We love these authors just the way they are ...
Today's featured authors: Sarah Morgan, author of Sleigh Bells in the Snow; Julie Ann Walker, author of Born Wild; and Lisa Patton, author of Southern as a Second Language. We're talking favorite holiday movie couples, dream vacations and favorite Southern food. And, yes, now I'm hungry ...
Sarah Morgan, author of Sleigh Bells in the Snow
My three favourite holiday movie couples:
• Jack and Lucy from While You Were Sleeping. Lucy is lonely, has no family and is about to spend Christmas on her own. She rescues a man who falls on the train track, pretends to be his fiancée and in the process falls in love with his brother. The relationship development in this story is so cute. I adore Lucy, and Jack is the perfect hero for her. It's one of my favourite holiday films.
• Jamie and Aurélia from Love Actually. Love Actually is a series of intertwined stories. They don't all work for me, but I love Jamie and Aurelia (and not just because we get to see Colin Firth once again diving into water). After his girlfriend cheats on him, Jamie retreats to his French cottage to write, where he meets Portuguese housekeeper Aurélia. He falls in love, and the final scene where he stumbles through a marriage proposal in faltering Portuguese and she replies in faltering English is touching and funny. I love them!
• Bridget Jones and Mark Darcy from Bridget Jones's Diary. Single, accident-prone Bridget gets together with Mark, the barrister son of her parents' friends. Despite misunderstandings (and his reindeer sweater), they make such a cute couple, and this film has that classic line "I love you just the way you are." Which is how it should be. And it has that adorable final scene where she is running through the snowy streets of London in her underwear.
Here's the blurb for Sleigh Bells in the Snow:
Once upon a time, Christmas was Kayla Green's favorite time of year. Now all the workaholic wants for Christmas is for it to be over—as fast as possible! So when duty calls her to snowy Vermont to close a deal with a new client, Kayla is grateful for an excuse to avoid the holidays for another year.
Jackson O'Neil left a thriving business behind to return home and salvage his family's resort—it's in his blood, and he can't let it fail. Now that he's got marketing whiz Kayla Green working with him to put Snow Crystal on the map, success is on the horizon. The fact they strike enough sparks off each other to power all the Christmas lights in Vermont is just an added bonus.
Kayla might be an expert at her job, but she's out of her depth with Jackson—he makes her crave the happy-ever-after she once dreamed of, and it's terrifying. As the snowflakes continue to swirl, will the woman who doesn't believe in the magic of Christmas finally fall under its spell?
Find out more at sarahmorgan.com.
Julie Ann Walker, author of Born Wild
My top three dream vacations ...
A bit of a globe-trotter — I've visited 43 countries on my way to 100 — my dream vacations differ slightly from the norm because they're not the usual hot spots, like Paris or Rome. They're not the quaint beach getaways like Tahiti or Fiji. My top three destinations are dream holidays because they require weeks-long commitments. Given my current writing schedule, alas, I just don't have time for that. But, someday ...
• African safari. Hot tea and biscuits for breakfast in the bush. Hike across the African plains. Sail down Botswana's famed Okavango Delta. Hear an elephant trumpet, a hippo snort, and a zebra bark. Laze in a hammock during the heat of the day. Eat lablabi and makroudh around a campfire at night. See a rainbow form over Victoria Falls at sunset. Camp on the Savanna. Sleep with the orchestral buzz of a thousand night insects. Take a jeep ride along rutted roads to watch lions and tigers and giraffes ... oh, my!
• Amazon River cruise. Navigate deep into the tributaries of the mighty Amazon. Feel the pulse of the currents, the pull of the wild. Listen to the chorus of warbling birds and the screech of nearby monkeys. Catch the flash of a colorful butterfly and wonder at the caimans, capybaras, and poison frogs along the bank. Learn about the lives of the local Ribereno people. Gaze at the stars from an open deck. Eat fried pirarucu and exotic fruits. Smell the lushness of orchids and bromeliads ...
• Trans-Atlantic boat trip on the Queen Mary 2. Take off from New York and wave goodbye to the Statue of Liberty. Attend enrichment and speaker programs, get massages, laze by the pools, take yoga classes, and hang out at the world-class library during the day. Gamble, catch a movie, watch a live show, and go dancing at night. Eat five-star cuisine. Appreciate the vastness of the Atlantic. Marvel at the bravery of my ancestors who made this harrowing journey in far less luxurious accommodations.
Here's the blurb about Born Wild:
TICK … TICK …
"Wild" Bill Reichert knows a thing or two about explosives. The ex-Navy SEAL can practically rig a bomb blindfolded. But there's no way to diffuse the inevitable fireworks the day Eve Edens walks back into his life, asking for help…
BOOM!
Eve doesn't know what to do when the Chicago police won't believe someone is out to hurt her. The only place to turn is Black Knights Inc—after all, no one is better at protection than the covert special-ops team. Yet there's also no one better at getting her all turned on than Billy Reichert. She has a feeling this is one blast from the past that could backfire big time…
Find out more at www.julieannwalker.com.
Lisa Patton, author of Southern as a Second Language
Three of my favorite Southern foods (in no certain order):
• Lady peas. You're a true Southerner if you even know about this delicacy. We love our peas down here, and these are hard to find. Farmers markets are about the only place. You'd never find them in a grocery store. They're best cooked with bacon or ham hock and simmered for a few hours. Often confused with a cream pea, these are tiny little yummies that go perfectly with my next fave.
• Fried chicken. Even though it's considered the Southern standard, I'm not including it for that reason. I absolutely love it if — and only if — it's cooked right. The key is having the oil at the right temp, very hot, and knowing just when to turn it down to seal in the juice. Best served on a plate next to the lady peas and my third favorite.
• Mashed potatoes. Buttery, creamy and mighty fattening. But oh well. It's comfort food and that's what I think about the South. Pure comfort.
Here's the blurb about Southern as a Second Language:
Watching Southern belle Leelee Satterfield tackle life and love in Vermont was only the tip of the iceberg when it came to antics, charades, mischief, and romance. Now that she's back in Memphis, and starting a new relationship with Peter, her Yankee boyfriend, you'd think she'd sit back and enjoy her newly crafted life back home in Dixie. But that just wouldn't be as much fun. Southern as a Second Language is the hilarious conclusion to Lisa Patton's best-selling Dixie trilogy.
Find out more at www.lisapatton.com.