(This blog is posted by Toni V. Sweeney for Tony-Paul de Vissage, fellow Southerner who has absolutely no computer-savvy when it comes to anything Internet.)

Toni suggested I write a blog about Christmas customs unique to the Southern US, especially that insular little part in which I grew up. So I sat down and attempted to compose such a chef d’oeurve. Then, I got this e-mail from amie Merrylee. It gave me the chuckle, so I had the brilliant idea: Why not share it with the PFSW’s reading audience? Mais oui! So, with Merrylee’s permission, here are her suggestions (and replies) to ways to make holidays easier and give you more time for important things, like eating most of those cookies you’re going to bake and drinking a good portion of that eggnog. Plus, I've included a few winter snaps to make you're glad you're inside and not out in all that snow.

HELPFUL HINTS:

If you’re giving les infants ice cream cones to nosh on between meals (after all it is a holiday so how can it ruin their petit appetites, non?) or decide to indulge yourself, prevent drips by stuffing a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of the cone.

Marshmallows? Just suck the ice cream out of the bottom of the cone, for Pete's sake! You're probably lying on the couch with your feet up eating it anyway!

To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.

Potatoes? Bags? Buy instant potato mix. Keeps in the pantry for up to a year. After that, you just sift out the weevils and add hot water.

When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan, use a bit of the dry cake mix instead and there won't be any white mess on the outside of the cake.

Who bakes? Go to the bakery! Hell, they'll even decorate it for you! And if you snivel properly, they'll deliver, too.

If you accidentally over-salt a dish while it's still cooking, drop in a peeled potato and it will absorb the

excess salt for an instant 'fix-me-up.'

Who doesn’t have a heavy hand with the salt cellar? Les Americaines love sodium. It's true! And have you ever had the top simply fall off as you shook it over a saucepan? If you over-salt a dish while you're cooking...Too bad, Bud! Please recite after me my Maman’s motto: I worked all day on this. You'll eat it and I don't care how bad it tastes!

Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.

Celery? Is that a food? Never heard of it!

Cure for headaches: take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.

Better recipe: Take a lime, mix it with tequila, chill and drink! All your pains go away! (And the next morning, you can do the same thing to cure the hangover.)

Don't throw out all that leftover wine. Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.

Leftover wine??????????? HELLO!!!!!!!Since when????????? Ignore last suggestion, take empty wine bottle, place in recycling bin, head to bed with orders to those still awake to clean up. Use next to last recipe upon awakening.

And now, one of Maman's cookie recipes, to add calories perhaps but also to make you enjoy the holiday mood.

NO BAKE RAISIN CLUSTERS

1/2 C margarine 1 tsp vanilla

3/4 C sugar 1/4 salt

1 C raisins 1/2 pecan bits

1 beaten egg 2 1/2 C puffed wheat

1 tbl milk 1 1/2 C coconut (optional)

Melt margarine in saucepan. Add sugar, raisins, egg, milk, vanilla, and salt and bring to boil for 2 mins. Add cereal and nuts and mix thoroughly. Cool slightly and spoon by tablespoons onto coconut and roll to coat. If not using coconut, spoon onto wax paper by tablespoonfuls. Cool completely before service. Makes 3-3 1/2 dozen.

Joyeux Noel, mon amies. Et une Nouvelle Annee Heureuse, aussi!

Dec. 11, 2010

Hi everyone. Welcome to the Pink Fuzzy Slippers. We've had some yummy recipes posted so far this week and will have more through Wednesday. Today, I'm sharing one of mine.

Spending an entire day making Christmas cookies has been a tradition in my household since my eldest could stand on a step-stool and help. Infact, the tradition dates back further. I remember helping my grandmother bake. Part of the ritual has always been guarding the refrigerated cookie dough from my four children. Most years my cookie baking time was cut significantly because of little cookie dough thieves.

Now, thirty some years later, my grandchildren love coming to grandma’s for a fun-filled day of baking cookies. And they all have aprons made their great-grand mother.

One of the favorite cookie recipes has been handed down for generations and is known to our family as Aunt Elsie’s A & P’s. It’s a simple sugar cookie recipe made into roll outs.

Ingredients:
2 Cups sugar
1 Cup Butter softened
2 Large eggs
1 TBL vanilla
1 TBL milk
1 teas. Baking Soda
1 teas. Cream of Tartar
3 ½ Cups of Flour

Cream together butter, eggs, vanilla and sugar. Sift together flour baking soda and cream of Tartar. Slowly mix the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Wrap in parchment paper and refrigerator a minimum of two hours.

Just as Taylor is doing here, roll the dough out on a floured surface, carefully cut and place them on a cookie sheet.

Then decorate with sugar topping and bake at 350° for about 7-9 minutes.





Enjoy!

Happy Holidays from my family to yours.

Pistachio Cake Recipe

Easy, fast, and festive, this recipe is always a Holiday treat!

You will need:

One package of white cake mix- any brand

1 package of Pistachio instant pudding- sugar free may be used instead of regular

½ cup vegetable oil

½ cup water

½ cup milk

5 eggs

Blend cake mix with 1 package of pudding. Add oil, milk, and water. Add eggs- 1 at a time, beating well with electric mixer after each addition.

