Happy New Year!

The Three Wicked Writers wish you and yours a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year. Thanks for making 2009 so great around here. We predict more fun to come in the coming year.

Merry Christmas from Three Wicked Writers

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We're going to take the next few days off to spend Christmas with our families, but we didn't want to go without wishing all our AWESOME visitors a VERY Merry Christmas. Enjoy your holiday. Hope you have a day filled with family, good friends, good food, and lots of love! Be safe and have fun and we'll see you next week!

Wrap it UP!

Did anyone brave the Black Friday crowds? Honestly, after all the Thanksgiving stuff that was the LAST thing I wanted to do but, damn it, they had such great prices on coats at one of our local department stores. So my daughter and I loaded up and headed to the mall. Actually, it wasn't too bad. Found a parking spot pretty easily and once in the store, found the crowds weren't quite as horrendous as I'd thought. Hm. Maybe everyone else was thinking OH HELL NO and stayed away in droves, as horrified as I at the possibility of all those people! Ya, think?

Anyway, we found a great deal on a very pretty coat, bought a hat and gloves and naturally, she tried on a few things to 'get ideas'. Afterwards, we checked out New Moon. Yes, definitely Team Jacob here! LOL. All in all, the afternoon wasn't traumatic in any way but I didn't do any actual holiday shopping. Just a lot of looking.

It's funny. I remember how easy Christmas shopping was when my kids were little. Of course, there was always that ONE toy that was virtually impossible to find. I tend to think it's some kind of conspiracy because it has been this way for as long as I can remember. Back in the 80's you couldn't find a Cabbage Patch Doll to save your soul. I was living in Houston at the time (newly married, no kids) and there was such a run on these things that a local radio station filled up a football stadium and flew a plane overhead to "drop" Cabbage Patch dolls to the crowd. Crazy!

Aside from that, I recall that every year we had mountains of gifts under the tree. Little kids gifts are easy and usually cheap so we tended to buy a LOT of stuff. Ever wrapped a gazillion five and ten dollar toys???? The gift wrap and bows was almost as expensive as the darn toys.


These days the pile of gifts isn't so huge and there's an explanation for that. My kids are now grown and the request is usually for 'big ticket' items like electronics, gaming systems, etc. I've been noting all the commercials and print ads for e-book readers and all indicators are that these will be big sellers this year. YAY for us ebook readers and authors!!!! Barnes and Noble has announced they have already sold out of the Nook but are offering certificates for gift giving and promising they will be available after the first of the year. The e-bookwise reader that I have is now marked down to $90. So if you want to 'get your feet wet' with an ebook reader, this is a good opportunity.

Do you start early with the shopping stuff? Or are you a last minute shopper? A good friend of mine does all her shopping on Christmas Eve. It's a tradition at her house doing the mad scramble thing. Yes, I quickly told her that I loved her but she was NUTS!

Happy Thanksgiving

We're taking a little break here at Three Wicked Writers, but before we go, we wanted to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving. We're so thankful for everyone who follows our blog, visits our blog and comments on our blog. We appreciate you all so much. You’ve given us a great year! Here’s to lots more years filled with humor, love, romance and of course naughty mischief!

Happy Thanksgiving and we'll see you back here on Monday! In the meantime, what are you thankful for this year?

Crazy Holiday Stuff

Okay, I'll confess...I'm getting hungry already! When I went out to scope out pics today, my eyes zeroed in on this dinner pic and I just couldn't resist.

Things at our house are pretty crazy right now and about to get a whole lot more so. I've been to the grocery store and bought my recipe stuff but, as happens EVERY DAMN YEAR, I've of course forgotten a couple of things. So yeah, back to the store for me today among taking the dog to the groomer, baking, cleaning house, etc. I've been in and out of my car like a dang jack-in-the-box all morning running piddly little errands.

It's always like this. Just nuts. Of course, this isn't as crazy as Christmas but tons of work goes into a meal that will be finished in about 20 minutes.

The good news is my daughter will be in from college tonight...YAY!!! She has already told me she's starving and can't wait for our feast on Thursday. She is also chomping at the bit to help me cook some things. My son has to work and won't be coming in until Friday so I'm boo-hooing a little about that. These things tend to happen when our kids become adults so I'm bracing myself for the day they'll be married and spreading their time between two households. Must admit I dread that so I'm trying not to think about it. sigh.

I remember the early years of our marriage, splitting everything up and I hated it. Let's face it. Two thanksgiving dinners with all the trimmings with two families. We needed to be carried home in a damn truck. As our families became more spread out and our parents grew older, it just made sense to have the dinner at our house. Much easier. At least for us.

This is my last post until after Thanksgiving, so please, have a good day with family and friends. Be safe if you're traveling. I'll end by saying that I'm thankful for so many things. My family, my friends, my home and my career. It's been a great year with many things for which to be thankful. Hugs and much love to you all.

And So It Begins...

