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Tuesday, December 19, 2023

More Holiday Reading for December and this Winter ... by Delsora Lowe

More holiday books…

As you can see, I have an endless supply that will take me halfway through 2024. But, hey, IMHO reading holiday books is a great activity any time of the year. And here in New England, we tend to get more snow in the early months of the year, than we do in November and December.

Books I Read in December:

A Last Chance Christmas (Sons of Chance) – Vicki Lewis Thompson – December 2023

Christmas Miracle for the Frosty Marquess – Sally Forbes – November 2023

A Very Merry Monday (A Dickens Holiday Romance) – Gracie Guy – November 2023

Jingle Spells – Vicki Lewis Thompson, Kira Sinclair, Andrea Lawrence – November 2023

Snowed In at the Ranch – RaeAnne Thayne + Plus (bonus story) A Kiss on Crimson Ranch– Michelle Major – November 2022

Christmas at the Inn on Bluebell Lane – Kate Hewitt – October 2023

Currently Reading:

Chasing Holiday Tail: A Holiday Rom-Com Charity Anthology – Kameron Claire, Melonie Johnson, Tracery Pedersen, Amy Award, Dylann Crush, Christina Hovland, Hope Ellis, MK Meredith, Brenda St. John Brown, Sylvie Stewart, Arell Rivers, Stina Lindenblatt, Tawdra Kandle, Kilby Blades, Serena Bell – October 2023

Holiday Books Still on The List to Read:

Christmas in New England (3 novella package) – Kari Lemor – November 2023

On a Snowy Night – Debbie Macomber – September 2022

Lights, Camera, Christmas Town! – Melinda Curtis, Anna J. Stewart, Cari Lynn Webb, Beth Carpenter, Cheryl Harper, LeAnne Bristow, Liz Flaherty, and Tanya Agler – October 2023

1001 Dark Nights (Christmas in Cape May) – Jennifer Probst – November 2023

Love for Christmas (10 novel set) – Alexa Verde – October 2023

Rodeo Romance Series (3 book package) – Shanna Hatfield – September 2020

A Perfect Match – Sabrina Jeffries – September 2023

The Holiday Heartbreaker – Maisy Yates – September 2023

Chasing the Mistletoe – Mary Waterford – October 2022

Treasure Coast Christmas – Leigh Duncan – October 2023

Snowed in for Christmas – Sarah Morgan – September 2022

This Christmas in Paris – Sophie Claire – August 2023

Home Sweet Christmas – Susan Mallery – October 2023 – Two small-town romances in Wishing Tree

Jingle All the Way – Sarah Everly – February 2023

Holiday Heat – Piper Cook – November 2020

The Christmas Pearl – Dorothea Benton Frank – October 2009

The Winter Cottage – Rachael Lucus – October 2021

Christmas Chaos – Paty Jager – October 2023

A Merry Bramble Christmas – CJ Carmichael – December 2023

Promise Me Please, Cowboy – CJ Carmichael – September 2023

Rodeo Romance Series (3 book package) – Shanna Hatfield – September 2020

Lights, Camera Christmas Town! – Melinda Curtis, Anna J. Stewart, Cari Lynn Webb, Beth Carpenter, Cheryl Harper, LeAnne Bristow, Liz Flaherty, and Tanya Agler – October 2023

Christmas Miracle For the Frosty Marque – Sally Forbes – November 2023

Honeymoon in the Works – Jodi Payne – December 2023

Do you prefer to read seasonal books within the season? Or do you read any book, no matter the subject, any time of the year?

Amazon

Draft2Digital

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Apple

Amazon

Draft2Digital

~ 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, and the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, Lowe has also authored short romances for Woman’s World magazine. The Love Left Behind is a Hartford Estates, R.I. wedding novella. A Christmas novel (The Inn at Gooseneck Lane) and novella (Holiday Hitchhiker) were released in late fall 2022. Look for book 3 of the cowboy’s series, as well as book 2 of the Hartford Estates series, in 2024.

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/

Photo Credits: Book Covers from Amazon

Monday, November 27, 2023

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

Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Holiday Reading: Part One .... Delsora Lowe

As you can probably tell, I love both reading and writing holiday romances. Here's the list of books that I started reading in October. I still have more on my list and will post those holiday reads in December. Feel free to recommend any holiday reads you love or wrote in the comments section, since I am sure I'll be adding to my list of reads. Because obviously, I'll still be reading holiday romances into the new year. And if you care to read any of my holiday books, you can find them on both Amazon and Books2Read.

