Decorations and Divas ...

IT'S MISTLETOE MONDAY -  The Not Your Usual Suspects authors share their personal Holiday season decorations and delights with you.

Tell us about your favourite decorations and traditions at this time of year - we'd love to hear them!

**Comment on any post this month & be entered to win FREE BOOKS!**
***Countdown today: ELEVEN BOOKS under the Christmas tree, see below***



We love to decorate! Here are some of the beautiful displays on view by our authors:

Toni says: These balls hung for years in my mom and dad's house--the house I grew up in. Then my parents decide to move, doing some serious downsizing . When I was there two summers ago I had admired the balls, but there was no way I could get them in my luggage. Imagine my surprise and joy when this massive cardboard box arrived just before Christmas last year, full of peanuts and bubblewrap and these three antique glass baubles. There are the size of ostrich eggs and I LOVE them :)

Toni Anderson

Atmospheric Tales of Love & Murder

Blog | Website | Twitter | Facebook

Clare says: A dear friend in the US whom I haven't seen now for 5 years sent me a precious tree ornament that says it all: DIVA. It makes the family laugh - always the first to make sure I don't grow too big-headed! - though I know she meant it in the best possible way, and it is connected to the ID I used in my fanfiction days.

The other precious sight is of me and my sister as children ------>

One or other of us always seemed to be ill at Christmas! and wrapped up on the sofa (it's ME in this pic). What's special is that this picture was taken my Grandmother's front room - and that's now MY front room as well, because we bought the house off her when she went into a home and subsequently passed away. It gives me a wonderful sense of family continuity, and I'm glad to say my Sons are just as fond of the house as we all are - though they seem to be in better health at Christmas when there's chocolate to eat and Xbox games to play LOL.

Clare London

Writing … Man to Man

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter

                              



Update on the BOOK GIVEAWAY:
Follow this on each post during Dec as the books mount up. Comment on any post to to be entered in the draw. Final prize giveaway on Jan 2!

ELEVEN BOOKS SO FAR!

Blinded by Our Eyes by Clare London

Dead Silent - Shirley Wells

Sea of Suspicion by Toni Anderson

Under Fire by Rita Henuber

The Shoeless Kid - Marcelle Dube

No One to Trust - Julie Moffett

Icescapade - Josh Lanyon

Choice of backlist - Shelley Munro
Desperate Choices - Kathy Ivan
Protective Custody by Wynter Daniels
Her Dark Knight - Sharon Cullen

Happy Holidays to you all

From all of us at Not Your Usual Suspects.

We wish you all a happy, peaceful and enjoyable season.

Get your Laughing Gear ready for Christmas :)

IT'S FRIDAY FUN! and the Not Your Usual Suspects authors share some jokes and cheeky fun with you all through the Holiday season :)

Feel free to share YOUR jokes in the comments - maybe we'll include some of them in later blog posts!

**Comment on any post this month & be entered to win FREE BOOKS!**
***Countdown today: TEN BOOKS under the Christmas tree, see below***

Why would you invite a mushroom to a Christmas party?
He's a fun guy to be with.
Why was Santa's little helper feeling depressed?
He had low elf-esteem.
Why should husbands make the early morning tea for their wives?
Because the Bible says He Brews
What's the longest word in the English language?
Smiles, because there is a "mile" between the first and the last letters.

*

The 10 WORST Christmas cracker jokes from a recent survey:
1. What is Santa's favourite pizza?
One that's deep pan, crisp and even.
2. On which side do chickens have the most feathers?
The outside.
3. What kind of paper likes music?
(W)rapping paper.
4. What's white and goes up?
A confused snowflake.
5. What do you call a woman who stands between two goal posts?
Annette.
6. Did you hear about the man who bought a paper shop?
It blew away.
7. What's furry and minty?
A polo bear.
8. How do snowmen get around?
They ride an icicle.
9. Who hides in the bakery at Christmas?
A mince spy.
10. What do you call a penguin in the Sahara desert?
Lost.

*

Some jokes from our readers:

Anne

Q) What disease can you catch from putting up too many Christmas decorations?
A) Tinsilitis

Vanessa

What do elves learn in school?
ANSWER: The Elf-abet

What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire?
ANSWER: Frostbite

flchen1

What do Christmas and a cat in the desert have in common?
Both have Sandy Claws

If athletes get athletes foot, what do astronauts get?
Mistletoe!!

*

Knock Knock...

Who's there?
Mary
Mary who?
Mary Christmas

Who's there?
Wenceslas
Wenceslas who?
Wenceslas train home?

