Smith’s Falls Holiday Signing Tomorrow

We will be at The Book’s Better Bookshop in Smith’s Falls along with three other awesome authors (Emily Murray, Kate Cole, and Christine Krause) and we will have all our books on hand for personalized signings.

This will be our last in-person event before the holidays, so drop by and fill your loved ones’ stockings with books!

December Dash

Starting today, and running until the 7th, we are taking part in the December Dash!

What is that, you ask?

Great question!

This is the inaugural event, where indie fantasy authors make book bundles of their signed physical books (and bonus content!) available to you just in time for the holidays! Link to the website with all the authors here.

Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers is the book we’re advertizing with the event. Check out the bundle options below. Please note that if you buy from our store, we will pay the tax, whereas if you buy from another store (Indigo, local bookstore, etc), you may not need to pay shipping. In both options, you will be able to get your hands on the bundle, but if you buy from another store, we will only be gifting the PDF versions.

Of course, you can buy other books from our store as well! We have some pretty great options (and we’ll throw in some bonus stuff for every book bought), including this one:

Note the free 2oz bag of coffee with that one!

We are really excited to participate in this event!

Want to see the full Assassins! bundle? Check it out on our website!

Bought the book elsewhere? Send your proof of purchase (image of the receipt with the book) to jenericdesigns@gmail.com

Thank you for supporting independent authors! We sincerely appreciate it!

Coffee Makes a Great Present

Hello Coffee lovers!

In case you hadn’t thought of it, small batch fresh roasted coffee is a great choice for presents. As is crochet.

Note: a lot of teachers drink coffee. We also have gift cards for those who are virtual.

Christmas Deadline

In Canada or USA, order yours before December 5th to guarantee shipping and before December 15th for local pickup.

Buy a book, get 15% off your order

Use BOOKMAS as a code on checkout for 15% off your entire order if you buy a book.

Coffee Flavours available

Thank you and happy holidays.

Eric

German Christmas Markets

When I think of Germany, several things come to mind: castles, forests, beer (not my thing, but they are definitely known for it!), and CHRISTMAS MARKETS.

If I were to travel to Germany, I would want to go sometime around the end of November to the middle-end of December, because you can see the castles AND check out the world-famous Christmas Markets.

Nuremberg Christmas Market. Image from www.telegraph.co.uk

I checked out two top-ten/eleven Christmas Market lists, and BOTH list Nuremberg’s Market as number one.

Not only does this Market run from the end of November to Christmas Eve, but it’s one of the oldest Markets in Germany, originating sometime in the early 17th Century. They only allow handcrafted goods (something of which I highly approve!) and there is a parade of the Christkind child at the opening ceremony.

It feels like there is a Market for every style and in every city. You could take a cruise along the Rhine and stop in cities along the way to visit lesser known Markets, you could take a train between the big cities and go to the bigger Markets, or you could take a guided tour specifically geared towards seeing multiple Markets.

Here is a list of the dates for all the Christmas Markets in Germany. I was astonished by the number.

I’m getting excited about the Holidays. Are you?


Are you interested in travelling to Germany this Holiday season? You can contact Jennifer Desmarais through Orleans Travel. jennifer.desmarais@orleanstravel.ca

Heart Tea Heart

Hello My Imaginary Friends,

I love coffee (if you’ve read this blog for a little you probably know that) but I also have a soft spot for good tea. I mean loose leaf, flavourful, and bold tea.

That’s exactly what you get with all the different blends from Heart Tea Heart.

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I’m partial to the Knights of Avalon, the English Breakfast, and for reasons that are obvious in the next picture, the Harvest Apple Oolong.

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Heart Tea Heart has a pop-up location for the holidays and is stocking books along with tea. Including mine.

Books and Tea make wonderful presents.

They’re at the Merivale Mall 1642 Merivale Road, Ottawa, Ontario! Go check them out.

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Also go give them a Like on Facebook, and if you’re out of town, check out their website.

Later days,
Éric

Dear Dragon – Your Gramma

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Dear Dragon,

It’s the first of December and that means that Christmas is just around the corner. We’ve been listening to holiday music for the past three weeks and other than “Last Christmas” I’m still loving it.

There are all kinds of reasons I love the holidays, the snow, the presents, sappy movies/tv, spending time with family and friends, but most of all, it’s a time that most people feel more hopeful.

I hope you grow up with the kind of holidays that your Mum and I had. Our parents went out of their way to make it a loving and wonderful time.

As much as I love this time, I’m always a little sad. It reminds me of your Gramma. She loved this time of year, she’d get as excited as a child. I can still picture her with her santa mug of coffee and a mischievous grin.

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It wasn’t an easy season for her. She wanted to give me everything the other kids had but couldn’t afford it. I was still spoiled (especially by your Uncle Dan) but I remember the pain on her face when we received food boxes. It hurt her pride but she knew she needed to accept it.

No matter what happened, she made sure it was a great day filled with laughter and family.

She’s been gone for eight years now and when she died I took custody of an old box. It was packed in 1996 and says not to open until 2016. I remember packing it with some of my favourite toys, although I don’t remember the toys.

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I’m a little conflicted about the box. I want to open it, but I also want to open it with you when you’re old enough to appreciate it… to appreciate her. I’ll decide at the last minute.

She would have loved you sooooooooo much,
Your happy and sad Papa