Romance that's 'Out of This World' : 2017

Friday, 29 December 2017

Visiting Beth Trissel's Blog for 'Furbaby Friday'

I'm honouring my much loved horse Harri, recently gone over the Rainbow Bridge at
https://bethtrissel.wordpress.com/2017/12/29/furbaby-friday-with-author-hywela-lyn/
Please pop in and say hello, if you have a moment.

For insider news and subscriber-only info, subscribe to my occasional Newsletter. I promise not to spam and your in-box will only see an email from me every 3 or 4 months or so - unless of course I have something really Newsworthy to share! http://madmimi.com/signups/196357/join

Wolf Of The Tesseract - Free Book Spotlight

Wolf
of the Tesseract

by
Christopher D. Schmitz

Genre: SF Fantasy

227 pages

While investigating a series of strange murders in her neighborhood,
college student Claire Jones is kidnapped by a handsome werewolf who
claims he’s rescuing her from the clutches of an evil sorcerer. But
she can’t run forever and if Claire and her companion can’t
reclaim an arcane artifact to end the warlock’s reign of terror, he
will unleash the dark god Sh’logath’s cataclysmic power upon the
universe, shattering dimensional barriers, and devouring all reality.

**FREE
on Amazon Dec 28th- 30th!**

Getit HERE!
* Add to Goodreads

Christopher D. Schmitz is the traditionally published and self-published author of both fiction and nonfiction. When he is not writing or working with teenagers he might be found at comic conventions as a panelist or guest. He has been featured on cable access television broadcasts, metro area podcasts, and runs a blog for indie authors.

Always interested in stories, media such as comic books, movies, 80s cartoons, and books called to him at a young age—especially science fiction and fantasy. He lives in rural Minnesota with his family where he drinks unsafe amounts of coffee. The caffeine shakes keeps the cold from killing them. His entire family is musically gifted, although he is, sadly, their only bagpiper.

Education:

Schmitz also holds a Master’s Degree in Religion and freelances for local newspapers. He is available for speaking engagements, interviews, etc. via the contact form and links on his website or via social media.

Website
* Facebook
* Twitter * Amazon
* Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For insider news and subscriber-only info, subscribe to my occasional Newsletter. I promise not to spam and your in-box will only see an email from me every 3 or 4 months or so - unless of course I have something really Newsworthy to share! http://madmimi.com/signups/196357/join

Wednesday, 27 December 2017

Dying For Space by S J Higbee

This is my stop during the blog tour for Dying for Space by S.J. Higbee. This blog tour is organized by Lola's Blog Tours. The blog tour
runs from 14 till 31 December. See the tour schedule here.

Dying for Space (The Sunblinded Trilogy#2)

By S.J. Higbee

Genre: Science Fiction

Age category: New Adult

Release Date: 14 December 2017

Blurb: Cadet Officer Elizabeth Wright just wants to make her father proud, while the mercenary warlord is looking for her to replace his dead family…

I finally get the opportunity to become a serving officer and fulfil my childhood dream, as well as get to know my biological father, General Norman. And when I first clap eyes on Restormel, the HQ of my father’s space mercenary outfit, it’s the most beautiful building I’ve ever seen.

But appearances can be deceptive. There are dark secrets hidden in the twisting corridors and blood-soaked cells beneath the training
grounds and banqueting rooms. Secrets that seep out. Secrets that demand fresh victims, because whatever else happens, they can’t be
allowed to see the light of day…

You can find Dying for Space on Goodreads

You can buy Dying for Space here on Amazon

Excerpt

Trying to present my gear so the dirt didn’t notice was a waste of effort. Sergeant Gently certainly thought so. The bane-faced misery glanced at everyone’s spotless kit assembled on their beds, before glaring at mine as if it had just crawled out of his bottom.

“I trust you had an enjoyable evening, Cadet.”

I fixed my gaze across the room. “No, Sarge.”

“I’m desolated to hear that. Cos while you were guzzling your steaks and knocking back vintage vino, your team-mates were working to get their kit fit for battle-readiness.” He pushed his face so close, a faint spray of saliva hit my cheek as he snapped, “Tell me, Cadet, is your gear battle-ready?”

