The Gift of Shayla by N.J. Walters

I’m thrilled to announce that The Gift of Shayla is now available from Carina Press.


BLURB:

Adam Lancaster has been in love with Rob McKeith—and attracted to Rob’s wife, Shayla—for years, but he fears their friendship would be over if they knew the truth. So he’s thrilled when his secret fantasy becomes reality and the couple offers him a very special gift: a sensual Christmas Eve in their bedroom…

A Book for Valentine's Day!

Looking for a romantic read? Check out my Ellora's Cave Quickie, Anastasia's Style. It's a Valentine's Day romance with lots of love and plenty of HEAT!


BLURB:

Anastasia Style, owner of Hassle-free Holidays, is having anything but a hassle-free Valentine's Day. Her normally reliable car has a flat and she has a delivery to make for a last minute, lucrative client. And if that wasn't enough to make a woman crazy, she still has to make it to her lawyer's office in time to sign her divorce papers.

She just has to set the stage for her client's romantic evening and then she's off to her lawyer's office to officially end her marriage to Mason Style. Except her client has other ideas about how Anastasia will be spending her evening, and he has no intention of ever letting her go.

Read an Excerpt

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Groundhog Day!

Today is Groundhog Day, and those of us in the United States and Canada watch carefully every year on this day to see what the groundhog will do. According to folklore, if the groundhog emerges from its burrow, that means winter will soon end. If the groundhog sees its shadow and goes back to its burrow we will have six more weeks of winter.

Some famous groundhogs who have helped predict our fate over the years are Pennsylvania's Punxsutawney Phil, Nova Scotia's Shubenacadie Sam and Alberta's Balzac Billy.

Personally, with all the bad weather hitting us I don't think it matters what the groundhog has to say this year. Winter is here and it isn't going anywhere for a while yet.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

I know it's not until tomorrow, but I just wanted to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving Day. We all have so much to be thankful for. I know I count my blesssings every day.

I hope you have a wonderful day filled with family, friends and good food. If you're travelling, stay safe.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY!

Holiday Entertaining!

Holiday Entertaining!
By
N. J. Walters

This is the time of year when we entertain the most. And, if we’re not careful, it can also be the most stressful time of year. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Host a Christmas cookie swap with friends, family, or the girls at the office. A lot of women are doing this nowadays. You make a bunch of your favorite kind of cookie, save some for yourself and take the rest to the cookies swap. Be sure to decide beforehand how many cookies every person should bring. It will vary depending on how many people take part. If there are six of you, you would probably want to bring at least three dozen each so everyone gets a half-dozen of each kind. You might want to bring a few extra to “sample” as you all divide the cookies. This way you get a few hours out with friends and a bunch of different cookies to take home for the holidays, which you don’t have to bake yourself. It’s a win/win situation.

How about that formal Christmas party you always throw? You know the one I’m talking about. You stress, you shop, you worry about your table displays. That’s fine if you truly enjoy doing it, but if you find it more work than pleasure, how about throwing a different kind of party this year.

You could have a skating or sledding party. You don’t need kids to act like one yourself. Or, if you choose, you can have people bring their kids. Make huge pots of soup and chili for when you’re all ready to come inside. They’re quick to reheat and let you enjoy time with your friends and family instead of spending all of it in the kitchen. Put out loaves of thick, crusty bread or rolls a few plates of those cookies you got at the cookie swap and you’re all set.

Another great idea is a potluck dinner. Invite friends and family to share their favorites with you and others. It’s a great way to try out new foods. You could have a theme if you wanted or you could simply have folks go with tried and true. Maybe you could even print off recipe cards on your computer and put them by each dish so if someone likes a particular one they can recreate it at home.

If you’d like a more formal party for adults only, have a buffet. Help yourself out by going to the grocery store and buying pre-made finger foods. These days, you can find everything there from the most basic to the more exotic. Put out some fruit and cheese platters and let people mingle and enjoy.

Have a quiet dinner for a few close friends or family. Pick a meal you’re comfortable making. This is NOT the time to try out new recipes. It’s not hard to make the table festive. A few candles, some red napkins and a pinecone or two and your set. It doesn’t have to be elaborate to be nice.

Above all else, have fun. The people you invite over want to spend time with you. And if they’re more concerned with what your house looks like or what you made or didn’t make, then they shouldn’t be on the guest list.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to one and all. Hope you all have fun entertaining!

Looking for a holiday read? Try Jessamyn’s Christmas Gift, a White Hot Holiday Quickie available now from Ellora’s Cave.


Emotional~Sensual~Satisfying Reads!
http://www.njwalters.com
http://www.njwalters.blogspot.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/awakeningdesires/ (newsletter group)

Valentine's Read!

If you're in the mood for love this Valentine's Day, check out my Ellora's Cave Quickie, Anastasia’s Style.


BLURB:

Anastasia Style, owner of Hassle-free Holidays, is having anything but a hassle-free Valentine's Day. Her normally reliable car has a flat and she has a delivery to make for a last minute, lucrative client. And if that wasn't enough to make a woman crazy, she still has to make it to her lawyer's office in time to sign her divorce papers.

She just has to set the stage for her client's romantic evening and then she's off to her lawyer's office to officially end her marriage to Mason Style. Except her client has other ideas about how Anastasia will be spending her evening, and he has no intention of ever letting her go.

