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Every year we got through Firsts and Lasts and 2013 won’t be any different. The only thing I know for certain is that life is always changing. In the next 11.5 months:

Little Sis (younger daughter) will turn sixteen and will learn to drive. Her First is also my Last as she’s the last kid I’ll have to teach to drive *g*

Big Sis (older daughter) will graduate from high school in June then in August she’ll leave for college (not sure where she’ll end up yet, though) This First leaves Little Sis as the Last one at home � and no, she’s not looking forward to this and begs her sister repeatedly not to leave her alone with “those crazy people� (meaning her loving, fabulous parents)

That Boy of Mine will finish his third year of college and will, most likely, spend his Last summer at home. I’ll miss him but I won’t miss the way my grocery bill doubles (yes, doubles) whenever he’s home

I’ll be taking my first official yoga class. After years of wanting to take up yoga, I’ve finally found aÌýclass in town! I plan on being very bendy by this time next year. Will let you all know how that works out.

The First book of In Shady Grove, my new series for SuperRomance will be out (along with books 2 and 3 *g*) TALK OF THE TOWN will be out in April with WHAT HAPPENS BETWEEN FRIENDS out in August and book 3 (as of yet untitled) a December release.

Do you have an upcoming Firsts or Lasts? Any changes that you’re aware of for 2013?

Our Ninth Bandita Day of Christmas Prize winner is:

Sandyg265! You’ve won a copy of Jeannie Watt’s CROSSING NEVADA plus either a rooster ornament or a dragon cookie cutter and sugar mix.

But wait! There’s more

Hellion and Fedora you’ve both won copies of CROSSING NEVADA as well!

Ladies, please use the Mail Room link above to send me your snail mail info and we’ll get your prizes out to you as soon as possible.

Congrats!

Thanks for sharing your Christmas Don’ts with me! The winner of The Diamond Dust trilogy plus either a rooster ornament or a dragon cookie cutter and sugar mix is:

Amy Conley!

Congrats, Amy! Please use the Mail Room link above to send me your snail mail address and I’ll get the books out to you right away!

Today I’m thrilled to welcome fellow SuperRomance author Jeannie Watt to the lair! Jeannie is one talented lady and I highly recommend you all check out her books including her latest reelease, CROSSING NEVADA! Here’s Jeannie�

I can’t say that I’ve always loved to sew, but my mom made certain that I knew how to sew, which came in very handy whenÌý I immersed myself in Gone With the Wind at the age of fifteen and decided that I simply had to have some southern belle gear.

At that time, there were no readily available patterns for such things as corsets and hoop skirts, but there was the library. I checked out many books, studied pictures and made a plan. I would start from the inside and work out, since corsets took less fabric than hoop skirts. My mother is the sensible sort and had I asked her for nine yards of fabric so that I could indulge in a fantasy, I don’t know that she would have been in favor. Not when that same nine yards of fabric could have made me three school outfits.

I found some sturdy floral fabric that I believe was originally intended to upholster something and began working on my corset. I had no idea what whalebone was, but it seemed to me that baling wire should be a suitable substitute.Ìý I’m pleased to say that my baling wire/upholstery fabric corset actually turned out pretty well, although I never got the chance to wear it. I couldn’t find enough fabric to make a dress to go over it. My baling wire hoops didn’t work quite so well and before I got the design flaws worked out, I started reading Regency romance and abandoned hoops and corsets. From that point on, I was all about empire waists—which also happened to be in style, so I could indulge.

Fast forward a couple of boring, non-costumed decades to December 2011 to when I found out that a friend of my husband sang at Dicken’s Fair.

Dicken’s Fair…hoop skirts�

The seed was planted. The sewing began—for the entire family. It took about six months but I got everyone outfitted. Do you have idea how much more comfortable actual store-bought boning is compared to baling wire? There is no comparison. I still haven’t got to wear real hoops, though. My daughter and I settled for stiff crinolines, which worked, but next year we’re wearing hoops for sure. I have plans for a new dress and my husband, the non-costume guy, wants a fancier vest.

