It’s official!!

THE NAUGHTY LIST hits the stands today! Yay!

Thank you all for the support and happy release day messages. Check out Monday’s blog for details on how to win your own copy, signed by all three authors. I know, how cool is that?!?! Not feeling lucky or just too impatient to wait? Click here. :)

THE NAUGHTY LIST
October 2010
Brava Trade Paperback
ISBN 9780758253101

DONNA KAUFFMAN
Naughty But Nice

Businessman Griffin’s never believed in luck…until sassy-sweet small-town baker Melody turns his world around. Except there’s a catch: There’s no way he’ll be able to build his empire and hold on to her. His new “lucky charm” could destroy all his dreams…or make this Christmas better than he ever imagined possible…

CYNTHIA EDEN
All I Want for Christmas

Good girl toy inventor Christie takes a walk on the naughty side when she sparks a no-strings fling with Santa—actually, sexy cop Jonas in a Santa suit. She loves her new “bad girl” persona, except as the holidays approach, she starts falling, and hard, for this known’ “love ’em and leave ’em” ladies man…

SUSAN FOX
Tattoos and Mistletoe

Charlie returns to her hometown to fix up her aunt’s B&B, but she doesn’t count on LJ handling the renovations. Nerdy LJ pined for her in school, but now he’s grown into the town’s hottest bachelor. Charlie’s been burned before and won’t let him get close. But LJ’s determined to break down her walls and make her dearest Christmas wish come true.

Countdown…tomorrow is the Big Day!

Happy Rainy Monday! I love rainy Monday’s. Good for hiding in my cave to write. Okay, and eat. Maybe more eating than writing. But how else am I supposed to concentrate if I’m not simultaneously crunching? It’s a quandary really.

So, tomorrow is the Big Day! THE NAUGHTY LIST hits the stands! Wahoo!! This is the 2010 Christmas anthology from Brava and not only does it feature stories from Cynthia Eden and Susan Fox, but this also concludes the three-novella trilogy of stories I started back in TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT. (Story number two was in last fall’s KISSING SANTA CLAUS…which is also celebrating a Big Release Day as it hits the stands today in the smaller, mass market paperback size!!

To celebrate, in this week’s Free Stuff Friday contest, I’ll be giving away two copies of THE NAUGHTY LIST, complete with autographs from all three of us! I know! We’re tricky like that. AND!!!! (Yes, there’s an AND!!! It’s Release Week! There has to be an AND!!! It’s like…a rule.) One lucky Big Time Blog Babe Winner will receive a full set of all three anthologies (so you can read the whole trilogy, of course!) As Probst says….Worth playing for?

To enter, just send an email to donna@donnakauffman.com with “I’ve been good!” in the subject line. I’ll draw two names from the pile this Friday and announce them in the blog that morning.

AND!! (I can’t help it!) Tune in next week for another Special Free Stuff Friday. I know, the fun never stops with me!

So…how many of you watched the Return of Phil and his Infamous Eyebrow last night? I did, I did! The Amazing Race is back and I have to say, after initially wondering if the teams were going to be interesting enough, I’ve decided that this might be the most fun season in a long time. There isn’t the typical dominant Team Studly Guys, for which I am grateful. And we only have one Team Bicker (okay, so more like Team Jerky Guy, but it results in them being Team Bicker, and I can do without that…) But what I am loving? Team Ditz! We have several of those and, sure, it might get old as the season continues, but right now? Comedy gold for me.

Between the pageant blonde, who seems like a sincerely sweet young lady, but tells the court jester juggler in all earnestness “I wish I could juggle balls” while standing right up in his business watching as he tries to stand on top of a big rubber ball…to the Team Tattoo duo who, though they are a bit, well…how should I put this…not remotely bright — “Are you a battlement?” — at least get that they aren’t and mock themselves mercilessly so we don’t have to. Except, duh, of course we do. And so did Phil! To their faces! Ha!! I loved that they eventually figured it out and stayed in the race. I want to see them in foreign speaking countries. No, really!

We’ve got nicknames like Sunshine, Tinkerbell, and Team Glee (the a capella guys who can’t find their way out of a parking lot, but who I already love. And then there’s Team HSN Channel, who…okay, so yes, if Brooke doesn’t stop screeching “Come on, Claire Bear!” I might have to wallop her in the head with a watermelon, but damn, y’all, how monster is her partner for taking that watermelon, warp speed full to the head — “I can’t feel my face!!” — and going on to dominate the challenge and get to the mat as one of the early teams? Still, shut up, Brooke! But, yay! Bring it on!

And there’s a new twist, the Express Pass, which allows the team that holds it to skip a task if and when they desire. Not sure how that’s going to play out, but I’m game.

