It’s December, a month full of traditions and celebrations for many people. This week on the blog hop, Dani Jace asks:

How do you decorate for the holidays? Do you have a theme? Show a picture of your favorite decoration and tell the history if it was handed down to you or something you made.

I tease my husband about his Christmas decorating every year, but in truth I do love what he does. He has a bit of an obsession with Christmas lights. Not quite to the standard of the Griswold’s, but we’re getting close. 😊 Not only does he string lights outside, but inside the house we have them framing the windows, under the hearth, inside the fireplace, on the mantle, draped over bookcases, and twisted in the poinsettia branches. In the dark December evenings of Northern BC, it is cozy and welcoming to see them everywhere.

I don’t decorate to a theme, One thing I do do every year, though, is buy one decoration for each of our children as a stocking stuffer. When our daughters moved out of the house, I kept one from each of them as my own memento, and gave the rest to them. My son is less enthusiastic about the tradition, but someday he’ll appreciate the idea, I hope! 

It’s one of my favourite types of hops today! This week, Leslie Hatchtel says:

Two days until Thanksgiving. Share your favorite Thanksgiving recipe.

If you joined me from Caro Kinkead, welcome!

In Canada, we celebrate Thanksgiving the second Monday of October, so we're gearing up for Christmas already, and good recipes for a crowd are always welcome. One of my new favourites is an easy-peasy side dish. You can make it in the oven, but I use the slow cooker, especially if I'm making a lot of it and need the oven for other things.


Cheesy Broccoli Casserole
(makes 8 servings, very easy to double!)
 
1 boxed stuffing mix

1 can mushroom soup
½ can Cheez Whiz
 
6 cups of broccoli (either frozen and thawed, or fresh and pre-cooked just until crisp)
 
Make stuffing as per directions.
Mix soup and Cheez Whiz.
Place broccoli in greased casserole or slow cooker. Pour mixture over top and stir well. Spread stuffing over top to make a crust.
Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes (or slow cooker on low for 3 hours) or until heated through.

So easy and yummy. No one minds eating their vegetables this way! :)

For another new recipe, head over to Leslie Hachtel, who instigated this hop today!

Ola! Bonjour! Kon'nichiwa! We’re going international on the Romance Writers Weekly Blog Hop this week! I set this topic:

Do you speak another language? If so, which one? If you don’t, is there a language you’d like to learn? How about your characters - do you write characters that speak different languages, and use that language in your stories?

If you joined me from Clair Brett, welcome!

I do not speak another language, which is partly why this fascinates me. In Canada, French is a required subject in school, so I have studied it, and at one point could stagger through a few sentences. A couple of years ago, we went to France for a holiday, and I used Duolingo to try and become more fluent. It wasn’t a success – my fault, not the program. I am too self-conscious to try and speak it.

I love to read books where characters speak another language, as long it isn’t used so much I get lost in the plot. A word or short phrase dropped in judiciously, though, can really amp up the flavour of a story.

In NO LIFE BUT THIS, my heroine, Abigail, goes to the Portuguese Islands of the Azores on an adventure holiday, and has an uncharacteristic fling with her tour guide, Santos. One of my favourite scenes is where Abigail meets Santos’ mother:

Congratulations to A. S. Fenichel! Today is release day for her newest book in the Everton Domestic Society series!

A Lady’s Past
The greatest risk—for the sweetest reward…

His fiancée’s betrayal nearly cost Jacques Laurent everything. Despite his resolve not to trust anyone again, he can’t abandon the young woman he finds alone on the road to London. In the brief hours they spend together, the enigmatic Diana touches his heart in a way he can’t explain.  Even after bringing her to the Everton Domestic Society for safe-keeping, he can’t get her out of his thoughts. And when he next encounters her, working as assistant to a renowned scientist, he becomes even more intrigued…
* * * *
The Society’s kindness is especially welcome after everything Diana endured in a French prison, but she fears for the safety of those who get close to her. French spies are on her trail, convinced that her scientific knowledge can help them win the war. As peril draws them irrevocably together, Diana and Jacques succumb to mutual desire. But love may be the most dangerous pursuit of all, when a lady guards her heart even more carefully than she guards her life . . .

Buy Links
Amazon   https://www.amazon.com/Ladys-Past-Everton-Domestic-Society-ebook/dp/B07R4K3Y1J
B&N  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-ladys-past-as-fenichel/1131407370?ean=9781516109975
Kobo   https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/a-lady-s-past
iBooks   https://books.apple.com/gb/book/a-ladys-past/id1461706183
Google Plus  https://play.google.com/store/books/details/A_S_Fenichel_A_Lady_s_Past?id=_n6WDwAAQBAJ

Today's an exciting day for me! It's the release of the last in the Bendixon Sisters Series, CROSSROADS CORNER! If you preordered it should already be on your ereader, but if you haven't, be sure to buy soon, as the price will be going up in a few days! More information is below this week's blog post. And speaking of which...

The saying goes “Never judge a book by its cover,” but be honest - you have, right? This week on the Romance Writers’ Weekly Blog Hop, we’ve been asked to share a couple of our favourite book covers - whether our own or someone else’s - and explain what it is that draws us to them.

If you joined me from Leslie Hachtel, welcome!

I have a couple of major preferences when it comes to book covers. I generally don’t like to see people’s faces, and if it is part of a series, I want all the covers to have strong commonalities. As a reader, while the cover of a book definitely has influenced my buying decision, what I’m mostly looking for (especially in a indie book) is professional design. If it looks good on the outside, I’m hopeful it is written well on the inside.
​
Some of Susanna Kearsley’s books are linked, although I wouldn’t call them part of a series. Her covers, though, are immediately recognizable as being from her world. I think they are wonderful, reflecting the magic and mystery that all her stories have.

Diana Gabaldon’s books have been released with numerous covers, but I love this look the best. It is simple yet striking, and let’s the story stand for itself.

Courtney Milan does write books in series, but no matter what series it is she has a distinctive style. For her historicals, a woman in a jewel-toned gown on each cover. I read once she designs her own, which is awesome, too!

 ​This week on Romance Writers Weekly, Elizabeth Schechter asks:

Playlists - what's in your Spotify? Lyrics or instrumental? What's your favorite writing jam?

If you joined me from Clair Brett, welcome! 

Here’s the thing. When I started writing seriously about ten years ago, I didn’t want to be unavailable to my family for more hours than I already was, given I had a day job and had to write on evenings and weekends. My "office" became the living room, which is slightly separated from the kitchen and family room (where the TV lives). From there I could still help with homework, keep track of the hockey game on TV, monitor what was cooking on the stove, and generally be accessible if someone needed me.

Adding music to the soundtrack already surrounding me would have been one distraction too many!

Things have changed over the years, of course, and it is becoming more and more common for me to be along( or at least the house to be quiet) while I am doing my writing.  I’ve grown so used to the background babble that I am finding the silence a little unnerving, and am not nearly as productive as I would like. In the new year, things are going to change again, as I am leaving my day job and plan to focus even more on my writing, which means a new routine is in order. I’ll definitely be exploring how music might help me keep up the word count and get the creative ideas flowing.

Now it’s time to move on to instigator of this topic, Elizabeth Schechter. I am sure she’ll have much more concrete suggestions for music to writing by. And you should check out Elizabeth's newest release, FORGED IN FIRE. It's book two in her "Heir to the Firstborn" series.  Find out more here!

Pre-order for only 99 cents, and it will be waiting for you when you wake up on Tuesday morning!

If flash fiction wasn’t challenging enough, this week Jenna Da Sie has tasked us with writing MICRO flash fiction!

Write 250 words with a genre of your choice. The location is a tunnel and the object is a flower.

Here's my contribution.  😊 


​
​I yawn and stretch, scratching my belly as I blink the sleep out of my eyes. The space around me is warm and cozy, but I’ve spent way too much time here lately. Spring is stirring in my blood, sparking energy in my nerve cells, burning the dullness of winter from my brain.

