Love’s Christmas Cheer with Alexa Verde five favorites

Today’s featured author is a frequent visitor in our comments area as well as on social media posts and I so appreciate her encouragement! Let’s have a little visit with Alexa Verde and get to know her and new release Love’s Christmas Cheer better!

About the Author

Alexa Verde writes sweet, wholesome books about faith, love, and murder. She penned her first literary masterpiece, a rhymed poem, at the ripe age of eight, and since has had 200 short stories, articles, and poems published in the five languages that she speaks.

She has bachelor’s degrees in English and Spanish, a master’s in Russian, and enjoys writing about characters with diverse cultures. She’s worn the hats of reporter, teacher, translator, model (even one day counts!), caretaker, and secretary, but thinks that the writer’s hat suits her the best.

After traveling the world and living in both hemispheres, she calls a small town in south Texas home. The latter is an inspiration for the fictional setting of her popular series Rios Azules Christmas and Secrets of Rios Azules. For giveaways, news, and recipes, please sign up for her newsletter.

website | facebook  | twitter

 

Five Favorite Foods

Alexa: This is one of my favorite blogs, and I’m honored to be here today. Thank you so much, Beth Erin, for inviting me!

I love reading and writing Christian romance and Christian suspense, but I also love to eat. It’s no wonder that food often gets mentioned in my books! Today I have a list of five of my favorite dishes that I talk about in my books (it would probably take a month and many posts to mentioned all my favorite dishes).

Favorite appetizer

Alexa: Sushi! The hero of my new release, Christmas suspense novella Danger Under the Mistletoe (currently available in a set The Mystery of Christmas 2) is a karate instructor.

He has a black belt in karate, speaks Japanese, and knows many things about Japanese culture, including Japanese cuisine.

Honestly, I like it when a hero is a God-loving man and has spiritual and physical strength, as well as honor and courage. But cooking skills never hurt anyone!

Beth: I’m so happy to have you here, Alexa! I’m going to pass on the sushi (I have a serious texture aversion) and say, “yes, please” to strong, godly, cooking heroes!!!

Favorite main dish

Alexa: Fajitas! When I had a surgery several years ago, my friend took me to a great Mexican restaurant afterward because I don’t cook much for myself when I’m fine, much less after anesthesia.

The waiter brought chicken fajitas in the skillet, sizzling with onions and green peppers, and the scent was mouthwatering. Maybe I was just super hungry, but that was the best fajitas I’ve ever eaten!

As the hero of my Christian romance, Season of Miracles (Book 1 in Rios Azules Christmas series), Artur De La Vega, is Hispanic, the heroine makes fajitas for him as a tribute to his heritage. She’s caring, attentive, and falling in love!

Beth: Oh, now we are taking! I love me some fajitas!!!

Favorite salad

Alexa: Seledka Pod Shuboy! (Herring Under a Fur Coat) This Russian salad has a layer of diced pickled herring, covered with layers of grated boiled potatoes and boiled beets, chopped onions, grated boiled egg yolks and egg whites, with mayonnaise between each layer. For some people, it might be an acquired taste, but I love it.

The heroine of Season of Joy (Book 2 in Rios Azules Christmas series), Joy Avila, is a travel reporter who knows recipes from all around the world, including Russia. While she makes beef Stroganoff for the hero, she prepared this salad for his youngest son because the boy loves seafood. And though she’d have to choose between her dream job and love, she wants to bring joy in the lives of the man she’d never forgotten and his sons. There’s a reason why her name is Joy! Speaking of seafood…

Beth: You lost me at fish. Beef stroganoff sounds good… unfortunately, I’m not a big fan of mushrooms.

Favorite food ever

Alexa: Seafood! Especially shrimp. Yum! I love it so much that I made the heroine of the first book I published, Christian romantic suspense Color of Danger, the owner of a seafood restaurant.

Mari Del Lobo doesn’t like to cook, so this gives her the opportunity to have as much of her favorite food as she wants. Owning a restaurant keeps her extremely busy, as well as trying to figure out who is trying to kill her and why.

Beth: My husband and sons are seafood fans! Owning a restaurant would be great as long as I didn’t have to cook, lol! Smart lady!

Favorite dessert

Alexa: (one of them as I happen to have a sweet tooth) Cake Grafskiye Razvalini (Count’s Ruins)! It’s a delicious Russian chocolate cake that gets a mention in Season of Hope (Book 3 in Rios Azules Christmas series) because the hero, former wide receiver Brandon Carmichael, has Russian heritage.

And now I feel hungry!

Beth: Mmmmmm, chocolate cake! Now THAT sounds delicious!

 

Books

Tell us about your latest release

Alexa: Characters of my newest release, Love’s Christmas Cheer (First Street Church Romances Kindle Worlds novella), are chefs, so there’s plenty of mentions of food there, and even a food fight!

Love’s Christmas Cheer by Alexa Verde

For feuding chefs at a new restaurant, a ruined wedding reception and a failed business are not on the menu. But love and family just might be…

Chefs Petr Sergeyev and Lacy-Jane Macalister can’t agree on anything except for that they can’t agree on anything.

Lacy-Jane Macalister returns to her hometown, eager to prove she’s not the culinary failure her ex claimed her to be. After a career in the military, Petr Sergeyev settles down in Sweet Grove to help his brother with his nephew and new business. Grandpa Alexey’s is the only place in town that needs chefs.

He’s for hearty meals. She promotes healthy food. He likes order. She prefers creativity. He left his girlfriend. She was betrayed by her fiancé. Their arguments are more heated than the stove in the restaurant’s kitchen. But when Lacy-Jane’s sister and Petr’s brother decide to have their wedding three days after Christmas, Petr and Lacy-Jane put their differences aside to give their siblings a great reception.

Will Petr and Lacy-Jane surrender their wills to God and receive Christmas gifts of love, faith, and hope?

goodreads | amazon

Beth: This sounds like a fun story! Thanks so much for joining us today!

 

Giveaway

Alexa Verde is graciously providing an ebook to one Faithfully Bookish reader!
Winner’s choice of the author’s titles mentioned in this post.

complete giveaway rules

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

What is your favorite dish, reader friends?
Do you like food mentioned in books?
Be sure to add Love’s Christmas Cheer by Alexa Verde to your tbr!