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SPECIAL FEATURE: Holiday Décor from Far and Near by Maya Corrigan

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Holiday Décor from Far and Near by Maya Corrigan

We started collecting tree ornaments shortly after we were married, buying them at the open-air market in Nuremberg, when my husband was stationed in Germany. Most of them are tiny wood ornaments as charming now as they were when we first saw them. My in-laws gave us a handmade nativity set from Oberammergau, a town in Southern Germany known for its wood carving.

We also have many home-sewn felt ornaments from craft fairs and year-round Christmas shops in the U.S. The mouse sleeping in a red hammock that hangs from the tree by gold cords is one of my favorites.

We delight in unpacking those ornaments every year because they bring back memories. There was only one year when we didn’t put them on our tree. Instead, I made the ornaments for a themed tree. When I was working for a tech company developing computer-assisted courses, our team burned hundreds of CDs as we progressed through the stages of course development. I hated throwing out the shiny circles, so I decorated them for the holidays, gave my teammates CD ornaments, and hung the remaining ones on our tree.

Starting from the time we got married, we received a Christmas-tree plate as a gift from my husband’s aunt and uncle. As you can see from the photo, our collection of plates grew over many years.

In my family the primary holiday meal and gift opening occurs on Christmas Eve. During the 30+ years I made dinner on December 24th, I varied the main dish, though I was never allowed to deviate from the fish appetizer platter, a tradition my father started. The photo shows shrimp with cocktail sauce (in the middle), marinated mushrooms, olives, smoked salmon wrapped around cream cheese, smoked oysters, smoked trout, and pickled herring in sour cream. On the side, we always have a cheese platter for any family members who aren’t fond of fish.

Everyone’s favorite holiday table décor is edible—the dessert array, including the cookies we bake every year and the obligatory chocolate lovers’ cake.

Though the number of people at our holiday table grew over three decades, it has been dwindling for the last fifteen years as we lose older family members and others move too far to travel easily. This year Covid demands a cozy Christmas around a small table. But we have our memories, and we look forward to next year’s holiday when we can all gather again for the traditional celebration.    

Here’s a look at Maya’s latest release: GINGERDEAD MAN – A Five Ingredient Mystery

When Santa is sleighed by a poison gingerbread cookie at a holiday party, Val Deniston’s reputation is on the line . . .

This holiday season Bayport, Maryland, is a dead ringer for Victorian London. Val and her grandfather are taking part in the Dickens of a Holiday festival. Val is hosting a private tea party serving the festival’s costumed volunteers, who range from Dickens divas like Madame Defarge and Miss Havisham to Ebenezer Scrooge and old St. Nick himself.

But one costumed reveler may have gotten the holidays mixed up. The winner of the creepiest outfit, robed in black with a gift bag covering the head—okay, Ghost of Christmas Present, Val gets it—hands out gingerbread men with white icing skeleton bones. This year’s sour Santa has none of the big fellow’s mirth but plenty of his appetite, and it’s no secret Santa loves cookies. But when the man in red turns blue, Val and Granddad have a cookie-cutter killer to catch before the New Year . . .

Includes delicious five-ingredient recipes!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Maya (Mary Ann) Corrigan combines her passion for food and detective stories in her Five-Ingredient Mysteries: By Cook or by CrookScam Chowder, Final Fondue, The Tell-Tale TarteS’more Murders, Crypt Suzette, and the latest book, Gingerdead Man, a holiday mystery. The series features a café manager and her live-wire grandfather, the Codger Cook, who solve murders in a historic town near the Chesapeake Bay. Each book has five suspects, five clues, and Granddad’s five-ingredient recipes.

Ms. Corrigan lives in a Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C. Before writing crime fiction, she taught American literature, writing, and detective fiction at Northern Virginia Community College and Georgetown University. When not reading and writing, she enjoys theater, travel, trivia, cooking, and crosswords. Visit her website for book details, recipes, trivia quizzes, and a free culinary mystery story.

