Is there a Doctor in the House???

by Jeanne Adams
I like doctors. I like them in person, on television and generally, as human beings. There are a few exceptions, trust me. However, for the most part, I think anyone who is willing to dedicate their lives to listening to people worry, whine, sob, and express various bodily functions toward said doctor deserves not only a huge salary but possibly sainthood.

There really isn't enough money printed to get me to do this. Any of it.

Start with med school. From the hazing to the weed-em-out-tests to the brutal rotations through specialties you would never contemplate (podiatry, anyone?), there pretty much is nothing fun about med school. I think of it like nine years of intensive, mental boot camp. People yell at you, spit on you, make you wade through unmentionable substances - everything I've ever seen on every movie about Marines in training - and what do you get for this suffering? Well, like the Marines, you get to go do thankless, dangerous stuff. Woo-hoo!

Come to think of it, they should probably pay Marines and Nurses what they pay Doctors, considering the workload.

I'm tellin' ya' - NOT enough money printed to get me to do this.

I do understand the challenge. Really, I do. I love intellectual puzzles. I love solving things. I even like the kind of physical challenges posed by being a Marine. Very cool. What I don't like is the massive, perpetual downside.

The most innocuous downside is still substantive. Blood, and lots of it, some of which might bear diseases that can kill you. Now I'm not afraid of blood, or bothered by the sight of it, and I'm more than willing to splash around a considerable amount of blood in my books, and make other people wade through it.

Hey, a girl's gotta have her fun. :> However, I would not, will not (with a fox, or a mouse, or a goat) do any of said wading myself.

Then there's those other noxious substances. I'm sure the nurses on our Bandita Team can wax very grim about those "other" substances.

SOOOOO not going THERE.

Why then, you ask, am I going on about this heinous topic? Well, last Sunday, I spent three hours in the ER. Not the attractive one on television with various attractive Slavic or swarthy, heroic doctor types. No. The real one. With a very sore, very hurt little boy who couldn't figure out why a fall off the bed HURT so darn much. Not like he hasn't done it before, right?


This time, he broke his collar bone. OUCH.

Where's Dr. McDreamy when you need him? Nary a studly man in sight, except my equally worried spouse.

Come to think of it, he'd look good in scrubs, or in that white lab coat. He's got a serious demeanor, very trustworthy. He'd make a splendid doctor, since he doesn't faint at blood or that other stuff.

(He used to play rugby. Does that tell you anything?)

But no cute guys in scrubs appeared. The nice man who helped us with our son's injury was about five-seven (my height), with big glasses and a nice smile which he reserved for my husband. I like to look at my husband that way too, but I'm not particularly thrilled when other MEN do. (No offense to gents of that persuasion, but HEY! MINE!)

Harrrrumpf! However, the doc pronounced the collar bone broken as he perused the x-rays, informed us that there isn't much to do about it, gave us Motrin and sent us home with a very weary, confused little boy.

I have to confess that I'm going to engage in a bit of Writer's Revenge. What is that, you ask? Ah....I'm going to write this guy into a book and kill him off.

Really.

It wasn't that he was bad, its just that he wasn't GOOD. Kind of like the "red-shirt" guy they joke about at Star Trek conventions. He's the scapegoat that beams down with the exploration party and gets killed. Yep. Expendable. Grins.

Anyway, like everything in my life, good, bad, and odd, it'll end up in a story at some point. That's the way my mind works even when I'm not engaging in Writer's Revenge. The doctor in the book won't look the same, but will act the way this one did. He may even become a she, since then it'll be even more fun to kill him off for looking at my hubby. *VEG*

So here's some questions for the day:
Have you ever broken a bone? Did it become a "weather-wise ache?"

Have you ever actually seen a doctor as gorgeous as McDreamy, the ER guys, or the generally elegant guys on General Hospital?

If you are a doctor (or play one on TV), was medical school as bad as it seems from the outside? Or is it worse?

Nurses? Same question...

Last but not least, do you engage in Writer's Revenge?

Let's hear some stories, guys!

A Taste of Spy Candy

by Nancy Northcott

Today we welcome Kensington author Gina Robinson into the lair. Gina's celebrating the release of her first novel, Spy Candy. A two-time Golden Heart finalist and a Pacific Northwest Writers Association finalist, Gina will discuss Spy Candy and the long road that brought her to its publication. Welcome, Gina! Tell us a little about your hero and heroine.

