COVER REVEAL Married Till Christmas

This is Nell Bravo's story, the last in my Bravos of Justice Creek series and a December release. (No worries Bravo series lovers.  The Bravos of Valentine Bay starts in May 2018.)

Back cover copy reads:

An impulse wedding…

Strong, sexy Nell Bravo won’t be fooled again.  After all, Declan McGrath already shattered her heart into pieces—not once, but twice. When alluring CEO Deck sweeps Nell off her feet in Las Vegas, though, she tumbles headlong into an “only in Vegas” fling with her first love. But Nell sure didn’t bargain on a Vegas wedding!

…a lifetime of love?

It’s taken a long time for Deck to finally capture the one who got away. And this time, he’s charmed her straight to the altar. But Nell will stay married to him only until Christmas Day—unless Deck can prove that this time, it’s for keeps. With the clock ticking, can Deck convince Nell that he truly is her one and only…or has Mr. Love-’Em-and-Leave-’Em broken a Bravo’s heart for the last time?

Cover and Blurb for my December Release

So festive!  I would say it is definitely beginning to look a lot like Christmas--especially on this cover.

Back cover copy reads....

WHEN DARIUS BRAVO WANTS SOMETHING… 

…he usually gets it. And the powerhouse CEO has wanted Ava Malloy since he was a Justice Creek High senior. Darius is already adored by one Malloy: Ava's spirited daughter. Helping Sylvie and her local Blueberry troop build dollhouses for needy kids is a worthy cause that's bringing him closer to the widowed single mom. Imagine his surprise when the usually unapproachable Ava starts flirting and making her romantic intentions crystal clear! 

With one condition.  

A holiday fling with the man Ava has always found irresistibly attractive is a thrilling way to ring in the New Year. She can't promise Darius the future—one devastating heartbreak in a lifetime is enough. But Ava underestimates his staying power. And what about her own secret heart's desire? A Bravo under the mistletoe and in her arms forever!

Our Christmas Tree

 This tree came with us across the country last year.  Over a bunch of slick, frozen roads in late December.  All the lights still work, in spite of the jostling it got.  Last year, we didn't put it up.  We arrived here in our new home on Christmas Eve.  Boxes stacked everywhere.  No room--or time--to spend decorating for the season.


But this year, we're on it.  Merry Christmas.  And as Tiny Tim would say, God Bless us, every one!

Cover for My November Release...

Merry Christmas--very early!

Quite festive, no?

Wrapping Up the San Antonio Bravos

There are nine SA Bravo stories in all.  Six are out on bookstands.  Three more are yet to be released.

And in terms of the writing...I'm on the second-to-last book.  It seems like only yesterday I sat down to write the story outline for The Stranger and Tessa Jones.  And now I'm almost finished telling all those stories.

Yesterday, I hit the midpoint in the writing of Marriage Bravo Style, which is Elena Cabrera's story.  Elena, BTW, is the illegitimate daughter of Davis Bravo, hardheaded patriarch of this branch of the family.  Elena first appeared in A Bravo's Honor, back in July of last year, when a big family secret blew wide open, with Elena's paternity in the center of the storm.

In the books that have followed, I've charted the arc of the Bravo/Cabrera connection.  It's been quite an arc and I have loved writing it.

So strange that half the books are still to come out, and I'm already thinking ahead to the next branch of the family. 

The Annual Tree Photo...

So every year, after I put up the tree, I try to get a nice picture of it. The pictures are never as good as it actually looks.

Honest!

But this year, I tried again...

These three are...no flash, slow flash and full flash. I think I like the slow flash best.

And yet, somehow the fabulousness of my tree is not quite captured. Could it be the fabulousness is all in my head? If so, I have to tell you, wish you could see what I see.

Cover for My December Book!

I like it. I've never like kids on covers or smiley people, but this has both. And still...I like it. I think it's that the kid really has something going on in her expression. That slightly smug, this-is-working-out-just fine look is perfect.

And the way the hero looks at the heroine? Priceless. Plus there's the pose, which is, as my dear friend Susan Crosby describes it, "a circle of touching," with each character touching the next.

Anyway, it's a good one, I think.

Back cover copy reads...


OOPS, SHE DID IT AGAIN!

Well, if lightning didn’t strike twice, then
how could a night of passion with her former
lover, Matt Bravo, leave Connie Lonnigan
pregnant with his child…for the second time?
They already had a beautiful little girl, and
they’d finally come to terms with their
can’t-live-with-can’t-live-without-each-other
relationship. And now this!

Texas tycoon Matt Bravo had let Connie slip
through his fingers five years ago, and he was
not about to make the same mistake again.
He had to convince her that he was the man
for her, now and forever. To make this a
Christmas to remember—for all four
of them…

Sadly, there is an error in this great copy. Heroine's name is Corrie, not Connie. It was too late to fix it when I caught it. And they have a new program they're working with on cover image and copy at Harlequin. Apparently, there are still issues with it.

