Welcome everyone, to the Home for the Holidays Hop! Yes, it really is that time again! Hard to believe, considering it feels like we are still in summer or fall...well, at least in Phoenix. We hit 90 today! Eww. (I hate the heat)
First off, a couple things. When commenting, please leave an email address in your comment! This will give you an entry to the grand prize and easy access to email you if you've won! Click on the above link to check out the other stops and for a complete list of prizes....and there are PLENTY of them!
One thing about the holidays is that there's always so much food! It's so hard not to indulge just a bit...or a lot! I love the mouthwatering taste of a spiral cut ham...juicy, tasty...or a turkey...buttered corn, mashed potatoes. For a drink, a nice glass of eggnog. One thing I love, and it's such a simple thing, is cucumber salad. Yes, you heard me right. Call me strange, that's all right. Nothing I haven't heard before. But for the life of me, i can't perfect the recipe to my taste at all! My mom, or my Oma makes the best ones. I mean, how hard can simple sliced cucumbers, water, vinegar, sugar and salt be?
haha. Do you really have to answer that?
Start off by cutting up the cucumbers to thin slices. Pour some sugar on top and then let it set for awhile. A few hours. The sugar ends up creating a sweet juice type thing and then you have to perfect the amount of water and vinegar just right. That's where my problem lies. :) Still, I enjoy it and will eventually ONE day get it to where i'm happy.
Now the holidays aren't just about food, presents and spending....though the commercialization sometimes makes some forget about that. I've been known to be a little jaded during the holidays and that's why I started writing a holiday story last year. Well now, that story just recently had an addition, a sequel of sorts with the same characters. I've been told these stories are a great reminder of what the holiday season is about, and that's just the message I wanted to send.
It started with this book. A special wish from a little boy set in motion a chain of events that changed his life, and his mom's.
I'm going to be hosting a small giveaway here on my blog. One lucky commenter will win an e copy of this book, my debut.
Below is the blurb:
The magic of Christmas has been lost to Jacob Winston. At the suggestion of his ill sister, Jacob takes a job as a Secret Santa at the mall, hoping to restore his Christmas spirit. Even that doesn't seem to work, until a special little boy ambles up to make a very special wish...
Cheyenne Jensen is struggling to raise her two kids without the help of her ex-husband who refuses to acknowledge his daughter's existence and doesn't provide for the son he does. This Christmas is shaping up to be as heartbreaking as the last, until her son Ben's kind actions lead a stranger to them.
Ah, but it's Christmas time and the magic has begun.
When Jacob and Cheyenne meet, neither can deny their immediate attraction to one another. As situations arise that require they spend more time together, their feelings grow stronger and stronger.
With Christmas fast approaching, the pair learn what matters most in life. Now, if only they could ditch the ghost of Christmases past.
Maybe this holiday will bring some wishes come true- for everyone after all.
And most recently, like...last week, I released the second book with the character, though the focus is on someone else. Robin is a secondary character in The Secret Santa Wishing Well, and in On the 12th Date of Christmas, gets her own story.
After being mugged, Robin Sorenson is left shaken and her spirit in humanity is broken. Worse, she's not sure how to deal with the new anxieties or who to confide in, since she's always preached to pick oneself up and move on. Yeah, she's been the go to girl when anyone's had problems. Christmas is coming, and her belief in magic and miracles has faded.
Then Jonas comes back.
Jonas Aimes made a mistake when he walked away from Robin a year earlier. A big one. He'd loved her, always had and still does, but his desire to please his aging and strict parents took precedence. Back from the overseas internship they'd struggled to get him in, he plans on winning Robin back. What he didn't count on was discovering the shell of the vivacious woman he'd loved.
Broken.
Remembering her love of Christmas, Jonas pulls the holiday heartstrings. What? All is fair and love and war, right?
Twelve days, Twelve Dates.
Robin is speechless when Jonas not only refuses to leave her alone, but dares her to accept his cheesy holiday-themed challenge. Twelve dates to give him a chance to prove that he loves her and is never leaving her again.
But in the season known for miracles, can Robin find the magic needed to open her heart and faith once more ... or will she forever wonder about the ghost of the Christmas past that could have been?
How do you win Secret Santa, you ask? Or maybe you don't but I'll tell you anyway. How about visit me on my Facebook page? Then just tell me there what you love most about the holidays.
https://www.facebook.com/NikkiLynnBarrettauthor
OR: Add my books on Goodreads! Just let me know in the comments on the blog :)
https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard
Good luck in the hop y'all! Hope you have fun, find some new authors, some recipes and maybe even win!
-Nikki Lynn
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
