Love and the Holidays - Writing Romances for the Holidays ... by Delsora Lowe

I love reading holiday books. And…I admit, I also love writing holiday books. The season is magical, especially when we have young children. Their eyes widen as they unwrap a present from Santa. They love decorating the tree and leaving out the milk and cookies on Christmas Eve. Sadly, my kids are grown, and not so sadly, they now have their own. But all three grandsons are beyond the age of pressing their noses against the window, scanning the sky for Santa.

This year, during my last-minute shopping for Thanksgiving, I came across the candy Advent calendar: a punch-out cardboard, holiday-scene, poster-sized box, where behind each door is a small piece of chocolate for each day in December. Every year I bought them for my young grandsons, one living in my state, and two living half-way across the country.  Until a few years ago, now that all three are in high school. This year, as I perused holiday candy at the grocery store, I spotted, the box sporting Santa. I ended up buying one for my fourteen-year-old grandson, despite knowing he was too old. But it made me feel good as a gramma. So, at Thanksgiving dinner, I prefaced that I had brought him a surprise—that I knew this present was for little kids, but still I couldn’t help buying it, since he loved them when he was little. I handed it to him, and the huge smile that came across his face was priceless. I got a big hug. So, moral, are any of us too old to still believe in the magic of Santa? I think not! 

And for those who celebrate other holidays at this time of year, I love reading about the traditions in those holiday books, too. I would love book recommendations in the comments section! 

All of the above are reasons why I love writing romantic holiday stories. I have memories of enchanted Christmas Eves as both a child and an adult. One such snowy scene I used in Snowbound Holiday, a book that I hope to release in 2024-25. I was visiting my daughter and her family in the Aspen area of Colorado. As we drove home, we found ourselves in the middle of a herd of Elk crossing the street, from one snow-covered field to another. We stopped so as not to hurt any elk or our car, as they soon wandered all around us. Under a full moon that glowed a soft light through tiny flakes of snow, and the shadowy outlines of elk, that to this easterner looked like reindeer, it was a real-life, magical scene I will never forget.

So, here’s to enjoying a good holiday romance.

Below I’ve featured the three holiday books I have written and released so far. 

The Holiday Hitchhiker

Two strangers, one snow-worthy vehicle, and a cozy cabin in a blizzard

Cole Peters is ready to escape the bustle of the wildlife management symposium and the overpopulated conference complex in Reno, and get back to his solitary, mountain cabin in the state park.

What he didn’t plan was a road trip with a stranger, clad in the most unnatural, fluorescent colors, who hops into his truck. With a blizzard approaching, how can he say no to a “hijacker” in tears?

Addy Adams had a rough night. Fired, no place to escape to, and a missing car service, how can she get to her parents for Christmas before the blizzard shuts down the roads? Now stranded on a highway, in a white out, with an accident up ahead, did she trust the right man?

Can two strangers find friendship and more, while stuck in a log cabin with a sweet and welcoming couple and their two kids who are super excited about the arrival of Santa? And will Cole and Addy make their way to their respective homes in time for Christmas? Or will they realize they were meant to celebrate together during the magical season?

Amazon (also in print)

Books2Read

 

The Inn on Gooseneck Lane

Nat and Brad were in love once: the young starry-eyed kind of love. Then life got in the way.

Nat Thomas calls Mistletoe Falls, Vermont home where summers were magical, her aunt became the parent she needed, and high school love bloomed. Sixteen years later, that love lost, Nat returns home for a much-needed break. She's recruited to revitalize her aunt's picturesque inn. Will the boy who broke her heart be the man who rallies to save her home and capture her heart…for good?

Brad Matthews returns home to buy Green Mountain Sports, after years as an outdoor adventure guide. He's thrown into partnering an event to revive the town's inn and boost his business. Can he work with the woman who demolished his heart and ran with no explanation?

In a small town where everyone knows your business and interfering relatives revive snicker-doodling, the lost art of matchmaking, Nat and Brad may not stand a chance. Can the two find enough heart to forgive and accept love again?

