So, I’m super excited to tell you that SANTA BABY ( A Dickens Holiday prequel – Dorrit’s Diner) is releasing on June 7, 2021. Get the title of this blog now?
Hee hee.
This is a prequel/novella for my upcoming Dickens Holiday Romance, FIXING CHRISTMAS, which will release on November 9. But SANTA BABY is a stand alone novella with an HEA and NO cliffhangers!
I had such a ball writing Angel Kisses and Holiday Wishes for last year’s Christmas Comes to Dickens Holiday Romance Anthology, that I jumped on board immediately when asked if I wanted to continue the trend. SANTA BABY is an origin story in many ways, but most of all it’s a love story about 2 people and a baby, abandoned on Christmas Eve.
Here’s the blurb:
It’s Christmas Eve morning in the tiny New England town of Dickens.
Santa’s arrival is imminent, and a hint of snow is in the air.
Amy Dorrit is just about to open her popular diner for the breakfast rush when she discovers an abandoned baby on her back doorstep.
Amy knows she should call the authorities and turn the infant over to them, but she just can’t. Thoughts of her own abandonment as a baby flood through her and she wants to keep the little one out of the hands of the authorities until the mother – hopefully –returns.
But will the mom come back? And if she doesn’t, what is Amy prepared to do about the baby who has, already, claimed her heart?
The book is up for preorder now, across all digital media, here: SANTA BABY and, if you’re a Booksprout Subscriber, you can request an ARC and read it for free as long as you review it before May 30, here: BOOKSPROUT. Last time I checked there were still some copies left to grab!
I know some of you are thinking DON’T RUSH TO THE HOLIDAYS!!! LET’S GET THROUGH SUMMER AND FALL FIRST. I hear ya. But…..it’s never too early for a Holiday Romance book! heehee
And Don’t forget to add SANTA BABY to your GOODREADS TBR list and BOOKBUB
And and and….check out the fabulous book trailer Nancy Fraser produced for me:
SO my Good News this week is that my daughter rec’d her second covid vaccine shot so she is all protected now!!! You can’t know how wonderful this news is to me!!!!
So, what’s something good that happened to you this week?
Happy Tuesday, peeps ~ Peg
And remember, if you’re looking for me, I’m always here:
So excited to announce that my Sleeping Beauty retold story, WOKE, will go into wide distribution on 5.3.2021. What that means is before now it’s only been available in Kindle and KU, but starting next Monday it will be digitally be available in Kobo, Nook, Apple, and a few other digital venues, here: WOKE
The price will be 99cents everywhere to kick off the wide distribution, so this is a great time to buy it for your ereader or gift it for a Mother’s day gift to your romance reading mom!
Waking up each day is a gift….
On her 21st birthday, someone slipped a potent drug combination into socialite Aurora Brightwell’s champagne, putting her in a coma for the next ten years. It’s been a long road back, and it’s time to reclaim the life she lost and find out exactly what happened on that fateful night.
Financier Kincade Enright has his own reason for helping Aurora discover who poisoned her, but for the time being he’s keeping that – and his true identity – to himself. What he can’t keep hidden though, are his growing feelings for the one-time paparazzi darling and party-girl.
When this prince of finance joins forces with the former sleeping beauty, nothing can stop them from finding the answers they seek…or prevent the powerful emotions developing between them as they search for the truth.
It’s not often I can brag ( and I hate that word, but…) about more than 1 good thing at a time, but this week, I’ve got three!
A PRIDE OF BROTHERS: RICK is a RONE NOMINEE this week and voting is open right now. If you’d like to vote for it ( pretty please!!!) here’s the link: RONE AWARDS.
My second good thing is that WOKE is going into wide digital distribution next week. This will be the second book I’ve managed to get into all outlets online and I’m super excited. Here’s the PREORDER link if you don’t have a kindle and haven’t read it yet: UNIVERSAL LINK
Operation Code Name: Desert Love by Constance Bretes
Her best hope for survival is the one man she never wants to see again.
Clarissa Maasen is a humanitarian relief worker who’s stationed in Afghanistan. When she and two of her coworkers are kidnapped by insurgents and held hostage, she can only hope that her father, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will send his best men to rescue them—more specifically, Len Roberts of the Delta Force.
The last time Len saw Clarissa, it did not end on good terms. But he will risk his life to rescue this woman who is never far from his thoughts.
Can he rescue her in time? And will they be able to control the passion erupting between them?
Constance started writing contemporary romance and romantic suspense fifteen years ago. She was born and raised in Michigan. After working for the State of Michigan for 38 years, she retired. She and her husband moved to Montana and lived in the mountainside of a small town. There, locked in her office overlooking the mountains, was where this story, Operation Code Name: Desert Love, was written. After living in Montana for three years, they moved to Alabama with her cat, Sunny, who owns both her and her husband. Her hobbies include basket weaving, reading mafia romance books, diamond painting, and fiddling at the piano.
