On Thankgiving it’s customary to count your blessings and give thanks for all you’ve been given in your life. This year, I started thinking about ways that we show our thankfulness and appreciation to the men and women who spend their lives defending our country.

Here are some ways I’ve witnessed:

1. Saying thank you
This is as simple as stopping a soldier in uniform and saying “Thank you. I appreciate what you’re doing for this country.”

2. Buying their meal in a restaurant
I’ve witnessed this several times…but for some reason by the time it occurs to me, the opportunity is gone.

3. Airlines moving a soldier to an empty seat in first class
I’ve seen the before and it happened again on my flight last week from DC to Minneapolis. The soldier two rows up from me got moved to first class

4. People going to the airport to welcome the troops home
In the state where I live, lots of National Guard troops have been sent to Iraq. The city always encourages citizens to meet the planes when they return

5. Recognizing current and former military at concerts.
A friend and I went to a Wayne Newton concert about ten years ago. He had all active and former military stand and be recognized. I don’t remember much about the concernt but I do remember that moment.

Any others I’ve missed? Anything you want to add?

My Dearest Readers,
So about two weeks ago, someone told me that if you can come up with 25 things you are thankful for then you’re pretty happy with your life. And if you can’t…well, I guess your life sucks. There’s a happy thought, eh? Seeing that I’m pretty gosh darn happy with my life I decided to put this thing to the test. And guess what? I was able to come up with 25 things! Whew…glad to know that my life doesn’t suck, LOL. That said, I thought I’d list what I came up with. Mind you, this list is not just the biggie things in life, but the simple things. I hope you’ll post some of the things you’re thankful for. And if you got it in you to post 25 things (and I know you do) I double, triple dare you to post them here. You’d be surprised how much you can find out about a person by their list aside from the whole being happy thing.

So here goes mine (and mind you, this isn’t in order of impotance, so please don’t judge me on that!):
1.)My husband – he’s amazing.
2.)My children – who teach me so many things (including patience…) and allow me to experience the joys and excitement in life through their eyes.
3.)My mother and father in law – for being the sort of parents I wished I had.
4.)My writing – which keeps me sane when everyone else thinks I’m insane…
5.)My agent – who is looking out for my career when I forget to.
6.)My editor – who allow me to write with a freedom I have always dreamed of.
7.)Books – OMGosh, can you imagine life without them?!
8.)Movies – the same OMGosh applies.
9.)Starbucks – oh yeah.
10.) My computer – because I used to have a typewriter back in high school when I first started writing and let me tell you, a typo was HELL.
11.)Chocolate – I want to french kiss whoever came across the cocoa bean.
12.)Cunliary School – because before culinary school it was like I was coloring with a pack of 8 crayons. After culinary school, it was like I was coloring with a pack of 64 crayons. The greatest thing I learned in culinary school? Everything tastes better with Heavy Whipping Cream in it. Seriously. Desserts, sauces, gravies, soups, you name it.
13.)My iphone – dude. Seriously. The BEST THING EVER. I am more organized and have access to my e-mail even when I’m not near a computer.
14.)The fact that I am only 2 sizes larger than before I had my kids. Though how much longer that’ll last…
15.)Smash burgers. There’s a little joint in Portland that serves these things. And let me tell you…there’s nothing like it. It’s a burger with fries smashed into it on a bun. Amazing.
16.)My own health and my family’s – without it, there isn’t much to be thankful for.
17.)That my husband still has his job. With the times being tough, I can’t be more thankful.
18.)The Internet – can you imagine life before blogs, e-mails, and access to the ENTIRE WORLD?
19.)My Honda Odyssey – I never thought I’d be a mini van kinda girl until my butt sat down on the heated seats and my kids could no longer kick the back of my seats because they were WAY back there.
20.)The Mariposa. In Spanish it means butterfly. But I’m not talking about butterflies. I’m talking about the name of my family’s getaway vacation home. You can see 6 mountains from the house, because it’s way up on the edge of a rigde, and there is no noise or light pollution. I feel like Jane Austen up there. Only in Oregon.
21.)That I am published. It took me 11 years to get published and let me tell you, I am so, so, so, thankful to be where I’m at.
22.)RWA and my local Rose City Romance Writers Chapter. Because no one understands writers better than writers.
23.)Makeup. I don’t wear a lot of it to begin with but life without it? Pfff.
24.)Being able to speak another language. Polish is actually my first language and English is my second. It’s really opened up my eyes to the world being able to travel amongst a different culture you really can understand and relate to.
25.)My readers – can I say holy cow? More love, enthusiasm and excitement I couldn’t even begin to give my characters.

