Because of the holiday and all this week, I decided to extend the contest for another week. You have until December 1st to enter. Look in the entry below for information on the contest. And I plan on selecting a few winners depending on the responses – so you all have a chance to win.
Read the following excerpt and then tell me what you would have done and felt in the heroine’s place. The best response will win some of my heroine’s favorite candy. You have b/w today and Saturday the 25th to win the prize. Read the blurb in the entry below to understand the premise behind the story. To make a comment you need to register which only includes giving a screen name and email address. That way I can contact the winner.
Join me on my author day at my publisher’s Yahoo Group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bgpreadersloop/?yguid=275267182) on December 5th from 1-3 EST to discuss the release of The Spirit of Christmas. I will also be hosting the loop the entire week of December 11th. So, come out and join me for fun, excerpts, contests, and prizes (including lots of chocolate!).
Excerpt:
Upon entering the newsroom floor, Kathryn felt a childlike eagerness to open her desk drawer and be surprised by yet another gift and touching note. The thought of this Secret Santa made her heart rate increase. She found herself thinking about him at all hours of the day and night. Since starting at Redburn, she’d had dates, but nothing of lasting value. She wondered if the man sending her these notes could be as wonderful as she was staring to think he was.
Once at her desk, she couldn’t take the anticipation any longer. Throwing her things on the floor near her desk, she opened the drawer without delay. There it was – her gift from the mysterious stranger. It was wrapped in shiny silver paper accompanied by a gold ribbon with the signature curls. Pulling back the wrapping, she found four chocolate kisses. Extracting one of the chocolates free of its silver container, she threw it into her mouth. Then she picked up her note. Today she had actually been looking forward to the note more than the gift.
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me…four chocolate kisses.
Sweets for my sweet. Enjoy the chocolate version in lieu of the real one that I
hope I can bestow upon you one day.
Your Secret Santa
Kathryn kept reading the note over and over again especially the ending, “Enjoy the chocolate version in lieu of the real one that I hope I can give to you one day.” He wants to give me a kiss, a real one? This Secret Santa was becoming more and more mysterious, and it was killing Kathryn that she had no idea who he was. What kind of a reporter will I ever make if I can’t even figure out something like this?
She looked down at the note again, trying to see if there was some clue as to the sender. It had obviously been printed out from a laser printer which is what they used here on the fourth floor; but so did many other business offices. There had to be another clue.
She inspected the paper further and located the watermark. Walking over to the printer, a few feet away from her cubicle, she pulled out a couple sheets of paper. The watermark matched. Okay, now we’re getting somewhere. It is possible that it is someone from this building. But who? This person can’t be a ghost. Someone has to have seen him over by my desk. And I’m going to figure it out if it’s the last thing I do!
****
As soon as Nick Pringle stepped foot in the lobby of the Redburn building, he was curious to see what Kathryn thought about his latest note. He figured the idea of kissing this stranger would either creep her out or prove how much she was falling for him.
When he reached his desk, he could sense no movement on Kathryn’s side of the wall. He wanted to see her reaction. He was sure she would tell him. Standing, he looked over and saw that her cube was empty. But his eye caught the silver wrapping that he had used on his most recent gift. There were still three kisses sitting on her desk top. She had evidently opened the gift and eaten one of the pieces. Kat and her chocolate addiction. He laughed quietly to himself. Looking down the walkway in front of the opening to her cube, he saw her returning, holding his note.
“Nick, I got another gift this morning. Are you sure you haven’t seen anyone near my desk after I’ve left?”
“Nope,” he said. Noting his increased heart rate, he shifted his gaze away from her. “I, uh, haven’t seen anyone. What does your Romeo have to say today?”
“You do like to cheapen this.”
He gave her a closed mouth smile. “What did the note say?”
“He sent me four chocolate kisses,” she admitted.
He raised his eyebrows to encourage her.
“And he wanted me to accept them until he can give me a real kiss.”
“Ah, Kat, did I really need to hear that,” said Nick, covering his ears.
“You asked.”
“Doesn’t this guy creep you out yet?”
“No. In fact, I want to know who he is even more.”
Nick leaned his crossed arms on top of the wall and leaned his chin on them as he continued. “So, investigative reporter wannabe Kathryn Graham has yet to catch her man, eh?”
“I’ll unravel this mystery. You’ll see.”
“So, uh, do you think you might want to…to kiss him?” Nick raised his head up from where it had rested on his hands, looking at her expectantly.
“Maybe,” she tilted her head away.
All Nick could think about was how much he wanted to hold her and kiss her himself. The way her penetrating blue eyes sparkled as she looked at him with excitement was just killing him. He had to resist the urge to be near her or he just might jump over the dividing wall. Standing tall, he said, “I hope you do find this Secret Santa of yours, Kat.” He gave her another quick smile, stopping himself from saying anything more.
Friends…the best of friends.
Smart, yet stubborn, Kathryn wants more than anything to be a serious reporter, even to the detriment of her personal life. Her best friend, easygoing coworker Nick, realizes she has lost her Christmas spirit, and he is determined to help her find it again. And maybe in the process, she’ll find him too.
After the pair is assigned to work together on a story covering the toy drive for the downtown children’s home, Kathryn begins to receive anonymous gifts from a Secret Santa. But will any of this really make a difference in Kathryn? And what happens when she begins to fall for her Secret Santa, making Nick jealous?
