Every hero and heroine need flaws … or, at least one big one each. There are many realistic shortcomings to give these characters, all of which cause inner conflict and make them more real to the reader. She can be afraid of abandonment, and maybe he’s completely self-reliant.
Somehow, through the course of the book, these characters have to be heroic enough to overcome these flaws in order to grow and be capable of letting someone into their lives. They have to become worthy of loving and being loved.

This can happen in any number of ways. It can be through a series of events like the death of a parent or loved one; or maybe another kind of crisis.

I tend to like a lot of action and adventure in my reading, so that’s usually the kind of book I write. I like to have a major external conflict going on, which makes it a challenge to remember to address the internal issues. I also think you get a lot of satisfaction when the internal and external conflicts are mixed up together … related somehow. You don’t want it to be clichéd (she’s afraid of the dark, but the only way to save her hero’s life is to walk through an unlit, underground chamber … yada yada yada).

In Temptation of the Warrior, the heroine (Jenny Keating) expects abandonment. So far, everyone in her life has left her – from the deaths of her parents to her aunt and uncle who leave her in a cold, nasty school for girls. She cannot trust that the hero will stick with her. The hero of this book (Merrick MacLochlainn) wants Jenny desperately, but he has responsibilites that he cannot ignore – and they do not include her.

Tell me your favorite internal conflict scenarios. Tomorrow, I’ll draw two names from the lot of you and send the winner a prize package … an autographed book, as well as some book covers from some of your favorite Avon authors!

So my homepage on my desktop is Yahoo and I’ve personalized it. You know, created the look I like, the headlines I want to receive, the stocks I watch, the weather, etc. One of the cool things I get on my homepage is a section called “Oddly Enough“. This is a part about well… weird news from all over the world.

At the time I’m writing this, some of the Oddly Enough headlines include:

Hairdresser finds bank vault plans in trash
Thief uses flower pot to steal Porsche
Laughing Santa gets the old heave ho ho ho
Merry Christmas, we’re stealing your pork!
Mayors promote fluorescents as ‘state bulb’
Mafia boss arrested while watching Mafia TV show

See, just… weird stuff. And the stories are often even weirder. But it’s just a little moment out of my day when I say, “What the…?”

And that’s entertainment.

Have you heard any news of the weird lately?

Take some quizzes with me.

What Christmas Ornament are you?

You are the Christmas Mistletoe.
Take this quiz!

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Mistletoe seems appropriate considering I’m a romance novelist. But I might take offense considering it is a fungus, afterall…hmmm….must think on this.

Mmmmmmm….eggnog.

Which just makes me laugh cause I always tell people that if I could I’d totally do our house in lights like Clark Griswald. Although I don’t think I’m competitive during the holidays. Odd.

This makes me happy because I do think I spend quite a bit of time trying to come up with perfect gifts.

So how about you? What do you get on the holiday quizzes?

I know it’s Sunday, and everyone’s either sleeping in, or spending time in church …
But if anyone happens to get around to reading the JQ’s blog, I need some suggestions on what to make for Christmas dessert. This year, we’re going to my brother’s for Christmas Eve, and my husband’s sister’s for Christmas Day. Both events will have at least 20 people, and I volunteered to bring dessert.

In the past, I’ve done platters of various Christmas cookies, but I don’t have anything new along those lines (hint, hint). I’ve made pies (I’m a great pie-maker) but those don’t seem all that special any more. I would consider making a tort … I’ve got a pan for it, but no recipe.

I know there are lots of internet sites for recipes, but I’d like to make something that’s tried and true. Something you’ve tasted and know it’s good! Maybe an old family recipe you wouldn’t mind sharing.

So if any of you know of a special dessert – I’m all ears! (or eyeballs, as the case may be ).

Rasmussen Reports released a poll shortly after Thanksgiving on Americans’ attitudes towards holiday greetings in stores. Poll respondents were asked to choose between the traditional “Merry Christmas” greeting and the more modern “Happy Holidays.” Sixty-seven percent of respondents preferred to be wished a “Merry Christmas,” versus 26% who preferred “Happy Holidays,” nearly a three to one margin.

