Winter's Sweet Kiss -- A Sweet Romance Anthology From Roane Publishing

Winter’s Sweet Kiss

 

Publisher:  Roane Publishing

Release Date:  December 16, 2013

Key Words:  Adult, Romance, Sweet, Contemporary, Historical, Anthology

 

BEGINNING OF FOREVER  By Terri Rochenski

Blurb: When Wayne Edwards moves to town, Lillian Douglas experiences stirrings she thought were long dead. Guilt ridden over betraying her deceased husband and the feelings Wayne inspires, Lillian reluctantly lets him in. Secrets of the past – an old promise emerges, but will it threaten their forever?

MELT  By Shaya Roy

Blurb: Newlyweds in an arranged marriage, Naina and Dev go to the mountains of Shimla, India in search of snow. Unfortunately, they find fifteen inches more than they expected.

Being snowed in with her husband is not necessarily a bad thing. It gives Naina an excellent excuse to snuggle up to her deep, quiet man, but every time Dev spurns her, a little more of her heart drips away. Melting the ice around her husband’s heart before the snow outside does might take more pride than Naina’s ready to surrender.

ONE IN A MILLION SNOWFLAKES  By Michelle Ziegler

Blurb: Angela is in love with someone she can never have--her best friend, Rebecca’s older brother.  

Stranded in the bitter cold after a disastrous blind date with yet another company Christmas party looming, a standing offer from the boss’ nephew gets a little more appealing. Desperation. Not a good sign. Surely when Rebecca rescues her from the blinding snow, she can also convince Angela to just go to the party alone. She can always count on her best friend.  

That is, as long as she never finds out about Angela’s secret crush.

 
AN UNEXPECTED WREATH  By Annabelle Blume 

Blurb: Stella’s got everything she needs in life: a great job, a beautiful house, and her independence. But on last minute trip to the local Christmas tree lot she finds something, or rather someone, she desperately wants - Grayson. An emergency trip to Target, an unexpected wreath, and a little Christmas magic make the season much brighter. 

 

SANTA BEBE  By Lily Carlyle 

Blurb: Disillusioned by men and her belief that they see her only as an object, Bebe is determined to find a man with money. Her geeky, but unfailingly kind, next-door neighbor James tries to convince her of the possibility of real love, even as she reveals to him the troubled childhood that made her so cynical about relationships. When her mother dashes her hopes for a perfect Christmas, Bebe finds herself turning to James once again, and in the process, learning a lot about herself and the promise their relationship holds.

 

 

An Unexpected Wreath By Annabelle Blume

 

Blurb:

Stella’s got everything she needs in life: a great job, a beautiful house, and her independence. But on last minute trip to the local Christmas tree lot she finds something, or rather someone, she desperately wants - Grayson. An emergency trip to Target, an unexpected wreath, and a little Christmas magic make the season much brighter.

Excerpt:

"It's great you paid attention to your Stranger Danger lessons, but I'm not a serial killer."

"How do I know that?"

"Because I'm telling you I'm not."

His lackadaisical drawl infuriated her."Oh, and I suppose Ted Bundy passed out business cards listing his profession as a psychopath?"

"Here.” He handed over his business card. “See, not a psychopath or a killer. Just a guy who owns a Christmas tree lot. Let's get this to your place before it grows roots, and I have to chop it down to sell again next year."

The clean, white rectangle in her hand listed one Grayson Harris, owner and CEO of Harris Enterprises, LTD, as well as all pertinent contact information. She tucked it into her purse and resumed her uptight attitude, for good measure.

"Fine, now if they find me buried under the begonias in the spring, they'll know who did it. I'm just off Clemson Road. I drive fast. Keep up."

About Annabelle Blume

Annabelle is a best selling Romance and New Adult author, that is, when she's not checking homework or begrudgingly cooking dinner. Wife, mother, and creator of alternate worlds, Annabelle has a penchant for that which is outside the norm.

 

Her degree in Sociology has given her the ability to construct worlds that exist only in her head and translate them passionately to the page. The time spent studying individuals, interpersonal relationships, and particularly, women, within the constraints of our society led to Annabelle's unabashed ability to talk about sex as it fits into our modern lives. 

She's also the author/personality of The Bombshell Mommy at Vitacost.com where she helps modern Bombshells and their families live “green”.  

Read about her adventures in writing at www.AnnabelleBlumeBooks.com.

Follow her on Twitter @AnnabelleBlume and like her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AnnabelleBlumeAuthor

 

Goodreads Link:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18844487-winter-s-sweet-kiss

Group Giveaway:  $10 Amazon Gift Card & paperback copy of Winter’s Sweet Kiss

 

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Here are the purchase links for Winter's Sweet Kiss --

Roane Publishing

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WHY DO WOMEN PREFER THE BAD BOYS? by Lily Carlyle

I've got a special visitor to Vintage Vonnie today. Lily Carlyle is here to share thoughts on her holiday short story, "Santa Bebe," part of one of Still Moments Publishing's Christmas anthologies, FOR THE LOVE OF CHRISTMAS. This anthology contains four stories, all guaranteed to warm your heart and make you smile. Lily has this to say about "Santa Bebe."

“But really, Bebe, you shouldn’t blame an entire gender for the behavior of a few men. We’re not all so horrible, are we?”

“Well, you’re not bad,” I conceded. “For a man.”

“I’m surprised you noticed,” he muttered.

Poor James suffers the dilemma of so many nice guys—Bebe turns to him for companionship, advice, and kvetching, but will she ever see past his geeky, boy-next-door exterior to realize that he is very much a man. One who has the hots for her?

Why do so many women prefer bad boys to nice guys? But do we really? In preparing to write this post, I immediately came up with two examples proving the allure of the bad boy over the nice guy: Rhett Butler v. Ashley Wilkes from Gone With the Wind and the Beast v. Gaston in Beauty and the Beast.

However, closer examination shows that these aren’t very good examples of the triumph of the bad boy at all. Scarlett actually prefers the seemingly nice guy, Ashley Wilkes, over rakish Rhett (until she has her epiphany at the end of the book). And is Ashley really nice? If nice equates with weak, yes. But he pretty much strings Scarlett along while enjoying married life with the deceptively meek Melanie. Even Rhett, despite his handsome devil looks, wealth, and sexual dabbling, comes through for Scarlett in a number of nice-guy ways throughout the book.

As for Beauty and the Beast, although the Beast, in his prince form, is pretty much the ultimate alpha male—gorgeous, rich, royal—Belle falls in love with the sensitive, beyond-homely Beast, and has no interest at all in the built, boasting Gaston that the village girls swoon over.

Do women prefer bad boys? Or nice guys? Or are we seeking the complex combination of both?

 

 

Blurb for “Santa Bebe” by Lily Carlyle in For the Love of Christmas:

Beautiful, curvaceous Bebe is disillusioned by men and her belief that they see her only as an object. She thinks marrying a man with money is the answer, but her kind, geeky next-door neighbor, James, tries to convince her that real love is out there, even as she reveals to him the troubled childhood that made her so cynical about relationships. When her mother dashes her hopes for a perfect Christmas, Bebe turns once again to James, never suspecting that what she’s been looking for has been right there all along.

Contact me, follow me, like me! lilycarlyle@hotmail.com, https://twitter.com/LilyCarlyle, http://www.facebook.com/writerlilycarlyle