Happy Boxing Day everybody!
Today, Aurelia B Rowl has dropped in to chat about how Christmas is Cancelled is doing and her own Christmas day shenanigans.
Firstly Aurelia, Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Secondly, HUGE congratulations on the release of Christmas is Cancelled. It
looks like its already going from strength to strength.
Thanks, Sam,
and merry Christmas to you too.
How are you feeling about your release? It's been out a few
days and there are already some fantastic reviews I've noticed...
Do you know
what… it’s still totally surreal. And the reviews are staggering, surpassing
even my wildest dreams. Many are from professional reviewers and fellow
authors, and to getting mostly 5 & 4 stars is such a boost. I’ve had a few
3’s, but when I look at the readers stats, they are really discerning readers,
happy to toss a book on the ‘dnf’ pile. One in particular scored me higher than
my favourite Susan Elizabeth Phillips book! Yikes!!
How did you spend Christmas Day? Did the big man himself pay
a visit? Give us the low down on what happened in the A.B.Rowl household
yesterday...
It’s late
afternoon on Christmas Eve when the phone rings. Uh-oh! With envious generosity
and a desire to share, my children have spread their germs. (Okay, so I did
suggest to my husband that we kept them home, but we went anyway. I then
recommended that they didn’t blow out the candles on the cake but hey…).
Anyway, my husband’s family and family friends are dropping one by one with the
norovirus that was rife in our house last week. By the end of the call, my book
title was alarmingly sounding more like a prophecy... Christmas was indeed cancelled…
or maybe ‘postponed’ is more accurate.
But no, later
on came another call. Despite the illnesses, there were still enough of the
family ‘fit and well’ so the show would go on and the kids would get to receive
their gifts after all. Speaking of gifts, Father Christmas did indeed come,
although he did play a little trick on the kids and put their gifts under our
second tree in their playroom. When my eldest stuck down on a reconnaissance
mission, there was nothing beneath the tree to greet him, so he came trotting
back up the stairs. All very amusing!
After the
present opening – oh, the 3DS and the dolls’ house went down very well – it was
time for a cooked breakfast/brunch, and then to get ready to go to my in-laws
for a somewhat muted version of Christmas.
Now for the all important question about THE dinner of the
year...the meal that we salute and applaud...it is the Christmas dinner, of
course. And we want to know the ins and outs of your menu, Aurelia. So tell us,
are you a traditional turkey dinner gal, or do you venture away from norm and
head for the more unusual options? Do you have starters, mains and puddings?
Any Trimmings? Vino? (Can you tell I love food...much?!)
There were a
couple of people sorely missed at the dinner table, and instead of the usual
feast, it was more like a Sunday dinner. Albeit a very nice Sunday dinner, but
the starter was omitted and the Christmas madness never really kicked in. The
turkey was back in the freezer, and it was a choice of ham or pork instead, not
that I eat either; my Christmas dinner was the same regardless, having been
vegetarian for over 20 years now. And if you’re interested in what my
Christmas/Sunday dinner generally consists of, well here it is – excuse the
arrangement, I was plating up for the kids as well so presentation was the
least of my worries LOL – but there were roast and mashed potatoes, diced carrots
and turnip, sprouts, cauliflower, parnsips, peas, stuffing, quorn family roast
(fake chicken), Yorkshire puddings and gravy… it was delicious and I ate every
last scrap from my plate!
I’m
not a fan of Christmas pudding, and I didn’t fancy a mince pie, so I scoffed
several of my Christmas box of chocolates instead for my pudding, accompanied
by a steaming mug of hot chocolate with a shot of Baileys in it. Mmmmh…
There were a
couple of people sorely missed at the dinner table, and instead of the usual
feast, it was more like a Sunday dinner. Albeit a very nice Sunday dinner, but
the starter was omitted and the Christmas madness never really kicked in. The
turkey was back in the freezer, and it was a choice of ham or pork instead, not
that I eat either; my Christmas dinner was the same regardless, having been
vegetarian for over 20 years now. And if you’re interested in what my
Christmas/Sunday dinner generally consists of, well here it is – excuse the
arrangement, I was plating up for the kids as well so presentation was the
least of my worries LOL – but there were roast and mashed potatoes, diced carrots
and turnip, sprouts, cauliflower, parnsips, peas, stuffing, quorn family roast
(fake chicken), Yorkshire puddings and gravy… it was delicious and I ate every
last scrap from my plate!
Contemporary romance
Release date: 21 December 2012
Publisher: Breathless Press
ISBN: 978-1-77101-938-5
Heat level: 3 (steamy)
Word count: 40,000+
|
The one girl Dean Watson has sworn never to have—never even expected to see
again—just flared back into his life and into his home—his sanctuary—like she
belonged there. Christmas would certainly be more bearable with Tilly around
though…
As the chinks in Dean's armor appear, Tilly seizes the chance to win her knight
once and for all. She's not about to take no for answer—not this time—but Dean
must resist, even as his heart rebels and temptation threatens to undermine his
resolve.
