2013 is right around the corner, and one of the things I’ve been dying to do is have a serialized story running on the blog, an episode a week – something sexy and fun that can be digested in short little pieces in between some of my bigger projects next year.

I’ve got tons of ideas, but this is a good time to get some input.  Thanks so much!!!

Ivy’s story is finally up!  It’s amazing how some stories come together so quickly, and some are like walking through cement.  This one was definitely the latter, and I have NO idea why.  That’s the way the Christmas cookie crumbles, I suppose. 🙂

Anyway, Ivy is here, and I hope you enjoy her!  She’s about to have a very naughty private office party with the very drool-worthy Rafe Allen, who I think should be under my tree on Christmas morning.  I’ve been good.  Honest!  Okay, maybe not…LOL…

Ivy Kringle doesn’t have time for romance.  The second of Santa’s daughters, she’s determined to keep Santa’s empire moving with the times.  While the rest of the newly formed External Relations department is taking time out for a well-deserved office party, Ivy is still hard at work.  Which is all for the best.  The last thing she needs is to get caught under the mistletoe and reveal her family’s magical susceptibility to the holiday plant.  This Christmas Eve, she’s going to play it cool, no matter badly she wants to heat things up with her sexy business partner, the tall and brooding Rafe Allen.

Rafe is dying to get his hands on Ivy, but worries that his need to take control might scare her off.  When he discovers that mistletoe has the power to make a Kringle girl do anything he asks, he sets out to use the magical plant to seduce the cool and reserved beauty.  As the party rocks on around them, Rafe will use every sexy trick in the book to get Ivy to admit that not only is she as head over heels for him as he is for her, but that they belong together, even when Christmas is over.

Is there anything better than a warm cookie right out of the oven?

The cookie recipe below has a sad origin, but don’t let that scare you away!  A few years back, a dear friend of mine passed away unexpectedly right around Christmas.  He was a young man with his whole life ahead of him and my friends and I were all devastated.  After a few terrible weeks, I realized that I was spending more time moping than being productive, and that I wasn’t going to feel better until I found a way to put some goodness back into the world.  So I started with Cheer Cookies – part sugar cookie, part dessert ravioli, part mad science experiment.  I made batches and batches, and shared them with my friends.

The best part is that you can use any basic sugar cookie recipe you like, and fill them according to taste.  Here’s how I make them, and may they bring you good cheer, as they did to me:

Cheer Cookies

Basic Sugar Cookies:

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• (Add 1 heaping tablespoon of cocoa to the flour if you prefer  chocolate)

Filling Suggestions:

• Mini-chocolate chips – dark, milk, or white
• Peanut Butter
• Chopped up mini-marshmallows
• Nuts
• Caramel chips/butterscotch chips
• Coconut
• Nutella
• Anything else your heart desires

Directions

It’s hard to be normal when you’re Santa’s daughter, but Holly Kringle is giving it her best shot, staying out of the family business and building a life for herself as a small town teacher. However, the elves and Mrs. Claus decide to help things along when Holly falls for David, the hot divorced father of one of her young students. When Santa “accidentally” leaves the little boy’s present behind, the family calls on Holly to deliver it herself, even if it means a midnight tangle with David that could turn their little spark of chemistry into Christmas fireworks.

David Brewster might be ready to start dating again, and can’t keep his eyes off his son Henry’s gorgeous teacher. She’s sweet and nice and smells like cinnamon, but everyone seems convinced that she’s Santa Claus’ daughter. David is sure it must be nonsense until Holly magically appears in his living room on Christmas Eve to deliver a present for Henry. Santa’s daughter or not, David is determined to convince Holly to give them a chance, even if he has to get incredibly naughty to make her wishes come true.

THE KRINGLE GIRLS – IVY

Ivy Kringle doesn’t have time for romance.  The second of Santa’s daughters, she’s determined to keep Santa’s empire moving with the times.  While the rest of the newly formed External Relations department is taking time out for a well-deserved office party, Ivy is still hard at work.  Which is all for the best.  The last thing she needs is to get caught under the mistletoe and reveal her family’s magical susceptibility to the holiday plant.  This Christmas Eve, she’s going to play it cool, no matter badly she wants to heat things up with her sexy business partner, the tall and brooding Rafe Allen.

