Hi, everyone!  Today we’ve got the wonderfully talented Karin Tabke guest blogging with us!  (Karin, thanks so much for coming by!)  I love Karin’s books–and if you haven’t read her, well, then she’s got the perfect holiday release out and you should definitely put it on your list!  🙂  Welcome, Karin!

Thank you, Cynthia, for having me as your guest today!  I like it here.  🙂

So, I was over at Magical Musings earlier this week talking about the art of writing and actually mailing Christmas cards. I’m one of those people who always have the best of intentions, and then, well? Kerplunk, I drop the ball and promise myself next year it will be different.

So this year I have publicly pledged to not only write Christmas cards to everyone but to actually put a stamp on them and put them in the mail box! I’m really looking forward to sitting down and doing it.

Now, this isn’t something I will just sit down and do. No no no. I need mood. A rainy day, with a fire burning cheerfully in the fireplace, a hot cup of coffee, a kitty curled up in my lap, and most importantly, Christmas songs playing in the background. My husband already has his Christmas CD blaring in his car. I can hear Bing or Frank or my favorite, Dino, crooning about Frosty the Snowman every night as he rounds the corner home.

This morning I woke up to Doris Day and Dino singing about how cold it was outside. Usually I humbug this early inundation of merriment. I’m known in these parts as the Grinch. But as I dug out my too numerous to count boxes of Christmas cards the other day, I found myself humming a Christmas song. Today I can’t get Doris and Dino out of my head, and instead of fighting it, I have embraced it. Singing I have always known is good for the soul. Of course it’s not good for anyone’s soul around here when I start to sing out loud. I can’t carry a tune to save my soul, much less spread holiday cheer with it, but I decided I don’t care. I have my favorites, most of them are centered around the birth of Christ, and I like to sing, so I’m gonna sing until the new year, and maybe after!

My all time favorite Christmas song is The Little Drummer Boy, the Bob Seger version. I love Hark the Herald Angels. I think it’s the excitement of the song. I love Silent Night and Away in the Manger. But I love Rudolf, and Jingle Bells and the Doris Day and Dino song has grown on me. I love the upbeat fun songs, like Deck the Halls and It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. As I type this, the energy of the holidays is swirling around me, and though this year the budget is tighter, and not as many presents will clutter my living room floor, I am more than content to smile, listen to a Christmas carol and know that I am surrounded by what is most important to me: my family and friends. Life is good, and much too precious I have learned to scoff and say humbug whenever my husband blasts his Christmas CD and sings at the top of his lungs.

It’s also a lesson Kimberly Michaels my heroine in HAVE YOURSELF A NAUGHTY LITTLE SANTA, learned. I wasn’t sure about her when I began writing the story earlier this year, but she has done me proud and I learned a thing or two from her.

To think, it took a fictional character to get this old Grinch into the holiday spirit!

So, what is your favorite Christmas song? And do you read holiday romances? If you do, I know of this sexy little Santa story you might want to read. I personally think every girl should have her own NAUGHTY LITTLE SANTA tucked nice and snug in her stocking.

Chime in with your fave Christmas carol, and at the end of the day I’ll pick a lucky commenter and give away a copy of my backlist.

And Happy Holidays!

Karin Tabke
HAVE YOURSELF A NAUGHTY LITTLE SANTA, Pocket Star, Out Now!
MASTER OF TORMENT, Pocket Star, Nov, ’08
www.karintabke.com

(Quick note from Cynthia:  The comments from my blog on MySpace will be combined with those here on my Romance blog so that we can pick one overall winner. Thanks!)

I don’t like perfect characters–whether I’m writing them or reading about characters others have created, I don’t want perfect. To me, people aren’t perfect. We all have pasts, secrets, and scars (emotional or physical) that make us unique. I like for the characters in stories to be like this, too.

I’m in the middle of writing a paranormal story now. (Okay, technically not the middle, more the last 1/4.)  My heroine is strong, with one crazy tough exterior, but her past has made her broken inside. Not perfect–no way.  She gets pissy, she acts sometimes before she thinks, and she hurts when she remembers what came before in her life.

Yeah, I like her.

There are some authors that I think can create some seriously wonderful broken characters. The first one that comes to mind?  Kresley Cole.  Wow–when I first read A HUNGER LIKE NO OTHER, I was blown away. Her hero–um, I don’t know if you can get more broken than that.  But he worked. He worked so well that I’ve re-read that book at least five times.

What about you?  Do you like “broken” characters?  And you have you read any good broken stories lately?

A big THANK YOU to all of the folks who entered my newsletter contest! (What? You didn’t know I was running a newsletter contest in addition to my SIN A LITTLE contest? Ah, then you should sign up for my newsletter so you don’t miss out next time.)

The three winners are…Tiffany James, Kristi White, and Mary Lynch. Congratulations, ladies! I’ll be shooting you an email in just a few minutes so that you can claim your prize.

Again, thank you to everyone who entered this contest. And if you didn’t win, no worries–there are still plenty of chances to win in my SIN A LITTLE contest.

And, on a personal note…Happy birthday, Mom. Love you.

Now, I’m off to go vote!

Yep, I’m going to sneak this Booking It post in right before the deadline (um, that would be midnight since I like to post my Booking It items on Mondays).  As I write this post, the December issue of RT is right next to me…so many good books are coming out!

First up, Jeri Smith-Ready has a new book out. Actually, this is the last book in her Aspect of Crow trilogy, and it’s one I’ve been anticipating for quite a while. THE REAWAKENED is available now (though if you haven’t read the first two books, you should go snatch them up first!) and it is definitely on my buy-list.

Another book I’d like to read soon is WINTER KISSED. This one is a Nocturne, an anthology that features a story by Michele Hauf and one by Vivi Anna.   Winter themed paranormals–how cool.  🙂

Thinking about WINTER KISSED has reminded me…I’d love to read some more paranormal holiday stories. (I love a good Christmas paranormal!)  Years ago, I read A HOLIDAY OF LOVE (yep, holiday anthology) that included a paranormal story by Jill Barnett that–I’ll admit this without shame–made me cry.  It was such a great story. I think it may have been called “Daniel and the Angel.” True Barnett style. Funny, sweet, and, at the end, guaranteed to make the eyes water.

I want to find another Christmas story like that one!  Any recommendations?  Or, have you read that anthology, too? And what did you think?

Update: So, according to Nick’s calculations (and taking MySpace votes into account)…we have a pumpkin tie.  🙂  Better than losing, I say!!  And, in case you were curious–pumpkin number one was mine (because I do love the scary) and Nick created pumpkin #2.

Okay, the carving is done. The guts are gone. The pumpkins…they wait.

We need some help picking a winner this year, so will you vote for the pumpkin you like the best?

Pumpkin #1

The same pumpkin, in darkness:

Time for pumpkin number 2:

Again, in darkness:

So, vote for the pumpkin you like the best.  🙂  Until the winner is determined, the husband will keep telling me that his pumpkin is better.