While I admit that this post may be rather short this time around, I wanted to take a few moments just to say Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to anyone who visits this blog and my website.

I am truly appreciative of the time you’ve invested in reading my posts, and it’s been an honor to share my first two sales during 2007. It has been a fabulous year, filled with great books to read, new authors on my must have the moment their books hit the stores, and working with my editor at ECPI. While I admit that I’ll be quiet in the coming days in order to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s with my family, please know that I’ve every intention of continuing to post, introduce readers and others to the talented authors at Cerridwen Press, and, of course, post more information regarding Seductive Persuasion and Rhiannon’s Pride, my first two books coming from Cerridwen Press in 2008. There will be excerpts, contests, fun, special guests, and announcements galore.

Until next time, have a safe and Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year!

Frances Stockton

Hello everyone! As I sit and write this post, all is quiet around the house, my daughter’s asleep, the dog is resting by my feet, as usual, and my hubby’s at a Bruins game with a co-worker. I just heard from him and he’s on his way home, so that’s wonderful, but it has been a nice night to just sit back and reflect upon books.

While it’s a busy time of year with a variety of festive winter/December Holidays happening and a New Year fast approaching, it seems amazing that a week from now, Christmas will almost be over. Unless you celebrate the twelve days of Christmas and Boxing Day. And I believe Kwanzaa starts on the 26th, but, nonetheless, the Holiday Season seems to be rushing by! It feels like only yesterday when we decorated the house, but I have the feeling that by New Year’s Day, we’ll be ready to take it all down again until next year. Besides, the light up deer on our front lawn aren’t looking so good. They’re trapped in about a foot and a half of snow and ice, the doe’s head no longer goes up and down and the male’s head and antlers are blinking on and off, while his body is staying lit. I grew up with lights that didn’t blink, as did my husband, and we usually don’t have twinkling lights, but that buck is making me laugh outload. Then, of course, next year will roll around just as quickly and I’ll wonder if I’ve completed all the things on my holiday ‘to do’ list. Ditto for my husband.

So as I sit and relax at home. I thought I’d post a question as well as share my favorite books of 2007. I would love to hear from readers, writers, friends and family and learn about the books that you loved to read this past year. 

But first, let’s talk about Holiday reading. Has anyone read any new books that are particularly about the Holidays? A romance perhaps, or a true story, or a Holiday survival guide? I love to read. I read all the time. My collection is all around the house. But oddly, I don’t always read something with a Christmas or Holiday theme during this time of year. Perhaps because I tend to feel like a kid and get so excited about the big day that reading about it just makes me all the more anxious and excited for Christmas morning. I know a lot of authors have anthologies out this time of year, especially Mary Balogh. I love her books and an anthology makes for a great stocking stuffer. Hmm, I think I’ll drop a hint to my husband on that one. And if anyone has any recommended reads this time of year, please do share your thoughts.

As to my favorite books for 2007, there were so many that I can hardly name them all. My keeper shelf is so full at the moment, I’ll have to move them around and shuffle things about, but the books that become my favorites will remain on my shelfs. Fortunately, we have more shelves in the club basement with easy access and visibility.

Now as I write this list, I want it to be known that I’m writing them in random order, as they’re all great, and admittedly different. Some are Paranormal, of course, and Historical, as well as Romantic Suspense/Mystery. But because they are different, they are of equal importance and all are highly recommended reads!  

Among my favorite books were: Simply Magic by Mary Balogh, Secret Fantasy by Cheryl Holt, Knight of Darkness by Kinley MacGregor,  Annette Blair’s Sex and the Psychic Witch, JR Ward’s Lover Unbound and Lover Revealed, Die For Me by Karen Rose, and Cry No More by Sherrilyn Kenyon.  Again, these  

Hello again and welcome back to my blog.  As you may know, the Holiday Season is in full swing and life has been busy, busy for the last week or so. Thankfully the decorations are up outside and the inside was finished this weekend. The house looks lovely and the spirit of the holiday is upon my household.