Pour into a greased (or spray with cooking spray) tube or bundt pan.

Bake 1 hour-at 350 degrees. May be done beforehand- as ovens vary.

Cool for 30 minutes, and invert onto favorite cake platter.

For a lighter and festive topping, sprinkle with sifted confectioners sugar and sliced maraschino cherries.


Optional frosting recipe: (Spread on cooled cake)

½ pint heavy cream

1 package instant pistachio pudding (sugar free may be used)

1 container thawed Cool Whip (fat-free may be used)

Beat heavy cream until thick. Blend in rest of ingredients. Frost as desired.

Enjoy!

Munch on one of my cyber cookies will reading about Tamara LeBlanc's new book below!

For the first time in many years, I baked Christmas cookies as little thank you gifts. Standing at the kitchen counter, mixing and measuring, I thought of all the Christmas baking I did as a young girl with my mother and sister. It was a big part of celebrating the holidays-- sprinkling colorful sugar on some, rolling others in confectioner’s sugar, making elaborate designs on the cut-out kind, and, of course, licking the icing bowl. It was a big but fun production.

I continued Christmas baking when my kids were small, but as they grew up and away, I stopped. There was no one to help and everybody I knew was watching their weight. Bah! Humbug!

This year I needed to thank a whole bunch of people (associated with my husband’s work) for their many kindnesses. We decided the homemade touch would be just right. So we’ve put together a platter of assorted homemade cookies and guess what? The Christmas spirit is alive and better than ever!!

The recipe below is easy and fun…

Thumbprints:

1 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, separated
2 cups flour
1 cup chopped nuts (I prefer Pecans)
1 tsp. vanilla
Jelly - I use Current jelly

Cream butter, blend in sugar. Add egg yolks, beat well. Blend in flour. Roll into balls the size of a walnut. Dip in egg white, then chopped nuts. Place on cookie sheet. Use thimble to make depression. Bake 12-15 minutes at 375 degrees. Fill with jelly when cool.

Enjoy!!!

Tamara LeBlanc wandered by in a daze, muttering about her first book being out. Her eyes were wide with wonder and her smile lit her face. She kept gazing at her cover. It is a cute one.

I dragged her inside and asked her to blog. If she seems okay, I'll her out on her own. Help me make her feel at home here and ask her questions.

I’m thrilled to post today on Pink Fuzzy Slippers Writers! I’ve been a fan over the years, but never thought I’d get a chance to speak on this phenomenal blog as an actual published author!

Way cool!

I’d been writing on my own for a long time, but about five years ago I met my critique partners. They took me under their wings and showed me the ropes. Because of them I had the courage to not only finish a novel, but to submit.

I’m very good at beginning things, not so good at finishing. I tend to get 3/4ths of the way through a manuscript and then another “brilliant” story idea nudges any interest in the previous work out. Tendencies like this one can prove very unproductive, so working past the “stall” as I call it, is of utmost importance.

If I didn’t sit my butt down everyday, turn off the TV and type like a demon possessed, I would have never finished and submitted a completed novel, much less get the manuscript published.

I know I’m not alone. You may not have my exact affliction, but in speaking with fellow authors, I’ve learned that just about everyone has their Achilles heel. Mine is TV…shows like Glee and Supernatural are like drugs to me. And just the thought of Sam and Dean Winchester cruising in a classic car can skew my agenda.

So what derails your writing? Is it two incredibly hot brothers fighting evil, or something else? I’d love to hear about it.

Even if you’re not quite willing to share your flaws, I hope that after you read this post, you do your very best to keep on track. Write daily, stay away from the things that distract you from your goal of publication, join a critique group and wonderful organizations like your local writer’s chapter and RWA, and most important of all…have faith. It will happen

My new release is called Blessing in Disguise. It’s a sweet, contemporary love story, with a dash of hot sex. It is available now at http://www.liquidsilverbooks.com and I’m very proud of it.

Here’s a quick blurb:
Can Ella Slipper’s day get any worse? She’s broke and thirsty. She hasn’t had a bathroom break for three hours and she’s wearing a onesie velour skeleton costume in ninety degree weather. She would love to trade the bones for a bikini and her scant bank account for a glass of water. But before she can get either, she succumbs to the heat and faints at the Halloween parade she’s working.
Alex York, trucking mogul, thinks he’s found the answer to his prayers when Ella collapses into his arms. His five year old son speaks for the first time in two years after he sees the beautiful woman unmasked so Alex does what ever it takes to hire the down-on-her-luck co-ed as a nanny. He’s vowed never to let a woman under his skin again so he figures letting the sexy blue eyed, blonde under his roof can't hurt. He’s having a hard time living with that blunder—in more ways than one.
Though Ella is desperate to keep things professional she succumbs to Alex’s desire. She mistrusts men, but her boss's skillful seduction makes her forget the pain of her past. She welcomes Alex into her bed and realizes that she’s also in danger of letting the sexy dad into her heart.

