Happy St Patrick’s Day everyone! (Or Happy Birthday Eve as I like to call it. )

So, it’s time to hand out the Birthday Presents! The five winners in this week’s Special Birthday Edition Friday Giveaway are…..Carol A from Massachusetts, Jennifer Y from Georgia, Maureen E, and Pat L and Aliza A both from the great state of NY. Congratulations everyone and thanks for all the enthusiastic entering!

I’ve also contacted the ten winners from my Cupid Contest on my regular website - so congrats to those winners as well! I’ll have a new contest on my website next month (new reader letter goes up the 15th of every month - details will be there) and check in here Monday morning for the next Friday Giveaway announcement.

Hope you all have fun plans for St Patty’s. Ever so convenient, having it on a Friday and all. Have a great weekend everyone!! Stay safe.

Tags: Writing by Donna
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So…no new Survivor this week AND My Phil did the TBC thing on Amazing Race. What’s up networks? Come on. Y’all are forcing me to watch American Idol results show. All of it, not just the last five minutes.

Of course, the basketball fan in me is happy because March Madness, woot! But still… (and hey, I haven’t talked sports since the Australian Open, so I’m overdue. Friendly warning.)

First off, Stevie sang tonight. Deep, appreciative sigh here. Have I mentioned that I love that man? Really enjoyed getting to see him sing again. He’s been around forever, and he still sounded just like the Stevie I know and love. I had to go download tunes to my iPod after that, get a Little Stevie Wonder Fix. For that, I guess I can forgive making me watch the whole ordeal.

And double bonus was that Ryan didn’t needlessly prolong the guillotine torture as he’s been made to in the past. Bandaid-off-in-one-rip axing tonight, folks. Worked for me. I liked the shorter format and that they spent more time “celebrating song” as Stevie said, by letting the man sing, than dragging out the inevitable to a ridiculous, cruel (for the contestants) degree.

Now, on to the travesty of the evening! No,not Melissa leaving. She was in my bottom two. Ace and Lisa in the bottom three? Definitely not the way I read things. At. All. Not yet, anyway. No, the travesty was that the Ace and Lisa placement meant Kevin was, at the very least, fourth from last. FOURTH, y’all. At the least. For all we know he was second. Or, god forbid, first. I will say he at least had the grace to look surprised. And don’t get me wrong, he’s a cute kid, but not the next American Idol. The craziness must end.

Wonder what next week’s theme is? (I shudder to even speculate, but Stevie Week went better than I thought it would with this group, so who knows….)

Currently reading? Room Service by Jill Shalvis. Mucho fun!!

Tags: Writing by Donna
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So, as my reward for not being in Deadline Hell any longer, I took myself to a matinee yesterday. Went to see Failure to Launch with SJ Parker and Mr Sexiest Man Alive. First, can I say, man, they both had really white teeth. And were seriously tan. It was a really fun movie. Loved the entire cast. Very quirky, which I wasn’t expecting. It was laugh out loud funny when normally I wouldn’t be laughing out loud. Of course, there was a really fun matinee crowd in there and we all had a great time. Very enjoyable. Highly recommended for escapist couple of hours of fun.

Okay…MAC time. Well, since My Phil dared to make Amazing Race a “To Be Continued” leg…I’m stuck MACing about American Idol.

Not much to say this early on except I think this is a very diverse group, not just in singing skills but in personality as well. And while there are definitely a number of the final 12 who shouldn’t be the winner, I can’t find myself actively rooting against any of them. It’s more a matter of who to root for the most.

So, they sang Stevie Wonder songs, which I thought would be a complete train wreck (given they’d already done a couple leading up to the final 12 and none had been well received.) I love Stevie and the man has one helluva catalogue (thank god, for this diverse group) but he’s also a wonderful singer who is really difficult to emulate. Not that they wanted to copy him, but he’s so distinct, putting your own stamp on his music was going to be no easy task. I really liked how each and every one of them seemed truly awed by having him there and extremely appreciative of the one-on-one help he gave them.

So, stand outs for me - sadly not Eliot or Mandisa tonight. It was like they had them all singing in some lower register or something and it rendered the songs somewhat dull. I am not a big Ace fan, though he is a cutie, he’s in my B Group tonight, but he was very entertaining. A shame he had to go in the forgettable first slot. And I’m not a Bucky fan, either, but he pulled it off way better than I’d expected. A really likable young man. They all are, gosh darnit.

