Fall Lineup

by Christie Kelley

Fall is here, which means World Series, cool temperatures and spooky things. But in the Lair, we have launch parties, guests galore and of course, hot cabana boys!

Since we all love a party, let's start with our launch parties for the month! Mark your calendar for October 8th when Beth Andrews will be bringing out the drinks and the boys for her release, His Secret Agenda. You know wild things will happen that day.




Not to be outdone, on October 27th, Anna Campbell will be celebrating her release, Captive of Sin. Who knows what wild things Anna will have for us that day.


Just when you thought it couldn't get any better than two launch parties in a month...I bring you our guests for the month.

On Friday, 2nd October, Harlequin Historicals author Michelle Willingham will be Anna Campbell's guest in the Lair. Michelle writes passionate, action-packed romance set in medieval Ireland and is about to launch her first Victorian trilogy. She's giving away her two latest two books so make sure you swing by!


October 5th, Ellen Dugan joins us in the Lair. She'll be talking about writing paranormal and how to get things right!






On October 6, Claudia Dain will be guesting with Nancy Northcott and discussing what inspires writers, among other things. She will also be celebrating the mass market reissue of The Courtesan's Secret, the second amazing installment her scintillating Courtesan Chronicles. No chance to chat with The Incomparable Claudia Dain is to be missed!




On October 9, the vivacious Deb Marlowe will be visiting the Lair with Caren Crane. We will be among the first to hear about the American release of her Harlequin Historical, Her Cinderella Season. Make sure you stop by to hear how Miss Lily Beecham gets herself invited to a Society ball and what sort of naughtiness ensues!




On October 11th, Lair favorite Denise Rossetti returns to chat about her upcoming release, Thief Of Light, the second in her hot fantasy series, The Four-Sided Pentacle.






Join us on October 12 when Sarah arrives to chat about her debut, Renegade. Sarah will be along to entertain us with tales of her Renegades.


October 16, Laura Anne Gilman makes her first appearance in the Lair to celebrate the release of Flesh and Fire, the first volume in the Vineart Wars fantasy series.


October 19, Patricia Rice returns to chat about Mystic Warrior, the concluding volume in her Mystic Isle paranormal series.




On October 20th, author Samantha Hunter will be here to talk about getting Caught In The Act, her latest release for Harlequin Blaze and part of the Dressed To Thrill miniseries!


October 21, Jacquie D'Alessandro makes her Lair debut with her Blaze Historical, Touch Me.



Join us on October 22nd when Kate Walker will be in the Lair. Kate Walker has been writing for Harlequin Presents since 1984. In that time she has over 54 novels published in over thirty-five countries and total sales amount to over twelve million copies of her books. Kate Walker is also the author of the award-winning 12 Point Guide To Writing Romance. Kate will be here to celebrate the launch of her latest book from Harlequin Presents, Kept For Her Baby.



October 26, Berta Platas, better known in the Lair as half of Gillian Summers, will make her first solo appearance. She'll discuss how life, love and winning the lottery mesh for the heroine of Lucky Chica.


Last but certainly not least, on October 28th, we welcome back NY Times bestselling author Lorraine Heath to the Lair.



Finally, our Bandita Contests for the month:

Anna Campbell is offering readers a chance to win Captive of Sin! By the time this contest comes to a close, Captive of Sin will be available from a bookseller near you. To celebrate this portentous moment in the history of the world (or at least in the history of Anna Campbell), she’s giving away not one, not two, not three, but FOUR signed copies of the book to people who enter this contest.This question is really easy. All you have to do is tell her the name of Gideon’s house and where in England it is situated. Just a hint – you might find the answer in the excerpt from Captive of Sin on her Books page: http://www.annacampbell.info/captivesin.html

Just email Anna on http://us.mc1102.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=anna@annacampbell.info and she’ll draw at random from the correct responses. The contest closes 31st October, 2009.

For more information, please check out Anna’s contest page: http://www.annacampbell.info/contest.html

So what do you think? Sounds like a great month, doesn't it? What guest can't you wait for? Or maybe you're waiting for the launch parties, like me!

Source URL: http://violeta-diario.blogspot.com/2009/09/
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Be the Next Victoria's Secret Angel!

If you've the looks and the body, grab your once in a lifetime chance to walk the runway during upcoming Victoria's Secret Angels Fashion Show. Check out the official guidelines and screening schedules to join Miranda Kerr, Alessandra Ambrosio, Heidi Klum and other angels.

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Vampire Fashion Updates From New Moon Posters

I know that a lot of Twilight die-hard fans are craving for some of the latest fashion updates for the upcoming movie Twilight Saga: New Moon. To satisfy your hunger, I present to you some of the newest New Moon posters from Just Jared. Let your eyes feasts on Robert Pattinson's vampire fashion styles together with the rest of the gang.








