Sweet September by Susan Sands

Georgia's weather is a mixed bag for sure. It gets super hot in summer with high humidity from May

until late September. So, when cooler weather comes, it is a blessed relief.

With COVID-19, fall festivals and book conferences will be limited, but getting outdoors comfortably will be nice for everyone. Here's hoping the world keeps spinning and the virus is flattened and cold and flu season will be mild this year.

My daughter is back at college where they are quarantining in waves as the students gather, as students do. 

In book news: I've finalized a three-book contract with Tule Publishing for my upcoming Lousiana series, with the first story due out next summer. And I've signed with literary agent Elaine Spencer at the Knight Agency. 

So, September moving forward is going to a busy time for me. My new book, Noel, Alabama comes out October 19th, so the promotion begins now!

I hope this finds you well and healthy. I'll be hosting a big, fun, online event on October 19th which will include Eloisa James, Vanessa Riley, Karen White, Kristina McMorris, Kimberly Belle, and Emily Carpenter!!

Check out my website for more details coming soon! https://susansands.com

Take care!!

Susan Sands

Christina Hollis: Winter Draws on...

Compliments of the season!

The weather is cold and blustery here in Gloucestershire, but so far we've only had frost and rain—endless rain, for weeks—rather than snow. The days are short, but we've had some beautiful views of the full moon between the rainclouds.

We don't put up our decorations or tree until Christmas Eve, but this weekend I really must settle down to writing the Christmas cards. It's a lovely task, especially when I've got a cup of tea and mince pies to hand, and some carols on in the background. AntPDC put together a lovely presentation on YouTube a few years ago to accompany Victor Hely-Hutchinson's Carol Symphony. I never get tired of watching it at this time of year. Some of the photos are of the historic York. Now I've visited the city several times, I can recognise some of the places and it makes this film even more special.

If you're still looking for ideas for presents, Struggle and Suffrage in Bristol is full of stories and photographs of the brave, clever and resourceful women who helped make the city famous.  Read about Ada Vachell, who drove her parents mad by taking their servants out on day trips to the seaside, or Sarah Henley, who in 1885 survived falling over two hundred feet from the Clifton Suspension Bridge when her long Victorian skirts filled with air like a parachute!

You can buy Struggle and Suffrage in Bristol from Amazon, or direct from the publisher, Pen and Sword Books.

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah or Midwinter, I hope you have a happy, peaceful holiday season.

Discover the Origins of Christmas Traditions: Michelle Styles

Where do Christmas traditions come from? Some we can date to specific events such as the publication of Dr. Suess’s When the Grinch Stole Christmas or Dickens’s  A Christmas Carol. Other traditions have been acquired from other cultures or are lost in the mist of time. Some last a few years or even several generations but a special few stand the test of time, until sometimes the original meaning is long forgotten.

When I first started writing Sent as the Viking’s Bride (to published 18 December 2018), I deliberately set it during the Jul season which was roughly the same as our Christmas season. Jul lasted from November to 20 January. The Christmas season used to end on Candlemas, the presentation of Jesus at the temple  or 2 February (even though today it tends to be on Epiphany or 6 January or even on the 1^st) so you can see why it was easy to roll the two into one.

  I knew in order to make it easier for people, they co-opted some of the Jul traditions into the Christmas festival. You can hear in  some of the names – yuletide or yule log. The tradition of having ham/pork also goes back to the Viking culture because the boar was a sacred animal, particularly for swearing oaths and Jul was a time of renewing oaths. In Scandinavia, marzipan pigs are still considered lucky at Christmas and many children find them in their stocking.

 Food and drink along with the festivities were important parts of the celebration (there are reasons why Cromwell banned Christmas celebrations as not being Christian!). In common with many Germanic people, the Vikings would sacrifice some of the Jul ale to the fruit trees. We still get this with the tradition of wassailing.

Wreaths of evergreen were fashioned and put a blaze to help bring the Sun Maiden. In Norse legend, every mid-winter, the Sun maiden is swallowed by Fenrir the Wolf and is rescued through the efforts of Thor. You can see how a festival of light and re-birth  lent itself easily to being refashioned.

The Scandinavian goat (not a reindeer) – the red and white figurine is because Thor’s chariot, the one he used to rescue the Sun Maiden was pulled by two goats. They still play a prominent part in many people’s Christmas celebrations in these countries.

The nisser or house-elf who ensures good fortune still has a part to play in  Scandinavian celebrations. In Norway people put out rice pudding or porridge on Christmas eve for the nisser to ensure they will get good luck. If you happen to have a gnome looking Santa, it is probably a nisser rather than a Santa.

The Vikings brought the concept to Britain and it is where we get the term elf, pixie or brownie from. And because I happen to like the idea of having a house-elf  very much,  I made sure they played an important part in my latest novel.

It was fabulous being able to learn about Jul and its traditions and how those traditions have been passed along.

You can read the first chapter of Sent as The Viking’s Bridefor free here.

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romance for Harlequin Historical in a wide range of time periods. Her next book Sent as the Viking’s Bride will be published on 18 December 2018 in the US, 27 December in the UK. Learn more about  Michelle and her books at www.michellestyles.co.uk.

