Sweet Christmas Kisses 3

With all the turmoil in the world, sometimes it is nice to be able to escape to a place where you know any conflict will be resolved and you can count on a happy ending.

There’s just something that warms the heart and calms the soul to sit down with a sweet romance, especially one with a holiday theme at this particular time of year.

Holiday boxed sets are fun because they give the reader a variety of settings and situations. A boxed set I joined in again this year takes readers everywhere from London, England, to Africa, and all across the USA.  Sweet Christmas Kisses, a USA Today Bestseller, offers 17 brand-new sweet contemporary novellas with a foreword written by USA Today Bestselling author Donna Fasano.

If you’re looking for a great read to curl up with by a toasty fire, one sure to put you in the mood for the holidays, take a look at this one, available for only 99 cents.

On Christmas Eve by Mona Risk

She yanked him out of her heart years ago. But fate throws him in her path again and his tender gaze erases her loneliness. Can they forgive each other and create a new future?

Christmas Holly by Christine Bush

Can a lonely single father of five-year-old triplets find love on a South Carolina beach? It might just take a Christmas miracle!

Mistletoe and Sage by Lyn Cote

New deputy in town, a single mom, two wounded hearts with a puzzle to solve together—will love spark under the mistletoe?

A Merry Little Christmas by Denise Devine

Merry Connor and Anthony Lewis search for treasure and find true love.

The Christmas Gift by Raine English

When Riley Wayne receives a dog for Christmas, it’s not just the pup that makes her heart flutter, the rescue group’s handsome owner does too.

Untangling Christmas by Shanna Hatfield

Tricked into helping with Silverton’s Festival of Trees, electrician Mike Clarke battles faulty outlets, tangled lights, and a woman determined to share the spirit of the season.

A Christmas on Miracle Mountain by Ciara Knight

When it takes a miracle to heal a heart.

The Kampala Peppermint Twist by Milou Koenings

A twist of fate. An overbooked flight. Christmas in Africa will flip her life upside down.

The Road Not Taken by Magdalena Scott

Francie Standish Carrington has some tough decisions to make and a lot of questions about a past she thought she understood.

A London Christmas by Roxanne Rustand

When Catriona heads to London for Christmas to meet a guy she met online, he steals her purse and disappears, but will a handsome photographer in the pub end up being the man of her dreams?

Her Christmas Secret by Alicia Street

Desperate to help her sister’s family, Lila courts a cold-hearted investor for her handmade toys, but learns Christmas has a way of bringing surprises where they’re least expected.

Falling For You at Christmas by Kristin Wallace

One expectant mother. One gorgeous innkeeper. Three days that will change her life forever.

Second Chance Christmas by Merrillee Whren

A young boy helps his estranged parents find love again at Christmas.

Christmas Eve Wedding by Cindy Flores Martinez

A maid of honor is swept up in the chaos of planning her best friend’s spur-of-the-moment Christmas Eve wedding.

Secret Wish by Victoria Pinder

Luke Morgan doesn’t believe in miracles, but this season Christmas brought him Caro Soliz, the family maid.

Candleglow and Mistletoe by Josie Riviera

A rising pianist and a pro stuntman winding down his career find love amid the glow of Christmas candles.

Couple by Christmas by Pat Simmons

Divorcee Derek Washington wants to reconcile with his ex-wife by Christmas. Although he’s got a plan, with the help of his six-year-old son, Derek only has two weeks.

Kindle: http://amzn.to/2aMrYfN

iBooks: http://apple.co/2aFTjN3

Nook: http://tinyurl.com/sck3sh

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2aGREsk
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2baWaSj

Shanna Hatfield

And don’t forget to connect with the Authors at Sweet Romance Reads:

Website/Blog: http://SweetRomanceReads.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/SweetRomanceReads

Twitter: http://twitter.com/SweetRomanceRds

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/donnafaz/sweet-romance-reads/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/123223-sweet-romance-reads

Convinced everyone deserves a happy ending, USA Today best-selling author Shanna Hatfield is out to make it happen, one story at a time. Her sweet historical and contemporary romances combine humor and heart-pumping moments with relatable characters.

When this hopeless romantic isn’t writing or indulging in rich, decadent chocolate, Shanna hangs out with her husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller.

Shanna loves to hear from readers. Follow her online at:

ShannaHatfield | Facebook | Newsletter | Pinterest | Goodreads | You Tube | Twitter

Who hates scary movies? by Kristin Wallace

Can you believe it’s October already? Before you know it, we’ll be knee deep in Christmas decorations, if you’re not already buried in tinsel and holly. But we’ll stick with October (for this week at least), and more importantly...Halloween. The theme on Romancing the Genres is actually “Why I read scary books/Watch scary movies.”

