Fairies, Myths, & Magic II

Let’s welcome a special guest to Entertaining Stories today. Coleen is a long-time friend and she has something to share with us today. This is her newest book baby, so feel free to use those sharing buttons. She also shares one heck of a great story hook. She also has a prize to be drawn from those who leave comments along her tour.

***

Thank you, Craig for the opportunity to share the news of my new book, just in time for the winter solstice and Yule.

Every Halloween, Craig joins me to celebrate the holiday. I think we’ve done this for eight years now, so I couldn’t think of anyone better to share my spooky Halloween tale with from Fairies, Myths, & Magic II, called The Changeling.

In this second book in the series, I start with late autumn and work forward into winter and Yule.

What do you know about the scary fairies? Celtic traditions share with us the fey, or Good Neighbors, are nothing to mess around with. During the darkness of autumn and into winter, the Unseelie Court of fairies makes its appearance. The darkness and lack of sunlight during this time of year spawned many a myth and tale.

Here’s a short excerpt from The Changeling, in Fairies, Myths, & Magic II:

“Alyssa, it’s time to come inside. Daddy’s home.”

Trish stepped outside and shielded her eyes against the red glare of the setting sun. She surveyed the backyard in a tight squint. The play area revealed two empty swings swaying in their own rhythm in the hot desert breeze. The door to the playhouse stood ajar, and the tiny curtains fluttered against the windows.

“Alyssa? Did you hear me? Daddy’s home.”

In the afternoon heat, Trish pushed the hair off her damp forehead and walked to the side of the house. Her footsteps crunched in the loose gravel. In the far corner of the yard, the wrought iron gate yawned open.

“What’s the matter? Where’s Alyssa?” David stepped outside and loosened his tie.

Trish jumped at the sound of David’s voice. “I don’t know. She was here before you pulled into the driveway. She was trying on her Halloween costume to show you how cute she looked. She went out back to play until you came home. You know, Alyssa never leaves the backyard.”

Bile burned the back of Trish’s throat. She gagged. Her breath caught, and terror sucked the breath from her lungs. Something wasn’t right. She felt it in the energy that swirled around her in a dense, vibrating whirlwind. It was the same sensation she felt before a monsoon hit and when electrical charges filled the desert sky with bolts of lightning.

David pulled her into his arms. “Shhhh… I’ll look in the front yard and down the street. She can’t be far. Meanwhile, check with the neighbors. You know how Alyssa loves Mrs. Craymore’s cat. She could be next door.”

Trish wrapped her arms around David’s waist. Her tears soaked his shirtfront. “What if someone took her?” Her voice sounded small in the descending eventide.

“Don’t jump to conclusions. Come on, go check with the neighbors, and I’ll meet you out front in a few minutes after I look around.”

David gently wiped the tears from Trish’s eyes with his fingers.

“Find Alyssa. I’ll check with Mrs. Craymore.”

Trish hurried down the street in the opposite direction.

~ ~ ~

Do David and Trish find their daughter, Alyssa? And what do the fairies have to do with her disappearance? Learn the answers and more in Fairies, Myths, & Magic II.

About the Book:

In this second book in the Fairies, Myths, & Magic series, step into a world where dark fairies, and other magical beings converge in a collection of poetry and short stories inspired by winter and the celebration of the winter solstice.

From Autumn’s scary fairies to the forgotten female characters of Yule, prepare to embrace the magical winter solstice myths from around the world. Meet Frau Holle in the Wild Hunt, Befana—the Christmas Witch of Italy, and the Japanese goddess Ameratasu who controls the springtime. Prepare to embrace the Scottish trows, The Irish Goddess of Winter—the Cailleach Béara, and Snegurochka—the Snow Girl.

Learn how to make Yuletide rituals part of your celebration by embracing the symbols of Yule by decorating with evergreens and crystals.

