Ho-Ho-Ho Under the Mistletoe—Spirit's Bright Star #MistletoeHop

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Welcome to the Mistletoe Hop, an excellent sampling of authors sharing short excerpts from their work.

Readers: Please enjoy the steamy snippets and consider picking up the full book by clicking on the buy link. Enter by leaving a comment for a chance to receive a free copy.

Bloggers: Please check out the excellent previews and spread the word.

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My favorite family tradition started about ten years ago. I got the wild hair idea to have a themed holiday tree. I had my oldest kiddo pick the theme and we came up with ideas for how to make ornaments and use things around the house to decorate. To date we've had Under the Sea, Buried Treasure, Nature's Bounty, Candy Land, Snowflakes and Cupcakes, Techno Tree, Imaginext, Noah's Ark, Seahawks Rule—much to the chagrin of my Browns loving husband, and Bells are Ringing.

This year my daughter got to choose and she wanted to do something a little vintage. We've decorated a white tree with old fashioned looking ornaments in jewel tones. She hasn't really named it yet, but I've been calling it our Vintage Jewel tree. It's really quite lovely.

After getting the tree decorated, my favorite 'me' tradition is to turn on some seasonal music, get a glass of wine or cup of tea, and decompress by reading a holiday romance. It's a nice little respite from the crazy schedules, piles of presents, and butt-loads of wrapping paper waiting in the wings.

After getting the tree decorated, my favorite 'me' tradition is to turn on some seasonal music, get a glass of wine or cup of tea, and decompress by reading a holiday romance. It's a nice little respite from the crazy schedules, piles of presents, and butt-loads of wrapping paper waiting in the wings.

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Traditions are wonderful things. But what happens when you can't follow an established one? Or you don't have any in the first place? When writing as ML Skye, I tend to focus on science fiction or speculative romance, imagining a future where couples have the same issues of contemporary times, but find love in a different galaxy or another planet. They also celebrate the season, albeit in a slightly different way.

My holiday release, Season's Bright Star, features a couple who have to go undercover to bring in a wanted criminal and their alter egos are the design team for the huge holiday display on a space station. Courtney and Gib have very different upbringings and some of their traditions helped shape who they are. In Courtney's case, letting go of the not so wonderful customs could free her to pursue a terrific new path with Gib.

I had so much fun writing the book and I'm giving a digital copy away for this blog hop. Please leave a comment for your entry and share your favorite part of the holiday season. (Maybe it involves books!)

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Book Tagline: On Space Station Gamma, Courtney and Gib discover love while working undercover during the holiday season.

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Courtney Caine paced back and forth in the small interview room of Outpost Five, Space Station Gamma's security hub. The ass chewing she'd just received still burned and the man who caused it offered zero help. And the new assignment to fix their screw up sucked balls.

She stopped and whirled around. "Dammit, Gib, how the hell can we pull this whole 'get the station ready for every damned holiday ever' thing McCall wants?" Warren, the head of security, had to be out of his mind.

No, more like pissed off and looking to make two of his undercover agents pay the price.

Her fellow ass-chewee, Gib Gallagher, tilted his handsome head to one side and pondered her question. Courtney wished the guy didn't look good enough to eat. Tall, built, and rough around the edges, the exact type she tended to go for. And a prime candidate for the security forces, which put him out of her reach. She avoided workplace relationships like the Tanthiac plague—who needed the awkward vibes after it inevitably ended?

Gib snapped his fingers. "I've got it. We could arrive under the guise of a brilliant omnisexual designer with his overworked and harried assistant in tow."

She frowned. "You couldn't pass for an omnisexual. No way."

Gib scoffed. "I'll have you know if a hot dude or smokin' alien asked me for sex, I'd totally consider it."

And if she asked? Yeah, he'd absolutely entertain the idea. Alas, she would never broach the topic.

Couldn't. Even if she wanted to.

Courtney rolled her eyes. "Really? What kind of guy would you be attracted to?"

He answered. "Someone buff, tough, and rough. Oh… and tall. Maybe with dark hair." He waggled his eyebrows.

She snorted. "You moron, you just described yourself. That's not omnisexual. Hell, I don't think there's a name for wanting to screw yourself." She shook her head. "I don't even want to know what kind of alien you'd be into. Probably a thick-skinned, scaly Scathian,"

He wrinkled his nose. "No way. Their scales would chafe too badly and the slime green coloring kinda skeeves me out. Now the blue-toned Caprisians are another story—wait… you think I’m buff?" He waited a beat. "Of course you do. That's how we landed in this mess in the first place."

Damn. The. Man. She would not take full responsibility.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Uh uh. You're not laying the blame on me. How do you figure it's my fault?"

He smirked. "You shouldn't have been checking out my ass. We wouldn't have lost Beno if you were focused on the job." His brow arched, daring her to counter.

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Book Blurb: Courtney Caine and Gib Gallagher incur the head of security's wrath. The top man for Space Station Gamma punishes his two best shadow operatives by putting them in charge of all the decorations for the upcoming holiday season, and they have to pull off creating the glitz and glamor without blowing their covers.

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