December 10, 2025
Ginger snaps - check. Brownie buckeyes - check. Almond sugar cookies and Italian meatballs - check and check!
After spending six hours on my feet in the kitchen yesterday, it's a treat to sit down to write this newsletter. My husband's office party potluck should be well-supplied with goodies today. It's time to focus on my readers.
Sending out newsletters is one of the best parts of my author business. Even though I don't hear back from most of you, writing these e-mails feels a little like chatting with friends. I'm always open to hearing what you'd like to see more of in the future.
Here's what's in store for you today:
- Local peeps - visit me at Duncan Manor for a book signing!
- Free Downloadable Coffee Loft Cookbook
- Clean My Shelves Holiday Edition
- Two romance author recs
* * * * *
I have one last event coming up this weekend. I'll have most of my books with me, but sadly, not Christmas in Port Chance. Amazon held the paperback in limbo for too long, and I couldn't get copies in time. It didn't help that it was published so close to the holidays but it is what it is.
I'll be at Duncan Manor in Towanda, IL, a 19th-century Italianate home, on Saturday from 2-6 p.m. and Sunday 12-4 p.m. Tickets to tour the home's three stories are $10, and it's amazinggg! Vendors will be set up on each floor of the home and also in the newly built The Meadows building on the property. I loved this house since I was a kid, traveling down Interstate 55 from the Chicago suburbs to St. Louis for weekend getaways. Little did I know back then that I'd eventually live in central Illinois and have a chance to visit the house on a few occasions.
A side note: it's supposed to be in the single digits on Sunday. If the weather forecast holds, I'll only be there on Saturday. Hope to see you there if you're nearby!
* * * * *
Last year the Coffee Loft authors published a special treat for their readers. We've brought it back again this season in case you weren't able to grab it the first time! This cookbook is filled with special recipes but also never-before-published Coffee Loft scenes and other exclusive content. My scene between Cal and Ginger is included as well as a special s'mores bar recipe that my family LOVES!
* * * * *
One of my most favorite scenes to write in Christmas in Port Chance was when Hayes helps Sadie decorate her Christmas tree, a task she dreads because of memories associated with her ex-husband. It's a pivotal scene in the book, and one that's intimate without physical touch or words. It's Hayes' simple offer to help, one she enjoys from the comfort of her couch with a steaming cup of tea while she watches this man perform a task that he insists is no trouble at all. It's during this scene when Sadie's heart starts to lose its bitter edges and open to the possibility of love again.
"I wholeheartedly enjoyed this lovely tale, and especially loved how the romance was slow burn and perfectly paced in a way that seemed realistic, especially considering Sadie's hesitation to fall in love again." ~ Goodreads review
* * * * *
HO HO HO! It's the Clean My Shelves Giveaway Special Holiday Edition! This month we're all about Christmas, of course! I’ll pick FOUR lucky winners this time from those who send me their title of choice by replying to this e-mail. Also, this time I'm asking you to send a first and second choice since there will be more winners. It might save me an e-mail or two if you win and your first choice was already awarded. Please take note: all of these are lovingly USED paperback books. And so sorry, non-US friends, I can only ship within the country. If by chance I choose someone outside the U.S., I’ll offer a $5 Amazon gift card instead.
The contest closes this Friday night, December 12th, at 7 p.m. CST. Winners will be notified via e-mail that night and have 24 hours to respond. PLEASE check your e-mail on Saturday! I'd like to get these in the mail before Christmas. Winners will also be announced in the next newsletter.
**BONUS ENTRY: Growing my Facebook reader group, D.E. Malone's Book Room, has been one of my 2025 goals, so if you're not already a member, come join us! Let me know in your e-mail that you've joined for an extra entry!
* * * * *
I have two authors' books listed below. While I've personally not read these titles, I have read other books written by them and enjoyed them!
I'll be back one last time before year's end to remind you of my takeover day in the Hold the Spice Facebook group. You may want to join now if you're not already a member since there are daily events happening all month long. I hope your December is filled with blessings and peace.
(Click on the Cover to go to the Sales Page)
What if you had to choose between love and money?
"I cannot say enough about this book. I loved it so much and enjoyed the fact that you can actually read a love story that is so pure and wholesome. It was fun to go behind the scenes of what a reality show could be like and making it a scene of two people falling in love was an original concept." ~ Amazon review
A second chance with the single dad might seem like fate—
but he’s exactly what I should avoid.
"Stay With Me is a stunning, emotionally grounded Christian romance that captures the beauty of second chances and the quiet strength it takes to believe again." ~ Amazon review
Facebook Page
Goodreads
Readers Group
Port Chance Series (4 books)
New, small-town romance series! It's in Kindle Unlimited too.
That Woman on Thistledown Lane
Apple Blossom Dreams
Locked on Love's Landing
Christmas in Port Chance (NEW RELEASE!)
Hearts in Hendricks series (4 books):
Available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited! See the series page here.
Blueberry Point Romance series (7 books)
More small-town romance in Hendricks, MN with Darcy and Sean Stetman's romantic inn as the backdrop. Seven books plus a season-inspired, four-novella collection. Find the series here.
A Cafe Au Lait Kind of Love. Read this as a stand-alone romance or as part of the multi-author small-town Coffee Loft series featuring swoony romances set in charming coffee shop settings. They're in Kindle Unlimited, too!
Silver Leaf Falls series
Multi-author small-town romance series, all in Kindle Unlimited! Read my book as a stand alone or as part of the series. You can find A Forever Kiss in Silver Leaf Falls here as well as the rest of the Silver Leaf Falls books.
0 comments