Fairies, Myths, & Magic II Links:

Colleen’s Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Colleen-M-Chesebro/e/B01N9MV2RX

Amazon Universal Link: https://mybook.to/FairiesMythsMagicII

About the Author:

An avid reader, Colleen M. Chesebro rekindled her love of writing poetry after years spent working in the accounting industry. These days, she loves crafting syllabic poetry, flash fiction, and creative fiction and nonfiction.

In addition to poetry books, Chesebro’s publishing career includes participation in various anthologies featuring short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. She’s an avid supporter of her writing community on Word Craft Poetry.com by organizing and sponsoring a weekly syllabic poetry challenge, called #TankaTuesday, where participants experiment with traditional and current forms of Japanese and American syllabic poetry.

Chesebro isan assistant editor of The Congress of the Rough Writers Flash Fiction Anthology & Gitty Up Press, a micro-press founded by Charli Mills and Carrot Ranch.

In January 2022, Colleen founded Unicorn Cats Publishing Services to assist poets and authors in creating eBooks and print books for publication. In addition, she creates affordable book covers for Kindle and print books.

Chesebro lives in the house of her dreams in mid-Michigan surrounded by the Great Lakes with her husband and two (unicorn) cats, Chloe & Sophie.

Find Colleen here:

Word Craft Poetry: https://wordcraftpoetry.com

Colleen M. Chesebro, Author, Poet & Unicorn Cats Publishing Services: https://colleenmchesebro.com

Facebook Page: Colleen M. Chesebro, Poet & Author: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085941528913

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/colleen-m-chesebro-6b856b237

Mountain Laurel Christmas

Let’s all welcome Jan Sikes to Entertaining Stories. She’s one of my longest term author friends, and a partner at Story Empire. She’s here to tell us about her new Christmas novella. Let’s make sure to use those sharing buttons for her today.

Failure and disappointment are two horrible feelings for anyone to handle. My character in Mountain Laurel Music struggles to deal with those feelings, most of the time attempting to drown them in alcohol. But when the effects of the alcohol wear off, he is left with the same hollow disappointment in himself.

My character had made a promise.

Excerpt:

I’ll never forget Papa placing his hand on my shoulder a few days before he died, making me promise on everything holy and sacred, to take care of Mama, April and Timmy if anything ever happened to him. Perhaps he knew.

It sticks in the back of my throat now like a bitter quinine pill.

I failed him.

I failed Mama.

And now I’ve failed myself.

I think sometimes the greatest disappointments we can experience in life are in ourselves. I have certainly been there, and even now, after many years, if I allow myself to think about it, I can conjure up the same horrible, disgusting feeling.

What about you? Have you found ways to deal with disappointment or failure? Please share.

Mountain Laurel Christmas Blurb:

Orphaned, his family torn apart by tragedy, Cole Knight has come a long way from a ramshackle miner’s cabin on the side of the Cumberland Mountain.

Daring to follow an impossible dream, he’s made it big in the music business. Now, he’s a country music sensation with a huge house, fancy cars, plenty of willing women, money, and adoring fans. He should be on top of the world. Instead, he’s drowning in a swirling pool of self-contempt and relentless guilt.

It’s easier to lose himself in a bottle than face the hard truth…he hasn’t delivered on a promise he made to his father.

It’s almost Christmas, and the sting of failure drives him back to that tiny cabin in the mountains. But has he waited too late to put the shattered pieces back together—to find himself and restore a lost family?

PURCHASE LINK:

https://www.amazon.com/Mountain-Laurel-Christmas-Jan-Sikes-ebook/dp/B09KJYMVT9/

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No Such Luck #NewBook #Romance

Please welcome Staci Troilo today. She’s a dear blogging friend, a tremendous author, and a partner in Story Empire. I’ve learned a lot from her, and suggest everyone get to know her. She has a new book to tell us all about, and I hope you’ll check it out.

***

Thanks for inviting me here today, Craig. Hi, everybody. I appreciate you taking a few minutes to chat with me about my new release, No Such Luck. It’s a fast and fun clean romance perfect for the holidays.