Merry Christmas to all! - Kandy Shepherd

Wherever you are in the world, I’d like to wish Tote Bags ’n’ Blogs readers a very Merry Christmas and for those who don’t celebrate a very happy holiday season.

I haven’t got my tree up yet, or even thought about the festive menu, but I know I’ll get it done as I do every year with the help of my family! (My kitties do their best to “help” with the tree, too.)

I have a new book out in February 2019. Second Chance with the Single Dad is a friends-to- lovers reunion story, with an adorable baby girl in a supporting role. Oh, and a cat and a few horses too in this emotional, feel-good story from Harlequin Romance! 

 Christmas is a time of sunshine and outdoor living in Australia where I live. Whether summer or winter,  I hope you’re having good weather to get into the festive season!

Thank you to everyone who has read my posts throughout the year and a big thank you to Lee for having me as a contributor. 

Second Chance with the Single Dad is a February 2019 release from Harlequin Romance in North America; Mills & Boon True Love in the UK; and Mills & Boon Forever Romance in Australia and New Zealand.

Kandy Shepherd is a multi-published, award-winning author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. She lives on a small farm in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia, with her family and a menagerie of four-legged friends.

Visit Kandy at her website

www.kandyshepherd.com

Connect with Kandy on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram

Sunny Christmas wishes – Kandy Shepherd

I know it’s a cliché to say “I can’t believe it’s nearly Christmas already”–but I really can’t! The year seems to have zoomed by. Fortunately I just finished a story for Harlequin Romance (to be published next July) so can now turn my mind to all things Christmas. For me, this doesn’t just involve putting up the tree, shopping, and wrapping and cooking but also a huge clean up of the house!

In Australia where we live that means thoughts of a summer Christmas. But even though it is likely to be hot, we Aussies tend to gather for a “traditional” Christmas meal based on a northern hemisphere winter Christmas. My family have a predominantly English background so that means a hot meal and lots of baked goods! I don’t care much for the rich cakes and puddings made from dried fruits but I’m very partial to shortbread.

Wherever you are in the world I’d like to wish Tote Bags ’n’ Blogs readers a very Merry Christmas and for those who don’t celebrate a very happy holiday season. And a big thank you to Lee for having me as a regular blogger.

I don’t have a Christmas book out this year but my 2016 Christmas novella Millionaire Under the Mistletoe is still available at e-retailers for just $0.99. 

Harlequin is also offering a festive season boxed set for just $US1.99 at e-retailers that includes my GiftWrapped in Her Wedding Dress which is a Christmas story I really loved writing!

And of course next year you can meet my gorgeous Greek tycoon hero Cristos in my February 2018 release Stranded with Her Greek Tycoon available in the UK and Australia in January and the US in February.

See you all next year!  

 

 Kandy Shepherd is a multi-published, award-winning author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. She lives on a small farm in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia, with her family and a menagerie of four-legged friends.

Visit Kandy at her website

www.kandyshepherd.com

Connect with Kandy on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram

Nicole Locke - A Year of Change

Here we are at the end of 2017, and I still don't know how I feel about it. I can point at nothing truly horrific and yet, I look at this year warily. Like a child does when it's not sure if the thing before it is a friend or foe.

Like that big friendly dog that nipped my hands and then slurped my entire body. Or that balloon that was so shiny...but then popped in my face.

2017 was a big friendly year, and I had moments of sheer joy. Then there were those moments it nipped and popped. When it hurt and scared me, too.

We moved, you see, and even as an adult I wasn't prepared for the full ramifications I would stumble through, but I did learn some things along the way:

1. Inefficiency is your first, last, and middle name. When you move homes you will not be as productive as you were before. That's just a fact of life. Why? Well, there's more to do...more than you can possibly conceive or prepare for.

2.   You are a creature of habit and you don't even know it. Oh, boy was this something I truly fought against. For eleven years, I left my bedroom and turned left, now I'm suddenly turning right. I hadn't driven in over a decade, now I have this vehicle that I'm supposed to park. My earrings can't go in the little tray by the front door,  my t-shirts are hung instead of folded, etc. Everything must have a new place. This, of course, escalates your inefficiency, but also it's jarring. Like having to learn how to breathe differently.

3. You will grieve. Some loss you will expect to hurt like friendships and family. I can't even write that sentence without tearing up.  But some loss you won't expect. Simple things such as certain foods (cheese!), or a way a place smells, or even the ease of a transport system. I miss these little things as well.

4. If you move and you have a husband and two children, points 1,2,3 above will all be amplified by 3x.

5. 'You will make it.' That was one of my grandfather's favourite sayings.  I made it through 2017. It was bumpy and I often got lost or a bit more wary. Other times, I had joy in my heart.

It's that joy I want to carry into 2018. So I intend to embrace the changes, the big friendly dogs and all the popping balloons. That way, I can make it like my grandfather taught, but make it with a happiness that comes not from the absence of inefficiency or grief, but because of it.

I wish you all joy and happiness as well, and thank you for sharing 2017 with me.

Nicole

Nicole writes the Lovers and Legends historical series for Harlequin. Check out her website and follow her on Facebook , Twitter,  Google+ and Pinterest.'