Well, the truth is, I don’t do either. I don’t watch horror movies or read scary stories. (My one exception is seeing a few movies based on Stephen King novels, including The Shining and Carrie (and I’ve actually only seen the end of Carrie). I did see The Exorcist once and that freaked me out. I think the only scary/horror book I’ve ever read was Amityville Horror, and that was enough for me.

I grew up in the heyday of Friday the 13^th and Nightmare on Elm Street franchises. Jason and Freddie Krueger were pop culture icons, but I couldn’t bring myself to watch them. I just can’t get into blood and gore, and extreme violence, especially stupid violence. If you hear something in the basement, why would you go down there? I do remember a time when I was in junior high and had a sleep over with my friend. She wanted to watch one of the Friday the 13^th movies. I don’t remember which one…could have been 3 or 5 or 6…as they were pretty much the same. Start with 6 pretty teenagers and by the end there are 6 dead pretty teenagers. Or maybe one does finally get away. I didn’t want to watch it, but my friend insisted…then spent the entire movie covering her eyes and asking me to tell her what was happening. Mostly, it was a STUPID movie. It confirmed my firm belief that I don’t like those kinds of movies.

Give me a romantic comedy or a drama any day. You can take your scary movies this month and I’ll just wait for the Hallmark Channel Christmas movies to start. It should be next week, right?

Kristin Wallace is the USA Today Best Selling Author of inspirational and contemporary romance, and women’s fiction filled with “Love, Laughter and a Leap of Faith”. Look for her latest releases FALLING FOR YOU AT CHRISTMAS, which is part of SWEET CHRISTMAS KISSES 3, a box set featuring 17 holiday stories by NYT, USA Today & national bestselling authors for only 99 cents, including. For info & buy links, visit Kristin's Website

Want a FREE book? I’m on Instafreebie where you can download FINDING YOU AT CHRISTMAS. CLICK HERE!

Masks and the Theatre by Kristin Wallace

The theme for this month on Romancing the Genres is a fun one…masks. I had to think about what I could talk about and how it might tie in to my writing. But then I remembered that my Shellwater Key Tales series is about rehabbing an old dinner theatre and bringing it to life again.

I’ve always loved acting, and in fact, I was a theatre major in college at Florida State University. I 

wrote the series partly because I wanted to do something that featured a theatre in some way. The RTG theme of masks goes perfectly because of the origins of drama itself. The Ancient Greeks are largely credited with the first form of drama. They would perform plays to honor the Greek god, Dionysus. Among the most famous Greek plays was Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. I’m sure you’ve heard of it. Oedipus kills his father and marries his mother (without knowing of course).

One of the great traditions of ancient Greek plays was the use of theatre masks. In my fictional Paradise Dinner Theatre, there are even gold Tragedy/Comedy masks mounted above the stage. There were several reasons for the use of masks in Ancient Greek theatre. First, the actors performed in huge outdoor amphitheaters that were built into the sides of hills. There could be as many as 14,000

people attending. This meant those in the audience might be far away from the stage so masks allowed everyone to see. The masks were very elaborate and designed with exaggerated features to help convey emotion to someone sitting way at the top of the hill. Another big reason is that productions might only have a few actors, and masks allowed one person to play many different parts, including female characters. There were no women actors allowed at that time, so men or young boys would play the those roles.

Of course, wearing a mask also came with challenges for the actor. Since they could not use their own faces to convey emotion (other than what the mask represented) they had to rely on their voice and exaggerated gestures. A good actor had to be incredibly gifted at telling the story with his voice and body movement to ensure the audience understood what was happening.

If you want to read a little more about the origins of Greek drama and masks, check out these websites: History of Greek Theatre & History of Masks  

Kristin Wallace is the USA Today Best Selling Author of inspirational and contemporary romance, and women’s fiction filled with “Love, Laughter and a Leap of Faith”. Book 2 in the Shellwater Key Tales, STRAIGHT ON TOWARD PARADISE will launch mid-September. You can also get a jump on your holiday reading by pre-ordering Sweet Christmas Kisses 3, a holiday box set featuring 17 sweet romance novellas for only 99 cents, including FALLING FOR YOU AT CHRISTMAS, a Shellwater Key Tale. (pre-order now, on sale September 27th.) Find out more at her website: Kristin Wallace Author

     

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