Favorite Holiday Traditions

With: Miranda Liasson

Congratulations to "Odette O", the winner in Miranda's giveaway. Thank you to all who participated!

We have a holiday tradition in our family that’s been going on for many years.  Our Christmas Eve meal starts with a shot of Crown Royal. The elder of our family, who is now my brother, wishes everyone a healthy happy year and then…pours everyone in turn a shot of whiskey. No one, no matter how big or small, is immune to this. Even the smallest child will get a taste of liquor on a pinky dipped in the shot glass.

I’ll never forget my husband’s shock that even the kids were liquoring up around the Christmas Eve table. Family of lushes they are, yep.

In my Christmas novella, CAN’T MISS CHRISTMAS, my heroine, a world-famous children’s author, has a tradition that she carries on every year. She signs books at a Christmas party for hospitalized patients at the big metropolitan Children’s Hospital. Come hell or high water, she makes an appearance and gives away books. But this year, it happens to be snowing badly, and all flights are cancelled. Her only option of getting to the party is via her ex-husband’s Range Rover. She chooses not disappointing the kids over enduring a five-hour road trip with her sexy but very annoying ex.

Of course hijinks ensue, and their enforced time together in the awesome small town of Mirror Lake, Connecticut, provides a vehicle for confessions and confidences. (And maybe even some sexy time. J )

I loved this couple and their path back to each other. For a quick holiday read in the midst of your holiday stress, check them out. 

Excerpt:

Somehow, Grace managed to pass Graham and get in the bathroom, where she used the time to try to calm the hell down. If she didn’t come up with an excuse to leave this room, something combustible was going to happen between them. She had to get out while she still had all her wits about her.

When she’d finally got her breathing under control, she left the bathroom, walked toward her suitcase, and stubbed her toe on the bed.

She let out a curse and hopped around a little, imagining what she must look like with her bedhead hair, red plaid flannel, and Christmas socks. Very sexy. Unlike the delicious, muscular god walking toward her.

She tried to use the pain to distract herself from how her mouth had suddenly gone dry and her knees felt as wobbly as a one-year-old’s, but it wasn’t really working. Worse, Graham stepped a little closer.

She splayed out her arms, warning him back. All that lean muscle, all that raw, masculine heat—it could not come near her. She would throw herself at him, smooth her hands over all that hard, bountiful muscle, and beg for things. Her body could not be trusted. “I’m fine. Really. Just stubbed my toe.”

“Want me to take a look?”

His gaze was torching her, like paper in a fire that turns immediately to ash and blows away.

The fact that he was now inches away with his lips quirked into the slightest smile told her he didn’t heed her warning, or give a damn about it. And oh, she did not want him to. He was so close now, she could smell the soap from his shower, see the little beads of water on his shoulders. His fingers gripped her elbow, and she swore it tingled from his touch. Other parts of her were sort of on fire too. So not good. “Let’s see it,” he said, the smile morphing into a wicked grin.

“Graham, I’m fine.” She tried to shrug away. He dropped his hand, but still she felt pinned in place, unable to move or even breathe. Electricity buzzed and snapped between them. She didn’t want him to see how much he affected her, yet she was helpless with him so near.

His gaze homed in on her lips. He was going to…yes, he was. Kiss her. Her heartbeat thrummed in her throat, and every muscle froze in anticipation.

She wanted it. Wanted him. So, so badly.

Graham lowered his mouth. The dip of his head was so familiar, yet it made every nerve stand on end. At last, their lips met. His were soft and pliant, and they brushed against hers, carefully and slowly. Her hand was trembling as she wrapped it around his neck and pulled him toward her until their bodies were flush, fitting together like they were always meant to.

That simple move blew careful and slow right out of the water. His mouth crushed hers, devouring her with deep, sensual kisses. His tongue slid inside her mouth, and she met it with equal vigor, desire roaring and crashing between them, unleashed like a storm surge, uncontrollable and insatiable.

Suddenly, Graham pulled back, out of breath. He cradled her face in his hands and looked at her tenderly. “I missed you,” he said. “I missed this.”

CAN'T MISS CHRISTMAS

Here comes a charming standalone Christmas novella by Amazon bestselling author Miranda Liasson. Fans of both Mirror Lake series will recognize familiar elements and people along the way.

It’s two days before Christmas and bestselling children’s author Grace Alberts needs to fulfill a promise—to make it to a book signing for the kids at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the place that did so much for her during a very rough time. But the weather’s getting awful and all flights are cancelled out of Boston, where she’s wrapping up her book tour. Then in walks her annoying but extremely sexy ex-husband, who (as usual) thinks he’s got all the answers.

Graham Walker just stopped by to get a book signed for Grace’s biggest fan, his niece, and wish Grace a Merry Christmas—why not? But he soon finds himself troubleshooting her dilemma. He’s got a Range Rover that can plow through a hundred-year Nor’easter. He’s even headed home to Philly. Trouble is, Grace's and his past is a disaster, something he has no intention of reliving while driving through a winter storm, no matter how much he once loved her. And maybe still does.

Bad weather has a way of bringing out the best and the worst in people, and when a run in with some deer antlers leads them to a forced stop in Mirror Lake, Connecticut, anything can happen, naughty or nice. Maybe a bit of enforced alone time and some Christmas magic can be just what it takes for them to face their past—and each other—once and for all.

AMAZON

Giveaway: 
For a chance at a $10 Amazon card, tell me about one of your favorite holiday traditions… and happy holidays!

About Miranda:

Miranda Liasson loves to write stories about everyday people who find love despite themselves, because there’s nothing like a great love story. And if there are a few laughs along the way, even better! She’s a Romance Writers of America Golden Heart winner and an Amazon bestselling author whose heartwarming and humorous small–town romances have won accolades such as the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence and have been Harlequin Junkie and Night Owl Reviews Top Picks.

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Giveaway ends 11:59pm EST Dec. 13th. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email maureen@JustContemporaryRomance.com with a subject title of JCR GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway.