chrissymunder | Entries tagged with xmas

The Dreamspinner Press Holiday Sale continues with all short stories (Daydreams and Nap-size Dreams) 20% off Dec. 13-19 and includes all my Hoilday Shorts.

Don't forget to follow them on Twitter and Facebook for a daily opportunity on one site or the other to win a Gift Certificate!
( Here's a list of my Holiday Shorts! )

You're seeing the right image. Catch the 2008 Dreamspinner Press Advent Set on final sale for $44.99 through October 31st.

While you're there, go ahead and pick up their other Christmas Stories for 25% off as part of this special discount.

And, for a complete list of all my Christmas Stories at Dreamspinner, go ahead and follow the cut.

( The Cut, to save my F'list )

Treat Yourself for the Holidays!

December, and all the month entails, is panting at my heels. So I was excited to see that Lynn Johnston is offering her ebook, The Kaizen Plan for Reducing Holiday Stress for free over at Smashwords. With tips for handling everything from entertaining to shopping to visiting family, her timing can't be beat.

Need More Help?

This article lists easy ways to beat holiday stress. My favorite? Take time out of your busy holiday schedule to sit back and relax with a little romance and a cup of your favorite hot beverage.

Short on time and money during the busy season? Pick one of my short fiction stories available from Dreamspinner Press as a gift for a friend, or for yourself. With prices that range from $1.49 to $2.99, you can afford to indulge without breaking your budget.

Better with Sprinkles: College student Tom Molina isn’t too interested when his roommate Derek tries to convince him to leave his books and help out with the campus LGBTA Center’s annual Christmas cookie sale. But Derek has an ace in the hole to score the center Tom’s grandmother's sugar cookie recipe: fellow volunteer Jeanette’s cousin just happens to be the organic chemistry T.A. Tom’s been dreaming about. Now Tom just has to hope Isaac is as interested in baking cookies as he is in chemistry and HIV awareness.

The Reason for the Season: All college student Adam Everett is trying to do is get to his sister’s house for holiday break. First his car breaks down, then his ride takes off to Vegas with his gas money, forcing Adam to come up with a Plan C. His last hope is a campus ride exchange, where he ends up with the reluctant Michael Brennan. When a “snowpocalypse” forces them to share a motel room, they soon find out there's more than one reason for the chance happenings of the season.

Season's Greetings - Russ Manners writes greeting cards for a living, except Christmas is fast approaching, there's no snow, and he's fallen behind on his big Easter Card project. He's blaming the new guy, Ian Fiorillo, because ever since Ian was hired, Russ spends all his time writing bad Valentine rhymes to Ian's best asset. What Russ doesn't realize is that Ian would love to help him appreciate the wonders of Christmas in Florida.

A Gift of Ash and Frost - (Historical Romance) When new residents come to the Grange, Mathias applies for a job at the house and is hired on at the housekeeper’s request for the Christmas season. He finds there a temptation of the body and heart in the form of the house’s master, one that he is ill-equipped to handle or resist … not that he has the desire to do so.

Giving Gifts - Seth is having a scarily good time at the office Christmas party this year. He owes it all to his hoped-for boyfriend, Oscar, who turned him into a carefree programmer from an uptight nerd. If Mr. Saroc, the company CEO’s assistant, would quit dogging his steps at work, Seth believes his happiness with Oscar will be complete in time for kissing under the mistletoe.

Santa's Little Helper - Left in the lurch without a Santa, Rob grabs a gorgeous guy he sort-of recognizes from the office to wear the red suit, and it's immediate attraction on both their parts. But Rob's ex, John, knows something important about the jolly ol' fellow, something he hopes doesn't ruin the holiday magic.

No surprise to anyone involved in my life I didn't get a chance to submit a story for this year's DSP Advent Calendar (insert big frowny face here). Imagine my excitement when I was asked to join several authors I admire in a seasonal anthology and life behaved.

Winter Warmers is due to release on November 28th - Until then, click on this cool banner by

lou_harper for more details, and a look at the amazing cover (also by Lou)!

Having been brought up in a household that didn't celebrate the December Holidays I was quite amused when a friend politely pointed out I currently have 6 Christmas/Holiday stories available for sale through Dreamspinner Press.

Imagine that. :)

( The List to spare those who have me on their F'list )

Don't Forget: There's a 20% Holiday Discount from Dreamspinner Press! That's right. I just love it when they do this. This discount is available now through the end of the year and each customer can use it twice!! Definitely worthy of an overuse of exclamation points. The code to enter at checkout is: HolidayDreams (without the cool colors).

And a NEW ADDED BONUS: This year let Dreamspinner make your eBook dreams come true. Each day from Dec. 26- Dec. 31, they will draw one name from the customers that purchased during the month of December to win every eBook on their registered account's wish list.

Imagine that. :)

( The List to spare those who have me on their F'list )

(give it about 30 seconds to get to the actual performance)

Buy Gary here at Amazon.com

Many of my friends know that Fall is my favorite time of the year. But as the weather cools the need for warm hats, mittens, and scarves grows among those who are struggling and underserved. For years I've joined local groups that crochet for the homeless no matter what state I've lived in. But these groups weren't always easy to find.

If you like to knit or crochet and haven't made the connection in your area here's some help:
Lion Brand Yarns Charitable Connection. Just enter your city or state and let the charity registry doing the searching for you.

Not a group person? Contact your local homeless shelter and discover just how great the need can be. Even one person, crocheting or knitting over the course of a year can make a huge difference.

Interested in starting your own group, but not sure how to go about it? Take a look at these project sites: The Humble Stitch and Scarves with a Purpose for excellent examples of a well-organized endeavor. Let them inspire you or just join in.

For those on the un-crafty/out-of-time side of things remember that nothing tops a new, un-opened, multi-pack of socks or underwear as a donation to your local shelter.

Also known as we have blurb!

Perhaps not quite the slacker I've portrayed of late, I surprised myself with not one, but two stories in this year's Dreamspinner Press Advent Calendar. As always I'll post more info as available - until then here are the summaries:

Better with Sprinkles: College student Tom Molina isn’t too interested when his roommate Derek tries to convince him to leave his books and help out with the campus LGBTA Center’s annual Christmas cookie sale. But Derek has an ace in the hole to score the center Tom’s grandmother's sugar cookie recipe: fellow volunteer Jeanette’s cousin just happens to be the organic chemistry T.A. Tom’s been dreaming about. Now Tom just has to hope Isaac is as interested in baking cookies as he is in chemistry and HIV awareness.

and

The Reason for the Season: All college student Adam Everett is trying to do is get to his sister’s house for holiday break. First his car breaks down, then his ride takes off to Vegas with his gas money, forcing Adam to come up with a Plan C. His last hope is a campus ride exchange, where he ends up with the reluctant Michael Brennan. When a “snowpocalypse” forces them to share a motel room, they soon find out there's more than one reason for the chance happenings of the season.