'Tis the Season with @AuthorNicMorgan #Holiday #Romance #Tradition #RB4U

Welcome to Romance Books 4 Us, I'm your tour host for the day, so sit back, prop up your feet and get comfy. I'm about to share some goodies with you.

'Tis the Season

Hello everyone! Happy December 15tih. Now that there are only 10 days until Santa slithers down our chimney many of us are going through our Christmas traditions. Some old, and some new, there are many types of things that friends and family can do to share in the joys of the season. 

Here are just a few of my favorite things to do, especially on a chilly winter night when the flakes are falling and the streets are sparkly white....

1. Watch Christmas Vacation... I just love that movie! 
2. Drinking hot cocoa with extra tiny marshmallows... so yummy! 
3. Curl up with one of my favorite reads and a glass of Reisling. 
4. Drive around the city and look at Christmas lights with my daughters. 
5. Christmas shopping... not for the best deal or the latest fad, but for that one special gift that you know will make someone smile. 😃

How about you? What are your favorite traditions? Is there one that is your absolute favorite? Or is there one that you'd love to begin? 

⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄

Enter the Romance Books 4 Us Monthly Contest HERE 

Thank You for joining me today! I'll see you all next month on the 1st. Have a great month and remember to check out Romance Books 4 Us for some awesome reads! 

Nicole Morgan is an author of erotic romance novels, which more often than not have a suspenseful back story. Erotic romance mixed with good old-fashioned whodunit. While she's written everything from contemporary to paranormal her leading men will more than likely be wearing a uniform of some kind. From military to police officers, she has a love for writing about those who protect and serve. From her very first novel about Navy SEALs to her more recent releases you will be sure to find a few twists and turns you were not expecting.

She is a proud member of the Romance Books 4 Us Gold Authors and also one of the Sweet N Sexy Divas.  

Find out more about Nicole and her books by visiting her website, blog, Google + Page, Twitter, Facebook and her Yahoo Group, Nicole’s Think Tank.

Website http://www.authornicmorgan.com

Blog http://nicolemorganauthor.blogspot.com

Twitter http://twitter.com/authornicmorgan

Facebook http://facebook.com/authornicolemorgan

Instagram http://instagram.com/authornicmorgan

Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/AuthorNicMorgan/

Goodreads http://goodreads.com/nicolemorgan

Amazon Author Page http://amazon.com/author/nicolemorgan

Newsletter sign up: http://authornicmorgan.us8.list-manage.com/subscribe

Until next month lovies ~ Nic 

'Tis the Season with @AuthorNicMorgan #Holiday #Romance #Tradition #RB4U

Welcome to Romance Books 4 Us, I'm your tour host for the day, so sit back, prop up your feet and get comfy. I'm about to share some goodies with you.

'Tis the Season

Hello everyone! Happy December 1st! Now that there are only 25 days until Santa slithers down our chimney many of us are going through our Christmas traditions. Some old, and some new, there are many types of things that friends and family can do to share in the joys of the season. 

Here are just a few of my favorite things to do, especially on a chilly winter night when the flakes are falling and the streets are sparkly white....

1. Watch Christmas Vacation... I just love that movie! 
2. Drinking hot cocoa with extra tiny marshmallows... so yummy! 
3. Curl up with one of my favorite reads and a glass of Reisling. 
4. Drive around the city and look at Christmas lights with my daughters. 
5. Christmas shopping... not for the best deal or the latest fad, but for that one special gift that you know will make someone smile. 😃

How about you? What are your favorite traditions? Is there one that is your absolute favorite? Or is there one that you'd love to begin? 

⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄

Please check out the Romance Books 4 Us Cowboy Boxed Set!

Roping the Cowboy
9 Romances on the Range

This sweet through sizzling collection of love stories includes contemporary, period, and historical romance, otherworldly romance, and romance with a touch of magic by Award-winning and Bestselling Authors: Janice Seagraves, Nicole Morgan, Rose Anderson, Denyse Bridger, Gemma Juliana, Michele Zurlo, Tina Donahue, Krista Ames, and Suz deMello.

