Spring: flowers, a new release and a PUPPY!

Roxanne Rustand Posted on by

First of all, I’m happy to report that ONE MORE WISH, the second book in my Northern Pines clean and wholesome, small town romance series has released this month!

Here’s a quick blurb:

What do you do when your summer plans are turned upside down?

After an injury, Ethan needs help with his son and small farm as much as Abby, a registered nurse, needs a temporary home that will accept her rescue dog.  A perfect situation, right?

It is…until she has to deal with his flock of ornery goats, a herd of cattle escaping, and a litter of new puppies born while he’s away. And now, someone is trying to destroy her professional reputation. Worse, a dangerous stranger is lurking in the shadows, and threatening great harm…  CLICK HERE to read more about it and find buy links.

ONE MORE DANCE, the first book in the series, is still just $.99! CLICK HERE to read more about it and find buy links!

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It’s spring here, in the upper Midwest.  A time of new beginnings. Our perennial flowers are blooming, the grass is lush and green. The scents of lilacs, Lily of the Valley, and new-mown grass fill me with joy. The emergence of wood ticks and gnats, not so much!

Speaking of new beginnings, have you ever received a completely unexpected gift?  Folks who have followed me on Facebook and my blog know I’m a passionate animal lover. I’ve had horses since first grade, and I’ve never been without a variety of rescue animals. When Elmo died, the sweetest border collie ever, my husband insisted that our golden retriever rescue Sage was all we needed. He was adamant…but apparently other plans were afoot.   🙂

When he surprised me with an eight-week-old golden retriever puppy for Mother’s Day this year, I was nearly speechless, and overcome with excitement! Little Doogan is such a sweetheart! But boy, has life changed.  He is like a new baby who doesn’t have diapers, and who can run through the house like an antelope. J We are working on crate training, though, so things are getting better  And better yet, his older “grandpa” Sage, also a golden, is adapting to the rambunctious new kid on the block.

Read on for your chances to win books, see one of my family favorite recipes, hear about a dear friend’s latest release, and find links for the latest “online bookfairs” where you can find free or bargain books.

***


NEW QUESTION FOR MAY…
Each month, I select some winners from the readers who answered one or more of the question(s) I posted  in the previous month’s newsletter. The winners of this May drawing will receive an e-copy of one of my Coupled By Christmas novellas—their choice of title.  To enter, just leave a comment on this blog  post. If you are reading this at another site where my posts are shared, just CLICK HERE.

The questions are:

  1. What is one of the most unexpected, fun, or unusual gifts you have received?
  2. Do you have a fond memory of completely surprising someone else with a gift?
  3. If you have (or had) dogs, what advice could you give about new puppies?

 

***

 

The contest winners in the last newsletter drawing:

Laurie G: This year we spent the winter in Wisconsin. Luckily it was a pretty mild winter! I used my old Nordic Track machine so much that it broke! I’ve spent time going through my 4 children’s stuff: school mementos, clothes, toys, all broken or stained items were tossed. I’ve had them give me a list of things they want me to save or donate.

I was able to help my daughter with her 4 children, 3 were homeschooled (3rd grade, 1st grade and 4K). It is quite time consuming. This past month we went to Florida to get my 96 yo mom’s condo ready to sell. We closed on it April 30th. YAY! Next, I need to get the yard ready for summer.
I read any chance I get!

 

Sandy S:  Positive in a pandemic? A good question which really made me stop and think. I think the most positive was finding out that I love working from home. I also just out-and-out love my home. I like being here and I like the things I have surrounded myself with. It’s also made me appreciate even more the nights when my husband and I are able to go out to dinner. Where we sit across from each other and just talk and talk about anything and everything. I appreciate that so much more than I did before the pandemic!

 

Beth M: How has the pandemic affected me? Well both my husband and I telework from home and that can be challenging at times. I have been reading more than ever. I also have been spending more time with my Mother in law and Father In law. Unfortunately my FIL passed away, not COVID, but he had dementia and other issues, therefore we have been spending more time with MIL and do all of her shopping for her.