Jenna, the heroine, is kind of a librarian archetype. She’s a cautious, conservative banker who doesn’t see herself as attractive. But on the inside, she longs for adventure and has a real thing for all things James Bond and spying. That’s why her best friend gives her a fantasy vacation to spy camp.

Torq, the hero, is an adventurer. He’s one of the instructors at the spy camp and the farthest thing from cautious and shy.

They don't seem to be natural allies. How do they clash at spy camp?

No, they aren’t. At first, Torq just shakes his head at Jenna’s cautious nature and naïve ineptitude during the spy training exercises. He really pushes her to the limits.

Jenna’s actually a little afraid of Torq and his confidence and sex appeal, while at the same time, longing to be more like him.

What draws them together?

Raw animal magnetism! But seriously, at heart, they’re both adventurers. Jenna just needs to realize it.

Here's an excerpt:

Making sure I had his full attention, I slowly unzipped the jumpsuit. Down to the tops of my fake breasts. Pause.

His pen stilled.

Zip. Over the girls, past the hips, down to the crotch. I gave one shoulder a shimmy shake sending the silicone girls bouncing as I stripped the jumpsuit off one shoulder. Then the next. I’d watched Logan’s strip aerobics DVD a time or two and it was coming in handy now as I worked up to the grand finale.

I gave my bottom a healthy wiggle as I scooched the overalls past my hips and stepped out of them, one elongated leg at a time.

His gaze was glued to my crop top. When I looked down, I realized it was plastered with sweat against my body in much the same way as a wet T-shirt clings. I kicked the coveralls into the corner and stepped directly in front of him, feigning trying to get a glimpse of my chart. In reality, I was just giving him a better look down my blouse.

“Hey, you were a real trooper.” His tongue was thick on his words. He was looking down at me. I was looking up at him, standing way too far into his personal space. “Five times isn’t bad. Great big, brave policemen don’t do any better.”

Our gazes locked.

“Thanks.”

He cleared his throat. “You probably better send the next CT in.”

“You’re probably right.” I reluctantly stepped back and turned to leave. I paused at the door to call to him. “Bet no one else is as good as me.” I winked and raced out, giving him a wave over my back, being careful not to turn and let him see the big, fat grin on my face. Let him figure me out.


Tell us about your road to publication.

I waited twelve years for the call. Nearly exactly. I made my first submission in late August of 1995 and got the call on October 4, 2007. During those twelve years I received hundreds of rejections. Along the way, I made every mistake known to writerdom. I started out writing Western historical romance. Just as I began to submit, the bottom fell out of that market. I beat my head against that door for awhile before I gave up and switched to contemporary, then chicklit and that market died. As you can tell, I had great market timing . Finally I wrote romantic suspense.

Back in 1995, there was no internet, not for the general populace, anyway. But as soon as I made that first submission, I just knew New York would be calling me, or maybe even faxing me. Faxing was big back then. Important things were faxed. So even though money was tight, my wonderfully supportive husband bought me a fax machine. I put it on my writing desk...and waited. It was lovely. Very high tech for the times. I liked staring at it and dreaming of the fax that would be coming any day. I started with anticipation whenever it roared to life or the phone rang. Sadly, the only faxes I ever got were a few junk ones and messages from my family and friends. Eventually that first rejection came in the mail, followed by many, many more.

Fast forward twelve years, much jaded cynicism and many close calls later. The fax machine is now in the garage, awaiting antique status. My agent called me on October 3rd. That conversation went something like this:

She said something to the effect of, “Great news! We have interest in the book.”

Me, “Interest?”

Her, “Yes. We have an editor who wants to buy the book. He just has to take it to the editorial committee.”

Me, *heavy internal sigh* I’m thinking to myself, yeah, we’ve been here too many times before. Call me when something interesting happens. Aloud to her, without much enthusiasm, “That’s great.”

Her, sensing my lack of enthusiasm. “You don’t understand. This time the Editor In Chief wants to buy.”

Me, still skeptical, not wanting to hope. “When do you think we’ll hear for sure?”

Her, “A week or two.”

Me, thinking to myself, “That’s agent-speak for months. We’ll be lucky if we hear by the end of the year.”

