Romancing the Holidays – Volume 2

Description

Romancing the Holidays – Volume 2 was published in 2021 by the First Coast Romance Writers of Jacksonville, Florida. It is a compilation of a variety of romance sub-genre short stories all with a holiday theme.

Looking for a Happily Ever After? How about fourteen of them?! Romancing the Holidays, Volume 2 is a collection of romantic short stories all with the happy ending you crave. Genres include: contemporary, historical, paranormal, romantic suspense and young adult.

And what better time to find romance than during the holidays? Escape into these Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Three Kings Day and Valentine’s Day adventures, and swoon anew with each couple as they fall in love.

Here is What is Inside

Fall Into Magic – Sensual Paranormal Romance – Halloween by Debby Grahl – U.S. Marshal Clay Bennet and teacher Priscilla Mead meet on a stagecoach, and there’s an instant attraction. But Priscilla has a secret. When outlaws threaten their lives, to Clay’s astonishment, Priscilla reveals magical powers.

Clay can’t deny his desire for Priscilla despite his unease over her unusual abilities. Can the witch and the Marshal find true love, or is Priscilla’s hope for a future with Clay something not even her magic can grant her?

Fated By Fire – Sweet, Paranormal Romance, Halloween by Melody Johnson – When Marcus Kyle stops to assist a stranded driver change a flat tire, the last person he expects to face is Jenavieve St. Clair, the young witch whose unnervingly accurate visions consistently cast him as the harbinger of death and the destruction for their covens. Crossing paths with her is unsettling, but perhaps fate has intervened on his behalf, granting him the opportunity to prove to her that he’s just a man, not the monster that her visions predict him to be.

Jen would rather spend her All Hallows’ Eve with anyone except Marcus, but when his teasing charm and disarming smiles trigger a vision of him at a costume party, burning the house to the ground, she agrees to accompany him. As Jen attempts to circumvent his plans and Marcus strives to demonstrate his good intentions, they both discover that perhaps more than just a house fire is fated to spark this Halloween.

Oh My Pumpkin Pie – Steamy, Contemporary, Thanksgiving by Elise Darby – The last thing Maribelle wanted was to host Thanksgiving for her family of fifty. But despite being a harried doctor, that’s exactly what she agreed to do. Unfortunately for Maribelle, her careful planning still couldn’t avert an emergency trip to the grocery store the night before Thanksgiving, where she meets handsome shopper, Griffin. While Maribelle expresses her dread for spending Thanksgiving with her family, Griffin’s unique history makes her rethink what the holiday is about.

Thanks For the Doughnuts – Sweet, Historical Romance, Thanksgiving by Barbara Whitaker – When Faye met Cliff at the church social last year, he terrified her, and she pushed the arrogant soldier way. Then, in 1944 France, a Red Cross Clubmobile rolls into Cliff’s camp. Faye and her friends hand out doughnuts and coffee to the soldiers, providing Cliff another chance to win over the girl he can’t forget. But when Faye’s terror returns, can Cliff’s positive qualities overcome her fear?

Christmas Peril, Christmas Promise – Sweet, Historical Romantic Suspense, Christmas by Maggie FitzRoy – Heiress Piper Harrington plans her 1954 Christmas Day wedding to actor Landon Lyons at a snowy lodge in Maine. But things turn dark, doubtful, and dangerous. Dark, when a body turns up in the woods. Doubtful, when Piper begins to wonder who Landon really is. And dangerous, when she’s drawn to Rob Smith a lodge guest with a secret. He’s a private investigator sent to prevent Piper from a fate worse than death, or maybe death itself.

Stolen Christmas – Sweet Contemporary Christmas story by Leah Miles – With Christmas a week away, single mother Genie Tanaka is struggling to make ends meet and provide for her little girl.

Navy Seal Forrest McDunn rented his duplex to the beautiful young woman and her daughter, and her can’t get his mind off them.
When the worse happens and Genie needs his help, he’s by her side, hoping when the dust clears, maybe just maybe, he won’t have to come home to an empty house after every mission anymore.

