Author Visit & Giveaway!: Keira Andrews






Keira Andrews is here to talk about her upcoming figure skater, holiday novella (seriously great combo, right?), Holding the Edge! Plus, there's a GIVEAWAY!

Spend the holidays with sexy skaters!
 
Thanks so much to Boy Meets Boy for having me to talk about the new sequel to my figure skating romance Cold War. Misha and Dev are back in Holding the Edge, and they’re trying to make their secret relationship work in the real world. With their competitive days behind them it should be easier, right? Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans…
This novella takes place as Christmas approaches, and Misha is missing his Russian holiday traditions. My friend Tatiana generously served as my Russian translator and cultural educator for both books. I’d known that in Russia Christmas is in January, but I hadn’t been aware that New Year’s is such a huge holiday. Many Russians have a New Year tree, and give presents on December 31st and January 1st. Says Tatiana of the tree: “New Year tree is decorated pretty much in the same way as a Christmas tree. In the past the top decorations were stars or spire-like glass ornaments, but in the 21st century angels are often used as well.”
Their Santa Claus is called Ded Moroz (Father Cold/Frost), and his granddaughter Snegurochka (Snow Girl/Maiden) often accompanies him to New Year’s parties to give gifts.

Christmas is January 7th because the Orthodox church celebrates religious holidays by the Julian calendar. It’s more of a religious holiday, but it’s also a big day. Christmas Eve is called Svyatki. Traditionally on this day young women use a mirror and candles to see the reflection of their true love in the mirror. (Awww.)
But the holidays don’t end there! Russians also celebrate “New Year Old style,” the Julian calendar New Year, on the 13th of January. According to Tatiana, “their winter holidays usually last non-stop from the 1st to the 13th of January.” And I thought our Christmas holidays went on for a long time!
You can see why Misha feels homesick at the holidays even though it’s sadly not safe for him to go to Russia since he’s gay. Will Dev give him a New Year’s in their new home to remember?

Gay figure skaters keep their relationship secret—and end up on thin ice
Misha Reznikov has an Olympic gold—and a secret lover who just happens to be the silver medalist. Now that their competitive days are over, Misha and former rival Dev Avira are setting up house in LA and giving their relationship a shot in the real world. They agree that keeping their romance strictly under wraps is best for their pro careers and Misha's family back in Russia. So what if Dev hasn't told his parents, and they never eat out for fear of being spotted? It's not perfect, but they're together.

But as they prepare for a special holiday skating show on Christmas Eve in Dev's hometown, tension builds. How long can Misha and Dev keep their love secret—and what happens if one of them wants to stop hiding?
Celebrate the holidays with Misha and Dev:

About Keira Andrews:

After writing for years yet never really finding the right inspiration, Keira discovered her voice in gay romance, which has become a passion. She writes contemporary, historical, paranormal and fantasy fiction, and—although she loves delicious angst along the way—Keira firmly believes in happy endings. For as Oscar Wilde once said, "The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what fiction means."

Author Links: 


Keira Andrews is graciously giving away an ebook copy of a back list title! To enter please leave (1) your name and a way of contacting you (email, twitter, goodreads, etc) and (2) are there any traditions you and your family have during this holiday season? We'd love to hear about them!

The giveaway will be open until December 16th 10:00 PM (PST) when we'll use a handy dandy randomizer to pick one lucky winner!

Thanks for stopping by & GOOD LUCK!

28 comments:

  1. The historicals I read growing up often had descriptions of old Russia during the time of Czar Nicholas. It fascinates me.

    redmd@juno.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is fascinating, isn't it? Thanks for commenting! :)

      Delete
  2. For the past 22 years, on the Saturday before Christmas, we have open-house day. The entry fee is a gift wrapped present with only the age suitable tag showing. These presents are then donated to our local Foster Care Program so ensure all children in care get at least one present on Christmas Day.
    l.lesar@sky.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow! I love this!

      *steals Lorraine's tradition*

      Delete
    2. What an amazing idea! I love it. I'm going to borrow that next year! :)

      Delete
  3. I absolutely loved Holding the Edge! Such a fabulous story! Here in Guatemala we celebrate Christmas Eve (Nochebuena) more than Christmas day. Usually families get together on the 24th and at the stroke of 12, presents are exchanged and opened.
    anamaribelcardenas@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Mari! And I love hearing about other traditions. My friend's actually living in Guatemala right now, and I really want to visit him! He loves it there. :)

      Delete
  4. I haven't read Holding The Edge yet : ( Going on the TBR pile! This sounds like another fantastic book.

    juliesmall2016(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for the post! The info on Russian holiday traditions was quite interesting. One of our traditions is to spend a day decorating the house and our Christmas tree and making/eating fun appetizers.

    jen.f {at} mac {dot} com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jen, my family and I do the same with decorating and having egg nog and treats. I love the holidays so much. Thanks for sharing! :)

      Delete
  6. Thanks for the cool post. One tradition is cutting our tree with our child and his grandparents. Another is the cookie making.

    jczlapin(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Jen! Mmm, cookies. One of my fave things about Christmas! :D

      Delete
  7. I can't wait to read the sequel to Cold War! I enjoyed your information regarding Russian holiday traditions. We usually have our big Christmas feast on Christmas Eve - makes for a really relaxing and more enjoyable Christmas Day!
    lgrant1@san.rr.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Lisa! And that sounds like a great way to spend Christmas. :)

      Delete
  8. Christmas alternates between my mum ans aunt's place and is an all day event starting with breakfast, opening presents, cold meats & salad lunch, lazing around the pool then leftovers for tea.

    leetee2007(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  9. My family always opens one present on Christmas Eve and for the kids it is always new pajamas!
    Thanks for the chance at the giveaway!
    aegger.echo(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awww, that's so cute! What a great idea. Thanks for sharing, Alaina! :)

      Delete
  10. Our tradition is baking. Lots of cookies and candies to go around! We usually get together one Saturday early in December and do them all in one day, which is exhausting, but fun. :)

    ashley.vanburen[at]gmail[dot]com

    ReplyDelete
  11. So many little traditions, like meeting my mother for lunch on Christmas Eve for a bit of last minute shopping or making the family breakfast on Christmas Day, and baking a few treats for the family feast and sharing some of those with others in the community. We have a few mischievous traditions, but they are secret...

    Thank you for all the wonderful chances you have given us to win books and I lover Keira's work. slholland22 {at} hotmail {dot} com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for sharing, Sula! Hmm, I'm intrigued by these naughty traditions you have... :D

      Delete
  12. The Russian traditions and photo were so interesting. Tradition was to open a gift on Christmas Eve.
    strive4bst(AT) yahoo(Dot) com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much! And I love that tradition. It's fun to have a little sneak peek. :)

      Delete
  13. Loved the cool intro into Russian traditions. My tradition is simple, but can't be missed - shopping with mom. Just a great way to spend more time together and catch up.

    Waxapplelover (at) gmail (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  14. Congrats, Mari! You are the winner of this giveaway!!

    You will be contacted via email shortly :)

    ReplyDelete