Kathryn - Bandita Booty!

Allison Chase has chosen the prize winner from her blog and a copy of Most Eagerly Yours goes to...

Kathryn!!!!!

Congratulations!

Please go to www.AllisonChase.com and send her your contact information

Sinful Secrets

posted by Nancy

Today Noelle Henderson, who's half of author Chloe Harris, makes her first visit to the Lair. We're going to chat about her steamy historical debut novel, Secrets of Sin, from Kensington Aphrodisia.

Welcome, Noelle! Tell us about Chloe Harris and how she was created.

Barbra Kolten and I (Noelle) were critique partners with very busy lives. Eventually we discovered that we worked together very well and could get a lot more done working together.

As far our writing process goes, it seems to always work out that one of us will have either a great idea for a scene/chapter or a better grasp of the character who's speaking at that point in the story. That person will do the first draft of the chapter. Then the chapter goes back and forth a minimum of three times sometimes ore and by the time we've both added, deleted, moved around etc to the point where we're both happy then the voice is Chloe's and not Noelle's or Barbra's.

What is Secrets of Sin about?

On a Caribbean island of alluring delights, Emiline du Ronde-Barhydt commands a large estate, vast wealth, and unwavering devotion. Her inheritance and dazzling beauty insure that she's granted her every wish... or almost. The one thing she can't get is freedom from her proud wayward husband.

When her husband, sea captain Reinier Barhydt finally agrees to give his determined wife the divorce she craves - it's for a price: three days of total submission to his every erotic demand.

Both fall under the spell of the most forbidden sensations that reignite every delicious inch of their bodies... and Reinier soon realizes that he is no longer master of his carnal game. At the mercy of his own raw shattering needs, the three red hot days may just turn into a lifetime of smoldering passion...

What inspired the Caribbean setting? We don't see those as much as we used to.

Part of it started with a class project my daughter did where she had to find a pirate to profile. She chose John Julian an Aphro-Indian ship's pilot that sailed with Black Sam Bellamy. John came to a sad end but I imagined my own ending for him that included marrying a beautiful French noble woman, whisking her away to a private Caribbean island and having a daughter named Emiline.

What a cool way to get an idea! Who are the hero and heroine, and what's their biggest problem apart from their relationship?

Emiline du Ronde has run her sugarcane estate since Reinier Barhydt left her fours years before, and now she wants a divorce. Although she is of mixed heritage, she's become a strong, successful business woman and wants nothing more than to cut her ties with the man that broke her heart.

Driven by a dark past to seek freedom, Reinier likes to tell himself he never wastes a thought on the beautiful wife he's left behind. But when rumors she has a paramour sends the sexy Dutchman home, his old feeling resurface and the estranged lovers strike an erotic bargain. Will he show Emiline who rules L'Île de Ronde-and her-or will his heart be lost instead?

Secrets of Sin is a very relationship centered story. There are few secondary characters and no bad guy or of outside issue to overcome. It's truly about these two people and their marriage.

What's the biggest issue between them?

I'm not sure I can pick just one. They have a lot of issues. LOL Trust for one, forgiveness, jealousy, self acceptance and understanding but I could go on and on.


Can we have a peek inside the book?

"As I told you, Monsieur Barhydt." Emiline thrust her chin up to make her point clear. "I rule Bougainvilla and I surely do not take your commands. But you are right about one thing, Sir. We will continue this discussion tomorrow."

Turning away and marching toward the door, the breath flew from her lungs as Reinier came up behind her. His muscular arm gripped her small waist when he crushed her tightly against his body. She felt him aroused and straining against his breeches through the silk of her dress. Once again, a deep blush moved from her cheeks to the tightening tips of her breasts.

His breath was hot and demanding against her throat. "You may very well rule Bougainvilla, madam," he purred, passion and promise all rolled into one."But before I leave here again, I will rule you. And rest assured, wife, you will beg me to do it."

Emiline's whole body stiffened in resistance. As suddenly as he'd captured her, he let her go.
She wasn't sure if it was his words or the definite twinge of excitement she felt that scared her most. This man she now considered barely more than a stranger, somehow saw into the farthest part of her mind-a part that she only even admitted to herself in the darkest of dark and lonely nights.

What's next for you?

In Deep, the sequel to Secrets of Sin comes out in November.

Here's the Blurb.

Desperate enough to sell her body at Madame Poivre's, the best establishment for entertaining gentlemen in the West Indies, Lady Jaidyn Donnelly meets Connor O'Driscoll. She finds something in Connor's caress that sets her skin ablaze and touches her heart as he introduces her to his brand of sexual delights.

Connor finds everything he wants in Jaidyn's Irish beauty and her fiery temper that matches his own. But Jaidyn is a woman with secrets and refuses to become his mistress. When Connor learns she needs to get to the Carolinas, he risks everything to keep her close and take her there.

On this wicked journey of sizzling pleasures and growing affection both know that as the Carolina coast looms near, reality will shatter their love. The magic between Jaidyn and Connor is impossible to withstand, but can they overcome the betrayals and dangers of both the past and present to have the love they both yearn for?

For more about Chloe Harris, check out her website, blog, and twitter.

Noelle is giving away a copy of Secrets of Sin to one commenter today, so tell us, what's your your favorite book or movie with a Caribbean setting? Do you have a favorite place in the Caribbean where you've been or would like to go? If you were going to be marooned on a Caribbean island, what book, movie, or real hero would you like to have with you?

Movies With Game

by Beth

I came across a list of the Best Sports Movies of All Time (you can check it out here on Moviefone) which got me thinking of all my favorite Sports Movies. To narrow it down a bit, I thought I'd name only the movies about sports that my kids have played.

Baseball (softball for my daughters) - Three immediately come to my mind: League of Their Own, Bad News Bears (when I was young, there was even a Bad News Bears TV show *g*) and...Angels in the Outfield (my son must've watched that movie a hundred times when he was little!)

