Christmas ~ Canadian Style with author Jessica E. Subject #Canada

My Christmas alien romance, Hey, Santa, takes place at Christmas, and to me that not only means time with family, it also means snow. Living in Canada, we get snow in the fall, throughout the winter, and into the spring. Sometimes even in the summer. Although we don't have any that has stayed yet this season, it is rare for us not to have snow at Christmas. Now, every part of Canada is different in terms of the weather they get. The Maritimes seem to get the most snow, whereas the prairie provinces get really cold temperatures but not as much snow.

This weather can lead to some facts of life and memories. Here are some of mine:

• My grandparents live six hours north from us. In the winter, we rarely visited them. It was just a part of growing up, and it is still the same to this day.
• Just before Christmas, I was visiting my other grandparents, and my father came to pick me up from their place to bring me home for the holidays. Well, when he left, the weather was fine, but on the way home, the weather was so bad, that we had to stop in London and take the train the rest of the way home.
• In the snow, kids usually make snowmen, well, not my family. Instead, my mother helped my brother and I to make snowhorses, and we rode them until they melted.
• One winter, we went tobogganing in a nearby town. There was a giant hill that flattened out at the bottom, and then there was a river further out. Most people never made it to the river when sledding down the hill. Well, my brother went on the toboggan with one of my cousins. We all thought they were going to stop before the river, but they didn’t. Both of them fell right in. As a child, I had never seen adults move so fast. They had the two boys out of the water, back up the hill, and stripped to nothing within seconds. Thank goodness they were both okay.
• Thirteen years ago, when my husband and I were living in the country, I was driving to work, and I slipped on a patch of black ice. Now, on my right was a ditch, and on my left was a snowy field, hydro poles lining that side of the road. The truck slipped to the left. Thankfully, there was no traffic, and I slid into the field in between the poles. No damage was done to the truck, but the follwing summer, you could see where I went into the field by the lack of corn growing. Little did I know that at the time, I was just pregnant with my first child.

Do you get snow where you live? If so, what are some of your childhood memories of snow?

Hey, Santa

An Alien for the Holidays story

She doesn’t want a lot for Christmas…

Claire Otton dreads spending another holiday alone. When her best friend convinces her to approach the sexy mall Santa, she takes the chance and asks him out, hoping for so much more.

He’s waiting under the mistletoe…

Although Andreas Castellanos blends in on Earth, he knows he will never belong. But when the gorgeous woman he’d been staring at invites him to dinner, he has a hard time saying no.

All they’re asking for…

Can these two lonely souls find magic together or will their secrets steal their chance of a happy Christmas?

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Enjoy an excerpt:

Claire smoothed her dress across her lap. The short hemline didn’t come close to reaching her knees, or barely her butt for that matter. Though a festive red color, the dress’s plunging neckline revealed even more skin. She shivered in her chair, ready to ask for her coat back. Why did she have to buy the shortest dress possible?

Like she needed it anyway, with her date already ten minutes late. She doubted he would show. Who wanted a socially inept woman? Heck, what man wanted to start dating someone two days before Christmas? She sighed, resting an elbow on the table. Why did I ask out Santa? She didn’t even know his name, what he looked like. Yet, she’d given him enough personal information to stalk her. Way to go, numbskull. She might as well have given him her house key. And since Tiffany had driven her to the restaurant, she’d have to take a cab back home.

“Hi, Claire. Sorry, I’m late.”

She jerked her head toward the deep, husky voice. Her Santa had arrived. But instead of the white-haired, bearded man with the fuzzy red suit, she stared at a Greek god. Broad shoulders. Muscles constricted by the sleeves of his dress shirt. His wavy brown hair looked wet, as if he’d recently stepped out of the shower. Or maybe snow had started to fall since she’d arrived. Pulse racing, she dared to gaze into his crystal blue eyes, the part of him she remembered from their meeting in the mall. Yet, even with his tanned complexion, something seemed not quite right with the color of his skin.

Was he as nervous as her? Her last non-double date occurred so long ago, she didn’t know how to act.

Not wanting to be rude, she stood to greet him. He had, after all, arrived rather than standing her up. And the sooner he touched her, the better.

Resting his hand on her hip, he moved closer, kissing her cheek, his lips soft and gentle. His breath smelled of fresh mint, a far cry from the last guy Tiffany had tried to set her up with.

If you'd like to get the next story in my An Alien for the Holidays series, ALIEN KISSES AT MIDNIGHT, for FREE, simply subscribe to my newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/eX1Zw It will be emailed to newsletter subscribers on December 26th. 

Happy holidays! See you again in 2016!

http://jessicasubject.com

Big city, small town, or cottage country ~ Which to you prefer? #Canada @jsubject

I've lived in the same city for pretty much all of my life. It's not a metropolis, but a small city with a population just over 30,000 people. But, I've also lived in a big city when I went to university, and in the country for a couple of years. Each has their positives and negatives.