Holiday Fixation – Sensual Romantic Suspense Christmas and New Years Eve Story by Karen Renee – Deanne Switzer thinks she and Alex Chavira don’t get along. The last thing she wants is Alex at her side.

But when Alex learns she has a stalker, he’s furious that she didn’t tell him. He volunteers to guard her, hoping to prove they are meant to be together.

His New Year’s resolution is for them to fall in love. Will Alex accomplish that and catch a stalker before ringing in the new year?

Miracle De Noel – Sweet Historical Christmas Story by Sara J. Walker – Thomas Moreau returns to his farm in rural Georgia after nearly two years of war, wounded and anxious to see his family.

His young wife, Ida, has been fighting a different battle of tragedy and survival, along with worries of how the burden of loss will affect all their lives.

While they’re struggling to face the past and the future, a true Miracle de Noel arrives just when it’s needed most.

The Secret Santa Surprise – Sweet, Young Adult Romance, Christmas by Vickey Wollan – Swimmer Yvette, and bookworm Brad, are in opposing cliques, but both need community service hours to get college scholarships. When a Secret Santa exchange includes ‘a walk in another person’s shoes’, the students scoff at the idea.

Yvette doesn’t thing anyone would want to walk in her flip flops due to her anger issues. Brad’s insecurities hinder him from letting anyone get close.

The lessons they learn about themselves and each other make the holiday season brighter. Can a teachable moment help teens over come their shortcomings and find romance?

Just Four Days – Sweet Second Chance Contemporary Romance, New Year’s Eve by Gloria Ferguson – When maid of honor, Hailey Hunter, is trapped on her sister’s four day weeding cruise with best man, Don Jenkins, her ex-boyfriend, the last thing Hailey wants is to rekindle their romance. Workaholic Don, a lawyer, showers Hailey with his time and attention, something she couldn’t capture while on dry land. Can the couple learn to forgive each other and gain a second chance for love before docking in their home port on New Year’s Eve?

New Year’s Expectations – A Low-Heat Contemporary New Year’s Even Story by Abigail Sharpe – The week after Christmas is the perfect time for divorcee Molly Pommer to update promotional photographs of her family’s charming dude ranch. After all, a new year calls for new beginnings, right? But Molly gets more than she bargained for when it’s her ex-husband, Dustin, who shows up to take the shots.

Love on Calle Ocho – Sweet Contemporary Romance, Three Kings Day by Laura Salas – Maddie Jones has sworn off love after her ex-husband’s infidelity.

Carlos Flores is in love with Maddie and would give her the moon if she’d let him, but he knows of her old would. Impulsively, he invites her to celebrate Three Kings Day with him and his family in Miami.

As Maddie uncovers Carlos’ many facets during their three-day weekend together, long-buried feelings awaken in her. Can she surrender her heart again?

True Love Found – Sweet, Paranormal Romance, Valentine’s Day by P.K. Brent – Cookies and love don’t mix, except in Marielle Charmaine’s Adirondack Mountain bakery. Marielle is an enchantment fairy, filling her baked goods with spells of health and good fortune. It’s a good life that gets a kneading when Alan the wizard reappears. Now Marielle must choose between her quiet, safe life and a friendship that could turn into love.

The Matchmaker’s Valentine – Sensual Paranormal Valentine’s Day Story by Candese Nieves – This Valentine’s Day, Cece’s matchmaking skills are truly put to the test. One mistake, and her father will have her mated off, something Ceci is adamantly against.
But tell that to Jax. A former pack enforcer with a bad-boy reputation twisted beyond the truth. He insists she’s the only she-wolf meant for him.

It is love at first sniff, but is Cece willing to lose everything for a lonely, scarred up wolf she barely knows?

Proceeds from this anthology benefit First Coast Romance Writers, a non-profit chapter of Romance Writers of America that helps writers hone their craft and expand their knowledge of the publishing industry.

We have both the ePub version or the PDF version available for download.They are zipped into their own secured file and must be downloaded and unzipped to be added to your reading apps. The PDF version file size is 6.6MB (Password protected against printing and copying) and the ePub version file size is 2.9MB