**Snowball’s Christmas by Kristen McKanagh**
Good Morning,
Everyone! So thrilled to see you all today! We have another new-to-me author
and book! Well, she’s new writing under this pen name. Others of you as well as
myself might be more familiar with Ms. McKanagh writing as Abigail Owen.
Knowing firsthand how much I have enjoyed her work as Ms. Owen, I am definitely
looking forward to finding out more about this new persona. Yay! Please allow
me to feature on the blog Kristen McKanagh and her latest release, SNOWBALL’S
CHRISTMAS … Plus, a GIVEAWAY!
**KRISTEN MCKANAGH**
**BIO**
Sweet
contemporary and Amish romance author Kristen McKanagh grew up consuming
books and exploring the world through her writing. She attempted to
find a practical career by earning a degree in English Rhetoric (Technical
Writing) and an MBA. However, she swiftly discovered that writing without
imagination is not nearly as fun as writing with it. Kristen also writes
award-winning steamy contemporary romance as Kadie
Scott, and award-winning paranormal and YA fantasy romance as Abigail
Owen. No matter the genre, she loves to write happily-ever-afters that
shine with home, heart, and humor. Kristen currently resides in
Austin, Texas, with her own swoon-worthy hero husband and their two
children, who are growing up way too fast.
To
find out more about Ms. McKanagh, please visit:
**SNOWBALL’S CHRISTMAS**
Publication
date:
September 29th, 2020
Publisher:
Kensington
Genres: Adult,
Contemporary, Romance
**BLURB**
The Purrfect holiday awaits…
Snowball–an aptly named bundle of feline
fluff–is thankful to be spending her first Christmas in the comfort of Weber
Haus, the Victorian B&B run by Miss Tilly. Emily Diemer, who cooks for the
guests, dotes on Snowball, but she’s not thrilled about another new arrival at
the B&B: Miss Tilly’s nephew, Lukas. Which is odd, because Snowball’s
animal instincts tell her that Lukas and Emily should definitely be friends.
Everything
Emily needs is in this quaint community–including, she hopes, the chance to
open her own bakery one day. She doesn’t think much of Lukas for leaving his
aging aunt to struggle while he jets around the world taking photographs. But
now that he’s here, helping to spruce up the property and getting mixed up in
Snowball’s antics, she begins to soften a little. Until she learns what he has
planned…
Lukas
is going to sell Weber Haus so that Miss Tilly can retire. But Snowball is
certain that this B&B, and these people, are supposed to be her forever
home. Somehow she has to get these stubborn humans to see things through the
wisdom of a cat’s eye and a kitten’s loyal, loving heart…
**EXCERPT**
At her car, her good mood took a back
seat to frustration. The fob on her key chain was dying, which meant it didn’t
always let her in right away. After four or five clicks, she finally gave a grr
of annoyance and opened the door with the key.
“Wait.”
No mistaking the deep voice of the man
from the parking lot. No way could he be talking to her, though, so she went to
get in.
“Emily.”
He
is
talking to me.
Surprise tinged with more delight than
she’d let herself acknowledge had her pausing to look over her shoulder. “How
did you know my name?” she called as he jogged down the last few steps.
He waved back up at the slope. “That
man called your name earlier.”
And he’d paid attention? Wow. A blush
warmed the skin of her cheeks, making the sting of the cold air against her
bite more. “Listen, I’m flattered and everything, but I’m running late.”
He paused on a word, mouth open, then
his eyes crinkled as he grinned. “I’m not asking you out.”
Oh. Disappointment dropped over her
like snow falling off branches on her head. Kerfloop. Followed swiftly
by embarrassment. The heat crept back up her cheeks, but for a much less fun
reason. “Okay . . . What can I help you with?”
“Actually, I’m here to help you.”
Help her? With what? She raised her
eyebrows in question.
“I believe you’ve picked up a small
passenger in your purse.”
“My—” Realization rushed in with all
the subtlety of a blizzard, and she closed her eyes in resigned horror.
“There’s a kitten in my purse. Isn’t there?”
She opened her eyes in time to catch
the full impact of her stranger’s full-bodied laugh, his eyes alight with
humor. “Does this happen to you often?” he asked.
“Only since this one arrived on our
doorstep.” More gently than she’d been handling it until now, she swung her
purse around and opened it wide. Sure enough, two blue eyes stared back at her
with all the innocence of angels.
“Snowball. You’ve got to stop this,”
she admonished as she lifted the small kitten out. Cuddling the ball of fluff
against her chest, she lifted her gaze to her helpful stranger. Right in time
to see him with a camera up to his eye. A soft click sounded as he snapped a
picture.
“Uh— No, thanks.” She lifted a
hand to block any more.
“I’m only getting the cat in the shot.
I promise.”
Zero for two. First, he wasn’t chasing
her down because he was interested, and now he only wanted pictures of the cat.
My ego is going to need some chocolate
therapy if this keeps up.
Snowball
I pause in my purring to peer closer at
Emily’s face. I know something is wrong because she’s squeezing me tighter. A
little too tight.
I give a mewl of protest, and she
blinks, her frown morphing to vague confusion as she glances down at me. Emily
blinks again, then loosens her grip.
Did she forget she was holding me?
That’s strange. I look over to see what
she was frowning at. Only it’s not a what. It’s a who.
That man from the place with all the
white stuff and the kids laughing loudly. The one who found me in her purse. I
cock my head, studying him. Why is Emily mad at him? Other than ratting me
out—such an appropriate phrase I learned recently—he seems like a nice person.
