NEW RELEASE and EXCERPT
Silver Belles and Stetsons
(A Western Romance Christmas Anthology)
(A Western Romance Christmas Anthology)
by Lyn Horner and others
Silver Belles and Stetsons has just been released and is available for a limited time for only $0.99. This anthology features ten Western Romance Christmas novellas by Amazon Bestselling and Award-Winning Authors.
Featured author Lyn Horner joins us today to share an excerpt from The Perfect Gift.
This novella is a sequel to the Texas Devlins series (get the first book White Witch FREE) and a lead-in to the upcoming full-length romance about Nora and Vittorio as adults.
Description
Ten Bestselling and Award-Winning Authors bring you ten Western Romance novellas featuring alpha-cowboys from the past. This anthology will take you back in time when men were rugged and handsome and the women who loved them were courageous and daring.
The Greatest Gift: A Montana Cowboy Christmas by Kathleen Ball, Amazon Bestselling and Award-Wining Author.
Looking for the man who ran out on her, Ginger finds a cowboy worthy of love but he doesn't want or need love.
Stone Mountain Christmas by Caroline Clemmons, Amazon Bestselling and Award-Winning Author.
Can Celia restore the town's Christmas spirit? "A beautifully written story about love and hope and all the emotions Christmas brings out in people." ~ Karren Lucas
Catherine’s Cowboy by Cait Braxton, Amazon Bestselling and Award-Winning Author.
During a supernatural dust storm, Fate steps in when rugged army tracker Elam helps Catherine deliver her child.
Angel and the Texan from County Cork by Carra Copelin, Amazon Bestselling and Award-Winning Author.
Does Angel trust marriage to the man she suspects of killing her husband or the stranger who promises to pay off her debt and set her free if she decides their marriage of convenience won’t work?
The Drifter’s Proposal by Kristin Holt, Amazon Bestselling Author.
The baker's man is home for Christmas... "Compelling. Heartwarming. Tender." ~ Diane Darcy, USA Today Bestselling Author
The Perfect Gift by Lyn Horner, Award-Winning Author.
Friendship has blossomed into young love, but it seems destined to die on the vine ... until an unexpected Christmas gift promises happiness.
She married the wrong man. Will fate intervene?
Christmas Redemption by Paty Jager, Amazon Bestselling and Award-Winning Author.
Can two battered hearts find solace or will the past continue to haunt their lives? "A story of forgiveness that has a wonderful hero who has worked hard to redeem himself."
A Hard Candy Christmas by Hebby Roman, Amazon Bestselling Author.
Two damaged souls. Can their budding love and the healing power of Christmas bring them together?
Will a miracle Christmas baby unite two tortured souls, or will it forever keep them apart?
Book Video
Praise for the Anthology
"This ten novella bundle of Christmas romances are certainly something completely different from my usual read. I really loved it, especially Kristin Holt's Drifter's Proposal. Each story dealt in its own way about women's roles in the 'old west' and how not only men were struggling in the expansion of the country, but their place in it. And, they are all sweet romances on top of it. It's a great book to cosy up to with a cup of something warm to spread the good cheer." ~ Andrea Stoeckel on Goodreads
Excerpt from The Perfect Gift by Lyn Horner
Nora stood on the front porch watching for riders. Goshdarn! What was taking Mr. and Mrs. Crawford so long? Uncle Tye and Auntie Lil had come early to help Mama and Daddy get ready. Lil’s parents were to come later with their men, but surely they ought to be here by now. What if something had happened to prevent them from coming?
No! Don’t even think that! They have to come, they just have to!
Smoothing the front of her Mother Hubbard, a short, baggy little girl’s dress she hated, she wished for a grown-up gown, but Mama had decreed she couldn’t start dressing like a woman until she turned fourteen. At least this Hubbard was made of pretty pink calico printed with sprigs of white flowers, and she liked the ruffled shoulders and neck. The color set off her black hair, which Mama had helped her put up, and her black stockings and high tops. She hoped Vito would approve.
She stuffed her hands into deep side pocket and glanced at her brothers and cousins. She’d shooed the four boys outside so Grandda Seamus could nap in his favorite chair in the parlor. Together with Maria’s younger children, they were playing ring taw, a game she’d once loved but now considered babyish. Crouched around a circle drawn in the dirt, they took turns shooting marbles, trying to knock each other’s marbles out of a small inner circle. Her brother Reece, less than two years younger than her, was winning judging by the pile of marbles he’d collected. Not surprised, Nora scowled, remembering how many marbles the little fiend had won from her and their baby brother Seamus in the past.