But as I write this blog tonight, I’ve a question to ask of you all. It is a sincere question and I would love to read your thoughts and opinions.  What I’d like to know is what attracts you, the reader, to a new author?  Are you intrigued by covers? Name recognition? Perhaps you’ve heard of an author while reading a Bestselling novelist’s book and catching the names at the back of the book, names of other authors in that same publishing house.

Additionally, as a reader, what would you like to see authors do to garner more interest. Do you like live chats, Yahoo! Groups, Myspace or Facebook pages, contests? I’m curious because a host of talented authors at Cerridwen Press would like to reach out to readers and not only join our Myspace group, but also to take a fresh look at Cerridwen Press authors and ebooks in general. Many of our books will go into print after the initial ebook release, but whether it’s an ebook or print, the truth is that CP has amazing talent and the books are some of the best I’ve ever read.  After the Holidays, CP authors are planning on joining forces and opening up their blogs, excerpts and blurbs to readers so that you can not only learn more about CP and our books, but also participate in contests and possibly win great prizes.

I would truly love to know what readers like when it comes to promotion so that we can plan this Cerridwen Press author event and invite you all to participate. I’m also announcing a contest, where you could win giftcards to Barnes and Noble and Starbucks, along with some surprises, and hope you will join in the fun. Though it’s busy this time of year, I’d love for visitors to this blog to take a moment to visit Cerridwen Press and download a new book, read an author’s blog posted on CP’s blog list, or check out http://groups.myspace.com/cerridwenpress. And if you visit Cerridwen Press, our Myspace group, or friend me at http://www.myspace.com/francesstockton and message me to let me know you’re opinions, I’ll put your name into my favorite goodie bag and after the Holidays I will randomly draw a winner.

Also, stay tuned for more announcements regarding the Cerridwen Press author extravaganza in January. It’s sure to be fun and we’ll plan some amazing things for visitors and readers to enjoy.

Until next time, 

Frances Stockton 

As I write this entry today, I am very aware that snow is falling, many of the local school kids have stayed home today, and that the outside Christmas decorations are up. Well, my husband and I are still planning to add an extra string of white lights to an evergreen tree in the backyard that grew over the summer. And he’s going to put a spotlight on a very pretty wreath that I found last yard in a post-Holiday sale. Because we already have two wreaths on the house, we decided to put the third wreath in the back on our new storage shed. It’s there now and it looks really pretty during the day, but no one can see it at night. Thus, why we need the spotlight and about 80 feet of extension cord.

But once that’s done we can look forward to decorating the inside of the house next weekend. I love putting up the tree, putting candles around the house, Nativity sets handed down to us by our parents, and all sorts of Christmas ’stuff’.  We decorate the club basement with a sports Christmas items, and this year we will have a Patriots and a Red Sox stocking hanging from the entertainment center. Very cute and we are proud of our New England sports teams. It would be great to add something from the Celtics or Boston College as well. Suffice it to say we’re on the look out.

Because we’ve been decorating I thought it would be nice to talk about Holiday traditions. While I celebrate Christmas, this is a time of year for Hanukauh and Kwanza and I’d love to learn more about those traditions as well.  As far back as I can remember, my mother has always given her children, and our spouses when we married, a Christmas tree ornament.  Traditionally, it’s been something that coincides with something imporant that happened during the year, such as a gradutation, a new baby, an important business decision or award (that was my husband’s last year), or something to do with our occupations if we were old enough. As kids we received the ‘in’ thing, Barbie ornaments, glass ornaments with our names spelled out in gold or silver letters, Hot Wheels, Strawberry Shortcake, foam ornaments, crystal ornaments, and Olive wood ornaments from when my parents went to Israel.  She also tended to wrap all our gifts in one type of paper, so that she’d know whose gifts were whose. We always opened one thing at a time and waited while each person in the room opened their gift. That way we wouldn’t rush the whole morning and have time to enjoy the occassion as a family. It was fun and we loved it.

While I still give my daughter an ornament, I can’t say I’m organized to wrap all her gifts in one type of paper, but I do try to hand down the traditions that my mother started years ago. So what do you like to do during the Holiday Season? I’d love to hear from you!

 Until next time,

Frances Stockton