Learn more about Maya and her books by following these links:

Website: https://mayacorrigan.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mayacorriganbooks/

Group Blog: https://www.mysteryloverskitchen.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7813064.Maya_Corrigan

Memoir Monday: The Life of a European-American Ingrained in New York

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Firsthand experience of the immigrant that has become ingrained in New York life –

Siegfried Wyner’s The Life of a European-American Ingrained in New York

It’s an interesting look from the inside out. You get to see the journey from start to current time.

Biography • Hall of famer in Civil Engineering • Laureate Elite Emeritus Mr. Siegfried Wyner B.S,M.S,C.E • Renowed, Noted, Pre-Eminent, Pivotal Figure, • Enormously, Deeply and Broadly Influential • Most Skillful And Important Engineer • Professor Emeritus • Member of The New York Academy of Science https://authorreputationpress.com/product/the-life-of-a-european-american-ingrained-in-new-york/

SNEAK PEEK: FINISHED OFF IN FONDANT BY ROSEMARE ROSS

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There’s a killer in the mix…

Hosting a reality cooking show could be the perfect career boost for Chef Courtney Archer—as long as the contestants aren’t suspected of murder . . .
 
Despite a few early hiccups, Courtney is thrilled with her starring role on The American Baking Battle, filmed at a grand resort in the Pocono Mountains. The icing on the cake? The new season has a wedding theme—complete with formalwear. But the first day on set, the producer seems to care more about profits than pastry—and the topper comes when her cohost Skylar falls ill. Little does she know things are about to end in tiers . . .

When a barely coherent, blood-covered Skylar is discovered at the doorway of his room, Courtney is horrified to walk inside and find a towering wedding cake—thoroughly smashed by the body of a woman in a bridal gown. Now suspicion is filling the studio and falling on Skylar, and Courtney has to look at coworkers and contestants, working through layers of deception to find the real culprit . . .

EXCERPT:

I turned to Shannon. “Do you think Skylar would appreciate some soup since he wasn’t
feeling well? We’d have time to take it to him.” She nodded.

I whipped out my phone and sent him a text. “Do you think he was acting funny?”

“Most people do when they don’t feel well.”

“I meant before. Did he seem nervous or on edge to you?”

She didn’t have time to answer. My phone started to ring. I looked down. “It’s Skylar. I
bet he wants to know the flavors of the day. Hello?”

“Courtney? Horrible. Something. You come?”

“Skylar? What’s wrong?”

“Help. I need help.”

The line went dead.

“Something is wrong with Skylar. He’s incoherent.” I stood while slipping my phone into
my jacket pocket.

“Let’s go.” Shannon jumped up.

We left our lunch mess with Eric and Pamela at the table and hurried to the elevators.
Riding up to the fourth floor, we hoped he was housed in the same suite as last time like we were. We rounded a corner from the elevator shaft.

Skylar sat on the floor slumped over a wastebasket. The door of his room stood ajar.

“I think we need to call the front desk and see about getting him to the nearest clinic,” I
called over my shoulder as Shannon and I ran toward him.

“Skylar!”

When Shannon called his name, it took effort, but he lifted his head. Blood covered the
left side of his face and was matted in his hair. Crimson stained his clothing all down one side.

Eyes wide and full of fear, he stared at me. He shook his head slowly. “I don’t know…need
help…” His words came on huffed breaths.

Had he fallen and cracked his head? It would explain the blood and disorientation.
Skylar lifted a finger and pointed at the door to his room. A wave of nausea must have
come over him. He buried his face in the wastebasket and retched.

My heart sank. Once we reached him, we saw the blood covering him looked dried or at
least not flowing. What had happened in his room? Walking around Skylar, I toed open the door.

Peeking around the door, I saw a pool of blood on the carpet and smears of blood across the floor where Skylar crawled to the door. I lifted my gaze to a five tier-wedding cake setting on the coffee table.

The round tiers, smashed and broken, leaned to one side because the cake topper was too
heavy. Push-in pillars littered the floor. Instead of an ornate or thematic decoration sitting atop the smallest layer, someone had placed a bride across the cake.

Decked out in a gorgeous wedding gown, the young woman lay face up askew in the
confection like she’d fallen asleep in a bed of buttercream. Judging from the pool of blood on the floor and the knife stabbed into her chest, she wasn’t snoozing.

She was dead.

