Top Ten Things @LauraSt05038951 Loves About Christmas #bookish #romanc
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  • N. N. Light
    • Nov 27, 2019
    • 4 min read

Guest Post | Top Ten Things Award-Winning Author @LauraSt05038951 Loves About Christmas #bookish #ro


As an author, I love writing Christmas stories! They’re magical, full of warm fuzzy feelings, and a perfect way to take a break during the busy holiday season. It’s a time of year that prompts a host of memories, many happy and some that cause a little, nostalgic ache.

What are your favorite things about Christmas?

Here’s my top ten.

10. The scent of cookies baking in the house. My Mom always went overboard with the Christmas cookies, and I’ve continued the tradition.

9. Making a secret list of gifts for those I love. Got to keep it well-hidden so everybody’s surprised on Christmas morning…

8. Wrapping gifts while listening to Christmas music. My playlist always includes the Clancy Brothers’ Christmas album!

7. Splurging on goodies for Christmas dinner—can’t forget a nice bunch of crunchy carrots for Santa’s reindeer.

6. Singing Christmas carols. It’s one of the few times my family members let me sing.

5. Food, food and more food. Need I say more? Oh yes, fruit cake!

4. Choosing a yule log to put on the fire, late on Christmas Eve.

3. Decorating the tree amid memories of my Dad struggling to get our freshly-cut tree into its stand, back when I was small. It was the only time I ever heard that man swear!

2. Kindling the first fire on Christmas morning. We heat our home exclusively with wood and kindle a lot of fires, but that one always seems magical.

1. Being awakened early on Christmas morning by the dog, who just can’t wait to see what’s in her stocking from Santa Bernard!

Title: A Promise Kept

Author: Laura Strickland

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Books To Go Now

Book Blurb:

Just because she’ll be alone this Christmas, is no reason for Beth Manning to feel sorry for herself. A busy nurse with plenty of friends, she knows she can keep occupied and have a good holiday. But when a tiny package containing an antique locket arrives, she tumbles into a century-old mystery. Is it intended for her, or for a relation of the same name, who lived four generations ago? Why does the image of the young soldier, inside, tug so hard at her heartstrings?

When Tommy Rafferty accompanies his injured friend to the hospital, he’s not thinking about romance. Yet as soon as he meets nurse Beth, his heart gets its own ideas. He’s sure he wants to see her again. But what a strange coincidence, that the tiny package he found and mailed just days ago, while cleaning out a relative’s property should have been addressed to this woman he’s just met. And what about the dreams of past battles he’s been having, that hint at promises and sacrifice?

Is it possible for two lovers parted a century ago to be reunited in time for Christmas? In the blossoming of a new love, will an old promise be kept?

Excerpt:

The locket looked antique. Fashioned of gold metal, it had been intricately worked in a pattern of leaves and vines that covered its surface, broken by a highly-polished heart.

“Oh, exquisite,” she whispered.

Carrie must have found it in an antiques shop and, knowing how much Beth loved vintage pieces, decided to send it in time for Christmas. Beth did have a small collection of jewelry from the last century. The locket would fit right in.

Yet…her fingers hesitated in the act of lifting the locket from the box. For its diminutive size, it felt heavy in her hand. The thought flashed through her head that jewelry was no longer made like this. It must indeed be authentic.

But, why should it make her feel so emotional? For an object she’d never seen before, it had a powerful effect. She caressed the face of the locket with one fingertip, and found the tiny clasp on the side. The locket opened with a soft ping.

Such lockets often held small pictures on either side. This held but one, of a young man, smiling.

Beth looked into his face, beheld his smile, and her world rocked. For an instant, the room seemed to spin around her, and the sofa where she sat moved so violently, it felt like a boat heaving on a stormy sea.

What was that? She wondered even as she continued to stare into the young man’s face. Because, she couldn’t seem to stop.

He had a quiet, handsome countenance. His hair and his eyes both appeared light-colored—the photograph, as aged as the locket, was in black and white, or rather sepia and white, so she couldn’t discern their actual hues. His head lay bare, but he wore a uniform, an old-fashion one with bright buttons and epaulets on the shoulders. His smile—

Well, his smile lit up his face. The warmth of it went straight to Beth’s heart.

It looked familiar. But it couldn’t be, could it?

Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):

Author Biography:

Multi award-winning author Laura Strickland delights in time traveling to the past and searching out settings for her books, be they Historical Romance, Steampunk or something in between. Her first Scottish Historical hero, Devil Black, battled his way onto the publishing scene in 2013, and the author never looked back. Nor has she tapped the limits of her imagination. Venturing beyond Historical and Contemporary Romance, she created a new world with her ground-breaking Buffalo Steampunk Adventure series set in her native city, in Western New York. Married and the parent of one grown daughter, Laura has also been privileged to mother a number of very special rescue dogs, and is intensely interested in animal welfare. These days while she's writing, you can always find her latest rescue, Lacy, nearby. Her love of dogs, and her lifelong interest in Celtic history, magic and music, are all reflected in her writing. Laura's mantra is Lore, Legend, Love, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

Social Media Links

Author Twitter: Laura Strickland Author @LauraSt05038951

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