A faint glow catches my eye, and I move toward it. Peering around the corner, I see a round circle of brightness—the sun at the end of a tunnel. I am drawn irresistibly to the warmth, and my notice twitches with the scent of newborn flowers.
​
I poke my head out of my burrow cautiously, wary of hawks, coyotes and other vicious marauders. Green sprigs of grass form a waving hedge around the entrance to my home, and for a moment I just savour the end of the long dark. Then I scurry out for the first feast of the new gopher year.

Maybe it’s the onset of winter here in Northern BC that has me thinking of spring already. What do you think of my furry little story? I’d love to hear from you in the comments. Then be sure to hop over to Leslie Hachtel and see what she came up with for Jenna’s challenge.

Yesterday was Canadian Thanksgiving, and I am still wallowing in gluttonous enjoyment of family and food. But recipe hops are one of my favourite kinds, so this week I said to my fellow bloggers:
 
As the weather gets cooler in Northern British Columbia, I tend to make more stews and casseroles and soups. Share your favourite cold weather meal recipe!

If you joined me from AJ Andersen, welcome!

I love my slow cooker, especially in winter. But I do get tired of chicken and beef recipes after awhile. Also, if I’m using a slow cooker, I want the meal to come out of it complete, and I’m not a big fan of cooking pasta in the pot (I feel it has a funny texture). After all those disclaimers, here’s one of my favourite recipes.
 
Slow Cooker Sausage and Peppers
 
8 – 10 uncooked Italian sausages (can be any flavour)
 
1 onion, sliced
3 peppers (any colour), sliced
5 – 6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bag baby potatoes (or about 4 – 5 cups cut in large cubes)
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning
¼ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
¼ cup water
 
1 bay leaf
 
Brown sausage in frying pan. Set aside.
 
In large bowl mix next eleven ingredients. Spoon enough of this mixture into greased slow cooker to cover bottom. Add layer of sausage, more sauce, another layer of sausage, and the rest of the sauce, covering the sausages.
 
Add bay leaf. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours. Remove bay leaf before serving.
 
After yesterday, I didn’t think I’d ever be hungry again, but maybe this will be on the menu later this week!
 
Now, hop over to Jenna Da Sie to another new recipe to add to your collection.

Oooh – I like this week’s topic! I’m going to be sure to hop around and maybe discover games I’ve never heard of. Jenna Da Sie says:

I love game nights! Do you have a favourite game you like to play when you get together with friends or family?

We are a BIG game playing family. Over the years we’ve played all different kinds. For board games, we probably play Pictionary and Scrabble the most, but we’ve been known to play Monopoly, Sequence and Risk. Our usual game of choice is some sort of card game, though. We know all sorts of different Rummy games, and May I? and Ugly Sticks are old favourites. Recently we’ve been playing a game called Golf. I have no idea why that name. Maybe it’s because you are trying to get the lowest score and you play 9 rounds. The rules are quite simple.

Use a standard 52 card deck including jokers.
Deal 4 cards to each player (works best with no more than 6 player and one deck of cards). Place remaining cards face down and start the discard pile with one face up card.
Each player looks at ONLY TWO of their cards, then places all four cards face down. You can only look at the beginning of the round – no peeking later!
The goal is to get the lowest score. Each card is worth its face value (Jacks and Queens are worth 10) except as follows: Fives are worth minus five, Kings are worth zero, Jokers cancel out the card of the highest value, and pairs cancel each other out.
On your turn, you choose either the discard or the top of the facedown deck. If you choose the discard, you place it face up in front of you and discard one of your face down cards. If you choose the top of the deck, you can either discard it or replace one of your face down cards. But each turn you must turn leave a new card face up. Once a card is face up it is “locked” and cannot be discarded. Play continues until all players have revealed all their cards.
At the end of the round, points are tallied, and at the end of nine rounds the person with the lowest score wins.

The element of chance makes this game lots of fun, because you don't know if the two cards you didn't look at are good or bad, so sometimes make the wrong decision. 

What about you? What is your favourite game to play? I’d love to hear from you! Then, be sure to hop over to AJ Anderson (a new Romance Writers Weekly member!) to see what games she likes to play.