Christmas stories by MJ Fredrick (With a novella giveaway)

About this time every year, my grandmother would start stocking up on Christmas books. She loved the novellas by different authors that the publishers would put out. We found a lot of new authors that way, because she'd give the books to me when she was done, and I'd race to read them before Christmas.

She passed away in 2004, but every time I see a set of Christmas novellas, I think how she'd be gobbling those down right about now. She didn't watch as much TV as I do, and she'd take advantage of the long evenings to read and read.

Now novellas don't have to be bundled in groups for people to enjoy. Thanks to digital publishing, they can read novellas all the time. I have to say, I'm a huge fan. But I also like discovering new authors, like I did back in the day with my grandmother's books.

So Trish Milburn, Tanya Michaels and I took a trip to Alabama and worked on a set of related Christmas stories set at the beach. This is what we came up with:

Christmas isn’t always snow-covered with a frosty chill in the air. Sometimes it’s sandy beaches with balmy breezes.

And sometimes we find love in the most unexpected places, a place like Starfish Shores.

Here Comes McBride by Tanya Michaels

Shelby James has only truly loved one man — but Finn McBride broke her heart when emotional baggage from his past came between them. Now, Shelby is serving as maid of honor at a beach wedding where Finn is the best man. Will reuniting with Finn be a Christmas miracle, or the worst mistake she's ever made?

Two Hearts a Leaping by MJ Fredrick

After a break-up with her high school sweetheart, Harley Blume retreats to her brother's home in Starfish Shores to lick her wounds and figure out what she's doing next. But her brother is in the Coast Guard reserves and heading out of town, leaving her in the care of Liam Channing, his best friend since they played college football together. She's never been able to keep her tongue in her mouth when good-looking, easy-going Liam is around. How is she going to find her way if she can't keep her balance?

Cruisin’ for a Kiss by Trish Milburn

When Avery Phillips loses her magazine job right before Christmas, she heads back home to Starfish Shores to spend the holidays with the grandparents who raised her. The plan is to hit the job search hard so that she has a new position when the New Year arrives. What isn’t part of the plan is heading up a remodeling effort at her family’s beach motel or falling for the man helping to save the business into which her grandparents put a lifetime of work. As Christmas draws closer, will Avery stick to the original plan to leave town again or take a chance with Luke Taylor and a new life she never expected?

Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Kobo.

How about you? Are you hooked on holiday books? How do you find new authors? One commenter will win a copy of my other Christmas novella, Sanctuary with the Cowboy.

Football Culture by MJ Fredrick

Yesterday I went to my first college football game in Austin. My son's a student at UT, it's his senior year, and I wanted to go before he graduates. I like sports, though I don't love them, but my husband is less of a fan, therefore a harder sell.

I. Had. A. Blast. I want to go again, to the next home game in two weeks. But what intrigued me wasn't the football itself, though that was fun. It was the traditions. First of all, you've never heard "The Eyes of Texas" (AKA "I've Been Working on the Railroad") played so many ways. Fast versions, slow versions, sing-along versions. Then there was the "Fight Texas Fight" chant from one side of the stadium to the other. Then there was another chant after each score, which you clap, then say something (I think it was "Go Horns Go") and make the hook 'em sign.

Bevo was there, a real longhorn that has to stay in a corner the entire game, poor thing. There were students with no shirts and the letters for Texas painted on their skinny chests. No wonder they were skinny, they were moving during the whole game.

There's the gun, Old Smokey, which is fired at the end of each quarter and after each score. There's the big drum, Big Bertha, who is spun around and beaten. There are three cheer squads, which rotate during each quarter.

The most interesting to me, someone who went to a local university, were the people. These were people who had gone to school there, some recently, most decades ago. They wore all manner of UT shirts, and knew all the traditions and chants. Most were season pass holders, so knew each other relatively well.

(This was my favorite UT shirt of the day):

This was all educational to me, especially since my hero in my novella "Two Hearts a Leaping" is a former football star who played for Crimson Tide. When I went to Alabama for my research trip, I was astounded by all the Tide spirit I saw, everywhere I looked, and I incorporated that with my hero, Liam.

Here's the blurb:
Christmas isn’t always snow-covered with a frosty chill in the air. Sometimes it’s sandy beaches with balmy breezes. 

And sometimes we find love in the most unexpected places, a place like Starfish Shores. 


Here Comes McBride by Tanya Michaels 

Shelby James has only truly loved one man — but Finn McBride broke her heart when emotional baggage from his past came between them. Now, Shelby is serving as maid of honor at a beach wedding where Finn is the best man. Will reuniting with Finn be a Christmas miracle, or the worst mistake she's ever made? 

