Christmas Collection

by Beth


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

Christmas books!

Children's Christmas books to be exact :-)

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



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

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



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

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

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


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

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



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

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

Holly Jacobs Is In The Lair!

hosted by Beth

It is my pleasure to welcome author Holly Jacobs to the lair today! Holly's latest book for Harlequin Superromance, HOMECOMING DAY, is out now. Here's Holly...

Homecoming Day



by Holly Jacobs

I love Christmas. And no, it has nothing to do with my name, or a possible holiday birthday. I was actually born in August and Mom named me Holly because she didn’t want me to have a nickname, which would explain why I’ve spent most of my life known as “Hall.” LOL But I digress. I love Christmas because it’s a holiday that’s all about family. As my four children have aged, they’ve started talking about Christmases past with a hint of nostalgia. “Mom, remember when we were little and you made us sit at the top of the stairs while you turned on the tree and lights on Christmas morning?” “Mom, remember that Christmas you let us have Christmas cookies for breakfast?” “Mom...” You get the point. They have great memories of the holiday. So do I.

Maybe that’s why I so enjoy writing holiday stories. For me, the holidays mean family, and it doesn’t matter if I’m writing straight up comedy, or my more dramatic, emotional romances, my books all tend to have family and community at their heart.



This month’s SuperRomance, Homecoming Day, certainly does. I introduced the Keller family, who live in Whedon, PA, in last winters, Unexpected Gifts. They had a cameo in February’s A One-of-a-Kind Family. I had so many wonderful letters from readers, and many people asked for Seth (the quiet, alienated Keller brother) and Tucker (the heroine of Unexpected Gift’s best friend) stories.

Homecoming Day is Seth’s (Tucker’s story will be out in Sept. of ‘11). In it, I explain why he’s estranged from his parents. Now, I’ll confess, I don’t always agree with my character’s actions or reactions. I understand why Seth is alienated, but I’m pretty sure that’s not how I’d react. That’s the gift writers receive...the gift of seeing the world through another set of eyes. Seth’s story broke my heart more than a little as I wrote the book. And the heroine of the story, Laura, broke it the rest of the way. Helping them heal...well, that was my joy as a writer. I have mottos or high concepts for most of my books. Their story centered around the idea that “Life gives second chances...sometimes so does love.” As a writer, I loved helping Seth and Laura find their second chances!



I guess that’s another reason I love this time of year. It’s not only that it’s about family, it’s the idea that the new year is just around the corner and that’s a time of new beginnings and second chances. That’s why we make New Year’s resolutions...we’re hoping to change something about ourselves or our life–to allow ourselves to start over. A few years ago, I started giving myself a word of the year, rather than a resolution. Something to reflect on as the year plays out. I don’t like the winning/losing aspects of resolutions. If you don’t accomplish it, you lose. With a word of the year, occasionally thinking about it and try to incorporate it into your life...well, you’ve won! And if you pick the right word, it can certainly make a positive change in your life.

I’ve used the word AWARENESS and OPTIMISM in past years. I write the year’s word on a neon Post-It and stick on my desk, where I’ll see it regularly. I haven’t settled on a word for this year. I’m thinking of Glee...a word I tend to use a lot in my day-to-day life. But I’m not sure. Has anyone else ever had a word/motto of the year?? If not, and you had to pick one for next year, what would it be?

Holly

PS. As part of the blog's 12 Days of Christmas, I'm going to pick a random name from those who respond and send them a copy of the first Whedon book, Unexpected Gifts!

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

HOLIDAY BIRTHDAYS

by Jo Robertson


It’s inevitable.

Someone has a birthday on a holiday or a holiday season -- Christmas, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day.

Or an oddity of a birthday, like me, who was born on February 29 and only has a “real” birthday every four years.

I’ll bet everyone has a family member or knows someone in such a position. Our own Aunty Cindy's birthday is today!

For the birthday guy or gal it totally sucks. Or so my oldest daughter, who was born on December 27, tells me. In all of the hullabaloo of holidays, the birthday babe or dude is often forgotten.

Their presents come wrapped in holiday paper, so the sense of "birthday" is lost.

Or worse, they're given a single gift which is "supposed" to cover both Christmas and their birthday! How does that make the birthday "special"?

If it's a Christmas birthday, you might end up with the name Noel, Joy, or Holly, which may or may not be fine with you.

