Twelve Days of Christmas: Suzie Grant

Love and Laughter
by Suzie Grant

“You can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in anything, even poverty, you can survive it.” Bill Cosby

Christmas is a big affair in my family. Walk into the front door of my mother’s house and you’re immediately assaulted — err welcomed by Christmas music and blinding — err brilliant lights.  Pack in a dozen people into a moderate-sized dining room and you get total chaos.  Our family is fairly heavy on Christmas tradition and you know I wouldn’t change a thing.  Despite the disorder, extremely loud brother, — I mean family members — and the warring toddlers who’re battling it out to see who gets to sit in the rocking chair first. It all makes the holiday’s complete for me and even though I return home feeling like I’ve just been in a brawl with WWE’s Stone Cold Steve Austin, it’s completely worth it.

I happen to love the chaos actually.  It’s crazy but it’s fun.  Although I will say that I can’t handle more than a day or two before I’m ready to return to my mundane life back home.  The greatest moment is that brief swatch of silence while we gather to hold hands and say a prayer before we eat and then the entire gathering swarm the table like a herd of starving elephants to a vat of peanuts.  Christmas to me is about family and fun.  If you can’t laugh and be silly during these times, then when will you?

Which is one of the reasons why our favorite Christmas movie is Home Alone and we never fail to watch it.  Whether it’s a week before Christmas or the day of Christmas, I always end up piling onto the sofa to watch it with my kids.  It’s become a Christmas tradition for us and one that I love.  Laughter heals the soul in my humble opinion.  No matter what you’re experiencing in life, laughter is the key to staying healthy.  And nothing is as funny as Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern trying to outsmart an eight-year-old kid.  It’s great and it makes me giggle every year.  Best of all my kids love this movie and it makes for great snuggle time.  What could be better than that?

So I’m leaving you with two clips of my most favorite scenes in the movie and hopefully, it’ll give you a good chuckle and bring back some good memories for you.

I wish I could write humor into some of my stories but I’ve always said I’m the guy at the back of the bar who’s sober and laughing at all the drunks.  That’s me.  So I’ll leave the entertainment to those who do it best.  But I love to laugh and I hope it’s a trait I’ve past onto my children and I leave you with this little reminder: “A day without laughter is a day wasted.” Charlie Chaplin.

Always remember to take a minute to laugh.  Have a wonderful Holiday Season, no matter how you celebrate it, and from my family to yours, Merry Christmas.

Home Alone Clip one: http://youtu.be/4DgbUBoxa48

Home Alone Clip Two: http://youtu.be/2Lb92tL6R4A

Leave a comment for Suzie and be entered to win a $25 gift card to the book seller of your choice!

A Caribbean Jewel for Christmas: Blackmailed by a British Naval Commander, Captain Randall Whitton, a smuggler with a penchant for gold is rescued by Jewel Derington, a feisty plantation owner and the very woman who betrayed him in the jungles of Barbados. Escaping danger has never been so thrilling. Together they are drawn into a political game of winner takes all from which only his grandfather, the Duke of Danby, can rescue them.

 * Fascinated by the glitter of his Caribbean Jewel, Randall’s lust for gold soon fades. His quest to tame this fiery treasure catapults them both into an adventure where the stakes are higher and the prize greater than either of them have ever dared dream.

Available NOW at…

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**All of Suzie’s books are on sale for .99 cents for the Holidays from Dec 15^th – Jan 15^th 2013. Enjoy!**

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12 Days of Christmas: Christmas in Paradise

If you had asked me a year ago if I would ever want to live in Florida, I would have looked at you like you had three heads. Florida?? Land of alligators and dangling chads?? Are you crazy?!?!

But many of you know that one fateful trip to the Bahamas changed everything. Yes, I know Florida isn’t the Bahamas, but it’s pretty darn close, both in proximity and in “feel.” So, blah, blah, blah, we decided to move here and our original 18-month timeline became 6 months, and well, here we are.

