A Historical Christmas Eve with Carrie Lofty (+Giveaway)

A Historical Christmas Eve 
with Carrie Lofty

About the Author:

Carrie Lofty holds a Masters degree in history, which she puts to good use as a historical romance writer and lecturer on the craft of writing. Active within the Romance Writers of America, she also weight trains and soaks up movie trivia like a sponge. She lives in the Chicago area with her husband and two daughters.
Co-writing as Ellen Connor, Carrie's RITA™ nominated NIGHTFALL, from the "Dark Age Dawning" trilogy, won RT's Reviewers' Choice Best Futuristic Romance of 2011.
And as Katie Porter, Carrie and her long-time friend and critique partner, Lorelie Brown, write contemporary erotic romance. Their "Vegas Top Guns" series debuted July 31 with DOUBLE DOWN.

Find Carrie Online: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Joe Weber returned to the United States after having served as a paratrooper. He dropped into Normandy and the Netherlands, and barely survived a brutal winter in camped in Belgium just outside the German border. Letters from the complicated, unconventional woman he loved kept him strong. Lulu Davies emigrated from England months after the war's conclusion to be reunited with her husband. Here I present their first Christmas Eve together, as well as a glimpse into their future together.-Carrie

Home For Christmas

by Carrie Lofty

Saving a Lady... with Nicola Cornick (+Giveaway)

Saving a Lady  
on Christmas Eve with Nicola Cornick

About the Author:

Bestselling British author Nicola Cornick writes historical romance for Harlequin HQN Books in the US and MIRA Books UK. She was born in Yorkshire and studied history at London University and Ruskin College, Oxford. Nicola is also a historian working for the National Trust at the seventeenth century hunting lodge, Ashdown House. A triple nominee for the Romance Writers of America RITA award, Nicola has been described by Publisher’s Weekly as “a rising star of the Regency genre.”

Find Nicola Online: Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter

A number of years ago I wrote a series of books, the Bluestocking Brides, set in Suffolk and featuring the rakish Kestrel brothers. At the end of the series the youngest brother, Lord Stephen Kestrel, was the only one who was unmarried and lots of readers asked me if Stephen would ever have his own story.

My most recent series has been The Scandalous Women of the Ton. In book 4, NOTORIOUS, Miss Francesca Devlin marries the dissolute Marquis of Alton. Later in the series it comes out that she has been widowed and in book 6 she receives a proposal of marriage from Lord Stephen Kestrel.

This is what happened in between…- Nicola

Lady Alton's Adventure

by Nicola Cornick

Sharing a First Kiss...with Cheryl Hoyt (+Giveaway)

Sharing a First Kiss  
on Christmas Eve with Cheryl Holt

About the Author:

CHERYL HOLT is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over thirty novels. 

She’s also a lawyer and mom, and at age forty, with two babies at home, she started a new career as a commercial fiction writer. She’d hoped to be a suspense novelist, but couldn’t sell any of her manuscripts, so she ended up taking a detour into romance where she was stunned to discover that she has a knack for writing some of the world’s greatest love stories. 

Her books have been released to wide acclaim, and she has won or been nominated for many national awards. She is particularly proud to have been named “Best Storyteller of the Year” by the trade magazine Romantic Times BOOK Reviews.

She lives and writes in Hollywood, California, and she loves to hear from fans. Visit her website at www.cherylholt.com.

