“Christmas is my favorite time of
year. “Lyn exclaims with a huge grin. “The only part that bothers me is these
glass slippers. They sure are stiff and if I trip and break one…”
“As for me I love my dress. It’s
just beautiful. I must say I have never looked so good. This purple is just the
perfect color for me.” AJ fluffs the skit of her gown. Grinning like a Cheshire
cat.
“Look at the size of that manor
house!” Lilly shrieks with delight.
“Woo Hoo.” Melissa grins from ear to
ear.
Lyn Marie eyes them with question as she
guides them to a special table arranged for them. “Aren’t there supposed to be
six of you?” She wonders.
Five jaws drop as they look at each
other. “Where’s Mary?”
Meanwhile, back on the road to the
English Manor a furious Mary grumbles as she makes her way to
the party. “How
could you.” She hollers. “One bump and out I fly. They never even noticed. And
who picked out this dress for me? Everyone else is dressed to the nines. Me I
get a Shirley Temple dress and a long walk in the cold. Merry Christmas…” She
continues to walk so even with the freezing weather and short coat she is
sweating and annoyed. “Why me!” Echoes through the woods on the long road to
the festive party.
“Oliver is already on his way to
find her. She must be just furious.” Lyn grins. “I have her real dress, I can
see her face now.” The girls chuckle.
“That’s what she gets for hiding
Precious.” AJ hold her cell phone to her chest in affection.
“That relationship you have with
that phone is really not normal.” Mac snickers.
“At least Foster, Cuddles, TT,
Morena and Nibbie are having fun. I hope Nibbie stops sniffing behinds. We were
lucky that Lyn Marie allowed them to come at all.” Lilly shakes her head.
“I just want to see the food.” She
strolls to the sideboards surrounding the place where tables glitter in
beautiful Christmas decorations.
Yummy creations cover them and
tantalizing scents fill the air.
Lancashire hotpot, blueberry muffins,
waffles on an ancient stove-top griddle, strawberry butter, pheasant pie,
roasted brussel sprouts, Hungarian paprikash stew, and mushroom omelets, Large
crisp goose, turkeys, beef, vessels filled with vegetables covered in rich
sauce,
Christmas puddings with brandy butter, decorated cookies, the tables
overflow with traditional holiday foods.
Lilly drools and Lyn hands her a cloth to wipe her face.
Mary finally arrives on Oliver’s arm. Head held high she enters the room as all conversation hushes. Her eyes settle on Lyn like lasers.
“I’ll get you my pretty.” The look on her face reminiscent of the wicked witch of the west.
“Never mind all that.” Melissa takes
her hand. “We have a dress for you. Don’t be shocked. You play so many jokes on
us. Now we’re even.”
Mary eyes aglow, looks around at the beautiful decorations and
inhales the scent of balsam and pine. “Let’s welcome our author Lyn Marie Hulsman. We are here to celebrate the release of her new book Christmas At Thornton Hall. Let’s party!”
The room breaks out with cheers and Christmas music fills the air.
“Congratulations Lyn Marie. And Merry Christmas to all!”
“It’s Santa,” Melissa yells.
“Look his bag is full of Lyn Marie’s books, there is one for everyone.” Mary grins and grabs her copy as books overflow from Santa’s bag of gifts.
And the people cheer when Santa exclaims in his jolly voice.
“Merry Christmas to all, let’s party!”
website: http://www.lynnmariehulsman.com
My Next Project
My next book for HarperImpulse is a chick lit involving fine food, Irish farm life, and New York City. It features an Irish chef who is far too myopic about work for his own good. My heroine, a writer, needs something from him. Little does she know in the beginning, she needs more from him than she ever imagined.
BACK COVER FOR MY BOOK FROM MY EDITOR CHARLOTTE LEDGER
Need a fun, festive treat to warm you up on cold winter nights? Don't miss this terrific debut from a witty new voice in romantic comedy!
