Friday Spotlight- Will Work for Love by @AmieDenman @FictionWitches #TMPress

A BAREFOOT Book
When Hurricane Destiny sweeps across the island of St. Thomas in September, the East family isn’t worried about their vacation home. After all, a property management company handles insurance and repairs. Just to be sure, though, they send maid of honor Whitney Oliver to St. Thomas for a two-week vacation just prior to the Christmas Eve wedding of their daughter Taylor.

Instead of a tropical vacation, Whitney finds an estate heavily damaged and untouched by the contractor who cashed the checks. With only two weeks to pull the venue together for a wedding in paradise, she accepts the help of a sexy islander with an amazing skill for construction. Chris Maxwell, owner of Blue Isle Construction, is blown away by Whitney the moment she arrives on the island. Putting the East family estate together board by board is the only thing he can do to help Whitney—and himself.

Working side by side and day and night by the sparkling blue water’s edge, Whitney and Chris fall hard for each other. Hurricane Destiny brought them together, but will secrets surrounding Chris’ construction company tear them apart?


Author Bio: Amie Denman lives in a small town in her native Ohio with her husband and sons. Her two cats and large yellow Labrador are kind enough to share a sunny office where she lets her imagination run wild. Reading books was her favorite escape as a child, and growing up four houses away from the community library encouraged her addition. When she’s not reading or writing, she enjoys walking and running outside. The helpless victim of a lifetime of curiosity, she’s been known to chase fire trucks on her bicycle just to see what’s going on. Amie believes that everything is fun: especially roller coasters, wedding cake, and falling in love.
Please visit Amie at www.amiedenman.com and say hello.

Christmas Eve- Traditions

Good tidings this Christmas Eve morning!

Christmas as a kid always consisted of massive excitement on Christmas Eve that made it hard to go to bed. My sister and I would whisper and giggle and try so hard to go to sleep and fail miserably. The excitement and the wait made the night drag on forever so what little sleep we got, was hardly missed when 3 or 4 and 5 o'clock rolled around.

We would tiptoe into the hallway and into the living room, half holding our breath until one of us found the plug to the Christmas tree lights- there was no way we would spoil this moment by turning on the table lamp unless we had absolutely no choice. I think that was part of the magic.

When those multicolored lights illuminated the presents beneath the branches, glinting off the shiny bows and ribbons, it was enough to take your breath away, regardless of whether there were ten presents or two, whether you were four or twelve. Even when some of the magic was dispelled, there was still this sense of wonder and enjoyment.

I get that same sense now, watching my kids open presents, so that feeling never really ends and I hope that this Christmas is filled with all kinds of wonder and enjoyment for you and yours.

Have a blessed day!  

Tuesdays with Taryn- Losing my Kitchen to the Man of the House

I'm writing this on Monday, as I listen to the thunder and rain and hope that the power doesn't go out before I need to fix supper. As of tonight though (actual Tuesday) the kids will be off school for their break for two weeks. Stepson will be going to his mom's until Christmas Eve and then after that, who knows.

As a family we have a very busy week coming up. Hubby has to work nearly every day, but this coming Saturday he will be off and intends to spend his time baking Chess Cake and Lemon Drop cookies. I figure Girly-Girl and I will tackle the peppermint bark, peanut butter fudge, chocolate cookies, dipped pretzels, and spritz cookies sometime later this week, as we head into the weekend. Too many chefs spoil the soup, or well, get under each others feet and, frankly, on my last nerve. This will be round 2 of the treat making for family and friends. I did the majority of it for my family and friends before Thanksgiving, but now we're doing the 2nd batch for hubby's family's side.

Besides all that, I have a few other things I need to work on- hubby wants sausage balls (Bisquick, sausage and shredded cheese), I'm going to attempt my very first pumpkin log/roll and I've had a hankering for a chess pie. Hubby's cake tastes very similar, but it's just not chess pie, which I haven't had in years.

We need to lay out the turkey in the fridge to thaw on Thursday, the ham on Saturday. We have Christmas breakfast with hubby's dad's side and though I was going to try making homemade cinnamon rolls with bread loaves, I couldn't find any in the frozens, so I'm just going to make a pan of cinnamon pull-aparts, aka- Monkey Bread. Then I'm going to have to convince hubby to fix the turkey on Christmas Eve afternoon because I don't think he realizes how much room it will take up in the oven when we have all kinds of other dishes to fix on Christmas Day that need to put in the oven. There is also the little detail that, no matter how well prepared, I'm not a fan of hot turkey. It doesn't cut well and to me, it seems "spongy."