Amazon (also in print)

Barnes & Noble (also in print)

                    Apple Books (also in print)

                 

 Come Dance With Me

Improvisational jazz musician meets buttoned up English teacher—will the Christmas lights sparkle or shatter before the dance ends?

Sam Johnson, a burned out, New York City iconic jazz pianist transplanted to small town Maine, finds himself and his muse again through a disparate group of committed teen musicians and their buttoned up, efficient, high school English teacher who is roped into advising the after-school jazz club.

Ashley Sullivan, an expert in classical music and teaching the bard, is out of her element when it comes to jazz or anything impromptu and desperately needs Sam’s help. What she doesn’t know is Sam has made it his mission before this gig ends to get Ashley to lighten up and enjoy the things in life she denies herself; music, friends, spontaneity, creativity, and yes, love.

When Sam works to rescue her from her childhood fears, Ashley runs the other direction. Can what is done out of love tear apart a relationship before it’s in full swing, or forever cement a love that is true?

Amazon

Books2Read

 

~ cottages to cabins ~ keep the home fires burning ~

Delsora Lowe writes small town sweet and spicy romances and contemporary westerns from the mountains of Colorado to the shores of Maine.

Author of the Starlight Grille series, Serenity Harbor Maine novellas, the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, and the novella, The Love Left Behind, Lowe has also authored short romances for Woman’s World magazine. Recently released were two Christmas stories: The Inn on Gooseneck Lane and Holiday Hitchhiker.

Social Media Links:
Author website: www.delsoralowe.com
Facebook Author page: https://www.facebook.com/delsoraloweauthor/community/
Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Delsora-Lowe/e/B01M61OM39/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Books2Read Author page: https://www.books2read.com/ap/8GWm98/Delsora-Lowe
BookBub Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/delsora-lowe-93c6987f-129d-483d-9f5a-abe603876518
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16045986.Delsora_Lowe
Instagram: #delsoralowe / https://www.instagram.com/delsoralowe/

PHOTOS:
Counting the Days: countdown to christmas clipart - Clip Art Library (clipart-library.com)
Delsora Lowe Book Covers: cover designer, Covers by Karen

Signals and signs ...

The number one signal for me (some might say warning) of the coming holiday season is fruitcake.  Not that dry, cakey stuff you get at the grocery store. The fruitcake I bake contains a kilogram of dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, cherries, blueberries, etc.), chopped nuts, a good amount of rum, and enough butter, eggs and flour to keep the whole thing together. I bake my cake at least a month early and feed the cake with more rum on a regular basis … to preserve the fruit, you understand.

If when you think of mincemeat, you’re picturing that horribly sweet glop from the grocery store, stop. Instead, conjure if you will a mixture of ground beef (yes, real meat, this stuff was invented to preserve sources of protein), apples, raisins, aromatic spices, and citrus peel all simmered to a velvety loveliness. My mum made this every year as did her mum and her mum. 

Shortbread cookies. Buttery, vanilla-y, flaky. I pretend I can remember Grammy in the farmhouse kitchen, rolling out the dough on the old, scarred table, using star and bell-shaped cutters, then sliding the cookie sheets into the monster wood-fired oven. All us grandkids gathered around the table waited impatiently for the cookies to cool enough to eat. I have no memory of her baking shortbreads, but I have many memories of my mum doing so.

Hm … these all seem food related … wonder what that says about me …

A non-edible sign that the holidays are upon us is my annual hunt for greeting cards to send to friends and relations. I used to see what was on offer at the usual stores, but with the advent of online shopping, the sky’s the limit. I came across an artist a few years ago who creates the most wonderful images – right up my alley. AND she uses some of those images for greeting cards. 

Nothing says festive season quite like holiday movies and books paired with a glass of eggnog – seasoned with more of that rum, can’t let it go to waste. Instant warm and cosy.

Luanna Stewart has been creating adventures for her imaginary friends since childhood. She spends her days writing many flavours of romance. When not torturing her characters, she’s in her kitchen baking something delicious. She lives in Nova Scotia with her patient husband and two hens. 

Website ~ Bookbub ~ Instagram ~ Goodreads 

A Christmas RomCom about MISTLETOE, MOBSTERS, & MOZZARELLA by Peggy Jaeger

 This month's prompt is to introduce you dear readers to our current WIP - Work in Progress. At any given time I'm usually working on 3-4 projects all at once, so I've picked this year's holiday release to tell you about.

