Thursday, December 12, 2013

Excerpts and Giveaway: Two Holiday Novels!

Today we're featuring excerpts from some festive reads that are sure to get you into the holiday spirit while you're drinking hot cocoa by the fireplace and listening to your favorite holiday songs. Cherish PR has copies for TWO lucky readers anywhere in the world (each winner will only get one of these titles, not both.)

Sleigh Bells in the Snow by Sarah Morgan tells the tale of marketing expert Kayla Green, who once upon a time saw Christmas as her favorite time of year, until a family tragedy shattered that fairy tale. Now all Kayla wants is for Christmas to be over, as fast as possible, so when an opportunity to work all through the holidays arises, she snaps it up. However the gorgeous new client Jackson O’Neil turns work into pleasure and Kayla begins to feel out of her depth. He makes her crave the happy-ever-after she once dreamt of, but due to many failed relationships, Kayla finds this terrifying. And as the snowflakes continue to fall, will the woman who doesn’t believe in the magic of Christmas finally fall under its spell?

“Angie called from The Washington Post. I told her you’d call her back. And I finished that media list.”
Stacey leaned across the desk and Kayla was nearly asphyxiated.
“Er – nice perfume.” Her hand wrapped around the tall cappuccino she’d picked up on her way to the office. She unwrapped her cashmere scarf and dropped it over her chair, sending snowflakes floating across her desk. “It’s freezing out there. If I’d know New York was this cold in winter I would have requested the LA office.” Snatching a sip of coffee, she toed off the boots she’d worn to walk the short distance from the apartment and dragged her shoes from the drawer in her desk.
Through the glass wall that cut her off from the rest of the fortieth floor, she could see two of the junior account executives discreetly replenishing makeup.
“What’s going on? Brett will hit the roof if he walks past and sees lip gloss and girl bonding”
“Brett’s with Jackson O’Neil. They’re waiting for you in the boardroom
“Jackson O’Neil is the reason for the perfume and the sudden run on cosmetics?”
“The man is smoking hot Kayla.”
Only half listening, Kayla pulled her phone out of her pocket, checking new emails while she pushed her feet into her shoes. “Did you get any more information on him?”
“Yes. He is insanely sexy and –“ Stacey blushed, “-single.”
“I meant on the company.”
“I sent everything I found to your in-box this morning, but Kayla he’s –“
“Somehow I’ve managed to amass fifty emails since I left my apartment. How is that possible? I cleared my in-box at 5.00am” Kayla put down her coffee, slid her phone into her bag and scooped up the stack of notes she’d scribbled at three in the morning. “When I saw the snow I assumed O’Neil would cancel.”
“He took an earlier flight because the forecast was bad and he wanted this done. I collected him from the foyer. I managed to behave with dignity and not leap on him.”
“That would have given a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘full service agency.’” Grinning, Kayla smoothed her hair and took a deep breath. “Go and stick your head under the water cooler.”
“Your in-box is the equivalent of a cold-shower. By the way, this came for you. It’s marked Personal so I didn’t open it. I guess it’s from someone who doesn’t have your home address.” Stacey handed her an envelope, and Kayla recognised her step-mother’s handwriting.
Cold trickled down her spine. It was like landing naked in a snowdrift.
“Thanks.” Stuffing it quickly into her bag, she strode out of her office and took the stairs down to the foyer, wishing she’d left the envelope on her desk instead of putting it in her bag. Now it was there, she couldn’t stop thinking about it. It made the bag feel heavy even though it weighed no more than a few flakes of snow.