That brings me to the title of my post. I think I'm losing my kitchen to the man of the house. Ever since hubby's attempt at baking a whole turkey turned out really good, he believes we MUST have turkey AND ham for Christmas, that he needs to be in the kitchen like a head chef and I find myself feeling like I've been reduced to a sous chef. I think hubby forgets that the cooking used to be MY thing on Christmas Day and I fear he's on the fast track to kicking me out of my own kitchen.

Of course, I do the cooking nearly 95% of the time during the rest of the year and I don't mind taking a load off, but I'm still expected to make homemade mashed potatoes and his favorite- mac & cheese (can I honestly admit that mac & cheese is one of my LEAST favorite foods? I like it okay, but I can live without it, especially when I have to make it.). Hubby's Mom is bringing green beans and punchbowl cake and my mom is bringing a plethora of things that are "necessaries" with a turkey dinner- cranberry gel, stuffing to go with the turkey (I'm planning to make gravy from the drippings and we'll have yeast rolls); baked beans and potato salad- for those of us who'd like something a little different with ham and fruit salad, per my dad. Oh, and hubby is insistent that he must make deviled eggs, like my grandma showed him how to make last year (when I was sick and they booted me out of my kitchen- see the pattern?)

The table will be laden with plenty of food and our home will be filled with lots of love and laughter, I'm sure. I guess, if I lose my kitchen for a short time, it's all good. Maybe I won't be the one who's so exhausted at the end of the day. ::wink::

Favorite Christmas Treats- Guilty as Charged

There is just something about the goodies you can get this time of year that you just can't get any other time. My husband's favorites are the Reeses Christmas Trees, which we jokingly call the Reeses Arrowheads because they didn't go to too much trouble on the shape of the mold for them, but he (and I) love the fact that there is SO much more peanut butter in them than a regular Reeses cup. One of my favorites is of course the Little Deb Tree cakes. I once made up a song about it...I can't remember it now, but it was to the tune of "O Christmas Tree" and detailed how wonderfully edible they are. LOL

I love the store bought Holiday butter and sugar cookies. The cheap ones, which for some reason always taste better, but I'm also a fan of those Danish Butter cookies in a tin. When I can't find cookies like those, I can always make my grandma's Basic Spritz cookies, which are a buttery type cookie made with a cookie press.

My family and I have started the tradition of giving some of our family and friends tubs of homemade treats, so this year, the spritz cookies made the list of goodies. Another favorite is Peppermint bark, Chocolate Cream Cheese cookies, my hubby's Lemon Drop cookies, dipped pretzels, Chess cake and Peanut Butter fudge.

I've attempted Chocolate Fudge a couple of years in a row, but this year I decided against it. I've yet to find a no-fail recipe that works for me, so I'd rather not use my family and friends as guinea pigs until I get it right. ;)

I have done butterscotch haystacks before, but the flavor and aroma of butterscotch tends to overpower all the other flavors and sort of takes over. I have a recipe for Rolo Turtles that I'd like to try that simply involves small twist pretzels, Rolos & pecan halves.

 This year I'm going to attempt making a Pumpkin Roll, which I hope is as easy to fix as the Youtube video I watched. I might have to watch it again before I fix it, just to make sure I understand what I'm doing with it.

Pumpkin pie is always a favorite dessert and pecan pie, or turtle pecan pie. I personally would love a chess pie. Hubby's chess cake comes close but it's still just not quite the texture I expect with that flavor.

My dad has done a fruit salad for our Christmas dinner here in my home. My grandma has made apple pie. My mother-in-law and her husband usually brings us more treats than we can shake a stick at.

And Christmas Eve morning, when we have breakfast with my father-in-law's bunch, I've done a variety of dishes, from Pineapple Surprise to breakfast burritos. I think one year I made monkey bread, another time a honey bun cake. This year I'm thinking of making homemade (or almost homemade) cinnamon rolls with thawed bread loaves that you let rise and then bake and homemade cream cheese icing or maybe just my powdered sugar drizzle. I haven't decided yet.

As you can tell, food is kind of the center of our holiday celebrations. I am guilty as charged.

What are some of your family favorites or holiday traditional goodies that you enjoy?

Christmas with Catherine & Dawson, Part 3. Come join us! #contest #give@way!