I love writing about families, and my fictional Italian/American family, the San Valentino's is one of the most near and dear to my heart.

In MISTLETOE, MOBSTERS, & MOZZARELLA, the Aunt Gracie  faction of the family is described.

Here's the blurb to the book: 

Finding a body in the freezer of the family deli isn’t the way Madonna San Valentino planned to start her day.

 Adding insult to injury, the investigating detective is the one guy she’s never been able to forget. After seven minutes of heaven in the back seat of his car when they were teenagers, Tony Roma skipped town without so much as a thanks for the memory.

Just when Madonna thinks the present situation can’t get any worse, Tony is ordered to go undercover at the deli to ferret out a killer. Forced to work together, she vows to keep their relationship cool and professional. But with the sexy, longing looks he tosses her at every turn, Madonna’s resolve is weakening.

With Christmas drawing closer and Tony’s investigation taking an unexpected turn, Madonna is at her wit’s end. Can she really be falling for him again? And will he wind up leaving her broken hearted and alone like the last time?

Madonna is the oldest of 6 children, the five coming after her all rambunctious, obnoxious boys that she was more mother to than sister. They've made her life...interesting, to say the least.

And here's a little taste from between the first scene:

The moment I arrived at the deli I knew something was wrong.  

The back door stood opened and unlocked, two things my obsessive/compulsive father made sure never happened.  Since I was the first one to arrive every morning at the crack-ass of creation, and had to plug in the security code on the wall box in order to gain entry to the store, the door should have been locked and alarmed.

My daily bread delivery, courtesy of my cousin Regina and her bakery, sat outside the door in a large wooden crate. After grabbing it I hip checked the door wide open.

The second sign something was amiss were the lit lights in the entrance hallway. I arrived at work when it was still dark no matter if it were Daylight Savings time, or Standard, and I routinely had to fumble to find the wall switch and illuminate the back end of the deli.

Not today.

And then there was…the smell.

I’ve been around raw meat my entire life.  I grew up in my mother’s kitchen and I’ve worked in the delicatessen my father owns and operates since I was ten years old. The aroma of animal blood is as recognizable to me as my mother’s knock-off L’air du temps. Although, admittedly, mama’s perfume smells way better.

The scent filling the air this morning was…wrong.

“Hello? Is someone here?”

An eerie sense of quiet surrounded me. I put the bread crate down on the linoleum floor and crept along the corridor leading to the front of the store. I slid my hand across the wall, my huge purse positioned in front of me like Wonder Woman’s golden shield of protection.

Being the oldest of six kids and the only girl in the mix, it takes a lot to scare me.

My brothers are, each and every one of them, a pain in the ass to their cores and I’d grown up the victim of their arguably stupid shenanigans too many times to count. Cooked linguini placed in my bed to look like worms; a farting cushion placed on my chair at the dinner table; toothpaste spread on my school lunch sandwich instead of peanut butter. More times than I could remember one of them would hide in my closet then jump out at me when I least expected it. Anything and everything dumb and dumber they could think up to annoy me, they’d done. And still did to this day if they thought they could get away with it. Chronological maturity hadn’t made its way to their brains yet and they all still acted liked little boys when it came to infuriating me.

This spine tingling sense of unease rippling through me didn’t feel like one of their usual pranks.

But with my brothers, you never know.

“I swear on all that’s holy, Giacomo,” I called out, naming the brother voted most likely to do something moronic, “if this is some dumbass attempt to scare me, I’m gonna make you suffer.”

Intrigued? Hee hee. I have a publication date of 10.14.2020 so look for it soon on Goodreads, and Amazon preorder.

Have you met any of the other branches of the San Valentino tree? You can, here:

3 Wishes

A Kiss Under the Christmas Lights

Christmas & Cannolis

So, I'm off to edit Madonna's story and make sure she get's to you all on time.

