Hi guys! We have two authors popping in today to celebrate their new holiday stories, first we have Rinna Y.T. with Paradise Lodge we then her fellow NineStar Press author L.J. Hamlin with Foxy Boxing Day, we have great excerpts from both books and there’s also a brilliant $10 NineStar GC giveaway, so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤ ~Pixie~

Paradise Lodge

Riina Y.T.

Azariah Bell is a nervous wreck. He isn’t prepared to spend the final week of the year with his best friend, Ky O’Sullivan, lead vocalist for their pop rock band, Moving Insignia—especially after the fight he caused before they parted ways two weeks ago.

Afraid of not being taken seriously by Ky, Azariah was concerned about what confessing his feelings would do to their friendship, or the band. He tried to keep his emotions in check, but instead, he exploded in anger over some petty issue, and now he’s potentially lost Ky forever.

Ky is looking forward to the band’s annual writing retreat for a week of songwriting and recording at a secluded mountain resort. Spending Christmas with his family gave Ky time to reflect on how he’d handled Azariah’s epic meltdown. It wasn’t good, and Ky is determined to uncover the true nature of Azariah’s unusual behavior. They didn’t keep secrets from each other, or so he believed.

Expecting to see the rest of the band when they arrive by helicopter, Ky and Azariah are shocked to learn they are alone at a deserted lodge. When they discover they’ve been set up by their bandmates so they can “sort it out,” their choices are few. But it’s critical for them to resolve their problems if they have any hope of enjoying the new year together, let alone make that new album happen.

.•.•.**❣️ NineStar | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Smashwords | B&N | Kobo ❣️**.•.•.

Foxy Boxing Day

L.J. Hamlin

After a sickness keeps a young werewolf ill through Christmas, she is excited to go to her Pack’s Boxing Day party.

With the party in full swing, she meets a punky fox shifter who pushes all of her buttons in just the right way, and the holidays become a lot more exciting.

Paradise Lodge Excerpt!

Paradise Lodge, Riina Y.T. © 2018, All Rights Reserved

Chapter One

December 26th

Ky

I blinked.

Already landed. I’m waiting out front 

I read the text message from Azariah a third time, my heart accelerating. Was I ready to face him yet? I swallowed thickly, the taste of cheap airline coffee lingering on my tongue. Okay, so we were going to do this. I could do this. Slinging my backpack over my shoulder, I headed straight for the exit. The airport was cramped like the kind found in small cities, with only a few kiosks open for business and nothing so grand as a restaurant. A welcome relief from the Los Angeles crowds.

Locating Azariah was as easy as spotting an oasis in the middle of a desert. I immediately caught sight of him sitting on a bench on the other side of the large glass doors, engrossed in one of the many books he always carried. I pushed my way through the crowd of holiday travelers and came to a halt at the curb, my suitcase by my side. A thick paperback was balanced on his crossed legs, and a bright-pink backpack and matching suitcase sat between his feet and the stone wall, half hidden by the wooden seat. I couldn’t fight the quick smile growing on my face, replacing my frown. Yeah, I could do this. It was still Azariah, one of my closest friends. We’d get it sorted, and everything would go back to normal.

Perhaps it was so easy to pick Azariah out of a crowd because we’d been close friends for so long. Being in a band together had us literally in each other’s face for most of every day. I remembered the first time we met and the instant connection I’d shared with him. While it took me longer to open myself up to Parker, Azariah’s childhood friend and now our bassist, Azariah and I had been close from day one. Luke, our drummer and producer, and I had been friends since high school. With me as the lead singer, and Azariah on the guitar and backup vocals, our band Moving Insignia had become everything to the four of us over the course of five years.

I walked up to Azariah and whistled. The sound made him look up immediately, the quirk of his coralline-red lips sending a familiar thrill through my stomach. He was dressed in a white winter coat with golden studs all over the front and arms, dark jeans, and black combat boots. I admired the way he rocked those artfully ripped pants. His naturally wavy dark hair was tied in a bun at the back of his head, his brown eyes hidden behind his favorite D&G sunglasses. As I sat beside him, Azariah uncrossed his legs and leaned against the wall. I always found it trippy to see my own face reflected back through the bright colors of his mirrored aviators.

“Hey you.”

“Hey you too.”