“No, Sarge.”

“And d’you think that is acceptable, Cadet?”

Norman. The name’s Cadet Norman.

“I’m waiting, Cadet!” The snarl in his voice made me realise his anger wasn’t just show.

Not sure where he was going with this, I remained silent. No point in talking up more grief for myself as I was in it up to my neck, anyhow.

“Where’s your whiny excuses?” He assumed a falsetto, presumably mimicking me, “Please Sarge, I couldn’t get out of it. I had to go. And by the time I got back, it was already Lights Out.”

His voice was back to ear-ringing normality, “Well?”

My tight-wound apprehension morphed into weary anger. Oh, get over yourself. You don’t come close to the Cap for lethal sarcasm, as it happens. “Doesn’t matter, Sarge. Whatever the excuse, I’ve let down myself and my team-mates by producing sub-standard kit.”

“Delighted that lesson has gone home,” he sounded anything but delighted. “Six demerits for Red Group. And you’re on a charge, Cadet. Extra drill for the next two evenings – and I don’t care if you’ve got more banquets to attend!”

Muffled gasps around the room confirmed my own stunned conviction that it was a savage punishment.

“Yessarge.” Saying anything else would’ve earned me more demerits.

The rest of the inspection passed in a blur while I tried to figure a way of getting Red Group within touching distance of the other two leading groups. And couldn’t.

Once Sergeant Gently stomped out to ruin someone else’s morning, Irena sank onto her bunk. “Prodding hells, but that’s dank.”

“Sorry,” I mumbled, shovelling my kit into the storbin under my bunk.

“Don’t know what you could’ve done ʼbout it. Tried to clean your kit last night, as it happens. But he came by and stopped me. Threatened me with two demerits.” She kicked her storbin. Hard. “If I’d known then what I know now I’d have ignored the prodder and done it, anyway.”

Raquel approached. “Hey, hitting the lead in the Group Shield like this sure takes the shiny off it. Why didn’t you explain the situation, Liz? He all but begged you to.”

She trying to be funny? Cos if she is...

But her twitched gaze was clear of any mockery.
I let out the breath I’d been holding and slumped onto the bunk, feeling like something voided into the recycling system. “He wanted me to ask for some spare air so that he could yell about fairness not coming into it. That I’d still let down my team-mates no matter which way you sliced it.” I shrugged. “All that stuff.”

“But he said about you not being able to get out’ve it. So he knew.” Raquel’s face was puckered into a frown. Somehow, she’d got the notion that fairness mattered. Which it doesn’t, unless it’s a military version of fairness. Which isn’t what a civi calls fair. She needed to be put straight. It’s a painful lesson to learn the hard way

“You gotta see it through the Sarge’s viewfinder. Having me in his training group is a bleak break. Whatever happens, the high-ups will be breathing down his neck.” I rubbed my eyes, wishing I didn’t feel so tired. “He cuts me the thinnest slice of air, word will get around that he’s a sweetslimer. Whereas he knows that the General mightn’t like it if he gives me a hard time, but Norman will respect him.”

Raquel whistled. “Gods above, that’s dank! Glad I’m not breathing your air.”
I bit my lip trying to swallow my irritation at her tactlessness.

The day didn’t improve during brekkie. Romeo slammed his tray down so hard in front of me, half his vit-drink slopped out of the mug. “What d’you do to earn us six demerits, Norman?”

“Nothing, as it happens.”

He leaned across the table, his face flushed. “You must’ve said something—”

Irena put her hand on his shoulder. “Flush it outta the airlock, why don’t you? She was prone. Sarge was going for her jugular, anyhow and she played it like a pro.” Her admiration steadied me as she continued, “Don’t reckon I could’ve been so vac’d cool if it’d been me. You wasn’t there. Ask round. The girls’ll tell you the same.”

“Don’t encourage him! It’ll take us a long light year to peel him away from the girlies once he starts his sweet-talk routine,” I said, trying to scoop the pool of vit-drink out of my brekkie bowl.

They laughed. A bit hysterically, it’s true. But still, it was laughter.

Before Romeo’s face darkened again. “What’ll we do to get our hands on the Shield, now?”