Soccer - Bend it Like Beckham! This was the first movie I ever saw Keira Knightly in *g*

Football - Rudy (of course *g*) and Little Giants (yet another movie my son watched over and over *g*)

Track and Field - Chariots of Fire. It has to be this movie as it's the only one I can think of about this sport :-)

Hockey - Miracle and yes, The Mighty Ducks *g* When our son goes to play hockey, my husband always tells him to hit the 'knuckle puck'...which, of course, makes our son roll his eyes and mutter under his breath about un-cool we are (so not true! we are very cool!)

Basketball - Hoosiers! I could watch this movie over and over again! We caught part of it on TV the other night and got to watch Ollie sink his free throws to win the game. I love that scene because he shot underhand just like my father-in-law did back when he played in high school :-)

My son has also ran cross country and my daughters play volleyball but I don't think I've seen any movies about either of those sports. I'll have to do some research *g*

As for favorite Sports Movies, in our house Rocky, Caddy Shack and Remember The Titans are all on our list *g*

What are your favorite Sports Movies? Favorite scenes in those movies? What sports have you played? And if you checked out the Moviefone link above, how many of their 25 picks have you seen?

Karen E. Olson - Pretty in Ink!

Posted by Kate

I’m delighted to introduce you to Karen E. Olson, who writes the fabulously fun new Tattoo Shop mystery series for NAL. I'm completely hooked on this series that feature tattoo artist Brett Kavanaugh and a cast of characters that include her hunky police detective brother Tim and a suave, enigmatic Englishman named Simon Chase. Hmm. No wonder I love these books!

Here's Karen!

As a longtime newspaper copy editor, part of my job was to write headlines. When you think about it, a book title isn’t that different from a headline: It should be short and snappy and catch people’s eye. However, I was never a great headline writer, which did not bode well for me when I had to come up with titles for my books.

I was almost done with the first in my tattoo shop mystery series before I had a title. At least one that my editor loved. I’d sent her 50 title suggestions, but each one got shot down. Kristen kept telling me that they just weren’t what they were looking for. Finally, my husband suggested THE MISSING INK, which I thought was too silly, but Kristen said it was perfect (NAL loves puns, just look at their other titles).

Because I have a little bit of OCD (most women do, especially those of us who are moms), I decided that I would keep INK in all my titles. I went on the Internet and looked up words that rhyme with ink and found phrases to play off in the books’ titles.

PRETTY IN INK was easy. It would be the second in the series. It was also the first book I started writing with a title in mind. But what would the book be about?

I hadn’t thought that far ahead; all I could think of was the Molly Ringwald movie from the ‘80s. So using that as a starting point, I thought maybe I could write about some sort of young girl, a pretty young girl, and ingénue perhaps. I thought about a plot that could involve a Britney Spears or a Miley Cyrus or a Lindsay Lohan type of character.

But everyone would expect that.

So I came up with drag queens.

What’s prettier than a roomful of drag queens? All that glitter and glitz and makeup and sparkly shoes and feathery boas. Not to mention that the book takes place in Las Vegas, the glitz capital of the world. No, it absolutely had to be drag queens.

Drag queens with tattoos. Even better.

Now, I did not know any drag queens personally, and I figured I had to find at least one to interview before I could start writing. I don’t live in Vegas, in fact, I’m a plane ride and a connection away in New England. But Serendipity waved her magic wand, and during an interview, I was telling a reporter about how I needed to find a drag queen and amazingly, she produced a phone number. Apparently there’s a huge drag queen contingent in New Haven. Go figure.

I met Brett (remarkably he had the same name as my tattoo artist protagonist!) at the clothing boutique where he worked (and spent time trying on the dresses when there was no one in the store). He told me all his secrets (rice in his bra for a more natural look; two pairs of very tight Speedos to keep his, um, jewels in place). His drag name is Levitra Champagne.

I had a blast coming up with names for my drag queens: Britney Brassieres, Miranda Rites, MissTique, Shanda Leer. It was so much easier to name them than to come up with titles! I gave them a roomful of beautiful, buff boys to perform with at Chez Tango, just off the Strip somewhere near Fremont Street (have to keep it vague or someone might actually go looking for it). And then they start dying. It’s a murder mystery. What else could happen?

Do titles entice you to pick up a book? Do you like titles with puns in them? And if you could come up with a name for a drag queen, what would it be?

Be sure to visit http://www.kareneolson.com/ to find out more about Karen and read excerpts from her books.

And Karen is giving away a copy of her first Tattoo Shop mystery, THE MISSING INK, to one lucky random commenter today! Good luck!

Different Creativity

posted by Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy

No doubt about it, we are a creative bunch here in the Lair!

You would think that statement would be a no-brainer with a bunch of writers, but actually, creativity takes a lot of different forms. Just off the top of my head here are some of the Banditas' other creative endeavors:

• Donna MacMeans paints in oils
• Tawny Webber does scrap-booking
• Cassondra Murray is a musician and songwriter
• Joan Kayse is an award-winning baker
• several of us (myself included) do various kinds of needlework
  

Not a thorough list, by any means, and I won't even attempt to mention all of the creative endeavors of our Bandita Buddies, or this post would run on forever! Creative people always seem to find ways to channel their energies into artistic feats.

I've been thinking about this diversity of creativity a lot since a couple of weekends ago when the DH took me to the college where he works to see some of the student art work (and some of his latest efforts too). I'm always amazed at the many and varied directions artists take in creating a work. My DH's first choice is sculpting and he's worked in many different media including metal, wood, and ceramic.

Back in the days when I still had my Dreaded Day Job, I had to travel all over the state for meetings, and sometimes the DH would accompany me. On one such trip to Los Angeles, after my meetings were done, the DH insisted we go to see the Watts Towers. Since these incredible works of art are not in the world's best neighborhood, I was a bit hesitant, but DH talked me into it and I'm so glad he did!

These incredible structures are over 90 feet (30 meters) high and were built over a period of thirty years by one man, Simon Rodia in his back yard. Basically made of scrap metal and concrete, they are inlaid with an amazing mosaic of broken plates, bottles, and seashells. Quite a creative undertaking by an Italian immigrant and one-time tile setter, who built and decorated all this in his spare time!