 

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RECIPE OF THE MONTH:   GRILLED TURKEY TENDERLOINS

I’ve been making these for many years, and my family loves them. So easy! I like to serve them during the summer with fresh sliced tomatoes from the garden, sweet corn dripping in butter, crusty garlic buttered French bread, watermelon and cherry pie with homemade ice cream.  The sweet corn season can’t come soon enough for me! J

1# turkey tenderloins 1” thick
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup canola or extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup dry sherry
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp dehydrated onion
¼ tsp dry ginger
Dash of pepper, dash of salt

Marinade the tenderloins in a gallon food storage bag  in a shallow pan, several hours in the fridge. Flip the bag over several times.

Grill over hot coals on a grill, approximately 7 minutes per side, until internal temp via an instant-read thermometer reaches 165 degrees. Allow to rest 5-10 min. Do not overcook or they will be dry.

 

***

 

CURRENT ONLINE BOOKFAIRS:

Inspirational Romance Sweepstakes  
The contest starts Monday, May 24, and ends on Wednesday, June 2.
https://www.booksweeps.com/giveaway/may-2021/inspy-romances/


Sweet Romance Summer
This promotion starts May 30th and runs through June 30th   https://books.bookfunnel.com/sweet_romance_summer/9skbf2x96f

 

Finally, here is a new release written by a dear friend—the USA Today Bestselling author Lyn Cote!

Book 2 in her New Neighbor Lane series, Rosa’s Forever Home, is available now for 25% off.  Here is a blurb and the link:

A little boy chases a stray dog into the path of a cement truck. This heart-pounding meeting brings two wounded souls together. From a USA Today Bestselling author, a heartwarming story of love, faith and God’s healing power. And the joy of furry friends! Why not download today?https://booksbylyncote.com/SWBS/books-by-lyn/rosas-forever-home

 

 

 

 

 

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ONE MORE WISH, a May 14th release, and a chance for prizes!

Roxanne Rustand Posted on by

I’m so happy to announce that the second novel in my Northern Pines series will be out May 14th, and it’s now available for preorder! Here’s a quick blurb:

Facing emergency surgery, Ethan needs help with his son and small farm as much as Abby needs a temporary home that will accept her rescue dog, too.  A perfect situation…until she has to deal with his flock of ornery goats, a herd of cattle escaping, and a litter of new puppies born while he’s away. Those challenges she can manage.

But now, someone is trying to destroy her professional reputation. And out in the country, a dangerous, threatening stranger is lurking in the shadows… 

CLICK HERE  for a link where you find out more or find the Buy Links.

How have you been spending your spring thus far?  Have you accomplished any long-delayed projects? With travel and dinner with friends still off the table for now, I’ve been going through our endless stuff, and have sent untold numbers of boxes and bags of it to Salvation Army and the Olivet Mission (where folks in need can pick up what they need for free.)  Strangely, the closets and cupboard still seem full. How can that be?!

Tired of that for now, I’ve now started to go through boxes and boxes and boxes of old photographs and correspondence from my parent’s generation. Oh, boy. I apparently come from a long line of savers!

My mom had three siblings in rural Kansas who never married, and neither the siblings nor my sweet little Swedish grandpa had a phone until around 1990. So everyone wrote letters. Long ones–whether the recipient was in the next town, or back in Sweden. And, they apparently saved every card, letter, and document they ever received, going back to at least 1923. Many, many boxes of it all. Annual teaching contracts for a one-room school, 1924. A bill for a five-day hospital stay, 1937: $33.00.

After the Kansas folks all passed on, Mom ended up with their boxes of saved correspondence. And since Mom had also saved every card and letter she received—even the Valentines exchanged during her elementary school years—I now have a treasure trove of family history. I’ve always wished that I’d kept a journal all my life. And now I essentially have one, via all of those exchanged letters.  I’ll never stop missing Mom, but now it’s so fascinating to read all about the events in her life (and mine) that she shared in her letters. I can imagine she’s still here, telling me those family stories.  But it also makes me wonder.  Texts, emails, and a cell phone always close at hand are convenient, but also so transient.  What will we leave behind to pass on to future generations about us?

Here is my question of the month:  All of us have been affected in many ways by the pandemic. Have you found any positives throughout this long experience? More time to tackle long-delayed projects, work through your to-be-read book stack, or resume some hobbies?

