Happy Holidays!
What a treat to be here today!
I’m at the age where my children are all adults, which means many of the traditions we had while they were growing up have been put on hold until the grandbabies arrived. I have a feeling I may be waiting awhile, because my kiddos are 31, 29, and 25 with NO hint of little pattering feet in the future.
Part of what makes Christmas so magical for me, and I know for many of you as well, is seeing the excitement, the anticipation, and the joy on your children’s and grandchildren’s faces, because everything becomes a bit more magical around the holidays.
We’ve had lots of traditions come and go over the years. One that started when my kids were little, and from the day after Thanksgiving onward, they couldn’t wait for the lights, tree, decorations, Christmas cookie, stockings… Anything remotely related to the holidays!
Their excitement got them into a bit of trouble once in a while.
One year, The Elf started putting a little something in their stockings each day in December, but only if they’d tried their very best to be good. They were thrilled with their small treats””a candy cane or a Hershey’s Kiss. Maybe a piece of gum or a fun eraser. Each morning, they’d bound out of bed and charge to their stockings.
As they got older, the tokens also grew (costing me a small fortune each December) but none of us was ready to forgo the tradition quite yet. The Elf continued to visit until my youngest turned 21!
The kids would come home from college for winter break and head straight to theirs stockings to see what the Elf had left so far. By that time The Elf had grown more practical, and everything from pens to car air-freshioners might be tucked in their childhood stockings.
All three of my children loved that tradition so much, they still talk about it and plan on continuing it with their kids. IF they ever have any!
Are there any traditions you’ve enjoyed so much, that even though you may have outgrown them, you’re reluctant to let them go? What new traditions would you like to start?
Sometimes, starting new things, even later in life can turn out to be the most satisfying thing you’ve ever done. That happened to me when I decided to try my hand at writing a historical romance back in 2011.
I’m finishing up my 17th and 18th books (Yes, I’m writing 2 at once!).
I write Regency and Scottish historicals, and my newest release, SCANDAL’S SPLENDOR is the 4th installment in my Highland Heather Romancing a Scot series:
My heroine, Seonaid Ferguson had to wait through 12 other stories to have hers told.
This Scottish lass can see the future””Until a handsome French nobleman catches her eye.
Seonaid Ferguson is through with London’s Marriage Mart exploiting her second sight. As she rushes home to Scotland, a snowstorm strands her in a crowded inn with the last man she ever wished to see again””A handsome French baron who once thought her a courtesan.
Jacques, Monsieur le baron de Devaux-Rousset, ventures to Scotland to oversee his new investment. He certainly should not be falling in love with the spirited Seonaid Ferguson. Nor should he consider, even for a moment, her risqué, but deliciously tempting scheme to rid her of the second sight.
A dangerous adversary vows to expose Seonaid as a witch, just as Jacques’s problems at the mine escalate into deadly violence. Is it by chance, or a dark design, that both of them are beset at once”¦? Dare Jacques and Seonaid throw caution aside and forge a future together?
Here’s an excerpt:
Jacques stood over the threshold, hat in hand, sadness and strain about his eyes and mouth.
A sensation, much like falling from a great height, assailed her. “You’re leaving.”
He didn’t have to tell her. She could feel his absence in her soul, see goodbye in his eyes, read farewell on his face. And the crushing ache that stabbed her heart and stole her breath sent a wave of paralyzing dizziness over her, so forceful, she thought she might swoon.
Breathe.
Brushing her cheek against the kitten’s soft fur, she hid her dismay. She ought to be glad, but despair’s sharp talons sank deep into soft flesh, shredding hope and drawing blood.
Stupid, fickle emotions.
“Oui. Not Scotland yet, but Craiglocky, so I can be closer to the mine.” His melodic baritone resounded hollowly, and his fingers played upon the hat’s brim, almost nervously.
“That’s prudent, I suppose.” But it didn’t make his going easier.
She’d become accustomed to seeing him, if only from afar. Even if there couldn’t be anything between them. Yes, she knew he must leave someday. Just not today. Or tomorrow. Or next week. Not until she’d had time to put him from her heart. That desire””to be his””had been dashed to smithereens.
Returning the kitten to her mother, Seonaid parted her lips and sucked in a bracing breath. She must be strong and brave.
Absolutely no waterworks. Not one tear.
“I intend to labor alongside my workers, and that is more easily done if I live nearer Oakberry Quarry, non?“
Yes. No. Yes, drat it all.
She marshaled her courage and faced him, hands folded before her, the picture of poised composure. “Will you attend the Valentine gathering?”
Despite her determination to remain unaffected, her voice quivered, as off balance as she, and Seonaid bit her lower lip.
Well, so much for poise and composure.
He shook his head, causing that stubborn, endearing lock to fall forward. His hungry gaze trailed over her face, as if for the last time. Finally he responded. “I think it best if I don’t, ma petite.”
“I see.” She couldn’t see a blasted thing from the moisture blinding her, but nonetheless, she painted a bright smile onto her face and resolutely blinked her tears away. “I bid you farewell then, Jacques. I wish you good health and prosperity.”
So polite. So formal.
When what she wanted to say, to beg, was stay.
Please stay. Forget about the mine. Forget about returning to France. Forget about le Manoir des Jardins and your dead family.
Stay here. With me.
“Adieu, Seonaid.”
Don’t miss the 4th installment in this sweeping Highland romance series. Available from Amazon.
If you love Highlander stories and want a Free copy of Heart of a Highlander, a Scottish Novellete, just subscribe to my newsletter, The Regency Rose: http://tinyurl.com/regencyrose
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Inset series image here.
*GIVEAWAY*
I’ll be giving away a digital copy of Triumph and Treasure, the first book in the series, to one random commenter on my post.
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