October - Coming Attractions

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!

I heart my Mini

I've had my Mini for about two and a half months now. Am I happy with it? Absolutely! How did I ever live without a car? No idea!  

It is such a fun car to drive, especially because it's the sporty Cooper S. The engine has a really cool and dangerous-sounding rumble to it :-) 

I'm really pleased with the colour of the car, too. I'm glad I chose the white silver metallic, I think it's elegant and there aren't that many around. The child car seat is also from Mini.

I'm even getting better at parallel parking. I've always hated it but you can't avoid it in Europe so I've had no choice but to learn. When I'm parking, though, I'm always reminded of this video and I sometimes look around to see if anyone's filming me (do you ever wonder if you're on YouTube without your knowing?!). It's funny to watch but how humiliating for the woman! (I actually cringe every time I watch this!)

Breasts-Posting in Pink

I love breasts. In a respectful, non-ogling and tactile adoration-with-permission-only kind of way. But healthy breasts are best and to that end, when Mrs. Blandings reminds me that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I’m only too happy to Post Pink…again. Mrs. Blandings says it best right here….

“October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Talk to your doctor to make sure you are doing all you can to detect breast cancer as early as possible. Early detection greatly increases your chances of surviving breast cancer. While you are at it, forward this to your best friend or wife or sister to make sure she is doing the same. For more information on screening, treatment and donating please contact the National Cancer Institute and the Susan G. Komen Foundation.”

Pink…I kinda view pink the same way I do Belgian shoes and slippers. You shouldn’t wear anything that if even for a moment during the day, you are tentative or self conscious about having it on. Skip it. You’ll be pegged as a poseur or some other entity with dubious intent. Style as opposed to fashion, is all about confidence. Wear it with aplomb or leave it for those of us who can. It takes a hell of a man to wear pink.

Pink cashmere turtleneck sweater-pink cable knit crewneck cashmere sweater-pink dress shirts in a variety of contrivances-lots of pink socks-pink present pocket squares in silk and linen-pink martini shorts-pink gingham-pink LaCoste-pink-pink-pink-pink-pink- pink-pink-pink-pink-pink- pink-pink-pink-pink-pink….Strap it on like a man and wear it year around. I’ll even wear a hint of it to client meetings.

Look at the little pink clogs that LFG has on in the photo above. The picture was taken in June of 2004 by my client and friend Cristina. Cristina died in June of 2005 after a courageous battle with breast cancer. She’d yet to see her fortieth birthday.  I’d prefer not to get any more emails like the one below. I keep this one in my In-Box and read it every week to keep me focused on my blessings. 

From: R____, Cristina

Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2005 2:06 PM

To: ____g@yahoo.com

Subject: Hey

"I wanted to keep you up to date on my cancer. I had a PET Scan and brain MRI. The brain lesions went down but are still positive. My cancer has spread to the leftaxillary lymph nodes and the nodes under my left clavicle as well as the ones in the mediastinum. : (   We are running out of regimines, I think there are only two left. Hope all is well."

I think that you can still click here and help underwrite, with just a click, a mammogram.

Onward-In Pink-Loving breasts and the incredible women attached to them.

ADG, II 

Bonfire of the Weejuns

Nothing has probably incited more tisk-tisking than the ongoing, intermittent crowing that I manifest  about my Navy Blue Weejuns that I bought in college. 

When I play the “If the House Was On Fire” game, these navy babies always end up on the list of things I’d retrieve before exiting. I remembered the other day that when FootJoy sold dress shoes years ago, usually in golf pro shops, they offered a navy blue tassel loafer almost identical to the iconic Alden tasselated standard. And yes, I owned a pair. Can’t remember for the life of me where those concoctions ended up.

So the quest for a reasonably priced version of the old college blue Weejuns has been a Quixotic endeavour at best. I’d also admit that for me it’s been a half hearted one. I don’t need another pair. My vintage ones are fairing just fine. But I did find exotic navy blue shoddings for consideration. Ron Rider and Leffot can put you in a pair of stunning navy blue venetians for just under seven bills. Lovely but I don’t have that kind of dough these days.

