A new Bestseller

It's such a pleasure to announce that SWEET CHRISTMAS KISSES is on the USA Today bestsellers list. When I read the caption, the emotion made me speechless for a moment, then I kept mumbling, Oh my God, Oh my God. My husband saw my face pale and rush to my side. "Are you OK?" He thought I was having a heart attack. What a giddy feeling. But soon I shouted at the top of my lungs, "I'm a USA Today Bestselling Author," and I couldn't stop laughing and babbling. We had a drink to celebrate reaching this milestone and every author's goal or dream. When I attended my first RWA National Conference in 2004 and saw some 4,000 writers, bustling in the ballroom for lunch, my stomach constricted. If all these people competed to be published there was no way on Earth I would succeed. And yet here I am, ten years later, standing on the top of the mountain, screaming, "TaDa!"   http://mad.ly/signups/111038/join  If I made it, you can make it. Hard work, perseverance, a lot of support, a good network, and a "little bit of blooming luck". Fourteen authors are all over the moon. Amazon  Kobo i-tunes Google Nook     Here are links to buy the bestselling box:

 HER CHRISTMAS CRUISE, my contribution to this box, will take you on a wonderful cruise to Spain and Italy with Julia and Tony. The perfect fiancé is a cheater and the fabulous Christmas wedding is off. But the would-be honeymoon cruise may fulfill the dreams of Julia and her unexpected companion.

More good news are always welcome.

You can pre-order TEN CHRISTMAS BRIDES now or buy it on October 21, 2014 at: Kindle US Kindle UK Nook Kobo iBook

My contribution to this coming box is AN UNUSUAL CHRISTMAS. Running away from Christmas celebrations and the demons of her past, Dr. Jillian has dedicated her life to saving third-world children. In Belarus, a baby girl, four little boys, and a handsome doctor may teach her the true meaning of Christmas.

Now What? After Thanksgiving It's Time to...

Rest up! Are you kidding? Now it's time for decorating and party going and buying gifts and...

Wait! Is all that really necessary?

Sometimes we want to do everything to get in the holiday spirit, and some of it can be great fun. But sometimes, it's way too much and cutting back a little will make the time so much more memorable.

I was excited to write my first ever Christmas book, and now I'm just finishing up my 2nd: A Highland Wolf Christmas. But I've had deadline after deadline after deadline. Need to get edits back on another book, and have this one to turn in by Dec 15. Add the chaos of Christmas on top of that???

I keep telling myself now that I'm not writing full time AND writing full time, I will have more time to do things like---Christmas shop. Not happening. But that's okay because I LOVE to create stories, so it's like Christmas every day just being able to do that.

But even so, I do end up ordering a lot of stuff online, no hassle with shopping in the stores, though it isn't the same as seeing all the Christmas decorations in person, or smelling the cinnamon spices for Christmas, or hearing the Christmas jingles, or... well, okay, so sometimes I just like to drop into a store to immerse myself in the feel of Christmas. Like this! This was a store in Salado and it's so much fun to me to just see this in person and enjoy.

 

In Bjornolf and Anna's story, they're not into Christmas--and they are involved in much grander things--saving a family in a kidnapping situation in the Amazon jungle, and then serving as a "couple" enjoying the Christmas holidays while investigating a Christmas tree farm double homicide. But during that time, they learn about themselves, about their partners, and the importance of giving and sharing and finding love. It's a little different story though--as they are werewolves.

So for this special time of year, make sure to take a break and really enjoy the time, sharing the love and not doing so much that the holidays become a trial and you can't wait for them to be over with so you can rest. :) 

 

A SEAL Wolf Christmas

Can an Alpha Wolf Who’s Met His Match…
Navy SEAL Bjornolf Jorgenson has had tough missions before, but going undercover with feisty gray wolf Anna Johnson could top the list. She drives him crazy—in more ways than one. Now he has to investigate a murder, supervise a wild teenage wolf—and handle Christmas with Anna.

Survive the Holidays with Her?
 For Anna, the only thing worse than staging the perfect family Christmas is having to do it with Bjornolf posing as her husband. Anna is a serious undercover operative who isn’t afraid of a fight, even with a hunky SEAL shifter. With a killer on the loose, Anna just wants to focus on their mission, but the one thing she can’t fight is her sizzling chemistry with Bjornolf.

Buy links:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Indie Bound
Powell’s Books
Books-A-Million 

So now, are you ready for Christmas??? I just got home from Nebraska way late at night, so I'll have to start decorating tomorrow! :)

Terry
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality.”
www.terryspear.com

Christmas Here and There

 



 
Have you started your Christmas preparations?
Maybe some of you did. I am not ready for Thanksgiving yet, but I love this holiday season which allows me to visit with my children and grandchildren.

Christmas is not celebrated in the same way in different areas.

You may be used to snow and brightly decorated fir trees.

 But...

CHRISTMAS HERE AND THERE: Whether you dream of love and fun, or run away from sad memories, romance is everywhere at the beach, on a cruise, or in a godforsaken place. 

Buy yourself a box set of three Christmas stories, full of emotion and humor. For 99 cents you can't go wrong and will enjoy delightful stories.

