Spirits Bright Christmas Giveaway!

Hi all! To celebrate the release of Spirits Bright and the most wonderful time of the year, I'm holding a giveaway on my website. Grand prize is a signed copy of all my books, a $10 Amazon gift card, and homemade Christmas candy. Mmmmm.

Come check it out!

Here's a little excerpt from "Spirits Bright," the title story:

 Right in the middle of her best-ever game of X-treme Tic-Tac Cubed, GlobalVillage vanished. “What?” Jacey almost dropped her controller in surprise. No Input marched in multi-colored letters across the faintly glowing holo-wall.
That wasn’t possible. She hit every button on the controller half a dozen times with no effect. GlobalVillage was gone. She pressed her hand to her chest in an attempt to quell the panic rising there. She could handle this. Right?
She glanced at the half-eaten nutribar. She had no other food in the house. Trembling, she ran a hand through her tangled hair. It was Christmas for crying out loud! What was she supposed to do now?

Get Spirits Bright for Free!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today and tomorrow, download my new Christmas collection, Spirits Bright free for your Kindle. A little early Christmas gift for all of you.

A different kind of Christmas on a faraway planet. A starship lost on the wrong side of the galaxy. A woman disconnected from everyone she knows. Combining family, traditions, and faith with the wonder and excitement of science fiction, this collection is sure to delight and inspire you this holiday season.

Hope you all have an amazing holiday.

It's that time of year again!

Oh, that time of year with presents to buy and wrap and mail and deliver. Cards to address. Lists to make. Halls to deck. Goodies to bake. Concerts to attend. Concerts to rehearse for. Etc, etc, etc.

Personally, I love it! It doesn't leave much time for writing, though. At least not for me. Still, I wouldn't trade the Christmas season for any amount of writing time.

So, Merry Christmas, my friends. Happy Holidays. Take the time to really enjoy yourself and focus on the ones you love.

And if you can keep your writing juices flowing too, all the better!


By the way, if you want to read some great Christmas stories, my sci-fi Christmas novelette, Joy Ride, is only 0.99 for Kindle.

Or you could pick up the Carol of the Tales anthology (with one of my stories) and help out a great cause too. All proceeds from the book will be donated to Autism Speaks.

Announcing Carol of the Tales and Other Nightly Noels!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I am so pleased to be a part of the Carol of the Tales Christmas Anthology. My story "Sweet Singing in the Choir" is inside. This anthology is full of great stories for a great cause. All the proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated toward Autism research and advocacy.

Christmas carols capture the spirit of Christmas, and Carol of the Tales and Other Nightly Noels brings beloved carols to life like never before. Throw your cares away with the tales from sweet silver bells. Find out how Santa Claus dabbles in time travel, and feel the redemption of a dying wife's parting Christmas gift. Experience all this and more in these heartfelt, entertaining tales donated by a team of authors from across the country, working together for a good cause. 

Anthology authors include: Shirley Bahlmann, C. David Belt, Rebecca Carlson, Loretta Carter, Madonna D. Christensen, Danyelle Ferguson, C. Michelle Jefferies, Theric Jepson, Ryan Larsen, Angie Lofthouse, Betsy Love, J. Lloyd Morgan, Janet Olsen, Teresa G. Osgood, Brian Ricks, Jennifer Ricks, Peg Russell, and Michael Young.

Carol of the Tales is the 2nd book in the Advent Anthology series. Both anthologies are available in paperback and Amazon Kindle formats from Amazon.com. 

Purchase “Sing We Now of Christmas”: http://amzn.com/1479266248

Purchase: “Carol of the Tales”:  http://amzn.com/1484145526

To kick off the release of the second anthology, a Christmas concert will be held at American Fork Junior High on December 7^th, 2013. The concert will feature the Saltaires Barbershop Chorus. All proceeds from this concert will be donated to charity as well. Purchase: Tickets for the Concert: https://tickettool.net/en/index/eventpopup/b54dab4bd0a13fa6975068f4784dfaa5

Blog Tour Giveaway!

