A Joyous Christmas to All!!!

By Kate


What do the holidays mean to you?

To me, the holidays mean wonderful scents, beautiful colors, happy times with family and friends. It means rushing here and there to find the perfect something for my perfect someone. It means squeezing my eyes shut and wishing for … good health and happiness for friends and loved ones … peace and understanding among countries and people … and – let’s get right down to it! – gifts and goodies under the tree!

That's right! If it’s Christmas time in the Lair, it must be Bandita Gift-Giving Time! So today, one lucky random commenter will win our fabulous Bandita Christmas Bonanza!

This year, we’re including wonderful goodies like these:

* Deadly Little Secrets and Godiva Chocolate from Jeanne

* A signed copy of The Lies That Bind and a mini-bookbinding kit, plus a signed copy of Sweet Surrender, Baby Surprise, bookmarks and bibliophile stickies from Kate

* A $10 Borders card from Joanie

* A copy of The Seduction of A Duke and a notebook from Donna

* Copies of Elly: Cowgirl Bride and Winter Longing (written as Tricia Mills) from Trish

* A glass-handled decorative cheese knife from Nancy

* Copies of Must Have Been The Mistletoe and Riding The Waves from Tawny

* A $10 Amazon GC, a RB frig magnet and post-it notes from Jo

* A signed copy of Money, Honey and a handful of post-it notes and bookmarks from Susan

* Rooster earrings and brooch from Anna Sugden

* A Romance Bandits journal from Caren

* Signed copies of Do You Take This Cop and A Marine For Christmas from Beth

* Signed copies of My Reckless Surrender and The Mammoth Book of Regency Romance from Anna Campbell

* A copy of Sweetest Little Sin from Christine

* An Amazon gift card of $10.00 from Suzanne

* A copy of Scandal of the Season from Christie

* A copy of Delcroix Academy: The Candidates from Inara

* A $10 Barnes and Noble card from KJ


What does Christmas mean to you this year? What do you hope to find under the tree? What is your wish for the New Year?

Do you have a favorite seasonal scent? And what’s on your menu this holiday? Turkey? Ham? Roast Beef? Tamales? Chocolate? :-)

To all the Banditas and friends who have joined us throughout the year, Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year to you all!
Source URL: https://gbejadacosta.blogspot.com/search/label/Christmas
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Confessions Of A Dish Whore

By Cassondra Murray

Hi. I’m Cassondra and I am a dish whore.

I know, I know. Those of you who have come to know me in all of my black-wearing, firearm-and-knife-wielding, suspense-writing glory will find this difficult to assimilate. But it’s true.

It doesn’t matter much where the dishes originated. It could be delicate Lenox or sturdy Pfaltzgraff, $30-per-set Gibson from Target or $30-per-teacup Prince Albert porcelain from England. When I see a pretty set of dishes, I immediately start building a table setting around it. Then I start building my fantasy life around it.

I compare it to what I already have, and think about which placemats, tablecloth, chargers and stemware I could combine to make something eclectic. Something different. Something stunning.
And then I start wanting it.

I can spend hours in the housewares department. I imagine MY table set with that, MY house perfectly clean and neat, and all my friends around me, sipping good wine, laughing and having a grand time while I finish dinner and we prepare to sit around that gorgeous table.

My husband, Steve, will come in and give me a kiss and hand me the flowers he brought, then he’ll stir the Bolognese sauce while I greet the first guests for the evening.
If only I had those dishes, you see, all else in my life would fall into perfect alignment. Just like a magazine ad.

Yes. It’s a disease.

And yes, I do need a 12-step program for this.

Or some sort of therapeutic intervention. Or, perhaps, service for 12 of the Lenox Holiday pattern china. I’ve always wanted that set….

Help me.

I’ve been doing better recently. I swear.

Last year I gave away three whole sets of dishes.

It was the summer of 2009. After 8 years of living in this old house, I was finally unpacking everything that remained in my garage. And in so doing, I took stock of all of my dishes. I had to do this because I was trying to find places in the kitchen to store the boxes and boxes of fragile emotional crutches I’d been hoarding. I considered storing dishes under the bed for about twenty seconds, but nixed that idea. I don’t want to have to clean around them, and it’s bad Feng Shui.

You see, I’ve made this asinine rule about bringing more stuff into the house. If I bring anything in, something else has to go out. It’s a hard-ass approach to an unendurable clutter issue. I’m determined I’m going to create a Zen environment, one in which I can actually focus to…you know…write.

