Christmas Cookies on a Cruise Ship

                                   Christmas Cookies on a Cruise Ship

by Parker Fairchild

 

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GENRE:   Contemporary Romance

 

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BLURB:

 

Chemist and budding romance writer Olivia Chasen is on a cruise to avoid spending Christmas with her beautiful twin sister and new fiancé—Olivia’s ex. Now, thanks to her lonely, intoxicated ramblings on Santa’s lap, her fellow passengers think she’s in love with a fictional character.

Former Navy SEAL Commander Jace Morse has dealt with plenty of unusual situations in his career, but he’s never had the honor, the pleasure, or the privilege of being a beautiful and intelligent woman’s fantasy hero come to life. While he hasn’t officially met the sexy chemist, he’s sure eager to explore the chemistry that’s sizzling between them.
Bringing the charming SEAL together with the skeptical Olivia is going to take more than just Christmas cookies and a little help from Mrs. Claus; it’s gonna take a heaping dose of Christmas magic.

 

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EXCERPT:

 

 

“Dr. Olivia Chasen,” Santa’s jolly baritone popped her mental fuzzy bubble. 

 

She stopped as she struggled to whirl around. “Me?” She touched her chest with a dramatic flourish she didn’t know she possessed. 

            

A powerful spotlight illuminated her; its heat burned her already flushed face. She pressed a clammy palm to her chest. “How do you know my name?” The haze in her mind was paralyzing all cognitive function. 

 

“My dear girl,” Santa chuckled, “you should know by now that Santa knows everything and everyone,” he tapped an index finger to his temple. 

 

Santa Claus turned to address the waiting line. “Girls, Boys, Moms, Dads, everyone, if you don't mind waiting for a brief moment, I'd like for Olivia,” he pointed a white gloved finger at her, “to please come up here on stage, and tell me what she wants for Christmas.” 

 

She stood dumbfounded as the audience and the people in line clapped and chanted her name, 

 

“Olivia! Olivia! Olivia!” 

 

Oh no! What was she going to do? She couldn’t possibly go up onto that stage. She was far too shy to address a theater full of people. But if she didn’t go that would be so unexciting and so like the old Olivia. But she wasn't unexciting! She was the new Olivia, and she was exciting! And she wanted to have fun! Correction: She was determined to have fun. Besides, she’d never see these people—her fellow passengers—ever again.

A Word With the Author

 1. Did you always want to be an author?

Actually, I wanted to be a lawyer in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG), but due to my asthma, I was ineligible to join the military. In college, I majored in history as that was a good foundation to support my legal and law school aspirations. Being a history major meant I spent many days researching and writing all types of papers and projects, which I loved doing.

 

In that sense, then, I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t a writer as writing has always been a huge part of my life. I’ve also always been an avid reader, so truly, words in general have always been a huge part of my life, too.

 

I don’t recall the exact day when I consciously called myself a writer or author. Along my career journey, I was presented with several professional opportunities, which led to my success as a freelance writer and social media copywriter. Publishing “Christmas Cookies on a Cruise Ship” made me feel like I’d truly made it and entered the big league.

 

2. Tell us about the publication of your first book.
I’d just finished writing a memoir for a client when COVID had us quarantined at home. 

 

Like many budding authors, I have a number of books and outlines saved on my computer. Since we were in quarantine, my mom suggested that I use this time to complete one of those manuscripts.

 

Meanwhile, she’d just finished reading a novel she’d loved written by an author who was new to her. Curious to learn more about this writer, my mom looked her up online and learned that she also owned a publishing company—5 Prince Publishing. Further investigation revealed that they were looking for Christmas submissions. Since my mom is my greatest, diehard fan, she’s read all of my books, so she suggested that I finish my holiday romantic comedy and submit it to 5 Prince Publishing.

