My book that will be out in June “In Love With John Doe” has a heroine with a seven-year-old daughter who not only looks like her mother, but she acts like her as well.

When I was growing up, my brother looked just like my mother and her side of the family. It was very apparent to everyone who saw them that they were mother and son. I didn’t look like either of my parents.

When our daughter was born, I wondered who she would look like. She ended up bearing a strong resemblance to my husband’s side of the family. In fact she and her cousin (my sister-in-law’s daughter) look like sisters.

Maybe it’s because I’ve never looked like anyone that I find family resemblances so fascinating.

During the holiday season, when you get together with family (or even if you don’t) I’m curious if you’ll be seeing anyone at the dinner table who looks like you?

(raising hand here in a hopefully  crowded room of shoe afficianados) 

I am Jan Kenny and I have a shoe (or is that footwear?) addiction.

It’s the truth.  I’ve had this obsession all my life.  I simply love shoes, love shopping for shoes and boots, love the smell of leather when I walk into a shoe store.  Love the feel of smooth quality leather shaping to my tootsies in a caress that tells me they were made for me. 

I love buying shoes.  Period.

When I hit thirty and I had boxes of shoes everywhere, I admitted I had a serious addiction.  I had shoes that I just bought because I could.  Shoes I rarely wore.  Shoes that I never wore!

I had a serious problem with impulse shoe shopping.  So I made a New Year’s resolution to curb it.  And like many resolutions, it was forgotten the moment I walked into a store and saw THE shoes that just called out to me.   Year after year.

I realized the error of my ways.  I stopped making resolutions. 

Yep, I am a lost cause for footwear.  Good shoes, sexy shoes, sturdy boots, take-me-boots, slouch-around-the-house sandals and killer stilletoes.

Oh, mercy.  I love ‘em all.  Enclosed toe/heel or barely there.  Boots to the ankle or above the knee.  Lined with fleece or silk.  Bring them on.

Seriously I’m a sucker for peek-a-boo pumps or especially harder to find slings or heels.  As far as heels go, I can manage three inches.  Used to handle more, but well, age and all…

If they are on sale, I’d buy them.  I don’t need them.  Don’t have a reason to buy them. 

But if they catch my eye and they have my size, they are mine.  And that size thing is probably my saving grace.  Maybe another reason why I’m always hunting for shoes/boots? 

Well, I have to have a GOOD excuse.

Oh, do I have one!  My great great (maybe another great?) grandfather from Ireland was a cobbler, who came to America to ply his trade in Haverhill, MA, one of the shoe manufacturing capitals way back in the late 1800s. 

That love of shoes is in the blood.  Right? 

Well, maybe a stretch.  At any rate I do love good fitting, good looking footwear.  I’ve given up curbing my addiction and decided to continue on just because I wanna. 

Sorry, but I’m having trouble loading the shoe pix that I wanted.  So go browse Zappos.com.    Yep, spreading the joy…

How about you?  Do you have an addiction to a special something?  Is it near impossible for you to walk away from what you love when it’s on sale? 

I’m giving away an autographed copy of A Cowboy Christmas to one commenter on this post.   Winner will be announced Dec 20.

I was talking via e-mail to a reader the other day, and she mused that it must be nice to be a successful writer, since I didn’t have to waste my time doing housework and stuff. “I still do all my own housework,” I regretfully informed her. “Really?” she typed back. “Oh.”

I know. Where is that staff I ordered from Amazon? But her question got me to thinking about some of the misperceptions some people might have about those of us who make our livings at the keyboard. As you may know by now, I like lists, so here’s my list.

