So after the wonderful cover reveal weekend for A CHEF’S KISS CHRISTMAS, I figured it would be a good idea to post a little of the story to whet your preorder appetite, lol!
In the story, Tony is spicing up Dorrit’s recipes a bit and he calls up his old spicy fall pumpkin soup recipe. Here’s the scene where he introduces it…
“You got more of that pumpkin soup left?” Amy asked, breezing into the kitchen, a stacked tray of empty dishes in her arms.
“Just stirring the next batch,” he told her.
“I need two bowls, and I’m pretty sure RayLynn will be in with an order too, ‘cuz I heard one of the customers asking her about it.”
He nodded while pulling down bowls from the shelf.
“I don’t know what you put in it,” Amy said, sliding the dishes into the sink, “but I’ve never had so many orders for hot soup in this diner before today; that’s a fact.”
Silently, he smiled, then told her, “Old family recipe.” Which was a half-truth. He’d taken his Nonna’s recipe, which was delicious on its own, then played with the spices until he found a mixture that was sweet, tangy and savory all at the same time. He’d served it at Gusto for only one Fall season, right before the world changed. The notion to fire it up again, he hated to admit, had been sparked by Portia’s cookbook idea.
The picture is a pretty good portrayal of what the soup looks like if you make it.
If you saw my post on Friday, 8.30, you know that Judy Kentrus and I kicked off the 2024 season of A DICKENS HOLIDAY ROMANCE series on the Facebook page with a day of fun, games, recipes, and our cover reveals.
Just in case you missed that fabulous day, here’s the cover to my 2024 addition to the series, A CHEF’S KISS CHRISTMAS
This beauty joins the other 5 books I’ve written in the series, all centering around DORRIT’S DINER, its owner AMY DORRIT CHARLES, and her adopted children Abra, Sasha, and Michael.
YOu can find all the DICKENS HOLIDAY ROMANCE series books here: DHR
A CHEF’S KISS CHRISTMAS releases on 11/11/24 and will be just #99cents for the first week. After that, the price goes to its normal $2.99 per kindle copy. It will also be available in print for $16.99
Happy reading, kids, and welcomes to Dickens, where love is always in season.
It’s been a while since I did one of these, but I actually have a topic for today, lol.
Here are 5 things I think you should know about my upcoming Dickens Holiday book A CHEF’S KISS CHRISTMAS ( Cover reveal coming in July 2024, so stick around, kids.)
hero is a chef ( Duh!)
heroine is a literary agent ( First time I’ve used that profession!)
Abracadabra has 2 kids now
the Covid pandemic and its aftermath is a major factor in the plot
deals with loss and grieving and depression and still manages to be funny and heartwarming – hey! It’s a Dickens book!
More to come with the cover reveal starting on July 1!
Christmas in the tiny town of Dickens is a magical place! Today, on Cyber Monday, I’m placing all my DICKENS SERIES Romance ebooks on sale for just 99 cents each. You can stuff your Kindle with the Dorrit’s Diner books for less than a latte at Starbucks!
And if you’re into print versions, just a reminder that my catalog is available via my WEBSITE HOLIDAY BOOK STORE.
Take advantage of these great savings. Books make great gifts – for the romance reader on your holiday list and for YOU!
With all the hoopla of Thanksgiving and then shopping, I forgot to post that yesterday was my turn over on Romancing the Genres. This month’s topic was holiday-oriented and what better way to talk about the upcoming holiday season than to tell you about my Dickens Holiday Romance additions?
I’ve said this so many times I’m even annoying myself, but to an author, book reviews are the joy of your life and the bane of your professional existence. Luckily, I haven’t received too many egregious and soul-sucking ones ( although, I have received them!)
My newest book, DON’T MESS WITH THE MISTLETOE, has been receiving overwhelming 5-star reviews from readers. I am beyond thrilled with the response to Michael Charles’ story. Across the board reviewers and readers are thrilled with the HEA I gave this deserving man.
From Goodreads, “This is the perfect small town holiday romance.”
From Amazon: “Loved the characters and the vivid locales. Entertaining situations and banter kept the pages turning. Terrific ending.”
From Bookbub: “What a beautiful Christmas story about family, hope, love, together, happiness, taking a chance of forever along with a little bit of Christmas Magic thrown in for good measure. I loved this book so much and I can’t wait to read more books in the future.”
All 5-star reviews!
If you love a holiday romance as much as I do – and my readers do, grab this one. Right now it’s only 99 cents on Kindle, but in 11.8 it goes to full price. So, save some cash and enjoy a fabulous, heartwarming Holiday romance story, too. And enjoy all the other Dorrit’s Diner Dickens books, as well!