I shrugged. “Don’t think we can do it. Maybe we need to make our prime objective getting through the Officer Training—ˮ

“Prime objective! Listen to yourself! You sound like those prodding button-jabbers. I didn’t sweat seed these last nine months just to come second.” Romeo turned to Irena. “You’re with me on this, yeah?”

“Like you, I want to win so much it hurts.” Irena crammed another forkful of rubbery egg in her mouth. “But we’re not gonna do it, so regroup. We got no choice.”

Romeo jumped up. “You spitless losers! First sign of strife and you’re on your backs with your paws in the air. I’ll figure how to put us back on top. An’ when I do, I’ll let you’s know!”

Irena cursed solidly for two whole minutes after he stormed off to sit at another table.

Romeo’s tight-lipped anger didn’t abate as we stomped up and down the drill square, or during our emergency space-suiting procedure. And his snarling refusal of help during our astro-navigation lesson had me wanting to smack some sense into the zilcher.

I had my opportunity. Unarmed combat was my favourite class. The Cap had us kids trained in the basics of self-defence from the age of five and since Wynn’s death, I’d spent long hours battling the KillerKombat avatar and working my way up the BalanceJoust levels – set on practice mode, of course. Having said that, I’d reached Level Eight, which was good enough to more than hold my own with the rest of the class, even vets like Irena.

We were warming up with a free practice session and David had just joined us, released from sickbay after a fast-acting phage had cleared up his bronchitis. I was in the middle of showing him how to break his opponent’s arm. As David didn’t have the stamina to survive any prolonged physical fight, I was working out a set of moves he could use to quickly disable his enemy.

Romeo tapped me on the shoulder. “Let’s do this.” He flexed his arms.

I blinked. “You sure ʼbout this?”

“Scared, then?”

I opened my mouth to answer. And got a faceful of Romeo’s hand for my trouble. The slap wasn’t sufficient to knock me down, but hard enough to split my lip and have me staggering. Stupid— Didn’t have time to curse my wet-brained slowness.

Launching himself, Romeo slammed me onto the practice mat with sufficient force to make my eyes water.

“Please, Romeo,” I yelped, flailing around for a likely hold.

He loosened his grip. “You quitting—”

Twisting round and out from under him, I grabbed his arm and pulled it back against the shoulder joint. “David? You get the arm like this. Then if you wanted to dislocate his shoulder, you’d continue pulling it round.” I tweaked Romeo’s arm till he cursed. “But that takes time and if he’s in a slink suit, he might have servos preventing that move. Leaving you exposed. Best option is to position it like this.” I jerked his arm up, forcing Romeo onto his knees. “Then you can jump on it...” I mimed the move. “Shatters the bone and takes all the fight outta him.” Letting go of Romeo’s arm, I sprang clear of him at the same time.

First book in the series:

Elizabeth Wright has yearned to serve on the space merchant ship Shooting Star for as long as she can remember – until one
rash act changes everything…

You can buy Running Out of Space on Amazon

About the Author:

Born the same year as the Russians launched Sputnik, I confidently expected that by the time I reached adulthood, the human race would
have a pioneer colony on the Moon and be heading off towards Mars. So I was at a loss to know what to do once I realised the Final Frontier
wasn’t an option and rather lost my head - I tried a lot of jobs I didn’t like and married a totally unsuitable man.

Now I've finally come to terms with the fact that I’ll never leave Earth, I have a lovely time writing science fiction and fantasy novels
while teaching Creative Writing at Northbrook College in Worthing. I’ve had a number of short stories, articles and poems published –
the most recent being my story ‘Miranda’s Tempest’ which appeared last year in Fox Spirit’s anthology Eve of War. I recently signed a
publishing contract with Grimbold Publishing for my science fiction novel Netted, which is due to be released in 2019.

I live in Littlehampton on the English south coast with a wonderful husband and a ridiculous number of books. I can be found online chatting
about books at my book review blog https://sjhigbee.wordpress.com/ and you’re very welcome to pop onto my website www.sjhigbee.com and
my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/sjhigbeeauthor/.

