Coming Right Up....

by Susan Sey

BREAKING NEWS: Last night, our own fabulous BETH ANDREWS won the RITA Award in the Best Contemporary Series Romance category for her wonderful book A Not-So-Perfect Past. Congratulations, Beth!!! You can check out all the winners at the RWA National website. PARTY IN THE LAIR!!!

August! Welcome home, all you RWA goers! I know you miss all your writing friends like crazy, so here's a little something to cheer you up: A preview of August's fantastic features!

August 3: Donna MacMeans will host Heather Webber who'll be talking about her casting decisions for her latest release Deeply, Desperately.



August 5: Nancy interviews Avon debut author Katherine Ashe about her dynamite historical, Swept Away by a Kiss.



August 6: One of the Lair's favourite visitors, Eloisa James, returns to talk about fairy tales, Cinderella and her eagerly awaited book, A Kiss at Midnight.
August 16: Best selling author Brenda Novak will return to the Lair with JoMama to discuss her new trilogy and answer questions most asked by her fans.




WHITE HEAT releases on July 27 and Brenda's throwing a fabulous cyber-party to celebrate. Visit www.brendanovak.com for the deets. Her annual Auction fo Diabetes Research reached the one million mark this year!

Also, Brenda's been nominated for a 2010 RITA for her ON A SNOWY CHRISTMAS. Congratulations! We're so fortunate to have her return to the Lair again!
August 15: Trish Milburn's (or should I say Tricia Mills?) release party for her newest young adult novel, Winter Longing. Love Alaska? Love tales of first love? Books that twist your emotions like a dish cloth? This book has it all!




August 19: Suzanne Ferrell brings Wendy Watson to chat with us about her second in the Murder A La Mode series, Scoop To Kill. Wendy and Suz will serve up some fun, mystery and maybe an ice cream or two in the hot summer fun!

August 20: Tawny's release party

August 27: Barbara Monjem returns to chat with Nancy about Tastes of Love and Evil, the second in her Bayou Gavotte paranormal romance series (which was also an unpubbed Maggie winner!)
August 31: Grab a gladiator & a drink (not necessarily in that order) and get ready to get sinful as we celebrate Jeanne Adam's smokin' new release Deadly Little Sins!





And warm up that lucky rabbit's foot, because we have contests, too! From Anna Campbell:


Anna Campbell is giving away TWO Change of Season Reading Packs in her latest website contest. Each pack will include signed copies of MY RECKLESS SURRENDER by AnnaCampbell, SWEETEST LITTLE SIN by Christine WElls, IS MISTRESS FOR A MILLION by Trish Morey, THE GREEK'S CONVENIENT MISTRESS by Annie West, DARK DECEIVER by Pamela Palmer, and either DOES SHE DARE? or RISQUE BUSINESS by Tawny Weber. Just email Anna on anna@annacampbell.info and tell her one other book by each of these authors (the website links are on her contest page to make it easy) to go into the draw. For more information, please visit Anna's contest page.Source URL: http://plasticsurgerycelebrities.blogspot.com/2010/07/
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Japanese Foot Tattoo - Japanese Ink

Japanese Foot Tattoo - Japanese Ink
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Great Deals on Chris Isaak Tickets at The O'Shaughnessy

Born in Stockton, California, Chris Isaak's musical career began when he signed a contract with Warner Bros. Records in 1984 and released his first album Silvertone. His best known song is "Wicked Game" which was released on the 1989 album Heart Shaped World. Chris Isaak has also done some acting and has appeared in numerous films and TV shows. His first film appearance was as a clown in the movie Married to the Mob. Since his debut, Chris Isaak has released a total of 14 albums and appeared on nine films and 13 television shows. Now is your chance to see him live at The O'Shaughnessy and get a GREAT deal on your Chris Isaak tickets from Ticket King!! The show is this Wednesday evening and we currently have tickets for just $95 a piece in the 8th row of the main floor! You won't find tickets this great anywhere else, especially not this close to the show. So get them now before they're gone!!
Source URL: http://plasticsurgerycelebrities.blogspot.com/2010/07/
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Ginger Snack

Ginger needs no introduction to Asians, it can be condsidered as one of 'The Ancient Chinese Secret' for it's Medicinal Properties.  To those who do not cook or use as much Ginger and would like to know more about it, this is worth reading The Epicentre - Ginger

I grew up with these type of dried, cured snacks and ginger is still my favorite.   