Buy Links:
Amazon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Rosemarie Ross is neither a chef, gourmet cook, nor television cooking star, but she loves watching them and turned that love into a cozy mystery series. Rosemarie Ross is also the pseudonym of multi-published author Rose Ross Zediker, who writes contemporary and historical inspirational romance novels which have appeared on ECPA bestseller lists and been finalists for the RITA®, National Reader's Choice, Booksellers Best, and Book Buyers Best award contests. In addition, Rose has hundreds of publishing credits in the Christian magazine genre for children and adults.
Social media links:
https://twitter.com/SDAuthor
www.rosemarieross.com
https://www.facebook.com/roserosszedikerauthor/

SNEAK PEEK: WHEN THE SLEEPING DEAD STILL TALK! by Anne Gordon

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WHEN THE SLEEPING DEAD STILL TALK! The series finale by critically acclaimed Horror Author, Jennifer Anne Gordon

Critically acclaimed Author Jennifer Anne Gordon’s conclusion to The Hotel Series, with the sequel to From Daylight to Madness.

In one startling moment in the late summer of 1873 a tragedy fell like summer sun on the gray jagged shores of Dagger Island. Francis loses everything he thought his life was, and what it could have become. His heart breaks and his feet run, all the way back to his childhood home, he reaches for a past that may not exist.

He is there, in the little house in Dorchester Neck. A place haunted with missing time. He feels the comfort from walls that lean in too close, but then …He feels the trauma that ripped his life in two and in a blink of an eye he is back at the hotel. He can feel the memories fade as the cold fingers of winter wrap around him. He does not know how he got there, or indeed if he ever left.

Francis has lived his whole life veiled in the memories that are more alive than his present. The current days fade away before he can hold on to him. Everything he was or thought he could have been is gone. He realizes he may be a monster, and the person he has fallen in love with may not even exist. Francis holds onto the memories he thinks are real …until he is almost consumed by them.

Francis is isolated in a world of mesmerism, with his tormentor and healer Doctor Hughes.
Francis is a guest in this hotel with his past, his present, and who he believes to be his future. Isabelle. His world is a labyrinth … he feels her hand in his. The fingers intertwine and there is nothing left but her…

She is a memory, a ghost, and a hallucination.

He can almost remember the moment when his father’s glass shattered into his face…he can almost remember who he was before he was broken in two.
He can almost remember…
He can almost…
He can…
He…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jennifer Anne Gordon is a gothic horror novelist. Her work includes Beautiful, Frightening and Silent (2020) which is a finalist in the Kindle Book Review Awards, and From Daylight to Madness (The Hotel book 1), and coming out in November 2020, When the Sleeping Dead Still Talk (The Hotel book 2).

She had a collection of her mixed media artwork published during spring of 2020, entitled Victoriana: mixed media art of Jennifer Gordon

Jennifer is one of the hosts as well as the creator of Vox Vomitus, a video podcast on the Global Authors on the Air Network, as well as the Co-Host of the You Tube Channel “Talk Horror To Me”. She had been a contributor to Ladies of Horror Fiction, as well as Horror Tree.

She graduated from the New Hampshire Institute of Art, where she studied Acting. She also studied at the University of New Hampshire with a concentration in Art History and English.

She has made her living as an actress, a magician’s assistant, a “gallerina”, a comic book dealer, a painter, and burlesque performer and for the past 10 years as an award-winning professional ballroom dancer, performer, instructor, and choreographer. More information can be found about Jennifer at: https://www.jenniferannegordon.com/

 

New Cozy Mysteries to Warm You Up!

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Murder at Queen’s Landing A Captivating Historical Regency Mystery
A Wrexford & Sloane Mystery #4
by Andrea Penrose

The murder of a shipping clerk…the strange disappearance of trusted friends…rumors of corruption within the powerful East India Company…all add up to a thrillingly dark mystery…
 
When Lady Cordelia, a brilliant mathematician, and her brother, Lord Woodbridge, disappear from London, rumors swirl concerning fraudulent bank loans and a secret consortium engaged in an illicit—and highly profitable—trading scheme that threatens the entire British economy. The incriminating evidence mounts, but for Charlotte and Wrexford, it’s a question of loyalty and friendship. And so they begin a new investigation to clear the siblings’ names, uncover their whereabouts, and unravel the truth behind the whispers.

