eTreasures Twelve Days Blog #4: Kittens and the Christmas Tree

Author Joy Brooks shares a 'meowy' Christmas with this sweet event.

I live with eight cats. My two kittens are quite adventerous. My Christmas tree is situatated between double windows in my living room. I walked into the room one morning and found, to my suprise, the kittens clinging to the center of the tree. They turned to me with a calm stare, but didn't drop from the tree. Misty and Tia clung to the tree for some time. They had a lot of fun moving from branch to branch. At times all I could see was their white underbellies. I couldn't fathom how they didn't turn it over. When they finally got down, they started to systimatically knock off all the ornaments. I got a box and I'm putting all the dislodged ornaments in it. I want to see how many I have left on the tree by Chistmas.

Have you ever had cats in your Christmas tree?

Joy has two fantasy novels, Fourth Son and Sword of Virtue, as well as a sweet novella, Coming Home, published with eTreasures.
She has a Christmas Novella being released this week: 

A Christmas Wish? Katie Holston, raised in foster homes, wants nothing more than a family to call her own. She meets the man of her dreams in Ian Stokely. Being his five year old son’s teacher, she is in a position to make her dreams come true. Kyle Stokely confides in Katie his greatest wish for Christmas. He wants his widowed father to be happy again. Ian Stokely has a different view than Katie Holston and his son, Kyle. He wishes to be left alone. Can Katie and Kyle convince Ian to live life fully again?

Comment on this post for an entry to win an eBook copy of Joy's two novellas: Coming Home and A Christmas Wish?

[Treasure Chest #4] 
[Cats Under a Fish Christmas Tree – Box of Six Cards by FloatingPalace (Etsy)] 

Winner will be picked from all comments.

Individual giveaway ends December 20, 2011 at 10 pm.
See the "Twelve Days Blog Tour" post for two other chances to win. 

eTreasures Twelve Days Blog #3 Tis The Season For...

Tis the Season to Be …

Jolly?

When I was a child, Christmas was this wonderful holiday when this mysterious man entered our home through the chimney and left a room full of toys behind. We were taught to expect everything we wanted on this day, and we were never disappointed. Needless to say, on this day we became the picture of ‘three spoiled children.’ We were pretty good the rest of the year, but watch out Santa.

And then the disappointments started.

First, we figured out there was no such thing as this magical man. The presents kept coming, so no big deal.
Then, our family slipped below middle class, and Christmas presents were few. I remember, two children, one was me, crying their little eyes out. My brother was old enough to understand what was going on. What had we done? Were we bad?

The final blow was the year without my father, Santa, or presents. From that day on, Christmas became just another day. There was nothing on that day, or any other holiday for that matter.

My point here is Christmas is not about this jolly old man wearing a red outfit, although he is a fun man to introduce your children to. And, it’s not about having a room full of gifts, although that’s fun too.
To me, Christmas is more about appreciating those in your life and letting them know how much they mean to you. It’s about celebrating life and making the most of what we have. It’s about coming together, family, friends, and even strangers to celebrate the creation of human kind and giving forgiveness to others.

[Treasure Chest #3]

So, I say Tis the Season to be Appreciative, Loving, Giving, Forgiving, and Thankful.
How do you feel about Christmas? What sort of events will you be attending? Who will you help this year?

Cher Green

Cher has two novellas with eTreasures: Seduced by Darkness (available alone and in the Brides and Dark Secrets Anthology) and Escape to Love.

GIVEAWAY
Today's giveaway is an eBook copy of  the Sweetheart's in Bloom Anthology which includes Cher's novella Escape to Love.
Open Worldwide.
Individual Giveaway Ends December 19 at 10pm Central.
Check the Twelve Days of Christmas Blog Tour post for other chances to win a holiday package.

eTreasures Twelve Days Blog #2: Should We Be Scared at Christmas??

Who doesn’t like to be scared at Christmas, and I don’t just mean by your neighbor’s crazy, seizure-inducing light display? I can hear you saying that this is a ridiculous question, but is it? Seriously, stop saying it’s silly and go with me for a few minutes.

Think about the myth of Santa Claus. Santa is a large, robust man who dresses in bright red and has never owned a razor in his life. He lives inside the Arctic Circle . . . by choice. Who lives with him? A few hundred elves that spend 364 days a year producing merchandise for the fat man to give away. “Ok,” you’re saying now, “this is strange, but not scary.”

What does Santa do with all his high-end electronics, toys and socks the elves make? He delivers them to every person in the world, all in about 12 hours, or the time it takes to watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy. “Fine,” you’re mumbling now, “that part of the story is a little hard to believe but it’s still not scary.”

[image by Olaf] 

Santa doesn’t give presents to bad people, does he? But how does he know whose been bad or good?

He watches you.

“He knows when you’ve been sleeping, he knows when you’re awake, he knows when you’ve been bad or good . . .”

[Treasure chest #2] 

[image Courtesy of chowmeyow/Flickr]

A man who has been alive for 17 centuries, who lives away from civilization, who works only at night and has the best surveillance equipment money can buy. And who do we tell this legend to? Our children. We tell it to them over and over until they believe with the faith only a child possesses, and the piece de resistance? A few years later we tell them we made the whole thing up.

Who doesn’t like to be scared at Christmas? You can fulfill your desire for goose bumps and creatures of the night by reading my collection of short horror stories:

The Spaces Between Your Screams.

Author Christopher Hivner

eTreasures is offering a print copy of The Spaces Between Your Screams to a commenter on this post.
Print copy to US and Canada only; eBook copy for international comment winner.
Giveaway ends December 17, 2011 at 10pm.

eTreasures Twelve Days Blog #1: My Favorite Thing About Christmas

I'm not a big holiday fan. I succumb to the stress and overspending just like everyone else, which leaves me feeling guilty and unfulfilled. At one point, I wanted to give up celebrating Christmas all together. I was a Grinch in every sense of the word.

