Tag Archives: Christmas Movies

Love, Christmas 2: JINGLE WITH MY PRINCESS by Mona Risk

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JINGLE WITH MY PRINCESS, Mona Risk’s contribution to Love, Christmas 2, a very recent USA Today bestseller anthology.

   “Have you lost your mind, Amy? Calling your former boyfriend to Rensy Island,” Prince Paul bellowed, his menacing scowl reflecting the gloom of the day.
   “Chill out, Paul.” Amy shrugged and picked up a yellow bear from the carpeted floor of the Yellow Lounge Room. “I don’t care that he’s a former boyfriend. I’m seeking Scott’s help for our son.”
   Paul followed her to stand next to the portable crib where their toddler lay, playing with his blue blanket. “I’m sure we can find a better doctor in England.”
   “Dr. Pratt is an expert in neurosurgery. People come to him from everywhere. He’s the best doctor to perform such a difficult surgery on Eric.” How could she make her husband understand that his outburst didn’t make sense? “For heaven’s sake, Paul, I dumped Scott for you five years ago. Now two malignant tumors threaten our baby’s brain. Would you sacrifice him because of your blind jealousy?”

My readers met the protagonists of JINGLE WITH MY PRiNCESS in the first book of Modern Princes Series, A Bride for Prince Paul. Dr. Scott Pratt is the hero of the p

 

resent story. Now he’s struglling with a strong conflict:

   Should he go?
   He’d never refused to treat a patient, never rejected a desperate mother’s plea.
   Would he be able to greet Amy without pulling her into his arms to ply her with kisses? Or more likely to shake her in anger?
   Would he be able to face her husband without punching him for stealing his girlfriend?

JINGLE WITH MY PRINCESS: The doc and the princess… He saves lives. Can she save his heart?

In the summer of 2016, my husband and I took a fifteen-day cruise around the British Isles. Our first stop was in St. Peter Port, the capital of Guernsey Island, the largest of the Channels islands, located west of Normandy, France.

The guide explained that the residents of Guernsey speak English and French, don’t pay taxes (or pay very low taxes) and enjoy free medical care for children under seven and seniors over seventy. The island originally belonged to the Duke of Normandy and then alternatively to England and France. Now it is part of the British Commonwealth. The ruler is a governor and the constitution states that in case of problems the island would revert to England.

I loved the setting. My muse immediately replaced the governor with a prince, just like the rulers of Monaco or Luxemburg, both in Europe, and my imagination changed their constitution–the heir to the throne must be married. Guernsey Island became Rensy Island, the setting of the Modern Princes Series.

In the Movie Jingle All The Way, Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a detached parent trying to win back his son’s heart by getting him the perfect toy…which is sold-out throughout the city. When the son finally receives the toy, he gives it to the son of his father’s rival. All what he wants for himself is what he’s just gotten back—his father.

The movie makes fun of the consumerism of the holiday season and shows how ridiculous and crazy people can be when they get too obsessed with getting stuff for Christmas. It demonstrates how important it is to actually keep love and generosity ahead of material things and nasty feelings… As Dr. Scott  Pratt, my hero, will do with the help of Princess Charlene—the sister of Scott’s former rival, Prince Paul.

Did you know we are running a giveaway? Are you interested in winning a gift card or a free book? Click here to find out more details on this month’s contest

A New Christmas Story Based on the Movie, “The Holiday”

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My husband, Walt, and I lived in Hawaii for five years while we were both teaching school. We lived on the island of Oahu, near Waikiki, but neither of us enjoyed water sports very much, so we did a lot of hiking along the mountain ridges there. We bought a topographical map so we could find the trails. Many of the trailheads were semi-hidden, and if we missed one, we just walked along until we came across the trail further up the mountain. Once on the top ridges, the trails were worn so deep into the soil that a foot-high lip formed on each side. The mountainside often dropped away straight down, and sometimes not quite as steep, which is the side we came up on. During the wet season, these trails got muddy and slippery.

Once we had a group of friends who wanted to hike with us, so we took them on a trail we hadn’t hiked before. When we didn’t find the trailhead, we went straight up the mountain, knowing the trail cut across it. Halfway up, Walt, who was in the lead, stopped and said something like, “We might find the trail before we get to the top.” The others were all complaining as they pulled themselves up the steep slope by hanging onto the vegetation. They figured we were lost and wanted to turn back. I remember their surprise, as each in turn put their hands on the trail, then pulled themselves up to where Walt was standing, loudly wondering how much further the trail was. The last one looked around and said, “Here’s the trail. What are you guys talking about?”

We took our Australian collie on the trails, and when we were leading groups and got separated, Walt would send her back to me, then I sent her to him. It gave him some estimation of how far his group was ahead of mine.

Sometimes we spent the night on a wide spot in a trail. We took newspapers with us. The newspapers went under us, our jackets over us, and the dog in between as a heater. One Thanksgiving, we spent the night above a naval air station, which we found out later was off limits.

Hawaii doesn’t have snakes, but they do have mongoose. On one hike we met a mongoose running along the trail towards us, its nose to the ground, sniffing as it ran. About ten feet away it spotted us, and instantly dropped off the trail on the almost vertical side, out of sight. It moved so silently, we couldn’t tell where it had gone, and could just hope it was ok. Earlier, we had come across a wild hog. When it saw us, it also jumped off the trail, but we could hear it, like a rolling boulder, crashing through the underbrush, sounding like it bounced all the way to the bottom.

