The
Year the Cat Saved Christmas
Barbara Bretton
Barbara Bretton
Genre: Contemporary
romance
Publisher: Free Spirit
Press
ISBN: 9781940665009
ASIN: B00FEXP44K
Number of pages: 80
Word Count: 22,000
Book Description:
Christmas used to be the
happiest time of the year in the big house on the hill. But this year
when the clock strikes midnight on Christmas Day, it will all be
over. Can Sebastian, a wily Maine Coon cat, find a way to bring his
people back home or will this holiday be their last?
Previously published as "Home for the Holidays" in Penguin Berkley's anthology "The Christmas Cat."
Previously published as "Home for the Holidays" in Penguin Berkley's anthology "The Christmas Cat."
My Review:
This is a wonderful Christmas read. The cat, Sebastian, is adorable. I love how he wants to keep his humans together. He is upset and confused as to why things are changing and he wants them back to the way they were. He is determined to make it happen.
This is a heartwarming story and I recommend it to anyone that enjoys a quick, touching holiday read.
This is a wonderful Christmas read. The cat, Sebastian, is adorable. I love how he wants to keep his humans together. He is upset and confused as to why things are changing and he wants them back to the way they were. He is determined to make it happen.
This is a heartwarming story and I recommend it to anyone that enjoys a quick, touching holiday read.
Mrs.
ScroogeRocky Hill Romances
Book One
Barbara Bretton
Genre: Contemporary
romance
Publisher: Free Spirit
Press
ISBN: 9781940665023
ASIN: B00FEXXSCA
Number of pages: 240
Word Count: approx. 65000
Book Description:
Single mother Samantha
Dean doesn't have time for Christmas. Or romance, for that matter.
She is weeks away from opening her own catering business, the most
important part of her plan to provide her certified genius daughter
Patty with all the wonderful things she deserves.
Except Patty doesn't want to go to a fancy boarding school. She wants a father and when she meets bartender Murphy O'Rourke at her fourth grade Career Day presentation, she knows she's met the man of her mother's dreams!
But can she convince her Mrs. Scrooge of a mom that it was time to give Christmas -- and love -- a second chance?
Except Patty doesn't want to go to a fancy boarding school. She wants a father and when she meets bartender Murphy O'Rourke at her fourth grade Career Day presentation, she knows she's met the man of her mother's dreams!
But can she convince her Mrs. Scrooge of a mom that it was time to give Christmas -- and love -- a second chance?
Originally published in
print by Harlequin American
My review:
I really enjoyed this story. The daughter is so determined that she will have a father. She is so intelligent and crafty! She really knows how to manipulate the people around her.
I loved all the characters and how they all interacted. The quick slide from business associates to friends to much more is fun to read.
I recommend this to anyone that loves a great romance with wonderful characters and an adorably gifted little girl.
Book #2 is also available
now: BUNDLE
OF JOY
Guest Post by author Barbara Bretton
Can someone please tell me how it’s
possible for Christmas to sneak up on me every year? I mean, it’s
not like the date changes. December 25th faithfully
follows December 24th and December 23rd year
after year. I’ve been on this planet a pretty long time and so far
I’ve never seen it to fail.
So here I am with just twelve days
left, and I’ve barely begun to get ready. I have cookies to bake,
brownies to make, little gift baskets of herbs and spices and exotic
sauces to assemble, and knitting projects to finish. Lots of
knitting projects. I’m almost embarrassed to tell you how many
pairs of socks, lacy scarves, and tree ornaments languish in my UFO
(UnFinished Object) pile.
I wish you could have seen me back in
January. I was determined that 2012’s bout of Holiday Hysteria
would never happen again. I made lists. I cross-referenced. I planned
and plotted and matched patterns with yarn and needles and was
totally convinced I would at least have my holiday knitting bound
off, blocked, and tucked away by July.
I guess I don’t have to tell you how
well that went.
Still, there’s nothing more wonderful
than giving or receiving a handmade gift from someone you love.
Maybe the truth is that I love all the craziness that comes along
with the holidays. Maybe (for me, at least) the holidays are meant to
be approached full-speed as the Christmas (or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or
New Year’s) clock ticks loudly in the background.