So in that summer of 2009, I took inventory. In all, I had eight complete sets of china. I had one service for 36. All matching.

That’s right. I could have served a sit-down dinner for 36 people all on matching dishes.

Now, let’s stop, for just a moment, and consider my actual life.

My dining room—or perhaps we should call it a “nook”-- is 12’X12’.

I’m presently sitting at the round oak dining table, with my laptop propped up on a copy of Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dianna Love’s BLOOD TRINITY as I write this. The rest of the table is covered with stacks of paper of all kinds. Bills, manuscripts, week-old mail, magazines, receipts I need for tax prep, and stuff to be filed. I shoved the paper back to make room for the laptop so I could type this blog. I’m trying to plan time in my schedule to get a dishwasher installed in the (very small) kitchen. Am I seriously going to do a sit-down dinner for 36?

Sure.

Maybe.

In my next life. Where I come back as Cosmic Empress of the Universe.

You know…the life when I have a staff of fifteen and three Five-Star commercial ranges in the kitchen. The kitchen which tastefully combines primitive pie safes and an antique butcher block island with granite countertops, two sinks and two Subzero refrigerators.

Yeah. That life.

On top of that, I don’t KNOW 36 people who I would bring in for a sit-down dinner all at once, unless I had all the cabana boys, the gladiators, the Bandits, and most of the Buddies over at the same time (Sorry, Ermingarde, but you won’t fit through the doorway). And besides, we’ve got the main hall of the Lair for those big parties.

Ah, but I had these visions of round tables draped with festive linens OUTSIDE you see, for a summer party on the lawn by the waterfall.

I can see the audience lean forward, and hear the question vibrating across the ether…..”You have a waterfall?”

No. I don’t. But I’d like to have one. And when I get my waterfall, I’ll sure-as-shootin’ have the dishes to support the darn thing.

See? It’s part of the fantasy.

It’s not that I’ve spent a lot of money on these dishes. I haven’t. My complete service for 36 was on clearance at Target. I paid $27 for all of it. Six sets of six. That’s less than a dollar per place setting!

Who could resist a deal like that?

And it was beautiful. Folk art representations of a village in all of the four seasons painted on the dishes. One season on each piece. I could just see it juxtaposed on a sage-green tablecloth with woven, mustard-yellow placemats and deep Aztec-red napkins, with a rich centerpiece made of red apples, golden pears, and jewel-tone turban squash, with autumn leaves scattered across the table. I’d weave in some gold-glitter-coated dried flower stems and gold-paint coated giant acorns, Then I’d set out some votives in deep red cut glass holders. My emerald-green stems with gold rims would be perfect. I’d turn the lights down and light the oil lamps and the table would glow.

Wouldn’t you like to eat a meal with good friends at a table like that?

I am a Goth, Martha-Stewart Mini-Me. I love all things beautiful and tasteful. I just happen to love them while I'm wearing black.

And I think pretty table settings are one of life’s most complete sensual experiences.

Think about it. Nobody serves Kraft mac & cheese on fine china. If the good stuff is laid out, you’re gonna get a home-cooked—or at least a home-catered—meal. And you’re going to sit down to that meal at a table laid out and decorated in a way that makes you stop and savor it.

I am hopeless.

I have dishes I’ve inherited. Some of them fairly valuable, though I’d have no idea how to sell such things. Some of them are quite ordinary, but hold fond memories because my grandmother served “dinner” (lunch for you city folk who don’t understand these things) to work hands on those dishes. Some of them are odd pieces of what I know to be collectible china, and some are 100-year-old pieces that I just think are beautiful. Platters, gravy boats, vegetable bowls and footed cake plates.

Jeanne’s post about decorating the Lair yesterday set this off. It's her fault. And the Christmas season makes it worse, yaknow….All the parties…all the opportunities to use that Lenox Holdiay china....

Let’s talk punch bowls for just a minute here.

When we did our First-Ever Bandit Bash in San Francisco in 2008, I created a wine punch recipe and then contacted our West-Coast Bandits, asking who had a punch bowl we could use for the Bash.

Not one.

That’s right. There are no punch bowls in California.

Apparently, people on the West Coast do not drink punch at baby showers.

I live in the south. I cannot comprehend this.

I called Jeanne, who lives in Maryland, but grew up in North Carolina, which is technically the Upper South.

“Do you have a punch bowl?” I said.

“Yes,” she said. “I have two.”

Ha! I was vindicated.