Use the rafflecopter below to enter to win wonderful prizes, such as tickets to the concert and copies of the anthology. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Other Blogs on the Tour:

Www.notesfromthewritingchair.blogspot.com

Www.causeisaidso.me

www.queenoftheclan.com

www.JohnWaverly.com

http://iamareader.com

http//:lisaswinton.blogspot.com

moniquebucheger.blogspot.com

http://mariahoagland.blogspot.com/

http://www.annadelc.com/blog

http://jlloydmorgan.blogspot.com/

www.franklycreative.blogspot.com

http://www.writermike.com

http://fringies.blogspot.com

http://www.saythiswrite.blogspot.com

http://debbie-peterson.blogspot.com/

http://thmazing.blogspot.com

www.renaeswritespot.blogspot.com

http://shelliproffitthowells.com/amusings/

http://www.annadelc.com/blog

www.meritaking.com

blessedinweakness.com

lynndparsons.blogspot.com

http://lisaswinton.blogspot.com

http://stephaniereadthat.blogspot.com/

www.renaeswritespot.blogspot.com

In Print!

E-books are marvelous, but there's nothing like having a print copy of your own book to hold in your hands.

All my books in print!

Last year at this time, only Stolen Christmas was in print! Wow. What a great year.

And guess what? There will be more coming next year! Woohhoo!

I spent some time remodeling my website yesterday. Stop by and let me know what you think.

So, what were you're biggest achievements this year?

More Great Books for Christmas!

Looking for books for Christmas? See my last post for a few good suggestions. Here are some more.

For the space pirate lover on you list, check out T.M. Hunter's Aston West novels and short stories. These are action-packed and fun!

And speaking of action packed and fun, you might also give D.J. Butler's books a look. If you or someone you want to buy books for loves adventures, steampunk, or demon butt-kicking fantasy, you should give these a try! (Right now, City of the Saints is only available in e-book form, but a paperback version is coming soon.)

*Please note, that both of these authors books would get a PG-13 rating! Not for young kids.

 What are your latest book recommendations? 

('Cause I'm looking for books for Christmas too!)

Book News!

All kinds of great book news from me and my awesome author friends! Books make great Christmas presents, right?

Today (Monday) is a book bomb for my good friend Danyelle Leafty's latest book: Bitten. This book is a delight. So well written. If you love fairy tales, if you're a fan of Fablehaven or Robin McKinley's books, I strongly recommend you give Bitten a try! It's only $2.99 for your Kindle or Nook!

Terry W. Ervin II is offering signed copies of his two novels and a short story collection. These novels are terrific. So exciting and fun. The short story collection is great too. (You might even see a quote from me on the cover!)

I just released a Christmas novelette, Joy Ride, as an e-book and it will be in print soon!

Cargo pilot Greg Scanlon intends to spend Christmas Eve alone as usual, but when his boss's daughters want a quick shopping trip off-planet, how can he refuse? The quick trip turns into a disaster when interstellar traffic is suddenly cut off, stranding Greg and the girls in a traffic jam of galactic proportions. But the shopping trip gone wrong will lead Greg to the one place he never expected to spend his Christmas. Home.

My three novellas Consecrated, Refuge, and Renegade are now available in print! You can order them on Create Space or they will be up on Amazon in a few days! (Think stocking stuffers here.)


What books are you looking forward to this Christmas? Any you'd recommend for gifts?

Thanksgiving Giveaway Winners!

Thanks so much to everyone who entered the Thanksgiving giveaway. Think of all the good we did in the world! Way to go.

The winner of the drawing is:

Rochelle Rudd!  

Rochelle wins Checkin' It Twice, Stolen Christmas, and Sing We Now of Chirstmas!

Congratulations. =D

And as a special thanks from me, everyone who commented on the giveaway post gets a free e-copy of my Christmas novelette Joy Ride! (Just as soon as it's available, which should be shortly. Before Christmas anyway.)

Once again, thank you! I hope you all had a marvelous Thanksgiving.

Now on to Christmas!

This could change everything!

As I have mentioned before, I desperately want to shorten the time it takes me to write a novel. I am hoping to start in November and write a novel in 100 days. Isn't it interesting how the universe seems to put things in your path just when you need them most? Yesterday, I read a blog post (actually two) from Melanie Bennett about how she significantly increased her word count without spending more time writing. She referred me to a post by Rachel Aaron about how she went from 2K to 10K per day. (Per day! And here I'm aiming for 1K per day. Baby steps, right?) Her triangle is so simple and yet amazing. Knowledge, time, and enthusiasm.

I found both posts hugely inspirational. I think this could really change my life. I am so excited to try. Go read them and tell me what you think!

Now for a couple of announcements.

Photo by Julien Tromuer

Five more days to enter the short story contest! The entries are starting to flow in and I am so excited to read them. If you're thinking about submitting, please do. Any genre, under 7500 words. Go for it! Deadline is October 31.








