Long-time readers of this blog will remember I’ve previously featured award-winning author Susan Kroupa. (If you haven’t discovered her Doodle series, you’re in for a real treat!) I’m delighted to report the award nominations from the Dog Writers Association of America continue to roll in.

Sue has earned three nominations in the DWAA Writing Competition. The first is her blog about losing Shadow, Fly Away Home .  She earned another nomination for her serialized memoir-in-progress about raising a very independent Shadow in Doodlewhacked. And the third nomination is for her short story Balance Due. Congratulations, Sue!

And that’s not all. Sue’s Christmas Doodle book Bad-Mouthed is included in the Sisters in Crime  Book Club Central Holiday reads list (Sue says she sent the application in a might-as-well-try moment).

Bad-Mouthed is currently on a Kindle Countdown sale that runs through Friday, Dec 14th.

Read on for a sample of great writing by this terrific author!

Walter’s Christmas-Night Music

A little magic, a little Mozart, an unexpected miracle on Christmas Eve. . .

Nothing has gone right for Walter Gunther since his wife died. He had to sell his music store to pay her medical bills and take a job as a clerk in Disks Galore, a big box music store. His manager bullies him and knows nothing about the classical music Walter has cherished all his life. The man can’t even pronounce Mozart’s name correctly. But when Walter is forced to work late on Christmas Eve, he receives a musical gift beyond his wildest imagining.

Originally published in Realms of Fantasy (December 1997), “Walter’s Christmas-Night Musik” was hailed for its “affectionate musical expertise and good-natured charm,” by Locus reviewer Mark Kelly, who also chose it as the best story of that issue. A warm and wonderful story sure to delight music lovers everywhere.

 

A Most Magical Christmas

Brimming with hope. Touched by magic. . .

A collection of five Christmas stories by award-winning author Susan J. Kroupa. A hapless clerk working late on Christmas Eve, a telemarketer who starts receiving mysterious calls promising a once-in-a-lifetime offer, an airline mechanic trying to prevent a disaster, and a pair of dogs who show that second chances can come wrapped in fur, all find a little Christmas magic when they need it the most.

So grab your e-reader, cozy down with a quilt, and celebrate the season with tales to warm the coldest winter night.