Amber Polo's Blog, page 6

Magic Trees of Sedona

The Magic Trees of Sedona       Something magical happens in Sedona every December.  Well since it’s Sedona, let’s say something more magical happens in December.  Along Highway 179, between Bell Rock and the Town of Sedona, Christmas trees appear along the road.  They just appear.  One day they’re not there and the next morning they are.  Not ordinary Christmas trees, these are heavy with thick tinsel garlands and bright round balls.  Each tree is different but they all seem to be decorated in the same style, as if there were a plan.  This year among the reds and greens, silvers and golds, and purples and blues, there are many covered with red, white, and blue garlands and ornaments. 
          Since the trees appear on Coconino National Forest land where federal regulations require visitors to stay on the trails, decorating trees isn’t allowed.  It is rumored that families sneak along the road late at night with boxes of decorations, but that rumor is harder to believe than magic.
          Wherever these magic trees come from, they disappear as mysteriously as they appear.  On New Year’s Day there are no trees.  If you look carefully you might find a few shards of a red or silver ornament or a bit of glittery purple tinsel, but the trees are gone.  The red rocks and the green trees are still there and still magnificent, but they seem a little drab for a few days.                               

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I wrote this in 2001. Since then the trees don't appear. The nature-loving people of Sedona have stopped decorating forest trees for fear birds will be attracted to the glittering decorations, eat, and die. So let's keep our trees indoors or with animal friendly decorations.

To see photos of the not so-magic tree in Old Town Albuquerque
see my 2014 post. 

The Wassail Gingerkuchen Excerpt from "Released"

The Wassail Gingerkuchen
Excerpt




“May I escort you, Mistress?” He led her into the Reading Room alight with glowing candles and whispered, “Don’t they look real? The only bad news is the man you hired to play St. Nicholas came down with the flu.“What will I do?” Alarmed, Liberty fumbled in the brocade pouch at her waist for her cell phone. “We can’t do this without St. Nicholas.”“You will have your St. Nicholas, madam.” Gregory stepped close to her side and smiled down at her. “I have experience.” He gently placed her arm on his. His St. Nicholas outfit was no rented Santa costume. The smooth velvet of his red jacket caressed her bare arm. The ruffled shirt, tight black pants, and high black boots complemented his masculine form perfectly. Before Liberty could speak, Lily announced, “Wassail time.” Aldwyn, in a dinner jacket, entered carrying a steaming silver punch bowl, followed by Emma and Rebecca holding platters piled high with spicy, fragrant gingerkuchen. Liberty whispered to Gregory, “Is it safe for you here?” “Perfectly safe. This is a magic night.” Outside the window, a flash of lights illuminated the huge outdoor tree and they heard the loud “Ah” as the people of Shipsfeather gasped in pleasure. The strains of “Greensleeves” floated from the Local History Room. Liberty didn’t remember hiring a quartet.
         Within moments the library doors were thrown open and guests paraded in. Gregory served wassail and Liberty passed out warm gingerkuchen, greeting smiling Shipsfeather residents and their visitors. Many of Liberty’s regular library patrons passed by. Gregory embraced members of old Shipsfeather families. An elderly gentleman called him. Chronus and a woman with a British accent curtsied and addressed him as Sir Gregory. Replying to foreign visitors in their own languages, Gregory was the perfect host. He looked handsome, courtly, and comfortable in ruffled shirt and velvet jacket and each guest lit up at his attention. 
And the Recipe



St. Nicholas Wassail
From The Shapeshifters’ Library celebration in “Released”
4 cups apple juice or cider 2 cups cranberry juice1 cup orange juice1 cup pineapple juice1/3 cup brown sugar1 t. ground ginger½ t. grated nutmeg½ t. cardamom3 sticks cinnamonFresh orange slices for garnish
Combine ingredients in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Then turn to low for 2-8 hours. (In a hurry? Heat in just to boiling in a saucepan, then pour into a slow cooker to keep warm.) Oranges on top make a pretty addition.
What I love about this recipe is you can vary it to suit your taste in juices and spices (or what you have on hand). With our without alcohol (some revelers) add dry sherry or Madeira), a cup with fill you with warm holiday cheer. 