What about you? What kind of creative things do you like to do in your spare time? Ever seen any unusual artwork or other creative stuff you can share with us?

The Irish Experience

by Christie Kelley

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!


Since I blog on the 17th of every month, each year I get the honor of writing something about St. Patrick’s Day. Being ¾ Irish (in case you couldn’t figure that out by my last name), it is an honor and privilege to write about my ancestry. This year, instead of writing about St. Patrick, I though it might be nice to talk about the Irish in America.

In 1845, 75% of the potato crop was devastated by the potato blight. This was more than just a crop that the farmers sold for money. This was their food. The potato made up the majority of their nutrition. People ate them for three meals a day and some references stated that the Irish men ate between 12-14 pounds of potatoes a day!

So when the famine hit, these poor uneducated people had nothing. Approximately, 1 million people died during the famine years of 1845-1852. But another million left Ireland, hoping for a better life in a new country. Most headed to the US, Canada and Australia. Unlike other emigrations, women were just as likely to leave as men.

Once they arrived in the US, instead of heading back to farms, they stayed in cities and found poverty and terrible conditions in tenements. Desperate for work, they took the jobs no one else wanted. They built bridges, railroads, became servants, and worked in mines. But they taught their children the value of an education so their children wouldn’t be stuck in the same jobs. Over the next few generations, the Irish moved into the fire and police departments, and in major cities worked to get their candidates elected into office.

I’m proud of my Irish heritage. My relatives left Ireland and settled in upstate New York as factory workers. My great-grandfather became a renowned eye, ears, nose and throat specialist with offices in New York City and upstate.

Today, we celebrate more than St. Patrick’s Day. We celebrate our Irish traditions, and I will be making corned beef and potatoes for dinner. I never learned the Irish dances but several of my nieces have taken lessons and participated in competitions in Ireland. One day soon, I make a trip to Ireland.

I leave you with an Irish blessing:

May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours!


If you’re Irish, what does St. Patrick’s Day mean to you? If not, I’d love to hear about your heritage and special customs. And if you're been Ireland, tell us about it!

Bandita Booty!!

by Anna Sugden

Thanks everyone for joining in the gloomy fun with our fabulous guest, Julie Cohen!

Time to announce the lucky winner of her wonderful prize - a signed copy of Nina Jones and the Temple of Gloom. Drum roll, please.

And the winner is ...

Kristen!! (with her tale of the corpse-washing sink!)

Please send your snail mail details to Julie at julie@julie-cohen.com

Most Eagerly Ours - Allison Chase!

hosted by Donna MacMeans

I've been looking forward to bring Allison Chase to the lair. After sharing a couple of emails, I feel like I've found a kindred spirit. I think you'll feel the same. We're talking today about Allison and her latest novel MOST EAGERLY YOURS. Romantic Times Magazine calls this "A smart mystery with slight gothic overtones, this romance has an intelligent heroine and sexy hero, plots against the queen, intriguing twists and surprises at many corners." My kind of book!

So let's get to know Allison. Do you have a dreaded day job? Any interesting hobbies? What got you started into writing? Who are your influences?

Thanks Donna. I've been looking forward to spending a day with the bandits. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I don't have a day job. I have in the past, usually some form of writing, either editing for a reference book publisher, or ghost writing for a little company that published memoirs -- which is kind of ironic when you think about it, since I went on to actually write ghost stories in my Blackheath Moor books.

LOL, I'm guessing that explains the "gothic overtones".

Right now I'm writing full time and loving it, although knock on wood because you never know what the future will bring. But even when I had a day job and my kids were young, I found, or rather made, time to write. I remember getting up before dawn to write for an hour before getting my daughters up for school. That's dedication, because I am SO not a morning person.

But I digress. What got me started writing? Well, learning how, for one. Seriously, as soon as I learned how to make sentences, I started writing stories, usually romantic ones. At least as romantic as my little fairytale-infused mind could conjure! Luckily, I got over the fairytale thing, but not the romance. Although having said that, I wasn't really a "romance reader" until after my first daughter was born. Confession: I was once one of those college-bred literary snobs who believed there was nothing of substance to be found in a romance novel.

I know!! What a dope! But don't worry, a good friend finally set me straight and my love affair with the genre began -- as a reader and as a writer, because suddenly I'd found my focus and my passion. I've never looked back! Some of my favorites over the years have included Teresa Medeiros, Laura Kinsale, Julianne MacClean, Connie Brockway, Mary Balough, Judith Ivory -- to name a few. Their amazing talents have inspired me to always push myself and dig really deep to produce my best work. You can never stop learning. There's always room for improvement.

Hobbies, you ask? History nerd here! Yes, I am a historical version of a Trekkie (I'm actually kind of one of those, too), and I do things like collect period costumes and occasionally find excuses to wear them. We also collect period weapons (replicas - I'm afraid of the real thing!) and on nice days we'll take our bows and arrows out to the backyard for a little target practice. Just my way of keeping things historical. Other than that I love nothing more than reading a good book.

You've written some great historicals as Lisa Manuel and, of course, the Blackheath Moor books, so why switch to Victorian?

I decided I needed a new challenge. So I went time-shopping! Victorian made a fabulous fit.

The Victorian Age has the reputation of being staid and boring, but not so! Enormous changes were happening during those years -- economically, socially, politically, you name it. This was a society in flux, in ways the world really hadn't seen previously. A lot of it had to do with the major shift from farming to industry, which started spreading the wealth around a lot more, as well as to the revolutionary notion that it might be a good thing to start educating more

than just the very wealthy. The result was a surge in business and technology -- and tons of material for subplots and setting. How could I resist?

But to really understand the age, I started off reading about the person who gave it its name: Victoria herself. As I learned about her childhood, my heart completely went out to her. If you saw the movie, The Young Victoria, you'll have an idea of how alone and under her mother's thumb she lived, but there's even more to the story. Initially not expected to wear the crown, she grew up forgotten and neglected in cramped apartments in Kensington Palace, amid shabby furnishings and often less-than-adequate food. She had NO friends to speak of -- her mother simply didn't permit it. The Duchess of Kent was determined to keep her daughter emotionally dependent only on her, in the hopes that if Victoria ever did wear the crown, she -- Mom -- would have full control over royal policies. Often at odds with her mother, the only person Victoria considered a true friend was her governess, Louise Lehzen. How sad is that?

