Monday, November 26, 2012

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.
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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

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Taryn Raye's #sixsunday Reflected...

(click above image to read MORE Six Sentence Sunday excerpts)
(Check out more by looking up hashtag #sixsunday on Twitter) 
 
Welcome Sixers! I hope you had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving (and I hope you're not utterly burnt out on Turkey! LOL)
 
As always, for those who might not know here's what 6 Sentence Sunday is all about-

Pick six (6) sentences from anything you like (it can be from a Work in Progress (WiP), something you recently sold, something you hope to sell or even something already under contract and available for purchase – and don’t worry, Six Sentence Sunday is for published AND unpublished writers). Then post them on your blog on Sunday. That’s all there is to it!

You can add yours link to their official list by signing up before midnight the Saturday beforehand.

Heading back into my currently unpublished contemporary romance, Love by Design.

Love by Design

Jasmine Galloway sees beauty in all things but it’s not a thing of beauty when she meets Derrek Martin, a shallow, arrogant playboy celebrity. When her sister Juniper, a blockbuster actress, recommends her interior design business, Décor Dreams, to Derrek, it’s sure to be a disaster. Jasmine is uncertain she can hold her tongue and get the job done, but she takes it, never one to let her opinions of others stand in the way of professional success and she’s not about to let some pretty boy win her over whose ego is as big as his blockbuster movies. It isn’t long before Derrek’s gentle, affectionate manner and country boy charm gets the better of her. She curses herself for allowing the tabloid fodder to contaminate her impression of a man who might well put his designs on her heart.

Derrek Martin counts himself lucky his acting career took off shortly after his arrival in California. Even more since his parents’ deaths left him the guardian of his little sister. The new house is nice, but it needs a woman’s touch before he brings Paige out from Indiana to live with him. He knows his reputation in the tabloids depicts him far from who he really is, but he has never met with a more chilly reception than the moment he meets Jasmine Galloway, Interior Designer to the Stars. He’s sure she has read everything bad ever published about him and disregards all the good. His private life is simply that, private. Derrek intends to keep it that way—until he meets Jasmine.

Her blatant dislike for him pushes a button no one else ever has and Derrek finds he’s desperate to prove that he isn’t what the tabloids make him out to be. More than that, he’s determined to make her his leading lady, but will an ex with a secret steal the spotlight away?

Instead, her words escaped like quiet breaths, short and raspy. She had exposed her desire, her lust, her attraction, in the most obvious way.
Derrek said nothing, but pulled her body closer to his. One arm remained around her waist, but the other came up to touch the cheek he had painted. His expression read like a reflection of her emotions.
He wanted her, too.
If you missed previous Six Sunday posts from Love by Design and would like to check them out, look at the top of the page in my pink tabs for SSS Posts where you can easily find links to each previous post.  

Saturday, November 24, 2012

#SCENTsational Saturdays Favorite Jovan's Vanilla Musk

Another soft scent by Coty. I just discovered this one in the four pack gift set I got last year with Christmas money. I was surprised that I enjoyed it, as usually I prefer a more realistic vanilla scent. If I'm wearing it, I usually prefer to smell like a sugar cookie, but instead this one has subtle tones of cedarwood, sandalwood and musk, giving it a much more exotic fragrance than simply smelling of fresh baked goodies.


We're getting started on these holidays and this inspires me into a different direction musically...


Have a SCENTsational Saturday!


Friday, November 23, 2012

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
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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!