Or have you been even busier, with working from home and homeschooling to boot? Have you found new ways to stay in touch with loved ones? How has it all gone?

Prize drawings: To leave an answer or a comment click  at the bottom of this blog post and you’ll be entered in a drawing for a free e-copy of SAVE THE LAST DANCE (my March, 2021 release), THE MISTLETOE PUPPY, or a $10.00 Barnes & Noble gift card. Three separate winners.  Good luck!

Here are the winners from last month, who can click CONTACT  to receive their prizes. Be sure to put “WS newsletter winner” in the subject line. Thanks!

Rebecca H:  I like the cover to be about the book.
But if I had to choose, scenic pictures, mountains and farms. Don’t care for beach scenes.
People as long as it is the character of the book. A person with animals is good too.

Robin in NC:  I’m drawn to scenic covers. I don’t care for people on the cover, especially faces, because my imaginations idea of how a character looks never matches the cover characters.

Joy I:    I like a colorful cover with something on it that gives me a hint of what the story is about. Maybe a horse or a lighthouse. Does not need a person on the cover but it is helpful if we can see what they are wearing.

Here is my family recipe of the month. All of us love this, because it’s like eating at a popular Italian restaurant, but it’s very low carb!

LOW CARB ZUPPA TOSCANA

1# mild Italian sausage
1/2 #  ground beef
2 cups broth, made with Better Than Bouillon (Roasted Chicken Favor) *
4 cups water
4 garlic cloves minced
16 oz fresh, sliced mushrooms browned in butter**
1 large onion, diced, sautéed in bacon fat or pan after browning meat
5 strips bacon, crumbled

Add later:
2 cup fresh spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
1 cup heavy (whipping) cream

Brown the ground beef and ground sausage. Drain and crumble, add to slow cooker with everything except the cream and fresh spinach.  Slow cooker on Low, four hours. Adjust seasoning with salt & pepper. Stir in spinach and cream, and serve promptly.

* Note: I add in extra Better Than Bouillon paste for more flavor.  If you don’t have it, you can substitute a 16 oz can of chicken broth.
* You can substitute quartered small red potatoes if you don’t like mushrooms, but they are higher in  carbohydrates

FINALLY, HERE ARE LINKS FOR THREE NEW VIRTUAL BOOK FAIRS FEATURING BARGAIN PRICED BOOKS!


Kisses and Sweethearts (but hurry–ends today, April 30, 2021)
https://books.bookfunnel.com/kissesandsweethearts/4q69gdcof9

Craving Christmas
https://books.bookfunnel.com/cravingchristmas/6w9bmrl1z0

 Make Mom’s Day
https://books.bookfunnel.com/makemomsdaywithanebook/ykhb4rtme8

 

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Three new “Virtual Book Fairs” for finding bargain books!

Roxanne Rustand Posted on by

Happy spring!

Do you enjoy finding bargains?  I just wanted to stop by and let you know about three opportunities for free and bargain books.  🙂

  1.   SPRINGTIME ROMANCE  –This one runs until April 15th:
    (One More Dance is in this one)

https://books.bookfunnel.com/inspy-springtime-romance/mgj7a9yvom

 

2.    KISSES AND SWEETHEARTS –April 1st to April 30th
(One More Dance is in this one)
         https://books.bookfunnel.com/kissesandsweethearts/4q69gdcof9

 

3.    CRAVING CHRISTMAS –April 22 to May 13th
(The Mistletoe Puppy is in this one!)
       https://books.bookfunnel.com/cravingchristmas/6w9bmrl1z0

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ONE MORE DANCE, a new release, and a chance for prizes!

Roxanne Rustand Posted on by

How did you fare over the winter? Are you seeing signs of spring where you live?  Our record-breaking cold and snowy winter is (hopefully) a thing of the past, and we’re actually seeing bare ground!  Even the peacock is revving up for spring. He has been growing out his plumage and struts around the barnyard with his long, beautiful tail feathers raised in full display. Not quite so lovely is his ear-piercing mating call, which sounds like a woman screaming for help.  J

Page down for info on ONE MORE DANCE, a chance to win prizes, a favorite family recipe, and news of a good friend’s latest book release!