I have not one, but TWO punch bowls of my own. No matter that I use them only once every three years. I have one large cut-crystal punch bowl, complete with cut-crystal cups hanging on little s-hooks around its rim, which used to belong to my mom. And I have one smaller, blown-glass, footed punch bowl I earned as a bonus when I was a crystal dealer. It’s magical. Faeries would drink punch out of this bowl.

Yes. I was once a crystal dealer. Not only am I a dish whore, I was once a dish pimp.

I did a presentation to a group of ladies when I was a dish pimp, and have never forgotten the words of one woman, as she was moved to the point of poetry by the sparkle of the lights glinting off of the 24 percent lead crystal, and said, ”my lips LOVE to drink out of pretty glasses.”

Mmmmmm. Mine too.

Yesterday I stopped by a little consignment store at a corner I pass on my way into town. They had two pedestal punch bowls, complete with complete sets of matching cups. Dirt cheap. I very nearly came home with one.

I resisted. Just barely.

I have a deep disdain for paper plates. Even at picnics. I tolerate them only to experience the awesome food heaped upon them, and to be polite to the people I love.

But honestly? I want the picnic sets with the porcelain-like, hard plastic plates and the real silverware, all nestled in a pretty chintz-fabric-lined, lidded basket.

It’s not that I’m uber-formal. I’m not. I hate snobbery, and dislike formality as a rule.
One time I was in a five-star restaurant in Florida. You could have heard a pin drop in that place. (Totally NOT a fit for my personality) There was a little girl at the next table. The lace on her skirt was so stiff it cracked every time she moved. She had to speak in a whisper and looked about to cry. Absolutely miserable. I felt so bad for her.

The little guy who filled the iced tea was pestering the bejeebers out of me, filling it up every time I took a drink and messing up my sacred tea/sugar ratio. (It’s a sin to have to sweeten one’s own tea anyhow, especially in the South. What were they thinking?) I pointed to a spot low on my glass. I gave him my most threatening squint. “When the tea gets down to here,” I said, “you can come back. But not before that.”

His eyes got wide. He didn’t come back for a long time. I was way too loud for that restaurant.
I am not Miss Formal. Honest. I just like dishes.

No. I LOVE dishes. And pretty table settings. I love eating at a beautiful table.

I grew up on a farm in the country, eating on mismatched plates. I don’t know where this came from.

Seriously. I need professional help. Something is wrong with me.

Am I the only one?

Is there another Buddy out there who will raise your hand and say, “Yes, I am a dish whore!” along with me?

Or are y’all the paper-plate –for-dinner types?

I recognize that you paper plate types are, truly, the practical ones. It’s not that I can’t accept, intellectually, that you’re right.

I just don’t understand you.

I can’t relate.

Is there anybody out there like me? Do you love pretty dishes?

Do you stop and stare when you pass the Macy’s housewares window?

Do you covet the Lenox Holiday set, even though you’d only use it one month out of the year?

Be honest. You know you want it.

Don’t you?

Do you like sitting at a beautifully-laid table?

Or are you just as happy with paper plates and cups, and serving out of Tupperware?


Am I the only Dish Whore in the Bandit Lair?


Say it ain’t so.Source URL: https://gbejadacosta.blogspot.com/search/label/Christmas
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Decking the Halls and Hanging the Greens! The Lair Gets Merry-fied!

by Jeanne Adams

Seriously, how can it POSSIBLY be the 8th of December already? Have you decked your halls? Is there mistletoe in your foyer?

There is still one Hanukah candle to light tonight and tomorrow night, so I can still send Hanukah cards, right?

Oh. My. Goodness. Where did the year go? Sven?!?! When did you and the Hockey Hunks put up the wreaths on the tower? Who distracted Ermingar...oh. Paolo. So sorry, dear. Low man on the totem pole deal. You're like Shaggy from Scooby Doo, you make great "live bait" for distracting the dragon so the guys can start the Hanging of the Greens. Well done, sir, well done. (And not too singed either! He must be fast!)

And that TREE!! *picture me clasping my hands in rapture* Sven!! You've out done yourself! Oh my, that's a beauty! Big, full, gorgeous! (They dusted the snow off before they brought it in)

I love that you've already started hanging ornaments. Awwww, you started with some decorations from Jo Davis's famous firehouse! (Wasn't last week's visit the bomb?! Oh, sorry, I should say, wasn't it great! Don't want to mention bombs around the firefighters!)

