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    To ring in the New Year, a party on New Year's Eve has always been the most common type of celebration throughout England’s history.  When the stroke of midnight chimes and Big Ben rings, many toast the New Year with a drink.  The most famous celebration in England takes place in Trafalgar Square where big crowds gather to welcome the New Year. 
    During the Regency Era, if the family preferred to ring in the New Year at home there was such a custom for “the members of the household to sit themselves round the hearth, and when the hands of the clock approach the hour, the head of the family rises, goes to the front door, opens it wide, and holds it thus until the last stroke of midnight has died away. Having let the Old Year out and the New Year in, he shuts the door quietly and returns to the family circle.” 
    Many may have heard of the song, "Auld Lang Syne," it’s traditionally sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country worldwide to celebrate the New Year.  This custom of singing this song on New Year’s Eve dates back to the British Isles from the 18th century when guests ended a party standing in a circle and singing this particular song.
    And did you know, the New Year's Eve ball drop tradition can be traced back to 19th-century timekeeping! In 1833, the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England, installed a ball that would drop down a pole at 1 o'clock every afternoon to assist ship captains with calibrating their instruments. Other places besides Times Square use time-balls throughout the year, like the U.S. Naval Observatory, where a ball drops at noon every day!

Now that we have our taste buds tingling from the fascinating facts of our originating history, let’s see how our TQ ladies rang in the New Year…

Jane Charles

For us it is lasagna and cole slaw.

My mother started the tradition of lasagna because it was something she could make-up the day before (New Year's Eve) and stick the pan in the refrigerator for the next day.  I've carried this tradition on because after being out late it is nice to have dinner already prepared and ready to pop in the oven.  The cole slaw is because my family believed that if you ate cabbage on the first day of the year you would be prosperous. It has been pointed out that none of us are wealthy and mom was quick to remind us that we have food, clothing and a roof over our head, which is what I have reminded my children when they complain about that one bite of coleslaw I make them eat each year.  I never forget to eat cabbage on January 1st.

Rose Gordon

15 years ago, when I was 11, one of our traditions was to play games of bingo.  With one of those bingo sets, with the big ball you spin with all the little bingo balls inside, until midnight.  My parents would buy prizes: movies, CDs, $10 gift cards, special kinds of candy, etc and for each game there'd be a different prize.

These days, I go to bed about 9 and start mumbling in my sleep when the neighbors start lighting off the fireworks and scaring the dog.

Ava Stone

I spent this New Year with The Scientist (my boyfriend), his daughter, some friends and their two daughters. We went to downtown Raleigh to see the "acorn" drop. Raleigh is the City of Oaks, so they drop a big acorn at 7p for kids and then again at midnight. We meant to make it for the kids drop but missed it due to traffic. YES, apparently a lot of people wanted to see a big acorn drop. I don't really get it either. 

Having missed the acorn drop, the kids went ice skating instead, and then we headed back to our friends' house to ring in the New Year watching Kathy Griffin and Anderson Cooper on CNN, mainly because Anderson Cooper's giggle makes me laugh until my side hurts. 

Jerrica Knight-Catania

We have no traditions. It’s sad, but true. Hubby and I have spent years trying to find the *perfect* New Year. And every time we think, “this is it,” it turns out to be a disappointing night (no offense to anyone who has hosted or partied with us!) Not to say we didn’t have fun, but after a busy holiday season, staying up until midnight, going to sleep in a strange bed and having our kid wake up at all hours of the night just wasn’t ideal.

BUT, this year was different. We decided not to make a big deal out of New Year’s Eve. We did a kid thing during the day, and then we hung out on the couch, watched a movie and drank some wine in the evening. I’m pretty sure that until our little girl is old enough to party with us at a pre-fixe celebration, we’ll be chillin’ at home on the New Year.  So we’ll see all you party animals in about 18 years.

