Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a wonderful Christmas filled peace, joy and love.

Until next time,
Lee

PS: I hope Santa enjoyed his milk and cookies at your house and has reciprocated in kind!

This Week’s News

I have new bookmarks for Firefighter Daddy and I absolutely love them! I’ll be picking them up from the printer this afternoon and then I’ll scan one and post it here on the blog.

December is usually a non-writing month for me because I devote a huge amount of time to Christmas preparations, but this year is different. I spend at least a half hour or so every day working on the second book in my San Francisco series, and I’m really loving these two characters. I say that about every book, but this time their conflicts seem completely natural.

Work on my office also continues. This week I gave away two sets of plastic stacking trays and seven more cardboard magazine files. I’m happy to report that the contents of said trays and files are also history. I had a laptop network card—someone gave it to me for my old laptop—but I never used it. A friend posted it on a loop that advertises free stuff and the network card now has a new home.

I hope you're looking forward to the holidays as much as I am!

Until next time,
Lee

This Week with the Wet Noodle Posse

Join the Wet Noodle Posse this week as we head “Home for Holidays.”

Monday: MJ Fredrick—Favorite Christmas Songs

Tuesday: Priscilla Kissinger—Family Reunions for the Holidays

Wednesday: Debra Holland—TBA

Thursday: Merrillee Whren—TBA

Friday: Q&A Day—What sort of books would you like to see on the shelves in 2010?

Until next time,
Lee

‘Tis the season . . .

I encountered this group of elementary school Christmas carollers, complete with Santa hats, while out shopping on Friday afternoon. Within minutes they attracted a crowd, and those lovely young soprano voices put me right in the spirit when they sang “Silent Night.”

"Silent Night" was grandmother’s favorite Christmas carol. When I was a little girl, I remember her telling me that she felt a bit homesick during her first Christmas in Canada. She had immigrated from Finland in 1923. When she heard “Silent Night” on the radio, she didn’t know the lyrics but she recognized the tune and felt more at home.

While I’m on the subject of Christmas and shopping, how about a stocking stuffer for the readers on your list?

With This Ring is available in three electronic formats (Adobe PDF eBook (requires Adobe Digital Editions), Microsoft eBook and Mobipocket eBook) from eHarlequin.com.

Or, if you or someone you know has a Kindle, With This Ring is available from Amazon.com. According to the website, you can “read your book on your Kindle within a minute of placing your order.”

How’s that for instant gratification?

And remember, you have a chance to kick off the new year as the winner of my December contest. In addition to an autographed firefighter calendar, the winner will also receive an adorable shiny red firetruck Christmas tree ornament, and more! Check here for contest details.

Until next time,
Lee

Light up the Holidays!

Want to try your hand at a little holiday DIY? Looking for an easy, fun and inexpensive craft project? Please join me over at the Wet Noodle Posse today!

Until next time,
Lee

Tuesday News

Between writing, clearing out my office and holiday prep, there’s lots going on here.

I’m currently working with my graphic designer to come up with new bookmarks for Firefighter Daddy. It’ll be months before I see the cover, so we’re looking for some fun ‘60s-inspired clip art to use instead.



Not this clip art, but you get the idea!

Oh, and I now have the exact release date—July 13, 2010—so mark your calendar!

Why I have so much paper in my office is unclear, but my shredder has been working overtime.

I hope you’ll join me over at the Wet Noodle Posse on Thursday. In keeping with the Posse’s “Home for the Holidays” theme, I’m posting a fun and easy craft idea.

My Firefighter Calendar Contest is in full swing. Every time you post a comment on one of my December posts here on The Writer Side of Life, your name will be entered in the draw. To increase your chances, you’ll receive five bonus entries if you become a follower of my blog (click on the link in the sidebar) and ten bonus entries if you sign up for Lee McKenzie’s Very Occasional Newsletter. To sign up for the newsletter, simply send an email to lee (at) lee mckenzie (dot) com. I know you know the drill—remove the spaces and insert the symbols.

Have a wonderful week!

Until next time,
Lee

This Week with the Wet Noodle Posse

Come “Home for the Holidays” with the Wet Noodle Posse.

Monday: MJ Fredrick—Favorite Christmas Books

Tuesday: Terry McLaughlin—TBA

Wednesday: Maureen Hardegree—Stocking Stuffing Tradition

Thursday: Lee McKenzie—Light up the Holidays

Friday: Q&A—What makes a story ending satisfying to you as a reader?

I hope you'll join me there on Thursday!

Until next time,
Lee

Friday Food for Thought—Two Kinds of Cranberries

Have you started planning your holiday menu?

Christmas dinner at my house is a traditional affair and not a lot of room for introducing new dishes. My family expects turkey with bread stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, and two kinds of cranberries to satisfy various tastes.

Yes, two kinds of cranberries.

Every year I buy a bag of fresh cranberries and follow the recipe on the bag of the bag. Don’t quote me, but I think it calls for the entire bag of cranberries, a cup of sugar and a cup of water, brought to a boil and simmered for about ten minutes. It’s always served in an old pink depression glass sugar bowl that belonged to my grandmother.

