It's snowing this morning…it really sets the stage for my newest release, Christmas in Cupid Falls! Cupid Falls, PA is a fictional small town between two very really towns here in Northwestern PA, Union City and Waterford. I love showcasing my region of the US. I live in Erie proper. Our city sits on the shore of the Great Lake that shares our name.
Most of my books have been set in and around Erie. I'm so excited to start a new series in a new town here. As I wrote, I fell in love with Cupid Falls. It's a small town with a big heart. And I brought a readers' favorite in for a cameo…Nana Vancy from the Everything But… series. In the final book of the series, Everything But a Dog, she adopts two dogs…dogs who were modeled after my dogs, Ethel and Ella. They used my dogs as models for the cover of the book. Yes, my dogs are cover models. They've developed a rather overinflated view of their fame. They keep waiting for the PUParazzi to start hounding them! LOL
So here's a sneak peak at Nana Vancy's cameo in Christmas in Cupid Falls:
They reached the coatrack and all three of them pulled out their coats.
Nana Vancy smiled at him as she slipped hers on. She looked as pleased as if he’d aced a spelling bee. “Yes, my friends. I adopted Clara Barton and Madame Curie to help match Annabelle’s second cousin’s daughter by her third marriage once removed. Bela was so mad when I came home with the dogs, but they stole his heart. There have never been two dogs so loved. And when I decided that matchmaking people might not be my calling . . .”
Kennedy’s laughter couldn’t be contained at that. “From what you told me, there were a few glitches.”
Nana Vancy grinned as she nodded and admitted, “Just a few, kedvenc, but I did help bring together some very happy couples. But when I matchmaked Annabelle’s second cousin’s daughter by her third marriage once removed, who was a veterinarian—”
Kennedy laughed as she interrupted, “—with a man who was allergic to dogs.”
Nana Vancy said, “It all worked out, didn’t it? And I discovered my true calling was matching dogs to their forever homes. And with help from family and friends, I started Everything But a Dog Foundation.”
That was a long story made longer, Mal thought but didn’t say out loud as they walked out onto the sidewalk. He glanced to make sure that Kennedy had zipped up her parka against the cold.
She caught him at it and glared at him. He didn’t need the words to know she was telling him she could look after herself.
He sighed. This time it wasn’t only Kennedy who looked at him, but Nana Vancy, too. She pointed down the street at a big man with two dogs. A large black one and a much smaller white one that had a very sausage-like build.
Mal looked at the big man smile as the tiny woman approached him. He wasn’t a romantic by any stretch of the imagination, but when Nana Vancy’s Bela joined them with the dogs, Mal could see how much love there was between them. It reminded him of Clarence and Joan. Or his grandfather and grandmother.
Nana Vancy walked up to the big man and their bodies brushed, as if drawn together like magnets.
“Kennedy, Malcolm, this is my Bela.” There was pride in her voice . . . and love.
“Bela Salo,” he said, shaking their hands.
“And this is Madame Curie.” At the sound of her name, the black dog sat down and offered them her paw.
Kennedy knelt down awkwardly and took the paw. “Aren’t you a beautiful girl?”
The little white dog, not to be outdone, jumped up at Kennedy, anxious for some affection, too. But Kennedy’s center of gravity was extremely off because of the baby. The small dog hurtling in her direction was enough to topple her, but Malcolm sprang forward and grabbed her under her arms, steadying her.
She looked up. “Thank you,” she said, then turned her attention to the demanding sausage-like white dog.
Nana Vancy shot him a look that made him feel like a bug under a microscope, then she said, “And that rude dog is Clara . . . Clara Barton. She has no manners and very little brains.”
Bela looked slightly insulted on the dog’s behalf. “But she is all heart, that one.”
As if to prove his point, Clara was busy kissing Kennedy, who hadn’t asked Mal to remove his hands, so he continued to steady her as she continued to kneel by the small dog.
I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!! And that it's filled with love, family and a whole lot of fun!
Holly
And here's Susan Shie's piece in the collection. Uh, if you read my first Day of Beauty, you'll remember how much I like making myself part of the art (see my shadow?).
