Update: The Godiva Chocolate is going to…Joyce! Congrats!!

Ready for another great holiday recipe?  This time, author Janet Breakfield is here to offer up a dish for readers–and one lucky commenter will win

So…are you in the mood for something sweet? (Heck, when am I not in the mood for that?) On to Janet’s post!!

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Here’s a little something sweet for your holiday season!

A southern tradition around this time of year is “White Pecan Fudge”

Recipe:

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

1/3 cup light corn syrup

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla or rum extract

1/4 cup candied cherries

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Combine sugar, sour cream, corn syrup, butter and salt in saucepan; bring to boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Boil, without stirring, to 236 degrees on candy thermometer, or until a little mixture dropped in cold water forms a ball. Remove from heat and let stand about 15 minutes; don not stir. Add flavoring and beat until mixture starts to lose its gloss, 8 or 9 minutes. Quickly stir in cherries and pecans; then pour into greased 8 x 8 inch utility dish. Cool; cut into squares. Makes about 1 1/2 pounds of candy.

Enjoy!

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Oh, Janet, I will!!! And since you offered a sweet recipe, I will go with a sweet theme–for this giveaway, one commenter will win a box of Godiva chocolate (that counts as sweet, right?) To enter the giveaway, tell Janet your favorite decadent treat…or you can leave her a question, too. All comments work!

And now, for a peek at Janet’s latest work…

Bayou Guardian was released on Halloween Day 2012 and is the third book in the Bayou Series following Bayou Legend and then Sacred Bayou. It and all my books are available at amazon.com, smashwords.com, booksamillion.com.

Or visit my webiste at janetbreakfield.com.

About the story:

Wildlife photographer Olyvia Rayne has just learned of her Father’s death and must return to Pier Part, Louisiana to take care of his affairs. She hasn’t seen her father in over eleven years, having left the bayou with her Mother to live in Baton Rouge when she was fifteen. Now at twenty six, she hasn’t seen her high school friend Gunner Robichaux since she left. And he’s certainly changed. He’s now a tall, hot, mouth watering morsel. And he’s interested in her. Really interested to the point of obsession. But Oly is afraid to trust anyone. Especially a man she’s so attracted to. But Gunner has loved her all his life and will do anything to make her his.

Update: Thank you for sharing your holiday wishes with me. I read through all of the comments–okay, I’ll confess I did that twice–because you made me cry.  There are just so many incredibly good people out in the world, and I was reminded of that fact as I read the comments. I know some of you are going through some very serious issues right now, and my prayers and good thoughts are going out to you.  Whether you made a big wish or a small one, I want that wish to come true.   I hope the holidays are good to you all–and that you all get exactly what you wished for.

I used the random generator to pick my winner (that’s how I’m picking all of the prizes unless the guest author has already picked), and the winner of the $50 Amazon.com gift card is Valerie M. Congratulations, Valerie!

This post is short and sweet–and it’s simply for wishes. What do you wish for this holiday season? Big or small, just share it. We should all take the time to make a wish, so please, make yours.

For the prize on this post? One random commenter will be selected to receive a $50 Amazon.com gift card—to help make her/his wish come true.

And I do hope that *all* of your holiday wishes come true. I hope the coming season brings magic to you!

I suspect they wish not to be eaten...what are you wishing for?

Update:  Now you’ve got me humming…thanks for sharing your holiday tunes! The winner of the $25 Victoria’s Secret gift card is…Cindi C! Congrats!

We’ve talked movies, shared some great recipes, even gone down under for the holiday…but what about the songs? You know, those holiday tunes that just get stuck in your head?  We’ve already got a radio station down here playing 24/7 holiday music. Even when I sleep, I feel like I hear that music.  Going on and on…

There are some holiday songs that I love. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer? Classic!

And Jingle Bells?  Of course! Love it! Even though my six-year-old requests that we always sing this version:

Jingle bells, Batman smells

Robin laid an egg

The batmobile lost its wheel

And the Joker got away. Hey!

There are some songs—and I confess this with shame—that I always mess up when I sing. I can’t remember the exact lyrics, so I kind of mutter my way through the song. Yeah, I’m thinking 12 Days of Christmas. By day 4, I’m lost.