Our best wishes to all for a happy, healthy 2013!
The Ladies of TQ

Timeless Quills author Catherine Gayle was a guest on Blog Talk Radio today, where she read an exclusive sneak peek excerpt.

Catherine's novella, To Enchant an Icy Earl, will be featured in the historical romance anthology A Season to Remember, which will release next week from Night Shift Publishing. Other novellas in the anthology are written by Timeless Quills authors Jane Charles, Ava Stone, and Jerrica Knight-Catania.

If you want to be one of the first to hear it, listen in at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rrradio/2012/09/26/rrw--whats-write-for-me.

I know summer is halfway over, but there's still plenty of time to get your beach read on! So just in case you're running out of good poolside novels, I asked my fellow Timeless Quills authors to share their favorite books to read while baking in the sun...

Ava Stone suggests Claudia Welch's Sorority Sisters. She says, "It'll make you call all your girlfriends to tell them how much you love them."

And to escape to the past, she recommends a historical romance novel by Deb Marlowe's Unbuttoning Miss Hardwick. "Brilliant, like everything else she's ever written!"

Catherine Gayle suggests Erin Knightley's historical romance novel, More Than a Stranger. "It's got chemistry that'll make you melt more than the sun you're baking under, and is one of the most romantic books I've read in a long time."

And for a contemporary, steamy read, Bared to You by Sylvia Day. "It's erotic romance with such intense depth of characters that I couldn't possibly put it down until I finished reading it."

Suzie Grant says you must read James Rollins The Devil Colony. "Completely riveting story that mixes science and history in a way that will leave you breathless with anticipation. It was phenomenal!"

And for historical romance: Enslaved by Cassandra Dean. "It's a first person book which surprised me because I normally don't like reading a story in first person pov but this book captivated from the very first chapter. Highly recommend it to anyone who loves reading stories in unique and exotic locales."

My hubby and I recently picked up Jessica Park's YA novel, Flat Out Love, and we couldn't put it down! A fantastic and mysterious coming-of-age story that you do not want to miss!

And one of my all-time favorite historical romance novels (and novelist!), Lauren Willig's The Secret History of the Pink Carnation. She combines Chick-Lit with Regency Romance for a super fun romp through England and France!

Now help us out! What are your favorite summertime reads?

by Jerrica Knight-Catania

Fabulous historical romance author, Jerrica Knight-Catania, is heating up your summer with a hot sale! For Kindle only, get all 4 Wetherby Brides novels for just under $3! The Wary Widow is still FREE and the other three books - A Gentleman Never Tells, More than a Governess and The Bedeviled Bride are just $0.99! But only through July 31, so act fast!

I'm so excited to announce the release of my latest historical romance novel, The Gypsy Bride! The second book in the Daring Debutantes series, this extra-long novella is an exciting romp through Regency England--

Engaged to a reprehensible baron, Bianca Manning knows she must do something to escape her fate. She decides that a Romany camp is the last place her mad fiance would think to look for her.

The last thing Emilian Carrol needs is a spirited Englishwoman in his life, but he can't seem to say no when she begs to hide out in his tribe's camp. And maybe she's just the thing he needs to help heal his wounded heart.

Thomas Barclay, future Viscount Grantham, is bored to tears and looking for a distraction. When his old friend Baron Tisbury asks for help in tracking down his missing fiancee, Tom decides to make himself useful and goes in search of the wayward girl.

Caught between two worlds, Bianca must figure out which man holds the keys to her heart.

When I set out to write this romance series, I wanted to do something different. I didn't want to write another traditional, formulaic historical romance. I wanted to branch outside the norm, do things with my stories and my characters that probably would not have actually happened in Regency England, but that weren't completely outside the realm of possibilities. So you won't find magic or werewolves here, but you will find gutsy heroines, and heroes that you will fall in love with.

The Gypsy Bride is available now at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Smashwords!

And if you missed the first installment of the Daring Debutantes series, click here to find links for The Robber Bride!