The most wonderful part of preparing for Dicken’s Fair is that, despite a rather hectic schedule, I had an excuse to sew. I became so involved with sewing that when I wrote my December SuperRomance, Crossing Nevada, it was natural to have my heroine learn to sew as a way to deal with the trauma of being attacked and permanently scarred. She never made a hoop skirt, but she did find confidence learning a new skill.

Have you ever made anything comparable to a baling wire corset? Indulged in a little costume mania? Learned to sew? Tell me your secret costume fantasy or what you love to do in your spare time and I’ll give away copies of Crossing Nevada to three respondents.

It’s been great being here. Thanks for having me!

Thanks for being with us, Jeannie! Don’t forget to check out Jeannie’s website:

Lime Muffins

Jeannie Watt

These are a wonderful Sunday breakfast muffin. They have a lovely crunch on the outside and are deliciously moist on the inside.

Ìý2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup milk

2 eggs lightly beaten

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon grated lime rind

1/4 cup lime juice

Preheat over to 400°F. Grease twelve 2 ½ inch muffin pan cups.

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into large bowl.

Mix milk, eggs, oil, lime rind and lime juice in a two-cup measure. Add all at once to flour mixture; stir lightly with fork until just moist. (Batter will be lumpy.) Spoon into prepared muffin-pan cups, filling each three quarters full.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until golden. Remove muffins from cups to wire rack. Serve warm with butter.

Note—these muffins are a bit flat on top, but the taste makes it totally worthwhile not to have a mini-mountain muffin.

It’s the 12 Bandita Days of Christmas! From now until December 25th we’re celebrating the holidays with daily recipes and PRIZES! It’s all leading up to a HUGE Prize bundle of books and goodies on Christmas Day so make sure you stop back each day!

So many people have holiday traditions, things they do each and every year, and while we definitely have more than our fair share of Dos, today I’d like to talk about a few of my Don’ts.

I don’t:

Use tinsel. Not one sparkly strand. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m not anti-tinsel � as a matter of fact, growing up, we always had tinsel (or what we called “icicles�) on our tree. We’d grab the glittery stuff and toss it willy nilly all over that beautiful evergreen. It was so ingrained in me that during the first few years of marriage, my husband and kids and I repeated the tradition. Until I actually had to clean up all that shiny stuff � from the floors, the furniture, our clothes…so, yeah. No tinsel. Not even the garland kind. I’m now used to a less sparkly tree. *g* (I’ve also outlawed any and all Easter grass during Easter but that’s a whole ‘nother post) The tree pictured here is my mom’s, hence the sparkle.

Make or drink eggnog. I know it’s traditional and all and I love eggs as part of a meal but the idea of drinking them just gives me the heebie jeebies *shudder*. So…no eggnog even though Big Sis (older daughter) loves it. This year I’m making apple brandy. Hey, that can be traditional, right?

Watch Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, How the Grinch Stole Christmas or The Year Without a Santa Claus. They (and a few others) freak out my children (who, I might add, are 21, 18 and 15 but still�) It’s the artwork for some reason *shrug* It’s such a deep-seated fear that the other night when I found The Year Without a Santa Claus on TV, Big Sis wouldn’t come into the living room until I’d turned the channel. I tried to talk her into watching the part where Heat Miser sings but she’d have none of it.

Send Christmas cards early. Ever. I always plan on having them done weeks ahead of time but it never happens. Some years I’ve barely made it On Time. Oh, and I always save my kids� school pictures to include in the cards but I don’t always remember to actually put them in the envelopes.

Put ribbons or bows on wrapped presents. I used to. I used to spend hours wrapping presents, curling ribbons and making perfect bows (I even got a wooden bow-maker one year � you wrapped the ribbon around it somehow…wonder if I still have that?) and being creative with my wrapping. Now I’m lucky if I don’t run out of wrapping paper, tape and/or gift tags. Seriously. I’ve been known to use the Sunday comics for wrapping paper, stickers (yes, stickers) in place of tape and folded pieces of scrap paper for tags. It’s not pretty.