 

“Christmas Cookies on a Cruise Ship” was started and partially written while I was sailing on a Caribbean cruise some years ago. Then, as life often goes, when I returned home, this novel got pushed aside due to other professional writing obligations. Soon there after, I met my husband-to-be, Jason, on a Hawaiian cruise. This chance meeting was love at first sight.

 

So, with my mom’s encouragement and my new hubby as inspiration for my hero, I’m now here today to share my published book.

 

3. Besides yourself, who is your favorite author in the genre you write in?

Susan Elizabeth Phillips

4. What's the best part of being an author? The worst?

For me, the best part of being an author is getting to work from home. On the other hand, because I’m self-employed, I find it hard to tear myself away from my writing. In the end, though, maintaining a daily healthy and happy life, family, and work balance is very important to me.

 

5. What are you working on now?

I’m working on the sequel to “Christmas Cookies on a Cruise Ship,” which is the next book in The Perfect Pairings Series.

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Parker Fairchild is a model, social media copywriter, and freelance writer with multiple writing credits. A Virginia native, she and her husband had their own shipboard romance as they met on a cruise ship tender in Maui, and as her mom is fond of saying, "they haven't stopped talking since." When she's not busy playing with words, she loves spending time with her husband and family in Arizona where she now resides.

BUY LINKS:

 

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1053799

 

Book Funnel:

 

Amazon: https://amzn.to/35n90bm

 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Cookies-Cruise-Parker-Fairchild-ebook/dp/B08N8P1G1P

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/christmas-cookies-on-a-cruise-ship-parker-fairchild/1138219874?ean=2940162822363

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/christmas-cookies-on-a-cruise-ship

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Parker_Fairchild_Christmas_Cookies_on_a_Cruise_Shi?id=vUQIEAAAQBAJ

 

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1053799

ITUNES: https://books.apple.com/us/book/christmas-cookies-on-a-cruise-ship/id1539983816

 

AISN: B08N8P1G1P

EAN: 2940162822363

KOBO ID: christmas-cookies-on-a-cruise-ship

Google ID: vUQIEAAAQBAJ

 

 

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION:

 

Parker Fairchild will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

 

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Beyond the Book: Help

“How many people read your books before you submit them? What kind of feedback do you ask for?”

I’m one of those people who can’t ever be satisfied with their work. I can agonize for what seems like forever over a single sentence that I don’t like. So I appreciate all the help I can get. 

In the past I had more help than I do now. Before I retired a friend of mine who’s an English teacher read everything I wrote. She was very good at cleaning up punctuation, spotting places where I left out words or used a wrong word, etc. Since I retired we don’t see each other as much as we once did because she’s still teaching. She only has a few years to go, and I can’t wait to get her back. 

In the meantime several family members have stepped up for me. One is my husband. He reads a book totally different than I do. He reads every single word while I sometimes get in a hurry and miss some details. He always spots inconsistencies in punctuation and the plot. He also expresses his opinion on the characters. We prefer different types of main characters so I need someone else also.

That second person is my son Steve who’s a talented writer himself. Honestly, he’s better than his mother! When Steve reads he’s able to look at the overall picture and see if everything works together to make a cohesive, compelling story. He also has a fine sense of pacing. 

And that’s about it at the moment. I’d love to have a few more readers, but at this time I don’t. I’ve considered an online group, but I just haven’t followed up on it. Maybe this post will give me some motivation.

All Is Set Anew

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This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Jim Cheney will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

A fast-paced examination of loss, survival, and ultimately acceptance of those things we do not understand but must contend with as if our lives depend upon it.

From deep in the rural Tennessee woods, two brothers flee their murderous father only to find that a violent, supernatural force has followed their escape and will haunt their family for multiple generations.

All Is Set Anew is the story of abandonment and its subsequent revenge, set against a backdrop of characters imprisoned by poverty and self-doubt and their struggle to outrun the evil and illness that relentlessly pursues them.

Read an Excerpt

“You remember me?” Hicks said

“Goddamn right I remember,” Eli Stearns said.

