 As the holiday season draws near, it’s impossible not to get wrapped up in the magic and nostalgia that comes with it. For me, now at the grand age of 83, Christmas always holds a special place in my heart, reminiscent of simpler times and heartfelt traditions. I recall the Christmases of my youth with a fondness that warms my soul. Those were the days when decorations were not just adornments but a family ritual, where every ornament told a story, and the twinkling lights were a beacon of joy and togetherness. Our Christmas tree, often a humble, fragrant pine, would stand proudly in the corner of our living room, draped with homemade garlands and tinsel that shimmered like a winter wonderland. The kitchen was the heart of our home during the holiday season. The aroma of baking pies, the sizzling of the turkey, and the laughter that echoed off the walls as we all pitched in with the preparations are memories that I hold dear. Christmas was never about the grandeur; it was about the love shared, the stories told, and the family gathered around the dinner table. Gift-giving was always modest, yet it felt like the richest of treasures. The excitement of finding the perfect, often handcrafted, gift for a loved one and seeing their face light up in joy is a feeling unmatched. It wasn't about the price tag; it was about the thought and love poured into each gift. Fast forward to today, and while times have changed, the essence of Christmas remains the same. It's about bringing joy, sharing love, and creating memories. Speaking of which, I’d like to share a piece of my heart with you this Christmas through A Mother for Christmas. Set against the backdrop of a Victorian house in St. Augustine, this heartwarming story is dear to my heart, as are the characters, especially Sophie. A Mother for Christmas is a story of love, mystery, and the magic of Christmas, reminding us of the power of connection and the surprises life can hold. So, as you prepare for your holiday season, whether it be with grand plans or a simple, cozy gathering, remember the true essence of Christmas. It’s not about the grandeur or the gifts; it’s about the love, the memories, and the magic that binds us all. And if you’re looking for a little extra warmth this season, A Mother for Christmas is a story to curl up with and let the magic of the season fill your heart. Merry Christmas and Warm Wishes to You and Yours! Jackie XoXo As usual, I like to introduce you to some of my author friends I've enjoyed working with and reading their books over the years. Each of my friends has a Christmas Treat for you as well! Just click on a cover to read more!
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 I've just turned eighty-three. That's right, 83. And let me tell you, these old bones have seen many moons and written many a tale. In the illustrious world of romance novels, I've been around the block more times than the neighborhood stray cat! In the past three decades, the face of romance writing has changed more than my prescription glasses! You see, when I started, my biggest worry was keeping the typewriter ribbon fresh. Now, I've got a nifty device called a computer, which apparently has nothing to do with making coffee. Go figure! Writing romance in the '90s? It was all about long flowing hair, heaving bosoms, and tall, dark, mysterious strangers. These days, it’s about kick-butt heroines who run their own companies, save the world, and whip up a mean gluten-free vegan meal all before the second chapter. The internet came along, and our characters stopped sending letters, and started texting each other instead. I had to learn a whole new language for that. OMG, it’s BRB, LOL, and TTYL now. It took me three months to realize that "LOL" doesn't stand for "Lots of Love." The times, they are a-changin'! The once delicate dance of courtship in my early novels has given way to swipe rights and dating apps. My heroes used to climb balconies; now they just slide into DMs. How less poetic, but oh, so much easier on the knees! There's a whole universe of sub-genres I never saw coming. Who would have thought we'd be swooning over werewolves, vampires, and time-traveling highlanders? And don't get me started on those billionaire bad boys and their charming antics! But hey, don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining about these changes, not one bit. Because beneath the LOLs, the swiping, and the supernatural, the heart of romance hasn't changed. It's still all about that sweet tug at your heartstrings, the flutter in your stomach, and the yearning for a happily ever after. So, here I am, eighty-three years young, still writing, still learning, and most importantly, still believing in the magic of love. And I have to admit, navigating the modern quirks of romance has been a hoot! Here's to another year of embracing change and creating stories that make hearts throb, no matter how old they might be. After all, romance, much like a fine wine, only gets better with age. Till then, my lovelies, LOL (and I do mean Lots of Love)! Jackie Weger Now that you know what I write... May I suggest a way to read three of my favorite books for one low price? And hundreds of thousands of more books, too! For a limited time, the Almost Perfect Series is available to read free with a Kindle Unlimited subscription! Don't have Kindle Unlimited? Learn more and/or sign up for a Free Trial Here! Three men, seductive as sin and living single, meet three strong women passionate about life, loving, and family, who will change their lives forever…   It's just a perfect Texas afternoon... It's seventy-something, and the sun is peeking in and out behind wispy clouds here in my corner of Texas. The weather is just right, no humidity, just cool enough to keep mosquitoes huggin’ the undersides of leaves and not makin’ pests of themselves.  Tiny titmouse chicks hatched yesterday in the nest mama titmouse built atop the anchor bolt in the satellite dish. They’re not feathered up yet and their necks are wobbly. Neighbors on two sides of me have their outdoor grills fired up and the good cooking smells are wafting in the air. I can tell by the aroma of spices comin’ across my back yard that one is grilling fajitas, the other is barbecuing chicken.
No salt while the beans are boiling to soft because salt toughens every dang thing it touches, except laundry water. I use plain old table salt to soften the hot water for whites. Works as fine as Calgon, if you add the salt to the washer before you add soap and bleach. Oops, got off topic. I was talking about butterbeans. If you have a hamhock or bacon drippin’s handy, add it to the bean water. If not, add one packet of Goya Ham flavored concentrate. Works just as fine. I put a lid on the bean pot for the first twenty minutes. By that time the beans have got up a good rolling boil. Then I take the lid off, and turn the fire down because I want that water to simmer on a soft burble until the butter beans are tender as all get out. Once done, move that pot off the fire, sprinkle salt over the top--not, too much--then put the lid on and let them rest while you bake the cornbread.