And so there it is. THE LIST. Mind you I found I actually could have go on and on, so I’ll take that to me I’m REALLY happy with my life. I look forward to reading your list and with cheers and much love with you a happy day after Thanksgiving!

Jaunty: It’s time to get the scoop on what all of our lovely Jaunties are doing for Turkey Day.
Margo: I’m doing the major cooking – as usual – this year. We’ll have about 25 for dinner, but everyone brings a dish, so it’s not too crazy! I do the turkey, stuffing, potatoes and gravy. The guests bring the rest!
Kristan: Going to the Garden State to see my husband’s family. I’m bringing pies.
Kathy: I’m hosting my parents for the holiday. I am cooking for six, but my mom and sweetie will be helping me so it’ll be a lot of fun!
Emily: We always host Thanksgiving. It’s only 10 – 12 people, but when it comes to cooking I’m a total control freak. So I’m letting my mom do the sweet potatoes and my sister the vegetable, but The Geek and I do everything else, from the brined, deboned turkey, to the homemade cranberry sauce to the pumpkin chocolate cheesecake. This year I’m branching out and am going to try a cranberry creme brulee. I love Thanksgiving!
Jaunty: Ooh, Emily, can I come, too?
Nancy: Emily, I’m coming to your house. So please set an extra place. Just kidding, but your menu does sound wonderful! I’m thinking we need to do a recipe exchange! Actually, we usually have a small Thanksgiving, my in-laws and us. My husband and I do most of the cooking since the folks have to travel about 70 miles to get here. We always do a traditional meal — Turkey, stuffing, sweet and mashed potatoes, veggies, fresh cranberries (I have a recipe that calls for Grand Marnier… so yummy!), and if course, traditional pies. The house always smells so good, and it’s wonderful to have the family gathered close.
Jaunty: I am drooling and it is not a pretty sight!
Shana: My mother-in-law is hosting this year–yay! I hosted last year, and oh, my! So much work! I’m responsible for the pumpkin pie and USF is doing a fruit salad.
Anne: Yes, set a place for me too, Emily! Like Nancy, we are doing a small Thanksgiving this year. I LOVE big Thanksgiving with everyone, but small Thanksgiving can be really special too.
Robyn: We’re not going to either of our families this year (instead we’ll be doing a cross-country Christmas) so we’re going to some friend’s here and hosting a few stray students that aren’t making it home for turkey day. I’m responsible for my world-famous sweet potato casserole, cornbread dressing and two pies. Man, it’s gonna smell sooooo good!
Jaunty: Sweet potatoes [sigh]. With marshmallows, I bet. I am a sucker for marshmallows. And pine bark, of course!
Cindy: My daughter is making dinner for the family, then we’re all going to see the movie, Twilight. Crazy, huh?
Delilah: This will be my first year making a Thanksgiving meal as a chef with a culinary degree (yay me!) so needless to say, the pressure is going to be on to make a *fabulous* meal. I usually start preperations about three days before and finish cooking everything on Thanksgiving day. I make everything from scratch, including the bread, gravy, desserts, whip cream, and butter. It’s my favorite holiday (and not just because I was born on Thanksgiving, although…). And this year, we will be hosting a total of 8 (4 being myself, my husband and two children). My daughter is only a year away from getting her black belt and seeing her instructors don’t have family around, we invited all four of them over for Thanksgiving. It’ll kick butt (pun intended, LOL).
Jaunty: Now I’m positively palpitating!
Shirley: My mom and her husband are coming over for an early dinner. She brings the candied yams and Jello salad, favorite treats since childhood. My job is to keep the baby occupied while my hubby preps the meal. I’m so thankful to have married a man who can cook!
Anne: Um, I think we need to take a Jaunty visit to Delilah’s too!!!
Jaunty: Can I ride with you, Anne? Ow! No need to elbow me. You can make a little room for me!
From all of the Jaunty Quills: We hope you all have a positively wonderful Thanksgiving!

