Forty Facts About Kate - Day Two

Ready for round two? Here we go!

30. I love creativity-based reality shows - Top Chef and Project Runway are two of my favorites.

29. For many years I re-read my favorite YA book, The Dark Is Rising, every winter around the solstice.

28. The author with the most books on my bookshelf is Lucy Monroe. Second? Suz Brockmann.

27. I love to collect cookbooks and cooking magazines. Despite my best intentions, I rarely actually make any recipes contained in said books and magazines.

26. I once went to a science fiction convention dressed as Krissy Kochanski. (Bonus points to the first person who can identify KK! Not you, Maia.)

25. I love tomato-based dishes (spaghetti, lasagna, chili), but other than in bruschetta, I'm not fond of uncooked tomatoes.

24. I can still recite my monologues from A Midsummer Night's Dream, a play I was in twenty years ago.

23. Although I took piano lessons for three years, the only instrument I can still play with any skill is the tambourine.

22. I love Frangos. Especially the mint chocolate kind.

21. The first time I got glasses, I couldn't find the eye chart on the wall - I couldn't even see the big E.

More tomorrow. And I'll have to start thinking about them today, because dang this is harder than I thought!

Forty Facts About Kate - The Countdown Begins

*note: these facts will be random and jumbled together, sort of like me.

40. When I was a kid, we had a cat named Muffin. Muffin liked to get, erm, amorous on the deck outside the family room before we had her fixed. Being a kid, I worried that she kept getting in "fights". My parents would respond by telling me to go practice my piano. Ever since then, whenever the topic of sex comes up, the stock response is "go practice your piano".

39. After my first book came out, Mom called to tell me she'd learned a whole bunch of new piano pieces while reading it.

38. My feet are almost always cold.

37. In college, my friends and I staged a fight in the middle of Red Square on campus. Our storyline? A couple was arguing with each other across the square, but every time one of us said something, another couple "translated" it for us. At the end, the two couples switched places. We took our bows and walked off.

36. I once sang karaoke in a Philipine restaurant in the middle of Munich. Under duress. (The person who'd taken us out to dinner insisted.) The song? Thanks to a dearth of English-language titles, I ended up butchering The Theme From Mahogany.

35. The year I started teaching at a junior high, I paid student prices for lunch for almost two months until the lunch lady realized I was a teacher. (Sadly, I wasn't even aware I was getting away with anything until it was too late.)

34. My first paid writing experience was winning first place in a "flash fiction" contest put on by the local community newspaper. I earned $75 for a story about a girl who turned into a pizza.

33. I'm left handed.

32. The first play I was ever in was Charley's Aunt, in high school.

31. My husband opened a bag of halloween candy yesterday and did not hide it from me. This was a tactical error. I have a very hard time saying no to chocolate.

More tomorrow! And remember, every comment gets you an entry into the prize giveaway!

Have A Treat, Support A Miracle...

It's not often that eating ice cream is a selfless act of generosity, but Thursday the 13th in the US, you can do good while treating yourself. Thursday is Miracle Treat Day at all participating Dairy Queen restaurants. If you buy a Blizzard, DQ will donate a minimum of $1 of the purchase price to your local Children's Miracle Network Hospital.

Last year, they raised $4.5 million. Why not help DQ top $5 mil this year?

For more details, click here.

And just for fun, what's your favorite Blizzard flavor? I'm partial to French Silk, with its chunks of graham cracker crust and chocolate. Yum!

And Now -- The Winners!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by my blog to help me celebrate the release of The Devil Inside. And huge thanks to everyone who's bought a copy, helping it reach #4 on the Samhain/My Bookstore and More bestseller's list.

But it's time to announce the winners of the Blog Party contest, so without further ado (and in no particular order):

LJ White!

You've won a download of The Devil Inside.

Stephanie!

You've won the Winter Vanilla pampering set -- body butter, body scrub, and lip gloss, plus some yummy scented candles.

Stacy~!

You've won the Warm You Up gift set -- an oversized Hot Cocoa mug (that my kids begged me not to give away -- LOL), Hershey's Goodnight Kisses hot cocoa mix, and a box of Walker's shortbread (my favorite!).

Winners, please contact me off blog with your address (LJ, I just need your preferred e-book format) so I can send the gifties out.

And thanks again, everyone, for participating!

Stay tuned to the blog, too. I've got some Valentine's gifts to give away next week that I think you'll like.

And keep reading!

Temptation

I'm having a hard time resisting it -- temptation, that is. In the form of two big packages of Ghirardelli chocolates, not-quite-hidden in the bottom drawer of my filing cabinet. One's mint-chocolate squares, the other a variety mix, and they're both calling my name.

Loudly.

It's not fair, I tell you. I'm in the home stretch of the workout challenge at the health club, and I'm trying to be good. Well, okay. Sorta good.

But when really fabulous chocolate starts singing its siren song, how can I refuse?

So I'm doling out no more than two squares a writing session, pretending that really doesn't count. Besides, isn't dark chocolate supposed to be good for you?

One and a half weeks to go before we weigh out. Then chocolate and me, we're having a nice, loooong discussion. :)

What's your temptation? What are you finding hard to resist?