I also buy a can of cranberry jelly. The jelly is removed from the can in a log, sliced into rounds, arranged on a small stainless steel tray and garnished with sprigs of parsley.

Yes, that’s a lot of cranberries for one meal.

How many people do I feed?

Six or eight.

Another tradition at my house is to freeze all the leftover cranberry sauce and jelly and have it for Easter.

Until next time,
Lee

This Week with the Wet Noodle Posse

Wrap up November by “giving thanks” with the Wet Noodle Posse, and then join in the fun as we kick off December with our Home for the Holidays theme.

Monday: Debra Holland—TBA

Tuesday: Introduction to Home for the Holidays Theme

Wednesday: MJ Fredrick—Favorite Christmas Shows

Thursday: Maureen Hardegree—Tinsel on the Tree

Friday: Q&A Day—What holiday traditions does your family follow?

Until next time,
Lee

This Week's Tuesday News

This week’s Tuesday News is being served up a day late.

I’m in the final stages of revising a book, so I was torn over whether or not to attend a workshop—Creating a Book Map—presented by Susan Wiggs on the weekend. In the end I decided to go and I’m so glad I did because the timing was perfect. The focus was on story structure, and I’m now tweaking this book to make sure it has one!

Susan is a wonderful speaker and if you have a chance to attend one of her workshops, you should go for it.

My office overhaul got stalled this week, although I did dispose of a pile of magazines that had taken up residence.

Can you believe that Christmas is one month away? I hope to squeeze a couple of craft fairs into my busy weekend. Next week, after I have turned in my revised book, I can start decorating!

Wishing a happy Thanksgiving to my American family, friends and readers!

Until next time,
Lee

Tuesday News

Things I’m doing this week:

• revising Firefighter Daddy

• working on the next book

• attending a Susan Wiggs writing workshop

• clearing out my office

The progress on my office was slow this week, but I freed up more space on one bookshelf, gave a bag of writing books to a friend and a bundle of file folders and a stack of magazine files to another friend.

The Christmas season is fast approaching and I found some great things at a craft fair on the weekend:

• homemade antipasto

• pickled beets

• red pepper jelly

• two catnip cat toys

• an adorable candle lamp made from a wine glass, a tealight and a paper lampshade

If you missed my Sunday Fun post about the shirtless firefighters and my December contest, please scroll down and check it out!

Until next time,
Lee

My Family’s 100-Mile Christmas

The holidays have been busy and I’ve loved every moment of it! This year my family celebrated a 100-mile Christmas. We tried to buy gifts made or produced within 100 miles of where we live. Exceptions were things like books, CDs and DVDs, which were to come from locally owned businesses. We also included secondhand items because those things have been recycled.

For my daughter and her boyfriend, I had a local photographer touch up and convert pictures of them into black and white. The photos were printed on canvas and stretched onto frames to make them look like art pieces. The photos were taken when they were two or three years old. He’s on a merry-go-round and she’s on the rocking horse I blogged about earlier this month. They are thrilled with their photos, and everyone decided they were some of the best gifts of the year! Here they are...

My daughter gets top marks for 100-mile gift giving. She found interesting and unique secondhand books for everyone, locally made organic barbecue sauce, cheeses, etc., and she made donations to places that are important to each of us. For me, the animal lover, a donation of kitten formula to the SPCA. Aaawww!

And I received other gifts that can only be described as perfect. A can of primer from my husband, with a note saying he'll paint the bathroom this week. It’s like one of those TV ads. Paint brush—$1.98. Can of paint—$18.98. A freshly painted bathroom—priceless!

My son gave me a handmade tote bag with a typewriter silk screened on it. Isn’t it fun? I really love it.

I’d like to do the 100-mile Christmas next year. There are lots of positive reasons for it, but the best one was that instead of dashing out to the mall, it encouraged us to put more thought into the gifts we gave. Somehow they were more personal, and that was the best gift of all. And now we have a whole year to plan ahead.

How did you spend the holiday? Did you receive a gift that really touched your heart, or give one that touched someone else's?

Until next time,
Lee

Deck the Halls

I'm blogging with the Harlequin American Romance Authors today, sharing some of my quick and easy holiday decorating ideas. I hope you'll stop by and pass along some of your ideas to our readers.

Here's wishing you a very happy holiday in the company of people you love.

Until next time,
Lee

Friday Food for Thought—Smoked Salmon Mousse

This is one of those delicious spreads that will have your guests scooping the last bits from the bottom of the bowl! I like to include it in our Christmas Eve buffet, but it's perfect party food for any occasion.

4 ounces smoked salmon
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
juice of half a lemon
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
salt and pepper to taste

Put the smoked salmon in a food processor or mixing bowl and blend until smooth. Add the cream, cream cheese, lemon juice, dried dill weed, salt and pepper. Mix well. Transfer to a serving dish, cover and chill for several hours.

Put the serving dish in the middle of a platter and surround it with an assortment of crackers, thinly sliced baguette, cucumber slices and celery sticks, and let your guests do the spreading!

Happy holidays!