My A Group for the night: Kat McPhee was the first true standout for me. Loved Taylor tonight, even his wild dancing. And Chris, though a bit flat in parts, really rocked the house. (But was it me or did the makeup crew go a bit overkill on all the contestants tonight? Chris looked downright airbrushed.)

B Group: Ace, Mandisa, Eliot, and Paris (who is grating on me, but girl can sang.)

C Group: Kellie, who I know people think she’s milking the naive thing, but I have a friend JUST like her and I swear to god, that’s not fake. So I find myself liking her, though I don’t think she’s that strong a singer, Bucky, Melissa — was I the only one who thought she wasn’t hitting it at all? I thought for sure they’d cut her to shreds, so color me surprised — Lisa, who is technically good, but I just feel removed from her performances. Not sure why, but she just doesn’t call to me, and last but not least, Kevin Covais, who has SO bought into his own press and seems painfully self unaware that all the sex symbol stuff is tongue in cheek. (I mean, he actually broke up with his longtime highschool girlfriend because he thought it would make him more “votable” if he was single. Please.)

And though I don’t always appreciate his delivery, especially to some of the younger contestants, I will admit here that 99% of the time, I agree with Simon. And I wish Paula would trade chairs with Randy again. They both contributed more cohesive advice in that reordered lineup.

Going home? Should be Kevin. Might be Melissa. (But I think the judges collective praise saved her.)

What do you say Blog Babes? Who did you vote for? Who should go home tonight?

Tags: Writing by Donna
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For those who have been asking…why yes, I guess I could have given you a little scoop about the book I just turned in, huh?

Well, the current title is THE GREAT SCOT, and it’s slated for release next March. (Which is like forever, I know, but 2007 will be a good year with lotsa releases, so it all pays out in the end, promise!) Anyhow, this would be Dylan Chisholm’s story. Reese, Brodie, & Tristan Chisholm had their stories told in BAD BOYS IN KILTS (on sale now! :-D) but Dylan demanded an entire book all for himself. (He’s not called the Great Scot for nuthin’. ) I had such a blast with this book as I totally indulged in my reality show addiction (hey, I knew it would come in handy some day!) I thought you might like a sneak peek at the back cover copy, which just landed in my inbox and won’t show up anywhere but in this blog until next month, when I put it in my homepage reader letter. So you all get the scoop! I thought the copy writer did a great job…the tag line really says it all!

Back Cover Copy…THE GREAT SCOT

In Bad Boys in Kilts, USA Today bestselling author Donna Kauffman introduced the divinely sexy Chisholm brothers. Now, get ready for oldest brother Dylan, a man whose duty to his heritage will not be upended by anything—or anyone. But passion has a way of throwing everything off-kilter…

LOCH AND LOAD, BABY!

Location coordinater Erin McGregor knows she’s finally found the perfect setting for her romance reality show, Your Prince Charming. The Chisholm clan stronghold in the Scottish Highlands has it all—romantic moors, windswept cliffs, misty lochs, a four-hundred-year-old castle, and possibly the most gorgeous man she’s ever laid eyes on in chieftain Dylan Chisholm. Nothing like a guy with a sexy accent and a big…turret to make a girl all wonky-kneed. Right. No time for wonky. Time to get over her fixation with the Hot Scot and get back to business. And Erin will…any minute now…

With his three youngest brothers spoken for, Dylan Chisholm is at the top of his village’s matchmaking list. Now they’ve sent some impish, forthright American lass up to tempt him into a devil’s bargain: He can let the Yanks use his castle to film their foolish romance show, and in exchange, he’ll get the money his village desperately needs. It took a tragic loss to get Dylan to embrace his heritage and his duty. He can’t turn away from such a promising offer. But keeping his thoughts off Erin McGregor is another matter. She’s everything he never wanted in a woman, and suddenly, she’s everything he craves in every way possible…

Due out March 2007…I’ll share the cover art as soon as I get it!

And more news to come on the new series I’m launching next year…the first book of which I will be starting on just as soon as I recover from this one!

Tags: Writing by Donna
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That sound of pure glee you heard over the weekend? Well, sure, it was partly because it was a couple of gorgeous, early spring days here in northern Virginia (so much for one last shot at the slopes!) But mostly that was me doing the Happy Dance of Joy after finally FINALLY finishing this book. The Book That Wouldn’t End, is officially printing and will be officially on its merry way to NYC today. So…we have many causes to celebrate this week!

