My Holiday Titles

Happy Holidays!

I never realized just how many holiday-themed short stories/novellas/novels I've written over the years until recently. Then I thought, "Why not make a list of my holiday titles so people can find them easily all in one place?"  Since I write romantic fiction under two pen names it can be a challenge tracking them all down, but here they are in no particular order.

 Highlighted book titles and links should take you to the book's purchase page at the publisher. Yes, my publisher accepts credit cards and has Kindle books! Plus, I get more royalties if you buy directly from the publisher and not through another online store. Thanks for your understanding.

First off, my "sweet romances" written as Cynthianna.

 The Tinsel Timewarp

 http://www.extasybooks.com/978-1-4874-1963-9-the-tinsel-timewarp/

Cici and John experience the true meaning of love when they help their friend Chandra deal with her grief on Christmas Eve by creating a tinsel time warp.

Cici wants everyone to have a perfect holiday, but she discovers things don't always work out that way. When a crying Chandra shows up at her home, Cici asks her alien boyfriend, the time traveler John Smith, if he can help mend Chandra's broken heart. John creates a time warp for Chandra where she can spend one more Christmas Eve with her late grandmother doing all the holiday things they loved to do, but, as usual, things quickly go south. The tinsel time warp grows and expands and threatens to take over the entire planet, and Cici is forced to go up a ladder when she's afraid of heights. Will time travel heal all wounds and make for a Merry Christmas for Cici, John, and even the melancholy Chandra?

Featuring characters from the Loving Who series. (PG rated, contemporary-romantic-comedy/SF/fantasy)

The Stocking

Adele’s lonely Christmas Eve on the prairie is made much brighter by the arrival of a mysterious silver-whiskered stranger.

(G rated, historical short story) 

Jonathan could do nothing to aid his wife’s losing battle with cancer. With twenty years into the ministry, he can't believe the Lord would leave him suddenly with both an empty nest and empty spot on the other side of the bed. Katrina, music teacher and mother of grown twins, feels settled in small town Texas. Life may be dull, but at least it's predictable--unlike her life with her late ex-husband. "Kat" has come to the conclusion that if nuns can live celibate for years, then why can't she make it the next fifty? One Sunday Jonathan sees a golden beam alighting upon a radiant Kat as she directs the singers. He hadn't noticed how beautiful she was before! From here on out he knows that he’ll be preachin’ to the choir. But will Kat—and his congregation—let him? - See more at: http://www.mojocastle.com/preachin-to-the-choir.html#sthash.euNixdC8.dpu

Jonathan could do nothing to aid his wife’s losing battle with cancer. With twenty years into the ministry, he can't believe the Lord would leave him suddenly with both an empty nest and empty spot on the other side of the bed. Katrina, music teacher and mother of grown twins, feels settled in small town Texas. Life may be dull, but at least it's predictable--unlike her life with her late ex-husband. "Kat" has come to the conclusion that if nuns can live celibate for years, then why can't she make it the next fifty? One Sunday Jonathan sees a golden beam alighting upon a radiant Kat as she directs the singers. He hadn't noticed how beautiful she was before! From here on out he knows that he’ll be preachin’ to the choir. But will Kat—and his congregation—let him? - See more at: http://www.mojocastle.com/preachin-to-the-choir.html#sthash.euNixdC8.dpufhttp://www.mojocastle.com/preachin-to-the-choir.html

The Fixer-Uppers

(I include my first published novel on the list since it features a holiday wedding.)


Can a single mom find happiness on a blind date--or at least dinner with a male who can cut up his own food? Cassie and Mike believe they're "in like" not "in love." But when down-on-his-luck Mike is evicted, Cassie takes him in. Mike starts fixing everything from window screens to broken hearts. Will Cassie let him fix hers?


(PG-13 rated, contemporary romantic-comedy)

My first ever Thanksgiving historical holiday short story! (G rated)

The Gift of the Songbird

https://www.devinedestinies.com/978-1-4874-2753-5-the-gift-of-the-songbird/

Hannah Cummings has big plans for her future. An invitation to sing at the mansion of the dashing Elisha Spielman on Thanksgiving Day promises to launch her music career and help her raise funds to receive further vocal training. It’s a most fortuitous invitation, and Hannah is grateful and excited to accept. However, one man seems to stand in her way.

Daniel March won’t have it. Hannah has always sung for their village’s Thanksgiving festival to support the orphanage, and this year should be no different.

Friends since long before the terrible war separated them, Hannah feels there is more to Daniel’s determination to change her mind than simply his need to get his own way.
 

 Can a songbird help them count their blessings and come to see each other in a different light?

And now for my "adults-only" holiday titles written under my Celine Chatillon pen name...