Read Chapter One of "Released"
Available from:
Kindle
Amazon Print
Barnes & Noble
Read the blog post "Researching St.Nicholas Eve"
for my personal remembrances of the celebration 
And the St. Nicholas excerpt from "Released"

A Caribbean Island Christmas

Fly Off to a Caribbean Island for Christmas?
Christmas on Wherever Island by Amber Polo
A Magic Santa brings Caribbean Christmas Joy!
Marti Bell is facing the prospect of a very unmerry Christmas. Reluctantly, leaving her married lover she travels toward ice, snow, and judgmental family until a magic Santa sends her to a surprise destination in the warm waters of the Caribbean.  
Wherever Island would be a winter paradise except the only place to stay is the beachside cottage of romantic globetrotting photographer Cliff Holmes. Cliff wants to unwind and treat Marti to a little romantic Caribbean Christmas fun but she’s determined to stay in the warm ocean and out of hot water. 

  “Not only is the setting sensational, the hero will sweep you off your feet…this is one story I can read every Christmas season. …a great happily ever after story.”  Gotta Read Reviews
Novella in ebook only Christmas on Wherever Island Kindle
Nook
Smashwords


Wherever Island Magic Christmas Fuitcake Recipe
2 cups sifted all purpose flourReserve 1 cup, re-sift the remainder with:1 t cinnamon1 t. ground cloves1 t. allspice1 t. nutmeg ¼ t. mace½ t. salt¾ t. baking sodaUse some of the mixture to coat:1 cup raisins1 cup chopped dates1 cup citrus peel/citron1 cup candied cherries1 cup figs1 cup nuts of your choiceCook:1 10 oz can crushed pineapple1 cup sugarUntil thickened about 30 minutes. Stir frequently. Do not burn. Cool.When cool stir in: ½ cup apricot jam or marmalade1 cup rum or pineapple juice or comboCream ½ lb butter until soft            1 cup sugarBeat in 6 eggs, one at a time.Stir in dry ingredients slowly, alternating with pineapple mixture. Pour over flour coated fruits and nuts and mix well.
Preheat to 275 degrees. Fills 1 4x8 loaf pan and 1 9” tube pan. Grease cake pans (line with greased brown paper or foil if you do that). Fill pans 1” from top and bake until a skewer comes out clean - 3 ½ to 5 hours depending on size of pans. Cool on rack. If you make the cake ahead of time, go ahead and soak a cheesecloth in rum and wrap in foil, Freezing also helps blend the flavors. When ready to serve decorate with almond paste or icing.Recipe can be doubled to fill 3 graduated wedding cake pans. Serve with a dusting of magic!

My Heroes are Dogs

Some readers love bad boy heroes. Some prefer good boys. My heroes are dogs. And I mean that in a really good way.
I’ve read wonderful books where tortured werewolf heroes draw you in with their angst. My dog-shifter heroes have all the wonderful qualities of your favorite puppy. They’re cute, loyal, and protective, and fall in love at first sight. And very smart. They’re librarians dedicated to preserve knowledge and vanquish book-burning werewolves.
In “Released” my heroine finds a beautiful dog in an abandoned library. They become friends. Then the dog talks. And then the dog turns into a gorgeous, smart guy with a charming English accent. Who wouldn’t fall for him?
In “Retrieved” a hero with male cover model looks changes into a huge English Mastiff who happens to be a brilliant astro-archaeologist. Why not brains and brawn?
Book 3 “Recovered” follows a part werewolf, (a villain in Book 1) as he shepherds his Greyhound love across country to find a buried ancient library and gains his self-respect and a place in the dog-shifter world. Don’t you love a redeemed bad boy rescued by a sweet heroine?
When readers read “Released” the first book in the Shapeshifters Library series, their favorite character besides the Old English Sheepdog hero and the librarian heroine, was Pacifico Lopez, a feisty Chihuahua shifter. He created the Zoogle internet conglomerate and earned money to keep the dog shifters in premium dog food and reference books. He was smart and in “Retrieved” Pacifico started a library services company with the smartest RFID codes ever. 

At last it was time for the smallest and smartest to have his own book. And his own romance. So, Book 4 “Reprinted” brings to the front the smallest hero. A Chihuahua with the more intelligence and daring as he courts a lovely white werewolf who defies her family to help him track down ebook pirates in the Caribbean and uncover a lost Egyptian secret.

Reprinted Read Chapter One   Amazon PrintKindleBarnes and Noble

Old Town Albuquerque Christmas Tree

What Do 135 Christmas Trees Look Like?The weekend before Thanksgiving I went to Albuquerque for the New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards banquet. As an aside my book Heads in the Clouds did win the Romance category. But even without that thrill spending a weekend in Old Town Albuquerque at the elegant Hotel Albuquerque was a delight.

Shops, museums, art, lots of jewelry. And chilies – hanging from rafters and mixed into luscious New Mexico dishes.While visiting the historic old San Felipe de Neri church on the Old Plaza, I noticed a tall pole with skeleton-like protrusions in the Plaza Don Luis. Left over from the Day of the Dead celebration? I didn't think so.


