Winter's Magic Book Blast and Giveaway

Winter’s Magic

By Cynthia Gail

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

Beth Sergeant and Nick Chester come from opposite ends of the social food chain. While he sees a rare beautiful woman without an agenda, she sees a wealthy playboy. Can he convince her to let go of her insecurities and take a chance on love, when challenges from his past force her to reveal her most guarded secret?

Owner of La Bella Vita, a five-star day spa nestled in the affluent suburbs of Nashville, Tennessee, Beth Sergeant knows her elite clientele first hand. She attended their private schools. She was even engaged, although briefly, to one of their most recognized bachelors. But she never fit in to their social-elite world.

After losing his parents to a car accident at a young age, Nick Chester was raised by his grandfather, the wealthiest man in Nashville. When he chooses to socialize, he has a never-ending list of exclusive events and beautiful women vying for his attention. Yet he never lets himself forget that everyone has an agenda.

Beth can’t resist Nick’s charm and accepts an invitation to dinner, despite her deep-seated insecurities. She proves she’s nothing like other women Nick's dated and learns to trust him in return. But just as the last of their resistance crumbles and true love is within reach, challenges from Nick's past threaten to destroy everything and force Beth to reveal her most guarded secret.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT:

Beth made her way over to the tree to get a closer view. Several handmade pieces intermingled with the sparkling crystal ornaments and gold strands of glass beads. She fingered the row of cotton balls that ran along the edge of a red felt Santa hat. On the top, in glitter writing, it said 1982. “Who made these?”

Nick laughed, but when she turned her head, she caught a hint of sadness in his eyes. “I made them with my mother when I was in grade school. Every year, on the first day of holiday break, we would go to the craft store and buy materials to make a dozen ornaments.”

 “A dozen?” She wondered how a person ever got over losing a parent, much less losing both. Or if you even could. And his poor grandfather, losing a child ... Her chest tightened at the thought.

“One for our tree at home, one for Grandfather’s, several neighbors, and the mailman. And I’ll never forget Mrs. Sawyer at the bakery. She used to give me a free cinnamon roll when I came in with my grandfather.”

“We weren’t very crafty at my house. But Mom and I would bake like a storm. Candy, cookies, fudge. We always took packages to our neighbors on Christmas Eve, right before we went to church for Midnight Mass.”

“Do you still go?” The reflection of the tree lights sparkled in his eyes as he spoke. At this very moment, he didn’t look, or act, like the city’s most eligible bachelor. She could feel her resolve slipping. She needed Jenny.

“I haven’t been in years. In fact, I don’t think I’ve been since I graduated high school.”

“I haven’t, either. You can imagine my surprise when Grandfather asked me to take him this year.” He glanced back at the tree. “Would you like to come with us?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Home is where you hang your hat. A native Missourian, my family relocated twice during my teenage years, taking me from a high school freshman class of over 1,200 students to living in a small town in Kentucky with a total population of less than 1,000.

Home is where your heart is. Despite the culture shock and challenges of those shy, teenage years, I met my true love in that tiny town and I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to experience a community where everyone waves, calls you by name, and treats you like family.

My husband and I live in the suburbs of Nashville, Tennessee with our eighteen-year-old son and three dogs. When I’m not working or writing, I can be found with family and friends. I love to bake in the winter, grill in the summer, and on occasion, I sneak away from everyone and curl up with a good book.

I hope you enjoy my stories. Each one touches on modern day issues, fears, and challenges that women face every day. And each one illustrates that love is within reach if you let down those walls and allow your heart to open. Our lives and experiences are so much more meaningful when we have someone to share them with.

LINKS

Amazon   http://amzn.to/PdYIyf

Barnes & Noble http://bit.ly/RnxlBC

Soul Mate Publishing  http://bit.ly/VwT9ZI

Twitter  http://bit.ly/VXuYZx

Facebook  http://bit.ly/RnxlBC

Website  http://cynthiagail.com

Make sure you leave a comment to be eligible to win:

Cynthia will be awarding the following prizes to three randomly drawn commenters during the tour either one $10 Starbucks GC, one $10 Amazon GC, or one $10 Soul Mate Publishing GC.

Reluctant Santa

Blurb:

Since his mother abandoned him on Christmas Eve never to return Colin McDermott has hated Christmas and sworn never to have children. But this year two angels are giving him everything he didn't want. A Santa suit, a child, and a chance at love again. This is his last chance to learn the true meaning of Christmas

 

The Review:

When angels and demons are fighting over the soul of a human being, nothing is ever fair. In the case of Colin and Brooke, this is even more true.

