Launching 2011 in the Lair

by Nancy

Happy New Year!!!

Part of me can't believe we're already in 2011. I remember when that seemed soooo very far away, and now here it is. We're going to have a great year in the Lair, with lots of fabulous guests already set to join us.

I hope it will be a terrific year for everyone. My fingers are perpetually crossed that the AYUs among the banditas and our buddies make the leap to publication this year and our APs climb the lists. Our Suz, aka Suzanne Ferrell, will debut this year, so stay tuned for details on the celebration.

I'm looking forward to the completion of the Harry Potter film saga and am glad the movie will come out before the boy leaves home. Our family saw that series begin together, and we'll finish it together.

I'm also looking forward to the boy going off to college, in a way. We'll miss him terribly, and thinking about his being gone far away makes my heart hurt, but it's such a milestone for him, a big step into adulthood.

RWA National will be in the capital of publishing, New York City, with lots to see and do in addition to having face time with scattered friends and learning about the business. I always enjoy New York.

I'm anticipating DragonCon, as always. That's the "let it all hang out" weekend for me, and the dh is getting into the swing. It will be strange without the boy, though.

To help launch this year in the Lair with plenty of boom, we have a wonderful lineup for January. To start, of course, so many of us and y'all are here today, some of us taking a short break from various football games on TV and others of us seeking refuge from them. There's a lot of noise coming from the gladiator villa, I noticed. Lots of yelling, both enthused and curse-laden. They seem to get seriously into watching burly men crashing into each other.


Our first guest of 2011, Stephanie Dray, will join us on January 3 to talk about her new YA historical fiction debut, Lily of the Nile, with Christie.

Anybody besides me notice that the ancient world seems to be very popular in YA these days? Anyone besides me read Mara, Daughter of the Nile as a young adult?

January 4 brings Sandy Blair back to chat with Suz. A great friend of the Bandits, Sandy is bringing us another Scottish tale in the THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF SCOTTISH ROMANCE. Her story is titled Her MacKinnon.








On Thursday, 6th January, Anna Campbell hosts historical author Beverley Kendall who will be talking about her fabulous new Regency A TASTE OF DESIRE. Bev runs the popular website The Season and she’s terrifically supportive of her fellow writers – we’re looking forward to giving her a big rambunctious Bandita welcome when she visits. More prizes!



On January 7 Aunty Cindy brings her good buddy Marie Force back to the Lair to celebrate the release of the second book in her romantic suspense series: Fatal Justice. Don't miss the fun and prizes!


On January 8, Jennifer St. Giles's alter ego, J. L. Saint, chats with Nancy about her romantic thriller, Collateral Damage. This the first in the Silent Warrior series.




On Monday, 10th January, Maggie Robinson/Margaret Rowe returns to the lair as Anna Campbell’s guest to talk about her wonderful new release MISTRESS BY MIDNIGHT. Maggie is lots of fun and we had a great day last time she visited the lair to discuss her debut historical MISTRESS BY MISTAKE. This should be a great day too – with prizes!



On January 11 we're thrilled to have Regency historical romance writer and Word Wench Cara Elliott with us to chat about her sexy February release, TO TEMPT A RAKE.

The middle of the month will be just us banditas and our usual coterie of cabana boys and gladiators and hockey hunks. And the dragon, who made out very well during the holidays.

We can't give you details because those are classified, but I can tell you Christmas Eve was a very near thing for a certain reindeer. Santa refuses to visit the Lair again unless he has a special landing site away from certain flight-capable residents.

On January 21, NYT Bestseller and Writer Beware co-founder A. C. Crispin joins Nancy to discuss the pitfalls writers should avoid as they dive back into their work during the New Year.


On January 27, Kate will host Hannah Dennison, author of the Vicky Hill English Village mysteries, who will seek Bandita advice on how poor Vicky might find the right man and cast off her virginity once and for all.



If the banditas can't help Vicky, I'm sure the gladiators, hockey hunks and cabana boys will have some advice (No, Paolo, she's not looking for volunteers from the Lair. Yes, I'm sure.).