This was interesting to me because I did a two hour stint ringing bells for the Salvation Army and we were encouraged to say Happy Holidays and strongly discouraged from saying Merry Christmas. I tried HH for awhile but when everyone responded with “Merry Christmas,” I switched to MC.

How about you? Traditional Merry Christmas? or Modern Happy Holidays?

I have two more quick holiday questions.

Fake or Real tree??

I went to a wall-hugging fake tree about five years ago. It was a bit expensive but I bought it at 75% off on the-day-after-Christmas sale one year. It’s a great looking tree. The reason I love it is a) I don’t have to worry about a fire b) I don’t have to go out and search for a tree every year c) I don’t have to remember to water it (my plants can attest that I’m not good about giving liquids) and d) it’s the perfect size every year.

I do miss the smell of a real tree, but that’s about it. Your thoughts??

One last comment on the all important subject of holiday stamps. I bought some religious ones and some fun Christmas ones. I just can’t bear to send out Christmas cards with flag stamps on them. What about you?? Do you notice the stamps on the cards you get or am I paying waaaaay too much attention to something that no one even notices?

And, can you believe Christmas is less than three weeks away???? Yikes, I’d better get shopping.

What about you? What greeting do you prefer. I have to say I prefer Merry Christmas.

I did this blog for the Avon Romance Blog, but I don’t know how many of you read that, so I thought I’d post it here. Forgive me if it’s a repeat for you.

If you’ve read a few historical novels, you’re probably familiar with Gretna Green. I’ve married two of my fictional couples there, and I had so much fun researching this romantic spot.

In 1752 the English Parliament passed the Hardwicke Marriage Act, which prevented the rampant practice of clandestine marriages. These marriages were being used by unscrupulous men looking to marry an heiress and secure their fortunes. As you can imagine, the parents of these heiresses were more than slightly displeased, even more so when incidents of men being clandestinely married to three or four women came to light. Lord Chancellor Hardwicke proposed a bill to end the worst abuses of the clandestine marriages. The Hardwicke Marriage Act, as it came to be called, made elopement all but impossible in England.

So what’s a couple who lacks parental support to do?

Elope, of course! And the nearest spot was Gretna Green.

Of course a couple didn’t have to elope to Gretna Green. Boats waited at Southampton to take runaway couples to the island of Guernsey, where the clandestine marriages were legal. But Scotland was easier to access, and therefore more popular.

There are many romantic stories of prospective brides and grooms running away to Gretna Green, the bride’s father in hot pursuit. In fact, Gretna Green has built quite a reputation as a destination wedding spot off these legends.

The primary legend was that the first stop eloping couples made was the local blacksmith’s shop to be wed over the anvil by the local blacksmith—men called anvil priests. There’s probably not much truth to the legends about blacksmiths and anvils, but there were several men who made their fame and fortune marrying England’s desperate lovers. Robert Elliott was one. Some scholars speculate that Elliott married over 3000 couples.

Joseph Paisley was another anvil priest, and he was not your typical “priest.” He’d been a smuggler before he got into the marriage business, and he had a bit of a drinking problem.

BLACKTHORNE’S BRIDE, my latest novel, incorporates a story about Joseph Paisley and mixed up marriages. Take one drunk anvil priest, a father with a pistol banging on the door to the blacksmith’s shop, and two couples in a hurry, and you get…well, let’s just say that I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed taking this real-life tale and weaving it into fiction.

Temptation of the Warrior won’t be out until April, but I’ve got my hands on the cover. And it’s yummy!

I’m so happy with this cover, I believe I will run a contest a bit closer to the end of the month that has something to do with this book. Stay tuned … next time I blog, I’ll let you know how it’s going to work.

In the meantime, what do you think? Is this cover great, or what??

This time of year it becomes clear that the world of women (and a few men) is divided into two groups. The Marthas. And the UnMarthas.

I think you know who I’m talking about. Martha Stewart. The Grand Dame of decor and fine living and making ice sculptures from buckets of water you freeze from your private lake and all that stuff.

