{"id":148,"date":"2013-12-03T03:00:58","date_gmt":"2013-12-03T03:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/elsawinckler.com\/?p=148"},"modified":"2013-12-02T19:42:31","modified_gmt":"2013-12-02T19:42:31","slug":"coastal-romance-christmas-blog-hop-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elsawinckler.com\/?p=148","title":{"rendered":"Coastal Romance Christmas Blog Hop"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CRBH2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Growing up, the only source of water I knew about was the Orange River which runs through my home town. People talked about The Sea, I saw pictures of it, but nothing could prepare me for my first sight of the clear blue, endless ocean. I was ten years old and lost a little piece of my heart on that day. A piece I found again only many years later.
\nWhen our last kid left home, my husband and I moved to Betty\u2019s Bay, a small coastal village about an hour\u2019s drive from Cape Town. And now I\u2019m fortunate to have the sea on my doorstep, to experience its different moods and to fall asleep every night to the sound of waves crashing in my ears.
\nChristmas for me means spending time with our children. They all lead busy lives but for a week of two we get to see them, touch them, hug them, hear their stories. Johan, our second son, is working in China this year, so his place will be empty around our table. I\u2019m trying not to think about that too much.
\nWe have been blessed with two grandsons and their wide-eyed wonder about everything adds something special to the whole occasion.
\nChristmas also means long, warm, lazy days. Strange for anyone living in the northern hemisphere, I know, but a Summer Christmas is enchanting in its own way. There is no snow, just lots and lots of sunshine and clear blue skies.
\nOn Christmas Day all our relatives who live near enough join us which makes the day all the more special. Everyone brings something for the table and for most of the day we eat. A lot. You get the picture.
\nI\u2019ve published mostly in Afrikaans up till now, and most of the stories I tell happen near the sea. It\u2019s not as if I plan it that way, it just happens. My first English romance, Love, in writing<\/em> (Escape Publishing) has Kommetjie, another quaint seaside village nearby, as its setting.<\/p>\n

Below is an excerpt from it. Enjoy!<\/p>\n

\"Cover,<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018Details, my dear, details,\u2019 Jen called out as soon as Margaret walked through the door of her bookshop.
\n\u2018I don\u2019t know what you\u2019re talking about,\u2019 Margaret said and with her chin held high, tried to squeeze past Jen. Unfamiliar feelings had kept her up most of the night and when she\u2019d finally fallen asleep, erotic images of her and Graham making love woke her up. Now all she wanted to do was to try and occupy her mind with something normal so that these constant thoughts about a strange man could vanish.
\nLaughingly, Jen grabbed her arm. \u2018Oh no, you\u2019re not getting off so easily. The last time I saw you, Graham Connelly had you in his arms and you looked blissfully happy. What happened?\u2019
\nMargaret winced. \u2018He actually carried me out?\u2019
\nJen nodded.
\n\u2018I was sleeping?\u2019
\n\u2018Snoring. You, my friend,\u2019 Jen said and pointed towards Margaret, \u2018were completely and wonderfully sloshed. You did it with style, though, I\u2019ll give you that. No loud singing or dancing on the tables, you just passed out gracefully. A good thing, considering some of the esteemed guests we had.\u2019
\nMargaret opened her mouth, but then closed it again. She stormed down the corridor to her office. She should find a hole where she could hide out for the rest of the day. Jen\u2019s peals of laughter followed her all the way into her office.
\nShe sat down and cradled her head in her hands. Two glasses were her limit. What was she thinking? And to be so out of it that she didn\u2019t even know Graham of all people had carried her. What must he be thinking? A groan escaped her lips.
\nHer fingers touched her mouth. She could still taste him, feel him. Who was this man who had, within the short span of a few days, thrown her completely off balance? And why couldn\u2019t she stop thinking about him? Stop dreaming about him?
\n\u2018Black coffee?\u2019
\nMargaret opened her eyes. Jen stood in the door with a cup of coffee.
\n\u2018Thanks.\u2019<\/p>\n

Thanks for reading this \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Please don’t forget to also visit the other blogs during our Christmas bloghop – see below<\/p>\n

Our Christmas Blog Hop Calendar\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
28 November<\/span><\/div>\n
Annie Seaton<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
29 November<\/span><\/div>\n
Jenny Schwartz<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
30 November<\/span><\/div>\n
E.E.Carte<\/a>r<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
1 December<\/span><\/div>\n
Nicole
\nFlockton<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
2 December<\/span><\/div>\n
Dilys Carnie<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
3 December<\/span><\/div>\n
Elsa Winckler<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
4 December<\/span><\/div>\n
Maureen
\nO Betitia<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
5 December<\/span><\/div>\n
Sherry Gloag<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
6 December<\/span><\/div>\n
Chris Stovell<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
7 December<\/span><\/div>\n
J\u2019AimeeBrooker<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
8 December<\/span><\/div>\n
Susanne Bellamy<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
9 December<\/span><\/div>\n
Barbara Cool Lee<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
10 December<\/span><\/div>\n
Tea Cooper<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
11 December<\/span><\/div>\n
Juliet Madison<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
12 December<\/span><\/div>\n
Linda Mitchelmore<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
13 December<\/span><\/div>\n
Julie McCullogh<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
14 December<\/span><\/div>\n
Eva Scott<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
15 December<\/span><\/div>\n
Maureen Fisher<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
16 December<\/span><\/div>\n
Rachael Johns<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
17 December<\/span><\/div>\n
Susanne O\u2019Leary<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
18 December<\/span><\/div>\n
Jean Joachim<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
19 December<\/span><\/div>\n
Demelza Carlton\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
20 December<\/span><\/div>\n
Lily Malone<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
21 December<\/span><\/div>\n
Marisa Cleveland<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
22 December<\/span><\/div>\n
Monique McDonnell<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
23 December<\/span><\/div>\n
Lauren McKellar<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
24 December<\/span><\/div>\n
Annie Seaton\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
Prize Draw<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Growing up, the only source of water I knew about was the Orange River which runs through my home town. People talked about The Sea, I saw pictures of it, but nothing could prepare me for my first sight of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elsawinckler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elsawinckler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elsawinckler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsawinckler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsawinckler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=148"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/elsawinckler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":157,"href":"https:\/\/elsawinckler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148\/revisions\/157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elsawinckler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsawinckler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsawinckler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}