As they delve into the murky world of banking and international arbitrage, Charlotte and Wrexford also struggle to navigate their increasingly complex feelings for each other. But the clock is ticking—a cunning mastermind has emerged . . . along with some unexpected allies—and Charlotte and Wrexford must race to prevent disasters both economic and personal as they are forced into a dangerous match of wits in an attempt to beat the enemy at his own game.

You can purchase MURDER AT QUEEN’S LANDING at:
Kensington Books & Retailers

A Pretty Deceit — A Verity Kent Mystery #4
by Anna Lee Huber

In the aftermath of the Great War, the line between friend and foe may be hard to discern, even for indomitable former Secret Service agent Verity Kent, in award-winning author Anna Lee Huber’s thrilling mystery series.

Peacetime has brought little respite for Verity Kent. Intrigue still abounds, even within her own family. As a favor to her father, Verity agrees to visit his sister in Wiltshire. Her once prosperous aunt has fallen on difficult times and is considering selling their estate. But there are strange goings-on at the manor, including missing servants, possible heirloom forgeries, and suspicious rumors—all leading to the discovery of a dead body on the grounds.

While Verity and her husband, Sidney, investigate this new mystery, they are also on the trail of an old adversary—the shadowy and lethal Lord Ardmore. At every turn, the suspected traitor seems to be one step ahead of them. And even when their dear friend Max, the Earl of Ryde, stumbles upon a code hidden among his late father’s effects that may reveal the truth about Ardmore, Verity wonders if they are really the hunters—or the hunted . . .

You can purchase A PRETTY DECEIT at:
Kensington Books & Retailers

The Corpse Who Knew Too Much — A Food Blogger Mystery #4
by Debra Sennefelder

Food blogger Hope Early takes on a cold case that’s heating up fast . . .

Building on her recipe for success with her food blog, Hope at Home, Hope is teaching her first blogging class at the local library in Jefferson, Connecticut. She’s also learning about podcasts, including a true-crime one called Search for the Missing, hosted by Hope’s childhood friend, Devon Markham. Twenty years ago on Valentine’s Day, right here in Jefferson, Devon’s mom disappeared and was never found. Finally Devon has returned to solve the mystery of what happened to her mother—and she asks Hope to help.

The next day Hope discovers Devon’s apartment has been ransacked. Her laptop with the research on her mother’s cold case is missing, and Devon is nowhere to be found. When her friend’s body is later discovered in a car wreck, Hope is convinced it’s no accident. Clearly, Devon was too close to the truth, and the cold-blooded killer is still at large in Jefferson. Now it’s up to Hope to find the guilty party—before the food blogger herself becomes the next subject of another true-crime podcast . . .

Includes Recipes from Hope’s Kitchen!

You can purchase THE CORPSE WHO KNEW TOO MUCH at:
Kensington Books & Retailers

Death on the Green — The Dublin Driver Mysteries #2
by Catie Murphy

As an American in Dublin, limo driver Megan Malone will need the luck of the Irish to avoid a head-on collision—with a killer . . .

Life has been non-stop excitement for American Army veteran Megan Malone ever since she moved to Ireland and became a driver for Dublin’s Leprechaun Limousine Service. She’s solved a murder and adopted two lovable Jack Russell puppies. Currently, she’s driving world-class champion golfer Martin Walsh, and he’s invited her to join him while he plays in a tournament at a prestigious Irish locale. Unfortunately, there’s a surprise waiting for her on the course—a body floating in a water hazard.

Everyone loved golfer Lou MacDonald, yet he clearly teed off someone enough to be murdered. Martin seems to be the only one with a motive. However, he also has an alibi: Megan and hundreds of his fans were watching him play. Now, with a clubhouse at a historical lodge full of secrets and a dashing Irish detective by her side, Megan must hurry to uncover the links to the truth before the real killer takes a swing at someone else.

You can purchase DEATH ON THE GREEN at:
Kensington Books & Retailers

Veiled in Death — A Wedding Planner Mystery #6
by Stephanie Blackmoore

Wedding planner Mallory Shepard doesn’t have time to organize her own nuptials—because right now she’s engaged in solving a murder . . .
 
