HOLIDAY ROMANCE By Kathleen Lawless @kathleenlawless

 Here in Canada, tomorrow is Thanksgiving, which means this is a long weekend for a lot of workers. For a change, there will be no family dinner of 20+ at my sister’s house; I think she will have 5 around her table this Covid year.  For the first time ever, one of my grown sons is hosting Steel and I.  He lives on a small island, so his siblings and I, with our partners, will take a ferry and overnight bags.

 My offers to make pies or buy the turkey have been politely but firmly declined. He wants to do this all on his own, and I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend with my favorite people and lots of time outdoors hiking and exploring the island.

 My own books each have a timeline, so if an important holiday takes place I make sure my characters are somehow involved in the festivities of the season.  When the book is historical, this takes a fun detour into researching yesteryear.  Did they always carve pumpkins at Halloween?  When did the general populace start eating turkey for the holiday?

Do you enjoy it when romance characters celebrate a birthday or national holiday? Or does it pull you from the story?

 Speaking of holiday festivities, I am one of ten authors in a Christmas anthology of romance novellas set in a small New England town.  HOLLY’S WISH is my first Christmas story and I seriously doubt it will be the last, although it was hard to think about sleigh rides and snowball fights in the August heat. 

Like my heroine, Holly, I received a hard cover copy of The Story of Holly and Ivy one Christmas when I was young.  That book got passed through the family, first to my siblings, then to my own children, where we read it aloud as a family every Christmas, and often still do.

Everyone in the family now has their own copy of this timeless classic about a little girl, a Christmas doll, and the power of wishing.  Our favorite part was always the characters getting poked by either a piece of holly, a price tag, or a safety pin, when they were about to make the wrong choice. As in HOLLY'S WISH, sometimes characters just need a little help to figure things out. 

 You can preorder CHRISTMAS COMES TO DICKENS for only 99 cents here https://books2read.com/DickensChristmas  

IT'S A DICKENS OF A COOKIE, a free book of cookie recipes is the authors' early gift to you and available now. https://books2read.com/dickens-cookie

I read somewhere that Tuesday is a good day to launch a new release, although I seriously wonder if the day of the week makes any difference.  If you’re eagerly awaiting an author’s new book, do you really care what day it comes out?  I know I don’t. 

UNDONE  is the final book in my very steamy Secret Seductions series.  It’s about three girlfriends on a wild week away and the shenanigans they get up to when one of them dreams up an X-Rated Scavenger Hunt.

“…a fun and Entertaining romp…the sexcapades of Kennedy, Justine and Lisa could have been picked from an Episode of Sex in the City. . .” ~  A Romance review.

 If you were a fan of Sex and the City, you should love it.  If you prefer your romances squeaky clean, I would advise you to give this one a big miss.  Here’s the PG-rated blurb.

 An X-rated scavenger hunt!

It’s Kennedy’s solution to cheer up her two best friends and spice up their lives on a badly-needed girls’ getaway.

 Lisa is getting over a cheating husband.

 Justine recently broke up with her married lover.

 While Kennedy is just love ’em and leave ’em Kennedy, in her element on a beach paradise surrounded by wealthy, eligible, and smokingly-single men.    

 The first one to complete the sexcapades list is the winner. 

 Which of them will take home the ultimate prize?  Who will lose her heart?   

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089D3SQ44

Speaking of Holidays, if you missed Last Chance Beach, you can still order your copy before it goes away forever. https://amzn.to/3hJseeT

Stay healthy and safe, and stay in touch.

Sign up for Kathleen’s VIP Reader Group to receive a free book, updates, special                   giveaways and fan-priced offers.    http://eepurl.com/bV0sb1

 

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SOME LIKE IT HOT! By Kathleen Lawless @kathleenlawless

I’m one of those weird hybrid writers who writes all heat levels, from chastity and church, to Giddyup! and everything in between.  I’ve heard from readers who love my steamy scenes (they tell me their sex lives improved) and reviewers who were totally disgusted.  I’ve heard some readers say it’s refreshing to have things left to the imagination, while and others live vicariously through the imaginative details penned by their favorite authors. 

So my question for you, Dear Reader, in the Comment and Win part of today’s blog is …  How do you feel?  Do you like the bedroom door open or closed?  Does it depend on the characters, and the writer’s skill level?  Or is a good story a good story, heat level aside?  

There is no right or wrong answer, but I’d love to hear your thoughts.  Remember to include your email written out like this.  Yourname at whatevermail dot com.    

The bedroom door is definitely closed on the stories in our fantastic summer boxed set, LAST CHANCE BEACH: Summer’s End, but that doesn’t stop some of the writers from turning up the heat and ramping up the sexual tension.  For instance, what happens when there are 2 people and only one bed?  
I love that there is something in this collection to suit all readers.   This set is a steal at only 99 cents.  https://amzn.to/3hJseeT

Plus there’s a free companion cocktail recipe book  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08DR4K3YX/

I’ve got several new releases set to debut soon, starting with MAIL ORDER RACHEL, Book 24 of the popular Widows, Brides and Secret Babies series.  This book releases August 21^st and is squeaky clean.  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088HFGF49

NOT THE BRIDE HE WAS EXPECTING!

Rachel has looked after herself from a very young age.  When she witnesses a murder, she needs to get out of town fast, before she’s next.  Desperate, she takes her friend’s place as a mail-order bride out west.

Daniel longs for a wife and family.  Not only is his mail-order bride not what he expected, she shows up with a baby that she claims isn’t hers.  When a bounty hunter arrives asking questions, Daniel’s protective instincts kick in, along with his suspicions.  What is his new wife hiding?  

 

UNDONE, Book 6 of Secret Seductions is, as the series implies, rather racy if I do say so myself.  But it’s fun.  Three girlfriends on vacation with one thing on their minds.  I think we’ve all secretly longed to be on a vacation with good friends, and the freedom to be naughty.  

An Ex-Rated Scavenger Hunt!

It’s Kennedy’s solution to cheer up her two best friends and spice up their lives on a badly-needed girls’ getaway.

Lisa is getting over a cheating husband.
Justine recently broke up with her married lover.
While Kennedy is just love ’em and leave ’em Kennedy, in her element on a beach paradise surrounded by wealthy, eligible, and smokingly-single men.
The first one to complete the sexcapades list is the winner.
Which of them will take home the ultimate prize?  Who will lose her heart?  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089D3SQ44

On the Clean and Wholesome front, I’m introducing HOPE, the first book in my Widows of the Wild West series.  Many readers have already met Percy and Hope in the Seven Brides for Seven Brothers bonus novella, PERCY’S HOPE.  This is their HEA.  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DSL7Y8H

A VIRGIN WIDOW

A HUNTER OF LONG-LOST TREASURE.

CAN THEY OVERCOME THE PAST?

Hope arrives in a small western town, a place that captured her imagination during a passion filled month in Percy’s company that ended in heartbreak for both.  Her last glimpse of Percy was when he boarded a train headed East, gone from her life forever. 

Percy is a professional treasure hunter whose actions are dictated by facts and figures.  The one time he acted on his instincts instead of the facts everything backfired, a mistake he’s not about to repeat.  Not even after recently widowed Hope walks back into his life, and passion re-sparks between them.  This time, he vows to keep her at arm’s length.  

I'm eagerly awaiting everyone's comments on opening the bedroom, leaving it ajar in some instances, or keeping it firmly shut.

Stay safe and have a wonderful Summer's End!  
Kathleen Lawless

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