Christmas Countdown--5 days to go!!

Countdown Christmas is an event at A Bookalicious Story to celebrate the coming of Christmas in 2 weeks time. There'll be fun interviews, Christmassy excerpts and giveaways just brimming with bookish-goodness ranging from YA Fantasies to New Adult Contemporary Romances to Adult Historical Romances. I hope y'all will join in this celebration! The more the merrier, aye? ;)

FIVE days to go!! Christmas celebrations wouldn't be complete without MORE romance, right? Especially steamy ones to keep us warm when we're snowed in. (Well, in Singapore we're rained in)

Anyway, our guest today is an adult contemporary and paranormal romance writer...

Olivia Hardin!

About Olivia

Olivia Hardin always realized how strange she was to have complete movie-like character dreams as a child.  Eventually she began putting those vivid dreams to paper and was rarely without her spiral notebooks full of those mental ramblings.  Her forgotten vision of becoming an author was realized when she connected with a group of amazingly talented and fabulous writers who gave her lots of direction and encouragement.  With a little extra push from family and friends, she hunkered down to get lost in the words.  She’s also an insatiable crafter who only completes about 1 out of 5 projects, a jogger who hates to run, and is sometimes accused of being artistic, though she’s generally too much of a perfectionist to appreciate her own work.  A native Texas girl, Olivia lives in the beautiful Lone Star state with her husband and their puppy Bonnie.

Connect with Olivia:
Author's Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Witch Way Bends
Bend-Bite-Shift Trilogy #1

Blurb from Goodreads

Devan Stowe is a woman on a quest. She has only one thing on her mind when she teams up with Kent Crosby and his associates—putting an end to her father’s child trafficking business. Her determination takes her on a journey to discover her true strength and… the one man she was destined to love. In his arms, she’ll learn the meaning of trust, honor, and courage. Old friends and new will come together to help Devan unlock an amazing gift that will free her from her past and open up a future full of magic, faeries and more things than she ever imagined possible.

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

Witch Way Bends is free on Nook!

Other Books in Series:

All for Hope

Blurb from Goodreads

To protect her heart, he left her behind.

To protect her life, he’ll leave the life he's made behind.

Sometimes the safest distance between two hearts is no distance at all…

Kidnapping a baby wasn’t something Hope ever dreamed she would do. But she’s been burned by the legal system before, so when the court places her friend’s child into the custody of an abuser, she takes matters into her own hands. She steals the baby and fakes her death, hoping to make a clean getaway. She planned every detail, except one.

Her high school sweetheart and best friend, who left her years before, sees her at a gas station. Hope thinks all is lost, until he offers to help them.

Brennan had always been the love of Hope’s life, but he never wanted to be. She knows she cannot depend on him for long. However, as each day passes, it becomes painfully obvious that she is in way over her head. She goes with him, intending to keep him always an arm’s length away to protect her heart. But being on the run together sparks the old flames that once burned between Brennan and Hope.

Families, friends, and lovers must band together to save an innocent baby and a daring woman or both of their lives will be destroyed. Together, they’ll do it All for Hope…

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iTunes | Smashwords

Sweet Magic Song
For Love of Fae Trilogy #1

Blurb from Goodreads

Belle Bittner was sold to the highest bidder when she was just a child, sought for the magic lying dormant in her blood. She grew up as the adopted daughter of a wealthy vampire couple, and serving the child-trafficking Org seemed her only option in life. But Belle has other plans, and she won’t let anyone get in the way of her escape, even if it means betraying those who try to help her.

Desperate to stay free of an evil vampire who means to possess her no matter what, Belle decides she can use the protection of the flirtatious faery named Roon. The two of them flee to the faery realm where Rooney believes he can better protect her. What he doesn’t know is that taking the beautiful siren through the golden door will set off a cataclysm of events that will threaten the fabric of both the human and the faery worlds.

Separating myth from fact to decipher the truth about her powers could mean the destruction of the new life Belle’s trying so hard to build.

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

Other works:

A Guest Post by Olivia Hardin

Merry Christmas everyone! I was asked to write a guest post of Christmas with the characters of All for Hope. In the book, Hope and Brennan celebrate the holiday with Bren’s lost family. Here I decided to recreate the scene, originally told from Hope’s point of view, and this time to view it through Uncle James’ eyes. Enjoy!  

        “I love watching the children open presents. It’s amazing to see the wonder in a child's eyes. Christmas brings more blessings than most people realize.” Sir James Rawley grinned, watching as his son Jeremy passed gifts around the room.

        He wondered at the circumstances that had placed these new members of his family at his doorstep. Iggie, his beloved sister was gone and remorse cinched tight around his heart because he hadn’t made amends with her before she passed.

        Still, the heavens had issued him a pardon, a chance to make amends. He watched as Hope set aside her own gifts and made a pile of the numerous ones for Michelle in front of her. The baby screeched with glee at the bright, colorful wrapping paper and ribbons.

        James glanced at Brennan, his nephew. The young man’s eyes kept a close watch on Hope and the baby, love spilling forth from each grin, each word, each touch of his hand to Michelle’s blonde head.

        Iggie would have been so proud of her son for putting his own life on hold to protect the woman he loved.

        And Hope was a joy to him. She was the bridge between James and his nephew. Only by her ability to care, to reach out to all those around her had she taught Brennan to let his lost family close to him.

        The touch of melancholy in Hope’s eyes was clear to him and he imagined her thoughts were on her own family. He thought of all the holidays he’d spent without Iggie, wondering if she was well. Yes, it must be very difficult for the young woman to abandon her people, all for the life of one little baby.

        Sir James reached out to give her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, then laughed with joy as he took in the sight of so many loved ones gathered around him.

        Hope turned to face him and gave him a sympathetic gaze. “I'm sorry about the trouble we've caused with Kay—”

        “Cider anyone?” His daughter Kay's voice resonated, and Hope swiveled quickly to see the other woman carrying a tray into the room. Kay was a headstrong and fiercely protective of her family. She reminded James so much of himself when he was younger, untrusting of anyone who could potentially threaten those she cared most about.

        Yet her suspicions were set for the moment as she offered Hope a nod and a little smile in acknowledgment. His hand still on Hope’s shoulder, James felt the tension ease and his heart swelled with love.

        He laughed boisterously. “Trouble? Hah! Merry Christmas, everyone.”

        His grandchildren took their his words as their cue, and paper and bows went flying. Gasps filled the room as everyone tore into their gifts.

If you’ve enjoyed this little snippet and its peaked your interest, please check out All for Hope, still available for just $0.99 at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, iTunes and Kobo. Again, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Happy Reading to you all!

 

Olivia is very generously giving away a beautiful bracelet (shown below) to one lucky international reader! Giveaways end Jan 8, 2014.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**Giveway is provided by Olivia Hardin. ABS will not be responsible for any shipment of prizes.

 

---------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for visiting! You can refer to the master calender of events on Day 1's post. :)