Make My Wish Come True by Fiona Harper follows homely Juliet – Christmas cook extraordinaire – as she tries to keep it together in the wake of her marriage breakdown. Despite her best attempts at creating the perfect Christmas, the cracks are beginning to show. Meanwhile, her bright, vivacious sister Gemma has no qualms about leaving Christmas in Juliet’s capable hands and escaping the pressure of her glamorous job, and the festive madness, by jetting off – yet again - to somewhere warm. This time however, Juliet snaps. To make it up to her sister, Gemma offers her the perfect solution – they’ll swap Christmases; Gemma will stay at home and cook the turkey, and Juliet can have a relaxing break in the sun. But with Will, Juliet’s dishy neighbor who’s far too nice to float Gemma’s boat, and Marco, a suave Italian with his own ideas to help Juliet unwind, will the sisters abandon caution and make this a Christmas swap to remember?

Gemma rapped on the trailer door – loud enough to be heard, but not so firmly it might be interpreted as a demand. As she waited the icy wind cut into her cheeks and her knuckles froze into a fist. Glamorous job? Hah! Don’t make her laugh. She pulled the hood of her waterproof closer round her face and got ready to smile brightly.
He wouldn’t open the door himself, of course. Too used to having a faceless someone do it for him.
She knocked a second time and her phone buzzed in her pocket. She ignored it. Even if he was the director, ranting and raving about the whereabouts of his A-list actor, answering it would only slow her down.
It seemed an age before she heard a muffled ‘Yeah?’ from the other side of the trailer door. If she’d gone by tone of voice alone, she’d have guessed he was soaking up the sun on a Caribbean beach, not freezing to death on the fringes of Western Ireland in December.
A wall of heat hit her when she stepped inside. No wonder he sounded so relaxed. The temperature in here really was verging on tropical. It was certainly warm enough for the six-foot hunk of blond gorgeousness she’d come looking for to only be dressed in a faded T-shirt and a pair of shorts as he lounged on a sofa further down the trailer. She closed the door behind her and instantly started to sweat in her layers of thermals and assorted woolly things.
“Hey, Gemma,” he said, and smiled, revealing his far too white teeth. For some reason she found all that symmetry slightly irritating.
Even more irritating was his state of undress. He was supposed to be wearing the dark garb the wardrobe department had carefully selected to suggest a tortured hero on the verge of saving the world. However, she let none of her annoyance bleed through to her tone of voice. “They’re ready for you on set now Toby.” Her face was a mask of calm as she re-jigged times and schedules in the back of her head.
If she could hurry him along, they might not lose any time before the light went. She’d had to change the call sheet for the following day three times already. The last batch of A4 sheets sat ready and waiting in her makeshift office and she really didn’t want to dump them and start all over again.
She glanced around. Where was the girl from wardrobe? She’d seen her come in here not half an hour ago, and she could have sworn she hadn’t seen her leave. “Has Caitlin gone to fetch something from the truck?” she asked innocently.
Toby just smirked as his eyes darted towards the back of the trailer where the bedroom was situated. “Something like that.”


Thanks to Cherish PR for sharing these books with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.

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Worldwide. Giveaway ends December 17th at midnight EST.

15 comments:

Jessica said...

Making Christmas cookies. =]

Thanks!
-Jessica M

Bonnie K. said...

The perfect winter holiday celebration would be to put ornaments on the tree, then prepare a mug/mugs of hot chocolate, and then watch a video of A Child's Christmas in Wales.

bluedawn95864 at gmail dot com

susieqlaw said...

spending time with family

Unknown said...

with great friens, family, and food

Melanie Backus said...

I can imagine building a fire in a fireplace on a cold winter's night with family and friends gathered around.

mauback55 at gmail dot com

bn100 said...

good food

Unknown said...

no fighting

Amber @ A Little Pink in the Cornfields said...

Family fun together!!

holdenj said...

Love staying in on a cold evening with cocoa and hot cider!

Mary Preston said...

Someone wonderful to share it with.

PoCoKat said...

Turkey dinner and shortbread cookies.

Marjorie/cenya2 said...

Watching a snow fall through the window.

rubynreba said...

Family dinner with a game night!

Nova said...

Spending time with kids, family & friends!
sparkle40175 AT hotmail DOT com

Bube said...

Time with family :)