‘Tis the season… to meet the movers at the storage unit—watch them put all our worldly possessions into the trucks—hold our collective breath whilst the grandfather clock makes the journey—watch the movers empty the trucks into the new house—direct them where to put all the stuff—again hold our breath whilst the clock is situated—face the piles of boxes and wonder where to put all the stuff—fa la la!
Phew, just writing that made me tired and close to tears of exhaustion. Believe it or not, we’re hosting Christmas dinner. You may be all agog wondering why we’d do something so insane. Well, I’ll tell you. Both of us want to hibernate. After the past six months of not having a permanent book on which to hand our hats we don’t want to budge. Not even an inch. For a few months at least. So we’ll hole up in our new nest and let people come to us. The kitties will be happy to not have their humans disappear for at least one day a week, too. We’ll celebrate Festivus for the Rest of Us tomorrow by searching for the dishes, unearthing the flatware, and unpacking the pots and pans. What are you up to this weekend? A mad scramble? Or a relaxing few days with a hot beverage and a good book? My, doesn’t that sound delightful? Cheers!
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Tomorrow at 12:28 pm Atlantic Time we will celebrate the Winter Solstice. Time to light the ole Yule log, fill the house with freshly cut evergreen boughs, and heat some glog to sip by the fire.
Once we survive the shortest day of the year, less than eight hours of daylight, we’ll turn the corner toward longer days and the coming spring. Alas, that spring is a long way off and we’ll have many weeks of cold and snow still to endure. At least we’ll have more daylight hours to gaze upon the frozen slush. Oh joy. Oh bliss. “Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.” Dame Edith Sitwell “No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.” Hal Borland Cheers! Today is National Bake Cookies Day. Seems to me we just celebrated cookie day. *scrolls back through previous posts and discovers it was Homemade Cookie Day*
Not that I’m complaining, mind you. One can never have too many cookies. Unless one eats too many and one feels ill afterward. Glad that’s never happened to me. Certainly never the still-warm cookies that require taste testing. This is prime baking season in my house. My fruitcake was baked a month ago and has been “fed” with whisky every Wednesday since. Why Wednesday? Why not? I’ve baked these chocolate chip cookies twice in the past month. I’ve also baked a test recipe for America’s Test Kitchens, and a batch of Pecan Fingers. Yesterday I baked Swedish Christmas Cookies and a second batch of Pecan Fingers. I predict there’ll be at least one more batch of Pecan Fingers before the end of the year. They’re hubby’s favourite. I don’t often veer from the tried and true cookie recipes. They’re part of what makes this season so special. A real tree in the corner, a turkey in the oven, and a plate of sugar cookies, shortbread cookies, and Pecan Fingers all combine to make the season bright. <grin> Do you have foods that scream “Christmas” to you? Cheers! Book launch day! Love and Turmoil is available for purchase! At The Wild Rose Press, Amazon and at Barnes & Noble. Is any day more fabulous than this? Aside from giving birth, of course. And getting married. That was a fabulous day. Also when our kids graduated from high school and university. More fabulous days. But after all that, seeing my book out in the real world is pretty darn special. Knowing that other people are going to meet the characters and hopefully enjoy their antics is thrilling. But also a little nerve-wracking. Like sending your kid off on the first day of school and hoping they make friends. The characters in my books are very real to me and hold a special place in my heart and I want other people to like them as much as I do. Or hate them as much as I do if the character in question is a bad guy/gal. I still think about the characters in my previous books and wonder how they’re doing.
I can’t wait for you to meet Arabella and Sam and discover how they met, why they’re attracted to each other, and witness the troubles they face. Boy oh boy, they face some tough times. <insert maniacal laugh> I’m guest blogging at Night Owl Reviews today and sharing an old family recipe for the most delicious cookies. Stop by to grab the recipe and whip up a batch. Your friends and family will think you’re more brilliant than usual! Here’s the last excerpt I’ll be sharing for Love and Turmoil (NOW RELEASED!!!) “Please stay a bit longer. This will take but a minute, and then we will find somewhere to be alone.” He touched her cheek. “You haven’t eaten your supper.” He rested his hand on her waist and pulled her close. “I could survive feasting on you.” He kissed her neck, his warm breath heating her entire body. She leaned into him, turned her head, and captured his lips. He was indeed hungry, and she gave him all she could, teasing his lips with her tongue, biting his lower lip before sucking it into her mouth. She grasped his shoulders and pressed closer, wanting to absorb him into her skin. He trailed his kiss along her jaw and nipped her earlobe. “Yes?” She nodded before resting her head on his chest. She’d been seconds away from pushing him to the ground and mounting him like a horse. Here’s the story premise, aka the blurb, aka the back-cover copy: Six months after burying her wastrel husband, Lady Arabella Woodbridge has resigned herself to a lonely life in the countryside with only her two adopted nieces for company. Being a young, respectable widow is – frustrating. Then the charming and wickedly handsome Samuel Payn takes up residence in the neighboring manor house. Retired explorer and occasional pirate Samuel Payn is on a two-fold mission – retrieve buried loot, and locate the father who abandoned his mother to a life of poverty. But a gang of murderous villains is also after the buried treasure. And someone is threatening to tear apart the lovely widow’s family. Will Sam’s single-minded determination to uncover his true identity threaten Arabella’s happiness - and his life? Cheers! |
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Luanna Stewart | Welcome to my Blog! |