How badly can a relationship be broken before there’s just no chance to save it?

When veterinarian Kate Mathers drives past the scene of a terrible accident and sees two ambulances race away, she whispers a prayer for those involved, not realizing that it’s her husband’s car in flames down in the ditch, and that a woman in the car with him was killed—a complete stranger. And now Jared is in the ICU on the verge of death, and only a miracle can save him.

She’s at his bedside, trying to face his precarious situation and also deal with the fact that someone is targeting both her husband and her veterinary practice, and wondering how the most perfect, joyous marriage could have gone so wrong. Or did it?

If only they can have one more chance to talk and to forgive, and one more dance in each other’s arms…

ONE MORE DANCE  is a clean and wholesome, full-length contemporary romance mystery. It’s available right now for just $0.99  at all e-book retailers.
For more information or to buy, click on the BOOKS tab along the horizontal bar above this blog post.

 

Here is my question of the month…and your chance to win prizes in my drawing! 

After ONE MORE DANCE, there are four more books coming out in my Northern Pines during 2021, and they need covers! Which cover styles attract you the most?  A setting, such as charming little cottage in the woods, or the mountains, or the seashore, or do you prefer either a hero or heroine alone on the cover? Or…maybe both of them?

Leave an answer or a comment at the bottom of this blog post to be entered in drawings for a free e-copy of SNOWBOUND WITH THE COWBOY or a $10.00 Barnes & Noble gift card  (two separate winners.)  Good luck!

Here are the answers from last month’s winners, who can click CONTACT  to receive their prizes. Be sure to put “WS newsletter winner” in the subject line. Thanks!

Colleen C:    Favorite memories… waiting by the window and watching for my grandparents to arrive. When I saw them I was filled with such happiness. I would run to the door to open it for them and it was the best feeling on Earth to get a hug from them.
Food, we always have pumpkin pie from my grandma’s recipe and make M&M cookies together.
Happy Holidays!

Pat S:         My favorite memory of Christmas was the year the whole family got together and rented a cabin in Colorado Springs. The snow was perfect even if my skiing was not! My brother arranged a wagon ride to a huge tent in the snow that served grilled steak and fixings served while people performed music and we sat on hay bales at plank tables. We also went to hot springs that even had waterfalls, oh my, what a wonderful celebration!
We always start baking on Thanksgiving weekend while we decorate the tree and house. Christmas movies are playing (starting with White Christmas) and our hearts are happy. After all, we are celebrating the birth of Christ!

Here is my family recipe of the month. All of us love this, because it’s yummy and it works for those of us trying to follow a keto diet. If you skip blending in the whipped cream to make it a mousse instead of a pudding, it’s also low fat!

Keto Chocolate Pudding (or Mousse)

2 cups almond milk
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp Dutch process cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1/3 cup Splenda (0r other granular sweetener)
1/2 cup almond milk
3 Tbsp cornstarch
3/4 cup Lily sugar free chocolate chips
1 tsp real vanilla

Heat the first four ingredients in a saucepan until hot.

In a separate, small bowl, slowly stir the extra 1/2 cup cold almond milk into the cornstarch until smooth, then add to saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir for two more minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the Lily chocolate chips and vanilla until smooth.

For pudding: Chill (or serve warm–yum!) and top with whipped cream sweetened with Splenda or a similar sweetener.
For mousse: chill pudding, then gently blend in real whipped cream sweetened with Splenda. Top with additional whipped cream.

Yummy!

Finally, here is an excerpt,  cover and a link for my friend Lyn Cote’s newest book, AMY’S FOREVER LOVE,  which is out now. Don’t miss it!

Even though Amy Broussard is their aunt, her twin little girls call her “mom.” In the midst of a harsh winter, Amy is helping build her Habitat for Humanity home, just the security she’s always wanted for her girls. But one frigid evening on their way to the church potluck, she and her girls find two orphaned kittens. And there she meets the local veterinarian and surprises him by volunteering to adopt the kittens on the spot, fulfilling another promise to her girls. The vet’s basset hound Bummer in turn surprises everyone by instantly “adopting” the two golden tabbies too! From then on, like it or not, Amy and the vets’ lives intersect with the “help” of Bummer and the twins. Yet before love can bloom, both adults must work through a winter of heart-healing as family secrets and grudges are unraveled.