Less than twenty-four hours later, my agent called me back with an offer. I was so stunned, I could barely speak. My reaction was so understated, she had to ask me if I was happy. You know how we always wonder about ourselves and how we’d react in certain situations? I used to ask myself the eternal question, “If I was on a game show, would I be one of those bouncy, jump-up-and-downers? A crier, maybe?” Now I knew--I was a deer-in-the-headlights. After I hung up, then I started screaming and punching the air in victory with tears of joy flowing down my cheeks. I’m just sorry my agent didn’t get to see all that. Fortunately, I got a chance to tell her later how happy I really was.

That's a wonderful testament to the value of persistence. What's next for you?

My second book, another humorous romantic suspense, will be a December 2009 release from Kensington. Right now, we’re still searching for the perfect title for it. It’s another spy camp story set at a different camp with a completely new cast of characters.

Gina will be be signing books at the Southcenter Borders in Tukwila, WA on Saturday, November 15th from 1PM to 3PM. For more information about Gina and her work, visit her website, http://www.ginarobinson.com/.

What do you like about spy novels? What's your favorite? Have you ever wanted to try your hand at the spy trade, just for a little while? Gina's giving away a copy of Spy Candy to one commenter chosen at random today.

Robin Kaye Is In Da Lair!

posted by Aunty Cindy aka Loucinda McGary

We had a wonderful time yesterday hosting the lovely Tessa Radley, and today we are lucky enough to have another SUPER guest! I'm excited to welcome another of my "Casa Sisters" whose debut novel, a delightful contemporary romance, just hit the book stores on November 1st.

A very hearty Bandita HUZZAH to Robin Kaye!

RK: Hi Cindy and everyone here in the lair. Thanks for having me. I’ve never been in a lair before…bars, clubs, once I was even in a yurt, but never a lair. I like it.

AC: Ah yes, we had the cabana boys and gladiators up until all hours sprucing the place up just for you, Robin. Please tell us about your debut release Romeo, Romeo and your writing journey that ultimately led you to write about "…a man as good in the kitchen as he is in the bedroom."

RK: Independent businesswoman, Rosalie Ronaldi’s life would be perfect if she could just figure out how to keep her nosy, pushy, Italian family from trying to marry her off.

Nick Romeo, Brooklyn’s Donald Trump without the comb over, thinks independent women are an urban myth, until he meets Rosalie and realizes they’re no myth, just a pain in the ass. He’s finally met a woman who is looking for the same thing he is, a commitment free relationship and is shocked to discover that all he wants to do is take care of her... Before too long, he's moved in, cleaned her apartment, stocked her refrigerator, and adopted her dog.

I’ve always written, but it wasn’t until I moved to Maryland eight years ago that I started writing seriously.

Like every other female romance writer, I write about men I find attractive and in my book, there’s nothing more attractive to me than a man who is a Domestic God—someone who is as good in the kitchen as he is in the bedroom. Men who leave their socks and underwear on the floor and their dishes in the sink for me to clean aren’t the least bit sexy.

AC: EWWW! Aunty is in total agreement with that! What about your writing process? I know music plays an important part, but what kind of research or other methods do you use in creating your stories and characters?

RK: I do use music, I have a soundtrack for every book I’ve written, it keeps my head in the book and allows me to jump back in after an interruption, which happens more often than not. I’m one of those crazy busy people whose life is a series of interruptions. If it took me 20 minutes to get back into the story, I’d never get any writing done. I write where ever I am. I have a MacBook Air and even if I only have five minutes, I get it out and write.

As for research, I go to Brooklyn as often as possible to get my New York fix--there’s something about Brooklyn that stays with you long after you leave. I always have the subway map on hand as well as a map of Park Slope, photos, a good English/Italian dictionary, and my family on speed-dial.

AC: We love "Call Stories" here in the Lair. Please share yours with us.

RK: It was really an email. I had finaled in the Golden Heart which was a huge shock. When I found out, I scrambled and made plans to go to Nationals. The day I arrived in Dallas, I received an email from Deb Werksman an editor at Sourcebooks saying she’d read Romeo, Romeo and “LOVED it.”

Now I’d never heard of Sourcebooks before since they were new to romance so I went in not knowing what to expect. When we met, Deb began quoting her favorite lines to me, verbatim and to tell you the truth, I wondered about her sanity—I mean, what editor does that? It didn’t take me long to figure out she was in fact sane and just really loved Romeo, Romeo.