Two Hearts a Leaping by MJ Fredrick 

After a break-up with her high school sweetheart, Harley Blume retreats to her brother's home in Starfish Shores to lick her wounds and figure out what she's doing next. But her brother is in the Coast Guard reserves and heading out of town, leaving her in the care of Liam Channing, his best friend since they played college football together. She's never been able to keep her tongue in her mouth when good-looking, easy-going Liam is around. How is she going to find her way if she can't keep her balance? 

Cruisin’ for a Kiss by Trish Milburn 

When Avery Phillips loses her magazine job right before Christmas, she heads back home to Starfish Shores to spend the holidays with the grandparents who raised her. The plan is to hit the job search hard so that she has a new position when the New Year arrives. What isn’t part of the plan is heading up a remodeling effort at her family’s beach motel or falling for the man helping to save the business into which her grandparents put a lifetime of work. As Christmas draws closer, will Avery stick to the original plan to leave town again or take a chance with Luke Taylor and a new life she never expected?

Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Kobo.

What about you? Have you ever been to a college football game? Any football game? Are you a fan? Did you go to college away from home and get the "college experience?"

Devil Under the Mistletoe by Sam Cheever

Perdition guide Damian is supposed to escort sexy Amanda to Hell. But he’d much rather keep her.

Damian Noire is a Perdition Guide. He escorts people who die to their rightful spot in Hell. Business always seems to pick up around the Holidays and this Christmas is no exception. Damian’s assignment is to bring a beautiful young woman to Hell to stand before the judgment assembly, and then take her to her assigned circle of Hell. It sounds simple. But it’s about to become the hardest assignment he’s ever performed.

Amanda Wright might have been unjustly judged. She might not belong in Hell at all. Problem is, Damian really kind of likes her. He especially likes enjoying her lush, willing body under the mistletoe. If he gets her the judgment she truly deserves, he’s probably going to lose her forever. But if he doesn’t help her, an innocent may spend eternity in Hell. It appears to be a lose/lose situation on all fronts. Proving once again that holidays truly are hell!

~~*~~

Worm emerged from the assembly vault a few moments later. Fear shot through Damian at the speed with which the judges had decided. The ugly little man gave Damian a sneer. The girl’s presence is needed in the chamber.”

Damian stood.

“Not you. You’ve been dismissed.”

Rage flared and Damian took a step toward the smaller man, his fists clenched. “What the hell kind of trick is this?”

Worm shrugged, his ugly, round face smug. “No trick. In fact, I think I’m being very clear. You’ve been judged to be too close to the… erm… situation to be objective, and you’re no longer on the case.”

Amanda clutched his arm, her face paling. “What’s going on, Damian? What are they going to do with me?”

Damian drew her behind him. “You’re not taking her in there without me.”

Worm’s smile widened, and something mean sparked in his eyes. He inclined his head slightly, just enough to give Damian a warning, but not enough of one. Hard hands clasped his arms, dragging him backward, away from Amanda.

She screamed his name and tried to follow but Worm grabbed her, holding her in place as tears streamed down her cheeks and she sobbed his name. Damian fought with everything he had, but the judgment demons who had hold of his arms were massive, eight feet tall, with tree-trunk-sized arms and hands that could hold his entire head like a football. The enormous black and white demons dragged him away from her, his feet scrabbling for purchase on the stone floor as he pummeled them.

“Get your fucking paws off her, Worm. I’ll kill you with my bare hands.” Heat flared over Damian, fire. He embraced the pain, nurtured the flame, until the demons holding him tensed. “Amanda!” Even to himself he sounded pathetic. He was desperate, terrified for her, but he couldn’t get to her. “Amanda, run!”

But she didn’t run. Couldn’t run. Worm dragged her backward, toward the chamber door. Damian was relieved to see that she’d stopped crying, but he was concerned that she looked pissed. If she mouthed off to the judges…

He fought harder to get away.

They reached the end of the hall, and Damian heard the door to the outside opening. In another second he’d be locked outside, and Amanda would be lost to him forever. He concentrated hard, bringing his inner fire forward. He burst into flame and the creatures holding him screamed, loosening their grip. It was enough, barely enough, but Damian was desperate. He wrenched himself free and turned, kicking out with enough power to take the legs out from under one of the demons. He didn’t spare the toppling giant a glance as he leapt off the ground and swung his leg toward the second demon, catching it in the midsection. The monster doubled over but didn’t go down. Damian took off running. Behind him, thunderous footfalls told him at least one of the demons was after him.

He didn’t care. He had only one thought. Get to Amanda.

He came through the chamber door just as Worm pushed Amanda to her knees before the judges. They were about to proclaim her sentence. “No!”

Amanda’s head whipped around. “Damian!”

