Happy Solstice!

Today is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. It's also known as Yule and is one of the oldest winter celebrations in the world. To ancient people, the seasons and the weather played an important part of their lives. To drive away the dark, they would light bonfires to light the longest night of the year. The tradition of the Yule log is actually a pagan one. As is the cutting of mistletoe.

Many cultures would celebrate with food, drink, music, and stories. From here on, the days would get longer until the arrival of spring. Definitely something to celebrate.

Wishing all of you a Happy Solstice, Merry Yule, Happy Holidays, and a very Merry Christmas!

 

 

Burning Ash

Forgotten Brotherhood, Book 3

 

No one is more surprised than Asher, one of the oldest vampires on Earth, that he's attracted to vamp hunter Jo Radcliffe. She's smart, a talented slayer, and she's gorgeous. Something about her pulls at him, like no one ever has before. For a man, whose name strikes fear in everyone––this is something new and intriguing. And quite possibly deadly, if she discovers his secret.

Jo has two things in common with the handsome Asher––they are both slayers and someone is messing with them in a very-much-trying-to-kill-them way. She's not so happy about joining forces with a dude she doesn't know. But he's sexy as hell and really good at his job as one of the Forgotten Brotherhood, whose business it is to execute misbehaving paranormals.

She knows she's bait in a larger plot to harm Asher and the Brotherhood. And there is nothing he won't do, no line he won't cross, to keep her safe––which may be the weakness that destroys them both.

 

TEASER:

 

“Vampire,” the melodic voice carried easily through the building. The hood of a long leather duster was shoved back to reveal a tall stunning woman with a deadly crossbow held easily in her hands.

Asher’s heart skipped a beat. Blood pounded through his veins, hot and thick. Confident and deadly was always a huge turn-on. This woman was both those things and more.

 

 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FGV7C9Q/

Entangled: https://entangledpublishing.com/burning-ash.html

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/burning-ash-n-j-walters/1137455950

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/burning-ash

iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/burning-ash/id1527096039

 

 

Watch for Bjorn Cursed, Forgotten Brotherhood book 4 on January 18, 2021!

 

 

N.J. Walters is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who has always been a voracious reader, and now she spends her days writing novels of her own. Vampires, werewolves, dragons, time-travelers, seductive handymen, and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks—all vie for her attention. It’s a tough life, but someone’s got to live it.

                   

Visit me at:

Website: http://www.njwalters.com

Blog: http://www.njwalters.blogspot.com

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BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/n-j-walters

 

 

Celia's Edible and Audible Holiday Cheer

Hello my dear Decadent Diva Readers,

 I hope you had a lovely November. The December holidays are upon us, and I'm busy prepping A Demon's Embrace, my second Cupid Dating Agency book for release! My hero, Stryker, owns a year-round holiday store, and he loves Christmas so thought I better launch his story around the time of his favorite holiday, LOL.

Now, let's get this holiday party started with songs and sugar! I shared these last year, but in case you missed them, here they are again: Cookies and musical holiday cheer...

Celia's Holiday Spritz Cookies

Cookies are one of my favorite, sweet indulgences for the holidays. My family makes spritz cookies every December. Delicious! Here’s my mother’s recipe (that I love to post every year around this time). Requires cookie press.

3/4 cup regular sugar (some recipes call for “powdered”, but mom swears by regular!)
1 cup margarine, or butter, or shortening (mom uses shortening; I use butter. Both are delish.)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a bowl, mix together margarine (or butter or shortening), sugar, vanilla, egg until fairly fluffy.
3. Stir in flour, salt, baking powder.
4. Optional: separate dough into bowls, add food dye of your choosing (see photo).
5. Fill cookie press; press dough onto ungreased cookie sheets.
6. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes.
7. Remove from sheet and cool on cookie rack.
8. Eat. All. The. Cookies!

  Celia’s Holiday Playlist

Music is a big part of our holiday celebrations. Here’s one of our playlists for the December holidays. Happy listening!

