The hop runs Dec 8th 12:00 am EST through 13th 11:59 pm EST and there are some fabulous prizes for the big Christmas giveaway!
This is the link to the full blog hop http://queertownabbey.com/qtas-christmas-blog-hop/
All you need to do is answer one simple question, (the answer to which can be found in this blog post) then head on over here
a Rafflecopter giveaway
and leave your details and enter your answer. It’s a rafflecopter giveaway and you’ll see there what you need to do to enter.
The question is- What’s the name of the man Nick Mathers finds washed up on the shore?
What Christmas means to me and my family
This year I have to confess I’ve been a bit of a Grinch. For some reason I’m not just not into the whole spirit of it like I was before. But then I took a look at some old photos my family and I took when we went to Austria in 2009, to the Weismann Hotel in St Georgen. It was my husband, my son and daughter and my mother. We took a coach trip from the coast at Dover, onto the ferry and into the beautiful country of Austria. It was snowing as you can see from the picture of the hotel. The picture that looks like a gingerbread house was one I took of a house we could see from our hotel room. It was all geared up for Christmas and was absolutely charming. We went to the local Christmas market, drank gluhwein, ate warm muffins and wrapped up warm against the cold. We visited the beautiful Lake District, took a ride on a sleigh drawn by two ponies (no reindeer unfortunately) and simply enjoyed the best this country had to offer. It was one of my most remembered Christmases even if my mum did moan about the lack of decent gin in the hotel ๐ Our dining room was festive, with a lovely tree in the middle and our hosts were gracious and welcoming.
We were all together, happy and fed, warm and in the Christmas spirit and it made me thankful for my family, the ones who have stuck me through me in thick and thin, supported me in my single minded quest to be a writer and forgiven me when I snarl at them for interrupting me when I’m in the process of having two men make out passionately in a number of places. So I guess that perhaps Christmas spirit is catching and maybe, just maybe, I might start getting it back soon.
I have a new release coming out in December, date still to be announced. I can’t show you the cover yet as we have a big cover reveal planned, but it’s called ‘Worth Keeping’ and you can find out a little more about it here on my Pinterest board.
Nick Mathers rescues Owen Butler from the Norfolk shore, but Owenโs love brings Nick back from the edge of oblivion.
Abused horrifically when just a boy, Nick Mathers is a tortured soul. Heโs mostly come to terms with it, but sometimes it all gets a little much. On those dark days, he tends to think about dyingโa lot. Then, one stormy night on the Norfolk coast when heโs about to take the plunge, he finds a body, a beautiful stranger washed up on the beach and near death. Nick takes him home and slowly nurses him back to health. As he does, he finds a love unlike any other. Owen Butlerโs body is as warm as that water was cold, his heart as big as the sea. And Owen is a man who swears to repay the favor and save Nick from himself, for Nick is indeed a manโฆ
WORTH KEEPING
Now we also needed to post our favourite Christmas Cookie recipe…so here’s mine
Ingredients:
โข 225g butter
โข 1 cup castor sugar
โข 1ยฝ teaspoons vanilla extract
โข 3 cups plain flour
โข 1 teaspoon bicarb soda
โข 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
โข 2 eggs (59g)
Method:
Preheat oven to 180ยบC. Line baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs, sift in the flour, bicarb soda and cream of tartar. Mix until a smooth dough has formed.
Knead the dough lightly on a floured surface, wrap in plastic wrap and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough between two sheets of baking paper until about 5mm thick. Cut out biscuits using Christmas shaped cutters and place on prepared baking trays. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden. Transfer to wire racks to cool. Have fun with the icing and get creative!
VOILA!!
These are the other authors participating in the blog hop- why not pay them all a visit?
SUSAN MAC NICOL 