Piper Seidel loses her good luck charm, and that sets off a chain of unlucky events for her. The following is a brief excerpt from the novella, when she has the misfortune of running into her unrequited high school crush unexpectedly.

Excerpt:

She walked in, grabbed a cart. A blast of heat hit her in the face, so she shoved her hat in her pocket and considered taking off her coat but decided against it. At least, for now. Halfway through the produce section, she stopped at the blood orange display. They were more expensive than the others, but such a treat she couldn’t pass them up. Especially since they were impossible to find in the south. She’d just have to be more frugal with her other purchases. After bagging half a dozen, she turned and bumped into Tommy Burnett.

The bag slipped from her fingers.

The oranges rolled all over the floor.

“Piper Seidel? Is that you?”

Seven vehicles in the lot, and his had to be one of them. “Tommy. Hi.” She scrambled after the fruit, causing them to roll further across the floor.

He bent and retrieved her oranges, helping her put them back in the plastic. When their hands brushed, she almost dropped the bag again. He caught it, tied it off, then placed it in her cart. “There you go. So, you in town long?”

“Uh, um… I’m not sure.” Words, Piper. Use your words.

“Well, maybe I’ll see you around.” He waved as he ambled off.

“Could have thanked him for helping with the fruit,” Piper mumbled. “Could have invited him over. Could have asked him out. Noooo. You stand there and stutter. Idiot. Good thing you got an English degree. That was money well spent. So loquacious for a woman who makes her living in the communication field.”

***

Gotta feel for Piper. Things only get worse for her from there.

I hope you enjoyed that quick sneak peek. No Such Luck, the first installment of the Keystone Couples series, is available now on Amazon.

Blurb:

Seeds of luck usually wither. The rare one grows and blooms.

Piper Seidel has one thing going for her—a red carnation given to her by Tommy Burnett in the tenth grade. It might have dried over the years, but it’s still her good luck charm. Losing it sets her life in a downward spiral, forcing her to return to her hometown where she comes face to face with her high school crush.

The years have been kind to Tommy, who looks better than ever. Unfortunately, Piper is at her worst, continually embarrassing herself whenever he’s around. The only plus? Her long-time friend, Jack Rhodes, still lives in town. Since she last saw him, his legs have grown longer, his biceps thicker, and his shoulders broader. He was always the brother she never had, but now she can’t help noticing him in an unsisterly way. Jack is every bit as caring as he’s ever been—until her bad luck drives him away, maybe forever.

Piper needs a new good luck charm, and fast, before she loses her final chance at happiness.

Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09J31935Z?

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Back in action

I got to the writing cabin fairly early this morning. Lisa Burton met me at the door wearing a green and white mini-dress with matching elf cap. “What are you doing here?”

“I work here from time to time, remember?”

“I though you were getting a refrigerator delivered today.”

“That’s tomorrow. Rather than squander a whole weekend, I decided I’d better accomplish something today.”

“And which project is it going to be?”

“Huh? Don’t worry about changing clothes. I like the festive look.”

“Oh, good. I was just about to use the hot glue gun to put tiny bells on these pumps.” She held up a pair of metallic green heels.

“Sounds like a plan. I’m going to launch Lanternfish if it’s the last thing I do.”

“Okay. I have to make your coffee, then I’ll bring you a cup. You might hear me jingling as I come down the hall.”

“I hope so. 2020 has been kind of a gloomy year and any little bit of cheer is welcome.” I marched to the writing office and could see my breath in the air. Lisa had already provided kindling and wood, so I made a fire in the fireplace before I got started.

I opened my chapter by sliding Lanternfish from dry dock into the water. It takes some time to outfit a ship this size and I needed to respect that. I used the time to define some relationships, mostly between James and Bonnie. They are always parted on these journeys, and that’s pretty realistic for the era. I decided to spend some time with them as a couple.

I also spent some time reintroducing a few other characters. The overall trilogy seems to have a cast of thousands, and I can’t expect readers to remember all of them. Since it’s still early, a line or two seems more helpful than not.

