Spring Break Party on the Ninth!

Spring is finally here, and with it that grandest of school traditions, spring break.

Yes, it's me!

With my kids still in elementary school, spring break is family time, a chance to relax and unwind after the long winter months. (For some reason it always seems to take forever to get from December to April, doesn't it? Or is that just me?)

Anyway, our usual spring break is typically close to home, with maybe a couple of day trips around the area.

Not this year, though. This year, we went to Hawaii.

Spinner dolphins racing our snorkeling boat

The trip had been in the works for a couple of years, but it still didn't seem real to me until we were on the plane headed for Maui. Even the last few frantic days of packing weren't enough to convince me I'd be spending the week in a tropical paradise.

But once we got there -- oh, bliss! Best vacation ever. Warm every day, so many new experiences, fun time with family (including my parents, which made it even more special). We went on a snorkel tour to Molokini and saw spinner dolphins and sea turtles; we visited Mount Haleakala and got stamps in our National Parks passports; we took in a luau and lazed around the pool. I actually have a tan line.

The view from our seats at the luau

And now I'm back, looking toward next year, and wondering how we're going to top this spring break adventure. So that's this month's Party On The Ninth question - if you could go anywhere in the world for spring break, where would it be?

Post a comment and you could win a tropical-themed prize pack, specially selected for you in Hawaii. Be on the lookout for comments from the other Nine Naughty Novelists as well, since I completely forgot to collect their answers to the question in advance. :) Sorry, guys, I guess my brain is still on island time.

We're partying!

It's the ninth of the month... our designated party day! Which means that *you* have a chance to WIN! :)

Today we are going share some holiday fun with you, including our answers to three questions and some holiday recipes!

But we want you to party with us! So, everyone who answers these same questions, gets entered to win a choice between Meg Benjamin's new release, Be My Baby, or PG Forte's new release In the Dark!

Here are the questions... and our answers!
1. What is your favorite holiday romance read?
2. If calories were no object, what holiday treat would you eat until you couldn't move?
3. Who (besides your significant other!) would you like to meet under the mistletoe?



1. I read the anthology Merry Christmas, Baby every year (Lucy Monroe, Erin McCarthy, Susanna Carr, Donna Kauffman, Mary Janice Davidson and Nancy Warren). Lots of fun... and a great way to keep 'warm' in the cold weather! *g*

2. My favorite Christmas treat is fudge... of all kinds, but especially chocolate marshmallow!

3. Matthew McConaughy is always my pick for kissing of any kind, naked chests and any other body part, and who I would most want to whisper naughty, sexy things in my ear!

And here's where you can find one of my favorite holiday recipes! White Hot Chocolate!



1. Favorite holiday themed romance book or story.
There are lots of them. I used to reread Stephanie Laurens’s The
Promise In a Kiss every Christmas season just because the descriptions
were so lush, and Jo Beverly’s Winter’s Fire is great. But I’ll go with Eloisa James’s An Affair Before Christmas. Yeah, they’re all historicals. There’s something about Christmas that just makes me want velvet and gold, preferably illuminated by candlelight and accompanied by champagne.

2. Who would you most want to meet under the mistletoe (besides your S.O). Oh me, just one? That’s hardly fair. Okay, Steve McQueen, who always struck me as the sexiest man ever.

3. If there were no calories to consider, what Christmas treat would you most like to eat until you couldn't move? Cookies. I love to cook, but I can't bake for beans. My MIL, on the other hand, is a baking pro, even at age 85. If it didn't mean absolute disaster to what's left of my figure, I'd eat my fill of all the cookies she dreams up every Christmas!

My holiday recipe is for an oyster and black olive dip that’s so rich you can only eat limited amounts, but oh my, is it ever good. I took it from one of Peg Bracken’s cookbooks, but I can’t remember which one. I always bring it to Christmas potlucks, and I'm a very popular girl!
Anyway, you can find it here!

1. Favorite holiday themed romance book or story.

I can't think of one! I have read a couple of Christmas novellas by
Lori Foster that I like. A classic that has always stuck in my head is The Gift of the Magi by O Henry. And for movies, I still love Miracle on 34th Street

2. If there were no calories to consider, what Christmas treat would you
most like to eat until you couldn't move? Shortbread. 'Nuff said.

3. Who would you most want to meet under the mistletoe (besides your S.O.)? Johnny Depp.

Recipe for Cinnamon Christmas Tree Ornaments!

