Meet the authors behind the Christmas magic…
Meet Ros Clarke:
This year, I have two jobs which means two office Christmas parties. Two Secret Santa presents bought (must remember to wrap them up). Two menus to choose from. Two outfits to select. Two opportunities to embarrass myself in front of my work colleagues.Fortunately, I have never embarrassed myself as much as the heroine of my Christmas novella, Anna Gardner. The office party is the one night in the year when she lets her hair down, with alarmingly predictable consequences. One too many glasses of punch and Anna always ends up at the karaoke machine. Anna has a great repertoire of Christmas classics, including Mariah Carey's hit (reprised this year with Justin Bieber!), "All I Want For Christmas Is You.” Have you seen this fun version featuring the crew of a Royal Navy warship as they come home after eight months of deployment? So much better than the Bieber version!
Last night, Anna Gardner was the life of the office Christmas party—right up until she threw herself at gorgeous advertising executive playboy, Hugh Munro. Again. Last year, Hugh let her pretend their passionate kiss never happened, but this year he’s determined to make Anna admit she wants him as much as he wants her.
About Ros:
Ros Clarke is a writer, a student, a church worker, a crafter, a blogger, a twitterer, a lazy gardener, and an appalling housekeeper. She is interested in almost everything except cricket and football (US and UK) and mostly she likes happy endings in fiction and in real life.You can find Ros at her website and follow her on Twitter!
Get a copy of All I Want For Christmas at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books On Board | Amazon UK
Get a copy of All I Want For Christmas at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books On Board | Amazon UK
Coming up with a catchy title for a book is never easy, and the title for this one went through several incarnations before we settled on the final choice. I wanted something Christmas related, and liked the idea of echoing a carol. I considered setting the story in a hospital so I could call it Holly and the I.V. Actually my first idea was to echo a line in the book where Holly comments on the amount of snow that will fall overnight, but my editor assured me “Six Inches by Morning” was more of an erotica title. Likewise, I steered clear of anything to do with the North Pole and O Come all ye Faithful, not wanting to give the wrong impression.
But eventually we settled on Holly’s First Noel, and even though a dear friend has asked, “Does that mean she’s going to have a second one when she’s finished with him?” I think the title suits the story very well. It’s a sweet and sexy tale with, I hope, an uplifting emotional message—that the magic of Christmas isn’t to be found by making a traditional dinner and creating a perfect day, but that—without being too mushy—it’s what’s in your heart that counts, and love can turn any day into a celebration. About Holly’s First Noel:
Music teacher Holly Jones is in a festive predicament. Her boyfriend just dumped her the week before Christmas, so why is she only depressed he made off with the mince pies? When the charming science teacher next door overhears the dreaded call and suggests she accompany him on his Scottish holiday retreat, she accepts, eager to spend a quiet week rediscovering herself.Noel Coward’s wife died on Christmas Eve three years ago. To bury the memories of that day, he spends the holidays getting drunk and watching action movies—which makes him perfect company for a fellow teacher in need of solitude. Except, instead of wallowing in his grief, Noel finds himself comforted by Holly’s presence, fascinated by her mind, and after one innocent kiss, on fire for her touch. As the snow piles up outside, the temperature inside soars, while together, they discover the human heart’s amazing capacity to heal…and love.
About Faye:Faye Robertson lives in the sub-tropical Northland of New Zealand with her wonderful husband and gorgeous teenage son. She writes fun, flirty, and sexy contemporary romances for the modern woman who likes intelligent, spirited heroines, and hunky but approachable heroes. She’s won several romance writing competitions and is a member of the Romance Writers of New Zealand. She would much rather immerse herself in reading or writing romance than do the dusting and ironing, which is why it’s not a great idea to pop round if you have any allergies. She also writes romance under the name Serenity Woods.
So tell us, what's your favorite Christmas carol and why? Leave a comment and be entered to win an ebook of both of these awesome holiday stories!
Contest is open internationally! The contest ends at 11:59 on 12/18 and a winner will be announced 12/19 so you'll have plenty of time to read these stories while you're still in the holiday spirit!
Hi everyone, thought I'd start the ball rolling by saying hi and a huge thank you to Cheeky Reads for having me on here! It's been lovely finding some new sites since I started this blog tour, and this is certainly one to add to my blog list! My favourite carol is We Three Kings, although I do find it difficult to get rid of the children's line of "one in a taxi, one in a car, one on a scooter, bibbing his hooter..." Do they sing that in the US too? :) Merry Christmas everyone!
ReplyDeleteI'm heading out to a wedding today (in the snow!) so I won't be around to see everyone's comments but I'm looking forward to catching up tomorrow. My favourite carol is It Came Upon A Midnight Clear.
ReplyDeleteSo glad to have you ladies on the blog today! Holiday romances really are a huge favorite of mine and these look so good!
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit if a fanatic about Christmas Carols - I love them all and start playing them the day after Thanksgiving here.
It's hard to name a favorite, but right now I'm loving It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas - because it is! :)
My favorite carol is the Chipmunks Hula Hoop song :-)
ReplyDeleteI am going to add both of these to my to read list on Good Reads. Happy Holidays!
Ooooo, I love holiday romances, as well, both books and cheesy TV-movies! My favorite Xmas song is probably "White Christmas" as sung by the divine Bing Crosby in the movie of the same name. The Xmas tune I find myself singing A LOT at this time of year is "Walking in Winterland."
ReplyDeleteI love holiday stories and I'm always looking for great ones. Congrats on the releases, ladies.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Christmas Carole, The First Noel, and, Silver Bells--that one reminds me of mom.
I love the video. Too fun. Thanks for sharing. Happy Holidays!
I'm very excited about this new line as I love to write and read short stories. These holiday offerings sounds wonderful and I'll be adding them to my reader.
ReplyDeleteI've been listening to Christmas tunes here at work and find myself still singing them when I walk away from my desk. Or humming if it's instrumental. One of my favorites is Carol of the Bells. Found a version done by The Calling on YouTube and it's so good!
These sound like great stories. I can see my e-reader is gonna be too full pretty soon. :)
ReplyDeleteMariah's song is probably my fave Christmas song. This video version was wonderful. LOL I'm still laughing about their exuberant rendition. Thanks for sharing it.
Well, I'm not sure it counts as a Christmas Carol, but it's my favorite Christmas song - Santa Baby. It's just so fun!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for this giveaway opportunity! It would just make my Christmas to win these books =D
Happy Holidays!
Gena Robertson
robertsongena@hotmail.com
My favorite Christmas carol is White Christmas by Bing Crosby, because no one sings it like Bing. And it just makes me think of a beautiful snowy Christmas, which I've never had since I'm from California and now live in Florida. :D
ReplyDeleteBaby, its cold outside. It reminds me of family dinners during the holidays while growing up and one of my favorite holiday movies, "Elf."
ReplyDelete