Bandita Christmas Bonanza Booty!!!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the Lair to say hello on Christmas Day! Our official random number generator has chosen the big winner of the fantastic Bandita Christmas bonanza -- and the winner is …

Dianna! (aka hrdwkdmom aka Dianna)

Congratulations, Dianna!!

Please write me at katecarlisle99@yahoo.com and tell me your snail mail address. I’ll make sure all your goodies are sent to you post haste!

And thank you to everyone who visited us here in the Lair throughout 2009. You are all truly special gifts to us. :-)

Happy New Year!!

Bandita Booty

Bandita Booty!!!!

Congratulations MsHellion - You won the 12 Days of Christmas prize for the December 23rd blog.

Please send your contact information to either www.DonnaMacMeans.com or Romancebandits@gmail.com.

Congratulations and Merry Christmas and

Happy New Year!

Bandita Christmas Booty!

by Anna Sugden

Thanks for all the Christmas movie suggestions - I look forward to checking some of them out!

Jersey Girl and CC have dipped their paws into the hat and pulled out the winner for my prizes!

Congratulations to Pissenlit who wins the 12 Days of Christmas prize and the copy of Kate Walker's 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance.

Please send me your snail mail details at anna@annasugden.com and I will ensure your prizes are despatched asap.

****UPDATE** Pissenlit has generously offered up the writer's craft book - Kate Walker's 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance - to any writer who would like it - so, the first writer to email me at the above addy will win the copy!

9th Day Bandita Booty!

Thanks again to everyone for guessing the real titles of my crazy Christmas carols.

And thanks even more for some of the FABULOUS and CREATIVE titles suggested in the comments.
Ye Olde Random Number Generator says the winner of the Bandita Twelve Days booty is:

Gannon!

CONGRATS! I'm pretty sure we have your address somewhere, but in all this holiday madness, we may not be able to find it. Please send it to our gmail and we'll get your booty out to you ASAP!

TWO 12 Days of Christmas Winners!

The winner of Sunday's blog post with guest Holly Jacobs is: gamistress66!!

Monday's winner is Deb Marlowe!!

Congrats, ladies :-)

Please send your snail mail info to: beth@bethandrews.net and we'll get your prizes out to you asap *g*

Thanks so much to everyone for chatting with us and Merry Christmas!!

Crazy Carols

posted by Aunty Cindy aka Loucinda McGary

On the 9th Day of Christmas my cabana boy gave to me
A post by Aunty Ciiiiindy!

Sorry, but it's December 21st, the shortest day of the year and only 4 more days until THE BIG DAY and Aunty is so far behind she can't even see the tunnel, much less any light at the end of it!

ACK!!!

This happens to me every year. I start off the month of December with great intentions and the next thing I know, it's less than a week until Christmas and I have NOTHING done! I wish I had the excuse of a looming deadline, or even a Dreaded Day Job, but I don't. I just have a difficult time getting into the spirit of the season...

Perhaps I need a bit more SPIRITS of the season... So pass the eggnog and Aunty has a little quiz to exercise our brains.

Back in the day, Aunty toiled away in the Land of Bureaucrats. Unlike romance writers, who strive to create clear and entertaining prose, all good Bureaucrats write to confuse and complicate. For example, instead of the Twelve Days of Christmas, a good Bureaucrat would call it The Dozen Festive 24-Hour Intervals.

Here then are the titles of some familiar and beloved Christmas Carols after the bureaucrats rewrote them. See how many you can figure out!

1. Embellish the interior passageways
2. Diminutive masculine master of skin-covered percussionistic cylinders
3. Obese personification fabricated of compressed minute ice crystals
4. Natal celebration devoid of color
5. Move hitherward the entire assembly of those who are loyal in their belief
6. Small municipality in Judea southeast of Jerusalem
7. Nocturnal time span of unbroken quietness
8. Delight for this planet
9. Frozen precipitation commence
10. To decry matriarchal osculation of Yuletide anthropomorphism (Aunty's personal favorite)

How many do you recognize? Or maybe you can come up with some alternate bureaucratic titles of your own. Please share!

The 12 Bandita Days prize will go to a randomly chosen commenter.