You can find and contact S.J. Higbee here:

- Website
- Blog
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Goodreads

Wednesday, 20 December 2017

One Two Spotlight and #Giveaway

One Too

by Sherrie Cronin

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

GENRE: SF/Fantasy

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

BLURB:

Telepathy creates as many problems as it solves, as most of the members of the secret organization x0 would admit. When new member Lola discovers another group of telepaths with a completely different approach, those problems multiply at the speed of thought.

Soon, Lola’s family and friends are in danger. Lucky for her, she’s not your average budding psychic. Each person with whom she is close has a special gift of their own. That’s good, because it’s going to take every power they possess to keep this other group from succeeding with their plan to eradicate x0.

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

EXCERPT

“Anything else of immediate help?” Alex asked his daughter.

“I don’t think so. We all know that something unusual will happen over the next few days that sets this in motion. The less we react the better. Oh, wait a minute, dad. Your school is going to be looking for ways to get you fired.”

“Forgot to mention that one, huh?” her dad said.

“Sorry. And finally,” Ariel added, “nobody goes on a cruise. Nobody goes on vacation. Nobody goes anywhere near South America.”

“Check in on how that’s working out for you,” Cillian suggested.

“Ignore him,” Lola muttered.

“No, he is right,” Alex said. “We should monitor this. Working with Ariel’s visions is a process about which we are all learning.”

He reached out his arm to his daughter.

“So, are we at least below fifty-fifty that we don’t end up in Argentina?”

Ariel held on to her father’s wrist for several long seconds before she answered.

“No, you’re closer to sixty-percent now.”

Cillian broke into a loud coughing spasm.

“Get that man some water,” Lola said to Teddie in a stage whisper.

“I’d stop coughing and behave better if you made it a little Christmas brandy instead,” he whispered back.

Lola rolled her eyes, then marched into the kitchen, and came back with a bottle and a large glass tumbler. She poured about three shots into it and placed the glass in his hands.

“How’s that?”

Cillian swirled the liquor around, feeling its weight in the glass. Then he took a sip and smacked his lips.

“Plenty of it, and not the cheap stuff, either. Thank you, lass. You’ve just bought yourself at least three hours of my best behavior.”

“Great.” Lola said. “Let me know when the meter runs out.”

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

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Sherrie grew up in Western Kansas thinking that there was no place in the universe more fascinating than outer space. After her mother vetoed astronaut as a career ambition, she went on to study journalism and physics in hopes of becoming a science writer.

She published her first science fiction short story long ago, and then waited a lot of tables while she looked for inspiration for the next story. When it finally came, it declared to her that it had to be whole book, nothing less. One night, while digesting this disturbing piece of news, she drank way too many shots of ouzo with her boyfriend. She woke up thirty-one years later demanding to know what was going on.

The boyfriend, who she had apparently long since married, asked her to calm down and explained that in a fit of practicality she had gone back to school and gotten a degree in geophysics and had spent the last 28 years interpreting seismic data in the oil industry. The good news, according to Mr. Cronin, was that she had found it at least mildly entertaining and ridiculously well-paying The bad news was that the two of them had still managed to spend almost all of the money.

Apparently she was now Mrs. Cronin, and the further good news was that they had produced three wonderful children whom they loved dearly, even though to be honest that is where a lot of the money had gone. Even better news was that Mr. Cronin turned out to be a warm-hearted, encouraging sort who was happy to see her awake and ready to write. "It's about time," were his exact words.

Sherrie Cronin discovered that over the ensuing decades Sally Ride had already managed to become the first woman in space and apparently had done a fine job of it. No one, however, had written the book that had been in Sherrie's head for decades. The only problem was, the book informed her sternly that it had now grown into a six book collection. Sherrie decided that she better start writing it before it got any longer. She's been wide awake ever since, and writing away.

