Cate Masters's Blog, page 78

Happy holidays!

And no Christmas is complete without my favorite Jersey boy. :)



May all your wishes come true, this holiday and into the new year. Peace, joy and a cool Yule.

Do you recall the most famous reindeer of all?

Reposting this from last year. Maybe I'll make it a Christmas Eve tradition. :)

The story of Rudolph's circulating as an email forward, so I thought I'd look into it. I should probably work for Snopes, lol.

While some of the email is true, it doesn't give the entire background. But I will. :)

Btw, I think my mom had dog-eared sheet music with this same image - supposedly the original 1939 cover. Though it's a little before my time, I remember it distinctly.

The Montgomery Ward department store's holiday tradition was to hand out specially printed coloring books to kids who came to visit Santa. In 1939, the store execs decided to try something different, and more economical because the Depression still gripped the nation. Rather than hire an outside firm to create a giveaway, they asked their advertising department to come up with a giveaway.

In turn, the ad department turned to their copywriter, Robert L. May. May worked on the story in his office, then took it home to read to his four-year-old daughter, Barbara. The little girl's feedback helped shape the story line, and she may have even named Rudolph.

Using rhyming verse, May's wrote the story of a little reindeer with a bright red nose who was born to ordinary parents in the woods. Like May as a child, Rudolph was lonely and had few friends. But, rather than dwelling on his problems, Rudolph had a positive outlook and did not let his unique nose hold him back.
In the original story, Santa discovered Rudolph on Christmas Eve while delivering gifts to the woodland animals. A fog rolled in and grew dense so Santa couldn't take off safely. Santa noticed Rudolph with his shiny red nose and asked him to lead his sleigh (I know, without any training. The reindeer union probably filed complaints.)

Well, you know the rest. All the other reindeer loved him after Rudolph saved the day.

Montgomery Ward certainly loved the results. Kids all over the country fell in love with Rudolph too, and the store handed out 2.4 million copies of the book. Because of the war, paper supplies were limited, and Montgomery Ward was limited to printing 6 million copies by 1945.

Though the hopeful story may have inspired his small daughter in a difficult time, the story's success didn't help Robert L. May's personal life. His wife died of cancer, and the medical expenses ruined him financially. He made no profits from the popularity of Rudolph, deemed a "work for hire" production, owned solely by Montgomery Ward.

By 1947, May decided to seek the rights to Rudolph. Surprisingly, Montgomery Ward sold them to him. May then published the story, which of course became a bestseller. He authorized a cartoon version for showing in theaters before the advertised movie. May teamed up with his brother-in-law, songwriter Johnny Marks, who changed the story slightly from May's original to the story we know today in the song. In 1949, Western singer/actor Gene Autry agreed to record the song, which became an instant hit.

Finally, May was able to enjoy the benefits of his labor. And kids - and grownups - everywhere still love the little reindeer.

Another giveaway

Enter at Romance Junkies' Winter Wonderland for a chance to win a beaded book thong and a bag of Hershey Kisses! I may throw in an extra surprise too. :)
Happy holidays!

Visiting LASR today

I hope you'll pop over this afternoon to the LASR Guest Blog, where I'm spreading some holiday cheer. :)

My post should be up around 2:00 p.m. EST. So grab an eggnog and head over!

Getting in the spirit

Less than a week till Christmas! Are you ready? Do you have your Christmas cheer on? This might help. :)

A festive cookie for your holiday table

My mom used to make these cookies for the holidays. They're great for any occasion, really, but they do look festive during the holidays.


Italian Anisette Cookies
Cookie Ingredients1/2 cup butter, softened 1/2 cup sugar 3 large eggs 2 teaspoons anise extract (or almond extract) 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (may need up to 3 cups) 1 tablespoon baking powder 2 -3 tablespoons milk 
Icing Ingredients2 cups confectioners' sugar 3 tablespoons milk 1/8 teaspoon anise extract sprinkles
DirectionsPreheat oven to 350 degrees. For best results, line cookie sheets with parchment paper.For cookies, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add anise extract.Blend flour and baking powder. Start by adding about 1/3 of these dry ingredients to the butter/sugar in your mixer, then add 1 T. milk. Add another third of the flour and another 1 T. milk. Finally, mix in enough of the remaining flour until your dough is like a brownie batter (it should be softer than a drop cookie dough).Use a teaspoon to make simple round drop cookies - use wet fingers to pat any rough edges.Bake cookies 10-12 minutes. They won't be brown but the insides will be soft and cake-like.For icing: mix sugar, milk and extract to make a sugar glaze.Hold cookie in your hand and turn upside down so you can dip the top half in the glaze; turn over and immediately top with sprinkles so they will stick.Allow icing to harden overnight; then store in air-tight containers or freeze.And... gobble 'em up!

'Tis the season for giving!

My gift to you is a free download of my contemporary romance, Going with Gravity, a 2011 EPIC finalist.

Just enter code LD36V at Smashwords.

Hurry! It's only good through Christmas Eve. :)

Happy holidays!

Join me at TRS' Christmas party

 The Romance Studio is throwing a holiday bash! And you're all invited. Like all great parties, there will be plenty of goodies. I'll be popping in and out, and hope to see some friendly faces there!

SSS: Who is this gorgeous guy anyway?

Thanks to everyone who visits! And thanks especially for your comments, which fill me with as much cheer as Christmas. And that's a lot. :) 

Here's more from Ground Rules, my Christmas fantasy. Alice is a bit confused as to who, exactly, the handsome intruder really is:


"Are you here to…kill me?" The thought should have frightened her out of her mind, yet a cocoon of calm surrounded her.
He burst into laughter, tried to speak, but slumped over, hand atop his abs. Really great abs, from the skin showing where his black tee shirt had shifted, but that was beside the point.
Hooting, he took deep breaths and swiped his eyes. "Oh, that was priceless."
Visit all the amazing authors of SSS.
Next Sunday's Christmas day! I'll be busy with presents and cooking and present cleanup and desserts and then hopefully dreams of sugarplums dancing in my head. May you and yours share a memorable holiday of joy, laughter and love. See you next year!

Wonderful review for Ground Rules

The Romance Reviews rated Ground Rules 4 stars! I'm so grateful to Vixhen for her review. Here's part of what she had to say:

A perfect love story with a little hint of Christmas...
This was such a short, sweet, light-hearted story about finding love, even if you're not looking. Alice and Luke were both strong-willed and not easily intimidated. They had both been heartbroken and not looking to be hurt again. Ms. Masters took a simple love story and made it magical, drawing the reader into the world where angels can make your dreams come true. And the fact that Luke could make a mean margarita certainly didn't hurt, either. I'm a sucker for a Christmas story - throw in a hot angel on a Harley and we've got a party!

Thanks again, Vixhen! You've sweetened my holidays!

You can find out more about Ground Rules here.