When Juliet Hill unwittingly discovers a most-definitely-not-hers-rhinestone-studded lace thong in her high-flying lawyer boyfriend's apartment, this usually feisty chef is suddenly single and facing a very blue Christmas - with only a ready meal for one to keep her company!
So when she's personally requested to cater for the family at Thornton Hall three days before Christmas, it's not long before Juliet's standing at the (back) door of the impossibly grand ancestral pile.
The halls are decked, the guests are titled, those below the stairs are delightfully catty, and all-American Juliet sets to work cooking up a glorious British Christmas with all the trimmings.
But other flames are burning besides those on the stove... Sparks fly with Edward, the gorgeous ex-soldier turned resident chef, and are those sidelong looks Juliet's getting from her boss, the American tycoon Jasper Roth?
As the snow starts to fall on the idyllic Cotswolds countryside, so does the veneer of genteel high society and there are more than a few ancient skeletons rattling out of the Hall's numerous dark cupboards!
CHRISTMAS AT THORNTON HALL is a country house romance for the modern age, a must-read for fans of the scandals and drama of Downton Abbey and the charm and wit of Helen Fielding.
ALTERNATE BLURB
At 28, Juliet Hill is finally ready to be a grown-up. Her New Year's plan of leaving behind a career as chef to the rich and famous in order and go back for her Ph. D in psychology is sure to satisfy both her ultra-logical psychiatrist mom and her buttoned-up lawyer boyfriend. She'll be on the right road to stability right after one last Christmas stint in private service at Thornton Hall, arguably one of the grandest estates in the swanky Cotswalds region of England (think The Hamptons, but with thatched roofs).
Unfortunately, true to her nature, she can't convince her brain to override her heart when sticky situations arise involving lies, paternity, a one-night stand and poison mushrooms! Is a sane and predictable life in the cards for our passionate pastry prepper? Can this creative girl toe the line, leaving her secret spice blends and unpredictable men behind? On the road to womanhood, sometimes decisions are made for us, and other times we have to cook up our own destiny. Join Juliet's journey as she straddles the line between romance and reason.
Need
a fun, festive treat to warm you up on cold winter nights? Don't miss
this terrific debut from a witty new voice in romantic comedy!
When Juliet Hill unwittingly discovers a most-definitely-not-hers- rhinestone-studded
lace thong in her high-flying lawyer boyfriend's apartment, this
usually feisty chef is suddenly single and facing a very blue Christmas -
with only a ready meal for one to keep her company!
So
when she's personally requested to cater for the family at Thornton
Hall three days before Christmas, it's not long before Juliet's standing
at the (back) door of the impossibly grand ancestral pile.
The
halls are decked, the guests are titled, those below the stairs are
delightfully catty, and all-American Juliet sets to work cooking up a
glorious British Christmas with all the trimmings.
But
other flames are burning besides those on the stove... Sparks fly with
Edward, the gorgeous ex-soldier turned resident chef, and are those
sidelong looks Juliet's getting from her boss, the American tycoon
Jasper Roth?
As the
snow starts to fall on the idyllic Cotswolds countryside, so does the
veneer of genteel high society and there are more than a few ancient
skeletons rattling out of the Hall's numerous dark cupboards!
EXCERPT
I reached around him grabbing the hot
handle of the iron pot without a potholder.
“Damn!” I cried, letting go immediately.
“Slow down, Jubes. There’s no rush.” He
took my hand in his, and eased my clenched fist open. He kissed my injured
palm, very lightly. “Let me wrap that
hand up with some aloe gel,” he said.
The tenderness set off a longing in me that
I didn’t want him to see.
“That curry’s going to be too spicy,” I said, pulling
my hand away, pretending it didn’t hurt.
“The tastes in this house are particular, you know. That combo will be
too much for them, they’re not The Rolling Stones.”
“There’s a saying in India, ‘Spice wakes
the sleeping.’” He looked directly at me, his emerald green eyes with the gold
flecks holding me in his steady gaze. Then he took my hand again, pulling
against my resistance. “Open up for me,” he said. “You must be in pain. Let me
look after you."
