Timeless Classics - The Old and the New

I remember sitting around the living room every year as we watched Charlie Brown along with The Little Drummer Boy, Frosty the Snowman, and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. As the years went by and I had children of my own, I was able to share the shows with them. They are a timeless piece of history that never grows old.



My all time favorite Holiday classis is It's A Wonderful Life, but I also love A Christmas Carol and the 1973 version of A Miracle on 34th Street.

Today the list of Christmas Classics has grown so much that it's difficult to get them all in. The Night They Saved Christmas, White Christmas, A Smokey Mountain Christmas, Prancer, The Santa Clause, The Grinch, Elf, and The Polar Express are some others I love to watch.

What past classic is your favorite? What new classic have your added to your list of favorites?

Bekki
http://bekkilynn.net

The Art of Decorating a Christmas Tree

During the 1800s, fruits, nuts and cookies were used to trim Christmas trees. The Germans baked gingerbread cookies in the shape of fruit, stars, angels and bells. The English created ornaments out of lace and paper. The Americans added strings of cranberries or popcorn.









It wasn’t until the late 1800s when the Germans manufactured glass ornaments for mass production. At first they were molded to look like fruits, nuts and other food items, but later hearts, stars and other shapes were created. The glass blowers of Lauscha, Germany created molds of children, saints, famous people and animals.

Dresden and Tinware Ornaments were crafted during the 1800s, too. They were made out of pressed and embossed paper, which were fish, birds and other animals. This way they could be used after Christmas and for other holidays. During the 1900s, the ornaments were made out of pressed tin. They were brightly colored lithographed surfaces. It was during this time that foil strips were used, too. They were called icicles, angel hair or tinsel.






In my story, Wanted, the town came together to decorate a Christmas tree for their holiday celebration. Though they made most of the ornaments, they also order glass ornaments from Woolsworth’s.


If you decorate a tree at Christmastime, do you prefer store bought ornaments, homemade or a little of both?

Blurb for Wanted:

Sheriff Jace Kelly’s wife died giving birth to his remarkable daughter, Emma. She inherited the families’ seer abilities, but being only six-years old, she has the tendency not to know the difference between a vision and just an ordinary dream. So Jace doesn’t put too much faith in Emma’s recent premonition: marriage for him and a new mother for her, all because she wished upon a Christmas star.

When JoBeth Riley arrives in town, Emma is convinced this is the woman she dreamed about: dark hair, green eyes and shamrocks in her pocket. Only there’s one problem, she’s the notorious outlaw, Baby Face Jo.

JoBeth’s stay in the lumber town is meant to keep Shane Maverick, the leader of the outlaw gang from finding her and breaking her out of jail before the authorities have time to devise a plan to capture him.

JoBeth finds the Kellys a strange lot. A little girl, who believes her dreams are tales of the future and the rugged sheriff whose kindness proves a distraction. She’s an outlaw for heaven’s sake, but Jace is bound and determined to steal her heart.



Author Bio:

Karen Michelle Nutt resides in California with her husband, three fascinating children, and houseful of demanding pets. Jack, her Chihuahua/Yorkshire terrier is her writing buddy and sits long hours with her at the computer.

Her Book, Lost in the Mist of Time, was nominated for New Books Review Spotlight Best Fantasy Book of the Year Award 2006. A Twist of Fate was a nominee for Best Time Travel P.E.A.R.L. Award for 2008. Creighton Manor won Honorable Mention P.E.A.R.L. Award 2009.

Her new passion is creating book covers for Western Trail Blazers and Rebecca J. Vickery Publishing. In her spare time, she reviews books for PNR-Paranormal Romance Reviews.

Whether your reading fancy is paranormal, historical or time travel, all her stories capture the rich array of emotions that accompany the most fabulous human phenomena—falling in love.



Visit the author at: http://www.kmnbooks.com/

Stop by her blog for Monday interviews, chats and contests at:

http://kmnbooks.blogspot.com/

Joseph's 'Twas The Night Before Christmas

'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,

HE LIVED ALL ALONE,

IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF

PLASTER AND STONE.

I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY

WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,

AND TO SEE JUST WHO

IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.

I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,

A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,

NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,

NOT EVEN A TREE.

NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,

JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,

ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES

OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.

WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,

AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,

A SOBER THOUGHT

CAME THROUGH MY MIND.

FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,

IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,

I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,

ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.

THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,

SILENT, ALONE,

CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR

IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.

THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,

THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,

NOT HOW I PICTURED

A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.

WAS THIS THE HERO

OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?

CURLED UP ON A PONCHO,

THE FLOOR FOR A BED?

I REALIZED THE FAMILIES

THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,

OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS

WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.

SOON ROUND THE WORLD,

THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,

AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE

A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.

THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM

EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,

BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,

LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.

I COULDN'T HELP WONDER

HOW MANY LAY ALONE,

ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE

IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.

THE VERY THOUGHT

BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,

I DROPPED TO MY KNEES

AND STARTED TO CRY.

THE SOLDIER AWAKENED

AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,

"SANTA DON'T CRY,

THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;

I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,

I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,

MY LIFE IS MY GOD,

MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS."

THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER

AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,

I COULDN'T CONTROL IT,

I CONTINUED TO WEEP.

I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,

SO SILENT AND STILL

AND WE BOTH SHIVERED

FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.

I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE

ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,

THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR

SO WILLING TO FIGHT.

THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,

WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,

WHISPERED, "CARRY ON SANTA,

IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE."

ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,

AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,

AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT."