In my younger years, these snacks will be sold only at the corner stall but now, there is a whole shop selling all sorts of which the choice is endless,  some of them are not even recognizable as to what fruit or vegetable they are made from but they all tasted so good.  I don't know why we as kids could not come up with nicer names for these snacks but always associated them with something unpleasant.  I am sure many will know - Yeong mare see or Ngau see thoi which is in cantonese and for those who don't understand cantonese, you won't want to know.
Ginger snacks come in different tastes, there is a sweet or a salty type and both of these types will be colored red,  They will be in bits or chunks and slices are normally soaked in vinegared syrup, like the ones served with Sushi.  This Ginger snack which i made is from very thin slices and it is easy, so give this recipe a try.



 
 

Ingredients:
 
Fresh ginger preferably younger ones - they are less spicy
1 cup plus 1/2 cup sugar
More sugar for coating
 
Method:
 
Scrape the skin off the ginger knobs and slice thinly using the mandoline.
 
Cook sugar and water until sugar dissolves.
 
Add in the ginger slices and cook for a minute or two.  The longer you cook the ginger slices, the less spicy they will be.
 
Remove ginger slices from the syrup and drain. The syrup can be diluted with iced/warm water to make a delicious drink or added to your cup of tea.
 
Coat the ginger slices in sugar and lay them in single layer on a cake rack and put to dry in the sun.
 
When dried, ginger slices are ready to be enjoyed.
 
Store in air-tight container.
 
 


 
Serves
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The BIG Awards Ceremony!

posted by tony margareth

Tonight's the night! Saturday night of RWA's National Conference is the BIG awards ceremony! This is the ceremony where romance writers honor their own with the Rita and Golden Heart awards, our industry's equivalent of the Oscars, Emmys, or Grammys.

As you know, the Banditas were all finalists in the 2006 Golden Heart contest. That is where we "found" each other, and so this award has a very special place in all our hearts! In case you didn't know, the Golden Heart contest recognizes outstanding unpublished romance manuscripts in ten different categories. Up to 1200 entries are judged by members of RWA and are narrowed down to around 100 finalists. Editors from acquiring romance publishers judge the final round, and winners receive a beautiful pendant.

This year, our Bandita KJ Howe is a finalist in the Contemporary Series Suspense/Adventure category. KJ is a fantastic writer and we are all pulling for her to be the BIG WINNER in her category tonight!

Did you know the Rita award was named for RWA's first president Rita Clay Estrada? (Be sure to file that away for future trivia contests.) This award is for outstanding published romance novels and novellas and the contest has twelve categories. Once again, approximately 1200 entries are narrowed by judges to about 100 finalists. Winners receive a beautiful statuette much like an Oscar or Emmy.

This year A Not-So-Perfect Past by our Bandita Beth Andrews is a Rita finalist in the Contemporary Series Romance category. So many of us Banditas and BBs LOVED Nina and Dillon's story and we will all be hoping that our Wonder-Beth will be the first Bandita to bring home the lovely Rita statue!

There are many wonderful writers and books up for Golden Heart and Rita awards this year. By this time tomorrow, it will all be over and the winners will be announced. We'll get to see all the fabulous pictures and share the triumphs. But they are ALL WINNERS just to have been finalists!

Awards are so much fun! We all deserve to win one once in awhile. For instance, Posh, Jo-Mama, and I, along with Lars, Marcus, Zach, and Paolo all deserve a "Holding-Down-The -Fort" award! What about you? What kind of award would you create and who would win it?Source URL: http://plasticsurgerycelebrities.blogspot.com/2010/07/
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Engagement story

We got engaged in New York. He was there on business and I'd joined him there for the weekend. Whilst he was in meetings, I was busy popping into all the expensive jewellery stores on Fifth Avenue, looking for the ring (I wasn't going to let him choose!). That was so much fun.




I knew it was going to be Tiffany's, though. Walking into their flagship store was an experience in itself and upstairs where all the engagement rings are (or were, at least), I even saw (a) Holly Golightly! Seriously.