The Hawaiian Islands are a great holiday destination, and I chose them for the scene of my new book, The Holiday (Christmas). It is based upon the movie, “The Holiday,” where two women swap houses. I put the houses in Seattle and Maui. I put a puppy in it, belonging to the man who also ended up at the Maui home, and based the pup’s description on a dog my grandson owns, named General Washington.

I really enjoyed writing The Holiday, a modern Trahern novella. It is part of the new Love, Christmas 2 collection, now on sale for 99¢. Thanks to our many eager readers, this set skyrocketed into the top 100 on the USA Today bestselling list.

Did you know we are running a giveaway? Are you interested in winning a gift card or a free book? Click here to find out more details on this month’s contest.

Something About a Holiday Affair

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by Stephanie Queen

Let me tell you a little something about Holiday Affair, the movie and my new novella available now in Love, Christmas 2.

Old Black & White Movies Bring the Holidays Home

My story is inspired by an old black and white holiday movie I’d seen for the first time last year. Holiday Affair, the movie, hasn’t left me since then. It’s set in New York City, as many of my all-time favorite Christmas movies are. It’s essentially about a young woman who chooses an inappropriate stranger who speaks to her heart over a practical old acquaintance who speaks to her head.

In my story, Melissa, who’d been financially successful and living her dream, finds herself suddenly penniless and homeless in New York City on Christmas eve. She’s proud and determined to do anything to claw her way back until a chance meeting with a heart-throbbing Uber driver (got to have the modern twist!), a completely inappropriate man, changes everything.

Of course I added to and subtracted from the original story. In my version, Melissa doesn’t have a young boy but she does have wealthy friends, although she’s too proud to ask them for help. She’s a little too materialistic and a lot of fun in a new adult woman in New York City way. The story is part of my Margo & George hot new adult romantic comedy series.

A Sequel Will Be Coming After the Holidays

But the most important thing I want you to know about this story is how incredible an experience it was to write. If every story I wrote was this exciting and enjoyable and easy to write, I would have written a hundred novels by now. There was something magical in the experience of writing this one for me and so I am dying to write the sequel about Melissa and her inappropriate Uber driver.

I hope the story is as magical an experience for readers when they read it in Love, Christmas 2.

Make sure you get your copy now while it’s only $.99!

Celebrate with us – it’s a party!! #Facebook #prizes #contests #mgtab @mimisgang1

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Only 1 more sleep!! ? 

I have no idea how Tuesday, October 16th can be almost upon us, but it is! In just one more sleep, LOVE, CHRISTMAS II will hit digital bookshelves everywhere, and you’ll have more reading pleasure ahead of you than you can even imagine, LOL. 
All 26 brand-new novellas are titled after favorite holiday movies. 
Stock up on yummy book-worthy beverages and snacks now!

If you haven’t pre-ordered your copy of 

Love, Christmas 2 
for just .99 cents, grab it today:

Release day is – Oct 16th!!  
AMAZON.COM ~ AMAZON.CA ~ AMAZON.CO.UK ~ AMAZON.AU
KOBO ~ iBOOKS ~  NOOK 

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Celebrate with us! ? 

Don’t forget to join in the celebrations at our launch party on Tuesday, October 16 and Wednesday, October 17! A couple of you contacted me, asking what a Facebook Party is, so in case it’s new to you too, let me explain. 

In a nutshell, it’s an online get together on a pre-arranged date and special page on Facebook. People who want to “attend” click the link beforehand to say they’re interested, then click to say they’re going. 

Then, during the party hours on the party day, you go to the link again and it’s “live.” People (in this case, me and the other Love, Christmas 2 authors, in assigned 20-minute slots) post in real time and you reply and respond to posts as you feel moved. The prizes, of which there are TONS, are usually won via random draws. You get your name entered based on easy to answer questions or small tasks. 🙂 Don’t be intimidated. These kinds of events are very fun and very easy! You’ll figure it out, super fast. Still in doubt? Just come! You won’t be sorry. 🙂 (And if you really hate it, LOL, you can duck out right away. :D) 

I’m starting the party off at 12:00 noon PST (3:0 p.m. EST) on Tuesday and really, really hope you’ll join in on the fun at the:  

Facebook Party Extravaganza! 

See you there! 

P.S. Can’t make the party during the “live” event hours? Come by any time Tuesday after 12:00 noon PST until Thursday 7:00 p.m. and scroll around, make comments, get entered in draws and have a blast.

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I propose a CHALLENGE – with $100 Amazon gift certificate / or a Paypal payment as the prize.

As you know, we are trying to reach the USAT list with our new 99 cent Authors’ Billboard collection “Love, Christmas 2” and we need help in one area.

Of course it’s sales – but not just any sales. We need to sell as many books as possible to readers who support: B&N ~ Kobo ~ iBooks 

Therefore to encourage you, our readers, who buy books at those venues, if you reply with a link showing a purchase from any one of these 3 places, we will enter your name into the Giveaway. You can enter as many times as you have purchase slips. The draw will be picked on Oct 23rd.

Just email your proof of purchase to: authorsbillboard@gmail.com  

Thanks for your support, everyone!!

(No restrictions or purchases necessary to enter.)

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