Book Blitz ~ ‘Love, Laughter and Merrily Ever Afters’ Collection.

Love, Laughter, and Merrily Ever Afters Collection
Publication date: November 25th 2014
Genres: Romance

SYNOPSIS

TEN fun, romantic holiday novellas by ten New York Times & USA Today bestselling authors

An all-star gathering of some of today’s most popular NYT and USA Today bestselling romance authors in a fun-filled collection…holiday style! With the overwhelming response to the chart-topping summer boxed set, we’ve brought together even MORE of your favorite authors for a winter compilation, and this time, we’ve giftwrapped TEN stories for you all. From the funny & sweet, to the STEAMY & heartfelt, each novella is packed with a whole lot of romance, and hand-picked to infuse perfectly-portioned holiday cheer into your busy days this season…along with hot bursts of holiday steam for those winter nights.

And at just ***99 CENTS USD*** that’s a huge savings of over 95% off retail for the individual books sold separately! This is an extremely limited edition bundle available for just 5 weeks so get your copy today!

THE BOXED SET INCLUDES:

IF I RETURN — by USA Today bestselling author Sawyer Bennett
WILD IRISH CHRISTMAS — by New York Times bestselling author Mari Carr
SEDUCING SANTA — by New York Times bestselling author Janelle Denison (aka Erika Wilde)
DECKING DREW — by New York Times bestselling author Violet Duke
FAIRIES & WISHES — by USA Today bestselling author Karen Erickson (aka Monica Murphy)
TWELVE DATES OF CHRISTMAS — by New York Times bestselling author Jessie Evans (aka J. Evans)
HOLIDAY SPIRIT — by New York Times bestselling author Cathryn Fox
UNWRAPPED — by New York Times bestselling author Melody Grace
A CHRISTMAS HEAT WAVE — by New York Times bestselling author Alannah Lynne
HIS CHRISTMAS WISH — by New York Times bestselling author Marquita Valentine

~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon US ~ B&N ~ iBooks ~

Mari Carr

New York Times & USA Bestselling Author

Wild Irish Christmas embraces some of the same traditions I enjoy in my own family. Everyone coming together to eat, drink, open gifts and tell stories. My Wild Irish family is all grown up and married with kids of their own when the story begins. When they decide to recreate Christmas’ past for their father, Pat, the seven siblings spend the evening in the apartment where they grew up. They gather around the Christmas tree with a bottle of Jameson as Pat tells them the story of how he met their mother, Sunday.

WILD IRISH CHRISTMAS by Mari Carr

 It’s Christmas Eve, and all seven of the Collins siblings have gathered together to give their father Patrick a precious gift. Gather ’round the tree and join the Collins family as they pass a bottle of Jameson, and Patrick shares the story of how he won the heart of Sunday, his true love, his soul mate…and the mother of his seven Wild Irish.

As the bottle moved from hand to hand, they each offered up words of thanks or wishes for the New Year. When it reached Patrick, he lifted the bottle and proposed a toast he hadn’t used since the last Christmas he’d celebrated with his wife, Sunday.

“To Conall Brannagh.”

Ewan took the bottle from his father. “Who?”

“Conall Brannagh,” Patrick repeated. “If your mother had chosen him over me, none of us would be here tonight.”

Sean leaned forward, a definite gleam of interest in his eyes. “So you had some competition for Mom, eh? I never knew that.”

Keira grabbed a bag of pretzels. “I didn’t either. Was Mom in love with him?”

Teagan looked at Patrick. “I always thought you were her first love.”

Patrick smiled at his daughter. “I was her last love, Teagan. That’s a much better spot to claim. Besides, I don’t know if it’s fair to say she loved Conall, though he certainly turned the women’s heads. What’s the word you girls use for handsome men? Dreamy?”

Riley laughed. “Um…yeah, not in this decade. I definitely don’t use the word dreamy to describe Aaron.”

“Then what would you say?” Pat asked.

“He’s hot. Totally doable.”

Killian turned to look at his younger sister and shook his head. “Jesus. How are we related?”

“Dreamy works for me, Pop,” Teagan said quickly.

Patrick looked at his kids and silently marveled at how different they were. Somehow, miraculously, their unique qualities meshed perfectly, creating an amazing family.

Ewan, always the steady one, hadn’t been distracted by the asides. “So Mom thought this Conall was dreamy?”

“All the girls in Killarney thought Conall was handsome, but he only had eyes for Sunday. Not that I could blame him. Your mother was a beauty, with that long dark hair and those crystal-blue eyes. She caught every man’s attention.”

“But you didn’t fall in love with her because of her looks, right?” Keira asked.

“Och, Lord no. While Sunday’s face was pleasing, it was her heart, so kind and compassionate, that I found attractive. That’s what captured me by my hand and—pardon the expression—balls and kept me holding on to her for dear life.”

“So what was the story with this Conall guy?” Tris asked.

“Well now, that is a tale.” Patrick leaned back and closed his eyes, letting his mind drift to a different place, a different time.

“I was working on my family’s sheep farm during the day while tending bar at Scully’s Pub every night. I was a young buck of twenty when Sunday, who was just nineteen, moved to Killarney to live with her aunt. Scully hired her to sing in the pub and from the first moment I laid eyes on her, I was lost…”

Mari’s Favorite Holiday Recipe

Cream of Crab Soup

Ingredients

¾ cup butter
¾ cup flour
2 chicken bouillon cubes (crushed)
dash of white pepper
salt to taste
1 tablespoon Old Bay
1 quart whole white milk
1 quart half and half
1 pound back fin crabmeat

Directions

Remove cartilage from crabmeat.
In a Dutch oven, melt butter. Blend in flour, pepper, and Old Bay. Stir and simmer over low heat 2-3 minutes.
Add milk, half and half, and bouillon. Simmer and stir constantly until bouillon is absorbed and the mixture thickens enough to coat a metal spoon.
Salt to taste, then add crabmeat. Heat through; do NOT boil.

Note: You can simply double recipe for a bigger amount.

Mari Carr

Writing a book was number one on Mari’s bucket list and on her thirty-fourth birthday, she set out to see that goal achieved. Now her computer is jammed full of stories — novels, novellas, short stories and dead-ends. A New York Times and USA Today bestseller as well as winner of the Passionate Plume, Mari found time for writing by squeezing it into the hours between 3 a.m. and daybreak when her family is asleep and the house is quiet.