Santa's Big Little Helper 
 http://www.extasybooks.com/978-1-4874-1331-6-santas-big-little-helper/

Be careful what you ask Santa for—you just might get it. Suellen confesses to an angelic hobo she's befriended on Christmas Eve that she lusts after the cover model on her romance novel because he reminds her of Carlos, a shy, handsome trucker who frequents her coffee shop. Santa's helper Carlos is given instructions by his friend Ol' Nick to make Suellen's dreams come true, and when Carlos finds out what they are, he can't wait. A little snow, a bearskin rug, and some fuzzy handcuffs make it a very Merry Christmas for the two lovers!

(R rated, contemporary-fantasy erotic-romance) 





A Very Vampire Christmas 

How do you cheer up your vampire lover around the holiday season? Melynda wonders if maybe a few new traditions of their own are in order to bring a smile to Val's bite. Mel's time-traveling cousin Shelby and her horny boyfriend Quentin add to the fun of the season with their own brand of wild and free activities. Mel and Shel find it's time to get on Santa's "naughty girl" list. Ho, ho, ho!

Available at eXtasy Books:
 http://www.extasybooks.com/2016-holiday-countdown/a-very-vampire-christmas/

 Featuring Melynda and Val from my novel The Vampire Next Door and Shelby and Quentin from the Time Surfer series. 
(R rated, contemporary-fantasy erotic-romance)

Yes, Virginia, Here Comes Santa Claus

When Brad "The Rude Reporter" Rudner opens a letter to the editor from a lonely lady who says she doesn't believe in Santa after her fiance dumped her, he feels it's his duty revive her faith in the jolly old elf. A red garter belt and fishnet stockings help "good girl" Ginny get on Santa's "naughty" list, and Brad can't help but lose his heart to the dark, exotic beauty.

Click here to purchase this book at the best price!

(R rated, contemporary erotic-romance)

 
 
 






I do like the winter months--I have Valentine's Day erotic-romances as well!

Gifts Well-Timed

Trish Steelman always gives generously of her time and energy to her students, but it takes a blizzard and a friendly ghost to help her to receive the gift of love from Patrick Rodgers, a fellow teacher she has been mentoring.

“Pete the Poltergeist” brings these two sensitive and caring souls together in the empty halls of Harding High. Before long, Trish and Patrick realize that sharing “body warmth” with a friend in the midst of a power outage can ignite a fiery passion that has been too long contained…

Click here to purchase this book at the best price!
(R rated, contemporary erotic-romance)

Coming February 2020 from eXtasy Books: Aphrodite 1, a SF erotic-romance that celebrates Valentine's Day.

Come along with Giselle and the crew of space station Aphrodite 1 as they find romance, love and danger—as well as a mystery—in the upper atmosphere of Venus.

Here's to a happy holiday season to you and yours! And remember, there's always time for a good book. ;-)

Doctor Who Middle-Age Madness

At last the BBC announced the next actor to portray the Doctor on science fiction television's longest running series, Doctor Who. It's Peter Capaldi. Yeah!

 I'm thrilled because I think Peter will be excellent in the role. He starred in the David Tennant/Catherine Tate 2008 episode "The Fires of Pompeii". He also played quite a spine-chilling baddie in the spin-off series Torchwood in its "Children of Earth" episodes. I've loved him from the first time I saw him on screen in the wonderfully warm and witty movie comedy Local Hero. What's not to love about an actor who can play heroic, comical and pure evil characters with equal ease?

 

I think the persona of the Doctor needs a good balance of heroic and not-so-heroic traits. After all, he is an alien--he's not human (according to canon). What we puny humans may see as "evil" may not seem that way to him and vice versa. It makes for a very dynamic character, one that is at times unpredictable and at others dependable. It makes for a character that has been extremely popular for a half century now and shows no signs of diminishing in popularity.  

This brings me to the reason behind my blog post title. I really enjoy the idea of watching another "middle-age" Doctor (who, of course, is much older than he looks).  While the current producers may have thought that young people would only watch the show in record numbers with "one of their own" in twenty-something Matt Smith playing the title role, I do believe they've come to realize that it's not the age of the actor that matters but his energy level. I think Peter will have the right energy level in addition to the handsome, distinguished looks that women in  my particular age group will relate to well.

As the old saying goes, "Snow on the roof doesn't mean there isn't a fire in the hearth." ;-)

What does this mean for my ongoing Doctor Who-inspired series Loving Who (and its sequel Leaving Who)? The next title in the series that I'm working on is Losing Who. In a way Peter Capaldi becoming the new Doctor works into the plot outline quite well. Things change. My character Cici Connors experienced an abrupt change in the last installment, so a new face to confront and get to know is just par for the course at this point in her life journey. 

