A Walk Down Christmas Lane

by Jacquie Rogers
Copyright © 2011 Jacquie Rogers

Sometimes we have to dig through a whole lot of hazy memories to get to the fond ones. One thing is clear, we appreciated our gifts. We lived in the country and seldom ever went to the city, we didn’t get a “treat” every week. We only had a few toys and Dad made most of those. We didn't have DS games or X-Boxes—we had horses and peddlecars. Come along with me down memory lane.

Reality check: Christmas is a lot of work. Farming is hard work but when you add in baking Christmas goodies, shopping, making gifts (sewing and such) on top of that, you have some busy weeks leading up to the Big Day.

A little background: I grew up on a dairy farm. The thing about milk cows is they need milked twice a day every day, twelve hours apart. Cows like a daily routine and they don’t like it broken. Plus, they get downright cantankerous if you don’t feed them when they think they ought to be fed. Translation: cows really don’t much care for Christmas.

But I loved Christmas. For one thing, we kids didn’t have to do chores on Christmas morning, lest we’d see what Santa brought before Dad got in from milking. It’s cold on December 25th in Owyhee County, Idaho, so feeding calves and cleaning milking machines wasn’t all that much fun. What a treat to get to sleep in. Of course, that meant Dad had even more work to do so it took him longer to get to the house.

My brother and I shared a room and we had a direct view of the Christmas tree from our doorway. To prevent us seeing it, Mom sat in the doorway (she was paraplegic so was in a wheelchair) and corralled us in the room. She brought a supply of homemade cocoa with marshmallows melting in it, and sometimes topped with whipped cream. There never has, nor ever will be, hot chocolate as delicious as my mom’s.

Of course, what goes in must come out, so then we’d beg and plead her to let us go to bathroom. My brother was younger so he always got to go first. The rules were that we had to dash in as quickly as possible, only looking at the floor. Well you know we tried everything we could to get just one peek at the tree and all the enticing gifts surrounding it. After my turn, my brother and I would have a little powwow (whispers only) to discuss what wondrous glimpses we’d caught.

Ah, the anticipation! And wasn’t Dad ever going to get finished up??? Sometimes he’d pound on our bedroom window and scare us, or pretend like he couldn’t come in. What torture!

But finally. FINALLY. He would come in the house and our festivities began. First we high-tailed it to the unwrapped gifts that Santa brought. After about fifteen seconds, we were ready to open gifts. One thing we kids had to accept was that Dad was going to play with all the best toys, so if we got something really, really good, there’d be a wait.

But to tell the truth, it was great fun watching Dad play with those toys. One year he and the cat had quite a time with my brother’s racecar set. And then when my aunt and uncle came over, Dad and my uncle were racing, trying to get the cars past the cat, who’d bat them off the track every go-round. LOL. We even have a picture of that. They wore out the brushes on the cars so my brother didn’t get to play with the racecar set for a few days until Dad was able to procure new brushes (he didn't realize they would wear so quickly). This wasn’t out of the ordinary.

No squirt gun was safe from my mom. She also loved cap guns and I always hoped Santa brought extra caps to accommodate her. One year Santa brought a pair of Roy Rogers pistols and the holster. She played with those while I figured out how to use my bow and arrow without shooting the floor-lamp over.

My parents taught me to take pleasure in other people’s joy. This gift will be with me always. Christmas was never a quiet and serene day at our house, and to this day, it’s still not. It’s a day to share and love, with exuberance.

In that same spirit, I'd love to give a few gifts away today. Tell me, what's the one gift you gave that was the most fun—the gift you're so glad you gave? We'll have three winners and three prizes today: a $10 Amazon gift card, a signed copy of Much Ado About Marshals, and a free ecopy of Faery Merry Christmas.

Thanks so much to RomFan Reviews for hosting me on this blog hop.  It has been really fun reading everyone recounting their memories!

Good Luck, and a Happy 2012 to you!

Participating RomFan Reviews Blog Hop Authors

Bobbi Brattz December 11th

Franny Armstrong December 12th
Regina Carlysle December 13th
Elizabeth Amber December 14th
Brita Addams December 15th
D.B. Reynolds December 16th

Beth Trissel December 17th
Amy Romine December 19th
Skhye Moncrief December 20th
Carrie Ann Ryan December 21st
J.S. Wayne December 22nd
Shannan Albright December 23rd
Jacquie Rogers December 27th
Keta Diablo December 28th

Anne Holly December 29th

Romance Novels for Your New Kindle!