January 30 is a very special launch party as Tawny celebrates the release of her 10th book, Breaking the Rules. I'm allowed to say it's a Uniformly Hot Book about a battle of wills between a soldier home from Afghanistan and his best friend's kid sister. There will be what Tawny describes as "major prizes," as well as more details about the book.


On January 31, Kate will host fabulous new author Regan Hastings, whose fiery VISIONS OF MAGIC promises to be the hottest book on the shelves! Who is Regan Hastings? Come get the scoop!




In bandita news, we have the following:


Anna Campbell is running a Backlist Bounty for the New Year contest until the end of January. Ten lucky people get their choice of one of Anna’s current books, CLAIMING THE COURTESAN, UNTOUCHED, TEMPT THE DEVIL, CAPTIVE OF SIN or MY RECKLESS SURRENDER. Just email her on anna@annacampbell.info and tell her which book you’d like and why.

For more information, please visit the contest page of her website: http://www.annacampbell.info/contest.html


What are you looking forward to in 2011? What book you read or movie you saw in 2010 was your favorite, and why?

Auld Lang Syne....

by Jeanne Adams

First, on behalf of ALL the hackey hudjson, let me wish you a safe, happy New Year's Eve!

If you're traveling today or tonight, partying, playing, or just staying home with your honey to watch the live festivities on the TV, may it be fun, cozy, happy, sexy, loving, delicious and fabulous, all rolled into one ROCKIN' New Year's Eve!

So what ARE you planning tonight?

I'd like to say we're planning some ritzy, party-filled evening here in DC, but alas, t'isn't so. We're going to pop over to a neighbor's house for a pot luck which should be fun. And my eldest wants to stay up till midnight, but other than making popcorn for him, and making sure our scared-of-fireworks dog has her last outing BEFORE midnight, we'll be homebodies, doin' nuthin' special. Grins.

I have to confess that one of these years, maybe when my boys are a bit older, I'll plan something spectacular for New Years. I'm not big on crowds, so probably NOT Times Square, but, perhaps the Gaylord National Harbor Hotel, just me and the darling hubby. Get a suite, bottle of champagne, great view of the Capitol fireworks....

Yeaaaaaaah. I'd love that.

Or maybe one year we'll take the boys and go skiing somewhere delicious, like Tahoe, or Aspen or up in British Columbia where the Olympics were this winter. (This would be predicated on a big contract, winning the lottery or some such, but hey, it's my imagination and I can make it whatever I want, right?) We'd spend the day skiing, have a great dinner, then "retire" to the lodge bar for toddies and a view out the big glass windows of the fireworks over the slopes.

Another cool New Years Eve celebration to me, would be to be at a Disney Resort for New Years Eve. Again, not big on the crowds, but I think it would probably be an amazing show, all things considered. After seeing the "regular day" fireworks there this summer, when we were there for RWA National, I can only imagine how fabulous a special event set of fireworks would be. Wow...

The ski vacation notwithstanding, I usually like to be home on New Years Eve. So I guess another fantasy event would be to host a huge, fabulous, Bandita-filled New Year's event at my house.

Since I'm fantasizing here that no one would have to work on New Years (Suz!) and everyone could travel here to DC, I'd get everyone in by plane, train or automobile, get some limos lined up, and just have one big "Throw down" for the whole crew.

Talk about a party! I'm not sure my neighbors could survive a Bandita Party in the 'hood. I'd have to be sure and invite them all so they didn't call the cops when the music got too loud, and the shield sledding started. (My hill isn't quite what the hill behind the Lair is, but it'll do nicely.)

Then there's the Lair. Oh. My. Goodness.

