Yes, Virginia

One of my favorite Christmas traditions…. found @ newseum

“DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old.
“Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.
“Papa says, ‘If you see it in THE SUN it’s so.’
“Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?

“VIRGINIA O’HANLON.
“115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET.”

VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You may tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

s

Guest blogging at Borders True Romance

Come chat with me! There’s a contest…

Tis The Season

I have to admit, I was not in the Christmas spirit this year.  Our daughter’s children are 14, 15 and 18.  They want tech stuff, money and clothes—boring!  I did get the tree up, I’ve done some shopping, but I haven’t wrapped any presents. 

But then, yesterday we got news that our son and d-i-l’s first baby will be a boy!  (Due May 12th)  Excitement filled the air!!!  Trucks and cars and toys that make noise—OH MY!  The excitement is back!!!! 

It’s funny how children can bring back the spirit of Christmas

Hugs,

Karen Kelly

Author Interview…Author Joss Ware

Beyond the Night

(Hey guys…we’re doing deviation from the norm here and doing a guest interview. It’s cross-posted from my group blog, Vamps and Scamps.)

Author Joss Ware and I met (online) this year and I’ve gotta say, I think I’m going to adore this new series she’s got going. I already read and loved the first book~you can read more about it here.

We got to chatting back and forth and decided to do an interview here so people can get to know her. (also makes for very easy blog posting for me…)

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Vamps and Scamps Blog Interview with Joss Ware:

V&S: What kind of stories can we expect from Joss Ware?

Joss Ware: Sexy, fast-paced, gritty ones. With zombies. J

V&S: I understand it’s a new series. Care to tell us about it?

Joss Ware: My new series is a paranormal romance set in a post-apocalyptic world, about fifty years after the major catastrophic events that destroyed most of the human race and the bulk of its infrastructure.

Unlike the world of Mad Max and his Thunderdome, the world of Envy (which is the largest city in this post-cataclysmic environ) is one of lush overgrowth and Mother Nature flexing her muscles, showing Man that she is, after all, The Boss. Now that man is not there to maintain his buildings, she’s taken over with a vengeance.

There are zombies, some villainous immortal beings who wear crystals and keep the humans repressed, and lots of wild animals on the loose. And, of course, some sexy heroes that appear on the scene to save what’s left of mankind from the immortal Strangers.

Fifty years after the Change, these five men emerge from a mysterious cave to find their world has been destroyed. Nothing is left.

While in the cave, these heroes have each acquired their own paranormal ability, and must learn to live with the blessing—and curse—that it is. In the mean time, they join the fight of the Resistance against those who would repress the human race and find the women meant to be by their sides.

Action and adventure, romance and mystery abound in what I think of as a gritty, edgy world.

V&S: Where did the idea for this new series come from?

Joss Ware: I’ve read so many thriller novels (Clive Cussler anyone?) and seen tons of movies where the safety of the world is at stake, where the villains are power-hungry people bent on destroying the human race as we know it. In the end, the good guys and gals always get there in time to foil their plans…but what if, one time, they didn’t?

That’s where I got the idea to write a series set in a world in which the bad guys succeeded with their plan…and now the good guys have to not only find a way to survive in this new world, but also to destroy the villains.

V&S: Do you listen to music while you write? What kind?

Joss Ware: I do! I listen to a lot of different things, but one of my favorite artists to listen to is Michael W. Smith. I also love Jeff Buckley and the Harry Potter soundtracks. The idea for me is to listen to something I know so well that it can fade into the background.

I also have a little bit of a playlist that I put together for the Envy books because the songs seemed to fit. Some day (heh) I’ll be posting it on my website!

V&S: I know some authors don’t like to read as much while working on a project. What about you?

Joss Ware: I do read, but not as much as I would like to. And I rarely read in the same genre that I’m writing in. While I was working on the Envy books, I did a lot of mystery reading and also historical romance. As well as some other comfort reads (ie, re-reads of favorites).

V&S: What sort of projects you have the future?

Joss Ware: I’m messing around with a bunch of ideas for books to continue the series after this initial triple back-to-back. I also have an idea for a young adult novel without paranormal elements. (Wow!)

V&S: How about some fun questions… name two in your TBR stack.

Joss Ware: Um…*shuffling over to towering TBR*…Kathryn Smith’s latest Nightmare book, and the new J D Robb.

V&S: What is your favorite color? If you had to pick a color to suit Joss’s books, what would it be?

Joss Ware: My favorite color is green. All shades of it, because there’s one for any mood or object. My kitchen is lime green. I love avocados and their color. I think a rich velvet green is gorgeous!