My hand did hurt, and I did need looking
after. I imagined leaning forward and kissing his full lips. He always smelled
like cinnamon to me, and I could almost taste it in my mouth. After a moment I
said, “I’m here to do things by the book,” and I turned away.
“That’s a shame,” he’d told me, letting me
go. He waited a long time to speak, not
saying anything until I checked in, looking at his face. “You know, Jubes,” he
said., “I
don’t chase after women. They usually come to me.” I opened my mouth to call
him arrogant and he put up a hand to stop me. “I’m not building myself up, it’s
just that most women I can take or leave, so I don’t make the effort. If they
show up, I say yes.” A quick, hot jealousy flared up in my sternum,
and I involuntarily imagined him in bed with a faceless woman. Stop that, I told myself. He’s not yours.
“I’m not a monk, you know,” he said. “If
you’d respond to what I think have been my considerable
efforts,” he said softly, “I would gladly turn a blind eye to the various
offers around me."
I wondered what offers he meant…
he rarely left the grounds. “Who…?” I began to ask, then thought
better of it. Stop the drama, I told
myself. If I was going to be with Ben, I was going to be with Ben. I’d invested
so much, the ship had sailed...
It was the sensible thing to do. And you
love Ben, I reminded myself.
“Sorry…” I whispered and I genuinely meant
it. “If it weren’t for Ben…”
“I get it. You can’t blame a man for
trying,” he said, twisting his mouth into a wistful smile. He stirred his
curry.
“Edward,” I began.
“Let’s just change the subject,” he said,
cutting me off. “You should always try for what you want, and if that falls
through, readjust. Learned that in the military. Let’s stick with the cooking.”
Lynn Marie Hulsman
Long Author Bio: Harper Impulse novelist Lynn Marie Hulsman's varied
employment background includes stints as a copywriter for a direct
marketing agency specializing in casino advertising (Free buffets! Loose
slots!), ushering at Manhattan Theatre Club where she ran smack into
Steve Martins' chest, irritated Jeremy Irons's agent, and saw John
Slattery naked over 50 times, editing materials for major pharmaceutical
companies (Ask her anything about the prostate: She knows.), creatively
ideating to re-brand major household products for huge corporations,
and passing out cheese cube samples (a decided low point). As a
performer she's been seen onstage at Caroline's, Stand Up New York, and
headlining with her sketch group Hits Like a Girl at The Big Stinkin'
Comedy Festival in Austin,TX. She can't tell you what she's ghost
written (obv!) but she's co-written two books on cookery, and is sole
author of the forthcoming cookbook The Kentucky Bourbon Dessert
Cookbook. She does not believe in white chocolate.
LYNN MARIE HULSMAN FACTS
-Book title Christmas at Thornton Hall
-Pub date December 12, 2013
-Digital first, POD program in operation TBA soon
-Publisher: HarperImpulse
-Editor: Charlotte Ledger
-Member of the RNA, the RWA (Romance Writers of America), RWA-NYC (New York Chapter), and RWA Contemporary Romance Chapter
LYNN MARIE HULSMAN FACTS
-Book title Christmas at Thornton Hall
-Pub date December 12, 2013
-Digital first, POD program in operation TBA soon
-Publisher: HarperImpulse
-Editor: Charlotte Ledger
-Member of the RNA, the RWA (Romance Writers of America), RWA-NYC (New York Chapter), and RWA Contemporary Romance Chapter
Christmas at Thornton Hall
On sale now! Twitter: @LynnMarieSays
Facebook Author Page:
Amazon Link to Novel
Amazon UK LInk to Novel: http://www.amazon.co. uk/Christmas-Thornton-Hall- HarperImpulse-RomCom-ebook/dp/ B00GQV147A/ref=sr_1_1?s=books& ie=UTF8&qid=1385478779&sr=1-1& keywords=christmas+at+ thornton+hall
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