Saturday, December 22, 2018

Christmas Countdown Blitz Day Eighteen: One Winter Night by Heather Tullis



HEATHER TULLIS has been reading romance for as long as she can remember and has been publishing in the genre since 2009. She has published more than twenty books. 

When she’s not dreaming up new stories to write, or helping out with her community garden, she enjoys playing with her dogs and cat, cake decorating, trying new jewelry designs, inventing new ways to eat chocolate, and hanging out with her husband. 

Learn more about her and sign up for her newsletter on her website.






Jonah Owens thought moving to Echo Ridge to open his art gallery would solve all of his problems. The need to sell his grandma's house adds an unexpected complication. It would be easier if his neighbor didn't have all those farm animals.

 Kaya Feidler's family has owned their land for nearly a hundred years--long before the neighbors were there. There's no way she's giving up the animal therapy business she's been struggling to make profitable. She gets a temp job helping Jonah in the gallery. 

Spending time together is a recipe for romance, but can they overcome their own hangups to be more than friends?





Top Ten List:

1) I'm the second of six kids
2) The last four pets that we've adopted have been named (or renamed) after some kind of sweet food. 
3) I have never broken a bone.
4) I wrote many a scene in the back of an ambulance when I was an EMT.
5) At one time I had about 150 poultry in my back yard: chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys, guineas, and even a few quail.
6) I really miss having chickens.
7) I don't have a middle name. 
8) My husband and I lived in a travel trailer for a full year.
9) I could mix paint, cut glass for windows, and install tile all before I graduated from high school.
10) Twice I've written 20,000 words in a single day--that's about 60 pages.    





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Friday, December 21, 2018

Christmas Coutndown Blitz Day Seventeen: The Billionaire's Blue Christmas by Jennifer Griffith



Jennifer lives in Arizona where she writes escapist fiction she calls "Cotton Candy for the Soul."






He needs this job to honor his late wife.
 She needs to complete her late fiancĂ©’s bucket list to be free.

Former action-movie star Chet has counted the days since he lost his wife last New Year’s Eve almost a year ago. When he’s given a shot at starring in a reboot of her favorite TV show, he jumps at it. But there’s a catch: the producers won’t hire him unless he can prove he’s regained emotional stability—by bringing a steady girlfriend to his five auditions.

Which means: five mandatory dates for this bereft widower.

Social worker Holly lost her fiancĂ© to war. With his good life snuffed out too soon, she feels compelled to finish his bucket list of unselfish deeds. But four years later, several remain, and they’re ridiculously impossible. Until she accomplishes her soldier’s dreams, she can’t even consider moving on with her life.

When they meet on the beach at Getaway Bay, what she doesn’t know is homeless-looking mourner Chet is actually Colt Winchester, screen star and fashion icon. What he doesn’t know is that he’s a means to an end.

When their walls start to crumble on their Christmas season dates, can these two find love again, or will they forever be chasing ghosts?"



Top Ten List:

Ten fun things about myself:


1.     I worked two summers in a cookie factory.
2.     In college, I majored in writing, but my minor was in Japanese.
3.     Once I ate a teriyaki cricket on a dare.
4.     My roommate and I toured Europe during college, and we slept one night in a castle.
5.     As a farm girl perk, I learned to drive at age ten.
6.     I met my husband at the baptism of a man who guarded the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
7.     My most widely read novel is about a sumo wrestler.
8.     When I worked for the Congress, I took people on tours of the U.S. Capitol Building.
9.     I grew up in the county where Napoleon Dynamite was filmed.

10.I’m only 5’1” tall and often have to jump to reach things in the grocery store.





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Thursday, December 20, 2018

Blog Tour: A Christmas Story of Light by Ora Smith





God’s light shines in all of His creations, from the Star of Bethlehem, to the angel proclaiming Christ’s birth, to the Son of God Himself—the light of the world.

Through this light, He illuminates darkness, gives us guidance, and shows us how to love one another.


Experience the rich artwork and inspirational messages of A Christmas Story of Light this holiday season and let God’s light bring you the brightness of hope.