From a USA Today Bestselling author, a heartwarming story of love, faith and the power of forgiveness. And the joy of furry friends!

https://booksbylyncote.com/SWBS/books-by-lyn/amys-forever-love-clean-christian-romance

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Happy holidays!

Roxanne Rustand Posted on by

BEST WISHES TO YOU FOR A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY SEASON!

It’s hard to believe that we’re already approaching mid-December. Like every other holiday this year, it will certainly be different—at least at our home. We usually have a houseful of family here to celebrate. Our daughter comes home early to help me cook and bake up a storm because we both love to cook! But this year, everyone is trying to be cautious and I’m not sure if any of the family will want to come.

And that makes me think fondly of years past.

Until last year, I’d always followed the Christmas traditions of my late Swedish mother, with a smorgasbord of Swedish foods on Christmas Eve—Christmas ham, Swedish meatballs, a potato casserole, platters of cold meats and cheeses, pickled herring, steamed veggies, lefse (which we love, though it’s Norwegian, not Swedish), cardamom buns, rice pudding with lemon sauce, and Swedish cookies like rosettes, pepparkakor, and lingonberry hearts. But NO lutefisk. Ever! I have such lovely memories of those Christmas Eve meals, but last year our kids voted for lasagna!

Please read to the end for the Christmas cookie recipe our family has been making since the 1970s!

Speaking of memories, my very favorite Christmas Eve was when our second son was born that very day. What a blessing!

Here are my questions for December:

  1. What is one of your favorite memories from holidays past?

2. Do you serve certain favorite foods during the holidays?

To answer these questions, just reply in the “Comments” section below.
From those who answer, three winners will be chosen. Their replies (with just a first name and last initial) will appear in my January newsletter, and each winner can select a free e-copy of one title in my 2020 Coupled by Christmas six-novella series. Two of the novellas, CHRISTMAS IN PARIS and A SCOTTISH CHRISTMAS, are shown above.

Here are the winners from last month:

Debra P. said:
I am blessed to live with my 82 year Mom who is home from a rehab center after seven weeks. My Dad lives six blocks away. He is in and out a few days a week. We will have both of them for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We usually have an open house type day, but that will not be happening. I had planned on making some gifts, but my heart has not been in it this year. This year I will be focused more on the birth of the Lord, not the commercial, gift giving. I am struggling to get into the spirit of the holidays.

Natalya L. said:
How are you coping with the pandemic? With faith…trusting the Lord! What will you change this year? Nothing, I’m not going to let fear kill all the joy. Not one of us is guaranteed the next hour; why are we acting as if we will somehow live forever? We won’t. I respect genuine caution and take necessary precautions but I refuse to stay away from my loved ones, especially since we don’t know if they are going to be around for the next holidays.
What will you miss the most? I miss traveling. But we already have people walking around who are doing such ridiculous things that it’s just going to end up breaking all their hearts in the end…. And that’s the saddest part of all of this.

Colleen C. said:
Thinking of gift ideas for family is hard this year, no one really gave me any ideas. I feel like time is flying by… looking forward to decorating soon.

 

 

Here are my newest releases–in the six novella series “Couple for Christmas”

CHRISTMAS IN PARIS released December 4.

Christmas in Paris—a dream come true. Holly had planned every moment of their perfect, romantic honeymoon on an Excel spreadsheet.

To her utter shock, she found herself jilted just before her wedding. When she heard her fiancé had eloped with someone else that very morning and had absconded with her savings, it took her minutes to realize she’d escaped a very close call. And just a few more to decide she was not missing the trip of a lifetime that she’d paid for herself.
But when she steps out of her tiny Paris hotel and bumbles into the path of a man jogging by…

 

 

 

 

A SCOTTISH CHRISTMAS

Lucy Davis has fourteen days to settle her late aunt’s estate in Scotland, then she needs to be on her return flight to Chicago. As her Aunt Maura’s only remaining relative, she figures it won’t be difficult–she’d never met the woman who just died at eighty-nine, but assumes the most challenging aspects will probably be rehoming a pet cat or two, and taking a few things to a donation bin.