 My short Christmas story, "Broken Things" comes out in the anthology Checkin' It Twice on November 15! Yay! I've been interviewed over on the Checkin' It Twice blog. Come read about my love affair with all things Christmas.

Have a great weekend!

Our Christmas Books

We always get books for Christmas. Each person gets one (or maybe two), but we all read all the books eventually. (For me, it can take a long time to get to all of them. I don't read as fast or as much as I used to.)

Anyway, I thought I'd share the books we got this Christmas, in case your looking for some good reading.

I got Blood Sword by Terry W. Ervin II and Become by Ali Cross.

My husband got Psion Gamma by Jacob Gowen and The Death Cure by James Dashner.

Son #1 (age 18)  got The Missionary Reference Library. (He'll be going on a mission for the LDS church soon, so he needs those.)

Son #2 (age 16) got Variant by Robison Wells.

Son #3 (age 13) got Inheritance by Christopher Paolini. (I admit, I probably won't read that one.)

Son #4 (age 11) got Guardians of the Hidden Scepter by Frank L. Cole

Daughter (age 7) got Silverlicious by Victoria Kann

Son #5 (age 4) got Pirates Don't Change Diapers by Melinda Long, Illustrated by David Shannon.

We also got Teachings of President Thomas S. Monson and a Christmas storybook, The Little Christmas Tree, from family.

I can't wait to read these!

How about you? Did you get any good books for Christmas?

My Gift to You

May you all be blessed with peace and joy this Christmas Day and always. Here is a gift from me to you. A short Christmas story I wrote. Hope you enjoy!

 The Wandering Star

When our Father in Heaven named the stars and set them in their places, he took little Astrael in his arms and said, "I have a special spot for you."
Astrael twinkled with excitement. What special place did the Father have in mind for him? Surely it must be somewhere very important and grand. Astrael puffed out his chest and shined his brightest and hurried off to his assigned spot in the heavens.
But when Astrael looked down, he found he was shining on a drab little spot of earth. A tiny nothing of a place where no one of consequence had ever set foot. He dimmed a little in annoyance. This wasn't such a special spot. Heavenly Father must have made some mistake.
Astrael ought to have kings and queens looking up at him in wonder and delight. He ought to be inspiring poets and painters and dazzling the eyes of star struck lovebirds. The more he looked down on his boring, unimportant patch of earth, the angrier he grew, until finally Astrael had had enough. He left the spot that God had chosen for him and set off across the wide universe to find his own place. Someplace that a star such as himself deserved.
But Astrael soon learned that the universe can be a cold and unforgiving place. He passed through nebulas so thick he couldn't light his own way and skirted the edges of supernovas that left him singed around the edges. Once he was nearly eaten by a hungry black hole. Through all of his wanderings, he could not find a place to shine. Bigger stars shoved him out the way. Brighter stars turned up their noses. Nowhere was there a truly special spot to shine over.
At last, cold and lonely, bruised and tattered, with his light all but spent, Astrael huddled in a dark corner of the universe and wept.
"Astrael? Astrael?"
The lonely little star lifted his head.
"Come back to me, my dear Astrael." Heavenly Father's voice drifted across the vastness of space. Astrael looked at his faded and broken self in shame. Would God be very angry with him? Slowly, he made his way back to God's throne with his head bent low, almost too dim to see.
Heavenly Father took the little star into his arms once more. "Poor little Astrael. You do look a bit worse for the wear, don't you?"
Astrael could only nod.
"Are you ready to shine in the place where I put you?"
"Yes, Father," Astrael whispered. "But there's not much left of me to shine."
"Don't worry, dear one. I will give you light enough when you need it."
So Astrael settled again in his own spot. It didn't look any more important than it had before, but Astrael was finished wandering. This was his place, the one that God had chosen just for him and he would be content with it.
But what was this? Something was happening down there. Astrael bent closer and watched a man lead his pregnant wife into a tiny stable.
"It is time," Father in Heaven whispered.
Astrael drew in his breath as the source of all light flowed into him, replacing what he'd lost when he wandered. Beside him, the Heavenly Choir burst forth in praise, and at last Astrael understood the purpose that God had intended for him all along.
His heart overflowed with joy, and little Astrael bloomed into brilliant radiance.

Copyright 2010 Angie Lofthouse

All rights reserved

Giveaway Winner!

