Day 1.
I think perhaps I’m a fairweather traveller. I’m also just a touch melodramatic.
I’m currently sailing the high seas in stormy weather and, without my trusty sea-sick pills, I wouldn’t be faring well at all. Okay, so the high seas are 3m (10ft) swells, the sky is clear and the sun is shining, but what I said about the sea-sick pills was right. Unfortunately, I don’t have enough pills to last the whole two weeks I’ll be aboard, and the person I’m travelling with decided they didn’t need any so are dipping into my stash.
I see disaster looming.
Day 2.
The weather hasn’t changed. It’s still choppy but fair. My stash of sea-sick pills is diminishing rapidly. I’m booked for acupuncture today so that might help. After that, I’ll be spending most of the afternoon writing—as long as my head and stomach agree to remain calm. I’ll claw my way along the deck and drag myself up the stairs to the seventh level of hell (where the library is). Now you understand the melodrama comment from yesterday.
The weather remains fine and blustery with 4m (13ft) swells. Our speed has reduced significantly so that everything stays in its place (including the contents of the passengers’ stomaches), so we’re several hours behind schedule. The pools have been emptied but it hasn’t been necessary to tie the furniture down yet. There’s no shortage of fresh air and sunshine.
Day 3.
They cancelled Auckland. I thought the weather had been improving. Sure it was foggy and misty and visibility is down to practically nothing, but we’re not rocking so much. Apparently that’s because the ship’s barely moving. We’re so far behind schedule there’s no way at all to catch up. The berth at Auckland won’t be available for us by the time we get there so they’ve cancelled Auckland completely. We won’t be stopping at Auckland at all, but going directly to Tauranga. It’s not a total disaster. The wine tasting today was very good. They let us drink the whole glass after we’d tasted it!
I went out last night and this morning to see the ocean and it’s magnificent. If I stand on the deck and look towards the stern I can see the back end of the ship rising high above the horizon, then dipping way down below. It’s like a crazy optical illusion.
 

It's Christmas Day here in Australia; the middle of summer. Luckily the day isn't going to be too hot (a nice, comfortable 27C/80.6F) with some rain later on. I have just a couple of hours to make sure everything's ready for a 9am opening, although most of our guests will arrive closer to 11am. We're nearly ready: just the tables to set and the last minute clean up in the kitchen to do.

I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday season.

Things are always hectic leading up to Christmas. I started holidays a week ago with the intention of getting everything ready to welcome family, extended family and friends on Christmas day. I also have rewrites on a novel I need to do before resubmitting it.

I've done zilch. Well, I've rewritten four chapters but that wasn't difficult once I'd worked out what needed to be changed and how. I've caught up with friends and read a couple of books. I still have to prepare the house for a crowd and make gifts.

My family do homemade gifts for the adults. Something small that still shows we care. My thing is usually jams, jellies, chutneys and pickles. This morning I made one batch of strawberry jam. It's only enough for 11 people so I still have another batch to make, as well a some chutney. Savoury and sweet. I'm trying to keep it small this year. Most years, I give multiple types of preserves and still have shelves full in the pantry after.

I've put off the preserves this year. I usually start mid-November so I can give them to colleagues as well. This year I didn't. I decided I didn't want to do that anymore and was going to make sweets instead. I did one day with my daughter, making sweets, and decided preserves are much easier. Throw everything in a pot and watch it boil. There's none of the careful shaping and layering that's needed for sweets.

There's less than a week to go and I still haven't written a list of things to do - it's the only way I can accomplish everything by deadline.

As this will be my last post before the actual Christmas day, I wish all of you a joyful holiday season and a happy and peaceful new year.

Author Names: Harper Jewel, S.A. Garcia, Meg Bawden, Chris McHart
 
Book Name: Maddy Christmas
 
Release Date: December 14, 2015
Blurb(s):
Santa's Naughty Elf by Harper Jewel:
Playing Santa in the local department store should be an easy way to make a few extra bucks, shouldn’t it? That’s what Brock Daniels, a victim or corporate downsizing, thought when he took the job at Larson’s. Once he finds out a handsome ginger—his one weakness—will be playing Santa’s elf, easy becomes complicated, even if it’s an enjoyable snag.

