Eli's Favs: New Christmas Books for 2019 - Part 1

I love Christmas romances, both writing and reading them. So far this year, I’ve had good luck with the ones I’ve read. In no particular order:…

My first Christmas season read of 2018 and I loved it. Ben and Adam meet when Adam walks into Ben's "kosher style" bakery in Boston while travelling there with the ice hockey team he coaches (he's from Montreal). Both men have similar histories. Both were skaters (one hockey, one a speed skater) who had to give up on dreams of Olympic glory. Both are Jewish, though Adam's father was a rabbi and Ben's family was unobservant. I loved Adam's young hockey players--they sounded like real kids and added a family flavor to the story. And Ben and Adam were sweet together, earnest guys who have some bumps along the way to trusting one another. Highly recommended. 

GOODREADS LINK

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A lovely Christmas book from Annabeth Albert. It features a retiring Sergeant Major from the military MP who believes he's over the hill and who has a job lined up in Florida, and a young social worker who lives in a small, cold, northern town stuffed full of his relatives. When the military guy, Nick, is roped into playing Santa for the social worker, Teddy's, community fund raiser, Teddy is star struck immediately. It takes Nick longer to warm up to the idea of having the younger man in his bed and longer still for him to admit they have something worth changing his vision of his future for.

I love Christmas stories that have lot of snow and extended family fun, and this one has that in spades. Fun, sweet, and hot. Highly recommended!

GOODREADS LINK

THE CHRISTMAS ANGEL SERIES

I’m in a series this year with six other amazing authors, so I am slowly reading through the other books in the series. The entire series releases Dec 2nd. My book is CHRISTMAS ANGEL, which you can read about here.

So far I’ve read Kim Fielding and RJ Scott’s entries, and I loved them both.

I loved the fairytale-like royal setting of this story, in the beautiful little kingdom of Montaunoit with the snow and tons of Christmas lights, Christmas market, hidden passages and archives in the palace, etc. The Christmas Angel is believed by the palace staff to be a "golden ghost" and she has a nice influence in this story, steering Prince Rafe and the British Museum historian, Marc, to true love. I always enjoy RJ's Christmas books and this one will be one of my favorites.

GOODREADS LINK

This historical is a lot of fun. It's set in 1880's New York, which is an unusual period for a romance. It features the son of a wealthy department store owner and a rough cowboy who is a bit of a fish out of water in New York. The romance is sweet. I loved the way Kim used the angel ornament as a kind of guardian angel figure in their lives, urging them together. Great and hopeful ending. I always love Kim's books and this is no exception.

GOODREADS LINK

Lots more Christmas books in the pipeline. It’s not even December yet! Whee! More reviews soon.

Eli

Eli's Favs: Rökkur/Rift (2017)

I loved this Icelandic horror/thriller movie featuring a gay ex-couple, Gunnar and Einar. There are so many things to say about it, it's hard to know where to start.

Let's start with the LGBTQ angle. I loved that this is a horror/thriller movie and the main characters' sexuality is secondary. I've seen reviewers say the couple could have been m/f and it would have been the same movie. I don't think that's quite true because the couple's relationship dynamics and a lot of the symbolism was deeply interwoven with queerness. However, it's still awesome to see a film with gay main characters where the story isn't about them being gay but about something else. The movie also explores their relationship dynamics and past trauma as gay men, so it's got a very strong romance subplot.

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Secondly, the story is set in a remote area of Iceland that was just stunning. The cinematography is truly exceptional. I like stories that take place in remote areas where the scenery is natural, huge, even bleak. The vast isolation is a tangible quality in this film. It adds so much texture and tension to the tension and fear in the film as well as simply making for beautiful viewing.

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Finally, the thriller/horror storyline was intense! Gunnar has broken up with Einar and worries Einar is suicidal. When he gets a mysterious phone call from Einar in the middle of the night, he drives out to this remote cabin to check on him. Once there, the two face the end of their relationship as well as mysterious knocks in the middle of the night, sightings of mysterious figures, and an ominous car. It's the sort of horror that's subtle and psychological rather than violent, and in the end you're left with a lot of questions. There's a definite metaphysical element to it, similar to Lost or The Sixth Sense in that there are some twists that change the way you see the story. Just don't expect everything to be tied up with a neat bow, because the ending is deliberately ambiguous. It kept me mesmerized throughout and I watched to rewatch immediately to pick up more clues.