Hicks hit him in the mouth. He felt teeth give against his fist and the man was instantly knocked from the stool, unable to break his fall as he dropped to the floor. He landed on his shoulder and then rolled over on his back, both his hands clutching his mouth. Blood was coming through his fingers and he was screaming and gargling, muffled by his palms. Hicks stepped back and kicked the man in the ribs. Then stepped back again and kicked him in the groin. The man curled and bellowed from his bloody mouth, his hands now holding his testicles. Hicks dropped to one knee and grabbed the man’s thinning hair and banged his head up and down on the floor, the sound a rhythmic thump, thump, thump on the wooden boards. Hicks stood and looked at his own hands, saw there was blood on them and leaned back down to wipe them clean on the front of the man’s shirt. Still bent over and out of habit, he went for his knife in his back pocket, but they had taken it from him when they arrested him. He stood again and was about to leave when he returned to the man on the floor and launched a kick into his side that forced an almost inaudible moan carried out on a thick spray of bloody breath. Hicks turned again and walked across the room to leave.

About the Author: Jim Cheney was raised in North Georgia and has written professionally for more than 25 years. He has been published in media outlets throughout the United States. This is his first novel. He lives in Franklin, Tennessee with his wife, two boys and three dogs.

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Jim-Cheney/e/B0984GXJPM
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JimCheneyAuthor

Buy Link

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B097NS5L8C/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/all-is-set-anew-jim-cheney/1139777480

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She's the One Who Doesn't Say Much

 

She’s the One Who Doesn’t Say Much 

(Book Four of the War Stories of the Seven Troublesome Sisters)

by S.R. Cronin 

 

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GENRE: Historical Fantasy

 

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BLURB:

 

Do you know what your problem is?

 

Olivine knows hers. This quiet thirteenth-century artist has been hiding a secret as she travels to K'ba to meet her friends. Others assume she's fallen in love with another artist, but it's much worse than that. For on the way to K'ba is the dirt poor nichna of Scrud, a place scorned by other Ilarians. And in Scrud is the one man who understands her.

 

However, Bohdan recognizes the dangers posed by an impending Mongol invasion. When he learns of Olivine's unusual visual powers, he convinces her to pick up her bow and start practicing.

 

She does, though she's more concerned with moving to K'ba where she can paint all day and see Bohdan whenever she wants. If only her sister hadn't decided Olivine and her fellow long eyes held one key to defending the realm.

 

Then, as if life wasn't complicated enough, Olivine learns the artist community she yearns to be part of has developed a different take on the invasion. They're sure the only way to survive is to capitulate completely to the Mongols’ demands. Artists who feel otherwise are no longer welcome.

 

Where does her future lie? The invasion is coming soon and Olivine doesn't have much time to decide.

 

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EXCERPT:

 

 

Coral would move into a cottage of her own soon, but it wasn’t ready so we gave her the extra bed in Ryalgar’s room and I moved my bedding to the floor. Sulphur found her own corner and put her bedding down. There was no point in trying to leave now; it was already Kolada Eve. At least I had three sisters to spend the holiday with. I’d go home once the celebrations were over.

 

On our first night together, Sulphur became angry.

 

“Why not just train more Svadlu?” she said. “Even poorly trained fighters are better than farmers. And they’re surely better than anything you and the Velka can do!”

 

“No, they aren’t.”  Ryalgar’s hands were on her hips, her feet far apart in a fighter’s stance as she spoke. “We’re not to going to go into battle, which is what more Svadlu would do. We’re going to chip away at the Mongol forces, in ways they don’t expect. We’re going to use skills they don’t know we have.”

 

“And you’ve thought of ways to use such powers against an invading army?” Sulphur asked.

 

“I’m working on it.”

