Blue Christmas? Ignore it by @BonnieEdwards #RomanceGems

This holiday season, more than usual, people will feel blue. We all know why, and we all understand the need to keep to ourselves. When I say "all" I'm talking about the global reality. ALL of us, everywhere from Istanbul to Peru to Malaysia to India...England...every place there is we need to follow safe protocols.

While necessary, those protocols are difficult. Hard. Unwanted...boring. 

Aside from the above that affects the world, some of us will have a Blue Christmas because of all the old-fashioned reasons: grief (like me), divorce, being without the people that have always meant Christmas to you. 

I say ignore the season! Especially easy this year, right? There will be no parties to paste a smile on for...no events like kids' holiday school plays...no party platters to take along to a gathering. Ignore it all!

Focus on you. Enjoy the movies you like that have nothing to do with elves, or sleighs, or kisses under the mistletoe. Read books that you've always wanted to, but haven't got around to yet. Something a little out of your normal to-be-read list. Something sexy, maybe.

While I have you thinking of other reading, here are three novellas that will take you away from all the holiday cheer that just cannot penetrate your armor this year: Body Work, Slow Hand and Whole Lot o' Love. These books can be found at all major retailers for only 99c

Body Work: When Lisa Brady escaped her life in the trailer park, she left backyard mechanic Tyce Branton in her rear view… Years later, as the go-to mechanic for wealthy car collectors, Tyce Branton is the only man Lisa trusts to help her fulfill an important promise. After he’s prepared her classic car collection for an exclusive auction, it will be rear view time again. Their old flame reignites and threatens to turn them to cinders… But Tyce isn’t the kind of man to be used and discarded. Been there, done that, and he has the scars to prove it. Yes, he’s the right man for the job Lisa has in mind, but he wants a new future, too. And Lisa’s new wealth could mean big changes for Tyce. Tyce wants, badly, to turn the tables on his first love and be the one to leave…but his best laid plans go awry and Tyce finds Lisa as sexy and irresistible as ever. Friends, then enemies…now lovers. Tyce wants Lisa as much as ever, but Lisa’s leaving again and she’s definitely in the driver’s seat.

Slow Hand: A furious bride...a smoldering sea captain...and a curse Leaving behind a wintry New York, stressed-out bride Teri Branton is determined to get the Caribbean honeymoon cruise she paid for — even without the groom! Laidback Captain Jared MacKay instantly dislikes Teri's stiletto heels and New York attitude. All Jared wants is the nap he’s earned—but this cruise looks like it will be all hands on deck and all about the highly strung bride. Until he touches her and he knows he’s doomed… Now all Jared wants is to give Teri a second chance at love and show her the truth behind their electrifying first touch. Jared and Teri have one short week under the sultry Caribbean sun. Will Jared's slow hand lead Teri beyond torrid revenge sex into a lifetime of love?

Whole Lot o' Love: She's strong now. She's capable now. And no one can make her run away again. Ashlee Branton’s lottery win is giving her and her son a new, settled life back home. Except that returning to Blaine, Washington means facing her son’s father, Brick Harcourt, in a most unsettling way. But Ashlee has two pasts now, one with Brick and one with an ex who wants to crash their reunion. Will she run again or stay and sacrifice money for love?

Finish off this series with Rayder's Appeal, a romantic suspense from another, darker, branch of the Branton family. This book is a Kindle Exclusive and can be read through Kindle Unlimited if you're a member.

What can a reformed con man do when the woman who changed his life needs his help?

Eleanor Macklin has overcome her past and repaired the damage done by her first, and only, love. She has all she’s ever wanted. If she’s not as spontaneous, or giving, or loving as she once was, well… that’s a life lesson she learned the hard way from a master of deceit. And trust is a thing of the past… 

Rayder Cole has stumbled on a plot to forge stolen art that could ruin Ellie. He must get the forgery back...to save her. He’s done enough damage to the only woman he’s ever loved. 

If Eleanor doesn’t take a chance on Rayder, she’ll lose everything. But trust lost is almost impossible to regain. They must join forces to find the forger.

But Rayder’s appeal begins to work its magic again and Eleanor hates that she still finds him sexy.

Rayder’s determined to reclaim the woman who stole his heart before he even knew he had one…

So chill, let the season go by and settle in with The Brantons...and have fun...your way this year. 

Bonnie Edwards lives with her husband and pets on the rainy coast of British Columbia. She has written novels, novellas, and short stories for Kensington Books, Harlequin Books, Carina Press, and Robinson (UK) although now she publishes her work herself With four ongoing romance series Tales of Perdition, The Brantons, The Christmas Collection and contemporary family novels in her newest series, Return to Welcome, she rarely spends a day without writing. Learn about more exciting releases by subscribing to her newsletter. Bonnie’s Newsy Bits.

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