Unbeknownst to me, she’d requested a copy of Romeo, Romeo from RWA and had read the original version. When I realized what had happened, I told her that I’d spent the past few months rewriting it.

All the blood drained from her face. “What did you do?” she asked.

I filled her in on the changes I’d made and she said I was a genius. That’s when I handed her my cell phone and asked if she would mind calling my mother-in-law and telling her, she was so unaware. (Aunty rolls on floor in laughing fit while wishing she were so clever.)

Deb promised she’d send my MIL an email and made an offer. Romeo, Romeo was sold four days before I won the Golden Heart. It was an amazing time and an unbeatable conference.

AC(now recovered from laughing and in serious journalist mode): How has life changed or stayed the same for you now that you are a published author?

RK: Life has changed, but only some of that is because of publication. My kids are getting older and busier, so finding time to do everything is more and more of a struggle. But that’s my life—it’s a juggling act.

AC: Any pleasant (or maybe not so pleasant) surprises? Things you know now that you wish you'd known beforehand?

RK: The surprise for me was realizing how much time it takes to do the PR needed for a book launch. I’m enjoying it, but it’s severely cutting into my writing time.

As for what I wish I knew before hand…nothing that I can think of. I look at this as an adventure so I’m happy to take it one day at a time and enjoy the ride. It’s been great so far.

AC: What adventure is next for you?

RK: My next book in the Domestic Gods series Too Hot To Handle comes out this spring. I’m working on the third book. The working title is The Making of a Domestic God. I’m writing the book and praying the perfect title comes to me. Any ideas would be appreciated.

AC: What about short term or long term goals?

RK: Short term goals is to finish the next book.
(Aunty can totally identify with this one!)

Long term is just keep doing what I’m doing, writing two or three books a year, and enjoying my family. I really love my life, and except for maybe adding a bit more family time, I wouldn’t change a thing.

AC: Any advice for the AYU (as yet unpublished) writers here in the Lair?

RK: I can only say what helped me. I entered contests. I targeted agents, editors, and houses, and only entered the contests they were judging. I got several requests by doing that. Then I entered the Golden Heart and was lucky enough to sell to one of the final judges. I know I’m really lucky.

The other thing I’d suggest is to go to conferences and meet people. Put yourself out there. I’ve found myself talking to a total stranger and then realized she or he was an editor, agent, or writer I loved. Chitchatting has gotten me requests from editors, agents, and it even got me a cover quote.

AC: Thanks so much for visiting us today Robin. You'll find plenty of chitchat and chocolate and umbrella drinks... But first, let's ask a question!

Robin and I agree that a man who leaves dirty clothes and dishes
around for someone else to clean up is NOT sexy, but one who cooks and cleans definitely IS sexy.

What makes a man sexy in your opinion?

One lucky commenter will receive a copy of Robin's debut release Romeo, Romeo. Let's get this party started!

The Bandits Welcome Tessa Radley!

posted by Beth

Today I'm thrilled to have fabulous Silhouette Desire author (and dear friend *g*) Tessa Radley join us in the lair!

Where is Your Personality Rooted?

My Saxon Brides series is set against the background of a successful family-run winery, called Saxon's Folly. (Spaniard's Seduction, the second book in the series, is out this month, YAY!). And while I was writing the series I thought a lot about the French concept of terroir. It's the notion that the land from which grapes are grown gives a wine its specific personality, giving the final product unique qualities that are rooted in a firm sense of place.

Something about this called to me. I mean, isn't that true of people too? Aren't we all influenced and colored by places we visit or live in?

I know I am. I have clear memories of some places that have left a permanent stamp on me. So my sense of place, my terroir, is a little different from that of a wine in that it comes from more than one unique place. I've visited Boer War battlefields where today the veldt is deserted and only the cree-cree of cicadas break the African heat. The only evidence that blood was once spilled here are the metal ammunition cases that can still be dug out the ground—and the sense of desolation.

Across the world in New Zealand, a walk through dense bush that ended at the sight of ancient Kauri trees spearing upward to meet the sky gave me another moment in a place that I will never forget. That grove of leafy giants demanded respect. For some reason the idea that these trees had already been alive before William the Conqueror arrived on English shores had a profound effect on me. I felt humbled and incredibly fortunate to stand in their presence. And then there are those marvelous, miraculous moments of laughter at the edge of the wavelets on a beach near my home with my family that will forever be part of me. So many places that have shaped my opinions and contributed to the person I am.

