Monday, December 24, 2012

Country Christmas with Calico Daniels

calico postMerry Christmas!! I’m so happy to have fellow Astraea Press author Calico Daniels here today to share how she celebrates the holiday.

‘Round here we don’t do too much out of the ordinary of the holidays. We get together with family and friends. We eat home cooked food and share some laughs. We watch the kids laugh and giggle about their gifts and smile when we got them just what they wanted Smile Sounds about the same as most folks. This year I’m sure someone will break out the spiked eggnog and the shine, but no one will be surprised.

We do a gag gift party every year at my in-laws house that is good for a few chuckles but it’s really just another excuse just to eat and gossip. Smile We have a get together about once a month where everybody brings a dish and we all sit around jawin’. Keeps the family close.

calico post1Gifts ‘round here usually consist of new jeans or shirts for the grownups but every year I get pajamas. I LOVE my PJ’s. I think at last count I had 15 pair of pajama pants. Excessive? Maybe but I wear them all year and enjoy the fire out of ‘em. We’re more about makin’ sure we get things that we know others need rather than knickknacks. Last year we got my mother in law one of those sandwich makers Smile My father in law was tickled pink about that one J I think he got her to make him 2 that very night J She was thrilled ‘cause her old one was stickin’ and made it real hard to get the sandwich out once it was done.

calico post2We go all out for the kids though. Hubby goes with me to Wally Word for my Black Friday shopping when I stock up on about 30 movies for the kids plus a few toys. Our kiddos are big time movie watchers can you tell? So this year I told hubs that I was gonna do a movie themed Christmas. Movies, snacks, a fun pillow and blanket for each child and if I can find ‘em maybe a bean bag chair.

Yes, they get toys too Smile Well, the youngest does. Our son is into video games so we got him a few for his little game system.

calico post3Like most parents all I want is to make sure that Christmas is a happy and fun time for my kiddos. Not that I want the rest of the year to suck, but Christmas comes just once a year and we try to make sure our little ones get lots of fun and memories from each and every one Smile

Merry Christmas y’all Smile And may you be blessed this year and all the ones to follow.

~Calico Daniels

Thank you so much for stopping by, Calico! Be sure to check out Fried Pickles and the Fuzz coming January 2013 to Astraea Press.

FriedPicklesandtheFuzz 200x300Blurb: Big Creek might be a stereotypical small town but even they have drama.

Heather loves her little café, and her best customer is the county Sherriff. She’s been waiting months for him to ask her out…maybe she won’t have to wait much longer.

Bronson feels at home in Big Creek even though he hasn’t been the Sherriff for long. Small towns have their perks and a pretty café owner who cooks like an angel certainly doesn’t hurt. Now, if he could only get over his nerves and drum up the gumption to ask her out.

Throw in a gossip mill, a redneck festival and an ill timed attempt to help and you end up with some laughs, some ruffled feathers and a town that is…Redneck Fabulous.

Fried Pickles and the Fuzz will be available January 2013 at the Astraea Press Website, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever ebooks are sold.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Regency Christmas Blog Hop Winners

congrats

Thank you all so very much for participating in the blog hop and for leaving comments. I hope you all had fun! Before I announce the winners, I’d like to tell you a little story. So bear with me for a moment.

baI haven’t really been feeling the Christmas spirit this year. I’ll spare you my “poor me” tale, but I’ve pretty much been ready for the holidays to be over. I…um…have even been called Scrooge a time or two. But then something amazing happened…

My very wonderful friend and writing partner Kay Springsteen (check out her story The babyToymaker, it’s amazing) shared a link on Facebook about a pit bull mix whose family surrendered her to a shelter. She was listed as adoptable gold, but still only had 2 days to find a home or be euthanized. (That’s a picture of her – poor girl). I am a pit bull lover, have owned them for 16 years, and have a special place in my heart for them (with good reason, check out this post on my blog in 2011 about our baby Derby). Long story short, I was amazed at the way people rallied around this poor girl, offering donations to help cover transportation, paying her adoption fee, offering to foster her, sharing her story to try and save her…it warmed my heart. Besides my family and friends, it was the best Christmas present ever to watch how so many people opened their hearts to this abandoned baby. It renewed my belief in people! She’s not out of the water yet, but with so many people on her side, hopefully, she will be in a new home shortly.

TheDukeofChristmasPast_453x680So…I feel like since I was given a wonderful gift through all the love everyone showed, that I need to pass it forward – so EVERYONE who commented on my blog is a winner! I used randomizer.org to pick the two people to win the $10 gift cards from amazon.com. Congrats to Ruth Hartman and Leah Sanders! Everyone else who commented will receive an ecopy of The Duke of Christmas Past from either amazon or Barnes and Noble (or another ebook seller, if you prefer)! Just email me at kimbowman2008 @ yahoo . com (without the spaces) and tell me how to send it!

Thank you for indulging me my story! And don’t forget to check out the other Regency Christmas stories by some amazing Astraea Press authors!AP xmas books

Happy Holidays and Happy Reading!

~KIM

Sunday, December 2, 2012

A Regency Christmas Blog Hop

AP Christmas Regency blog hop logo 5
Romance and scandals abound in the Astraea Press Regency Christmas stories.

Eleven talented authors help you relive a bit of history from 1812 Regency England.
Each story is unique and gives you a look at life and love from 200 years ago, as well as a bit of gossip!Mrs. Peabody (courtesy of Rachel Van Dyken) is all too happy to share the secrets of the ton in her society scandal sheet.
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My own story, The Duke of Christmas Past, pays tribute to Charles Dickens, one of my favorite authors. Here’s the book blurb:
The only thing Donovan Ellis, Seventh Duke of Gatewood, wants for Christmas is for it to be over. Too much sadness surrounds the holiday. Horrors he'd just as soon forget. Oh, there's one present he yearns for with all his heart, but he can't have her. His foolishness pushed her into the arms of another. So if he can't have the one thing he truly desires, then he just wants to be left alone to drown in his own misery.
But when a ghostly apparition visits him, claiming things can be set right, can Donovan believe? Can he trust the duke of Christmas past? Or will meddling in the past bring more heartache than he already has to bear?

You can purchase The Duke of Christmas Past at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Astraea Press, and wherever ebooks are sold.
Now for the fun part! The contest! I’m offering 2 $10 Amazon gift cards and 2 ecopies of The Duke of Christmas Past. Just leave a comment below with your email address!

Thank you for stopping by and good luck! Hope you all have a very happy holiday season! The next stop on the hop is at the talented Christina Graham Parker's Blog.

~Kim