Let my kids step one foot into the living room on Christmas morning until my husband and I have coffee in hand, Bing playing on the CD player and the camera ready to snap a picture of their reactions at seeing all the presents Santa left. As I mentioned, two of them are now legally adults and yes, we still do this. And yes, Santa still leaves presents AFTER they’ve gone to bed Christmas Eve.

Hey, I can’t spend all that time wrapping presents. I have goodies to make! Here’s a super easy one that also happens to be my husband’s favorite:

Peanut Clusters

2 � 12 oz packages of white chips

1 � 12 oz package of milk chocolate chips

1 � 12 oz package of semi-sweet chocolate chips

5 cups Spanish peanuts.

Combine chips in a large bowl. Melt. (Can melt over low heat of a double boiler � I use a glass or metal bowl over a saucepan of an inch or so of simmering water) or in the microwave (med heat for 2 minutes, stir, then microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until melted and smooth).

Add Spanish peanuts, stir until coated. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto wax paper lined cookie sheets. Refrigerate until firm, about 45 minutes. (We love a salty/sweet treat so I sprinkle a bit of sea salt on top of half of these *g*)

What are some of your Christmas Don’ts? I’ll draw one name to win a set of The Diamond Dust trilogy which kicked off with A MARINE FOR CHRISTMAS!

And you DON’T want to miss out on the 12 Bandita Days of Christmas! From now until December 25th we’re celebrating the holidays with daily recipes and PRIZES! It’s all leading up to a HUGE Prize bundle of books and goodies on Christmas Day! Tomorrow’s guest, Jeannie Watt, is giving away THREE copies of her latest release for SuperRomance, CROSSING NEVADA!

This holiday season I thought it would be fun to watch as many Christmas movies with my family as possible (speaking of family fun � look how happy my family was many years ago during my second Christmas *g*). Unfortunately, we’ve been so busy, I’m not sure how much time we’ll actually have to spend sitting together for two hours at a pop *g* So I’ve narrowed my list down to my top five choices:

1. It’s a Wonderful Life � my very favorite holiday movie (and one of my favorite movies of all time!) Bonus for this year, my current work-in-progress features a very sexy nice guy hero ala George bailey!

2. Elf � can’t wait to see this one again! Such a funny, sweet movie

3. White Christmas � I love me some Bing Crosby. Throw in Danny Kaye and I’m in pure holiday heaven!

4. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation � not my favorite (and honestly, wouldn’t even make my list) but my husband loves it *g*

5. A Christmas Story � Hard to escape this movie since they seem to show it constantly *g* But that’s okay as Ralphie and his family crack us up!

What are your favorite holiday movies? Any new releases you plan on seeing over the holidays? (My son and I already have plans to see The Hobbit *g*)

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Congratulations to KIM, the winner of a copy of In This Town! Kim, please contact me through the Mailroom link above with your snail mail info and I’ll get your book out to you asap

Thanks to everyone who helped celebrate the release of IN THIS TOWN!

I’m so excited that In this Town, the third book of The Truth about the Sullivans is now out! ITT is my tenth book for Superromance and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be sharing the story with you all!

Here’s the back cover blurb:

She’s on a mission to get out � not get involved

Single mom Tori Sullivan is ready to grab the life she’s always wanted � away from Mystic Point. And initially newcomer Walker Bertrand seems the ideal partner for her adventure. His appeal makes a girl fantasize about happily-ever-after. That is, until it’s clear this lawman’s strict moral code collides with her knack for bending the rules. Add in his investigation of her sister and that should be a warning that he’s not Tori’s fairy-tale ending, or her ticket out of town.

Yet, Walker seems bent on getting to the bottom of her secrets � something no one has tried to do in a long time. That he wants to know the real Tori, makes resisting him impossible. But being with Walker could be the one thing that holds her here.