So share with me the places that have had a huge impact on you. I'll draw one name from the comments section to win a copy of Mistaken Mistress, my Silhouette Desire October release. I'll be back in a while to talk some more.

Tessa
http://www.tessaradley.com/

Thanks, Tessa! Okay, dear readers, let's hear from you!

Our Winner is UNDONE!

by Anna Campbell

Thanks, everyone, who came round to welcome Nicola Cornick, Bronwyn Scott, Amanda McCabe and Michelle Willingham yesterday! We had a great hero-packed day in the lair!

It's with great pleasure that I announce the winner of our fabulous prize, a download of all four UNDONE! stories. So one lucky person gets to read THE UNMASKING OF LADY LOVELESS, SHIPWRECKED AND SEDUCED, LIBERTINE LORD, PICKPOCKET MISS and THE VIKING'S FORBIDDEN LOVE-SLAVE. Sounds like you've got some great reading ahead of you!

So without further ado, the winner is...

HRDWRKDMOM AKA DIANNA!!!

Dianna, congratulations. If you email me on anna@annacampbell.info, I'll get the information to you on how to download your prize.

It's only a game! Or is it?... A crisis of Values

by Cassondra Murray


No, this is not about politics. In fact, I’m trying desperately to escape that.


It is about something much stranger. The mind of a writer.

Have y’all seen that movie, How to Lose A Guy In Ten Days? It’s a great chick flick. Humor, drama, Matthew McConaughey (I’m not a big fan, but he ain’t hard to look at.) and Kate Hudson, a cute, smart girl who—and this is SO rare these days-- gets the guy without benefit of surgical enhancement.


For you who have NOT seen it, the movie opens with Kate as Andie Anderson, serious journalist who wants to write about world peace, forced to write fluff for Composure Magazine, a materialistic rag for women. Andie is in the office with her friend.

Friend: “Andie, there’s an envelope here for you.” (waves mysterious white envelope in Andie’s face) “You know that editor at Sports Illustrated—the one you’ve been shamelessly flirting with?” (Andie gasps and snatches at the envelope) “Looks like it paid off.” (Friend hands over envelope and Andie tears it open like a mad woman.)

Andie: (dances in a circle) “Wooooohoooooooo, I just got tickets. In. The. Tenth. Row!”

Friend: “For what?”

Andie: “Only THE most awesome display of athletic grace on the planet!”

Friend: “The Ice Capades are in town?”

Andie: (dances madly in a circle, waving tickets) “No, the NBA FINALS ARE IN TOWN!!!!!”

Andie has just received a coveted pair of Nicks tickets—for the first game of the finals.

I am a girl. I freely admit this.

I can put on the goo and fluff when I need to, and I like pretty clothes. I even did the pageant circuit when I was young, hot and in shape. I like sparkly stuff, candles, bubble bath and good wine.

But I’m kind of an odd girl. I like the outdoors. I like shooting and archery. I like canoeing, rock climbing and rappelling. I don’t hunt but I can field dress a deer.

I own a big chainsaw. When I took the ASVAB to get into the military and scored high enough to do anything I wanted, my first choice was some job where I’d get to blow stuff up. (No lie. That’s what I asked for—“got anything where I can blow stuff up?”) I can mix mortar and I can build things. I can plumb a house properly. I like to fish. On my do-before-I-die list is “Learn to operate a bulldozer and a track hoe.”

But sports?

I don’t get it.

At my local Mexican restaurant, when they have football on the tube (not AMERICAN football—it's soccer) I actually enjoy it. But let’s face it. Some of those Central American sweaty hunks are dang HOT.

The fact that I like looking at hot men in great physical condition is NOT the same as appreciating the sport. There’s a country song I hear now and then called “I’m A Lucky Man” and one line goes… “Last Sunday when the Bengels lost, Lord it put me in a bad mood…..” This has never happened to me.

Because I studied photojournalism as an undergrad I had to shoot every sport available in the northern hemisphere. I liked soccer best. And yet I’ve never gotten interested enough to follow it. Something is apparantly wrong with me.

I. Don’t. Get. It. It’s a ball made of leather and filled with air. Where it ends up is irrelevant in the larger scheme of things. I just don’t care. I would guess some of you feel the same.