I’d love to hear what you think about the novel. You can reach me at my blog, trytamara.blogspot.com/

Thank you so very much for having me today. It was an honor to be able to share my good news with you all.

Have a fabulous day, a happy holiday month, and good luck in all you do.

Tamara LeBlanc

Good morning dear readers. You will not believe the story that brought Angelique to our blog. A funny thing happened to me one night when I decided to email a young lady I was tutoring. I didn't have my notes with her email address, so I scrolled through my AOL address book, thinking I'd spot a familiar address. I did and shot an email to that person. Well, you have likely guessed what happened. One thing led to another and now Angelique is here. Please help me welcome her!

She answered my easy questions.

How do you find time to write with job obligations?

I prefer to write either very early in the morning before the day job or late at night when the house is quiet. It’s not always easy to write daily but it is my job so I have to find the time even on hectic days.

What made you want to be an author?

I’ve wanted to be an author as far back as I can remember. In fact, I can’t imagine not writing. Plus, my grandfather was a poet and playwright so it’s in my blood.

How do you get over writer’s block?

Usually, when I get stuck, I need music to motivate me. I pull out the iPod and tune out the world. Writer’s block, at least for me, is never about a lack of ideas or characters. It’s more of a motivational problem that gets stuck in neutral due to life getting in the way.

How do you come up with your ideas?

You mean besides the ones the chatty characters that live in my head all the time keep yakking about? J Inspiration is a funny thing. It has a mind all its own and can strike at anytime. Sometimes it’s just a name, a title or something I see out the car window. I never know where ideas will pop up but I’m glad they do.

How did you find a publisher?

I broke the rules when it came to my first book. I had an opportunity to pitch an idea to an editor who loved it and asked to see the full manuscript. Mind you, the opportunity came about at a conference luncheon thanks to a friend, so it wasn’t typical. But at the time the book was strictly that – an idea. I had to work like heck to finish the novel so I had something to send the editor. While I can now see whole stories from basic ideas, I don’t recommend this approach to a new author. (To date, between my two pen names I’ve written five full-length novels and ten novellas) At least have a partial ready before pitching a manuscript!

On average, how long does it take to write your books?

For me, a novel’s timeframe depends on the project. With some books the plotting takes longer than the actual writing. I have to plot my books ahead of time or have at least a start with the basic plot points jotted down.

What themes go through your books?

I’m big on writing themes that focus on family, redemption, and good versus evil. I love books where the hero and/or heroine triumphs over evil. I also have a thing for making my characters very human even though most of them are supernatural or have some affiliation with the paranormal. I think the human aspect of fictional characters is what endears them to the reader.

Which other jobs have you had?

I’ve worked as a waitress, a newspaper reporter, hotel front desk manager, and as a reader for three different editors at a major publishing house.

Why do you write?

With my other jobs listed above you’d think I’d realize writing isn’t the only profession out there, but in reality I don’t have a choice. J I can’t imagine not writing.

How do you write?

I’m a plotter. I have to know the basics of a book before starting to write, but that doesn’t mean I don’t shake things up as I go along. Sticky Notes are a must have for me. My books are character driven, and since I have a knack for creating witty heroines and brooding heroes, I’m almost always confronted with surprises that pop up around chapter twelve that should have been in chapter four. I think dark heroes like to tease.

Thanks for having me!

Angelique Armae’s current novel is Shadows Of The Soul, a paranormal romance. Readers can visit her website at: http://www.angeliquearmae.com

SHADOWS OF THE SOUL - When a Grigori prince and a demon huntress team up to find the antidote to a supernatural disease, the balance between good and evil is forever altered... AngeliqueArmae.com "...extremely talented..." - Sherrilyn Kenyon, #1 NY Times Bestselling author

Susan, welcome! I can't believe you're here with us. You and your sister look so happy.

Sisters, the Short
and the Tall

When Mary asked me to do a blog, I was thrilled. When it turned out my blog day was going to be my little (and I do mean both younger and smaller) sister’s birthday, it was a bonus. You see, my sister is the person who opened the door to writing for me. And for that I am forever grateful.

My sister is five years younger than I, and I spent her first fourteen years waiting (fruitlessly, as it turned out) for her to get as tall as me so I could look her straight in the eye when I gritted my teeth, balled my fists and popped a blood vessel in pent up fury. Yep, my little sister knew how to punch my buttons.

Now, I realize that you might think my viewpoint skewed when I tell you I was the “good” child and she the “problem”, but it’s essentially true. I was a people pleaser, would (and still do) walk a mile to avoid a conflict. I eagerly anticipated getting a new baby brother or sister. And then when she, the only redhead in our family, was born, the motto “Never Surrender, Never Back Down” had to have been tattooed somewhere on her tiny body. I never saw it, but I’m sure it was there somewhere.

And after all of the aggravation, all of the needling, the spying on me, the in-your-face defiance when I was left in charge, we have somehow found a way to be very, very good friends in our adulthood. Not saying it’s always been smooth sailing, she still occasionally makes that blood vessel pulse. But I cannot imagine my life without her.

