Mary Carter helps Christmas last another day with her delicious drink...plus a book giveaway

Introduction by Gail Allison

**Giveaway is now closed**

We are so excited to have Mary Carter sharing with us today (and not just because her holiday recipe is for a delicious-sounding martini!). This accomplished author is the third Mary in her family (and the second Mary Patricia), and she has certainly inherited the gift of storytelling through the family lines. She claims that her mother (a feisty redhead and the first Mary Patricia) is one of the best storytellers that she knows. A graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, as well as the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Mary is currently working on yet another novel! "The Pub Across the Pond" is her fifth novel, in addition to two novellas. You can check out her updates at her website.

Thanks to Kensington Books, we have one copy of "The Pub Across the Pond" to share with a lucky reader in the US or Canada.


Synopsis of "The Pub Across the Pond":
In Mary Carter’s newest novel of women’s fiction, THE PUB ACROSS THE POND, the author of MY SISTER'S VOICE and SUNNYSIDE BLUES invites readers to come on an exhilarating journey to Ireland, as one woman learns about luck, love, and finding the courage to listen to her heart.


Carlene Rivers is many things, but lucky isn’t usually one of them. At thirty, she’s living a stifling existence in Cleveland and starting to resent her many responsibilities. Then one day, Carlene buys a raffle ticket. The prize: a pub on the west coast of Ireland. Carlene is stunned when she wins. Everyone else is stunned when she actually goes. Arriving in Ballybeog, Carlene is smitten by the place and its people. The pub has challenges—from meddling neighbors to “colorful” regulars—but there are compensations galore. Like the freedom to sing, joke, and tell stories, and in doing so, find her own voice. And in her flirtation with the pub’s charming, reckless former owner, the freedom to follow her impulses and see just how lucky life can be...

Holiday Girls’ Night
By Mary Carter

I love throwing little parties and the holidays are a perfect excuse. Last year I found a recipe online for a Candy Cane Martini and after a little tweaking, I made it for a girls’ night I threw at my place. It was a huge hit! You don’t have to make it with an official martini glass, but if you have one, with a little dressing, it looks spectacular. Rim the edge of the glass with lime, then coat the glass with sugar. In a strainer mix the vodka, pepper schnapps, and cranberry juice. Strain into the glass. If you want to get fancy, add a splash of champagne or orange Cointreau. Hang a small candy cane over the side along with a wedge of lime, and in a few easy steps you have a holiday hit! For any non-drinkers in the crowd, you can make it non-alcoholic with seltzer, lime, and cranberry juice.

I decided to share this drink recipe because anyone who saw my previous attempts at making Gingerbread Houses will quickly ascertain that I should stick to mixology. But even more so, I picked a cocktail in homage my latest novel, The Pub Across the Pond, in which an American woman wins a pub in Ireland. Although the little pub is used to their own ways of doing things, my heroine, Carlene Rivers, brings in a few ideas of her own. And although she doesn’t exactly serve up Candy Cane Martinis, if there’s ever a sequel, I can certainly see a few of the regulars grudgingly giving it a try. Happy Holidays to you and yours, and cheers—or slanté—as they say in Ireland.

Candy Cane Martini

Vodka 1.5 ounces
Peppermint Schnapps – 1 or 2 teaspoons
Cranberry juice—can add as little or much as you want—either just to give it color, or more for someone who wants less alcohol
Small candy cane
Sugar
Lime
Optional ingredients: Splash of champagne or orange Cointreau


Special thanks to Mary for sharing this delicious sounding drink recipe and to Kensington Books for sharing "The Pub Across the Pond" with one of our readers.

How to win "The Pub Across the Pond":
Please comment below with your e-mail address. (Please note:Entries without an e-mail address will NOT be counted. You can use AT and DOT to avoid spam. Or provide a link to your facebook page or blog if you can receive messages there.)

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US/Canada only. Giveaway ends January 2nd at midnight EST.