Win or lose? Love or honor? Which will Dean choose? Assuming he gets a choice…
Win or lose? Love or honor? Which will Dean choose? Assuming he gets a choice…
***
***
Goodluck with the continuing success of Christmas is Cancelled...I'm in the midst of reading it and thoroughly enjoying it. Now kick back and enjoy your Boxing Day...P.S. I hope your family are feeling better now!
'Til next time
Sam :-)
X
About Aurelia…
Short version
Aurelia B Rowl is a contemporary romance
author but you can also find her masquerading as Allie A Burrow, her raunchier
alter-ego.
She lives on the edge of the Peak District in
the UK with her very understanding husband and their two fantastic
children aged 5 and 3, along with their mad rescue mutt who doesn’t mind being
used as a sounding post and source of inspiration. They are all used to
her getting too caught up with her latest writing project... or five!... and she
is guiltily counting down the months until she has both kids at school
full-time.
To find out more about Aurelia, or to check
out what projects she's working on right now, you can visit her website www.aureliabrowl.com
You can also find her hanging out on:
About Christmas is Cancelled…
Short blurb
Could Tilly's day get any worse? Even Christmas
had been cancelled! Will Dean succumb to temptation as he endeavors to
make Christmas
better for both of them?
Full blurb
Matilda 'Tilly' Carter didn't think her day
could get any worse, but even Christmas had just been cancelled.
Book trailer
Excerpt
Tears welled in her eyes,
clouding her vision. She turned and wandered blindly toward the exit as the
first tear escaped, forging a track down her cheek for the rest to follow.
Tilly took in a lungful of air and then another. Having made a spectacle of herself
once already, she really didn't want to be the cause of yet another scene.
The crowds swarmed around
her, with students and family members heading home for the holidays only adding
to the usual rush-hour melee of commuters. They jostled past, threatening to
swallow her whole, as they rushed en mass in the opposite direction, using
their briefcases and suitcases as a battering ram.
It was suffocating. She had
to get out of there. Breaking into a run, broken heel or not, she raced through
the doors and out into the biting December chill. Her waterlogged eyes
struggled to adjust to the dark, dreary sky after the bright station lights,
but she didn't dare slow down, desperate to escape the throng of festivities
and merriment.
Carol singers assembled outside
burst into a jovial rendition of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas,"
full of joy and happiness. Didn't they know Christmas had just been cancelled?
"Ooof!" Tilly
smacked her shin against the edge of a low bench, too dark to see as she tried
to dodge the growing audience. She ended up sprawled across the bench, dropping
the handle of her suitcase with a loud clatter.
At least the pain shooting
down her leg gave her an excuse to be crying. Unfortunately, it meant she had
to stop running too. Not good. Whenever things got too tough, too intimate, or
too confrontational, you could rely on her to make a run for it. Running away
was what she did best...
A tall figure loomed in the
edge of her vision, something vaguely familiar about the man's loping gait. In
an effort to see him more clearly, she wiped her eyes with the back of her
hands, then cringed inwardly at the black streaks now etched all over them.
Great. She could add impersonating a panda to her day from hell as well then.
The mascara stung her eyes,
rendering her unable to focus properly. She blinked furiously as the man strode
past her, talking into a mobile phone in a deep voice that resonated throughout
her body and made the fine hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. A surge
of adrenaline rushed to her legs, numbing the pain as her subconscious told her
to run. Now!
The cloaked figure stopped
mid-stride as if he'd heard her gasp. "Mike, I've gotta go," he
barked into the phone, hanging up instantly. He backtracked until he was
standing right in front of her, his tone changing from a growl to one of
surprise. "Basmati?"
Great. She hadn't heard the
nickname for years—nine years, four months and...sixteen days, to be exact—and
even then, only one person had ever actually used it. She screwed her eyes
tightly shut, shaking her head from side to side. No. No way. There was
absolutely no way this could be happening to her. Not now. Not today of all
days... Talk about kicking a girl when she was down.
Links…
Buy links:
Breathless
Press
Barnes & Noble – coming soon
iTunes – coming soon
Hi Aurelia and Samantha - Christmas for mothers usually means work, I find. Hope both of you had a wonderfully happy Christmas no matter what and before the twelve days are over, I hope you get your share of fun.
ReplyDeleteThank you Maria, it's impossible not to have fun with my two giddy little monkeys and my husband off work for Christmas. I hope you are having a lovely Christmas too.
ReplyDeleteChristmas was lovely, but busy and hard work, too! Was my first day back to work (the day job) today and have to say I feel like i've got my sanity back! (for a few hours at least) :-) x
ReplyDelete