The Holiday Dupe #Christmas #presents #holidayboxedset

Recently, I conversed with someone who shared his hilarious Christmas remembrance. Every December, presents were piled around his family’s tree in the living room, but no one dared to enter unless there was company or on Christmas. On Christmas Eve, the kids opened one present. Afterwards, off to bed because Santa was coming. On Christmas morning, they opened the rest.

One year, he realized the packages under the tree hadn’t changed from the night before. Nothing new had been added. Nothing from Santa. And then he had this realization: his parents had lied. He’d been duped.

Off he went to confront his mother who danced around the subject and finally explained how all things Santa worked.

When I was younger, my family went to Grandmother’s for Christmas Eve celebration with my mom’s family. It was a joyous event with good food and a gift from Grandmother.

After my family returned home and we were sent to bed with the admonition “better go to sleep so Santa can come,” my sister and I decided to watch for Santa. The hallway to the bedrooms had a small jog to our room where we hid. Lo and behold, we saw Mom and Dad emerging from the bathroom which opened to the hallway. They were carrying dolls and plastic musical instruments. After a while, no more parents. So we watched longer for Santa. Finally, sleep took over and we plopped in bed.

Imagine our surprise the next morning when we went to the tree and saw the gifts Mom and Dad had carried, but nothing different. That was when we figured out they were Santa.

We’d been duped – in a not-so bad way. LOL

At what age did you discover all things Santa?

So what is new? Why Season of Magic, a holiday boxed set, is now FREE at Amazon and other e-retailers. My romantic comedy story is Holiday Disaster (Christmas + Bad Plumbing = Holiday Disaster). Here’s a bit about our stories:

Noel Noel Noel by Merry Holly ~ Dumped and lonely, is it possible to find love at the local mall? Noelle thinks not, but a chance encounter with Chase Clayborne while Christmas shopping has her rethinking her rigid set of rules.

A Cinderella Christmas by Cara Marsi ~ Jessica Gallo no longer believed in fairy tales or happy endings. And she certainly didn’t believe she’d find her Prince Charming at Saks Fifth Avenue. Her Fairy Godmother thought differently.

Matchmaker Matchmaker by Bobbi Lerman ~ With Chanukah around the corner, is there enough magic left for a matchmaker to bring Molly's cynical heart back to life?

Yuletide Bride by Gerri Brousseau ~ The Dowager Duchess’s decree that her grandson must marry before Twelfth Night or relinquish his title and fortune sends him into a tail spin. Without any prospects and with only two weeks until Christmas will Stuart Nelson find himself destitute or will he find The Yuletide Bride?

Holiday Disaster by Vicki Batman: The week before Christmas and all is in disarray when a librarian experiences horrible plumbing issues and a Mr. Maintenance Man who isn’t nearly as jolly as Santa Claus.

 

Join all our freebie fun at: Amazon  Kobo

Find Season of Promises for 99 cents at: Amazon

Find Season of Surprises for 99cents at: Amazon 

Follow Season of Anthologies at Facebook: Facebook   

Reflecting On My Year - By Kathy Ivan

As we all get ready to celebrate the holiday season, and I had a post due, I decided to take a look at the changes I've made in 2015 and the impact they've had on me personally and my writing. I thought with the New Year just around the corner, I'd share these with you.  (As you can see, I brought snacks.)

1. Quitting the day job.

Michelle Miles: Christmas Traditions

Every year, the day after Thanksgiving we head out to find our perfect Christmas tree. This year, we debated on whether or not to get a fake one. I was sort of leaning toward fake and flocked (because I love alliteration) but neither my husband nor I could bring ourselves to spend upwards of $300 on a fake tree.

I know, I know. We could save it for future years. But the biggest problem with that is we have storage issues and I don't think we really want to rearrange the entire garage to store a fake tree. Or even put it up in the attic storage space.