I chose two rings and 'reserved' them. The sales assistant was polite but not super friendly or anything. He did ask for my boyfriend / fiancé's name before I left.

And the next day, we walked in. He recognised me, then looked at my fiancé. He suddenly became the most charming person ever. With a big smile, he walked over to meet us and addressed my fiancé by name. Maybe I should have been offended by this transformation but I was too amazed and impressed!





Another funny thing I remember is that every time we wanted to look at a ring by the big window (different lighting), the sales assistant had to 'inform' the bodyguard. Yes, there was a bodyguard standing by the window! Did they think we were going to jump out of the window with the ring?! 


Now tell me your story! Did you know he was going to propose? Did you choose the ring with him? 
Or how do you want it to be?

1, 2, 3
Source URL: http://plasticsurgerycelebrities.blogspot.com/2010/07/
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Campouts and Sleepovers

by Jo Robertson



My daughter emailed me the other weekend with this note:

Hey, do you wanna know what my kids are doing? Sleeping on the trampoline!! I remember how FUN that was as a kid. At OTHER people’s houses of course, since we never had one. It was so exciting!

Their cousins are spending the night, for a total of five children, but kids these days have NO idea how to have a sleepover.

Corinna, eleven, said, “Hey Mom. Did you charge the DVD player so we could watch movies?”

I said, “Hell no!” Actually I didn’t say Hell but you get the idea.

I told them they have no idea how to do a camp out. First, they need to get some flashlights and junk food. Then they start telling stories until someone is scared and wants to come in.

This story got me thinking about sleepovers and campouts.

What do you think? Along with 16mm projectors, eight tracks, and dial telephones, have kids lost the simple meaning of camping out and sleeping over at a friend’s?

What’s your favorite campout memory?
Source URL: http://plasticsurgerycelebrities.blogspot.com/2010/07/
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Say cheese!

I am seriously addicted to Parmesan!


I can't seem to live without it these days. I use it in salads, soups, pasta and risotto dishes obviously, and fish for (I think) the first time last night (it was a Jamie Oliver recipe). The official website says Parmesan is perfect as a starter, main and dessert! (See their serving suggestions here.)




Dessert? Yes, apparently you can have parmesan with fruit. Have you tried it? I'm not too sure about this.




But what I'm even more unsure about is parmesan ice cream. What do you think?!



Photos
Source URL: http://plasticsurgerycelebrities.blogspot.com/2010/07/
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Meanwhile, Back at the Lair...

posted by Aunty Cindy, Jo-Mama, and Posh

'Twas the week of RWA National conference and the Lair felt eerily empty with that preternatural quiet that could mean nefarious plots were afoot...

Or NOT.

A lone figure descended a back staircase, headed for the kitchen, a full tray in his hands and a look of consternation on his handsome face.

"Sorry, Lars," Paolo said, as he slid the tray of food onto the counter behind a beefy, Scandinavian hunk who was washing pots and pans, "Aunty Cindy turned thumbs down. She said your Swedish surprise is more of a shock, and not in a good way. According to her, the only one who will eat it is Ermingarde the Dragon."

Lars gave a long suffering sigh. "Then why did you bring it back to the kitchen instead of taking it to the dragon's turret?"

"Well, because... er, um, you know..." Red stained Paolo's high cheek bones, lending him an uncanny resemblance to Johnny Depp.

He was interrupted by Marcus, in full gladitorial regalia, checking in from his security sweep. "You simply must get over your fear of that over-grown lizard, Paolo. Just because she singed your trousers that one time is no excuse. A little mano-a-mano wrestling match with her should do the trick."

As the hapless Paolo choked over the thought of wrestling the dragon, Marcus and Lars exchanged knowing winks over his head.

"I'll take it up there," Marcus conceded with a good-natured shove. "Zach is there right now, mucking out her weir and I'm sure he would welcome the help."

"Zach got left behind too?" Paolo asked, clearly startled that the captain of the hockey hunks was not on vacation with the rest of the staff. "I mean, I understand why I was, since I'm the newest cabana boy, and I heard you gladiators used some kind of lottery system, but..."

