So, last night went as I thought it might. Buh bye, Lauren. Buh bye, Pasha. And, as much as I like Pasha, and as much as Neil hasn’t been a fave until recently, I do think the right two went home. I did think it was a little overly dramatic to do the whole lock down thing, but whatever.

So…in the finals tomorrow night, we have Lacey, Sabra, Danny, and Neil. Not sure if, out of all the guys who competed, these are the two I’d have put in the finals, though they are very, very good dancers. But, of the girls, I think the system worked out pretty well.

I think one of the girls should win the title this year, but it’s a toss up which one would do it. I think I’d go with Sabra, though I like them both. Or, it could be Danny. We’ll see!

Don’t forget to enter this week’s SHaQ Attack contest - details in Monday’s post!

Tags: Writing by Donna
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Happy Monday everyone!

I had exciting news over the weekend and wanted to share. The Black Sheep & The Princess landed on Bookscan’s bestseller list! Woo hoo! Thanks to all of you Blog Babes who helped make that happen.

The reviews have been coming in as well and I’m excited by the positive reception the new series is receiving. (Which is doubly great as there are two more already in the chute, ready for release next year.)

Here are a few of the comments…(and I didn’t even have to pay them to say this! )

Bad boy Donovan MacLeod, illegitimate son of the drunken gandyman, returns to the Catskills camp where he was scorned as a teenager to find out why Kate Sutherland is giving up her mother’s inheritance to turn the place into a camp for disabled children. Kate is getting the cold shoulder in town when she seeks workers to rehab the camp and law enforcement officials to find out who is vandalizing it.

Donovan once lusted after Kate, and she after him, but neither acknowledged their feelings. Now he volunteers himself and his organization, Trinity, to help her, knowing that his NYPD experience is more than adequate preparation for the job.

Kauffman provides such clever red herrings that the solution to the mystery is a real surprise, as well as funny, but it is watching good sex turn into love that makes this such a winner. And Trinity is shorthand for the “unholy trinity,” referring to Donovan and two friends who were the hellions of their long-ago camp days. Readers will be happy to know that his cohorts’ tales will follow.

— Mary K. Chelton, Booklist

I think I am really going to like this new series; the Unholy Trinity seems to be pretty much irresistible. Mac is the ultimate sexy bad boy and I can see why Kate was so drawn to him in her teens. Grown up, he is even better. Mac finds that Kate is nothing like the princess he remembered, except that she is as beautiful as ever. It is obvious that the two of them have unresolved feelings for each other, leading to some very hot love scenes. The sabotage of Kate’s camp gives an aura of danger and suspense to the whole story. I loved the setting of a remote camp in the Catskills, which added to the suspense nicely. The author throws in some really good twists and turns and you really do not know who is harassing Kate until the very end. I cannot wait to read about Rafe and Finn.

— Maura, Coffee Time Romance

If any of you happening Blog Babes want to add reviews from the reader point of view, it’s always great to see more comments online at either Amazon or Barnes & Noble. The more the merrier!

Thanks for letting me horn toot this morning. I hope you all had a fantabulous weekend. I got my air conditioning fixed and Lake Casa del Kauffman is now more of a small pond, so all is good. I’ll be back tomorrow with final four Dance MAC!

Oh yeah….this week’s SHaQ Attack Contest question:

As I start the new Men of Trinity, Inc. Black Sheep series, I am still getting mail on my other two Bad Boy series’ featuring two different families, each with four brothers who all had their own stories.

Your scavenger hunt quest? Name the two families and the guys who belong to them. Send your entries to donna@donnakauffman.com with “Bad Boys!” in the subject line. I’ll draw one winner from the batch and announce it Friday Morning.

Good luck! Now for the important question….who is going home tonight on So You Think You Can Dance? My guess….Lauren and Pasha.

Tags: Writing by Donna
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So, my air conditioner decided it had had enough of this heat. It informed me of this decision by letting the condensation line go bad so my basement and family room could experience the joy of a few inches of water. Woo hoo, my air conditioner really knows how to party.

Once I recover from all the excitement and fun, I will get to that Top Chef MAC. I can tell you that Joey went home week before last, which was a Very Good Thing for this viewer. Now if we can just get Sweaty Howie out after him, my joy with this season will be complete. I will give you the latest on that next week.