Cowboys Only 
by Nicole Morgan

Terry has no clue why some strange woman has shown up at his ranch, or what the heck she’s talking about. After running the adorable brunette off, he finds out the truth. Now he’s faced with making amends for his mother’s meddling. But did he just blow the best chance he had for love right out of the water? And worse…what does he do now?

Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M0V7X71/
B & N
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/roping-the-cowboy-janice-seagraves/1124825022?ean=2940156959105
ARe
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-ropingthecowboy-2153890-166.html
Kobo
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-ca/ebook/roping-the-cowboy-1
GoogleBooks
https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Roping_the_Cowboy?id=8QQ_DQAAQBAJ

Win a Kindle eReader HERE
Decadent Decem-brrr Reads HERE

Enter the Romance Books 4 Us Monthly Contest HERE 

Thank You for joining me today! I'll see you all next month on the 1st. Have a great month and remember to check out Romance Books 4 Us for some awesome reads! 

Nicole Morgan is an author of erotic romance novels, which more often than not have a suspenseful back story. Erotic romance mixed with good old-fashioned whodunit. While she's written everything from contemporary to paranormal her leading men will more than likely be wearing a uniform of some kind. From military to police officers, she has a love for writing about those who protect and serve. From her very first novel about Navy SEALs to her more recent releases you will be sure to find a few twists and turns you were not expecting.

She is a proud member of the Romance Books 4 Us Gold Authors and also one of the Sweet N Sexy Divas.  

Find out more about Nicole and her books by visiting her website, blog, Google + Page, Twitter, Facebook and her Yahoo Group, Nicole’s Think Tank.

Website http://www.authornicmorgan.com

Blog http://nicolemorganauthor.blogspot.com

Twitter http://twitter.com/authornicmorgan

Facebook http://facebook.com/authornicolemorgan

Instagram http://instagram.com/authornicmorgan

Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/AuthorNicMorgan/

Goodreads http://goodreads.com/nicolemorgan

Amazon Author Page http://amazon.com/author/nicolemorgan

Newsletter sign up: http://authornicmorgan.us8.list-manage.com/subscribe

Until next month lovies ~ Nic 

Old, New, Borrowed, Blue, & Something about a Shoe? By Rose Anderson

How does that bride charm go? 

Oh, I got it... 

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, a silver sixpence in your shoe. 

The first time I heard it, I had just had my last fitting for my hand-sewn wedding dress. The seamstress surprised me with an extra bit I wasn't expecting. It was a satin under-dress and the hem sported several tiny blue bows with seed pearl centers. She recited the rhyme for me and said it was for luck. So my dress was new, my hair clips were old, my pearl earrings were borrowed, and the blue bows rounded off the whole luck charm. No one told me about the sixpence. The way my feet felt after standing all day and dancing all night, that likely would have been too uncomfortable anyway. 

So where did all this superstition come from?

The internet can be a slippery slope when one is searching for facts about weddings. I've found everything from the completely nonsensical "people only bathed in June so that's when they married" to the very real First kiss is meant to seal the contract of marriage. The Something old, something new makes its appearance in print in 1894, but that article claims the charm is actually a Puritan wedding custom from the 1600s. Makes sense to me. It was a popular and long-established opinion during that time that whenever there was a rite of passage such as a birth, death, or wedding, evil lurked somewhere nearby to take advantage. By setting up trusty talismans ahead of time, evil didn't stand a chance of meddling. But as any Jacobean phobic worth their salt can tell you, there's so much more to watch out for on your wedding day.

