A Snowy White Christmas

A Snowy White Christmas

by Josie Riviera

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GENRE:  Contemporary Romance (sweet)

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BLURB:

Margaret Snow doesn’t believe in fairy tales, but as a devoted mother she’s determined to give her five-year-old daughter a Christmas filled with heart-warming memories.

The once successful LA swimsuit model returns to her small upstate New York town to buy back the foreclosed trailer she once called home. Her menagerie of rescue animals travel with her.

She doesn’t expect to see her former high school sweetheart, the athletic, ever-popular, and decisive Fernando Brandt.

Sparks fly when she realizes that the teenage hockey star is now a successful Realtor who is also interested in her dilapidated trailer for reasons of his own.

But can she resist the handsome, charismatic Prince Charming a second time?

And can she surrender her insecurities and accept the true gift of Christmas, finally feeling worthy of unconditional love?

EXCERPT:

Sometimes Margaret Snow’s guilt would go away for a few minutes. But it always returned. Insistent. Dull. Intense.

She was a terrible mother. Check.

She’d never amount to anything. Check.

She only thought about herself. Check.

These negative thoughts chattered incessantly, tucked ever so slightly behind everyday activities. Like uncaged wild animals waiting to pounce at the first opportunity.

She glanced out her office window. Despite the wind and ice, city workers were adding cheery red bells and silver holiday trimmings to the streetlights. It didn’t help. November in upstate New York promised gray skies, bitter sleet, and not an ounce of cheeriness until spring. Today was no exception.

What was the weather like in California? She checked the weather app on her phone. As expected, sunny skies in Los Angeles were predicted.

“Unbelievable,” she whispered. “How could two places be so different?”

And why was she stuck in the least desirable of the two?

She sighed.

But her daughter Amelie seemed content, and only Amelie mattered.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Amazon Bestselling Author, Josie Riviera, is a member of Romance Writers of America (RWA). She writes contemporary and historical sweet and Christian romances. She’s a transplanted New Yorker now living in the sunny Carolinas. She has three grown children and shares the empty nest with her husband and the family dog.

Josie's an expert at board games and a compulsive reader of every genre, especially romance. In her spare time, she eats Peppermint Patties because they're lower in calories than other chocolate candy.

You can email her at josieriviera@aol.com

She ALWAYS answers.

Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Josie.Riviera

 Tweet me at@Josieriviera

Visit my blog, The Italian Blog, for recipes and updates at josieriviera.wordpress.com

Other Books by Josie Riviera:

Seeking Patience (Regency) http://tinyurl.com/a9nnbwy

Seeking Catherine (Tudor Novella) http://tinyurl.com/9cka84m

We'd Rather be Writing http://amzn.com/B01638N5PO

Lightning Strikes http://amzn.com/B0090MXP0Q

Josie will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Use the link below to enter.

   

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Unlikely Angel

UNLIKELY ANGEL

by Genie Gabriel

 

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BLURB:

 

A child psychiatrist running from violence and a former bodyguard grieving the wife he couldn't save form an unlikely alliance to rescue her kidnapped children. In a crumbling mine tunnel on Christmas Eve, their lives depend on a mutt rescued from the streets, a determined mother and an Unlikely Angel.


EXCERPT:


While Mitch set the tree in the stand, Julia gathered supplies for ornaments and explained to the twins what they were going to do. The twins were delighted, as they hadn’t been allowed to touch the fussy tinsel and glass ornaments on the tree in the West Hills house. Just one more reminder of how suppressed her children’s joy had been. Julia much preferred this homemade Christmas tree.

 

The tiny apartment soon became littered with scraps of paper, as loops of red and green chains took shape. The popping of corn rattled a cheerful accompaniment to the giggles of the twins as Julia brought another bowl of popcorn for Mitch to add to the string the dog snitched pieces from.

 

“Why don’t you just give him some popcorn?” Julia asked.

 

“He won’t eat it except off the string.” Mitch threw a disgusted look toward the dog. “It must be a new game.”

 

Julia turned away to hide her smile. The tree was shaping up beautifully, even if Angelina insisted on hanging all her handmade ornaments on the same three branches. “Anyone want refills on hot chocolate?”

 

When Julia returned from the kitchen, the room had grown quiet.

 

“Your helpers are asleep,” Mitch said.

 

The twins lay curled like cherubs next to the dog beneath the spreading limbs of the now decorated tree.

 

“Do you want to move them to bed?” Mitch asked.

 

Julia nodded. Soon the twins were settled in their beds for the night.

 

“Sometimes I just want to watch my children.” Julia’s heart swelled with joy as she gazed at Abraham and Angelina. “If I could have one thing for Christmas, I’d ask for my children to be safe.”

 

Julia and Mitch lapsed into silence for a moment, absorbing the innocence of the twins as they slept. “What would you ask for, Mitch?”

 

Mitch stared at Julia for a moment longer. His gaze caressed every inch of her face and finally settled on her mouth. “A kiss from you.”

I'm an optimist whose rose-colored glasses have bent frames and cracked lenses. When life kicks me in the teeth, I find miracles and lessons I refused to learn an easier way. In fact, I live with a small herd of miracles in the furry forms of dogs, who are constantly trying to teach me to forgive, to play more, and to love without limits. I write about people who find courage and integrity in the darkest times of their lives, who rescue stray dogs and kittens, who find a person they would willingly give their lives for, and who make their little corners of the world a better place. People have remarked my stories "aren't what they expected." With rose-colored glasses firmly in place, I take that as a compliment. I invite you to share a piece of my world in the pages of a book, and hope you find some surprises, some tears, some laughter, and always a happy ending.

 

My Web site: http://www.GenieGabriel.com

My blog: http://oshealegacyseries.blogspot.com/

 

Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Unlikely-Angel-Genie-Gabriel/dp/1493640542/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386538383&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=unlikely+angel+by+genie+grabriel

 

 

 

"Hey, Elizabeth, what's she giving away?"

 

"Nikki!  What a question."

 

"Why are you scolding me? You know how much I love contests."

 

"Yeah, I do. Okay, she's giving away a $25 dollar Amazon gift certificate."

 

"Yippee!  I hope I win. Where do I go to find her schedule. I want to comment at every blog she visits."

 

"You can find her schedule at http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/11/book-blast-unlikely-angel-by-genie.html