I highly recommend this movie if you like thrillers or horror. It's on Amazon Prime right now! You can see it here.

Robby Riverton: Mail Order Bride - NOW OUT IN AUDIO!

The audiobook of "Robby Riverton: Mail Order Bride" is now available on audible! The narrator is Matthew Shaw, who also reads my Howl at the Moon books. He does an amazing job with the western accents, especially PaPa. He really brings out the humor in the book as well as Trace's deep sexiness. I had a blast listening to him read the book and I hope you will too!

You can check it out and here a sample here on Audible:  ROBBY RIVERTON ON AUDIBLE

You can also here another sample right here.:

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Robby Riverton: Mail Order Bride - AUDIOBOOK SAMPLE

I've been working with narrator Matthew Shaw to get the audiobook for ROBBY RIVERTON: MAIL ORDER BRIDE done. I'm so excited about the results. I love Matthew's voice on this with all his Western accents and his inherent irony.

Want to hear a sample?  Here's one of Trace and PaPa.

The entire book is recorded. Now it just needs to be uploaded and go through Audible's approval process. Hopefully it will be live by end of July!

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When you face massive upheaval

We bought our farm in Lancaster County, PA in 2010. Since then, things have been busy but relatively stable. We've loved the farm and it's been a stunningly beautiful, bucolic, serene place to write. I made a home office, but I rarely use it. We have a back room that's all windows, and that's where we spend 99% of our time. It's lovely to write on my laptop and look out over acres of green trees and a pond down below. It's like being in a private park all the time.

The farm has also inspired a number of books. All of the books below were set partially or entirely on our farm.

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But as idyllic as this place is, it's also a lot of work and expense to upkeep. And honestly, my husband and I use so little of both the house and the property. I know a larger family, or someone who wants to use the farm as a farm, would appreciate the place more and do much more with it. 

Over the years, we've considered starting a B&B or wedding venue or even a farm sanctuary. But the reality is that my husband and I area both introverts and I spend a great deal of time inside my own head. So us being professional hosts would not end well!

I've always been fairly transient, moving every few years. So the prospect of moving on to something new is exciting to me rather than depressing. But that doesn't mean it isn't a ton of work and stress.

We put the farm on the market in April and I took nearly a month off writing to try to get things ready. Now I find I have a little more time to write again as we're in wait mode, making sure the place is kept very clean and nice for the occasional showing and tinkering on less critical improvements. I'm also slowly going through every cupboard and getting rid of stuff or packing it. I'm looking forward to the day we have "60 days" or less to vacate to help goose my motivation.

Even in wait mode, though, our life is in upheaval right now and will be until we can settle into "The next thing". That can be disconcerting and annoyingly distracting. My brain is like a cat checking out a new place, constantly sniffing at this or that idea, posing forays into the unknown, doing research online, trying to figure out what might happen if we did x, y or z. It's not very conducive to absorbing myself in someone else's story.

WHAT'S NEXT FOR US IRL?

I'm not sure. My husband has a good job nearby, so we'll likely stay in the area and rent a house. But with two dogs, even roly-poly, snooze hounds like our bulldogs, that might be a challenge. 

WHAT'S NEXT FOR ELI EASTON?

I'm currently working on a revised and expanded version of Puzzle Me This. But my big new WIP is a YA with a m/m romance that revolves around a school shooting. I've been really sort of obsessed with coverage of school shootings lately, rather infuriated, and also I feel so much empathy for parents who need to send their kids out every morning with this lurking fear, to the students who have to have this threat hanging over them, to the young activists who are going up against the NRA bullies to try to get things to change. I know it's a tough topic, and will likely be one of my more angsty books. But I feel a need to write about it. I hope I can do justice to the subject matter. And maybe my own life being in upheaval right now helps me write more angsty stuff. 

As for longer term, wherever we end up, I'm sure you will see our new setting in many future Eli Easton stories.

Thanks to my readers for your ongoing support. You make it possible for me to write by buying my books, reviewing, making fun graphics, and sending me encouraging and inspiring emails. Love you all.

Eli