She doesn’t expect to find Maura still owned a charming B&B, complete with a collection of quirky guests who have no intention of moving out…plus one tall, mysterious man who just might be the man of her dreams….

HERE ARE FOUR GREAT PROMOTIONS THIS MONTH—WITH LOTS OF PRIZES TO WIN!

Inspirational Romance Holiday Extravaganza – Dec. 7-16
Click here to enter!

Click to Enter

Click to Enter

The Gift of Reading Giveaway ?? WIN A NEW SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB ?? – Dec. 4-10
From LitRing. Rewards one lucky reader with a Samsung Galaxy Tablet and two others each with a $25 Amazon gift card, just for following authors on BookBub! Go here now to see which authors are participating and claim all your entries for the big prize.

 

“Clean Christmas Shorts” Promotion – Nov. 27-Dec. 25
This is a place to find lots of wonderful Christmas novellas. Come check it out!

 

Clean Christmas Romance 25 Days of Christmas Facebook Event! – Dec. 20
Click on this link to join the group and find out more.
I’ll be there chatting with readers on December 20th from 5-6 pm central time, and giving away prizes. Be sure to stop by then!

 

 

OUR FAMILY’S FAVORITE CUT-OUT COOKIE RECIPE SINCE THE LATE 1970s!

photo:cookies

This is a favorite because the dough is so easy to work with—which means much less trouble when making Christmas cookies with little ones. It can be rolled out over and over again, as you use up the “scraps” for the next batch.

I keep this dough in my freezer for when grandkids come, so we can roll out cookies for whatever season it is. The floor has a definite sugar crunch by the time we are done, but the kids have a ball.
And what they come up with always involves lots and lots of decoration—as you can see in the photo!  🙂

ROLLED COOKIES—ROXANNE RUSTAND

CREAM:
2 cups Crisco-type shortening
3 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla
1/4 cup milk

MIX DRY INGREDIENTS, THEN ADD TO CREAMED MIXTURE:
1 Tbsp cream of tartar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
8 cups flour

Roll out (thin)  and cut your cookies, then bake at 350° 8-10 minutes until lightly browned.

Note:  This is a copy of my December newsletter. If you would like to be on the mailing list so you don’t miss any of my newsletters, just look over to the top right for a quick and easy way to sign up.  In each issue, there are chances to win free books by simply answering one–or all–of the monthly questions listed in the newsletter (and this blog post) and you’ll be entered in the drawing!  I’ll also include links to any current promotional events where you can win all sorts of prizes!

God bless,

Roxanne

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Happy Thanksgiving…and a chance for prizes!

Roxanne Rustand Posted on by

Best wishes to you all for a safe and happy holiday season!

How have you and yours been faring? I hope that you are doing well and that we can all get past this difficult time. I look forward to 2021 with great anticipation!

Did you receive my newsletter? It was sent out Wednesday, November 18th.  If you haven’t subscribed, it’s so easy.  Just look for the Subscribe button in the upper right corner of this website. I will always include a family favorite recipe, and also offer monthly prizes. In case you don’t wish to subscribe but would like to have a chance at those prizes  🙂  I am pasting a copy of it right here:

 

Goodness—Thanksgiving is nearly here! I adore our big family dinners at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. because we usually have twenty to twenty-five people here.  I love to cook. And I love having everyone all together. It may seem silly, but just looking out our dining room window to a driveway filled with cars warms my heart.

Only this year, it will seem so different. One son and his family will celebrate at home in Wisconsin. Our other two adult kids and their families are just an hour away, but we’ve all wondered if we dare get together…and we’ve now decided against it. Maybe this will be a Zoom holiday…which makes me feel sad. Yet, surviving this pandemic to be around to enjoy holidays for years to come is far more important.

November has had bright note for me, though.  After a lot of hard work, two more of my six sweet (clean & wholesome) “Coupled by Christmas” novellas are out this month: A LONDON CHRISTMAS and AN IRISH CHRISTMAS BLESSING. The final one, CHRISTMAS IN PARIS, will be released December 2nd. All just $.99 each, and to check them out, CLICK HERE. I’ve based them on travels with my daughter or my husband, and writing them has almost been like reliving those trips. Happy memories!

