Presents, Secret Santa, and One Determined Woman

That about sums it up…my new book, All I Want for Christmas. Presents…Secret Santa…and One Determined Woman.

Everyone loves to get a present, but what would you do if you had no idea who the gift was from and the only clue you had was a printed note with a thoughtful saying and signed Secret Santa?

I love Christmas and even if I didn’t, I have a five year old who wouldn’t allow me to Bah-Humbug it up. We’re fairly traditional and have a lot of fun during the season. I took that idea of families and traditions when I came to write this book. I asked myself that ‘What If?’ question. What if a person with a lot of family issues (who happens to hate Christmas) suddenly begins to receive gifts from a mysterious Secret Santa?

Voila! A story is born.

All I Want for Christmas is a fun, Christmas story with a message too. Discover The True Spirit of Christmas. And that spirit is different for different people. It’s not just about the season but about the whole year round. Sounds sappy I know. My heroine has to overcome some things from her past in order to become a well-adjusted person (if that’s possible) and find joy in life again.

What about the Romance?

Let’s not forget the lovin’! I love the best friend romance. You don’t have to build up the time that the characters need to get to know one another before they realize this is love. The foundation is already there. They just need the veil removed so they can see this friend in a new light and then PRESTO it hits them like a pile of bricks. I Love Him/Her!

In All I Want for Christmas, we have a writing partner team from a small magazine. Kathryn hates Christmas and Nick loves it. I suppose you could say they are opposites. What I tell readers about these characters is to think Clark Kent and Lois Lane (from the ‘90’s TV show). He’s the easy-going, mild-mannered type with the ability to tease should he need to. And she’s ambitious, head-strong and passionate. They just work and they always have. Within this friendship, the heroine feels an amount of safety unlike she has ever felt even as a child at home.

Best Friends or True Love? Only Santa Knows.

Kathryn Graham hates Christmas. She hates the snow, the decorations, the whole nine yards. Nick Pringle on the other hand can’t get enough of the season. He may be her best friend and fellow writer at Redburn Weekly Magazine, but sometimes his exuberance gets on her very last nerve. Now they’ve been assigned to cover the orphan toy drive story. It’s just a puff piece not the serious journalism Kathryn hopes for, but maybe—as Nick says—there are no old stories just new angles.

Nick Pringle has been in love with Kathryn practically since the day they met. When he realizes that she’s lost her Christmas spirit, he figures he’s just the guy to help her find it again. He enacts a plan to send her anonymous gifts from Secret Santa, but will any of this really make a difference in her? Will she ever see him as anything more than her smart-aleck partner even after their passionate kisses? Then again maybe he’ll get what he wants for Christmas after all.

Excerpt:

Halfway through the film, Nick’s fingers brushed over Kathryn’s wrist and a surge whipped through her like an electrical charge. His hand ended up on her knee, and he leaned over close to her ear. “You have any more of those Milkduds?”

“Huh?” Oh, candy. He just wanted more snacks. Well, of course, what other reason would he have for touching her like that?

“Here,” she whispered and held out the container to him.

His face remained close to hers, his warm hand still molded to the shape of her knee. She accidentally moved in too close and her forehead bumped his cheek. Looking up at him, Kathryn saw he wasn’t smiling. His eyes had grown serious and all thoughts of candy dissipated. His attention dropped to her mouth and suddenly Kathryn couldn’t swallow. Could he possibly be considering kissing her? Just then, he turned his attention back to the movie and lifted his hand from her knee.

An unexplainable inclination took over as Kathryn pushed his hand back to her knee. His face whipped back to her. Questions filled his features. His chest moved up and then down. He smoothed his hand over her pants from her knee to her thigh and back again. Her skin pebbled under the material at his touch. This was soon followed by heat tingling from her stomach to the tips of her toes.

She leaned in towards him and he met her halfway. And just like that their lips met. Giddiness spun through Kathryn’s head with sparks tingling her skin. The kiss was light and sweet yet searing all at once. Lucidity began to return to her the next moment. What was she doing? Oh, right, she was kissing Nick Pringle. She was kissing a co-worker. Worse yet, she was making out with her best friend. What was she thinking? She had to stop and yet it was the last thing she wanted to do.

The whole idea was ludicrous. An outrageous act and yet somehow her body’s sole response was that it wanted more. Whoa! Had it been that long since she’d had a date? Time to reign in those annoying hormones which threatened to take over her sanity.

She broke off the kiss and rested her hand against his chest. She could feel his heart speeding at the rate of a train. A train wreck is more like it. Ay-yi-yi! How was she going to get herself out of this one?

Available Now at Champagne Books

Merry Christmas!!

Enter my December contest going on now at my blog.

Cindy K. Green is a multi-published author with degrees in History and Education. Previously a middle school English & History teacher, she now homeschools her own children and writes in several genres: Inspirational, Contemporary, Suspense, Fantasy and Historical romance. No matter what she writes, she always throws in a bit of humor and fun. Find out more about Cindy and her books at www.cindykgreen.com and http://cindykgreen.blogspot.com/. To join her newsletter email her at newsletters@cindykgreen.com, and she will send you out all four parts of her FREE READ serial, “Valentine’s Challenge.”