Christina Hollis: Hello Winter, Goodbye Whole Foods...

Alex's first taste of snow, with me in the distance.

We're snowed in at the moment, half a mile from the nearest road. We’ll have dug our way out to civilisation by the time you read this, but the threat of power cuts here in rural Gloucestershire is constant in winter. It pays to stock up with the basics in late autumn, as it only takes an inch of snow to make the steep and winding country lane leading to Tottering Towers impassable.

My post today is seasonal, and sad. One of the places where we used to shop at Christmas has closed down, and around eighty people have lost their jobs. Whole Foods Market only had a couple of stores in this country outside of London. A few days ago their    “local” (it was about twenty-five miles away from us) outlet shut down.

It was far too expensive for us to shop there regularly, but for the occasional lunch and impulse-buying session it was a real treat. The last time I visited, just before it closed, I picked up all the fruits, nuts and spices for our Christmas cakes, puddings and treats.  Although the store was situated in a weird place, it always seemed to be busy, and it employed a lot of people. Goodbye, WFM. You’ll be missed.

To mark its passing, here's my version of a favourite Christmas song...

On the first day of Christmas Whole Foods Market sold to me

My lunch in a little brown tray

On the second day of Christmas Whole Foods Market sold to me

Sauerkraut and kimchi

On the third day of Christmas Whole Foods Market sold to me

Three local cheeses

On the fourth day of Christmas Whole Foods Market sold to me

Four rocky roads

On the fifth day of Christmas Whole Foods Market sold to me

Five sourdough loaves!

On the Sixth day of Christmas Whole Foods Market sold to me

Six spotted Quails’ Eggs

On the Seventh day of Christmas Whole Foods Market sold to me

Seven types of muesli

On the Eighth day of Christmas Whole Foods Market sold to me

Half a pound of nutmegs

On the ninth day of Christmas Whole Foods Market sold to me

Nine vegan salads

On the tenth day of Christmas Whole Foods Market sold to me

Ten scoops of spices

On the Eleventh day of Christmas Whole Foods Market sold to me

Eleven sorts of tea bag

On the twelfth day of Christmas Whole Foods Market…

… didn’t sell me anything. 

All that’s left is a great big sign saying “Goodbye Forever”.

See you next year!

What’s your favourite place to shop when you’re in the mood for some guilty pleasure?

Be the first to see cover of my next non-fiction book, Women’s Lives in Bristol, which combines family history with centenary celebration by emailing “subscribe” to christinahollis(at)hotmail(dot)co.uk ahead of the big reveal in my end-of-year newsletter!

Christina Hollis writes contemporary fiction starring complex men and independent women. She has written six historical novels, eighteen contemporary novels, sold nearly three million books, and her work has been translated into twenty different languages. When she isn’t writing, Christina is cooking, gardening, walking her dog, or beekeeping.

Catch up with her at http://www.christinahollis.blogspot.com, on Twitter, Facebook, and see a full list of her published books at christinahollis.com

Her current release, Heart Of A Hostage, is published by The Wild Rose Press and available at myBook.to/HeartOfAHostage  worldwide.

Twelve Days of Christmas - covers and giveaways

Last time I posted,I was talking about the arrival of the new copies of   my next book -
 A Proposal to Secure His Vengeance - which is out in January 2018.   January 16th to be precise.  It seems so close now, thankfully - especially when  it has been such a difficult year .  One in which I  had times of wondering if I'd  ever hold a  brand new book  that I'd written  in my hands  ever again.

So it's a delight to know that this new title will be coming out and will be  on the shelves in the new year.

It will be  an interesting time as well because, as many of you may already know, the UK  section of  Harlequin  - Harlequin Mills and Boon -  will be having a new makeover  and launching it in the new year.   The new look is very different - and will create a lot of interest in the  books, I'm sure.

Here's  the sign  that Mills and Boon are using  to mark the start of the makeover.    And here   is the new logo that  will be used from January onwards.

The changes are interesting - and I'll be talking  about them more on my own blog and my Facebook page as the details are released  - and my own  'new look' book appears   in more places.

Perhaps the first thing that people will notice - and the thing that so many  readers have already mentioned to me is that  in the new logo, that traditional symbol of  Romance - the rose of romance  - is now missing from the logo. Instead, the new look includes 'the heart of romance'.

Can you see it ?  Some people haven't been able to spot it - so take a look at that ampersand - &  - between the words Mills  & Boon.  It's not the traditional  & but it's a heart lying on its side with  a line (an arrow? ) through it.

So obviously  - with the new  look covers coming in, the new logo, the new colours - wait and see, there! -  I've been wondering about  the sort of cover design s that make readers want to grab a book  and take it home.

In America, the Harlequin Presents cover has been much the same, almost unchanged, for years and years, and when my  UK cover will be very different  ( think I'd better emphasise that  -very - different ) the one that my lovely American readers  will see will be much the same.  I showed it  last month  - and here I'll include it again.