“Another Christmas Song,” Stephen Colbert
“Not Tonight Santa,” Girls Aloud
“Frosty the Snowman,” Cocteau Twins
“Christmas Time Is Here Again,” Ringo Starr
“Sleigh Ride,” The Ronettes
“The Lonely Jew On Christmas,” Kyle Broflofski with Special Celebrity
Guest “Santa’s Beard,” They Might Be Giants
“Winter Wonderland,” Cocteau Twins
“Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” Darlene Love
“Thanks for Christmas,” XTC
“December Will Be Magic Again,” Kate Bush

 

Have a great December, Dear Readers, and I'll see you back here on December 30th with more info on A Demon's Embrace!.

xo,
Celia

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Christmas Traditions

I love this time of year—the music, the colored lights, the tree, the holiday movies and the excitement. Like most families, we have various traditions that have changed or evolved over the years. But one tradition that never changes is my mother’s fruit cake.

Yes, I said it. Fruit cake. We’re big on this holiday staple in my family and all of us would feel slighted if our mother didn’t make us one of her amazing cakes. Heck, when I was a kid, I used to ask for one for my birthday every year. Mom would make a fruit cake for the family celebration and a chocolate one for the party with my friends. I don’t know what makes hers so special. Maybe it’s the rum, maybe it’s the love. All I know is Christmas wouldn’t be the same without it.

Another tradition is chocolate fudge, but not just any fudge. I use the same recipe my mother used when I was a kid. It’s fast and delicious.


Five Minute Fudge (From the Carnation Milk Cookbook)

2/3 cup of Carnation milk
1 2/3 cups of sugar

~Bring sugar and milk to a boil and boil on low heat for 5 minutes. Stir constantly. Remove from heat.

Add:
1 ½ cups chocolate chips (I use semi-sweet dark chips)
1 ½ cups of plain mini marshmallows (I use Kraft minis)
1 tsp of vanilla flavouring

Stir until smooth and pour into greased 8” X 8” pan.

Cool and cut into squares.



And if you’re looking for a calorie-free treat to help get you through the season, be sure to pre-order Naughty Heroes now for only 99-cents. Price will go up soon after it releases.

NAUGHTY HEROES: In And Out Of Uniform A collection of UNFORGETTABLE HEROES

MARINE ON A MISSION 
N.J. Walters 

When Mitch McCoy left rural Kentucky to join the U.S. Marines he never thought he'd return. Now he's undercover with a state drug task force. He's not only facing his past, but also Sara Hawkins, the woman who broke his heart. This investigation will risk their lives and their hearts. 

 SEX BOMB 
Nicole Austin  

From first sight I knew Marine Lieutenant Harlie Savage wasn't fragile like a flower—she was fragile like a bomb. Definitely not some princess who needed to be saved, either. She was a queen who only lacked a sword, and I vowed to be her weapon. 

HER SOLDIER OF FORTUNE 
Belle Scarlett 


Leia has no idea who ex-Marine Major Tate McIntyre is when he saves her life in a dark alley. Yet Tate's certain Leia is his to have, hold, and protect. He vows to keep her safe at any cost. His only price is her heart. Semper Fi! 

THE NIGHT WATCHMAN
Katherine Kingston

A disabled vet rescues a woman on a mission to collect evidence, saving her from the men chasing her. As Jace and Shannon race to survive and outwit a traitor, a deep connection grows between them. But staying alive long enough to explore the attraction will take everything they've got.

MILITARY BLUES
Elizabeth Lapthorne

Luke is struggling to recover from a career shattering IED blast that sees him permanently discharged. Milly's career self-destructed and she's moved cities in the hopes of starting again. Can this new life and new relationship be a second chance for them both?

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z29RCY1/

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/1134068523

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/naughty-heroes

iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1483388473

Universal: https://books2read.com/u/b5QgqA

N.J. Walters is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who has always been a voracious reader, and now she spends her days writing novels of her own. Vampires, werewolves, dragons, time-travelers, seductive handymen, and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks—all vie for her attention. It’s a tough life, but someone’s got to live it.

