Lisa ~
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Christmas: here, there, anywhere
by Debra Salonen
In case you haven't heard, the holidays are coming. For a lot of people, that means sticking close to hearth and home to enjoy all the traditions of family. In my childhood, my parents, who owned a taxicab company, celebrated by not taking any taxi calls during the three hours that we spent opening gifts on Christmas morning. In my husband's family, his parents packed all five boys into the station wagon and drove to Grandma Salonen's tiny house in a tiny town forty-five miles away. When we ran across some old photos of that time I was amazed to see Grandma's TV on while they were opening gifts. The Munsters were invited to Christmas? Who knew?
My husband and I try to mix things up. We've done the mega-family thing at my late brother's house. Once, we took our two then-teens to San Diego for four days before Christmas and drove home on Christmas Day. I've heard them tell people it was the most memorable Christmas of all, but sometimes, you can't beat the simple, quiet gathering at home.
Since our grandchildren arrived, we've done the traditional celebrations, as well as a few exceptions. Five years ago, we rented a house on the coast in Aptos, CA. No tree or mantel for the stockings, but we improvise. And Santa found us! We also enjoyed sand, redwoods, beach bikes and games in front of the fire...we all took home a lot of great memories from that one.
But not everyone has those kinds of memories. The hero of my new book, MONTANA MIRACLE, has set December 25 as his deadline to bid goodbye to his old home. He fully expects his last glimpse of Paradise, Montana, to be in his rearview mirror. He's headed somewhere warm and completely new in the hopes of creating unique memories to replace the many painful ones. He's fixing on celebrating with margaritas instead of eggnog...until he meets a very determined pastor who isn't about to let him turn his back on Christmas.
Where is your favorite holiday memory located? I'd love to hear. I'll ask Lisa to pull a name from those who reply to win a holiday DVD and a backlist book of mine. Hope this year's holiday—wherever it is—shapes up to be one of your best!
Cheers,
Deb
Deb
A six-time nominee for RT's Best Superromance of the Year award, UNTIL HE MET RACHEL (May 2010), took home that honor with Debra's most unlikely hero and never-say-die heroine.
Montana comes alive with bold heroes and modern heroines in Debra's Big Sky Mavericks series from Tule Publishing:
MONTANA COWGIRL - "Cowgirl, you can go home--and love--again."
MONTANA COWBOY - "He's nobody's cowboy until his new neighbor rocks his world."
MONTANA DARLING - "Her land. His tent. And this is Montana, where property disputes can lead to a range war...or love."
MONTANA MAVERICK - "A lone wolf PhD rescues a rancher--and gains a life."
HER FOREVER GIFT (a FREE holiday novella) - "The system failed him, but she never would."
MONTANA HERO
MONTANA ROGUE
Readers and reviewers of Debra's romance novels say:
"No one writes drama like Debra Salonen." ~Huntress Reviews
"Great chemistry, great one liners and a sexy cowboy!" ~C. Arcidiacono
"This novel had everything, family drama, love, a little bit of sexy and a lot of heart." ~gertyp
"...one of the most heartfelt novels I've ever read." ~Kaitie Campbell
"Debra Salonen pens a bittersweet love story with a fresh storyline and a love that stays with you long after the book is over." ~Tami Sutton, The Best Reviews
For something naughty and wildly irreverent, try JUDY UNCENSORED, which features a 54-year-old, self-proclaimed "trailer trash" heroine, with spin-off holiday novella JUDY DOES CHRISTMAS. "Laugh-out-loud funny, poignant and just plain fabulous!" ~JMaxwell, Amazon review
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