Welcome back for the FINAL Christmas with Catherine and Dawson Giveaway!

In Castaway Hearts, Christmas continues to play big role in bringing Catherine and Dawson together. Her heartache over the tragic death of Dawson's brother at sea submerges Catherine in grief and nearly costs her life. I'll share with you now, the scene after she awakens and the gift that Dawson gives her, which is quite intimate and personal.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Catherine glanced down at the blue paper around the box that sat across her legs. It wasn’t heavy and she felt very shy all of a sudden about a gift from him. She had never received a gift from any man.

This was a momentous occasion and she held her breath.

Slipping the ribbon away, she lifted the lid to discover soft pink fabric, decorated with magnificent floral embroidery across the front. Catherine lifted the clothing out so it revealed itself as a new nightgown. She felt heat rush her cheeks.

“Oh, Dawson.” She exhaled in a whisper. “This is too much. You shouldn’t have. What would people think if I told them you got me a nightgown?”

“You don’t have to tell them, you know.” Dawson scooted the tray of food and her other gift to the other side of the bed so he could sit down across from her. Catherine looked up at him and saw the glimmer in his eyes, the sparkle of humor and sincerity.

“I figured you might like a nightgown that was new and fresh.” Dawson admitted in a low voice.

Catherine tried to swallow the lump in her throat, uncertain what to say. She glanced down at the gown she wore. Now she was certain it was not hers.

The idea that she wore a dead woman’s nightgown bothered her, but not as much as gown that lay before her. No matter how practical, this was not the gift of a friend.

A man would give this to his wife in the privacy of their bedroom, without the inquisitive eyes of others. She wondered if he had done the same with Lucinda. Though she sat in the middle of his bed, dressed in naught but a flimsy nightgown anyway, Catherine was not his wife.

“You can’t expect me to accept this. It’s much too personal.” Catherine held the soft fabric in her hands. Silky, smooth, and near transparent, it was much more intimate than a simple nightgown and she wanted to wear it. Her heart thumped in her ears loud as a drum as she shook her head. “This is a gift you give a spouse.”

The last sentence slipped out in a hushed breath before Catherine could stop her erratic thoughts. They trailed off, in wicked daydream of what it would be like to wear the luxurious garment, to have Dawson lay her down on this bed and make love to her.

How remarkable his mouth would feel if it touched her all over, even in her most private of places. She felt the flash of heat across her skin when she looked away from him, embarrassed by her own wayward thoughts.

His hand came into her line of sight and caressed hers. “And what if I wanted that?”

Catherine shot him a look, finding tenderness filled the deep cobalt of his eyes.

“What?”

“What if I wanted you for my wife, Catherine?” Dawson put his hand into his pocket. He withdrew a small object, shiny and golden.

A ring.

 ~*~*~*~*~*~

This the final of 3 Christmas with Catherine and Dawson Giveaways. Each contest begins on Monday and end on Sunday between now and the holidays. I will contact the winner for address information, especially in regard to the gift card choices in this giveaway and I will ship the prize as soon as I'm able once the contest has ended.

Dawson's concern over Catherine having a gown of her own, inspired this giveaway to gift the winner with some "intimate apparel" of their own this holiday season. I hope you'll enjoy it and thanks for joining us!

Pictured above are the items included in this giveaway- 1 SIGNED print copy of Castaway Hearts, a bookmark and each of my 4 business cards (for you to keep or give away to others you think might be interested) and a pair of Blue Shell Tea Candle Holders (included are 6 Vanilla Caramel scented tea candles). I don't have a picture of it, but also included in this is your choice of a $25 Gift Card from either Frederick's of Hollywood or Victoria's Secret.

Please follow the instructions below on the Rafflecopter widget for your chances to win! There are several ways to play. We've enjoyed having you join us!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Party Continues- Christmas with Catherine & Dawson, Part 2. Come join us!

Good morning and welcome back to Christmas with Catherine and Dawson. I'm glad you've joined us! The winner of Part 1 has already been randomly selected and notified, as well as announced on the Rafflecopter widget on that giveaway post.

There's a common thread between the holidays and Catherine and Dawson and it's that spirit of belief, in believing that LOVE is the greatest thing of all. It's having faith to see things through and hope that all is not lost. It takes a while for Catherine and Dawson to believe in their love for each other and even then, obstacles being what they are, there are times when it does seem all hope is lost.

