Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
“Have yourself a merry little Christmas.” For some people, this is easier said than done. The holidays can be a sad and depressing time for many. Reminiscing thoughts of deceased loved ones, empty nesters with no children at home, or just no close family to enjoy has caused many to dread the holidays. This is quite understandable, the holidays are not the same if you’re not spending them with the ones you love.
A few tips to help you get through the season include: 1) hosting a game night with close friends who may be similarly situated, what better way to uplift each other than to spend time with others who understand your situation and you theirs; 2) do not turn down invites to join another family at their gathering, if you do not have family close enough to visit with or you just are not close with your own family, sometimes spending time with others and their family can help fill this void. We are social beings interacting with others in a positive way during the holidays is a great way to combat loneliness and 3) volunteer at a shelter or other non-profit that serve the homeless, sometimes we may feel down and out and all it takes is for us to see someone else a little worse off than we are to realize that we are truly blessed. Oftentimes, we simply need to stop, look around and appreciate what we do have instead of focusing on what we do not have.
So, have yourself a merry little Christmas and a HAPPY NEW YEAR.
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” Luke 2:14
Being Single is a Choice, Not a Lack of Options
As we approach the time of year where a lot of couples seem to get engaged and many singles tend to get depressed, I felt compelled to share on the topic of being single. Although I personally am not single, I’m approaching my 10 year wedding anniversary, I can however relate to perhaps every emotion a single adult has felt. From feeling utter disdain at this time of the year, to feeling jubilant at the carefreeness of life and options regarding holiday planning, to feeling indifferent regarding all the merriment.
I can remember a time during my season of singleness where I had to remind myself that my state of being single was not because there were not options for me – that if I really wanted to be in a relationship by all means I could be. I was single by choice because I was preparing myself for something and someone great. When I made the decision to stop dating and begin preparing myself to be a wife and mother to some of my friends this seemed a bit radical. I often got (and still get) the question, “if you are not dating, how will you find a husband?” I responded by saying, “the Word of God says that He that findeth a wife, finds a good thing.” It is not my job to “find” a husband, when I am ready, my husband will find me! And sure enough, when I least expected, a man came along and noticed me.
The man who would eventually become my husband noticed me volunteering in the youth and children’s ministry at my church. This in and of itself is a miracle, because those who have volunteered in children’s and youth ministries know that these ministry workers are typically the least visible people in the church. He asked me out, I accepted, and was quite surprised to learn that not only did he notice me, but had asked trusted friends and confidents about me before even asking me out.
Our entire courtship and subsequent engagement is truly a beautiful testimony of what God will do when we allow Him to be the Master of our fate. I detail my 7-year journey of being single, celibate and believing God for husband in the memoir, No Longer a Bridesmaid! In less than 175 pages, I share my personal story of preparing for my God-ordained mate. If you’re looking for an inspirational read this holiday season, I strongly recommend, No Longer a Bridesmaid!
Holiday Book Give-a-way
Season Greetings!! We are well into the holiday season and this is the time of year when many people get depressed. Especially those who have lost loved ones or those who are single. I know because I’ve been there. For years, I was single and desired to be married and have children of my own; then in June 2000 my mom passed away. So, I have a soft spot for individuals grieving the loss of a loved one during the holidays and those who are single. My advice to those who are struggling with loss or loneliness this year is to surround yourself with family, and keep the true meaning of Christmas in perspective. If you cannot be with your family, surround yourself with individuals who are similarly situated and encourage each other. It truly is the season of giving and sharing, I encourage you to volunteer at a shelter or some other community based non-profit. Sometimes encountering others and learning of their struggle tends to help us realize that we really are not as bad off as we think.
During this season of giving, myself and 13 other Indie Authors have teamed up to host a holiday book give-a-way. Our books vary across the many genres. Feel free to enter as many of the raffles as you like. The raffle will continue until December 22, 2013. Good Luck and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!! -Terry Cato
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HERE ARE THE BOOKS!
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Book Name: “NO LONGER A BRIDESMAID!”
