What’s your favorite Halloween candy?
SHANA: Milk duds (Halloween or anytime)
DELILAH: Heck, I like it ALL.
ANNE: I’m with Delilah!
MARGO: Anything without coconut.
ROBYN: Margo, you can pass me any of your coconut. Those white peanut butter logs that looked like they have brown stripes from the wrappers or tootsie rolls
KRISTAN: Hershey bar with almonds
NANCY: Snickers – yum!!
CINDY: Forget the coconut…give me anything with chocolate
JAUNTY: Pinenuts covered in chocolate.

What’s your favorite Halloween movie ?
SHANA: LOST BOYS
DELILAH: GHOSTBUSTERS
ANNE: Ooh, The Lost Boys. Good one, Shana. Also love Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
MARGO: The Day the Earth Stood Still (Can hardly wait for the re-make!)
ROBYN: Oh, Shane, I love The Lost Boys! I guess my favorite would probably be Rocky Horror Picture Show or a good slasher flick from the 80′s like the original Friday the 13th
KRISTAN: If by “favorite,” you mean “scared the pants off me so that I couldn’t sleep well for decades, the answer would be “The Exorcist.”
SHIRLEY: Sleepy Hollow — scary *and* funny!
NANCY: I’m a big chicken! I don’t like scary movies. In fact, I can’t even look at the grotesque billboards that advertise a Halloween horror event at a major theme park near us. I guess that’s why I write romance
CINDY: Like Nancy, I’m a big chicken….scary movies, well, they scare me…and give me bad dreams.
JAUNTY: “Freddie Vs. Jaunty Part VII”

What’s your favorite Halloween costume?
SHANA: I liked my angel and my fairy princess costumes.
DELILAH: My shim costume. Half woman, half man. It’s hilarious.
ANNE: Romance writer complete with sweatpants. Scary.
MARGO: I don’t have one! Wahhh!
ROBYN: I like funny costumes, I once dressed two guys I worked with up as Hanz and Franz from Saturday Night Live, it was pretty funny.
KRISTAN: Angel of Death. Why beat around the bush, right? Go right for the big guns.
SHIRLEY: Pirate, of course! My toddler will be dressed as a skeleton.
NANCY: Once, three friends of mine and I went as the Jamaican Bobsled team. We made dreadlock wigs out of yarn and glue and carried Jamaican and Olympic flags and a cardboard sled.
CINDY: This time I’m with Margo….geez I’m starting to sound really boring.
JAUNTY: Casanova. I don’t even have to dress up!

What’s your favorite Halloween tradition?
SHANA: I like carving pumpkins.
DELILAH: Throwing my kids their very own Halloween party for just us before we go trick or treating.
ANNE: Carving!!
MARGO: Putting the candles in the pumpkins, turning on the porch light and waiting.
ROBYN: I love Halloween, I love to decorate, carve pumpkins and I loved Trick-or-Treating as a kid, it’s just a holiday of pure fun.
KRISTAN: Scaring the kids who come to our house. We have a fright hike around our property. If someone’s not crying, I haven’t done my job.
SHIRLEY: Other than the post-holiday sugar-high? Since it was just us two adults living on a street with no kids for so many years, we really don’t have any. I’m looking forward to starting new traditions as our son gets older.
NANCY: Yikes, Kristan! Scaredy cat that I am, I’ll steer clear of your house this time of year! On Halloween afternoon, as we carve pumpkins, we always listen to these ridiculous Halloween CDs with songs like Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, The Adams Family, The Twilight Zone. Later, we meet up with friends and take our kids trick or treating. A few days later (after the seeds have had a chance to dry), I toast the pumpkin seeds. My family is rabid for them!
CINDY: When we used to live in town, I loved handing out candy to the kids who came to the door…and carving pumpkins.
JAUNTY: Carving pinecones with Mama and Papa Porcupine