I, alas, fall into the UnMartha category and I never feel it more than at Christmas. Because Martha-ing goes into full swing this time of year. There are the sparkling light displays outside which…. we don’t do. And then there are the fine decorations inside with the matching tree ornaments and the coordinated tree skirts and the candles with the perfectly matched wicks. I decorate, but our tree is a hodgepodge of ornaments with personal meaning and history. Which I actually like, but it’s not exactly Martha-ie.

Then there’s the cooking. I like the IDEA of cooking, but I never get it quite right. The science of it has just never been my forte. I can follow a set of directions perfectly and still come up with a lopsided cake. And don’t get me started on tarts. I’m okay with a pumpkin pie. And I can cook meat pretty well. But I’m never going to be the girl who lays out a six-course spread with fancy appetizers.

Finally, there is the Christmas wrap. I can wrap a gift, of course. But I have always done so simply and if the paper is a little… folded, then I’ve never stopped to recut and rewrap. I don’t use bows since the cats seems to like to eat them. I’m not going to make my own gorgeous little tags. I’m just so not a Martha.

So… are YOU a Martha? Or not? And what is the most or least Martha thing you ever did at the holidays?

First and foremost, allow me to apologize for being so late this morning. Our internet has been down (at our house) since yesterday late afternoon so I’m currently sitting at Panera’s utilizing their lovely free Wi-Fi. Seriously how can they have NOT fixed a regional internet outage overnight? But that is not really the point of what I want to talk about today…

Have you started your holiday baking yet? That’s always been a big tradition in my family although my mother made candy more so than cookies, her specialty being pecan pralines. Now I know I’ve shared my famous sugar cookie recipe with you before, so today I wanted to share some of the other treats I usually make this time of year. Easy recipes that make great gifts for friends and neighbors.

Mock English Toffee – no one will believe what this one is made with!
1 (10 oz) pkg. saltine crackers
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 (12 oz) pkg. semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup slivered almonds (the nut topping for sundaes works well too)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet, then line the sheet with crackers with their edges touching. In a saucepan cook butter and brown sugar until it reaches 235 degrees (or use the method where you drop a small amount into a cup of cold water, if you can form a small ball, then it is the right temperature – this is how I do it). Pour mixture over crackers and spread evenly. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Sprinkle chocolate chips over hot toffee. When chips turn glossy, spread evenly, then sprinkle with nuts. Freeze for 20 minutes before serving.

Peanut-butter Ritz cracker/cookies (anyone have a name for this one?)
1 box Ritz crackers
1 container of peanut butter
1-2 containers of chocolate almond bark

Spread peanut butter between Ritz crackers, making sandwiches. Make as many as the box of crackers. Melt almond bark (I melt mind in the microwave, six blocks at a time, watch so you don’t overcook it). Dip sandwiches in chocolate until well coated, then drop on waxed paper to dry.

Easy Peanut-butter fudge
1 bag of peanut-butter chips
1 container of vanilla cake frosting
Optional – chopped peanuts

Butter a square baking dish. Melt peanut-butter chips over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add in the entire container of frosting (add chopped peanuts too if you desire) and stir until smooth. Pour into pan and refrigerate until firm. Cut and serve.

Peppermint bark
1 ½ cups of peppermint pieces
1 container of white chocolate almond bark

Use candy canes, or peppermint candies, put in large Ziploc bag, then double bag it. Then smash the candies with a hammer until they are in small pieces. Melt white chocolate bark (try to do it all at once). Add in peppermint pieces, then pour onto waxed paper to cool. Once it’s cooled, break into pieces.

Orange Pecans (this is actually an old family recipe, one of my dad’s favorites)
¾ cups sugar
1 Tbsn water
3 Tbsn orange juice
1 grated orange rind
2 ½ cups pecan halves

Blend sugar, water and orange juice together. Cook over low heat (then use the ball in water method from above). Remove from heat, add orange rind and pecans. Stir lightly to coat nuts. Pour onto waxed paper, immediately separate pecans with fork. Let cool, then enjoy.

So do you have favorite family recipes that you make?

Jaunty P. Quills here, and I’ve pre-empted the regular blog today because I simply must tell you about this fabulous writer I met while singing karaoke this past weekend. What, you didn’t know porcupines sang karaoke? Love me tender, love me sweet… Ahem, where was I? Right, this hot writer I met. I mean, writer of hot books. Ooh, she’s got me so tongue-tied, let her tell you herself. Please welcome Celia May Hart.