So  - what about that question I asked you?  What sort of a cover makes you want to grab a book and take it home with you? Do you like that fact that the Presents cover has been around so much it's now described as 'iconic' - or would you like to see a new version?

Later in the month, over on my own blog I'll be looking at some of my older covers - the successful  ones and the - not so great ones!

And as I look at the different covers and other things about books, I'll be offering a book a day  as a giveaway in the lead up to Christmas.

So I'd love to see your comments - and to know what covers you like and the ones you don't. And Charlie the Maine  Coon  of his little sister Ruby will pick a winner from the comments - to win a signed copy of one of my backlist books  this month.

I hope everyone is  enjoying the lead up to Christmas  or whatever festival you're celebrating around this time. I hope the holidays are full of love and happiness and real joy for you all - and most of all, I wish for peace for everyone amongst families and countries so that we can all enjoy this special time.

Next year I'll be back to celebrate the publication of A Proposal To Secure His Vengeance.   But in the mean time I'll be running other 12 Days of Christmas giveaways  over on my personal blog  and on my Facebook page    so perhaps I'll see you there  - and maybe Ruby  or Charlie will pick your name as one of my  12 Days  winners.

Happy  Christmas - and Happy Holidays  to everyone. See you in 2018!

12 Days of Christmas . . . er - Not Quite

I really think that this post should be titled  the 12 Days of Christmas -  EEEEK! 

Are there really  only 12 Days left  before Christmas -  Really???

This is a  bit of a problem for me because I had plans for the 12 Days Of Christmas. I’ve always loved the countdown to Christmas – and for me a special part of that countdown has been the traditional Advent Calendar.   Every year I’m lucky enough to be given  a beautiful eAdvent Calendar by Anne McAllister  - and I’ve shared that with many friends.  I love opening each ‘door’ on the calendar and seeing what lovely decoration of game is behind it.

All the years that my son was growing up we had an Advent Calendar and every night before he went to bed we would  open a door on the calendar so that he knew it was one day nearer to Christmas  - and when the last door was open  there was just one sleep before Santa Claus appeared.

Now, we don’t have any small people at home  to enjoy an Advent Calendar  but we do have  cats! 

Yes, that’s right – cats. And yes, it’s true, the cats have their very own Advent Calendar  - once again courtesy of kind Anne McAllister.   She really specialises in finding this great Advent Calendar and adding them to the enjoyment of the countdown to Christmas Day! (And if you don’t believe me that the cars have an Advent Calendar – with cat treats in each pocket – here’s Charlie  picking a treat from the countdown this year.

Now,  liking Advent Calendars so much, in the past I’ve run an Advent Calendar on my  blog  and my Facebook page as we go through December and head to the 25^th. But this year things went a bit wrong.   If you’ve seen my Facebook page you’ll find that I went to a concert  in Sheffield  on the 3^rd  December – lovely concert, but unfortunately  it has  had an unpleasant aftermath as I had a nasty fall, battered my hip and my should and sprained my back .  Ouch!  No – it was worse than that  - it was OUCH!!  As a  result I’ve been confined to bed, to the settee, lying flat and not able to do very much. I’ve only just managed to get upright and catch up on some of the plans I had for Christmas.  Or for the Advent Calendar.  And I don’t have time to do the full 24 days of the calendar – only the 12 days of Christmas  - and those in a bit of a rush!  If I’m to get the giveaways in the post before the big day then I’m going to have to cram them all into  this week.

So – here’s what’s happening . . . I have a selection of backlist books  and a selection of angels!  The angels are  Christmas tree ornaments  - two bright and cheerful knitted ones and 10 beautiful little glass ones  ready to go on your tree. 

I’m starting off the 12 days event right here and  now and all you have to do is to post a comment to be  in the running for  one of the knitted angels  and your choice of a backlist book.  (I’ll let you know what books are on offer as soon as my back lets me go and check on the supplies. Details of those will be on my Facebook author page then.

Or if you know someone who has had a difficult time this year – sore back, perhaps!  - you can nominate them and let me know and I’ll send the  calendar gift to them.

So – sorry it’s late and a bit rushed! But  you still have the chance of winning one of the 12 angels and the 12 books – in these last 12 days of Christmas.   

Just come and say hello here, on my personal blog , or on myFacebook author page, (on my
Facebook page, leave a comment  and share the news of the giveaway from tomorrow)  and  you might win an extra Christmas gift.  

This giveaway will end, and all the winners will be notified by the end of  Monday 18^th 2016. Good luck!

Happy Christmas   to everyone  who’s celebrating – thank you for your interest in my books all through 2016 . I hope you’ve enjoyed the books you’ve read  and that you’ll enjoy the ones I have coming up in 2017.   You'll find the news of them on my web site  (when I get organised)