Happy Holidays!

Did you get that ereader you wanted?  Have you figured out how to use it yet?  I was surprised how easy it was to get in the swing of things.

Mr R gave me a Kindle last spring.  I thought I wouldn't like it but after about fifteen minutes, I was a dyed-in-the-wool ebook fan.  The convenience, the adjustable font, the space savings, the easy reading--yes, I'm a convert for sure!  And I loved it so much, I gave my daughter one for her birthday, and now my grandson for his birthday--with a gift certificate for Christmas. :)

There are tons of great buys right now, so if you have a new ereader, you're in for a treat.  My books are on special, too!  So of course I'd love for you to try one.  These books are available in print, too.

Much Ado About Marshals

Like romance? Love stories about the old west? Want a dreamy cowboy to cuddle up and read about? Then this is the book for you.  ~~My Eclectic Bookshelf, 5 dragonflies

Daisy Gardner wants to be a detective just like dime novel heroine Honey Beaulieu.  To her delight, her sister shot a bank robber and he got away, so now she even has a crime to solve. But her parents insist she marry a man whose farm is miles from town.  She can't solve crimes stuck out there. What better solution than to marry the new marshal!

Rancher Cole Richards saves his friend from robbing a bank, but is shot for his efforts, and now is a wanted man.  His friend takes him to Oreana to see the doc, where Cole's mistaken for the new marshal.  Now he faces a dilemma few men have to face--tell the truth and hang, or live a lie and end up married. Either way could cost him his freedom.

Faery Merry Christmas

Amazon * Smashwords * Barnes & Noble * Kobo * iTunes

Romance has gone awry in Faeryshire.Who would've thought Mr. and Mrs. Claus's daughter would be "on the shelf"? Yep, Cheshya's all a'flutter because her 2,000th birthday, the last day she's eligible to take a mate, is on Christmas, only four days away, but Liam of the Red Clan, the only man she has ever wanted is otherwise occupied . . .

Terra Humanus in 1956: carhops on roller skates, the submarine races, a pink Nash Metropolitan, Lucky Strikes, Little Richard, and the Shoreline Sharks Baseball Club starring ace pitcher Liam Stone.

For the past five years, Liam of the Red Clan has lived in Terra Humanus, pitching for the Shoreline Sharks and obsessed with signing as a major league pitcher with the Cincinnati Reds. The faery queen sends Cheshya to help him achieve his goal, but in signing with the Reds, will he lose out on his true heart's desire?

What will it take to make a Faery Merry Christmas?

"What faery fun! A winsome sprite's barely still-ticking time clock. Mayhem in the land of Claus. And the man who could wave just the right magic wand obsessed with baseball. A Christmas story to cuddle up with--and keep you really warm." Stella Cameron, NYT Best-selling Author

You can find my other award-winning books at my website:

http://www.jacquierogers.com/books.html

Happy Reading in 2012!

Indie Book Blowout: FAERY MERRY CHRISTMAS

What will it take to make a

Faery Merry Christmas? 

Shopping! 

For books!!!

'Tis the season of fabulous shopping--Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and hey, don't forget the best place EVER to buy books: Indie Book Blowout, Day THREE!

All books only 99¢ each!

Including

Faery Merry Christmas

and you can win a Kindle

or gift cards worth up to $100!

 

Romance has gone awry in Faeryshire.

Who would've thought Mr. and Mrs. Claus's daughter would be "on the shelf"? Yep, Cheshya's all a'flutter because her 2,000th birthday, the last day she's eligible to take a mate, is on Christmas, only four days away, but Liam of the Red Clan, the only man she has ever wanted is otherwise occupied . . .

Terra Humanus in 1956: carhops on roller skates, the submarine races, a pink Nash Metropolitan, Lucky Strikes, Little Richard, and the Shoreline Sharks Baseball Club starring ace pitcher Liam Stone.

For the past five years, Liam of the Red Clan has lived in Terra Humanus, pitching for the Shoreline Sharks and obsessed with signing as a major league pitcher with the Cincinnati Reds. The faery queen sends Cheshya to help him achieve his goal, but in signing with the Reds, will he lose out on his true heart's desire?

"What faery fun! A winsome sprite's barely still-ticking time clock. Mayhem in the land of Claus. And the man who could wave just the right magic wand obsessed with baseball. A Christmas story to cuddle up with--and keep you really warm."

Stella Cameron, NYT Best-selling Author

Other great books...

Bound (The Cristor)

by C.K. Bryant

YA Paranormal

Only 99¢

When a photo shoot ends in tragedy, Kira discovers her best friend, Lydia, has been keeping a secret. Knowing the truth, and accepting it, will change Kira’s life forever and thrust her into a world of ancient curses, magical objects, and savage enemies. What happens next will challenge everything Kira knows about her world, herself and the shape-shifting warrior she’s falling in love with. No longer the timid mouse her mother accused her of being, but a woman who finds the mental and physical strength to endure and survive.

Fierce Dawn

by Amber Scott

Paranormal/Urban Fantasy

Only 99¢

"Intensely satisfying!" Carolyn McCray, Kindle Bestselling author, Heartsblood
Snarling teeth, glowing eyes. Someone--something--is after her.  The man who haunts her dreams enters her reality, claiming she's transforming into a changeling--not quite immortal but no longer human. Except nobody wants this change. Not humans, not immortals and least of all her.  Battle lines are drawn and blood spills as the two fight not only for her life, but for mankind's as well.

A Cowboy for Christmas

by Kristen James

Holiday Western Romance

Only 99¢

When her estranged brother passes, Missy is suddenly an unwanted co-owner to Ocean View Stables by Florence, Oregon. Missy wants to start over somewhere new after her old boss burned her. She's jobless and has a wrongly ruined reputation, so this works out perfectly . . . until she meets the cowboy running the place. Brent built his dream with determination and his two hands; he's responsible for everything that happens there. Secretly, he feels responsible that his former partner died. He also doesn't hide his belief that Missy won't stick around. Women tend to take off on him so why would she be any different? They both have a past that can ruin their future. Can he trust her to stay? Can she trust him with her heart? 

Check out ALL the GREAT BOOKS on the INDIE BOOK BLOWOUT EXTRAVAGANZA!

http://www.indiebookblowout.com/

RTW Chicken Dinner: Christmas Book Party Winners

I'm in camp with those who think you should decorate for Christmas until after Thanksgiving. So why did we have our Christmas Book Party during Thanksgiving week? Because December is the time when we're in the mood to read Christmas books, but you have to have them before you can read them. So last week was all about finding new reads before the holidays. After all, you need a little break from all the hustle and bustle that goes on in December.

Special thanks to Markee Anderson for creating a Chrismas Books Page so we can easily find just the perfect holiday read. Also, Markee gave coupons for three free Christmas books to all viewers of her post this week so I hope you took advantage of her offer.

Now for the daily winners...

A Warrior for Christmas and Somewhere the Bells Ring by Beth Trissel
(winner's choice) Eva (bossu49 at aol.com)

Gifts from the Afterlife by Sarah J. McNeal
Cathy (cathyann40 at yahoo.com)

A Dream to Share by Markee Anderson
No drawing--everyone who visited received three free books!

Feliz Navidad by Kit Prate
Drew G (ilmksc at yahoo.com)

A Night for Miracles by Cheryl Pierson
terra (latemodelchica at hotmail.com)

Faery Merry Christmas by Jacquie Rogers
Na (Cambonified at yahoo.com)

And now, someone will win all six books

plus a $10 Amazon gift certificate!

That would be...

Amanda (chefamanda at gmail.com)

Happy Christmas Reading!

On Monday, Romancing The West features another outstanding author and all-around good person, Celia Yeary, so be sure to stop by and learn a little about her, and read an excerpt!

RTW Christmas Book Party: Jacquie Rogers

Jacquie Rogers, author

by Jacquie Rogers

Christmas stories always put me in the mood for three things—romance, magic, and fun. Every year, I gobble up all the Christmas anthologies and novels I can find, and hey, sometimes the mood strikes me mid-summer when the heat soars and we’re all longing for some snow.