A faint thudding sound caught her ear. Shading her eyes, she spotted a cloud of dust in the distance. Then she made out a buckboard and horsemen. Finally! The expected company was almost here. Heart thumping wildly, she whirled and ran inside to alert her parents.
“Mama! Daddy! The Crawfords are coming,” she yelled, forgetting about her napping grandfather. At his grumble of complaint, she said, “Sorry, Grandda.”
Aunt Lil stepped out of the kitchen holding a large bowl and spoon just as Mama walked in the back door.
“Are they here?” both women asked.
“Not yet but almost. Should I tell Maria?”
Her mother nodded. “Aye, and your father and uncle. Lil, let’s greet your folks outside.”
“Right, you go ahead. I’ll set the cornbread on the stove and be right out.”
Nora was already dashing for the courtyard. “The Crawfords are almost here,” she announced to her father and uncle as she raced toward the cookhouse.
“What’s your hurry?” her father called.
“I have to tell Maria that Vittorio’s coming.”
Hearing the two men chuckle, she tore into the steamy little building. “Maria, Vittorio’s nearly here!”
“Sí, I heard you, niña,” the cook said with a broad smile. Tall and rather plump, with gray-streaked black hair, Maria was one of Nora’s favorite people. She was kind and good-natured and always ready with a tasty snack for all the children. And she was Vittorio’s madrecita, making her special.
Setting aside the huge kettle of gravy she’d been stirring, Maria mopped her sweaty face with her red-checked gingham apron – only worn on Christmas – and motioned for Nora to lead the way. “Let us go and welcome my son.”
My Review of The Perfect Gift by Lyn Horner
Vittorio Medina is 16 years old when he leaves the Taylor farm where he grew up and where his mother works as a cook. He takes a job at the neighbouring Crawford-Devlin ranch to keep away from temptation in the form of 12-year-old Nora, daughter of David and Jessie Taylor. Vito returns to the Taylor farm on Christmas Day and sparks fly. When Nora's heart is broken, her mother gives her the perfect gift in the form of a glimpse into her future. Will Jessie's revelation lead to happiness or put everyone in danger? We'll have to wait and see.
Nora comes from a special family. Her mother can "see" things before they happen and her Uncle Tye is "sensitive" to what other people are feeling. These characters, along with Nora's extended family, have previously featured in the author's Texas Devlins series. While some details seem irrelevant to this story, I'm sure fans of the Texas Devlins series will be glad to catch up with some old friends.
This novella gives us a lovely insight into how Christmas Day was celebrated in 1885, especially with respect to the types of presents the children received, and in relation to the specific roles of the men and women. I was pleased to see the author not only concentrate on the developing romance between Nora and Vittorio, but to also portray the loving relationship of the older married couple, David and Jessie Taylor.
This is a nice introduction to the upcoming romance novel featuring Nora and Vittorio as adults. A glossary of the Spanish terms used would be helpful.
About the Featured Author
Lyn Horner resides in Fort Worth, Texas - "Where the West Begins" - with her husband and several very spoiled cats. Trained in the visual arts, Lyn worked as a fashion illustrator and art instructor before she took up writing. She loves crafting passionate love stories, both historical and contemporary. Lyn also enjoys reading, gardening, visiting with family and friends, and cuddling her furry, four-legged children.
The author's Texas Devlins series blends authentic Old West settings, steamy romance and a glimmer of the mysterious. This series has earned multiple awards and nominations, including Crowned Heart reviews and a Rone Award nomination for Dearest Irish from InD'Tale Magazine.
Lyn is a contributor to Rawhide 'n Roses, a Western Romance Anthology. This book is a finalist in the 2015 RONE Awards anthology category. Lyn is proud to be in company with such a talented group of authors.
Jumping from the American Old West to the present day, Lyn is now hard at work on her romantic suspense series, Romancing the Guardians. These books combine her trademark flashes of psychic phenomena with Irish folklore and a chilling apocalyptic theme. Along the way, readers will be treated to thunderous action, terrifying suspense and sizzling romance.
Links