1. We don’t do housework. Excuse me? I couldn’t hear you. I was scrubbing the bathroom on my hands and knees. Sure, I might be a writer, but I was Hungarian-American first, and we Hunkies clean our bathroom floors on our hands and knees. And then we do it again, in case we missed a spot.
2. Our nails are perfect. Well, at conferences and book signings they are, sure! Because we just paid for a full set. Once we get home, we’ll trim them right down, because it’s wicked hard to type with long nails. Don’t worry about the nail polish. I’ll just let that chip away.
3. We sit at the keyboard, and the creativity just pours forth. Umm…well, once in a while, that’s true. Mostly, though, there’s a lot of sitting and staring…a little typing. Some mumbling. More staring. A few more lines of typing. Some deleting. More staring.
4. We have really cool clothes, because we’re all creative and stuff. I have some cool clothes. But that’s not because I’m a writer. It’s because I have a thirteen-year-old daughter who dresses me when I have to go out in public. For the most part, I yearn for the days of my school uniform, when every day, I knew exactly what I’d wear. I sort of have a uniform now, I guess. Jeans and a solid-colored turtleneck sweater for winter; for summer, jeans and a solid-colored t-shirt, sometimes with a Yankees logo on it when I’m feeling wild.
5. We finish a book and then take a month or two to travel and see the world. Sigh. That sounds so good. I plan on doing this someday. I may have to come back for another life, but I’m going to do that. Someday. Not in the foreseeable future, but someday, dang it!
6. Our book is being made into a movie starring Drew Barrymore/Sandra Bullock/Joseph Gordon-Levitt /all of the above. This is, I admit, my most Lotto-ish of dreams. Do I think my books would make great movies? I sure do! Do I think that will happen? I really want to think that, yes! But the odds are pretty low just the same. I still hope, though.
7. People recognize us on the street. Nah. Once I asked the great Susan Mallery if she was ever recognized outside of romance writing conferences, and she said, “Oh, God, no.” This is a woman who’s written more than 100 books. At that moment, the waiter came over and said, “Excuse me, are you Miss Mallery? Our chef is your biggest fan.” So yes, it does happen…if you’re Nora Roberts or Susan Mallery. Personally, nope. Which is totally fine, because I’d probably be wearing jeans and a solid-colored t-shirt, and my hair would be all funny.
8. Our husbands are over-sexed hotties. I’m gonna leave that one alone, actually. No comment.
9. Our offices overlook the ocean and are filled with flowers sent to us by our editors. Hm. My office is in the basement. My editor, lovely though she is, hasn’t sent me flowers (but Keyren, just in case you’re reading, I’m completely open to this). Truthfully, I love my little basement office, hidden away from the rest of the house. It’s cozy. Lots of photos and drawings. Digger loves it down there. I keep a bowl of chocolates next to my chair. No ocean views, but still pretty cute.
10. We’re really lucky. Now that one, my friends, is really true. Lucky because we do something we love, no matter how hard it can be, and because nice people like you read our books and our blogs. Thank you. Thank you so much!

Happy holidays, everyone!

Kristan

Rebekah E. Please email me at kathy@katherinegarbera.com with your details so I can send your prize.

Thanks everyone for playing along yesterday. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

Kathy

Everyone does their Best of the Year lists at this time of year. Best movies, best songs, best books… Well, I’ve decided to do my own ‘Best List.’ The Best of Kate — all about me. That’s right, you heard me. By now you’re probably thinking my ego knows no bounds, but you couldn’t be more wrong. My ego has so many ‘bounds’ it’s not funny. In fact, I spend much of my professional life wondering if my books will be well received and expecting them to be trashed. And personally, I’m usually wondering if I just put my foot in my mouth in front of a new person, of if I’ve insulted an old friend. I am stupidly insecure most of the time, all the while trying to be more confident.

So, now that I’ve bared my soul and probably made you uncomfortable, I’m going to share my personal best for 2009, and when I’m done I expect YOU to share yours as well. Yes, there will be a test at the end. Here they are, in no particular order:

10. In January of this year a dear friend of mine was recovering from major surgery and unable to be home. She missed out on Christmas, so we had a late Christmas in the rehab facility. We had lots of gifts and the Chinese food she could finally eat. We were all so glad she’d pulled through, and then she said how glad she was for all of us. Definitely a good moment.

9.  I paid for my neice to take a class. It was great being able to help her out and be there when she needed it.

8.  I scored 100 percent singing Hungry like the Wolf on Expert while playing Rock Band. I did it with my eyes closed.

7.  I saw my mother, who is suffering from dementia, for the first time in 2 years and realized she isn’t ‘suffering’ at all. She’s the happiest I’ve ever seen her. I made her laugh, even though she didn’t recognize me at first. It put things in perspective.