Well, I finished another writing project so I guess you can’t call it my WIP. Moonlit Romance – the sister co. to my publisher, By Grace Publishing – is putting out some beach anthologies this summer. When I heard this I decided that I wanted to be a part of it. As I started to brainstorm, I immediately thought about California beaches – Corona del Mar or Newport. But then I had a flash of ingenuity. 
I decided to use the beach in my new home state as the setting. Living in North Carolina, I have been out to their Outer Banks area and it is beautiful and full of wonder. As I started to do research on the area, the setting really came alive. It helped me to flesh out my heroine who really became the living embodiment of her island home. I wasn’t really sure about this project when I started. But it came together wonderfully. What is really different about this story is that it focuses more on the hero than the heroine, but that’s the way it needed to be told. I read through it again last night and it reads really well. I hope it makes it in as one of the novellas in the summer anthologies (there will be three duets throughout the summer).
As my release date looms closer, I decided to put up another excerpt:
Kathryn walked into the office that morning ready for some coffee. She had failed to wake up on time this morning — even with her alarm; so, she’d had no time to make her usual pot. And now she was dragging.
Thoughts about her Christmas assignment kept waking her up all night. Her introspections were merciless. She couldn’t let it go. It was as if it was taunting her – you’ll never be any better than to write those puff pieces – never – you’ll never be a serious journalist. And when she finally fell asleep at two am, she was so tired that she’d slept right through the alarm. Therefore, as she neared her desk, the one thought on her mind was that she was so looking forward to a strong cup of coffee.
Falling into her desk chair, she opened her usually empty left hand bottom drawer. But before placing her purse inside as she always did, she stopped and pulled out a petite package. Her fingers trembled as she touched the shimmering red paper. With her fingertips, she slowly traced over the glossy, green ribbon which was curled up beautifully. Then her eyes darted over her cubical wall and around the newsroom. No one was looking her way.
Who sent this? Someone is playing me, I know it.
The package seemed perfect sitting on her desktop, but her curiosity – which was more than piqued – wouldn’t allow her to wait any longer. She pulled open the paper gently, trying not to bring attention to herself. Inside, she found a luscious piece of chocolate sitting in its paper cradle. She also found a note:
Dear Kathryn,
The Twelve Days of Christmas are supposed to begin on Christmas and continue
through the New Year, but how much more fun would it be for you to get a gift
everyday until Christmas! That is sure to get you into the holiday spirit.
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…one raspberry-filled
chocolate truffle. Enjoy.
Until tomorrow.
Your Secret Santa
Kathryn took another guarded look around the room. She stood to gain an unimpeded view over the cubical wall, placing her gift and its wrapping onto her desk as she peered. No one seemed to be watching her so she sat down and thought about popping the chocolate into her mouth.
“So, you do believe in Christmas,” said a voice out of nowhere.
Kathryn shot out of her seat once more with her package and contents spreading across the surface of her desk. Her heart pounded as she turned her body violently around to face the speaker.
“Nick Pringle…you scared the living life out of me,” she said as she quickly grabbed the present – wrapping and all – and threw it back into the drawer.
“So, what was that?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing? It looked like a present to me.”
“So, what if it was? I said I didn’t plan on buying any presents. That doesn’t mean that someone else might not want to give one to me.”
“Who was it from?” A curious smile appeared on his impeccable face.
“Does it really matter? It was just a trifle.”
“A trifle? It looked like a truffle to me.”
She glared at him. “Do you have a lead for the orphan story yet?”
“Not yet. I thought we should head down there today and check it out ourselves. You might even get that new angle.”
He handed her a paper cup from her favorite coffee shop. She could smell the creamy, chocolate-caramel flavor that she loved way more than was right and proper. Before taking her first sip, she breathed deeply of the delicious fragrance. Then she let the beverage slip down her throat and warm her body and soul. Giving Nick a look of thankfulness, she thought about saying something nice, “Well come on; I haven’t got all day.”
As Kathryn walked with Nick to the elevator, her mind took off again. Who had left the present? It had to be someone who knew she wasn’t interested in Christmas, but everyone in the office knew that. And they had to know she loved chocolate, but just about everyone did. She glanced at Nick and his nicely combed, light brown hair. She couldn’t remember a time when he’d had a hair out of place or a wrinkle in his suit.
Could it be Nick? He knows me better than anyone. He met her blue eyes with his hazel ones and then smiled. No, Nick wouldn’t. He couldn’t pull it off if he tried. He’s just too transparent.
Remember the release date for The Spirit of Christmas is December 15th at By Grace Publishing (http://www.bygracepublishing.com/). I have an author day scheduled on my publisher’s Yahoo Group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bgpreadersloop/?yguid=275267182) for December 5th from 1-3 EST, and I will be hosting the group the week of December 11th. So, come out and join me for fun, excerpts, contests, and prizes (inlcuding lots of chocolate!).
I received my edits for “The Spirit of Christmas” on Friday so I can finally start on getting my ms ready for publication. YAY! I can’t believe my book is coming out in only 6 more weeks! And the good news is that the edits look very minor – punctuation, remove and replace words. Time consumming but easy stuff. I’ll be putting up an edited excerpt soon. Stay tuned!