Time for me to get back to baking and
knitting and wrapping and all the wonderful things that make this
time of year exciting and exhausting and wonderful.
(BTW, books make great gifts!)
Hope your holidays are merry and happy
and joyous!
About
the Author:
Oh, how I hate bios! All
of that deadly dull information about name (Barbara Bretton) and date
of birth (June 25) and geographical data (born in New York City;
lives near Princeton, NJ), marital status (many years married), and
hobbies (who has time??). How do you gather up all of those dull, dry
facts and turn them into something interesting?
No wonder I tell lies for
a living.
I considered weaving a
story for you about life on a houseboat on the French Riviera. Or
maybe my years as a concubine, hidden away in a golden pleasure
palace in the shimmering desert. Then I decided to do the unthinkable
and tell you the truth.
When I sold my first book
and my life changed forever. I sent in my manuscript on Thursday
February 21, 1982 and four days later the telephone rang and I heard
the amazing words, "We want to buy your book." How I wish
you could have seen me. I was standing by the kitchen door of our
North Babylon house, the picture of cool sophistication, as I
listened to Vivian Stephens explain the terms of the deal to me. You
would have thought I'd sold a first book every single day of my life.
Yes, I said. Sounds wonderful. Thank you so much for calling. I look
forward to our association. That cool sophistication hung on until I
hung up the phone, took a deep breath, then promptly threw up on my
shoes.
I was thirty-one years
old, unagented, unschooled, unfamiliar with anything to do with the
business of publishing. To put it mildly, I was in shock. My husband
was working in Manhattan at the time (and finishing up his degree at
night) so it would be hours until I could break the news to him. This
was too exciting to waste on a phone call. I wanted to see his face
when I told him that my dream had finally come true -- and came with
a $6000 advance!
He pulled into the
driveway at midnight. I was waiting in the doorway, holding a bottle
of champagne and two glasses. I didn't have to say a word. He knew
right away and the look of joy and pride in his eyes warms me now,
years later, long after the advance faded into memory.
A lot has happened to me
in the years since that first sale. I've learned that this is a
difficult and demanding business (it takes a tough writer to write a
tender book) and that I am happiest when I am most ignorant. I've
also learned that a good friend, a writer and pal who truly
understands, is worth her weight in good reviews and royalty checks.
I fell madly in love with
Skye O'Malley in early 1982 and wrote an unabashedly gushy fan letter
to our beloved Bertrice Small. By the time Sunny answered, I had
joined the ranks of the published and Sunny became friend and mentor,
guide and confidant. She has held my hand through broken dreams,
disappointments, family illnesses, and accepted my bizarre need to go
underground from time to time with great affection and understanding.
Over the years I've come to understand the difference between the
writer and her work, that loving the book doesn't guarantee that I
will love the author. But what a joy it is when you discover that the
author of a beloved favorite is even more wonderful and witty and
wise than the characters she creates.
So this bio is for you,
Sunny, for being the best of friends during the worst of times and --
even more wonderful -- during the good times as well.
And now for the
statistics:
Barbara Bretton is the USA
Today bestselling, award-winning author of more than 40 books. She
currently has over ten million copies in print around the world. Her
works have been translated into twelve languages in over twenty
countries.
Barbara has been featured
in articles in The New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal,
Romantic Times, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Herald News, Home News,
Somerset Gazette,among others, and has been interviewed by
Independent Network News Television, appeared on the Susan Stamberg
Show on NPR, and been featured in an interview with Charles Osgood of
WCBS, among others.
Her awards include both
Reviewer's Choice and Career Achievement Awards from Romantic Times;
Gold and Silver certificates from Affaire de Coeur; the RWA Region 1
Golden Leaf; and several sales awards from Bookrak. Ms. Bretton was
included in a recent edition of Contemporary Authors.
Barbara loves to spend as
much time as possible in Maine with her husband, walking the rocky
beaches and dreaming up plots for upcoming books.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book(s) mentioned above free for review purposes. Regardless, all opinions are my own. I was not required to write a positive review.
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