Family and friends are so important this time of year, and also we get a little nostalgic. In that tradition, quite a few of my family members are characters in the book, and 1956 was such a great year—Elvis, a Nash Metropolitan, Bing Crosby’s Christmas carols, drive-in restaurants. How cool is that? Or should I say neato!

Baseball. My first heart’s desire was to become a baseball announcer on television. I loved listening to the announcers almost as much as I loved the game. But, well, there’s no baseball at Christmas in Idaho.

So there you have my five favorite things—family, romance, magic, fun, and baseball. And that’s what Faery Merry Christmas is all about. What if faeries could come to Terra Humanus and compete with humans in professional sports? What rules would they have to obey?

But more importantly, what happens to the faery girl he leaves behind? She can use magic on Terra Humanus but he cannot. He’s having a lot of fun and she’s facing a disaster, he pitches for the Shoreline Sharks Baseball Club and she’s supposed to take over the Santa Claus detail in Faeryshire. And it all adds up to some faery hot romance!

New York Times Bestselling Author Stella Cameron said about Faery Merry Christmas, “What faery fun! A winsome sprite's barely still-ticking time clock. Mayhem in the land of Claus. And the man who could wave just the right magic wand obsessed with baseball. A Christmas story to cuddle up with--and keep you really warm."

Here’s what Faery Merry Christmas is all about:

Romance has gone awry in Faeryshire.

Who would’ve thought Mr. and Mrs. Claus’s daughter would be “on the shelf”? Yep, Cheshya’s all a’flutter because her 2,000th birthday, the last day she’s eligible to take a mate, is on Christmas, only four days away, but Liam of the Red Clan, the only man she has ever wanted is otherwise occupied . . .

Terra Humanus in 1956: carhops on roller skates, the submarine races, a pink Nash Metropolitan, Lucky Strikes, Little Richard, and the Shoreline Sharks Baseball Club starring ace pitcher Liam Stone.

For the past five years, Liam of the Red Clan has lived in Terra Humanus, pitching for the Shoreline Sharks and obsessed with signing as a major league pitcher with the Cincinnati Reds. The faery queen sends Cheshya to help him achieve his goal, but in signing with the Reds, will he lose out on his true heart’s desire?

What will it take to make a Faery Merry Christmas?

And here’s a sneak peek!

Faery Merry Christmas by Jacquie Rogers

Copyright © 2009 Jacquie Rogers

Faeryshire, in the Human Year 1956

'Twas December twenty-first, the day of Yule. Nearly every faery in the realm attended the ceremony.

I, Cheshya of the Brown Clan, ascended to the High Temple one flight at a time with my best posture, holding the wedding bouquet of posies and butterflies, my shimmering silver gown flowing behind me. Morkito and other pixies flew around the hem and kept it from snagging anything. My goal was to land gently in front of the altar without falling flat on my face in front of all my friends and my new mate.

For this was my wedding day.

Queen Merci sat on her throne above and behind the altar. Princess Kaylee, my best friend, stood beside her. Sweet tunes twinkled and fluttered through the High Temple on the glittering faery dust, caressing the most hardened of souls. I let it flow around me and through me, the joy of song lifting my spirit. Anxiety had been my constant companion for the last week while I stewed over the course of my future.

At last, I glided to the altar, quite gracefully, in fact. If it weren’t for my uncertain future, I could’ve relaxed, but as it was, I had no idea who Kaylee had chosen for me to be my husband.

The queen held her wand and scepter, the latter shooting sparks every few seconds. She raised an eyebrow at Kaylee. Kaylee shrugged and glanced around, her palms up.

"You may approach, Cheshya," Queen Merci said to me. I knelt in front of Her Highness. "Your groom is not present."

She sounded apologetic and even sad. I had to admit that while being jilted in front of five thousand of my closest friends and relatives wasn’t my idea of a thrill, neither was I enthusiastic over marrying a man I neither knew nor loved. But then, it was all my fault. My courting time was nearly gone so a groom had been picked for me, supposedly to best benefit all of Faeryshire.

Yes, I did love a man with all my heart, but he didn’t love me. I guess I have to say that being jilted was somewhat of a relief because I couldn’t imagine taking a partner for life (and faeries live a very long time) knowing I’d never connect with my true soul mate.