It's moments like those in life, that we should really grasp hold of and believe even harder in love and each other. Christmas shouldn't be the only time we believe in the goodness of others or show kindness and gratitude and appreciation. We must think with our heads, but I think we should BELIEVE and love with all our hearts.

Enjoy this time of year and believe in the greatness of others because you might just be the light in the darkness for someone else. Happy Holidays! Now for the best part!

This the 2nd of 3 Christmas with Catherine and Dawson Giveaways. Each contest begins on Monday and end on Sunday between now and the holidays. I will contact the winner for address information and I will ship the prize as soon as I'm able once the contest has ended. 

Pictured above, a Candle holder with candles to "light the way" and a Golden "Believe" tabletop decoration, and 1 SIGNED print copy of Castaway Hearts, bookmark and each of my 4 business cards (for you to keep or give away to others you think might be interested.) I am also including a few "secret Santa" type holiday items as well, but Shhhh.....those are secret, after all!

Please follow the instructions below on the Rafflecopter widget for your chances to win! There are several ways to play. We've enjoyed having you join us!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Christmas with Catherine & Dawson, Part 1. Come join us! #contest #give@way

Welcome to our Christmas with Catherine and Dawson Giveaway! 

Make yourself at home, snuggle in front of the fire or sip some cocoa. Please feel free to leave comments as well! We'd love to hear from you! Rather than idle chit-chat I say it's time to get this party started, so away we go!

As Catherine awakes on Christmas, discovering herself in Dawson's bed after she nearly drown in the ocean, she also discovers that her grandparents have been there, and have left her a gift.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dawson hummed as he filled two plates with food. Rose baked a roast with potatoes, corn, crushed cranberries and buttery rolls. He poured Catherine a bowl of broth, still warming on the stovetop, though he knew he should stir the fire and keep all of it warm until he could put it away.

With a tray filled to the edge with good food, which included two tall glasses of water and some warm tea in a small kettle, he headed back up the dark staircase to the bedroom.

When he reentered the room, he set the silver tray full of food on the bed in front of her. She still sat with the covers up around her, chest high, her expression so innocent and wide-eyed, and her fiery hair mussed and full around her shoulders.

“Have my grandparents been by?” The first words out of her mouth, she reached over to take one of the glasses of water.

“Go slow on that. You haven’t had much to drink and too much at once could make you sick.” Dawson nodded to the glass, and then continued. “Yes, they were here earlier in the day. In fact, they’ve been here off and on throughout the week.”

He walked across the room, picked up the fabric wrapped gift, and brought it to her.

“This is for you. They left it here in case you woke up soon.”

Catherine smiled and touched the delicate green ribbon wrapped around it. She glanced up with shimmering eyes.

“Are they very upset with me?” A fat teardrop trickled down her cheek.

“No, Catherine. They were glad I watched over you, though your grandmother wasn’t all too happy about the horseback rides. Overall, they’re all right with it. In fact, the Captain insists I keep you here until you recover. He thinks it’d be better not to move you for fear it might hinder your condition.”

Catherine sighed and took a deep sip of water. Dawson watched how she eyed the present.

“You may go on and open it. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind.”

She undid the ribbon with slow ease and let the fabric slide away. When the wrappings fell aside, a wooden jewelry box with an intricate rose carved into the lid appeared. She lifted the lid and pulled a slip of paper from it. She read it, then placed the note back inside and closed the lid, her hand lifted to cover the quiver of her lips.

Her tears flowed free now and caught him off guard.

“Is something wrong?”

“No. This box belonged to my great Grandmother Barrett, to be passed down to the oldest granddaughter.”

 “Ahh, that is very special.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

This the 1st of 3 Christmas with Catherine and Dawson Giveaways. Each contest begins on Monday and end on Sunday between now and the holidays. I will contact the winner for address information and I will ship the prizes as soon as I'm able once the contest has ended.

Pictured above, a beautiful wooden jewelry box, with twist clasp closure, 1 SIGNED print copy of Castaway Hearts, bookmark and each of my 4 business cards (for you to keep or give away to others you think might be interested.) There will also be a few other Christmas Gifts included.

Please follow the instructions below on the Rafflecopter widget for your chances to win! There are several ways to play.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Black Friday & Cyber Monday- Do You Join the Crazed?

I, for one, don't go out for Black Friday Sales. I'm sure it's great to get the discounts, but I'm not real crowd-friendly when it comes to the masses trampling into stores and oftentimes fighting over items that I could have easily gotten online or through a catalog without the hassle of the stress and headache of going out into the insanity.