Must confess I'm really in the mood for the holidays this year. Maybe it has something to do with missing my kids since they are both off in college and I don't get to see them nearly as much as I'd like. I don't know. I just signed a new contract and I'm currently buried deeply in another WIP but I finally shook loose the other day and hit the grocery store. Bought all my Thanksgiving stuff except for a few small items that must be last minute.

When I was little, we had this really big family. We'd meet up every Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpa's house and everyone would bring a 'dish'..you know, something to add to the giant mix that was Thanksgiving Dinner. The adults would sit at one big table with us kids relegated to 'small tables' somewhere else. I think my Grandma felt sorry for us being consigned to 'no man's land' and was continually popping up to see if we were okay, to ask if everything was 'good' and did we need anything. Such a sweetheart.

I was always one of those kids who liked to hang out and listen to the adults so being 'set apart' bugged the hell out of me. Back then, I promised myself I would never do that to my kids and I have to say, I never did. Granted we have a really small family now but my kids have always been in on the action. What they had to contribute to the conversation has always been just as important (and maybe even more so) than what the adults were talking about.

Ah, I digress, the wisdom of children is a topic for another day. These days my family is very small. Extended family lives miles and miles away. It's sad but a fact of life for us. I do all the cooking for Thanksgiving dinner and have for many years. Part of the reason is that I LOVE to cook. Love, love, love it. We have the exact same meal every year and it doesn't bother anyone. They are recipes that have been handed down to me from my grandmother and my mother and they are things...rich and fattening...that my family has come to expect. Every year we'll sit around, just before Thanksgiving and I'll always say....sooooo, what do YOU want for Thanksgiving dinner. The kids will begin by saying...oh THIS is my favorite or THAT is my favorite or Mom? Can you fix TWO of those this year? It's actually a pretty funny conversation because they already KNOW what I'll be cooking but they never fail to play along.

I have found over the years that my husband and I have developed our own traditions. He is in charge of the meat. He is a man after all, and men get into that. Every year, without fail, he smokes big turkey breasts and I do the rest. I'll bake pies the weekend before Thanksgiving (yes, you all now know what I'll be doing Sunday afternoon) and will fix up assorted things every day from then until dinner next Thursday.

Do you have certain traditions you observe for this holiday? I'll confess, it's my favorite. Nothing more wonderful than sitting with the family for a nice meal. No stress. No pressure. No gifts to buy...at least until Black Friday comes the very next day.

Spooky Season

Are you a fan of Halloween? I always HAVE been. I dont know..there's just something fun and whimsical about the whole thing and, as a little kid, I loved dressing up and trick or treating with my friends. It wasn't about the candy! For me, it was about the costume and walking through the streets when the night was dark and spooky, seeing how others had transformed themselves, and gathering adult reactions to what we were wearing.

Later, when I had kids of my own, I loved going through catalogues and finding just the perfect costume for my little ones. I can't remember HOW many times my daughter was a witch! Several. Orange taffeta with black lace, lace-up black boots and velvet and satin pointy hats. Yes, um, I went overboard. Always. My son liked doing the whole BOY thing. He was a vampire with a cape and fake blood dripping from his mouth. He was a ninja, too. The cutest costume he ever had was a black spider. It was a 'cute' black spider though. At the time he was about four and I'll never forget that one. It was a suit with a colorful padded belly. Many 'spider legs' were attached and when he held out his arms those legs spread out. The outfit came with a black top hat that featured a big orange and yellow band. So cute. I later sent the costume across country to my sister in Florida and her two boys used the costume.


I honestly felt a little guilty getting very pricey costumes. BAAAAD Regina! But I worked out a way to deal with the guilt by finding other 'like minded' moms. We began with trade costumes every year. This way the child had something new and fun but it didn't cost mom the moon and the stars to do it! We began a nice little sharing network with this stuff. In October, the calls would start...what do you have this year? A funny spider? A witch? Perfect.

I know there are lots of cute 'make em yourself' costume ideas but I never leaned toward the crafty. I envy those who can whip up something fantastic with a little bit of felt and a huge imagination! What are some of the best costume ideas you've come up with? Do you make them up at home or do you whip out the credit card?

Halloween Traditions?

For me, Halloween always meant having my mom make a costume, and going trick or treating with my three brothers. After a few blocks, I'd have to go home while they got to go farther collecting more candy. My mom usually kept my costume simple, making me up to look like a gypsy or some exotic princess, which I LOVED. I think we ususually did those types of costumes though because it was a little easier and cheaper--not a lot of money back in those days. Some red lipstick, a pair of pretty shoes, a long billowy skirt and ta-da! You have a costume!

I don't think I understood anything about Halloween when I was a kid. It was scary movies, lots of candy, and one night where we weren't forced to go to bed on time. After I had kids of my own I did the same things with them. Carving pumpkins, roasting seeds, cute costumes that I just HAD to get pictures of... I guess it wasn't until I recent years that I started to get more curious about All Hallow's Eve.