Visit me at: Website: http://www.njwalters.com
Blog: http://www.njwalters.blogspot.com
Newsletter Sign Up: http://eepurl.com/gdblg5
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/N.J.WaltersAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/njwaltersauthor
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/NJWalters
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/author/njwalters
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/n-j-walters

Christmas Gifts for Those with a Sense of Humor

It's that time of year again--time for me to help you out with holiday shopping. Christmas time seems to bring out the absurd, but if you have to buy a gift for someone who is, well, equally absurd, then it's a win-win situation. Just make sure they have a sense of humor!

Behold my picks for the year:

Are you parents of a child in their 20s who still lives at home? Looking to give them a subtle nudge to leave the nest? Luggage makes the statement without having to spell it out.

How about a gift for your child's teacher? This gift will keep on giving for years to come and hopefully, make the "problem" students think twice.

Dads are so hard to buy for, aren't they? But something that all dads have in common is the ability to fart. A lot. And often. Dads also like to think they're the best at everything, so this T-shirt will make them feel like they're a winner.

This is the perfect gift for Mom. I'm a mom and I must say, "Seriously?" at least 50 times a day. So much so it'll probably be inscribed on my tombstone. 

Every grandchild thinks they're the favorite. Make sure you constantly reinforce it with this ornament, and don't forget to encourage Grandma or Grandpa to hang it somewhere all year round as a gentle reminder.  

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Christmas is Tiffany N. York's second favorite holiday after Halloween. Feel free to visit her website at tiffanynyorkauthor.com

Celia's Favorite #Holiday #Recipes

Holiday Greetings, Dear Decadent Diva Readers!

I hope you're having a wonderful holiday season. To close out the year and the last holiday celebration, I'm sharing two of my favorite special occasion recipes with you today. They appeared in the blogosphere around this time least year, and here they are again, so you can enjoy them as much as my family does. Bon appetit and happy new year! xo, Celia

  Holiday Spritz Cookies

Recipe compliments of my mother. Requires cookie press.

3/4 cup regular sugar (some recipes call for “powdered”, but mom swears by regular!)
1 cup margarine, or butter, or shortening (mom uses shortening; I use butter. Both are delish.)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a bowl, mix together margarine (or butter or shortening), sugar, vanilla, egg until fairly fluffy.
3. Stir in flour, salt, baking powder.
4. Optional: separate dough into bowls, add food dye of your choosing (see photo).
5. Fill cookie press; press dough onto ungreased cookie sheets.
6. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes.
7. Remove from sheet and cool on cookie rack.
8. Eat. All. The. Cookies!

  Holiday Caramels

Recipe compliments of my grandmother.

1 can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 cups white sugar
2 cups white Karo Syrup
1 stick of butter (1/4 lb.)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Mix together the first three ingredients (milk, sugar, syrup) in a large bowl.
2. Melt the butter in a large heavy kettle, pour in the mixture and bring to a boil.
3. Stir continuously while mixture boils until it reaches the temperature of 245 degrees Fahrenheit on a candy thermometer (can take up to 25 minutes).*
4. Once the 245-degree temperature is reached, remove kettle from stove.
5. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, then pour mixture onto a large buttered cookie sheet or flat pan.
6. Cut into pieces, wrap with plastic wrap or your candy covering of choice (or eat All The Candy, LOL).

*Note: If mixture overcooks, candy gets too hard.

 

That's all for now, Dear Readers. Have a great January! I'll see you back here on January 30th with some book fun!

xo,
Celia

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IDEAS FOR THE GIFT-CHALLENGED

I always like to post some of the most ridicul--er, unique gift ideas for the season in case people are at a loss as to what to get that special someone.

If you can answer yes to any of the following prerequisites for the recipient of your gift, then you've found your winner. 

