Guest blogger Karin Tabke gets us in the holiday mood!! (And gives you a chance to win!) Back to Blog
Hi, everyone! Today we’ve got the wonderfully talented Karin Tabke guest blogging with us! (Karin, thanks so much for coming by!) I love Karin’s books–and if you haven’t read her, well, then she’s got the perfect holiday release out and you should definitely put it on your list! 🙂 Welcome, Karin!
Thank you, Cynthia, for having me as your guest today! I like it here. 🙂
So, I was over at Magical Musings earlier this week talking about the art of writing and actually mailing Christmas cards. I’m one of those people who always have the best of intentions, and then, well? Kerplunk, I drop the ball and promise myself next year it will be different.
So this year I have publicly pledged to not only write Christmas cards to everyone but to actually put a stamp on them and put them in the mail box! I’m really looking forward to sitting down and doing it.
Now, this isn’t something I will just sit down and do. No no no. I need mood. A rainy day, with a fire burning cheerfully in the fireplace, a hot cup of coffee, a kitty curled up in my lap, and most importantly, Christmas songs playing in the background. My husband already has his Christmas CD blaring in his car. I can hear Bing or Frank or my favorite, Dino, crooning about Frosty the Snowman every night as he rounds the corner home.
This morning I woke up to Doris Day and Dino singing about how cold it was outside. Usually I humbug this early inundation of merriment. I’m known in these parts as the Grinch. But as I dug out my too numerous to count boxes of Christmas cards the other day, I found myself humming a Christmas song. Today I can’t get Doris and Dino out of my head, and instead of fighting it, I have embraced it. Singing I have always known is good for the soul. Of course it’s not good for anyone’s soul around here when I start to sing out loud. I can’t carry a tune to save my soul, much less spread holiday cheer with it, but I decided I don’t care. I have my favorites, most of them are centered around the birth of Christ, and I like to sing, so I’m gonna sing until the new year, and maybe after!
My all time favorite Christmas song is The Little Drummer Boy, the Bob Seger version. I love Hark the Herald Angels. I think it’s the excitement of the song. I love Silent Night and Away in the Manger. But I love Rudolf, and Jingle Bells and the Doris Day and Dino song has grown on me. I love the upbeat fun songs, like Deck the Halls and It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. As I type this, the energy of the holidays is swirling around me, and though this year the budget is tighter, and not as many presents will clutter my living room floor, I am more than content to smile, listen to a Christmas carol and know that I am surrounded by what is most important to me: my family and friends. Life is good, and much too precious I have learned to scoff and say humbug whenever my husband blasts his Christmas CD and sings at the top of his lungs.
It’s also a lesson Kimberly Michaels my heroine in HAVE YOURSELF A NAUGHTY LITTLE SANTA, learned. I wasn’t sure about her when I began writing the story earlier this year, but she has done me proud and I learned a thing or two from her.
To think, it took a fictional character to get this old Grinch into the holiday spirit!
So, what is your favorite Christmas song? And do you read holiday romances? If you do, I know of this sexy little Santa story you might want to read. I personally think every girl should have her own NAUGHTY LITTLE SANTA tucked nice and snug in her stocking.
Chime in with your fave Christmas carol, and at the end of the day I’ll pick a lucky commenter and give away a copy of my backlist.
And Happy Holidays!
Karin Tabke
HAVE YOURSELF A NAUGHTY LITTLE SANTA, Pocket Star, Out Now!
MASTER OF TORMENT, Pocket Star, Nov, ’08
www.karintabke.com
(Quick note from Cynthia: The comments from my blog on MySpace will be combined with those here on my Romance blog so that we can pick one overall winner. Thanks!)
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Hi, Karin! Thanks again for stopping by. 🙂 I think your book sounds wonderful! Definitely what I need to kick-start my holiday mood. LOL.
My favorite carol? Santa Claus is Coming to Town!
“Santa Baby” is always good, but one of the most beautiful is “Silent Night.”
We need more great Christmas songs. I think it’s time for a new one. 🙂
What a great post. I LOVE Christmas and I’m so looking forward to the decorations and songs! My favorite Christmas carol is Sleigh Ride with Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree as a close second. I haven’t read a Christmas-themed romance yet, but now’s a good time to start! 😉
Love that cover! I think I need to give that one to a few of my friends…
Hmmm, favorite song? Classic: Jingle Bells.
I love Christmas stories(Holiday romances)and now is the time to start reading them.
My fav song is ‘O Holy Night’. I love it.
Mornin’ , ladies. Thx again for having me, Cynthia!! And I love Santa Claus is Coming to Town! Especially the Bruce Springsteen version. 🙂
Santa Baby is another good one, Edie. I love the Eartha Kitt rendition the best.
Hi, Ashley, I’m really looking forward to the holidays too! Sleigh Ride is another great song.
