Ms. Wells Regrets...

by Christine Wells

I fell in love for the first time when I was 9--with a much older man. He was a former Rugby Union player. He'd played for Ireland and for the British Lions, probably the best fly half ever (but then I'm biased). And he stayed with us one winter in the Rugby season.

But not only was he a brilliant athlete, a charmer with the gift of the gab (he was Irish, after all), he was a thoroughly good man. When he heard I played softball and netball at school, he bought me a netball hoop and showed me how Donald Bradman used to repeatedly hit a cricket ball in the air on his bat to improve his hand-eye co-ordination. He was a gentleman who seemed as happy drinking tea with my mother or throwing a ball with a little girl as he was going out with the lads. And he made everyone laugh. The time he imitated the captain of the French Rugby team sticks in my mind. I mean, have you ever heard an Irishman imitate a Frenchman? A perfect hero for a romance novel, though he would have laughed off the idea. Did I mention he was modest, too?

As the years went on, he still wrote to the family and I wrote back, though I admit I'm not the best correspondent in the world. When I was married, he sent a beautiful marriage creed and on the birth of my first son, he sent an Irish Rugby teddy bear that unzips and turns inside out to become a football. Sure and they're never too young to start playing Rugby, he'd say.

When I was in my twenties I finally visited Ireland for a few days and stayed with friends who were living there. I had his telephone number, knew where he lived.

But I agonized. I worried. Would he be the same? Would he even want to see me? Would we have anything to talk about after all these years? You see, he'd become such a mythical figure in my mind, such a hero (and no, I wasn't still in love with him, being happily married by that time!) I simply choked when I thought of meeting him again.

I finally plucked up the courage to call. And I missed him. I didn't manage to make contact until after I'd left Ireland, and it was too late.

I don't know when I'll get to the Emerald Isle again. I wish I'd seen him when I'd had the chance.

Now, our Joanie T is off to Ireland (yay JT!) and it made me think of this man, and all the opportunities we miss when we're too diffident or too scared to take a chance. So after I finish writing this blog, I'm going to write to him. And maybe one day, we'll meet again.

Do you have any regrets? A person you lost contact with, a manuscript that's polished to perfection but you haven't sent out for fear of rejection? How about joining me and make a resolution to change that today?

Tim Tams for Everyone!

by Christine Wells

Please, please forgive my extreme tardiness in announcing the winners of the 'hooky pitch' contest from last month! I enjoyed them all so much, I'm sending Tim Tams to everyone who had a go at pitching their hooky historicals--Minna, Kim, Fedora, MsHellion, Marie-Nicole (did I miss anyone? Banditas, you will get your Tim Tams in San Fran, never fear:) .

And to Pam (doglady) and Limecello, go the winning prize of Tim Tams and a signed copy of Scandal's Daughter.

Contact me through the contact page on my website with your snail mail details and some delicious chocolatey treats will be winging your way!

The Tyranny of the Blank Page

by Anna Campbell

After Jo's beautiful post yesterday, I wasn't sure what I could follow it up with today. Anything after that would just seem banal.

Anyway, I thought I'd share with you something I've been thinking about a bit lately.
As a lot of you know, life chez Anna Campbell has been pretty exciting lately. It's awards season and to my delight and surprise, both UNTOUCHED and CLAIMING THE COURTESAN have appeared on several lists of the year's best. A great thrill, because it's based on reader votes, was being chosen as Best New Author of 2007 in the All About Romance Annual Reader Poll. Another great thrill because it's such a prestigious award was seeing CLAIMING THE COURTESAN nominated (along with my talented fellow Bandita Donna MacMeans's THE EDUCATION OF MRS. BRIMLEY) for Best First Historical Romance in the Romantic Times 2007 Reviewers Choice Awards. Michelle Buonfiglio at Lifetime TV chose CLAIMING THE COURTESAN not only as Debut of 2007 but also Book of the Year! Wow!

But as most romance writers, aspiring or published, will tell you - the one you really, REALLY want to final in is Romance Writers of America's RITA Awards. It was one of the dreams that kept me going through my years in the wilderness before I sold. The hope that one day I'd be able to say I was nominated for a RITA! You need such dreams when you're struggling against self-doubt and rejection and a world which keeps telling you to be sensible and give up trying to get what you want because it's impossible to achieve.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, this impossible dream came true. I received a phone call in the middle of the afternoon from megastar Lorraine Heath to let me know that BOTH my books had finaled in the Best Regency Historical Romance category. It took quite a while for the news to sink in! One of the loveliest things about that moment is Lorraine was among the first people to read CTC and she gave me a great quote which appeared on the cover. So there was a fantastic feeling of artistic balance about the whole occasion!