When Paul Martens discovers who’ll be playing Santa to his elf, déjà vu of an unforgettable night that took place almost two years ago comes crashing down on him.
The attraction between Brock and Paul grows to fevered levels while a runaway teen pulls at both men’s heartstrings. Will they be able to put aside their ardent attraction and channel some holiday magic in order to grant everyone’s Christmas wish, or will their stockings be filled with nothing but coal?
 
Paint Your Balls by Chris McHart:
The lives of the heavenly beings that have a one-day-a-year job can become a bit dull. But when Santa’s reindeer fall ill on Christmas Eve, his life becomes anything but, so he reluctantly turns to the Easter Bunny for help.

Bunny harbors a long-time, secret crush on Santa and decides to take advantage of the request for help by offering an exchange. He wants Santa in his bed. Little does he know, Santa has discreetly lusted after him, but the man in red decides to teach the attractive Bunny a lesson he won’t soon forget.

Who will make the next move, and how will both men play the game? Will they be naughty or nice? In the end, could both men finally get what they desire?
 
Catching Santa Claus in the Act by Meg Bawden:
It's Christmas Eve and Rowan Wayne has the task of babysitting his nieces. While he’d rather be out partying and having a one night stand with a sexy footballer, his nieces have always come first.

The last thing he expects is a thief entering his brother’s house in the middle of the night. Except the thief claims that he isn’t robbing the house, rather delivering the presents because he’s Santa Claus. Rowan thinks the reasoning is absurd, until he discovers this Santa Claus is the sexy guy from college, Christian Kringle.

Finding it hard to fight his attraction to the handsome Santa, Rowan isn’t sure what to believe. What will he do when he finds out Christian is equally attracted to him?
 
The Duke of Dickdom's Desert Sojourn by S.A. Garcia:
Porn star Jason Rapier, aka “The Duke of Dickdom,” is suffering a dreadful day. Romantic rejection, deer assault, and career chaos are topped by his Porsche dying in the desert on Christmas Eve. Happily a special present guaranteed to inject the ho-ho-ho back into Jason’s holiday season is a mere service station away.
 
Pages or Words: 43,000 words
 
Categories: BDSM, Contemporary, Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance

Excerpts:
The Duke of Dickdom’s Desert Sojourn by S.A. Garcia:
Jason gazed out the window watching the snowflakes drift on the strengthening breeze. He snuggled down deeper against the expensive mattress and male warmth. A quiet after-sex cuddle felt perfect. Sweaty on-set sex never involved cuddles unless a sensitive writer included the concept in the script.
A sensitive porn writer was a rare beast.
Xavier’s muscular body radiated heat against Jason’s right side. Mmmm. His fuck buddy’s raspy breathing sounded close to sleep again. After Jason arrived at Xavier’s last night, they ate a quick sushi dinner, hopped into bed, and fucked each other on and off, supplementing sex with naps. This morning a snooze appealed to him. Still watching the snow through half-shut lashes, he nuzzled against Xavier.
A vicious thud filled the air. A large black bird—Jason couldn’t tell a raven from a vulture—swirled away from its slam against the picture window. The ebony shape contrasted against the snowflakes. A few feathers stuck to the wet glass.
Xavier jerked awake, staring at Jason with crossed-eyed irritation. “Wafuckwas that?”
“Some huge black bird bashed into the window. How freaky.”
“Weird. It must have misjudged because of the snow. Too many stupid turkey vultures around here. Geesh, I’m tired. You wore me out, bitch.”
 
Paint Your Balls by Chris McHart:
“Please, you have to help me! I can’t do all the work alone. It’s not my fault the reindeer have such bad colds. They’ve always played in the snow, how was I supposed to know they were freezing? I’ve had them for years, and they were never sick.”
Bunny listened to Santa’s pleas, not really concerned. It wasn’t his problem the man had sick reindeer. Bunny would need to do his job again in a few months, and he’d have to do the work all alone. He also managed to look after his chickens without them getting sick.
It was stressful enough to deliver presents and Easter eggs to all the kids around the world once a year. He’d be nuts if he’d do it twice, especially when one of these events simply wasn’t his responsibility.
Besides, Santa usually ignored him, not even giving him the time of the day. But now that the man in seductive red velvet needed him, he suddenly showed up. Why should he help him? He didn’t see a reason. It was simple as that.
“Please, I’ll do anything,” Santa tried again as he paced nervously back and forth on the cloud they stood on. They were outside in the sun, close to the reindeer stables and next to the room belonging to one of the Archangels.