A few precautions and assurances ~

• Egyptian women pinch the bride for good luck on her wedding day.
• Greeks believe it's lucky to tuck a sugar cube into the bride's glove to sweeten her union.
• Then there's a bit of Greek culture regarding light spitting in the direction of the bride and groom to keep evil away.
• Elaborately painted henna designs on hands and feet protect Middle Eastern brides from the evil eye.  
• Church bells originally rang to ward off evil.
• Bunches of aromatic herbs also kept evil at bay. We hold bouquets of flowers now.
• British custom says the best luck can be had if a spider turns up in the wedding dress.
• Because evil spirits sleep under the doorway, the groom needs to carry the bride across the threshold so they don't wake up and start trouble. 
• Ancient Greeks and Romans believed a veil protected the bride from evil spirits, and brides have worn them ever since.
• Although it's the most popular day of the week to marry, according to English folklore Saturday is the unluckiest wedding day. Wednesday is considered the best day to marry on, but Monday for wealth and Tuesday for health works too. 
• In Hindu tradition, a rainy wedding day is lucky. 
• In Denmark, the bride and groom traditionally cross-dress to confuse evil spirits. Hmm... 
• Believe it or not, the flower girl's role went beyond tossing rose petals down the aisle. Her virginity shielded the bride from the devil.
• As far as virginity goes, the reason behind white wedding dresses in the western world had nothing to do with it. Queen Victoria wore a white gown when she married Albert and everything she did became the fashion. It stuck.
• In Sweden, the bride gets a silver coin from her father and a gold coin from her mother and puts one in each shoe for prosperity.  
• At Czech weddings peas and/or lentils are thrown for fertility. So is rice.
• The Italians have a different twist on the fertility concept, lots of people go for candied almonds over lentils or rice to send wishes of that sort. I had candy-coated almonds at my wedding but didn't know at the time what their significance was. That old symbol of fertility goes back to the female yoni, a symbol of the Goddess. 
• And speaking of...June is an auspicious month to marry because the Goddess Juno was the protector of women in marriage and childbearing.
• To the Dutch, a pine tree planted outside the newlyweds' home brings fertility and luck. 
• The wedding cake we know and love comes from ancient Rome, where a loaf of bread was broken over the bride's head for fertility.
• In parts of Asia, embroidered cranes on white wedding robes symbolize fidelity.
• An old wives' tale says if the younger of two sisters marries first, the older sister must dance barefoot at the wedding. If she doesn't, she risks becoming a spinster.

And that was just the tip of the iceberg!

But what about that aforementioned rhyme?

Something old
This token tied the bride to her family and her past.

Something new
This new thing, be it the dress or other item, represents a bride's new life in a new family. 

Something borrowed 

Traditionally, this token would be taken from another wife who was already a happily and successfully married. This passed on a bit of her established good fortune to the new bride. 

Something blue
A blue token of some sort stands for faithfulness, loyalty, and purity.

And a sixpence in your shoe

A solid wish for prosperity. 

The charm worked for me. I've been with my best friend and twin flame for 38 years. So yeah, if you're wondering, that is me at the start of this post. I call it my "in between smiles" shot. I had about an hour of pictures taken up to that point.
:)

Did you do any of these wedding precautions? 

 

 ۞>>>>۞<<<<۞

Subscribe to my blog for

interesting topics and other writerly things.

You'll find all my links there too!

http://calliopeswritingtablet.com/

>>۞<<

About Rose
Rose is a multi-published, award-winning author and dilettante who loves great conversation and discovering interesting things to weave into stories. She lives with her family and small menagerie amid oak groves and prairie in the rolling glacial hills of the upper Midwest.

۞>>>>۞<<<<۞
 

Find my scorching novels wherever love stories are sold
Sample them for free!

Oh Those Family Traditions by Rose Anderson

Tradition
*Here’s a bit of the standard definition:

1. The handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation, especially by word of mouth or by practice.
2. A long-established or inherited way of thinking or acting.
3. A continuing pattern of culture beliefs or practices.
4. A customary or characteristic method or manner.

When you stop to think about it, our world is filled with such processes and procdures. Never is tradition more present in our lives than in the months of November and December. For example: in November, Americans have their Thanksgiving dinners with tried and true recipes reserved just for that day. In my family, these once-a-year side dishes are all that remain of family members long since passed. We have another Thanksgiving tradition in my family – churning butter.

