October - Coming Attractions

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October guests

posted by Donna MacMeans

Prepare yourself for a wild time in the lair this month. We have loads of guests, a launch party and Halloween to celebrate. I've had to restock confetti, streamers, champagne and chocolate - just so we can make it through the month.

We'll start with Lorraine Heath on October 4th. Lorraine and Suz talk about a brand new series Lorraine has titled, LONDON'S GREATEST LOVERS. They'll discuss the series and the first two books, PASSIONS OF A WICKED EARL and PLEASURES OF A NOTORIOUS GENTLEMAN. Don't miss these very sexy brothers!

Tighten the bolts on the chandelier! Christie is launching SCANDAL OF THE SEASON on October 5th. Talk about a hot cover! Our launch party might well be the scandal of this season (grin).

On Wednesday, October 6th, Anna Campbell hosts debut historical author Tiffany Clare. We'll be talking about Tiffany's sizzling October release THE SURRENDER OF A LADY. (I do love meeting new debut authors, don't you?)

On October 7th Banditas Kim Howe and Jeanne Adams will talk about their fabulous experiences at Writers Police Academy in Greensboro, NC.

Lair favorite Kate Walker will be back on October 8th to talk about her new - and slightly different - Harlequin Presents Extra novel THE GOOD GREEK WIFE? She'll be telling us why the question mark is very important and why this novel is a bit different - and rounding out the celebration of her 25th year in publishing. (Yay Kate!)

October 12th, another bandita favorite, Dianna Love, returns to the lair with a prelude to the spooky Halloween season and things that go bump in the night, as we talk about the unexplainable and give a sneak peak of her latest colaboration with Sherrilyn Kenyon, BLOOD TRINITY, first in the Belador series.

Madeline Hunter joins us on October 16th to chat about her new release, SINFUL IN SATIN. (That heroine sure looks sinful in pink!)

Breaking News Janet Mullaney will join us on October 17th to talk about Jane Austen and vampires - what a perfect month for her to guest blog! (sorry no cover picture)

My old friend, Cathy Mann, will join us again on October 19th. THE MAVERICK PRINCE will be out in November, so we're diving a little ahead, but look at this cover!!! Well worth the anticipation!

After talking about Cathy's November release, it won't be much of a stretch to look forward to Christmas and WICKED WONDERLAND. Luann McLane will join us on October 21st to talk about this fun anthology. Three bestselling authors steam up the pages with sexy tales of women who earn spots on Santa's naughty list...

Desire author Jules Bennett will take us FROM BOARDROOM TO WEDDING BED on October 23rd. Priorities becomes skewed when faced with blackmail...will Cole Marcum risk his heart once again to confront the truth from the past?

All in the lair know about the Adam's legendary Halloween parties. With a name like Adams, can we expect anything less? We'll close out October with a bang as Jeanne Adams invites us to celebrate her favorite holiday, Halloween.

This month's contests:

After the huge success of Anna Campbell’s last contest where she gave away a pile of signed books, she’s doing it all again in her latest website contest. The question is really easy. Other than English, please name three languages in which Anna’s books are available. You might just find the answer on this page of her website: http://www.annacampbell.info/about.html She’ll choose TWO winners at random and those lucky entrants will receive signed copies of:

MY RECKLESS SURRENDER by Anna Campbell

DARK AND DEADLY by Jeanne Adams

NINE RULES TO BREAK WHEN ROMANCING A RAKE by Sarah Maclean

THE WICKED MARQUIS by Miranda Neville

PROOF BY SEDUCTION by Courtney Milan

Either WHAT HAPPENS IN LONDON or THE DUKE AND I by Julia Quinn

Good luck! The contest closes 30^th November, 2010. Email your answers toanna@annacampbell.info For more information, please visit Anna’s contest page:http://www.annacampbell.info/contest.html

It's a full exciting month in the Lair. Don't miss a day of it!

Source URL: http://gbejadacosta.blogspot.com/2010/09/
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My view at 6:30am

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baby

personal

toby

Early morning is one of my favorite times with Toby. He's super mellow and talk-y, and we "chitchat" about lots of fascinating things while he plays in his crib. When Toby was first born, I was so anxious that I was doing everything right (he was so teeny), but these days I'm thankfully settling in, feeling more confident and just enjoying his awesome company. Oh, Toby, I adore you and your Jack Nicholson eyebrows!Source URL: http://gbejadacosta.blogspot.com/2010/09/
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Laughter yoga

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movies

Have you guys heard of laughter yoga? Indian physician Madan Lal Kataria encourages people to get together in small groups and start fake laughing; after a while, he says, the laughter will become genuine and euphoric. Dr. Kataria believes that laughter can cure physical and psychological ailments. It sounds nutty, but my friend Scott recently tried it with a group of friends and said it was surprisingly awesome. Would you give it a shot?

P.S. Also, marshmallows!Source URL: http://gbejadacosta.blogspot.com/2010/09/
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Golden Gate Bridge dinner party

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design

dinner parties

food

genius

travel

Whoa! Our girl Jordan just hosted a four-course dinner party on a beach underneath the Golden Gate Bridge. It must have felt so magical to be eating parsnip soup in the cool breeze beneath the twinkling lights.

Read her full story here.

(Photos by Paul Ferney for Oh Happy Day)Source URL: http://gbejadacosta.blogspot.com/2010/09/
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Paris Fashion Week: Rochas Spring 2011

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Fashion Trends

Fashion Week

Rochas

Spring

Rochas' Spring 2010 collection brings back old fashion styles. Designer Marco Zanini showcased Swedish inspired pieces at the first day of Paris Fashion Week. The collection include printed long-sleeve button-down blouses, mid-calf skirts, plain-fronted dresses, printed doo-rags and black knee socks.

