Friday 14 December 2012

Christmas Time by Anne Kane


The problem with Christmas is that I just don’t seem to have enough time to do everything I want to do. We need to add half days to the calendar. They would fit in between the whole days. You know, December 1, December 1 ½, December 2, December 2 ½. You get the idea. If we add just one half day between each of the existing days from now until Christmas, I’ll have enough time to get everything done.

I promise to use the extra time to put up my tree, decorate the house, bake up a storm, clean the house from top to bottom, take the grandkids to see Santa, do my Christmas shopping, wrap the presents and attend all those amazing Christmas functions I’m invited to.

Oh, and while they’re at it, maybe the powers-that-be can arrange for me to not gain any weight while I overindulge in all the Christmas goodies! What do you think? Am I asking too much? LOL!

I do love the Christmas season. The music, the decorations, the smiles on everyone’s faces make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I love the smells, and the fresh white snow glistening under the cold light of  a new moon. Winter is still new and fresh and exciting, and I swear I can almost hear the bells jingling on Santa’s sleigh while the reindeer fly overhead. Now, if you’ll excuse me I have a tree to decorate and cookies to bake.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Anne Kane


Series: Holiday Howlz
Title: Dawg-Napped!
ISBN: 978-1-60521-303-3
Genres:  Paranormal, Magic and Mayhem
Themes: Shapeshifter, Seasonal


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BLURB:
When one of Santa's elves stops at the Prairie Dawg Saloon on his vintage motorcycle, Cyndi can't resist taking a closer look at the classic bike. Then Bruce comes back outside unexpectedly and Cyndi panics, shifting to hide in one of the saddlebags. She doesn't realize the bike is a matchmaking reindeer in disguise. Comet knows all about the sexy little critters of Dawg Town, and he's decided the cute little prairie dawg is just what Bruce needs to cuddle up with him in his North Pole cottage.

EXCERPT:
“Well, now I’m going to have to wake her up and try to explain why she’s freezing her furry little tail off at the North Pole instead of sunning it in Barkus, Kansas.”

The North Pole? Cyndi cracked one eye open, but all she could see was an impressive set of antlers. She closed her eyes and snuggled back down into the blankets.

Blankets? Her sleep-befuddled mind nudged her. She should be in human form if there were blankets. She obligingly shifted into human form, stretching her arms out over her head to help get the blood flowing. Prairie dawgs went into semi hibernation in the winter, so when her body in dawg-form had encountered cold it had automatically slowed her physiology down to conserve energy. Coming out of hibernation left her feeling sluggish, and somewhat cold. She shivered.

“Oh. My. Christmas tree!”

The shock in the biker’s deep voice penetrated the layers of fog, and Cyndi reluctantly opened her eyes. He was taller than she remembered, at least five ten. His dark curly hair was tucked behind his pointed ears before it fell to his shoulders in a sexy tangle. A pair of the brightest blue eyes she’d ever seen were busy taking in every detail of her naked body.

The fact that her clothing didn’t shift with her meant she was stark naked, and she hastily pulled the blanket up to her chin. Feeling a little more confident now that she was covered, Cyndi tore her attention away from the mouthwatering biceps on the biker and turned her head to look at the other speaker. She blinked, confused. All she could see was a deer regarding her with its soft brown eyes.

“She’s in shock, Bruce. You’re going to have to warm her up slowly.” A hint of panic sounded in the deer’s voice.

She was not in shock, she was coming out of hibernation mode, but right now she wasn’t up to explaining the difference to the attractive elf, let alone the deer. Or was it a buck? Those antlers really were impressive.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you’d suffer like this when I held the saddle bags closed.” The deer batted its insanely long eyelashes at her. “I just thought you and Bruce might hit it off.”

“A taaalllkkkin deeer?” Cyndi started to wonder if she was still asleep and this was just a bizarre dream.

“I’m not a deer. I’m one of Santa’s reindeer.” He actually sounded offended, and the look on his face tempted her to giggle. “I’m capable of disguising myself as the bike you couldn’t keep your paws off of. It’s no harder to believe than a shapeshifting prairie dog.”

“Comet, mind your manners!”

 Cyndi turned her attention back to the hunky elf. A talking reindeer that doubled as a vintage bike was just a little too much to deal with at the moment.

“Who are you and where are we?” She drew the blanket tighter around her and glanced at her surroundings. They were sitting on a thick bed of straw, and it looked for all the world like a hayloft somewhere in Kansas.

The elf frowned, looking concerned. “We’re at the North Pole, of course. Where else would you expect to find elves and reindeer? You were so cold I didn’t want to chance moving you to the house, so I threw some blankets on top of the straw and covered you to try to warm you up.”

He grabbed the hem of his bright red shirt and pulled it over his head, revealing an impressive set of abs. “You’re still shivering, so I guess it wasn’t enough. I’ll have to share my body heat with you. It’s the only way to combat the hypothermia without having you go into shock. Damn Comet and his stupid ideas.” He tossed the shirt aside and loosened the drawstring on his pants.

Cyndi felt her temperature go up a notch when he dropped the pants to the ground and kicked them aside to stand in front of her clad only in a pair of jockey shorts -- Christmas themed, she noticed. The holly and ivy print material stretched valiantly over a massive bulge at his groin. She tried to remember what she knew about elves. Were they all well hung? Because unless she was mistaken, that was the largest hard-on she’d ever seen.

He was under the impression that she had hypothermia or shock or something. She supposed she should tell him she was okay, before he got completely naked. Then again, he’d seen everything she had to offer, and turnabout was fair play. She hadn’t had a good roll in the hay since her previous boyfriend moved to the other side of Kansas last spring. This was starting to look interesting. She kept her mouth closed.

“AAhhhemmmm.” Mischief danced in the reindeer’s eyes as he turned toward the door. “I’ll just go make sure everything went okay in our absence.” He looked at Bruce, and nodded his antlers toward the bed. “You need to be under those blankets with her if you’re going to warm her up.” Prancing gleefully, the matchmaking mammal sidled out the door.





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5 comments:

  1. You are definitely not asking too much!! I agree wholeheartedly.

    Thanks for the post and the excerpt...looks like a great read!!

    Valerie
    in Germany

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  2. Merry Christmas to you too, Anne. No stress, no panic, right?
    tessa.bamberg@kolumbus.fi

    ReplyDelete
  3. Very nice excerpt.

    bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks everyone :) Hope you all enjoy a wonderful holiday season this year.

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  5. I would love that too, Anne--I cannot resist Christmas treats, and what a treat it would be for them to all be calorie free this time of year ;) Have a wonderful month of celebrating!

    f dot chen at comcast dot net

    ReplyDelete