Happy Holidays Reads!

BOOKS READ:

The Matzah Ball – Jean Meltzer – September 2021

A Jewish author of Christmas romance books, hides her love of Christmas from her family. A second-chance book filled with secrets, family antics, and hilarity, plus some tender, romantic moments as the two get to know each other again.

Sweet Holiday Surprise – Cindy Kirk – Nov 1, 2023

A sweet, Secret Santa, unrequited love story set in St. Louis, MO, a stand-alone book 8 of a series.

Merry & Bright Christmas – Megan Ryder – October 2023

A second-chance holiday romance.

Kringle All the Way: A Dicken’s Holiday Romance – Judy Kentrus – November 2023

A second-chance love and time for forgiveness after so many years, with kids enjoying the magic of a Dicken’s Christmas.

Once Upon a Christmas Kiss – Collection: Ciara Knight, Brenda Lowder, Susan Carlisle, Terra Weiss, Susan Sands, Christy Hayes – October 2023

Six romantic novellas about women who receive the gift of love over the holidays.

Heating Up the Cowboy’s Christmas (Rowdy Ranch Book 8) – Vicki Lewis Thompson – November 2023

The matriarch of the Rowdy Ranch and anonymous western fiction writer finds her forever love.

Christmas Moon Over Holly Pointe – Cindy Kirk – November 2023

Strangers meet after a flight to Mexico gets cancelled. Ride along as they wend their way north to New England and end up in Holly Pointe, VT for a Christmas to be all.

A Christmas Reunion: A Tale From Blythe Cove Manor – Shirley Hailstock – November 20

Second chances in a delightful winter setting on Martha’s Vineyard – after all these years, can his attention be for real or does he want something she has? A quick read.

The Christmas Gift – Raine English – October 2016

A second chance, lost love, matchmaker story with puppies who are sure to show the way to love.

The Mistletoe Trap – Eve Pendle – December 2018

A second chance Regency, with some “naughty” embroidery and a misunderstanding in the bedroom leading to a forced marriage to spice things up and bring about a happily-ever-after.

The Cowboy’s Christmas Gift – Donna Alward – Nov 2023

A former soldier now must take over his grandfather’s ranch, the last thing he wants to do. Meeting the ranch foreman, a woman from his past, might or might not make his new “job” easier.

Don’t Mess With Mistletoe: A Dicken’s Holiday Romance – Peggy Jaeger – November 2023

Dorrit’s Diner in the tiny town of Dickens, Maine, never fails to entertain. This time the owner’s wayward son, the pilot, returns home for the holidays and takes over running the diner, so his mom can take time off. With a lot of surprises thrown in, one of Michael’s goals is to figure out the story around his mom’s new hire who lives in the apartment above the diner.

Carrigan Christmas Reunion – CJ Carmichael – April 2019

A Christmas reunion with an old childhood crush as Wren struggles to help her family prepare for the holidays during a medical crisis.

CURRENTLY READING:

A Song for Christmas: A Dicken’s Holiday Romance – Lori DiAnni – November 2023

A second-chance romance, with both heroine and hero have dreams and ambitions in music. Can they help each other realize their professional dreams and rekindle a lost love?

If you love dogs and the shenanigans of their owners as they find true love, this is the book of short stories for you.

What are your favorite holiday books?

Or favorite topics or tropes for holiday reads?

My Latest Holiday Read

Amazon (also in print)

Barnes & Noble (also in print)

Apple Books (also in print)

~ 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.

Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Dreaming of Sun and Sand…OR…Silently Falling Snowflakes? … by Delsora Lowe

What a choice!

It’s July. And everyone who knows me, knows I love Hallmark and especially Christmas in July, where they run holiday movies all day long. Okay – full confession. By the time I get to the third week of July, I am pretty numb and holidayed-out. However, I still love to read holiday books while sunning by the ocean. And…I love writing holiday books.

As an author who has written three Christmas-themed romances and one that is Valentine-themed, when do I usually do most of that writing? You got it, during the warmer weather of spring and summer.