What’s your favorite Halloween memory?
SHANA: Not sure I should
DELILAH: Trick or treating late into the night until people refused to open their door to me.
ANNE: Not a memory, I just love the fun and spirit of Halloween. Such a fun day.
MARGO: Making elaborate costumes for my kids. Julia once went as the Cowardly Lion. Now that was a fabulous costume!
ROBYN: probably Trick-or-Treating with my friends, just walking the neighborhood and then coming home and dumping all that candy on the floor to sort through. I guess I’ve always loved to sort things, I’m such a dork.
KRISTAN: My mom dared my sister and me to walk to the top of a Colonial graveyard in town, and while we were stumbling up through the old markers, she ran around to the back of the hill, hid behind a crypt and waited for us, then jumped out and scared the bejesus out of us. Explains many of my present-day phobias.
SHIRLEY: My military dad, buzz-cut and all, dressed up like Bozo to escort us around the neighborhood. Picture John Wayne in a clown suit, without the make-up…
NANCY: One year, our whole family dressed up as The Wizard of OZ clan. My daughter was Dorothy (complete with red-glitter-covered sneakers), my husband was the Tin Man, my grandma was the Lion, my dad was a Lollypop Kid, my step-mother was the Wicked Witch (only because she’s so wonderful!) and I was the Scarecrow. We carried a small tape player and played We’re Off To See The Wizard over and over as we took our daughter trick or treating around the neighborhood. Our last stop was our next door neighbor to the east – a mature lady of “unpredictable disposition” . When she opened the door, she scowled at us and said, “Well now, aren’t you all a little big for this?” LOL
CINDY: When my daughter was around seven, I let her answer the door on Halloween and a full grown black man who was a mute and dressed sort of like a ghost walked into our house and stood next to her in our living room. He didn’t speak when I asked him (in a rather frantic voice) what he wanted, he pointed to the large bowl of candy Wendy had in her arms. I moved to her side, grabbed a handful of candy bars and dropped them into his pillow case. He left. My husband slept through it all (he’d gone to bed early that night)
JAUNTY: TPing the bears’ cave. Since they hibernate they didn’t see it until Spring. The fun went on and on!

So how about you? What are your Halloween favorites?

This time of year reminds me of the middle of a novel. That time at the end of summer but before the holidays just kind of sags. Everyone (merchants, at least) want to jump forward to Christmas and skip uneventful September and October. That’s why we see Christmas decorations in all the stores already.

I get two or three letters from readers each month, and a surprising number of them have questions about writing. This month I got two separate letters with questions about how to write the middle of the book. It seems these writers got started and then found the story dragging.

I can totally relate to that. As a beginning writer, my middles went on and on—a never-ending stream of scene after scene. I still don’t enjoy writing middles. I want to get to the end (Christmas)!

But it helps me to get through the middle when I remind myself that it has a purpose and that there are ways to avoid the sag.

These are just a few tips and tricks I use. I’d love to hear yours.
1) The middle is there to show character growth. Give your character challenges so that s/he can grow.
2) The middle is where the hero and heroine fall in love (even though they may not realize it). In the beginning you set the foundation for their love. In the middle give it some firm support.
3) The middle is where you develop your secondary characters. Develop them well, and they may get a book of their own. Give them some scenes, but make sure those scenes advance the plot.
4) If your middle is sagging, give your hero and heroine a new problem. The villain throws them a new twist, new information comes to light, or—the old favorite—someone turns up dead.

If all of the desserts listed below were sitting in front of you, which would you choose (sorry you can only pick one).

No peeking…make sure you’ve picked your dessert from the list above before continuing.

**********************************************************

1. Angel Food Cake– sweet, loving, cuddly. You love all warm and fuzzy items sometimes you need an ice cream cone at the end of the day. Others perceive you as being childlike and immature at times.

2. Brownies– You are adventurous, love new ideas, and are a champion of underdogs and slayer of dragons. When tempers flare up you whip out with your saber. You are always the oddball with a unique sense of humor and direction. You tend to be loyal.

3. Lemon Meringue– Smooth, has sex appeal and articulate with your hands, you are an excellent after dinner speaker and good teacher. But don’t try to walk and chew gum at the same time. A bit of a diva at times, but you have many friends.

4. Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Icing– Fun loving, sassy, humorous, not very grounded in life, very indecisive and lack motivation. Everyone enjoys being around you, but you are a practical joker. Other should be cautious in making you mad. However, you are a friend for life.

5. Strawberry Shortcake– Romantic, warm and loving. You care about other people, can be counted on in a pinch and expect the same in return. Can be very emotional.

6. Chocolate on Chocolate– Has sex appeal and always ready to give and receive. Very creative, adventurous, ambitious and passionate. You can appear to have a cold exterior but warm on the inside. Not afraid to take a chance. Will not settle for anything in life, love to laugh.

7. Ice Cream– You like sports whether it be baseball, football, basketball or soccer. If you could, you would like to participate, but you enjoy watching sports. You don’t like to give up the remote control. You tend to be self-centered and high maintenance.

8. Carrot Cake– You are a very fun loving person, who likes to laugh. You are fun to be with, people like to hang out with you. You are a very warm hearted person and a little quirky at times. You have many loyal friends.

So come on, play with me today, let me know which dessert you are. And for anyone who’s curious, I am a chocolate on chocolate cake and it’s pretty darn accurate.

