At this time of the year, many of us are rushing around–decorating, baking and shopping for the holiday season.  I have to remind myself to take a moment and reflect on what makes the holidays special, or what I am most sentimental about.

For me, the week-long visit with my granddaughters and family members who live 400 miles away is so very important.  Moments of quiet conversation and sharing new experiences are often the most previous gifts we can give one another. Making cookies or wrapping presents are great for easy-going chats. Or working a puzzle together or playing a card game. These are the times we remember, often more than a physical gift bestowed.

That’s the feeling I hoped to create in my latest story, Clari’s Hero, included in the Present For A Cowboy anthology from Prairie Rose Publications.  Clari is new to the West, sent to live with an aunt and uncle in hopes of curing her asthma. Now healthy, she wants to have the experiences she was previously denied and spies adventure in  a cowboy’s rescue of first a small child in town and then herself from a runaway horse.

The tagline  is: Can a starry-eyed dreamer’s search for adventure overcome a taciturn man’s belief he has nothing to offer? You’ll have to read the story to learn how Clari translates her first encounter  with the quiet cowboy Trevor into a lasting present.

Enter the rafflecopter contest below for a chance at winning either an e-copy of Present For A Cowboy or a glittery notepad & pen set (US,CA address only).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Then hop over to participating author blogs to learn their thoughts on what’s special about the holidays and their giveaways.