Photo Source: InStyleSource URL: http://gbejadacosta.blogspot.com/2010/09/
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October 2010 Fashion Magazine Covers

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Fashion Magazines

See the most fashionable magazine covers for October.

Harper's Bazaar Australia ~ Gisele Bundchen

Elle Italia ~ Chanel Iman

Vogue Paris ~ Lara Stone

Harper's Bazaar Spain ~ Eniko Mihalik

Vogue Spain ~ Elena Melnik

Elle Korea ~ Hilary Rhoda

Vogue Portugal ~ Pauline van der Cruysse

W Korea ~ Eniko Mihalik

Vogue Germany ~ Anja Rubik

Vogue Russia ~ Natasha Poly

Source: FabsugarSource URL: http://gbejadacosta.blogspot.com/2010/09/
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BAND OF BROTHERS

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Band of Brothers

Jo Robertson

by Jo Robertson

I’m very envious of those male bonding stories. You know the ones -- those about soldiers during battle, Jack Kerouac wanna-be’s, motorcycling across America or backpacking through Europe,or motocycle gangs like the fictional Sons of Anarchy on FX.

Even men gathered around a wide-screen plasma TV on Super Bowl Sunday foster feelinga of envy in me.

You see, I’m convinced that men are by far the SIMPLE sex. They rose out of that primordial sludge with the single-minde

d focus of hunting prey. They tuned out the wails of infants, cast off the chills of winter, and set aside the circling of buzzards to either kill the animal they stalked or escape the one stalking them.

This fall football dominates television and the men in my family watch with avid interest. Nothing detracts them from the kickoff or the run to the end zone on that HD wide-screen TV.

It’s the same thing during basketball or baseball season, of course. The same basic instinct that allowed the strongest of mankind to survive

their caveman era keeps their minds focused on the basketball game, oblivious to any sensory stimuli outside their narrow circle.

But the nifty thing about men is they get to give those really cool speeches like St. Crispin Day’s Speech from Henry V – “we happy, happy few, we band of brothers.” And they get to pat each other on the ass and sling an arm around a brother’s neck in manly affection.

I love that speech where Henry V, against overwhelming odds leads his soldiers "once more into the breach," where he talks about how those not there will consider themselves "accursed" not to have been part of that lucky group, the "band of brothers" who fought that day. "He who shares his blood with

me this day shall be my brother." Gives me chills!

And here’s the real thing I’m jealous of: men's bonds, almost entirely nonverbal, can be the most powerful ties that bind people together. They transcend love and family, careers and religion.

And the stories, the really great ones, portray those bonds. Shakespeare scholars call it “manly love.” They get to go to war and watch sports events.

Medical science has pretty much determined that women are the stronger sex, regardless of the antiquated notions of many people. Women outlive men; fewer female infants die than male ones. In some villages that still practice the outmoded notion of female infanticide, they have to import brides for their sons. Yeah, women are pretty hardy.

Psychological and

sociological studies regarding men and women are interesting, particularly one such study that involved recordings in which the subjects were presented with three separate, unfamiliar stories read aloud simultaneously. They found that the men quickly focused on one of the stories and shut the other two out. The women, however, tried to listen to and comprehend all three stories at the same time. Resulting, as you may imagine, in a lot of headaches for the women!

I mention this because it underscores one of the great differences between men and women and one, I believe, which leads to a great source of contention between the sexes.

When men are engrossed in a project, large or small, their focus is immutable, much like their primordial ancestors hunting prey. If they’re watching football on television and you stomp angrily by three or four times, hoping to get their attention with your not-so-subtle annoyance, they really DON’T notice.

Women, on the other hand, really CAN talk on the telephone, cook dinner, and know precisely the exact moment when a toddler is on the brink of grave mischief.

The crux of romance stories is the relationship, conflict, and reconciliation between a man and a woman. Often the characters appear horribly unsuited to one another or have some basic differences that make their coming together seem nearly impossible. While we may not have such conflicts in our real romance lives, my experience has shown me that there's plenty of drama between men and women, often because of the way they think, approach situations, or react to them.

Do you like male bonding stories? If so, what's one of your favorites?

What's your favorite male-female conflict in a story? What kinds of romance stories do you like best? Least?

Do you think the relationships between men are less or more complicated than female friends have?

Source URL: http://gbejadacosta.blogspot.com/2010/09/
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Wednesday giveaway!

Today's giveaway is from Chicago letterpress studio Snow & Graham. They're giving away their beautiful 2011 wall calendar, which has gorgeous flower illustrations each month. Wouldn't it look lovely above a desk? (It would also make a great gift.)

For a chance to win, please visit Snow & Graham's shop and leave a comment below. A winner will be chosen at random tomorrow. Good luck! xoUpdate: Mrs. Dontje is our lucky winner. Thanks for playing.Source URL: http://gbejadacosta.blogspot.com/2010/09/
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Rachel Bilson Taylor Swift Debut Roberto Cavalli’s ‘Diva’ Bag

Labels:

Bags

Fashion Week

Roberto Cavalli

At the 40th anniversary show of Roberto Cavalli in Milan, his "Diva" bag was launched. This new purse is available in three sizes and seven material. Diva comes in denim, python, calfskin leather and others. Rachel Bilson and Taylor Swift sported the bag at the Milan Fashion Week. Roberto's Cavalli Diva bag will be available in November.