So, what do you do?

I have a friend who “changed” her birthday. She literally celebrates a December birthday in June. She claims it was very poor planning on her parents’ part.

A solution my daughter came up with for a milestone birthday was to throw a party for herself. Since she was a teen during the eighties, the theme was The Eighties, and guests dressed up in costumes, they had a dessert buffet, a DJ, and even an intermission dance and song performance.

Follow the YouTube link below to check out some of the highlights of the event.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZvSXrN4sDA

My daughters and I always celebrate birthdays with a HHFD (Happy, Happy Fun Day). We go out to dinner, catch a movie, spend some time together. This year we're adding an "Ornaments and Decorations Giveaway."

I'm passing on many of my holiday items to the girls (including the daughters-in-law). We sit in a circle, place the items out for all to see, and take turns choosing items until they're all gone. I think it'll be great fun!

So what about you? Do you or anyone you know have a holiday birthday? How do you make the event special? And if you are one of the rare persons who doesn't know a Holiday Birthday person, how about sharing a favorite recipe. Here's one I just got from my friend Judy:

OREO TRUFFLES

1 package Oreo cookies (use cookie including the cream center)
1 8 oz. package cream cheese (softened)
White chocolate bark

1. Finely crush package of Oreo cookies and stir in softened cream cheese. Use the back of a large spoon to help mash the two together.

2. Roll the mixture into 1” balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet. Refrigerate or freeze for a few minutes until balls set up.

3. Melt chocolate as directed on the package and then dip balls into chocolate, tap off extra and set aside on wax paper cookie sheet to dry. Sprinkle with holiday sparkles.

4. Makes about 36 truffles.


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

Elizabeth's Winners - and Another Bandita Prize!

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

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

PETITE!

BJ!

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

PINK PEONY!

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

And there's more!

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

LOIS!

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

Oh, that holiday stress!

by Christie Kelley

Is anyone else stressed out or is it just me? The holidays don’t usually get me this stressed but somehow things have gotten out of hand this month. Here’s how my month is going so far.

In addition to writing, I am also a Realtor and my one closing for December is still not scheduled. But we finally have things settled down on both sides after several contentious days. So there is hope this will go to settlement this month.

For some crazy reason, I volunteered to host my writing chapter’s Christmas party after a family emergency made it impossible for the other host. Needless to say, this led to a major house cleaning and shopping I hadn’t planned on. Thankfully, that was held on last Saturday .

My proofs for One Night Scandal are due on 12/21. I did get them finished yesterday and out the door so that’s one less thing to stress about.

Now, the Christmas stuff. I’m still not done shopping. I have nothing wrapped. I have one more batch of cookies to make and haven’t even thought about cards yet. You know what I’ll be doing today and tomorrow.

My one outlet for the stress has been my Jazzercise class that I take three times a week. With all the stuff going on last week, I didn’t get there once. I think that only made the stress worse.

So how does everyone handle the craziness of the holidays? Exercise? To do lists? Drinking? (it’s crossed my mind). Tell me your secret for keeping your sanity during these stressful times.

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

The Secret Lives of Elizabeth (and) Essex

by Anna Campbell

It is my enormous pleasure to introduce debut historical author and all round good egg Elizabeth Essex.

EE (as I am privileged to call her!) is a lot of fun and her books are wonderful. I was lucky enough to read the first and the third as ARCs and they're absolute treats. Witty, clever, sensual, romantic, full of intrigue.

Here's the blurb for THE PURSUIT OF PLEASURE:

Lizzie Paxton's dream in life is to be a widow - if only she could skip the wedding and the husband. When her childhood friend Captain James Marlowe proposes a marriage in name only, she accepts, knowing she'll have the independence she craves once he sets sail.

Though James is the only man Lizzie trusts, she doesn't trust the scintillating desire he evokes in her. James knows he shouldn't get involved with anyone, especially with his uncertain future. But he just can't help himself when he overhears Lizzie's declaration. Though he's promised her a marriage of convenience, he wastes no time in seducing her and taking her over the precipice of desire.

Yet not even his beautiful wife can deter him from his cause. But when Lizzie discovers her husband has deceived her, James must choose between devotion to duty and loyalty to the woman he cannot live without...

