Winter Kisses Available Dec. 21st!

Winter Kisses will be available tomorrow! This is Noble Romance's premiere sweet romance SweetHeart line and I'm thrilled to be a part of it! Don't miss this festive collection of five short stories by authors, Barbara Sheridan, Dena Celeste, G.R. Bretz, Kelly Heckart, and me!


Take a moment to view the book trailer and enjoy an excerpt from A Christmas for Carol below!

He shoved one hand into his coat, and pulled out a small white box. He held it out to her. “This is for you.”
Carol stared at the beautifully wrapped gift with surprise. “Grant . . . .”
“Just open it.” He flipped on the overhead light.

Her heart hammered as she yanked off the red ribbon, and lifted the box top to reveal an exquisite gold chain with a delicate charm. The little coffee cup sparkled with tiny diamonds. “It’s beautiful!” Carol gasped. “I can’t believe you got me a gift. Thank you. I love it!” On impulse she leaned over to give him a quick kiss, but Grant pulled her in closer. He tasted like cinnamon as he deepened the kiss, brushing his lips slowly across hers. Pulling off her hat, he laced his fingers through her hair, holding her in place as he teased and tasted every inch of her mouth.

Carol whimpered, overwhelmed by her need for him. Desire ignited and raged through her body as he caressed her tongue in deliciously deliberate strokes. She raised her hand to touch his beard, loving the way the short hairs tickled her fingers. Her craving for him was undeniable. She wanted to let go and give herself over to the feelings rushing through her as he massaged her scalp.

Maybe it was time to let go. Maybe it was time to let her heart feel something other than pain and guilt.

He pulled away, leaving her lips throbbing and tingling. Neither of them spoke for a few seconds, the hum of the heater the only sound in the truck.
Grant stared out the window at the snow falling more heavily on the windshield. “There’s something between us, Carol. Something I’ve never felt before with any woman and I know you feel it, too.”
Carol loosened her scarf, still frazzled from his kiss and her own chaotic emotions.
“I know we’ve only been on one date—“
“Three.” Carol corrected him, blushing when she saw the triumphant look on his face. “I know. I was just checking to see if you were counting our lunch dates. I feel like I already know so much about you and I still want to spend more time with you.”

Carol shook her head. “This is crazy. We hardly know each other.”
Grant looked at her. “That’s not true. I know you’re a morning person. I know you like cream and sugar in your coffee. I know you like to wear the color yellow. I know you don’t like to wear a lot of make-up. I know you obsess over tiny details at your job. I know you like to laugh. I know holiday music makes you crazy.”

Carol looked at him in shock until she couldn’t see him because of the tears in her eyes again. “Stop. Stop!”

Grant grabbed her hand. “I can’t, because I want to know more. I know you’ve been through something tragic and life changing. I understand that, but I have to know if I even have a chance with you.”


Happy Holidays!

~AN

Author Ed Williams Stops by Poetry, Prose and Print!

AN: The holidays are upon us! What do you look forward to the most?

EW: Watching the "Beavis and Butthead Christmas Special," sippin' eggnog, seein' my daughter and son-in-law, and burning out my eyeballs on college football bowl games.

AN: Fudge or fruit cake?

EW: Always fudge! I love it, plus most fruit cake at the most might be usable as foundation material for houses. Oh God, those big, gooey chunks of fruit slapped into that less than scrumptious bread, I'd rather french kiss a porcupine's heiny than eat it!

AN: Do you make New Year's resolutions?

EW: Yes - I resolve to ride mega roller coasters, visit Vegas, listen to Bachman-Turner Overdrive, and to enjoy lookin' at good lookin' women. For some strange reason my New Year's resolutions seem to stay pretty static year-to-year...

AN: When did you realize you wanted to become an author?

EW: I never wanted to be an author. Back in 1995 I’d written about 200 pages worth of PG to R-rated stories about my upbringing in Juliette. I just did so as a nostalgic exercise, I never would have thought about a book coming from it, I wouldn’t have had that much nerve to believe in such a thing. What happened was soon after I finished I noticed an ad in our local paper which stated a writer’s group was being formed at my local Barnes and Noble, in fact, its first meeting was just half an hour from when I initially read the article. Seeing that and the fact that they were asking for any aspiring writers who attended to bring some of their writing with them, I went to my computer and printed out a story about my dad and I discovering the local choir leader at our church parked on a dirt road behind our house one evening with one of the ladies in the choir. I guess you could say he was giving her extremely private choiral lessons, just one of these little scandalous-type things that all small towns experience at one point or the other. Anyway, I took this story to the meeting, and out of 70 or so people in attendance I was picked at random to read. I was nervous as all hell, but I began reading, and damned if the people there didn’t seem to like my story. I then went on to meet the director of this writer’s group afterwards, who asked to see my stories. About a year afterwards a small publisher in Dallas, Texas put out my very first book, Sex, Dead Dogs, and Me: The Juliette Journals.

