Shana: Hi, Jaunty Readers. I know what you’re thinking. Why do you keep allowing Jaunty to interview you when he constantly interrupts and always focuses the interview on himself? It’s simple, really. He threatens me.

Jaunty P. Quills, Porcupine Extraordinaire: Shana! That is not true. I never threatened you.

Shana: Jaunty, you said you’d post covers of The Rogue Pirate’s Bride you Photoshopped with your face over my hero’s all over the internet, including my Facebook page.

Jaunty P. Quills, Porcupine Extraordinaire: That wasn’t a threat. I thought you wanted me to put my face on their cover as a way of apologizing for not writing a book with me in it yet.

Shana: Jaunty, really? Are we back to that again? Can’t we just talk about my new book?

Jaunty P. Quills, Porcupine Extraordinaire: It’s always about you and your books, isn’t it, Shana? What about me?

Shana: Have you written a book?

Jaunty P. Quills, Porcupine Extraordinaire: Um… So, Shana, tell us about your new book, The Rogue Porcupine’s Bride.

Shana: It’s The Rogue Pirate’s Bride, Jaunty, and do you know, I think you and Bastien, my hero, would get along. He’s a pirate, but he insists on calling himself a privateer. Neither of you live in reality.

Jaunty P. Quills, Porcupine Extraordinaire: I live in reality!

Shana: Jaunty, your Facebook page says you’re a romance cover model. Please.

Jaunty P. Quills, Porcupine Extraordinaire: It could happen, but I wouldn’t want to pose for your book cover. The female model is holding a sword.

Shana: That’s because Raeven is every bit as tough as Bastien. In fact, in chapter one, she challenges him to a swordfight.

Jaunty P. Quills, Porcupine Extraordinaire: Does she win?

Shana: Jaunty, I thought you said you read the book.

Jaunty P. Quills, Porcupine Extraordinaire: I might have just skipped to the good parts. And, might I add, there are some very steamy good parts.

Shana: Did you read any of the sea battle scenes? I had to do a lot of research for those.

Jaunty P. Quills, Porcupine Extraordinaire: Do you want me to have nightmares? I’m a lover, not a fighter. There is one thing I’m confused about. Is this book the third in your Sons of the Revolution series? I thought it was titled The Making of a Rogue.

Shana: Yes, it is the third in that series. The first two are The Making of a Duchess and The Making of a Gentleman. But Bastien’s book can be read independently. And it was originally titled The Making of a Rogue. It was even titled Once a Rogue and, very briefly, The Dread Pirate’s Bride. But now it’s The Rogue Pirate’s Bride. Nothing else changed. Only the title and cover.

Jaunty P. Quills, Porcupine Extraordinaire: I suppose now you want me to end by telling everyone more about where to find you.

Shana: I’ll do it, Jaunty. Check out my website for an excerpt from The Rogue Pirate’s Bride  which officially comes out tomorrow, and my blog tour schedule. I’ll be blogging everywhere and giving away books at each stop. In fact, I’ll give away two copies of The Rogue Pirate’s Bride here! Just comment below.

Jaunty P. Quills, Porcupine Extraordinaire: Yes, please comment. Tell Shana why she should include a porcupine in her books or give her a romantic title with the word porcupine in it.

Comment for a chance to win SAPPHIRE AND DIAMOND EARRINGS

Last June my son, Travis, or Son One as I call him (some of you might remember him as RT’s Mr. Romance runner-up from a few years back–tee hee–you cannot imagine how fun it is to tease him about that) got married to a gorgeous young woman from Cameroon. Gorgeous young woman, as it happens, has an equally gorgeous son, who I will hereby refer to Grandson One or G-1. Anywhoo, a few months ago I pried my wallet open and took G-1 to see Untangled. You know the film-spunky heroine, sexy hero, opinionated horse, lots of hair. It was a fun flick and just about right for a six year old…or a romance writer…since it was basically a love story.

So after the credits were rolling away and the popcorn salt had been licked from every finger I turned to G-1 and asked what his favorite part of the movie was. Now remember…he’s a boy…he’s six…he’s being raised by macho 6’3” Son One. So what do you think his answer was? Anybody? No?

Well I’ll tell you…he didn’t pause, didn’t bat an eyelash, didn’t take time to breathe. He just said, “When they kissed.” Huh? I did a double take, did another take, then stared at him agog, because when he asked what my favorite part was I had to tell him the truth; It was when spunky heroine hit sexy hero with the frying pan…which by the by was quite often. I don’t know if you remember the film, but sexy hero spent about half the movie catatonic and I was more thrilled each time cast iron met skull.