One Two is available for pre-order for $2.99 at the links below:

https://www.amazon.com/One-Too-Ascending-Sherrie-Cronin-ebook/dp/B077NYTNSJ

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/one-too-sherrie-cronin/1127552938

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/one-too

Author Social Media Links

Twitter: @cinnabar01

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Number46Ascending

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/5805814.Sherrie_Cronin

Amazon: www.amazon.com/Sherrie-Cronin/e/B007FRMO9Q

Blog: 46ascending.org/

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the tour at:
http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2017/11/excerpt-tour-one-too-by-sherrie-cronin.html

The more you comment the more chances you have to win

Tuesday, 12 December 2017

The Golden Series Blog Tour and #Giveaway

Unicorn Gold

The Golden Series Book 1

by
Kathryn Celeste

Genre:
Paranormal Romance

Rourke
is a unicorn shape shifter and a virgin. Sent back from Alter Earth
to rescue the paranormal beings who were left behind when magic left
this world he is forced to confront the fact that unicorns seem to
have vanished from the world.

Kaitlyn is a veterinarian with healing abilities. Unaware of the origin of
her gifts she tries to live life under the radar.

Then

she meets Rourke. For the first time in her life sparks fly. But

Rourke has his own secrets of his own. Secrets that threaten to turn
Kaitlyns world upside down.

Hunted

by those who fear their gifts will Rourke and Kaitlyn be able to

overcome everything trying to tear them apart? Or in the end will the
hunters steal the choice from them?

Add to Goodreads

Amazon
* B&N
* Kobo *
Smashwords

Unicorn Gold Excerpt

Wrapped in a golden shimmer of power the lone woman stood still among the rush of creatures eager to escape the hunters. As each neared her position a flare of raw power reached out to caress them until they vanished. A handsome black unicorn, horn gleaming onyx in the sunlight, sides flecked with sweat, pulled up hard before her.

“Rourke.” She said reaching a hand out to him.

Speaking directly into her mind Rourke said: They come.

Nodding she reached out with her power and with a gentle caress, sent him through the portal to safety on a new world.

The humans approach, hurry!

Flexing her powers she reached out to envelop the approaching beings, transporting them to her side, then beyond the shift in reality to Alter Earth.

Return now!! She yelled through the common mental link. They are nearly on us.

Shattering the peace of the grove humans burst into the clearing firing arrows into those who fled before them. Only to watch each arrow drop to the ground without finding its mark. One by one the paranormal creatures disappeared before the human hunters’ eyes. As they watched, the golden power expanded outward, away from the proud, lone woman until only a faint haze remained in the air.

One young hunter notched an arrow and sent it flying towards her heart. As it found its mark she screamed, an eerie banshee-like sound that had the hunters covering their ears in distress. A mental cry traveled weakly along the communal connection as she fell backwards towards a deep, still pool.

I will return for you. Believe. Survive.

Her powers snapped back in a tsunami of wind and debris, toppling the hunters. The collapsing portal cushioned her fall on the fragrant green grass of Alter Earth.

Dragon Gold

The Golden Series Book 2

A year ago David met his mate. It should have been the happiest day of
his life. Instead, it was the worst. Emma ran from him. Only his
ability to touch her mind keeps him sane but how long will that be
enough?

Hunted and alone Emma hasn’t stopped running since she left Haven. David’s

presence in her mind brings her comfort in the hardest times. When
she returns to Haven will Emma be able to face David in person or
will fear keep them apart?

With hunters after David and Emma’s ex stalking her is there any way
this mating stands a chance?

Add

to Goodreads

Amazon
* B&N
* Kobo *
Smashwords

Kathryn Celeste has been a programmer, a security specialist, a bookseller, a reviewer and a secretary. Through it all she has written. Pushed hard
by a relentless muse to give life to a world unseen by others.

She lives in Queensland Australia with her husband, three sons, dog, cat, ducks and chickens where she continues to write about the paranormal

folks that poke around in her head.

Website
* Facebook
* Twitter * Amazon
* Goodreads

Follow the tour HERE
for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, 11 December 2017

To Discover A Divine - Cover Reveal

To Discover a Divine

By Tessa McFionn

Rise of the Stria Book 1

Fiery Seas Publishing

March 20, 2018

SF Romance

When Kahlym cal Jhuen, freedom-fighting leader of the Chandar Stria, breaks into a prison ship controlled by the Rimmarian Thrall, he only expected to rescue two of his crew. But when he discovers a terrified female during his escape, he is immediately captivated by her unique beauty and makes a snap decision to take her with him. However, his good deed backfires when he learns he has stolen the Thrall Emperor’s prize.