Favorite holiday themed romance book or story.
Since Christmas is such a crazy time for me (isn’t it for everyone) my
reading time usually suffers, and since I find it harder to really get into
them after the holidays, I tend to stockpile them. :)

If there were no calories to consider, what Christmas treat would you most
like to eat until you couldn't move? My mother makes these pineapple squares that I absolutely adore. It’s probably a good thing she only makes them once a year. Of course I could enjoy them year-round if I wasn’t so lazy, but food, especially dessert, always taste better when someone else makes it, doesn’t it?

Who would you most want to meet under the mistletoe (besides your S.O.)? Since I’ve got Dwayne Johnson(a.k.a The Rock) on the brain thanks to the wonderful timesuck that is YouTube, I can’t think of any other powerful shoulders I’d rather sink my nails into under the mistletoe. :)

Sydney's Peppermint Candy Cane Bark recipe!



1. Favorite Christmas read: believe it or not, I don't have one. I've never been into holiday romances, and I don't even really read anthologies much. I am an absolute nut about holiday TV programs, though. In addition to the Rankin Bass movies, I have to watch Borrowed Hearts: A Holiday Romance ever year. It's wonderful.

2. If calories meant nothing to me, I'd gorge on: the Famous Wafer Log Thingy I posted,and the trifle I make. Both feature large amounts of chocolate and whipped cream.

3. Who I'd like to meet under the mistletoe (and Hub would let me b/c we've been married 10 years and we each have a List): Dave Navarro and Clive Owen. Cause I'm greedy and have eclectic tastes.

The Famous Wafer Log Thingy!

1. Favorite holiday themed romance book or story.
Sad to say, my favorite holiday reads aren't really romances. I re-read A Christmas Carol and The Dark is Rising every year at this season (usually, anyway). And even though I keep hoping Ebenezer and Belle will get back together...they never do. So--not a romance. However, I read two new romances just this year that I really, really liked. The Dickens with Love by Josh Lanyon and An Improper Holiday by KA Mitchell.

2. If there were no calories to consider, what Christmas treat would you most like to eat until you couldn't move? That's tough. I think I'd have to go with Struffoli. Because that is the kind of thing you could just keep eating and eating and eating...if you're lucky enough to find it, that is.

3. Who would you most want to meet under the mistletoe (besides your S.O.)? Ooh...even more tough...er. It would have to be someone who's a really good kisser--because that would really be the whole point, wouldn't it? I saw an interview (a very old interview--I have no idea why it was even on, but there it was) on TV recently with Kirstie Alley talking about what a good smoocher John Travolta was. So, I'll go with him. He grew up only a few miles away from me, anyway, so we'd probably even have something to talk about between smooches. Plus he's Italian...so he'd probably have his own struffoli stash. Sure, Christmas is the season to share--but let's not get all carried away!

PG's recipe for Struffoli!

1. Favorite holiday read: Like PG, I'm a Dark is Rising kind of gal. I re-read it every year during the holidays. I even made a point of visiting Cader Idris, a mountain in South Wales that figures significantly in the series, when I was in the UK many years ago. I also adore Christmas romance anthologies and set aside time to read at least a few during the season.

2. Holiday treat: I live for my mom's pizzelles, a cookie made on a special waffle-type iron. They taste amazing!

3. I'd have to go with George Clooney. He seems like the kind of guy who'd know his way around the mistletoe. :)

Kate's recipe for almond butter smash cookies, almost as good as pizzelles but you don't need a special cookie iron to make them!!

1. What is your favorite holiday romance read?
Oddly enough, I don't really have one. But the holidays are really my only
time to lie in bed and have marathon reading sessions, so I guess everything is holiday reading. Cop out answer, I know. I'll have to take inspiration
from the other 9NN and add holiday books to the TBR pile.

2. If calories were no object, what holiday treat would you eat until you
couldn't move? Muddy Buddies. They're salty and sweet... chocolate and peanut butter....and bite sized! I'd eat these forever if I could.

3. Who (besides your significant other!) would you like to meet under the mistletoe? Hard question, partially because there's too many to choose from, and partially because there's really no one other than my SO that I'd ever want under the mistletoe. But to be a good sport, I'd have to choose Matthew Bomer from "White Collar." He's got those deep blue eyes with dark hair, and that luscious five o'clock shadow.

Happy Holidays from the Naughty Nine!!!