And many times, when I am working on books that take place in warmer weather, that writing takes place as the weather-gods open up the skies to that cold, white stuff.

The hero and heroine in Come Dance With Me, an interracial, intercultural story about a uptight high school English teacher who has trouble opening up to anything, much less love, are both based on actors I have seen on Hallmark.

As I wrote the hero, I had in mind an actor I saw on “Christmas in Homestead,” a Hallmark movie. Aaron also reminded me of a guy on whom I had a major crush in high school. I watched Aaron “Quick” Nelson when he played the role of a bodyguard to a well-known actress. His role was so sweet as he interacted with the innkeeper hero’s young daughter who loved the movies made by the actress. Plus, in real life Mr. Nelson is a New Englander, so…what’s not to like. I envisioned the actress being Autumn Reeser, a well-known Hallmark staple. And I searched high and low for the perfect cover photo of how I envisioned what these two characters might look like, as I wrote the story.

But I digress…

To address the question about whether I like snow better than sand, or vice versa is a tough question. I can be gazing at a blizzard outside my window and writing a hot, summer scene. That stream of fluffy and frozen, white stuff brightens the sky in its own way. The day is beautiful, cocooning, and comfortable, especially when I know I can stay inside with a cup of hot cocoa, and write, write, write. With a bit of a shiver, I imagine a cozy comforter, snuggled on the couch in front of a roaring fire.

As a writer, it is good to have an imagination, since I do not have a fireplace or a woodstove, so instead I have to crank the heat up and know I’ll be using more fuel to stay warm. I also know that were I to succumb to cuddling on the couch with a comforter wrapped around me, I’d doze off and not get any writing work done. Instead, I crank up the electric heater by my desk and crank up the fire under the kettle, and imagine myself in that sunny clime, as I finish tapping out a romantic, engagement, beach scene that could bring my beach-wandering couple to their inevitable happily-ever-after.

The warmth of the radiator takes my imagination away to a pristine white sand beach, sailboats, and the aqua blue ocean or bay gently lapping against the shore. A couple strolls, hand-in-hand. When the sun becomes too much, they run into the bathtub-warm water, splash around, and cool down before they continue their leisurely walk, picking up beautiful shells as they go.

And occasionally, they stop to turn toward one another for a sun-drenched kiss. And maybe, just maybe, the hero, pulls from his swim trunks pocket a shiny, glittering gemstone, attached to a ring. He slips to his knees in the packed sand and proposes. Okay, since I just had the hero taking a dip in the ocean, I better add that his swimsuit’s inside pocket has a zipper, so that precious engagement ring doesn’t float down and get buried in the murky depths of sea and sand. That would be a total downer for the couple. Or…it could create some tension in a scene that is supposed to be sweet. Hmmm…ideas percolate

See what happens when I crank the heat and imagine, in the middle of winter, sand and sky-blue water and dining outdoors and moored boats?

The downside of being a fiction writer, the imagination can run wild at any given time. So, picking a snowy day snuggled by the fire, over a breezy, sunny day at the ocean…well, for me, it depends on the mood of the story I am writing, and not the actual season flashing its attributes outside my window. Because in the winter I dream of sand. And in the summer, I dream of sipping hot cocoa by a fire.

Do you have a favorite season?
Do you prefer snow over sand, or vice versa?

Amazon

The Inn on Gooseneck Lane - Kindle edition by Lowe, Delsora. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Barnes & Noble

The Inn on Gooseneck Lane by Delsora Lowe | NOOK Book (eBook) | Barnes & Noble® (barnesandnoble.com)

Apple Books

TheInn on Gooseneck Lane on Apple Books

Amazon

HolidayHitchhiker: A Sweet, Heartwarming Holiday Romance: Christmas in Angels Glen -Kindle edition by Lowe, Delsora. Contemporary Romance Kindle eBooks @Amazon.com

Books2Read

https://books2read.com/u/mez9AE

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Come-Dance-Me-Serenity-Starlight-ebook/dp/B074N95RGK/

Books2Read

books2read.com/u/bMrQva

~ 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, and the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, Lowe has also authored short romances for Woman’s World magazine. Her newest novella is The Love Left Behind. Look for both a Christmas novel (The Inn at Gooseneck Lane) and novella (Holiday Hitchhiker) later this fall.