This year, Friday was rainy and cold and windy. It wasn’t exactly the best weather to get out and look for a tree. We decided to hit Lowe’s first and see what we could find. All the trees were wet because it had been raining for the last twelve hours or something crazy like that. We wandered around in the garden section looking at trees and freezing our bums off. We stopped to chat with one of the workers there who had been loading trees most of the morning. Granted, it was midday and there weren’t many people out there but there were a few here and there looking for trees. We knew we only had about an hour before it started raining again to get the tree home.

Not finding anything we couldn’t live without, we headed back inside and looked at the fake trees again. But again… we just couldn’t pull the trigger on that. Back outside, and shivering we were heading out when suddenly…there it was. The perfect tree. We snapped it up and got it home before another downpour.

Isn’t it pretty?

Why write about Christmas? Five reasons I do!! #holidaystories #anthology #MFRWorg #RssosSisters

'tis the season...

Thanksgiving is almost under wraps and Christmas is fast approaching. I love to write holiday stories and so far, I've had six published. 

Why write holiday stories? 


1. The time of year is filled with excitement. We're rushing around to find the perfect gift. There are so many fun events to attend. How will we get everything done?

2. Bringing two people together romantically at Christmas is magical. What could be more romantic than bringing people into a relationship during the holidays? Don't we want all the best for everyone? I do!

3. The decorations are gorgeous!! I love setting out my vintage treasures, the smell of a Fraser Fir, the colorfully wrapped gifts. All add an ambiance that is unmatched and adds to the setting in the stories. 

4. The food (see fruitcake. LOL) is awesome. Some of us double dip with a second turkey. Some of us bake goodies galore. And some of us love fruitcake. We eat, we cook, we give and so do our characters. 

5. The F's: Family and friends. Nothing is more special than being with the ones we love. We laugh and share, hug and care. And each time we do, a glorious memory is created which sustains our soul. Our stories want this too.

Here's a sampling from four special stories:

Michelle Miles: From Halloween to Christmas in 2.3 Seconds

It’s hard to believe it’s November already.

You know what else is hard to believe? That Christmas decorations were in the stores in September. At Hobby Lobby, they started putting them up in JUNE. Really, Hobby Lobby? School hadn’t even started, for gosh sakes.

Hubby, kid and I were in the mall this past weekend – ON Halloween, mind you – and we noticed they were starting to put up Santa’s workshop. You know, where all the kids can sit on his lap and tell him what they dream of for Christmas.

You know what I dream of? No Christmas before Halloween.

.@VickiBatman - Measuring Time: tick-tock #MFRWorg #RLFblog #milestone

Tick-tock

I reached a milestone in Jazzercise this month: I’ve been working out for 32 years. (Yes, I know this admission ages me. Feel free to go on thinking I look younger than I am. Lol.)

Milestone:

I have been writing for ten years.

I have a momentous birthday.

Handsome’s company is 23 years old.

My #1 son has a significant birthday.

When my sons began school, I found time was measured by holidays--school starts in mid-August, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s, back to school, Valentine’s Day, Spring Break, April Fool’s Day, Memorial Day, school is out.

Every year was the same for a long time. And did it ever fly by.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

The Plotting Princesses have been extra busy the last few months, writing and getting books out for you, our readers. Many of the Princesses have releases throughout the months of November and December and to make things especially easy, we've complied all our latest releases in one handy, dandy list for your buying pleasure.

Below are the latest releases by several of the Plotting Princesses (in alphabetical order). We've included a very short description, the cover photo, and links to where you can buy the books. Feel free to pass this list along to your family and friends and spread the word about the latest and greatest books by some of your favorite Princesses.

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS by Kathy Ivan

We've stuffed ourselves with all kinds of culinary delights over the last week, and if you're anything like me you ate way more than you should have and it's time to pay the piper. (Next step—visit to the gym, check.) Then there's Black Friday and all the hustle and bustle, fighting the crowds to find that perfect gift for your friends, family and maybe for that special someone in your life.

Just when you think things are going to slow down and you can finally catch your breath, it's time to decorate!

I think we each have our own sense of style. We dress a certain way. We like a certain type of art. Our homes are decked out with colors and furnishings that suit our tastes. But when it comes to decorating for the holidays, I always say . . . ANYTHING GOES!