As you can imagine, I've been excited and happy and pleased and grateful and... You know the drill! I've had several riotous celebrations, including one with my local writer friends that I talk about here. And for a week or so there, the house was fragrant with the bunches of flowers wonderful wellwishers sent me.

But in between all this hoopla, my REAL life continues. And my real life is writing my fourth historical romance for Avon.

With all of this positive reinforcement, you'd think writing the next book would be a doddle, wouldn't you?

Well, the answer is a resounding...

NO!!!!!

The awards and the praise have been absolutely amazing and I'll always be grateful for the lovely things that have happened to me over the last few weeks. But the stark truth is that filling blank pages with my stories, finding out what I want to say and saying it as well as I possibly can, bringing characters who are alive in my head alive on paper, that never gets easier.

Which I've decided is a GOOD thing!

Well, I think it's a good thing...

There's something scary but unerringly honest about trying to tell the best story you can. I think the process makes you honest. It's just you and the writing, nothing else. It's ruthless, occasionally rewarding, often terrifying. But it keeps me grounded the way very few other things do. And each book turns out to be as big a challenge - or sometimes a bigger challenge - than the book before. Because each book presents its own world and its own problems and requires its own solutions that you only reach through painful effort and more ups and downs than your common or garden rollercoaster.

And at the end of all that anguish and hard graft, you hopefully get a book that you're proud to see on a shelf somewhere. And hopefully that other people will like and tell you that they like! So long live awards season!

What keeps you grounded through good and bad times? What makes it all worthwhile for you? Can we help you celebrate anything? You know we love a party in the lair!

A Mother Should Never . . .

This is not the post I had scheduled for today. I apologize to those of you who come to the Lair for levity and jokes. We have a reputation here of fun and funny, but as I looked over the three posts I had drafted, not one of them was right.

You see, today I watched a mother bury her son, and everything else seemed trivial and insignificant by comparison.

My youngest son’s friend Steve died last Wednesday. He was thirty-one years old. He owned his own landscaping business and his own home. Steve had been Rand’s friend since they were in elementary school and was a former high-school student of mine.

In the church I attend occasionally, a funeral isn’t so much a wake or display of mourning as a celebration of the departed person’s life. Laughter, jokes, a wistful recounting of the person’s life, and an opportunity to see distant and near family and friends abound, along with loads of food and plenty of tears.

As I stared at Steve’s casket, I thought of all the things he’d never be able to do now – marry, father a child, grow old – and that was the real tragedy for me. But, as women are wont to be, his mother was remarkably sturdy, and I wondered what higher power buoyed her up.

In the Twelve Step Program of Alcoholics Anonymous, attendees talk about reliance on this Higher Power. You don’t have to believe in the same God as everyone else, or even believe in a deity at all. Your Higher Power can be Elohim, Jehovah, Allah, the Oversoul, your family, or a surprising range of other sources.

I like that idea because it allows that we in the human condition are weak vessels, raised up by our stronger halves so that if frail, we can become ferocious; if susceptible, we can be steadfast.

One of my favorite Emily Dickinson poems suggests that "hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all."

As I grow older, I have fewer certainties, but two things I know for sure:

A person should never outlive his hope.

A mother should never bury her child.

When grief strikes my life, there are three places I turn: my amazing family, the soothing balm of music, and the great literature of suffering written throughout the ages.

Any writer has to attend to human tragedy and the human predicament. What do you writers and readers look to in times of tragedy? How do you receive comfort?

KISSES

by Suzanne Welsh

There's something sinful in kisses.

No not THOSE kisses. Okay, yes they're milk chocolaty sinful, but that's not what we're talking about today. We're discussing kisses that melt your heart.

There's all kinds of kisses.

The first kiss. That moment when the flirting stops. Your heart skips one beat then speeds up to make up for it. You moisten your lips in anticipation. He leans in close, you lean in close. Your heads tilt to the side. Eyes closed, your breath mingles first. Then softly, his lips brush yours. Softly. Your lips cling to his for just the biefest of moments. Ah...