All in all? Phil still owns me. And I’m not ashamed to say it. Tonight? More Hawaii 5-0. Officially my favorite new show of the season. They had me at Book ‘em, Danno. (Did you not adore how they managed to make that relevant? Love.)

So, hurry and go enter, then come right back and DISH! What are you loving this season so far? What was the biggest disappointment? What is getting its own Express Pass on your DVR??

Happy Hump Day!

And my DVR is stuffed full with new fall television goodness! Yay! Except I have to do all this, you know, work stuff, and I can’t actually WATCH any of it. I think that’s completely unfair. There should be some kind of New Fall Programming Rule. You can’t go more than three days without an allotted time to catch up on the important things. Like Nathan Fillion. And whether or not Rick Fox looks hot doing his own personal fox trot. (Which, duh!) Think my editor will go for that with a book due in 6 weeks? No?

Well, I do know one thing I do have time for, and that’s to give away free stuff! I came back to find advance review copies of a certain sequel sitting on my doorstep…. AND! Next week just happens to be when THE NAUGHTY LIST hits the stands. So what better way to celebrate than to give away a few autographed copies of THE NAUGHTY LIST and, maybe…OFF KILTER, too? Whaddya say?

Tune in on Monday and we’ll do exactly that!!

In the meantime, without actually telling me who got voted off of anything (lalalalalalalala I can’t hear you!) what has been your favorite premiere? New show? Old show? I’m most looking forward to catching up with Castle, and taking at peek at Hawaii 5-0. Totally because I watched it as a kid. Not at all because I want to see if they get Daniel Dae Kim into a swimsuit at some point. Noooo, not that.

Your turn! DISH!!

Free Stuff Friday!!

It’s that time again!

Thank you all for entering the Free Stuff Friday contest this week. We do have a winner….congratulations Johanna J!! Woot! Just send me an email to donna@donnakauffman.com with your address and a few title selections from my website bookshelf (in case I’m out of your first choice) and I will get your prize in the mail!

I am off to the airport…heading to the midwest to spend some time hanging out with my sister (Look out, St Louis!!) and will resume blogging, dishing, and giving away free stuff when I return. The blog will be back next Wednesday, the 22nd!

Until then, be safe, have fun, and read something hot!

Put on your buffs!

But don’t get too excited. Yes, Survivor is back..but I’m not sure my show is back. Yet. Admittedly, following up on last season’s excellence is almost an impossible dream to fulfill. And last night’s opener wasn’t bad. It just kind of sat there, all generic-like. So, we’ll have to give it some time. See what unfolds…

Jeff Probst actually interviewed earlier this week that the first challenge went way differently than the designers had intended. The players outsmarted them. The challenge engineers apparently intended for the players to have to construct this elaborate back and forth system with the chutes to make the water go through them, and obviously, the longer it was, the more water would spill, amping up the pressure. Instead, both teams just had players climb the initial big wall and hang there while holding on to the chutes and lining them in a straight shot downward, right to the bucket. He said it took a fraction of the time and none of the team work skills they’d intended, which apparently annoyed the crap out of Probst, not because the designers were outsmarted, but because it didn’t make for interesting television. I’d agree on that score.

Hopefully next week will be more fun! And Jimmy will stop whinging. Oh…and the Fabio dude? Yikes. And ha!

Don’t forget to enter this week’s Free Stuff Friday contest. Winner announced in tomorrow’s blog! See Monday’s blog post for details.

Good luck!

Oooh, Reality Wednesday. Be still my heart…

So, tonight is the Survivor premiere. Yes, ten years in, and I’m STILL Survivor’s bitch. Is it sad how excited I am about a new season starting? AND! Top Chef: Just Desserts starts tonight, too. It’s like…it’s like a meal AND a dessert.

Too much, really.

Then we get Our Phil back later this month with a new Raaaaaaaaaaace!

I love September.

Don’t forget to enter this week’s contest. See Monday’s blog post for details.

Then hop right back over here and DISH!

What fall shows are you excited about? (Oh come ON, you know you watch something!!) Hmm….for me, it’s Big Bang Theory, Castle & yes, Grey’s (also Shondra’s bitch…even if it is a love-hate relationship most of the time.) Survivor, Amazing Race and Top Chef round out the reality crew. My votes out on this season of DWTS thus far. I mean, Bristol Palin, the Sit-u-a-tion AND Hasselhoff? Together? I mean, isn’t that more like Reality Show Punishment?

What’s on your DVR Season Pass?? What new shows are you trying out? For me, it’s Hawaii 5-0 all the way. Total sentimental journey for me….just to hear the theme song again gives me goosebumps.