Buy the book:
http://www.amazon.com/Maddy-Christmas-Meg-Bawden-ebook/dp/B017L5F6MI/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Maddy-Christmas-Meg-Bawden-ebook/dp/B017L5F6MI/
http://www.amazon.de/Maddy-Christmas-Meg-Bawden-ebook/dp/B017L5F6MI/
http://www.amazon.com.au/Maddy-Christmas-Meg-Bawden-ebook/dp/B017L5F6MI/
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-maddychristmasanthology-1936032-166.html

Meet the authors:
Meg Bawden: Meg Bawden was born and raised in North Queensland, Australia. She’s loved stories since before she can remember and has always enjoyed creating characters of her own, even if it did begin with drawing faces on toilet rolls and giving them names. Writing has always been a passion of hers and she’s loved the M/M genre since 2004, the first book she read being Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez.
Writing M/M since 2007, Meg has never had the confidence to attempt publishing her own stories, but in 2015, she decided that it was all about to change thanks to the amazing friends she’s made in the M/M genre and their support and encouragement. So watch out, world, Meg Bawden is coming out to have some fun!

S.A. Garcia: Thirty-nine years ago, I started writing gay male romance. My writing remained a secret lest my friends thought me a freak. Writing about men inserting tab A into slot B didn’t seem the norm for a suburban female teenager. Reading Gordon Merrick, John Rechy, and Larry Kramer helped me fill in the informational gaps. No wonder I read those books in my bedroom.
As the years progressed, this lesbian still wrote gay male romance, although the stories moved from lurking in notebooks to hiding on the computer. I wrote fantasies, contemporaries, bodice rippers—I chugged along following Diva Faboo, my drunken, ornery muse.
Five published novels, assorted novellas, and spicy short stories have turned my life into a fun quandary of too many stories hindered by my slow typing skills. I accept the challenge and blunder onward into more trauma, drama, and humor. Once I train my wicked men to stop ruining my plots— face it, that will never happen. They refuse to listen!

Chris McHart: Chris McHart lives in Germany, with her husband, slave, Dom, partner in crime, and muse (all in one person, not even she's that kinky!). She loves her husband, men in kilts and Scotch Whisky. Her idea of a perfect evening is to curl up with her laptop and write (the other options are not suitable to post in public).
Visit her blog or friend her on Facebook, where you can join her author group.

Harper Jewel: Harper Jewel lives in northeast New Jersey with her husband and 18-year-old daughter. She has three cats, enjoys reading, and taking trips to Walt Disney World. With her outgoing personality and vivid imagination, she is able to create characters and plots that are believable as well as memorable.
Although she began writing male/female romance/erotica, she has finally found her niche in Gay Romance. She thoroughly enjoys her male characters as they speak to her quite loudly while proving love is love. Being the first M/M author accepted at Lush Publishing is an honor she’s very proud of.
In addition to her writing, she uses her college education and background in English and Language Arts to work as an independent editor. She’s also expanded her skills to include formatting for Smashwords Premium Catalog, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Amazon, & All Romance Ebooks.
 
In September 2015, she created Slippery Fingers Press & Publishing Services and plans to use the company name for self-publishing as well as her editing and formatting jobs.
 
To find out more about Harper Jewel, visit her website at www.harperjewel.com.
 
