HOHOHO

You Know a Lot About Christmas

You got 6/10 correct You know tons about the history and traditions surrounding Christmas. When you celebrate the holidays, you never forget their true meaning - or all the little fun details. Random Christmas fact: Some people believe that all animals can speak on Christmas Eve. But it's bad luck to test this superstition.

How Much Do You Know About Christmas?

HO HO HO

You Know a Lot About Christmas

You got 6/10 correct You know tons about the history and traditions surrounding Christmas. When you celebrate the holidays, you never forget their true meaning - or all the little fun details. Random Christmas fact: Some people believe that all animals can speak on Christmas Eve. But it's bad luck to test this superstition.

How Much Do You Know About Christmas?

Christmas Cookies

We make these Butter Cookies every year. Enjoy!

1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. orange juice
3 c. sifted flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt

Cream butter until very light. Add sugar gradually and continue creaming until light and fluffy. Add orange juice.Sift together flour, salt, soda and powder. Add to creamed mixture gradually.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour.

Roll out on floured surface and cut with cookie cutters. Brush lightly with water and add colored sprinkles if desired.

Place on ungreased cookie sheets and bake at 350 degrees F for about 12 minutes or until delicately brown. Cool before storing.

Reindeer?

You Are Dancer

Carefree and fun, you always find reasons to do a happy dance. Why You're Naughty: That dark stint you had as Santa's private dancer. Why You're Nice: You're friendly. Very friendly.

Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You?

Violet Moons, an excerpt

Violet Moons excerpt:

Beneath the cloudless azure sky they broke camp quickly. A beautiful day was a good day for traveling and they both knew it.
“So, you still have not told me where you are going.”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Well?” asked Priam. She had been an enthusiastic lover and they had pleasured each other so often throughout the long night that he felt as if he knew her body intimately, but her hidden personality very little.
His longing to know her mind more fully was as obvious as his desire for her body.
“Well what? I have not told you, no. And I am not certain that I will be telling you, either,” she teased. She rolled her sleeping mat into a tiny ball and stuffed it into her traveling pouch. “And what of it, Priam? You have not told me where you are headed.”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Well?”
He ran a hand down his newly bound side tails. They framed his face handsomely, he knew. He did not indulge in vanity but facts were facts and his long thick hair was the envy of many women in his kingdom.
Right now he would have gladly traded it for the chance to read Wathalia’s thoughts.
There were tales, ancient tales, that told of those who could read thoughts. He had always wished that the trait of thought-reading could still be cultivated among the people, but try as he might he could not figure out how to do it.
It would have been a talent that would serve him well at this moment in time.
Something else, he thought. Ask her something else.
“Where are you from, sweet Wathalia? Where did your journey begin?”
She hesitated, but only for an instant, before she answered his question. There could be no harm in his knowing where she had come from. After all, everyone came from somewhere, did they not?
“Vestia. I come from Vestia,” she said. “It is a kingdom about two days’ walk in…” she searched the sky to get her bearings, “in that direction,” she finished, pointing at a distant point somewhere behind them.
“Ah yes, I have heard of Vestia.”
“You have?”
“Of course. It is a place that is known for peaceful living, fertile lands and beautiful women. I have never seen it with my own eyes but I know now that the part about beautiful women has not been exaggerated. If anything, it is an understatement.”
“Ah, you know how to say the right things to make a woman swoon, do you not?”
“Are you swooning?”
She laughed, the easy heart-lifting laughter that seemed to come quickly and often between them. He joined in her laughter as he rose from where he was packing his travel pouch. Reaching for her, he pulled her body against his.
“I wish we had time to linger,” Priam said. He bent his head and touched her lips with his own. “I would like nothing more than to hold you close, feel you shiver and shake against me once more. Last night was a time of wonder and joy for me, Wathalia. You taught me much.”

Pick-me-up?

Wondering what to do today? Need a quick pick-me-up after a round of holiday shopping? Want to get in the holiday spirit? Why not try NORTH POLE NAUGHTY from Ellora's Cave? It's guaranteed to steam up your holidays!

NORTH POLE NAUGHTY
NINA NASH
Rating: 5 Cups by Missy at Coffee Time Romance!

"Steve is the mall Santa and quite a cutie under his beard and Santa costume. He is everything Liz wants, and so much more male than the man that left her...

Filled with fun and sexual tension, this Christmas story was a sweet and sexy romance that was a perfect size for a lunch hour quickie. What a great way to warm up for the holidays. This was the perfect holiday treat." -Missy, Coffee Time Romance

Cream Puffs

I made these last night and they are to die for!

Of course I can't give away the secret canoli recipe from Recipe for Love but I can share one that's always been a hit in our house!I love strawberries. And I love cream puffs. So easy-to-bake cream puffs with strawberry sauce? Enough to steal my heart, for sure.