Lisa jangled into my office with coffee. Somewhere along the line she’d managed to accessorize with an enameled bracelet and necklace of holly leaves and berries.

“Where’d you get those?” I pointed to her wrist.

“Cute, huh? I found them on EBay for a steal. As a bonus, Bunny likes to chew up the boxes.”

“You’re a little tall for an elf, but your heart’s in the right place.”

She leaned in close. “I don’t have a heart. There is a hydroponic layer to keep my skin healthy.”

“I know that. It’s a figure of speech. Means you have the right spirit.”

“Thanks. You type away. I’m going to go do my nails. There are boards of Christmas nails all over Pinterest.”

“Have a good time.”

I pecked away at my project, and ended at 3200 words for the day. I like this chapter, but there’s nary a cannonade in sight. Plenty of time for fantasy sea monsters and naval warfare after they leave the harbor.

I also like the way that Serang has been up to her neck in warfare in the preceding chapters. I think it adds a sense of urgency that readers can pick up on, even though the Lanternfish crew has no idea.

Tonight is all about packing all our food into the tiny freezer and a group of old coolers. Hopefully, getting the new one delivered and installed won’t be an all day affair, but my experience with such things hasn’t been good. If this is all I manage to write, so be it.

In other news, I worked through all my critiques for the other story. My group really didn’t like my title, so I changed it. The book about Lizzie and the hat is now called Lunar Boogie. Probably jump to that one next go round.

If Die Hard is a Christmas movie, then…

There is a debate that rages every year across social media about whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie. It’s placed at Christmas time, and it seems to get shown around the holidays on various cable channels. I’m not entering the debate, but I enjoyed the film. There’s even one thread I saw about whether it’s a missing Harry Potter film, because Bruce Willis chases Professor Snape around a spooky building. (Not touching that one at all.)

I’m here in my usual corny style to make a different connection. If Die Hard is a Christmas movie, then The Playground is a Christmas book. This is one I wrote a few years ago, and I have a deal for you. I don’t usually run deals, but it’s the holidays, so why not?

Blurb:

The hottest new toys of the Christmas season are the Playground Network dolls. They contain a worldwide social network for children. Except the network is controlled by a ruthless businessman with dreams of power.

To reach his goals he turns to the occult. Will our children make up his personal army? Could we have an enemy soldier in every home?

Gina Greybill is a cancer survivor who stumbles into her own brush with the paranormal. She wants nothing to do with it, but may be the only one who can bring down the Playground Network. To do it she’ll have to embrace her new situation and recover the next generation of Playground software.

There is competition for the software in the form of a brutal thug named Clovis. He’s bigger, more ruthless, and more experienced. To top it all off, he has a head start.

The Playground is suitable for mature readers, due to violence and mature themes.

This one is written in the style of a Frank Miller comic, or a Tarantino film, in that three different stories orbit around the main event. They come together at the end to complete the picture.

Clovis and Gina, along with her sidekick, Gupta, make a return to my book world in Viral Blues that published this year. Clovis remains one of the most popular characters I ever came up with, and I got some nice feedback about his return. (Viral Blues is still linked in my sidebar if you’re of a mind to check it out.)

I set up a sequence of free days for The Playground, starting today. If you’re an early visitor, you may have to cycle back through, because I’m on Amazon time here. Pick up your free copy at this link: http://a-fwd.com/asin=B01D6EF6RI

Enjoy your free book, and since I know someone is going to ask, I count Die Hard as a Christmas movie. (Gremlins, too.)

Oh Baubles

Let’s all welcome Harmony Kent today. She has a fun new Christmas romance story to share with everyone. Take it away, Harmony.

***

Hi everyone, Harmony here. I’m so thrilled to be visiting with Craig today to tell you about my latest book, a Christmas Romance Novella. It’s a fun, quick read at around 80 pages, and I had fun crafting this one. Below is a ‘sneek peek’ from Chapter 2 of ‘Oh Baubles.’