Less than 24 hours and this little gem will be released into the Holiday book-reading world! I’m excited Really excited!
Still time to preorder and lock in at the 99cents release price. Here ya go: DMWTM
It’s the holiday season in the tiny town of Dickens and pilot Michael Charles is home for his annual visit. His wanderlust has him itching to get back up in the skies as soon as possible, especially since he’s got a full schedule of rich and famous clients waiting to be transported to warm, exotic locales for the winter.
When his heavily pregnant sisters present him with a plan to give their workaholic mother some time off from managing the family diner, he balks. But one look at how tired the woman who took him into her home and heart is, and Michael agrees to run Dorrit’s Diner for a month so Amy Charles can get some well-deserved rest.
He’ll be back in the skies by the New Year.
The diner staff functions like a well-oiled machine, most of them long-term employees. The exception is new waitress Julia Maryland. The beautiful blonde has a past filled with heartache, a charming six-year-old daughter, and a smile Michael could spend the day getting lost in. But starting a relationship with her wouldn’t be wise because his visit is temporary and Julia seems like a permanent kind of girl.
When a family emergency requires him to rethink and reassess his life, Michael wonders if it’s time he becomes a permanent kind of man.
Ready? Here’s my cover to my next addition to the DICKENS HOLIDAY ROMANCE series, DON’T MESS WITH THE MISTLETOE….
It’s the holiday season in the tiny town of Dickens and pilot Michael Charles is home for his annual visit. His wanderlust has him itching to get back up in the skies as soon as possible, especially since he’s got a full schedule of rich and famous clients waiting to be transported to warm, exotic locales for the winter.
When his heavily pregnant sisters present him with a plan to give their workaholic mother some time off from managing the family diner, he balks. But one look at how tired the woman who took him into her home and heart is, and Michael agrees to run Dorrit’s Diner for a month so Amy Charles can get some well-deserved rest.
He’ll be back in the skies by the New Year.
The diner staff functions like a well-oiled machine, most of them long-term employees. The exception is new waitress Julia Maryland. The beautiful blonde has a past filled with heartache, a charming six-year-old daughter, and a smile Michael could spend the day getting lost in. But starting a relationship with her wouldn’t be wise because his visit is temporary and Julia seems like a permanent kind of girl.
When a family emergency requires him to rethink and reassess his life, Michael wonders if it’s time he becomes a permanent kind of man.
“Blake asleep?” he asked, shucking his hands in his pockets while she went about preparing her tea.
“Finally. She conned me into reading three stories tonight instead of our typical two.” Shaking her head, she placed the teakettle on the stove and turned on the burner. “She’s always trying to go to sleep later than she should. If I allowed it every night, she’d be a bear the next day.”
“I used to do that to Amy and Andy. One more story and I swear I’ll go to sleep. Then, oh, but wait, how about a glass of water? Then the inevitable, now I’ve got to go to the bathroom move. All just so I wouldn’t have to go to sleep before my sisters.”
“I can see you were a little manipulator like Blake.”
He shook his head. “I prefer to think of it as honing my negotiation skills at a young age.”
His heart sure was getting a workout tonight because when she laughed, free and girlishly, his stuttered again.
“In reality it was because I was afraid I’d wake up the next morning and they’d be gone.”
Why the hell had he told her that?
Michael had never shared with anyone, least of all his parents, how much going to sleep every night terrified him. Up until the time he’d overheard Andy tell Amy they’d caught the man who’d murdered his mother, he’d lived in fear the mean man would come after him and kill his adoptive parents, too.
Irrational? Of course it was. But to a small boy whose world had been changed forever in a second, it was all too real.
Julia’s face softened as she stared across at him. Moisture formed in the outer corner of her eyes as she dropped her gaze.
“Don’t do that,” he said, pushing off the wall and coming to her. “I didn’t say that to make you feel sorry for me or anything, I really didn’t.”
“Of course not,” she said immediately. “I didn’t think you had. And I can feel sorry for the little boy you were, you know. It’s a natural reaction.”
His sigh was long and tired. “Still. I don’t know why I told you that.” He raked his hands down his face. “Let’s forget I did, okay? I just got off the phone with Sasha,” he said, changing the subject and hoping she wouldn’t press him. “They’re coming back tomorrow, so I need to get going on the present shopping.”
He held his breath, waiting for her reply. When she nodded, then poured the heated water into her mug, his anxiety eased.