When a bucket truck arrived and placed a pine tree on the top, I asked the clerk at the gift shop, located in the Sister Blandina Company that once housed the Sisters of Charity, what was happening. Then I saw a flatbed truck pull up with a lot more, really a lot more, trees. And workers began inserting trees into the skeleton from the top down.
As the day progressed, so did the tree, until one hundred and thirty-five (135) trees merged into one gigantic tree.

Workers continued to decorate the the tree with lights, white snowflakes, and red bows until the glorious tree was complete!

St. Nicholas Excerpt from Released

The St. Nicholas Eve Excerpt
The Shapeshifters' Library Released (Book 1)


Gregory and Liberty paraded back into the rotunda and on to the entrance to the Children’s Room. Children in pinafores and breeches clustered around Bliss in her shimmering princess dress. The children turned, saw Gregory, and little voices called, “St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas.” Gregory placed his hand on Liberty’s waist and escorted her to the middle of the room. “Children, this is Lady Liberty.” Children cheered and tiny hands clapped. “Lady. Lady.” Gregory whispered to Liberty, “Say something.” “Welcome children. To the library. On St. Nicholas Eve.” The quartet’s violin player fiddled a merry tune, as a huge Newfoundland in a silver-studded harness pulled a cart to the doorway. Gregory smiled. “And now, it’s time for presents.” The children cheered. The dog lumbered in and small hands reached out to pat the gentle giant who, compared to the toddlers, appeared as large as a draft horse. Gregory stepped to the cart. “Stand back.” The children obeyed. “Now, one at a time.” He reached into the cart and took out a small toy horse and beckoned to a little girl in a crisp petticoat. She skipped forward to receive her painted wooden horse and a large orange. Liberty selected a book from the cart for the girl, who skipped off to show her friends. Bouncing in stiff, shiny shoes, children waited their turns. Next a boy was given a miniature dog and cart. He held it high for all to see, then accepted his book. One by one, each child received a small toy, an orange, and a book. Every child seemed more thrilled with simple wood animals than if they’d received the latest electronic wonders. The entire scene was reminiscent of another more charming century. When all the children had received gifts, the fiddler announced, “Time for St. Nicholas to leave,” and the children let out a collective, “Ah.” Gregory reached one more time into the cart and presented a wrapped gift to Bliss. “Dear lady, for your kind ministrations to the children.” Bliss curtsied. As children raced past to show toys to parents and grandparents, Gregory took Liberty’s arm. No longer the center of attention, the couple walked to the rotunda. Sparkling lights reflected like stars on the glass dome above. “I cannot stay,” Gregory said softly. “I’m tired.” Liberty nodded. “Thank you for making this night so beautiful.” “Shipsfeather always celebrated St. Nicholas Eve like this. I am grateful your library made it possible once again. Now you see why this town and people are so special.” “Where did the children’s gifts come from?” She looked around. “And where is the dog cart … and the music? This was the most magical night of the year.” He laughed. “Ah, now you want magic explained. Tonight is only the beginning of the Season. The true magic will happen on the night of the Winter Solstice.” “What could be more beautiful and amazing than tonight?” “Nothing could be as amazing and beautiful as you. You are a most good and wonderful woman, Liberty Cutter, my Mistress of the Fete.” He leaned down and kissed her lips. A tender kiss tasting of cinnamon and warmed cider. Straightening, his eyes held her gaze. “Tonight,” she whispered, “I feel like a princess.” “You are a princess. My princess, dear one.” He lifted her hand to his lips. “Sweet Liberty.” He slid his hand into his jacket pocket. Holding her left hand, he slipped a ring onto her finger. “Forever, my princess, my love.” She gasped as warm gold encircled her finger. She looked down at the intricately carved band. When she looked up, he was gone. Over the music and laughter, she heard the sound of boots descending the stairs.

Read
Chapter One of  "Released"
Available from:
Kindle
Amazon Print
Barnes & Noble

Read the blog post "Researching St.Nicholas Eve"
for my personal remembrances of the celebration

Researching St. Nicholas

When I was young Christmas, Santa Claus, Father Christmas, and St. Nick were all mixed up – but it didn’t seem to matter.
Wikipedia says: In Northern Germany, Sankt Nikolaus is usually celebrated on a small scale. Many children put a boot called Nikolaus-Stiefel outside the front door on the night of 5 December. St. Nicholas fills the boot with gifts and sweets overnight, and at the same time checks up on the children to see if they were good, polite and helpful the last year. If they were not, they will have a tree branch in their boots instead. Sometimes a Nikolaus impersonator also visits the children at school or in their homes and asks them if they have been good (sometimes ostensibly checking his golden book for their record), handing out presents on the basis of their behavior.
Here’s what I remember from when I was a child. 