But there’s trouble, you see. Big Trouble that’s not going away.

This trouble started about mid-October. We get season tickets to the symphony orchestra. If you’ve never been to a symphony concert you haven’t lived. You can FEEL the music. It’s powerful. I leave on a slightly different dimension than the one on which I arrived. A higher dimension.

Sixty to Seventy people—each of whom is one of the best performers on the planet, and has spent nearly his or her entire life devoted to the intensive study of an instrument—all up there just for me, working together to bring something static to life—to make it breathe and soar—for those few minutes in time to act as one and create something that will never happen exactly like that, ever again anywhere any time. And I GET TO SEE IT! To feel it. To be forever changed by it.

So I was sitting at the symphony the other night and a distressing thought occurred to me. A horrible thought. A thought that could cause a shift in my entire system of values.

In my weird writer’s mind, the understanding of the gift happening in front of me smashed headlong into that first scene in the movie with Kate Hudson and the footage they showed of the Nicks games and I had an Oh Sh*t moment.

That professional ball team—that’s a group of individuals, each of whom has devoted his or her entire life to his sport—though his instrument is his physical body and the way it handles a ball, and his skill is, among other things, brilliant teamwork—to perfecting its use and the performance, just as a dancer would—and they’re all together at that game, working like crazy to make something happen—in a clash against another group, perhaps as talented as THEY are, and this clash of wills, of physical prowess, of skill, of talent, of PASSION even—gets played out in front of me and I get to see it. To perhaps be elevated by it. To even, perchance, be CHANGED by it?


But I don’t. Cuz I never watch. Cuz I don’t care.

But maybe I should? Maybe now I MUST!

There are vast numbers of people who care. They gather around tvs and in arenas and behind coffee tables loaded with snacks and beer and put incredible amounts of energy into caring.

Why? There must be a reason.

And if I decide to care (and I believe I might be on the verge of caring whether I want to or not) how do I learn about this? The rules of any given sport are like quicksand. It’s a quagmire of complex “if this then that, but if THAT, then this other thing…” ..and they change from little league to high school to college to pro. The athletic conferences alone are confusing.

It’s like firearms and weapons calibers.

Why is a certain caliber called what it is? For example, the rifle caliber .45-70 gov’t (you say this as Forty-five, seventy, government) Why is it called that? It’s a .45 caliber round with 70 grains of black powder. (A grain is a measurement of weight).

Are you zoning out yet, the way I do with sports regulations? No?

Try this one. .30-06. (Pronounced thirty-ought-six). Thirty caliber with six grains of black powder? NO! Thirty caliber, invented in 1906. Let’s consider the .380 (Three-eighty). It’s actually a 9mm short. The cartridge is 9mm in diameter. But a pistol chambered for .380 will not shoot 9mm ammunition. A 9mm MIGHT shoot .380, or it might not. HA!

The .38 Special (Thirty Eight Special) is actually .357 inches in diameter. Is it a three fifty seven? NO! They’re different. And is a .38 Special a “Saturday Night Special?” NO! It could be, but it’s not necessarily.

NOW are you confused?


Heck, even I’m confused, and I know about guns.

So back to sports. A foul in football is not the same as a foul in basketball, is definitely not the same as a foul in baseball. I think a foul in football isn’t even called a foul. A penalty maybe? I know sometimes they throw some flag on the ground, but that’s not the same as flag football, right? And then they stand around for like half an hour deciding what to do then they play for thirty more seconds then stand around again.

In basketball, you have only so long to shoot, right? Well, not necessarily as far as I can tell. There’s something about a shot clock. And depending on the league you’re allowed to touch the net or not, and the shot line is in a different spot. I’m reeling here.

Then there’s the goal line in football. I went to cheer my friend’s senior running back (why are they called that? Nobody can explain this to me. Everybody runs, after all. Half back—I see nothing missing on this man. Why is he called a half back?) on for his final game. They were behind, then after half time they took off like crazy. I started cheering. OH, NO! How was I supposed to know that at half time THEY SWITCHED GOALS!????? I was cheering for the wrong team!



