New Release: Running From Christmas by E. A. West

Even though we haven’t yet had the trick-or-treaters, some stores have already to begin displaying their Christmas decorations, and in the publishing industry holiday preparations began long ago. Author E. A. West is one of those authors who got an early start, and she’s here today to tell us about her newest release, Running From Christmas. Take it away, E. A.!

Tag Line:

Some things can’t be left behind...

Back Cover Blurb:

Army veteran Alessandra Castillo just wants to be left alone. Life has been tough since her deployment in Afghanistan, and the holiday season makes it even more difficult. Unemployed and homeless, she’s currently living with her brother, who refuses to let her avoid all things social.

Enter Brad Kovac, youth pastor and good friend of Alessandra’s brother. He’s tall, gorgeous, and outgoing, three things guaranteed to catch Alessandra’s interest. At least they would have caught her interest before she survived an assault by a fellow soldier. Now all she wants to do is run from him and avoid anything resembling a relationship.

Will God provide a miracle in time for Christmas, or will Alessandra lose her chance for romance?

Excerpt:

Her pondering crashed to a halt when a man in his late twenties or early thirties stepped into the hall. Several inches taller than her, broad shoulders, trim waist...as much as she had protested her brother’s attempts to introduce her to people, this was one man she wouldn’t mind meeting. Her heart thumped in anticipation as she took in his light brown hair and friendly green eyes.

Slow down, girl. You don’t want a relationship, remember?

Alessandra inhaled deeply, hoping oxygen would encourage her to think clearly. So what if this guy was gorgeous? She didn’t need a boyfriend for Christmas — or at all. Not when she had enough other stuff to keep her occupied. Although she had to admit a boyfriend would probably be much more pleasant than her annual visit to her best friend’s grave. But a boyfriend meant obligatory time alone with a guy...

“Hey, man! It’s about time you got here.” A warm male voice broke into the memories threatening to drag her down, and she looked up to see the gorgeous guy greeting her brother with a slap on the back. “The natives are getting restless.”

Tony laughed. “We’re early, so any restless natives aren’t our problem yet.”

“And there’s the operative word — yet.” He turned to Alessandra and reached for the box of craft supplies. “Let me take that for you.”

“It’s all yours,” she said, relinquishing the box.

Tony set his burden on the floor and put his arm around her shoulders. “Alessandra, meet Brad Kovac, youth pastor and your cohort in crime tonight.”

Brad’s eyes lit up and sent a little shiver down Alessandra’s spine as he gave her a once-over. “Ah, so you’re Tony’s sister. I’m glad to finally meet you.”

She studied him, suspicion taking the place of some of her interest. “Finally?”

“Yes, your brother’s been telling me about you for quite some time.” Brad winked and leaned closer. “Is it true that you went to Afghanistan to play in the snow?”

Alessandra looked at her brother, and Tony shrugged as he withdrew his arm from her shoulders. “Hey, you’re the one who sent me the picture of a snowball fight.”

She blew out a breath, wondering just how much the big mouth had told Brad and who knew how many others. “Okay, yes. I went to Afghanistan, but it wasn’t to play in the snow.”

“But you played in it while you were there?” Brad lifted an eyebrow, amusement dancing in his eyes.

“Yes, I played in the snow with some other people.” She looked away, trying not to think about the stressful day that had precipitated the snowball fight. “We all needed to blow off some steam.”

“A snowball fight is a fun way to do it.” Brad hefted the box in his arms. “Come on. I’ll show you where we’re setting up the wreath factory, and you can tell me all of Tony’s dirty secrets.”

Buy Links:

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Running-Christmas-E-West-ebook/dp/B00OPFM5YU

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Running-Christmas-E-West-ebook/dp/B00OPFM5YU

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/running-from-christmas-e-a-west/1120611045?ean=2940150496071

iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/running-from-christmas/id932083826

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/running-from-christmas

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/486701

Author Bio:

E.A. West, award-winning author of sweet and inspirational romance, is a lifelong lover of books and storytelling. In high school, she picked up her pen in a creative writing class and hasn’t laid it down yet. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys reading, knitting, and crocheting. She lives in Indiana with her family and a small zoo of pets.

For more information visit: http://eawest.mcphitty.com

Where to Find Me:

Website: http://eawest.mcphitty.com

Blog: http://thewestcorner.wordpress.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/EA-West/34280264617

Twitter: http://twitter.com/eawest

Google+: http://plus.google.com/107709864908331978411/posts

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/authoreawest

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/eawest

What Will I Get Done This Year?

Image credit: jpldesigns / 123RF Stock Photo

Happy New Year! It seems that every year I start out with great intentions, and then they fall to the wayside before long. I guess I'm too easily distracted. But I would like to set forth a few things I want to do in 2014, based on what the past year was like. I'm no longer working in the bakery, so that's an extra 24 hours a week to get some things done. So rather than wasting time, I need to work on completing a lot of projects that have been shoved to the back burner a little too often.

Writing:

1. I need to finish the sequel to The Samurai's Garden. It's about half done. I just need to concentrate and get it finished.

2. I should blog more. I think I need to be more disciplined about this. I've had lots of guests here and I've sent posts to other people to advertise my new books, but I need to work on defining this blog a bit more. So I think I'm going to try to blog at least twice a week, and one of them is going to be a post I write myself - hopefully about something creative I've observed or done.

3. I've committed to one project due later this month. I'd better get in gear and finish it!

Crafting/Sewing:

I have sooooo much fabric and craft supplies it seems I could keep busy forever. I need to use some of this stuff up and give away what I'm not going to use. Last year I made a little dent in my supplies by vowing to post a picture of a project each week. I think maybe I ought to re-instate that. Make something and post a picture. Every week. Hopefully each project will be made with supplies I already have on hand.

Reading:

I have a lot of books on my ipad that I could be reading. I can't review books by Astraea Press authors but I can let them know I read and enjoyed them. I signed up for the reading challenge at Goodreads and I want to finish reading at least 50 books this year. That's not quite one book a week. I should be able to do this if I don't waste a bunch of time online playing games and reading articles about people I don't know and really don't care about!

Okay, these are my goals for 2014. My plan is to post my own blog each Thursday, and have guests on other days. Tomorrow is Thursday - I guess I'd better get in gear!