Roxanne Rustand's Blog, page 5

Happy holidays!

BEST WISHES TO YOU FOR A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY SEASON!

It’s hard to believe that we’re already approaching mid-December. Like every other holiday this year, it will certainly be different—at least at our home. We usually have a houseful of family here to celebrate. Our daughter comes home early to help me cook and bake up a storm because we both love to cook! But this year, everyone is trying to be cautious and I’m not sure if any of the family will want to come.

And that makes me think fondly of years past.

Until last year, I’d always followed the Christmas traditions of my late Swedish mother, with a smorgasbord of Swedish foods on Christmas Eve—Christmas ham, Swedish meatballs, a potato casserole, platters of cold meats and cheeses, pickled herring, steamed veggies, lefse (which we love, though it’s Norwegian, not Swedish), cardamom buns, rice pudding with lemon sauce, and Swedish cookies like rosettes, pepparkakor, and lingonberry hearts. But NO lutefisk. Ever! I have such lovely memories of those Christmas Eve meals, but last year our kids voted for lasagna!

Please read to the end for the Christmas cookie recipe our family has been making since the 1970s!

Speaking of memories, my very favorite Christmas Eve was when our second son was born that very day. What a blessing!

Here are my questions for December:

What is one of your favorite memories from holidays past?

2. Do you serve certain favorite foods during the holidays?

To answer these questions, just reply in the “Comments” section below.

From those who answer, three winners will be chosen. Their replies (with just a first name and last initial) will appear in my January newsletter, and each winner can select a free e-copy of one title in my 2020 Coupled by Christmas six-novella series. Two of the novellas, CHRISTMAS IN PARIS and A SCOTTISH CHRISTMAS, are shown above.

Here are the winners from last month:

Debra P. said:

I am blessed to live with my 82 year Mom who is home from a rehab center after seven weeks. My Dad lives six blocks away. He is in and out a few days a week. We will have both of them for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We usually have an open house type day, but that will not be happening. I had planned on making some gifts, but my heart has not been in it this year. This year I will be focused more on the birth of the Lord, not the commercial, gift giving. I am struggling to get into the spirit of the holidays.

Natalya L. said:

How are you coping with the pandemic? With faith…trusting the Lord! What will you change this year? Nothing, I’m not going to let fear kill all the joy. Not one of us is guaranteed the next hour; why are we acting as if we will somehow live forever? We won’t. I respect genuine caution and take necessary precautions but I refuse to stay away from my loved ones, especially since we don’t know if they are going to be around for the next holidays.

What will you miss the most? I miss traveling. But we already have people walking around who are doing such ridiculous things that it’s just going to end up breaking all their hearts in the end…. And that’s the saddest part of all of this.

Colleen C. said:

Thinking of gift ideas for family is hard this year, no one really gave me any ideas. I feel like time is flying by… looking forward to decorating soon.

 

 

Here are my newest releases–in the six novella series “Couple for Christmas”

CHRISTMAS IN PARIS released December 4.

Christmas in Paris—a dream come true. Holly had planned every moment of their perfect, romantic honeymoon on an Excel spreadsheet.

To her utter shock, she found herself jilted just before her wedding. When she heard her fiancé had eloped with someone else that very morning and had absconded with her savings, it took her minutes to realize she’d escaped a very close call. And just a few more to decide she was not missing the trip of a lifetime that she’d paid for herself.

But when she steps out of her tiny Paris hotel and bumbles into the path of a man jogging by…

 

 

 

 

A SCOTTISH CHRISTMAS

Lucy Davis has fourteen days to settle her late aunt’s estate in Scotland, then she needs to be on her return flight to Chicago. As her Aunt Maura’s only remaining relative, she figures it won’t be difficult–she’d never met the woman who just died at eighty-nine, but assumes the most challenging aspects will probably be rehoming a pet cat or two, and taking a few things to a donation bin.

She doesn’t expect to find Maura still owned a charming B&B, complete with a collection of quirky guests who have no intention of moving out…plus one tall, mysterious man who just might be the man of her dreams….

HERE ARE FOUR GREAT PROMOTIONS THIS MONTH—WITH LOTS OF PRIZES TO WIN!

Inspirational Romance Holiday Extravaganza – Dec. 7-16

Click here to enter!

The Gift of Reading Giveaway ?? WIN A NEW SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB ?? – Dec. 4-10

From LitRing. Rewards one lucky reader with a Samsung Galaxy Tablet and two others each with a $25 Amazon gift card, just for following authors on BookBub! Go here now to see which authors are participating and claim all your entries for the big prize.

 

“Clean Christmas Shorts” Promotion – Nov. 27-Dec. 25

This is a place to find lots of wonderful Christmas novellas. Come check it out!