Christmas Collection

by Beth


I'm not much of a collector. Oh, I've started collections before: My mom used to buy us Precious Moments figurines for Christmas every year but after awhile, we all had so many, we really didn't want any more *g* As a teen, I tried to collect music boxes until I realized how expensive a hobby that was (although the ones I have hold a special place in my heart!) I'm not really much of a 'saver' and have no problems tossing things out that hold no use to me. But there is something I've collected over the years, items that threaten to take over my house every Christmas:

Christmas books!

Children's Christmas books to be exact :-)

This obsession...er...collection started innocently enough. I wanted a special gift I could get for my kids each year, something they could take with them when they moved out that could be used or passed down to their own children. My first thought was to get them each an ornament. Unfortunately, I had a hard time finding ornaments I actually liked well enough to spend money on *g*



So I came up with the idea of buying them each a Christmas book. My hope was that they would save their books and be able to pass them down to their own children someday. I have to admit, I love buying this gift each year! I get such a kick out of taking the books out and displaying them as part of our Christmas decorations and I always re-read my favorite ones.

I honestly love these books so much, I almost don't want the kids to take them! I'm sort of hoping they'll want to leave them with me until they have children who can appreciate them *g*



Some of our favorites are: A version of The Night Before Christmas with pictures by Mary Englebreit

Are You Grumpy Santa? about poor Santa getting grumpy after a bad day

Merry Un-Christmas, about how special an ordinary day would be if the other 364 days of the year were Christmas


Olivia Helps With Christmas, about a little pig with a big imagination who helps her family get ready for the holiday

So far this year I've bought: It's Christmas, David! about a mishcevious boy who's always being told "No" and I See Santa Everywhere - about a boy who thinks Santa is stalking him year 'round (but only to check to see if he's naughty or nice) *g*



Do you have any Christmas collections? Any items you buy every year for your kids or someone else on your list?

It's FINALLY here! The Romance Bandits 12 Days of Christmas Booty! Every day between now and Christmas, one lucky commenter per day will win a daily prize and on some days, additional goodies from that day's blogging Bandita or guest. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we'll give away bigger prizes, including autographed books, GR mugs and much more! Come join us! Tell your friends! Let's make the Season BRIGHT!

Elizabeth's Winners - and Another Bandita Prize!

Thanks, everyone, for the wonderful welcome you all gave Elizabeth Essex on Thursday when she visited to talk about her debut romance THE PURSUIT OF PLEASURE.

Very generously, Elizabeth offered three prizes! The winners of signed copies of THE PURSUIT OF PLEASURE are:

PETITE!

BJ!

The VERY luck winner of a signed copy of THE PURSUIT OF PLEASURE and the audiobook of gorgeous Richard Armitage reading THE CONVENIENT MARRIAGE by Georgette Heyer is:

PINK PEONY!

Please email Elizabeth on erbaldwin @ mindspring.com (no spaces) with your snail mail details to claim your prizes! Congratulations!

And there's more!

The winner of Thursday's 12 Bandita Days of Christmas prize is:

LOIS!

Lois, please email the Banditas on romancebandits@gmail.com with your snail mail details and we'll get you your prize!

COOOOOOOKIES!!!! and Prizes

On The Second Day of Christmas...

...the Bandits gave to.....

Lis3182

through the time honored use of the handy-dandy random number generator, Lis3182 was chosen as the winner of the second day's Bandita goodies. Merry Christmas and thanks to EVERYONE who talked cookies with me!!

Lis3182, please send us your mailing info to romancebandits@gmail.com and we'll send you your lovely prize ;-)

COOOOOOOKIES!!!!

by Tawny

It's Cookie Month. Maybe that's not what the calendar says. Maybe that's not even any official designation for this month. But in my house... It's Cookie Month.

Cookies for making, cookies for decorating. Cookies for giving, cookies for eating. Cookies for Santa, cookies for Dad (lots and lots of cookies for Dad!).

So here's my top 5 fave cookies for this time of year - and my absolute least fave:

1. Holiday shaped, decorated sugar cookies
2. Gingerbread
3. Peanut butter blossoms
4. Florentines
5. Rugelach

And my least favorite (but somehow we end up with them all the time anyway - it's a tradition, after all):

1. Mexican Wedding cookies

How about you? what are your favorite holiday cookies? And your least favorite?

