CHRISTMAS EXTRAVAGANZA: Frances Housden
Mistletoe Madness with Frances Housden
What are your plans for Christmas 2014?
Christmas at our house is all about family, my husband is one of six and we always try to get together on Christmas day. Last year it was held at my house this year my SIL is hosting it, which means a trip to Gisborne so holiday and Christmas combined.
Tell us about a usual Christmas in your home?
There is always a crowd and lots of noise. First we have breakfast, always thick toasted ham sandwiches and once that’s finished and we’re armed with champagne the grandchildren hand out the presents, an express service since their own presents are set-aside until last. That done the men go out on the deck and the ladies prepare all the side dishes, the turkey will have been in the oven since before breakfast.
Any gift in particular that you’d love to see wrapped under the tree?
I have to admit I’m easy, buy me a book. There are so many of my favourite authors out there and Christmas is a season when I don’t mind taking time off to read from cover to cover.
What is a typical Christmas lunch and/or dinner at your house?
Although I’m Scottish and New Year celebrations were always more important than Christmas, my MIL was English so we’ve always gone with her family traditions even if the weather is hot. The table will be laden with everything from turkey to bread sauce, though I have to admit the latter is one I hate making, and even though we are all groaning from too much food we always make room for Christmas pudding or trifle.
Tell us, what is the one dish that gets served every single year? Is there a story behind this?
Chipolatas – the kids love them all crisp and brown from the oven. When I was first married my MIL showed me how to take a long chipolata and turn it into four miniatures, and two years ago I showed my granddaughter how to do it and now she helps with that each year. Its just a little thing but nice to pass on, and maybe one day she’ll show her daughter the trick.
What will you be reading this Christmas?
Though I love receiving books as presents I’ve already bought and put aside Nalini Singh’s latest book, Archangel’s Shadows. Angels and Christmas I can’t go wrong.
What have been your big achievements in 2014?
That’s easy. It was having my first Scottish book, THE CHIEFTAIN’S CURSE nominated for a RITA. It also went onto win RWNZ’s KORU award and when CHIEFTAIN BY COMMAND was released the first Chieftain book shot back up to the top 50 on Amazon US. I’m happy.
What are your plans/goals for 2015?
Before New Year I plan to finish Chieftain’s Rebel, which will be the last in that section of my Chieftain series and hopefully see 3 books released in 2015 when I plan on writing another trilogy plus novella moving down the generations, I’m naming this my Wicked Trilogy and it’s the stories of the grandchildren from my first series and they are titled, ‘Witch of Wolfsdale’, ‘Wicked is as Wicked Does’, and ‘Willing or Not’, so as you can see I have a big year ahead of me. I’m really looking forward to 2015.
The Chieftain’s Fued
Frances Housden
From the internationally bestselling, award-winning Chieftain series comes a Romeo and Juliet style Christmas novella with a Scottish twist. A bad boy highlander is about to meet his match…
He may be young, but Jamie Ruthven has earned a name as a skirt-lifter and seducer, though to his credit he never touches an innocent. Then Evangeline Buchan comes to the Scottish court with her gentle heart and beautiful eyes, and sets his world askew.
The feud between the Ruthvens and Buchans started long before Jamie’s birth — though neither he nor Evangeline know the reasons.
Can their love reveal the secrets and heal the pain of the past, or will the feud prove too strong for even true love?
Keen to keep the Christmas fun going?
Come over and try your luck at cracking an AusRomToday cracker. There’s books, book packs, Amazon gift cards, and heaps of other fun Christmassy prizes to win!
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