Author Name: TERRY CATO
Genre: Memoir #pages: 166
For years, Terry Cato was always the bridesmaid, but never the bride. In this poignant memoir, this first-time author tells the story of her seven years of preparation, finally becoming a Lady-in-Waiting (engaged) and then a bride. During her years of being single, Terry observed seven personality types–her own included–that can get in the way of progress toward the altar. In this book, learn: The seven types of single women and how they could be harming their chances of getting married; why dating is just practicing for divorce; how to deal with and heal old emotional wounds; the seven steps the author used to successfully prepare for her husband; how to live a happy, celibate life as you prepare for your husband and more.
Ebook $2.99, Paperback $14.95
Book Name: DANGLED CARAT
Author Name: HILARY GROSSMAN
Genre: Memoir / Chick-Lit #pages: 281
Hilary had gotten used to dating the commitment-phobic Marc. They had a great relationship—why rush into things? But after four years together, their friends decided to take matters into their own hands, pushing Marc to propose. Unfortunately, Marc still wasn’t ready—and their friends’ meddling in the form of a faux engagement party led to a disastrous New Year’s Eve that brought their relationship to a turning point.
In this relatable, playful memoir, Hilary reminisces about her life before Marc—from the awkward teenage years to her early relationships and, finally, to the day she met Marc and realized that she really wanted to see him again. Through the ease of their early time together up until that fateful New Year’s Eve, Hilary shares the details and considers how Marc’s inability to commit led her to find an inner strength and confidence she didn’t know she possessed.
For anyone who has ever dated a commitment-phobe, who has found their patience wearing thin, or who has sat around wondering if he is ever going to pop the question while trying to remain the picture of patience and grace, Hilary’s humorous and honest story will hit home.
Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo & Apple Ebook $3.99, paperback $9.43
Book Name: WHITE LIES
Author Name: EMILY HARPER
Chicklit/Contemporary Romance – #pages 241
Imagine standing in line at Harvey Nichols waiting to buy the most gorgeous silk Gucci
dress. The only minor problem? You can’t afford it, it’s a size smaller than you are, and you have absolutely no place to wear it.
Meet Natalie Flemming: a twenty-something woman working in London for a fabulous shoe-designing firm, but the only thing they let her touch is the company’s tax forms. She has decided to give fate a vacation and takes the task of finding the man of her dreams (or Johnny Depp if he would just return her calls…) into her own hands.
She craves adventure, spontaneity, passion- or will just settle for a decent date.
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Book Name: QUAKE
Author Name: LISA ARRINGTON
Genre: Science Fiction #pages 286
Ali and Caden thought they were your average teenagers trying to navigate high school pressures and college decisions.
During a camping trip all of that changes when an earthquake ushers in an Alien invasion on their small desert hometown.
Lives are lost and friendships are tested as Ali and Caden, along with their best friends, begin running for their lives. However, nothing can prepare them for the secrets they discover when they begin learning more about themselves then they ever thought possible.
Available Amazon Paperback: $10.99 Ebook $3.99
Book Name: MARIONETTE
Author Name: T.B. MARKINSON
Genre: LGBT Young Adult # pages 290
Paige Alexander is seventeen and has her whole life in front of her. One day her girlfriend comes home to discover that Paige has slit her wrists. Paige isn’t insane, but she acts like she is. Why?
After the incident, Paige agrees to go to therapy to appease her girlfriend, Jess. However, Paige doesn’t believe that therapy will help her. She believes she’s beyond help. Paige doesn’t want to find herself and she doesn’t want to relive her painful past in order to come to terms with it. What Paige wants is control over her life, which she hasn’t had since her birth.
During her childhood, Paige is blamed for a family tragedy, when in fact, her twin sister, Abbie was responsible. Abbie doesn’t come forward and Paige becomes the pariah of the family.
To add to Paige’s woes, while attending a college in a small town in Colorado, the residents are in the midst of debating whether or not gays and lesbians should have equal rights. Tension is high and there’s a threat of violence. She isn’t out of the closet and pretends to be straight at school since she fears what will happen if her parents find out she’s a lesbian. Will she end up dead like her best friend, Alex?
