A Fresh Contest for the Holidays

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This year has been a bit on the ridiculous side, hasn’t it? Personally, I thought I would have all sorts of time and ways to eke out new works of fiction, even with a new baby.

Instead, it’s 2020. I’m sure we’re all over it by now.

If you’re looking for a sweet little pick-me-up, for yourself or someone you know, as we move into the holiday season, I have a fresh contest for you.

I’m partnering wtih Fresh Fiction to bring you a great giveaway opportunity, running today through December 7th. There are twelve different ways to enter, and four great prizes:

  • One Grand Prize Winner will receive an autographed print set of the entire SWEET SOMETHINGS 4-book series, plus a $25 Amazon Gift Card (which I hope you’ll use to discover great new authors and books this holiday season).
  • Three Runners-Up will receive a $10 Amazon Gift Card.

Head over to Fresh Fiction to enter!

My Earliest Memory (Wednesday Weedkly Blogging Challenge

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Today’s topic for the Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge from Long and Short Reviews is

My Earliest Memory

A lot of people don’t necessarily know what their earliest memory is, possibly because we often think we remember things from our childhoods that either didn’t exactly happen, or we’ve been told about something that happened often enough that it becomes a memory.

My earliest memory is quite vivid. It involves a book.

The throwing of a book, to be exact.

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It was the Little Golden Book of Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Not a large book, but when one hurls it across the room like a Frisbee, it’s a formidable weapon.

And that’s exactly what I did.

I Frisbee-ed Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs across the living room at my older sister.

It hit her square in the face.

And knocked out her two front teeth.

To be fair, they were already loose. But I remember that one fell completely out and was on the floor in front of her, and the other was kinda dangling there.

I don’t know what she did to make me throw the book. And I’m sure I didn’t get in trouble because I was only, like, three at the time.

But there you go.

What’s your earliest memory?

A Family for Christmas (Blog Book Tour & Giveaway)

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A FAMILY FOR CHRISTMAS

by Nola Cross

Genre: Romance – Western Contemporary

Blurb

He never thought he’d have a real family Christmas…

For the past eight years, Bill Smith has been unable to set down roots. But he never forgot the magical night he spent with an auburn-haired beauty in Last Stand, Texas. When she finally tracked him down, he was more than happy to donate a kidney to AJ, the son he never knew he had. But now that AJ is better, Bill wants more time with him and his mother. He wants a family.

Annie Burleson can’t help but be grateful to this almost-stranger for saving AJ’s life. Still, she’s a little wary. AJ has already been through so much—what if Bill leaves again? And with Christmas in full swing, it’s difficult to discern which emotions are festive and which are forever.

As Annie and Bill’s lives collide, their mutual love for AJ makes this more than a marriage of convenience. But is it enough to give them the family Christmas they all deserve?

Read an Excerpt

That night after the fishing expedition, Bill found himself lying awake, staring at the ceiling and thinking about the boy’s request for a brother. It was a natural thing for a child to ask about, but he himself had managed to push all thoughts of sex with Annie deep to the back of his mind. Now that he allowed the idea to bloom in his head, the memories of their one time together, all those years ago, came flooding through him.

This time he let himself remember everything: the silk of her skin, the scent of her hair, the plaintive sounds she made as he touched her. The way she had moved beneath him, welcomed him inside her. The more he let himself remember, the worse his body ached. Then Lucky began to snore, two beds away, and Bill knew all possibility of sleep was gone.

He stood up and took his jeans from the chair beside the bed, pulled them on, and put on his boots and jacket. Then he quietly made his way to the door. Outside, the Texas sky was black and clear and lit with a million stars. The land rolled, dark and mysterious, for more miles than he could see. Up on the ridge, a coyote began to sing, the eerie notes quivering as they echoed against the barn. He shivered. He knew how that coyote felt. He’d been alone for a good part of his life. But now he had the chance for something different. He had a son. And next Saturday he’d have a wife, too, if in name only.

Is that what he wanted?

Nola Cross will be giving away a $10 Amazon or B&N Gift Card to one lucky winner during the tour. Click here to enter the Rafflecopter for a chance to win.

Meet Nola Cross

I remember as a small girl being fascinated with the idea that people could make up stories and the stories became books. I began writing my own stories before I even started school, and won my first writing contest at the age of nine. It’s always been my dream to be a published author. The road was a long and twisting one, but I finally made it. I’m proud to be a two-time Golden Heart finalist, and several of my stories have been Amazon best sellers.

For a while I penned erotic fiction under a pseudonym. Although it was fun to explore my “darker side”, I am now answering the true call of my heart: to write bigger stories that focus on emotion, loss, spirit, and true love, stories I hope my readers will relate to and want to read more than once. Small town America is my favorite fictional setting. I’m particularly enjoying my recent foray into writing Cowboy romance.

Link to Author Website:   http://www.nolacross.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Nola-Cross-Author-174971689198712

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ NolaCross

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/nolacross/the-everfield-series/

Amazon Buy link:  https://www.amazon.com/Family-Christmas-Burlesons-Texas-Book-ebook/dp/B08C736NT7/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=a+family+for+christmas+nola+cross&qid=1598302857&sr=8-1

The Non-Fiction Book Everyone Should Read and Why (Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge)

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This week’s topic for the Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge from Long and Short Reviews is the non-fiction book everyone should read, and why they should read it.

My choice will probably come as no surprise for anyone who has followed my blog for any great length of time.