If you're ever looking for me when I'm writing ( and even when I'm not) you can find me here: 

Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me// Triber// BookMe  //Watch me

Until next month, peeps ~ Peg

Steamy Christmas in Australia

By Cassandra O'Leary

Potpourri Post

This month the Genre-istas are re-posting a mixed bag of popular posts from the past. So here's my Christmas post from last year. 

Author's note: today is almost 100 degrees F and we're inside playing on the new X Box and also Harry Potter Scrabble. We hope to visit the beach when it's not so hot!

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas…

Well, one day I might see a white Christmas if I travel to the other side of the planet during the holiday season. But as an Aussie, my experience of Christmas is quite different to many of my American and European friends and readers.

I’ve been thinking about Christmas in Australia lately, since I’ve just written and released a Christmas-themed novella set in my home city of Melbourne, Australia. There’s shopping and mayhem, plus a little romance. Also, steamy weather changing from thunderstorms with lightning to hot sunny days over 35 degrees C (95 degrees F), maximum strength sunscreen and hat required. This is Christmas to me!

As I write, we’re experiencing a spring heatwave with temperatures over 30 degrees C already. I can tell you I don’t feel like doing any Christmas shopping. Or writing. I must admit my brain turns to mush in the heat, so it's just as well the holidays are coming.

Christmas as an Aussie kid

Leading up to Christmas, we often made our own paper chains and Advent calendars at school and then decorated our lounge room with them. My favourite decoration was the pretty angel doll that went on the top of the tree. It was always exciting to decorate our Christmas tree in December. When I was younger we had a massive pine tree in our backyard, so Mum and Dad would cut off a good sized branch to be our tree. The whole house would be filled with the scent of fresh pine.

Our family usually went to Catholic Mass on Christmas Eve. I’ll admit it wasn’t much fun – too hot, too crowded and too many hymns and long-winded readings were boring to a child. But some years we went to the children’s service when kids would dress up as Bible characters like shepherds and angels, and that was fun.

As a kid, we’d often have a barbeque lunch for Christmas dinner or Boxing Day, when we’d see a few more members of our extended family. Lots of sausages (snags) in bread, hamburgers and salads, seafood platters and cold ham.

My favourite Christmas desserts were always Pavlova (fruit and cream-topped meringue dessert) and cheesecake, maybe ice-cream too. I never did care for hot Christmas pudding or fruit cake.

Despite being from England, my mother doesn’t like the traditional English hot dinner in the Australian heat. I don’t blame her – I wouldn’t want to cook roast beef and Yorkshire pudding in stifling hot weather with no air-conditioning either. My cousins and I would sometimes play a backyard cricket match after lunch. None of us were very good players but it was still fun.

Later, after Christmas dinner, we’d relax and eat leftovers, play with our new toys and then go to the beach over the next few days. I loved when we’d go to our family holiday house on the Mornington Peninsula, a gorgeous spot close to the ocean beach. Since it was also school holidays, we’d sometimes stay there for a week or two.

Christmas Eve – making our own traditions

As an adult, my boyfriend (now husband) and I started our own tradition of hosting Christmas Eve parties at home. We have lots of food and wine, catch up with old friends and family and the kids run around outside until late. The Christmas Carols in the Domain (a Melbourne live concert) is usually playing on TV. We do a Kris Kringle exchange of presents for all the kids. Last year we gave everyone water pistols, so they all got soaked but it was hot weather and good fun.

My two little boys love laying out their Christmas pillowcases ready for Santa Claus to come after our party winds down. We also leave out a few snacks for Santa and his reindeer near our Christmas tree. We’ve found Santa likes red wine and chocolate cake, while Rudolph prefers a carrot.

Last year my boys received BMX style bikes (still with training wheels at the time). This year it might be skateboards as well as Lego and other fun bigger kid things. Exciting! I'm sure we'll be riding and skating at the local park on Christmas day.

Getting ready for summer holidays

The kids will be on summer holidays for six long weeks from the end of December, so it will probably mean a slow-down in my writing. It will probably also be hideously hot and sticky, so I’m hoping to take off to the beach somewhere for a while.

I won’t be travelling anywhere white or snowy this year, but I’ll watch a couple of Northern Hemisphere Christmas movies and live vicariously through them…while I sip white wine or eat gelati by a beach somewhere!