You can read an excerpt from THE PURSUIT OF PLEASURE on Elizabeth's website.

So let's give Elizabeth a rousing Bandita welcome!

Elizabeth, welcome to the lair! The cabana boys and gladiators are frothing at the mouth. Don’t worry, they just do that. What’s that? Apparently this is special froth because you’re a debut author arriving fresh for them to torture! Oh, man, these boys get their thrills in obscure ways! Ignore them and please tell us about your brilliant first book THE PURSUIT OF PLEASURE.

Anna, first I want to thank you, and all the Romance Bandits, so very much for having me in the lair.

And I must confess straight away - I can’t possibly willfully ignore a Cabana boys.

Too many good things in my life have been brought by wayward cabana boys!

But I must say, I’m rather thrilled to be offered as gladiator fodder. I’ve been quite looking forward to it - it’s the most excitement I’ve had in quite some time!

But as to the story: THE PURSUIT of PLEASURE is a Georgian-era historical romance set in Dartmouth, England in 1794. It’s the story of Lizzie Paxton and Jameson Marlowe, who meet again after many years separation and the sparks immediately begin to fly.


Captain Jameson Marlowe has come home to Dartmouth on a special assignment from the Admiralty, to solve the murder of his lieutenant and to stop the illicit trade of arms and information between the Devon coast and Revolutionary France.

When he overhears his childhood friend and nemesis, Lizzie Paxton, declare, “I do say I’ll never marry, but I have always wanted to be a widow,” he jumps at the opportunity to revenge old wrongs.

Lizzie Paxton is bored, too bright for her own good, and very, very used to getting her own way. She can’t resist Jamie’s offer of “a marriage without the man.” But instead of happily lazing away her days at her lovely, empty estate, she finds herself thrown into prison, and embarking upon a crazy foray into a world filled with gun runners, idealist politicians, murderers and husbands who only pretend to be dead.

What’s coming up next?

My next book, A SENSE OF SIN, is due out in April. It is the story of a secondary character in THE PURSUIT OF PLEASURE, the Ravishing Miss Celia Burke.

He could be her ruin...

After a shocking letter and then a mysterious warning about the dangers of unworthy men, Celia Burke is on edge. With her precarious position in society, the merest look could tear her reputations to tatters. And the roguish viscount pursuing her seems interested in far more than just a look …

She could be his salvation...

Rupert Delacorte, Viscount Darling, believes the ravishing Miss Celia Burke played some part in his beloved sister’s death. Looking for revenge, he swears he’ll seduce and ruin her – without actually touching her. Yet to win Celia’s trust and ignite her passions, Delacorte must open his hardened heart to her – and in the process, risk falling for the very woman he hoped to destroy.

Ooh, Viscount Darling sounds positively...DARLING! You have a wonderful facility with language and I love the way your characters speak in a way that reflects their background and history. Can you tell us something about the research you did for these stories?

I am thrilled you think so! I must say I work hard to get deep into the point of view of my characters, and I try to make their reactions and their language unique to them. My heroes tend to be military men, mostly naval captains, so I try to filter their reactions to everything, including the heroine, through the particular prism of their naval careers. For instance, in THE PURSUIT OF PLEASURE, Marlowe refers to Lizzie as, “as sharp and lethal as a handspike.” Instead of just saying that she’s dangerous, I try to use words that convey, in his experience, what he would think was particularly dangerous.

I did do some specific research on the time period, especially on the political writings of the day, but my academic background is in Nautical Archaeology, which is the archaeology of shipwrecks. For most of my archaeology career I worked with shipwrecks of the historical period in North America, from the Revolutionary War, through the War of 1812 and up to the Civil War. During those years I conducted extensive research into the periods, people and customs of the particular projects I worked on, so it just seemed a natural progression for me to write fiction about the period. It think all that research is also what drove me to write romance - when I was an archaeologist I already knew how the story had ended - they had already ended badly on the bottom of the sea! So I really wanted to write stories with a happy ending.

Wow, that's fascinating! Can you tell us about your writing journey?

My writing journey was more of a big old leap of faith. My jump to fiction came after I did some historical and archaeological research on a particular navy ship for the author Clive Cussler. I wrote a scholarly article about that research for an academic journal, and Mr. Cussler was kind enough to call and compliment me on it. He said I had a flair for historic narrative, and asked if I had ever thought of writing fiction. I was a stay-at-home-mom at the time, and it was just the push I needed to sit down at the computer and get started.