The other reason that I’m not inclined to the Leffot level of navy blue pedal adornmentalia is that the balance on my John Deere’s will be due soon. Some axked me the other day what the status was on this contrivance. A pair of try-on loafers is en route to me this week. The conscientious folks at Yuketen want to make certain that the sizing is just right before they finish my order. Good-green things come to those who wait.

Really then, a navy blue shodding effort was until recently, gonna be a huge financial undertaking. Mark McNairy taunted us last summer with the promise of a navy blue Weejun re-launch. Alas, I’ve never seen these offered anywhere. Mark McNothing.

A couple of readers…that would be about 30% of my constituency, eagerly passed along to me a link to Oak Street Bootmakers with the news of their navy blue loafer offering. So here you go folks, a none too inexpensive but not Leffot level price point navy loafer. I don’t know anything about this purveyor but from the looks of this shoe, it seems to be a solid value. I’d prefer not having a double-soled version but everything else rings true to the essence of Weejuns…when Weejuns mattered.

Onward. With blue things.

ADG, II 

Chanel lip balm

Do you know that feeling when you really want to like something but it's not quite right for you? You're a bit disappointed but determined to make it work? (what was it?) 

Well, I wish I could declare right now that this Chanel lip balm is the best. I can't, though, because it's not quite as perfect as I'd like it to be... but I'm not giving up just yet! Maybe I'll even blame myself - my expectations are just too high sometimes - so I don't have to criticise a Chanel product :-) 

This doesn't dry out the lips, which I swear some lip balms seem to do. It's moisturising and does its job... it's just not as rich and creamy as the Baume de Rose by Terry that I love so much. Unless you apply a lot, it can feel a bit thin and watery, if that makes sense.... which is uh... perhaps a good thing if you want to apply it under a lipstick?

At least the packaging is chic, light and relatively travel-friendly for a lip balm in a pot.

BAND OF BROTHERS

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-minded 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?

Steven Seagal, Chuck Norris and....Elista (maybe JCVD as well)

I wouldn't have guessed before I showed up here, especially since the city and region are predominantly Buddhist, but Elista is apparently also a Mecca for action stars.  And I don't mean just any action stars, I mean two of THE BEST action stars ever: Steven Seagal and Chuck Norris.

I mean WHOA!!!!! Not only did Steven Seagal come (he is a practicing Buddhist so I guess it makes sense...more or less) but so came the one and only CHUCK NORRIS!  Here! In Elista! The awesomeness of this city has increased 10-fold since I learned of this.  Kalmyk people only need JCVD to round out the top three greatest action stars of all time to visit their city (if you don't know who JCVD is, then you're obviously not a fan of action flicks....or awesomeness).

While neither Steven Seagal or Chuck Norris were in "The Expendables", instead of making that movie, they probably should have simply flown to Elista and just walked around with a camera.  I mean the only place you're likely to find a greater concentration of pure, adrenaline-filled action is that hideaway temple where the ninjas train in "Ninja Assasin".

Here, if you don't believe me look!

That's Steven Seagall playing chess with the President of Kalmykia, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.  I don't know who won, but if Kirsan Ilyumzhinov knew what was good for him, he let Steven Seagal win and saved himself a roundhouse to the face.  

And if you don't believe me that Chuck Norris was here, then here is your proof of that as well.

And for those of you who don't know how absolutely amazing Chuck Norris is, think about some of his incredible feats:

• Chuck Norris has stood at the bottom of a bottomless pit.
• Chuck Norris has counted to infinity....twice.
• Chuck Norris can eat four 30-lb bowling balls without chewing.
• Chuck Norris can win a game of Connect-Four in only three moves.
• Chuck Norris was once bitten by a rattlesnake.....after three days of pain and agony........the rattlesnake died.

Now I mentioned that JCVD is the only one of the top three action stars to never have publicly visited the city, but I'm sure that he is either: a) here right now, in disguise b) wiped out anyone here with knowledge that he ever WAS here.  So you can, in good faith Dear Readers, know that the three greatest action stars of all time have been to Elista.

I know for a fact that Mike 'Kratos' would like this place and be honored to walk on such holy ground.  So, Dear Readers, you should think twice before ever bad mouthing Russia because secretly Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal (and probably JCVD) call it a home-away-from-home.  And after reading through just a FEW of Chuck's feats, I wouldn't mess with him.