So this inspired your series?

As I read, I thought, Oh! This lonely little girl needs some real friends, confidantes she could depend on through thick and thin. But how? She wasn't even permitted to speak to the servants who waited on her. All right then, they would have to be secret friends...with some kind of connection to her family, yet not important enough to be openly acknowledged once Victoria became heir apparent.

That's how Her Majesty's Secret Servants were born! The four Sutherland Sisters, Laurel, Ivy, Holly and Willow, have

known Victoria since she was a toddler, due to their fathers' military connections. Even after the fathers died, Victoria's mother continued to allow occasional visits, until it was finally revealed to Victoria, at age 11, that she was next in the royal sucession. That day the sisters swore their allegiance to their distraught future monarch, pledging to be her secret servants if ever she needed them. The Sutherlands saw little of the princess after that, until one rainy night shortly before her coronation, when the young queen shows up at their modest London home with a huge favor to ask. A dangerous one...

In Book 1, MOST EAGERLY YOURS, Laurel, the eldest, is the first to be called. The Queen is threatened by her jealous cousin, George Fitzclarence, who is known for speaking treason. She asks Laurel to pose as a wealthy widow and use her charms to win George's trust, then find out what he might be plotting. Laurel is prepared for the risks of acting a part, but not for the formidable obstacle she encounters in the Earl of Barenforth -- George's friend and a notorious rake, whom Victoria has warned her to avoid...

An undercover agent for the Home Office, Aidan Phillips, Earl of Barensforth, is on the trail of a financial hoax involving alchemy, murder...and George Fitzclarence. When a lovely young widow wanders into his path and turns his well-laid plans on end, he senses she is hiding something. Aidan is no stranger to seduction, or to the wiles of beautiful women. And he intends employing a few wiles of his own to uncover the lady's secrets...

MOST EAGERLY YOURS is available now.

This really sounds awesome. I'd encourage everyone to check out an excerpt at www.allisonchase.com. So what comes next?

Next up will be Ivy's story in OUTRAGEOUSLY YOURS, where Victorian physics and the powers of electromagnetism bring her face to face with a dashing but reputedly mad scientist. Simon de Burgh's sister has stolen something of great importance from the queen -- and Ivy must get it back before anyone finds out! Ivy is willing to set propriety aside and risk all for her queen, but is she about to enter a laboratory of horrors, or discover her heart's desire in the arms of the Mad Marquess of Harrow?

OUTRAGEOUSLY YOURS will be out in December.

So now it's your turn. As this series involves childhood friends and secret clubs. Tell us about your childhood clubs. Did you have a secret club? Were boys allowed? Did you have a special name? Allison has offered a copy of MOST EAGERLY YOURS to one lucky commenter. Hopefully, she'll make her new release most eagerly yours (grin).

Location, Location, Location!

by Christine Wells

Recently, I had the rather surreal experience of looking for a house to live in while also searching for a location in which to set my next historical romance. You will understand that I felt rather embittered by the contrast between the mansions my fictitious heroines get to swan around in and the type of house to which my budget stretches.

One might call it "Palace Envy".*G*

Where I live, many houses are made of wood in the traditional style we call the Queenslander. These houses were built with a view to minimizing the subtropical heat. They're set up on stilts so that air can flow through in a kind of natural cooling system. Quite different from English houses that are designed to hold the heat in, as well as accommodate a large number of people, including servants.

However, despite the obvious differences, the process of finding a house for me and for my heroine is quite similar. While looking for abodes for my family to abide in while our house is renovated, I had a list of criteria to shop for:

Location (not built on a train line or next to an electricity substation, close to my son's school, etc)

Number of bedrooms (extra points if room for a study for yours truly)

Decent bathrooms and kitchen, room for children and Monty the dog to play (fenced, of course).

Likewise, when searching for a suitably palatial setting for my books, I have loose criteria such as period, place, surroundings, layout, where on the scale of grandeur this house has to fit given the status and wealth of its occupants, and how it might accommodate scenes that are already dancing through my head or inspire new ones.

Now, a fictional place doesn't have to be based on a real one, of course and if I can't find a suitable house, I make it up. I also modify the interior layout but I do like to start with what is typical in that type of house.

In the eras from which my Regency houses date, they tended to use local materials--local stone, such as the gorgeous honey coloured Ham Hill stone they used to build Montacute House in Somerset (top, left).

I set SWEETEST LITTLE SIN partly at the villain's estate and I had great fun researching that one. I wanted Radleigh to be a parvenu, a social climber who had appeared in London after supposedly making his fortune abroad.

I found an excellent house in Sezincote, an Indian phantasmagoria that inspired the Brighton Pavillion. It boasts a wonderful copper minaret and spear-like poles that give the illusion of an exotic tent. The drive is guarded by bronze elephants and there are all kinds of interesting grottos and gardens dotted around the estate that continue the Indian theme, a mixture of Hindu and Islamic motifs that echo the attempt of Mogul ruler Akbar to integrate the two cultures.

I think it's rather gorgeous, but of course the nobility at the time would have turned up their noses, just as they did when Prinny built his summer palace at the seaside. To quote one wit in SWEETEST LITTLE SIN, "It was as if an Indian palace had mated with an English manor and spawned a particularly hideous child."
Was that unfair? I'll leave it for you to judge.

Just a note--the Hindu pavillion with all the erotic carvings came from my other research and my imagination--not from Sezincote. But perhaps you'll have fun spotting the settings that do.

So here's my question to you, gentle readers! What house or setting from a romance novel would you love to have for your own and why? One reader will win a signed copy of SWEETEST LITTLE SIN when it comes out in May.

Huddle Days and Comfort Reads

by Tawny

Did you ever have a huddle day? The not-sick-but-don't-feel-good kind of day that makes you want to curl up under a blanket with the pillows high. The kind of day that it's easy to ignore food (except maybe comfort food) and if possible, blow off responsibilities and just let your brain chill.