Faery Merry Christmas is available at Amazon (Kindle & Print), and Smashwords.

Enter to win a  free copy of Faery Merry Christmas by commenting on this article.  Your comment also enters you in the drawing for the RTW Christmas Book Party Grand Prize, announced on Sunday's Chicken Dinner post.  Be sure to include your email address with your comment or we'll have to draw another winner, and you'll be excluded from the Grand Prize drawing.  Thanks!

Happy Holiday Reading!

Romancing The West has featured wonderful Christmas books all week, and each day's author will be giving away a free book on Sunday, so check all the blog articles.

Prizes All Week!

You can still win the RTW Christmas Book Party Grand Prize!

Comment on all six blog entries for six chances to win.

Drawing will be held Nov. 26 at 11:59pm Pacific Time

and announced on Sunday's RTW Chicken Dinner.

Monday: A Warrior for Christmas by Beth Trissel
Tuesday: Gifts from the Afterlife by Sara J. McNeal
Wednesday: A Dream to Share by Markee Anderson
Thursday: Feliz Navidad by Kit Prate
Friday: A Night of Miracles by Cheryl Pierson
Saturday: Faery Merry Christmas by Jacquie Rogers
Sunday: Chicken Dinner! Yes, one commenter this week (any post) will win a book from each author--that's SIX Christmas books--AND a $10 Amazon gift certificate

Love Christmas stories?

Markee Anderson listed a bunch of 'em at her Christmas page.

Jacquie Rogers: Much Ado About Marshals

Much Ado About Marshals
by Jacquie Rogers
Buy links: Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Smashwords

(First published at Paty Jager's blog)

Jacquie Rogers grew up on a farm in southwest Idaho, milking cows, riding horses, hoeing beets, and all the other things that need to be done on a farm, creating experiences which have proved to be a rich source of story fodder. Now she lives in Washington State with her husband. The only animal she herds these days is her cat, Annie. And no, Annie doesn’t cooperate all that well. Jacquie’s first ambition was to be a baseball announcer, but that didn’t work out so by age 8 she decided to be a foreign correspondent because they get to go to exotic places. Having children took care of that dream, so she ended up doing all sorts of other jobs before she took up the keyboard.

Her current release is Much Ado About Marshals, a Western Historical Romance. Also available is a western contemporary, Down Home Ever Lovin’ Mule Blues, and two fantasy romances, Faery Merry Christmas and Faery Special Romances.

What led you to write a Romance?

Graveyard Point:
My old playground

Once upon a time, I was bedridden with a bad case of pneumonia and ran out of books to read. Disaster! My daughter brought me a Romance novel, but I adamantly refused to read it. Out of desperation for reading material, I finally did read a few Romances, and liked them so well I read several dozen more during the month of recovery. Then I started writing my own story, and hasn’t stopped since.

To expand on my beginnings as a writer, I was (still am) inspired by really great books. They’re fodder for my soul. I hadn’t read Romance before my daughter forced me into it. To understand a writer, you have to understand their reading habits. I cut my teeth on Zane Grey, Louis L’Amour and other traditional Western authors, then moved on to Mystery and Fantasy. I read those genres obsessively for several years.

But in all these books, something was missing, and that something was the completion of the human experience. Westerns end with the good guy triumphing over the bad guy, Mysteries end with the culprit in handcuffs, and Fantasy ends when the world is saved from the ultimate evil force. There’s more to life than that, though. Missing from these other genres is our primal need for a mate and children, the urge to nurture our souls with love. Without that, a story isn’t complete, because our internal primal urges drive us in a way that external forces can’t and don’t. I find a more complete humanness in Romance novels.

What’s next?

I have two projects and I don’t know which will be published first. One is book two of the Much Ado series, Much Ado About Madams. It’s so new, I don’t even have a web page for it yet. We’re still in the editing stage with that one, although if anyone posts a review, they’re welcome to a sneak peek at book 2. Book 3 is also in the works, written but I haven’t decided on a title yet.

The other project is called Faery Hot Dragon, and is a dragon-faery story. I’ll self-publish it as a novella and then co-publish with Eilis Flynn, who also has a dragon novella.