With Deadline Hell over for a few months, and ten winners to be selected on my regular website contest this Wednesday (you all did enter, didn’t you? If not, there’s still time! Click on the Donna’s Homepage Link in the righthand column of this blog and you’ll see the instructions in my reader letter. There’s Godiva involved, so you might want to hurry. ) and a certain birthday coming this weekend, I figure why not add to the party?

SO! For this week’s Friday Giveaway, there will be five winners. Yep, FIVE! I was going to give more books away to the one winner, then thought, you know, more winners would be even better..so, same deal, send an email to donna@donnakauffman.com with PICK ME! in the subject line, and name your choice from my bookshelf (see link in right hand column)…and a backup choice in case I’m out of the first. In Friday morning’s blog, I will name five winners. (And yes, you can enter this contest and my regular website contest and be eligible to win both as they are completely separate.)

Good luck!

My adorable seven-year-old nephew is in town from St. Louis, visiting his gramma while his folks are traveling, so I get to play tour guide today. Dulles Air & Space Museum, here we come! (I love that place.) Something about walking in and seeing the space shuttle parked right in front of me (not to mention that huge black stealth jet) gives me chills every time. Not a bad way to spend a warm, rainy Monday. Then tomorrow it’s back to the grind.

Can’t wait to tell you all about the new series I’m starting for Kensington. It’s going to be SO much fun!!

Happy First of the Week to all.

Tags: Writing by Donna
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A BIG thank you to all of you who rushed out last week and picked up your copy of BAD BOYS IN KILTS - thanks to your ardent and much appreciated support, BBiK debuted on the BookScan Bestseller adult fiction list at #54!!! WOOT!

And hey, if you don’t have your copy yet, don’t despair. You’re more than welcome to see if you can help it stay on the list next week.

So, on with the Fun Friday Stuff - this week’s book giveaway winner is Muirshield (which is all I have to go on, sorry! No name or addy supplied.) I’m sure you’ll figure out who you are and let me know where to send your prize. Congrats, congrats!!

Tune in Monday to see what next week’s prize will be. And hey, since it’s my birthday next week, I think YOU should get the presents. So maybe we’ll have more than one winner. Party’s right here!

Currently reading: Dirty Blonde by Lisa Scottoline. Witty suspense writer. It’s a killer combination. Check her out!

What are you all currently reading??

Now…on with all the MAC that’s fit to print (and maybe some that’s not, but I’m not happy, so deal with it.)

Project Runway Finale….

Now, none of the lines wowed me, sure, although I will say that they looked a lot better on moving models than in the still pictures I sneaked a look at online. But I’m not a happy camper with the outcome. Yeah, yeah, I like Chloe just as much as the next person. But, you see, she has a store already. She’s in the business, albeit in Houston. (Nothing against Houston, y’all, but it’s not NYC, Paris, or Milan.) And her stuff was really….shiny. All of it. Daniel on the other hand, he’s young, new to the fashion scene, very diversified, (and impossibly adorable, not that I’m that shallow or anything)…and it just seemed to me that he’d be the perfect beneficiary of a year’s mentorship with Banana Republic’s design team. Call me crazy! Mostly I was just crazy happy Santino came in third. But still. Pout. Take the job with Kors, Dan!

Oooh, bonus feature…random American Idol MAC (yeah, yeah, I got sucked in. Sue me.) - I picked Kevin, Will, Melissa, and Kinnik to go home. Good thing I don’t gamble. 50% success rate? Not all that great.

I was glad Melissa stayed. She’s at least fun to watch, though she won’t be long for this contest, I fear. I wasn’t upset to see Ayla go, she wouldn’t have gone all the way either, and she has that basketball scholarship thing to fall back on. (Could she BE any taller?/Chandler voice) Surprised about Kevin staying. Adorable, sure. The next American Idol? No. But he’s entertaining anyway. Still, I was sad to see him stay over Gedeon.

Gedeon might have been an awkward kind of guy (mild understatement) but the kid could sang. Seriously. Best sing out ever. A shame he wasn’t more a mainstream kinda guy or I think he’d have gone far in this contest. I understand his father passed away while he was in this competition, so he’s really been up against it. Quirky guy, but my heart goes out to him.

(And speaking of quirky, I enjoy Taylor’s voice, but something is not right with the bunnysuit man.)