Thanks so much to all of you who entered and helped promote my giveaway of Danyelle's Leafty's books (not to mention the Butterfinger Jingles). The lucky, lucky winner (you are going to love these!) is:

Melissa J. Cunningham!!!!

Congrats, Melissa. Catspell, Firespell, and Applespell will soon be coming your way.

Into the Holiday Spirit

Nativity scene on the reflecting pond at Temple Square

Hi! Just checking in. I've been working hard getting ready for Christmas and enjoying some of our favorite traditions. Last Saturday, we went to see the lights at Temple Square in Salt Lake City. They're so beautiful! By random chance, we walked into the Assembly Hall just in time to hear our very own high school choir perform. It was awesome.

Also saw this bagpipe-playin' Santa:

Haven't done much writing, but that was a conscious choice on my part. Now that my shopping is mostly done, I hope to do a little more writing this week. We'll see how that goes. Writing will become a top priority again after Christmas.

Hope you are having a wonderful holiday season also!

* Don't forget, you have until Friday to enter my Fairy Godmother Dilemma Giveaway. Three e-books, plus a bag of candy! *

Giveaway Time!

I promised you a Christmas giveaway, and here it is! Books make great gifts, don't you think? Today I want to recommend some that I think would make a fantastic gift for a fairy tale lover (or anyone who likes to read).

My sweet friend (and fantastic writer), Danyelle Leafty, is down and out with kidney stones! Yikes. I cannot even imagine how painful that must be. I want to support her and give her a boost by letting you know about the eBooks she has available. She did a guest post here a few months ago about fairy tales as part of her blog tour for her fairy tale series, The Fairy Godmother Dilemma.

The first three books in the series, Catspell, Firespell, and Applespell are now available for Kindle and Nook! These are charming, fun, delightful books. I love fairy tales and Danyelle can spin a fairy tale like no one else. Her writing style is beautiful and her characters are real and engaging people.

So I'm giving away a copy of each of the the three books! Plus, (as if that weren't good enough by itself), I'll also through in a bag of my all time favorite Christmas candy, Butterfinger Jingles. Mmmmm. Books and chocolate. You can't beat that!

Here are the rules: (And forgive me if I have a few more than usual this time.)




1. Leave a comment on this post recommending a book that would make a great Christmas gift.
2. Go here and like Danyelle's author page.*
3. Go here and like my author page (or just use the gadget at right).*
4. Promote this contest somewhere (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) 

*If you don't use Facebook, you can still enter. Instead of liking the pages, just post a link to this contest, and to Danyelle's books on Twitter, your blog or some other form of social media (even email).*

Good luck! This contest will run through Friday, Dec. 16, and I'll announce the winner on Dec. 17.

Check out these other blogs featuring Danyelle and her books!

Andrea Pearson Books 
Anne Bradshaw's Place Diana's Amazing Book Adventures - Giveaway!
Christine Fonseca, Author - Giveaway!
Roots in Myth - Giveaway!
Robin Weeks - Giveaway!
An Author Incognito
Janette Rallison's Blog - Giveaway!

By the Wayside

I fell short of my November goal.

For the last two weeks of the month I wrote only twelve pages a week instead of the fifteen I wanted. And this week has pretty much been a writing bust. It's been crazy, but I won't bore you with the details.

But, on the bright side (there's always bright side right?), I did write 55 pages this month! That is definitely more than a typical month. So I don't really feel too bad. That's one of the great thing about goals. Even if you don't reach them, if you try, you'll get farther than you would otherwise. So, yay for me anyway!

Now December is almost upon us. I seriously love Christmas time. Really! But there is a lot of work to be done (and a lot of concerts and parties to attend--the best part!). Therefore, blogging will be falling by the wayside for a month or so. I do intend to post and to read blogs, but it's not going to be a top priority. I hope you'll all still be around come January when I'll try and get back to more regular blogging.

In the meantime, enjoy the holiday season! I might just host a little Christmas giveaway too, so watch for that...

Merry Christmas, Friends!

I want to wish all of you terrific people a very Merry Christmas and many wonderful happenings in the New Year!

Me and my Sweetie

I'll see you all again next week. Enjoy!

Guess What Day It Is?

It's the day that voting starts for LDS Publisher's Christmas story contest!

Voting runs from now until Friday. Please pop over there, read the stories and vote. I can't tell you which story is mine, but I am going to tell you that you have to click on "older posts" to get to mine. What better way to spend the week before Christmas than reading Christmas stories? Hope you enjoy!!