Then there's the kiss to the hand. Used for centruies as a court greeting between men and women, this is a fine art lost on most modern men. At least younger men. As they age, men see the pure seduction of holding their fair lady's hand in theirs, then bring it up to their lips, placing a soft, sweet kiss on the knuckles, or perhaps turning her palm upwards and leaving a slightly more sensual kiss on the tender folds of her hand, followed by a puckish wiggle of the eyebrow and a grin.

The hands on the face kiss. Mmmm one of my favorites! Grasp her head between his hands, and thoroughly kiss the stuffing out of her. Yep. Makes me all warm all over...er..okay let's move on.

The we've been married for 20 years and I'll give you a peck on the lips before I go off to work kiss. This is the tried and true kiss of two busy people, who want a quick reminder when they will be seperated for the day, that they still matter to the other person. Sometimes it turns into a more lengthy kiss that can keep both parties smiling and humming throughout their day!

The good-old fashioned French Kiss. Need we say more? Okay. The mixing of tongues, the tasting of each other. The kind of kiss that makes you slam back against a wall, tug at each other's clothes as you struggle down the hall to the bedroom. Deep. Soul-wrenching. HOT!

Then there's the one kiss that is a real turn on. The woman starts to pass her husband of 10 years, he grabs her by the arm, hauls her up hard against him and kisses her so hard, so deep, there is no question she's the one and only woman for him. SIGHHHHHH.

Okay...so those are my favorite kisses. What ones are yours?

Fire Away!

by Anna Sugden

Questions only please!! (Cassondra and P226 ... and any other weapon-toters!)

As you know, NYT best-selling author, Eloisa James, will be joining us in the Lair on May 1st. To say the Bandita's are thrilled is an under-statement! I'm sure many of our visitors are too. We promise to have fainting couches, smelling salts and lace hankies on hand for those likely to be overwhelmed! And some fab prizes too.

We thought it would be fun to give you a chance to think of the questions you'd like to have Eloisa answer, in advance. I'll compile all the questions and give them to Eloisa, so she'll be ready to give you her answers on May 1st.

This is your opportunity ... what would you like to know?

Something about her books and characters? Something about writing (I can tell you, she gives fabulous workshops!)? Maybe something about her double life as a NYT bestseller and NY English professor? Or even what it's like to be married to a genuine Italian knight?!

And as an extra bit of fun:

1. Which is your favourite Eloisa book?

2. Who is your favourite Eloisa hero?

3. Who is your favourite Eloisa heroine?

We're giving away a prize too! Eloisa has kindly offered a copy of Desperate Duchess to one lucky commenter.

Glamorous Indie Rock 'n Roll

by Caren Crane

I think we all have a soundtrack to our lives. The music that runs through our heads as we work, play, grocery shop, order Chinese take-out or seduce our significant other. Sometimes the style of the music changes, but overall everyone has music that is theirs. My soundtrack is indie rock 'n roll or, if you prefer, alternative rock.

From the time I was old enough to form musical preferences I liked music that was different, emotional and highly danceable. Early on, I listened to plenty of my mother's music: Rolling Stones, The Who, Neil Diamond, Elton John, Bread, The Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival. And also my father's: Arlo Guthrie, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Johnny Cash, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Three Dog Night. As a preteen, I was seriously influenced by my oldest sister's taste in music: Heart, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Renaissance, Al Stewart, Jefferson Airplane/Starship, Allman Brothers Band, Steve Miller Band.

And yet, for all that rich musical exposure, my first concert ever was...The Village People. But that was sort of accidental. My mother's friend worked for a radio station and got us tickets. I remember halfway enjoying it immensely and halfway being mortified to be seen there. I'm happy to say my first real concert (of my own choosing, without parental supervision) was AC/DC when I was 14. I'm still not sure how I pulled that one off, to tell you the truth. I think I went with my next older sisters' friends or something. It was awesome! That AC/DC show during the amazing Back In Black tour gave me a lifelong fondness for live music, smoke-laden venues and seriously loud, rocking party bands.

Then I discovered New Wave. When I started college, I enjoyed Men At Work, Culture Club, Duran Duran, and Prince as much as anyone else. But there were different tiers of "New Wave" music hitting the scene. Some of my personal faves: Thomas Dolby, Elvis Costello, The Clash, Dexy's Midnight Runners, Depeche Mode, Oingo Boingo, Level 42, Yaz, Adam Ant and, of course, The Police. The early 80s were a time when music was seriously fun.