Wikipedia says:

Halloween has origins in the ancient celtic festival known as Samhain (pronounced sow-in or sau-an), which is derived from Old Irish and means roughly "summer's end". A similar festival was held by the ancient Britons and is known as Calan Gaeaf (pronounced kalan-geyf). The festival of Samhain celebrates the end of the "lighter half" of the year and beginning of the "darker half", and is sometimes regarded as the "Celtic New Year".

The celebration has some elements of a festival of the dead. The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The family's ancestors were honoured and invited home whilst harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm. In Scotland the spirits were impersonated by young men dressed in white with masked, veiled or blackened faces.

Samhain was also a time to take stock of food supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. All other fires were doused and each home lit their hearth from the bonfire. The bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames. Sometimes two bonfires would be built side-by-side, and people and their livestock would walk between them as a cleansing ritual.

Truthfully, and maybe I'm going to sound dumb here, but I really didn't know ALL that. I knew there was more to Halloween than candy and pumpkins, but I didn't know the whole of it.

So, tell me, how much importance do you place on this particular holiday? Do you have any special traditions? Do you dress up still??

Labor Day Weekend Book Sale!

What is a better way to enjoy a long weekend than reading a good book? I like nothing more than relaxing with a book in my hand and a glass of wine by my side. Parker Publishing is offering their own stimulus package to make that dream much easier to obtains!

ALL weekend ALL books are on sale from Parker Publishing for just five dollars! Yep, all books, print and ebooks are five bucks all weekend long. Here's a taste of some of the books they have to offer.






With the election over and the candidate in office, the sparks heat up between Special Agent Patrick Stone and Taylor Warner




Actress Ruth Gordon married her husband, Garson Kanin who was also fifteen years younger, of 43 years in 1946. As the ultimate cougar, her love story inspired this anthology of older women and younger men.


In J.M. Jeffries’s Partners in Crime Vincent Mendoza is a CIA agent in charge of his first mission. He must liberate some top secret documents and he turns to jailed cat burglar Cleo Harris to help him. To gain her freedom, she must help the sexy agent. Little does Vincent know that the beautiful thief will steal his heart in the process?

In Monique Lamont’s Instructing Layla Marcelo Alcindor can’t believe after six years his old dance partner Layla Washington is back in his life needing his help. To win a dance contest, reteams with her ex lover promising herself she will not let the passion they feel for dance lead to the bedroom again. But Marcelo teaches Layla that love is the greatest dance of all.

In Kelley Nyrae’s Wanting Mia Two months ago Mia Hamilton spotted a handsome man she wanted for a weekend fling, but he turned her down. Antonio Rojas has wanted Mia from the first moment he saw her, but he was other wised engaged until recently. He finds the object of his desire determined to make her his and he not taking no for an answer.

In Simone Harlow’s Julia’s Second Act Once hot Hollywood agent, Julia Wade’s career is on a downward spiral. Not so A-list actor Matt Valdez is trying to recharge his career, but all he seems to be interested is his sexy new agent. She trying to get him noticed and he wants to get her into his bed. Who will win in this battle of the hearts?



Take one more trip to Las Vegas’ werewolf owned casino the French Quarter. A place where the flip of the card will change your destiny. A place where every fantasy can be had as long as you are willing to pay the price. The Temple pack has just installed a new leader under the watchful eyes of the mortal world and they think the danger has passed them by. But trouble is always one roll of the dice away.

This was just a taste....Visit Parker Publishing to find the cure to your weekend cravings.

Mother's Day

I had such a wonderful Mother's Day! I feel like it lasted the entire weekend. Saturday we spent the day as a family doing yardwork and landscaping. It was tiring, but fun because we went totally off the grid. No computers, no bothering with cell phones or any of it. Just family time.

Sunday, my fantastic husband fixed me breakfast (that man can really cook!), and my kids got me a $50 gift card to Starbucks (yum!). And I got a surprise phone call from my brother who has been out in Wyoming for the last three months filming his hunting show. It was so good to talk to him! After the kids and I vegged for a few hours, we got the house cleaned up and had my parents down, and one of my other brothers stopped by for a visit as well. We cooked steak and hot dogs on the grill and enjoyed the wonderful weather for a bit. Then Kati, my oldest, surprised me with a pedicure and a facial. My toes and my face feel so loved today!

I told my husband this was the best Mother's Day ever because we spent the entire weekend enjoying family time. No working on the computers for a change. I hadn't realized how badly we needed to reconnect, ya know? It's so easy to get caught up in the daily chores. The girls laughed with each other, instead of arguing. It was music to my ears to her them getting along so well.

I love Mother's Day. It reminds how lucky I truly am!

Moms, how'd you spend your special day? And what'd you all do for your own mother?

Happy Easter

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Any fun plans? We're having a couple people over. I'm making a ham and scalloped potatoes and we're having a little Easter egg hunt for the kiddos! Have a very Happy Easter!