 

The next day we split our time between the Velka’s Kolada festivities and brainstorming in Ryalgar’s room. Joli joined us, and other oomrushers came and went. Ryalgar also brought in women with different talents or more knowledge. We talked about horses. Poisons. Fires. Insects. Shrubbery? Yes, shrubbery. Ryalgar had a lot of ideas, and she wanted our help with the complicated schemes she wove. We all understood a simple approach wouldn’t be enough.

 

Sulphur remained dubious, but she contributed her expertise and by the end of our third day together Ryalgar had a rough outline of what she planned. It was a true sisterly collaboration.

 

“You’ve still got a lot of unanswered questions,” Sulphur said as we were about to fall asleep on the third night. She was right.

 

“Do you think the younger sisters could help?” I asked. I knew the small age difference between me and my twin didn’t matter, but I’d always considered myself one of the older girls, and Celestine not. It was more about personality than the timing of birth.

 

“Maybe….” Coral said.

 

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Sulphur said at the same time

 

We all laughed. They were both right.

 

 

 

 

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

 

 

Sherrie Cronin is the author of a collection of six speculative fiction novels known as 46. Ascending and is now in the process of publishing a historical fantasy series called The War Stories of the Seven Troublesome Sisters. A quick look at the synopses of her books makes it obvious she is fascinated by people achieving the astonishing by developing abilities they barely knew they had.

 

She’s made a lot of stops along the way to writing these novels.  She’s lived in seven cities, visited forty-six countries, and worked as a waitress, technical writer, and geophysicist. Now she answers a hot-line. Along the way, she’s lost several cats but acquired a husband who still loves her and three kids who’ve grown up just fine, both despite how odd she is. 

 

All her life she has wanted to either tell these kinds of stories or be Chief Science Officer on the Starship Enterprise. She now lives and writes in the mountains of Western North Carolina, where she admits to occasionally checking her phone for a message from Captain Picard, just in case. 

 

Author Social Media Links:

 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cinnabar01 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/46Ascending

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/s.r.cronin/

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/5805814.Sherrie_Cronin

Amazon: www.amazon.com/Sherrie-Cronin/e/B007FRMO9Q

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/s-r-cronin

Author Blog: https://sherriecronin.xyz/

Book Series Blog: https://troublesome7sisters.xyz/

 

Buy Link:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Doesnt-Stories-Seven-Troublesome-Sisters-ebook/dp/B09128H2YJ

 

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shes-the-one-who-doesnt-say-much-s-r-cronin/1139107112

 

 

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION

 

S. R. Cronin will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

 

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Saturday Sample and Weekend Writing Warriors

 Welcome to Saturday Sample and Weekend Writing Warriors. Today I'm sharing  excerpts from Return Engagement, my first book about the Lovinggood family. I've already shared some of the first part so I'll be doing a little jumping around. First a blurb, then that excerpt. Oh, and on Sunday when you finish here go to www.wewriwa.blogspot.com for more excerpts from a talented group of authors.

Blurb:

Elizabeth Lane is one lucky woman. She has it all-money, fame, a satisfying career and a devoted fiancé. Her humble beginnings are all but obscured, but she isn't the kind of woman Senator Henry Lovinggood wants for his son, Richard. Senator Lovinggood plans to make Richard the President of the United States; he'll need a woman from a wealthy, powerful family by his side. Ten years ago the senator broke Richard and Elizabeth up, but this time it won't be so easy, for Elizabeth wants to know what might have been. This time she'll fight back, a struggle which ultimately leads to kidnapping and attempted murder and alienates her from the man of her dreams.

Last Weeks Excerpt:

She anchored her balloons and decided she might as well take a shower and get dressed. If Richard did show up she’d hate to look frumpy. Of course it didn’t matter, but still...

Anyway, nothing helped ease tension more than a session in her new shower. She had remodeled the master bathroom when she bought the house and had chosen the best fixtures and materials she could find for it. It rivaled any spa she’d ever gone to.

Why did things have to be so complicated? Richard was her husband. Why did the very thought of him send her into a tailspin?

