—the Sons of Texas series. I’ve read each one and highly recommend them. You can find out more about her at her Amazon Author Page:

http://www.amazon.com/Anna-Jeffrey/e/B001IR3EO8/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1461124396&sr=1-2-ent

Anna's latest book is as Dixie Cash, a romantic comedy/mystery in the Domestic Equalizer series. The series features Debbie Sue and Edwina, hair stylists whose shop was converted from an old gas station. The duo is zany and inquisitive and know everyone in the community. Due to their success solving crimes, they set up their private detection service called Domestic Equalizers. 

Here's the blurb for YOU CAN HAVE MY HEART BUT DON'T TOUCH MY DOG:

After two divorces, Sandi Walker (Edwina's niece and entrepreneur extraordinaire) is on her own and loving it. As a devout animal lover, she has made a success of the only gourmet pet food bakery in Midland, Texas. She's also a pet foster parent and has fifteen assorted abused and unwanted animals at home. When a golden-colored stray dog with an abundance of personality appears at her door, she can't refuse him and she can't keep from falling in love with him. She names him Waffle and gives him a permanent home.

General Manager of the Flying C Ranch, Nick Conway, has searched for months for his lost dog, Buster. Giving up on ever finding him, he looks for a new dog and finds a puppy at a pet grooming shop.  While he went to the shop to see a puppy, he also encountered a beautiful redheaded woman he can't put out of his mind. Little does he know that she found Buster in an alley and has now claimed him as her own. Sparks fly between Sandi and Nick when he steals Buster and sues her in court for custody. It will take a mouthy parrot, a sitting judge, the matchmaking skills of the Domestic Equalizers and Cupid himself to resolve this conflict.

YOU CAN HAVE MY HEART BUT DON'T TOUCH MY DOG Excerpt:

"Nick…began to unload everything off the tray and set it on the table. Two baskets of hamburgers and fries and a couple of Hogg’s locally-famous fried pies enclosed inside parchment wrappers. They were half the size of a dinner plate.

She stared at the array of food. “That’s a lot of food. I don’t see a small hamburger.”

“A child’s hamburger is the size of a quarter. Not enough to eat. I got you a regular size.”

Controlling jerk. Sandi made a huff of annoyance. “You also got fried pies. What kind?”

“Apricot. The kind my granny used to make when I was a little tyke. Hogg’s uses lard in the crust, just like my granny did. That’s why they taste so good.”

She made a mental groan. “A fried pie made by these people probably has about five thousand calories.”

His brow scrunched into a frown. “You’re not gonna eat a fried pie after I got you one?”

She shook her head. “I am not. I did not ask for a fried pie. You obviously aren’t concerned with your diet, but I try to limit the carbs I eat. I don’t want to have a heart attack before I’m thirty-five and I want to be able to pass through the front door of my shop.”

He scooted the fried pie across the table toward her. “One little fried pie is not gonna give you a heart attack or put twenty pounds on you. Maybe a dose of sugar will put you in a better mood.”

Find YOU CAN HAVE MY HEART BUT DON’T TOUCH MY DOG on Amazon at this link: http://amzn.com/B01CIL979S

Anna Jeffrey/Dixie Cash

Anna's social media links are:

Website: www.annajeffrey.com –

Blog: http://annajeffreyauthor.wordpress.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anna.jeffrey.3?fref=ts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/annajeffrey

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

 

Dixie Cash--Pam Cumbie
and Anna Jeffrey