St. Nicholas Eve was the start of the Christmas season.
Everyone in the family hung stockings on St. Nicholas Eve. The socks my brother and I wore were much too small, so my grandmother donated her long baggy cotton stockings. I don’t remember really big gifts. Everything had to fit in the stocking. But there was always an orange in the toe (which made the stocking really long and funny looking) and some candy. Maybe there were small toys. I think the excitement was more important than the gifts. Gifts and surprises weren’t ordinary. And little things meant more. (And Christmas meant big presents.)To awake to find a bulging stocking was pure magic. 
My remembrances fit the Northern German tradition. Stockings instead of boots. And St Nicholas as the beginning of the annual “be good or Santa will bring you coal” time of year. Behavior was very important. I also remember threats that bad children could get a switch (ah the old tree branch). 
I’m not sure when my family stopped hanging St. Nicholas stockings, but we never hung stockings on Christmas Eve and I always wondered why anyone would do that. Sadly, I think in my family the St. Nicholas traditions disappeared because they didn’t fit the melting pot American Santa Claus images. 

*The perverted story “Six to Eight Black Men” by David Sedaris in Holidays on Ice provides politically incorrect outrageous holiday laughs at the expense of Saint Nicholas in the Netherlands.Originally published in Esquire, listen to Sedaris read it at Carnegie Hall on YouTube

 
For a more delightful version of St. Nicholas Eve as celebrated by the dog-shifter librarians of Shipsfeather, Ohio read the Wassail Excerpt and the St. Nicholas excerpt  posts from Released, Book 1 of The Shapeshifters' Library.

Heads in the Clouds Wins New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards: Fiction - Romance!

What a thrill to be a finalist and what a wild thrill to win! 
Traveling to Albuquerque and attending was so much fun, but to completely honestly honest - after the words "The winner is..." there is nothing like hearing your own name.




The Book Awards honor the best in New Mexico and Arizona books, as judged by booksellers, librarians, teachers, and marketing experts. The New Mexico Book Co-op is a collaborative partnership with over 1,400 local authors and publishers and is New Mexico and Arizona's largest non-profit featuring New Mexico and Arizona books. The mission of the Co-op is to showcase and help authors and publishers promote and sell books. Every state and region needs an organization like this!

I'm especially honored that Heads in the Clouds was chosen because its setting is very much like the place I live. I used wonderful northern Arizona locations, like Montezuma Castle, Montezuma Well, and the Prescott Rodeo. The novel's aviation community may be similar to my own, but not one of the interesting characters are based on my neighbors (well, maybe one or two).
with Paul Rhetts New Mexico Co-op Founder
Anne HillermanIt was exciting to be will such dedicated book people who where genuinely proud of their profession.
Some of the winning books

"Reprinted" is in print (and ebook)!

At last Reprinted
The Shapeshifters' Library, Book 4 is in print. 
It's been a fun journey with my dog-shifting librarians. Their adventures have stretched my imagination and taken me along to some of my favorite places. Now Chihuahua-shifter Pacifico, the smallest and the smartest, has his own story and his own romance. Join this voyage to the warm Caribbean sea to stop werewolf ebook pirates and bring peace to the dog-shifter werewolf feud.

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For centuries a magical race of shapeshifting dogs have protected the world’s libraries from evil book-burning werewolves. But when Chihuahua-shifter Pacifico Lopez, techno-genius inventor of Zoogle, the world’s most powerful search engine, discovers a werewolf plot that threatens to destroy the world of books, dog-shifters face their biggest challenge yet.

Werewolf Landy Romero, an editor at wolf-owned World Wide Publishing, and secret book lover, is horrified to learn that Pacifico thinks her own company is sabotaging books. Their quest to track down ebook pirates takes them to a werewolf Caribbean island resort where they discover an e-book thieving sailing vessel called The Cloud, a diabolical book distribution plant, enslaved dog-shifters who hold the secret to the true dog-shifter/ werewolf history, and an unlikely romance.

In this most exciting Shapeshifters’ Library adventure yet, Pacifico and Landy are thrust into the heart of a tropical storm as they battle lies and uncover injustice and betrayal. And the truth, when exposed, will change everything they believe about themselves and their world, forever.


Amazon PrintKindleBarnes and Noble

New Mexico - Arizona Book Awards Finalist!

 
New Mexico - Arizona Book AwardFiction - Romance Category 


So excited. I'll be in Albuquerque, NM at the Awards Banquet on November 21st. Until then I'll be dancing with fingers crossed.