She didn’t find the courage to get out of the shower and join her mother until well after eleven. She didn’t hear any sound of voices as she walked down the hall, so thankfully Richard wasn’t waiting on her.

She did have a surprise, though. Mrs. Lane sat in the living room, holding a metallic blue box tied with a huge gold and white ribbon. “This was just delivered for you,” she said.

This week's excerpt:

Elizabeth had no doubt who had sent the gift. She didn’t know if she wanted to open it or not, for the other gifts had upset her something awful. Her nerves had finally calmed down, but if she opened that box she’d undoubtedly get all wound up again.

Curiosity won out, so she sat down and opened Richard’s latest offering. “Oh, look, Mother. How sweet.” She removed two fluffy, white, stuffed cats from the box and showed them to her mother. Both cats wore big red bows tied around their necks. The card inside the box read, I didn’t win these cats; I just bought them, but maybe they can be company for the carnival kitty. Love, Richard.

“This is the most romantic thing I’ve seen in a long time,” Mrs. Lane enthused. “Darling, don’t you want to call him?”

“No... yes...oh, I don’t know.” Elizabeth took her cats and wandered into her bedroom where the carnival cat still sat on the chair beside her bed. She picked up the carnival cat and cradled it in her arms, but she didn’t pick up the phone.

Available at http://amzn.to/1SMhEEk

Buy Link:http://amzn.to/1SMhEEk

With Love From Vegas

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Title: With Love from Vegas: Volume 10

Series: Voyages of the Hearts

Authors: Cassie Lee Hart | Elias Raven | Gabriella Messina | Jade Royal | M. Greenhow | Michelle Heron | Taylor Delong

Genre: Short Story Romance

Release Date: October 7, 2021

Publisher: Royalty Writes Enterprises

Cover Design: V Designs

Voyages of the Heart:

Cities around the world, each with a charming allure, pulling you in and allowing you to enjoy their secrets. They offer love, passion, laughter, healing, and even heartache.

This season’s authors have lent their pens to deliver another series of stories to capture your emotions one page at a time. Pack your luggage and join us on our next voyage of the heart. Our next destination: It's Vegas, baby!

With Love From Vegas:

Nightlife, gambling, and shows. Welcome to Sin City, where all your fantasies can come true. Let these talented authors take you on a romantic journey you will never forget! Broken dreams, changed lives, and your heart's deepest desires await! Remember, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!

Cassie Lee Hart | Elias Raven | Gabriella Messina

Jade Royal | M. Greenhow | Michelle Heron | Taylor Delong

HOSTED BY:

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The Company of Stonemasons

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This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Graham Williams will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

The summer of 1545 and there’s murder in the Cathedral of Chichester. An honest family of stonemasons heads to the city to repair the building only to find the massive spire is in danger of collapse and they’re walking into a plot to steal taxes from King Henry VIII.

Stonemason’s teenage sons, Edward and the artistic prodigy, Adam hear stories of the Chichester diamond, buried somewhere in the cathedral and start their own search, not knowing the powerful evil that surrounds them.

A true thriller, filled with danger and humour, stonemasons working at terrifying heights and amongst all the friars and priests, who can they really trust?

Read a sample from the book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Company-Stonemasons-Chichester-Diamond-Book-ebook/dp/B08SFWBRZN



About the Author:

Being retired, I have the time now to write and tell stories. I am registered as blind, and I am profoundly dyslexic, and I rely on the wonders of technology to bring out my stories, and to live. I spend many hours walking around London, as this is where I find most of my inspiration from. The places; sounds and smells of the city, I have a love for. To know one's history is to know one's self. I hope you enjoy them.

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Graham-Williams/e/B088397H17
Website: https://grahamwbooks.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Author-Graham-Williams-Books-101571254541311

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Company-Stonemasons-Chichester-Diamond-Book-ebook/dp/B08SFWBRZN/ref=sr_1_5

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