But other than that...

Finished...

I do love to finish. Especially a book. Finishing, for me, is so much more satisfying than, say, starting.

There are times I really hate starting. It's always like "Who are these people and why are they doing these things?" I just don't know them when I start. Even if they already appeared in another book, somehow, when they get their own book, I have to start all over again to know them.

But when I'm finished, well, I know them probably as well as I ever will. I don't have to worry I'll never figure out who the heck they really are, because if I finished, at some point, I did figure that out.

And there's just something about a finished book. A feeling of accomplishment, I guess. It's finished. It's done. And, you know-I did that! I wrote a(nother) whole book.

This time I'm just finishing a book that will come out in December. Yes, a Christmas book. Thus, you get an image of a singing Christmas cat. So festive! Plus the whole "Joy to the World!" attitude fits right in with the way I feel now. I started this book in January. I've written a bunch of Christmas books. Somehow, I never write them during the Christmas season. Doesn't bother me at all. I can get in the spirit in January. Hey, I just did!

So happy holidays, everyone!

Just finished. Ready to start all over again...

I Love Me a Little Dirty Santa...

The game, I mean.

We play it every year at the Christmas party put on at the local country club by the DH's real estate firm. The DH thinks it's dumb. He's always with the, "Why can't we just go and eat, drink and be merry like grownups."

And to that I say, "Bah, humbug! I want my Dirty Santa."

Of course, every year he somehow ends up choosing the gift we will contribute to the game. How does that happen? Wish I knew. This year we brought a couple of interesting drink mixers--both for "tinis," one for crantinis one for chocolate. All attractively packaged with this cool stainless steel shot glass thingy and snowflake-adorned stir sticks. The winner of that one gets to provide her own liqour. I say "her" because a woman won it. The room was dark, lit with candles and little white Christmas lights. Even through the candlelit shadows, I could see she was pleased with it. When the MC of the game tried to get her to hold it up so everyone could get a good look and be ready to steal it, she put it to her chest and said, "Oh, it's just some drink mixers." Clever girl. She went home with it, unchallenged. Personally, I wouldn't want a pair of sweet mixers--not even with the snowflake stirsticks and stainless shot glass thrown in. But the DH said his colleagues love sweet drinks, so that's what we brought.

The rules, in case you're totally lost at this point: Bring a wrapped gift that cost you under fifteen bucks. Yeah, most go over a little. Some don't. Either's okay with me. It's the bright wrapping and the stealing other peoples stuff that draws me to this game. I was probably a small furry creature who stole shiny objects my last life...

Back to the Rules... You draw numbers for your turn. If someone before you opens a gift you admire, you get to steal it. But. No gift can be stolen more than three times. If yours is stolen, you go back to the tree and choose another wrapped gift. Every year everyone argues over how the rules have changed. I don't know. I personally think they stay the same but what's a Dirty Santa game without griping over the rules? This year I wanted the small bottle of Bailey's Irish Creme that came up early. So I stole it. Then someone stole it from me. I forget who ended up with it. But I got a scent burner thingy. You put squares of scented wax in it, plug it in and you have candle scent wafting on the air. Hmm. Maybe not for me...

So I let the DH trade it for a book by the political commentator, George Will. I mean, hello. The DH is a total left-winger and George Will is a conservative. But the MC, also a left-winger, looked so crushed, he just had to come to her rescue. I don't really mind. He's a hero, what can I say? And if I want scented wax wafting around my head, I'll light a candle.

So that's it. Another year's worth of Dirty Santa, another evening of fun!

Know any great holiday games? I have a few more parties to attend...

The Tree

We put it up last weekend--which I guess I mentioned in my last post. Every year, I try to get a good picture. Never satisfied. Here are this year's...
I don't know why it always looks better "in person" than in any of the pictures I take.
And yet, I keep trying...
And trying...
and trying...

Yes, It's Me...

Again. At last.

I know, I know. I haven't been around here much. But I have been blogging regularly--first and fourth Tuesdays of every month--over at the Special Edition Authors blog on the eHarlequin site. Click the link to the blog on the right of the page if you want to drop in there and see what I've been yakking about.

Hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving. I did. I put on two pounds just to prove it. ;) I cooked, too. A lot. The pies, the turkey, the creamed onions, and on and on... it was fun and very satisfying. Both the cooking and the eating.

Saturday, we did the tree and the house decorating for the holidays. Even got a nice dusting of snow last night. I feel so festive! If only my pants weren't so tight...

Now, it's back to work after the long, lazy holiday weekend. I'm getting my filing and other stuff in order to day and then digging into my latest proposal starting tomorrow.

How about you? Did you have a great Thanksgiving...?