But I honestly believe the best way for anyone to become a writer is to be a reader. I have a deep love of words, and the worlds they can create, that I think was fostered by having wonderful books, like Kenneth Grahame’s THE WIND ON THE WILLOWS, read to me as a child. A love of stories that could transport me to different continents and time periods has continued all through my life, and I think is what ultimately inspired me to give fiction a try.

Here in the lair, we LOVE call stories. Can you share yours with us?

I think my ‘call’ was really more like a series of calls, each one leading directly to the next, and ultimately to one asking to buy the book.

The manuscript that became THE PURSUIT OF PLEASURE was my second manuscript. I entered it in a series of contests - the Beau Monde’s Royal Ascot, the Gotcha! Contest and the Golden Heart - and I was fortunate to get those exciting phone calls telling me I was a finalist, especially the call from Madeline Hunter telling me I was a finalist for Regency romance in the 2009 Golden Heart Contest. Each phone call and ‘final’ in those contests spurred me to go back to the manuscript, and work to try and make it better, so when my terrific editor Megan Records from Kensington called to ask for the full manuscript, I was more than ready to send it along. A short time later, she called back to ask if I wanted to be a Brava girl, and I said yes. I don’t recall much else about that moment, other than a strange, but pleasant numbness and an abiding sense of accomplishment. I sold to Kensington in a three-book contract right before the 2009 RWA convention.

Congratulations! Do you have any advice for unpublished writers?

Write every day. I find my brain is like a muscle – it needs regular exercise to stay in shape and perform usefully. Take a laptop, or an ipad, or just a pad of paper and a pen with you everywhere you go, so even if you are in the middle of the grocery store, the words that just popped into your head won’t get lost. Read your work out loud. I don’t care if the people in my house think I’m crazy for talking to imaginary characters! It helps me to get more deeply into my characters’ points of view to understand the way they talk. Since I write with ‘accented’ characters in mind, the cadence of their speech is very important. I also find I catch most of my typos and clichéd word choices while I am reading aloud. And my final, super sassy secret weapon – use it very carefully – is the Wine Spectator. Finding new ways to describe the emotions and, quite frankly, the romantic choreography of love scenes can get hard. (No pun intended). One evening, after a particularly trying day of writing, I was seeking solace amongst the bottles on display at my local grocers, and I heard a wine vendor describe a wine as having ‘an opulent silkiness in the mouth. I thought that was a perfect description of a kiss (or several other things which I’m too shy and retiring to mention on such an august forum as the lair) and I immediately wrote it down. (See above!) So there you have it. When you are stuck for sensory laden descriptions, check out the wine reviews!

Now I’m going to give away copies of THE PURSUIT OF PLEASURE to three random commenters, but one lucky commenter will also win an audiobook of Georgette Heyer’s THE CONVENIENT MARRIAGE read by Richard Armitage (SWOON!), because THE PURSUIT OF PLEASURE is essentially a ‘marriage of convenience’ story.

What’s your favourite example of this kind of story? Or if it’s not your favourite type of story, what is? The duck out of water? The injured hero? The toga-less gladiator? I’m dying to know!

Hmm, plenty of toga-less gladiators in the lair! A girl doesn't know where to look sometimes! That's incredibly generous of you, Elizabeth! Thank you! I'm sure the Bandita buddies will be on you like sails on a cutter in a fresh breeze! Good luck, everyone! Get commenting!

And there's more! Goodness me, they'll stop calling us Banditas and start calling us Santa soon!

It's FINALLY here!

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

COOOOOOOKIES!!!! and Prizes

On The Second Day of Christmas...

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

Lis3182

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

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

Barbie winner

Thanks for all the wonderful Barbie memories on today's post. The winner of the surprise Barbie is...Andrea!

Congratulations. E-mail me at trishmilburn AT yahoo DOT com with your mailing address, and I'll get your Barbie out to you.

A Christmas Confession

By Trish Milburn

I was talking with a friend recently about the doll I'd bought my niece for Christmas, an adorable little Rapunzel doll from the new movie Tangled. I got it at the big Disney store in Times Square when I was in New York last month. We (me and the friend, not me and the doll) got to reminiscing about what kind of baby dolls we liked when we were kids. Here's the thing, I don't remember ever really liking baby dolls that much. Maybe when I was really little, but for the most part I was a tomboy. I liked Hot Wheels cars and Tonka trucks, bikes and Big Wheels, climbing trees and playing in the creek. But there was one exception.

