It’s Christmastime, and that means that all the good little boys and girls are waiting for Santa to stuff their stocking. But what if you’re a grownup? Or maybe you just haven’t been that good this year? Here’s your chance to get your stocking filled by Jolly Ol’ Andi Claus!

This year, I’m giving away three of my Christmas titles – JINGLE SPELLS, A WHITE WEDDING CHRISTMAS, and THE BABY PROPOSAL. I’m also including a snowflake dish, a sparkly gold pillar candle, Scotty Dog shortbread cookies, and Lindor Truffles all in a bejeweled gold stocking.

To enter to win, check out the Rafflecopter giveaway here: http://gvwy.io/uui4iy6

Wow. It’s been a long time since I’ve started a blog post with this logo! For seven years, every Friday on the Writing Playground started with a blog featuring my Smarty Pants graphic. Ten years ago, Kimberly Lang, Kira Sinclair, Dani Wade, Marilyn Baxter and I decided to start a website. The Writing Playground was the place we created for writers to learn and play. We interviewed authors and industry professionals, shared craft articles, recommended books, drooled over hotties in our locker, and I loved every minute of it.

The intention of the playground was to gain visibility in the writing industry, as we were all unpublished at the time. Since we launched, all of us have published and sadly, maintaining the site became harder and harder. I became better known as Andrea than as Smarty Pants. Although we may not post the way we used to, the friendship and the spirit of the Writing Playground is still very much alive. These ladies are my best friends and I’d never make it through the ups and downs of this business without them.

The picture I’m sharing is of the five of us (nicknamed the Children) and our mentors Linda Howard, Linda Winstead Jones and Beverly Barton (nicknamed the Mavens). On our one year anniversary, we invented a drink that mixed sparkling apple cider with asti spumante. Since we hung out on a ‘playground’ we named the drink the Teeter-Totter. We celebrated with the drink every year when we got together.As part of our birthday celebration, we’re giving away a $50 gift card to Out of Print clothing. To enter, visit all five of the Playfriend’s websites (listed below). Each picture has a theme word. Enter all five of the theme words at www.andrealaurence.com/contest and we’ll pick a random winner from the correct entries.

For the contest, my birthday keyword is “TEETERTOTTER.” Gather the other words at the websites below:

www.booksbykimberly.com

www.kirasinclair.com

www.daniwade.com

www.marilynbaxter.com

SP (AKA Andrea)

I’m excited to share that my special project with the Harlequin More Than Words program has been released. My charity novella – A WING AND A PRAYER – is now available for a free download. It is currently only showing on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, but I expect other sites such as iTunes and eHarlequin to have the novella soon.

Making a difference…transforming lives… This year, the recipients of Harlequin’s More Than Words Award are three women whose selfless deeds and far-reaching goals are helping to build stronger, safer communities. Now three bestselling Harlequin authors honor these remarkable women with stories inspired by their extraordinary contributions.

In A Wing & A Prayer, Atlanta businessman Dylan Alexander is committed to getting children the medical attention they need. And he has to admit, he enjoys flying single mom Jo Nichols and her son, Zack, from St. Simon’s Island to Baltimore on his private jet. Now if he could just stop fantasizing about the three of them as a family…

Jo owes everything to Miracle Flights for Kids…and the six-foot CEO who volunteers his time and compassion. But past experience has taught her that acting on their growing attraction would be a mistake. All bets are off when Dylan and her son start seriously bonding. Are blue skies up ahead? Only if she and the once-burned businessman have the courage to go for it.