When Mallory discovers some old lace at a Port Quincy antique shop, she knows it’ll make a perfect headpiece. But she’s barely gotten it out of the store before Helene Pierce tears it from her hands. Helene claims it’s a family heirloom that went missing when her late husband died in a hit-and-run twenty-five years ago.

The conflict gets more complicated when the veil is attributed to none other than famed seamstress Betsy Ross. Mallory may have a genuine museum piece on her hands, but meanwhile Independence Day is right around the corner and she has to host the town’s Revolutionary War re-enactment. Then it becomes clear there’s a bigger mystery behind all this history when a local woman is murdered with a musket—and Mallory’s investigation could set off some fireworks . . .

You can purchase VEILED IN DEATH at:
Kensington Books and Retailers

 

 

QUICK LOOK: RUDE AWAKENINGS FROM SLEEPING ROUGH by Peter C. Mitchell

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RUDE AWAKENINGS FROM SLEEPING ROUGH
A new non-fiction book by Peter C. Mitchell with his experiences on Life in the streets!

This is a story that the charities don't want you to read. This is the fate that can befall any of us that you don’t want to acknowledge.

For years you have passed them on the streets, as much a partv of your routine as your morning shower, your half-hearted scan of the world’s news — fake or otherwise — and the barista who artistically crafts the £4 cappuccino with soya milk, three drops of vanilla, and a flutter of chocolate sprinkles that has to be made just right or it throws your day off in ways that nobody else understands.

You see them as often as you see your own family. The disenfranchised. The rough sleepers. The homeless. Camped out and befouling the sidewalks and alleyways of your daily commute, their worldly possessions, such as they are, spread around them —as dirty and worn out as the sleepers themselves, but as valuable to them as your £100 brogues are to you.

Occasionally you get the urge to throw some loose change at them as a gesture of magnanimous humanity, but when push comes to shove you would rather tip the honest, hard-working barista who ensures your day gets off to a proper start. Better to support the successful rather than throw good money after bad trying to keep the great unwashed afloat.

You have conditioned yourself to look through them – allowing your eyes to pass over them without actually seeing them. A defeated acceptance of lives gone wrong; uncomfortable reminders of what can happen when the best laid plans of mice and men go horribly awry. “Thank god I’m not like them”; you think, sipping your £4 cup of liquid gold; I could never let that happen to me.

Until suddenly – inexplicably – it does. And you discover the life you have built was nothing more than a house of cards that crashed down around you with frightening ease. A spate of bad luck, a poor decision or two, and the ubiquitous; circumstances beyond your control; conspire to create a perfect storm of events that leaves you cast away on the streets feeling dazed, disjointed, and damned.

This is Peter C. Mitchell’s story. But it could be your story. Not to mention the thousands of others, past and present, that have found themselves broken behind closed charity doors. Theirs are the stories that need to be heard. To be read.

This is Peter C. Mitchell’s story. But it could be your story. Not to mention the thousands of others, past and present, that have found themselves broken behind closed charity doors. Theirs are the stories that need to be heard. To be read.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

London born, Canadian raised Peter Mitchell was bumbling his way through a moderately successful career in business journalism when an investigation into a story on Corporate Social Responsibility inspired him to look beyond profit margins and PR into the very real problems faced by society. This inspiration prompted him to dip his toes into a self-confessed Sanity/Vanity project of a biography of his great, great grandfather, Sir John Kirk.

As Secretary of The Ragged School Union, John championed the causes of children, the disabled, and the working poor in Victorian-era London. His influence extended beyond the city limits, and his life proved more interesting than previous biographies revealed. Dust-buried references have surfaced in the most obscure locales, showing the consequences—both good and bad—to the ragged and crippled children John Kirk devoted his life to help.

In 2017, Peter returned to London to complete his research and begin the writing of “A Knight in the Slums.” The past was ready to be mined, and the future was assured. The present, however, took an unpredictable -and darkly ironic—turn.