It's FINALLY here! The Romance Bandits 12 Days of Christmas Booty! Every day between now and Christmas, one lucky commenter per day will win a daily prize and on some days, additional goodies from that day's blogging Bandita or guest. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we'll give away bigger prizes, including autographed books, GR mugs and much more! Come join us! Tell your friends! Let's make the Season BRIGHT!

A Sparkling Seasonal Line-Up!

posted by Christine Wells

How did December get here so fast? Never fear, we have a fabulous program lined up to warm the cockles of your heart this holiday season!

First up, on 2 December, Suz and Jo Davis take us on a field trip to Station Five to chat with Jo's incredible firefighters. A most... educational excursion, ladies! And there are some fabulous prizes to be won!

Then, on December 3, Silhouette author Bonnie Vanak makes her first appearance in the Lair. Our in-depth reporter, Nancy, interviews Bonnie about her fabulous shifter romances.

On December 6, warn the cabana boys because it's Party Time as our very own New York Times bestseller, Kate Carlisle launches her second Silhouette Desire, SWEET SURRENDER, BABY SURPRISE! RT Book Reviews says it's "Sweepingly romantic and startlingly sexy" and The Romance Reviews calls it "A tender romance with mass appeal." Wow!

Join us for something a little different on December 7 when Dorie Graham chats with Nancy about creative intelligence. I'm really looking forward to that, as "creative intelligence" sometimes seems like an oxymoron when applied to yours truly!

And Deck the Halls, because December 13 rings in our third annual 12 days of Christmas, with fun giveaways and more!

But that's not all, because on December 16 the lovely Anna Campbell will chat with debut author Elizabeth Essex about her sizzling new release, The Pursuit of Pleasure!

And now, just for a bit of Aussie flavour, let me leave you with a Christmas carol they sing at my son's kindergarten:

Christmas where the gum trees grow
There is no frost and there is no snow
Christmas in Australia's hot
Cold and frosty's what it's not
When the bloom on the Jacaranda tree is here
Christmas time is near!

Christmas Bonanza Booty!!!

Thanks to everyone who visited the Lair on Christmas Day! You shared your favorite gifts, both received and given, and it was inspiring and fun!

Our official random number generator has chosen the big winner of the fantastic Bandita Christmas bonanza -- and the winner is …

PinkPeony!!!!!

Congratulations, Pink!!

Please write me at katecarlisle99@yahoo.com and tell me your snail mail address. I’ll make sure all your goodies are sent to you post haste!

Thanks again to everyone for stopping by the Lair throughout 2009. You are all special gifts to us. :-)

Happy New Year!!

12 Days and Wild Ride Booty!

We have a winner for Karen Kendall's Take Me For a Ride. Because that post appeared during our 12 Bandita Days of Christmas, the winner also receives the special holiday rooster booty. And the winner is . . .

Pam P!

Pam, please send your contact info to Nancy via the link at the top of the blog, with "for Nancy and Karen" in the subject line.

Congratulations, Pam, and thank you to everyone else for stopping by. We hope you all have a fabulous holiday season!

Bandita Booty!!

by Anna Sugden

Lots of prize-winners today - 3 lucky people get a Parisian trinket from Eloisa James.

Congratulations to:


Hrdwrkmom aka Dianna
Margay
PJ

And the winner of the extra prize of the Banditas' Twelve Days of Christmas goody is ...

PJ

Please send your snail mail details to Anna at Annasugden dot com and I will ensure you get your prizes - remember Eloisa won't be posting hers out until the new year!

STILL MORE Bandita Booty!

The 12 Bandita Days of Christmas marches on!

Our latest winner from Monday's post is...

Joder!

Congratulations! Please send your snail mail info to the Romance Bandit email (see the top of the sidebar or send to romancebandits AT gmail DOT com) for your special Bandita Christmas present!

Eloisa James Writes from Paris

by Anna Sugden

I'm delighted to give everyone in the Lair a Christmas surprise - we have a special guest today. All the way from Paris (yes, the one in France, not the one in Texas!) is Lair favourite, my good friend, the awesome NYT best-selling author, Eloisa James.

As many of you know, Eloisa and her family are spending a year in Paris. Even I, an avid Paris-hater (and we won't mention the Parisians *g*), have been captivated by her daily tales of life in the French capital, which she has been posting on Facebook.

So, with great pleasure I hand you over to Eloisa who will share with you a special piece about her time in Paris.