Happy Holidays!

Wishing you all a safe and very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

NJ

Emotional~Sensual~Satisfying Reads!

http://www.njwalters.com

It's Grinch-a-polooza!

Tired of the holidays? Are you ready to strangle the next person who says 'Happy Holidays' to you? Do you secretly dream of capturing Santa and putting him to work cleaning out your garage?

If you answered yes to any of these questions - Come join J.C. Wilder and Friends at the Annual Grinch-a-polooza chat event!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/samhaincafe/

The fun begins at 6pm EST on December 24th. So grab a cup (or bottle) of your favorite libation, don your ugliest Christmas sweater and break out the matches - It's Grinch time...

Video Blather and Chats

Hi all,

I just published my very first video blog! Yay! It's over at my website -- Click Here

But in addition, me and as many authors as can make it from the Holiday Hottie contest are chatting live at both the Ellora's Cave and the Samhain Cafe reader loops. In addition to closing out the Holiday Hottie contest so we can announce the grand prize winners, we'll also be doing some contests, recipe swaps, jokes and just plain ole fun.

When: December 19, 2009
Time: 6:00pm to 9:00pm EST
Where: Ellora's Cave and Samhain Cafe Yahoo groups

Now...go check out my first vBlog! And no laughing...on second thought do laugh because I'm just plain silly ;D

TJ
www.tjmichaels.com

Why do I do it?

I’m a Christmas fanatic. I’ll admit it. I love the lights. Really really love the lights. I love Christmas trees. I love all the family get togethers. I love buying people presents, especially when you find that perfect gift. I love Christmas music. I love Christmas specials. I’m a nut about the holiday.

At Halloween, I was doing some decorating inside. My oldest asked, “How come you do the inside? No one is ever going to see it.”

Well, I deck out the inside at Christmas, too, as much as the outside. And so far, we aren’t having any huge family gatherings here.

So why do I do it? Why do I transform the inside of my house into a “winter wonderland” as my oldest termed it?

For me.

I do it for myself. Because I love seeing things all decorated. I love the traditions that come along with it.

When we decorate our Christmas tree, it’s like a trip down memory lane. There are ornaments from past years that the kids have made. There are ornaments that the hubby and I made together when we were first married and had little money. There are ornaments to honor the critters, kids, and marriage coming into our lives. Ornaments people have given to us through the years. And ones that the hubby and I brought into the marriage.

It’s the same with the rest of the house. There’s the Nativity Set that the hubby gave to me one Christmas. There’s my Christmas town that I set up on top of the entertainment center. There are house that I’ve acquired from various places, including a toy shop that was the hubby’s and a reindeer barn that I place Rudolph near. There’s the little tiny Santa that I place on our sculpture of the Currituck lighthouse. There are all my Christmas Snoopys. Candles.

I’m a sentimental sap and I love getting out the Christmas stuff to walk through memories.

I also just really find everything so beautiful.

I love this time of the year! For me, it is the most wonderful time of the year.

Mechele Armstrong aka Lany of Melany Logen
http://www.mechelearmstrong.com
http://www.melanylogen.com

Books for the Holidays

I had my Christmas list whittled to a fine point. My dad was getting new shoes (or rather multiple relatives are each buying a share of his shoes, which he selected and purchased...I just have to pay him back and wrap them); my brother was getting a gift card to a home improvement store (he's restoring a Victorian town house...the home improvement store is like a second home to him); my brother's girlfriend was getting foodie gifts of marinades since she loves cooking; and my mom was getting Crabtree & Evelyn hand creme that she'd tried and loved while we were on a shopping trip to Manchester.

There was just one problem with this list. None of those gifts are books.

The first to succumb was the gift to my mom. She has a cherished cookbook that has been so well-used that it needs to be kept in a plastic bag wrapped with rubber bands, to keep the bits of broken pages from falling out and getting lost. About half the index has fallen to the ravages of time. But she refuses to get a replacement, since she declares the recipes were changed for the worse when the cookbook was revised in the '50s. I managed to find a copy of the 1949 edition in almost-new condition, complete with dustcover! I never even knew it originally had a dustcover. :-) It was surprisingly affordable for an antique cookbook in such good shape. Oh, well, the hand creme was bought on sale... and I know she'll *love* this.

Then I saw a book written by my dad's favorite financial pundit. With coupons, the price came down to $10. I'll just adjust everyone else's gifts up by the same amount, to keep things fair.

Hey, with that extra $10, I can get a literary food book for my brother's girlfriend. Wow. An awful lot of people have written about their adventures in cooking and eating. Still, she was saying at Thanksgiving how this is one of the only types of books she reads. She'll love it.

And now I see that there's a new novel out in a series that my brother got hooked on from the PBS miniseries. I'll just wait for the next coupon to take effect, and that'll be down to around $10, too.

Every year, this happens. Every year, people tell me, "I don't want a book." Every year, I start out with the best of intentions, trying to find the perfect non-book gift for them. ... And every year, I end up breaking down, and buying books for everyone.

And every year, I'm thrilled to find a package beneath the tree with my name on it, that contains a new book for me to read.

Jessamyn's Christmas Gift

If you're looking for a break from the holiday madness in the malls, check out my Christmas Quickie from Ellora’s Cave Publishing , Jessamyn's Christmas Gift.

It's sure to heat up your cold winter night and leave you smiling.