The man reaches out and runs a gentle
hand over my fur. I snuggle into his touch and start my motor back up. You can
tell a lot from how a person pets. I like him already.
About then, Miss Tilly bustles into the
room. “Excellent. You’ve met,” she says.
“Not formally,” the man says. I like
his voice, too. There’s kindness and something comforting in the deep tones.
I’d like to snuggle under his chin and take a nap.
“Oh,” Miss Tilly says in that floaty
way she has sometimes. “Emily, I’d like you to meet my nephew, Lukas.” Tilly is
glowing with pride.
I tip my head and stare at the man. This is the Lukas person she’s been
talking about?
“Lukas,” Tilly continues. “This is
Emily Diemer. Emily helps me run Weber Haus and is a fine baker.”
The Lukas man smiles. He has a nice
smile, I decide. It reaches all the way to his eyes.
“A pleasure to formally meet you.
Tilly’s told me a lot . . .” He trails off.
I glance up at Emily because she’s
squeezing me again.
“You’re
Tilly’s nephew?”
Her voice does not sound very pleased. What did this guy do to her? I’m the one he
outed by telling her I was in her purse.
Lukas must be thinking the same thing,
because his eyebrows scrunch up all funny. “Is that a bad thing?”
Emily opens her mouth, then her gaze
strays to Miss Tilly. She seems to rethink her words. “I’m sure Tilly is
thrilled to have you home. She’s talked of nothing and no one else for weeks,”
she says. Only her smile doesn’t
reach her eyes. “How long are you staying? She wasn’t sure.”
Now she sounds too sweet. Not at all
Emily-like. Emily is a lovely human, always quick to pet, but she’s also
straightforward. At least, that’s what Miss Tilly calls her. Sweet sounds all
wrong from her mouth—like too much cream, smothering her words.
I wiggle in her grasp, and she lowers
me to the floor. I have instincts for humans. Maybe if I show her Lukas is a
nice one, she’ll stop acting so . . . strange. I scoot over to
him and wind myself around his ankles. Lukas chuckles. A deep sound that makes
me happy. I like it even better when he bends over and runs a hand over my
back. I arch up into his touch.
See,
Emily. He’s nice.
I glance over to make sure she’s
getting the message, only Emily is watching me with her lips pushing forward,
kind of pinched.
“Traitor,” she mouths at me.
A snort from Lukas tells both Emily and
me that he caught that. Her cheeks go red.
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to get the
rest of the groceries before I get started on lunch.”
Emily hurries out of the room, the
screen door closing behind her with a bang that makes me jump. Lukas
straightens and watches her go, the corners of his mouth lifting.
Is it just me? Or is there something
going on between these two? Like a low hum in the air. Two humans I like should like each other, I decide. Maybe they need a little help to figure it out.
The sight that greeted his curious gaze
upped the kitchen a few more notches in his estimation.
Christmas music piped softly from a
cell phone on the counter, an oldie, painting images of cold winter nights and
cozy fires . . . and family.
He ignored the familiar, old pinch in
the region of his heart that seemed to get worse this time of year and focused
on the woman humming to herself.
Emily stood at the large butcher-block
table in the center of the room. She had her back to him, but her long dark
hair, pulled back in a ponytail, was unmistakable. Not to mention those legs.
Encased in jeans and topped with a formfitting, pale blue sweater, the woman
was a knockout in that freckled, sweet, girl-next-door way that managed to hit
the right chord with him.
Except she didn’t like him. At all. For
a reason he had yet to unearth.
Meow.
He’d forgotten the darn cat, who now
sat at his feet.
“Morning, Snowball—” Emily turned with
a smile on her lips that froze the second she spotted him.
Jack Frost had nothing on Emily Diemer
for chill factor.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
Granted, she attempted to rearrange her features to a more neutral expression,
but the pinching around her lips didn’t ease any.
Amusement and the strangest urge to win
her over had Lukas affecting his most charming smile. “Good morning, Emily.”
She lifted her eyebrows, visibly
unmoved. “Not for any decent person,” she commented wryly with a pointed glance
at the microwave clock. “I came down to bake and get ready for the day. Plus,
Christmas Eve isn’t that far off, and we’re hosting a large group, which takes
early preparation. I’m freezing a few things ahead of time. What about you?”
Lukas didn’t want to explain that
Snowball had woken him up and insisted he come down here. He’d sound crazy.
“This is my house.”
The second the words left his lips he
wanted to snatch them back out of the air. Definitely not the right way to go.
Emily turned her back on him, returning
to the dough she was kneading, but not before he caught her scowl.
“Technically, it’s Miss Tilly’s house. You moved away years ago,” she pointed
out.
She mumbled something else that sounded
a bit like “And haven’t bothered to come back all that often.”
Was that what she was holding against
him? Because he would’ve sworn she’d been interested in the parking lot when
they first met. But the second she walked in the door and figured out who he
was, she’d been frostier than the North Pole. Might as well get it out in the
open. “I get the impression you don’t like me much.”
She paused, hands sunk deep into the
dough. “I don’t know you.”
Right. An evasive answer if he’d ever
heard one. “After you flirted in the nicest way at the sledding hill—”
She jerked her head up. “That was not
flirting.”
“That’s too bad,” he murmured, earning
a scowl before she went back to her dough. “But then you found out my name,
and, poof, no more flirting.”
“I wasn’t flirting,” she grumbled.
He hid a smile and crossed his arms.
“But you don’t like me.”
Emily
blew out a frustrated breath.
Buy Links
**GIVEAWAY**
Blitz-wide Giveaway (INT)
$25 Amazon Gift Card
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Thanks so much for joining us today!
HAPPY READING!!!