Several (bordering on many) years ago, when we were both at-home moms with young children, my sister, she of the flamboyant and never ending imagination and infinite impatience, admitted to me she’d been secretly working on a novel. It stunned me, she wasn’t a huge fiction reader, preferring non-fiction as a rule. I however was a slave to the story, novels, movies, songs; so she asked me to read it and give her an opinion. Well, I am the older sister, so of course I had one.

That opened the door to our writing five novels together. She was most interested in the creative aspect and not overly concerned in learning the craft of novel construction—which as it turns out is a much bigger task than either of us had imagined when we embarked upon this adventure. So we’d work on the story line and the roughing out of the scenes, and then I would go to work on hammering it into something that resembled a novel. It was great fun, getting together while our children were in pre-school and grade school and running through the possibilities of what road our story would follow. Little did we know that getting the book, or in our case books, completed was probably the easiest of the tasks when it comes to getting a book published and on the market.

But we kept at it. Learning more with each book we wrote. We always forged ahead with the next story while we tried to market the previous ones. Came close to selling to a publisher a couple of times, but in the end, none of those five novels have been published.

Then she moved away and began another career, leaving me alone in my creative venture. By this time, I was totally hooked and there was no way I was giving up. I loved everything about this process, the formulation of the ideas, creating the characters, and yes, even the challenge of getting the finished work in print. A year later my first solo novel, BACK ROADS, was completed and I had an agent actively marketing it. A few weeks later, I was offered my first publishing contract with Warner Books (now Grand Central Publishing). I’ve since published nine novels with the same publisher, and the same editor.

So I guess my sister had more than made up for the time she rubbed my face in the snow, and maybe even for the time she told a boy I was trying to avoid that I had jumped into the back seat of the car I was washing in the driveway and was hiding on the floorboard.

Here’s to a fabulous birthday, Sis. I can’t wait to see what adventures you take me on in the future.

And for those of you reading this who have sisters, maybe you have some stories of your own to share???

I’ll be giving away a copy of my first (now out of print) novel BACK ROADS to two commenters. (I have it and it is WONDERFUL!)

www.susancrandall.net

This recipe was handed down from my grandmother to my mother and on down to me. It's a special-occasion sort of recipe, not just because it looks gorgeous and tastes fabulous, but because it's dangerously addictive. Be warned!

I made it for my local RWA chapter's Christmas party last year, and I was hoping to do so again this year (so I'd get the leftovers), but it turns out we're having a buffet breakfast instead. So I have no excuse to make it or pig out on it. I should be relieved, right? Nope. Because I already have the cherries (both red and green this time, so that should look festive), and I have to use them up. :) Poor me.

Cherry Slice

Crust:
Mix together 1/2 cup soft butter and 1 cup flour. Spread over the bottom of an 8" x 8" pan and bake at 400 F for 15 to 20 minutes.

Topping:

2 beaten eggs, 1-1/2 cups brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut (trust me, this recipe is plenty sweet already, so you don't need sweetened coconut), 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, 1/2 pound glace cherries, halved. Mix topping, spread carefully over the crust, and bake at 325 F for 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool before cutting into squares. (I suspect it will cut more easily if chilled in the fridge, so I'm going to try that this time.)

Indulge!! (And then hide the recipe until next year.)

Below is a recipe for a wassail drink to warm your insides on a cold winter's night. I made it, took the pictures, and blogged about it last year, so I’m being lazy and posting again. Well, not entirely lazy. Practical, too. I’m the only person in the house who’ll drink this wassail – my husband’s allergic to pineapple and my daughter doesn’t like fruit drinks. I don’t think the cat or dog want it either. Consequently, if I make it, I’ll drink it all. Every last drop. Frankly, although I could probably use the anti-oxidants, I sure don’t need the calories. So I’m cyber-partaking today, and also talking about the giveaway I'm participating in along with a bunch of other Harlequin/Mills and Boon Historical authors.

Since I'm so cyber-challenged, I couldn't put links under all these covers, but suffice it to say that each of 22 authors has chosen a day to give away a prize, and that there's a grand prize of a Kindle at the end. You can enter once at each author's site, and the more often you enter, the better your chance of winning the Kindle. My special day is December 7th! I'll be asking visitors to go to my website and read an excerpt and answer a question for a chance to win a gift certificate. Other authors might make you hunt for a hidden ornament or post a blog comment. It's fun!

Today's featured author is Jeannie Lin. Her debut novel, Butterfly Swords, is fabulous! To visit her site and enter her contest, go here.


Now for the wassail. The word wassail comes from an old English toast meaning "be in good health." There are two kinds of wassailing. One is going door to door singing wassail songs (some of which are well-known carols) and getting rewarded with a cup of wassail and maybe a few tasty treats. This is where the leaves of green come in -- boughs of greenery over the doors and as decorations within the house. In traditional wassailing, the wassailers make a procession from room to room, banging pots and pans to cleanse the house of any evil left over from the past year.

The other kind of wassailing is singing to apple trees on Twelfth Night to ensure a good harvest. Wassailers go from orchard to orchard to wish the trees well with songs and a toast. Even the trees get to sample the cider made from their apples, to encourage them to produce plenty of fruit in the coming year. Again, there's lots of noise, with pots, pans, and (because we're outdoors) guns, to drive evil spirits away from the trees.