Not surprised to see Will or Kinnik go home (since, duh, I picked them to go.) Will wasn’t handling the pressure all that well I don’t think, but he’s a cutie (Bobby Brady anyone?) Kinnik had all kinds of power in her voice, just not a lot of control. A shame - talented girl. But I think it was the right call based on performance.

So…we have our top 12. Interesting, colorful, and diverse group of kids. Should make for a fun season.

(And I don’t know what to make of Kellie Pickler, but man, I gotta love her. Spence did something really dorky yesterday, looks up at me, and goes,”I’m a mink!” Cracked. Me. Up. Definitely part of the Kauffman Household Lexicon from now on. So thank you, Kellie, for that. It will be the gift that keeps on giving.)

Okay, now on to Big Daddy, aka Survivor…

Wow, interesting week. I liked the immunity/reward twist. And as much as I’d have loved to see La Mina get their act together (has there ever been such a fit, together, happy tribe that has done so poorly?) Altho, to be fair, the contests are usually close, but it just freaks me out (and entertains me greatly, sorry) that Casaya keeps winning when they can barely make a fire. Mostly because I adore Cirie and I just get tickled to death watching her deal with the loonies. (Yes, Aras, I’m looking at your yogi behind, too.) The reward was awesome. But is it me? Why is it Casaya never seems to get sick? I’d have thought gorging on all that food would have made them all vastly ill later. Of course, they might have and we just didn’t get to see it (which is fine. Less puking visuals, the happier I am.)

So…second only to watching La Mina possibly send Shane to EI and thereby saving him (just for grins…he really is whacko, and he needs to go, but that would have amused me greatly. And it’s all about my amusement, after all.) Anyway, so second to that scenario was watching them save Sally (because the men really have to start leaving this show, too.) Loved it. Was sorry to see Dan go, but I was happy he got to share his stories of space flight before he did. I think they made the right choice with what they had left to choose from, but I would have never picked this team to get Pagong’d the way they are.

And waaaah (because I’m spoiled) on only having 2 shows in the next 3 weeks, but they look pretty entertaining, so at least there is that. Show of hands on who the injured party is? Early odds would say Shane, just because he looks about one bad snail away from losing his sh*t all together. I only hope it’s not Cirie.

Have a great weekend everybody!

Tags: Writing by Donna
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It’s not the best shot, but I thought I’d show off our most recent addition (like any proud new mama. )

Not much time today, I’m on the run…so just a quick reminder, it’s your last day to get your Friday Giveaway entry in! (Check out last Monday’s blog for the How-To-Enter info.)

MAC on the Project Runway finale later…I’ll add it on this evening when I get back in. Ciao!

Tags: Writing by Donna
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The Glamazon’s are out. I wanted to like them more than I did. For someone who realllllly always wanted to be on Amazing Race, was I the only one who wondered if she’d ever actually, you know, seen the show? “This is haaaard!” Really? “I hate this car! I can’t do this! We’ll never make it!” My god she whined. Could you have seen them on the inevitable India leg when late-race killer fatigue has set in? Me either. Her poor sister, was all I could think. (And hey, I know I’d be whiny at times too…but hopefully not that defeated by the second leg. The second leg, people. They hadn’t even gotten out of Brazil yet.) I was surprised to hear her say how badly she wanted this - her sister, yes, but not her. Maybe it was the wanting it so badly, only to face the harsh reality that you’re really not cut out for that sort of thing after all that had her so down. Ah well…tchau, Frosties!

While I’m bitching, Fran, could you be a little more optimistic please? If any team should know by now that the race isn’t over until Uncle Phil boots you off the Amazing Bathmat, it’s these two people. (And I’m having a harder time believing their bio, watching them race. Mountain climbers? Really?) Although, I do give her big props as a cancer survivor, doing this race. So, go Fran! But come on, have more faith!

A show of hands from everyone who would love to see Lake leave the program? Preferably in a really painfully humiliating way. All in all, the rest of the teams seem like really solid, decent folks who are totally enjoying the experience. I know we have to have the token villain team, but his over the top intensity provides the kind of tension that actually detracts from the pleasure I take in watching the show. And he’s a dentist….a dentist with a self proclaimed lack of compassion. Would you want this guy putting sharp objects in your mouth? **runs screaming**

Favorite team is still Team Nerd. They are having such a great time. I like the Hippies, enjoy the Mother/Daughter team, too (Desiree is incredibly naturally beautiful, is she not?) and I like Ray and Yolanda as well. The Beach Bums are on my last nerve with all the babe chatter. You’re on a race around the world and all you can think about is scoring some sex while racing? That schtick gets old real fast. They’re trying too hard to be Those Guys and would probably be funny and endearing if they’d just be themselves. The Pinks are on again/off again with me. MoJo races well, but Mo needs to calm way the heck down. Probably because I’m afraid I’d be like her if I did this race. Not meaning to be all hyper about every last thing, but a constant victim to my own adrenaline rush.