“No, she’s an innocent! I’ll go to the angels myself and tell them.”

Rock-like hands wrapped around his arms and yanked him backward. He roared his rage, flailing out, but a fist the size of a boulder hit him on the side of the head and the world spun, darkened.

The last thing he heard as the world folded away was Amanda’s screams. He hit the rock floor, dazed and bleeding. His fingers clutched convulsively on the gritty floor. Amanda. He had to get to her. She was yelling something… pleading with them. She was in danger. If he didn’t save her he’d never see her again. Damian lifted his head. “Amanda…” His voice was muffled, feeble -- he doubted she even heard him. The boulder smashed into his head again, and everything went black.

Book info and more…

Shades of Naughty - Devil Under the Mistletoe

In my newest series, Holidays are Hell, my main characters are Perdition Guides (PDs). These guides have been conscripted to carry the newly dead to Hell. But their jobs include much more than just escorting souls. They must also figure out where their “supplicants” belong in Hell according to the “sins” they’ve committed.

In writing these books, I’ve come up against the good or evil question repeatedly, because the heroines my PDs escort to Hell are not angelic, or they wouldn’t be headed for Hell. However, nobody wants to root for an evil heroine, so they need to be naughty but likeable. That’s not an easy feat if you believe that good and bad are black and white. Personally, while I do believe there are truly good and genuinely evil people in the world, I also believe there’s a lot of room in between these extremes. I think that’s where most of us belong.

So what tilts a supplicant toward the “Eternity in Hell” side? And what level of naughtiness is still redeemable (retaining the heroine’s likeability)? Here’s what I’ve come up with to help determine if a supplicant is too naughty to be likeable. Answering yes to any of the following would almost always put the supplicant in the “not redeemable” category:

• Was an innocent badly hurt, emotionally or physically by the misdeed? Probably not good.
• Were children or animals hurt? NOT acceptable!
• Was there violence or violent intent involved in the transgression? Usually not good.
• Was the intent of the misdeed to improve the supplicant’s circumstances at the expense of an innocent? Nasty business.
• Did someone die or become permanently disabled from the offense? Definitely a no no.

So what kind of transgressions does that leave? Victimless crimes, accidental offenses, wrongs committed against evil people for good reasons, self-destructive crimes, offense resulting from ignorance rather than intent, petty theft, white collar crime against evil organizations, politics (though some of us might find it hard to forgive a heroine for being a politician…hehehe).

In Holidays are Hell, there is a Dante-like division of Hell. Hell is divided into several layers and supplicants are assigned according to the seriousness of the sins these souls committed during their lives. PDs have to present facts to a judging body in Hell to determine if their supplicants belong in the innermost layer which encompasses the fiery pits or an exterior layer that is pretty much like Earth. In the course of this discovery, the guides have to spend time with their supplicants. And, since these are erotic romances, that enforced familiarity usually breeds some pretty sexy results. In the first book of the series, Devil Under the Mistletoe, Damian Noire and Amanda Wright discover that their time together leads to lust…and pain…and much, much more. I hope you’ll check it out!

~~*~~

Perdition guide Damian is supposed to escort sexy Amanda to Hell. But he’d much rather keep her.

Damian Noire is a Perdition Guide. He escorts people whose souls are stained to their rightful spots in Hell. Business always seems to pick up around the Holidays and this Christmas is no exception. Damian’s assignment is to bring a beautiful young woman to Hell to stand before the judgment assembly, and then take her to her assigned circle of Hell. It sounds simple. But it’s about to become the hardest assignment he’s ever performed.

Amanda Wright might have been unjustly judged. She might not belong in Hell at all. Problem is, Damian really kind of likes her. He especially likes enjoying her lush, willing body under the mistletoe. If he gets her the judgment she truly deserves, he’s probably going to lose her forever. But if he doesn’t help her, an innocent may spend eternity in Hell. It appears to be a lose/lose situation on all fronts. Proving once again that holidays truly are hell!

Book info and more…

AUTHOR BIO:

Sam writes romantic suspense and fantasy/paranormal/sci-fi at a variety of heat levels. She likes to mix a little fun, a little magic, and a little real-life spice to create her fictional characters. Her fun-loving creations fight their way through a dizzying array of dangerous challenges without letting little things like dangerous bad guys, angry, manipulative gods, evil dark world denizens, or killing Furies dampen their zest for life and hot love!

In Sam’s real life, she lives on a hobby farm in Indiana with 11 dogs, 2 horses, and one husband. Not necessarily in that order. No, that isn’t a typo, she has 11 dogs. Sam is a self-confessed dog-aholic!

To find out more about Sam and her work, please pay her a visit at any one of the following online hot spots: Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Blog