 

Clean Christmas Romance 25 Days of Christmas Facebook Event! – Dec. 20

Click on this link to join the group and find out more.

I’ll be there chatting with readers on December 20th from 5-6 pm central time, and giving away prizes. Be sure to stop by then!

 

 

OUR FAMILY’S FAVORITE CUT-OUT COOKIE RECIPE SINCE THE LATE 1970s!

This is a favorite because the dough is so easy to work with—which means much less trouble when making Christmas cookies with little ones. It can be rolled out over and over again, as you use up the “scraps” for the next batch.

I keep this dough in my freezer for when grandkids come, so we can roll out cookies for whatever season it is. The floor has a definite sugar crunch by the time we are done, but the kids have a ball.

And what they come up with always involves lots and lots of decoration—as you can see in the photo! 

Happy Thanksgiving…and a chance for prizes!

Best wishes to you all for a safe and happy holiday season!

How have you and yours been faring? I hope that you are doing well and that we can all get past this difficult time. I look forward to 2021 with great anticipation!

Did you receive my newsletter? It was sent out Wednesday, November 18th.  If you haven’t subscribed, it’s so easy.  Just look for the Subscribe button in the upper right corner of this website. I will always include a family favorite recipe, and also offer monthly prizes. In case you don’t wish to subscribe but would like to have a chance at those prizes 

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? ….Roxanne Rustand

I’m so thrilled! The Mistletoe Puppy, released last week, is the first of my six-novella Christmas series titled “Coupled by Christmas.”  And now the second, A Montana Christmas, is out this week!   If you’d like to learn more about either, just click on the covers or  CLICK HERE.

I loved to travel until the pandemic hit, and was able to do hands-on research for each of these novellas.  I’d never even dreamed of traveling outside the USA until my husband started earning trips and travel vouchers during the final years of his career.  Oh, how I wish I could go back to each of the locations again! It probably won’t happen, now that he has retired.  But I can still reminisce!   And I can “re-visit” those places when I sit down to write a book and immerse myself in locations that I love.

This brings me to my question of the month:  If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would that be, and why?  Just answer at the end of this blog.

Three replies will appear in my next Writerspace newsletter (and also here on my November blog post), and those three contributors will each be offered a free e-book.

No worries–I’ll include just a first name and last initial, unless a person wants to be completely anonymous.  I will ask first.

Speaking of travel, I had such fun writing this Coupled by Christmas series.  The novellas will be available at Amazon and all major online retailers at just 99 cents each through December, and can pre-ordered…so handy if you’re like me and tend to forget these things. Or most things!

If you’d like to learn more about any of them, or even order, just click on a title below. This week I learned how to create hyperlinks (which mean you can click on those titles to be taken somewhere ) and it’s so much fun! 

Here are the release dates for the six Coupled by Christmas novellas (all still $0.99 each): 

October 8th       – The Mistletoe Puppy

October 15th     – A Montana Christmas

October 29th     – An Irish Christmas 

November 4th   – A London Christmas

November 18th – A Scottish Christmas

December 2nd   – Christmas in Paris

 

By the way, the first novella on that  list, The Mistletoe Puppy, is actually part of another, loosely connected series with six Sweet (clean & wholesome) romance authors. Each story in this “Puppies for Christmas” series is a completely “stand alone” story and unconnected, but they have do have two things in common: Puppies and Christmas! Do you love puppies? The holiday season?  Just click the titles below, one by one, and you can learn more about the books. If you pre-order them, then you won’t miss one!

Oh, and the best part? They’re all 99 cents each!  It’s a great way to try authors you might not know. Here’s the line-up:

 

October 1st – Beneath Northern Lights by Lyn Cote

October 8th – The Mistletoe Puppy by Roxanne Rustand

October 15th – Christmas Redemption by Laura Scott

October 22nd – Puppy Love and Jingle Bells by Merrillee Whren

October 29th – Joy Comes to Bedford Falls by Susan Aylworth

November 5th – A Christmas Puppy to Cherish by Josie Riviera

Our fall colors are turning brilliant shades here in the Upper Midwest, and this week our temperatures will be dropping into the 30’s at night and 50’s during the day. I love sweater and jacket weather!  Our horses are all putting on their winter jammies (winter coats) now and our hummingbirds have gone south.  Signs of the season!  Wherever you are, I hope you are safe from the fires and hurricanes on our east and west coasts, and that you are enjoying a peaceful day.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you’ll come again!

Blessings,

Roxanne

The post If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? ….Roxanne Rustand appeared first on Roxanne Rustand.

The Mistletoe Puppy A Holiday Novella

 

Can there ever be a second chance at love, after Brad Callahan has faced great loss, and Kate Larrsen has faced too many troubled relationships in the past? Can a lonely little girl and a sweet golden retriever puppy bring them together by Christmas?