Eventually, all that cool music spawned my exploration into darker, more emotive, more "real" music than we were spoon-fed on commercial radio. Some of my post-punk raves: Joy Division/New Order, The Smiths, The Violent Femmes, U2, The Cure, Pixies, R.E.M. (I'm seeing them again in June!), Smithereens, Sonic Youth and my beloved XTC. I reveled in the angst and darkness - it totally went with my punk hair!

Then I had children.

Fast forward through the 90s - a decade I barely remember thanks to the last two children, birthed a mere 18 months apart. The 90s was a time of interchangeable pop and rap with a few high points: Nirvana, The Breeders, Stone Temple Pilots, The Offspring, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smashing Pumpkins, Oasis, Weezer, Soundgarden, Beck, The Cranberries. Somehow, I didn't miss all the music (though I have almost no memories of 1993 - 1996), but it's mostly because younger sister kept burning me CDs (well, okay, she made me TAPES, since it was back in the day), merciful soul she is! Those grunge and hard rock people were carrying on the angsty banner all through my lost decade.

These days, my husband rolls his eyes and asks me when I'm going to stop listening to college radio. I understand his frustration, but I like what I like. As I get older, the bands I like get smaller and less well-known, but they are still fun and lots of times full of angst. Lately, I've flirted with The Killers, Guster (most fun live band ever!), The Decemberists (okay, they're also great live), Spoon (seeing them in a couple of weeks!), Franz Ferdinand, Queens Of the Stone Age, Of Montreal, My Brightest Diamond, Les Savy Fav, Kasabian, Iron & Wine, Ima Robot, Hot Hot Heat, The Fiery Furnaces. I just found British Sea Power - new obsession (who are playing in Chapel Hill in May!).

Over the years, I've adored the sex-and-cigarettes rock of Aerosmith and the manic Cape Breton fiddling of Natalie MacMaster. I have run the gamut from the sea shanties of Great Big Sea to the big band stylings of gypsy-punk of Gogol Bordello. Though my tastes are fairly eclectic, I find that whatever I enjoy turns out to be the odd, the quirky, the not-quite-mainstream time and again. My personal, ever-changing soundtrack reflects a lifetime spent holding singular opinions, being a bit "different", taking the road less traveled and making what are generally held to be unpopular choices. My life and my music - just the way I like 'em! *g*

So, what kind of music plays on the soundtrack of your life? What do you think your music says about you and the life you lead? Remember, we love everything from ABBA to Mozart in the Lair, so even your Eddie Rabbit penchant is safe in our hands! *g*

Amanda's Winner!

Thanks, everyone, for all your time travelling tips when Amanda McCabe came to visit on Friday. We now have a winner and it's...

TERRIO!!!!

Terrio, congratulations! You've won a signed copy of Amanda's new book A SINFUL ALLIANCE! Please email Amanda at amccabe7551@yahoo.com and give her your snail mail details. Happy reading!

Barbie and the Rules of Femininity

by Kirsten Scott

So, do you love her, or hate her?

You know what I mean. Barbie inspires passionate responses from just about everyone. She's tall, blonde, has feet that were made for high heels, and hips that won't quit. And that rack...well, let's just say that if Barbie were a real woman, she wouldn't be doing much jogging.

But as many mothers can tell you, girls are fascinated by Barbie. Fascinated may be the understatement of the year. Girls LOVE Barbie. My daughter, bless her heart, thinks the sun rises and sets on this vision of femininty.

And me? I hate her. I mean, I hate Barbie with the fire of ten-thousand suns. I hate Barbie with a passion that seems remarkable, considering she's just a plastic doll.

Or is she?

What is it that Barbie represents that I hate so very much?

She's really a liberated woman. They've made a Dr. Barbie, Air Force Barbie, and a Busy Gal Barbie (she carried a briefcase, naturally). Barbie's been all over the world --I found a Kenyan Barbie, a Korean Barbie, and a Thai Barbie, just to name a few.

But dress her up as you may, she's still...Barbie.