Knowing men the way I know men, and their general aversion to touching each other in any kind of affectionate way that does not puncture a lung or knock loose a kidney, what’s up with that bottom patting on the football field? As far as I can tell the ball is not in play when the bottom patting is going on. Does the “no touching” rule for manly men get thrown out if you’re in a football uniform? Does it have something to do with the tight ends?

Now that I’ve gotten sorta interested, or at least seen the potential value in being interested, how am I supposed to figure out what is going on?

I know that some Banditas are sports fans. Jeanne ( La Duchesse) actually flies to Chicago to watch the Cubs play. And not just cuz she lives with sports fans. SHE LIKES IT! Anna Sugden is a hockey fanatic. Even at writing events, her phone pings her with hockey scores. Donna, Jeanne, Posh and Nancy have been, at one point or another, involved in rivalry based on Buckeyes, Lions and some other strange stuffed creation from North Carolina.

I’m in an awful state. My very way of being is in flux. My core life values are teetering on the edge of...perhaps not collapse, but at minimum, significant deflation.


Do I just pick a team and start to care? How do I choose?

Is it possible to catch up and actually understand? Am I doomed to be eternally confused, cheering even though the team is running the wrong way?

Do you care about sports?

Which ones and why?

How did you start? Do you have to be “born into it?”

What is your favorite team?

Do you have a favorite sports hunk or hunkette?

If you had to pick a sport to learn about, what would it be?


Third base in baseball has nothing to do with third base in romance and is CERTAINLY not related to a three-pointer, but they are ALL related to SCORING. And getting to any one of the above seems really complicated.

Third base in romance is the only one I actually understand.


Help a Bandita out. Throw me a line here!

Oh, and how the blazes do those soccer/football players keep their socks up?

Quiz Time!

By Kirsten Scott

As most of you know, I write young adult as well as adult romance, and I was recently writing a scene in which my heroine was lamenting her lack of personal style.


“When I take one of those magazine quizzes, you know the ones, where they ask what kind of baseball hat you wear, and what kind of jeans you prefer – ultra low-riders, skinny, or baggy – I can’t even answer the questions. I wear whatever I pull out of the closet that doesn’t smell and won’t get me laughed out of school. But that’s never an option.”

So I’ve been thinking about quizzes. I love quizzes. Is this egotistical? I love analyzing myself and then reading someone else’s analysis of myself and trying to decide if it’s right or not. I love magazine quizzes particularly, because they’re completely unscientific and absurd but somehow they’re always RIGHT ON.


Here’s a good one that I just took – find your celebrity twin! (there’s a link embedded in the page; you have to click on the word “quiz”)

www.glamour.com/beauty/blogs/girls-in-the-beauty-department/2007/06/whos-your-celebrity-twin.html

I am sooooo Ashley Simpson.

Then again I love the more scientific quizzes, too. Anyone else out there an ISTJ? Here’s something fun for any Myers-Briggs fans out there – light bulb jokes for your personal Myers-Briggs profiles. For examples, here’s one for all the INTJs out there:

How many INTJs does it take to screw in a light bulb?

Could you please define change? And what exactly do you mean by a light bulb?

Oh, and here’s another fabulous quiz:

www.gone2thedogs.com

You go to this home page and then look on the right side for a black box that says “Click to play what dog are you.” You take a quiz and find out what breed of dog you are.

Aren’t I pretty?

So, did you take any of my quizzes? Any results to share? Anyone else share my love of reading someone else’s analysis of myself? Any other Canaan Dogs out there? Anyone else want to share their Myers-Briggs profile? I’ll tell you your light bulb joke to go with it!

And the Lucky Winnah Is . . .

posted by Jo Robertson


Cathy!!!!


Congratulations on being the lucky random commenter chosen from Thursday's post on "Plane, Trains, and Automobiles!"

You've won a $15 Amazon gift certificate!


Please send your snail mail addy to

jo.lewisrobertson@yahoo.com


right away to claim your prize.

Mark your calendars....

Gooood Morning, November!!! (Sorry, couldn't help it. I had to put in one last Jack-O-Lantern!)

So check it out, everyone! In addition to our usual lineup of witty, scintilatingly funny Romance Bandits, we've got a whole host of fun and excitement in store for you.

On Monday, November 3, we've got Bandita Anna Campbell bringing you the BATTLE OF THE HEROES. What, you may ask, is the Battle of the Heroes? Ahh, well, you'll just have to tune in and see, now won't you? :> I promise you, you won't be sorry if you start your Monday morning with the Romance Bandits. You'll hopefully NEVER be sorry you started a Monday with us, but on November 3, you'll be overjoyed. Seriously. Promise.


