Aphrodisia Authors :: Blog

On November 7, my Unwrap Me co-author Melissa MacNeal mentioned holiday themes, and how they can inspire you. Well, when Kensington asked me if I wanted to contribute a novella to the next Christmas anthology, I had my theme cut out for me, so to speak.

Hmm. What kind of sexy romance could I write that had something to do with Christmas? I brainstormed about all the things I associate with Christmas and ended up with a spicy mix indeed.
Lots of people love Christmas, right? Well, that would be my hero, Nick Buchanan (named after St. Nick). But others pretty much hate it. That would be my heroine, Jude Benedetto, who’s been abandoned on Christmas. Twice!

How would they meet? Well, how about a Secret Santa gift? Jude’s girlfriend rigs the Secret Santa draw so she can play matchmaker, and she gifts Jude with a hot firefighter (the girlfriend’s brother-in-law).

How’s a guy who loves Christmas going to persuade a Grinch to get in the holiday mood? Hmm. Remember the song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” (a.k.a. “A Partridge in a Pear Tree)? When Nick realizes he met Jude exactly 12 days before Christmas, he has the brilliant and sneaky idea of giving her a special gift each day, themed to match the song – but so cleverly that anti-Christmas Jude won’t catch on.

Day 1, the partridge in the pear tree is Nick himself, her Secret Santa gift. For Day 2 (two turtle doves), he gives her two orgasms that have her cooing (well, more like screeching ) her pleasure. I had so much fun thinking up gifts for each day. Some were pretty obvious, like five golden rings (specialty condoms, of course!). Others were more of a challenge, like seven swans a-swimming. (If you read my novella, see if you can pick out all 12 gifts.)

Anyhow, suffice it to say, much fun was had by my hero and heroine, and by me too, as we progressed through those very sexy 12 days. And as Nick slowly persuaded Jude to open her heart and trust in him, and rediscover the loving spirit of Christmas. And that, after all, is the most fundamental Christmas theme, isn’t it?

Do you have a favorite Christmas-themed book or movie (or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa themed)? What kinds of lovely (or not so lovely) things do you associate with December holidays? To get us all in the holiday spirit, I’ll give away an autographed copy of Unwrap Me to one of the people who comments.

By the way, if you’d like to read an excerpt from my novella, “Unwrap Me,” check it out on my website at http://www.susanlyons.ca.

…. to freak out, fa lala lalala lah lah lah …

Although actually, I am doing better this year, which might have something to do with observing the season of Advent, but is more likely because I finally got the Christmas presents mailed off to Australia over a week ago.

So far, I’ve had a great blog tour and a wonderful booksigning at my favorite local indie bookstore, Mysterious Galaxy for my latest release, ONE MORE TIME. (And you can’t look at that bookcover too many times, can you!)

My three Christmas trees are up (yes, three, but two are small), we got an Advent wreath for the first time ever, made of cedar and pine. I’ve made candy (chocolate fudge, milky way delight, chocolate cheese fudge) and might make more (rum balls, springerle and more milky way delight because it is my favorite). I have completely neglected my Christmas cards this year. I bought them, half off, at Marshalls, but haven’t sent a single one.

All of this is to say, that while I was busily working away at my day job, I was constantly reminding myself that I had to come and blog here. And here I am at 7:30am, just sitting down to put a blog together, so clearly,

‘Tis the Season to Ramble…

What’s your holiday season like?