A series of unfortunate events transpired, creating a perfect storm of calamities leaving Peter penniless and sleeping rough. He had unwittingly fallen victim to the same societal ailments John Kirk fought. That nightmare inadvertently provided him with an inside look into the current workings of these same systems put in place by his great, great grandfather, and others like him, put in place over a century ago. That experience frightened him more than the horrors of homelessness itself.

Armed with the scars of this unexpected, but disturbingly relevant, knowledge Peter continues to work on “A Knight in the Slums” with renewed insight. John Kirk created solutions over 100 years ago that are still in play today. Times have changed; yet the solutions have stagnated, and proven to not be solutions, but mechanisms that perpetuate the cycle of poverty: a Hell’s Carousel funded by well-meant individuals and institutions blinded by the brand of “charity.” New systems need to be developed; new solutions need to be found.

Mark Leslie Lefebvre has been writing since he was thirteen years old and discovered his mother’s Underwood typewriter collecting dust in a closet. He started submitting his work for publication at the age of fifteen and had his first story published in 1992, the same year he graduated from university.

Under the name Mark Leslie, he has published more than a dozen full length books. He pens a series of non-fiction paranormal explorations for Dundurn, Canada’s largest independent publisher. He also writes fiction (typically thrillers and horror) and edits fiction anthologies, most recently as a regular editor for the WMG Publishing Fiction River anthology series.

The very same year, Mark saw his first short story in print he started working in the book industry as a part-time bookseller, and was bitten by the book-selling bug. He has worked in virtually every type of bookstore (independent, chain, large-format, online, academic and digital). He has thrived on innovation, particularly related to digital publishing, and enjoys interacting with the various people who make the book industry so dynamic.

Between 2011 and 2017, Mark worked at the Director of Self-Publishing and Author Relations for Kobo where he was the driving force behind the creation of Kobo Writing Life, a free and easy to use author/small-publisher friendly platform designed to publish directly to Kobo’s global catalog in 190 countries. By the end of 2016, Kobo Writing Life established itself as the #1 single source of weekly global unit sales for Kobo and, in primarily English language territories, responsible for 1 in every 4 eBooks sold.

Mark has spoken professionally in the United States and Canada, in the UK and across Europe, specializing in advances in digital publishing and the vast and incredible opportunities that exist for writers and publishers.

Stark Publishing is an imprint Mark created in 2004 when he released his first book One Hand Screaming. He has used the imprint to publish more than 25 books. Campus Chills (2009) and Obsessions (2020) are two of the titles he used to anthologize other authors writing. Rude Awakenings from Sleeping Rough is the first single author title from a different author that he has published.

 

Merry Christmas from ‘Down Under’ With Author Liz Butcher

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Happy Holiday with Liz Butcher

Here in Queensland, Australia, we spend our Christmas in the tropical summer sun. Every year, my family and extended family get together on Christmas Eve to celebrate. We kick off late in the afternoon, once the temperature hopefully cools, if even slightly. There is backyard cricket for young and old, not complete without a set of stumps painted on the back of the wheelie bin. Those of us preferring to sit back and watch spend the afternoon ducking as stray cricket balls hurtle towards us. Once everyone’s stomachs are sufficiently grumbling over the smell of roasting potatoes and turkey, my Aunt calls us over for dinner. Every year she sets up a buffet of roast turkey, pork and chicken, cold, smoked ham, roasted potatoes and pumpkin and an array of fresh vegetables. Don’t forget the gravy! We all sit around the huge, U-shaped table and put on our paper crowns made from recycled Christmas cards that my grandmother’s friend makes everywhere. Then, with each of us grasping either end of the bon-bon’s we all count to three and pull. With an eruption of bangs, small toys fly all around us as the children scurrying to collect them all. As we joyously eat, we take turns at reading out the jokes from the bon-bon’s laughing because they are terrible and laughing because they are funny.

Everywhere for dessert, we have home-made Christmas pudding and when we were little, my grandmother used to bake old pennies and quarters into the pudding. It was such a thrill as everyone dug in, to see who would have the most coins in their slice, but what my sister and I liked even more, was handing the coins back over to my grandmother in exchange for money we could use at the candy store. It’s sad we can’t do this anymore, but the Christmas pudding is still amazing. Once we’re all so full we can hardly move, we exchange gifts, followed by lighting sparklers on the lawn and writing glowing messages across the night sky. More often than not, there will be lightning in the distance as a summer storm rolls in, bringing with it the much longed for cool air.

