NOVEMBER - The Holidays Are Around the Corner

The holidays are around the corner. This is the time when we start thinking of delicious foods, gift-giving, family fun, and merriment. 

November is my favorite holiday with celebration of Thanksgiving when friends and families gather just to enjoy camaraderie and good food. Bring on the turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, cranberries and more. This is the time to give thanks for all our blessings of the past year, such as fruitful harvests, safe journeys, excellent health, and other good fortunes we've experienced. 

This month I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, but I'm also spending the month re-introducing my  holiday novellas in the "Musical Christmas Series," which include JUNE ~ The Pianist, ADELENE ~ The Violinist, and LUCY ~ The Clarinetist.  All three novellas are stand-alone works that can be read out of order. They are heartwarming, sweet romances with a hint of mystery and humor to add to the intrigue and charm. If you love holiday stories, please take a peek below at my first book:

JUNE ~ The Pianist

 

Here's the blurb for JUNE ~ The Pianist
which is Book 1 in the Musical Christmas Series
and which is a clean wholesome romance for only $0.99.

A sweet Christmas novella to warm your heart!

     When concert pianist June Westberry inherits her late grandfather’s music shop, she returns to her small hometown in New York to renovate and manage it. But she never expects to clash with the town’s ornery old music teacher, Nettie Jones who demands she find a lost, fifty-year-old holiday musical score.
     Single parent and contractor, Leo Ciaffonni, enjoys restoring old buildings, and the A# Music Shop with its pretty new owner is no exception. When he’s injured, June finds herself caring for Leo and helping his little daughter bake cookies for her class.
     As the holidays close in and the shop’s renovations continue, the problems June tries hard to solve only seem to become more chaotic. A# Sharp Music Shop is broken into. A harvest recital for her new students requires multifaceted planning. And the perpetrator and the lost musical score have not been found.
     Will she be able to find peace and order in her new life this Christmas—and the love she’s always dreamed of? 

LINK to JUNE - THE PIANIST     

 

                                                 LINK to my AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

 

 

KEY TO LOVE - Summer Reading and Oldie from the Past

"Love is the master key that opens the gates of happiness," so says Oliver Wendell Holmes. . . and the father of Elise Springer, the main character.  http://www.amazon.com/Key-to-Love-ebook/dp/B00DNO9S8K

KEY TO LOVE is an oldie from the past and a romantic mystery full of snappy, humorous dialogue. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll race against the clock with Elise as she tries to find the person who murdered a state trooper.

The cast of characters include the heroine, Elise Springer, an architect; hero Lucas Fisher who owns a car restoration garage and drives a restored Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am; and Lucas’s little orphaned nephew, Todd, who’s addicted to animal crackers and The Fox and the Hound storybook. 

 

You'll laugh with Elise’s grumpy, but astute father, her wise-cracking brother, Fritz, and a no-nonsense director of Child and Youth Services, Twila Pedmo.

BOOK BLURB:

When architect Elise Springer's father is injured, she immediately leaves San Francisco to care for him. The last person she expects to encounter in her Pennsylvania hometown is her childhood friend, Lucas Fisher. 

Lucas is investigating his brother's mysterious death, and Elise can't resist lending a hand. Lucas longs for the close family ties he never had. He's back in Scranton to set up a classic car restoration business and build a future. The torch he carries for Elise burns brighter than ever, but before he can declare his love, he must obtain the legal rights to adopt his nephew--and prove his brother's death was no accident.

As they unearth clues to find the murderer and a missing stash of money, Elise faces a dilemma. Is her career on the West Coast the key to her happiness, or is it an animal-cracker-eating four-year-old and his handsome uncle instead? 

                              ~ * ~                                                   

 

LUCY ~ THE CLARINETIST - Coming October 26th

October reminds us of cool, crisp days, a rainbow of colored leaves, and Halloween. October is also National Dessert Month. With seasonal ingredients like spicy cinnamon, rich caramel, and decadent pecans, autumn is one of the best seasons for baking. Who doesn’t enjoy pumpkin pie heaped with Kool Whip? Or apple pie or crisp? How about pecan pie and the many cobblers?