Kate Larssen works as a nurse at a clinic in Mistletoe Falls, a charming small town in northern Minnesota. She also established and manages the area’s only no-kill animal rescue, a cause dear to her warm and loving heart. After a series of romantic disappointments, she’s no longer interested in risking another. She has far more important things to focus on. 

Brad Callahan is a former Minneapolis cop who recently moved north for his new job as a deputy. His wife died just before Christmas last year, and that grief is still too fresh to think about new relationships. He hopes Mistletoe Falls will be a place where Janie, his grieving six-year-old daughter, can grow up, and be part of a close-knit community. With few relatives left, he prays that this will happen.

Brad finds an abandoned golden retriever mix and her thirteen puppies and brings them to the animal shelter, where he meets Kate, the pretty manager.  Always ready to take in homeless or abused animals and to help anyone in need, Kate worries about Brad’s sad, motherless child, and invites them both for Thanksgiving dinner. Though neither has any interest in commitment, Kate and Brad’s friendship grows as she tries to help fill the void in Janie’s life. Can a litter of adorable puppies and a lonely little girl bring them together by Christmas?

To purchase on Kindle

Or other online bookstores,  click here

$0.99 on preorder  through October 8th

 

Merry Christmas,

Roxanne

The post The Mistletoe Puppy A Holiday Novella appeared first on Roxanne Rustand.

Fall Weather and Blueberry scones

I love to bake, and today’s cool, rainy weather seemed like a perfect time to make something warm and comforting, so I made a batch of blueberry scones. Coffee always tastes better in my Jane Austen mug.

The Mistletoe Puppy, and a new holiday series

Hi!

First of all, I need to confess.  I’ve been the biggest failure EVER when it comes to sending newsletters!  It’s been several years, now.  Since some folks on my mailing list might not remember why they signed up for my newsletters in the first place,  I’ll be sending a quick note to everyone on that list, asking if they’d like to receive newsletters going forward.  If you are new here and would like to sign up for my monthly newsletters, that’s easy.  Just go to the home page of my website and click the sign-up button in the upper right corner.  You’ll even receive a free cookbook and a free novel for doing so…and will also be entered in a drawing for a ruby, heart-shaped necklace, right along with my long-term subscribers!  The winner will be announced on this blog in mid-December.

As for my newsletters, I look forward to writing breezy notes about life in the country, news about writer friends, new releases, contests where you might win books or other prizes–like that ruby heart necklace in time for Christmas–and I’ll be adding family recipes, too. Did I mention that I love to cook? 

The Mistletoe Puppy, and a holiday series

Hi!

It’s a bit early to be thinking about Christmas, but I want to share news about my new Christmas novella series.

The Mistletoe Puppy is the first release in my “Coupled by Christmas” series, and it’s available for just 99 cents as an Amazon pre-order!  It will be released October 8th.

The other five titles will be published between October and December of 2020. Here is the full list:

#1 The Mistletoe Puppy

#2 A Christmas in Montana

#3 An Irish Christmas Blessing

#4 A London Christmas

#5 A Scottish Christmas

#6 Christmas in Paris

 Can there ever be a second chance at love, after Brad Callahan has faced great loss, and Kate Larrson has faced too many troubled relationships in the past? Can a lonely little girl and a sweet golden retriever puppy bring them together by Christmas?

Kate Larssen works as a nurse at a clinic in Mistletoe Falls, a charming small town in northern Minnesota. She also established and manages the area’s only no-kill animal rescue, a cause dear to her warm and loving heart. After a series of romantic disappointments, she’s no longer interested in risking another. She has far more important things to focus on. 

Brad Callahan is a former Minneapolis cop who recently moved north for his new job as a deputy. His wife died just before Christmas last year, and that grief is still too fresh to think about new relationships. He hopes Mistletoe Falls will be a place where Janie, his grieving six-year-old daughter, can grow up, and be part of a close-knit community. With few relatives left, he prays that this will happen.

Brad finds an abandoned golden retriever mix and her thirteen puppies and brings them to the animal shelter, where he meets Kate, the pretty manager. Perhaps visiting the puppies will lift Janie’s spirits? Janie falls in love with the puppies and begs to adopt them all, but given the tiny rental cabin they’re in until Brad can find a home to buy, even one pup is impossible. There’s nothing else available, and the distant, surrounding towns would all mean a long commute. Mistletoe Falls is a perfect place to raise Janie, but will they need to move yet again?

Always ready to take in homeless or abused animals and to help anyone in need, Kate worries about Brad’s sad, motherless child, and invites them both for Thanksgiving dinner. Though neither has any interest in commitment, Kate and Brad’s friendship grows as she tries to help fill the void in Janie’s life. Can a litter of adorable puppies and a lonely little girl bring them together by Christmas?