Available Amazon ebook: $3.99
Book Name: SNOWFLAKES & BEESWAX
Author Name: JESS SCHIRA
Genre: Historical romance #pages 96
Madelyn Wickham is a shy farmer’s daughter who wants to be left alone to tend to her bees and make candles so elegant they captured Queen Charlotte’s attention. For years, she and her father had a good system. Madelyn made the candles the queen requested for the Christmas celebration she hosted at the Queen’s Lodge, and Madelyn’s father handled the men the queen sent to fetch the merchandise.Her father’s death changes everything. The idea of dealing with the queen’s men terrifies her, people have always made her feel uncomfortable, but she has no choice. It takes all of her courage, but she manages to walk up to them and start a conversation. Moments later they find the candles she’s prepared for the Queen’s celebration have been destroyed.
Oliver Hamilton has always had a knack for seeing the bright side of every situation. He understands the seriousness of the situation, but doesn’t see any reason for despair. He sees the situation as a chance to spend time with a woman who’s always intrigued him, but who he’s only ever seen from a distance. He has no idea he’s stepping into the middle of a tense sibling rivalry, and a bitter fight custody fight over the small farm, a battle Madelyn can’t handle by herself.
Available Amazon ebook $0.99, paperback $4.50
Book Name: THE GUARDIAN
Author Name: SARA MACK
Genre: Paranormal Romance #pages 326
True love never dies. Emma Donohue begs to differ.
When a late night accident claims the love of her life, Emma secludes herself in memories of James. In his sandy brown hair and clear blue eyes. In their innocent first kiss and declarations of love. In their plans for a life together after college. But happy dreams can’t rid her of the guilt she carries. She can’t erase her actions the night he died. She can’t erase her reaction at his funeral. And she can’t erase the hollow void that fills her chest and consumes her heart.
The first time Emma hears James’ voice, she’s astounded. It sounds as if he’s standing right beside her, and she fears her shattered heart is trying to drive her mad. But, as she continues to hear the voice, she finds comfort in it. With the help of her best friend Shel and handsome newcomer Dane, she tries to move forward and start living again.
Until the voice in her head turns out to be more. So much more.
You know what they say. True love never dies.
Available Amazon, Barnes & Noble Ebook $0.99, paperback $9.99
Book Name: A GOOD MAN
Author Name: VANESSA MORGAN
Genre: horror, screenplay #pages 92
Louis Caron is a good man: he feeds the homeless, takes
care of animals, and is concerned with the ecological future of the
planet. But his altruism has a sinister edge – he’s a vampire – and
local detective Taglioni is getting increasingly suspicious. Louis’
attempts to escape the police will take him on a journey into his own
private hell where he is not only forced to confront his worst fears,
but also to destroy the lives of those he cares about most.
Available Amazon, Smashwords $6.92
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Book Name: UNBREAKABLE
Author Name: JOANN LEE
Genre: lesbian romance, #pages 251
Author Name: JOANN LEE
Genre: lesbian romance, #pages 251
Sequel to Broken Star
After finding happiness, Lynn Feoras was convinced life with Alexis and Calista would be perfect. But when she and Alexis begin the tedious journey of expanding their family, she soon comes to learn that money doesn’t buy everything.
In the midst of doctor’s visits, a move to New York, and a whirlwind tour, life remains chaotic for the Feoras family. New friends emerge, old ones return, and an unexpected reappearance of someone from Lynn’s past leaves her questioning her ability to be a parent.
Will Lynn and Alexis be able to overcome the obstacles placed before them? Will their relationship crumble under the strain or will they come out on top, stronger than before?
Available Amazon $6.99
Title: WILDCAT IN MOSCOW
Author Name: STORM CHASE
Genre: contemporary romance, #pages 253
Genre: contemporary romance, #pages 253
When Chelsea comes back from Alaska she discovers her stepfather has embezzled her multimillion pound inheritance.Not only is Chelsea broke but the police think she has colluded with her stepfather in a financial swindle. Worse, loan shark Carlos Santiago is after her too, determined to make her pay up for her stepfather’s debts.Then Vladimir Voyeykov, a Russian business tycoon rumoured to be a member of the Red Mafia, enters the mix. He whisks Chelsea to Moscow where she is catapulted into a world filled with intrigue, uncertainty – and passion.
