Baby It's Cold Outside! by LeAnne Bristow



All over the country, people are posting beautiful pictures of their winter wonderland and bragging about all the wonderful things they get to do. Like shovel driveways.  Thaw out their car. Ummm…..NO! Not this desert rat. While I can appreciate the beauty of winter, I want to appreciate it from afar. Like real far. I do admit that I get a little bit jealous when Kate James posts pictures like this: 

 I mean, seriously, who wouldn’t enjoy a view like that? So while the desert rat in me wanted to tease you with our we-can-still-barbeque-outside weather and post pictures of our sunshine and lemon trees, I shall refrain. Almost. 



There are some nice things about winter. My children eagerly wait for the snow to start hitting in the mountains so they can make a day trip to Mt. Lemmon, Sunrise or Flagstaff and snowboard to their hearts content. Of course, the beautiful thing about this, is they can drive TO the snow, play and then come back to 70 degree weather on the SAME day. Oh wait…I wasn’t going to tease you.  



However, I will admit that cold weather does have its advantages.  Curling up in front of fireplace with a good book and a large cup of hot cocoa. Snuggling with your love under a quilt. The smells of winter. Does anything smell better than pine trees, cinnamon or pumpkin pie? No. So while I’ve got a soft spot for winter, let’s play a little game (quick, before someone reminds me about shoveling sidewalks). Pretend you are snowed in some gorgeous place like this.  What would you do?


                                                        photo courtesy of Kate James


I asked the authors of the January Heartwarming books how their heros would react to being snowed in with their heroine. I got some great answers!

First up, let’s check in with James, the hero from Patricia John’s book A Baxter’s Redemption.

 




James Hunter has been in love with Isabel from afar for years, so if he got the pleasure of being snowed in with her, he'd take the chance to curl up with her in front of the fire and talk. He wants to know about her, but he also wants to share about himself. He's been invisible for too long. For once, he wants her to see him--the man.








 Wow. Just wow. Next, I asked Lee McKenzie how Paul from His Best Friend’s Wife would handle such an ordeal. 

 


Snowed in at the Finnegan Farm Bed & Breakfast with Annie Finnegan? Paul Woodward has loved her for as long as he can remember, but he moved away from their tiny hometown of Riverton, WI, after she married his best friend. Now she’s a young widow and he’s come home to take over his father’s medical practice, so bring on the blizzard! He’ll happily sit at her kitchen counter, peeling apples while she bakes one of her legendary apple strudels. They won’t be alone—Annie shares the house with her young son, her sister and her paraplegic father and her—but Paul is a patient man, and a resourceful one. If there’s a way to steal a moment alone and discover if second chances really do exist, he’ll find one.

 



Apple pie! Darn! I have to add that to my list of favorite winter smells now. Now it’s time for Tara Taylor Quinn’s hero from The Cowboy’s Twins. 

If Spencer was snowed in with Natasha, he'd be facing frostbite to stay as far away from her as he can. Except for when his twins needed him. Then he'd have a towel tucked into his waist while he cooked for them.





 At last, but not least, Sophia Sasson’s book Mending the Doctor’s Heart features the yummy hero, Nico.

 



Nico, would start a fire, then invite Anna to their leather couch and ask if she'd like him to rub her feet. Anna hasn't slowed down so he wants to give her the chance to just be with him, to talk and rediscover why they fell in love. As he rubs her feet they'll relive their past life together and get rekindle their own fire.  The electricity will go out because their house is old and shabby but he'll keep the fire going and pull Anna close to keep her warm.  






 
I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling warm all the way to the tips of my toes (which are currently still wearing flip-flops)! So I ask you, which hero would you want to be snowed in with? Or if you just can’t pick, tell me what you’d do with your honey while the snow was falling. 

And just for playing, I’ll toss your name in the hat and pull one lovely prize! Lee McKenzie has graciously offered a signed copy of To Catch a Wife, the first book in the Finnegan Sisters to one lucky winner. (Check the comments tomorrow for the winner)

Here’s more fabulous news! All Heartwarming books are 20% off when you use the promo code HEARTGIFTS when checking out at the Harlequin store. Go get your books now!!! But leave a comment first. 

