A Year Not Quite Over and An Excerpt from A Vampire for Christmas by Susan Hanniford Crowley

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Autumn is coming!

2020 has been a hard year for everyone.

Prior to, I had a year (Jan. 2019-Feb. 2020) of fighting cancer. Most of the time, I was in seclusion whenever my immune system was compromised, which was often. Whenever my doc said that my immune system was good, I saw my grandchildren and went to church. That wasn’t as frequent as I would have liked, but I was grateful for every moment. I took the last chemo drug intravenously on February 15.

The following week, I went out to a beautiful breakfast buffet with my family including grandchildren.

A very short time later the pandemic was recognized in the USA, and the shutdown happened. People were dying. New information seemed to come out about the coronavirus every day. I’m in the high-risk group, so I ended up secluded again.

Currently, I can’t go into houses, not even my daughter’s home. I can’t go into any small venues, restaurants, or hotels.

What do I do? Facetime a lot. Call. Text. I was eating too much. I gained 40 lbs. during the shutdown. Now I’m slowly losing weight. YAY! I can see the grandkids as they play in their yard. YAY!

I’ve also been writing. My New Adult dragon book is in editing now. Have your fingers crossed, that it comes out before Christmas. I’m working on a cancer survival book. While I was undergoing chemo, I started two books. One is a Young Adult vampire book and the other would be Book 4 in my current series Arnhem Knights of New York and it’s set in Iceland mostly.

I am so jazzed by what I’m writing.

Here for your delight is an excerpt from A Vampire for Christmas, Book 3 in the Vampires in Manhattan series.

*

“No,” Georgia whimpered at the hand reaching into the window display, yanking out the [image error]coat she’d stared at every day for three weeks–the thick brown and black, faux fur coat with the black hood. None of the other coats compared to that one with its elegant lines and obvious warmth. Georgia’s own coat was shabby. She shivered.

If only her credit cards weren’t maxed out. A tear streamed down her cheek before freezing on her face.

Then she saw the reflection. Every time she stopped at this window, his reflection would be there staring back. He stood about two feet behind her, so the image was shadowed. At first, she reasoned that perhaps he lived in the neighborhood and it was a coincidence. Maybe he was looking at coats for his mother or girlfriend. Maybe he was a stalker. She turned to leave.

Someone tapped her on the shoulder. Georgia gripped her bag strap and turned, then looked up. He was tall, broad shouldered, and compassion made his face kind. Bright green eyes gazed into hers. His warm brown hair was cut conservatively, which matched the new, dark brown coat.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes. I’m fine. Thank you.”

“You’re not fine. Please, let me help you.”

Instantly, she burst into a run and didn’t stop until she reached the donut shop across from her apartment. Sitting at a table, Georgia peeked through the window. He hadn’t followed her. Snowflakes floated down obscuring her vision. Maybe she overreacted. Maybe not. You couldn’t be too careful in New York. She got up and went to the counter to order coffee and donuts to go.

When she stepped outside again, the lights had come on up and down the street. It was beginning to look like Christmas. It could be so magical if it wasn’t so sad. Georgia figured that she would run out of money by New Year’s. What a way to start the New Year. Jobless. Homeless. Broke.

Georgia looked up and down the street but saw no sign of the man from the reflection and decided it was safe to cross the street to her apartment.

As she unlocked the building door, her landlady with iron-gray hair stood there. “Good evening, Georgia.”

“Hi, Mrs. Polasky.”

“Do you have that rent money for me?”

Georgia shuffled in her purse and took out a check and held it out. “Here it is.”

The woman took it. “That’s good. Have a Happy Christmas.” Then she went back into her apartment and slammed the door.

Last check, thought Georgia. She didn’t want to tell her. Maybe she could hold out again until halfway through the month to tell her landlady. Maybe something wonderful would happen. Maybe instead of snow, money would fall from the sky.

Georgia pressed the button for the elevator when her landlady’s door opened. “Oh, Georgia, a courier came by with this package for you. I almost forgot.”

It was a large, rectangular box with a fancy bow. The tag on the box had her name. “Thank you.”

The elevator doors opened and Georgia walked in. As soon as the doors closed, she examined the box more closely. It was heavy, a woven white, but bore no markings other than the tag. The bow was a deep green. Before she could open it, the elevator had reached the fifth floor and she got out. Georgia hurried to her door, unlocked it, opened it, and locked it behind her just as fast.

*

Want to know what’s inside that box? A Vampire for Christmas is available in Kindle

Please, be safe! Enjoy life! There is more to come in all our lives!

-Susan

Susan Hanniford Crowley, Amazon Kindle Bestselling Author of Vampire Romance

www.susanhannifordcrowley.com

Where love burns eternal and whispers in the dark!

New: The Vampire with a Blanket of Stars, Arnhem Knights of New York, Book 3 available in Amazon Print and Kindle!  Now in Nook, Kobo, and Smashwords.

Vampire Princess of New York, Arnhem Knights of New York, Book 2 available in Kindle!

Vampire King of New York, Arnhem Knights of New York, Book 1 now in Kindle and Print!

Vampire in the Basement, Vampires in Manhattan, Book 4 available in Kindle.

Poseidon’s Catch(mythology romance) available in Kindle.

Mrs. Bright’s Tea Room (steampunk romance) available in Kindle.

A Vampire for Christmas, Vampires in Manhattan, Book 3 available in Kindle.

The Stormy Love Life of Laura Cordelais, Vampires in Manhattan, Book 2 available in Kindle and Print and Barnes and Noble Print

When Love Survives, Vampires in Manhattan Book 1 available in Kindle, Nook, Kobo and Smashwords and iBooks (on Apple devices).

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