So it must be her looks. That impossible figure (they say she'd be over 7 feet tall with a 44-inch bust, a 17-inch waist and 40-inch hips). Truth is, unnatural proportions aside, Barbie is reality. Women are supposed to be pretty. I don't care if you're a doctor, a lawyer, or a stay at home mom. You're supposed to look good no matter what you do. And really, this is what ticks me off. Not Barbie. It's the beauty thing.

Now, I'm a normal-sized gal. Not skinny, not heavy, just normal. Taller than most, blonde (okay, dark blonde), and after a little plastic surgery, I have an average-sized bust. (Someday, ladies, we'll talk reductions. But no use going into that now.) But I HATED my body for most of my life. Hated my body as much as I now hate Barbie.

Hmm...connection, perhaps?

I worry about my daughter. She's never going to have Barbie's proportions. She's going to be tall, full-bodied, big-boned, and strong. She's also going to be smart, loving, and brave. But will she hate her body the way I did? If burning all the Barbies in the world would prevent that, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

My daughter loves Barbie. She thinks Barbie is beautiful. And how can I fight that? I tried banning Barbie from the house, but knew that would only make her want Barbie more. I've now allowed Barbie entry, but banned the Brats. (That's an entirely different blog--they've now got Trashy Barbies. It's horrifying.) I've tried to push her toward Groovy Girls, who are adorable but wonderfully sex-less. She's moderately interested, but her heart's still with Barbie.

I suppose its isn't really Barbie that's at fault here. After all, I never played with Barbie (I was more the stuffed animal type) and I had loads of body image problems. My sister, on the other hand, had boxes of Barbies, but seemed to escape body image disasters (she's also 5'11 and twenty pounds lighter than me, but that's still another blog!). So we can't blame it all on Barbie.

Women have made a lot of progress over the years. We've still got a glass ceiling to contend with, but the freedoms we've gained are remarkable. Love her or hate her, we've got a woman who could be our next president. We've got a woman Speaker of the House. We've got women CEOs, and women in every profession you can imagine. We can vote. We can make choices today previous generations could only dream about.

Now all we've got to do is get rid of Barbie.

What do you think? Like Barbie or hate her? Did you play with Barbies? Torture or mutilate them? (I've heard all about this practice, believe me!) Will you or did you let your daughter play with Barbie? Why do we hate her so much, anyway?

Amanda McCabe is in the Lair!

by Anna Campbell

Welcome to the fabulously talented historical romance writer Amanda McCabe. I met Amanda over the internet a couple of years ago when she judged the beginning of the book that became CLAIMING THE COURTESAN. She was the sort of judge you'd pay to have - oh, that's right, I did with the contest fee. Smart, savvy, empathetic, enthusiastic. We started a correspondence with my thank you letter to her - never underestimate the power of a thank you letter! So I'm delighted to lure her into the lair today.

Amanda, what amazing fortuitousness (is that a word? JoMama would know!) that you visit us just as the news breaks of your amazing three-book deal with Grand Central Publishing, previously Warner. Huge congratulations! It’s time for a party in the lair. Can you tell us about the trilogy, when we can expect to see the books on the shelves, and also can you share your call story? We in the lair love call stories!

I love call stories, too, but sadly mine is not very interesting. It was late on a Friday afternoon, and I was actually shopping. I had found a pretty party dress and was thinking, “Hmmm—this would look fab at RWA!” when my agent called. We had an offer, woo-hoo! And I now have a place to wear my new dress. I was so happy these stories found a good home. My family is Irish, and I’ve always wanted to do a book set in Ireland. It just took a while for the right characters to come to me. THE DAUGHTERS OF IRELAND is a trilogy about the three Blacknall sisters, and book one (titled COUNTESS OF SCANDAL, but you know how that stuff changes!) features the eldest, Eliza. She’s a young, rich widowed countess, but she has a secret—she writes seditious pamphlets for the United Irishmen, and hides fugitives in the cellars of her Dublin townhouse. She’s devoted to the idea of Irish freedom, but a serious problem pops up in the form of her childhood sweetheart, Will Denton, the son of her family’s neighbours. He left her when she was young to join the Army and go off to the West Indies. Now he’s Major William Denton, sent to Ireland to quell the growing unrest and track down the Irish rebels. One of which, of course, is Eliza!

That sounds great. Full of the wonderful meaty conflict you do so well. More news in the world of Amanda McCabe – you have a new book hitting the stands in April, the second in your RENAISSANCE TRILOGY. Can you tell us about A SINFUL ALLIANCE?