When three single sisters inherit their Scottish great-grandmother’s wedding dress, they also inherit the legend that comes with it: put on the dress, look in a mirror, and reveal their future. The dress is more than just silk and lace, for magic has been stitched into the seams of the heirloom. For the MacLellan sisters, the enchanted wedding dress promises a legacy of everlasting love.
BLURB
Can something old lead to something new?
Jamie MacLellan is content with her life. Her business as a certified public accountant is going well, she owns her own home, and she never wants to live anywhere but Vermont, near her sisters. Why bother getting married, when no man could measure up to her father’s example of a loving, respectful husband? Then she tries on her grandmother’s wedding dress. Is the shadowy man she sees in the mirror her future, or just a trick of the light? Jamie may have vowed to stay single, but could the handsome lawyer she’s been dating could be “the one”? Then she meets his sexy twin brother, who, with a simple look, sets Jamie’s heart racing.
Caleb Sullivan has clients all over the world who appreciate his skills as a traveling personal chef. The footloose and fancy-free lifestyle isn’t always as glamourous as it seems, and sometimes Caleb secretly longs to settle down, but for now, there’s a lot of food to cook and a lot of world to see. But Jamie MacLellan’s crystal blue eyes have him dreaming unexpected dreams.
How can Jamie fall for a man who’ll be away more than he’ll be home? She’s a happy homebody who loves her roots. He’s a traveling vagabond. But it was Caleb that Jamie saw in the mirror. Will she turn her back on a chance at a once in a lifetime love, or is Jamie ready to embrace the promise an enchanted old wedding dress holds for a new future?
EXCERPT
Jamie went in search of scissors and pointed to the closet. “Kenz, the box is in there.” Kenzie opened the door and carefully carried the box to the coffee table, as if it contained something irreplaceable.
Jamie returned, and said, her hand hovering over the tape, “Here goes nothing.”
Grace came in holding a bottle of wine. “Be careful, Sissy,” she whispered reverently. “It was Gran’s, so it’s really old.”
Jamie held her breath as she cautiously sliced through the layers of packing tape and eased back the cardboard flaps.
Standing on tiptoes, Kenzie peered over her shoulder. “What is it?”
Jamie withdrew a cream-colored envelope. “It’s a letter.” Grace reached out to pull back the bubble wrap when Jamie touched her hand. “Wait. We should read it first and then we’ll see what’s inside.”
Kenzie stretched out her hand. “I’ll read it.” She slit open the wax seal and pulled out several pieces of stationery. Glancing down, she said, “I don’t remember Gran’s handwriting so spider web like, so it might take a while.”
Grace leaned in and studied the page. “I don’t think its Gran’s. What if it’s Great-gran’s? You know Dad’s grandmother.”
Jamie admonished, “If we stop talking and let Kenz read, I’ll bet we find out.” She picked up her wineglass and settled back on the sofa cushions.
My dearest granddaughters,
This is your father’s grandmother writing to you long before you were even a gleam in his eye or even before he had any interest in lassies. If you have received this box, it means that I’ve had the joy of seeing my beloved daughter, your grandmother, again. I’m sorry for your loss and hope your memories of her will sustain you through the years to come and her wisdom will guide you. I will assume you have a box from your Gran. Have you looked inside? If not, carefully unwrap the contents and lay the three items I chose for you on a table.
Jamie’s eyes grew wide as she looked at her sisters. “What the hell, is she psychic or something?”
Grace clapped a hand over her mouth. “Remember, Gran said the women in our family were special. Maybe that’s what she was talking about.”
Kenzie’s eyebrow shot up. “That would explain a few things about Gran. She always seemed to have eyes on us all the time.”
Absentmindedly Jamie tapped her glass with her finger. “Do you remember the time…I must have been around ten. We decided to get up early and go fishing, and when we got to the bottom of the stairs Gran was dressed and waiting for us? I know we never talked about sneaking off while we were in the house where she could hear us.”
“You’re right.” Grace let out a rush of breath. “Our sneaky plans were always hatched underneath that old willow tree near the creek.”
Kenzie gasped. “Oh, wow. That does make me wonder about all kinds of things.”
Jamie waved her hands toward the box. “Enough speculating about Gran being able to read our minds—let’s see what’s inside.”
Taking care not to rush, Grace took a small package wrapped in plain brown paper. She pulled back the paper and cut the bubble wrap inside, to discover a carved wooden box. Her voice was barely above a whisper. “Should I open it?”
“Hold on, let’s see what Kenzie has.”
Kenzie withdrew a large floppy package wrapped in white tissue paper tied with the deep green satin ribbon. She pulled back the paper, revealing a large piece of wool, a Scottish tartan. “Isn’t this the MacLellan plaid?” She carefully placed it on the back of the sofa.
Jamie and Grace nodded, eager to see the third item.
“One item left, Jamie, your turn.” Kenzie slid the box in front of her older sister.
