Autumn's Kiss Blog Hop

Welcome to Creative Hodgepodge!

THE AUTUMN'S KISS BLOG HOP HAS ENDED. WINNER OF MY GIVEAWAY IS MARY PRESTON.

Last year, I wrote a short story called Autumn Vows, and it was part of a lovely anthology called Autumn's Kiss. Seven other sweet romance authors collaborated on the project, and the result is a lovely collection of stories based on an autumn theme. We celebrated the release with a blog hop during autumn 2016, but then we realized that not everyone experiences the season at the same time - so we decided to recognize fall in the southern hemisphere by having another blog hop!

We decided that this time, we'd share our favorite autumn recipes. Since Autumn Vows takes place in my native West Michigan I decided to post instructions for making Spiced Apple Cider. In this part of the country we have lots of apple orchards, so apple cider fills the grocery store shelves all season. I love the smell of apples and cinnamon as it's simmering on the stove. There are lots of great recipes, but my favorite is quite simple: Take a gallon of cider, heat it in a large pan, add a little brown sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Let it simmer for a half hour (or until you can't wait any longer) and enjoy!

I like to sip on the cider as I'm writing, crafting, or watching TV. I keep lots of coasters around to protect my furniture! A friend showed me how to make these cute fabric coasters and since I've always got scraps of fabric around from recent projects, I made some four out of various colors of gingham to give away to a random commenter. To enter, simply leave a comment below telling me about your favorite cool-weather treat! I'll choose a winner on Monday morning, April 24.


But before you go, be sure to enter the Gift Card giveaway (one $100 prize and one $20 Gift Card) by entering your name, email addy and my favorite fall treat (see two paragraphs above) in the form below:

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

 Be sure to visit the blogs of all six participating Autumn's Kiss authors and follow instructions at each one in order to qualify for the Gift Cards, as well as the individual author giveaways. Here are the participating blog links:

An InLinkz Link-up

Angela Ford's 2014 Holiday Hop

I am pleased to be part of Author Angela Ford’s Holiday Hop! This is a blog hop designed to share our holiday stories with you – and I am thrilled to have a chance to share my newest holiday book, Christmas Journey!

Last Christmas, I introduced you to the fictional town of Zutphen, Michigan. Zutphen is based on several small communities in West Michigan, specifically in the corridor between Grand Rapids and Holland. This area was settled in the 1800s by Dutch immigrants, and the names of villages, streets, and businesses reflect this. The book was so well received, my publisher requested a sequel – and so I wrote a story about Helen DeGroot, the woman who directed the older children in Zutphen Community Church’s annual Christmas pageant.

One of the perks of having books published at EsKape Press is having a fabulous cover designed by Elaina Lee of For the Muse Design. And as always, Elaina came up with a stunning cover for Christmas Journey! (Click on the image to see the book at Amazon)

So now that I have your attention, let’s talk about the book itself. I loved writing this book, because the heroine isn’t a young ingénue – she’s my age! She has children and grandkids, and she’s active in her community. But other than this, she’s unlike me. Her husband has died, leaving her with enough investments to support her, but she’s having a hard time making ends meet. Fortunately, she has children who are there to help her. And when the pastor’s older brother comes to town, life gets interesting.

Christmas Journey can be purchased at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and other ebook outlets.

AND NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAYS! The participating authors of this blog hop have pitched in for a Kindle to one lucky reader. All you have to do is find a picture of your favorite Christmas movie or book and pin it to Angela Ford’s Pinterest board at THIS LINK. A winner will be selected after the end of the blog hop on December 15.

For those of you visiting this blog, I’m offering a giveaway of my own! I made this cute Christmas apron and I’d love to send it to you! To win, leave a comment below telling me about some of the Christmas goodies that come from your kitchen. Good luck, and Merry Christmas!