Stephanie Cage - Writer

Christmas at the Cove by Rachel Brimble My rating: 4 of 5 stars I always enjoy a visit to Templeton Cove, Rachel Brimble's imaginary - but oh-so-real - seaside town. This visit had me on tenterhooks as sensible Carrie returned to the scene of her totally out-of-character one night stand on a mission to track down the father of her child. Bring on Scott, the sexy garage owner with a massive (but entirely understandable) case of commitment phobia, and the scene is set for a hugely emotional trip. The Christmas setting adds another emotional dimension, as does Scott's endearing attempt to rescue his entire household of female relatives, including his mother, whose reunion with Scott's absent father looks set to end in trouble. All in all, Christmas at the Cove is a tear-jerker with just the right amount of humour, some hot romance to warm the cold winter nights, and some important life lessons, all wrapped up in a pretty, seasonal package. View all my reviews

This time last year my sweet Christmas novella, 'The Santa Next Door' had just released.  I might have to re-read it to get back in a seasonal mood.  In the meantime, I've been reminding myself of my favourite things about Christmas by re-reading a blog post I wrote last year for Sarah Cass's 'Redefining Perfect' blog, about my top 10 ways to prepare for Christmas.  Why not pop over there and see how many of them you agree with? http://redefiningperfect.com/top-ten-tuesday-stephanie-cage-talks-christmas/

I was delighted with Melissa Stark's review of The Santa Next Door , and today I'm happy to be helping out by reviewing Ellen Butler's Second Chance Christmas as part of Melissa's 25 Days of Christmas series.  Have you visited yet?  If not, you can see all the stories on the blog , or read my review of Ellen Butler's book here : http://www.melissasnark.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/25-days-of-christmas-stories-second.html By the way, don't forget the competition to win a pdf copy of The Santa Next Door is still running over at Melissa's blog , until Saturday 21st December.  All you have to do is leave a comment on your favourite Christmas food - is it the mince pies that feature in The Santa Next Door, or turkey, or something else?  So far, Italian Christmas food seems to be a hit!

Bells Will Be Ringing by Monica Tillery et al My rating: 4 of 5 stars For me, the standout feature of this anthology was its sheer range. Bravely, the editors picked four stories which have nothing in common except Christmas... well, and sweet romantic storylines! The settings range from historic England to contemporary Hawaii and the mainland US. I think my favourite story was 'His Hawaiian Christmas', for its charm and originality. In any other context, snow at Christmas would be a cliche, but in Hawaii it's magical and eye-opening. When laid-back-to-the-point-of-horizontal surfer-dude Kai takes uptight hotel manager Clara up a mountain to discover Hawaii's one and only chilly spot, he shows her there's more to him - and to the island paradise - than she's previously realised. Another strong contender for favourite story was 'Merry's Wonderful Christmas Gift', an endearing historical romp with an English village setting, complete with oa...

And in other news... The Santa Next Door will also be one of the books featured on popular blogsite Snarkology's 25 days of Christmas series.  Check out Melissa's shiny, lovely site over the course of December to be introduced to a whole Christmas cornucopia of seasonal stories! Here she is: http://melissasnark.blogspot.co.uk/

If you've heard those horrible announcements on the radio which tell you how few days you've got left to do your Christmas shopping, you might welcome something to help get you in the mood for Christmas. Here's one idea: The Santa Next Door is free on Kindle from today until Saturday 19th October. Why not download a copy and get back in touch with the spirit of Christmas? Or pop a copy on your Kindle now and save it until you're ready to feel the Christmas spirit (but maybe 24th December would be a little late...!) Click here to view the book on Amazon and get your free download.

A while ago I introduced you to the snowy setting of my Christmas story, with the working title of 'The Santa Next Door'.   If you missed it, you can read it here . Now, I'm delighted to announce that Santa Claus really will be coming... to an electronic device near you.   I've just signed a contract with The Wild Rose Press for this short Santa story to be published as an e-book, hopefully in time for Christmas 2013.   So this seems like a good time to let my lovely heroine, Sue, and hero, Bryn, introduce themselves, to each other and to you...     “You said don't go in strange people's houses.”   Sue winced.   Apparently Trudi had inherited Sue's love of rules.   But why did she always have to trot them out at the most embarrassing moment?   Before Sue could find an answer, and definitely before her blush had faded, he had already supplied an answer: “Your Mum is quite right, usually.   But you see, I'm not a stranger...

Now we've come to the end of my 'twelve days of kindle' round-up of my year's e-reading, it seemed helpful to put links to all the posts in the same place in case you've missed any. So, here goes with my twelve favourite e-books of the year: The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins Vampire State of Mind, Jane Lovering Those Violet Eyes, Vonnie Davis Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Laini Taylor Dear Julia, Rae Summers A Stolen Chance, Linda LaRoque Falling for You, Heather Thurmeier Honky-Tonk Man, Sylvie Kaye Sing to Me, Cowboy, Lauri Robinson The Sea on Our Skin, Madeleine Tobert The Beaumont Brides Collection, Liz Fielding Liz Fielding's Little Book of Writing Romance And now it just remains for me to wish you a very Merry Christmas, jolly holidays, and happy reading!