Until next time,
Lee

This Week with the Wet Noodle Posse

The countdown to Christmas continues this week with more holiday fun at the Wet Noodle Posse.

Monday: "Let's Make Some Cookies!" with Theresa Ragan

Tuesday: Join Maureen Hardegree for "Have Cookies—Will Travel"

Wednesday: Karen Potter asks "Where's the Cranberry Sauce?"

Thursday: Priscilla Kissinger shares "A Heartwarming Family Memory"

Friday, December 19th: Q&A Day

Happy holidays!

Until next time,
Lee

Friday Food for Thought—Baked Brie Appies

Planning a holiday party? What I am about to share with you is, hands down, my favorite party appetizer of all time.

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, pressed
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
8-ounces Brie

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Using a sharp knife, remove the rind from the Brie. The rind is edible, but many people don’t like it.

Put the Brie in a baking dish and set aside.

Chop the sun-dried tomatoes and cover them with boiling water. Let sit for 15 minutes, until soft. Drain well.

Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan. Saute tomatoes for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add garlic and saute for about 30 seconds, still stirring constantly. Stir in the basil, parsley and balsamic vinegar. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute.

Cover the Brie with the tomato mixture and bake at 350 degrees until the cheese is soft and warm, about 10 minutes.

Serve with crackers and a thinly sliced bagette. The warm cheese spreads easily and the topping is mouth-wateringly delicious. Seriously. You must try this. Your guests will love you for it!

Until next time,
Lee

Holiday Fun

Curious about the charming fellow in this photograph? He’s the topic of my post today with the Wet Noodle Posse. I’m also sharing a couple of recipes that make great gifts or party snacks. I hope you’ll check them out!

While you’re there, be sure to leave a comment so you’ll be eligible to win to be eligible to win a copy of Diane Gaston's holiday story “A Twelfth Night Tale” in the Regency Anthology MISTLETOE KISSES (Nov 2006).

Looking for ideas for holiday party food? Drop back here to The Writer Side of Life tomorrow for my favorite appetizer recipe.

Until next time,
Lee

Tuesday News—December's Harlequin American Romances

Wow! Lots of news this week.

To start off, a quick reminder that on Thursday I’m blogging with the Wet Noodle Posse about a very special family heirloom. And I’ll share a couple of recipes for very yummy spicy roasted nuts—great to serve at parties—and they also make wonderful gifts if you put them in little bags tied with festive ribbon.

Still searching for gift ideas? My December '07 release, With This Ring, is still available as an ebook from eHarlequin.com and Amazon.com (Kindle edition).

Romantic Times Magazine has announced the 2008 RT finalists. Congratulations to the Harlequin American Romance authors who made this year's list for Best Harlequin American Romance:

FOREVER HIS BRIDE
Lisa Childs (Aug.)

RELUCTANT PARTNERS
Kara Lennox (Jun.)

THE RIGHT MR. WRONG
Cindi Myers (Feb.)

THE PILOT'S WOMAN
Ann Roth (Mar.)

TEXAS HEIR
Linda Warren (Sep.)

And Megan Kelly is a finalist in the Best First Series Romance Category with MARRYING THE BOSS (Apr.).

Finally, the December Harlequin American Romances are out today. Four great reads, and of course they’ll make perfect stocking stuffers.

A Baby in the Bunkhouse by Cathy Gillen Thacker

Once Upon a Christmas by Holly Jacobs

A Texan Returns by Victoria Chancellor

The Pregnancy Surprise by Kara Lennox

Happy holidays, and happy reading!

Until next time,
Lee

Friday Food for Thought—Mulled Apple Cider

Holiday party month is here! Don’t you love it? Family, food, friends, food, fun. More food. This month I’ll be sharing some tasty recipes for some of my favorite holiday drinks and appetizers, starting with mulled cider.

Over the years I’ve tried a lot of recipes for mulled cider. Some are too sweet, some are too spicy, but I finally found one suits our tastes perfectly.

1 gallon apple cider (or apple juice)
1 cup orange juice
1 cup pineapple juice
½ cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
1/4 cup sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
2 teaspoons whole cloves
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
cinnamon sticks for swizzling (optional)

Combine all the ingredients in a large (5-quart) crock pot/slow cooker and simmer on low for 4 or 5 hours. This recipe makes about 40 half-cup servings. For a smaller crowd, I make half the recipe.

Don’t have a crock pot? This can just as easily be made in a large pot on the stove, but reduce the simmering time to 1 to 2 hours. Either way, your holiday guests will be greeted at the door by the scent of apples and spices, and they’ll soon be warming their hands on a cup of warm of cider.

Cheers!

Until next time,
Lee

Tuesday News—Harlequin American Romance

With the holidays fast approaching, I’ll be blogging about my family’s plans for Christmas gift giving. I'll hope you'll check it out on the Harlequin American Romance Authors blog on Monday, November 24.

And in case you missed it, an entertaining (somewhat frightening) interview with American Romance author Marin Thomas was posted on Sunday.

Remember that every time you leave a comment on the HAR blog, you’re automatically entered to win our monthly draw for free books!

Until next time,
Lee