This poem was written by a Marine stationed in Okinawa Japan. The following
is his request:

PLEASE. Would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many people as
you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S.
service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities.

Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people
stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrifice themselves for
us. Please, do your small part to plant this small seed.

Joseph

What's Christmas in July without a song?

Come on now - sing-a-along! Everyone knows this song.




Bekki sings this year round, even while she's at work.

What Christmas song sticks with you throughout the year?

Welcome to Christmas in July

Beat the heat,

Join our fun in the snow

CHRISTMAS in JULY

July 8th thru July 24th

For all of us who are kids at heart and love Christmas year round, a variety of authors and sites will be sharing holiday themed stories and titles, poetry, traditions, recipes, decorating tips, discounts, gifts, and a lot of fun. As a distraction from the heat, to win prizes, for early gift shopping, or just to be neighborly, we trust you'll drop in often and see what's happening during the next two weeks.

Please share the title of your favorite Christmas book or story, tell us your favorite thing about the holidays, share how hot it is where you are and how much you need SNOW, 

or just say Hi in the comment section. 

 On Monday, July 11th after Noon EST, two random commenters from this opening blog will win an ebook (Reader's Choice) from any Christmas holiday related story at Victory Tales Press, Western Trail Blazer, or Publishing by Rebecca J. Vickery. 

(If you comment as guest or anonymous please include email addy)

  For participating authors and dates here at HEA, 

please see the list in the right sidebar.

For more information drop by 

Rebecca J. Vickery's Blog

 

     

Summer/Winter Book Sale - 50% Off

For the month of July, Smashwords is running a Summer/Winter book sale. Use code SSW50

Cornflower - [NEW RELEASE] - Max and Erin escape to their cabin for a weekend of fun and games. While in the midst of she's injured. Max insists they take a break, but when games resume, the out of control fire within her disallows her to use the safe word. When he sees the tears, off comes mask, the restraints and slave jewelry. Will they be able to get past the betrayal of trust? [BDSM] reg price 1.99 sale price .99

Absentee Love Returns -  Gail Green's world is turned upside down when an alleged mobster gives her an ultimatum, lose her newborn son or follow orders. When they are kidnapped, she has no idea which of the Galletti’s enemies is behind it. [contemporary] reg. price .99 sale price free

Annie and the Young Master - Banished from her home, Lillian Basford picked herself up and set out to start a new life. When Samuel Wadkins came along and gave her a real-life taste of what her dreams with him had teased her with, she became torn between her life as it was and what it’d now become. [spicy historical] reg. price 1.99 sale price .99

Jackie's Boys - Jackie's used to the antics of her husband, Lenny, and his twin brother, Randy, but this time they decided to include her in their latest bet. She had forty-eight hours to figure out which one of them she was married to. However, she decides to turn the game around on them by following through on a long-time fantasy to have both brothers at the same time. [menage a trios] reg. price 1.99 sale price .99

Jewel of the Sun's Blood Destiny - Elan Takoda convinces Cassandra Jones that one night, living the vision they’d both had would rid them of the erotic realism of dreams. But does it? [erotic paranormal]
reg. price 3.99 sale price 2.00

LOVE, Stalker of the Heart - poetry collection - Unrequited love is a timeless expression of soulful love. In this collection of 43 poems, I've written variations of emotions drawn from witnessing the drama. reg. price 1.99 sale price .99


Happy Reading!

Bekki
http://bekkilynn.net

Release Day! GIFTS GONE ASTRAY, Regency comedy

Today is the release day for my latest Regency comedy novella, Gifts Gone Astray.

BLURB:
A gift is a wonderful surprise. Or maybe not.

At the Earl of Langley's family gathering, everyone receives a gift, including the servants. Tutor Stephen Fairfax expects a small token, but the present from family member Mrs. Anne Copely, the widow who's caught his eye, is a dream come true.

Until he opens it. What a gift! How did that demure lady acquire such a book? And she wants to "study" it with him? If he accepts her offer, tempting as it is, he could lose his job.

Anne has no idea why Mr. Fairfax is in such a flutter. Her present is a simple book of illustrations. The subject interests them both, and she would like nothing better than to examine the book--and Mr. Fairfax--more closely.

EXCERPT:
She glanced at the mantel clock. "Oh, look at the time! I must return to the drawing room. So much to do before the family party tonight. But, before I leave..." She swallowed. "We had some trouble with the gifts today. Yours went missing. I apologize—"

"But I received a gift. Someone left it outside my door."

"Thank the stars." She pressed her hand to her bosom.

Stephen's gaze followed her hand down and his throat dried.

"I worried your present was lost."

She worried about me. Capital! He tore his eager gaze from her breasts and lifted his head. "I have not yet unwrapped it. A book, I take it?"

"Yes. The volume belonged to my husband. He was a scholar, and that book was one of his favorites. Mine, too. We spent many happy hours enjoying it." Another dazzling smile curved her lips. "I selected it with you in mind."

His pulse thumped. I have a chance. "You flatter me with your consideration."

"My pleasure." She flashed another of her heart-stopping smiles. "As much as I long to, I will not ruin the surprise by telling you what the book is." She smoothed her face into a blank stare, but her glorious chocolate eyes twinkled.

So, she wanted to play games. He gave an inward smirk. He would love to play games of a different sort. But he would settle for a guessing game. For now.

Available at:

The Wild Rose Press

Note, depending where you are, the links might not yet be active.

Thank you all,
Linda
Linda Banche
Welcome to My World of Historical Hilarity!
http://www.lindabanche.com