Down to her last dollar, Evainne Wagner expected nothing out of the ordinary when she stepped out of her Boston apartment. Instead, she found herself in the middle of an intergalactic firefight, complete with strange soldiers with deadly weapons pointed directly at her. Salvation arrives in the nick of time in the form of a mysterious leather-clad warrior, skidding in and whisking her away. Trusting her heart, she follows, hoping to find answers as well as a way home.

Safely on board his ship, he learns more about her and her rare skills, triggering the memory of a half-forgotten prophecy spoken at the time of his cursed birth. Outcast because of a cruel twist of fate, he finds unexpected acceptance, even affection, from his new passenger.

Could she be the one who holds the future of his people, as well as his own heart, in her tender hands?

About the Author:

Tessa McFionn is a very native Californian and has called Southern California home for most of her life, growing up in San Diego and attending college in Northern California and Orange County, only to return to San Diego to work as a teacher. Insatiably curious and imaginative, she loves to learn and discover, making her wicked knowledge of trivial facts an unwelcomed guest at many Trivial Pursuit boards.

When not writing, she can be found at the movies or at Disneyland with her husband, as well as family, friends or anyone who wants to play at the Happiest Place on Earth. She also finds her artistic soul fed through her passions for theatre, dance and music.

A proud parent of far too many high school seniors and two still living house plants, she also enjoys hockey, reading and playing Words With Friends to keep her vocabulary sharp. She is currently the treasurer of the San Diego chapter of Romance Writers of America and loves spending time working with such amazingly intelligent and creative writers.

Social Media:

Facebook

Twitter

Website

Blog

Sunday, 10 December 2017

#WeWriWar, Sunday Snippets: Beloved Enemy - Cat needs to find out what's going on

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warrior and 8 Sentence Sunday, the weekly hop for everyone who loves to read and write! We've got a variety of genres and talented writers just waiting for you to come sample their work.

Writers share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet on Sunday each week. Be sure to visit the other writers - they're listed below:

Weekend Writing Warriors for Eight Sentence Sunday

Snippet Sunday Facebook Group

If you'd to share your own 8-10 sentence snippet, whether published or not, follow the link and sign up. It's a great community to be a part of!

Here's the second snippet from the third book in the Destiny Trilogy. Thanks so much to everyone who has been following this series, and left comments xx

You can read the previous snippet of Beloved Enemy HERE

Specially for Ed!

She listened for a moment to confirm the direction of the firing. It came from somewhere beyond the rim of the sandy cliff behind her. It took several minutes to scramble to the top of the slope and peer cautiously above the edge.

The battle sounded closer now, coming from the other side of several low dunes looming before her. She bent low against a scorching wind that lashed the sand around her into swirling eddies. She cursed as it snatched several long strands of her hair from the scarf that struggled to restrain it at the nape of her neck. Like a dark red mist, the unbound hair whipped across her face, blurring her vision. She brushed it back, with a few more muttered words of annoyance. As she reached the top of another low hillock, the sky lit up with a scintillating green light and the sound of the weapons almost deafened her. Her fingers tightened on her laser pistol, and throwing herself to the ground, she inched her way to a group of thorny bushes for cover.

BLURB

Cat Kincaid is obsessed with killing the man she believes is responsible for the torture and death of her sister, but when she eventually catches up with him, survival becomes a greater priority than revenge.

Kerry Marchant, haunted by memories, regret, and self-blame, shields himself from the pain of the past by committing himself totally to the starship, Destiny, of which he is part owner. However, the beautiful, red-haired woman who reminds him of his lost love, and who he suspects is working for a corrupt regime, represents a possible threat not only to the ship, but to his heart.

Marooned on an inhospitable planet, they need to work together to stay alive, fighting not only unknown assailants, but their growing attraction. But how can they learn to trust each other when he has vowed never to get close to a woman again, and she made a solemn pledge to destroy him?