(okay, for those who unenlightened, Apple TV is this wonderful gadget my hubby brought home via which I can download anything from the itunes store and watch it effortlessly on my tv.)

First off, let me say, I thought I loved Tivo.

Tivo was like tv but without the vagaries of human frailty to muck things up. Tivo and I had a nice long term relationship. We’d been together for six years now. Tivo knows me and all my foibles. But maybe we’d gotten too comfortable together. Tivo’s suggestions no longer surprised or charmed me. We’d fallen into a rut.

Then along came Apple TV.

Sigh.
No matter what the situation, Apple TV has something wonderful for me to watch. If the Geek is working late and the kids and I are at home alone, in just a few short clicks, I can buy Nim’s Island. If the kids fall asleep early, the Geek and I can rent something horribly violent (like In Bruges) and have it downloading in a manner of minutes. If I’m eating lunch in front of the TV, I can kill some time watching movie previews for free. And if (gasp!) Tivo forgets to record one of favorite shows, Apple TV is there waiting in the wings, ready to hold me in the sweet embrace of downloadable tv show for only $1.99 a pop.

Perhaps I should be more cynical about buying love via Apple TV, but I’m not. With a busy life and two small kids, I’ll take my brief moments of entertainment where I can get them.

P.S. I never announced last week’s winner. So here it is:
Maureen — I loved your caption, so you’re my winner. Email me your information at
emilybmckay at gmail.com and I’ll send you a copy of Baby on the Billionaire’s Doorstep!

I admit it – I’m a TV dunce. I haven’t seen any of the new season’s TV shows, even though some of them look pretty interesting. Crusoe, for example.

Where has Philip Winchester been all these years? He looks great! And with Sam Neil and Sean Bean supporting, how could this be bad? (Although Sean did star in that awful thing, Hitcher, didn’t he?)

How about CSI - the original one. Is William Peterson still Grissom? And what happened to Sarah? Is she gone this season?

I’ve never seen Dancing with the Stars or American Idol – and I have to admit it kind of annoys me to see these shows making headlines in the news, for heaven’s sake! They’re TV shows, not stories of national importance! And what is up with Deal or No Deal? Should I spend 30 minutes of my life – 30 minutes that I will never get back – on this?

OK, so I’m putting it to you – what are the shows I should not miss this season? What should I clear my schedule for, and make time to watch the first time around?

Being a romance writer, I think about men a lot. It’s one of the many great things about doing what I do…I get to fall in love over and over without breaking any marriage vows. I get to look at pictures of Daniel Craig and Clive Owen, Jude Law and Derek Jeter (all in the name of research, I assure you!). I think about the qualities, hidden or overt, that make a great hero. A great husband.

My own husband is pretty fantastic. We met in line in New York City. He was standing in front of me, and the first thing I noticed was his beautiful, black, curly eyelashes. He had black hair. Green eyes. Ruddy cheeks. The map of Ireland written on his face. He looks a little like Bono, actually. Oh, and he’s a firefighter! (I know!) My first thought was, “Uh-oh. I’m in trouble.”

But good looks aside, it’s the day-to-day things that make McIrish a great husband, things that don’t necessarily leap to mind when you’re young and looking for love. Sure, sure, you want someone with a great sense of humor, a big heart, someone  free from drug addiction. But what else? What are the little signs that someone’s going to be not just sexy and charming, but a really good man?

Below is a list of some of the things I came up with. Some are taken from my own dear McIrish…some are little seeds I planted in books.

1.         Brings the heroine a cup of coffee first thing in the morning.

2.         Doesn’t mind heroine’s icy cold feet against his.
3.         Cooks for the heroine.
4.         Cleans up whatever victims the cats bring home.
5.         Helps find heroine’s pet.
6.         Loves children…not just the cute ones, but the awkward, nose-ring wearing teens.

7.         Flirts with women who really need it.

8.         Has a dopey nickname for the heroine and isn’t ashamed to use it.

9.         Fixes stuff for heroine.

10.       Takes care of heroine when she’s sick. Really, nasty, cold sweat, stomach-making-ghastly-noises-bad-things-about-to-happen sick.

In thinking about the qualities that point in the hero direction of the Man-O-Meter, I had to come up with some of the warning signs for the Baddies. Alas, some of the below are taken from personal experience, too. (Another great thing about being a romance writer — revenge on old boyfriends!)

These are the things that, if your sister described them to you, you’d say, “Break up with him! He’s an idiot!” But when they’re happening to you, somehow you find a way to swallow it.