I am sooo excited about this book! (Quick note—please ignore the “Back to Disco Fever” cover. I swear no ABBA songs were involved in the making of this story!) Nicolai was the hero’s friend in my last book, A NOTORIOUS WOMAN, and I hadn’t actually intended to write a book for him. But, as so often happens with those pesky secondary characters, I really fell for him. And I found a very beautiful, but somewhat troubled and lonely heroine who needed his love—Marguerite Dumas, a French spy. Trouble was, she once tried to kill him. Bit of a rocky start. They meet up a few months later at the Court of Henry VIII at Greenwich, still on opposite sides of ever-shifting political alliances. This event was a real historical happening, a meeting in early 1527 between Henry and a French delegation seeking a marriage between Princess Mary and King Francois’s younger son. The weeks-long meeting was filled with lavish banquets, balls, jousts, and masques. The perfect setting for an illicit, dangerous affair. And some really great clothes!


I absolutely adored A NOTORIOUS WOMAN, which was set in 16th century Venice. The city is like another character in that story and I just devoured the stormy, dramatic, passionate story of Marc Antonio Velasquez and Julietta Bassano. What made you decide to write this story and what research did you do? Have you been to Venice? I have and I’ve got to say you captured the city just perfectly in your wonderful prose.

I’m very happy you liked it!I thought of this story because, 1) I also love Venice. I’ve only been there once, years ago before I even started writing romance, and I adored it. It’s mysterious, beautiful, unique, and really weird. Perfect for atmospheric romance! 2) I read a history book about a female alchemist in 16th century Venice, and started thinking “What if…” 3) I also loved the movie Dangerous Beauty with the delicious Rufus Sewell! I wish I could have gone back to Venice for research, but history books had to suffice. Maybe next year!

Is the third book in the RENAISSANCE TRILOGY about Balthazar? I live in hope! Can you tell us a little bit about the next instalment?

Tee hee! I’m actually finishing writing his story now. It’s set seven years after the action of A NOTORIOUS WOMAN, and he’s a ship’s captain in the Caribbean. He meets up with a woman from his (very complicated) past in a Santo Domingo tavern. He’s grown up quite nicely, I must say!!

I bet he has! Not only do you set wonderful books in the Renaissance and late 18th century Ireland, you also have a new series of Regency romances with Harlequin called THE MUSES OF MAYFAIR. The first book, TO CATCH A ROGUE (which is available here), was released in the UK in March. Can you tell us about this series and what else we can look forward to from the Muses?

Now that I look at all this, I’m stressing out wondering when I’ll have time to write and research it all! [ANNA: We live to serve. Bwahahahahahaha!] The Muses will be out in the probably in fall 2009, in consecutive months so you can get all their stories! Like the Irish books, these are about three sisters, Calliope, Clio, and Thalia Chase (I think I like sisters since I only have a brother!). They’re the eldest daughters of a famous scholar of (surprise!) Greek myth and art, and are also scholars in their own right, though of very different temperaments. Calliope (TO CATCH A ROGUE) is practical and serious—until she meets a free-spirited, half-Greek earl who she thinks is a thief. Clio (TO DECEIVE A DUKE) is the most intellectual and independent, and clashes with a mysterious duke in Sicily (more Italy, yay!). And Thalia (TO KISS A COUNT) is the most beautiful, and most insecure. She has to join with an Italian count to find a stolen antiquity in Bath. Scandal in the Pump Room!!!

What are the challenges and rewards of writing across different settings? Are there other settings you’d like to use but haven’t yet explored?

The challenge is to keep from getting confused! I always have to ask myself, “Is this a factoid from Tudor England? Or 18th century Dublin?" And I have to not indulge my deep love for Regency slang in a Renaissance book! But the rewards are that I don’t get bored, and I don’t ‘burn out’ on story ideas. As for other settings, I’m working in my spare time (Spare time? What is this strange concept??) on historical fiction set in 18th century France. I love this time period! And I have an idea for a romance set in 17th century Holland, which I’m not sure anyone would go for…

Amanda has very kindly offered one lucky commenter a copy of A SINFUL ALLIANCE. If you could travel through space/time, where would you go to research your dream historical romance? What period in history serves up the most dashing heroes? Hey, even more important, what period in history has the best frocks? Good luck!

The Winner Is.....