A color to suit my books would be a deep forest green because, as I mentioned above, the books are dark and they’re also in an environment that’s overgrown and sprouting everywhere. J

V&S: If you had to pick a song to describe your books, what would it be?

Joss Ware: There’s one line in the Jeff Buckley song “Lover, You Should Have Come Over” that completely describes the series, at least from the heroes’ points of view: “Sometimes a man must awake to find…he has no one.”

This is just exactly what happened to the men in my books. They went into a cave and came out fifty years later, unchanged and unaged, but to find that everything they knew was gone. Completely destroyed.

V&S: What was the last movie you saw?

Joss Ware: Julie & Julia. Loved it!

V&S: What is the next book you plan to read?

Joss Ware: **closes eyes, points to TBR**opens eyes** The Mistress of the Art of Death. I love a good historical mystery, and the Middle Ages is my favorite time period.

Holiday Traditions I Stole From Romance Books

 

Christmas is tradition on steroids. The colors, the decorations we haul out from the attic year after year, the songs…maybe a little jazzier but the ones we’ve heard all our lives. The food.

 

And we’ve made our own traditions unique to our family and friends. Opening presents on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas morning? Christmas turkey? Ham? Roast beef? Pizza? Go to grandma’s house? Does she fly to yours?

 

What traditions did you think up to suit your family? We leave cookies and a martini for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. Santa needs something to keep him warm.

 

Did you ever take a tradition from a romance book and make it your own?

 

In one book I read where the family always had Sunday dinner at the parents’ house. Yeah, you’re right, that’s not just Christmas but it is one of the best things I ever did. Now that I’m an empty nester this makes sure we all get together at least once a week, arguments and all.

 

But I have stolen Christmas ideas too. Like Christmas PJs. We all get them to sleep in on Christmas Eve. By then we need them really bad and new ones make for nice Christmas pictures the next morning. I thought that one as genius!

 

And food. No turkey and ham for us we all dive in and make homemade ravioli. You should see my kitchen! I think I got this idea from a romance set in Italy at Christmas. Great book. Great food! Wish I had a maid.

 

And I read in one organized book…probably an inspirational…where they all took turns to open the presents and not all diving in at once. That makes Christmas last all morning and not just ten minutes.

 

Of course there are the other fun, ideas that aren’t exactly family oriented… I got a Santa-baby hat that’s worn to bed on Christmas night…forget the pj’s. And there is that very best, very personal, prezzie under the tree wrapped in just a big read bow. Icing is great for other things than Christmas cookies and that fur on Santa’s hat is really ticklish. You get the picture.

 

These are my favorite Christmas traditions I got from reading romances. Do you have some to share and did they make your Christmas a little more special?

 

I’ll give away a copy of Tails of Love from the answers.

 

Have a wonderful Christmas and enjoy all those traditions and make a some great new ones.

 

Hugs,

Dianne Castell

DianneCastell.com

 

 

Hunter’s Need…now available…

Hunter's Need

I’ve posted the first chapter in its entirety at Scribd. You can read it here.

On Wednesday, 12/2, there’s a launch party @ bitten by books and you can enter to win book $$$.

Here’s one last, little excerpt from Hunter’s Need, and I’ve gotta admit…it’s one of my favorite scenes.

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“I gave you your answer, Ana. Can’t you answer mine?”

I love you. She wanted to tell him, wanted to throw her arms around his neck and tell him, over and over. But she held back. This wasn’t right. Wasn’t good, not for him. Even back when she let herself daydream about having Duke in her life, she’d known it wasn’t right. Duke deserved better than her. He deserved so much more.

“This isn’t good for you.” She blurted the words out before she lost her nerve. Pulling away from him, she jerked her shirt back up but her hands shook too much to button it. Instead, she just held it closed between her breasts. “This is bad for you. I’m bad for you. You’ve got to know that. Even if you…even if you think you feel how you’re saying, you have to know I’m bad for you. I’m not the kind of woman you need in your life, Duke. I’m not strong enough. You need somebody strong. Somebody more like you—”

Duke reached out and hooked his hand in the front of her jeans, gently. She resisted. He jerked harder and she crashed into his chest with a startled, “Ooommph.”

“I know what I need,” he growled. When she would have argued, he covered her lips with his finger. “I know what I want, what I need. And it’s you, Ana. If I wanted somebody like me, I would have gone chasing after Kendall or half a dozen other women that I’ve met. I didn’t go after them, because I was too hung up on you and I have been, from the first damn time I laid eyes on you. I love you. I want you. I need you.”