Here's a very simple wassail recipe. Quantities are approximate. 


1 gallon apple juice or cider
1/2 gallon pineapple juice
Juice of four oranges
2-4 cinnamon sticks
Honey to sweeten the brew if you have a very sweet tooth
2 more oranges, prepared according to the directions below
More cinnamon sticks, to use as straws (kids love this)


Mix the first five ingredients in a large saucepan and warm slowly over low heat until good and hot (but not boiling). Cut the top, bottom, and most of the rind off the remaining oranges, ending up with a roughly hexagonal shape. (In my case, a catastrophe.) Squeeze the oranges very gently over the pot to extract some of the juice, then slice them. Just before serving, float the slices in the wassail as decoration. My sloppy slices didn't qualify as decorative in any sense of the word, but the wassail tasted lovely. If you don't mind a little bitterness from the rind, you might try using thin slices of orange with the rind on. It's much tidier and prettier that way. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS and WASSAIL!

Please help me give a warm welcome to author Amy Atwell. Her FIRST published book is so new it still has the shine on it. (Okay, that one doesn't always work, but you know what I mean. )


Do You Have a Taste for Books? Wine? Heroes?

Over the table at Thanksgiving dinner, the conversation turned, as it often does among my family, to books. My brother’s girlfriend said she’d read one of the Stieg Larsson books. I asked what she thought but her answer surprised me.

“Oh, I didn’t really start reading books until a few years ago. I’m not experienced enough to offer an opinion.”

After I succeeded in not coughing up green bean casserole on the tablecloth, I started to argue that she must have some sort of opinion. Then I caught myself. You see, I used to work in the wine industry. (Okay, I stocked wine on shelves in a grocery store—but, I also lived near Napa for four years and even designed wine cellars, so that counts for something, right?) I’ve had lots of conversations with wine buyers who aren’t necessarily wine drinkers. They want a “good” wine.

“What’s good?” they would always ask.

“If you like the way it tastes, that’s good,” was my standard reply. Sure, I could launch into explanations about tannins and aging, oak versus stainless steel, temperature and oxygen. But wines, to me, boil down to a matter of taste.

So do books.

Personal taste, or opinion, is purely subjective. It’s yours. No one gets to take that from you. Let those who claim to know more tell you you’re wrong. Let them tell you you’re a clod. Let them sneer at your choice. But don’t let them tell you what you like. You know what you like. Drink your wine. Read your book. Enjoy both.

Starts to walk away, washing hands, done with the conversation.

What? Oh, right. HEROES. Left them totally out of the mix, didn’t I? They were really the point of the whole blog.

Returns and pulls up a chair. Uh oh, you may be here awhile.

Okay, so remember when I was trying not to cough up the green bean casserole on Thanksgiving Day? The thought rolling around in my head was that if I’d asked her a similar question about my brother and she’d given me a similar answer, I’d be worried:

“So, what do you think of my brother?”

“Oh, I’ve only been dating him a few years. I’m not experienced enough to offer an opinion.”

You see, to me, books and men are the same. As women, we may not be able to fully articulate our tastes, but come on, we know what we like.

Hugh Jackman.

Johnny Depp.

George Clooney.

Who’s the new kid on the block? Ryan Reynolds? Eh… shrugs

The danger zone here is allowing others to define what we want in a man. I’ve seen too many marriages fail because what looked good on paper didn’t “taste” quite right. Me? I’m one of the lucky ones. I formed an immediate opinion when I first saw him: that’s the man I’m destined to spend my life with. And 29 years after meeting him, we’re still together.

A woman not having an opinion about a man often means she’s avoiding admitting that she doesn’t like him. Or worse, that she recognizes that she likes him far more than she should, and she can’t explain why.

This is the dilemma presented to my heroine, Iris, in Lying Eyes. (Oh, come now, you knew I’d get to the book at some point, right? Stick with me; this will be brief.) She’s listened to society. She thinks she needs a stability her life has always lacked. And so she’s agreed to marry someone who, well let’s just say he doesn’t make her heart or tongue stutter. It’s a solid foundation for a practical future.

Until she meets a jewel thief who involves her in a world of danger and intrigue. Here’s a man who, from the first touch, makes her heart fly, her tongue get tied, and her brain seize up. Because it’s not smart to get involved with a man like this. But instinctively, she knows what she wants. And she wants him.

I think for many generations, women have been hampered by a certain amount of what I call “gender expectation.” Women are supposed to be soft. They reach for consensus. They tend to go along with the norm. Opinions can be dangerous to have because not everyone might agree with us. The wrong wine and we look uncultured. Caught reading romance and we may be labeled bimbos.

I repeat…

Personal taste, or opinion, is purely subjective. It’s yours. No one gets to take that from you. Let those who claim to know more tell you you’re wrong. Let them tell you you’re a clod. Let them sneer at your choice. But don’t let them tell you what you like. Do not allow them to rob you of your most personal freedom. You know what you like. Drink your wine. Read your book. Enjoy both.

