Cruising Along Into 2013

Welcome aboard!

And greetings from beautiful Los Cabos, Mexico.  Nah, not really. I'd love to be there, basking in the warm Mexican sunlight instead of sitting here in the dreary midwest looking out at the snow and ice still on our porch. Oh, well.

Thank goodness for imagination. If I can't actually travel around the world, I can still visit places I've longed to see by reading about them. Through the pages of romance novels, I've done a lot of traveling, and I've fallen in love more than a few times along the way.

When it comes to writing my own stories, I tend to stay close to home most of the time. It's nice to add little details I know from personal experience, and it's also fun to learn about the history of the area as I research past places, people, and events.

Secret Cravings Publishing has been great to work with, and I hope you'll join with me in celebrating their second anniversary. I hope you'll join with me, as well, as I celebrate the release of my second novel with SCP.

It's "Happily Ever After" -- set close to home in Kansas City, Missouri. The story takes place in the late 1890s,  a time when life might have been a bit slower-paced and moral standards a bit different, but love and passion have always been part of the human experience.

It's a story of love, and a story of loneliness, a story of dragons, and a story of despair.

Anne Hopkins wants to help Rowena Mather, a troubled 9-year-old girl who is grieving over her mother's death. But helping Rowena means dealing with the girl's father, too.

George Mather is a desperately lonely man. Although he's drawn at once to his daughter's new caretaker,  his heart is trapped in the past, still bound to his late wife, Margaret, and to the vow he made to her.

An innocent child with frightening nightmares, a broken man struggling to cope, and a devoted grandmother who can't stay away from her opium...the Mather family need Anne in their lives.

But what of the secrets Rowena shares about her father? Could George be the dragon of Rowena's dark dreams? Has his grief turned him to anger and violence?

George has questions about Anne Hopkins, as well. He's seen her with another man, and he's heard the rumors about town. Is she the kind-hearted woman she appears? Or is she hiding a shameful secret?

You can read a short excerpt from Happily Ever After by clicking HERE!

To help with my new-release celebration, please leave a comment below, and let me know your favorite fairytale. They do come true at times, you know. I'll draw at random from all entries, and the winner will receive a free copy of "Happily Ever After" -- either Nook, or Kindle, as the winner prefers.

And don't forget my port-of-call for the SCP 2nd Anniversary contest. 

Christina Cole: Los Cabos, Mexico

Grand Prize for the SCP Giveaway is an IPad2

First Place: Kindle Fire

Second Place: $50.00 SCP Gift Card

Third Place: $25.00 SCP Gift Card

Thanks for visiting! You can now return to your home port! 

Click the link above to visit the SCP Blog.

Be sure, too, to submit your contest answers to:

reviewcoordinator@secretcravingspublishing.com

Happy Cruising!