Hi everyone! We’ve got Karen Erickson visiting with us today, as you can see. She had a new book come out yesterday – so happy [belated] book release day to you, Ms. Erickson!

First, I want to offer a giant thank you to the lovely Limecello for having me as a guest on her blog today. I’m excited to talk about the newest novella in The Merry Widow series, Her Christmas Pleasure, which just came out Monday from Carina Press.

I’m still blown away by the beauty of the cover. It’s gorgeous, if I do say so myself. Let’s all stare at it for a moment, shall we?

Sigh. I love that red gown. It’s from a scene in the story and at first I had my heroine wearing a green dress. Then I realized that wouldn’t do so I switched it to red. Being the forward, positive thinker that I am, I’m sure I had a flashing thought of, Oh, a red gown would look much better on the cover, don’t you think? I’m pretty sure I asked for the model to be wearing a red gown when I filled out the cover art sheet. I was so thrilled to see I got my wish.

I swear I write Christmas-themed stories for the covers—they are always so pretty! Magical and twinkling and bright with festive colors or snowy landscapes, that’s probably half the reason I buy so many Christmas-themed books, too. Okay, I sound totally hokey but I don’t care. I love Christmas! Even though I’m the exhausted mama who makes all the magic happen in my house and by the end of the season I am so, so done, I still love it.

And I really hope you love Damien and Celia’s story as much as I loved writing it.

Contest: To celebrate the release of HER CHRISTMAS PLEASURE, I’d like to gift a copy to one lucky winner via Amazon Kindle. And you don’t need a Kindle to read it – you can download the Kindle app on pretty much any phone or PC. Just answer the following question:

What are you most looking forward to this December?

Damien Morton is madly in love. Unfortunately, it’s with his best friend’s widow, Lady Danver. Damien is not worthy of Celia. Or so he thinks. Desperate to escape his feelings for her, he plans to leave the country at the first of the year. Celia treats him as a family friend and nothing more—until they share a heated kiss beneath the mistletoe…

Celia is shocked by the passions that surge within her at her dear friend’s kiss. One touch and one taste aren’t enough to satisfy her cravings, and she is startled into action. Damien has stirred something inside her that she never expected to experience again, and she must have more. Full of shameless desire and emotions newly discovered, she decides to pursue Damien and won’t be deterred. Will she be able to convince him to stay—both in her heart and life— forever?

You can read an except here.

You can also find Karen at various places throughout the web. First, her website of course. Her blog, The Smutketeers, Facebook, and twitter.

I’m curious too! What are you looking forward to in December? Anything I can do to make that happen? 😉