The Coupled by Christmas novellas will be available at Amazon and all major online retailers at just 99 cents each until December 31st, 2020. Here are the release dates:

October 8th — The Mistletoe Puppy
October 15th — A Montana Christmas
October 29th — An Irish Christmas
November 4th — A London Christmas
November 18th — A Scottish Christmas
December 2nd — Christmas in Paris

Keep reading for an easy holiday recipe that has been a family favorite for thirty years!

Now, I have this month’s question. Three responses will be featured in next month’s newsletter, and will receive an e-copy of one of the six 2020 novellas. How are you coping with the pandemic, now that the holidays are just around the corner? What will you change this year? What will you miss the most?

To submit an answer, CLICK HERE to go to my blog.

Here are three responses from last month’s newsletter:

Bobbie M: If I could go anywhere I would love to spend some time in Monterey, California. My late husband and I took a couple special vacations there and I’d like to relive the memories even though he’s gone. (He would be with me in spirit.) And someday maybe Italy to see the amazing architecture.

Irene M: If I could go anywhere it would be Egypt to see my grandchildren. I can only see them once per year and there is no traveling at this time, so I would like to see them.

Dianne K: I’ve always dreamed of going to Antarctica and ancient Egypt. Christmas in Antarctica, wow, that would be my first white Christmas and be rather spectacular!

Finally, I would like to leave you with a family favorite…

HOLIDAY BLONDIES

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Prep 9×13 pan with Pam or baking spray

½ cup melted butter (no substitute for real, salted butter!)
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp REAL vanilla
2 cups flour
½ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup holiday M&Ms
½ cup white chocolate chips
1 cup toasted coarsely chopped pecans (optional)

Cream butter and brown sugar until fluffy.
Add eggs and vanilla, beat until fluffier.
Combine flour, salt and baking powder, and stir into creamed mixture (don’t over mix.)
Stir in holiday M&Ms (saving ½ cup to sprinkle on top), and pecans if desired.

Bake approximately 30 minutes. Watch carefully! They should be somewhat moist in the center of the pan and will set up more while cooling. Best if nice and chewy, not overbaked and dry.
A favorite in our family for thirty years!

Roxanne

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If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? ….Roxanne Rustand

Roxanne Rustand Posted on by

I’m so thrilled! The Mistletoe Puppy, released last week, is the first of my six-novella Christmas series titled “Coupled by Christmas.”  And now the second, A Montana Christmas, is out this week!   If you’d like to learn more about either, just click on the covers or  CLICK HERE.

I loved to travel until the pandemic hit, and was able to do hands-on research for each of these novellas.  I’d never even dreamed of traveling outside the USA until my husband started earning trips and travel vouchers during the final years of his career.  Oh, how I wish I could go back to each of the locations again! It probably won’t happen, now that he has retired.  But I can still reminisce!   And I can “re-visit” those places when I sit down to write a book and immerse myself in locations that I love.

This brings me to my question of the month:  If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would that be, and why?  Just answer at the end of this blog.
Three replies will appear in my next Writerspace newsletter (and also here on my November blog post), and those three contributors will each be offered a free e-book.
No worries–I’ll include just a first name and last initial, unless a person wants to be completely anonymous.  I will ask first.

Speaking of travel, I had such fun writing this Coupled by Christmas series.  The novellas will be available at Amazon and all major online retailers at just 99 cents each through December, and can pre-ordered…so handy if you’re like me and tend to forget these things. Or most things!

If you’d like to learn more about any of them, or even order, just click on a title below. This week I learned how to create hyperlinks (which mean you can click on those titles to be taken somewhere ) and it’s so much fun! 