So (note clever segue here) when I began writing Uncorked, my 7th Chrissy McMullen mystery, I wasn’t exactly sure how to begin. I mean, Chrissy is one of my favorite people in the entire solar system and she really deserves to be happy. She really deserves to be happy with the guy who makes her crazy…Lieutenant Jack Rivera. But where’s the fun in that? I mean…you can’t start out all cozy right? Where you gonna go from there?

With that thought in mind, I opened the book with a knock down drag out fight. In fact, in chapter one, Chrissy’s dating another guy. Granted, she can rarely remember Other Guy’s name when Rivera is within shouting distance, but she assures the good lieutenant that‘s she‘s crazy about…about…what’s his face. It made for tons of sexual tension. And if there’s anything I like better than seeing a guy hit in the head with a frying pan, it’s sexual tension.

So what about you? What’s your favorite part of a romance, the fighting or the flirting? Or do you need both to make it work?

To celebrate the online release of Uncorked, my 7th Chrissy McMullen novel, I’m giving away a pair of sapphire and diamond earrings to one much appreciated commenter.

Visit Lois’s website for news and information on her newest release, and a chance to win an Amazon gift card and be sure to check out Uncorked! You can follow Lois on Facebook and keep track of the Chrissy McMullen series here. Follow LoisGreiman on Twitter, too!

No matter how busy the holidays get, I always carve out time to do some baking. Sugar cookies, gingerbread and seven layer cookies are standard Christmas favorites in our house. My mother-in-law is the reigning Queen of the Snickerdoodles.  But this year, in addition to making our old favorites, I decided to try some new recipes. I’ve been inspired by the new Special Edition series I’m working on, tentatively called, Celebrations, Inc.  It’s about a group of friends who open a catering company. Each book features a heroine with a different role within the company. Currently, I’m working on the book that features the pastry chef, which is perfect for this time of year. Not only is my baking fun and festive, it also serves as research and development for my work. Doesn’t that sound like good justification?

Here are is one of the new recipes I tried. Don’t tell anyone, but it’s ridiculously fast and simple to make. The couple of times I’ve served it, it’s been a big hit.

Almond-Cherry-Chocolate Bark

INGREDIENTS:

Parchment paper

3/4 cup almonds

12 oz dark chocolate, divided

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup dried tart cherries

PREPARATION

Heat oven to 350°. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, toast 3/4 cup whole skin-on almonds until fragrant and light gold, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely; transfer to a bowl. Fill a medium saucepan with 1 inch water; bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Set a large heatproof bowl atop saucepan, making sure water doesn’t touch bottom of bowl. Place 10 oz dark chocolate (60 percent to 70 percent cocoa) in bowl; cook, stirring, until smooth. Remove bowl from saucepan; add another 2 oz dark chocolate and stir until smooth. Stir in 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract, toasted almonds and 1/3 cup dried tart cherries, coarsely chopped. Pour onto baking sheet; spread into an even layer about 1/4 inch thick. Refrigerate until firm, 1 hour. Break into 24 pieces.

What are you baking this holiday these days?

A few weeks ago, a blogger asked the Jaunty Quills to participate in an event where authors shared a favorite book they were reading. I wanted to participate in the worst way, but I’d just finished a deadline for a Special Edition continuity, which went quickly into edits and by the time I contacted the blogger, the calendar for that event was full.  I was so disappointed because I happened to be reading UNTIL THERE WAS YOU, by our very own Kristan Higgins, and I was looking forward to dishing about this book because it’s so darn wonderful!

Kristan first hooked me with her Rita winner CATCH OF THE DAY. That was shortly before we became Jaunty Quill sisters. Since then, I’ve devoured every single one of her books. Needless to say, I was counting the days until I could get my hands on UNTIL THERE WAS YOU.

What a treat! In vintage Kristan style, she had me laughing out loud, rooting for quirky, loveable Cordelia “Posey” Osterhagen and drooling over misunderstood bad boy Liam Murphy. I’m a sucker for a reunion story – especially when it goes to the tune of girl falls for boy, boy barely realizes girl exists; boy and girl grow into man and woman and finally get it right.   However, even after widowed father Liam brings his teenage daughter home to the town where he grew up, he and Posey still have a lot of baggage to unload and roadblocks to break through…baggage in the form of a terrible misunderstanding at the prom that left Posey brokenhearted and roadblocks in the form of Posey’s buxom, quasi-celebrity cousin who always seems to be in the way.