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Ashley Tisdale Wears the Latest Fashion Trends in Puerco Espin Campaign Ads

Ashley Tisdale had some new campaign ads for Puerco Espin Fall 2009 catalog. Checkout some of her new looks that sported a fashionable, romantic, casual and refined chic.







Source: JustJared Jr.
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Alexander McQueen Fall/Winter 2009-2010

I love the new campaign ads of Alexander McQueen Fall/Winter Collection. They are so bold and colorful. Models posed against the Halloween background too. Photographed by David Burton.







Source
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Jack's Roast Duck

BEFORE

















AFTER















When my niece Jo Ann and her friend came for a visit, i took them to the asian market and what caught our eyes was the sale sign - 98 cents/lb and it was for frozen ducks. Wow, 98 cents???, so cheap?? and while trying to get one, we realised that these words were printed on the packaging - missing parts - ha! no wonder so cheap!!. We were pondering as to which or what parts will be missing from the ducks, so, i bought 2 ducks and we had a guessing game to see who will have the right answers - one of ducks had a whole wing missing and the other the whole leg. We not only had fun guessing, we enjoyed the ducks too. This sale price never happened again and i have not bought duck since, but, I had an opportunity to cook a duck when Jack, Nellie's better half, gave me a whole duck, this duck is really whole, complete with head and feet, even the tongue is still intact. Jack told me that i should not have a problem roasting it and it really was, no problem. The biggest problem was to get the feathers or down removed. I can understand now how difficult it must be to shave or try to remove whiskers and i am glad that i am a female and chinese - no hair problem. Now, coming back to the duck, there were so much to remove and i kept removing and turning the duck around without realising that the poor duck is hanging by a short string. The twisting made the string so taut that i killed the poor duck a second time. Anyway, i managed to get as much out as possible and proceeded with the recipe. All in all, i think i did a good roasting job.

I will end this poor duck story with another one which is on a lighter note - smile!!

The Dead Duck



A woman brought a very limp duck into a veterinary surgery. As she lay her pet on the table, the Vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird's chest. After a moment or two, the vet shook his head sadly and said, "I'm so sorry, Cuddles has passed away." The distressed owner wailed, "Are you sure? "Yes, I am sure. The duck is dead," he replied. "How can you be so sure," she protested. "I mean, you haven't done ny testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something." The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room, and returned a few moments later with a black Labrador Retriever. As the duck's owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked at the Vet with sad eyes and shook his head. The vet patted the dog and took it out, and returned a few moments later with a beautiful cat. The cat jumped up on the table and also sniffed delicately at the bird. The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly and strolled out of the room. The Vet looked at the woman and said, "I'm sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck." Then the vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill which he handed to the woman. The duck's owner, still in shock, took the bill. "$150!", she cried, "$150 just to tell me my duck is dead?!!" The vet shrugged. "I'm sorry. If you'd taken my word for it, the bill would have been only $20, but what with the Lab Report and the Cat Scan ...."


Ingredients:

1 large duck - 4 to 5 pounds

Glaze:

1 liter water
3 tbsp maltose/honey
3 tbsp dark soya sauce
5 fl ozs rice wine
1 lemon - cut into slices

Method:

Wash and clean duck. Remove as much feathers or down as possible and wipe dry.
In a large saucepan, cook the glaze ingredients until maltose/honey has dissolved. Keep the glaze boiling while holding the duck by it's neck or with a sturdy 'S' hook over a wok, bath the duck with the glaze - the glaze has to boiling hot. Continue to bath the duck - all over until all the glaze is done.
Hang duck to drip dry, then place duck on a rack over a roasting/cake pan and place in the fridge to dry for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Roasting:
Heat the oven, the highest temperature available - i have a convection roasting function.
Place duck on a 'V' roasting rack which is sitting on a roasting pan, pour a full cup of water onto the roasting pan.
Put duck to roast for 15 minutes, breast side up, until the breast is beautifully browned. Turn duck over and roast the back.
Turn duck over with breast side up and lower the oven to 350f and roast duck for another 15 - 20 minutes. Check for doneness.
Cut duck up the chinese way and serve with a pomegrante molasses dipping sauce.
Pomegranate Molasses Dipping Sauce:
1/4 cup mild flavored honey
1/4 cup pomegranate molasses
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock

Combine ingredients in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until thick and syrup. Adjust taste with sugar if you do not like the tartness.