Who's there?
Snow
Snow who?
Snow business like show business

Who's there?
Wayne
Wayne who?
Wayne in a manger

Who's there?
Oakham
Oakham who?
Oakham all ye faithful

Who's there?
Holly
Holly who?
Holly-days are here again

                          

                         

Share some Christmas music - How many of them are your favourites as well? recommended by Clare London:

Link:  http://youtu.be/8sB7_zCneG8

A clip from Love Actually, one of Toni Anderson's favourite Christmas movies:

Follow the link: http://youtu.be/XVSmT4nNEkQ

(embedding disabled, I'm afraid)





                                    

                     


Update on the BOOK GIVEAWAY:
Follow this on each post during Dec as the books mount up. Comment on any post to to be entered in the draw. Final prize giveaway on Jan 2!

TEN BOOKS ALREADY!

                                 



Blinded by Our Eyes by Clare London
Dead Silent - Shirley Wells
Sea of Suspicion by Toni Anderson
Under Fire by Rita Henuber
The Shoeless Kid - Marcelle Dube

No One to Trust - Julie Moffett

Icescapade - Josh Lanyon

Choice of backlist - Shelley Munro
Desperate Choices - Kathy Ivan
Protective Custody - Wynter Daniels

Kindlegraph - perfect for a reader's Christmas!

Kindlegraph

lets authors send personalized inscriptions and signatures ("kindlegraphs") directly to the electronic reading devices of their fans.

Readers - contact your favourite authors and collect e-autographs!

Authors - reach your readers in an even more personalised way!

There's a very useful mini-video on how it works on the site, but here is a brief, additional run-down.

I'm an Author, what do I do? 
* Sign up for Twitter, if you haven't already. You DON'T have to use Twitter after that, although you may learn to love it :). Either way, you only need a Twitter ID at the moment for Kindlegraph.
* Go to Kindlegraph and use your Twitter ID to register you as an author. You'll be asked to add a contact email address. Now readers can find you there!
* Add your book(s). All you need is the Amazon ASIN reference, it's listed on the Amazon book page. Copy or type that in, then the book will appear on your Author page with a "Request Kindlegraph" button underneath for a reader to use.

* When a reader requests a Kindlegraph, you'll get an email letting you know. You sign into Kindlegraph, find "Requests" at the top right of your screen, follow that link to the request and write something to them. Kindlegraph offers an automated signature for your message, but you can add your own. Press "Send Kindlegraph" and off it goes!

I'm a reader, what do I do?

You don't need to own or buy the book in order to receive a Kindlegraph, nor do you need to own a Kindle. The Kindlegraph is not inserted into the e-book. It arrives as a separate document. This allows a reader to create a "collection" on their reading device and keep all of their Kindlegraphs together.

* Sign on to Twitter as above.
* Go to Kindlegraph, search for your favourite author(s), click on any of their books and send a request. You can add a personal message to them if you want.
* When they've completed a Kindlegraph back to you, you'll get an email notification. You can then access it on your Kindle, on your iBooks, or directly from the Kindlegraph site. Log in, look for "My Collection" at the top right of the screen, and your Kindlegraphs are accessible as PDFs, attached to a copy of the cover art.

Authors, want to check how it works?
Request a Kindlegraph for yourself, from your own book! Or buddy up with another author and request from each other. Then you can follow through the process and see what it looks like.

To request a personalized signature go to http://kindlegraph.com/books or click on the authors link:

Participating Carina Press Suspense and Not Your Usual Suspects authors:

Toni Anderson             http://www.kindlegraph.com/authors/toniannanderson

Anne Marie Becker      http://www.kindlegraph.com/authors/annemariebecker

Wynter Daniels             http://www.kindlegraph.com/authors/WynterDaniels

Marcelle Dubé              http://www.kindlegraph.com/authors/MarcelleDube

Rita Henuber                http://www.kindlegraph.com/authors/ritahenuber

Kathy Ivan                   http://www.kindlegraph.com/authors/KathyIvan

Clare London               http://www.kindlegraph.com/authors/clare_london

Maureen Miller             http://www.kindlegraph.com/authors/MaureenAMiller

Julie Moffett                 http://www.kindlegraph.com/authors/JMoffettAuthor

Wendy Soliman            http://www.kindlegraph.com/authors/wendyswriter

Carol Stephenson         http://www.kindlegraph.com/authors/CStephensonFL

Shirley Wells                http://www.kindlegraph.com/authors/Shirley_Wells
Julie Wachowski          http://www.kindlegraph.com/authors/JulieWachowski
Josh Lanyon                 http://www.kindlegraph.com/authors/JoshLanyon
Sharon Cullen               http://www.kindlegraph.com/authors/SharonCullen
Shelley Munro              http://www.kindlegraph.com/authors/ShelleyMunro
Angela Henry               http://www.kindlegraph.com/authors/MystNoir
Melinda Leigh              http://www.kindlegraph.com/authors/MelindaLeigh1

Come and support these great authors. It's a chance to say "HI", and enjoy a personalised souvenir for books you've enjoyed - or are looking forward to!

