Christmas with Eliza Daly

Christmas is nearly upon us! Today, I'm interviewing Eliza Daly about her Christmas memories, presents, and traditions. 

What is your favorite thing about the holiday season?

Every year I look forward to playing Secret Santa for several children. Nothing gives me the holiday spirit more than giving some children a Christmas they wouldn’t otherwise have had.

What is your best Christmas memory?     

Going to my grandparents. They lived three hours away and I always looked forward to going there to visit. I remember the adults sitting around the table playing a card game called Euchre and drinking brandy slushes. And the kids were allowed to drink soda and eat treats. My one grandma was Norwegian and made pastries, such as krumkake and rosettes. And my other grandma had this music box with snowmen that ice skated on a pond. I remember playing with the music box for hours. I have a lot of great memories of visiting my relatives at Christmas.

What is your favorite gift ever received?

A doll called Velvet. She had a purple velvet dress and you could shorten or lengthen hair. However, the next summer I washed her hair then spun around in a circle with her trying to dry it. Her hair ended up a big frizzy mess and it was impossible to crank it back into her head. Yet, I still have her.

What is your favorite gift you've given?

We gave a little girl an iPod shuffle loaded with all the top pop songs. She was over the moon.

What are some of your traditions?

Decorating my house. I add a few snowmen to my collection every year. I attend the Nutcracker fairly regularly. My husband and I go to my parents for Christmas. Christmas Eve is a small gathering of adult family members. We have appetizers and start putting together a puzzle. My parents host Christmas Day dinner and we open presents and finish putting the puzzle together.

What is the most creative gift you've ever given?

Oh boy, probably an ornament I made for my parents in grade school. I’m not real creative outside of being a writer.

How early do you start listening to Christmas music?

Thanksgiving Day or the day after.

When do you decorate?

The weekend after Thanksgiving unless we are having people over for Thanksgiving dinner then I decorate a few days before Thanksgiving. I have 32 Rubbermaid tubs of decorations so it takes a few days to get everything out.

Do you love to read Christmas stories?

I haven’t read a lot of Christmas books, but I bought a few to read this year.

Favorite holiday song?

I think my favorite holiday songs change every year. This year my favorites are “Baby It’s Cold Outside” or “It’s a Marshmallow World” both by Dean Martin. Love the Rat Pack.

Favorite holiday movie?

Christmas in Connecticut or How the Grinch Stole Christmas with Jim Carrey. I have seen the Grinch a gazillion times, but I laugh just as hard every time.

What is your Christmas wish this year?

That everyone I love, including my cats Frankie and Quigley, will be with me still next Christmas.

Is there anything you'd like to add?

Thanks so much for having me here today Nikki. Have a great holiday everyone!

Thank you for being here with me today!

Book Blurb  

When a series of failed relationships and business ventures have Monica Jackson doubting her self-worth, she turns to spell casting to attract positive energy and the opportunities needed to achieve her goals. But can Monica’s belief in spells restore her belief in herself?

Monica creates a spell to find her soul mate, and one to ensure the success of her new romantic event planning company, Enhance Your Romance. Monica is confident she has found her niche until divorce lawyer Reed Walker opens a practice next door to her office. The anti-marriage slogan plastered on his office window, and his down-on-love clients, quickly prove detrimental to Monica’s business. When his arrival appears to trigger a string of bad luck, Monica fears one of her spells sent negative energy into the universe and it has returned to her threefold. Although Reed is beyond sexy, and she admires his self-confidence, she’ll do whatever it takes to get the universe back on her side, and Reed out of her life. No way is she losing another business.

Reed finds himself attracted to Monica’s beauty and her optimism. His job and his parents’ divorce have made him a pessimist, especially when it comes to love. However, he soon finds that Monica’s pro-love attitude is rubbing off on him, causing him to lose his edge. If Reed doesn’t distance himself from Monica, he’ll likely destroy his reputation as a pit bull divorce lawyer.

Can Monica and Reed look past what they might be losing to realize the love they have found?

Under Her Spell is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo, and eBooks.

Author Bio   

Eliza Daly’s first attempt at creative writing was in fourth grade. She and her friends were huge Charlie’s Angels fans and she would sit in her bedroom at night writing scripts for them to act out at recess the following day. She was Kelly Garrett. Fast forward to the present, she’s still writing stories about beautiful women who always get their men. The journey from fourth grade script writer to published author wasn’t an easy one, but it was always an adventure and the final destination was well worth it.

When Eliza isn’t traveling for her job as an event planner, or tracing her ancestry roots through Ireland, she’s at home in Milwaukee working on her next novel, bouncing ideas off her husband Mark, and her cats Quigley and Frankie.

You can find Eliza on the web at Website, Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

Elixa is kindly giving away one copy of her book, Under Her Spell! So be sure to leave a comment, with your email address to contact you!