For me, what makes all of this special is spending time with my family, as for some of us, it’s the first time we get to see each other all year. I love that as a parent myself; I get to share this tradition with my daughter and witness her joy as she plays with her cousins and revels in the Christmas spirit.

Thank you for sharing! Such different and warm traditions for a horror and dark fantasy author!

Check out Liz’ latest release: LEROUX MANOR

Camille’s father just inherited the family manor from his estranged uncle, forcing her to leave her friends and city life just before her senior year of high school for the small town of Woodville, England. After seeing a strange old woman lurking on the estate grounds, she embarks on a mission to uncover the history of her new home. What she finds is wilder than she could have imagined—the murder of her ancestor, Caleb LeRoux, on the same day his six-year-old daughter vanished without a trace. And an unforeseen connection to Camille herself, as the only female LeRoux born to the family in over two hundred years. With the help of her new school friends, Camille delves into the secrets of the manor, uncovering an all-encompassing truth that will change the entire course of her life—past, present, and future.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Liz Butcher resides in Australia, with her husband, daughter, and their two cats. She’s a self-confessed nerd with a BA in psychology and an insatiable fascination for learning.

For more information on Liz and her writing, visit her website.

BookLights Podcast: Sexy Shifters with Author Lisa Kessler and Guest Host NYT Best Seller Alyssa Day

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LISTEN HERE!!!

Lisa Kessler is a Best Selling author of dark paranormal fiction. She’s a two-time San Diego Book Award winner for Best Published Fantasy-Sci-fi-Horror and Best Published Romance. Her books have also won the PRISM award, the Award of Excellence, the National Excellence in Romantic Fiction Award, the Award of Merit from the Holt Medallion, and an International Digital Award for Best Paranormal.

Her short stories have been published in print anthologies and magazines, and her vampire story, Immortal Beloved, was a finalist for a Bram Stoker award.

When she’s not writing, Lisa is a professional vocalist, and has performed with San Diego Opera as well as other musical theater companies in San Diego. She’s also the host of the Book Lights Podcast for Reader’s Entertainment.

You can learn more at http://Lisa-Kessler.com & Sign up for her newsletter here: https://goo.gl/56lDla

And for more about our Special Guest host NYT Best Seller Alyssa Day visit https://alyssaday.com/

Book Lights – shining a light on good books!

 

Gingerbread in Wonderland

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For all those readers who love ALICE IN WONDERLAND, there is a fun museum for you to visit this holiday season.

The Springfield Museums present a beloved holiday tradition, the annual Gingerbread exhibit — Gingerbread in Wonderland — open now through January 3, 2021.

The exhibit includes thirty-seven gingerbread creations — many of which are inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and many with a traditional holiday theme — constructed by local bakeries, schools, adults and kids. “For more than a decade the Museums have exhibited confections of great ingenuity, with each year improving on the last,” said Larissa Murray, coordinator of the exhibit.

Especially this year, a year that has been filled with uncertainty and change, staff led by exhibit designer Sarah Gogal wanted to offer an unforgettable experience. “Our staff has created a whimsical tea party in a fully immersive world of wonder that emphasizes coziness and a pleasing sense of belonging,” Murray said. To help visitors feel at ease, the Museums have limited capacity to 25%, all visitors and staff must wear masks, and all must stay socially distanced from all except those in their party.

“During the pandemic, when we are all facing changes that are not at all easy and cancellations of so many gatherings, it is great to have the foundation of a much looked-forward-to event,” Murray said. “This exhibit is all about looking, wondering, and being inspired.”

If getting there is not an option, check out this fun video of the Gingerbread creations

 

Guadalajara Book Fair 2020 Will Be Virtual

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Guadalajara Book Fair is the second largest book fair in the world hosting writer’s from around the globe. This year due to the pandemic, it has been decided to hold the fair virtually.