"He said something about taking one for the team," Marcus explained, when the beeping of Lars's phone interrupted him.

"It's a text message from Sven," Lars exclaimed. "Bad enough that he left me a fifteen page color-coded flow chart about how to manage his kitchen, but he checks in every two hours." He peered at the screen then chuckled. "He sent a photo. Seems he and the gladiators went to the Magic Kingdom."

Paolo and Marcus leaned in for a look.

"What is that they are holding?" Marcus asked around guffaws.

"Looks like mouse ears," replied an astounded Paolo. "With feathers? Did somebody finally pluck that confounded rooster?"

"Boys!" Posh said sternly, striding into the kitchen sporting a fearsome scowl and snatching the phone from Lars. "It's no good looking at the pictures now. You'll just be even more sullen and sulky than you have been and you'll be even less use in the kitchen, though that's hard to imagine."

Posh gazed at the downcast faces and her expression softened. "We're all completely bummed about being left behind. What we need to do is think of a distraction."

"Distraction?" Paolo asked. "What could make us forget everyone even for a minute?"

"I'm glad you asked," Jo Mama said in her most teacherly voice, entering from the hallway. "I've made up a plan."

Posh arched an eyebrow. "Like a lesson plan?"

"Oh, no!" Aunty Cindy huffed, descending the stairs in a swirling, embroidered dress she picked up on her jaunt to Turkey. (Posh had thought it was a wedding dress for a young woman, but Aunty would neither confirm nor deny.) "I have had quite enough learning for one lifetime, thank you very much. No more lesson plans, Jo Mama!"

Jo held up her hand, commanding silence as all the best teachers do. She pulled a hitherto-unseen chalkboard from the butler's pantry. "Everyone calm down. I've studied our dilemma and, using ratiocination - "

"Lord, there she goes with the big words again." Posh rolled her eyes in an alarming circle.

" - Okay, then, using logic," she shot a sharp look at Posh, "I have discerned the only viable solution to our lack of entertainment - "

"And aching loneliness," Aunty Cindy said, head buried deep in the fridge as she searched for anything edible. "Don't forget the loneliness!"

"That, too," Jo sighed. "I actually thought there would be less drama with everyone gone," she muttered. "Maybe I should have taken a few days off myself."

"Well don't keep us in suspense, Jo Mama," Posh said, pushing Aunty Cindy out of the fridge. "You tell us what the plan is and I'll whip us up some supper. Real supper, not that so-called Swedish surprise."

She began pulling things out of the fridge and Aunty Cindy's eyes widened. "What are you making, Posh?"

"Never you mind, missy. Just listen to Jo Mama and prepare to be dazzled."

"As I was saying," Jo said, a hint of impatience coloring her normally professional delivery, "we need a plan that utilizes the resources we have available."

"You mean them?" Aunty Cindy eyed the boys dubiously.

"Us?" the guys asked, looking just as wary.

"Not them," Posh said, chopping onions and potatoes while a large iron skillet heated on the stove. "Our beloved Bandita Buddies!"

"Exactly," Jo beamed. "Our Buddies. Since we are temporarily without our resident bartenders, 14 of our storytellers and a passel of cabana boys, we need our precious Bandita Buddies to keep our spirits up."

"Meanwhile," Aunty said, flinging her arms about in a (melo)dramatic fashion, "I will lead the boys to the shrine of Mary I had built in the first floor of the cellar. I was so inspired by the Higgins House, built where Mary lived when she was in Ephesus, that I had one built. I'm sure the boys and I can drum up some help from the Blessed Virgin..."

Jo Mama rolled her eyes and Posh smirked. "If Aunty Cindy is the spiritual leader today, you KNOW we're in trouble!"

So, Bandita Buddies, you are ON! We need you desperately. Please tell us about your favorite thing to do when you find yourself suddenly, inexplicably and definitively ALONE.

Can't recall the last time that actually happened? Dream a little dream for us! Books? Bubble baths? Movies where you don't have to share your popcorn? What is your favorite alone-time pursuit? Or would you just like to come hang out with us and see what Posh is cooking? Do tell!Source URL: http://plasticsurgerycelebrities.blogspot.com/2010/07/
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