Good episode. Went too fast, though. The teams seem very spread out now, time wise, from first to last. Next week? Russia! Woot!

Tags: Writing by Donna
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Well, I have no willpower, so I read all the Oscar news in the paper yesterday morning and as it seemed to be a rather underwhelming event, I didn’t feel compelled to watch it. However, that doesn’t hold true for the E! pre-show I TiFauxed. Mostly because, am I the only one who thinks watching Isaac Mizrahi interviewing stars is like watching two cars swerve toward each other at high speeds? You want to cover your eyes and flinch at the potential distastrous impact, but you can’t help peeking all the same. In Isaac’s World, we’re all divine, darling. I want to live in Isaac’s World.

So…mostly the women looked quite glam and stunning. Loved Keira Knightly’s necklace. So nice to see something other than diamonds (and possibly more valuable!) I just watched her in Pride and Prejudice. Loved the movie. Perhaps my most favorite telling of that book yet. MacFayden has the most soulful eyes, does he not? Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, fashion do’s. Lots of stunners. As for the What WAS Her Stylist Thinking? dresses, there weren’t that many, at least that I saw in my limited viewing. But the one I did see was the Bjork Swan Dress of the evening for me. (Okay, so maybe that’s an overstatement, but still…) And no, I’m not talking about Naomi Watts’ tangerine dream muppet dress, though it was an iffy choice for me. I’m talking about, yes, the Bow That Ate Charlize Theron! And she’s usually such a dependable glam goddess, too. I guess we all have to take our chances, but honestly, Charlize, you had that flown in special? You needed a second seat just for that bow. The dress itself was lovely…gorgeous construction. But if Santino had put that giant shoulderpiece on one of his dresses Michael and Nina would have bodily carried him off the runway as having finally lost it for certain.

Speaking of Project Runway (nice segue, doncha think?) this is the final week. So I’ll admit up front that I went online and found sites with pics of the lines the final three showed at Olympus Fashion Week. (Four if you count Kara, who had to show a dummy line so no one would know the exact final three.) I was really underwhelmed by all of the lines (Kara’s actually had the most focused point of view - I know, go figure - tho it still had some head scratching pieces.) But it’s taken the edge off my excitement over the finale. I know, serves me right for peeking. I’ll never learn.

Tonight though? More Raaaaaaaaaace! And more Phil and his Amazing Eyebrow. Can’t wait.

Oh…and a Miss Lemon update. She’s had a few panicky moments adapting to all new faces, but she’s had a lot to adjust to in a single 24 hour period and has done remarkably well. By last evening, she was quite calm and making conversational noises at Zazu, who responded like all males do to attention from a pretty girl and immediately showed off by climbing all the way to the top of his hanging play gym and swinging upside down by one foot. Some things are not species specific. She was marginally impressed.

Don’t forget to enter this week’s giveaway (see yesterday’s post for details.) The entries are coming in fast and furious - so join in!

Tags: Writing by Donna
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Well, I missed the Oscars last night, but I taped some of the preview stuff, so later tonight I can curl up with a mug of cookie dough ice cream and find out the really important things, like who looked great, who looked…interesting… and who arrived with whom.

The reason I missed the Oscars was because one of my sisters showed up with her cockatiel in tow and, long story short, I will be giving Miss Lemon (the bird’s name, not my sister’s) a new home. I will share a picture in the next day or two after she settles in. She is an absolute sweetheart, very cuddly and adorable. However, thus far, a few hours in, Zazu, my parrot, is withholding judgment on this new exotic creature who has invaded his domain. But I think after they stare at each other across a crowded room for a few days, they might feel a bit more flockish towards one another. We’ll see!

So…this week’s giveaway…let’s make it Reader’s Choice! Any book from my website bookshelf (click the link in the right hand column to go directly there.) Email me at donna@donnakauffman.com with Pick Me!! in the header and please include a second choice in case I’m out of the first. I’ll draw a winner on Friday morning. Good luck!

Happy Monday everyone.

Tags: Writing by Donna
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