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Happy New Year and welcome to the New Year’s Blog Hop!

Happy New Year - champagne and party decoration

This holiday has changed through each of the stages of my life. When I was a kid, New Year’s Eve was a boring grown-up party where the cousins and I were gathered around a card table playing Battleship and Monopoly. If we made it to midnight, we went outside and held sparklers while the dads shot off fireworks in the backyard.

As a teenager, it was the worst ever. I wasn’t allowed to go to parties so I was still sitting in the backroom with the cousins playing Atari games.

Oh but then came college!

There is nothing like New Year’s Eve in New Orleans. The party would start on someone’s Uptown patio with dinner and a few adult beverages. Then we’d walk to the streetcar and ride into the French Quarter. Live music, people from all over the world, kisses on balconies and a few more adult beverages.  Then we’d head down to Jax Brewery to watch the baby drop and enjoy the fireworks from the twin barges on the Mississippi River. After that? Back to the French Quarter. Our goal each year was to ride back Uptown on the streetcar and not have to get a cab. That meant we’d have to party until 5:30 AM. My little group seldom missed our goal.

Now New Year’s Eve is creating a kid friendly interactive event with the Wii and trophies and cupcakes! How things have changed.

Cheers (1)Perhaps it was nostalgia that led me to my latest heroine; she is truly a woman after my younger, single heart.

As a successful Sales and Catering Manager for the posh Hayden Court Hotel located in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter, Darcey St. Claire is absolutely thrilled to be working on New Year’s Eve.  The commission and bonus she’ll receive from the two day Guidry Construction event will not only fund her spring trip to New York City, but buy a cute pair of shoes for the plane ride!

Her enthusiasm quickly turns to barely disguised irritation when Vincent Guidry arrives hours early for his scheduled check-in, demanding access to his suite.  After he slashes the budget for the event, not even the crystal blue eyes of the former quarterback can quell the anger surging in her chest.

That is until he walks into the Chat Noir where she is trying to regroup after her irksome day.

In the private enclave known as the Cristal Room, Vincent willingly lights up Darcey’s New Year’s Eve and may have lost his heart in the process to the young woman who isn’t looking for anything serious.

Get your copy at Amazon, All Romance and Smashwords

Since you’ve guessed by now where I think is the best place to spend New Year’s Eve, tell me where you’d love to ring in the New Year! Three random commenters will receive a $5.00 electronic gift card from either Amazon or Barnes & Noble, so remember to leave your email address.

And continue hopping for a greater chance to be one of the winners of one of these grand prizes (the third prize is not an international prize):

Floral Background in Black and Gold Colors