The main thing I was concerned about was how I would feel about wearing flip-flops and going swimming at Christmastime. I love Christmas. This is no secret. And, as most people do, I have always associated this time of year with frigid temps, snow, fireplaces and bundling up, yet still freezing my a** off.

Well, let me tell you…I will NEVER look back. Ever.  (Cue Taylor Swift song, “Weeeeee are never, ever, eveeeeer…getting back together!) You don’t need to be freezing to feel the magic of Christmas. As a matter of fact, I would venture to say that I’m way more in the Christmas spirit than I’ve ever been! And those things I love still exist, even here.

For instance, Florida *does* get a little chilly, so I still get to put on a light sweater. And last night, in my light sweater, I ate Grimaldi’s New York pizza al fresco near a blazing heat lamp while watching the Christmas light show! It was MAGICAL!

And this morning, to and from dropping my daughter off at school, I rolled the windows down and blared Christmas music out the windows. Seriously, you haven’t known joy until you’ve had a warm breeze on your face while listening to Bing sing White Christmas.

Oh, and don’t forget snow! Almost every holiday celebration here involves fake snow. But it’s warm! And you don’t have to be bundled up in a gajillion layers of clothing or risk your children getting frostbite!

This last weekend alone was EPIC in terms of Christmas celebrations…breakfast with Santa, holiday boat parade, festival of trees, the children’s holiday festival with petting zoo, tree lightings, etc… We didn’t even make it to all of them though… we had to sleep and eat sometime!!

But no matter where you live, I hope you find the joy and love of the holiday season in your hearts! And to help you get in the mood, we’re kicking off our 12 Days of Christmas giveaway today! Every day, for the next 12 days, I’ll be featuring an author from the Regency Christmas Summons Series here on my blog. Stop by and learn about their favorite holiday traditions, read about their story in the collection, and leave a comment to WIN!

Win what? you may ask! I’ll be giving away a $25 gift card to the book seller of your choice. The more you comment, the more chances you have to win!* Winner will be announced December 21, 2012.

So now it’s your turn! Do you love the winter? Do you embrace the cold? Or would you be just as happy to spend Christmas in a tropical paradise?

*One comment per blog entry = a potential twelve entries.

A SUMMONS FROM THE DUKE…

In Loving Mister Lockwell (Regency Christmas Summons, Vol. 2), Lady Isabel Whitton has no use for people other than her twin sister — she much prefers the company of her books. So when she discovers that all her cousins from near and far have been summoned to her home, Danby Castle, for Christmas, she isn’t pleased. To make matters even worse, the deplorable Mister Lockwell has come uninvited.

Damien Lockwell, 3rd son of the Earl of Totterdown, has invited himself to Yorkshire for Christmas. Spending the holiday with the Whittons seems far preferable to watching his father drink himself into a stupor. And Lady Isabel proves to be just the kind of entertainment he was looking for — she’s smart as a whip and quite the most unique creature he’s ever met — not to mention she despises him, which is the most thrilling part of all for a man like Damien.

Available NOW at these major retailers…
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Smashwords

New Release: A Love For All Seasons

Get all three of Jerrica’s most beloved novellas in one, tidy package! A Love for All Seasons includes her stories from A Summons from the Duke, The Betting Season and A Season to Remember.

LOVING MR. LOCKWELL (Originally from Summons from the Duke)…
Lady Isabel Whitton has no use for people other than her twin sister — she much prefers the company of her books. So when she discovers that all her cousins from near and far have been summoned to her home, Danby Castle, for Christmas, she isn’t pleased. To make matters even worse, the deplorable Mister Lockwell has come uninvited. * Damien Lockwell, 3rd son of the Earl of Totterdown, has invited himself to Yorkshire for Christmas. Spending the holiday with the Whittons seems far preferable to watching his father drink himself into a stupor. And Lady Isabel proves to be just the kind of entertainment he was looking for — she’s smart as a whip and quite the most unique creature he’s ever met — not to mention she despises him, which is the most thrilling part of all for a man like Damien.