CELIA: Thanks, Jaunty! Kensington Aphrodesia just released ONE MORE TIME, my Regency-set erotic paranormal time travel romance. Try saying that ten times fast. The heroine, Abby Deane, flies back into time (literally, she’s a pilot of small airplane), and ends up on Myles Hardy’s doorstep. All is not quite what it seems with Myles, but he’s fascinated with her sex toys she brought with her, and well, he’s yummy and the only person who believes she’s from the future. And so, she helps him with his mission to find a long-lost statue and gain some cred with the Dilettanti Society — only, things go haywire in a major way.

JAUNTY: Did you say sex toys? In the Regency? Oh my. ::fanning self:: I hope for Myles’s sake they aren’t the kind that require batteries. (Oh dear, can I say that on the Internet?) You’re probably asked this quite often but I can’t resist — what kind of research did you do for the book *wink, wink*?

CELIA: Nudge, nudge, say no more. Seriously, as I already knew about sex, I didn’t have to research that part.

JAUNTY: Seriously? How dull.

CELIA: Well, I said I didn’t have to.

JAUNTY: Alrighty then, on to more important topics. How many porcupines are in this book, and what role do they play?

CELIA: Well….poo. I’ve been calling this book the Kitchen Sink book because I threw in everything but the kitchen sink … but I guess I can’t call it that any more because there are no porcupines in it! But wait — porcupines aren’t indigenous to the UK, are they? Isn’t that hedgehogs?

JAUNTY: Hedgehogs! Those little things? That’s no excuse!

CELIA: Gee, I thought it was a pretty good one. I mean, you don’t want me to get hate mail for getting my facts wrong, do you?

JAUNTY: I–, er, it could be imported, escaped from the zoo…

CELIA: Okay, okay. The sad thing is… a porcupine might have actually worked. There’s this scene that sort of has a variety of animals in it. But if I explained how exactly, I’d be giving away a plot twist. Sorry. (But it is one of my favorite scenes.)

JAUNTY: Ooh, the images that spring to mind… Ahem. I heard a rumor that in another life you wrote sweet, traditional Regencies under a different nom de plume. ONE MORE TIME certainly has more than a chaste kiss at the happily-ever-after ending. Is there something in your background or experience that made you write this particular story or did you just get tired of being a Regency good girl?

CELIA: Oh, I’ve never written Regency good girls. Even the most angelic one was a cross-dresser! As for something in my background — no comment!

JAUNTY: Oh, go on. I won’t tell anybody.

CELIA: Well, just between you and me … I’ve always had a thing for Greek gods. So it was fun to play with that for a little while.

JAUNTY: This weekend you were a wild woman on stage during the karaoke contest, and it’s not the first time. I have photographic evidence of you belting out Paperback Writer at the Emerald City Writers’ Conference.

And here I always thought writers were supposed to be shy, retiring types.

CELIA: I keep telling everyone I’m a trained extrovert. I used to never get up on stage for anything, let along singing karaoke and certainly not alone. The Emerald City gals sure know how to make it fun though!

JAUNTY: Wait … trained? So you’ll beg, roll over, and all that? (*wink, wink*)

CELIA: Are we getting back to the research I’ve done on this book?

JAUNTY: We might be. I heard you’ve sung Olivia Newton-John. Was that “Let’s Get Physical”?

CELIA: It was “Let Me Be There”. Sorry to disappoint. But I could sing that other song for you after the interview if you like. A private performance?

JAUNTY: Let’s wrap this up! Anything else you’d like to share?

CELIA: I’ll be around today to answer questions and if anyone’s down San Diego way, I’ll be signing at Mysterious Galaxy (http://mysteriousgalaxy.booksense.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp? s=storeevents&eventId=358234). Oh, and I’ll give a book away here to a lucky commenter. It’ll be my previous release SHOW ME, because some secondary characters who appear in that are also in ONE MORE TIME.

JAUNTY: Celia, thanks for visiting!

CELIA: You’re Welcome! (*whispers*) Call me.