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Thursday, August 4, 2016

BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--GUEST AUTHOR AMIE DENMAN

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You've heard of Christmas in July? Today we're featuring a little bit of Christmas in August to offset the heat wave gripping most of the country. Romance author Amie Denman is the helpless victim of a lifetime of curiosity. She's been known to chase fire trucks on her bicycle just to see what's going on. She believes that everything is fun: especially roller coasters, wedding cake, and falling in love. Learn more about Amie and her books at her website.

The Nutcracker Ballet: sparkling costumes and snowflakes

One of the many things that says “Christmas” to me is The Nutcracker Ballet. When I was a little girl, my parents would take my three sisters and me to Playhouse Square in Cleveland to see the ballet in December. Dressed in holiday taffeta and velvet, it was beyond special for the four of us. I loved the music and the dancing, but my favorite things were the costumes.

From my seat, I would try to count how many layers of tulle and net each ballerina’s skirt held. The very best costumes in the show, in my opinion, were during the Sugar Plum Fairy’s dance and the Waltz of the Flowers. When the snowflakes fell on stage and the ballerinas swirled in layers of white, it was heavenly.

I’ve always felt this way about costumes. My dolls had envious wardrobes I made myself. I’ve sewn costumes for local musical theater in my spare time for over twenty years. When I see a show, I see costumes. A few years ago, I went with two of my sisters to see Wicked at the Gershwin Theater in New York City. It was one of the most spectacular shows I’ve seen, of course, and wow, the costumes. Glinda’s gowns were gorgeous, as they should be. But I admired the black gown worn by Elphaba. No woman can be a villain in layers and layers of black fabric. Although my seat was some distance from the stage, I know I saw sparkling beads on that black gown and I could practically hear it swish against the stage floor.

Because of my love affair with costumes, I was excited to work with Dana Mentink and Roz Denny Fox to create three love stories set during a production of a holiday classic, The Nutcracker Ballet. My main character, Jenny Roberts, is new in Christmas Town, and she pours her lonely heart into creating and re-creating shimmering costumes for the local production of the ballet. When she meets a quiet carpenter building the sets, she finds another reason to love the holidays. We hope you’ll love A Heartwarming Christmas.

A Heartwarming Holiday

This holiday season, warm your heart with 15 connected sweet, clean & wholesome holiday romances set in Christmas Town from 15 Harlequin Heartwarming authors who are USA Today, national bestselling, and award-winning authors.

There are five connected books in A Heartwarming Holiday. That means each set of three novellas shares characters and storylines! This collection of PG-rated holiday romances are all set in Christmas Town, Maine, a location introduced in the 2014 Harlequin Heartwarming release Christmas, Actually. A Heartwarming Holiday will bring you laughter, tears, and happily-ever-afters.

Book 1: Once Upon a Holiday by Anna Adams, Anna J Stewart & Melinda Curtis
Book 2: Holiday Heroes by Leigh Riker, Tara Randel & Cari Lynn Webb
Book 3: 24 North Pole Lane by Carol Ross, Amy Vastine & Cheryl Harper
Book 4: Magic Moments by Tara Taylor Quinn, Shirley Hailstock & Liz Flaherty
Book 5: Nutcracker Sweethearts by Dana Mentink, Roz Denny Fox, & Amie Denman


Also available, the previous holiday anthology: A Heartwarming Christmas. 

5 comments:

Liz Flaherty said...

Even better with this set is there's a coupon worth $1.00 off any Heartwarming title from Harlequin.com.

I can't wait to read this story, Amie!

rozdennyfox said...

Amie, even though I've read your story informally I can't wait to see and read the entire set. It's going to be a great holiday treat.

Angela Adams said...

Loved this post. Nothing shouts "Christmas" more than "The Nutcracket!" Thanks for the post.

Anna J Stewart said...

LOVE the whole idea of these stories around The Nutcracker. Thanks for a great post, Amie! Yay for Heartwarming!

Amie Denman said...

Thanks for hosting me today and for helping spread the word about our Christmas set!