AN: Today, Ed is here to talk about a hot new release entitled ChristmaSin’ written in the mainstream fiction/humor genre! What's this holiday tale about?

EW: It’s my attempt to write a realistic rural Southern Christmas novel. I took real events that happened during the Christmas season in Juliette when I was growing up, combined them with a liberal dose of BS, and ended up with this book. Be forewarned that this is realistic, a bit bawdy language and content-wise, but it does end with a decent Christmas message, if I do say so myself.

AN: What was the inspiration behind the story?

EW: Mostly the fact that the Southern Christmas stories that I was seeing in print were more like June and Ward Cleaver-type Christmases, and I wanted to write something that was more in line with what I thought the reality was.

AN: Is writing in the mainstream fiction/humor genre your favorite?

EW: Depends on what I’m writing at the moment. I never stay in one place very long at anything.

AN: You’ve written 3 books. Can you tell me if there is a personal favorite and why?

EW: That’s easy - my second book, Rough As A Cob: More From the Juliette Journals. It has a chapter in it detailing how me and my two best friends got to meet Bachman-Turner Overdrive, one of our favorite bands from our high school years. We went on this big road trip in order to meet them all at a concert, and couldn’t have had a better, or wilder time. That one story alone will always make that particular book stand out to me.

AN: Any advice you would like to share with aspiring authors?

EW: Write about what you want to write about, and don’t worry much about genres or what’s hot at the moment. Write what you feel something about, because it will translate to your pages well. Create your own genre!

AN: Tell me one thing your readers would be surprised to know about you!

EW: That I have a painting of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket logo on one of my molars, my dentist is a huge Tech fan (as am I) and had an artist friend paint it on there!

AN: Wow! That is a surprise! Ed, thank you so much for stopping by Poetry, Prose and Print and Happy Holidays!

ChristmaSin' is available now with Champagne Books! Get your copy just in time for the holidays here!

Find out more about Ed Williams here: www.ed-williams.com , www.ChristmasinTheBook.com

and elwiii.gather.com

Enjoy a sneak peek of ChristmaSin' below:

The walk back into the house is a lot longer on account of toting this heavy-ass wood, and by the time we both get inside, we are hassling pretty hard. Ed Jr. turns, looks at us, laughs, and then tells us that he is going to recite an old Christmas poem for us that he’d heard many years ago. We know that it is going to be good, when he tells us to sort of listen out for Mama, and that if she happens to come into the room, mum’s the word. Once we all understand the ground rules, my dad clears his throat and recites this tender rhyme for us:

“Santa’s outfit is red and white, it’s all that he has, but it fits just right, his boots are black, his balls are blue, being cold all night does that to you.

He has a doll for Cindy, a dog for Fred, and a New Orleans woman, sittin’ in his sled.

He laughs so jolly, never sad nor whiny, now he’s off in his sleigh, to hone some Louisiana heiny.”

Social Networking as a Non-Social Butterfly

I'll admit that I am not by nature a social butterfly. I've always been content observing than garnering attention. In fact the only time I truly feel comfortable center stage is with a mic in my hand seconds before I sing my first note.

As a newbie author and even before I got my first contract, I realized I was going to have to connect with other writers and potential readers. I wasn't sure how to do it or where to begin. So, I started with the basics. I joined Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and a host of other social networks.

I started joining groups of readers and authors interested in writing and romance novels. I began sending out friend requests to authors I admired and authors I didn't know. By connecting with authors already in the biz I discovered publishers, writing resources, promotional links, and writer/reader groups that I wouldn't have known existed.

What I've learned as a newbie author is that you have to put yourself out there. Connecting with like-minded published and unpublished authors inspired and motivated me to keep writing. I've 'met' many wonderful writers willing to offer advice while welcoming me into the strange, often isolated world of writing.

Social networking helped me get my very first contract and there's a good chance it could do the same for you. So, whether you are a social butterfly or a not . . . spread your wings and connect!