It was crazy how pleased I was to see Azariah smiling again, especially after the way our last band meeting had ended. We’d met to discuss our upcoming summer tour, and before everyone went on their respective vacations to spend Christmas with their families, Azariah and I had gotten into yet another argument that, for the first time, had ended in silent tears on my part. Tears I’d felt unable to repress for once, tears I hadn’t thought Azariah would ever cause. They’d been born of frustration, of hurt and heartache, of disappointment. Whether I was disappointed in him or myself, I still couldn’t tell. I’d shed them in the privacy of my hotel room, curled up underneath the heavy duvet, unable to stomach having a witness to my weakness, but they’d been tears, nonetheless.

Two weeks apart and quality time spent in the company of my family, people who love and care for me as much as I love and care for them in return, had done a fantastic job of helping me get over being butthurt because of a few dumb comments my best friend had made in the heat of the moment. I was still hurting, but I never liked holding a grudge, so I told myself I could be mature about this. And so far it seemed to work.

“You been waiting long?” I asked Azariah, who pushed his aviators farther up his nose with the tip of his middle finger before closing his book. Maybe he was willing to work on his own attitude as much as I’d planned to work on mine. I couldn’t even recall what exactly started our arguments in the first place, nor when. It felt all so silly right then.

“Not really, got here about an hour ago or so.” Azariah pulled his backpack onto his lap, stuffed the book he’d been reading into a pouch, and closed the zipper. I noticed how exhausted he looked. The long flight from Halifax, Nova Scotia, must have been one hell of a trip.

“You look beat,” I said. Azariah was one of the very few people I knew who ate as healthy as possible and maintained a perfect posture. He had a thing for yoga and meditation, and went to the gym regularly, which was something I’d always admired about him. Azariah was fit, but had a hard time gaining muscles, unlike me. Lifting weights once or twice a week seemed to be more than enough. To get the same results, he’d need to double my routine and then some.

“Yeah, I feel like hell. I’ve been on my feet since three in the morning, I barely got any sleep since yesterday,” Azariah told me with a tired smile. “Thirteen hours on a plane full of sick people and crying babies is the worst.”

“Yikes.” I imagined I could feel a shudder run down my back, remembering my own flight from LAX. I’ve never been a fan of airline travel, but Christmas made for the worst travelers. “Don’t get me started on this; I hate flying around holidays.”

“Yeah.” Azariah nodded. “I’d rather be trapped in an elevator full of pigs all day.”

I snickered at the images popping into my head. “Have you heard anything from the guys?” I asked him as I pulled my phone from the pocket of my leather jacket, watching Azariah mirror the action.

“No, nothing yet.” Azariah stood as we both went through the seemingly never-ending list of notifications on our phones. I was scrolling through my Twitter feed when a new message from Luke came through. A glance at Azariah confirmed he’d seen it, too, so we both opened our group chat with a flick of a finger.

There’s a chopper waiting for you guys! it will bring you to Paradise Lodge

What chopper? I typed back.

Where are you guys? Azariah asked in the chat.

Luke replied, The one we rented, obvs

Then, Parker joined the conversation, saying, For you. We won’t be traveling from Medfort.

Why are we taking a chopper? I typed back quickly, really not liking this. I added angry little smileys for more effect, and, Where the hell is this place that we need to fly in?

Luke typed, Dude, no roads to the lodge unless you wanna hike

Parker said, Or swim =D

Luke again: Just ask one of the staff people there for the Moving Insignia chopper. They’ll be waiting for you guys

I could easily picture his face with the impatient twitch of his eye.

Just…not a helicopter! I groaned and squeezed my eyes shut, blindly shoving my phone back into my jacket. I hated helicopters. The noise gave me goose bumps and made the hair at the back of my neck stand up. And the less-than-smooth transit not only freaked me out but also triggered my motion sickness. I found out firsthand what it did to me last year when we shot part of a music video in one. I swore I’d never set foot into a helicopter again if I could help it.

I muttered a curse. Apparently, I had no other choice. A hand landed on my arm, causing my eyes to snap open and collide with a familiar brown gaze. Azariah had pushed his aviators up as if he knew what those eyes did to me. My fingers tightened around my smartphone. Don’t be a chicken shit! Put your game face on, O’Sullivan. You got this.

Forcing my lips into a smile, I stood up straight and pulled back my shoulders, trying to appear like the confident leader I was supposed to be. Like, we were going into battle and our survival depended on me. I hated nothing more than disappointing my friends, and I so didn’t want to feel the mortification when Azariah realized I was afraid of a harmless, more or less, helicopter ride.

“Yeah.” I cleared my suddenly dry throat. Azariah’s hand fell away, and he took a step to the side. “Hold just a moment. I’ve got to…” I trailed off as I lowered myself onto the bench and slid my backpack down my shoulder and onto my lap. I rummaged for the little motion sickness pills, my best friends when it came to traveling. I popped one out of the crinkly blister pack and into my mouth.