Jamie pulled out an identical-looking package tied with the same ribbon. “Do you think it’s another plaid, maybe a cape?” She tugged the bow and eased back the tissue paper.
“Oh my gosh! It’s a wedding dress.” Awestruck, Grace reached out and fingered the silky fabric. “Do you think it was Great-gran’s?”
This is the first time I’ve ever added an anthology for my backlist.
At the beginning of 2020 ( before Covid ruled the world) Australia was engulfed in flames. One of the Wild Rose Press authors is an Australian and asked if there was some way we, as authors, could come together to raise money for the RedCross to aid the firefighters and the people devastated by the fires.
A three part anthology titled AUSTRALIA BURNS came from that one question. Multiple WRP authors contributed stories to the collection and took no royalties from sales – their money was donated instead.
Love that.
My addition was a little story I’d written when I was concetrating on writing murder mysteries and not romance. The story, THE TUESDAY NIGHT MEETING, is one of my favorite things I’ve ever written.
Here’s a quick excerpt, and if you want to purchase the anthology, here’s the link: AUSTRALIA BURNS. I’m in volume 1
“Cora,” Mavis aid, capturing the entire attention of the room, “do you know anything about our group?” She shook her head and swiped at her still running nose. “Not much, Ma-am. I know you give out scholarships to worthy high school girls for college. And you support the poor, especially at the holidays. I’ve seen write-ups in the paper about the good things y’all have done. But aside from those, I don’t know much else. Excepting,” she said, “ that you’re all widows.”
The members of the club collectively smiled at her.
“That’s why I thought it strange to be asked here tonight. I’m not a widow.”
“Let me start at the beginning, dear, so you’ll understand how our little club came to be.”
Settling back in the chair, Wisteria took a breath then began her tale.
“You probably don’t remember my late husband, Major Plowright. I believe he passed when you were just a baby. Well, my dear, if there was ever a tougher man in the world to live with, I’d be sore pressed to believe it. I truly feel the moment he was brought into the world a military angel crossed his path and predestined him for a soldiers’ life. His mother told me after we’d been married for about a year that even as a child, everything had to be precision perfect in his world. He tolerated no fools, silliness or any kind of good-natured fun. I didn’t realize this when I married him, mind you. I know now I fell in love with his spit and polish exterior and superior manner. I never could resist a good lookin’ man in a uniform.”
A few well-knowing chuckles escaped throughout the room.
“Well, married life was kind of sweet for a while. I got used to his ranting and raving about precision and cleanliness and order. But when the Major was forced to retire at a very early age, well, it all changed. He changed. Nothing I did was ever good enough. I was plum worn out with three babies and a big house to care for, and he never helped a lick with anything. One day he came home from his club and my youngest had spilled his juice all over the kitchen floor. I was just about to clean it up, but the Major didn’t let me. He stormed into the room, saw the mess and started screaming and hollering so loud I thought my little Jimmy’s diapers were gonna fall off. When I tired to explain about the mess, he smacked me across the face. Knocked me clear across the kitchen with one felled swoop of the back of his hand. I was so stunned I didn’t see the next one coming. He was raving about me being an inadequate wife and mother and that he was going to teach me a lesson I’d never forget. He was right about it, too. I never forgot that first beating or all the others he gave me after. I do believe he came to enjoy it when he struck me down. I’d see a gleam in his eyes, kind of like the one I’d seen when he was in the throes of passion, whenever he hit me.”
Wisteria stopped and refreshed herself with a sip of tea.
“Miz Plowright, ma-am. I had no idea,” Cora said.
“Of course not, darlin’. In those days, why, a woman was barely a step above chattel. Men’s property; bought and sold.”
“What did you do? I mean, did you stay with the Major?”
“For a while. I ran away with the children once, to my mother. But the Major followed me and dragged us all back. The beating I endured that night broke my left arm and two of my ribs.”
“I remember he went around town the next day telling everyone who’d listen that you fell down the front steps because you were rushing off somewhere in a dither,” Molly Kane said.
When Cora gasped, Wisteria patted her hand sand said, “You see, Cora. We’ve all lied at one time or another about our bruises.”
“Finish your story, Wisteria,” Mavis commanded.
After taking another sip of tea, she did. ”I knew I had to do something about the situation, but what? I couldn’t leave him. He’d shown me how he’d hunt me down and bring me back. Divorce was out of the question in those days. No self respectin’ woman of the South would ever be seen in divorce court, airing all her dirty personal laundry. I finally figured out I had two options. I could stay and put up with this man I’d grown to fear and hate until he finally succeeded in killing me, or…”
“Or?” Cora prompted.
“Or I could rid myself and the children of him right then and there.”
Cora’s loud intake of air was the one sound in the room. To the question in her eyes, Wisteria merely inclined her head.
“Yes, my dear. I killed my husband. It was the only way I could survive.”
Peggy Jaeger, Author 