I couldn't do it. I couldn't "select" the best story from yesterday's blog. There were just too many!

So I resorted to the tried and true draw a name out of the hat or rather blindfolded the GR and let him pick it up with his beak!

The winner of a $10 Barnes and Noble gift card is MSHELLION !

Please send your snail mail info to JoanieT13 AT gmail DOT com

It's All A Game

by Joan Kayse

I have a critique group. Four ladies who I have bonded with not only as writers but as friends. We each write in different sub-genres—historical, romantic suspense, category and YA. Yet we all get each others writing and are there to help shape the stories, offer plot solutions, force the historical writer to get rid of the goat….

Ahem.

Anyway, we met this past weekend and spent a good thirty minutes reading the pages each had brought. But halfway through I looked across the table to find the category and YA girls playing football. No, not the kind with an actual ball but the kind played for decades by bored students in study hall. They didn’t have folded paper triangles but tightly wadded foil from every critique groups essential tool…Hershey Dark Chocolate kisses.

They became completely engrossed in the game and to be frank they amazed me with their skill. The category gal was especially adept at flicking the ball through an obstacle course of purple foil to score. The more they played, the more they laughed and the more I decided I needed to bring more pages to keep them occupied.

But their playing of this adolescent game got us to talking about other games we played as kids. Now you have to understand that we artfully dodged SOME discussion lest it date us as to our age.

While jacks and marbles were mentioned, I remembered more clearly those summer time plastic wonders. You know from Whammo or Hasbro. A favorite was a plastic heel you strapped onto your foot. Attached was a long string with a ball and you swung that around and jumped over the string as you would a jumping rope. It took skill, coordination and stamina. Sigh. Those were the days.

Remember Super balls? Man, you could not only put your eye out with those but if hit JUST RIGHT bean that annoying Mike L. in his backyard three houses down :-)


And Jarts. My cousin Bobby had those and we spent hours playing it. I can just hear child safety experts of today saying "It's all well and good until somebody pierces an aorta.". Spoil sports.

Hula Hoops, skates, Frisbees, rocks (Ever play rock school?), chalk for hopscotch, bubbles the "old fashioned way"...blowing.

What were some of your favorite toys as a kid? Tell us about them and especially any unusual stories. The person with the most memorable one will win a $10 Barnes and Noble gift card.

April Preview

posted by Aunty Cindy

NO FOOLIN'! We are gonna have TONS OF FUN in the Lair this month! Not to mention some of us are gonna be OUT of the Lair. That's right, conference season is starting and some Banditas may be coming to your area LIVE & IN PERSON!

If you are a writer and live in the Dallas area, on April 4th & 5th our very own Bandita Suzanne Welsh (who is president of the local chapter) will be at the Dreamin' in Dallas conference. Don't worry about finding Suz. She will find you, as she pimps... er, um promotes her friends' books at the Book Fair.

April 11--13th, our very own Bandita weapons and detail expert, Cassondra Murray will be at the Silken Sands conference in lovely Pensacola, Florida.

Both readers and writers can prepare for a Bandita skirmish (as opposed to a full blown raid) at the Romantic Times Book Lovers Convention in Pittsburgh April 16--20th. Look for and cheer on our very own American Title IV finalist, Trish Milburn! Plus your eyes do NOT deceive you, our 08 Golden Heart finalist KJ Howe will be there, along with our HOT historical authors Christie Kelley and Donna MacMeans.

Meanwhile, the rest of us will be holding forth in the Lair and bringing you some fantastic guests whom you absolutely MUST NOT MISS including:

• April 4th, historical author Amanda McCabe who has a Renaissance Trilogy from Harlequin will visit.
• April 21st, Jennie Lucas who writes for both Mills & Boon and Harlequin Presents will hang out with us in the Lair.
• April 28th, NAL Executive Editor, Tracy Bernstein will be in the Lair, giving us her take on the romance market and new releases from NAL's authors!
  
• April 29th, the Banditas will welcome current Rita nominee, best-selling and multi-award winning author Jane Porter.
• May 1st, we are all TOTALLY STOKED to host NY Times best-selling, multi-award winning and "are-there-really-enough-adjectives-in-the- universe-to-describe-her?" Eloisa James!
  

Plus there will be the usual array of contests, surprises, and general rowdiness!

DO NOT MISS ANY OF IT!