At the moment, I'm writing the third book in my Alien Next Door series. And each of the stories in the series take place in a completely different setting.

Alien Adoration starts in a small town where everyone knows everyone else. In these communities, the residents take care of one another. But, they also know everyone else's business. There are very few secrets.

With Alien Admirer, I decided to take the characters to cottage country. For those not familiar with this term, this is an area north of Toronto that contains many lakes big and small. It is a prime fishing area, and there are many cottages around the lakes. Some people live in the cottages year round, and others go up on long weekends, or rent them for a week. My characters live there year round, as this is their ideal place to live. But, there is also wildlife to contend with, including bugs. Plenty of bugs.

The story I'm writing now, Alien Attraction, takes place in a metropolis. While the heroine grew up in cottage country, she yearned to get away. The city offers her plenty of opportunities, but she finds it much less personable. 

Now, my ideal place to live has always been cottage country, but I do enjoy the convenience of the city, especially with children.

I'm curious as to which of these settings is your ideal place to live. 

About the author:

Jessica E. Subject is the author of science fiction romance, mostly alien romances, ranging from sweet to super hot. Sometimes she dabbles in paranormal and contemporary as well, bringing to life a wide variety of characters. In her stories, you could not only meet a sexy alien or two, but also clones and androids. You may be transported to a dystopian world where rebels are fighting to live and love, or to another planet for a romantic rendezvous.

When Jessica is not reading, writing, or doing dreaded housework, she likes to get out and walk with her giant, hairy dog her family adopted from the local animal shelter.

Jessica lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband and two energetic children. And she loves to hear from her readers.

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Spring ~ The Birds and the Bees, and No More Stars? Post by author Jessica E. Subject #amreading

Hello everyone! I'm back for my monthly post on Romance Eh? A lot has happened since I was last here. I've finished a story, attended my first conference (It was a blast!), and am getting ready for a few box sets and anthologies to release in the near future. Some will contain already published stories, while others will contain brand new ones. :)

It's also gotten a lot warmer, and the days are lasting longer. I take my dog for a walk almost every morning. In the winter, it was so dark, I had to walk on the side of the street with the street lamps to make sure if she did her business, I could find it to pick it up. Now, I have to wear sunglasses when I take her out at the same time of day. The one think I really miss though, is seeing the stars in the morning. I used to gaze up into the sky, and check out all the constellations visible in my part of the world. I used Google Sky Map to help determine which ones were planets, and occasionally, I even saw the space station zoom past. While I do enjoy the longer days, I also look forward to the fall, when I will be able to see the stars in the morning again. Because, I'm not getting up extra early to see them. Five o'clock mornings are early enough.

In my story, SATIN SHEETS IN SPACE, the heroine also enjoys gazing up at the stars, so much so, she has a tattoo that she has a tattoo of the Milky Way galaxy. Here's an excerpt...

“I noticed the galaxy on your shoulder.”

She sighed with disappointment, having expected him to kiss her. “Yes, I have a tattoo.”

Would a little ink stand in their way? She tried to pull away, to brace for his dismissal, but his hold on her never faltered.

“I like it. Why did you choose the Milky Way?”

Releasing the breath she’d been holding, Danyka smiled with relief. Her cheeks ached from the joy this man brought her. “It’s a tribute to my father. We’d often lie on the back lawn and watch the stars. He taught me about the constellations in our galaxy, and many other celestial bodies throughout the universe.”

A wave of sadness washed over her. She missed those moments, and her father.

Her date brushed his thumb along her cheek, bringing her attention back to him. “And what did he teach you about the possibility of other life—out in space?”

Did she really want to ruin this evening with talk of her belief in aliens? No.

He raised his eyebrows, waiting for an answer.

Oh hell. “He told me not to assume Earth is the only planet in the universe capable of sustaining life.”

“So you believe?”

“In a matter of speaking, yes.” There, she’d said it. Now watch him run. “But I can’t say I’ve ever met anyone from another world.”

His placed gentle kisses across her neck, lighting a fire deep in her core. “I believe, too.”

Even though no distance existed between their bodies, his kiss caught her by surprise. Any self-doubt she held onto melted away, giving room to the need to be with this man. His lips, as soft as when they’d pressed against her knuckles, stole her breath away.

He pulled back, leaving her body tingling. “Perhaps we could go someplace we could have some privacy?”

The idea both scared and thrilled her. She had never been one to do anything without meticulous planning, another reason she’d never had much fun in her life. But the evening had been one big whirlwind up until now. “Let’s go.”

For the month of May, Satin Sheets in Space is only 99¢ USD at Amazon

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Happy reading!