The first question is always why huddle in? Being sick doesn't count as huddle in time, because that's sick time. Huddle time is more... melancholy. I find myself needing to huddle in when I've been stressed for too long. Or when I'm bumming over something out of my control and just have to process and release the worries. It's like a stasis time - no thinking, no worrying, no doing. Just being. I'd say its meditative, but its really not - its more indulgent and lazy.

Next is where to huddle in. Over the years, I've narrowed it to two places. Oh, sure, in the summer huddle in time might take place on a hammock or out by the pool - but really, thats not huddling, its more mellowing, right? So I've eliminated those options *g* Which leaves me with the bed, with a high pile of pillows, cool sheets and a down comforter. Or the couch. Again, with a pile of pillows and a comfy blanket.

Then there's the entertainment portion of huddling in, which requires two parts (requires, mind you). Comfort food. And Comfort Reads.

Comfort food is that stuff that mom made when you were sick, right? Or that perfectly indulgent but not too over-the-top treat. Soups, potatoes and anything chocolate always counts for me. For huddle in days, its a food you don't have to cook yourself. Or if you do, you can make it in less than 10 minutes.

Comfort reads... oh, we all know those, don't we? The most worn books on our keeper shelf. The ones that have tape holding the spines together, that we can anticipate the words on the page, hear the author's voice in our heads. The ones that make us smile and sigh, and that always trigger that comfortable, cozy feeling of contentment when we close the cover.

Ooooh yeah, the perfect ingredients to a perfect huddle in day!!!

I had a huddle in and comfort read kind of day yesterday. I also had no commitments, a kid in the same mood and nobody else in the house. We curled up on the loveseats in the family room, we read, we watched mindless TV, we ate apples and popcorn (a healthy alternative to comfort junk food LOL). And by the end of the evening, we were both giggling and feeling rejuvenated. I wasn't as stressed or as overwhelmed as I'd been when I woke up. I was inspired by the magical story of The Belgariad and ready to write again. And I'd discovered that I really REALLY need to buy a new couch - because huddling just isn't comfy on a love seat... it just isn't!!!

So how about you? Do you huddle in? If so, do you prefer the couch or the bed? What's your favorite comfort food? And your favorite comfort read?

Undiscovered Gems of The Lair

Whew! Another long day in the writing cave, thought Jeanne, Duchess de Snorkville as she closed out the latest Deadly file. Rolling her shoulders, she grabbed her bottle of Diet Coke and headed for the door.

Click, click, click…*&^$$$%^

What was that noise? It was pretty late. Even the Aussies should be in bed..or in their pool or off on an exotic Japanese vacation.


“Stop it! I don’t want you two making out right now! We have conflict to resolve!” a frustrated voice growled.

Curious, the Duchesse followed the sounds of plotting out the corridor, turned right and headed down the auxiliary tunnel. Funny, she thought, this was the secret passage to the cabana boys locker room but the noises coming from behind the golden door at the end were not the usual…um, noise one heard.

Ever the RS author, she grasped her Coke bottle by the neck. Hey, it wasn’t C4 but it could do some damage…and with less calories. Slowly she opened the door and stared.

Eight Banditas sat hunched over keyboards. The clacking was deafening, the only light in the room shone from their computer screens. “Hey guys,” she said, strolling in “What’s up?”

Eight Bandita heads shot up. “You scared us, Duchesse,” said Caren, “And that’s not easy to do with with KJ and Cassondra and their arsenal.”

“Sorry,” she answered, abashed. “But it’s late. What are you doing up?

“We’re creating brilliant novels,” replied Suz, stroking the bunny in her lap.

“Yeah,” piped up Joanie T, signaling to Demetrius to bring her another glass of sangria, “We’re AYU-As Yet Unpublished-but we’re working our butts off to get there.”

Jeanne, frowned, pulls up a chair and sat down. “Yeah, I don’t get that. Ya’ll are great writers. We should be seeing your book covers on the sidebar.”

“Perseverance,” said Anna S. tossing Nancy a hockey puck. “Keep at it till the right editor and agent recognize what they…and the publishing world... have been missing. We are the next best thing!”

“It’s hard to hang in there,” admitted Jo aka JoMama, grabbing a dark chocolate kiss from a jar marked ‘Perseverance’ “but there’s an old saying “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.”

Nancy tossed the puck to the dragon who chased it like a dog. “Adding boom helps a lot,”

“It does,” agreed Cassondra, molding a lump of C4 into a tiny cabana boy, “And staying in the chair on track does too.”

“Research,” added KJ, “Lots of trips and top notch conferences fuel our determination."

Jeanne nodded. “We’ve all been there, done that. What's the first story you ever wrote?"

Caren: My first story was about a Highlander-obsessed sword-wielding Wal-Mart worker who lived on her parents' screened-in porch. It had less than no chance in New York, but it was hilarious.

Suz: Mine was REFUGE. My writing wasn't bad, but over the years I've improved my craft, so a few years back I went back to this story, because I loved it so much, rewrote it and am now featuring it on my blog as a serial book...one chapter a week! (Talk about torturing your readers!!)

Anna: My first romance was ‘Paws for Love’, about an ex-business woman who runs a cattery and who has to go back to work in business to save it. The hero is a customer and the owner of the business she joins. Very Special Edition , complete with nasty ex-girlfriend, an even nastier ex-husband, a pair of cute old ladies and some fun cats.

Nancy: If we're moving beyond the crayon stage, the first
story I remember writing was science fiction about a girl who saved a Mars colony from alien attack by building a giant space mirror. Highly improbable, dreadfully flawed science, and a definite wish fulfillment heroine, but I enjoyed writing it. My first complete book-length fantasy was about mages saving a kingdom threatened by dark magic.

Jo: When I was fourteen I wrote a story about a high school reunion. Of course, the heroine had turned from ugly duckling to beautiful swan and the hero was immediately attracted to her, wondering how he’d missed her clever wit and graceful beauty ten years ago!