Given the usual state of the Lair, post-party - especially launch parties - I'm thinking it would be dangerous, and ill-advised to turn Sven and the guys (not to mention The Goddess Sangria!) loose in the Lair for a party on New Years Eve. Ermingarde would probably want to have a flaming boulder drop instead of a ball-drop. Then again, a toga-and-trouser-drop at midnight might be on tap (so to speak!) if Sangria had anything to do with the festivities. *shaking head, glad it isn't happening!*

We don't have a lot of rules around The Lair, as most of you know. The Lair's a pretty...flexible...environment. Grins. However, anything that might cause:

1.) Destruction of said Lair;
2) Discovery of said Lair as the den of iniquity it really is;
3) The Police to be Called (see #2);
4) Seriously annoy the dragon (see #5);
or 5) Thereby cause Fire, or Pestilence, or overall bleeding OR
6) Disruption of the Deadline-driven, Cave-dwelling Writers is HIGHLY frowned upon.

Hence, no New Years Eve celebration IN the Lair. Can you imagine it? Eeeek!

Just. Too. Dangerous. (Snork.)

Now, you've heard some of my ideas about where I'D like to spend a fabulous New Years, what about you?

Going out? Party? Planned or spontaneous?

Staying in? Party or going to bed before ten?

What's the New Years Eve Dream Destination for you? The Bahamas? Turkey? London? New York? Brussels? Honolulu? Or your hometown, with the guy you crushed on in high school?

Hey, it's your fantasy too...whatcha' got? Sexy? Skiing? Fine wine and food? Bubbly? A boat ride, cruise, or other destination vacation?

And what's the absolute BEST New Years you've ever had? Mine was the year I got married to the DH...the last New Years as "just a couple" rather than parents. Pretttty coooool. *wiggles eyebrows*

And the best movie with a New Years scene? For me, the New Year's scene at the end of The Holiday (Jack Black, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Kate Winslet); and Queen Latifah in Last Holiday. That black evening suit, with the black bow in her hair, when she thinks she's gonna die....perfect. LOVE that movie!

Okay, ladies and gents, let's DISH about YOUR New Years Eve!!! (Reality optional)

L.L. Bean Spring 2011 Heritage Camp Moc

The Legacy Limited (Vintage Destroyed Heritage) Bean Camp Moc aka the LLVDH prototype is currently amidst a "lifestyle inclusion-premarketing gullibility test" in Alexandria, Virginia.

The brainchild of collaborists McNairy, Browne, Muytjens and Darnell Burgess, the LLVDH screams repurposed urban edge. “Why not redefine shit in a way that allows sweat shops in fourth world countries to knock out these babies for next to nothing” posits collaborative team spokesperson Burgess. “I mean come on, everybody else is doing it. Alls we did was take a few L.L. Bean favorites, loved by white people and that used to be made in the States; trash talk the product in a Kerouac-ish, loathsome way, sling it around for fifteen minutes by the proverbial knockers and BAM… you’ve got profit margins out the heinie.  Swathe it in vintage-y looking wrappings and an assload of adjectives/adverbs and run like a mo-fo.”

Burgess went on to share that the inspiration for the LLVDH was bi-sourced courtesy of McNairy’s collection of black and white photographs of stripped down and abandoned cars on the Cross Bronx Expressway as well as Browne’s and Muytjens’ love for the Lynyrd Skynyrd song The Ballad of Curtis Lowe. Andy Spade, for fifteen percent of expected gross sales vetted the inspiration—after Kate granted permission.

Burgess continues…“It’s easy to see the abandoned stripped down car thang in the shoe…no doubt. But the Curtis Lowe energy is much more ethereal and risky. Dig the lyrics—you’ll make the connection and I’m sure you’ll conclude that our collaboration was nothing short of hugely damn courageous. Curtis Lowe was a poor black man who had swollen feet due to gout and Type I diabetes.” A brooding McNairy finally added “It’s all about the adverbs and adjectives man.” Browne, through a spokesperson stated that the LLVDH was a "thinking man's shoe...I mean come on, think about it."

The LLVDH will be available March 13, 2011 in small batch, artisanal quantities. This handcrafted testament to high margin knock off reinterpretiveness carries an MSRP of $375.00. If you require any rationale for the price point, then you aren't cool enough to wear them. As a matter of fact, if you have to ask anything, you are stupid.