In the meantime, here is this week’s SHaQ Winner. I asked you all to tell me your favorite title of mine, and out of a landslide of entries, it was fun for me to see the wide range of answers. Fun for all! But there can be only one winning blog babe, and this week, that esteemed honor goes to Linda H! Woo hoo, Linda!!!

Tune in next week, stay cool, and read something hot!

Tags: Writing by Donna
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So…last night? Dance, Dance was freaking awesome. Dayum.

We had six dancers, two dances each, one solo each, one hour show. It was alotta show and it was H-A-W-T hot.

The jidges? Uncle Nigel, Crack Mary, and Debbie Allen, Honey.

First up, Lacey and Pasha perform a Dave Scott hip hop routine and if I haven’t mentioned how much I love Dave Scott, please let me give a Crack Mary scream right now. I would lurve for him to do an opening night results show number in a very big way. Loved the whole manequin thing, loved Pasha’s nerdy hip hop. Their second dance was a smooth waltz, and while it wasn’t as grabbing for me as their first, it was so technically difficult, I was really impressed.

Second couple is Lauren and Danny, who are arguably the most professional dancers in terms of actual work history, so it was interesting seeing them work together. They got a Emo Mia contemporary routine that, though I didn’t get the alien aspect of it AT ALL, I did absolutely adore the joyousness and lightheartedness of the whole thing. How nice to see a dance about two people just thrilled to be in each other’s personal space, instead of all the angst ridden stuff. Very nice. Their second routine was a Doriana, Mistress of the Disco routine, and it was also really difficult, but, as with couple numero uno, it wasn’t my fave of their pair of dances.

Last pair is Sabra and Neil in a Jazz routine I thought was simply outstanding just for the originality, which is saying something with the night’s performances. Loved this. Muchly. They pulled a paso doble for their second routine, and it was also technically incredible, though, again, not my favorite of their pair of dances. However, Neil’s costume gets a 12 from me.

The solos were definitely stronger this time around. Most Improved Award goes to Lacey, who actually put together a cohesive routine. My least favorite was Lauren’s but mostly because it was too frenetic for me. Sabra was lovely as always. Danny was pure gorgeousness to watch in his solo, easily again the best of the night. Neil’s was actually pretty interesting. And though I enjoyed Pasha’s attempt to put something interesting into his partner-dancer-having-to-do-a-solo routine, it was number three on the guy list tonight.

All in all, however, an absolutely amazing night all the way around. I have NO idea who I’d send home. If I had to send a pair, for me, it would probably be Lauren for the girls, and, hate to say it, Pasha for the guys. Neil is an easy pick, but he was more compelling for me tonight. Go figure. No matter what, it’s going to be brutal.

More brutal? The results show isn’t until next Monday!! Not fair, Fox!

Discuss! Who is going home? Who is in the Final Four? Who wins??

Tune in tomorrow for some Top Chef MAC n Cheeeeese!

Tags: Writing by Donna
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Hi Blog Babes! Hope you had a fantabulous weekend. I had a big one, with our shop’s huge fall open house (I know….Fall. Who said summer was over anyway? Certainly not the weather man since it’s a million degrees humidity here!) happening and going over like gangbusters and my oldest moving into his first apartment this weekend as well. My nest is officially half empty!

But now that all the Big Events are over in my world for a short time, for the next few days I am going to shut out the rest of the world and pretend to be a writer, which might be a good idea since I have a book due, oh, ::mumble mumble:: some time ago.

So, here is your SHaQ Assignment for the week, should you choose to accept it. Email me at donna@donnakauffman.com with My Favorite Is…. in the subject line, and your favorite title of mine in the email itself. It’s a pretty foolproof contest as there are no wrong answers. Well, unless you name someone else’s book. Those don’t count. (Although I reserve the right to add them to my Must Buy list, so feel free to mention others if you wish.) I will draw one name from all the entries on Friday morning and the winning Blog Babe gets a book from my website bookshelf! Woo hoo!

Happy Monday! I am off to my cave. I will resurface on Thursday with some much-needed Dance MAC!

Tags: Uncategorized by Donna
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First, the Dance results…then a few SHaQ winners!

So, I had no idea who I’d send home and after watching their solos last night, though they didn’t count towards anything, I was even more confused.

I thought Sabra and Sara had really strong solos. I thought Lacey’s was uneven and disjointed, but then swing dancers do have it a bit tough. And Lauren’s was the most cohesive as a polished performance, so go figure.