Here’s a sneak peek at Tori and Walker’s first kiss:

Tori’s heart pounded, anticipation built until she was light-headed, her knees weak. Walker’s grip on her hair was tight but instead of finding it painful, she thought the bite of it exciting. Beneath her hands, his heart beat steadily. He was all solid muscle and warmth and she wanted to lean into him, wanted to soak up his heat and his strength and take, take, take.

She always took.

But she couldn’t feel guilty about it, not when he was lowering his head slowly toward her. Her fingers curled into the softness of his T-shirt, dug into his skin. Still he took his time and she wanted to scream with frustration. Wanted to yank his mouth to hers. Wanted to push him away because she had a feeling, an instinctive knowledge that once he kissed her, she wouldn’t be the same.

His other hand went to her lower back, dragged her slowly toward him until she was pressed against the hard planes of his chest, his thighs. He kissed her, his mouth firm and hungry. This was no hesitant kiss, no soft brushing of his lips against hers. It was hungry and heated and, if she wasn’t mistaken, angry.

She’d never been kissed like this before, where she felt the hunger build inside of her, a fire threatening to consume her.

She slid her hands up, linked her fingers behind his neck and kissed him back.

He groaned into her mouth, whirled them around until she was pressed between his hard body and the cold edge of the stainless steel counter. Without breaking the kiss, he set his hands on her hips and lifted her onto the counter, the ease of which he did so caused her stomach to tumble.

She slid her fingers into his hair, held his head. He deepened the kiss, stroked his tongue into her mouth. He tasted of bacon and something unique to him. He slid his hands up her side, settled them on her ribcage, his thumbs brushing the sides of her breasts.

She wanted to keep kissing him. Wanted him to pull her onto the floor, the counter, a table, anywhere, and touch her, all of her. She wanted, more than her next breath, this hard, enigmatic man’s hands on her.

She wanted to beg.

And she never begged. Men begged her. Men wanted her. She couldn’t want a man that much, couldn’t give up that control.

One of my favorite scenes to write (and read) is the first kiss scene. What’s your favorite first kiss from a book, TV show or movie? I’m giving away a copy of In this Town today so share some of your faves!

Another Saturday, another full To Do List *g* But no matter what’s going on, or what I have to accomplish, my Saturdays are for:

Sleeping in. Even if it’s only to 6:30 (normal wake up for us is 5:30)

Drinking an extra cup of coffee (which will bring my morning total to three *g*)

Recording The Pioneer Woman on food network (even though I’ve forgotten the last two weeks!)

Eating lunch at my mom’s with my kids, my sister, her kids and sometimes our other sister, one or two of her kids and our eldest brother.

Peanut M&Ms. My mom always has a two pound bag in her cupboard because I love them. It’s the only day I eat them, though

Paninis! A few years ago my sister bought me a panini pan for Christmas and ever since then, most Saturdays we have paninis for supper. So quick and easy (very important on a day when I’m always running errands).

Watching a movie. It’s the only night we seem to have enough time to actually get through an entire movie.

Hot air popped popcorn with Parmesan cheese. It’s a Saturday night staple at our house.

What are your Saturdays for? Do you have a Saturday routine? Something that happens every Saturday?

Fall is my favorite season and not just because it means the end of summer vacation and Back To School (the most wonderful time of the year, in my humble opinion *g*) No, there are many reasons I adore the fall. Here are just a few:

Foliage! Love that I get to experience all four seasons fully and how beautiful and colorful the trees are in the autumn *g*

Football! Very glad to have professional football back. It will keep me happy until the hockey lockout ends

Birthdays! We get to celebrate three times, one each in Sept, Oct and Nov.

Pumpkin! Pumpkins for decorations and pumpkin flavored…well…everything. Lattes, bread, cookies, cake and donuts (I’m making these next weekend:

Apples! Homemade applesauce and crisp, sweet apples right from the orchard *g*

Boots and jackets! I seem to have quite a few of each

And one more thing I’m going to love about fall this year is:

A new release! Next month, IN THIS TOWN, the third book in The Truth about the Sullivans will be out (it’s for sale now at )

What are your favorite things about fall?

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