My mom was visiting last week and she asked me what my favorite Christmas gift was when I was a child. It was a difficult question for me because while I remember loving certain things as a little girl, what I remember from Christmas is more about our family traditions than specific gifts although I do remember when I got my pair of white roller skates with the blue wheels that my older brother had given me – so cool!

But I did have lots of favorites when I was kid. I loved coloring books and crayons and I loved books. I played with Barbie for entirely too long, I think I was in Jr. High when I finally packed them away and it made me so sad. In addition to Barbies I really loved my Barbie Fashion Plates. Do you remember those? There are probably an entire generation of women in fashion related jobs simply because of these cool little things. I loved making different outfits with the map pencils and oh, man it was so much fun.

Legos were another favorite of mine as a child, though I was always so domestic I never could make cool things like rockets or dinosaurs, no I made furniture and houses. Of course this was before all the cool Lego kits they sell now with all the different creatures and vehicles you can create. I think my very favorite though from when I was pretty young was my Lite Bright. Oh my gosh, how fun were those? It was always very distressing to me though after I’d punched through a pattern because then the color guide was gone and I didn’t know what to do. I’ve always been one to follow the rules and having too much freedom stifles my creativity. I guess I’m weird that way. But I think I’d totally play with a Lite Bright if I had one today…

So how about you? What were your favorites? Were you a tomboy or did you love baby dolls? Did you love Lincoln Logs or Tinker Toys?

I’ve been hosting at my house for the past six years. I love to pull out all the stops for the big turkey day. We brine and debone the turkey. Make two kinds of stuffing. Three desserts (including a pumpkin chocolate cheesecake that’s so good it’ll make you cry.) But the thing that surprises people is the cranberry sauce.

No, not that kind.
This kind:

The thing is, it’s ridiculous easy to make and so much better than that other stuff. So I thought I’d share the recipe.

One bag fresh cranberries
zest of one orange
juice of an orange plus enough water to make one cup liquid
one cup sugar
one apple diced
a handful of raisens
a dash of fresh nutmeg

combine all the ingrediants, cook on the stove about twenty minutes until your kitchen smells wonderful and all the cranberries have “popped.”

It’s fantastic on the big day and on turkey sandwiches the next.

So what’s your favorite “secret” holiday recipe? You know what I mean, the one that’s super easy, but impresses everyone?

Have you seen Twilight yet? I was tapped to take about 50 middle school students to a showing on Friday at 4:15.

Oh, my.

I felt like I was at a Debbie Gibson concert (yes, now I’m dating myself). There was so much screaming and screeching that I didn’t hear half the movie. After the show, I promptly called up one of my friends from middle school and said, “We were never that silly, were we?”

I won’t give you the details, but apparently we were.

So on to the movie review. If you’ve read the book, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Of course, there are minor changes, but all in all, the movie is a good adaptation. As far as the choice of actors, I didn’t think Rosalie was pretty enough, and I didn’t think Jacob was handsome enough. All the kids had “Team Edward” and “Team Jacob” shirts on. I guess I’m on Team Edward. Bella was pretty and just aloof enough to do justice to her character in the book.

The special effects were great, though I expected Edward’s sparkling in the sunlight to be more dramatic.

If you haven’t read the book, you might think the movie is weird. I mean, vampires in high school? Can’t they find anything else to do with their immortality?

So have you seen it? What did you think? Like it? Love it? Hate it?

The Jaunty Quills’s would like to welcome one of our favorite authors–Jacquie D’Alessandro. 

Jacquie writes Regency-era historical romances and contemporary romantic comedies–two very different types of books, but both contain her favorite elements of love, romance, and laughter.

And we’re very excited to announce that Jacquie has come bearing gifts!  She’s going to draw TWO winners from those who comment on her blog.  Each winner will get signed copies of her first two Mayhem in Mayfair books–Sleepless at Midnight and Confessions at Midnight!!