Ora is an artist, genealogist, seamstress, lover of a good book, traveler, antiquer, upcycler, and history buff. She’s one of those people who always has a project she’s excited about. Although she’s lived in Arizona since 1986, she spent her early life in Lake Tahoe, California, where her passion to write blossomed on a tranquil riverbank with a beautiful backdrop of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
She recently received her Master of Arts in Nonfiction Creative Writing at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. She also writes children’s books and historical fiction. In 2013, she placed first in a short-story writing contest sponsored by Writers Unite to Fight Cancer, in partnership with the Virginia G. Piper Creative Writing Center at Arizona State University. Her historical novel, White Oak River, won first place in the 2017 Phoenix Rattler Contest sponsored by Christian Writers of the West (an ACFW affiliate).
Ora’s been a wife and mother for more than thirty-six years, raising four sons and one daughter. She has the three cutest grandchildren in existence.
For more than twenty years Ora’s taught family history research at conferences and to individuals. Read an article she wrote for the online magazine, Almost an Author, about “Using Ancestor’s Stories in Fiction.” Also visit her blog, Writing About Ancestors, to learn how you can write about your ancestors.
As a mother, genealogist, artist, and faithful follower of Jesus Christ, Ora blends her understanding and unique skills to create faith inspired stories that she hopes will give others an added testimony of God’s goodness.



~ Facebook ~ Website ~
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Blog ~ Pinterest ~


A Christmas Story of Light is a fun children's book with beautiful illustrations. Decidedly a Christian offering, this is a wonderful story for any young children learning more about the true story of Jesus Christ and his role in our lives.

Taking the traditional story of Jesus' birth, Ora Smith weaves in gospel principles of light, truth, and the Savior's love for mankind.

While a little dry at times, this is a nice book that most children will enjoy, and adults too. I give it four out of five stars.











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Christmas Countdown Blitz Day Sixteen: Jacob T. Marley by R. William Bennett






R. William (Bill) Bennett is the author of Jacob T. Marley, The Christmas Gift, and a new Christmas novel being published by a major publisher for Christmas, 2019



 ~ Website ~
  




"Marley was dead to begin with . . . "

These chillingly familiar words begin the classic Christmas tale of remorse and redemption in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. 


But, what about Jacob Marley?  And why hadn't he been given the same final chance of redemption as Ebenezer Scrooge?



Or had he?









Top Ten List:

10 fun facts
1.     Ran into the Beatles in London in 1963 (I was 7).  Didn't see what the big deal was.
2.     Could recite almost the entire script of "Its A Wonderful Life" without prompts
3.     Own a copy of every preserved movie/TV version of "A Christmas Carol" (33 out of 55 probable versions) - By the way, Patrick Stewart version is the best, with Muppet's a close second.
4.     Started writing only 42 years after I decided to be a writer.  I did a lot of planning...
5.     Have visited Disneyworld with the family somewhere around 20 times.  
6.     Got emotional every single time I sat through the show in the American Adventure Pavilion in Epcot
7.     Many of my favorite movies were box-office failures
8.     Read five biographies of Charles Dickens before writing my story to help me feel it would be compatible with his way of thinking.
9.     Kept a 1840 map of London, printed on 25 pieces of paper and taped together, on my wall charting where my story was taking place.

10.After trying to find 'hooks' in "A Christmas Carol" to tie my story too, I found so many I am convinced Dickens planned a sequel (which he never wrote)







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Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Christmas Countdown Blitzy Day Fifteen: Christmas Kisses by Stacy Lynn Carroll, Tara C. Allred, Stephanie Connelley Worlton, Ali M. Cross




Stephanie Worlton is an author, designer, gabber, and sugar addict! She was raised in the suburbs of Salt Lake City where she developed a passion for the creation of space, color, and design. Her love of design drove her to pursue a degree in architecture. Her love of family pulled her home to be a mom.  She enjoys hanging out with her family, reading, writing, making massive project lists, doing remodeling and building projects, playing in the dirt, and snuggling with her dogs. She collects power tools, camera equipment, shoes (though barefoot is always best!), and books.







Ali Cross, the award-winning author of the Desolation Series, has always had a flare for the dramatic. As a child she organized backyard performances of classic plays and musicals and hosted tea parties for invisible friends and pets dressed in doll clothes. Her teens were a haze of boys, drama (of the real life variety), and music. So it really didn’t come as a surprise to anyone that the girl her family called a dreamer, ended up writing drama—with angels, demons, and other supernatural creatures thrown in for fun.