Find Cheryl Online: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

I’m so excited to be included in this year’s Christmas event. For my scene, I have chosen to feature Miss Clarinda Dudley and Captain Aiden Bramwell. They have appeared as secondary characters in several of my books.
Clarinda Dudley is a recurring character in the three novels of my “Spinster’s Cure” trilogy that was released in 2010. She is a healer and white witch who travels with her brother, Phillip Dudley (aka Philippe Dubois). He is a smooth-talking con artist and swindler who sells fake love potions and tonics to unsuspecting women. Throughout Clarinda’s life, her main tasks were to keep him out of trouble, out of jail, and to curb his worst schemes. The last time readers saw Clarinda, she had parted with her brother and was house-sitting for her friend, Captain Tristan Odell, at his lovely manor house in rural Scotland.
Aiden Bramwell is the younger brother of the earl of Roxbury. He is an experienced sea captain who—much to his family’s horror—is engaged in trade. He owns several ships and is using them to build his own fortune so, when he marries, he can do so as a rich man without having to beg his older brother for money. His family is very stuffy, very snobbish, with annoying opinions about class and status and how the nobility shouldn’t interact with commoners. So Clarinda is the exact opposite of the woman he would deem suitable for anything. He made a cameo appearance in my book, DREAMS OF DESIRE, and will also appear in my long-lost book, LOVE’S PRICE, coming in 2013.
Clarinda and Aiden come from very different backgrounds and have very different personalities, which is a set up that produces a terrific hero and heroine. I’ve always thought they should cross paths and end up together with their own story and their own book. But I simply haven’t had time to write it.
In this short scene, I decided to see how they fit together as a couple. They are both in Scotland, with Clarinda living there and Aiden on holiday. They meet on Christmas Eve when he’s had a bit too much to drink and has been in a fight in a taproom.
Merry Christmas Clarinda and Aiden! - Cheryl

First Kiss on Christmas Eve

by Cheryl Holt

Caught in a Snowstorm...with Valerie Bowman (+Giveaway)

Caught in a Snowstorm  
on Christmas Eve with Valerie Bowman

About the Author:

Valerie Bowman writes Racy Regency Romps with a focus on sharp dialogue, engaging storylines, and heroines who take matters into their own hands! Publishers Weekly calls Secrets of a Wedding Night, an “enchanting, engaging debut that will have readers seeking future installments” and Romantic Times Book Reviews says, “This fast-paced, charming debut, sparkling with witty dialogue and engaging characters, marks Bowman for stardom.” It has been nominated for Best Historical Debut of 2012 by RT. Booklist gave Secrets of a Wedding Night a starred review! You can find Valerie on the web atwww.ValerieBowmanBooks.com and on Facebook and Twitter.

Find Valerie Online: Website | Blog- The Dashing Duchesses | Facebook | Twitter

I was so excited when I was given the theme of ‘Caught in a Snowstorm on Christmas Eve.” Why? Well, not only is it a fantastic set up…it just so happens to be the set up of a pivotal scene in my third novel, Secrets of a Scandalous Marriage (St. Martin’s Press, October 2013). The hero, James Bancroft, Viscount Medford, has risked his reputation and his life to save the heroine, Kate, Duchess of Markingham, from being put to death for the murder of her hideous husband. Medford has commissioned Kate to write the most scandalous pamphlet to date…Secrets of a Scandalous Marriage.

This is an exclusive sneak-peek of the scene in which Kate and Medford are reunited on a snowy Christmas Eve at Lily and Devon’s country estate. They haven’t seen each other in days and were unsure they’d ever see each other again. Their friends conspired to get them together in the middle of a snowstorm on Christmas Eve. And who doesn’t like a little holiday angst?

- Valerie

Caught in a Snowstorm on Christmas Eve

by Valerie Bowman

An Unexpected Guest...with Vanessa Kelly (+Giveaway)

An Unexpected Guest
on Christmas Eve with Vanessa Kelly

About the Author:

Vanessa Kelly was named by Booklist, the review journal of the American Library Association, as one of the “New Stars of Historical Romance.” Her Regency-set historical romances have been nominated for awards in a number of contests, and her second book, Sex and The Single Earl, won the prestigious Maggie Medallion for Best Historical Romance. Vanessa also writes contemporary romance with her husband under the name of V.K. Sykes. You can find her on the web at www.vanessakellyauthor.com or at www.vksykes.com.