Last week I was having what I call a Bad Snow White Day.  I felt Frumpy, Lumpy, Dumpy, Bumpy, Schlumpy, Clumpy, and Grumpy.  The writing wasn’t going well (a lot of staring at a blank screen with characters who refuse to talk to me), it was a hair day from hell (horrifying bed head combined static cling), and even my rattiest sweat pants felt tight.  I needed a cure—and quick.  There was only one way to climb out of the deep hole I was standing in.  Call a Girlfriend.

When I did, I found out her day was going considerably better than mine—she only felt Frumpy and little Lumpy (too much chocolate the night before—I could relate).  We chatted for about ten minutes, laughed, commiserated, and at the end of the call we both felt better.  I still looked like hell (sadly, phone calls cannot cure static bed head), but I no longer felt Grumpy.  She saved the day.  As girlfriends just seem to do.

I’m in a small book club with some girlfriends—there are only five of us—and I greatly look forward to our monthly meetings.  We normally only spend a few minutes discussing the book, then the rest of the time we drink wine, eat desserts, and catch up on each others’ lives.  I always leave our meetings smiling and feeling rejuvenated and renewed.  I have other girlfriends who, due to geography, I rarely see, but we keep up a steady stream of e-mails and phone calls.  People often ask me if my stories are based on my real life experiences and I have to admit parts of my life have become fodder for scenes.  But I realized that my girlfriends have had a huge impact on my writing.  Not because I’m writing about them (usually J), but because they inspire me.

A couple of years ago I went on a book tour with 14 other writers.  We had a blast, and I ended up girl bonding with two of the other authors.  I’d been acquainted with them in the past, but we hadn’t had the opportunity to get to know each other well.  Our friendship bloomed into a collaboration and after asking a fourth author to join us, we published an anthology together (It Happened One Night, Avon, October 2008).  When the book hit the New York Times list, the four of us celebrated with cyber champagne (because we live in Atlanta, Australia, Canada, and Minnesota!).

Girlfriends also inspired my Regency-era historical Mayhem in Mayfair series which revolves around four young women who form a book club.  They call themselves the Ladies Literary Society of London, but they aren’t reading the classics (those naughty girls!) which leads to all sorts of adventures and romance.  So my girlfriends play an important role not only in my personal life, but my writing life as well.  We lend each other moral support, make each other laugh, and are just good for each others’ soul.  And that’s the way it should be.  Because girls not only want to have fun, we deserve to have fun! And hey—next time you’re having a Bad Snow White Day, know you’re not alone.  I’m still on deadline and therefore looking like something the Big Bad Wolf hacked up (different fairy tale, but you get the picture J).

So, tell me about your BFF—how long have you known each other and what do you enjoy doing together?  How have you inspired each other?  What interests do you share?  And if you haven’t gotten in touch with her yet today, take a minute to do so and tell her you love her.

My good friend Debbie recently had her family tree traced and was able to map genetic connections all the way back to Henri II, of France and Charlemagne. I was enthralled and envious. I’ve always wanted to know my ancestry, but short of urging my retired father, who’s busier now than when he was doing the 9-5 grind, to take up the project, I’ve never done much toward that end ( in all my spare time ). But having heard about Debbie’s fabulous findings, I’m once again fired up to learn about my lineage.   Plus, I’m convinced that she and I must be distant cousins since we both have relatives from the Ozarks. 

Several years before my grandmother passed away, I asked her to write down the date of birth and death of as many relatives a she could remember. But even she could only recall four or five generations. I’ve filed away her list, and I can’t readily put my hands on it… but I know it’s in a file… somewhere in my office. As soon as I finish this book I’m working on I will find that list and perhaps even begin my quest to conquer the mystery of my past.

Have you ever traced your family tree or do you know of anyone who has? Any interesting findings?  Any good tips on how to start the process and what to expect along the way?

One of the hardest things I’ve found as a writer is naming my characters. Honestly? It was easier to name my kids. My husband is Irish, so we wanted to stay in the region for names (though I still love Dante for a boy, just for the record). We each had veto power over the other’s choices (which is why our kids aren’t named Obadiah and Siobhan).

