Sweetwater Springs Christmas Cover Reveal

It's a thrill to reveal the beautiful cover for Sweetwater Springs Christmas: A Montana Sky Short Story Anthology by Debra Holland and Friends. I'm proud to be one of her friends and author of one of the stories in the anthology.

The stories in Christmas in Sweetwater Springs: A Montana Sky Short Story Collection are:

E. AYERS - A CHRISTMAS FAR FROM HOME
Frank Coleman comes to Sweetwater Springs to ask Adie Reiner to be his wife, but things don't happen as planned. Frank has been devastated by the plight of the Crow Indians, and when he discovers the indifference and bigotry within the Reiner household towards the Indians, he leaves. But he doesn't leave alone. Adie and her sister come with him. Adie is determined to help those less fortunate.
http://www.ayersbooks.com

LINDA CARROLL-BRADD - WISHES ON A STAR
Free-spirit Richelle Quaid is outspoken, confident and a little bit spoiled. She sets tongues wagging with her bloomers and bicycle but also catches the eye of visiting rancher Landon Howard. An incident with her bicycle causes his prize colt to bolt into the cold Montana night. As Richelle and Landon track the animal together, they can’t fight their growing attraction. Will a wish made on a star foretell their future?
www.lindacarroll-bradd.com

MJ FREDRICK - ABIGAIL'S CHRISTMAS ANGEL
US Marshal Benedict Traylor has avoided Abigail Sinclair, his best friend's widow, since his friend's death in the spring. Part of his reason is guilt over his role in Marcus's death. A bigger part is his guilt over the tenderness he feels for Abigail. But it's winter, and he knows she needs his help. When he arrives and finds her unconscious on the floor of her barn, his plan to stay only a little while flees. As he nurses her back to health, his affection for her blossoms anew.
www.Mjfredrick.com

DEBRA HOLLAND – THE GIFT OF MUSIC
The holiday season brings renowned harpist Blythe Robbins to town to perform at the newly-opened hotel. Timid Blythe is drained from a grueling performance schedule and wants nothing more than to rest and do some soul-searching about her future. Peter Rockwell, shy scion of a prominent hotel family, seeks to gain his experience managing a hotel away from his overbearing family. Can two reserved people overcome their limitations and find love?
drdebraholland.com

DEBRA HOLLAND - A FAMILY FOR IKE
Elderly hermit Chappie Henderson rescues newly orphaned Ike Tannerson and takes him to town to find a home. As Ike struggles to fit in with his new family, Chappie worries for the boy. But to help Ike, Chappie will need to emerge from his long solitude, something that seems impossible.
drdebraholland.com

DEBRA HOLLAND - THE JOY OF CHRISTMAS
The town banker Caleb Livingston opens his new hotel, crowning the holidays with a lavish party for the whole town. Although his intention is to advertise his business, in the process, the banker learns that perhaps some things are more important than money.
drdebraholland.com

PATY JAGER – A CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER
Dr. Carson Raines has one wish for this Christmas; to find his missing wife. He enlists the help of a married couple who are Pinkerton Agents. They find his wife, Ida, living in Sweetwater Springs as a spinster. Ida is pleasantly surprised to run into one of the new boarders at Mrs. Murphy’s boarding house. He’s a handsome doctor who might be able to help her discover her missing past.
www.patyjager.net

JILL MARIE LANDIS - UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR
Spinster Violet Winters is determined to make the best of spending her first Christmas alone in Sweetwater Springs. When she slips and falls one icy cold evening, not only does Rory Townsend, a drifter nicknamed "Tumbleweed" come to her rescue, but the townsfolk rally to help too. Violet quickly discovers what it means to live in a close knit community and that it's never too late to give up on love and the surprises life has in store.
www.jillmarielandis.com

TRISH MILBURN – A NEW HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
Grace Mayfield leaves behind betrayal and heartache in Kentucky for a new life in Montana. She'll be satisfied with a stable, happy new home on her cousin's ranch cooking for the ranch hands. What she doesn't expect is to find true love with cowboy Andrew Kingston, especially when she's been failed by love before.
www.trishmilburn.com
 
LINDA MCLAUGHLIN - THE BEST PRESENT
Ten-year-old Allison Harcourt's life has been turned upside down since her father lost his job and her beloved grandmother died. She's not looking forward to Christmas, especially since she can't figure out how to finish the scarf she's making for her mother. An unexpected stop in Sweetwater Springs brings her and her parents to the boarding house of the widow Murphy. Sometimes sweet things can be found in the most unexpected places.
www.lindamclaughlin.com

BEV PETTERSEN - THE CHRISTMAS CROSSING
Ellie would love to leave her father’s peddling wagon. But spending Christmas Eve locked in the Sweetwater jail is the bossy Cal Barrett's idea, not hers. How can she possibly sit behind bars when snow melt threatens to wash away her beloved animals, and her dream of finding a home? However, with a little Christmas magic, two searching hearts discover they can bridge much more than a raging river.
www.BevPettersen.com

TORI SCOTT – A PROMISE FOR CHRISTMAS
When Rachel Tanner loses her husband two months before Christmas, the holiday looks bleak for her and her young son, Cass. Then her husband's brother arrives in Sweetwater Springs to help Rachel make it through the winter, turning her life, and her heart, upside down.
http://toriscott.blogspot.com

CINDY WOOLF - SUGARPLUM DREAMS
Julia Bosworth is a woman scorned. Determined to follow her dreams and not those of her mother, she comes to Sweetwater Springs, Montana to open a sweet shop. Little does she know that in Sweetwater Springs dreams really do come true and Christmas miracles happen.
www.cynthiawoolf.com

Sweetwater Springs Christmas: A Montana Sky Short Story Anthology will go on sale on Nov. 18 at Amazon, but you can pre-order it now. Release date is November 18.