Where to find the authors:
 
Harper Jewel:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harper.jewel/
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/HarperJewelAuthor/
Twitter: @harperjewel1
Blog: www.harperjewel.com
 
Meg Bawden:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meg.bawden/
Blog: www.authormegbawden.com
 
S.A. Garcia:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sagarcia/
Twitter: @SAGarcia_Writer
Blog: http://oscarsbruisedpetals.blogspot.com/
 
Chris McHart:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008256641886
Facebook Author Page: www.facebook.com/chrismchart
Twitter:  www.twitter.com/chris_mchart
Blog: http://www.chrismchart.com
Facebook Author Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/882598865132498/
 
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27808353-maddy-christmas
Publisher: Rawmance Publishing
Cover Artist: Meg Bawden

Tour Dates & Stops:
Parker Williams, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, A.M. Leibowitz, Bayou Book Junkie, Havan Fellows, BFD Book Blog, Book Lovers 4Ever, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, My Fiction Nook, Happily Ever Chapter, Jessie G. Books, Wicked Faerie's Tales and Reviews, EE Montgomery, Divine Magazine, Bonkers About Books, It’s Raining Men, MM Good Book Reviews, Cheekypee Reads and Reviews, Inked Rainbow Reads, The Hat Party, Velvet Panic, Molly Lolly, Elisa - My Reviews and Ramblings

The Planet Whisperer released last Friday and I decided to celebrate with not one, but TWO giveaways.

Readers visited the Dreamspinner Press's blog and commented to win an ebook from my backlist.

There was also a book blast with Pride Promotions with the same prize. The competition ended 11 December. Winners will be drawn and contacted as soon as we can arrange it.

Links for Friday's Book Blast:
3 Chicks After Dark http://3chicksafterdark.com/2015/12/book-blast-the-planet-whisperer-by-ee-montgomery/
 

Bayou Book Junkie: http://bayoubookjunkie.blogspot.com/2015/12/release-day-book-blast-planet-whisperer.html
 

BFD Book Blog http://bfdbookblog.net/2015/12/release-blast-including-excerpt-giveaway-the-planet-whisperer-by-ee-montgomery/
 

Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves http://www.bookreviewsrantsraves.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-planet-whisperer-by-e-e-montgomery.html
 

Butterfly-O-Meter http://butterfly-o-meter.com/2015/12/the-planet-whisperer-by-e-e-montgomery-excerpt-giveaway
 

Cheekypee Reads and Reviews http://www.cheekypeereadsandreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/the-planet-whisperer-new-release.html
 

Decadent Delights http://www.machurch00.blogspot.com/2015/12/pride-promotions-presents-planet.html
 

Emotion in Motion http://www.elizabeth-noble.com/my-blog/the-planet-whisperer-by-ee-montgomery
 

Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents: http://fangirlmomentsandmytwocents.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-planet-whisperer-by-ee-montgomery.html
 

Full Moon Dreaming: http://julielynnhayes.blogspot.com/2015/12/virtual-book-tour-planet-whisperer.html
 

Havan Fellows: http://havanshawthaven.blogspot.com/2015/12/book-blast-planet-whisperer.html
 
Inked Rainbow Reads http://www.inkedrainbowreads.com/new-release-the-planet-whisperer-by-e-e-montgomery-mm-scifi-eemontgomery1/
 

Iyana Jenna https://iyanajennaauthor.wordpress.com/2015/12/04/in-the-spotlight-ee-montgomery/
 
Jessie G. Books: http://wp.me/p5wi3H-Sq
 
Parker Williams: http://parkerwilliamsauthor.com/wordpress/the-planet-whisperer-by-e-e-montgomery/
 

The Hat Party: http://raineotierneyhatparty.blogspot.com/2015/12/book-blast-planet-whisperer-by-e-e.html
 
Wicked Faerie's Tales and Reviews: http://wickedfaeriesreviews.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-planet-whisperer-by-ee-montgomery.html

The Planet Whisperer is my first Science Fiction story, published by Dreamspinner Press on 4 December 2015.

Join me on the Dreamspinner Press blog during the day as I muse on what it takes to be unforgettable. Jonah knows.

I'm also taking part in a Book Blast through Pride Promotions, so you'll see me around a number of blogs all day. See the list below. There's an excerpt you won't see anywhere else, and all sorts of tidbits about Jonah and his life. There's a competition as well. I'll post links to the blogs on my Facebook page and Twitter, so check in there then follow the links to enter the competition.

Release Date: November 30, 2015
Blurb:
Christmas is Harry’s favourite time of the year, but it looks like he’ll be spending it alone. When it comes to the men he fancies, his luck is non-existent. Harry’s nerves always get the better of him—especially when he tries to talk to Andrew, the hot guy downstairs.