 

THE steamed up windows caught his attention first. Then the distraught woman occupying the driver’s seat. He recognised her. Months before, she’d been one of his rehab patients. Mrs Dickens, that was it, Charlene Dickens. The poor woman had lost her husband in the crash that had wrecked her life and her body. John would always remember the session in which she’d vomited all over him. With all the pain meds she’d been on, he could understand. The same thing happened to a lot of his clients. Still, he had a distinct aversion to puke, and to have it spewed all over him had left him fighting not to throw up himself. 

When he’d trained up as a physiotherapist, he’d envisioned a glamorous job working with sports injuries, but his life hadn’t turned out that way. Truth be told, he hated his job. And he still held that early ambition to rehab the stars of football and rugby and the like.

His reflection in the glass—dark hair, plastered to his skull in the downpour, framed a chiseled face that he thought was quite attractive—distracted him from his vague view of Charlene. From the fearful look on her face, though, he must have made her jump. John smiled at her through the steamed up window and mouthed, ‘Are you all right?’

The woman blinked and then nodded. A moment later, she opened her door and peered though the crack. Deep pink suffused both cheeks, and she appeared flustered. ‘Yes. Yes, thank you.’ And then she stared at him and blinked some more. ‘It’s John, John Andrews, isn’t it?’

So, she did remember him, then. ‘Yeah, the one and only.’ He grinned, somewhat inanely, he reckoned. Why did he always seem to end up acting like an idiot around this woman? None of his other patients had anywhere near the same effect on him, and he’d worked with some stunners. And yet here he stood, getting all giddy again.

‘Um, sorry if I startled you. It’s just …’

She cringed. ‘You saw some deranged woman pouring snot and tears down her face and thought you’d better make sure she wasn’t going to top herself in the hospital car park.’

‘Something like that, yeah.’ Now it was his turn to cringe. Why the hell had he just agreed with her scathing assessment of herself? He should have contradicted her. The trouble was, his wayward tongue had nearly blurted, You’re still beautiful, and he’d only just stopped himself in time. She’d either think he was an idiot or a dangerous stalker. And he didn’t want to risk her reporting her ex-therapist for inappropriate behaviour. That sort of thing on his record, he could do without.

 

I hope you enjoyed this little excerpt. Below is the book description and then a bit about ‘the author’ for those of you who don’t yet know me.

 

Book Description

 After a tragic accident one Christmas, Charlene loses her husband and her leg.

 Scarred and damaged, the losses leave her lost and reeling, and a long recovery lies ahead of her.

 When John, a hot young physiotherapist, comes into her life with his ripped abs and good-god good-looks, she can’t imagine he’d give somebody like her a second glance.

 Then she falls for him.

 Can Charlene overcome all obstacles to gain back her life and find true love once more?

 Find out in this fun-filled, clean Christmas romance novella from award-winning author Harmony Kent.

 Oh Baubles is available for pre-order at just 99c/99p. The Amazon link is: http://mybook.to/OhBaubles

 

About the Author:

 After spending around thirteen years as an ordained Buddhist monk, living in a Zen Buddhist temple, and six years after a life-changing injury following a surgical error, Harmony Kent returned to the world at the tender age of forty.

Now, she is famous for her laughter, and has made quite the name for herself … she’s also, um, a writer … and fairly well known for that too. She’s even won a few awards. Harmony lives in rural Cornwall with her ever-present sense of humour, adorable husband, and quirky neighbours. Harmony is passionate about supporting her fellow authors.

Follow Harmony on social media:

Website: https://harmonykent.co.uk/https://harmonykent.co.uk/
Story Empire (co-authored): https://storyempirecom.wordpress.com/https://storyempirecom.wordpress.com/
Amazon Author Page: author.to/HarmonysBooksauthor.to/HarmonysBooks
Twitter: @Harmony_kent
LinkedIn: Harmony
Goodreads: Author Page

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/harmony-kent

My office window plus Christmas

We spent Christmas morning at my son’s house. We like to watch the grandkids open their presents. Turns out my grandson and his friends take their Nerf guns to the park and play “war.” According to his mother, they really get into it. This is what his parents got him for Christmas.