When I lifted my head, I found Azariah watching me with a strange expression.  Somehow, Azariah knew. I had no idea how, but there was no mistaking that look in his eyes as he searched my probably ashen face. Those all-seeing eyes had detected my fear, found a silly little weakness I wasn’t proud of having.

Azariah being Azariah, he didn’t call me out on it, and instead gave me one of those achingly sweet smiles. His eyes disappeared behind the multicolored lenses of his sunglasses again, and he said, “I’ll get us a coffee at the little shop, then find someone who’ll know what’s going on.”

I nodded, a silent thanks on my lips, feeling mortified Azariah knew I’d rather swim a million miles through the Atlantic Ocean than ride five in a chopper supposed to bring us to some deserted vacation lodge in the middle of nowhere, probably on top of a mountain surrounded by creepy woods with even creepier animals lurking in the shadows.

Why couldn’t we have rented a beach house in Hawaii instead?

Foxy Boxing Day Excerpt!

Foxy Boxing Day, L.J. Hamlin © 2018, All Rights Reserved

“This is your pack’s gathering, right?” he asked. Daisy didn’t want to be rude; he might not be trying to come on to her. A lot of hooking up may go on at the Boxing Day parties each year, but just as important, friendships were made that lasted beyond the night.

“Yes.” Daisy nodded.

He smiled. “Great. I’m Devin, by the way. I wanted to ask for my friend if there are any desserts that are gluten-free. She has a sweet tooth but seriously can’t have gluten. It’s okay if it’s, like, touched it, just can’t have more than traces.”

He pointed across the room and Daisy found a woman talking with some wolves Daisy didn’t know. The woman was beautiful, short and curvy with thick hips and a soft slightly rounded belly showing through her T-shirt. Her midnight-black hair went down to her shoulder on one side and was shaved completely off on the other side. Daisy had to look away so her instant crush didn’t show on her face.

“So, are there?” Devin asked.

“Sorry. Yes there are. I made some. I can point them out for you, and you can take some for your girlfriend,” Daisy said, mentally shaking off the fog she was feeling.

“Oh, Roxy isn’t my girlfriend, just my favorite pack mate. Hey, Roxy, come here!” Devin called out.

The woman, Roxy, excused herself from the wolves and came over. Right away, from her scent, Daisy could tell she wasn’t a werewolf, but definitely a shifter.

“Hi, I’m Roxy. Is he bothering you?” She gestured to Devin.

“When do I ever bother people, foxy Roxy?” Devin’s grin is wolfish.

Daisy couldn’t help but smile. A Fox shifter? That was her scent. Mystery solved. “Buzz off. Why’d you call me over?” Roxy asked in a tone suggesting she was used to Devin teasing her.

“This lovely werewolf here made goodies you can eat,” Devin explained. “Really?” Roxy’s eyes lit up as she looked at Daisy.

“Yes. I bake with all kinds of things, lots of ‘free from’ recipes. I can show you?” Daisy offered.

Roxy beamed. “Thank you, and yes, please.”

“I’ll leave you two to the food. I’m gonna go grab Jace,” Devin said and nodded to Daisy before heading off.

“I didn’t catch your name,” Roxy said as they moved closer to the dessert table. “I’m Daisy. My pack is throwing the Boxing Day party. Did you travel far? I didn’t know of any wolf packs with a fox member,” Daisy rambled as she got a paper plate. She was never good at small talk.

“Nice to meet you, Daisy. I live local now and used to live with my pack, but I went traveling in my teens. Only just came back a month ago, long term. I love your jumper.” Roxy smiled brightly and accepted the plate of a few cookies with a thank you nod.

Daisy plucked at the hem of her jumper. “A wolf with cats on her top. Weird, I know.”

About Riina & L.J.!

Riina currently resides in Germany. She spent countless exciting days in the UK and US and lost her heart in Tokyo.

She would be thrilled if one day her stories could brighten someone’s day in the way those beautiful romances always lighten up her dull everyday life. Riina is looking forward to sharing many more stories with the world.

When she doesn’t daydream about boys in love, and isn’t glued to her Kindle, Riina loves to travel the world and explore the unknown.

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LJ is a disabled queer writer in her late twenties, she loves writing all kinds of different books with a romance twist and has been writing all her life. Writing can often be hard due to pain but can also often be an escape from it and it’ll always be part of her life.

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