Snowed In?

Well, we just had the first big snow of the season, which always makes me want to snuggle up under a blanket by the Christmas tree and read--preferably a holiday romance. Even a weekend full of things like a 48-hour internet outage, breaking one of my mother's antique ornaments, and my son losing his job don't change that. If anything, I want even more to reach for that warm, fuzzy feeling I get from the combination of romance and the holidays.

I don't know why it is, but around this time of the year, I LOVE seasonal romances. There's just something about a good holiday love story that makes me feel all warm and cuddly--which may explain why my very first published book was a Christmas one, The Cowboy's Christmas Bride, from The Wild Rose Press, which was a CAPA nominee here at The Romance Studio. Last year's Yuletide Enchantment from Ellora's Cave is a current finalist in the EPIC awards for erotic fantasy romance.  Anyway, here are a few seasonal stories to warm up your long winter nights.

The Cowboy’s Christmas Bride

Love at the Crazy H, book 1

Available for download and in print from The Wild Rose Press

Running from a wedding gone wrong, Allison finds herself snowbound with a sexy rancher.  CJ has been left at the altar once, so he’s leery of getting involved with a runaway bride, while Allison is afraid to love at all.  Can the magic of the holidays, and CJ’s big crazy family, help them overcome the past, and make this the best Christmas ever?

* * * *

Whispers of Magic

Book 3 of the series Mistletoe Magic

Available as an ebook from Ellora’s Cave

or as part of the Mistletoe Magic print anthology

Hoping to get back in Santa’s good graces, Sparkle the elf takes on a difficult assignment—arrange a merry Christmas for photo-journalist Jenna Woodward. Jenna has just lost her parents, her job, and her cheating “fiancé”. Rancher Mitch Sterling doesn’t want his face on a book, but he does want Jenna back in his life. He offers a deal—he’ll sign off, if she agrees to be at his mercy for one day. Jenna left him once because she was afraid of his Dominant lifestyle. Now, with help from a magical snowstorm, Mitch has twenty-four hours of tempestuous passion to convince her that she’ll love being his sub.

* * * *

Yuletide Enchantment

Available for download from Ellora’s Cave

Finalist in 2010 EPIC awards

The company Christmas party goes awry in an erotic way when quiet accountant Shelby Carter is magically whisked into a miniature Victorian village with the boss’s gorgeous son Noel Holiday. Noel has always honored the policy against fraternization, but when he’s trapped for several days with sweet, sexy Shelby, he knows it’s time to start breaking the rules.

While exploring the enchanted surroundings, they delve into their deepest fantasies, even acting out scenes from a collection of erotic Victorian postcards. After all, what’s Christmas without a little magic and a whole lot of sexy fun?

Though Shelby’s crazy about Noel, she’s sure he’ll forget all about her once their interlude is over. But Noel has fallen head over snow boots in love with Shelby. Now he just has to convince her that holiday wishes can come true, and his devotion will last beyond their Yuletide Enchantment.

* * * *

And finally, here’s something a little different—a New Year’s story to start the year off right:

Djinni and the Geek

Geek Love #2

Available in ebook and print from Ellora’s Cave:

Professor David Garvaglia is nobody’s idea of a hero. Is he? When David opens an antique box and finds a sexy Djinni in his bed, his desire for her is almost as powerful as his determination to set her free.  Anissa has spent centuries as a prisoner of the box and has dreamed of the day some handsome master would release her. The scruffy computer geek isn’t what she expected, but everything about him turns her on.

While David and Anissa explore their explosive passion, he helps her adjust to the twenty-first century. Complicating things is an evil wizard who wants Anissa for his own. Between scorching sex in his faculty office and hacking government computers, David does everything he can to keep her safe—and satisfied.

* * * *

I also have a free holiday story that you can read on my website, just as my gift to you. Click here to check it out.

* * * *

So is anyone else a sucker for holiday romance? I'd love to hear some of your favorites, be they books, movies, or even TV specials. Leave a note and I'll pick one random commenter to win a free download of one of the above stories. (I do the drawing Wed. morning, so you have plenty of time.)

Many warm holiday wishes to you and yours. May all your dreams of romance come true!

~ Cindy Spencer Pape

   http://www.cindyspencerpape.com