What are your Christmas traditions and favourite holiday treats? I'd love to hear from you all.

Christmas novella - Heart Note

My holiday release is titled Heart Note: A Christmas romcom novella. It's out now at all major ebook retail sites and already has some wonderful reviews. The story is about Lily, a perfume counter manager at a major Australian department store. In the lead-up to Christmas, it's all about gift sets, keeping the grumpy customers happy and maybe...finding romance and catching some criminals!

Blurb

A funny, romantic comedy Christmas novella, perfect for fans of Love Actually . . . from the award-winning author of Girl on a Plane.

Love is like a fine perfume. The top note draws you in, an instant attraction, but the Heart Note is the true essence. Like true love – a great perfume should be a woman’s perfect match.

At least, that’s what perfume counter manager, Lily Lucas, tells her customers in one of Australia’s largest department stores. 

It’s almost Christmas, the store is bedecked with baubles and Lily has about eleventy billion gifts to wrap and sell. She and her team of spritzer chicks are glamorous, professional and hoping they don’t have to wear the hideous red onesies and reindeer antlers the store manager has in mind.

The high point of Lily’s work life is Christos Cyriakos, ex-cop, security guard, possible Greek god. He's a mystery box she’d love to unwrap. But can she trust him?

All Lily wants for Christmas is to kiss Christos (and more), catch a band of thieves running amok in the store, and live happily ever after. Is that too much to wish for?

Heart Note is on sale for a few more days! Only 99 cents at Amazon or free in Kindle Unlimited. 

Buy links 

Amazon US - https://amzn.to/2LCfwj4
Universal link - mybook.to/HeartNote

About Cassandra O'Leary

Winner of the global We Heart New Talent contest. Nominated for Best New Author in the 2016 AusRomToday Reader's Choice Awards for excellence in Australian romance fiction. 

Cassandra O'Leary is a romance and women's fiction author from Melbourne, Australia. You'll find her drinking coffee, dreaming of Italy and Spain, and raising two mini ninjas with her superhero husband. 

Cassandra loves romantic comedies and is having fun writing her own romcom books. Heart Note: A Christmas romcom novella, was released in November 2017. Her debut novel, Girl on a Plane, was released in July 2016. It was also translated into Czech!

In 2015, Cassandra won the global We Heart New Talent contest run by Avon Books/HarperCollins UK. She was also a 2015 finalist in the Lone Star contest, Northwest Houston Romance Writers of America, and a 2014 finalist, First Kiss contest, Romance Writers of Australia. 

Read more or sign-up for Cassandra's newsletter at cassandraolearyauthor.comcassandraolearyauthor.com

Romantic Christmas Potpourri by Dora Bramden

Christmas, with all that decorating and cooking, is a time of year that sharpens my focus on the kind of person really I am. I can clutter the house with a hundred trinkets and make it as cozy as a cabin in the snowy mountains even though it’s summer in Australia. I love to have lots of things around me. More is more. But like a potpourri, I like it to have a cohesive thread. So when everything is Christmas themed, there’s the thread and once a year I decorate with every bit of Christmas potpourri that I can find.

My personality is typically Piscean. I thrive with variety and an outlet for creativity. Not content to have one craft of the moment, I have many projects of the go at once and enjoy them all.  I need the stimulation of making things with my hands. I feel it provides creative energy which I can use when writing.

I like to garden and cook and sew and paint and hot glue things. I want to make and make and never stop. But there’s a limit to how much stuff I can put in my house so Christmas is a time I let my head go wild. There’s never too many decorations or ornaments. I’m only limited by how much storage space I can allot to it. But I’m already looking at second-hand garden sheds for sale.

I have a blog on my website about this year’s romantic Christmas theme that I’ve decorated the family room and kitchen areas in. Some of the things I’ve been doing this year to add to my collection include making lacy rosettes and painting baubles and décor in the pink shades I need for this theme.

A wreath decorated with lace strips cut from an old curtain and baubles, from years past, hand painted shades of pink.