KJ I’ve always loved books that can make me laugh, so I tried my hand at a romantic comedy about a flagging furniture company headed by an feisty wheelchair-bound octogenarian. A romance bloomed between his designer granddaughter and a Greek marketing guru they hired to rescue the bottom line. Needless to say, that novel will never see daylight—too many references to Cleopatra couches and tiger-striped lamps. Also, Grandpa completely stole the show! But the experience of writing was so much fun that I was hooked.

Joan: Does a parody of “The Little Matchstick Girl” called “The Little Flashlight Girl count”? No? Ok, well my first focused manuscript was my 2006 GH entry Roman historical, “The Patrician’s Desire.” It was my learning manuscript and it took a while to get it molded into shape. I had to…the hero Jared wouldn’t LET me put him under the bed :-)

Cassondra: The first story? Oh, man…I dunno if I can remember back that far. I remember one in the sixth grade. It was based on one of the color plates in my Literature textbook. A couple of guys from pre-Revolutionary War days. They were in a canoe and it looked like they were running trap lines (for fur trade) and I wrote a story about them. After that, there were too many to count. Focused, book-length fiction? It was the story which, after a whole bunch of incarnations, became the manuscript that finaled in the Golden Heart.

Jeanne picked up the mimosa that had suddenly appeared in front of her. Man, those cabana boys could be sneaky. “Wow, those all sound great! Hmm…since it’s late and I have a mimosa and you’re all taking a break, let me give you another question. Let’s talk about the really yummy stuff. Who is your favorite hero, in film and why?

Caren: My favorite film hero is Brendan Fraser's Rick O'Connell in the Mummy movies. He's smart, funny, handsome and swashbuckling PLUS he loves a strong woman. How could I resist?

Suz: My favorite hero in films would be Clive Owen as King Arthur. Oh mama. Makes you want to go all medieval, doesn't he? Strong, handsome, honorable...and boy can he wield a mean sword!

Anna: Oooh tricky question – my instinctive answer is Cary Grant in pretty much any movie. But, I think it should be Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp in ‘Tombstone’. A great flawed hero, who tries to do the right thing, even when the odds are against him. I love all the different facets we see of him – brother, family man, husband, gun-slinger, marshall, boy in love. .

Nancy That's a toughie. Clive Owen as King Arthur, Viggo
Mortensen as Aragorn, Christopher Reeve as Superman, Errol Flynn as Robin Hood. I can't really pick. For me, a hero has to buckle a mean swash, as it were, and all of them do. The one exception to the swashbuckling mode would be Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch. Fits all other criteria and was a fabulous dad. And a crack shot when the need arose.

Jo: Way too many to list, but among the top ones are George Clooney (a classy and classic media presence), Gerard Butler (when he’s fit and trim not carrying fifteen extra pounds), and Shia Labeouf (okay I just want to pinch his cheeks and feed him cookies).

KJ: Harrison Ford as Richard Kimball in THE FUGITIVE. The hero had to conquer unbelievable odds (who’d believe that a one-armed man killed his wife???) and he used his ingenuity and intelligence to solve the mystery of the killer. Brilliant writing and plotting coupled with stellar acting from Harrison.

Joan: There are a LOT of heroes from big screen (and little screen) who are favs but when you think about the genre I write in it would have to be Daniel Day Lewis in LOTM. He had everything and the buckskins too, to make a woman fall at his feet….or jump over his shoulder to be carried away from danger…or to his lair :-)

Cassondra: It depends on the day. Today it’s probably Viggo as Aragorn. I like Bill Pullman in “While You Were Sleeping” too. He’s kind of earthy in that movie. Most heroes I fall for are that way. Tomorrow I’ll like somebody else though. I’m like Joanie in that Daniel Day Lewis in LOTM always comes out in the top two. Always. On any day. I don’t much like him in any other films, but he rocked that role.

“Wow, those are all great picks,” Jeanne sighed as Sven came out of the shadows and started massaging her shoulders. “Thank you Sven, that right shoulder...ahhhh, yes. Oh, sorry. Okay, new question, same vein. If you had to cast a current or past star as the hero of your WIP, who would you pick and why?”

Caren: The hero of my WIP (which is more a Mess In Progress now) would be perfectly portrayed by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Oh, yes, I DID go there!

Suz: The hero for my current MIP is Shemar Moore. In fact the moment I thought of this hero, I knew Shemar was my inspiration. Love him on Criminal Minds and he can so bring Gabe Danville to life.

Anna: I’m battling with that at the moment. Normally, I have the hunk all picked out. This time, it’s more difficult. My heroine has been likened to Detective Beckett in ‘Castle’. I think I see my hero as kind of Eastern European in looks – like Viggo or Travis Fimmel from The Beast or one of my fave footie players – Nemanja Vidic.

Nancy Also a tough question for me, as I don't ordinarily do this. The hero of my WIP exists in my head, and I don't generally put anyone else's face onto him or onto the heroine. That actually interferes with my vision of the character since the face tends to bring with it the tendencies of the last character I saw that actor portray. However, for purposes of this one blog, I'd pick Christopher Reeve, who's closest in appearance, though not a twin by any means, to the hero I'm working on now.

Jo: Actually, I had my middle son in mind when I wrote Tucker Gage, the haunted Marshal in my historical suspense-thriller WEAK FLESH. Take a look at Tyler with his son Barett and you’ll see why!

KJ Clive Owen. He’s action-oriented, rugged, yet sensitive—and that accent! Do men like him really exist???

Joan: Well, my current WIP is a paranormal and Matt Bomer fits the bill nicely for my image of Ruarc. Mischievous, sensual and ……sigh...magical.

Cassondra: Hmmm. I’m writing in a new-to-me genre right now, and I guess Viggo would fit best, but he really doesn’t look completely like the hero. Nobody does. I don’t know who would look like the hero…he’s sort of a combination of Viggo’s scruffiness mixed with a young Harrison Ford mixed with Brendan Fraser mixed with a 30-year-old Jon Bon Jovi. But way more heroic than any of them. (grin) But I DID find a guy who looks like the hero of the second book in my romantic suspense series. Saulo Melo with about three days worth of beard and longer hair. Slurp.