Linda

Happy Chinese New Year!

Today is the beginning of the Chinese new year. The holiday, known as the Spring Festival, begins on the first day of the first lunar month and ends on the 15th day, called Lantern Festival. This is a major holiday for the Chinese and is also celebrated in places with large ethnic Chinese populations like California. It's also celebrated in other Asian nations that have been influenced by China, like Vietnam where the holiday is known as Tet (yes, as in Tet Offensive).

Chinese New Year is celebrated with dragon dances and fireworks.

Red is the color associated with the holiday because of the belief that red chases away evil spirits and bad fortune.

In Chinese astrology, 2009 is the Year of the Ox and it is a Yin Earth year. Since the ox is described as calm and steady, dare we hope for a less volatile year than the last one which was a Year of the Rat? I do hope so.

My friend Teresa tells me that on Chinese New Year's eve you are supposed to eat fish so you'll float into the new year on a sea of prosperity. On New Year's Day you're supposed to wear new clothes so you can start the year with a clean slate. I like these ideas, just wish I'd had a chance to plan ahead a little more. Actually, Teresa had told me some of this before the end of 2008 so I had clam chowder on New Year's Eve to ensure prosperity in 2009. Hope it worked.

Linda

Wikipedia has lots of information on the holiday and on Chinese astrology. The photos are from my trip to Portland's Chinese Garden last March. (Note: link to Teresa's blog added at 10:40AM)

Of Easter Eggs & Baskets

Did you know that decorated eggs predates Easter? The Ancient Persians painted eggs to celebrate Nowruz, their New Year celebration which begins on the first day of spring. The egg represented the rebirth of nature, i.e. fertility, a common cause for celebration in pagan cultures. Later the custom was adopted by Christians to celebrate Easter and the eggs came to represent the rebirth of man. For more on Nowruz, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nowrooz.

As a child I remember my mom cooking hard-boiled eggs, then the two of us would color them. I was a de-facto only child, so Mom and I did a lot of things together. I do have an older brother, but we grew up separately. (My dad had two marriages and two only children.) One Easter my folks and I visited my brother and decorated eggs with his two chilren. My niece was pretty young at the time, perhaps 5 or 6, and in her enthusiasm to do th job, managed to crack every egg she picked up. On Sunday morning, we had the obligatory Easter egg hunt, then we had to leave to head back home. But we were delayed when my niece decided it was her turn to hide the eggs and let the adults hunt for them. Of course we found it impossible to say no. :)

I was in K-Mart this morning and I saw a lot of commercial Easter baskets available for sale. Maybe it's just me, but that seems to take the fun out of it. If I had kids or grandkids, I hope I'd still make the baskets myself. Finding things to put in them and putting the baskets together is part of the fun.

Do you still have Easter baskets at your house?

Linda

Happy St. Paddy's Day To All

I'm part Irish by heritage, but of the Northern, Protestant, "Orange", variety. When I was growing up in Pittsburgh, my mother and grandmother always insisted we should wear orange on St. Patrick's Day. Then we moved to Southern California and I quickly discovered that not wearing green on March 17th meant complete strangers would pinch you. I rarely made that mistake again.

I believe it was Sheridan who said Ireland was "the land of happy wars and sad love songs" and one of the things I love best about Ireland is the music. Not the Riverdance type so much as the pub music, especially the drinking songs and the rebel songs. I've long been a fan of the Irish Rovers, and The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. Before I could legally imbibe, I enjoyed songs like "The Moonshiner" and "Whiskey, You're The Devil". Irish folk songs are, by turn, lyrical, raucous, comical, tragic or irreverent.

No one with my romantic tendencies could resist songs about a glorious lost cause like the United Irish uprising of 1798 that attempted to unite Catholic and Protestant Irishmen to throw off the yoke of England. I'm happy so many of the recordings have been transferred to CD so I can still listen to them, whenever I feel the urge.

I do have one pet peeve though. I cringe every time I walk into a restaurant a see a sign advertising the "St. Patty's" specials. Patty is short for Patricia. The proper diminutive for Patrick is Paddy, a name once used pejoratively for Irishmen. Now there may be a St. Patricia, and she may have her own special day, I wouldn't know. But in the meantime, please stop emasculating St. Patrick!

On St. Paddy's Day,
My wish for you
Is a large bowl
Of Irish stew,
And a pint or two
Of your favorite brew.

What do you like (or not like) about St. Patrick's Day? Do you eat corned beef and cabbage, drink a pint of Guinness and pinch anyone not wearing green? In any case, have a happy St. Paddy's Day!

Linda

Some favorite quotes:

"Ireland, sir, for good or evil, is like no other place under heaven, and no man can touch its sod or breathe its air without becoming better or worse." - George Bernard Shaw

"This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever." - Sigmund Freud (speaking about the Irish)