Everything changes when Harry meets a mysterious girl in the woods who professes to be a witch. He dismisses her claims, but when odd things start happening to him, he has to reconsider.

Andrew was attracted to Harry from the start, but their awkward encounters put him off. All goes well until Harry opens his mouth—and ruins it with his stupidity and silly comments. When Harry suddenly becomes more relaxed and they have a proper conversation, Andrew realises his first impression was wrong. As the days count down to December 25, they get swept up in the Christmas spirit and their relationship moves faster than either expected.

A little winter magic might have been the push they needed, but Harry worries that when it wears off, he’ll no longer be the man Andrew wants.

Pages or Words: 40,000 words
 
Categories: Contemporary, Humor, M/M Romance
 
Excerpt:
Harry didn’t need to look behind him to have his suspicions confirmed. The smug expression on Jason’s face said it all. “I hate you,” he whispered.

Jason kicked his shin. “Sit up, smile, and look happy to see him.”

Two minutes later, Andrew was pulling up a chair and setting his drink on the table.
Harry looked at the red takeaway cup topped with a mountain of whipped cream, and grinned. Instead of blurting out the first thing that came to mind—“Are you really gonna drink that?”—because God only knew what would happen this time to make him stop, Harry paused and took a sip of his coffee.

Andrew darted a glance between Harry and Jason, beginning to look uncomfortable, as though he thought he’d interrupted them.

Harry took a deep breath, then gestured at Andrew’s cup. “Is that one of the Christmas specials?” That wasn’t so hard, was it?

He relaxed a little as Andrew smiled at him and settled back in his chair.

“Yeah, it’s the gingerbread latte. I don’t normally indulge, but it’s bloody freezing out there today, and I fancied something delicious and bad for me.” His gaze caught Harry’s and lingered.

A flare of warmth filled Harry’s chest. This was flirting, right? It wasn’t his imagination.
Then Jason opened his big mouth and ruined the moment, saying, “Yeah, I think Kyle has that effect on a lot of people.”

Harry choked on his mouthful of coffee, just managing to swallow it instead of spraying it over the table. He glared daggers at Jason, who feigned innocence.

Andrew glanced over at the counter, then back at Jason, and laughed, his eyes crinkling at the edges. Harry bit his lip in frustration. Why couldn’t he get Andrew to laugh like that?

“Yeah,” Andrew said, “He’s not bad to look at.” Then his gaze slid back to Harry and his smile softened. “Not my type, though.”

Meet the author:
Annabelle Jacobs lives in the South West of England with her three rowdy children, and two cats.

An avid reader of fantasy herself for many years, Annabelle now spends her days writing her own stories. They're usually either fantasy or paranormal fiction, because she loves building worlds filled with magical creatures, and creating stories full of action and adventure. Her characters may have a tough time of it—fighting enemies and adversity—but they always find love in the end.
 
Where to find the author:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ajacobsfiction
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Annabelle-Jacobs-Fiction/458768424158896
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJacobs_fiction
website: www.annabellejacobs.com
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27427990-magic-mistletoe
Publisher: Annabelle Jacobs
Cover Artist: Natasha Snow

Tour Dates & Stops:
Parker Williams, Mikky's World of Books, Louise Lyons, Book Lovers 4Ever, Foxylutely Book Reviews, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, The Fuzzy, Fluffy World of Chris T. Kat, Dawn’s Reading Nook, Inked Rainbow Reads, Jessie G. Books, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, It’s Raining Men, Michael Mandrake, Three Books Over The Rainbow, Multitasking Mommas, Divine Magazine, MM Good Book Reviews, Ogitchida Book Blog, Charley Descoteaux, Two Chicks Obsessed With Books and Eye Candy, Carly’s Book Reviews, Wicked Faerie's Tales and Reviews, V's Reads, Bike Book Reviews, BFD Book Blog, Bonkers About Books, Open Skye Book Reviews, Happily Ever Chapter, Bayou Book Junkie, The Hat Party, Havan Fellows, Sinfully Addicted to All Male Romance, EE Montgomery