Barbies.

Yes, I know Barbie has her detractors. True, she's somebody's idealized version of the female form, not realistic for a real person. But when you think about it, Barbie could also be seen as a positive role model in that she's had just about every career known to man. Who else do you know who has been...

a computer engineer


















a McDonald's worker















an airline stewardess



















a nurse












a news correspondent













and even President of the United States?

In fact, according to this list at Wikipedia, Barbie's had at least 65 different careers. She's one busy gal.

But if I have to be honest, it's not really about Barbie herself. It's about her clothes! I still like to walk down that overwhelmingly pink aisle at the store and look at all the new designs and collectible Barbies. And at this time of year, there's always a gorgeous holiday Barbie. More than once, I've wished I had some of Barbie's lush outfits.

2010 Holiday Barbie














I'm a fan of the Barbies of the World collection. Here's the Russian Barbie.














And I love the special edition collectibles, like...

Cleopatra
















Athena



















Marie Antoinette























And then there are the elaborate designs by fashion designer Bob Mackie. Here's his take on Lady Liberty.

Are you a Barbie fan? If so, do you have any favorite Barbies? Have any special Barbie memories?

Since it's the season of giving, one commenter from today will receive a surprise Barbie. You won't know which one until you open your package. :)

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

On The First Day of Christmas....

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

CYBERCLIPPER!!!

Through highly advanced kitty cat technology (whose name caught on their claw) the Lair's new official "bat crazy" aunt Cyberckipper is the winner of the first day of goodies. Merry Christmas!!

Send us your mailing info to romancebandits@gmail.com

Joanie doing the Elf dance...

COOOOOOOKIES!!!!

by Tawny

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

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

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

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

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

1. Mexican Wedding cookies

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

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

The Night Before Christmas-Lair Style

by Joanie

Must be Christmas, must be Christmas, must be Christmas, Christmas Day!

Ok, well it will be in 12 more days. Today we celebrate the first day of the 12 days of Banditas' Christmas. We're taking a special look at the preparations that go on when Santa prepares for his annual journey. Lean close and look into the magic Lair kaleidoscope...

"Well, I think that about does it," said Santa, leaning back in his chair. "We've gotten all the lists reviewed, the presents packed and, " he looked at his cell phone, "we'll be ready to head out."

"Not quite, big guy."

Santa looked over his glasses at Wee, his head elf. "What do you mean? I've gotten Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas. It's all there on the North Pole App."

"You haven't reviewed the Bandita list yet." Wee smirked.

Santa felt the blood rain from his face. He cleared his throat and motioned for the iPad. "Hmmm..all right then. We'll start with the Aussies. That Christine's been a very good girl this year so we'll double the Tim Tams in her stocking. Ho, ho, ho...and Helen, she does make a tasty Chrissy cake."

Wee leaned back and propped his feet on the worktable. "Yeah. After last year's cake, you were jolly all the way through to Groundhog's Day."

"Never mind," Santa shot back. "Anna C. She's definitely on the naughty list. It's nearly impossible to pop down her chimney and make it out in one piece. I lost ten pounds and three hours Christmas Eve running from her as she giggled something about Jingle Bells."

Wee squinted. "Is that a twinkle in your eye?"

Santa cleared his throat again. Goodness, his mouth was dry. "Anna in England will get her usual order of hockey pucks."

"That's hunks," corrected Wee, "She wants hockey hunks."

Santa waved a dismissive hand. "She'll get them if they'll fit in her stocking. She always asks for XL. Zipping his finger down the screen, he continued. "Quite a few Bandits and Buddies in the Americas. KJ...well, we need a GPS to find that girl. Never know where she'll be on Christmas. And dear Lord, make sure we take the super sleigh. Cassondra and Jeanne have asked for "fire power" again. So much paperwork."

Wee tapped his Blackberry. "Gotcha and I'll up the shielding too before you seing by Nancy's."

"Good idea. That blasted dragon always makes rooftop landings a challenge."

"Who's left?" asked Wee.