And who knows... Cici might find a good-looking man of a certain age worth getting to know better. ;-)

I'm looking forward to the fiftieth anniversary special coming in November and the Christmas special when Peter's Doctor will make his debut. How about you? Are you excited? Has Doctor Who "middle-age madness" taken hold of you? Or are you still crying about Matt Smith (or David Tennant or Christopher Eccleston or...) leaving the show? What sort of storylines or characters do you envision in the new season episodes? Are there any mortal enemies of the Doctor you'd rather not see?

Let me know your feelings in the comments below. You never know-I might just use one of your ideas in the plot of Losing Who!

NaNoWriMo On the Road!

November is the month for NaNoWriMo--that's the "write a novel in a month challenge" for those not familiar with the program. I successfully wrote a novel (or a series of novelettes) a few years back in my first NaNoWriMo, and I'm hoping that I'll be able to at least start and finish a proposed novella I've had in mind for a few weeks now this coming November.

The added challenge to my "novel challenge" is that we'll be on the road for the next few months quite a bit. 

Yet I still think it's a doable feat. Why? Well, for one thing I won't be able to access the Internet quite as often as I can now. I'm one of those dinosaurs who don't access the Internet via my mobile phone. (My cell phone is not "smart".  It only lets me talk and listen on it. I prefer it that way.) So while we're traveling, I'll be without Internet distractions. I hope this means I'll be able to concentrate on developing my story and finishing it before the end of November. 

I have two story ideas actually, but my best bet this NaNoWriMo is the next story in the continuing tale of the young vampire Edwin Carstairs, first introduced in my Celine Chatillon novella, Blood Bond. I had a dream that Edwin survives and thrives as a vampire and 35 years later, at the onset of World War II, he is recruited to find a rogue vampire in league with a Nazi scientist... none other than his former lover, Ophelia Jones. The tentative title is Blood in Berlin.

If that story idea doesn't get the creative juice flowing, then I have a romantic-comedy idea about two lonely people who watch each other from afar and dream what life would be like if they were together. But will they ever get together in reality? That's the rub! 

Hey, why don't I let the readers decide? You tell me which one of these story ideas strike you as one you'd like to read in the comments below. Thanks and Happy NaNoWriMo to us all! :)

 

50 More Shades of Great(ness)

Since I have two scheduled book releases within the next two months, I thought I'd share a little secret with my readers. I could really use your help. I could really use your expertise with social media and the web. I need to sell books (not have them pirated) and I need to sell them today. 

Why? Because the rent  has to be paid in cash. I can't talk my landlord into taking a book manuscript in lieu of rent payment for some reason. He likes money--don't ask me why! So does the grocery store, the gas station, and the utilities. (I gave up buying non-essentials like medicine, make-up and clothing a long while back.) If the world ever went back to bartering, it might be feasible to get some creditors off your back with trading writing services, but at this time, they just look at you funny and start thinking about things like eviction notices.

As a reader, you can help me (and many other struggling authors out there--I know I'm not alone) by buying and reading our books. After you've read one of our books, you can post a short and honest book review on Amazon, Goodreads, our publisher's web site, or even your own blog. You can tweet a buy link to your contacts and pin the cover art on your Pinterest boards. Let us know that you've done so, and we'll gladly quote you on our blogs, book jackets, web sites, Google Plus, etc., and tweet and pin in return. By sharing your thoughts with other potential readers across the web, you are giving our work some much needed publicity that we can't otherwise afford.

Most of the book review places these days are asking for money upfront (there's that cash fixation again!) to review books. Okay, if I can't afford to replace my sandals (after I accidentally ripped a strap off my ten-year-old pair), then I'm not able to pay hundreds of dollars to a book reviewer to read my book. I can't afford to pay for advertising online, either, since few sites give those away for free. So when readers freely share their book reviews and use their blogs, Twitter and Pinterest accounts to help advertise our books, they are truly helping out the little guys and gals. We appreciate it, too.

There's lots of talk about helping  "little people" survive these days, but there's little being done to actually do it or so it seems. If you want to make a difference in the life of a struggling writer, please buy--and encourage your friends to buy--his/her books and tell others how much you enjoyed them. 

We as authors don't expect that all of us will become the next J.K. Rowling or have a mega-bestseller like Fifty Shades of Grey (and why would we want to be copycats anyway?), but if we're given a fair chance, perhaps more of us will be able to support our families.

To put it simply, when writers can eat, they can live long enough to spin more tales of fun and fantasy for your enjoyment. It's a win-win situation.

My latest release, Blood Bond, a vampire erotic-romance from eXtasy Books: http://www.extasybooks.com/blood-bond
 (You can read an excerpt from it at my Celine's Dreams blog.)

Feel free to share the buy link and reviews of it wherever you're inspired to do so. Also, you can share ideas of how and where to promote our books in the comment section below. Thank you.