Onward. Adjectively Adverbial.

ADG II

Glitz and Glamour

by Jo Robertson

During the holidays many of us squeeze in a little extra time to go to the movies. Maybe take the kiddies or have an afternoon matinee date with our significant others or friends.

As you know I love movies. Any kind, any time, any place, I’m raring to go.

The Eighty-third Academy Awards aren’t scheduled until February, but I thought it would be fun to play a movie trivia game.

One of the interesting things about the Academy Awards is to look in retrospect at the list of films that were nominated, but DIDN’T win, so I’ve added a few of those questions. There’s a question from each decade and several bonus questions.

No fair surfing the net to find your answers. You either know or don’t know them. See if you can get every one right.

Let’s Play Movie Trivia!

1. What movie, based on a World War I novel widely studied in American high schools, won the 1930 Best Picture Award?

2. What 1946 best picture lost to “The Best Years of Our Lives,” but is still watched by millions of people every Christmas?

3. What 1954 Oscar went to a film in which young Marlon Brando made his “bones”?

4. In 1969, the first R-rated movie starring a very young Jon Voigt won the Oscar for best picture? What was it?

5. What film and its sequel won the best picture awards for 1972 and 1974?

6. In 1982 “Tootsie” and “E.T.” both lost the best picture award to which winning film?

Bonus:

7. Which person hosted the Academy Awards the greatest number of times?

8. Who was the first black American to win an academy award?


And for those of you who are die-hard television fans, what's the best NEW show you've seen this year? My personal favorite is the BBC show "Luther," billed as a "psychological crime drama television series," starring the handsomely talented Idris Elba (left).

Lumber Jack Noir and Trad Miscellanea

Whew. After such an unintentionally provocative story the other day, it’s time for some superficial randomanalia. And all of that over a straw hat. Don’t get me wrong, I loved observing the back and forth between all of you and wouldn’t want to inhibit that in any way. But every now and then we need some mental floss—a cerebral palette cleansing dose of something. And here it is. Because trust me, I’ve got some heavy duty shitake coming in the next few weeks.

I’m prone to hygiene holidays when I’m alone and now that I’m wracked with what I call the respiratory crud, the no-shave, baseball cap option is even more appealing. But I did clean up the other day for a brief trip to the office and then to dinner—alone—again—naturally.

Winter white moleskins from Cordings. I bought three pairs of moleskins and two pairs of corduroys at Cordings in June of 1995 at about a zillion percent off. And they’ll probably last forever—bulletproof. Yep. So along with a pair of Ralph wool socks I channeled what I call Lumber Jack noir. Shut the ____ up. I don’t feel well and I have no one to play with this week so I don’t want to hear it.

No break. And I mean it. Flat front trousers with narrower legs demand a clean culmination in ankle land. No break. And these 1 5/8 inch cuffs were installed before my two inch epiphany.

But it’s two inch cuffs from here on out. Don’t argue this with me. Two inchers in all their Polo Ralph flat front beltless glory Surprise...I had them made in orange. You saw it here first. Right here.

So I left the office and headed over to my little French greasy spoon around the corner. What you see as you walk the quarter of a block is Christ Church. The Anglican installment best known for being George Washington’s church when he “came to town.” Young Bobby Lee worshiped there as well…after his mama, Ann Carter Lee had to decamp Albemarle County and Stratford because Light Horse Harry Lee pissed away all of the family dough. And Roosevelt accompanied Churchill to Christ Church during one of Winnie's visits. Seems logical. New Amsterdam WASP shuttles the uber Anglican Winnie over to the local Anglican house of (poised/restrained) worship.

I'm gonna do a story about Winston Churchill in caricature someday. But for now, here is a snap of two Winnie caricatures that live in my little hallway...awash in retail red.

So I took my usual place in the dining alone corner and began my comfort food journey. Painfully cold weather calls for Cassoulet but the Dover sole was whispering… “Order me again…order me again you lonely, yet intriguingly, in an impish sort of way, sexy man.”