You don't believe me? Jeeeesh, tough crowd. Okay, so the four great historical authors, Nicola Cornick, Bronwyn Scott, Michelle Willingham and Amanda McCabe, who will launch Harlequin's sexy e-shorts series, UNDONE!, will be Anna's guests. They'll introduce the men in their stories while Anna Campbell tries to referee a battle of the heroes! It should be huge fun and one lucky commenter will win downloads of all FOUR stories.

See? Happy now? It WILL be fun.

Oh, and if the heroes aren't good enough (really, you ARE a demanding lot, aren't you?) :> Anna Campbell is offering a new contest through her website. Her November/December contest offers THREE lucky readers the chance to win a signed copy of her new Avon release TEMPT THE DEVIL. Call by her contest page for details: http://www.annacampbell.info/contest.html


On November 5, Bandita Beth Andrews will be bringing you Silhouette Desire author Tessa Radley. She'll be talking about her Saxon Brides series and you won't want to miss it. Woooohooooo!

On November 6 Bandita Aunty Cindy (Loucinda McGary) will be hosting her fellow Sourcebooks author, the effervescent Robin Kaye. She'll be joining us to talk about her forthcoming debut Sourcebooks release, Romeo, Romeo. This one's going to be a must read, I can tell you! First in a trilogy about domestic gods, you'll have to get in line to see what happens next...and who wins a copy!


On November 7 Bandita Nancy Northcott will bring you the ever-popular Gina Robinson. She'll be guesting with us to discuss her forthcoming book Spy Candy, the story of a would-be Bond girl whose trip to a fantasy spy camp lands her in danger, intrigue, and love.

On November 9, Bandita Nancy Northcott will bring us another fabulous guest, Debby Giusti. This wonderful Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense author will discuss the road to publication and her fourth release, the first in her Magnolia Medical series, Countdown to Death. Here's a taste: When five people in a small town contract a deadly disease, a medical researcher races the clock to find a cure, with the help of a handsome, possibly dangerous recluse.

Check out Bandita Nancy's cool contest on her website, http://www.nancynorthcott.com/! This the first contest Nancy's offered and is open to her newsletter subscribers. The writer prize is a bundle of useful books--Stephen King's ON WRITING, Jane Yolen's TAKE JOY, Martin Brice's A CHRONICLE HISTORY OF FORTS AND FORTRESSES, and Daniel Pool's WHAT JANE AUSTEN ATE AND CHARLES DICKENS KNEW, along with a decorative bookmark.

The reader prize is a blue stuffed dragon, half a dozen mass market novels in various genres (none by her personal friends because she finds picking among their books impossible), and two decorative bookmarks. Hie thee to Nancy's website and enter!!

On November 12 Bandita Aunty Cindy (Loucinda McGary) will be drawing another wonderful new Sourcebooks author, Cheryl Brooks, into the Lair. The second book in her sci-fi-fantasy series, Warrior, is out in October. Check in on the twelfth for another giveaway!

On November 17 Golden Leaf winning Bandita Christie Kelley will host an author with a split personality. B.H. Dark, a top Samhain author, will be with us. In case you're actually WORRIED about the split personality thing, don't. B.H.Dark is really the writing team of Kathy Love and Julie Cohen! Come make them both welcome.

If you're one of our writer pals amongst the Bandita Buddies, make sure you've got the final polish going on your Golden Heart Entries. Intent to enter and fees for same are due into RWA in Houston on November 17. Whooo-hoooo! Go Banditas! Go Bandita Buddies!!

Oh, and lest you worry that December cannot possibly hold a candle to the excitement we have in store in November, check out December 1! *Drum Roll Please!* We're thrilled to welcome back a Lair favourite, NYT best-selling author Eloisa James. Wooohoooo! Be sure to visit - we have a fun day in store for you all, as Eloisa celebrates the launch of her upcoming book in the Desperate Duchesses' series "When the Duke Returns." She'll be bringing Villier and as if that wasn't prize enough, there will be books galore!

And so the Golden Heart-ers don't feel lonely, you potential Rita Candidates need to get your bums in gear too. Fees and intent to enter are due into RWA in Houston on December 1!