Loving Christmas ~ #LynnCrain #amwriting #TimeTravel

Hi everyone!

Hope your holidays are all you ever want. I have spent my life in quite a few different places for Christmas but the best I have ever seen is in Europe. And that’s why I wrote a story set around the holidays in Austria.

When I first went there, I didn’t know what to expect but the country grew on me. I find that I’m missing it even more this year than I thought. We had special little places to go, guhlwien to drink and friends to visit.

Not that we don’t have those things here…we do…but there it was magical. And to share some of that magic with you, I want to share a part from my story, Her Magical Vienna Christmas. It is in the Holiday Magic anthology and it’s available at all major ebook venues. Don’t forget to get your copy today! Here’s the setup:

Cryptographer Elizabeth “Lizzie” Camden is more in tune with numbers, cyphers and puzzles than she is with the real world. When her job takes her back in time to 1874 Vienna, she’s more than surprised to find Michael Sondervan there as well. She hadn’t seen him since college when he broke her heart.

Michael has always regretted the way things turned out between him and Lizzie. When he needs someone to figure out the cryptic warning, he knows he needs the best. And Lizzie is the best. Giving her a magical Vienna Christmas in the bargain, he hopes will bring them together and prove his love to the only woman for him.

I loved writing about Lizzie and Michael as the rediscover their love for each other, for history and the life they plan to have. Vienna is a wonderful place to write about and I love revisiting it again and again. Here’s an excerpt from this wonderful story:

Even with the snow falling, the Graben was a hub-bub of activity. Although the shops didn’t look that different on the outside from what existed in her reality, she knew they would be totally devastated in World War II. It wasn’t until much later, in the 1950s, that they would finally be allowed to stand on their own when the last Russian left the city. So much history and she was privileged enough to see it.

Lizzie gripped Michael’s arm when she saw police beating starving people and even children. Some of them appeared so pathetic as she looked at their rag-tag appearances. Their clothes were hardly warm enough for a cold winter. She tugged fiercely toward one of them but Michael held her in place.

“Look at me,” he whispered in her ear. When she turned, he kissed her again. “Remember this is how people were, not how people are in our time. We have come a long way.”

She nodded and kept her eyes on the ground in front of her. Finally, they turned off the main thoroughfare and down the side street of Jungferngasse, then again down a little path. Hidden away from the street was a small bookstore.

“This appears to be the place. Shall we go in, darling?”

She smiled as he pulled the door open for her. Inside there were many bookshelves and even books stacked on the floor. Lizzie managed to push herself in, though the fit was tight right at the door. Picking up a tome or two, she was surprised to see originals of some titles. Even then certain books in mathematics or physics were treasures. Gently replacing one of the books, she waved her hand in front of her face as the dust rose. It looked as if some of these hadn’t been dusted in weeks.

Proceeding to where she suspected the proprietor might be, she continued to gaze around to see if anything else caught her eye. Maybe his having a page from an Enigma machine code book was just a fluke regardless of what Derrick had told them. Turning around, her astonishment grew as she didn’t see anyone minding the store. Turning to Michael, she heard a thump behind her, much like a fist connecting to flesh. The feverish whispers in German made her lift her finger to her lips and point in the direction of a door.

This anthology is available now and along with my great story, you’ll be getting four other wonderful Christmas heart warmers.

I’d love to wish you all a happy holiday season. Please join me next month!

Lynn