1.         Physically affectionate with a woman who’s not you.
2.         Doesn’t call when he says he will…because he forgot, and not because he was in the ER, the way you were picturing.
3.         Tells you that you’d be much more attractive if only you’d (fill in blank here).
4.         Text-messages friends while you’re describing your awful day./
5.         Is chronically late.
6.         Doesn’t like your family.
7.         Forgets what eye color you have.
8.         Doesn’t show up at important event in your life.
9.         Admires self in mirror far too often.
10.       Doesn’t know how to talk to kids.

How about you, gang? Any warning signs you wished you’d pay more attention to? Or, even better, little things your hero (real or fictional) would do for you without thinking?

Hope everyone has a great day!

Kristan

The Jaunty Quills want to take this opportunity to welcome Steeple Hill author, Janet Tronstad.

Janet, one of five children, grew up on a family farm near Fort Shaw, Montana, a small town with a population less than 200.  This small town and the thriving church she attended have been an inspiration for her popular Dry Creek series of books published by Steeple Hill.

“People respond to the characters I have in my Dry Creek series,” says Janet.  “And a lot of that is because of the sense of community the characters in Dry Creek share, especially in the local church.  I think we all hunger to be in a place where people know us and accept us.”

Janet likes to write books that show people struggling with issues in their life and in their faith.  “We all struggle,” she says.  “That’s why we like to read about other people who are facing problems.”

Have you ever drooled over the handsome model on the cover of your favorite romance novel? My friend, Cindy Kirk, invited me to blog with you today and she’s had some hunks on the covers of her books (thanks Cindy for inviting me).

I usually think of hunks as being over five feet tall, but I lowered my height requirement when I recently heard from the cutie on the cover of my October romance, “Snowbound in Dry Creek.”

His name is Brandon and his mother wrote asking me if I’d sign a copy of the book for him so he’ll have it when he is older. I agreed, of course. I don’t know what Brandon’s dreams are for his future, but I hope when he looks at this cover he is encouraged by the fact that he helped make it. Who knows what dreams the experience will spark?

It reminded me of some of my early childhood experiences that encouraged me in my dream of growing up to be a writer. When I was about ten, I remember winning some jingle contest put on by the local radio station and receiving a six-pack of soda. You would have thought it was champagne the way I guarded it. A couple of years later, I won an essay contest on patriotism sponsored by our local VFW. It was absolutely thrilling. About that time I thought maybe I had a small nugget of talent and could actually become a writer someday.

One of my other writing friends remembers she first wanted to be a writer when she read a copy of Nancy Drew’s mystery, “The Secret in the Old Clock.”

How about you? Who or what encouraged you as a child to reach for your dreams (writing or otherwise)?

I caught a whiff of fall in the air today, and it smelled delicious. Sometimes people laugh when I say I can smell the change of season, but I can. The air is lighter, crisper – with an indefinable note that is crazy good. Where I live, sometimes fall is elusive. It teases us with starts and stops. One day will be brisk 65 degrees, prompting us to throw open the windows and drag out the sweaters; then the next day, Mother Nature tosses a humid blanket on our revelry and the temperature shoots back up to 85. Still, it’s my absolute favorite time of year, and I pine for it all summer long.

Officially, fall (the autumnal equinox) arrived on September 22, 2008, at exactly 11:44:16 EDT. Wiki Answers has this to say about the change of seasons:

“The equinoxes and solstices mark the start of spring/autumn and summer/winter. The divisions are based on the rotation of the earth with respect to the angle of the earth. As the earth goes around the sun, picture it looking down on its orbit from above. Summer solstice is when the earth’s north pole is pointed most directly towards the sun (longest day) – warming the northern hemisphere. Winter solstice is when the earth’s south pole is most directly pointed toward the sun warming the southern hemisphere and leaving the north cold (shortest day). The equinoxes are the midway points between the solstices with the sun halfway between its north most and south most points, so we have equal day and night.”

That’s interesting, but all I know is that I love the cooler weather, the chance to be outside more and the return of Starbucks’s Pumpkin Spice Lattes!

What’s your favorite season?

Here’s the book video for my new book. I think the jury’s still out on whether or not actually doing book videos is worthwhile, but I’ve got a friend who enjoys doing them and I really appreciate any help I can get.

I love the concept of this video and hope you get a chuckle if not the urge to run out a buy the book.
If you do want to run out and buy, then you might check out the eharlequin site, ’cause this week, all the passion books are on sale (and mine is one of them).

So, let me knew what you think of the video (or go ahead and caption my cover) and I’ll pick one lucky poster to receive a copy of this book’s prequel, Baby on the Billionaire’s Doorstep.

Thanks for playing!