WOW! And ornaments with everyone's book covers! WOW!! Where did you get those? KJ got them? I should have known. Oh, and Kirsten found us a seriously wacky ornament each! Oh, I LOVE them!!! Thanks, Kirsten! Your blog about the misfit toys made me laugh and decide to start a wacky ornament tradition at our house too!

And is that Donna's egg nog recipe? Daaaaannnnng! That's dangerous! But delicious. Sven, just how much eggnog did you MAKE? Whoa! We may need some cots if people drink too much of that stuff.

What's in the other punch bowl? Lordy, The Goddess Sangria's been here too? That's beautiful, and so is the silver bowl. (Sven found it in Ermingarde's treasure stash. I've never been willing to ask how he convinced her to part with it - but it holds gallons, has a silver ladle to match that's the size of a stein so be careful if you get Sangria! You'll get a LOT!)

Oh, I just LOVE decorating the Lair and the tree! One of my best and fondest memories from growing up was decorating the house for Christmas. My family usually waited until the hanging of the greens at church, or just before my birthday, whichever came first. None of this "day after Thanksgiving" stuff. It had to at LEAST be December 1 before the tree went up. There were icicles, and ornaments old and new. There were wreaths for the door and a creche and all the cool stuff for Christmas decorating.

Things are on a bit larger scale in the Lair, but it's the same idea, and with so much help, it's just a delicious event! C'mon! Grab some tinsel! Shake it out. Bunches or strands, there's plenty of tree to decorate.

Unlike the Lair, the one thing we didn't have a lot of growing up were outdoor lights. Did you? Was anyone in your neighborhood the family that did the lights up so big they caused blackouts? Grins.

I remember the year my Mom relented on the "no outdoor lights" rule - said with the same frowning disapproval she held for overt public displays of affection - and let me and Daddy wrap the outdoor lampost like a candy cane in red and white lights. She pronounced it "relatively tasteful", but still gave a bit of a disdainful sniff. I remember Daddy's conspiratorial grin.

The next year, we managed to persuade her to let us put white lights in the little bitty spruce tree. She wouldn't unbend more than that, however, so we stuck to our "win" such as it was.

Inside there was holly in vases, smaller evergreen wreaths as a centerpiece on the dining table, silver to polish, and all the smells of home combined with the exciting smell of Holiday baking, Christmas tree, and fires in the fireplace.

I was fascinated with Dorene, yesterday's guest, talking about sensory perception and learning and memory. (I'm fascinated with that anyway, but...) Oddly enough, it's the smells of Christmas, as much or more than the sights that make me feel the season's cheer.

Nothing says Christmas like gingerbread. Isn't this a lovely attempt to capture the Lair? A few too many towers, and a bit too Cinderella-y, but a farily good go at it. Grins.

What about you? Sights? Scents? Tastes? What says, "Oh, my GOSH! It's finally HERE!" Spinning the dredle and getting the gelt? Sugar cookies? Presents under the tree? Gingerbread? Stockings?

Do you hang real greens at your house, or all they all the wonderful artificial wreaths and trees? (Ummm, Sven? I think there's a heron in the greens....SHOO!) Where was I? Oh, artificial trees. They look so good, I consider an artificial one every year. Then I remember how the real ones smell and go for that again.

Grab a mug of spiced cider or nog - Sven's spiced cider is the envy of every blogger and Castle Kitchen for leagues - and tell me about how you deck your halls!

Pull up a gladiator...I mean a chair, here by the fireplace. Yes, it IS big enough to roast an ox, and Ermingarde has asked us to do so, but it's a lot of trouble and she's not exactly dainty, you know? Maybe for New Years....nobody notices a bit of mess at New Years. Grins. Besides, if we tried to roast an ox, we might set fire to all the stockings. With 20 of us, and all the cast and crew here, it looks like something Seuss might have drawn when all the stockings are hung, by the chimney with care! The variation in size alone is cartoonish. Grins. Compare Susan or Cassondra's dainty stocking with Demetrius's...

What IS that thing he put up instead of a stocking? Nevermind. I don't want to know. Point is, the size differentials are astounding. Thankfully, we've not yet tried to get an embroidered stocking from Lands End in Ermingarde's size. Maybe next year. Grins.

Anyway, I want to know about YOUR wreaths and swags and baubles and bells, lights and tinsel and Granny's Menorah and all your favorite holiday trappings.

We'll be doing it up big again this year here in the Lair, presents and all, starting next week. In the meantime, tell me about your decorating as we watch the guys climb the ladders to wrap that evergreen roping around the rafter beams.