Hey, I told you I was pathetic! So, fess up…don’t leave me here hangin!

New Monday? New contest!

Fall is thinking about showing up…the air is getting cooler at night, though still a bit toasty during the day. Is it wrong that I want to wear jeans and sweaters already? Pack up the capris and flip flops? Just me?

So I am stressed this morning after a vigorous day of watching my sports teams try and give me repeated heart attacks. I mean, I almost couldn’t eat my chili and chips it was so dramatic. I think I need to relax today to get over it. But, in the end, all were victorious! My WVU Mountaineers and the Steelers pulled it out in OT, and then the Redskins actually were able to not snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and win one over the Cowboys, who all but tried to hand the win to them the entire game. And we STILL almost lost! I don’t think I can take much more of this, guys, and it’s only week 1!! Get it together for me next week, will ya?

In the meantime, as part of my recovery phase and while I’m waiting to don my nice thick fleece pullovers and watch leaves fall and feel that chill in the air…I think I should give away some free stuff! If you’d like to win a free book from my website bookshelf, send an email to donna@donnakauffman.com with “Pick Me!” in the subject line. Come Friday, I will pick a name from the entry pile and announce it in the blog. So enter now with great abandon!

Good luck!

Free Stuff Friday - We have a winner!!

What a lovely week it has been here in the DC area now that the fist of hell heat has finally loosened its grip. It almost feels like - gasp! - Fall.

So, let’s extend the happiness and joy by announcing this week’s Free Stuff Friday contest winner. Thank you all for playing! The winning blog babe this week is? Nancy C! Wahoo!! Nancy, just email me at donna@donnakauffman.com with address and a few title picks from my website bookshelf (in case I’m out of your first choice) and I’ll get your prize in the mail to ya! All previous winners’ prizes have been mailed out, so if you haven’t received yours, please also let me know at the email above.

Enjoy a wonderful weekend everyone!

Free Stuff Friday & Some Plum News!

I hope everyone had a great final holiday weekend to cap off the summer of hell heat! It’s 90+ here, so I’m not feeling all that autumnal quite yet. But soon, soon….it has to change, right?

So, before we get to the free stuff part, I wanted to share with all you Stephanie Plum fans the latest news on the Plum major motion picture being filmed Right This Very Second. The cast of who would play Stephanie, Ranger, Joe, Lula, et al, has been debated in blogs, chat rooms, newspapers, and every other opinion venue on the planet for more than a decade now. Finally, FINALLY, us Plum Fans get the actual casting news. (These aren’t my picks - this is who IS in the movie. It’s a done deal. No more speculation required.) I’m left feeling happy on some counts, scratching my head on others, and curious to see how it all plays out.

Here is the lineup:
Stephanie : Katherine Heigl
Joe: Jason O’Mara
Ranger: Daniel Sunjata
Lula: Sherri Shepherd

My reaction? In order: Hmmm, Mmmm, Yesssss, and YAY!

Also cast: John Leguizamo as Jimmy Alpha and Patrick Fischler as Vinnie. But the biggest question left unknown….who plays Grandma???

The Plum series and the author herself are special to me. I was very fortunate to have been in a writer’s group with Janet Evanovich, Back In The Day, and no one cheered louder than her fellow Loveswept author (moi) when she landed her first Big Book Deal. I’ve cheered her on ever since. Years later, I was tickled when BenBella asked me to contribute a write up to the non-fiction collaborative effort, PERFECTLY PLUM (I got invited to write a piece about Ranger. Yes, it didn’t suck to be me that day.) You can check out more about that book by scrolling down those covers in the right hand column over there until you get to that bright yellow one. Click on it and read all about it. It’s still in print, and if you’re a Plum-o-phile, it’s a fantastically fun read. So many great contributions.

So…what do you think of the casting? Broken hearted? Elated? Confused? Share!

But first, send an email to donna@donnakauffman.com with “Yay! Fall is almost here!” in the subject line. That will enter you in this week’s Free Stuff Friday contest. Winner gets a free signed book from my website bookshelf. Winning blog babe announced in Friday’s blog. Don’t miss out!

But right now? DISH!

It’s Friday…time to give away Free Stuff!

It’s Free Stuff Friday AND the kick-off of Labor Day Weekend. Does it get any better?

Thanks to everyone for entering this week’s Free Stuff Friday contest. Winner gets a free advance copy of the holiday anthology, THE NAUGHTY LIST, not due on the shelves until October. Wow your friends, impress your neighbors! And the winning Blog Babe is? Cassandra D!! Congratulations! Just send me an address (donna@donnakauffman.com) and your prize will be on its way!

I hope everyone enjoys their weekend. Stay safe, stay cool….and read a hot book!

See you next Tuesday!