My then soon-to-be husband and I were back to the land urban dwellers who left the big city for the country. Back in the day, we looked for every opportunity to learn to do things by hand or make things from scratch. You wouldn’t believe the old-timey things I know how to do! Before we married, he gave me a small glass 1930’s butter churn. As you can see, the nifty little gadget has a tin lid outfitted with a crank and cog that turns a tin paddle inside. 

In my mind's eye I can almost see the original owner as she wielded a specially designed spoon to carefully skim cream from the milk bottle for her butter churn. Then as now, through domestic alchemy, heavy cream whirled in this ball-shaped thingamajig becomes butter. How cool.

We made butter for our first Thanksgiving as newlyweds and have done so every Thanksgiving since. My husband and I took turns back then, and yes it took a while, but hey, homemade butter. Not once in 37 years did it go unused. 


As our family grew, the tradition of making butter for our Thanksgiving feast passed to the kids. Funny how time changes things. As little children they got to make the butter. Yay! As teens they had to make the butter. Blah. As adults, our son and daughter still make our Thanksgiving butter in that little churn, but now the truth is out. They confessed they'd actually never enjoyed making the butter. (Hmm...mom and dad have memories saying otherwise.) 

The whole thing has become a source of endless laughter. The thing is, it’s not an easy task. In fact it takes at least an hour of constant cranking and often longer depending on the temperature of the cream. The highlight of making butter is not the end product, it's coming up with ways to pass it off to the other person -- "Here, churn for a while. I need to use the bathroom" or "I'll be right back, I have to help mom". Of course the intent here is to simply walk away and stick the other person with the job.

Last week's Thanksgiving butter torture was as hilarious as always. My soon-to-be daughter-in-law had a go as did my two teenage nephews. We needed the extra muscle. This year was one of those 90-minute churn-fests. Even I took a turn but failed trying to dump it off on my son. My kids have come up with some colorful names and comments for the butter churn since confessing their disdain a decade ago. 

Thanksgiving lament
I can't believe it's not butter
Ball of hatred
The rage ball 
Wheel of vitriol
Vitriolic hate machine
Edward’s bane
Butter slavery
The #@&%-ing butter churn
The churn of pain
The churn of death
Death by butter

What a funny crowd! Yes, I give thanks.

And speaking of traditions...Not all that long ago there existed a thoughtful and personal way to tell someone you were thinking of them. Throughout the month of December and up to New Years Day, I'll be sharing 100 years worth of my vintage holiday postcard collection. Stop by my blog and enjoy the lovely keepsake correspondence people shared before the impersonal internet came into our lives. Be sure to scroll back so you don't miss any.  Subscribe and you'll get them straight to your inbox.

Do you have funny traditions? Share a smile in comments. :) 

*Thank you Dictionary.com

Subscribe to my blog for
interesting topics and other writerly things.
http://calliopeswritingtablet.com/

❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋

About Rose
Rose is a multi-published, award-winning author and dilettante who loves great conversation and discovering interesting things to weave into stories. She lives with her family and small menagerie amid oak groves and prairie in the rolling glacial hills of the upper Midwest.

❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋
 

Find my scorching novels on Amazon, B&N,
and wherever love stories are sold
Sample them for free!

Christmas Traditions - The Makings of a Wonderful Holiday Season

Every year, about this time, I ponder what makes the season special. I suspect a lot of people do that, so I’m not unique. But my perspective on the season is unique. As is yours. I’m not one of those people who looks to the past a lot. But this time of year seems to be the exception. For me, Scrooge-like, the magic of the season is enhanced by Christmas past. I move through my day with one part of my brain tied to fond, seasonal memories. The way the tree looked surrounded by all those pretty packages on Christmas morning when I was a kid; the memory of singing in the church choir at candlelight services when I got a little older; people we've lost along the way and past gifts given and received that were special…for whatever reason.

It’s hard to pinpoint why I love Christmas so much. Despite the rush of added tasks and projects, the extra work involved in getting or making gifts, the pull of emotion the season engenders, I can’t help feeling its magic. Maybe I like it so much because it brings out the best in me.