Confession time: Is there something that you REALLY LIKE that you’ve never publicly admitted because you’re afraid others would tell you you’re “wrong?” A book you enjoyed? An inexpensive but tasty wine? A hero figure others might not find as sexy? A favorite food others might think is gross? Music you never admit to listening to? Here’s your chance, express it to the world.

—Amy (who listened to Barry Manilow, Wilson Phillips AND Air Supply while writing this. Yes, I really did.)

Amy Atwell worked in professional theater for 15 years before turning from the stage to the page to write fiction. She now gives her imagination free rein in both contemporary and historical stories that combine adventure and romance. Her debut romantic suspense, Lying Eyes, is now available from Carina Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble. When not writing, Amy runs the WritingGIAM online community for goal-oriented writers. An Ohio native, Amy has lived all across the country and now resides on a barrier island in Florida with her husband and two Russian Blues. Visit her online at her www.amyatwell.com, What’s The Story? and Magical Musings blogs, Facebook, Twitter and/or GoodReads.

Amy Munnell is my special guest today. I met Amy at Southeastern Writers Workshop around 1991. Lord, that almost 20 years ago. Amy wanted to share a special project with us and I couldn't say no to her.

Hey, Amy, good to see you here today. Your project sounds fascinating.

First, I’d like to thank Mary for offering me this chance to guest blog. It is very generous, especially since I am not a romance author.

Saying Goodbye to the people, places & things in our lives is the first of a series of anthologies from the publisher Dream of Things, aimed at bridging the gap between the style of today’s popular anthologies and the substance of the Best American Essays series. Over 200 authors from the United States, Canada, Ireland, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere submitted work for consideration. Each essay was selected to build an exploration of loss and grief from many different angles and in a variety of ways, including with humor.

I am one of those 31 international authors featured in Saying Goodbye. My essay, “A Tree of Life,” looks at my inner struggles with my sister’s death when she was 12. Only 18 months apart, we shared the same disability with Marcia paving the way for us with our parents, in school and in the community. I had it pretty easy living in her shadow. After she died, life pushed me out front and center and I was overwhelmed.

I began “Tree” as an exercise while in therapy 20 years later. In it, I share how discovering the busy daily life of a tree, planted with my sister’s ashes, helped to pull me out of the chaos of my depressed mind and still offers an escape when needed. Other essays in the book discuss losing a parent, the destruction of a childhood home (“Ghosthouse”), the death of a pet, and in the essay “Bridget,” author Stephen Parrish describes finding, then losing his imaginary friend.

The holiday season intensifies the feelings of isolation in someone who has lost a loved one. Saying Goodbye can offer a sense of community and comfort through the experiences of nearly three dozen authors who have shared that pain and understand. For more information and to read a sample chapter, visit the Saying Goodbye website: www.goodbyebook.com

Thank you again for this chance to discuss my book. May the holiday season be full of joy and wonder!

~~Amy Munnell

Zumba is the name of a dance fitness program created by dancer and choreographer Beto in Colombia during the 1990s. Zumba was marketed by entrepreneur Alberto Perlman, who made the concept popular through dance classes as well as branded merchandise. The program combines Latin and international music with dance in an effort to make exercise fun.

Zumba classes are offered through licensed instructors in more than 90,000 fitness center locations in 110 countries with ten million participants. DVDs are also available for learning at home.

The traditional Zumba class including basic rhythms like merengue, foxtrot, salsa, cumbia, reggaeton, belly dance, waltz, flamenco, tango, samba. If you haven’t seen my zumba instructor perform you can’t imagine what is fast dancing.

After years of ballet lessons and recitals, and many parties where we danced the oldies, samba, rhumba, chacha, meringue, twist and the now classic rock and roll, I considered myself not too lousy at dancing. Please if you are too young to even know the name of these dances, check them in google. Boy, do you make me feel old!!!

Well I heard about the zumba on one of our writers loop. I think it was the FTHRW loop, and i felt curious. When I noticed a sign with Learn Zumba at my Pilates studio, I asked a few questions. [This proves that to be interested in a new product—or a new book, dear authors—you have to see it several times].

So I signed up for zumba before Thanksgiving and started my first lesson last evening.
Imagine a room relatively large with a mirrored wall, very loud latino music, and a lovely girl, our instructor, who must have inserted special motors in her hips, feet and arms.
Shake it, baby. Move it. Turn. Five times. Repeat. Front, back, Left. Right.

Why was I always on left when she was already at right?
Why was I trailing behind when the class was already in the front?
I was in shorts while the other students wore long tights and yet beads of perspiration glistened on my forehead. After an hour, my knees ached, my throat was dry and my arms felt like loaded with lead.

She’s going to tell me I suck. I know I suck.
“Mona, you did great. Have you done this before?”
“Huh?” I looked at the slim girl next to me, convinced our pretty instructor had our names confused.
“No,” she insisted. “You.” She pointed at me. “You’re doing well. In a couple of months, you’ll roll your hips faster and you’ll have lost a lot OF pounds.”
Wow, I thought I was as slow as a turtle limping from one side of the street to the other.