Yes, you CAN be even sweeter!

IT'S WEDNESDAY WARMERS: The Not Your Usual Suspects authors share their seasonal recipes ... mmmmmm!

**Comment on any post this month & be entered to win FREE BOOKS!**
***Countdown today: NINE BOOKS under the Christmas tree, see below***

CLARE LONDON shares TIFFIN

Ingredients (Serves: 20)

110g (4 oz) butter

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons golden syrup

4 teaspoons cocoa

225g (8 oz) Digestive / sweetmeal biscuits, crushed

1 handful of raisins (optional)

225g (8 oz) cooking chocolate - half milk & half dark

Prep: 10 mins | Cook: 5 mins | Extra time: 1 hour, setting

In a saucepan, melt the butter, sugar, syrup and cocoa. Add the biscuits and raisins when melted. Stir to combine. Pour mixture into a swiss roll size tin and press down. Melt the cooking chocolate and pour over the mixture in the tin. Pop the tin into the fridge and leave for about 1 hour to set. To serve, cut into about 20 pieces.

Tip : Melt the chocolate by microwaving at 30 second intervals, stirring in between, till melted. But be careful not to scorch the chocolate! Otherwise, melt in a bowl set over a pan of boiling water.

MARCELLE DUBE shares CANDY CANE COOKIES
 

2 cups  Butter, softened

1 cup    Granulated sugar

½ tsp    Peppermint extract

4 cups  All-purpose flour

⅓ cup Crushed candy canes

In bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy. Beat in peppermint extract. Stir in flour, ½ cup at a time, until combined. Shape dough into four logs, each about four inches long and two inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours or for up to three days (Can be frozen in airtight container for up to three weeks.)

Using a serrated knife, cut logs into ¼–inch thick slices; place about two inches apart on baking sheets. Bake in center of 350˚F oven for 10 minutes; remove and sprinkle ¼-tsp crushed candy in center of each. Return to oven; bake for two minutes or until firm to the touch, bottoms are golden and candies are melted. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes; transfer to rack and let cool completely. (Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to three weeks.) Makes about 60 cookies, 100 calories each.

ANNE MARIE BECKER shares SNOWBALL COOKIES
 

1/2 lb. butter

2 1/3 c. flour

1/2 c. sugar

1 c. walnuts or pecans, chopped

2 tsp. vanilla

approx. 2 c. powdered sugar and/or sprinkles

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Cream the butter with the sugar and vanilla.  Add the flour (gradually) and then the nuts.  Roll spoonfuls of dough in hands to form into balls (about 1-2 inches in diameter).  Place on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake about 25-30 minutes, or until a pale golden brown.  While baked cookies are still hot, roll in powdered sugar (and sprinkles if desired).  Roll in powdered sugar again when cool.

**********************************************

Clare London

Writing … Man to Man

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter

Marcelle Dube

Website

Anne Marie Becker

Thrilling Romantic Suspense

Website

**********************************************

Update on the BOOK GIVEAWAY:
Follow this on each post during Dec as the books mount up. Comment on any post to to be entered in the draw. Final prize giveaway on Jan 2!

NINE BOOKS TO DATE!

Blinded by Our Eyes by Clare London

Dead Silent - Shirley Wells

Sea of Suspicion by Toni Anderson

Under Fire by Rita Henuber

The Shoeless Kid - Marcelle Dube

No One to Trust - Julie Moffett

Icescapade - Josh Lanyon

Choice of backlist - Shelley Munro
Desperate Choices - Kathy Ivan

Our favourite things

IT'S MISTLETOE MONDAY -  The Not Your Usual Suspects authors share their personal Holiday season decorations and delights with you.

Tell us about your favourite decorations and traditions at this time of year - we'd love to hear them!