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin

I’d heard about this book long before I ever read it, but didn’t have a copy of my own. I just added to my To-Read list and plugged along with other things related to history, etc. After the movie “Lincoln” came out in 2012 and I learned that the movie was based on the last several chapters of this book, I decided it was time to sit down and read it.

This book is a must-read for every Lincoln enthusiast, for every student of the American Civil War and American history.

And it is a must-read for every American. Especially right now.

Goodwin’s tome (yes, the thing is like two and a half, maybe three inches thick) is a hefty, time-consuming read. But it’s worth it. It’s imperative. Goodwin, as with all of her work that I’ve had the privilege to read, provides amazing historical detail, context, and copious references, while managing to make this academic magnum opus read almost as a narrative at times.

This is not just about Abraham Lincoln, or about his presidency and the things he did during the Civil War and his tenure in the White House. Goodwin takes us back to the very beginning, to Lincoln’s childhood and formative years. She paints a vivid picture of his development as a lawyer, statesman, and eventually leader of a country bitterly divided over the stain of slavery.

This is also a book about the men who will become integral members of his cabinet – William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, and Edward Bates – after losing the first Republican primary to Lincoln in 1860. We learn about these three men alongside Lincoln, how they came to the political fore, and most importantly, why Lincoln brought them into his inner circle when he gained the presidency. Goodwin weaves the ins and outs of the political convolutions Lincoln brilliantly (IMHO) executed in order to steer the country toward not just the salvation of the Union, but the passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.

But she doesn’t stop there. As is true today, the wives of these four powerful men had their own intrigues and social workings that mirrored the drama playing out on the political stage, both in public and behind closed doors.

We also get to learn about the maneuvers Lincoln used with members of Congress, the evolution of his stance on equality for Black Americans, and the inner turmoil and private sufferings of a man who presided over the deadliest conflict in this country’s history. At the last, Goodwin shows us the immediate aftermath of Lincoln’s assassination just days after Lee’s surrender at Appomattox in such a way that the question remains – what would have happened if Lincoln had been able to serve out his second term in office?

America is on the cusp of an election that, in many ways, is not too different from the election of 1860. That election sparked a civil war that claimed the lives of an estimated 750,000 American men (per recent reevaluations of data) and fundamentally changed the definition of American citizenship and democracy. Team of Rivals may be daunting, but it should be read by every American who plans to cast a vote a month from now, as it illustrates with amazing detail how even bitter rivals can work together for the good of this country.

It’s Fall, Y’all! (Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge)

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Hey look, I’m finally joining another Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge from Long & Short Reviews! 

This week’s topic: My Favorite Things to Do in the Fall

Yesterday marked the start of fall in the Northern Hemisphere, and it might be my favorite season. Here are some of my favorite things to do when the autumnal equinox comes around. Some of these have proven tricky to do since moving to North Carolina, but I still love them and wax nostalgic over what autumns can be like in upstate New York.

Apple-Related Activities

There are a lot of categories to cover here. But apples, to me, signal all that is good about fall.  In upstate New York, apple season begins toward the middle of September but really get going in mid-October. I was spoiled by the proximity of the most amazing local orchard that (sorry, North Carolina apple growers) just cannot be rivaled in terms of apple taste, quality, and abundant harvest. Plus, they also had a great fall festival in early October that really kicked off the season.

Apple picking is one of my favorite apple-related activities, and I have been happy to introduce Babycakes to the joy of it.

Well, it may not have proven to be quite as joyous as one might hope at times. But we shall perservere.

And who can turn their nose up at fresh apple cider and hot cider donuts?

Or an apple pie?

Which leads me to…

Baking

Yes, you can bake any time of the year, but fall just screams “BAKE SOMETHING!” The scent of spices and sweets filling the air is only part of it. I love to bake anyway, and my favorite treats happen to be fall treats.

Apple pie, apple crisp, applesauce (okay, not a baked good, but still), pecan pie, pumpkin pie…

Which also leads me to…

Holidays

Halloween isn’t precisely a favorite holiday of mine, though I do have fond memories of trick or treating among mobs of kids in my neighborhood growing up. Halloween does happen to be Babycakes’s favorite holiday, however. We even have CDs of Halloween songs that start making the rounds shortly after the end of the school year.

Thanksgiving, on the other hand, might be one of my favorite holidays. Christmas is my absolute favorite, but Thanksgiving is a close second. The closeness with family, the chance to ponder on the year and speak gratitude for your blessings.

Plus, you know, the food.

The Foliage

I have seen some amazing displays of fall foliage in my time. My sister’s college lay nestled in the Southern Tier and the drive into the mountains was amazing in the fall. You want a fantastic fall drive? Check out the Adirondacks. The North Carolina mountains aren’t too shabby either.

I also love taking walks in the fall. Since I was a child, I have enjoyed the tradition of crunchy leaf walks. If you don’t know what that is, you wait until the leaves have gotten dry and brittle, and then you walk. You stomp, squish, shuffle, and otherwise attempt to make as much noise as possible as you select individual leaves for crunching.

Cooler Nights

This wasn’t as big a deal in New York, but after a few years of North Carolina summers, the cooler nights of fall are a welcome respite and make for great sleeping weather. It is a scientific, or at least anecdotal, fact that you sleep better in a cool room, whilst you have cocooned yourself down under your cozy blankets.

Obviously there is still a great deal of warm weather to be had in my neck of the woods, and the farther south you go, the less you may experience a true changing of the season. But regardless of where you live and what you do this time of year, enjoy the time!

What are your favorite things to do in the fall?