Available Amazon, Smashwords ebook: $3.99
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Title: LOST WEEKEND AN EROTIC ROMANCE IN WALES
Author Name: STORM CHASE
Genre: cromance erotica, #pages 97
Genre: cromance erotica, #pages 97
“What’s going on?” Micah asked gently. “You say you’re an escort and you’re dressed like a wet dream come true. But you are embarrassed when I look at you. And when I offer to hire you, you turn me down flat. Furthermore, you were so frightened of me earlier that you hit me over the head with a frozen leg of lamb and yet now you are here, all curled up and cosy – in my bed I might add – when you could be halfway back to London or the nearest police station.”“I, I,” Bryony stuttered. “It’s complicated.”
“So I see,” Micah said.When Micah accidentally kills a major drug dealer, and Bryony is the only witness, Micah decides the only solution is to keep an eye on her while he makes plans to leave the country. However, when Micah and Bryony start talking to each other, things don’t work out quite as either of them expect.Lost Weekend is a love story with a hint of murder and a heroine who decides she likes it best when she’s on top.
Available Amazon, Smashwords price $2.99
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Book Name: THE UNICORN’S DAUGHTER
Author Name: NORMA BEISHIR
Genre:Thriller #pages 353
Codename: Unicorn. Jaime Lynde adored her father. She was devastated when she was told he was dead–but she refused to believe he was a traitor to his country. Her determination to prove his innocence sent her on a journey from Washington DC to Paris to Libya and put her on a collision course with a double agent in Tripoli at the time of the 1986 air strike…
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Book Name: POHOI AND COMANCHE SPIRIT POWER
Author Name: J. L. CHALFANT
Genre: Native American Historical with elements of Native American mysticism, romance and suspense. #pages 307
A battle for power is about to begin.
It is 1860, early spring on the high plains of Texas. Pohoi, a young Comanche woman, learns how the winds of spring open doorways into the world of spirits. She ignores the concerns of a certain young warrior she loves and breaks tradition, all to gain Comanche Spirit Power when friendly traders, assisted by her beloved aunt, attack and murder her father and kidnap her white mother.
As predicted by her medicine woman aunt, the Great Spirit Storms arrive.
No longer can Pohoi wait to right the recent wrongs committed against her family, especially since she can no longer marry Yellow Bear. She transforms into a ghost warrior and charges toward the plains, home to the dreaded Texans and soldiers, and where she believes the kidnappers have taken her mother. But not until Yellow Bear tracks her location, bringing with him her traitorous aunt’s unwanted child, does Pohoi realize her real battle is where she least expected. Soon she learns a shocking truth that quickly blurs the line between friend and foe, revealing a route back to love, and to life if she can relinquish her need for power.
Even if Pohoi finds her mother, how can she set her father’s spirit free and end the Great Spirit Storms if Power turns against her? And, if she gains Comanche Spirit Power, will Yellow Bear still love her?
Available: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Ebook, Apple print Price paperback $13-$15, Ebook $3.95 – $5.95
Book Name: CLOSURE
Author Name: ANGELA FORD
Genre: romantic suspense #pages 176
Closure…a gripping FBI search grounded by an as-yet-unrealized love story…Jess, a young FBI profiler is compelled to save the fourth victim from a sexual predator, only to put her life into the hands of a serial killer.
Exciting new romantic suspense from debut author, Angela Ford. An elite FBI task force tracks online predators while they hunt their prey. A series of murders in Presario Heights has forced Special Agent Jessica Resario to follow her gut instinct to save the next victim. Supervisory Special Agent Tom Erickson removes her from the case. The only place to escape the danger is her family beach home. She hadn’t been there since her parents were murdered. The level of intensity climbs higher with her discovery of postcards marked “I Crave You”. Old ghosts, secrets, imminent threats and an inevitable attraction to Tom send her on an emotional roller coaster. If that wasn’t enough, she opens the door to a man she thought was dead. Tom is stabbed and his case files go missing…high emotions put Jess at the killer’s mercy.
Available Amazon Ebook Price $2.94, paperback $5.39
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Real Talk w/Terry 