Here are the release dates for the six Coupled by Christmas novellas (all still $0.99 each): 
October 8th       – The Mistletoe Puppy
October 15th     – A Montana Christmas
October 29th     – An Irish Christmas 
November 4th   – A London Christmas
November 18th – A Scottish Christmas
December 2nd   – Christmas in Paris

 

By the way, the first novella on that  list, The Mistletoe Puppy, is actually part of another, loosely connected series with six Sweet (clean & wholesome) romance authors. Each story in this “Puppies for Christmas” series is a completely “stand alone” story and unconnected, but they have do have two things in common: Puppies and Christmas! Do you love puppies? The holiday season?  Just click the titles below, one by one, and you can learn more about the books. If you pre-order them, then you won’t miss one!
Oh, and the best part? They’re all 99 cents each!  It’s a great way to try authors you might not know. Here’s the line-up:

 

October 1st – Beneath Northern Lights by Lyn Cote
October 8th – The Mistletoe Puppy by Roxanne Rustand
October 15th – Christmas Redemption by Laura Scott
October 22nd – Puppy Love and Jingle Bells by Merrillee Whren
October 29th – Joy Comes to Bedford Falls by Susan Aylworth
November 5th – A Christmas Puppy to Cherish by Josie Riviera

Our fall colors are turning brilliant shades here in the Upper Midwest, and this week our temperatures will be dropping into the 30’s at night and 50’s during the day. I love sweater and jacket weather!  Our horses are all putting on their winter jammies (winter coats) now and our hummingbirds have gone south.  Signs of the season!  Wherever you are, I hope you are safe from the fires and hurricanes on our east and west coasts, and that you are enjoying a peaceful day.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you’ll come again!

Blessings,
Roxanne

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The Mistletoe Puppy A Holiday Novella

Roxanne Rustand Posted on by

 

Can there ever be a second chance at love, after Brad Callahan has faced great loss, and Kate Larrsen has faced too many troubled relationships in the past? Can a lonely little girl and a sweet golden retriever puppy bring them together by Christmas?

Kate Larssen works as a nurse at a clinic in Mistletoe Falls, a charming small town in northern Minnesota. She also established and manages the area’s only no-kill animal rescue, a cause dear to her warm and loving heart. After a series of romantic disappointments, she’s no longer interested in risking another. She has far more important things to focus on. 

Brad Callahan is a former Minneapolis cop who recently moved north for his new job as a deputy. His wife died just before Christmas last year, and that grief is still too fresh to think about new relationships. He hopes Mistletoe Falls will be a place where Janie, his grieving six-year-old daughter, can grow up, and be part of a close-knit community. With few relatives left, he prays that this will happen.

Brad finds an abandoned golden retriever mix and her thirteen puppies and brings them to the animal shelter, where he meets Kate, the pretty manager.  Always ready to take in homeless or abused animals and to help anyone in need, Kate worries about Brad’s sad, motherless child, and invites them both for Thanksgiving dinner. Though neither has any interest in commitment, Kate and Brad’s friendship grows as she tries to help fill the void in Janie’s life. Can a litter of adorable puppies and a lonely little girl bring them together by Christmas?

To purchase on Kindle

Or other online bookstores,  click here

$0.99   through December 31, 2020

 

Merry Christmas,

Roxanne

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Fall Weather and Blueberry scones

Roxanne Rustand Posted on by

I love to bake, and today’s cool, rainy weather seemed like a perfect time to make something warm and comforting, so I made a batch of blueberry scones. Coffee always tastes better in my Jane Austen mug. 🙂 I’ve probably read all of the sayings on it at least a hundred times, but they still make me smile.

 

 

 

BLUEBERRY SCONES
Blend and set aside:
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk*
Mix in a separate large bowl:
3 cups AP flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar

Add
1/2 cup COLD regular (salted) butter–not margarine!
Cut butter into flour until you have large crumbles.

Then add the liquid mixture:
Work the egg & buttermilk mixture in with a fork, and add
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries.
The mixture will seem very dry and crumbly. Try to press it together a bit ( it is not going to be a smooth cohesive dough at all!) Don’t overwork it.
Pat into the scone pan (you might not believe it at first, but yes–it will all fit!) or into a 9 inch round cake pan. The crumbly dough is hard to work with, but will result in a nice bumpy top.
Sprinkle heavily with sugar (coarse, large grain sparkling sugar if you have it is so pretty!) and bake 375 degrees for 20-25 min, let cool in pan.

*NOTES: I have only used the liquid buttermilk for this recipe, not the buttermilk powder plus water, so I’m not sure how the powder would work

I make these in a Nordic Ware scone pan that has dividers for each scone, so they come out perfectly.

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