Guess what? I was so pleased with the compliment I signed up fork next Tuesday. I just hope that my knee, neck and arms stop hurting.
If you like to travel and love to read, come and enjoy my international romances. I will take you around the world through stories that simmer with emotion and sizzle with heat.

BABIES IN THE BARGAIN at amazon.com
Rx FOR TRUST at amazon.com
http://www.monarisk.com/

Did you have a fun Thanksgiving? Did you eat your traditional turkey?

Meet two of the chefs working on the cruise ship, Ruby Princess. Check their special turkey.

and their beautifully decorated hams Notice the Indian Head on the pumpkin pie.

Now look at these and tell me what you think.

Amazing presentation and delicious taste

and here are the fruits and desserts.
If you like to travel and love to read, come and enjoy my international romances. I will take you around the world through stories that simmer with emotion and sizzle with heat.

BABIES IN THE BARGAIN
Rx FOR TRUST
http://www.monarisk.com/

Good morning everyone,
As the holiday season nears and shopping becomes our number one priority, I thought it might be interesting to find out how this gift-giving all began. I googled it and this is what I found. Quite interesting! Hope you enjoy.

There was a time when Christmas involved no gift giving at all, and in some countries it's still common. The full story of the bright packages beneath the tree begins in the days before the birth of Christ.
In ancient Rome, gifts were exchanged during the New Year's celebrations - simple gifts such as twigs from a sacred grove or food. Vegetables were popular in honor of the fertility goddess. In Northern Europe, fertility was celebrated with gifts made of wheat products, such as bread and alcohol. (Now we're getting somewhere. LOL.)
History has had its share of leaders who made sure there were plenty of gifts to open Emperor Caligula of Rome declared he'd be receiving presents on New Year's Day, and if they were not worthy enough, they were highly ridiculed.
The church leaders justified the practice in the act of bearing gifts to the infant Jesus, and in the concept that Christ was a gift from God to the world, bringing in turn the gift of redemption and ever lasting life.
The Victorians embrassed this idea and made the family a part of the celebration. Friendliness and charity filled many hearts during the Christmas season, as it does today.
America expanded on this concept with the addition of Santa Claus, and of course Christmas no longer became a simple, non-materialistic tradion but a commercial one. Some people wonder whether the emphasis on buying, shopping and getting brings more happiness or disappointment, especially in these economic times.
And so, now that I have given you a little background, I must run off and do some shopping. How about a nice twig anybody, or some yummy vegetables? More broccoli anyone?

Have a safe, and wonderful holiday season everyone!

Getting up at 4 AM to write when the house is quiet and no one is stirring. That’s a beginning, but the sting of rejection never goes away, at least for me and many of the writers I know. Developing a thick skin seems to be a rumor. Then there’s the sting of a bad review.

Something prompted me to check Fictionwise (Barnes & Noble) on my new erotica novella Hot Spanish Nights, and the only review was “Poor”. I felt as if someone had kicked me in the stomach! I just sat there staring at the screen, thinking maybe this person is right and my writing is poor.

Then I remembered a recent rejection that still stung but was a page long in which the editor from Berkley said that I was a great writer. She rejected the book but gave me pointers on why and said she would look at other projects. In fact, I plan to spend the day after Thanksgiving editing the book of my heart, Sinners’ Opera to send to her. I also thought of the fact that The Wild Rose Press has said that they are going to contract my novella about a fallen angel.

At the end of the day, I’ve almost talked myself out of the blues. Oh, there’s still the doubt…Can I write or does my work really deserve the rating of poor? And this will stymie my productivity for a few days. In the meantime, maybe someone else who likes the story will give it a better rating.

Not everyone likes me (though for the life of me I don’t know why! ha ha). Not everyone will like my writing, but when I see that “Poor” it’s like someone calling one of my children ugly. And whether it’s poor or not, writing is a compulsion. I shall continue, persevere and keep a stiff upper lip. I’m never happier than when I’m in the company of my characters—as diverse as they are.

The cover is from my vampire Rosette from The Wild Rose Press. This story sold very well and got good reviews. Black Swan is about mortals who barter blood for the ecstasy of the vampire’s kiss. Hot Spanish Nights is available on Amazon, many other ebook sites and from the publisher, The Wild Rose Press, The Wilder Roses catalog. Hot Spanish Nights is written under my pen name Bianca Swan.

On Bianca’s blog, there is a free erotic story, and on my website, there is also a free read, a vampire story called Vampire Hunt. The links are: http://www.biancaswanblog.wordpress.com/ and http://www.lindanightingale.com/

Happy holiday weekend,

Linda

MEGAN MCMUIR’S HUSBAND DAVID IS A TIARNA D’GEAL TINA, A WIZARD OF WHITE FIRE, SENT FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION TO PROTECT THE EARTH FROM AN ATTACK BY EXETER DUBHTINA OF THE TIARNA D’DOIT TINA, DURING THE HARMONIC CONVERGENCE. WHEN DAVID RETURNS TO HIS OWN DIMENSION TO BEGIN THE BATTLE, MEGAN FOLLOWS ONLY TO BE TAKEN HOSTAGE BY EXETER’S WOLF PACK. THE DARK LORD’S PLAN IS TO USE MEGAN AND HER UNBORN CHILD TO FORCE DAVID TO. DAVID, HOWEVER, HAD MADE A VOW WHICH ISN’T EASILY BROKEN, NOT EVEN TO SAVE THE WOMAN HE LOVES.