With the guys, Neil was quite acrobatic, if a bit wobbly on a few steps, but still very good. Danny’s solo was fluid and beautiful with his natural phenomenal control (though I never knew Elvis did a cover of Fever, hunh!) Dominic was insane, and Pasha actually pulled of a decent ballroom solo, doing it Dmitry-style (tho a sleeveless shirt for Pash would have been hotter…just sayin.)

So…I say, keep them all!

But no, they’re going to send two of them home.

Bottom two girls….Sara and Lauren. Which is what I’d predicted, but still, tough.

Bottom two guys…Neil and Dominic. Also as predicted. Have no idea who’ll go, though.

Going home? Sara (when they announced her name is when I realized I was surprised….I guess I really thought it would be Lauren.) And Dominic. Not a good night for Street Dancers on this show. Yikes.

This leaves Neil, Pasha, Danny, Sabra, Lacey, and Lauren as our final six. Should be a great show next week as they all have to really bring it to stay on.

Okay…now for this week’s SHaQ Attack contest winners. You had it easy this week and everyone took full advantage…woo hoo! The two winners are…Carolyn A and Angie T! Woooot! You all win a copy of my new release, The Black Sheep & The Princess (unless you’ve already got a copy, then choose at will from my website bookshelf.) Way to go, Blog Babes!

Tune in next week for more SHaQ Attack fun and the latest on Dance, Dance. Ooh, and a sneak peek at another new cover!

Have a great weekend everybody!

Tags: Writing by Donna
7 Comments »

So….Final eight. Four teams. Two dances each. I was psyched. But after viewing? Not so much. I don’t know whether it was the long season getting to them, the fact that they have two dances to learn on top of the tour stuff coming up. They must be exhausted all the time. But I felt that, with a few exceptions, that ooooh! factor wasn’t really there.

Pairings this week:
Danny and Sara - thought their tango was interesting. I think Sara really has stepped up to the challenges amazingly well, and Danny keeps being effortlessly brilliant even if he still doesn’t capture me emotionally. Didn’t care for the hip hop routine (shame on you Shane Sparks! And off piece for you.) But double-triple shame to the wardrobe folks. Yikes! What was that?

Lauren and Dominic - interesting pair and worked pretty well together. Dom has also expanded far beyond what I ever thought he’d achieve. I wasn’t a huge fan of the krump routine as it looked a bit soft for the style and they were out of sync at some points. On the other hand, unlike the judges, I loved their rumba. I thought it was sexy as hell and really loved the song choice. Would have never made that connection, but thought it was really great. Yes, I agree, not a lot of rumba stuff, but dayum they looked good. It was one of my faves of the night.

Neil and Lacey - I missed the first dance because of the coverage of the horrific news from Minneapolis (and for any of my readers who are in that area, please accept my condolences for what will likely be a long term rough time. So incredibly tragic.) As for their second dance - while I very much appreciate the sentiment behind their contemporary routine and understand how that elevates the emotions, had I not known the story behind it, I dont think I’d have thought it as special as everyone there seemed to think it was. Sorry, Mia! It was a lovely tribute and beautifully danced, but it doesn’t hold a candle to that park bench routine of last year, or the umbrella routine either.

Pasha and Sabra - save the best for last. I cringed when I heard they got Show Longevity Killer Tyce as their choreographer for a Broadway routine. But it was everything it was supposed to be, and more importantly, nothing it wasn’t supposed to be. I really enjoyed it. Ditto for their quick step routine at the end of the show. Strongest team effort of the night, easily.

So, an uneven night for me, but that notwithstanding, I still have NO idea who I’d send home tomorrow. I would have said Lauren and Dom, but I really enjoyed their second routine. And Neil has stepped up, too. What to do, what to do?

In ranking them, I’d rank the guys in the order of Danny, Pasha, Neil/Dom, which each of those last two having their pros and cons. However, I wouldn’t give any of the remaining guys the season win.

Ranking the girls….Lacey/Sabra, Sara, Lauren. Lauren probably has more skillz than Sara, but Sara brings a deeper level of realism to her dancing that I connect to in a way that I don’t with Lauren’s very polished professionalism. All in all, none of the girls should go home. I’d send Dom and Neil first. Ah well, I don’t make the rules. More’s the pity.

Who do you think is outta there tonight??

And hey - don’t forget to enter this week’s SHaQ Attack contest. It’s not too late! Details in Tuesday’s post. I announce the two winners tomorrow!

Happy TGIF-eve!

Tags: Writing by Donna
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