Thank you Anna and Banditas. It's great to be back here.

My study looks out over a small, quiet street called Rue du Conservatoire. This morning the snow is coming down fast, slanting sideways and turning the gray slate roofs opposite the color of milk. Since I grew up on a farm in Minnesota, this makes me feel at home. I found myself thinking about peeling potatoes for a hearty soup.

That’s when I got a jolting sense of vertigo. After all, I grew up on a farm outside a town of 2,242 people, though my father was a poet and not a farmer. One year we had no money (poetry is not lucrative), so my mother took down the dining room curtains, which had sailing ships on them, and made my sister and me new dresses for the first day of school. My prom party was held in a gravel pit, and I earned the money to buy my prom dress by waitressing in DeToy’s Supper Club.

Paris is a long, long way from the polyester dirndl skirts worn by DeToy’s waitresses.

And yet it’s still me, sitting here, looking out at snow, which is falling in that directed, intense sort of way that happens in Minnesota and apparently in Paris as well.

Sometimes life turns a corner and you catch a glimpse of time passing, as if you were in double time, both a teenager in a farm town, and a woman in Paris. And the current you is one that the Midwestern teenager would never have envisioned -- at least, I wouldn’t have. Skipping anything that has to do with an unflattering mirror, what about you? What’s happened to make you sit up and think: Is this really me? Can this be happening?

What’s one thing that’s happened to you that you never would have envisioned when you were ten years old?

Three commenters will be sent frivolous Parisian souvenirs – pocket mirrors adorned with glittery Eiffel Towers, bringing with them a whiff of la vie Parisienne, not to mention snow. And please join Eloisa’s Facebook Fan Page (http://www.facebook.com/EloisaJamesFans) to follow her daily adventures in Paris.


Anna: And don't forget, we're still doing the 12 Bandita Days of Christmas! One of the three lucky commenters Eloisa chooses will also receive their special Bandita goody!

More Bandita Bootie

And the winner of the book and the 12 Bandita Days of Christmas gift is... dum da dum... Jane!!! Giving a late, but loud whohoooo for Jane, who had the killer sugar cookie recipe on the Sweet Treats post last week. Jane, if you'll drop me an email to Tawny@TawnyWeber.com with your shipping info, I'll get that copy of the Blazing Bedtime Stories right out to you :-)

Bandit Booty!

Thanks so much to everyone for commenting on my posts about Christmas music and the Christmas Q&A! My daughter has drawn names and the winners are...

Gigi and Sherrinda!!

Gigi, you've won a copy of one of my books along with a rooster themed prize and Sherrinda, you've won your choice of TWO books along with a 12 Bandita Days of Christmas gift!

Please email me at: beth@bethandrews.net (that's beth AT bethandrews DOT net) with your snail mail information.

Congratulations, ladies!

Christie's Bandit Winner

Lady Graeye, you're the winner of a signed copy of Every Night I'm Yours and the Bandita's Days of Christmas goodies. Please email me at christie AT christiekelley.com with your full name and mailing address so we can get these out to you!


Congratulations!

Christmas Q & A

by Beth

I thought we'd do a quick Q&A for today's blog. So I give you my...

12 (and a few extra) Questions of Christmas!

Christmas trees:

1. Real or artificial?

2. White or colored lights?

3. Blinking or static?

4. Tree skirt or bare?

Decorations:

5. Red and green or silver and blue?

6. Old fashioned lights or LED?

7. Outside decorations - simple or the more the merrier?

8. Gingerbread houses - edible or just for looks?

Fun stuff:

9. Sleds...runner or plastic?

10. Ice skating, skiing or sledding?

11. Do you hang mistletoe?

12. Where do you hang your stockings?

The toughies:

If you had to choose (and lets pretend you DO have to choose *g*), which of these would you give up for the entire Holiday season:

Christmas music or Christmas movies?

What if you were wrapping and could have either Scissors or scotch tape (and no, you don't have any gift bags available either *g*) which would you choose to keep?

If one of these was the ONLY beverage you could drink through the entire season, which would it be: eggnog or mulled wine?

And don't forget, each commenter will be put in the drawing to win a rooster themed gift for our 12 Bandita Days of Christmas and I'll throw in TWO books from my stash of goodies. Winner's choice!