Jeanne, blinked her eyes, back from the happy place she’d gone to thinking about heroes “Yes, I can see alllll of that. Hmmm. Okay, next question. I think I know the answer, but ya’ll always surprise me. What genre do you say you write, and if there's more than one, what are the others? What genre would you never want to write?”

Caren: Um...I write humorous contemporary romance and some women's fiction. I would love to write mysteries, but I don't think I'm clever enough. I could never, ever write my all-time favorites - Regency- and Victorian-set historical romance. Too much historical detail required!

Suz: I write several genres, American Historical, Western Historical Eroticas (The Surrender of Lacy Morgan has won two erotica contests), Contemporary, Romantic Suspense (both KIDNAPPED and HUNTED finaled in the Golden Heart). Lately I've been playing with a series about nurses and another book for a Contemporary Christmas Fantasy. I don't write Paranormals or YA books. Only because I don't think I could world build for fantasy that well.

Anna: I write contemporary category romance – Special Edition/Supers – like my two GH finalists ‘Love by Bequest’ and ‘Mortgaged Hearts’. I have written a contemporary single title – ‘Gay by Day’ – which did really well in contest, but sadly was a casualty of a changing marketplace and the demise of Queer Eye. I’d planned the second book, ‘Going Straight’ too, which would have been a lot of fun and involved one of my fave progs, Trick my Truck. I also write category romantic suspense/Intrigue and am keeping my fingers crossed for In Safe Hands, which is under editor review. My latest, Past, Imperfect, is more likely to be single title romantic suspense with a time travel element. I would never want to write Inspirationals or erotica, and I’d be uncomfortable with a dark paranormal. I’m unlikely to write anything Scottish or Irish I wish I could write romantic comedies – but I’m not funny!

Nancy: I write romantic suspense, historical and paranormal
romance, and genre fantasy. They're all heavy on boom of some kind or other, and I like action. If we're talking romance alone, I don't have the right mindset for inspirational. I wouldn't want to write literary fiction because it seems to me more focused on beautiful words and sentences and artistic structure than on plot and story and because the endings are so very often dismal. And I'd never want to write horror.
Again, not the right mindset! The current WIP skates the paranormal romance/urban fantasy line.

Jo: I write historical, romantic and mainstream suspense, I’m thinking of dabbling in young adult, and I’d never, EVER want to write sci-fi.

KJ: I write international thrillers. My father worked in telecommunications and I moved a lot while growing up and every country was a different adventure. The travel bug bit and I still love exploring new parts of the world. The combination of intrigue and exotic locales fires me up!

Joan: Historicals are my first love and yes, I bucked convention and dared to set them in Rome. I think there is a great amount of interest among readers for a variety of historical settings. My newest venture, and one that I’m very excited about is a paranormal series with yes, you guessed it, an Irish flavor. I don’t see me writing RS…boom scares me as do maniacal villains…and inspirational.


Cassondra: Until recently I’ve always written romantic suspense, which for me, actually tends more toward the thriller in some manuscripts. But last fall I plotted one historical that I’ve had percolating on the back burner for a long time. I’m now writing a futuristic series. I could absolutely not write romantic comedy because I’m just not funny in that way. Nor could I write inspirational because I can’t keep my characters from doing the nightly naked two-step before the end of the manuscript. I’ve tried. They just won’t cooperate.

An evil grin creased Jeanne’s face.” Of all the research you've done for your writing, which research is most likely to get you in trouble with the FBI? (Or your mother?)”

Caren: I go down a lot of rabbit trails when researching. I was doing a lot of research on the war in Afghanistan and skirmishes the US Marines have had with terrorist combatants. I'm sure I'm on a bunch of watch lists now!

Suz: In my second Romantic Suspense book, HUNTED, I had a scene where the heroine has to know how to field strip a Glock, recognize a shotgun behind a door ambush for the hero and be capable of assembling bombs. Between the online research and my conversation with a local police officer, I'm pretty sure the local and federal law enforcement groups are watching me closely!

Anna: LOL – they’re probably watching me right now! I’m researching murder, poisons, forensics and security devices. I’ve previously researched hockey (up close and personal - oh yeah!), domestic violence and abuse, identity theft and fake identities. I had a lot of fun researching the New York Marble Cemeteries, which will feature in Past, Imperfect, using Google Earth.

Nancy The research most likely to get me into
trouble with the government would probably be the blogs I read on terrorism and the Google searches on various types of weaponry and explosives, but I try not to visit websites where the actual bad guys gather. My mom's dead, so I don't need to worry about her opinion, but I don't think she'd like the weaponry and terrorism research either. When I earned my yellow belt in karate, her response was, "Well, you be careful." So she might worry about these interests.

Jo: Oh, nothing I wrote would get me in trouble with my mother. She was as game for something quirky as anyone. The FBI, hmmm, I really want to stay clear of three-letter acronymic government organizations – IRS, FBI, CIA, DHS – those fellows can really make your life miserable, so I fly very low under the radar in my research.

KJ I wouldn’t be surprised if I have been red flagged for my intensive research on sniper rifles, the French Foreign Legion, and anything that goes boom—in another life, I would have loved to have been a spy!

Joan: Well, I have no idea what the FBI would think about it but my mother would be horrified to know I’ve, er….(sorry Mom) researched …um, stuff in the Kama Sutra. Hey! Just trying to get a er, grasp on things :-)

Cassondra: Hmmm. This is a tough one. All the government agencies have already looked up my fanny with a microscope a few times and I think they’ve determined that I’m not a threat. Except the IRS. I do not want their attention, so I behave myself and do regular sacrificial ceremonies in worship of my accountant.

I will say that I’ve recently begun trying to find out how to poison somebody and how much of a given drug it would take to commit suicide or kill someone, and I’m having trouble because I can’t get any pharmacists to cooperate with that, and I really do need to know this stuff. Honestly now. Look at me. Do I look the least bit untrustworthy?
I’ve interviewed everybody from the head of the regional drug task force to the doc in charge of a drug rehab to the FBI’s expert on gangs and occult practices. I sleep with my own resource for weapons, explosives, and black ops, so anybody who makes a list already knows me well. If I ever disappear, y’all send help. And three or four good lawyers.