You're welcome! 

Sub-zero temps? Check.

Zero vanity issues? Check.

Pirates of the Caribbean nostalgia? Check.

Cold Ass Syndrome? Check.

Pimpmobile? Check.

Barbie? Check.

Full of crap? Check.

Reminder that coffee has a laxative effect? Check.

No one else has this mug. Check.

Bigfoot? Check.

Ugly feet? Check.

Sumo wrestler? Check.

Preoccupation with all things phallic? Check.

Love/hate relationship with cat? Check.

Death wish? Check.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Tiffany N. York believes everyone should receive at least one unique gift this season even if they've been naughty. You can visit her website at tiffanynyorkauthor.com

The Holidays When You Aren't Quite Into It

It's that time of year again. The time of peace, happiness, Christmas carols, and egg nog. However, it's also that time of year for crowded stores, endless sweets, and empty bank accounts.

Normally I'm not a scrooge. In fact I'm quite the opposite. I usually love Christmas! Everything about Christmas would make me happy. It's always been my favorite time of year. Unfortunately this year I'm just not feeling it.

My girls are now teenagers so the beautiful fantasy of Santa Clause has now disappeared which means a lot of the "magic" of this time of year has dissipated as well. I miss the lists for Santa, the kids writing letters to him, and yes I even miss that damn Elf on a Shelf. It makes my heart sad to see all the pictures of everyone's Elf and ours is tucked away somewhere. Poor Nicky.

As many mothers of teenagers know that the gift requests have also gone from easy toy lists with tons of items to requests of game systems that cost a whopping $300 and that's before the game to actually play! And when you have three teenagers all requesting big ticket items it definitely hurts the wallet. I know they don't have to have everything they ask for but I've always been one to go big or go home on Christmas so that's what we try to do but now instead of seeing tons of gifts under the tree there's only 4 or 5 per teen since everything they want is so pricey. Just takes away the illusion a bit for me.

My husband and I did manage to go take a 'just us' trip up to Opryland Hotel for an evening. It was beautiful BUT also crowded with most people not knowing where they were trying to walk to but all in all it was a nice getaway.

I'm trying to get more in the mood for Christmas as it gets closer but at the same time each day there's something new that I forgot or need to make along with keeping up the house and keeping the teenagers alive. Combine all of that with the day job and I'm just drained of all holiday spirit. Although I'm trying to hide that from my kids.

However, I did manage to add a couple new books to my TBR list. Like I need anymore. But I'm really looking forward to these. Links below....

The Woman in the Window  by A. Finn -- Really looking forward to some down time so I can actually read this. It doesn't release until January 2nd but it's available for pre-order.

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen -- Releasing on January 9th but is available for pre-order. 

The English Wife by Lauren Willig -- I haven't read a historical story in quite some time but this one I'm going to have to. It seems to interesting to pass up.  -- Releasing on January 9th but is available for pre-order.

I know I'm sure I'm driving you nuts since the books mentioned above are all pre-orders so here ya go...

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty -- I can't pass up a book with that title. Just can't. Plus, love her! Available now!


I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!! Send some cheer and joy my way while you're at it. ;-)

Hugs,
Amber

All Things Christmas by @elle_rush #freebook #recipes #Christmas

Christmas is my holiday. I have little use for Halloween, although the little chocolate bars are nice. I like turkey and pie at Thanksgiving and chocolate eggs at Easter (I'm noticing a theme here). But Christmas is my jam.  Decorations, presents, family, friends, holiday movies. All my favourite things.

I like putting up the tree, making the cookies, and wrapping the presents. For me it's part of the fun.

I even let it affect my work. In the best way possible.

This year, I launched a new Christmas romance series called North Pole Unlimited. They are sweet, funny novellas with rescued animals and hi-jinks and food and happily-ever-afters thanks to Santa. They are great for a night by the fire with hot cocoa, or blueberry tea.

