My favorite Christmas love story: My mom and dad

Her + Him = ME! 

Imagine your fiancé going off to war and then getting a call from the Red Cross about him having a violent wound. 

This was the second time that he'd been injured in this war zone. Fear. Wondering if your future together will happen. 

He comes home in December and you get married in a small house in the country on Christmas Eve. 

Nearly 50 years later, you two are still together. This is the story of my parents. 

My mother met the man of her dreams when his cousin asked him to give him a ride to her house. The cousin was sweet on my mother, but when she and my dad locked eyes, that was all she wrote. 

My grandmother warned his cousin about bringing a handsome man along when he came courting, as they called it back in the day. 

See, my dad's cousin didn't have a car and in my dad's cousin's mind he thought my aunt would've been a better match for my daddy. The problem was, his heart was taken by my mother's smile. 

So the next time my daddy's car pulled into my grandmother's drive way, he was alone and there to see his future wife. 

Christmas has always been about love to me. Been about watching my parents celebrate years of togetherness. And as my sister, my brother and I got older, it became about celebrating their love and the love of their grandchildren. 

And a Charlie Brown looking Christmas tree that my dad used to complain about being in the way of TV. A man has to watch football after all. 

It takes a hell of a woman to have her wedding day on the eve of one of the most celebrated holidays ever. Well, what can I say, my mama is one of a kind! 

Happy Holidays! 

Ho, Ho, Ho! What did you call me?

Hi all!

Did you get all of your holiday shopping done? I'm taking it easy this year. I have a real aversion to big crowds. To be honest, and you all might as well clutch your pearls now, I'm not a big shopper to begin with. If I'm in a store shopping for anything it's because I really need that item. I'm not a browser. Not a big window shopper, which is funny because I love looking at things to buy online. The day after Thanksgiving, I did what I always do, which is sit in my office, watch Christmas movies, preferably a cheesy ABC Family holiday romance, and I fill out my Christmas cards. There is nothing like handwriting sentiments to people who mean a lot to you. My mother used to do it when I was a kid. I still do it. It's a nice, personal touch to let someone know that you're thinking about them this holiday season.

Although I am grateful for everything I've gotten this year, and I have grand plans for 2015, I have already experienced a terrible loss. My friend and BDSM mentor, Mistress Dama de Noche, passed away unexpectedly this past Thanksgiving. Her slave into called me before I could enjoy the day with my family to share the news. I was devastated. This is a woman who not only opened up her home and Lifestyle to me, she supported me a great deal in my writing and promotional endeavors. She and her slave attended almost all of my local book signing events. When Yvette Hines and I held our "Wrapped Up" event last year, she happily participated. I am going to miss my friend. Fortunately her legacy will live on. She wrote a book on BDSM called The ABC's of BDSM.

So this holiday season, I'm going to celebrate. I'll celebrate the people I have lost this year. I'll celebrate the accomplishments I've made in my professional career. I'll celebrate the health and well-being of my family and friends. And I'll celebrate you all, the readers. Whether you're complimenting my work or giving me some hard truth, I appreciate all of it.

Hug your family and friends. Be kind to everyone.

Stay sexy,
BridgeT
www.BridgetMidway.com

And the Name That Series Winners are...

Thank you to everyone who took the time to help select a name for my new small town contemporary romance series. There were so many great suggestions!

First, the winner of my giveaway drawing is ShortySmithBigMa! Please contact me at http://www.reeseryan.com/contact/ to claim your prize of Hot Christmas Nights or a $5 gift card, your choice of Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

Now for the title of my new series: Hot Carolina Nights. This choice is based on a mashup of suggestions by two commenters. Alicia suggested Steamy Carolina Nights and Keicia White suggested Cool Carolina Days and Hot Nights. The name feels apropos since I'm a Hot M.A.M.A. Land author, and given the book I chose to give away. ;-)

Thank you, ladies!

Both Alicia and Keicia are invited to be Beta Readers for the first book in the series, which is slated to be ready for beta readers in early February. I will also thank them both in the acknowledgements section of that book.

All winners should contact me here to claim their prizes. And if you want to be among the first to hear about my Hot Carolina Nights series, as it progresses, be sure to join my mailing list here.

Thank you, dear readers! You're absolutely amazing.

Hugs!

Kissing the Captain @ EReader News Today

Hey, Y'all,
Kianna here. Just wanted to ket you all know I'm featured at ENT tiday! Please take a look at the post, which has four other cheap and free books you might enjoy. Click THE LINK BELOW to see the post. I encourage you to like, share, all that good stuff.

http://ereadernewstoday.com/bargain-and-free-books-for-11-19-14/6750739/

Have a great day :)

-Kianna

Name That Series -- Hot Holiday Giveaway Days

Saturday, I woke up as excited as a kid on Christmas morning. Connecting with readers--in person, or online--inspires me to roll up my sleeves and go to work. After last night's Hot M.A.M.A. Land Holiday Giveaway Days Kick-off Party, I'm still riding high off the positive energy from my fellow Hot M.A.M.A.s and all of the wonderful readers who participated. My mind is buzzing with ideas about the new contemporary romance series I'm planning for 2015 and beyond. 