After university, Ali traveled from the Great White North to the Utah desert for love and now entertains her devoted husband, almost-grown twin sons and adorable yorkies with her wacky song renditions and random movie lines. As the only female in the house she considers this her right and her duty.

Never one to conform to expectations, Ali enjoys writing in multiple genres:

Ali Cross books for young adult paranormal romance; Ali Banks Cross books for middle grade adventures; and Ali M. Cross for inspirational romance. She promises to entertain you no matter which of her books you pick up.





TARA C. ALLRED
Award-winning Author

I had lots of imaginary friends when I was five years old, and I guess you could say some of those friends never left me. In fact along the way, I picked up some more imaginary friends who have had lots to say.

I love watching stories unfold. And some of those stories seem worth sharing with you.

So, I have written a few books. And have several more in the works.

Meanwhile, some of my books have won some awards. And even more importantly, my books have made friends with some wonderful and supportive readers. I absolutely love it when a reader connects with one of my stories.


Stacy Lynn Carroll has always loved telling stories. She started out at Utah State University where she pursued a degree in English, learned how to western swing, and watched as many of her fellow students became ‘True Aggies’.  She then finished her BA at the University of Utah where she got an emphasis in creative writing.  

After college she worked as an administrative assistant, where she continued to write stories for the amusement of her co-workers. When her first daughter was born, and with the encouragement of a fortune cookie, she quit her job and became a full-time mommy and writer. 

Eight books and four small kids later, Stacy has truly learned the necessary skills of balance and time management. Dr. Pepper and chocolate also help. She and her husband live in Utah with their four children and three dogs. Bear Lake is her favorite place to write.






Are you ready to fall in love? 

Take the chill out of winter with four new multi-genre romances from best-selling and award-winning authors Tara C. Allred, Stacy Lynn Carroll, Ali M. Cross, and Stephanie Connelley Worlton. 

From heart-warming traditions to heart-pounding suspense, this cozy collection of toe-tingling first kisses set in Utah’s North Pole (aka Bear Lake) will leave you feeling cheerful and bright.















Top Ten List:


Ten fun facts about Stacy Lynn Carroll:
1. I was born in Plano, Texas.
2. I worked as a nanny in Virginia after high school.
3. In college, I had a hot pink car. Her name was Phoebe.
4. I also write picture books.
5. Bear Lake is my favorite place to write.
6. I have four kids. Two girls and two boys.
7. I make the best homemade brownies on the planet.
8. My favorite holiday is Halloween.
9. I have three dogs.
10. I can quote almost every episode of Gilmore girls.

Ten Fun Facts about Stephanie:
1.       I don’t watch much TV, but when I do, my favorite show is American Pickers, followed by Hoarders and any home renovation-type show.  
2.       My education is in Architecture.
3.       I love to play in my garden.
4.       I really just love to play in the dirt, in general. One of my favorite things is to tackle a mountain on the back of my 4wheeler.
5.       Any day I can drive with my sunroof open is a great day!
6.       I’m a history nut.
7.       I build. And design. A lot.
8.       My favorite smells are saw dust and fresh paint.
9.       I believe shoes are always optional, but I have a closet overflowing with them because they are cute!
10.   I listen to country music and I’m not ashamed to admit it.


Ali M. Cross
1.     I was a professional opera singer for five years
2.     I am madly in love with my yorkies and would save them first if our house was on fire
3.     I love the movie Fifth Element so much that I can quote almost the entire movie
4.     I like to sing silly songs in the weirdest voice I can manage
5.     I still call each of my 6'+ sons, "baby"
6.     I'm a fan of naps
7.     I rarely "read" but if I'm not working I'm probably listening to an audiobook!
8.     I like to write stories that speak to me, which means I've written everything from picture books to romance, with space travel and monsters in between!
9.     My husband and I fell in love over a handshake
10.My favorite feeling is warm sunshine on my face

TARA C. ALLRED -Ten Favorite Things

1. My family
2. My dogs
3. Zebras
4. Hawaii
5. My personal time
6. Learning
7. The reflection of the moon in the pond outside my back window
8. Being in nature
9. Science

10. Sunsets







To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page