In Like a Lion, Out Like a. . . Lion?

It's that old adage that is espoused every year at this time - March roars in  like a lion and goes out like a lamb. Well, I'm guessing no one told Mother Nature about this because this month has been the craziest for those of us in the Northeast. Four....count 'em....four Nor'easters formed and stormed up the Atlantic coast bringing strong winds, heavy rain then snows, flooding, icing and other assorted weather conditions. Almost like clockwork, they formed and moved each week, usually on Monday or Tuesday, all through March. Last week - during our heaviest snow event -- even Jim Cantore of the Weather channel was in my area - and you know that means it was bad around here! LOL!

Thank goodness, March ends today and we can be done with those!

Holy April Fools joke, Batman! Another storm is on its way tomorrow into Monday (and vague rumors of another next week)!! Don't misunderstand - I'm the one who loves snow and snowstorms. I love watching it snow....love the quiet and the muted sounds....love the way the white stuff covers everything making it look pristine.

I love sitting at my desk with that view next to me.

But I know I'm crazy and everyone else I know was soooo over snow by the second storm. 

I think I'm the only one who also likes winter in general. I love cold weather and the lack of the allergens that will fill our air soon, making it impossible to breathe or stop sneezing.  I like feeling the need to put on a coat and gloves....and love it when it's cold enough for a hat or ear muffs. As I said, I know I'm the crazy one in this!


Don't lose hope yet if you don't like winter and wintry weather -- Spring has been making valiant efforts to break through. My crocuses and daffodils have been up for almost a month. The trees are budding and I've seen robins around here for weeks. Our temperatures have already reached the 70s several times and the smell of Spring is in the air now.

Maybe that's why I enjoy March? There is a possibility of all sorts of weather all month long - and snow can sneak in and brighten me up any time. Sigh....

So, how about you? Yearning for Spring or still wishing for Winter? Are you more of a hot weather Summer person? Or do you like the mix of Fall? What's your favorite kind of weather or season of the year? Post a comment or photo to share yours and I'll pick one person who comments who will receive one of my books and a wee giftie! 

I'm very excited to announce that CLAIMING HIS HIGHLAND BRIDE will be available in retail stores in a special edition in July! I hope you'll look for it and support our Harlequin Historical line in print!

Baby It's Cold Outside by Jenny Gardiner

There’s a pond in the woods back behind our house. A few times over the nearly 20 years we’ve lived here, in Central Virginia, winter has been cold enough for the pond to freeze over. On those times when our kids were little, we had such fun venturing out on the ice and sliding around, defying the strength of the frozen water, trusting that no one would fall through.

One frigid wintry morning years ago, we were scrambling to get everyone dressed, fed, lunches packed and out the door for school, when our young puppy somehow slipped outside and made off for the woods behind our house. The kids bolted after her and found her on the ice—then not frozen through, so her hind leg had slipped into it. Thankfully we were able to rescue her and get the kids to school not too late, with just a bit of early-morning drama!

During this bitterly January cold snap, my husband persuaded me to trek over to the pond to venture out onto the ice. The older I get the more of a weenie I become, so I was somewhat reluctant to go (and was rather comfortable with a cozy fire in the fireplace!), but I also didn’t want him to fall into the ice with no one to save him so we bundled out and headed out to the pond. As you all well know, it’s been a crazy cold winter, and sure enough, that ice was solid. My husband was convinced it was a foot thick. Not totally sure about that, but after a little persuasion I joined him to slip and slide around on it a bit. The far side of the pond doesn’t freeze as much—it’s dammed up and connected to the nearby creek—so we could hear loud cracks and pops coming from that end of things, and could even feel the crackles reverberating beneath our feet. It gave me a healthy respect to not mess too much with Mother Nature!

Well, if you’re like me and opting to stay curled up inside in semi-hibernation mode, I’ve got good news—a new book for you to read! My novel Falling for Mr. Maybe is finally available! Hope you’ll get a chance to check it out and in the meantime, stay warm!

Great news! Red Hot Romeo is free! A hot Italian, a gorgeous supermodel, and fabulous wines…what’s not to love?!

You can check out the first book in the Royal Romeo series for free here:

Kindle: bit.ly/RedHotRomeo
iBooks: http://bit.ly/RHRom
Nook: http://bit.ly/RHRNook
Kobo: http://bit.ly/KoboRHR
Google Play: http://bit.ly/RHRgoogle

Check out my Falling for Mr. Wrong series! Falling for Mr. Wrong,  Falling for Mr. Maybe, and Falling for Mr. No Way in Hell is now available for pre-order.

Lastly, don't forget, book one of the It's Reigning Men series, Something in the Heir, is free here!

I hope you'll have a chance to check out my Royal Romeos series, which is a spin-off of my wildly popular It's Reigning Men series--please do check them out!

Happy reading!

    

  

  

     

Christina Hollis: Be Prepared!

A light dusting before the blizzard

Winter hit hard here before Christmas, with a blizzard. We're surrounded by woodland, and the sound of boughs snapping under the weight of snow echoed around our valley like gunfire.  A particularly loud bang gave us all a 4am start, as some power lines came down. They snaked around in the darkness in a shower of sparks until the supply was shut off. After that, we were without electricity for eighteen hours. 