It's a sight to beholdSource URL: https://gbejadacosta.blogspot.com/search/label/Christmas
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A Sparkling Seasonal Line-Up!

posted by Christine Wells

How did December get here so fast? Never fear, we have a fabulous program lined up to warm the cockles of your heart this holiday season!

First up, on 2 December, Suz and Jo Davis take us on a field trip to Station Five to chat with Jo's incredible firefighters. A most... educational excursion, ladies! And there are some fabulous prizes to be won!

Then, on December 3, Silhouette author Bonnie Vanak makes her first appearance in the Lair. Our in-depth reporter, Nancy, interviews Bonnie about her fabulous shifter romances.

On December 6, warn the cabana boys because it's Party Time as our very own New York Times bestseller, Kate Carlisle launches her second Silhouette Desire, SWEET SURRENDER, BABY SURPRISE! RT Book Reviews says it's "Sweepingly romantic and startlingly sexy" and The Romance Reviews calls it "A tender romance with mass appeal." Wow!

Join us for something a little different on December 7 when Dorie Graham chats with Nancy about creative intelligence. I'm really looking forward to that, as "creative intelligence" sometimes seems like an oxymoron when applied to yours truly!

And Deck the Halls, because December 13 rings in our third annual 12 days of Christmas, with fun giveaways and more!

But that's not all, because on December 16 the lovely Anna Campbell will chat with debut author Elizabeth Essex about her sizzling new release, The Pursuit of Pleasure!

And now, just for a bit of Aussie flavour, let me leave you with a Christmas carol they sing at my son's kindergarten:

Christmas where the gum trees grow
There is no frost and there is no snow
Christmas in Australia's hot
Cold and frosty's what it's not
When the bloom on the Jacaranda tree is here
Christmas time is near!Source URL: https://gbejadacosta.blogspot.com/search/label/Christmas
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LuAnn McLane's Wicked Wonderland

Hosted by Donna MacMeans



It's never too early for a little Holiday spirit. Let me introduce LuAnn McLane in the lair. LuAnn, best known for her Romantic Comedies with a Southern kick, found working on a novella for a Christmas anthology affected her more than anticipated.


“Have a holly-jolly Christmas it’s the best time of the year!” Those Johnny
Marks lyrics from the favorite Christmas classic Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer were made famous by the unmistakable Burl Ives. And it wouldn’t be Christmas without Andy Williams crooning, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!”


But for some, the holiday season is filled with sadness and stress and is anything but the most wonderful time of the year. A loss of a loved one during this season is especially difficult. The holidays can bring on financial woes. Too much to do in too little time can make a person feel… well let’s just say less than merry. On a personal level going through a divorce a few years ago made the holidays a painful time for me. Every single holiday television commercial was a reminder of a lifestyle I no longer had. The sparkle of Christmas seemed forever lost. I knew that writing a believable holiday story was going to be a difficult
task. So in Hot Whisper, my novella in the anthology WICKED WONDERLAND with Susanna Carr and Janice Maynard, I wanted to explore these emotions. Along with my characters, I needed to learn how to recapture the joy of Christmas.
My wounded hero, Jesse Marshall has his reasons to hate Christmas. Ironically, Jesse carves Santa figurines and angels, a trade taught to him by his father. Every year just before Christmas he leaves Colorado for a tropical vacation but when a sudden snowstorm hits Whisper, he is stuck and can’t escape. My heroine, Claire Collins, is desperately trying to get home to Atlanta for the holidays. Because she is admiring Jesse’s Santa carvings at the train depot she misses the boarding whistle and well… the sexy wood carver rescues her. Little by little bubbly Claire brings broody Jesse out of his shell and… well no spoilers but let me just say that there is a bit of Christmas magic along with help from an angel.


Writing Jesse’s story has been a healing process. Even during my darkest times I have always been a sucker for holiday stories and Hallmark movies. It's also been fun to get back to my erotic romance roots since I mostly concentrate on southern bent romantic comedy. PLAYING FOR KEEPS is the first book in my small town Cricket Creek series and will hit the shelves in March.
I was also honored to help country superstar Wynonna Judd write RESTLESS HEART, a novel that will be released in February.


So tell me: Do you believe in the magic of Christmas? And what do you and your families do during the holidays to keep the stress at bay and the magic alive? Or are you bah-humbug and struggle during the Christmas season?
I will randomly choose one post and give away a signed copy of WICKED WONDERLAND along with some holiday treats and goodies.
Happy reading and happy holidays!
Source URL: https://gbejadacosta.blogspot.com/search/label/Christmas
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Guest Author Dana Marton: Passion + Action = Paction (and Giveaway!)