“Banditas,” Jeanne said, draining her third mimosa, “It’s got to happen soon! You’ve got great stories, industry smarts and the drive to get it done. Not to mention the considerable support of the rest of the Bandits and the BB’s!”

“Thanks, Duchesse!” Joanie said, Googling Irish male models. “Now, we gotta get back to work.”

“Right,” replied Jeanne, weaving out of the room.

A loud boom sounded as she closed the door. “Shite, will ye get that blathering mess out of here!” Shouted an Irish accented voice. Another yelled “Rabbit! Somebody catch that rabbit!”

Jeanne smiled. Man, she couldn’t wait for these books to come out!

What about you? What questions would you like to ask the AYU Banditas? About their work, their stories?

Bandita Booty!!

by Anna Sugden

Kate Walker's handsome cat, Sid, has picked his winner. Actually, he must have been very hungry (see the picture of Sid picking winners on Kate's post!) because he picked several winners!

So ...

The winner of the main prize - a copy of both Kate's RT Top Picks - The Konstantos Marriage Demand and Bedded by the Greek Billionaire is ...

Di R!!


And the runners up are:

Karyn aka Drew

Suzanne

You get your pick of one of these Kate Walker books:

At the Sheikh's Command

The Italian's Forced Bride

Sicilian Husband Blackmailed Bride

The Sicilian's Red-Hot Revenge

The Greek Tycoon's Unwilling Wife

Cordero's Forced Bride

Bedded by the Greek Billionaire

Kept For Her Baby

Please email Kate with your snail mail details (and book choice) at Kate@Kate-Walker.com

Why Gloom is Good

By Anna Sugden

I'm delighted to welcome back another Lair favourite and one of my 'must buy, must read' authors, my very dear friend Julie Cohen.

So, without further ado, here's Julie!

Hey there Banditas, thanks for having me back in the Lair to talk about my newest book, Nina Jones and the Temple of Gloom.

The idea for this book came to me, I seem to remember, when I was out in my garden on a warm spring day, pruning the passion flower. I was thinking about the heroine of the book I’d just finished, Girl From Mars, and how she was a comic-book-loving geek tomboy. It would be nice to have something different for the next book, I thought. Somebody girly and chick-litty who loves shoes and stuff. But there are lots of girly, chick-litty heroines out there. How can I make mine a little bit different?

Then of course it came to me: stick her in a crumbling gothic mansion, full of gargoyles and spiders, with mysterious freakish neighbours who prowl the night!

Excellent!

So I worked up a bit of a pitch for it and developed the character, and then called up my editor to have a chat about the next book, and I mentioned this idea of mine. Sort of a Bridget Jones meets Northanger Abbey. “Sounds great!” said my editor. “Got a title?”

“Um...how about Nina Jones and the Temple of Gloom?”

I was joking. Nina’s last name was actually Chatham. I thought my editor would laugh.

“I love it!” she cried.

And thus Nina Jones was born.

The book was really fun to write, especially the gothic parts. I love horror movies and I love dark humour. I researched Gothic Revival architecture and had a wonderful time visiting Highgate, the part of London where the second half of the novel is set, with its famous Victorian cemetery and its vampire legends.

In the first part of the book, Nina is a typical chick-lit heroine, who loves shoes and shopping and, unfortunately, her married boss. And then, through a series of events, she loses everything—her job, her money and most of her designer shoes—and ends up living in her bat-loving dead uncle Arval’s flat amongst the gargoyles and the odd bits of machinery and the kitchen sink big enough to wash a corpse.

Here’s a short excerpt from her first few days in the Temple of Gloom, when she’s reeling from her own personal disasters, and discovers she’s sharing the flat with another inhabitant:

“What’s the attraction of a bath?” I ask the spider. My voice echoes off the black and white tiles on the floor and walls. “I mean I can understand a nice dark corner full of flies. But why a bath? What’s the good of it to you?”

The spider sits there, being hairy.

“I’d like to take a bath, actually,” I tell it. “Three days without bathing is verging on the ridiculous, not to mention disgusting. Especially with all the crawling around in cupboards I’ve been doing. I could grow vegetables in my hair.”

I swear the spider is thinking about all the cobwebs I’ve destroyed in the past few days. And planning revenge. It must be quite a complicated revenge, with lots of cunning plans to think through in detail, because the damn thing hasn’t moved more than three inches in forty-eight hours. Or maybe it goes zinging around the entire flat while I’m sleeping, but I don’t want to think about that.

I’ve been using the loo as quickly as I can, angling my body ready to bolt out the door if the spider moves. I’ve been brushing my teeth in the kitchen sink. But enough is enough. It’s not like I’m planning on going out or entertaining visitors or anything, but I can’t stand myself this dirty, and I am not going to climb into the corpse-washing sink for a sponge bath.

“I really don’t want to squish you. Or touch you. Or think about you lurking in the bathroom while I’m naked and vulnerable. How about I open the window for you, and you go outside?”

This seems reasonable to me, but who understands spider logic? I go to the long, narrow, multi-paned window and open it, a process which requires unscrewing this bit and pushing out this other bit. It only opens a couple of inches, and it’s begun to rain outside. The fresh air is cool and smells slightly greasy.

“There, doesn’t that look appealing?” I say to the spider. It is, I know, quite possibly the only creature in existence who has less desire to go outside than I do.

Got any spider horror stories? Got a corpse-washing sink or a favourite gargoyle? Just want to talk gloom? I’ll choose a commenter to win a signed copy of Nina Jones and the Temple of Gloom.

Julie’s website: http://www.julie-cohen.com

To buy Nina Jones and the Temple of Gloom with free worldwide shipping:
http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/9780755341412/Nina-Jones-and-the-Temple-of-Gloom

Don't forget you can buy Julie's other awesome books [Spirit Willing, Flesh Weak, One Night Stand, The Honey Trap and Girl From Mars] at The Book Depository too - all with free worldwide shipping!