"Oh, quite a few," replied Santa. "On the nice list we have Caren, Susan, Inara, Jo. PJ who I've heard has been baking, Trish with her wonderful YA stories, Christie and Beth." His eyes went wide as the naughty list, flashing red, came on screeen. "Donna wants a new corset and Suzanne...hehehehe,"

Wee raised one brow.

Santa coughed again. Has to be the dry North Pole air. "Suzanne will get what she wants. That leaves Kate and Tawny....we'll need oven mitts for those two...and Aunty Cindy...VERY naughty indeed."

"There's one more."

"Ah, yes. Joanie T." Santa pondered the iPad.

"She's awfully nice but a bit naughty...around the edges," Wee mused.

"Ho, ho, ho, you're right about that. We'd best visit her first to find out."

Late Christmas Eve.....

Santa landed silently in the fireplace of Joanie T's Lair room. This should be a quick trip. Baking supplies, savvy agent names, multi-book contract. Wrapping his magic around him, he stepped into the room.

SQUEAK!!!!

The mouse in a ball rolled beneath his boot causing Santa to lose his footing. He staggered toward the Christmas tree.

SSSSSCATTTTT!!!!

"My eyes! My eyes!" he cried as the hidden aerosol can hissed a stream of air into his face. Blinded, he grabbed for the tree which swung like a flag from a pole from the rope holding it to the wall.

Meow...meow...meow...

Santa's vision cleared in time to see two pairs of emerald green eyes moving toward him from the dark. Grayson and Cricket!!! Had he seen them on the list??? Frantically, he searched his bag, releasing a sigh of relief as his hand curled around a large jar of catnip.

Catnip?!

He peered at the most beautiful cats in the world who seemed to be smiling right before they leaped.

And he said as he flew into the night "Merry Christmas to all and to all a good....aggghhhhh"

What about you? Will you be on the naughty or nice list? If I put you on the wrong list, convince me why you should change. What can Santa expect at your house Christmas Eve night?

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

Do the Right Thing

By Susan Sey

It's the holiday season & the heart-warming stories are thick on the ground. Dime a dozen. Can't throw a cat without hitting one.

That sounds bad, doesn't it? Like I'm complaining. (Or advocating cat-throwing.) Like I'm a big enough scrooge to dislike heart-warming stories. I'm not, though. Truly. I love the one where the couple grabs a bite to eat on their way out to Christmas shopping and ends up slipping their gift money to a hard-luck waitress.

The one where the little old man comes up $20 short on his grocery bill and the lady behind him covers it while he's patting his pockets? Love it.

The one where you zoom up to the drive-thru window to spend $4 you can't afford on a latte you desperately need only to find the person in front of you paid for your drink, too? I love that one.

And don't get me started on that song about the Christmas shoes. It's as bad as the Maxwell House commercials where the kid comes home from college or (god help my tear ducts) the military. In uniform. I weep. Every time.

So it's not that I have anything against heart-warming stories of people spontaneously doing the right thing. It's just that...well, let me explain.

I had this experience lately where I did the right thing. It was a tough decision, the kind where your head totally knows what the right thing to do is but your heart wants what it wants & there's no talking it down.

I did the right thing anyway. I made the call that deprived my heart of what it wanted but ensured everybody's safety, happiness & well-being. Everybody's except mine. Oh, I was safe and well. I just wasn't happy. My heart wanted what it wanted. My heart pouted. Is still pouting, really.

Which took me by surprise. Because generally when you do the right thing in a situation like this, the endorphins kick in. The "I did the right thing & boy doesn't it feel good" brain chemistry trumps your heart's grumping & whining about being deprived.

In this case, though? No endorphins.

I did the right thing & didn't even get a buzz off the fumes of my own selflessness.

As I write this, it occurs to me that perhaps my righteousness high was denied me because I wasn't being selfless. I made the right decision but I was counting on feeling good about myself for having done it. There was a little angle in there for me. (Isn't there always?) I was planning to feel superior to the other people in the equation because they weren't as righteous & selfless as I clearly was.

That, my friends, will not get you an endorphin high.

So I think maybe I need to get my holiday mojo back on. My native good cheer needs a jump start. My heart needs to relearn how to be good and generous and truly giving. Anybody have a story of holiday giving they can share that'll reteach my grinchy old self how to be good and kind again?