I'm so happy to welcome author Dana Marton to the Lair! Dana Marton is the award-winning author of twenty-three books with Harlequin Intrigue. The latest is The Spy Who Saved Christmas, more of a Die Hard kind of Christmas story than It’s a Wonderful Life. High stakes, instead of fruitcakes. Dana is known for her fast-paced action and sexy, emotional romance. Dangerous men, thrilling women. Connect with Dana online at danamarton.com and facebook.com/danamarton.



Thank you for the warm welcome, Kate!



I read a wide variety of books. My favorites are romance novels, of course. Specifically, romantic suspense, the kind of story I also write, like this month’s The Spy Who Saved Christmas. But even when I read outside of the romance genre, the stories I like best are those that include a love story.



Love is a part of every human story. In fact, love is what makes us human, and the search for love is what makes our characters relatable.



In a good romantic suspense novel, the passion and the action are inextricable. Paction, you might say.



The romance is the motivation for the suspense. The hero and heroine love each other – even before they admit it – so they put their lives on the line in order to keep the other safe. They throw themselves into the path of danger on each other’s behalf.



Here are a few movies that adeptly combined passion and action in such a way that one would not exist without the other. Paction movies.




• Avatar – The hero entered a new world and fell in love. If he hadn’t fallen in love, he would likely have succumbed to the pressure to leave that world behind. But because he loved his heroine, he fell in love with her world, so much so that he was willing to fight to the death to save it.



• Casino Royale – First, let’s get this out of the way: Daniel Craig is H-O-T. Can I hear an “Amen”? Now, about the movie… In past James Bond movies, there was always a romantic interest, but we knew that she wouldn’t hold his interest for long. But in Casino Royale, the prequel, James found true love, and the loss of that love explained why he would never let himself feel that deeply again.



• True Lies – This is an old movie but not old enough to be cool. However, I’m naming it anyway because it’s one of my favorites. Arnold Schwarzenegger is a mild-mannered salesman, or so his wife believes. But in truth, he’s a spy whose frequent trips are actually dangerous missions. When his restless wife gets pulled into one of those missions, the stakes rise, and the hero will do anything to save the woman he loves. And she puts herself in danger’s path to save him, too.




When I write a Harlequin Intrigue, I write a paction story. The romance and the action are inextricably combined. In The Spy Who Saved Christmas, Reid Graham and Lara Jordan share one night of passion, and then Reid is killed in a mysterious fire, leaving Lara pregnant and alone.



Reid is an undercover spy, and he had no idea Lara was pregnant when he allowed her to believe he had died two years ago. Now he’s about to break the biggest case of his career, and Lara reappears in his life at the worst possible moment. For the first time, Reid has something to lose – the twin sons he’s never met, and the one woman he could never forget. With bullets flying and enemies hot on their heels, Reid and Lara have to work together to bring their babies home by Christmas.



Paction.



Do you love paction books and movies as much as I do? What are some of your favorites?



Contest: Each time I reach another 100 people who “Like” my Facebook page (facebook.com/danamarton), I’ll select a random fan to win an Amazon.com e-gift certificate. Please come to my page and click “Like” for your chance to win.



Also, one lucky commenter on today’s blog will win a free copy of a book from my backlist.Source URL: https://gbejadacosta.blogspot.com/search/label/Christmas
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Merry Christmas from the Romance Bandits!

by Kate


‘Tis Better to Give …

Some of my favorite childhood memories are of waking up on Christmas morning and seeing the acre of presents spread out under the tree. I loved opening Christmas presents, and Santa Claus never disappointed.

But now that I’m all grown up, I find it's much more special and fun to watch others open their gifts. I love to see the looks on my friends and loved ones' faces when they see what it is, when they look up at me with excitement and pure joy at the realization that I've managed to find the absolute perfect gift for them.

Well, that's the dream, anyway. :-)

Over the last few years, my family and I have pared down the gift giving dramatically. It's not just because of the tough economic times. It's because we all have everything we need. So what do you give an adult who has everything?

These days, in my family, we all donate to a few special organizations, then exchange fun, token gifts so that everyone has something to open and enjoy on Christmas morning. I like to give socks. Who doesn’t need socks?