Okay, here goes. The recipe for Steal-My-Heart Cream Puffs:

Puffs:
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup very cold butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 eggs, whisked together

Filling:
1 cup heavy cream
5 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup Amaretto liqueur

Strawberry Puree:
4 cups strawberries, mashed and passed through a sieve
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon water

Grease a cookie sheet and set aside.

Pre-heat over to 375 degrees.

Heat water and butter in saucepan over medium heat until water comes to a boil and butter melts. Lower heat to a simmer and add sugar and flour. Stir briskly until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat and cool slightly. When dough has cooled a bit, add beaten eggs and mix well. Drop dough by tablespoonsful onto prepared cookie sheet and bake for 35 minutes. When golden colored, remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

While cream puffs bake, whip cream and sugar until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in liqueur.When puffs have cooled, cut in them in half and fill. They may also be filled by using a pastry bag, if you prefer.

If not serving right away, place filled cream puffs in fridge.

Just before serving, make the puree by placing all remaining ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly, until mixture thickens. Cool slightly before serving with cream puffs.

Enjoy!

Tools Everywhere!

It's always something, isn't it? I mean, when you've got a guy who watches the DIY network, Bob Villa and every other home renovation show on television you're bound to have some dust in your life. And, if you're really lucky (heavy on the sarcasm here!), some power tools. Some, even, with ridiculously long chords.

Arrgghhh!!

When will that man learn not to leave his drill laying around? I can't even begin to count the number of "discussions" we've had about it.

Last night I got up in the middle of the night because I couldn't sleep. I headed to the kitchen, thinking a cup of chamomile tea might put me back to sleep. Instead I got a lump on my head that's going to look fabulous later today.

He says I'm clumsy. I say he's irresponsible.

Whatever.

All I know is I tripped over his damn tool. I nearly tossed it out the window, I was so annoyed.

Yeah, it's always something, isn't it?

Melting the Polar Ice Cap

North Pole Naughty, my second Ellora's Cave title, was released mid-December, 2006. What is the story about? Well, I just happen to have a blurb...

The holidays aren't starting off the way Liz hoped.Arriving in Wyoming the month before Christmas with her belongings in cardboard boxes and her heart in tatters she finds refuge on her sister's couch. While she waits for her ex-boyfriend Rob to come to his senses she takes a job as an elf at Santa's cottage in the local park. And as she focuses on getting her topsy-turvy life back in order she notices something.

Someone, actually. Someone wearing a red velvet Santa suit.

Someone so hot he could melt the polar ice cap. Someone named Steve who is all she ever dreamed of finding beneath her sprig of mistletoe.

Can working as an elf for a few weeks bring Liz a holiday gift that will last a lifetime?

North Pole Naughty

Need a little holiday pick-me-up? A pick-me-up that warms you up...in all the right spots, if you know what I mean?

Why not pick up your copy of North Pole Naughty? Guaranteed to heat your world, one inch at a time!

Santa never looked so good!!

Don't Stop Now!

Oh my gosh, you guys are awesome! I'm getting so many wonderful responses to the Tinsel For Lunch contest!

I've loved reading the responses to the Tinsel For Lunch Contest. I'm amazed by the diversity of everyone's holiday traditions. They're all wonderful and the best part is that each and every one of them is grounded in love.

Keep 'em coming! I'll choose the winner on the 15th!

Today in the Big Apple

Walking the streets of New York is always interesting. You see all sorts of things. Some good. Some not so great. Today I saw something that made my heart sing.

Was walking past the tree in Rockefeller Center. A woman and a small child were standing there, looking up and talking. She was explaining to the little boy what was going on. He listened intently, and when she was finished he asked a question that really, truly grabbed me.

"So will they put a star on the top so the three kings will know where to go?"

Sweet. Very sweet and innocent. And it brought the holiday to a new level in a flash.

Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

A few days ago Mickey and I watched the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree go up. Every year I think the tree can't get any better but every year I think this year's tree is the best of the bunch. Funny, isn't it?

Take it from me, this year's tree is breathtaking. Huge and full and pretty even without lights. I can't wait to see what it looks like all decorated for the holidays.

We have a real tree every year. If you celebrate Christmas, do you put up a tree? And what kind of tree do you favor?

Ours will go up the day after Thanksgiving. So exciting!

NaNo Noveling

I have been writing a NaNo novel. It's a compulsion, I think, to challenge myself to write a 50,000-word novel in under 30 days. I have so much fun doing the challenge that I can't imagine what November would be like without this event.

I'm almost done with my new novel. I had a blast writing without editing and it just about wrote itself. I plan to put it away until after the new year, then settle down and work on rewrites. Very different from what I usually do, or what I usually write.

Have you ever done (or are you doing) the NaNo challenge? If you're doing it this year, I hope it's going well for you! Remember, we're just past the halfway point so keep writing.

I've got to get back. Chapter 19 awaits!