The Harmonic Covergence mentioned in my fantasy novel Wizard’s Wife occurred on August 16-24, 1987, and some of you may remember hearing about it on the Evening News on TV. It was an astronomical event: a time when our planets aligned themselves with the sun. This isn’t an unusual thing; there have been more harmonic convergences than you can shake a stick at. What was different about this one is that it involved all the planets, not just two or five or even seven. As usual, the doomsayers came out to make their dread pronouncements of what was to follow. When nothing happened, they faded back into the woodwork and the world went on, waiting for newer dire predictions to raise their chaotic heads.

Perhaps I should say nothing obvious happened. After the brouhaha died down, I found myself asking: What if something did happen but we just don’t know about it? Because it didn’t happen here on Earth?

And that’s how the story of Tavis (David) McMuir, Faery Wizard, Champion of White Fire, Defender of Ais Linn and the Earth, and his mortal wife, Megan, came about. David is one of the Little People, although as wife Megan reminds him when she first discovers his secret, at 6’2”, there’s only one portion of his anatomy fitting the human hand. In his dimension, he’s a Prince, a Tiarna (Wizard), and the champion of his half of the kingdom of Ais Linn. His opposite number is Exeter Dubhtina, also a Wizard, and ruler of the other half of the kingdom. Both are drop-dead gorgeous—there isn’t an ugly one in the bunch, and even Exeter’s Wolf Pack are the most handsome werewolves in existence—and both magically equal in power. Only trouble is, Exeter wants to rule everything, and he’s bored…so bored he decides to conquer the Earth so he can entertain himself by manipulating the puny mortals living on it. And now, he has a weapon: David’s wife and unborn child, and a secret about Ais Linn’s Champion that no one else knows…

All isn’t well in the Land of Fae, and it won’t be better on Earth if Exeter wins.

Wizard’s Wife is set for a January, 2011 release from Class Act Books.

Please look below at the post for Dale Mayer and keep reading for the Thanksgiving message from Fuzzy Pink Slipper Writers and the reasons we are thankful.

Feel free to comment and add your own blessings list!

Guess who I found roaming around? I grabbed Dale Mayers and brought her inside to join us. I conned her into blogging for us. Please make her feel at home.

Are your kids characters? Or are your characters kids?

First off, many thanks to Mary for the invitation to blog here today.

I’m doing NaNoWriMo right now, a writing effort to produce 50,000 words in the month of November. Every week we receive a pep talk email from one of the many people behind NaNoWriMo. On one of them, the author was talking about dealing with loss of control in real life and enjoying having control in her writing world. I found it an interesting topic as I often feel I have too tight a control of my life. Out of necessity. I’m a single mother of four of which the top three positions are all held by tall, testosterone pumping males.

It was mandatory to be the boss when they were smaller - in order to avoid being run over by their maturing power tromping ways. The only way I could maintain command was by being the one firmly in control. My strategy for surviving motherhood used writing as an escape.

That’s why I started with writing romance, always creating that same happy-ever-after. I can’t 100 percent blame my shift to gritty romantic suspense (occasionally butting up against the horror genre) on the kids – or can I? I do know that in the beginning, there was a need to actually have my characters do what they were told to do - when my own kids wouldn’t.

But then I found that my characters didn’t appreciate being told what to do anymore than my kids did. It took me a long time to realize that outlining for me fell into the same category. My stories also didn’t welcome being ‘controlled.’

Maybe it’s when I realized I needed to loosen up more as a mother/father combo or maybe it was realizing that there is a time and place to give the kids their chance to succeed or fail on their own, or maybe the loosening up happened as my kids grew older and learned to respect the rules – and me. Either way, I managed to let them do more - only to hear my characters sitting on the sidelines saying, “Hey, what about us?”

The result? I gave up ALL attempts to direct my characters and let them walk all over me. Sigh. The good news is that just like my kids who have learned to make good decisions, my characters are just as decisive about their actions and just as honest with their reactions to the often surprising outcomes.

Now if only I could teach them all patience – even my sons. My characters tend to sit on my shoulder and prod me into higher productivity – arguing and cheering until they are happy with the story. There are actually times where I have to delete entire paragraphs because they don’t like them and won’t let me move on until I make it right.

One saving grace with letting my characters lead is that when they get uppity, if they too nasty or too out of control, discipline is easy – there’s always the delete button. The kids now...that’s a different story!

So what about the rest of you? Are your characters children to you? Do they behave? Or do they try to control your waking thoughts? Have personality traits of your own children slipped into your characters? Or are they completely unique? Have you read a book where you knew the author had to be talking about your kids?

www.dalemayer.com

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