**Comment on any post this month & be entered to win FREE BOOKS!**
***Countdown today: EIGHT BOOKS under the Christmas tree, see below***



We love to decorate! Here are some of the beautiful displays on view by our authors:

Rita says: I grew up in Florida. Christmas never included snow. We made our own wreaths from cedar boughs or magnolia leaves, decorated with holly and humongous pinecones. Garlands were made of the same material all of which we gathered ourselves. Table decorations could be palm fronds, magnolia leaves, holly and citrus fruit punctured with cloves. It was the job of the cousins to decorate the citrus with whole cloves. I associate the smell of cedar, drying citrus and cloves with Christmas. Our big family tradition was to celebrate Christmas Eve at my aunt’s century old home. Many times all the doors and windows were open because it was so warm. There were a few times we had a fire in the fireplace. But I remember the room as being so toasty we didn't spend much time in there. I’ve spent Christmas in many places from Hawaii to the Midwest and back to Florida. I loved being immersed in the local traditions wherever I was and decorated accordingly. Back in Florida now my decorations reflect where I live, the beach. My Santas are in floral print shirts and/or shorts. I love decorating the palm trees with lights. My wreaths have shells and holly. My tree has a giant starfish at the top, mermaids, flamingo and starfish lights while my neighbors, who are all from the North, still decorate the way they did up there. Don't tell anyone but, I think I like my decorations a lot more.

Rita Henuber

Website

***********************

Carol says: 
Left: my family called this ornament "Big Red", and it's well over 50 years old. Every year I continue the tradition of picking a special spot on the tree to showcase 'Red'.

Middle: my office held a Xmas wreath competition, and I created a Shih Tzu wreath, including rawhide candy canes. I didn't win, but I love putting it out every year.

Right: My Shih Tzu Maddie as she's my most treasured Xmas decoration.

Carol Stephenson

Escape to Compelling, Heart-Racing Stories
Website; Facebook; Twitter; Not Your Usual Suspects

**********************

Julie says: This is a picture of my Christmas tree. The other is of a favorite ornament (a girl cheerleading that looks a bit like me!) that I got shortly after high school. I went to school in Okinawa, Japan and our team colors were red and white.

 
Julie Moffett

Website

                              



Update on the BOOK GIVEAWAY:
Follow this on each post during Dec as the books mount up. Comment on any post to to be entered in the draw. Final prize giveaway on Jan 2!

EIGHT BOOKS TO DATE!

Blinded by Our Eyes by Clare London

Dead Silent - Shirley Wells

Sea of Suspicion by Toni Anderson

Under Fire by Rita Henuber

The Shoeless Kid - Marcelle Dube

No One to Trust - Julie Moffett

Icescapade - Josh Lanyon

Choice of backlist - Shelley Munro

Celebration and Chuckles

IT'S FRIDAY FUN! and the Not Your Usual Suspects authors share some jokes and cheeky fun with you all through the Holiday season :)

Feel free to share YOUR jokes in the comments - maybe we'll include some of them in later blog posts!

**Comment on any post this month & be entered to win FREE BOOKS!**
***Countdown today: SEVEN BOOKS under the Christmas tree, see below***

Why did the lobster cross the road?
To get to the other tide.

Question: If Santa Claus is crossed with a detective then what would you get?

Answer: Santa Clues!

What's for lunch on Christmas Day for snowmen?
Answer: Icebergers!

How do snowmen travel around?
Answer: By icicle!

How does one snowman greet another?
Answer: Ice to meet you.

What's the popular name of a snowman in summer?
Answer: A puddle.

What's a snowman's favorite Mexican food?
Answer: Brrrr- itos.

What kind of money do snowmen use at the North Pole?
Answer: Cold cash!

How do you get to know if the snowman's in your bed?
Answer: You wake up wet!

What does a snowman likes to eat on Christmas Eve?
Answer: Turkey with snow topping.

What kind of money does a snowman use?
Answer: Cold cash!

*

Some jokes from one of our readers, flchen1:

Where do Santa's reindeers like to stop for lunch?
Deery Queen

What do you call a bunch of grandmasters of chess bragging about their games in a hotel lobby?
Chess nuts boasting in an open foyer.

                                     

                                    

Share a lovely clip of a Hallelujah Chorus by the people of Quinhagak in Alaska:



Link: http://youtu.be/LyviyF-N23A

And OHHHH this made me wince! From A Christmas Story - Tongue Stuck to Pole ...

Only available on Link: http://youtu.be/_RgCbcT8eEU



Update on the BOOK GIVEAWAY:
Follow this on each post during Dec as the books mount up. Comment on any post to to be entered in the draw. Final prize giveaway on Jan 2!

SEVEN BOOKS TO DATE!

Blinded by Our Eyes by Clare London
Dead Silent - Shirley Wells
Sea of Suspicion by Toni Anderson
Under Fire by Rita Henuber
The Shoeless Kid - Marcelle Dube
No One to Trust - Julie Moffett
Icescapade - Josh Lanyon