Quick Review of "Angel of Europa"

Angel of Europa by Allen Steele
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A murder mystery in space--it's not a bad idea, but it's not exactly original. Still, I enjoyed the reading about how future explorers might get beneath the ice surface of Europa and discover the life forms unique to that world. A good novella for a slow summer's day.

View all my reviews

An excerpt from Unalone

To celebrate Archon 35 this weekend, here's an extended excerpt from my latest science fiction tale, Unalone.

Unalone

by Cynthianna

Available from Devine Destinies Books

http://www.devinedestinies.com/unalone-4

An excerpt from Unalone:

            The dream wouldn’t go away. Calinda kept shaking her head and rubbing her eyes, but still the vision persisted. Oh, what the hell! If I’m dead and this is my version of the hereafter I’d better just relax and get used to it. . .

                Seeing her long dead mother wasn’t the most upsetting thing about her hallucination. It was the fact that her mother was taking care of her, nursing her back to health in what appeared to be the remnants of her ship. Where had Mom learned to bandage and set broken limbs? Her mother had been a radio-astronomer, not a medic, and Calinda remembered her saying once how she couldn’t stand the sight of blood. Maybe in the years since her death she had taken on a new career in medicine?

                Calinda blinked and rubbed her eyes again. This way lay madness! Her mother was dead, and, furthermore, if she wasn’t deceased how the hell did she get onto this deserted planetoid in the middle of God knows where? That—and a few dozen other pressing questions—needed immediate explanation.

                Awkwardly lifting herself up from the makeshift bed, she collapsed with a cry of pain, tears flowing freely down her bandaged face.

                “Don’t try to move, Cali,” the mother-image commanded. “Your neck isn’t broken but it’s severely bruised and there could be some other injury to your spinal cord I haven’t yet been able to determine.”

                “Mom?” Calinda heard herself feebly utter. “Is it really you?”

                “Of course, dear. Who else could I be?”

                With that the mother-image turned back to what she had been doing, assembling a portable shelter dome and air lock. Her mother a mechanic, too? The thought intrigued her. Her father had always been more of the handy-man.

                Calinda blinked. Her eyes were playing tricks on her again. Where once stood her mother, now stood the image of her father. Turning forcefully from his assembly work, he barked in his all too familiar fashion:

                “Lie down, girl! I told you there could be more extensive injuries. I have to get this dome together before I can attempt any more. . . any more healing.”

                “Father?” she pleaded, “What are you dong here? You and Mom were killed in an explosion at Spacestation 12. I had your remains cremated and scattered over Alta-9 as your will requested.  I—”

                “Be still! Or will I have to put you over my knee like I did when you were little?”

                Calinda immediately obeyed. This has to be my father. No one else besides me and Mom knew how he believed in that ancient method of punishment.

                Eyes closed, but acutely aware of the image’s every movement, she summoned the energy and courage to speak once again.

                “You still haven’t answered by questions, Father, if I may call you that?”

                “You may,” it replied without taking its attention from the task at hand. “Hmm—I’m not too certain where this little bit goes.”

                So it wasn’t infallible whatever it was. “Bring it over here.  I may be able to help. I once had to use one of those things when our all-terrain transport broke down on Daros-2.”

                The father-image laid aside the troublesome piece and approached slowly. Calinda’s fear became engulfed by a luminous mist.

                I had not seen that memory before—the trip to Daros-2. I see how the parts fit together now.

                What is happening to me? Calinda cried, the thoughts echoing in her mind. I don’t see anything but the mist, but I hear a voice speaking to me? It isn’t my father or my mother….

                Do not worry, Calinda. I will not harm you. The voice is mine—or what your mind interprets to be a voice since I have no vocal apparatus. I could only grasp a minute amount of knowledge for the preservation of your species on my world while you lay unconscious, but now that you are awake perhaps I will be able to discover more.

                Who—or what—are you?

                I am the mist, Calinda. It is beyond my current capability to explain further. Rest assured that when I have fully grasped the complexities and nuances of your communication process I will reveal all that I am to you. It would be better that you sleep now. Your body is healing and will be for some time.

                She forced herself to stay alert, but the fatigue quickly overwhelmed her. How can I sleep? I’m alone on a strange planet, dying for all I know, and this strange disembodied voice is telling me to relax! I have to know more! I need more information. . .

                Know this then: You are not alone. I am here. I am your friend.

 Unalone  available in e-formats at Devine Destinies:

http://www.devinedestinies.com/unalone-4

Space cargo pilot Calinda crash lands on a desolate world during an intra-galactic conflict. Bitter and injured, she doesn’t expect to live long enough to be rescued. Then she encounters a strange non-corporeal being who can mimic anyone she imagines—who reads her secret thoughts and loves her as she is. But can loner Calinda truly come to accept what it means to become “unalone”?