My first guest post

Hey, everybody, I'm a guest today over at Christine Bryant's Day Dreamer blog. Go check it out here! Leave a comment. It will make me happy. :)

A Christmas Gift For You

See that box over there on the sidebar? Right at the top? That's my gift to you. Click on the picture and read the story. It's only one page long. Enjoy and have a wonderful holiday season!

Favorite Traditions (and a winner)

It's time to announce the winner of the Giveaway of Holiday Cheer! I thought you might all enjoy reading the awesome traditions everyone shared:

tiffany said... my favorite tradition is Christmas eve pajamas & having non traditional stockings  

Lisa said... My favorite tradition is one my family has been doing since I was a child. It's a Danish tradition where an almond is hidden inside a pudding and the lucky person who finds it while they are eating gets a prize. The customary Danish prize is good luck for the year to come but growing up my parents would do a game or a Christmas decoration for their prize. I LOVE this tradition. It wouldn't be Christmas without it.

Taffy said... We open one family present on Christmas Eve like a video or game we can all do together.

KarenG said... My favorite tradition now that our kids are grown and moved away is that every year, one of the couples is in charge of Christmas breakfast. Then we open presents and that makes the rest of the day more relaxed, some are here for a casual meal later, others go to the in-laws houses. 

kbrebes said... We always drive up to Morro Bay for a family Christmas Eve party and then drive home late at night to have Christmas morning in our own home. For many years we had the tradition of stopping in a tree lot and picking up a huge, leftover, beautiful, abandoned tree that never sold. We'd haul it home and decorate it, drinking hot chocolate and singing songs. Once my foot got stuck in a hole in the ground--lots of other silly, funny things happened while we went tree hunting together. (We put a well lighted fake tree up each Thanksgiving.)

Linz said... My favorite tradition is driving around to look at Christmas lights! We always have such a great time!!! 

Tess said... what fun! our favorite tradition is our annual "christmas cozy". We sit around a candlelit table covered in candy and fruit...eat and share fun family memories. It involves laughter and lots of food...:D 

MaDonna Maurer said...My favorite tradition since I married a German is Christmas Eve. We have Brauts and red cabbage with lots of salads for supper. Then, we eat Christmas cookies while the kids open the presents from his side of the family....the next morning kids open presents from my side of the family.  

Queen 'Bina said...My favorite Christmas tradition is the stocking. If I don't a gift under the tree, that's fine, but don't skimp on my stocking! I especially love getting the orange in the toe and the nuts and candy that fill in the gaps between stuffers. It's silly, but growing up, I always got a tooth brush and hair care stuff in my stocking. There were other fun things as well, but that tooth brush seems essential to me now. Very sadly, my kids don't seem at all excited about the cherrished orange. But Santa will still bring me one. I just know he will!  

Angela Felsted said...Oh, yeah . . . and my favorite Christmas tradition? Making cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve, then sipping hot chocolate with whipped cream. Yum. 

Renae W. Mackley said...There's lots of little things that make up our Christmas traditions: like my husband cooking eggs benedict for breakfast, snacks and appetizers for dinner, new PJs on Christmas Eve, and lots of music.

Jan Markley said...massive amounts of chocolate is one of the best ...  

Elizabeth Mueller said... I love the cozy feeling of family together and the joy shining bright in the expressions of my kids' faces. 

Tyrean Martinson said...I love the munlies we make on Christmas Eve and eat on Christmas day. We have so much fun making them as a multi-generational family, and then they are yummy to eat.  

Maeve Frazier said...Last year we started a new tradition of sharing Christmas with our first grandchild. My Husband and I are called Lolli & Pop; because what child wouldn't want to go to LolliPop's House at Christmas! Merry Christmas to you all! - Maeve - Lollipopscottage.blogspot.com  

MT said...My favorite tradition is acting out Luke 2 on Christmas Eve. I love it when people feel festive and start giving away books and candy. :)  

Medeia Sharif said... I love Christmas cookies.

Sound like great traditions don't they? It sure put me in a festive mood! So, without further ado, the winner of Stolen Christmas, The Widow's Mite, The Boys Upstairs, and a bag of Butterfinger Jingles is: 

Maeve Frazier!

Congratulations, Maeve. I love that your grandkids call you Lollie and Pop. So cute! Please send me your address to angloft (at) gmail (dot) com and I will send you the Jingles, I'll have the books shipped to you, and I'll email you The Boys Upstairs in whatever format you like.

Thanks again for entering at have a very Merry Christmas!