Marcie, Jingle Bells is the one song that a bunch of people can sing together and actually sound halfway decent. Even if they’ve had too much egg nog. 😉
O Holy Night is a beautiful song, Robyn. I’m humming it right now, but I hardly know the words!
As a holiday romance reader, I hope you give HAVE YOURSELF A NAUGHTY LITTLE SANTA a read. It’s been getting fabulous reviews. I really enjoyed writing the story.
My favorite Christmas song is Holly Jolly Christmas by Burl Ives. I enjoy reading holiday romances. A good holiday romance adds to the holiday cheer.
What Child Is This? is my fav Christmas carol. Mainly because Greensleeves (the tune it’s sung to) has such a haunting melody.
Crystal I can see and hear the Burl Ives snowman in my mind’s eye. That was in Frosty the Snowman or Rudolf?
Stacie. What Child is This? is another wonderful song. And I never realized it was sung to the Greensleeves tune. No wonder I love it!
Favorite Christmas carol is The Little Drummer Boy…but my favorite Christmas song is Bruce Springsteen’s version of Santa Claus is Coming to Down (with the Big Man playing horn in the background….love it!)
My favorite Christmas song is O Come Emmanuel. And then there’s Carol of the Bells. *g* I think I need to look up the words to Jingle Bells Batman Smells to refresh my Son’t memory. *G* (He’s six.) You’re certainly putting me in the Holiday spirit! *G*
Favorites are Ave Maria and The Little Drummer Boy.
Hey Karin, thanks for visiting. Your book looks & sounds awesome.
My favorite Christmas son is “O Holy Night” especially when Martina McBride or Faith Hill sings it.
Hi Karin,
Congrats on the new release. My favorite is Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Song.” I love holiday romances.
Valerie, great minds! Two of my faves!
Brandy, too funny, Jingle Bells Batman Smells. I have four kids, I remember it fondly.
Cathy, Ave Maria is beautiful. I love hearing it sung in church.
Hi, Greta, I’m happy to be here! I love just about any Christmas sung by a country artist.
Jane, my husband is a huge fan of Nat King Cole’s The Christmas song. I am too.
My favorite carol is Silver Bells and I love holiday stories.
My favorite Christmas carol would be Silent Night. My other favorite Christmas songs are all instumental, like Sleigh Ride, as a holdover from years of playing the violin in orchestra. It never fails to put me in the holiday mood!
My favorite Christmas carol has to be the Andy William’s version of “Do You Hear What I Hear”, but I love them all…even Boney M’s “Mary’s Boy Child” remember that one? I started “Have Yourself a Naughty Little Santa” yesterday and I’m loving it, Ricco is very, very hot!
Estella is Silver Bells the one Bing made famous?
Lisa, Silent Night is so poignant. Love it.
Cheryl great pick. No one sings it like Andy does. And so glad you’re enjoying NAUGHTY SANTA! I received an email last week from a reader and she said, “OMG! Ricco is off the hook hawt!”
He’s one of my faves. 😉
My fave Christmas song is Jingle Bell Rock. Naughty Santa sounds great! I love holiday romances.
I’ll be home for Christmas by the Eagles.
Oh a naughty sexy Christmas read!! So love these holiday books and a sizzling one is perfect. Got to say that I love this cover!
I do love holiday Lyrics and I do have some favorites I remember hearing as a child. My favorite is HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS… (now I’m never going to get this song out of my head once I started!)
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
From now on your troubles will be out of sight
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Make the Yuletide gay
From now on your troubles will be miles away
Here we are as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore, ah
Faithful friends who are dear to us
They gather near to us once more…
Hi, everyone! Thanks for commenting and sharing your Christmas songs! (Brandy, guess what I’ve been singing since yesterday…)
I wrote down all the names of the commenters and pulled a name out of a hat. The winner is…Jane! Congrats, Jane! I’ll email you with prize info.
Thanks, again!
Amy, Jingle Bell Rock is one of those that get you out of your chair. Good pick! And if you love holiday romances, you’ll luuuuuuuv NAUGHTY SANTA! 🙂
Pam, the Eagles could sing anything and I’d love it! But they do do a great rendition.
Hey, Caffey, how are you? I love the NAUGHTY cover too, and because of you, I will not get Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas out of my head all day! Except I’ll be substituting Merry with NAUGHTY and Christmas with SANTA!
Merry Christmas!
Cynthia thanks you so much for having me, and to everyone who stopped by, you really got me in the spirit!
Congrats, Jane!!!
Thank you Karin and Cynthia.
It’s infectious to sing, is it not? *G*
I love the Christmas holiday season and enjoy reading books with Christmas themes, Karin.
So many favorite carols, picking one I’d to say The Little Drummer Boy. Growing up, we had fun going around the neighborhood knocking on doors and singing carols, don’t see that much anymore around my town.
LOL, I can’t get these songs out of my head either, LOL