Being a craft hoarder I have paints on hand that I can use. The pearl white mixed with burgundy makes a very pretty mauve/pink. I painted my deep red Santa’s pink but if I want to use them in a traditional theme next year, the paints and brushes will come out again.

A potpurri of ornaments freshly painted.

If you’d like to see what I’ve been doing to decorate my Romantic home this year check out my blog at www.dorabramden.com  Last week is the kitchen and family rooms, next weekend will be the bedroom, ensuite and the guest bedroom/study, where I write.

Have you ever decorated in the romantic style for Christmas? I've interpreted it as a cross between shabby chic and Victorian but I think it's got to be whatever inspires romance for you.

December Madness by Paty Jager

It's December. The month when I'm rushing around getting out Christmas cards to family, friends, and fans. Making sure I have gifts for family members and best friends. Decorating the house, the tree, and me. Making cookies and candies to give to neighbors and friends. And this year trying to write a book and get promotion rolling in January for a new series.

Now I'm tired! LOL I love this time of year. The carols, the people coming together, the snow.  I've been playing Christmas music in my car and at home since channels appeared. I've been working on Christmas sewing projects since September. I've already made a batch of fudge, caramel corn, and mints for Thanksgiving.

I seem to have more energy and get more accomplished knowing the family will gather here for Christmas and knowing I have a word count to accomplish before 2019 rings in at midnight on the 31st!

So I better get busy and tell you about Yuletide Slaying is now in audio! I'm excited and the reviews that have been coming in have been favorable! You can purchase it at these audio book outlets:

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/audiobook/yuletide-slaying-shandra-higheagle-mystery-book-7-unabridged/id1441592155?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4 

Nook: https://www.nookaudiobooks.com/audiobook/251575/yuletide-slaying

Audiobooks.com: https://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/yuletide-slaying/356808 

Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/audiobook/389993251/Yuletide-Slaying 

Playster: https://play.playster.com/audiobooks/1001800000000251575/yuletide-slaying-paty-jager

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Yuletide-Slaying-Shandra-Higheagle-Mystery/dp/B07JP1L8QD 

Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Yuletide-Slaying-Audiobook/B07JNKQNPC

If you belong to more than one audio vendor check around, different ones have been having sales on it at different times. I think because it is a holiday audio book.

Here is the blurb:

Yuletide Slaying

Book 7 of the Shandra Higheagle mystery series

Family, Revenge, Murder

When Shandra Higheagle’s dog brings her a dead body in a sleigh full of presents, her world is turned upside down. The man is a John Doe and within twenty-four hours another body is found.

Detective Ryan Greer receives a call that has them both looking over their shoulders. A vengeful brother of a gang member who died in a gang war is out for Ryan’s blood. Shandra’s dreams and Ryan’s fellow officers may not be enough to keep them alive to share Christmas. 

Another fun thing happening today- I'm doing a podcast with Patricia McLinn. I hope to have a copy of it to post here next month. 

Next month I'll also have a new Shandra Higheagle book coming out, Homicide Hideaway, as well as the first book in my Gabriel Hawke series, Murder of Ravens. 

Oh! I'll also be doing a blog tour in January to promote the new series and I will have a new website and blog to show off. Whew! 2019 will start with a bang for me! 

How is your end of the year going? Did you have a good Thanksgiving? Are you looking forward to Christmas or whatever holiday you observe in December?

Holiday Shopping Tips from a Former Shopgirl

By Cassandra O'Leary

It's Thanksgiving in the US, and while we don't celebrate it here in Australia, I'm going holiday-themed with a festive shopping related post. For those who don't already know, one of my former careers was as a retail shopgirl. I worked for around five years at one of Australia's largest department stores, staffing the perfume and makeup counters. I also worked casual hours as a perfume promotions chick at a couple of other stores from time to time. Including Kmart. In a Russian cossack style marching uniform. Sigh. 

In those many years of standing in high heels, taking negative attitudes from customers (the customer is NOT always right, sorry!) and ringing up approximately eleventy billion lipsticks and perfume gift sets, I learned a thing or two about shopping during the holiday season. I know it's Black Friday this week online too, and I will be doing my fair share of product stalking...

Without further ado, here are my totally honest, take no prisoners, holiday shopping tips!