As a creative person, I think my perception of this time of year has been formed by creative things--baking, movies, music, books. Every year my daughters and I bake cookies to send to family across the country, just to let them know we're thinking about them. It's a special time in so many ways and I cherish every minute of it.

We also love going to Christmas themed movies. This year my hero and I are looking forward to the new Night at the Museum movie, which has become one of our favorite movie series, and the fact that they always release around Christmas time makes them a special part of our tradition. 

Every year I buy a new Christmas ornament and add it to my collection of treasured ornaments from family and friends, giving me a nice mix of old and new. And each Christmas I look for a new Christmas music CD. This year I bought a truly gorgeous mix of tunes from an outrageously talented A Cappella Band named Pentatonix:

Don't you just LOVE the Bass in this? Wow! 

In addition to my tradition of seeking out and surrounding myself with creative things at Christmas time, I always find myself inspired to write something having to do with Christmas. This year I wrote HoHo Honeybun, Book 5 in my Honeybun Fever romantic suspense series. If you're looking for a fun and fast paced book to get you in the Christmas/holiday spirit, this might be just the thing!

Happy Holidays, Everybody!

He just wants her to take life a little more seriously. She’s decided he could have a point. Especially now that somebody wants her dead.

Dolfe Honeybun broke up with Blaise Runa because her party girl ways were driving him to distraction. Unfortunately, out of sight does NOT mean out of mind. And when his favorite party girl sees something she shouldn’t and finds herself being chased by a cold blooded killer… reason shuts down and Dolfe’s heart takes over. If only he can get to her in time!

Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PWZ77Y0

Amazon.ca: http://www.amazon.ca/HOHO-Honeybun-Fever-Book-ebook/dp/B00PWZ77Y0

Amazon.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/HOHO-Honeybun-Fever-Book-ebook/dp/B00PWZ77Y0

Amazon.de: http://www.amazon.de/HOHO-Honeybun-Fever-Book-English-ebook/dp/B00PWZ77Y0

Amazon.au: http://www.amazon.com.au/HOHO-Honeybun-Fever-Book-ebook/dp/B00PWZ77Y0

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hoho-honeybun-sam-cheever/1120803307

All Romance eBooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-hohohoneybun-1682895-149.html

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/494760

Thank you. Thank you very muuuuch…

Be thankful that’s as close to an Elvis impression as I can manage and you don’t have to listen to me sing. Trust me, you do not want that.

The other day, a post by the very talented Liz Crowe reminded me of something that I’m afraid I’ve been taking for granted. The romance community, authors and readers alike are a very supportive bunch. We celebrate each others successes and commiserate when life hands us lemons and we can’t quite manage the process of making lemonade by ourselves.

I can’t remember how many times I’ve needed a smile or a word of encouragement and found it here. The ‘pay it forward’ vibe is alive and well and as an author, friend and fellow traveler I just want to say, thank you all for being—you.

I always get a little nostalgic in November. Thanksgiving was always a big deal at our house. As kids we’d make decorations in school and no matter what they looked like, my mom would tack them up and tell us how wonderful they were. That was the best part. She made us feel as if we were an important part of the celebration. She also helped me learn that coloring outside the lines wasn’t always a bad thing.

My parents are in their eighties now and thankfully, still with us and still exclaiming over their great-grand-children’s artwork. My mom’s refrigerator is always decorated with proudly signed pictures of lopsided houses, stick people and purple horses. I’m looking forward to this year’s display of construction paper turkeys and stick figure pilgrims.

I’m also looking forward to the season and the food and visiting with family I only see a couple of times a year. Sometimes we get busy in our everyday lives and get bogged down with the business of living but holiday celebrations are all about taking the time to share the memories that have gotten us to where we are today.

The leaves are turning and there’s a nip in the air; a sure sign that the holidays are just around the corner. I know that I’ll reach a point where if I hear one more Christmas carol on the radio I’ll be tempted to roll down my car window and turn up a totally inappropriate song—and if I’m really feeling snarky—sing along.  

How about you? Any memories or traditions you'd like to share--because I know you are a sharing bunch:)

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Paris Brandon

http://parisbrandon.com