 

On another note,  I have been the biggest failure EVER when it comes to sending newsletters!  It has literally been years since I sent one out.  Since many folks on my mailing list have now forgotten me, or don’t remember why in the world they ever signed up for my newsletters in the first place,  I have an easy solution.  I’ll be sending a quick note to everyone on the list, to ask if they would like to receive newsletters going forward, or not.  If staying on board is the last thing on earth you want, there will be a link to click for canceling.  Easy!  I’ll be so sad to see you go, though. 

BUT if you are new here and would like to sign up for my occasional newsletters, that’s easy, too.  Just go to my website at www.roxannerustand.com  and click the button in the upper right corner to sign up.  You will even receive a free book for doing so…and be entered in a drawing for a ruby, heart-shaped necklace!  The winner will be announced on this blog in mid-December

I look forward to writing breezy notes about life in the country, news about by writer friends, new releases, contests where you might WIN  BOOKS or OTHER COOL THINGS–like that ruby heart necklace in time for Christmas–and I will be adding favorite family recipes, too. Did I mention that I love to cook? 

Bookcovers and happy memories….

My newest Love Inspired novel,  Falling for the Rancher, has just been released.  I was so happy to see it at Walmart a few days ago!

And  it was even more fun to see the similarity between our mare Patsy and the horse on the cover! Though the photo of her (below) is from the side and doesn’t show it, she even had the same blaze!  What do you think–is the similarity just wishful thinking on my part?  

Showing horses and happy memories… Roxanne Rustand

My newest Love Inspired novel,  Falling for the Rancher, has just been released.  I was so happy to see it at Walmart a few days ago!

And it was even more fun to see the similarity between our mare Patsy and the horse on the cover. Though the photo of her is from the side and doesn’t show it, she even had the same blaze!  What do you think–is the similarity just wishful thinking on my part?

Ah, the memories…when I first saw this cover.  The years of growing up on the back of my horse when I was little, the years of showing horses (first, at the little local shows, then on to the bigger WSCA, Tri-State and quarter horse show circuits in the Upper Midwest throughout high school and college.  Happy days, whether I won or lost, for I was able to do what I loved more than anything.

I left college for a while to work for a horse trainer–Monte Forman, for any of you who were around “way back when” and might remember him–then I went back to finish a bachelor’s in dental hygiene and public health.  Later, I got a master’s in nutrition and became a registered dietitian, and after my husband and I married, we began raising horses.

An AQHA palomino yearling in her photo above, Patsy was an equine airhead,  but she did pretty well at halter in the quarter horse shows, and then later she became a good broodmare for us.

Falling for the Rancher touches on themes that mean a lot to me–overcoming heartache, forgiveness, and the deep importance of a forever family for children who have been orphaned or otherwise abandoned. I was adopted when I was three, and will forever be grateful for my wonderful adoptive family.

This novel is set in a fictitious small town in the beautiful St. Croix, Wisconsin area that I love, and the hero and heroine are both veterinarians–which meant I was able to incorporate lots of four-footed secondary characters!

The post Showing horses and happy memories… Roxanne Rustand appeared first on Roxanne Rustand.

Bookcovers and happy memories…

My newest Love Inspired novel,  Falling for the Rancher, has just been released.  I was so happy to see it at Walmart a few days ago!

And  it was even more fun to see the similarity between our mare Patsy and the horse on the cover! Though the photo of her (below) is from the side and doesn’t show it, she even had the same blaze!  What do you think–is the similarity just wishful thinking on my part?  ?

Ah, the memories…when I first saw this cover.  The years of growing up on the back of my horse when I was little, the years of showing horses (first, at the little local shows, then on to the bigger WSCA, Tri-State and quarter horse show circuits in the Upper Midwest throughout high school and college.  Happy days, whether I won or lost, for I was able to do what I loved more than anything.

I left college for a while to work for a horse trainer–Monte Forman, for any of you who were around “way back when” and might remember him–and then, after my husband and I married, we began raising horses.

An AQHA palomino yearling in her photo below, Patsy, was an equine airhead  ?  but she did pretty well at halter in the late 1970’s, and then later, she became a good broodmare.

Falling for the Rancher touches on themes that mean a lot to me–overcoming heartache, forgiveness, and the deep importance of a forever family for children who have been orphaned or otherwise abandoned. I was adopted when I was three, and will forever be grateful for my wonderful adoptive family!

This novel is set in a fictitious small town in the beautiful St. Croix, Wisconsin area that I love, and the hero and heroine are both veterinarians–which meant I was able to incorporate four-footed secondary characters.  ?

The post Bookcovers and happy memories… appeared first on roxannerustand.com.