From sunny Arizona, this is LeAnne Bristow send you warm wishes no matter what weather you're stuck with!


Comments

  1. Great post, LeAnne, and a great lineup!

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  2. I love all of the advantages you described, LeAnne. I only wish it could be warmer while enjoying those things. After experiencing single digit temperatures last weekend, sunny Arizona is sounding pretty good right now. What a great lineup!

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    1. Come on over, Jill. We have plenty of sunshine to go around!

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  3. I like that "salt margaritas" comment (even though I've never had a margarita)!

    As for winter weather . . . sure, use the beautiful cottage pictures (where I have always LOVED being in winters and I would challenge anyone not to love being there with all the beauty and serenity) rather than the slushy, messy, ugly pictures in the city!

    Great post, LeAnne . . . and please save a room for me for when the worst of the winter weather hits later this month and in February!

    Congratulation and best wishes with your debut Heartwarming release!

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    1. I have a room ready and waiting! I'll even fire up the barbecue grill! You're pictures make me want to experience winter, so that says a lot. And personally, I'm not a big margarita fan but strawberry daiquiris would be great, with fresh strawberries from my garden. ;)

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    2. Terrific people, warm weather, a room, a BBQ and strawberry daiquiris?

      I'll check for the next flight! :)

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  4. Thanks for sharing about our heroes. :) I live in a cold place, and I love it! The cold kills off all the bugs and snakes before they can grow very big, and that's a wonderful thing! LOL! Plus, if you just dress for the weather, you can enjoy the scenery without misery. The only downside are the roads after a snowstorm. Sliding around is downright annoying.

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  5. Fun post, LeAnne! Thank you so much for the shout-out to the January Heartwarming authors.

    Here on Canada's west coast, where I live, we don't have any snow but we are in the throes of a cold snap. Right after I post this comment, I'll be heading out to defrost my hummingbird feeder. To survive in this kind of weather, those little guys need all the fuel they can get.

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    1. You have hummers during the winter, Lee? I'm so jealous! Ours migrate in early October, and they don't return until late April, early May. I miss them so.

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    2. Yes we do, Jill. The Anna's hummingbirds over-winter on southern Vancouver Island. To make it even more interesting, and this weather even more treacherous for them, they have already mated and the first broods of 2017 will be on the wing by the end of February.

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    3. HI Lee! Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the giveaway!
      We don't get much snow but we do get some cold spells. I lived in Yuma for 8 years and it was NEVER cold there. Here on the other side of the state it gets much colder, even freezing occasionally. Thank goodness those are very short spells!

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  6. Such a cute post! I love the notes from each January author about what their character would do if snowed in. So fun. I like a little snow to look at and admire it's beauty and then I would be happy if it went away for good. In Chicago we have to deal with the dirty snow and nonsense - that is not my favorite!

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    1. So, from what I gather from you snow experts is that country snow = beautiful and city snow = yucky mess. The only time I see it is when I drive to it to play in for a while. Then I leave it there and come home. Best way to do snow!

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  7. Such a fun post and I love the tumbleweed snowmen and, of course, that dream cottage!

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    1. Hi Rula! Isn't that cottage beautiful? I say Kate has a writers retreat one weekend and we all go to her house!

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  8. LeAnne, I spent too many winters putting on chains to get out to the main highway, only to take them off so I could drive to work when I lived in Washington state. Worse was black ice. I am so happy to share these unsalted roads in AZ. Winter is nice from afar. And even though we have good weather I still managed to read all of the great books you have listed. So wonderful.

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    1. Black ice!!!! I was driving to Tucson once and Davidson Canyon bridge had black ice on it during one of the few snow storms we've ever had. Needless to say, I ping ponged off the side of the bridge and messed my car up pretty good. I do not like black ice. grrrr.... Yes. We have great book reading weather!

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  9. LeAnne, We are experiencing exactly what Roz mentioned above right now. It's a snowy, freeze, thaw, freeze mess! So I'm not too keen on winter right now. So I'm going to ask you a really important question(s): Do you have a guest room or a soft sofa suitable for a sun-loving guest? (Not a large guest, either. Someone say... barely above 5 feet who would not hog the bathroom?)