I tend to pick rather common names, but not perhaps really popular names. Millie and Maggie were my first two heroines. Lucy and Grace are two others. The women are easier to name than the men — my heroes have to have names I love, since (ahem!) I have to at least picture someone crying out his name in the throes of…okay, never mind. But you know what I mean. I couldn’t write Herbert as a romantic hero, for example. (Herberts everywhere, I’m so sorry! I’m sure you’re quite irresistible in person!) I like manly names…Trevor. Sam. One of my characters is often referred to by his first and last name. Callahan O’Shea. I just love how that sounds. And looks, actually. My favorite hero is only called by his last name. Malone.

I don’t want my characters to have names that are too far off the beaten path, either. Zathara and Thor are cool names, but they’re also like a story unto themselves and as such, distracting. I also try to avoid overused names…Annie and Kate seem to have had their fair share of popularity in contemporary romance, as have Jake and Jack. Regencies are thick with Elizabeth, Georgina, Rafe and Devlin (my personal favorite). A lot of vampires are named Lucien or Lucius, Damien, Darius or Gabriel.

How a name looks matters, too, since obvious people will be seeing those letters. Xerxes would be a tough name read over and over. Once I read a mystery where there was a character named Joaquin. I didn’t know how to pronounce that name. I “heard” it like “Joe-a-quin” instead of “Wah-keen”. Well, the big surprise in the book was that Old Joe was actually Joaquin. Which I knew. Because I couldn’t pronounce the name. One of my friends has a habit of spelling characters’ names oddly. Suisan, for example. Iain. Granted, those are valid Scottish spellings…but I’m American, you know? My brain stumbles over those names.

Kids who were mean to my sister or me thirty years ago can expect to find their first or last names pop up as bullies in my books. Not that they’ll notice, but I have fun. On the flip side, I like to honor nice people I’ve met by using their names, first or last, sometimes both. My heroines’ moms always have a best friend named Carol, because my mom’s best friend is named Carol. There are Robinson twins in one book, because I’m godmother to the Robinson twins. In Just One of the Guys, I named the heroine’s nieces and nephews after my own (though my little nephew Desmond was born after the book was done, so I owe him one).

Occasionally, you come across those iconic names…Scout. Romeo. Darcy. Names that just can’t belong to anyone else. Huck. Lolita. Scarlett. Rhett. There’s only one Rhett for me. I know a guy named Rhett here in my hometown. I feel bad for that guy. He’s not Rhett Butler, and what else matters, with a first name like that?

Oddly enough, my favorite character name in literature is rather plain and ordinary. Neither first name nor surname is very remarkable, but it’s so perfect for this character, and it sounds and looks just right. Harry Potter.

What are some of the best names you’ve come across? Did the name live up to the character? What made you love that name? Because I don’t think Shakespeare had it quite right…A rose by another name wouldn’t smell as sweet. After all, Romeo and Juliet were not Kevin and Sue.

Kristan

Since Thanksgiving is right around the corner this topic has been on my mind a lot.  The entire season of giving is upon us and I always take special care to give thanks.  Its something I’ve spread to my children and last night after we finished our family reading time we started thinking about what we were grateful for.  And my kids suprised by saying things like I’m glad I don’t have aids.  Or I’m glad I have enough food to eat.

That made me realize how lucky I am in the scheme of the larger world.  I don’t have to have the nicest, newest car or the trendy clothes to be grateful.

So here’s my list of things I’m grateful for:

My parents who are always there for me no matter how badly I may have screwed up.
My kids who can always make me laugh even when they’ve misbehaved.
My love who is just calm and steady and after a few deep breaths is always the man of my dreams.
I’m very glad that I have made such great friends through my love of reading both other writers and other readers.
I’m also thankful that I have my big house but not because of the house itself but because it provides shelter for my family and a safe haven for us to find sanctuary from busy schedules.
I’m also very glad to have internet shopping so I can go to the mall and just enjoy being there not have to fight crowds to get bargains!!!

What about you?  What are you thankful for?

Kathy