Intrigued? You can preorder the ecopy here: AMAZON
ANNNNNNNNNNNNDDDD…… just because I can, I’ve put FIXING CHRISTMAS and SASHA’S SECRET SANTA on sale for 99cents in anticipation of DON’T MESS WITH THE MISTLETOE going live. SO if you haven’t read those two yet ( you really should!!LOL), now is your chance because once DMWTM goes live, the price on these two goes back to normal.
Christmas has never filled writer Abra Charles with undiluted pleasure. If you’d been left on a doorstep on Christmas Eve morning, you might have a few issues with the holiday as well.
Abra’s avoided her hometown of Dickens for the past twenty Christmas seasons, but now she’s returned in an attempt to get her writing mojo back. Twice-divorced and with her third engagement ending in heartbreak, anger, and blackmail, Abra is now six months behind on submitting her current book. She hopes renting Copperfield House and immersing herself in solitude will cure her writer’s block and get her life back on track. The house she rents isn’t helping her achieve her goal, though, as one thing after another breaks, collapses, or floods.
Colton Bree, Dickens’ very own Mr. FixIt, can’t help but wonder if the new resident of Copperfield House is cursed. After being called to repair a broken window, he’s then needed to fix an exploding coffeepot, an overrunning toilet, and a washing machine that has a mind of its own. Bree doesn’t mind all the unexpected repair jobs, though, because the sexy renter is something to look at despite being a little neurotic and a whole lot of snarky.
Can Abra get her book done with all the distractions and craziness of her life, the biggest distraction being the flannelled hunk with the bedroom eyes and scowling yet oh-so-kissable mouth? Or will Dickens’ Mr FixIt have to step in and save the day and in so doing, fix Christmas for Abra forever?
After a terrifying incident derails Sasha Charles’ career and confidence, she moves back to her hometown of Dickens to heal, reorganize, and start over.
The only problem? The paralyzing panic attacks that plague her whenever she thinks about going back to nursing. Sasha is mentally, and emotionally stuck, and has no idea how to move forward.
Steve Caldwell is the new Director of Services at Dickens Memorial Hospital. After witnessing her save the life of a local resident in Dorrit’s Diner, he knows Sasha would be perfect for the new trauma center he’s planning. When she refuses his job offer outright, he sets out to change her mind.
But Sasha has thick, protective walls erected around her so Steve must first break through them. With patience and kindness, he does. As the two grow closer, each begin to have second thoughts on what their futures should look like, until idle, small town gossip threatens to derail their budding relationship.
With the imminent arrival of Christmas, will Steve be able to convince Sasha he has her best interests at heart?
On Sunday, 10.1.2023., the whole cover for DON’T MESS WITH THE MISTLETOE will be revealed, including the preorder link!!
For now, here’s a little teaser from the book…
Humbled was something he could truthfully say he’d never felt before. But he was. Added to it was his hyperawareness of her and the fact she’d referred to him by his Christian name. The sound of it on those perfect lips, in that voice handmade for seduction by the god of temptation, had things happening to his body he was worried she’d notice. Things, specifically, south of his belt.
He didn’t want to scare her; have her think he was just another guy on the make, out to use her; hurt her. He certainly didn’t want her to think he’d ever take advantage of the power situation they were in with him as her de facto boss while his mother was gone. That was a whole world of worry he didn’t sign up for.
Why, then, did she have to feel so good in his arms? Smell so alluring? Be so naturally appealing? And why did he want to do everything in his power to make her life manageable again?
It didn’t take a genius to decipher how attracted he was to her. Even his sisters had seen something going on with him that morning. Try though he did not to, his gaze tracked her wherever she was in the diner. He knew when she entered the kitchen even if his back was to the swing door. He wanted to protect her, erase all the bad things going on in her life, and at the same time take her to bed where he could show her what a man who truly desired her could do for her.
If ever there was time to not tempt fate and act on his feelings, it was right now.
Michael took a giant mental breath. Nodding, he slid his hands from around her waist and stepped back until he was certain he couldn’t reach her again if he stretched out his arms.
And Lord, did he want to touch her again. For as long as she’d let him.
“My mother raised us with the philosophy that kindness and caring are what truly make the world a better place,” he said when he could trust himself to keep the lust from weaving into his voice. He took another step backward. “I’ll let you go on up now. Thanks again for Saturday. You saved me a huge scheduling headache and I’m grateful.”
It was her turn to nod. “I’m the one who’s grateful,” she said, with a lopsided grin as she swiped at her wet cheeks. “Good night. I’ll see you in the morning. I’ve got opening shift.”
Want to know what happens next?? You’ll need to…read the book, LOL!!
Peggy Jaeger, Author 