Rafe is dying to get his hands on Ivy, but worries that his need to take control might scare her off.  When he discovers that mistletoe has the power to make a Kringle girl do anything he asks, he sets out to use the magical plant to seduce the cool and reserved beauty.  As the party rocks on around them, Rafe will use every sexy trick in the book to get Ivy to admit that not only is she as head over heels for him as he is for her, but that they belong together, even when Christmas is over.

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OK, THE KRINGLE GIRLS – IVY should have been out Friday, and now it’s Monday.  I have no real excuse except that it’s the holidays and life intrudes.

However, OH WOW is this story hot.  So you have something to look forward to. 🙂

I’m hoping to get it into the Amazon queue by this evening…fingers crossed!

xoxo,

Lily

Well, it’s not really lost.  I know where it is.  It’s just not here 🙂

All of my epic plans for getting Ivy’s story out the door yesterday failed epically as last week’s paycheck workload spilled over into the weekend like a slow moving disaster at a molasses factory – horrifying to watch, impossible to stem the flow, and one big, sticky mess.  

But enough about that. Today is a new day!  And while the rest of the world is doing all the fun Sunday activities they’re supposed to be doing on this lovely morning, I will be editing naughty holiday fun, hopefully to make available tomorrow.

Stay tuned!

I’m discussing the writing life today on Book & Trailer Showcase, courtesy of Natasha Blackthorne!

http://booktrailershowcase.com/2012/12/01/the-writing-life-by-lily-rede/

It takes me a while to ease into the holidays.  It usually starts with ordering Christmas and Chanukah cards.  Then I have to de-clutter enough to put up some decorations – I don’t bother with a tree, since I travel over the holidays and borrow trees from various family branches.  Then there are presents to buy, and my schedule suddenly starts filling up with parties and drinks dates and dinners.  The problem with all of this chaos is that unless my head’s in the game, it’s tedious rather than fun, so every year I spend the first week of December or so trying to remind myself that the holidays only come once a year, and that I’ll regret it if I don’t make the most of them.  There’s a lot of internal lecturing. 🙂  Eventually, it all comes together and I go a little overboard indulging in gingerbread and mulled wine, and can look forward to the year ahead.

This year, to get my jingle mojo going, I’m writing sexy holiday shorts.  HOLLY is up and available, and IVY should be up this weekend.  This morning’s victory? I FINALLY have a blurb – take a look!

Ivy Kringle doesn’t have time for romance.  The second of Santa’s daughters, she’s determined to keep Santa’s empire moving with the times.  While the rest of the newly formed External Relations department is taking time out for a well-deserved office party, Ivy is still hard at work.  Which is all for the best.  The last thing she needs is to get caught under the mistletoe and reveal her family’s magical susceptibility to the holiday plant.  This Christmas Eve, she’s going to play it cool, no matter badly she wants to heat things up with her sexy business partner, the tall and brooding Rafe Allen.

Rafe is dying to get his hands on Ivy, but worries that his need to take control might scare her off.  When he discovers that mistletoe has the power to make a Kringle girl do anything he asks, he sets out to use the magical plant to seduce the cool and reserved beauty.  As the party rocks on around them, Rafe will use every sexy trick in the book to get Ivy to admit that not only is she as head over heels for him as he is for her, but that they belong together, even when Christmas is over.

The Monday after a holiday should be a day of recovery, a time to adjust your brain to get ready for the run-up to the NEXT holiday. If you’re a busy human (like most of us tend to be), it’s vital to reset the stress clock.  If you’re a writer, you tend to think in terms of deadlines, self-imposed or otherwise – is the project going to get done in time?  Do I have time for one more round of edits?  Can’t I just stop and do something normal for a living, please?  The answer to that last one is always NO…:) 

So here’s to the start of the Yule season, whether you celebrate Christmas, Chanukah, or any of the other wonderful traditions that call for bright lights at the beginning of a cold winter.  And if you are a writer, or do anything else that tends to gobble up your time and send you careening through the world in your head for hours upon end, here’s to deliberately taking a day or two sometime this season to shut off the computer, put down the pen, and simply enjoy.

 

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” –John F. Kennedy

I’m attempting to stay off the Internet today (monumental effort, kids), but I wanted to stop in and say how grateful I am for my life, for my family, and for all of YOU!  Have a good one, and enjoy the leftovers!  Mmmm…turkey cranberry sandwiches…