Hot holiday shopping tips

1. Buy online. 

I'm serious...the bricks and mortar retailers probably don't want me to say so but you can get a lot of stuff home delivered these days and even save money on retail prices. I want to buy a particular Lego set for a certain little boy and I'll be buggered if I will drive around to ten different toy shops to find it. Nope, eBay is my friend. On the extra plus side, when you get the deliveries it feels like you're getting heaps of presents, even if they are all for other people. No, scratch that, buy yourself something nice and completely unnecessary too! (Hello, Sephora.com)  I'll be doing a combination of online and in store, because sometimes you have to touch and see an item in person.

2. Get there early!

I mean early bird, catching the worm, as soon as the stores open. Here in Australia some of the stores start opening at 8am in November, so it's best to get a coffee, snag your car parking space and march up to the store before the doors even open. Note: the shop girls will still be sleepy but not too snarky at this time of day, so you're more likely to get actual good service. Just say please, thank you and mind your p's and q's (i.e. don't curse at the floor staff). 

3. Wear your flat shoes.

The shopping centre (US translation - indoor mall) I used to work at was the size of a small university campus or gated community. I could easily walk 5km a day, just to get from one end of the place to the other, when both working and shopping. You don't want your ankles to swell, especially if there's a shoe sale happening. Try on the high heels, don't walk in them all day! Also, you don't want to get your heel snagged in the escalators.

4. Bring brochures.

Do you get a pile of junk mail before the big retail sales? Circle those deals and bring them with you to the department stores. Most stores will price match a deal in a competitor's brochure/catalogue, even if they don't want to. These days you can even use a price comparison search on your phone and show the (poor, long-suffering) shopgirl. 

5. Eat protein for long-haul shopping power.

You think I'm joking, but holiday shopping can be a physical and mental workout. Survival of the fittest. Grab a ham sandwich or a soy latte and get going again, but get that nutrition into you. 

Insider tip: head to the food hall or market zone of an indoor mall to sample all the free cheese and chocolate. They bring out all the good samples at Christmas time!

6. Call family.

When you get sucked into the vortex of shopping for hours on end without hope of ever checking off every person on your list, or you're giving your plastic such a workout you're close to tears, or just wandering aimlessly looking for a store map, it's okay to phone a friend. Call your family, ask for directions or a tip on a particularly hard to buy for relative. Calling my Mum once saved me hours of shopping time for my Dad, when she sagely suggested: "Buy wine." Done! 

In case of disaster...

Now, if all else fails, I suggest going home, putting Love Actually on Netflix and eating a giant seasonal Toblerone while drinking coffee or your preferred alcoholic beverage, and trying again another day. Or make a donation to charity and tell everyone you are buying them a goat in some far-off land. That'll show 'em!

Good luck, shoppers! And Happy Thanksgiving. 

P.S. My holiday romcom, HEART NOTE, set in an Australian department store around the perfume counter at Christmas, is now on sale for only 99 cents! You should totally buy it for yourself and all your friends...available from Amazon, Kobo, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble and Google Play Books. 

Buy now - books2read.com/HeartNote 

About Cassandra O'Leary

Cassandra O'Leary is a romance and women's fiction author, communications specialist, avid reader, film and TV fangirl and admirer of pretty, shiny things. 

Cassandra won the global We Heart New Talent contest run by Avon Books/HarperCollins UK in 2015. Her debut novel, Girl on a Plane, was then published in July 2016. Cassandra was also a 2015 finalist in the Lone Star writing contest, Northwest Houston Romance Writers of America, and a 2014 finalist in the First Kiss contest, Romance Writers of Australia. In 2017, Heart Note: A Christmas Romcom Novella, became a top 50 bestselling holiday romance and humor fiction title on Amazon. 

Cassandra is also a mother of two gorgeous, high-energy mini ninjas and wife to a spunky superhero. Living in Melbourne, Australia, she's also travelled the world. If you want to send her to Italy or Spain on any food or wine tasting 'research' trips, that would be splendiferous. She's currently working on several books, or pretends to while buying shoes on the internet. 

Read more at: cassandraolearyauthor.com