Find Vanessa Online: Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook

I always enjoy taking a peek into the future to see how my characters are faring.  John and Bathsheba, the hero and heroine of my third book, My Favorite Countess, are on their way to a party on Christmas Eve.  It will turn out to be special evening for both of them, one that fulfils a long-held dream for Bathsheba.  And isn’t that one of the fantastic things about the holiday season?  That sense of wonderful possibilities is so much a part of Christmas Eve! - Vanessa

An Unexpected Guest on Christmas Eve

by Vanessa Kelly

An Accidental Fire...with Carolyn Jewel (+Giveaway)

An Accidental Fire
on Christmas Eve with Carolyn Jewel

About the Author:

Carolyn Jewel was born on a moonless night. That darkness was seared into her soul and she became an award winning author of historical and paranormal romance. She has a very dusty car and a Master’s degree in English that proves useful at the oddest times. An avid fan of fine chocolate, finer heroines, Bollywood films, and heroism in all forms, she has three cats and a dog. Also a son. One of the cats is his.

Find Caroyln Online: Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter

Off The Cliff

by Caroyln Jewel

Alone with a Rogue...with Sherry Thomas (+Giveaway)

Alone with a Rogue
on Christmas Eve with Sherry Thomas

About the Author:

Sherry Thomas is one of the most acclaimed romance authors working today.  Her books regularly receive starred reviews from trade publications and are frequently found on best-of-the-year lists.  She is also a two-time winner of Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA® Award. 

English is Sherry's second language—she has come a long way from the days when she made her laborious way through Rosemary Roger's SWEET SAVAGE LOVE with an English-Chinese dictionary. She enjoys digging down to the emotional core of stories. And when she is not writing, she thinks about the zen and zaniness of her profession, plays computer games with her sons, and reads as many fabulous books as she can find.

Sherry’s next book, The Burning Sky, volume one of her young adult fantasy trilogy, will be available fall 2013.

Find Sherry Online: Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter

I am ashamed to say I’m not even sure what a rogue is, in terms of a romance hero. So I just did a playboy everybody likes. J But of course, me being me, the playboy carries a secret pain.- Sherry

Alone with a Rogue on Christmas Eve

by Sherry Thomas

Crashing a Ball...with Heather Snow (+Giveaway)

Crashing a Ball
on Christmas Eve with Heather Snow

About the Author:

Heather Snow is a historical romance author with a degree in Chemistry who discovered she much preferred creating chemistry on the page, rather than in the lab.  She lives in the Midwest with her husband, two rambunctious boys and one very put upon cat who is currently taking out all of her feline frustrations on the Snow family Christmas tree... 

Find Heather Online: Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter

Happy Holidays and warm greetings to you all! Thank you so much for having me here today. I'm thrilled to have been invited to share a story with you in this fun Christmas tradition Rita and Dani have begun.

When I received my assigned theme of "Crashing a Ball on Christmas Eve", my first thought was, "Great. What am I going to write about? Neither one of my science-savvy heroines would be caught dead near a ballroom." Okay, Liliana (my lady chemist from Sweet Enemy) did crash a house party once, but only to solve the mystery of her father's murder. 

As I was considering how I might force one of them to crash a ball, the image of a soldier coming home for Christmas kept stealing into my thoughts instead. The idea didn't spring from nowhere. You see, I just finished the third book in the series, Sweet Madness, which is due out in April. In it, my heroine dabbles in psychology, and her passion is treating soldiers coming home from the Napoleonic wars who suffer from battle fatigue, so I certainly had soldiers on my mind.

Many of us do, especially at Christmas time, knowing that while we are enjoying special moments and memories with our families, some of our countrymen and women are far from home. So if you or your loved ones are serving, thank you for all that you sacrifice. Merry Christmas, and I pray your families are reunited soon... -Heather Snow

Lieutenant Pemberton's Proposal

by Heather Snow