I started a Facebook group called 12 Dates for Christmas with some romance friends. Come check us out for crafts, recipes, movies, holiday disasters (unsurprisingly, most of these are mine), and more. We're having a huge Christmas contest for U.S. residents, so feel free to enter, and we're giving away free books from December 1st to the 11th, so you can still enter to win some of those too.

Free cookbook

We've also put together a free holiday cookbook for everybody, with family favourites. (I'm dying to try the ham balls.) Help yourself to a copy, and maybe read a sample of one of the books while you're waiting for the next batch of cookies to come out of the oven)

As for my books? (All vendor links here.)

In DECKER AND JOY, P.I. Decker Harkness must track down a missing prototype if he wants a shot at a corporate security contract. Cat-lady Joy McCall has her own investigation running after someone breaks into her animal shelter. When they cross paths during a triple kitten-napping, they’ll have to work together to close their cases. Will everyone make it home to celebrate a merry Christmas together?  - Only $0.99 till Dec 25.  

In HOLLIS AND IVY (coming December 11), unlucky Ivy Teague can’t win against her competition’s dirty tactics, and she will have to close her flower shop unless a Christmas miracle arrives at her door.
Hollis Dash has been sent to finalize a business deal with Ivy’s rival, but meeting Ivy upsets all his plans. Can they both get what they want for Christmas?

Spoilers - Santa likes happily-ever-afters :)

Merry Christmas to all, and I wish you a happy New Year and wonderful 2018!

Just Say No to Christmas Crack- Hallmark Channel

The following is a public service announcement.

Every year my holiday scheduled is packed with parties, shopping trips and scrubbing the house before the family comes over. And that’s not including fitting in time to write as well. Yet every year I find myself powerless in resisting the holiday time-suck that is the Christmas movie season on the Hallmark and Lifetime channels.

I don’t know how it happens. One minute I’m wrapping presents and then WHAM! I’m over an hour into the latest syrupy-sweet Cameron Mathison spectacle. It’s crazy, and I feel as if I must warn you of this phenomenon and how it grips you in its sparkly, jolly claws.

Now many will make the argument that these movies are formulaic. Why watch if you already know what’s going to happen? To which I say, “Duh!” That’s why we like them. We know the hero or heroine will meet someone who challenges the way they see the world, they’ll have to overcome an obstacle, a misunderstanding of some kind will occur, but in the end all will work out well because these people will realize they are stronger together than they are apart. Sounds familiar? It should. But we as consumers want the emotional ride with the safety net of knowing there will be a happily ever after. We want the pretty and the ho-ho-ho, and the sad and the happy. And want it over and over again.

This year one of the movies that snagged me mid-yuletiding was The Road to Christmas with Clark Gregg and Jennifer Grey. The movie had potential, but they made Grey’s character so unlikable I kept thinking she was Hydra. And then there was the Nine Lives of Christmas. Three words- Brandon Routh, Firefighter. J

Paul or Cody? As if there's a doubt.

But the one movie I rant about all of the time is The Christmas Card. Why? Because they think it's even a possibility that Faith will choose Paul over Cody.

Really!? Really?!? Hmm, whiny, selfish, milk-toast Paul or sweet, hard-working, dreamy Cody? No contest! And every time that sappy little town sucks me in, I want to scream at the screen for Faith to jump on that motorcycle, ride into the sunset, then ride that man into the ground. I also want Ed Asner’s house.

And do you know who else’s house I want? Candace Cameron Bure’s in Christmas Under Wraps, and Josh Hopkin’s  in 12 Men of Christmas. Yes, I do love a well-constructed log cabin, and they have the best ones in these Christmas movies.

So take heed my friends. If you have anything, and I mean any tiny thing you wish to accomplish this month, stay away from the Hallmark and Lifetime Channels.  But… if you do happen to get pulled into the red and green twinkle light abyss, tell me which movie is your favorite.

Till next time!

Anna- The Super Diva

Website- http://annaalexander.net/ 

Now on sale for $2.99!

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