Disasters can strike in town as well as country, so before something unexpected happens in your neck of the woods, here's my top tips for managing when modern life unravels...

HEAT: The pump for our gas central heating runs on electricity, so a log burner provides extra warmth. Dancing flames lift the spirits, too. Curling up in front of the fire with a good book when the various screens and devices aren't working makes the past seem very close. While we have an electric oven, our hob is gas. In the event of a power cut we can light that manually, to boil a kettle for tea and coffee, fill hot water bottles or make meals that don’t need an oven.  We have carbon monoxide alarms and smoke alarms, and check their battery levels regularly. We also keep a fire blanket handy!

Come home to a real fire...

LIGHT: I use a head torch for cooking, or checking round outside. It leaves my hands free, which is always a good thing. Unlike ordinary torches, LED lights die suddenly instead of fading away like a traditional torch. Make sure you’ve got plenty of spare batteries. 

Cold candles burn for longer than those stored at room temperature.  Make sure you secure them in a jam jar or saucer before lighting. Keep them well away from anything that might catch fire. Keep a supply of matches or a lighter in a dry place, and make sure everyone in the house knows where they are. 

SAFETY: Make sure you've got a basic first aid kit with over-the-counter remedies, plasters, dressings and bandages. Keep paths clear and spread rock salt to keep them safe. Make a list of emergency numbers, and personal contact details. Print out and laminate several copies. Keep one in the kitchen, one in the bathroom and one in your car. 

Get the right tools for the job. Proper snow shovels are much lighter and easier to use than garden spades when you have snow to shift. Keep one in your car (and it's a good idea if that has winter tyres fitted).

SUPPLIES: Each autumn we make up a winter box, filled with things like toilet paper, toothpaste, soap, tea, coffee, dried milk, tinned goods and dried food like pasta. While researching Women’s Lives in Bristol, I discovered the story of an emergency box just like ours, which came to the rescue of people trapped in a church during the great air-raid the city suffered in November 1940. 

Severe weather rarely cuts anywhere in England off for more than a few days, so we'd rather sit it out in the warm than risk an accident. I had one of those in snow a few years ago, and I don't want another one! Stocking up with the basics means we don't run out if we're snowed in. It's all stored in a cool, dry place. We don’t rely on being able to use frozen or chilled foods. In a power cut, we keep the freezer shut and avoid opening the fridge. Milk and other dairy products live outside the back door, in a big insulated box.

COMMUNICATION: Mobile signals aren't good round here, so we’ve kept our landline. Wherever you live, a mobile's no good if it’s flat. Make sure all your devices are fully charged while you have power. Keep a good supply of batteries for radios. If you're going on a journey, make sure your car is serviced, and the fuel tank is filled. Blankets, a torch, first aid kit and cereal bars don’t take up much room on the back seat, and could make all the difference during a long cold wait for roadside assistance. 

If you'd like to keep up with my writing life, and the goings-on here at Tottering Towers (Gloucestershire's least stately home), just drop me a line at christinahollis(at)hotmail(dot)co.uk with "newsletter" in the subject line—and putting an @ and a dot instead of the words in my email address, of course!

Christina Hollis has been writing all her life. With many magazine articles, six historical novels and eighteen contemporary novels to her credit, she has sold nearly three million books and her work has been translated into twenty different languages. When she isn’t writing, Christina is cooking, gardening, or walking her dog. Her next book, Women’s Lives in Bristol, 1850-1950 is part of Pen and Sword Books’ major 2018 series Struggle and Suffrage commemorating the vote being given to the first women in England. Follow Christina on Facebook at http://bit.ly/FacebookAuthorPageCH for more details.

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.

A tale of two romance covers – Kandy Shepherd

As an author, one of the most exciting moments for me in the production cycle of a book is my first sight of the cover.

I spend a lot of time with my characters (in my imagination of course!) from first imaginings to totally falling in love with them as the story develops. My romances generally have the hero or heroine alone—or more often both as a couple—on the cover.

To see how my publisher’s cover designer interprets my descriptions of the characters and setting is always exciting. I’ve been fortunate to have been given some beautiful covers for my books.

My next release for Harlequin is Stranded with Her Greek Tycoon in February 2018.

It’s a passionate, emotional story with an estranged husband and wife stranded on a private Greek island in a snowstorm. Gorgeous Cristos Theofanis has one night to win back Hayley, the wife he'd adored.

UK cover

The fun thing working with a Harlequin Romance title is that my books are simultaneously released not only in North America (Harlequin Romance) but also in the UK (Mills & Boon True Love).

That usually means two quite different covers. Then there is the cover for the Australian and New Zealand editions, also released at the same time or very close to it. These often follow the US cover but not always, so that can mean three covers out at the same time.

North America cover

More cover fun comes in the months after that with foreign language editions where the cover is usually completely different.

Above, I've shared both the North American and UK covers for Stranded with Her Greek Tycoon with you. What do you think? Do you have a preference? (To ask me to choose, islike asking a mother to name a favourite child. I adore the cover hero on the UK edition, he is just like I imagined the hero Cristos—handsome and hot! But I also love seeing the hero and heroine together on the NA cover, and she looks very like the Hayley of my imagination.)

Kandy Shepherd’s most recent book Conveniently Wed to the Greek is a May 2017 release.  Watch out for Stranded with Her Greek Tycoon in February 2018.

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