Synopsis: Featuring novellas from popular authors Linda Barlow, Andra Brynn, Carly Carson, Alana Albertson, Kara Ashley Dey, Nicole Blanchard and Cherie Chulick.
A Kiss is Just a Kiss by Linda Barlow
It’s Christmastide, but Holly Mathers can’t seem to get into the spirit. She’s been obsessing for weeks over a hook-up gone wrong with the hot, green-eyed Will MacIvey, who’s treating her like the ghost of Christmas past. When she and her roommate are invited to a Winter Solstice celebration by their faculty advisor, Holly is thrilled to learn that Will is going to the party. Holly’s roommate has procured a sprig of enchanted mistletoe that she plans to use to steal a kiss from the sexy professor. When she chickens out, Holly decides to try the spell on Will, hoping that a kiss under the mistletoe will remind him of the steamy night he seems to have forgotten. But magic always comes with a price…
Author Bio: Linda Barlow lives in New England with her mysterious spouse (who sleeps during the day, which has often made her wonder if he's a vampire) and their equally enigmatic and nocturnal cat.
In the Bleak Midwinter by Andra Brynn
In the bleak midwinter…
With no money and nowhere to go, Ayla MacFarlane’s first midwinter break from college returns her to the decaying house she grew up in–and to the shadow of her father, whose perverse obsession with her made her years there a misery. Now under her father’s control again, Ayla knows that if she leaves once more it will only be a matter of time before their father turns his sights to her little sister Julia…
“There’s a boy in the woods…”
But the hunted are not always without protection. While Ayla has been away, Julia has made friends with a mysterious boy in the woods that surround their property. Certain he is up to no good, Ayla sets out to confront him, only to find a beautiful young man who speaks in riddles and makes her heart race. What is stranger is that he knows things no human should know, and he tells Ayla that he can help her…for a price.
The hunt is on…
As the solstice nears, the time of reckoning is at hand. Will Ayla have the courage to reclaim all her father stole from her and protect her little sister, or will she be be a slave to her fear, and lose her chance to save herself forever?
Author Bio: I write books. Obsessively. And I read books. Not quite as obsessively as I'd like, since there are all these books I have to write, you see. One day I will take a book vacation and do nothing but read my TBR list.
Love Charm for Dakota by Carly Carson
Nantucket is the home of hedge fund titans, old money and hidebound tradition. Habits are comfortable, and the habits of the rich are very comfortable. Into Cabot Saltonstall’s sedate world blows Dakota Bishop, possessor of a wild spirit and a magical love charm. Cabot’s blue-blood family history includes an ancestor who resigned from the Salem Witch trials, because he refused to believe in witchcraft.
But Cabot is all too willing to be bewitched.
Dakota can’t stay still long enough for anyone to tie her down, nor is Cabot the right kind of guy for her. If only he’d have sex with her so she could get him out of her system. Why does he need to be so traditional with his emotions and plans for the future?
Does she know enough of witchcraft to overcome the spell of the accidentally cast love charm?
Author Bio: Carly lives near Nantucket Island, where the Christmas Stroll is an annual event. Having found her own Prince Charming at a young age, she's never needed a love charm, but please join her as she tells the tales of other women who've used a bit of magic to find true love.
The Snow Queen by Alana Albertson
Five years ago, Cambridge Ballet’s Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier vanished after performing The Nutcracker. Despite extensive city and statewide searches, no traces of them, besides their ballet slippers, were ever found. Every year since, another member of the cast has gone missing after closing night: the Mouse King, an Arabian Dancer, The Dew Drop Fairy, a Flower. Nieves Alba, who as a thirteen-year-old played Clara in the first ill-fated performance, is now cast as the Snow Queen. On closing night, every police officer in Boston surrounds the theater, determined to catch the perpetrator whom they’ve dubbed “The Nutcracker.” Can Nieves break the curse or will she be the next victim of America’s favorite ballet?
Author Bio: Alana Albertson never was fortunate to get cast as the snow queen though she did play the soldier. She has extensive collections of snow globes and nutcrackers but none of them have ever been enchanted.
How Lovely Your Branches by Kara Ashley Dey
Recluse, Katie Crowe, has observed the world from a window in her father’s loveless house. With the death of her father and the departure of her only friend, Katie sees no point in venturing out. Then a new neighbor and his three female companions take up residence across the road in the very house her friend had vacated four months ago. Gabe’s eyes hold a promise to Katie when she gazes into them–a way out of her lonely prison, if she could but step beyond her threshold. Something holds her back: Though the past and its people seem far from her now, the trees still know her haunting secret.