But here in the Lair, we Banditas LOVE to give, give, give. Especially on Christmas Day! So today, one lucky random commenter will win our fabulous Bandita Christmas Basket!! It’s filled with wonderful goodies like these:

* Every Night I'm Yours and Every Time We Kiss from Christie

* $15 Border's gift card from Jo

* Dark and Deadly from Jeanne

* Golden Rooster jewelry and a cuddly Romance Bandits teddy bear from Anna Sugden

* $15 Barnes & Noble gift card from Susan Sey

* If Books Could Kill ARC, plus a bookmark and Ghirardelli chocolates from Kate

* $10 Barnes & Noble gift card from Cassondra

* Wicked Little Game from Christine

* Yummy Godiva chocolate from Joanie

* Captive of Sin from Anna Campbell

* Feels Like the First Time, Coming on Strong and Going Down Hard from Tawny

* The Seduction of a Duke from Donna

* $10 Starbucks gift card from Trish

* Not Without Her Family and A Not-So-Perfect Past from Beth

* Caramel TimTams, chocolate cream TimTams, and spice tea from Nancy

* The Treasures of Venice from Aunty Cindy

* and more!


What’s the best part of the season for you? What is the most wonderful gift you've ever given someone? What's the best gift you've ever received?

To all the Banditas and friends who have been with us throughout the year, Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year to all!
Source URL: https://gbejadacosta.blogspot.com/search/label/Christmas
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On The First Day of Christmas the Bandits Gave to Me....Joanie T's Annual Christmas Trivia!!

Today is the first day of The Banditas Twelve Days of Christmas!





We've been very busy here in The Lair getting ready for the holidays. Demetrius cut down the Christmas tree with his gladius and Lucien has been stringing popcorn which has taken longer than we anticipated as he eats two bowls of the stuff for every one that makes it on the string! The GR was in charge of ornaments, flapping up to the boughs to place each ornament just so....which also took extra long as he kept getting distracted by all the shiny balls. The hockey hunks solved that by replacing broken ones with pucks!


Marcus keeps shaking the packages while Sven insists that today is NOT the first day of Bandit Christmas but Lucia day....a tradition from his home country where it is believed man and beast require extra nourishment........Stop! Boys! Stay away from the cookies!!!



Sigh.


Yes, we are steeped in tradition, steeped in good will, steeped in eggnogg.....Oh, wait! That's just Anna C. and AC and (squints at shoes sticking out from beneath the table) maybe....Suz???


Tawny, Jo stop standing under the mistletoe winking at the glads....no...no. ack! Jeanne! Stop shaking the packages! No, there is not C4 in the green one...no! Really! Don't. Shake. It.




Oh, wonderful. Anna S. just breezed in from England with a huge bowl of wassel....like we NEED more alcohol...and now she's taking down the mistletoe and chasing the hockey guys around!


What? Yes, yes Donna that corset is very pretty in green and red. Oh, my...it lights up...and in the most interesting places. Look, Susan and Kate have just arrived from the cave.....nice Elf hats girls. Do ya'll hear that? What is that carol Nancy, Caren and Christie are singing? "Deck the Halls with SuperHero Figures"...no, I think the words are...


Stop! Stop! Kirsten, honey really I don't think doughnuts will hold up as a wreath..the glaze don't you know. Ah, Christine...just in time....I need help with....what have you got on your head? A candle wreath? You say you're name is Lucia??? Sven! Sven...come back here and finish the wreath! Beth, Trish....step away from the long, weapon like package KJ just put under the tree...um, don't put it close to that green package!


This party is getting out of control and we haven't even served the cake...er, pie...er, cake.


(Collapses against reindeer) Never mind. Let's get on with the Christmas trivia. During the day, I will post batches of Christmas trivia questions. The first person to answer each correctly will get a point. The person at the end of the day with the most points (9 pm EST in my world) will win the first Bandit Christmas prize. Good luck!

BATCH #!


1. What do the carolers in the song "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" insist they be given?





2. Who wins the decorating contest in "A Charlie Brown Christmas?"



3. Where did the Grinch steal Christmas?



4. When a Ukrainian finds a spider web in their Christmas tree, what does it signify?



5. Who was the first ghost to appear to Ebenezzer Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol?"



6. What Christmas song was introduced in the movie "Holiday Inn"?



7. What non-traditonal Christmas movie sports the character Oogie Boogie?



8. What actor won an Academy award playing Santa Clause?



9. What branch of the American military is associated with Toys for Tots?



10. What did Carol Brady lose that jeopardized the Brady's Christmas celebration?




Bonus FIVE points will be added at the end of the day to the BB who describes the most unique ornament for any of the Banditas.