La Vida Vampire...WINNER

The lucky winner of the autographed copy of LA VIDA VAMPIRE, Nancy Haddock's debut book, is...........drum roll........................................

REBEKAH!!

Rebekah, if you'll send my your snail mail addy to Suzanne at swwelsh2001 at Yahoo dot com, we'll get your prize to you asap!! And congratulations!!

Dare-ing is Rewarded!

Do you know one of the many reasons I loved having future romance star Tessa Dare on the Bandits? There are SOOOO many opportunities to play games with her last name!

So without any further ado, I now announce the winner of the $20 Amazon voucher that Tessa very kindly offered to one lucky commenter on Monday. And can I say you all did me proud? Tessa had a wonderful day and received such a tumultuous welcome!

Oh, dear, that probably counts as further ado...

The winner is...

ROBYN E!!!

Robyn, congratulations. Hmm, what can I say now to make you buy BANDITA books?!!! The fact that all you have to do is click on the covers on the right-hand side and hey, presto, there you are in Amazon? How easy is that?

Debut author MJ Fredrick comes out of the (writing) closet

One of my absolute best friends in the world is author MJ Fredrick. Like the Romance Bandits, she's a former RWA Golden Heart finalist. And she's another study in perseverance, never giving up on her publishing dream, even in the face of the rejection and self-doubt we all have faced at some point. Her first two novels are out in e-format and will debut in paperback this fall. Today she's talking about something else we writers bump into from time to time -- coming out of the writing closet to co-workers at the day job.

In my everyday life, I’m a schoolteacher. I’ve never REALLY been in the closet about my writing, but I learned a long ago not to talk about it because, well, success is a lonnnnng time coming (13 years from my first finished book to my first published book). The more people who know, the more people who ask and the more you have to say that no one’s bought you yet.

So when I came to my new school four years ago, I didn’t advertise the writing thing.

And then I sold. Two books in two months to two publishers. I HAD to tell.

The reaction still surprises me. One of the teachers in my unit, who loves to read romance, has just enjoyed every step of this with me. When I get my cover or get an article written about me, she just lights up and hugs me and tells me how proud she is. My whole grade level has been awesome. The newest teacher keeps reminding me that she urged me to take the e-publishing step, another teacher bought me an M&M fire truck because both my books are about firefighters. ;)



The sped teacher and library aide want shirts with my book cover.

The librarian and reading specialist cheer each success.

The day my first book came out, my principal (my PRINCIPAL) made a banner for the teachers' lounge that said, “Congratulations! We are ALL so proud of you!” She included hearts on both ends with flames in them, AND she bought me a chocolate cake that said "Congratulations" AND she called the district PR guy, who has since become my personal publicist.

The coach asked for more information about how to get the book and took one of my postcards with the Web site on it.



Then, last Friday at about 10:30 a.m., my principal called me on my cell. “One of the news stations is coming to interview you at 2. I just found out, but I wanted to give you heads up.”

Okay, if you’ve ever met me…this is exactly the kind of thing I NEVER thought I’d do. I looked down at myself. It was Friday, so I was wearing my school T-shirt and jeans. I’d been writing in the morning and managed to remember to put on base, and I THINK mascara, but nothing else, not even earrings. I figured I’d go to Walgreen’s at lunch to get make-up, but what about the shirt? I looked at all the women who were my size, all were wearing t-shirts, too. So I went to the office, thinking they might have an extra collared shirt.

I hit pay dirt. The counselor let me borrow her hot pink school shirt with a collar but it said “Counselor.” I figured I’d find a way to fix that. I like pink. She also had make-up (Hallelujah!) The teacher next door gave me a silk flower from the end of her pen and made a pin to cover up “Counselor,” and the sped teacher loaned me her earrings. And the principal came in to the interview with me so I wouldn’t be so nervous!

You can see the result here:
The Interview

I’m still astounded at the support and awe I receive at school. Maybe it’s because I’ve only talked writing and publishing with writers all these years that I don’t see how special writing a book and getting it published really is.

And yes, I know my school is a special blessing.

Thanks for hanging with us today, MJ.

You can find MJ's newest releases here:

Where There's Smoke at The Wild Rose Press
Hot Shot at Samhain Publishing (releases April 1, so if you visit this blog post on the evening of March 31, you might not see it)

Be sure to visit MJ at her fun blog, The Bandwagon, and her Web site.