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    1. Carol, I have a room all ready for you! Come on over. Although you and Kate may have to argue who uses the bathroom first. And I have lots of blow up mattresses, so the more the merrier!

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  10. As another Heartwarming author who calls Arizona home, I can only say that I got off work last night at 7 and walked to my car, no coat. Came home to walk the dog and thought, "Hmm, do I need a sweater?" I'm a wimp. I wore a sweater but it was a choice LOL
    Loved the hero commentary. Glad you're feeling better.

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    1. I had that same dilemma when I ran to Wal-Mart the other night. Jacket or no? I always go with a jacket cause I, too, am a wimp.

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  11. I'm not too far from Carol, and also not liking the snow, freeze, thaw, refreeze, fall down aspect. But I love the cold on my face in the morning, the clear sky, the animals all snuggled up over the heat vents in the house. Getting Ron out becomes a maneuver of military proportions, but he loves it, too, so we're off to breakfast today. All four heroes sound like good company on a snowy afternoon - especially if we could import a strawberry margarita from Arizona! Fun post, LeAnne, but you're a meanie!

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    1. We moved over the summer, but the last house we lived in had a fireplace and our little dogs loved to snuggle up in front of the fire place. If I lived close to you and Carol you'd have to wrap me in bubblewrap because I'd fall and break my neck!

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  12. I'd thought Portland was safe from snow, but we just got several inches of the white stuff. I spent much of yesterday shoveling snow. Since all my neighbors were doing the same, it turned into a bit of a block party, which everyone chatting and the kids sledding down the street. It was actually rather fun!

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    1. Hi Evelyn! I've heard this strange rumor that people who live in the snow don't feel the cold like other people do and actually enjoy socializing in the cold weather. Hmmm... I can see how a snow shoveling block party could be fun. Thanks for stopping by!

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  13. Not much snow here in the PacNW (Seattle area), but it is cold! Arizona is looking pretty good right now. The January books all sound like great reads. Congratulations, everyone!

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    1. Hi Linda! Glad you're not having to deal with a lot of snow. My brother lives in South Dakota and just had to use his tractor to dig his four wheel drive truck out of the snow. He's not liking it at all.

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  14. Hi LeAnne, So clever with the question for the current Heartwarming heroes and heroines. Great marketing tool. I know those authors appreciate the publicity. smile And the tumbleweek "snowmen" are too funny. I love Arizona and no shoveling snow. smile

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    1. Hi Sandra! You're quite the experienced traveler, so I'm sure you've seen your share of weather. Isn't Arizona weather the best though? No snow. No tornados. No hurricans. Just the occasional haboob or monsoon flash floods. :)

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  15. LeAnne, This is a wonderful article. Having spent some time in Arizona, I can appreciate how comfortable iit can be in the winter. However, the nights do get cold.
    I would love to spend some time at Finnegan's B&B with a cup of coffee and that apple strudel along with my best friend and husband (who happen to be the same person.)

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    1. Hi Lisa! Thanks so much for stopping by. Yes, nights can get chilly, especially in the higher elevations. I'll make sure your name is put in the drawing for the Finnegan Sister's first book!

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  16. I would like to sit in front of the fire with My Hubby though he'd be watching TV and I'd be reading on my Kindle. Or All of us playing games with the kiddos.
    Thanks for sharing :)

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    1. That sounds a little like heaven, Linda! Thanks for stopping by.

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    2. Ya My Daughter is still young and likes to make everyone play her games It's sorta hard to make my boys not win every time, all the time, (Even Daddy also) even when I tell them if they only knew how many times they beat Mommy at games. If she never wins she won't ever want to play LOL

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  17. Love this idea! What would YOUR hero and heroine do? We are expecting an ice storm in Oklahoma this weekend!

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  18. Great post, LeAnne. I love hearing about the hero's plans when they're snowed in. We flew from Alaska to Arizona yesterday, and I'm a little disappointed that the sun is missing here in Prescott today. Still a lot warmer than Anchorage, though.

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  19. Lisa C, you're the lucky winner! I'll email you!

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