Title: Love, Lattes, and Holiday Tales: A Multi-Genre Anthology
Authors:
1. CJ Warrant & Rochelle Bradley
2. CJ Barlowe
3. Rochelle K Bradley
4. Sharon Hamilton NYT & USAT Bestselling
5. Phoebe Alexander USAT Bestselling
6. Monica DiSmone USAT Bestselling
7. Marie Hall USAT Bestselling
8. LC Taylor USAT Bestselling
9. Miranda Lynn USAT Bestselling
10. Faith Alexander
11. C.J. Baty
12. Sutton Bishop
13. Cynthia Carver
14. C. J. Corbin
15. Aliya DalRae
16. Hope Daniels
17. Anna Hague
18. Miski Harris
19. Sara Hurst
20. Juliette Hyland
21. Peggy Jaeger
22. Margaret Kay
23. Tessa McFionn
24. Sharon Michalove
25. Charli Rahe
26. AJ Renee
27. Tori Ross
28. Aurelia Yates (In memorium, no story, just the cover)
Genre: Multi-Genre Holiday Stories
Book Blurb:
Wednesday, Coffee, & Books presents:
Love, Lattes, & Holiday Tales a collection of brand-new, unique short stories for the festive season. Snuggle up with some sweet and spicy romance from multi-genre authors, including New York Times and USA Today Bestselling.
These amazing multi-genre holiday stories featuring Hounds & Grounds and a loving pet will leave you believing in love and a happily ever after.
All the proceeds go toward 4 Paws for Ability, a not-for-profit organization matching service dogs with Veterans.
Excerpt:
This excerpt is from my story in the anthology, Two Minutes for Holding.
Huge white flakes dust the windshield like decorating sugar as we emerge from the parking garage and head west on Stratford. The prospect of a white Christmas fills me with glee as I watch the Christmas lights go by.
But after the first mile, as the snow gets heavier and visibility is down to nothing, I suggest going back. No chance of that with Jason Magnusson, road warrior, at the wheel.
My breath catches as he slams on the brakes and the red Forester fishtails into the lot at the Aero Center. The attendant, arms flung out for balance and a death grip on the credit card machine, slips and slides out of the way of the wayward vehicle.
Bundled in my heaviest parka, I stare out the windshield at the ghostly holiday light display twinkling outside Aero Center while Jason hands over a credit card, face displaying his charming, disarming grin. The guy grins back, taking the card and running it through the portable terminal. “Just follow where the flashlights are signaling.”
We’re braving the first real snow of the season because my BFF, Jason, has a crush on Chicago Seabirds forward, Morse Ainslie. All I know about hockey could be inscribed on one of those rubber disks they hit. He’s been agitating for weeks to go to a game and splashed out on ridiculously expensive tickets. Now we’re sitting in the first tier of seats, just behind the team bench.
“How did you afford these? I never realized graphic designers are that well paid.”
“Better than freelance writers. But I didn’t have to pay for them. One of my clients gave them to me. His company gets tickets for every game and he knows I’m a fan.” With a grin, he takes out his phone and shows me a photo of the graphic he just designed for the construction firm.
The team skates out for warm-ups and Ainslie, just acquired from some Texas team, is greeted like a rock star. Jase makes no secret of his feelings, screaming “Ainslie, Ainslie,” along with a bunch of teenage girls in hockey jerseys, with bare legs underneath. I sneak a peek to see if they have goosebumps from the chill in the arena. Nope. Must be the jumping.
Jase nudges me. “Take some pictures. Close-ups.”
I grab my phone and lean over the glass, the edge cutting into my abdomen. “You better be grateful,” I call over. He’s pulled out opera glasses and focuses in on his current passion.
A pair of turquoise blue eyes, fringed by dark brown lashes, look up at me. He’s tall, but maybe that’s the skates.
“Did you get any shots?” Jase rocks from one foot to the other, impatient, as the man takes off at speed, hair curling on the nape of his neck from beneath the back of his helmet. I manage a short video that shows his explosiveness.
Then he’s back with a puck on his stick, scoops it onto the blade, and tips it over the glass in my direction. Jase puts a hand up and grabs it out of midair.
Hugging the rubber disk against his chest, he crows with delight. “He noticed me.” A happy dance follows. Fans around us bellow as Jase stomps on their feet in wild abandon.
With a slight grimace, accompanied by a shrug, Ainslie turns away.
A woman around my age, wearing a Seabirds jersey with number 15 and Ainslie on the back turns in my direction. “Any good pictures?”
I lean over the glass again to catch the players as they glide like swans over the frozen surface. Looking up, I say, “No idea until I get them on my computer at home.”
She taps my shoulder and I turn. She has a small case in her hand and slides out a card with a graphic of a pair of skates and a camera. “If you have a good one of Morse, would you email it to me?”
Startled by her bold request, I nod and put the card into the key pocket of my jacket. The players skate off and I shrug out of my parka and slump into my seat.
Jase smirks and hits my shoulder. “Contemplating the hot guys, huh?”
“Hard to tell with the helmets on.”
“I know. Can’t admire the flow.”
“The flow? Why would a helmet affect the way they skate.”
When I feel the fingernail flick against my cheek, I frown. “What was that for?”
“The flow. The hair. Ainslie has the best flow in the league.”
He looks around. Now that warm-ups are over, the hot hockey players have disappeared. And no flow in sight, except from the teenaged girls.
With unfeigned eagerness, Jase says, “Maybe a fight will break out. Helmets come off and then you can see the flow.”
“You mean that old joke? I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out.”
Buy Links:
Preorder now, price .99, will increase on publication date to 5.99.
What I love most about the holiday season:
Getting together with friends and family, seeing all the decorations, the food, watching holiday movies, going to Lightscapes at the Chicago Botanic Garden. I always want a white Christmas, carols playing, all the traditional stuff.
Why is your featured book a must-read to get you in the holiday mood?
All these holiday stories, featuring love and dogs and Hounds and Grounds Coffee, how can you go wrong? And it is a charity volume for a great cause.
Giveaway –
One lucky reader will win a $100 Amazon gift card.
Open internationally.
Runs July 1 – 31, 2024
Drawing will be held on August 1, 2024.
Author Biography:
Award-Winning Author CJ Warrant was born an overseas Army brat, in a Korean Italian household, but settled in the states at five. With a career in the beauty industry, married to a wonderfully supportive man, and three grown kids, her view of life is as such. Life is a journey; both good and bad, light to the dark. She takes it all in, learns from every experience, and captures those moments in her stories.
Rochelle is an award-winning and Amazon best-selling author. She writes romance with sass and shenanigans because the world needs more laughter and love.
She co-hosts (with author CJ Warrant) Wednesday Coffee & Books an Instagram Live show where they interview romance authors.
Born and raised in Cincinnati Ohio, Rochelle developed a love of nature and art. She is a Bearcat, a Buckeye, an interior decorator, and fluent in sarcasm. She currently shares her home with a black cat, a leash trained orange tabby, and her Prince.
Sharon Michalove writes romantic suspense and traditional mystery as well as being a published historian. She was married to a composer and frequently uses her knowledge of music, history, and food to enrich her novels. Moving back to Chicago in 2017, she started writing fiction seriously in 2018, publishing her first book in 2021. She is member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and Chicago-North Romance Writers and currently is president of the Sisters in Crime Chicagoland Chapter. Her Global Security Unlimited series was a finalist for the 2024 Chanticleer International Book Award for Genre Series.
Social Media Links:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2128144.Sharon_D_Michalove?from_search=true&from_srp=true
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sdmichaloveauthor