Colin has scars from a childhood riddled with abandonment and neglect. He is a man at war with himself and when his old flame Brooke suddenly appears back in his life, all of his well ordered plans go up in smoke.

Brooke has her daughter Olivia and that is all she needs. What she doesn't need or want is Olivia's father popping in for a sales call and suddenly getting involved in her life. Things quickly spiral out of control when angels, demons and a spare Santa suit create a bit of holiday magic.

This book kept me reading. The abandonment issues really reach into your soul and make you feel for Colin, even when he is being a salesmen and you seriously wonder if he is going to come around. Some of the arguments between Brooke and Colin were a little echo like and I think that could be tightened up, but on the whole, Reluctant Santa had a sweet holiday feel and a surprise twist at the end you won't see coming.

A major theme in this book is redemption. I loved the eternal possibility that angels really are rooting for us and love can conquer all in the end.

sweet romance, m/f, holiday

4/5 

Don’t forget that 10% of the sale proceeds go to Puppy Rescue Mission.  Their website is http://www.thepuppyrescuemission.org/history and they also have a facebook page.  They help soldiers bring home their battle buddies.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Reluctant-Santa-ebook/dp/B009TGLJHE

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-reluctant-santa-sylvia-mcdaniel/1113589058

Excerpt:

Brooke watched Colin carry a sleeping Olivia from the car to her bed in the apartment. She tucked her daughter in and kissed her on the forehead while Colin stood at the door, observing.

She looked at her sleeping child and couldn’t imagine never seeing her again. The pain Colin must have suffered as a child, wondering why his mother had left him and never returned. But would that cause him to never want children?

It would definitely make a man want to make certain his children were well taken care of. Now she perfectly understood his questions about Olivia’s welfare. But what other damage had Colin’s mother done to him?

They tiptoed out of her daughter's room and went into the living room. Brooke opened another bottle of wine and poured it into glasses. She carried the drinks into the living area of her cozy apartment.

She sat on the sofa, relaxing, while Colin bent over the hearth to lit a fire in the fireplace. Memories of the two of them in college rushed back at her. The muscles in his back arched and strained against his shirt as he arranged the logs. She remembered how he smelled after working out at the college gym. The way he would chase her around his small apartment when his roommate was out and how they had made love all night long after attending that frat party.

Her heart fluttered as he rose and stepped away from the fireplace. God, the memories overwhelmed her and that small flame she had tried to ignore suddenly burst into an inferno.

How long had it been since she’d had sex? How long had it been since she’d even felt the stirrings of desire that now vibrated along her inner thighs?

But her daughter slept just down the hall.

She drank her glass of wine in one giant gulp. She still had feelings for this man, and she wasn't ready to face them. The thought of the two of them together again was intoxicating.

Her memories of their one night together left her body sizzling. Years had passed since she’d felt such a surge of desire.

Brooke stood and walked into the kitchen where she poured herself another glass of wine, needing the encouragement the alcohol instilled.

She returned to the couch and sank onto the cushions. Colin came over and sat beside her. They sat in silence, watching the flames. She placed her glass on the table and turned to him, pushing all thoughts from her mind, focused on the one thing she wanted. Him.

He looked at her, a quizzical expression on his face as she reached for him.

She put her lips on his. His hands came up and wrapped around her face, holding her to him as his lips plundered hers.

The familiar magic smacked her in the middle, and she knew she’d come home. What was it about this man that made her body tingle in all the right places? Why had she not felt this familiar magic with anyone else?

Sylvia McDaniel and the love of her life, Don, live in Texas with son Shane, Putz the klutzy dachshund and Ashley our shy dachshund. During the day, she works for a small insurance agency, helping clients with their commercial insurance coverage. 

The weekends are spent working out in the garden until the temperature climbs above ninety degrees. Recently, with the help of her husband, she learned to make homemade blueberry and blackberry jam. Cooking is not her favorite past-time and she prefers Don’s cooking any day of the week.

Currently, she’s written fourteen novels.  Her novel, A Hero's Heart, was a 1996 Romance Writers of America Golden Heart finalist. Sylvia is President Elect of Dallas Area Romance Authors.

She can be reached by email at Sylvia.McDaniel@verizon.net.

I would like you to know that the author is donating 10% of the sales of this book to Puppy Rescue Mission.  This is an organization that brings home dogs from Afghanistan and Iraq that our soldiers have bonded with. Most of them are dogs that they have found wandering the street and become attached to. Search for them on Facebook under Puppy Rescue Mission.