What about you? What songs do you love? What songs do you—ahem—mumble along to b/c you’re like me and you just can’t remember the words?

The prize up for grabs this time is a $25 Victoria’s Secret gift card.  Good luck!  

Update: The winner of THE SWEETEST REVENGE is Heather B! Congrats!

It’s been a long party day…so I guess that means we should switch over and start talking about the party night!  Author Dawn Halliday is here to get us in the night mood. She’s sharing some of her holiday traditions and offering one lucky commenter a copy of THE SWEETEST REVENGE (which I think looks awesome!!). Dawn, thanks so much for coming by!

Holiday Traditions

I think one of the best things about the holiday season is the different traditions we share with family and friends. There are traditions that many people share (turkey on Thanksgiving, for example!), and traditions that are individual to families. For example, here are some of my family’s traditions:

(1) make sugar cookies from scratch and hand them out to friends and neighbors

(2) take down the Christmas tree on the 2^nd of January

(3) open 1 present on Christmas Eve; the rest on Christmas morning

(4) sing and listen to Christmas carols while decorating the tree

What are some of your family’s holiday traditions? One commenter will win an early copy of The Sweetest Revenge!

The Sweetest Revenge

December, 2012

Three Determined Women, One Fallen Man

When the Earl of Leothaid took Isabelle Frasier’s innocence, the resulting scandal drove Isabelle to England in humiliating exile. Seven years later, she befriends Anna Newton and Susan, Lady DeLinn, two other women whom Leo has similarly debauched and abandoned.

Isabelle joins with Anna and Susan to seek vengeance on the man who ruined them. But when her friends choose Isabelle as the object of their revenge, she faces an impossible choice: stand by Anna and Susan, or betray them by surrendering to her reawakening feelings for the wicked earl.

When Leo lost the woman he loved, he sank into a life of depravity and vice. Now, nothing and nobody can seep into his hard shell of a heart. But when three mystery women abduct him and shackle him in a dark cellar, Leo just might rediscover his humanity…and a love that may just lift him back into the light.

Warning: Revenge is a dish best served cold, and a woman scorned can deliver the coldest dish of all. Even a powerful alpha hero like the Earl of Leothaid will have no choice but to succumb to these women’s wicked plans…

www.dawnhalliday.com/coming-soon/

Update: Prize time!! The ALPHA ONE winners are: Spav, Leagh, Daphnie W, Bonnie H, and Caila F. The winner of the AVENGING ANGEL ARC is Rissa! Congratulations!

One of my favorite things to do during the holiday season is to sit on the couch, grab a big bowl of popcorn, and watch a holiday movie. Sure, I might even start a fire in the fireplace (provided, of course, that I’m not having a weather temp in the 70s). And when I do turn to these holiday films, there are certain ones that I just have to watch:

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

Here are a few of my favorite lines:

Bethany: “Is your house on fire, Clark?”

Clark: “No, Aunt Bethany, those are the Christmas lights.”

Oh, Aunt Bethany, I do love you.

Clark: “Can I refill your eggnog for you? Get you something to eat? Drive you out to the middle of nowhere and leave you for dead?”

Come on—haven’t we all wanted to take that drive to nowhere with a family member at one point?

Another flick I love…

Scrooged (Bill Murray makes me laugh every year.)

Favorite lines from Frank Cross: “I get it. You’re here to show me my past, and I’m supposed to get all dully-eyed and mushy. Well, forget it, pal, you got the wrong guy!”

And, of course, how could I make a list without It’s a Wonderful Life? And the bit from that movie that always stayed with me?

Clarence: “Strange, isn’t it?  Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around, he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?”

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What are you favorite holiday movies? Or lines?  I’ve got a lot of prizes to give on this one—a promised ARC of my next Fallen book (AVENGING ANGEL—due out in May of 2013), and five digital/or print copies of my first Harlequin Intrigue, ALPHA ONE. (ALPHA ONE will introduce readers to my dangerous Shadow Agents.) ALPHA ONE will release the first week of January, but I will order your copies now. That’s six winners—so be sure to comment!