Now, excuse me....Cassondra is putting TRUCK NUTS in the stockings!!!!
Source URL: https://gbejadacosta.blogspot.com/search/label/Christmas
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Friends and Festivities

by Anna Campbell

Firstly, some news for Aussie and New Zealand readers! The local edition of CAPTIVE OF SIN should be in a bookstore near you any day now, including all the usual places like Big W, Target and KMart. The trade paperback looks truly spectacular in the flesh. Keep an eye out for it!

The writing life is a very strange one. It's lots and lots of time by yourself to write the books. Sadly, sitting on your bottom at a keyboard in front of computer screen is the only way you meet deadlines and get those books out there. Then in between, there's all this wildly social excitement like the various conventions and conferences and just catching up on all the getting together with people that you miss out on when you're at home writing.

Just lately, I've had a hugely social time. I'm just back from a few days in Brisbane seeing my oldest friend and her family. We had huge fun, saw a big art exhibition at the Queensland Art Gallery, drank lots, ate lots, floated around in her pool - although with all I ate, I'm not quite sure that the physics of that makes sense. I think I should have sunk right to the bottom.

I also had a lovely day in town Christmas shopping and catching up with some of the local authors for a Christmas buffet. The fabulous Christine Wells (who has just been nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award for her wonderful WICKED LITTLE GAME, congratulations, Christine!) was there. It's always a buzz to catch up with a Bandita and distance means Christine is usually my Bandit on the spot!

One of the treats of visiting my friend Amanda is getting the chance to cuddle her beautiful Burmese kitten Toby. Well, he's supposed to be a kitten but I think he's just small. But he's beautifully formed and he loves to be adored. And I'm perfectly happy to adore him. He rather likes me as there's no hard spots on my body - in fact, I've started calling my tummy the cat Hilton because it's so comfortable and he likes to nestle there. See? All that eating and drinking comes in useful for someone!

This is a picture of Toby on the prowl. He's slightly darker now - more caramel than cream. He's a gorgeous creature - and doesn't he just know it?

November was full of visitors coming to my house to stay too, mostly writing people. Seriously, I think my liver is going to pack up its suitcase and move interstate!

The next photos are all courtesy of my good friend, Sharon Archer, who writes for Mills and Boon Medicals. Her debut SINGLE FATHER: WIFE AND MOTHER WANTED came out this year to great acclaim. I wish I'd been sober...um, smart enough to drag out the camera for my other visitors!

First up, I had the fabulous Christine Wells and Denise Rossetti, who writes sensual romantic fantasy for Berkley, to stay for the weekend. We had a lovely time floating around in the pool and eating. Oh, and talking. There's always plenty to say when we get together.

Then it was Sharon's turn to come up for a few days. Sharon escaped a heatwave where she lives in Victoria to hit one at my place. Temperatures definitely over where they should be. Again, we floated around in the pool - as you can see from this picture of a bathing beauty! Snork!

My final writing visitor for November was the wonderful Amy Andrews who also writes Medicals for Mills and Boons. Trish Morey, who writes for Harlequin Presents (her sheikhs are to die for if you're in the mood for something passionate and sexy and romantic), was up staying with some friends at Noosa. So Amy, Robyn Grady and I all drove up there from the southern end of the Sunshine Coast where I live. And yeah, drink a bit more. You can see why my liver is considering emigration. Robyn writes for Desire and Harlequin Presents - lots of writerly discussion. I think - I'm a bit hazy on the details, frankly!

Hic!

Anyway, after that rash of socializing, I'm hoping to attack my new story which is currently sitting at a pathetic two chapters. Oh, and get ready for Christmas. It's always such a busy time of year.

So enough name dropping for now! And I've foresworn the demon grape at least until sunset!

Are you planning on getting together with anyone special before Christmas? Any social plans that are outside your normal activities?

This is my last regular blog for the year so I'd like to raise my glass (oh, dear, that sunset rule didn't last too long, did it?) to the Banditas and our buddies! You've been absolutely fantastic and I love the fact that we've all hooked up together to drink...um, talk SERIOUS writing business!

Happy Christmas, everyone! And may Santa bring you exactly what you want. I'm hanging out for a life-size Richard Armitage but I'm not sure I've been good enough to qualify! Source URL: https://gbejadacosta.blogspot.com/search/label/Christmas
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