Serves
Source URL: http://violeta-diario.blogspot.com/2009/09/
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The Enemy

by Susan Sey
When I was in high school, I was an avid athlete. Not gifted, sadly--no sports scholarships for me, much to my father's chagrin--but I was an enthusiastic joiner nonetheless. I loved being part of a team. Loved the routine of practice, the high of competition & the comfort of sharing a loss (or, on rarer occasions, celebrating a win) with comrades.

When I graduated from high school & moved on to college, there wasn't really an avenue for me to continue playing sports. I went to a Big Ten school and didn't have the talent (or the size) to qualify for any of their sports programs. There was the intramural sports option, I guess, but it was expensive, and I was a shy kid. I didn't know nearly enough people to put together a team, & hadn't the first clue how to wangle my way onto an existing one.

So like a lot of young adults, I stopped playing sports. I graduated, traveled, got married, graduated again, had babies. I didn't have time to miss it for several years there. But recently I got an invitation I couldn't refuse.

Kickball.

Yep, kickball. Like third graders play. On the play ground. With a red rubber bouncy ball. My husband and I were invited to join a summer kickball league for adults, & we accepted. I thought, sure. I'll play. It's kickball, right? It's ridiculous. Too ridiculous to be taken seriously. It'll be a fun way to get to know other post-sporty people & enjoy the summer.

And then I played. And it was fun. It is fun. Kicking the crap out of one of those red rubber balls is just as satisfying as it always was. But I was startled to find it was more than just fun. It was also surprisingly...cathartic.

Because team sports provide something far more important than exercise & camaraderie. They provide an outlet. For what, you ask? For all the aggression & anger produced by dealing with normal life. Life is so often frustrating & unwieldy & disappointing. Sometimes I swear people (cashiers, my children, other drivers) thwart me just for the heck of it.

But I, unlike my two year old, am not allowed to pitch a fit in the produce aisle & get it out of my system. No, I have to shove it aside, smile through my teeth & make nice anyway, because that's what grownups do.

The exception to this, I've discovered, is sports.

Not that we allow or condone poor sportsmanship. We don't cheat or yell, hurt one another or behave at all unpleasantly on the field. But for the space of one hour, we are free to hate the people on the other team.

Okay, hate is too strong a word. But for the space of that game, those people are the enemy. The other. It's us against them & we get to try like hell to beat them silly. It's harmless, it's all in fun but it's also deeply satisfying. To be part of an US that's united in an effort to conquer THEM. It speaks to a deeply rooted human drive to belong & to triumph, I think. A drive that's often out of place in a modern world where battles are fought via keyboards & soundbites.

Kickball gave me an outlet to indulge that primal urge without suffering any real world consequences, & it's been good for me. I'm happier, more relaxed, & aside from barking my shin during an accidental slide into second, pretty healthy, too. I'm already dreading the end of the season because it means another long, dark winter full of things that want to thwart me (balky car engines, slick highways, children who resist mittens) with no social appropriate outlet for my anger.

Thank god we've been asked to join the dodgeball team.

So how about you? Did you ever give up something you loved, only to rediscover it later in life? When it comes to sports, are you a player or a fan? Or are sports just not your thing, & you have other ways to deal with life's little frustrations? Let's hear about them! Source URL: http://violeta-diario.blogspot.com/2009/09/
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Bandit Booty!

We have some SINFUL booty to give away tonight!

Copies of Kathryn Caskie's To Sin with a Stranger go to Julia Smith, Lynz Pickles and Linda Henderson, who should email Kim Castillo via kimscastilloATmsnDOTcom.

Congrats to the winners, and thanks to everyone who stopped by!Source URL: http://violeta-diario.blogspot.com/2009/09/
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London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2010 Highlights

Check out the runway highlights from Burberry, Peter Pilotto, Roksanda Ilincic and Basso & Brooke during the London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2010 last week.

Burberry

The Burberry show in London was flooded by celebrities like Emma Watson, Victoria Beckham, Liv Tyler and Freida Pinto. Burberry's collection for next year's spring and summer season was consist of nude palette. The pieces came in pale hues of pink, grey, blue and lemon yellow. Models walked in the runway with ruffles, body-hugging drapes and frills, skirts and tops that are accessorized by skinny leather belts.

Roksanda Ilincic

Roksanda's collection was comprise of silk fabrics in nude, bronze, turquoise and black colors. You will also see double breasted trenches with bold shoulders, wide pants and maxiskirts.

Peter Pilotto

Sun-bleached fabrics were dominant in Peter Pilotto's collection that ranges from grey to blue to yellow and green colors. Bold shoulders, asymmetric frocks and fold-over skirts paraded the catwalk.

Basso & Brooke

Basso & Brooke's creations were full of colorful prints. Models wore sexy dresses and minidresses that made them look more sassy.

Source: Instyle UK
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