Then, I became a parent. When my sons were little, I still attempted to avoid the holidays, but as they got older and more fascinated with Christmas, I changed my outlook. Watching holidays through the eyes of children rekindles the joy of the season. They remind me about the good things, the fun things, that the season brings. For my kids, it's not only about the presents, even though that is a HUGE part, it's also about helping others and celebrating the season for what it really entails.

I still spend way too much money and get stressed out, but I also take the time to sit back and watch my kids. I'm excited to see their reaction on Christmas Eve when they open their presents, then on Christmas Day after Santa shows up. They truly surprise me with their wonder and fascination, and make the whole season worthwhile!

[Treasure chest #1]

What kinds of things make you happy during the holidays? How do you relieve stress?

To give you a break from holiday stress here is a chance to win an eBook copy of the Bride and Dark Secrets Anthology which includes The Weeping Bride by Pembroke.

Pembroke has two other titles at eTreasures:  Coming From Nowhere and Life After the Undead.

To Enter: post a reply comment to answer Pembroke's question and include your email.

Winner will be picked from all comments.

Individual giveaway ends December 17, 2011 at 10 pm.
See the "Twelve Days Blog Tour" post for two other chances to win.

The 12 Days of Christmas Blog Tour

Welcome to the first day of the 12 days of Christmas here at eTreasures Publishing. To celebrate this great time of year we're hosting 12 of our amazing authors on a whirlwind tour which will culminate with the awarding of some amazing ebooks!  THREE WAYS TO WIN!

#1 Individual post Giveaways:
An author's ebook (and maybe a print book for some) will be offered with each day's post. All comments are considered an entry and everyone who subscribes to our newsletter will get a bonus entry tell us if you are an old or new subscriber.  The post giveaways will be open three days each.

#2 ALSO: At the end of the Twelve day tour one lucky winner from all comments will get a collection of goodies from our authors.

#3  Each of our authors will post for the next twelve days leaving small treasures you can 'collect'.  At the end you will have until 12/26 midnight to submit a Treasure entry to us via email to: etpauthorscontact (at) gmail.com. You must send a list of the 12 authors and the treasure with their post to be entered for an eTreasures Christmas Grand Prize Package. The package includes an eBook download of Joy Brook's brand new novella release Christmas Wish; a $12.00 coupon for any items (ebooks or print) at eTreasures;  and a $12.00 gift card of winner's choice (provided gc available, i.e Amazon, Starbucks, Walmart, etc.).  There will be a winner for every twelve entries up to four total winners.

Winners for #1 will be announced at the end of the individual giveaways.  The winners for #2 and #3 will be announced on December 27, 2012.

Just a sampling of our authors will include Pembroke Sinclair, Joy Brooks, Christopher Hivner, and many more. Happy Holidays as we curl up with some fantastic reads!

New Release: Sweethearts In Bloom Anthology by Joy Brooks, Miranda Heart, Georgina Sellwood

Product Description

SWEETHEARTS IN BLOOM ANTHOLOGY

COMING HOME

By Joy Brooks

While Europe faces the ensuing Battle of Waterloo, Gabrielle Anderson travels to her brother's best friend's estate. Lord Marshall Hampton opens his home to her but Gabriel also wants his love. Gabrielle is determined to show him how she feels, but her time is shortened when Marshall is summoned to the war front. Will Gabrielle win the heart of the only man she has ever loved?
Genre: Sweet Historical Romance
Pages: 78, Novella

HER DREAMS COME TRUE

by Miranda Heart

Shunning all that is holy, Annabelle’s soul now hangs in the balance. A gift from a witch seals her fate and thrusts her into the waiting arms of an incubus. The incubus, not being quite as evil as his Master gives Annabelle a way out. She now has one night to save her family and her soul.


Rediscovering love and finding his soul is the last thing Roshan has on his mind. Out of curiosity he’s worn the gifted necklace for months with no sign of his intended bride. So it was nothing for him to offer shelter during a terrible storm to a beautiful maiden. How surprising that the poor orphaned girl would turn out to be the one that would bring light into his soul. He has only one night to find the love he thought he’d lost all those years ago.

Genre: Historical, paranormal
Pages: 66, Novella

PRAIRIE LILY

by Georgina Sellwood

Left alone in Boston when her father passes, Lily Cameron joins seven young women who have promised to become mail order brides. When Lily arrives in Pine Creek on the western prairies, she meets the young pastor Marcus Attwood. He has no intentions of becoming one of the grooms, and she is reluctant to be married. Marcus can’t get Lily out of his thoughts and decides to pursue her. Just when he thinks he stands a chance, it seems a rich farmer has caught her interest.

Genre: Sweet Historical Romance
Pages 42, Novella

 

Celebrate the Season with eTreasures Authors, Giveaways and Price Discount!

Happy Holidays!
eTreasures' authors are stopping by the blog the next two weeks to share about the Christmas holidays - their favorite thing or a favorite memory or a favorite recipe.  While they're sharing a bit of themselves they will also be sharing books as giveaways! Check in each day to learn about our authors and share in the season.

We are also saying THANK YOU to our eTreasures' friends with a 12% off discount for twelve days of Christmas shopping!
The discount is active from December 13 through December 24, 2011.
Place your order and enter the discount code: D36Y55H7F to receive the discount on the product purchases.
[Does not apply to shipping or sales tax.]

Thank you for your  patronage and have a very Blessed Christmas!