“But—”

He cut her words off with a hard, short kiss. “Don’t want to hear it,” he snarled. “I love you. You don’t get the right to tell me what I need, or what I deserve. That’s my call, princess. Now give me an answer—do you love me?”

__________________________

If you’ve enjoyed the snippets, I hope you’ll pick it up…either at your local indie store, local bookstore… wherever. )

Want to order?

Borders

Amazon

BN.com

Bamm.com

Powell’s

Indiebound

I’m doing a few signings to for the release… if you live in or near the area, would love to meet you!

Waldenbooks

12/1/09

7-9pm

Oxmoor Center

7900 Shelbyville Rd

Louisville, KY

* * * * *

Destinations

12/4/09

6:30-8:30pm

604 East Spring Street

New Albany, IN

* * * * *

Barnes & Noble

12/5/09

1-3pm

9455 Civic Centre Blvd

West Chester, OH

Happy Thanksgiving

If you celebrate it    If not, then have a great day.  Maybe think about what you are thankful for.  I’m most thankful for my family.  My husband, my children and their spouses, my grandchildren and the one that’s on the way—I’m truly blessed.

 

I’m thankful for the friends who are there for me during the hard times.  I know they have my back.  They celebrate the good times as well.  

 

I’m thankful for the fans who buy my books, the booksellers and librarians who stock it.  For anyone who has ever said—you’ve got to read Karen’s books   

 

And I’m thankful I did a lot of the cooking and cleaning yesterday and don’t have as much to do today    Have a happy day tomorrow 

 

Hugs,

Karen

The Best thing about Thanksgiving is…

It’s here! My favorite holiday. I love Thanksgiving and hate that it gets trampled over by the Christmas rush. Thanksgiving is so much more than the heralding in of Santa. If you’re like me this weekend is nuts with getting things done. Thank heavens the leaves are all finally raked! What a job! Today I get out the holiday dishes. I’m a dish nut. I love china and linens and crystal. I especially love holiday dishes because they make every meal more festive. I dug out the Thanksgiving decorations of pumpkins, apples, dried arrangements and spiced scented candles a month ago. But of course the best thing about Thanksgiving is getting the family home. I have one daughter in NYC and another in Baltimore. They’ll be flying in on Wed. My son got married so we get to add another chair to the table. Always wonderful to add a chair and not take one away. We did that last year. Thanksgiving will be a day of everyone cooking and talking and laughing. Celebrating being together, giving thanks. What are your Thanksgiving plans? Going away? Having family over? Crashing by yourself and giving thanks you don’t have to be anywhere for the day? What makes Thanksgiving special for you? I’ll give away a Hot and Irresistible T-shirt from the answers. Have a great Thanksgiving. Hugs, Dianne Castell DianneCastell@hotmail.com

Out of the closet

I’m coming out of the closet long enough to write my blog.  Yes, I’m getting organized—again.  I really doubt I’ll ever be truly organized but I’m getting rid of a lot of stuff and trying to contain everything else rather than having it scattered all over the house.  This is what I love about finishing a contract.  I always feel as though I’m starting new again. 

 

I’m putting fresh shelf paper in the kitchen.  I got the sticky kind.  Karl was cutting up peppers from the garden that is still producing and I decided to tackle the cabinats.  Karl is the type that if I start something, he’ll try to finish it.  I’m not sure why.  Anyway, I had this long piece of sticky shelf paper and was trying to get it on the far back corner and work from there.  He decides to help.  About three minutes later we looked like flies on flypaper.  Although it’s a little wrinkled in places we did manage to get a few cabinets done.  Onward and upward. 

 

The bad news is being out of work.  I’ve sent my 3 new proposals to my agent and he loved them—whew!  Now to see if the editor feels the same way.  This is always the scary part.   Prayers are welcome

 

Okay, I’m off to tackle another cabinet. 

Karen Kelley

A little guy in need of an early Christmas

Saw this on FB and wanted to share.

FYI, I checked it on out Snopes.com and it looks very legit… if you can spare a Christmas card for this little guy, I’m sure he’d love it.

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ATTENTION FACEBOOK FAMILY & FRIENDS! Diana Harrison Biorkman has a 5-yr old son in his last stages of a 2 1/2 year battle with Neuroblastoma cancer.

They are celebrating Christmas next weekend and Noah loves Christmas cards. Please take a minute to send a card to: Noah Biorkman, 1141 Fountain View Circle, South Lyon MI 48178. THANKS. PLEASE REPOST THIS MSG & EMAIL YOUR BUDDIES! this was sent to me pass it on