Help Me-Help Me! Please!

I’m being held prisoner of war in Minnesota. The good news is two-fold. I’m being paid for my sequestering and…I know this is excessive…but I’m buying one of these souvenir potholders for every darn one of you.

And when I’m home later this week we’ll touch on….

 A blue loafer update….

 Why Toad owes me sixty bucks from last weekend…

 The tragedy of Snow Leopards…

 The National Book Festival on the Mall…

 Oh, and these books I found….

 And why this album cover played a key role in my formative years…

 Getting a haircut this weekend.

Onward. Minnesota Nice-ly.

ADG II

Buried Alive!

by Susan Sey

So I broke up with my old gym. We'd been happy together for two years or more but things had gotten stale. Boring. Expensive. It wasn't any one thing but sometimes you grow apart, you know? It's not you, it's me. These things happen. Maybe we should take a break.

I decided to have a look around, see if there was an option that fit my life a bit better. As it happens, there was. The Community Center.

The Community Center has a pool. My old gym did, too, but this pool is a zero-depth-entry, chock-full-of-slides-and-toys, warmer-than-bathwater type pool. Much better for my skinny children whose lips turn blue when they so much as stroll past the beach.

The Community Center also has an indoor playground, access to which comes free with membership. A nice bennie when you live in The Land That Summer Forgot. Snow'll be flying up here pretty soon--an indoor playground will be nice to have.

The Community Center is also next door to the library (this family's idea of nirvana), has a preschool (which my youngest attends), and costs less than half what my old gym did.

Sold.

However, the CC (as it will henceforth be known because I am a lazy typist) lacks one thing. TVs on the cardio equipment. Our old gym had TVs on all the treadmills & elliptical machines. You just plugged in your headphones, picked a station & off you went for your sweaty twenty minutes or whatever.

At the CC, there's a bank of TVs hung on the wall & you have to tune your personal radio (who the heck has a RADIO anymore??) to the FM band indicated on the wall under each TV. That's the only way you can listen to the audio. Otherwise, you have to read the closed captioning they've conveniently turned on.


Now this isn't a problem for me. I'm happy to read the screen. My husband feels this is a crime against fitness but that's a different blog. No, what I want to talk about today is the joy of being forced out of my usual TV watching rut.

See, running isn't fun. When I run indoors, I need to be diverted. I need to be absorbed or I spend too much time thinking about how very unpleasant running is & wondering if it's over yet. (It's not.)

So I need some gripping TV, & I'm not interested in taking a chance on an unknown quantity. I like shows I *know* I like: reality shows where talented people work under time & material pressure--Top Chef or Project Runway. I like a good soapy drama--Dawson's Creek is a big favorite. Or something clever and quick--That 70's Show still kills me. (I have a friend Kitty Foreman only wishes she were.) The West Wing is a good one, too.

But at the CC now I have a whole smorgasbord of shows on at once & none of them are what I usually watch. It's talk shows (Ellen Degeneres), trashy talk shows (Maury Povich, I think), and soap operas.

I went with the soap. Now I haven't followed a soap opera since I used to watch the Bold & the Beautiful in college and I have to say, it's nice to see they're still burying people alive. (And putting them in comas and having secret babies, all of which happened in the time it took me to log four miles.)

My favorite was the buried alive story line. They'd sealed this woman (an exquisitely groomed sixty-something) into a crypt with a cell phone & a security camera. This allowed her to both see and rail against the idiotic young things who wandered by for some crypt-side musing, and have vitriolic chats with the villain who'd buried her.

Watching a grande dame shriek, "I'M IN THE CRYPT, YOU STUPID COW!" at a clueless mourner remarking on the unlikeliness of her sudden death was awesome, too. We don't get enough scenery chewing from Women Of A Certain Age. I'm all for more of that. I wish they'd bring back the turban as a hairstyle, too, now that I'm thinking of it. Liz Taylor rocked the turban. More turbans!

I think I'm going to like my new gym.

So how about you? Do you follow any soaps--now or ever? What's your favorite storyline? Secret babies? Long lost lovers? Premature burial? Back-from-the-dead lovers? Evil twins? Do you watch TV while you work out? What do you watch? And if they brought turbans back, would you wear one?