THE DESTINY TRILOGY

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0711J641G

Purchase all three books (or just one, they stand alone, while sharing some of the same characters)

For insider news and subscriber-only info, subscribe to my occasional Newsletter. I promise not to spam and your in-box will only see an email from me every 3 or 4 months or so - unless of course I have something really Newsworthy to share! http://madmimi.com/signups/196357/join

Wednesday, 6 December 2017

The Christmas elves party at the red barn.

Greetings everyone, Lindy Lou here! I'm so excited. This year the elves are having a party in the red barn and we're dancing to our favourite songs.

Hywela Lyn, who kindly gave me a lift here in her starship (well there were so many elves on the sleigh it was a bit cramped, you see) anyway, Hywela Lyn wanted me to go with "A Spaceman Came Travelling'' which would have been very appropriate, but we finally decided on another one of her favourites "Driving Home For Christmas" Now for me, that means going back to the North Pole and celebrating with all the othe elves, but for her, this song always makes her think of driving to Wales to visit her family, who she misses very much the rest of the year.

Whatever, it's a great song to dance to, with your favourite elf!

Last year's Christmas tree

What's that? Oh, Hywela Lyn says I've hogged her blog for long enough and can she have a few words now? OK, over to you, Hywela Lyn.

Christmas Traditions
You know, Lindy Lou, Christmas time is my favourite time of the year, it's so magical. I love the twinkly lights, the decorations and the carols, and how everyone seems so much happier and kinder, at this time,somehow. I don't like Christmas to start too early though. We don't usually put up our decorations until about the middle of December and then I go all out with fairy lights and holly, and evergreen garlands indoors, and outside we decorate the house with icycle lights, coloured lights along the fence, little illuminated 'snowflake' trees and a model Santa and his reindeer also made out of fairy lights.

Christmas tree farm

Over the years my husband and I have established a few customs. There is the annual pilgramage to Wales, of course, to deliver and collect my family's Christmas gifts, and as soon as we get back we go to the local Christmas tree farm, where Santa is waiting at the gate to greet us, to choose our Christmas tree. I love decorating the tree, it takes hours, and I like to buy a new decoration every year. Most years it's an angel, but this year it was a little Breyer horse all decked out in Christmas finery.

Choccy's new jumper

Then there are so many Christmas Fayres, including the Blue Cross, which is a local animal rehoming centre, where we got our little terrier Choccy from. It's a lovely day out, with stalls selling pet supplies, as well as Christmas gifts and decorations, and everyone there remembers Choccy and makes a big fuss of him. This year he dived straight into the 'Lucky Dip' box and came out with a squeeky chicken! I fell in love with a pretty red doggy Christmas jumper and had to buy it for him!

Me at the garden Centre

We also visit the local garden centre which always has a
lovely display of Christmas decorations, woodland animals, gifts, and seasonal plants.

Garden Centre Animals

Garden Centre goodies

And - this year, for the first time, we are going to visit a local Stately Home, just before Christmas, where they're holding a 'Light Festival' which promises to be quite spectacular with Christmas lights in the grounds, and a display of illuminated animals in the house itself, so that's something I'm looking forward to.

Are there any special events or things you and your family like doing every Christmas? Let me know in the comments. On the 11th December I'll draw one name to win a download of the second book in the Destiny Trilogy 'Children Of The Mist.' It can be read as a stand alone and I thought it was appropriate because it takes place on the snowy planet Niflheim, and we all think of snow at Christmas, don't we!

Have a wonderful Christmas, everyone!

BELOVED ENEMY - Book 3 in the Destiny Trilogy (

can be read as a 'stand alone')

Don't forget to visit the other elves taking part in this Blog Hop - just follow the links below and leave a comment to be in the running for one of the great prizes on offer.

December 4

Holland Rae - https://hollandrae.com/

Susanne Matthews - https://mhsusannematthews.wordpress.com/

Sorchia DuBois - www.sorchiadubois.com

Mariah Lynne -

December 5

Tena Stetler - http://www.tenastetler.com/category/my-say-what-blog/

Maureen Bonatch - http://www.maureenbonatch.com/blog/

Peggy Jaeger - https://peggyjaeger.com/

Barbara Burke - https://barbaraburkeauthor.wordpress.com/

December 6

Kelly Kalmanson – http://kkweil.blogspot.com