And so, that's part of why I pooled together some of my fellow authors links today, in case anyone else want to do some cyber shopping, not just for Cyber Monday, but Black Friday as well (and there are some contests and giveaways coming up in the very near future as well, so take note and if you have to, bookmark this page to come back for links!)

Kallypso Masters
Selena Blake's Black Friday Sales (Black Friday-Cyber Monday)
Wicked Cucumber 99 Cents Black Friday Sales
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hallee Bridgeman's having a
Super Black Friday to Cyber Monday Sale
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 Black Friday Sale at Turquoise Morning Press
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Though not part of the Black Friday sales, Kathleen Brooks is doing a
12 Days of Christmas Giveaway, starting December 1st. Prizes can be won on DAILY basis!
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And, don't forget to tune in Monday, November 26th, here on my blog for the 1st of my 3 giveaways. It's not Cyber Monday related either, but it is the start of my

Christmas with Catherine and Dawson Giveaway!

Upcoming Holiday Plans-Come spend Christmas with Catherine & Dawson (from CASTAWAY HEARTS)

Okay, I've been remiss in offering very many contests since CASTAWAY HEARTS came out in April of this year, but I figure now is a wonderful time to invite you all to join in the celebration with Catherine and Dawson.

A couple of the key events in CASTAWAY HEARTS happens right around Christmastime and I'll be sharing about them over the next couple of Mondays. I thought, what better way than to spend the holidays than with two of my favorite characters.

So.....

Starting November 26th and running over the following 3 weeks- I will be doing a giveaway each week, starting on those Mondays. Each contest/giveaway will run for a week. I'm running these contests through Rafflecopter and there are several ways to enter to win the prizes, from liking my FB Page or following on Twitter, to answering a question in the comments. I will pick the winner each Monday and contact them as the next contest gets underway for the following week.

One prize in each giveaway will be an autographed PRINT copy of CASTAWAY HEARTS, along with a bookmark and some of my business cards for you to either keep or share with others you think might be interested. There are also other items and special treats as well that are book and holiday related, so come by and hang out and fill in those Rafflecopter requirements in order to get your name in the pot for the chance to win some of these wonderful prizes.

Remember, the contest will run from midnight (Eastern) the Monday it starts until midnight (Eastern) the Sunday it ends. This is to give me time to set up the next one. I will be posting my blogs on those Mondays at my regular time of 5AM Central, but for anyone who wants to get their votes in early when the giveaway begins, if they happen to be up, you can go to my HOME PAGE of my website and enter there.

Be sure to share this info with your friends and fellow readers alike who might be interested in joining us for the holidays! Looking forward to seeing you here!

~Taryn

#SCENTsational Saturdays- Through the Years- Wild Heart by Trisha Yearwood

I received Wild Heart from my parents for Christmas the year I was 17. I think I was also wearing a lot of Coty's Wild Musk and Lady Stetson at the time. I listened to Garth Brooks almost constantly and I liked Trisha Yearwood, too. I was just starting to learn to type by using my dad's old college textbook. It was orange and you sat it up beside your typewriter and read along as you typed the lessons out. I'd just gotten my Smith Corona Word processor, as well.

One of my best friends and I didn't speak for almost a year after that Christmas because of a stupid fourteen or fifteen year old boy who looked older so he played it up that he was already 18. Damn, we were stupid 17 year old girls to fall for his bull.

I honestly don't remember what Wild Heart smells like, but I know it was floral and it was loud because it often gave me a headache, but I still loved it. Funny how that works, isn't it? When I think of this perfume, I think of Garth singing "Wild Horses." I would share the video, but apparently Garth shares NOTHING on Youtube which just makes me want to cry.

The very thought of this perfume brings back vivid memories of that holiday...of my youthful stupidity because I had hopes just like any other girl who didn't feel attractive, that someone had taken an interest in me. Unfortunately, he'd taken an interest in a LOT of girls I knew and he played us all for fools.

Standing on my parents' front porch in my mom's green Army jacket, shivering from head to toe as snow fell, the only light from the Christmas lights on the shrubs. Breath puffing out, nose red from the cold, laughing and believing in something...Yeah, I hadn't had a boyfriend yet, so I was believing in love...but that just wasn't meant to be...Ah....Lesson learned. Stupid boy!

Hope you have a SCENTsational Saturday

and an

AWESOME Autumnal Equinox!