Click here for more.

http://tinyurl.com/lhxkfha

In South Florida, tall and majestic, the palms trees sparkled with spirals of colorful bulbs around their trunks and twinkling garlands swayed between the palm fronds. In spite of the balmy breeze and warm temperature, the holiday season decorations brightened streets and buildings as described in CHRISTMAS BABIES.




Have you ever tried to take a cruise during the holiday season? You should see the incredible decorations of a cruise ship at Christmas time. In HER CHRISTMAS CRUISE, you will have ample time to celebrate a very special time.










What if Christmas isn't a joyful time for some people? The heroine on AN UNUSUAL CHRISTMAS travels to the end of the world to escape the celebrations and her sad memories. Yet she finds unexpected Christmas gifts and her own happy ever after.

CHRISTMAS HERE AND THERE is offered at a discounted price for a few days, 99cents!
If you like to travel and love to read, treat yourself and your friends to an inexpensive box set of  sweet Christmas romances.

Happy Holidays

As the holiday fast approaches, I am reminded of how far behind I am.  This year has been a year of major changes and the last thing on my mind has been Christmas.  Yet, some as soon as Thanksgiving goes by, we seem to be on the fast track for Christmas -- and boy does the time go fast.

Every year it is a major ordeal in finding a Christmas tree as I am allergic to every kind except a Scotch Pine, which are very hard to find.  I know you are probably thinking just get a fake one -- I just can't bring myself to do it.  But after the long trek to find the needed Scotch Pine and the decorating, I love just sitting in the living room with all the lights off, but the Christmas tree.  Soft music in the background also brings me back to some of my best memories involving Christmas, whether they were from childhood or even more recent years.

This year we are cutting way back on presents.  It's not easy to do when Christmas has always been my favorite time of year.  But as I age I am finding the best gift is just to have my kids come home.  What is your favorite Christmas gift?  Stuck on what to give family and friends?  The gift of books is always the best way to go.


As always Crashing Hearts and Mirrored Deception are available for the avid readers in your life.

So, happy shopping and have the happiest of holidays.

Happy Holiday Weekend!

Bunnies are hopping around in the backyard. Birds are singing in the trees and a Carolina wren couple built a nest on the balcony. It's spring!

I think I'll take a break from writing and spend a romantic weekend with my hubby, cycling on our tandem.

How do you plan to spend the holiday weekend?

Have a Happy Holiday!

April Fool's Day

Happy April Fool's Day From Wikipedia: April Fools' Day is celebrated in the Western world on the 1st of April of every year. Sometimes referred to as All Fools' Day, April 1 is not a legal holiday, but is widely recognized and celebrated as a day which tolerates practical jokes and general foolishness. The day is marked by the commission of good humoured or funny jokes, hoaxes, and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, family members, teachers, neighbors, work associates, etc. Traditionally, in some countries such as New Zealand, the UK, Australia, and South Africa, the jokes only last until noon, and someone who plays a trick after noon is called an "April Fool".[1] It is for this reason that newspapers in the U.K. that run a front page April fool only do so on the first (morning) edition.[2] Elsewhere, such as in France, Ireland, Italy, South Korea, Japan, Russia, The Netherlands, Germany, Brazil, Canada, and the U.S., the jokes last all day. The earliest recorded association between 1st April and foolishness can be found in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (1392). Many writers suggest that the restoration of the 1st of January as New Year's Day in the 16th century was responsible for the creation of the holiday, but this theory does not explain earlier references. What is the best (harmless) prank you pulled on another?

Happy Holidays!

Hi all. Just wanted to wish everyone a happy and hopefully not too crazy holiday season this year. I know my life is full what with shopping, decorating, and the like. I barely even managed to remember to blog!

I love the holidays which is why I've written so many stories that take place during them. There are Ghosts of Christmas Past, a story about a vampire looking for someone to keep him company on Christmas Eve, Perfect Hero, a fantasy story about a game figure who pulls himself out of a computer screen to be with the game tester he loves, and Reflecting The Future about the first Christmas on a Martian mining colony. Even my Janet Miller personality has a Christmas book: Christmas With Sarah.


I hope everyone has a happy rest of the year. Take care!

Cheers,
Janet Miller/Cricket Starr

I Want it.

This past week I received my birthday/Christmas gift, a wonderful and much loved iPad. Since receiving it I've wasted hours playing with it, adding apps to help write or anything else I plan to use it for. Actually I'm writing this blog on it. But with all these modern tools to help us keep in touch, make us more productive and improving our lives, I wonder whether we need it all or any. Ancient man used pigment and cave walls to tell his story. William Shakespeare wrote The Taming of the Shrew with a quill, ink and paper. But I wager if good ole Will was alive now he'd be sitting in Starbucks tapping away or wasting time on twitter or Facebook. But I'm sure Hamlet would have been rolling around his head.

The mind that's the most important tool. And I hope all of you and myself included start treating ourselves better. Shut up that inner critic with its negative jabber, believe in your talent, stretch the imagination and learn something new.

With the whirl of the holiday season upon us, I want all of you to gift yourselves with something of your chosing so you can come up with the next great story however you put it down. I'd love to read it. Happy holidays! May it be filled with love!