A Kilt For Christmas

Legend has it that wishes made at the standing stones during Christmas come true. As if. Maisie Barron is over it. A small-town girl with big dreams, her frustrations lead her to make a silly wish at the standing stones outside Loren Brae. Little does she know, the magick found there will transform her wish into a catastrophic event that threatens the upcoming Christmas Book Festival. Weston Smith needs a break. Burnt out from his tenure-track professorship, he decides that a holiday in little Loren Brae, Scotland, will be the perfect escape he needs to recharge his batteries. The last thing he expects is to find the woman he's been waiting his whole life for. With the over-zealous help of a gaggle of elderly book club members, West finds himself on a real-life mission to woo the woman of his dreams. There's more than magic at play when sparks ignite. Snowed in, with an undeniable attraction brewing, only West and Maisie can save Loren Brae from the snowstorm of the century. Author's note: a handsome American takes on a lonely Scotswoman in this stand-alone, small-town, Scottish romance. Wicked banter, a highland ghost coo, and dogs dressed in kilts make this magical Christmas story the perfect happily-ever-after.

One kilt, two people meant to be together, and a dozen complications equal a Christmas fiasco in the making. No matter how Santa Claus tries to crunch the numbers, he can’t make them add up to equal a love match between museum curators Jack Lantz and Kirsten Nichols. The two lonely hearts are perfect for each other but they’re also too caught up in a race to acquire an antique kilt to notice their chemistry. Santa, however, is convinced that the two make an ideal couple. Perhaps adding a handful of North Pole elves and a pinch of holiday magic to the situation will help the course of true love run smooth? What ensues is a romantic romp that begins in Scotland and ends at the North Pole, and begs this question: Will Kirsten and Jack discover the kilt’s location? Or will they find true love along the way?

It was my favorite time of year-Christmas Time. I absolutely loved Christmas ever since I was a child. Being in my late 60s, I have more great memories of Christmas than I can count. I loved the feeling of Christmas: the snow, the decorations, the giving and receiving, the warm feeling, and the smiling faces. Your life was transformed for 30 days and I always just loved the anticipation of it all. Being a child and going to bed Christmas Eve and constantly hearing things like, "Don't get out of bed or Santa won't stop here" just pushed my imagination. I spent the entire night thinking about Santa Claus visiting my house, Santa and his Reindeer landing on my roof, coming down my chimney, and setting up presents under my Christmas tree all while I was sound asleep. There was no other feeling in the world that could replace that!

They say timing is everything, and for single dad Hamish Colquhoun, the timing couldn't be worse. With a new law practice to establish, a centuries-old farmhouse to restore, and the challenges of raising a tween daughter, romance is the last thing on his mind. But when Afton Lennox, his best friend’s runaway bride, comes home seeking redemption, she ignites all the feelings he’s tried for years to bury. Will he let his guarded heart take a leap of faith to write a new ending to their shared history?

A kilt for Christmas . . . Lady Rowena Pepperwirth is beautiful, wealthy, and can have any many she wants. Only, no man has ever caused her heart to flutter—until the holiday house party she agreed to attend at the last minute. One look at the brooding Lord Forres and Rowena knows exactly what she wants for Christmas: the dashing Scottish lord. Quinn MacCauley needs a wife for several reasons. When he meets the lovely Lady Rowena, he knows she’ll be a good mother to his daughter and a capable mistress for his home. He’ll even overlook her tempting beauty—because there’s no way he will ever risk his heart again. But he never counted on Rowena’s determination to give him the greatest gift of all: a chance at true love.

“The blend of romance and cozy mystery will please lovers of all things Scottish.” —Kirkus ‘Tis the season to be jolly, but in Moosetookalook, Maine, Christmas cheer is in short supply due to a snowless winter that’s keeping skiers and shoppers at a distance. Fortunately, Liss MacCrimmon of the Scottish Emporium has a plan . . . Liss’s brainstorm focuses on Tiny Teddies, the hot new toy of the season. Every store across the country is out of stock—except a few wee establishments in good ol’ Moosetookalook. The first sign of something amiss occurs when the last Tiny Teddy is summarily executed: shot through the heart in the display window of greedy toy store owner Gavin Thorne. But the Teddy’s demise is just a precursor to the eerily similar murder of Gavin himself. Now, with the Twelve (or, in Scots terms, the Daft) Days of Christmas rapidly approaching, Liss has a plate full of things worse than haggis to contend with, starting with a stockroom packed with poultry (don’t ask), and ending with a killer who’d like to see Liss’s goose well and fully cooked . . . “A picturesque location, a bit of romance, some suspense, and a cast of appealingly quirky characters.” —Booklist “Lively . . . A healthy helping of foul play.” —Publishers Weekly “Perfect for the holiday season.” —Romantic Times

A series of blizzards have kept tourists away from Moosetookalook, Maine, and shoppers out of Liss MacCrimmon’s Scottish Emporium. But as warmer weather brings promises of tartan sales and new faces, melting snow reveals cold-blooded murder . . . Liss has suddenly found herself in charge of the March Madness Mud Season Sale, a town-wide celebration created to boost the local economy during the slushy weeks of early spring. With businesses ailing after a rough winter, the pressure is on to make this year’s effort the can’t-miss-event of the season. But before Liss can get her hands dirty, her husband makes a horrifying discovery. There’s a dead man on their property, and he didn't die of natural causes . . . Stunned by the murder mystery developing in her own backyard, Liss receives another shock. The victim is identified as Charlie MacCrimmon, an uncle believed to have died eleven years before Liss was born. No one has seen or heard from Charlie since he went off to fight in Vietnam. What secrets could he have been hiding for so many years, and who would want to kill a man long thought to be dead? Enlisting the help of her family, Liss uncovers more questions than answers as she delves into her uncle’s murky past. One thing is clear—before he met his end, Uncle Charlie was desperately trying to warn her about something sinister. And unless Liss can soon track down a maniacal criminal as elusive as the Loch Ness Monster, she just might be the next MacCrimmon to disappear . . .

When present day American social worker Jessica Thomas is assigned her first case as a spirit guide, she's excited to serve as the Spirit of Christmas Past for her client and prove she knows her profession well. Unfortunately, her mentor, the very hot, very single, and very Scottish Duncan Montgomerie has little faith in her ability and plans to catch her when she falls. As far as she's concerned, he's going to be waiting a very long time. Bachelor Duncan Montgomerie hails from late 18th century Scotland where he enjoyed life to its fullest, something he continues in death. Having been dead a while, he is well equipped to handle the afterlife where time doesn't exist and phasing is the norm. What has him stymied is his connection to the uptight Jessica and the strange feelings he's experiencing being around her, even though she refuses to listen to his advice. Duncan needs to figure out what it all means and fast because the rules change after death and the path Jessica is headed down could cost her her soul.