Here is the news from the Guadalajara Book Fair:

On the recommendation of the University of Guadalajara Covid-19 health authorities and lacking the conditions for holding a face-to-face physical event, the 34th edition of the Guadalajara International Book Fair will become a virtual event from November 28 to December 6. This edition will feature literary, academic and scientific dissemination seminars as well as a Bookstore Platform and a number of activities for publishing industry professionals in virtual format. The full program of activities will be available at the end of October.

Raúl Padilla López, FIL president, said at a press conference that “2020 has been a difficult year in all areas of public life, a year filled with contrasts. On the one hand, we will happily and proudly receive the Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities on October 16, while on the other hand we confront the year of the pandemic, one that has imposed new ways for us to relate to one another and whose repercussions have also affected the entire book chain.”

The conference was chaired by Ricardo Villanueva Lomelí, rector of the University of Guadalajara who in his welcoming remarks explained that the state of Jalisco “has had a controlled management of the pandemic” thanks to the work carried out by the University’s Covid-19 health response team. At the same time, he expressed his unconditional support for FIL Guadalajara. Other attending dignitaries included Juan Luis Arzoz Arbide and Alejandro Ramírez, president and director respectively of the Mexican National Book Chamber (CANIEM); FIL President Raúl Padilla López and Marisol Schulz Manaut, FIL’s director. Ahmed Al Ameri, president of the Sharjah Book Authority and this year’s ostensible Guest of Honor sent a pre-recorded video greeting.

The University’s Covid-19 health advisors, pandemic data analysis and projections, restrictions on organizing massive events and the limits placed on international travel for key industry players made cancellation a reality. “Above all, the essential obligation to protect the health of our visitors, participants and exhibitors led us to make the difficult decision of transferring FIL’s content and programs to the virtual sphere this year,” explained Padilla Lopez.

Founded in 1987 by the University of Guadalajara, FIL has been held annually at Expo Guadalajara. Last year more than 828,266 visitors, 800 authors, 20,000 book professionals and 2,417 publishing houses from 48 countries took part in the fair featuring India as Guest of Honor. “We are convinced that FIL will continue to be a reading festival, a hallmark for Guadalajara and Mexico, as well as a cultural reference throughout the world in virtual format” Padilla Lopez added.

Director Marisol Schulz Manaut stated that the FIL Organizing Committee “has worked like never before. From the beginning, the team developed three possible scenarios for this year’s edition, but she recognized that the decision to cancel, though sensible and responsible, “Is painful for the whole team.” She highlighted the importance of attending FIL virtually since this will contribute to supporting the publishing industry. “Beyond its importance in supporting the publishing industry, FIL is a great book festival.”

FIL 34 Fair can be accessed through the Fair’s website and its social networks, as well as through Channel 44 and other public media in Mexico and Latin America. In addition to conversations and conferences by leading literary figures, content created especially for online dissemination is being planned to offer a more intimate view of some thirty Latin American authors by featuring tours of their personal libraries. FIL Children will offer ten online workshops repeated several times during the nine days of FIL. Children will receive at home a box – FIL Niños emblem – with materials for them to work remotely in the workshops. In the coming days FIL will reveal the dynamics of participation in this and other programs.

As for book professionals, FIL will offer free tools to support 2019 and 2020 registered exhibitors. The Book Market will allow readers to access titles of the publishing houses that usually participate in FIL, through their physical and online stores or bookstores via FIL’s website (www.fil.com.mx). The FIL Business Platform will allow professionals to access panels, statistics and information related to the publishing industry. A live catalog of available copyrights and a directory of agents, publishers and other players in the book chain will be available and allow all to trade with their peers in other countries.

CANIEM President Juan Luis Arzoz reiterated that Mexican publishers will always support FIL Guadalajara, for the benefit of its members. He remarked that a virtual FIL has some advantages, because it will be “an enriching experience for all editors and will allow them to continue playing a role”. For his part, Rector Ricardo Villanueva Lomelí acknowledged that “the Mexican and global publishing industry worldwide is being hit hard”, but reiterated that the 2019 purchase of 68 million pesos of books for the University library network made a year ago from FIL Guadalajara exhibitors will not only be maintained for 2020, but alternatives will be sought to increase book purchases for the coming years. “We know that the publishing industry is suffering and the University wants to do its part to help.”