Much Ado About Marshals description:

Laugh out loud funny plus plotting so clever and seamless makes Much Ado About Marshals my favorite new recommended read.

~~Amber Scott, author of WANTED (Dead or Alive)



Cover model Kyle Walker



Daisy Gardner wants to be a detective just like dime novel heroine Honey Beaulieu. To her delight, her sister shot a bank robbery and he got away, so now she even has a crime to solve. But her parents insist she marry a man whose farm is miles from town. She can’t solve crimes stuck out there. What better solution than to marry the new marshal!

Rancher Cole Richards saves his friend from robbing a bank, but is shot for his efforts, and now is a wanted man. His friend takes him to Oreana to see the doc, where Cole’s mistaken for the new marshal. Now he faces a dilemma few men have to face--tell the truth and face a gulty verdict and hanging, or live a lie and end up married. Either way could cost him his freedom.

Excerpt from Much Ado About Marshals

by Jacquie Rogers

Copyright © 2011 Jacquie Rogers

(COLE is pursuing two dangerous bad guys, and in doing so, investigates a cave, where he finds DAISY, the woman who is just as determined to marry him as he is to remain a bachelor and avoid the hanging tree.)

“Stay right there, buster,” Daisy yelled, “or I’ll blow your head into Kingdom come!”

Cole froze. There was nothing more dangerous on the face of this earth than a scared woman, and while Daisy sounded more confident than he thought she ought, surely she was scared out of her wits. She kneeled by an old trunk holding a pair of handcuffs in her left hand, training a pistol on him with her right.

“Daisy?” he said softly. “It’s me.” He relaxed, relieved she was safe--and plumb tickled he hadn’t walked down the bore of one of the Rankin brothers.

“Marshal?”

“Yes, I’m here.”

“Put the lantern up to your face so I know for sure.”

He did. She lowered the pistol and smiled.

Cole hadn’t found the Rankins, but what he had found was far more dangerous.

* * * * *

Daisy uncocked the pistol, set the lantern down, and flew into the marshal’s arms. “I’m so glad you’re here!” He hugged her back, a possessive hug that thrilled her to her toes.

“I’m so glad I found you,” he murmured in her ear. “I was--er, we were real worried about you.” He pulled her even tighter into his arms.

Memories of what he’d done the previous night sent warm tingles from her breasts to her thighs. Her body ached for more--she wanted more. “You found me,” she whispered, and raised her face, licking her lips.

He stared at her mouth, his eyes dark with the same wanting that churned inside her, she was sure. She couldn’t have been more sure. She wrapped her arms around him and rubbed his back. The cave was hard and cool--the marshal was hard and hot.

“Daisy, I can’t . . . We shouldn’t . . .” He lowered his lips to hers in a tender kiss, then deepened it until he’d tasted her completely.

She flicked her tongue on his, urging him on, her breasts tight against his chest, her pelvis moving against his groin. She wanted more than he gave her the night before. She wanted everything he had to give her, now and forever. She sought--demanded--his warmth, tugging his shirttail from his britches, plunging her hands under his shirt to feel the smooth, warm skin on his back.

He gave a low groan. “Oh, God, woman. This isn’t what you want.” He pulled back, but she didn’t let him go.

She wouldn’t let him go! She’d had a taste of the wonders that happen between a man and a woman, and it had only made her hungry for more. Only with the marshal, though. Only him. She pressed her lips against his neck and ran her tongue to his earlobe. He shuddered, the movement urging her to do more.

Unbuttoning the top button of his shirt, she kissed the little indentation below his Adam’s apple, then unbuttoned the other buttons and peeled the shirt off him. He fell to his knees and pressed his face in her bosom. Tingles shot through her body with such ferocity, she thought she might faint with pleasure. She plunged her fingers through his hair and held him at her breast.

This night, she, Daisy Gardner, would discover all the wonders of being a woman.

# # #

Please let me know if you review Much Ado About Marshals and I'll send you the first chapter of Much Ado About Madams! Just send the review site to jacquierogers @ gmail.com. Thanks!

Win A FREE Book!

One commenter will win a Smashwords coupon for a complimentary copy of Much Ado About Marshals. Please include your email address or another name will be drawn. Good luck!