This month, on October 26th, I’m releasing my last novella in the Musical Christmas Series. It’s Lucy –The Clarinetist, and like the preceding novellas, it includes a recipe that one of the main characters enjoys. This time it’s Andre Almanza who likes apple pie with a cinnamon crumb crust.

            APPLE PIE WITH CINNAMON CRUMB CRUST TOPPING

INGREDIENTS:

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg (optional)

Dash of salt

6 cups thinly sliced pared apples (McIntosh work well)

2 TBSP. butter or margarine

Deep Dish Pastry for a 9-inch pie  (You need only the bottom crust)

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare pastry or use one purchased from the store. (Frozen deep dish varieties work best.)

Stir together sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt and mix with apples. Turn into pastry-lined pan and dot with butter.

 CINNAMON CRUMB CRUST:

Mix 1 cup flour, ½ cup cold butter, 2 tsp. cinnamon, and ½ cup (packed) brown sugar. Cut dry ingredients into butter with pastry cutter until crumbly. Carefully spread the mixture on the top of the apples, packing it down around the edges.

Bake 40 to 50 minutes.

NOTE: You many need to cover topping with aluminum foil for the last ten minutes to prevent excess browning.  Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

BLURB:

A merry novella for the holiday season!

Lucy Ciaffonni wants nothing more than to start her own public relations firm, but she’s stuck at the local bank performing boring communications and advertising duties. When her best friend and computer guru, Andre Almanza, buys an area farm to create a barn theater, Lucy is pulled into the mystery of discovering where a rare, German, H.F. Kayser clarinet was hidden on the property during Prohibition.

Andre Almanza has always adored Lucy from afar. He hopes she’ll take the position of barn theater manager. When she agrees to help him renovate the barn and update and furnish his huge Victorian house, he is delighted—that is, until the entire town becomes involved in locating the missing antique instrument. To complicate matters, there are ruthless people who want to recover the expensive clarinet and cash in on its legend and value.

Will Lucy and Andre locate the clarinet and finally acknowledge the sparks of romance that have been smoldering between them for the longest time? Will it be the perfect Christmas?

       GET YOUR PRE-ORDER AND COPY OF "LUCY ~ THE CLARINETIST HERE!

 

WILLIE, MY LOVE - An Excerpt and Rafflecopter

Can two stubborn hearts find love under the tall white pines?

EXCERPT:

He broke the stillness first. “Did you recognize him?”

“Who?”

           "The thief you knifed in the woods, Miss Decoy.”

“How would you know I knifed him?”

“I heard no gunfire from the clearing, but from the amount of blood scattered all over the place, you more than just playfully tickled his ribs. Actually, it looked like you went for the poor fellow's jugular vein.”

 “I wish I had. I only stabbed him in his shoulder. I wasn't aiming to kill, just slow him down a bit."
“With men that ruthless, Willie, it's best not to extend too much compassion. Those three riders on the ridge weren't exactly trying to miss your backside in the true spirit of Christian charity.”

 “Next time, I won't let them get that close.”

  “There won't be a next time,” he snapped. “You pull a fool stunt like that again while I'm here, and I will tell your father. The closest you'll ever get to a logging operation will be sewing buttons on your crews’ shirts. So tell me, did you recognize him or the horse he rode?”

  “No. If I had recognized him, or his blasted horse, I would have spoken to the proper authorities.” She paused and wagged a slim finger at his face. “You realize, mister, you're a pain in the...”

  “Don't even say it!”

  “Neck. But your first conclusion might be a more appropriate location.”

   Their dueling gazes met and he reached out and captured her against his chest.

   Suddenly conscious of the fact that he either wanted to shake her mercilessly or kiss her senseless, he released her gently, disturbed by the discovery she had aroused far more than anger. He stalked to the fireplace and gripped the mantel, his head bent in thought. He had always been good at logical reasoning, but this wisp of a backwoods girl defied every civilized rule he ever learned. Her nearness stoked a gently growing fire that he’d never felt before with any other woman. And she was oblivious to it all. How would he ever be able to work beside her?

  A lengthy silence elapsed before he spoke in a calm voice. “Is there a possible way we can come to terms since we have to share the same roof over our heads?”

  Shifting like the wind, she concurred. “Unfortunately, I agree with you.”

  Turning, he pinned an astonished gaze on her. “You mean there’s actually an ounce of compassion in that tiny body of yours?”