Turns out they make ghillie suits in kids’ sizes. He even got a strap he can wrap around his Nerf rifle so it blends in too. I told him if we added a few electric lights, and some ornaments, he’d completely disappear against that background. I think he won at Christmas this year, and he was sure excited.

Meanwhile back at the ranch… or my office, this is going on.

Okay, if you have to explain photos, they suck. This little bugger was fast. That bump on top of the log is a mink. He’d poke his head up, I’d get a blurry click, then he’d dive underwater. I cropped a different image, but that only makes it blurry. Here it is anyway.

He was on his way into the water for this one. If he hangs around, I may get another chance at him. Between the two pictures you can tell he’s beside a broken branch. He’s looking up in the first one, and aimed at the water in the second one. For now, you’ll just have to take my word for it. Ha ha.

 

Merry Christmas

I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday filled with friends, family, and presents. Oh, and eggnog. There ought to be eggnog.

Merry Christmas everyone

It’s time to be with family and friends. I’ll be squeezing in some work projects in the quiet hours, but they won’t be on the blog. We have grandchildren to visit and holiday cheer to spread.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas. I’ll be back later this week. Lisa produced this poster as her gift to all the collectors out there, and she wishes you a Merry Christmas too.

Lisa Burton hacking in here. I told Craig to tell everyone I only wear fake fur. You know I love animals. Merry Christmas to everyone. Now I’m off to wrap some vegetables for Bunny’s Christmas.

A little Christmas Romance on #LisaBurtonRadio

Hey there, all you Christmas Elves and Gingerbread Men. You’ve reached Lisa Burton Radio, the only show on the dial that brings you the characters from the books you love to read. I’m your host, Lisa the robot girl.

Snuggle down in your easy chair, drop an extra cinnamon stick in your cocoa and help me welcome this week’s special guest. “Welcome to the show, Chloe Upshaw.”

“Hi, Lisa. Thanks for having me on today.”

“Now, Chloe, my bio indicates that you are in the middle of a huge job search. One that could see you moving during the Christmas season. How did that all come about?”

“Well, Lisa, I know you’ve got a pretty sweet deal here with Craig. I’m sorry to report I’ve not been as lucky. I’ve curated for two different museums now, both small, although I left my mark. But a girl can only stare at a glass ceiling for so long before she’s sick of her faint reflection and the dirty soles of shoes. There’s nothing keeping me in my current job or town. I’m ready to move on.”

“I get it. Things get stale and people need a change from time to time. My bio indicates you’re well qualified for a job at any museum.”

“True, but my options are limited. With respect to curating, none of the big museums are hiring at the moment, and I don’t want to work at another small one. And as for joining an expedition? I haven’t been on a dig in a while, so no one will hire me to run one, but I’m too experienced, and therefore too expensive, to assist on one. That doesn’t leave me with many choices. So I figured if I can’t do what I love, I’d try teaching the next generation, let one of my students find the career that I missed out on. I thought I’d be a shoe-in at the university, but noooo. What I thought was the last interview to discuss terms turned out to be notification that I was in a heated competition with someone else.”

“Aw, Chloe. I’m sure you’re amply qualified for the position, but I also believe in kismet ––”

“Stop right there. I know all about other civilizations and their belief systems. Do you know what ‘kismet’ is? Superstitious mumbo-jumbo. I should get the job because I’m the most qualified person for the position, not because of some mystical force of luck. Now I’m struggling to figure out how to beat my unknown competition for a job I probably don’t even want, and what happens? I run into Brett Garris. Talk about a mystical force of luck—bad luck. The last person I wanted to see is the poster boy for my field. He didn’t even have the decency to let me avoid him. Nope, he came right up to me like he never broke my heart, and he stands there, flirting with fans and signing autographs all the while acting like I’m the most important person in his world. What a bunch of—but I digress.”