THE MARRIAGE TRAP (Originally from The Betting Season)…

When Miss Patience Findley discovers, at her first ball of her first Season, just how much her father’s scandal has affected her chances of marriage, she resigns herself to being alone and dying a spinster. That is, until she hears that her friends’ names have landed in the Betting Book at White’s. In a moment of desperation, she asks her reprobate cousin to place a bet on her behalf, in hopes of trapping an unsuspecting gentleman into marriage.

Tristan Wallford, Lord Swaffham, loves a good challenge. So when his friend, Rowan Findley, claims that his cousin Patience cannot be cured of her melancholy state, Tristan lays a bet that he will be the one to cure her. He could certainly use the money, after all. But as the game begins, Tristan begins to realize that not only does Miss Findley not need curing, but she might be worth trapping for himself.

A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS (Originally from A Season to Remember)…
Penelope Bartlett has had a rough year, to say the least. She lost her eldest brother and her father in one fell swoop, and to make matters worse she had to miss out on her very first London Season. Now she’s in the thick of the Little Season and all she wants to do is run away. It’s torture to watch her siblings fall in love and she’s simply not in the mood to make merry with all of them. Especially when they treat her as if she’s still a little girl in leading strings. 
* Enter Drake Lockwell, Viscount Flitwick. He, too, is typically eager to escape crowded ballrooms and matchmaking mamas in favor of his own company in a deserted garden or library. But a chance meeting in his brother’s garden one night changes everything. Miss Bartlett is young and impetuous, yet he can’t help but fall prey to her charms. Perhaps she will be the one to finally mend the hole in his heart…

Or will his secrets be more than Penelope is able to handle?

Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Smashwords!

The Betting Season

I’ve teamed up once again with some of my favorite Regency Romance authors to write The Betting Season. In this fun and lighthearted anthology, Four young women embark on their first London Season, only to find themselves the subjects of scandalous bets…

Here’s the blurb for my own story, The Marriage Trap…

When Miss Patience Findley discovers, at her first ball of her first Season, just how much her father’s scandal has affected her chances of marriage, she resigns herself to being alone and dying a spinster. That is, until she hears that her friends’ names have landed in the Betting Book at White’s. In a moment of desperation, she asks her reprobate cousin to place a bet on her behalf, in hopes of trapping an unsuspecting gentleman into marriage.

Tristan Wallford, Lord Swaffham, loves a good challenge. So when his friend, Rowan Findley, claims that his cousin Patience cannot be cured of her melancholy state, Tristan lays a bet that he will be the one to cure her. He could certainly use the money, after all. But as the game begins, Tristan begins to realize that not only does Miss Findley not need curing, but she might be worth trapping for himself.

—

And just for fun, here’s a little insight into our hero and heroine…

Tristan Wafford, Lord Swaffham, loved women. He loved them in all their shapes and sizes and colors. He loved to engage them in conversation and he especially loved to engage them in the bedroom. He had no scruples to speak of really. As a matter of fact, he’d left many a weeping woman in their beds without so much as a backward glance.

Many found him a despicable man, a disgrace to his sex, yet women still flocked to his side. Desperate mamas thrust their eligible daughters into his path at social events, and he had been guilty of making those eligible daughters slightly less eligible on more than one occasion. But Tristan had a knack for getting himself out of sticky situations, and therefore, he remained a bachelor at the ripe age of nine-and-twenty. Which was exactly how he preferred it to be.

——-

Miss Patience Findley was starting to realize that she was anything but patient, as her name would indicate. As a matter of fact, she probably should have been named Impatience, though she realized it wasn’t nearly as nice of a name as simply Patience. Either way, her current mood did not reflect her given name….

The only thing she had to recommend her was a sizeable dowry, but it came from trade, so not everyone was interested in pursuing the connection. It didn’t help that she wasn’t terribly attractive. She had hair every bit as black as her Indian stepmother, only she didn’t have the coffee-colored skin to complement it. No, she was as white as the dress she wore this evening. She imagined it looked as if an inky black cat was floating about the room atop a ghostly apparition.

Look for The Betting Season at all major ebook outlets soon!