Merry Christmas & Feliz Navidad

First of all, take a moment to visit with me at Mina Khan’s blog as I chat about what inspires me to write. It might just surprise you!

Then please stay around for my contribution to the 2011 Holiday Blog Tour. Many thanks to Icess Fernandez for doing such a great job of getting it organized for us.

What Christmas means to me

Call me a cockeyed optimist, but I believe in the inherent goodness of people. I’ve been blessed with many instances in my life where that goodness has been demonstrated so it’s hard not to believe in that.

It also seems to me that at this time of year, that goodness seems to be more visible and I’m thankful for that. There are just too many people lately intent on breeding a culture of hate with their them versus us mentalities.

They seem to forget about that goodness and how the hearts of the American people are much bigger than they believe.

Just look around you this and every Christmas. Look at the random acts of kindness, like the Layaway Angels. Look at those who without being asked help someone in need or who reach into their pockets to drop that spare change in the Salvation Army bucket.

For me, Christmas is all about being kind, just as centuries ago someone was kind so that Jesus had a place to be born.

Over the course of my life, I have been lucky to see that kindness over and over. When we first came here, things were tough. I was a stranger in a strange land with little money, but many opportunities and the reality of it was, most people were welcoming. They shared of themselves in many ways.

I remember quite fondly the various neighbors who would gather to celebrate the holidays in Levittown, each bringing with them a bit of their traditions (although I could never really acquire a taste for the pickled herring our Polish neighbors would offer up.) I remember those neighbors banding together to celebrate when my parents became citizens and the flag they had asked to be flown over the Capitol to commemorate that special event. It sits proudly in my hall to remind me that kindness comes in all different ways and that being in America is a precious gift not to be wasted.

This Christmas, take a moment to think about all your blessings and what you can do to make a difference. There will always be someone better off than you and sadly, someone worse off. But all of us together can truly make a difference for the better.

Know someone who will be alone for the holidays? Invite them into your home.

Have a few extra dollars? Buy a small toy and put it in the Toys for Tots box.

Have some free time? Volunteer for something. Anything.

Here’s an even easier one: Smile. Offer someone a kind word and a smile. Sometimes that can mean all the difference in someone’s day.

Leaving you with that thought, a big cyber smile and hug, I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas. To all my Jewish friends, wishing the best for Chanukah. To everyone else, may you have a wonderful holiday season!

Take a moment to visit the other blog stops and find out about what other people are doing this holiday season!!

Dec. 2 Julia Amante
Dec. 3 Radames Ortiz
Dec. 5 Zoraida Cordova
Dec. 7 Lupe Mendez
Dec. 8 Natasha Oliver
Dec. 9 Maria Ferrer
Dec. 10 Sidney Williams
Dec. 11 Toni Plummer
Dec. 12 Mayra Calvani
Dec. 13 Kristy Harding
Dec. 14 Thelma Reyna
Dec. 15.Sylvia Mendoza
Dec. 16 Regina Tingle
Dec. 17 Teresa Dovalpage
Dec. 18 Mirta Espinola
Dec. 19 Kim Brown
Dec. 20 Gwen Jerris
Dec. 21 Paula Altschuler
Dec. 22 Caridad Pinero
Dec. 23 Teresa Carbajal Revet
Dec. 24 Icess Fernandez Rojas

Switching it up – Mina and Caridad Trading Places (kind of)

We’re doing a little switching up today! I’ve got my friend Mina Khan visiting today and sharing her wonderful new release and I’m visiting The Naked Hero to talk about Rey Peralta from AMAZON AWAKENING!

So please switch it up by dropping by The Naked Hero to visit with me and by checking out Mina’s wish list for Christmas!

How About A Genie for Christmas?

I think a djinn or genie would be the perfect Christmas gift! Of course, I’m biased as I wrote about a sexy djinn assassin – Rukh O’Shay– in my recent paranormal romance release, THE DJINN’S DILEMMA.

But think about it…

    1. A genie can grant wishes and is a present that can keep on giving. Some, like Rukh, can grant your heart’s most hidden desires.

    2. A genie can take anywhere around the world, without the hassles of security, passport or cramped seats in airplanes, trains or vehicles. Rukh can melt into shadows and fly through the ethereal plane.

    3. A powerful genie can protect you from the bad guys.

    4. They can appear an instant! Rukh surprised the heroine in the shower, and he can be on your eReader with one click!

    5. I don’t know about other genies, but Rukh tastes like dark chocolate. A sexy djinn is just what you’d want to heat up cold winter nights.

How hot is how?

Here’s an excerpt to give you a taste!

    Oh heaven and hell, stop with the tears. Given the day Sarah had just had, the tears were logical. But watching her face crumple, hearing the gut-deep harsh sobs, filled Rukh with an irrational need to pull her into his arms, wrap her in a hug.

    As soon as the urge had gelled into conscious thought, his essence hardened into visibility and his arms slid up around her shivering, wet body.

    Sarah’s eyes popped open and she staggered back with a yell.

    His arms tightened around her, steadying her, keeping her close. Well, shit. At least, she’d stopped crying.

    Fear-bright green eyes stared at him instead.

    Given he was an assassin, sent to kill her, her response was natural, even intelligent. Yet, bitterness churned in his gut at the thought of her fearing him. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “You’re safe.”

    “Am I hallucinating?” Her question came out as a croak.

    “Yes, yes you are.” That seemed a much better answer than the truth.

    She pinned him with her dark, direct gaze. “You’re just a figment of my imagination. A fantasy?”
    “Yes.” He didn’t dare move.

    “Then why are you still wearing clothes?”

    He made the clothes disappear and stood there as naked as her. Skin against skin, the heat from her body melted into his. Warm water washed over them like rain.

So in the spirit of the season…

Genie bells, genie bells
Genie all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
A Genie all daaaaay! 🙂

The Djinn’s Dilemma Book Blurb:

Rukh O’Shay, half-djinn and assassin, is used to taking out the bad guys. But his latest assignment, Texas Journalist Sarah White, is nothing like he expected. A glimpse of her bright aura reveals her gentle spirit, while her beauty makes him long for only one thing—to taste her.

Sarah shares the raw desire to connect with Rukh. He can turn her on with a glance, and satisfies needs she didn’t even know she had.
But Rukh had been hired to kill her—and the only way to save her is to find out who wants her dead before someone else finishes the job….

Author Bio:

Mina Khan is a Texas-based writer and food enthusiast. She daydreams of hunky paranormal heroes, magic, mayhem and mischief and writes them down as stories. Between stories, she teaches culinary classes and writes for her local newspaper. Other than that, she’s raising a family of two children, two cats, two dogs and a husband.

She grew up in Bangladesh on stories of djinns, ghosts and monsters. These childhood fancies now color her fiction.

You can find Mina at:

http://www.facebook.com/Mina.Khan.Author
http://minakhan.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/SpiceBites