Well damn, how do you deny such a siren call? Against my better judgement, I did. But not before I had a slice of middle of the road pâté. Good ole country pâté would worry me if it was anything but average. This stuff kinda appeals to a southern boy in a Boudin, liver pudding, hogshead cheese kind of a way.

I’ve never had a bad Cassoulet even though this one was a little bit dry and as always, too much.

 And I now offer this from a perspective of morphological admiration…not lust. The waitress must have been doing a ton of yoga. Stellar derrière…sublime. And I bet it would be just the same if I hadn't had two of those magical concoctions I so love. That would be ice-water.

Peach Melba, Café au lait and I’m done.

Till I get home. It’s a holiday week and I generally don’t drink hard spirits alone but I needed one of these see-throughs to see me through till bedtime. I was out of NyQuil. Shut up. 

 So let’s shift gears and revisit my Bobby from Boston gets. I’ve pretty much sorted out with you the two covert twill coats that I snagged. But looky at the perfecto navy blazer. Whether you bespeak something from Savile Row or buy sixty five dollar jackets from Bobby; there’s an immutable issue regarding fit that must be reconciled before pondering any other adjustment. Sleeves can be shortened, sides can be tapered. But the true index for whether or not a garment is for you is the way it fits the neck and shoulders. 

There’s very little that can be done to lower a collar or adjust shoulders. That’s where most of the handwork is manifest and where most of the customization has already occurred for the original owner. If the fit sucks in neck/shoulder land, the garment’s always gonna look kinda sucky. I’ve had enough clothes made for me over the last twenty years to know when something fits. And I’ll tell you that the shoulder/neck fit on this little Bobby from Boston ditty is as good as I’ve ever had.

Griffon amongst retail red. (sorry...I'm stuck on the retail red thing...it remains funny to me but I'm sure it will subside in another post or two) Now the Griffon escutcheon could mean a hundred things. The original owner could have been a member of “The Griffin/Griffon Club” or they could have been a veteran of one of the British Ranger battalions that use the Griffon as part of their iconographic manifestation. But I’ve debunked this one. It’s the logo for Elmer and Lurlene Griffin’s Auto Body. Elmer and Lurlene opened a bondo slathering, chicken wire and hay baling twine car put-back-together emporium years ago. In Pamplico South Carolina. Shut up.

My other rare foray from home so far this week saw me, even with the respiratory crud; manifest cabin fever so I drove out to the country and grabbed my usual supply of Crane Crest secret salad cologne.

And my hygiene holiday manifested in jeans, Red Wings and my LFG Patagonia thing. Red Wings. A real work boot and made in America. At least they were when I bought these in 1996 on King Street in Old Town. Back when a family owned work shoe—boot store remained in business. It’d been there for fifty years when I bought these. And of course they are long gone. Most everything now on King Street is a frou frou boutique of some sort butcept two wig shops. I want the wig shops to always be in Old Town. It reminds me of how dodgy upper King Street was in 1989. Canaries in the coal mine of gentrification…when the wig shops go; we’ll be 100% uppity. Upper King Street 1989…the antithesis of Lower Sloane Street in any decade.

 Someone emailed me and axked if the Patagonia top was as shockingly green in real life or had I enhanced the photo. Nope. It’s green. Fuzzy green.

My Restoration Hardware chair remains in Georgetown. I stopped by to check on it the other day.

Right after I bought pediatric Blunnies for my little buddy who I’ll see next week.

And the chair also remains in the Old Town location as well. And no I’m not gonna buy it. Six months from now, a half dozen of these will find their way to the Restoration Hardware Outlet in Leesburg. They’ll have a ding or two on them and they’ll have an adjusted MSRP of around nine hundred bucks. Just watch.

And so I’ll close this installment of superficialia with a couple of things. Is it just me or is Jennifer Beals looking more and more like the late Dixie Carter? I’d say that’s a compliment for either of them.

 Continued Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. This time from the junk man in Old Town.

Onward. En route to replenish my DayQuil/NyQuil cache.

ADG II