It makes me smile even thinking about  the book.  It also has me thinking… We all have at least one “Liam” lurking in our past (even if it didn’t lead to a happily ever after).  Tell me about your “Liam.” Did you ever see him again? Did it end up working out or did it remain a case of unrequited love/lust?  I will choose one lucky winner from those who post to receive a copy of Kristan’s UNTIL THERE WAS YOU so you, too, can get lost in this fabulous book.

Congratulations to Cate S. and Cathy P. !

I’ve already contacted them — but Cathy and Cate, if you haven’t read your email lately, contact me! MargoMaguire@yahoo.com

Thanks to everyone for your comments. There were lots of hero-heroine scenarios I’d forgotten about. Now that my deadline is met and I’m taking a few weeks off, I plan to spend a lot of time reading and getting up to date on all those great scenarios…

Did you know there are 99 days left in the year? Yep, we’ve left the triple digits and before you know it, we’ll be staring down the barrel of 2012. A bright, shiny new year usually means fresh resolutions. But since we still have 99 days to go, it seems like a good opportunity to take stock.  So dust off that list of goals and see where you stand:

*Which goals have you achieved this year?

*Are you happy with your progress so far?

*Which goals need attention?

*What do you need to do to accomplish your goals?

Whether you want to lose weight, learn a new language, begin training for a marathon, or start (or finish) that novel you’ve been longing to write, it’s not too late! You can accomplish a lot in 99 days. Break the steps toward your goal into tiny, manageable daily tasks. If you devote even a little attention to your dreams every day, you’ll be surprised by what you can accomplish.

So, how did you do? How did your goal review shake down?

I have four Special Editions coming out in 2012. All of them are set in Texas: three are in a
fictional town outside of Dallas (I’m calling it Celebration, Texas). The other one is part of the popular Fortunes of Texas series and it’s set in the fictional town of Red Rock,Texas, which is supposedly 20 miles east of San Antonio.

It’s the first time I’m writing about Texas. I’m excited to be spending so much virtual time there because a have quite a bit of family in the Dallas area. I’m vaguely familiar with the state – enough to know it’s flavor, and, of course, I can call on my family with any questions.

In the past, I’ve set books in Orlando and Paris because I’m familiar with those cities.  The only real place I’ve written about that I’m not familiar with is Boston. It was part of a Special Edition continuity (I was one of six authors writing books for this series).  I actually visited before I finished the book so I could make sure I captured the essence of the city.

I’ve heard of authors writing on a wing and prayer, setting books in regions they’ve never visited. But I shy away from doing that because I strive to get everything exactly right. So, if I make up the city – it might even be a fictitious city based on an actual city – I feel better about taking artistic license and not being bound by maps and facts.

I have two questions for you: do you like reading books set in fictional places or imaginary worlds?   If you prefer actual cities, how much leeway to you give an author to fictionalize neighborhoods and the texture of the area?

Today, I’m deep in the last stretch of a deadline. So, my question for you is quick: if you could bring to life any character(s) from any book(s) who would it be? I’d love to meet Fitzwilliam Darcy, Jay Gatsby and Josephine March. Okay, your turn…

Today is Bastille Day, French Independence Day. In France, it’s known as La Fête Nationale, and celebrates the 1789 storming of the Bastille fortress-prison. Festivities and official ceremonies are going on all over France, including the oldest and largest military parade in Europe, which happens this morning in Paris down the Champs-Elysees.  In the spirit of the day, let’s have our own Bastille Day party. I’ll provide champagne, lemonade and apricot baked brie with French bread.  What would you like to bringing? Each person who posts will have a chance to win a signed copy of my book, “What Happens in Paris.” Enchanté!

Next month most of the Jaunties are attending the Romance Writers of America’s National Conference in New York City. It’s a lot of work and a lot of fun, and a time to catch up with old friends and make new ones. We Jaunties always meet up for dinner, drinks, and conversation. We chat about this blog, of course, and our books, but we also talk about our lives and families.

But the conference isn’t all luncheons and limo rides—though there is some of that! There are workshops and meetings with agents, editors, publicists, readers…the list goes on and on. I plan to arrive a day early so I can enjoy the city a little. It’s been 7 or 8 years since I was last in New York.

I already have tickets to see Wicked, but I don’t have any other plans as yet. Any must-sees in New York? Anything you would definitely see if you were going?