6. I went on a roller coaster with my husband even though I hate them, because he loves them.

5. I adopted kittens from our local animal shelter.

4. I celebrated 10 years married to and 14 years with the best man I’ve ever met.

3.  I was in line at a store when one of the clerk’s said one of her favorite authors was Kathryn Smith. Turns out she meant me! I introduced myself. She said I made her day. Guess what? She made MINE.

2.  I’ve bought and donated books for underprivileged kids. I donate toys and other items for families who may not be able to afford them. I give not because I’m asked to, or because it’s expected. I give because I like it.

1. I embarked on a new career path. Again. This year I sold two books to Harlequin Teen. They’re part of a steampunk series to be published in 2011 under the name of Kady Cross. I love new beginnings!

So there you have it. 10 random things that happened over the last 12 months that still make me feel good about me. Now, I want to hear yours, or I’ll start listing my favorite songs, books, movies, commercials… Happy Holidays!

I’m wondering where most of us fall on Santa’s fabled Naughty or Nice list. Now I’d swear I’m nice but I’ve got to be honest there’s been times this year when I’ve been a little naughty.

I think most of my heroes from my 2009 releases would make the naughty list as well but that doesn’t mean they won’t be getting gifts this Christmas!

So what about you? Naughty or Nice?

I will send a $10 e-gift card to BN to one participant in today’s blog regardless of whether you are naughty or nice!!

Congratulations to Quilt Lady who won the autographed copy of Seduce Me – send me your mailing address and I’ll get that out to you. Thanks to everyone else who played and don’t forget to enter my special holiday contest hosted with Fresh Fiction.

Now keep scrolling and read Catherine’s recipe!

Several of the other Jaunty Quills authors have posted fabulous recipes over the past few weeks.  I love finding and trying new recipes.  Like my kitty Kai on the left, caught snatching cloth ornaments off the tree (and he doesn’t look at all guilty!), I really enjoy the Christmas season, so I thought I’d share a recipe for one of the holiday goodies I make year after year.

Baking is one of my favorite things to do, especially at Christmas.  It’s so satisfying to see all the rows of cookies lined up on the cooling racks.  The house smells wonderful: of cinnamon and chocolate and sugar.  It’s nice to have goodies on hand for when friends drop by and when relatives (my parents this year, flying down from British Columbia, Canada) come to stay.  Christmas is one of the few times of year I pull some of the handed-down family recipes out of my files.

The one I’ve included in this post is for banana bread.  I got the recipe from my mother.  She got the recipe from her mother, and one day, I will pass it on to my daughter.  It’s not a traditional holiday recipe per se, but it’s one I can depend on to produce a soft, moist, delicious loaf every time.  It’s also easy!

I like to bake several loaves, wrap them well, and tie them with pretty wired ribbon and give them to neghbors and friends along with Christmas cards.  I’ve received so many compliments on this banana bread, I know for sure the recipe’s a keeper.

Banana Bread

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons sour milk (I usually pour a bit of whole milk into a cup and add a few drops of white vinegar to turn the milk sour)
2 cups flour
1 teaspooon baking soda
Pinch of salt
3-4 overripe bananas

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease loaf pan.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.  Mix and set aside.
Combine butter and sugar.  Beat with mixer for 2-3 minutes until well blended.
Add eggs, one at a time.  Add milk, then flour mixture.
Mix in bananas.
Pour into pan and bake for 50-60 minutes.

Do you have a favorite recipe that’s been handed down to you?  What baked treat can you not live without during the holiday season?  Feel free to share your recipe.

If you’d like a taste of Chapter One of my latest medieval romance, A Knight’s Temptation, Book 3 of my Knight’s Series, please click here to read an excerpt.

Hi! I just wanted to let everyone know that starting tomorrow, my novella, Her Boss’s Private Affair, is going to be available as the weekly on-line read. The first chapter will be up in the morning, so be sure to check it out!

I’m very excited. This is my first on-line read and I had such fun writing it. Check back tomorrow and I’ll post the link here.

Rebekah – send me your snail mail address and I’ll get your book out to you this week! (margo@margomaguire.com).

Congratulations!