  Willie grinned. “Don't compare my size with my compassion, or any other of my abilities, for that matter. The venom of a rattlesnake is deadly regardless of its size.”  

BACK COVER BLURB:  

The year is 1856. White pine is king of the forest.

Releasing on April 15th

The last thing Jonathan Wain wants to do is ride miles through Pennsylvania’s wilderness to help his father’s logging partner in the small settlement of Clearfield. But his family owns clipper ships in the Chesapeake Bay that carry the coveted logs to the markets each spring, and they can’t afford a loss.

The last thing Wilhelmina Wydcliffe wants is a handsome sea captain from Maryland meddling in her father’s logging operations under attack by unknown enemies. A feisty tomboy and better known as Willie to her crews, she has a dream to be the largest logging operator east of the Mississippi River.

When both Willie’s and Jonathan’s lives are threatened, they are forced to work together to find their enemies before both of their companies are in shambles. 

But as their attraction to each other escalates, can they set aside their differences, unearth the truth, and discover contentment in each other’s arms? 

       

Order Now in Print or Digital:

https://www.amazon.com/Willie-Love-Judy-Ann-Davis-ebook/dp/B07P87GNCZ/ 

ENTER THE RAFFLECOPTER BELOW 
TO WIN A $15 AMAZON GIFT CARD

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Willie, My Love - A Historical Romantic Mystery

Can two stubborn hearts find love under the tall white pines?

The year is 1856. White pine is king of the forest.

Releasing on April 15th

The last thing Jonathan Wain wants to do is ride miles through Pennsylvania’s wilderness to help his father’s logging partner in the small settlement of Clearfield. But his family owns clipper ships in the Chesapeake Bay that carry the coveted logs to the markets each spring, and they can’t afford a loss.

The last thing Wilhelmina Wydcliffe wants is a handsome sea captain from Maryland meddling in her father’s logging operations under attack by unknown enemies. A feisty tomboy and better known as Willie to her crews, she has a dream to be the largest logging operator east of the Mississippi River.

When both Willie’s and Jonathan’s lives are threatened, they are forced to work together to find their enemies before both of their companies are in shambles. But as their attraction to each other escalates, can they set aside their differences, unearth the truth, and discover contentment in each other’s arms? 

EXCERPT:         

       Jonathan found her at the table hacking a flapjack into a million pieces. It didn't take any more brains than an earthworm to see she was in the vilest of moods for someone about to celebrate her twenty-fourth birthday. Following his explicit orders, no one from the entire household staff had made mention of it, and she was moping.

       Whistling merrily, Jonathan dropped into a seat facing her.

       “People who are so joyful in the morning should have their hearts ripped out,” she muttered and poured more than a generous stream of maple syrup onto the shredded pancake.

       A smile ruffled his handsome face. “You're just in a poor mood because you didn't find your birthday presents we stashed in the stables. Everyone knows you've tipped this house upside down in search of them. Think all that sugar might help your disposition?”

       “I should have known,” she sputtered, coming to her feet, “only buzzard bait like you would stoop to such a childish trick.” An unexpected stir of excitement rose inside her. “So what are we waiting for?”

       He followed her out into the summer sunshine. The first rays of dawn had already burned off the dew from underfoot. The doors to the stables were flung open, and he had to quicken his pace to keep up with her.

       “I guess in all fairness, I should show you where we hid them.” Inside the barn, he led her past Silver Cloud's stall to one at the far end of the stables. Her eyes sparkled luminously when she saw a pure white horse, prancing in the stall, still uneasy with its new surroundings. His coat glistened like new snow in the slanted sunlight filtering through the stable windows.

       She was so shocked, she could only stare.

       “Happy birthday.” He leaned a shoulder against the stall. “A new saddle from the staff is arriving from Maryland next week. I ordered it special to fit the mount.”

        “Oh, Jonathan, he’s beautiful. Thank you.” She blinked back a tear.  No one had ever given her such a splendid gift since the day she received her first horse.

Order Now in Print or Digital:

https://www.amazon.com/Willie-Love-Judy-Ann-Davis-ebook/dp/B07P87GNCZ/ 

ENTER THE RAFFLECOPTER BELOW TO WIN A $15 AMAZON GIFT CARD

a Rafflecopter giveaway