I'm super excited about this series because for more than a year, I knew I wanted to go indie. A friend, who is a successful indie author, suggested that I be prepared to release at least three books in a short period of time, before going indie. Preferably a series.

The task felt monumental, especially since I hadn't completed a project since my last published novel. 

Several months later, I still hadn't settled on a series. When a new idea came to me for a New Year's Day-themed novella, rather than adding to the chaos inside my head, it helped me pull it all together. I'd been wanting to write about a fictional small town in North Carolina. The New Year's Day story fit perfectly. And that's when it hit me...with a few adjustments, several of my works-in-progress would also fit into this small town series.

When I sat down to plot out this series; everything fell into place. In less than two hours, I'd planned out a series of eight books--six novels and two novellas--from current works in progress or ideas from my story ideas notebook. The only completely new story, will be the New Year's novella. 

Voila! I have my series.

The title for each book came to me easily. However, I would love your help naming the series. The fictional town is New Soundhaven, North Carolina. Here are the ideas I've had for series names:

1. New Soundhaven
2. Home to Carolina
3. Love & Other Seaside Adventures
4. Coastal Carolina
5. Gone to Carolina
6. Carolina on My Mind

Post your favorite(s) in the comments below. Don't like any of these? Offer your recommendation instead. 

As a special thank you, and as part of the Hot M.A.M.A. Land Holiday Giveaway Days, I will randomly select one commenter to win a copy of the Hot Christmas Nights anthology featuring stories by Farrah Rochon, Tera Little and Velvet Carter (or a $5 Amazon/Barnes and Noble/iTunes Gift Card). If I choose your series name, you'll get the chance to be a Beta Reader for the first book in the series, which should be ready early next year, and I'll thank you in the acknowledgments. Lastly, all commenters will be entered into our grand prize drawing.

You've got 48 hours to enter. I look forward to hearing your ideas. Good luck!

Couple on beach photo courtesy of Ryan G. Smith.

Changes, Holidays & The Spirit of Giving...

Who in the world came up with the changing of time? Am I the only one out of sorts due to Daylight Savings Time? Losing an hour out of my world has put one heck of a spin on what I do and how much I'm doing. Am I alone in this mode or just another of many trying to work it out?

Now that Halloween has breezed by and Thanksgiving is on the cusp of arrival (although Christmas has taken a front seat since November 1) what are you planning? Will there be a big family gathering or just the immediate crew of loved ones this year? Black Friday seems to be the latest buzz for the best sales but is it really? That's another subject for another time.

Let's get to the real deal of this last quarter of 2014:  The Spirit of Giving. You have many organizations in need, from churches to the Salvation Army that request the need of giving. Do you take time out of your busy world to contribute to the well-being of others? Something as simple as cleaning out your closet and giving your clothes to the homeless can be an enlightening experience. Spending time at a homeless shelter, reading to children that aren't doing well, adopting an angel or mentoring a child that may not have the best guidance can be rewarding in itself.

It's important to do well, but essential to give back also.

Now that I've purged my knowledge upon you, mark your calendar today to join the HOT MAMA'S online for the Hot Holiday Giveways! Please click on the link below to join us:

https://www.facebook.com/events/392647054217268/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular

Stay warm and stay lost in a book! --Loretta
                                                                   

My 9 Favorite Books of All Time

Hey, y'all, 

First off, let me wish all the veterans out there a very Happy Veteran's Day. I'm married to a veteran, and am also the daughter, granddaughter, and niece of several fine veterans, so I know firsthand the tradition of honor, valor, and service you all represent. My hat's off to you all!

Can you believe it's already halfway through November? 2014 seems to have flown by. I've done more traveling, more writing, more marketing, more studying the craft than I've ever done before- maybe that's why the year seemed to go by in a blur. Here are just a few of the places I've been this year( I've added pictures, in the case I could find any):

Richmond, VA for the premiere of Iris Bolling's The Heart TV Series

New Orleans, LA for Romance Slam Jam 

Winston-Salem, NC for the Women and Girl's Project Spring Fling

Lillington, NC @ Harnett County Library

Lake Beuna Vista, FLA for AC Authur's Season of Shifters event @ Walt Disney World

Greensboro, NC for the Book Clubs United event

And I still have at least two more events before the year is out. It's been an exciting year, and I've truly enjoyed meeting so many of my readers face to face. I'm really looking forward to meeting even more of you, and seeing some of you again, in 2015!


Now to the good stuff: my top 9 favorite books of all time. This list was hard to make, since I love reading so much, but here goes nothing. Because I love you and want you to be happy, I'm linking to these books on Amazon so you can check them out, if you so choose. (You'll have to page through the widget to see them all.) Keep in mind that I'm multifaceted: a mother and wife, a writer and a history nerd, and my list reflects the truth of who I am :)

That's all for now. It will be a minute before my turn to post comes around again, so let me go ahead and wish you all a happy and healthy holiday season. Be sure to come back this Friday, November 14 when Loretta will kick of our Hot MAMA Land Hot Holiday Giveaway Days celebration- you don't want to miss it!