Foods up! You’re ready to eat. Now, in the South, we season our beans in the bowl with Tabasco sauce. My Uncle Frank, bless is departed soul, loved his butterbeans topped with ketchup and Tabasco. I forgot to mention sweet iced tea. I have fallen in favor of peach flavored iced tea. I make a pitcher of that separate. Everybody else in the family likes plain old Lipton. You can use any fake sweetening for tea that you like. I use pure cane sugar. When I tell you a pinch of real sugar, I mean it. Because sugar breaks down fibers. Fake sweetening won’t do the job. Bet you didn’t know that. FACT, you can take the toughest cut of beef, score it, dampen it with water, and rub granulated sugar on it, put it in a paper bag in the fridge overnight. Before you cook it, bring it to room temperature, next, rinse the sugar off, season to taste, cook it any old way you prefer…it will be fork tender. Movin’ on to dessert... It is not shameful to use store-bought mixin’s, especially if it cooks up better than you can do it from scratch. We’re having hot peach cobbler and Blue Bell vanilla ice cream. The very best cobbler mix is Louisiana brand Cobbler mix and any brand of canned pie fruit, with the syrup. Soon as you take the cornbread out of the oven, pop in the cobbler. Long about the time you’ve cleared the table and got coffee perking, cobbler’s ready. Enjoy. Now that you know what's for dinner... May I suggest a way to read three of my favorite books for one low price? And hundreds of thousands of more books, too! For a limited time, the Almost Perfect Series is available to read free with a Kindle Unlimited subscription! Don't have Kindle Unlimited? Learn more and/or sign up for a Free Trial Here! Three men, seductive as sin and living single, meet three strong women passionate about life, loving, and family, who will change their lives forever… Follow Jackie to stay up-to-date on New Releases, Specials, and just plain ol' chattin'!
Newsletter - BookBub - Amazon 
I am superstitious. I can’t help it. I don’t know where it comes from. I don’t sit on a bed after it is made to perfection, and I have heart failure if any visitor to my home does. Pull the covers down first if you need to nap. That’s fine. Okay. So now I’m a writer. I need good luck along with craft and a few good author pals. I have cats for the first time in my life. Cats are no respecters of superstition. I don’t make the bed up any more. There is good luck, bad luck, and no luck. Not making up my bed guarantees NO LUCK. I’m good with it. The cats are good with it–or maybe not; I didn’t ask their opinion.
I don’t walk under ladders. I NEVER pass up a penny on the ground. No, I don’t. Here’s why: There is an old Southern adage if you save all of your pennies in your kitchen from one Leap Year to the next, you will have great good fortune. No fail! Leap Year is the year in which a woman can ask a man to marry her. Your good fortune will include some other woman snagging the fool you were gonna pop the question to because you were enamored of a certain muscle, but by the time Leap Year rolls around again–there he is with his pickup on blocks and not a single useful muscle between his ears (or anywhere else) and a bad back.
Plus, you are bound to have at least a hundred dollars in change. Nice Valentine’s gift to yourself. My first year in Houston, I found seventy-three dollars in change on the ground. In the scheme of things that doesn’t sound like much, but when I lived on off-islands and tiny jungle villages seventy-three dollars was enough to feed a family six for three months. I hoard my luck like Bookbub subscribers hoard books. I was in Panama City, Florida, not long ago and went to Walmart. Of course I walk with my eyes on the ground (don’t come at me with traveling body parts–you know what I mean). There was a hundred dollar bill floating across the macadam. Honey, I stomped it. Next, I saw a twenty-dollar bill. Snagged ’em both.
Here is a way to have bad luck follow you for the rest of your natural life: Toss out old blouses and shirts without first cutting off the buttons. I have a button jar. Back in the day, we used to make all of our own clothes. We needed those buttons. Buttons are lucky, even if they are just sitting in a button jar. My best friends from up north looked at me like I was crazy when I tried to stop them from tossing old clothes with buttons. All are D-E-A-D now. Every single one. If that ain’t bad luck or no luck, I don’t know what you’d call it.
The Chinese have Kitchen gods. I have a Kitchen witch. She’s a cute little thing on a tiny broom, with a pink felt skirt. I bought her from an old woman at a Fiddle Festival in the hills of West Virginia, Appalachia. I haven’t burned a pot of beans since she came to live with me twenty-five or so years ago. No Lie. I used to have to keep a gallon of vinegar on hand for burned pots. In case you don’t know, here’s what you do: Pour a cup or two of vinegar in the pot and bring it to a boil. Keep that full boil going until that black crud just works loose, and the pan comes out shiny as new.
I feel like I’m on a lucky streak right now–in my resurrected writing career and life in general–and Bingo. I won three $500 jackpots this month. Two back-to back on the same night! Did I stand up and dance a jig and make a fool of myself? Dang right. In reality, including superstitions, we make our own luck–good, bad or indifferent.
And today IS your lucky day. Well, if you like to read a romantic suspense book with; according to this Vine Voice Reader: "Characters you will want to slap, shake, possibly kill, along with those you will love! You will want to hold them, give them support and just cheer them on to a better life. This is a book you will not want to put down."
Why is it your lucky day, you ask? Because my publisher is offering No Perfect Secret and the rest of the Almost Perfect Collection in Kindle Unlimited for a Limited Time! Oh, and if you've already read the series, I've added a few other deals from my publisher! And...there's a Giveaway for a Kindle Fire! See... Good luck is possible!
Also on Sale!
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