Guest Author Monday

Please welcome with me today’s guest author — Sherry James

ROMANCE for the HOLIDAYS

My thanks to Leanne for having me here today!

What is it about holiday romance? Whether it is holiday romance novels, or holiday movies, it doesn’t matter. I love ‘em both. They are a great way to experience the warm, cozy feeling of a warm fire, and the beauty of twinkling lights on falling snow while the man of my dreams is falling in love with me. Magic!

Oops! Wait, I meant while a dreamy man is falling in love with the heroine of the story!

And, okay, maybe that’s a bit sappy of me, but it’s true. I love the idea of two people meeting, discovering there is a powerful attraction they just can’t ignore, and falling in love against all odds. It’s great. Add the holiday element to the story and it creates an atmosphere of faith that no matter how difficult life can be, how much chaos and turmoil there is in the world, there is still hope that good prevails, that we can all be happy and experience a powerful and all-consuming love.

Since I enjoy reading holiday romances, I knew I wanted to set my first STUDS 4 HIRE novella during the holidays. The tough part about writing any holiday romance is you’re usually writing it months in advance of the holiday. And let me tell you, it wasn’t easy getting into the Christmas spirit when the leaves were green, and there wasn’t a snowflake or twinkling light in sight.

Now, I’m a believer in holding off partaking in anything Christmas—decorating, listening to Christmas music, and watching Christmas movies—until after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving deserves its day in the limelight, too.

But, while writing ELF TROUBLE I just had to break my rule and give into the needs of my fussing muse. I needed inspiration. Christmas inspiration. So, I pulled out the Christmas music and watched a holiday movie or two. No, I didn’t go so far as to hang lights in my office, or put up a tree. Although, I did get out the fresh balsam room spray from Bath & Body, and I lit the pine scented candles. But to keep my hubby from thinking I’d totally lost it, I didn’t play any Christmas music when he was around.

While the first two books in the series, WOMAN on TOP and WOMAN in CHARGE, focus on the smart, sassy women behind the business, the “Shorts” will give the guys who work for Sydnie, Casey, and Terri, a chance to have their own stories. The “Shorts” will also be set during different holidays.

Here’s a little teaser from ELF TROUBLE to help you get into the Christmas mood!

If You’re Looking 4 Trouble, You’ve Found It!

For Gil Boyd Christmas is one holiday he’d like to forget. Unfortunately, there is no escaping the holiday and its commercialized madness. He’s ready to hide out on some remote island, but his bosses at Studs 4 Hire have other ideas. Instead of helping him avoid the yearly chaos, they throw him into the middle of it by assigning him to build a Santa house for a local animal shelter’s annual Santa Paws fundraiser. Gil has no choice but to silence his inner Grinch and get the job done.

But Gil doesn’t count on quirky shelter volunteer, Holly Everwood, her unwavering holiday spirit and her band of cantankerous mutts, to tempt his resolve to remain unattached. Can Holly and the dogs show him the real magic of Christmas exists if only he’ll open his heart?

Remember, ELF TROUBLE will be available soon, so keep an eye out. In the meantime, if you haven’t met any of the Studs 4 Hire crew yet, I hope you’ll give the books a try. You can find them at Amazon and at Barnes & Noble. If you’d like to join my email newsletter list so you can be notified of ELF TROUBLE’S release date, check out my website http://www.sherryjames.com/meet_sherry.html

Do you like holiday romances? Share with me what it is you like about novels set during this festive time of year and I’ll give away a cute little elf with other holiday goodies to one lucky winner. Deadline to get your name into the elf hat is Wednesday, Nov. 20^th.

Have a great Holiday Season! I hope to see you around the web.

Sherry James
Website–www.sherryjames.com
Twitter–@SherryJames
Facebook– https://www.facebook.com/sherry.james.315
Goodreads–https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1036476.Sherry_James
Authors By Moonlight— http://www.authorsbymoonlight.com

 

Sherry James, a life-long lover of romance, writes contemporary cowboy, romantic comedy, and historical romances. She a member or Romance Writers of America, Western Writers of America, and is a founding member and past president of her local RWA chapter, the Prairieland Romance Writers. She’s also a founder of the group author blog Authors By Moonlight http://www.authorsbymoonlight.com. She has written and published more than 85 magazine and newspaper articles, and when she’s not writing she’s busy riding, putting up hay, wrangling two kids, two dogs, seven horses, and a small herd of barn cats on her and her husband‘s Nebraska farm. You can learn more about Sherry and her books at http://www.sherryjames.com

Thanks Sherry for joining us today. I love holiday love stories, whether romance books or a Hallmark or Lifetime movie. Which I’m getting plenty of right now. Good thing we have DVRs to help us record our programs!