Author Bio: Kara Ashley Dey is a writer of UF and Sci-Fi Romance. Her alter ego is an abbynormal cg artist.
The Perfect Gift by Nicole Blanchard
Sera Flaherty would rather take lumps of coal and be committed to the naughty list for life than admit that she has a role to play in her failing marriage. She deludes her way into a negative bank balance and is left with no chance of getting her husband Spencer a present. When faced with the reality of their relationship, Sera finds she’s willing to sacrifice anything to fix her mistakes and find her husband the perfect gift…even if doing so will cost more than she bargained for.
Author Bio: Nicole Blanchard loves receiving gifts from strangers so long as they don't come with an ominous warning or risk of dismemberment. She also enjoys taking full advantage of the fringe benefits of being on the naughty list in her spare time.
Until the Twelfth Night by Cherie Chulick
Lady Elizabeth Darling has fled her overbearing family to spend the holidays with her late husband’s Aunt at Scarsbury Manor in the hills of Herefordshire. What she hoped would be a quiet Christmas quickly turns upside down as strange sightings begin to stack up and rumors fly that the great house is haunted. She tries to stay out of the drama, but when a young maid who also lost her lover in tragic circumstances asks for her help to move forward she drops everything to come to her aid. With age old traditions underway and a diverse guest list including the handsome and outspoken Captain Wolfe on the premises, can Lady Elizabeth heal both their hearts and find love before it’s too late?
Author Bio: Cherie Chulick will not be spending her Christmas holiday at a haunted manor, but she does keep an eye out for the occasional ghost. Fortunately the glow of her Kindle seems to keep them at bay.
I’ve always been an avid reader. Majoring in English Literature was a no brainer. Becoming a teacher and instilling my love for reading into my students was also a no brainer. I’ve spent the last ten years teaching and I’ve loved (mostly) every minute of it. When I was home on maternity leave for my third son, I discovered a new genre that sparked my creativity. My passion for writing sprang from my love of reading and once I knew I had a story to tell, I couldn’t wait to get it out there. I only hope that my readers enjoy reading my story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Yet, here we are a year later and we couldn’t be happier to have Braden’s first birthday party tomorrow with our friends and family. Between prepping for the party, me working overtime, and Maddy finishing up her last summer course, we’ve barely been able to stay awake past eight every night.
But watching them dance and laugh in front of me makes it all worth it.
I pull them both into my arms and just hold them for a quick second before Braden starts shimmying out of Maddy’s arms. He’s caught sight of his Lightning McQueen racecar on the floor and is reaching for it. Handing him his car, Maddy puts him in his bouncy seat. I should be warmed by the sight of my wife taking care of our son, talking baby talk to him and kissing him sweetly. But all I can see is her ass right now. Yep, I want her.
“Get over here.” I pull her back to me once Braden’s situated and brush her hair out of her eyes. “You look beautiful, you know that?” I trail sweet, soft kisses behind her ear and down her neck.
“Hmmm.” She mumbles and it makes me smile against her skin.
Moving from her neck across to her mouth, I feel her lean into my lips. This is something else of which I’ll never get tired. Her full, luscious lips pressed against mine; the taste of her sweet mouth still drives me crazy. “Well, hello there.” Pulling away from our kiss, Maddy arches her eyebrows as she presses her hips into my groin. The last motion surprises me more than a little. To say that our sex life has been different in the last year is, well, it’s an understatement to say the least.
“What? I’m not allowed to want my wife.” I grab her ass and push her into my erection a bit more. Our hands roam as the kiss rises in intensity. I fist a handful of her hair and pull her mouth even closer to mine. It’s the hottest kiss we’ve had in a while. Just as her hips start to roll into mine, we’re distracted by a sound, and smell, to which we’ve grown all too accustomed in the last year.
Before I can even move my hands from her body, Maddy’s pinching her nose closed. “Not it!” She calls out and laughs.
“Damn, you’re getting quick!” It’s kind of been our thing to decide who gets to change him. I scowl playfully at her and she just laughs at me.
“Dude, you’re killing my game.” Braden smiles as I hold him out in front of me. “Holy crap! What the hell did you feed this kid today?” Seriously, he’s lethal.
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