A Christmas Fling & coming soon, A Cupcake Christmas by Beth Barany

A.CHRISTMAS.FLING.by.Beth.Barany.200x300A few years ago I wrote a Christmas romance novella – sweet and light as a bite of pie called A Christmas Fling (A Christmas Elf story), a magical contemporary romance.

Why? I love Christmas and grew up with it and Hannukah. I loved the stockings my parents for us four kids, wrapping gifts, of course opening gifts, and the smell of the Christmas tree.

In this post I share about A Christmas Fling and my upcoming Christmas romance, A Cupcake Christmas.

What if falling in love put the life you cherished in jeopardy?

Dahlia, a Santa’s Elf, has 21 days left before Christmas to create the best toy in the world without using magic or revealing her true identity. Stuck on how to complete the prototype, and working as a temp in San Francisco’s financial district with no time for love, will her innocent Christmas fling get her unstuck, or will she turn her back on her beloved career for her heart?

Liam, an up-and-coming financial analyst, swore off women after getting dumped by the love of his life. He just found out his ex is going to the company Christmas party with his rival Michael Hendricks. Up for promotion against Hendricks, Liam has to win the favor of his boss. His best bet is to invite the vivacious secretary Dahlia to the party. Will Dahlia be a welcome distraction, or will she turn his life upside down?

read an excerpt here:

chapter 1
december 1, oakland, ca

Dahlia strolled through the small neighborhood park. It was great fun to think about how the children would enjoy her toy once she was done with it, but she had to complete it first. She only had twenty-two days to fix whatever was wrong with it before returning home. She’d gone over her designs and schematics and taken it apart and put it back together a dozen times, but it still wouldn’t work.

Dahlia left the park and headed down the street toward the detached studio she rented on Miles Avenue.

A dog bark had her look up just in time to almost but not quite avoid getting tangled up in a long leash. A man with the warmest brown eyes she’d ever seen gazed down at her, a half smile on his face.

She smiled back startled out of her daydreaming, but not before she noticed his endearing dimple on one side of his mouth.

She said, “Sorry, I didn’t see you. Thank goodness for your dog. Oh, she looks like a Husky.”

Dahlia shifted her bag to one hip, so she could bend down and pet the dog.

The dog wagged her tail.

Dahlia said, “You must feed her really well. Her coat is so soft and luscious.”

“She’s a Bernese Mountain Dog. Sally. My roommate’s.”

His voice was deep. She had to look up to smile into his deep brown eyes. He was a whole head taller than she was. Almost two meters. She translated into American measurements. Six foot three or something.

“My uncle, well one of my uncles has one—that he uses for work. But I hardly see him because he lives—” She paused. “I’m prattling, aren’t I?”

“Yes, you are, but I like listening to your accent. Scottish?”

“Yes, wow, you guessed correctly. Most people here can’t do that. Yeah, we’re from Scotland, but it’s been a few generations.” She couldn’t very well tell him how Santa’s elves lived a very long time. It had only been her grandparents that had immigrated with Uncle, known as Santa to most, and some neighbors to set up the North Pole.

“So, you’re in school here?” He waved off toward what she knew was the art college a few blocks away.

“No. I’m here on an independent research project for a few more weeks.”

“So you’re from—”

“Alaska. Well, near Alaska, anyway. I—I best be going,” she interrupted and gestured to her bag of goodies. She shifted from foot to foot on the corner of Miles and Clifton Streets, still tangled up in the Bernese’s leash. “Gifts to wrap. For the kids. Big project.” She gulped and held out her hand. “I’m Dahlia, by the way. Dahlia MacMillian.”

With a half-smile, he shook her offered hand. His grip was firm and strong. “Liam. Nice to meet you, Dahlia MacMillian.” He led the dog around her, slowly untangling the leash.

How he moved with grace and power, even in his simple gestures. He was tall, lean and muscular, broad shoulders identifiable even in his sweatshirt with the UC Berkeley name and logo on it.

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If you’d like to read more, go here: http://author.bethbarany.com/books/a-christmas-fling/

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Amazon: http://amzn.to/18ELyiY

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/christmas-fling-magical-tale/id838194850?mt=11

Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-christmas-fling-beth-barany/1118888688?ean=2940149334445

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/a-christmas-fling-a-magical-tale-of-romance-and-adventure

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/386922

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Now I’ve written another Christmas Elf story, A Cupcake Christmas, a magical contemporary romance novel, and it will be released this year on Christmas Day, December 25th.

This story is about one of Dahlia’s younger brothers on his year abroad…

A-Cupcake-Christmas_642x1024_sneak-peek_Beth-BaranyABOUT A CUPCAKE CHRISTMAS

What if you risked losing your baking legacy by cooking up a love
truly special?

Florian MacMillian needs a final job to round out his baking resume before he returns to the North Pole and takes his rightful place as Master Baker to all the elves — preferably a job where he’s unlikely to blow things up with his unruly magic.

Kate Delore desperately needs help in her fast-growing cupcake business in the San Francisco area. Florian seems to have the experience and energy to handle the job, so she brings him on as her baker and customer service help.

The arrangement seems to work. Florian is happily up to his elbows in batter, and Kate’s profits are soaring. But when things heat up between them, Florian wonders if he should risk his family legacy to cook up something truly special.

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A Cupcake Christmas is currently on pre-order exclusively at iTunes for $0.99:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/a-cupcake-christmas/id1036098226?mt=11

More about the book here:

http://author.bethbarany.com/books/a-cupcake-christmas-a-christmas-elf-story-romance/

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Beth.Barany_MG_6971_500x500ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Award-winning author, Beth Barany writes in two genres: young adult fantasy and magical contemporary romance. She loves creating magical tales of romance and adventure to transport readers to new worlds where anything is possible.

In her off hours, Beth enjoys walking, reading and watching movies, and traveling, with her husband, author and singer/song writer Ezra Barany.

Beth Barany lives in Oakland, California with her husband, two cats, and over 1,000 books.

When not writing or playing, Beth runs her own company helping novelists as a coach, consultant, and teacher to help them write, market, and publish their books.

For free first-in-series romance, go to: http://author.bethbarany.com/free-romance-story/ .

To connect with Beth, go here: http://author.bethbarany.com/.

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