“Oooh, Britt sounds interesting. Tell us more.”

“What’s to tell? We were in the same classes at school, but Mr. BMOC got a television gig after graduation and is now the face of our industry. He steps into millions of living rooms once a week, and I can’t even step one rung up the corporate ladder.”

“Can we circle back around to the broke-your-heart part?”

“Tch, If we must. Despite Britt’s reputation, I fell for him. And I became just another notch in his college bedpost. You’d have thought I’d have learned my lesson, but no. A five-minute meeting at the airport, and next thing I know, I’m traveling to Gettysburg with him and visiting the Jennie Wade house, hearing some role-playing guide tell me he’s destined to be my husband. More ridiculous folklore nonsense. The guy’s no more responsible than he was in college, for Pete’s sake. As far as I can tell, he lives out of his suitcase and still has wandering eyes. And more. Can you just imagine me telling my mother I was marrying him? Not that he’d ask. Or that I’d agree. But can you imagine? Me? The consummate professional? With someone like… him?”

“Maybe you’ve grown, I mean look at the job you just applied for. The one you’re well qualified for. Maybe Britt has grown some too over the years.”

“Unlikely. Possible, but unlikely. Hmph. I’m picturing my mother’s face as I tell her I’m with Britt. Seeing her shock would almost make it worth it. She’s disappointed in me already, not being married and living so far from home. If I told her I was going to be traveling around the world with a Lothario? A bourgeois cable TV star? She’d probably threaten to remove me from her will. Like I’d care. At least if I was with Britt, she’d have to stop forcing Preston on me. She’s been calling me a million times a day, trying to convince me to come home and spend the holidays with him. If she had her way, I’d be married, barefoot, and pregnant, living in Preston’s ten-bedroom mansion and planning charity events. No, with my luck, she’d find the idea of me being with a television celebrity exciting and Britt charming. I don’t know that I could resist the two of them if they ganged up on me. Almost makes me want to spend the holidays with boring-old Preston, just to shut everyone up for a while.”

“I’m sure she loves you and thinks she knows what’s best for you. She probably doesn’t, so you have to blaze your own trail. You’ve made some big steps, applying for a new job. Revisiting an old relationship. What will the new year bring? Any final thoughts you’d like to leave our listeners with?”

“Lisa, I’m not much for new year resolutions. I think I’m just going to hope for a better year than this one has been, and let the fates I don’t believe in guide me. Thanks for having me on, and happy holidays to you, Craig, and your followers.”

“You can learn all about Chloe and Britt in the novella, When We Finally Kiss Goodnight, by Staci Troilo. I’ll post all the important details on the website.

“You can help your favorite radio host out by using those sharing buttons today. The more people who learn about my show, the more guests we can have. I’m sure Chloe and Staci would do it for you when your character appears on the next Lisa Burton Radio.”

***

Chloe Upshaw suffers from what she calls the trifecta of awful—unfulfilling job, disappointed family, bad luck with love. Just before Christmas, she travels to Pittsburgh hoping to land a job that will change her career. But not only is she in stiff competition for the position, she angers her mother by rejecting her matchmaking efforts and not going home. Worse, she runs into the guy who got away—and this time, no matter how many lies she tells to protect her heart, she leaves herself vulnerable to hurt.

Britt Garris’ callous and careless behavior in college cost him his dream girl. When fate crosses their paths ten years later, he thinks it’s serendipity. And he launches into one deception after another to win her back, including an auspicious trip for the two archaeologists to Gettysburg. Britt plays on Chloe’s love of history to spend time with her. He doesn’t count on the local lore and legend predicting their future—a future his duplicity puts at risk.

When their lies finally crumble, their budding relationship is threatened. Their dishonesties and disillusions may be impossible to overcome. But maybe the magic of the season can make their dreams come true.

Universal Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/STkiss

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