Hi everyone!
Hope your holidays are all
you ever want. I have spent my life in quite a few different places for
Christmas but the best I have ever seen is in Europe. And that’s why I wrote a
story set around the holidays in Austria.
When I first went there, I
didn’t know what to expect but the country grew on me. I find that I’m missing
it even more this year than I thought. We had special little places to go,
guhlwien to drink and friends to visit.
Not that we don’t have those
things here…we do…but there it was magical. And to share some of that magic
with you, I want to share a part from my story, Her Magical Vienna Christmas. It
is in the Holiday
Magic anthology and it’s available at
all major ebook venues. Don’t forget to get your copy today! Here’s the setup:
Cryptographer
Elizabeth “Lizzie” Camden is more in tune with numbers, cyphers and puzzles
than she is with the real world. When her job takes her back in time to 1874
Vienna, she’s more than surprised to find Michael Sondervan there as well. She
hadn’t seen him since college when he broke her heart.
Michael has always regretted the way things turned out between him and Lizzie. When he needs someone to figure out the cryptic warning, he knows he needs the best. And Lizzie is the best. Giving her a magical Vienna Christmas in the bargain, he hopes will bring them together and prove his love to the only woman for him.
Michael has always regretted the way things turned out between him and Lizzie. When he needs someone to figure out the cryptic warning, he knows he needs the best. And Lizzie is the best. Giving her a magical Vienna Christmas in the bargain, he hopes will bring them together and prove his love to the only woman for him.
I loved writing about Lizzie
and Michael as the rediscover their love for each other, for history and the
life they plan to have. Vienna is a wonderful place to write about and I love
revisiting it again and again. Here’s an excerpt from this wonderful story:
Even with the snow falling, the
Graben was a hub-bub of activity. Although the shops didn’t look that different
on the outside from what existed in her reality, she knew they would be totally
devastated in World War II. It wasn’t until much later, in the 1950s, that they
would finally be allowed to stand on their own when the last Russian left the
city. So much history and she was privileged enough to see it.
Lizzie gripped Michael’s arm when
she saw police beating starving people and even children. Some of them appeared
so pathetic as she looked at their rag-tag appearances. Their clothes were
hardly warm enough for a cold winter. She tugged fiercely toward one of them
but Michael held her in place.
“Look at me,” he whispered in her
ear. When she turned, he kissed her again. “Remember this is how people were,
not how people are in our time. We have come a long way.”
She nodded and kept her eyes on the
ground in front of her. Finally, they turned off the main thoroughfare and down
the side street of Jungferngasse, then again down a little path. Hidden away
from the street was a small bookstore.
“This appears to be the place. Shall
we go in, darling?”
She smiled as he pulled the door
open for her. Inside there were many bookshelves and even books stacked on the
floor. Lizzie managed to push herself in, though the fit was tight right at the
door. Picking up a tome or two, she was surprised to see originals of some
titles. Even then certain books in mathematics or physics were treasures.
Gently replacing one of the books, she waved her hand in front of her face as
the dust rose. It looked as if some of these hadn’t been dusted in weeks.
Proceeding to where she suspected
the proprietor might be, she continued to gaze around to see if anything else
caught her eye. Maybe his having a page from an Enigma machine code book was
just a fluke regardless of what Derrick had told them. Turning around, her
astonishment grew as she didn’t see anyone minding the store. Turning to
Michael, she heard a thump behind her, much like a fist connecting to flesh.
The feverish whispers in German made her lift her finger to her lips and point
in the direction of a door.
This anthology is available now and along with my great story, you’ll be
getting four other wonderful Christmas heart warmers.
I’d love to wish you all a
happy holiday season. Please join me next month!
Lynn
2 comments:
I can imagine how difficult it must be this year, missing Austria. This story sounds great. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
It does sound wonderful! How special that you were able to experience it and have those memories to cherish forever. Loved the excerpt, too. Happy Holidays!
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