Groundhog Day is officially over and, even though both Punxsutawney Phil and Wiarton Willy predicted six more weeks of Winter, I’m not going to let it bother me. You know why?

Because I’m a true romantic who believes that love conquers all. And I love chocolate and red roses and diamonds. That and, we have a new Valentine’s Day theme on the blog that looks fabulous! Have a look at the new design and, while you’re there, perhaps you’d be interested in finding out how we can give you a Happily Ever After?

Now to find that box of bonbons…

by Olga Kwak, blogger & keeper of the Wordpress themes.

Well, I hear tell of snow out in the wide world, but we’re getting more rain and slush than big fat snowflakes in Toronto. To get us into the proper mood I’m switching the Harlequin blog over to the winter theme.

If you’re receiving this in an RSS reader, thank you for subscribing to our feed, but you won’t be able to see the lovely winter background. Might I suggest you click here.

Now that it’s up, I’m finally in the mood to buy presents.  I know, I’m a little behind, but malls kind of scare me.  I really am more of the shopping-online kind of gal.  Do you have a gift on your wish list that you’ll be thrilled to find underneath your Christmas tree?  Maybe a new eBook reader perhaps?  I know that’s definitely on MY list!

Speaking of lists, I’ve gone through our comments for the Take a Cowboy (T-Shirt) Home contest and through a careful scientific (i.e. our awesome random number generator), we’ve selected Emily R. as our winner!  Congratulations to you!

by Olga Kwak, web maintenance (it’s more exciting than it sounds!)

Happy day-after-Thanksgiving (okay, okay…Black Friday), American friends! How’s that turkey coma coming along? Almost out of it? Not me. I’m about ready to slip into my favorite wool socks and make some hot cocoa because I’ve just been to the DTC Swiss Chalet Lunch.

If the only word out of that phrase you understood was “lunch”, allow me to explain. Each year, traditionally on the Friday after Thanksgiving, knowing that the New York office is all enjoying leftovers with their family, the fourth floor takes comfort in a good wholesome roast turkey chicken lunch. And, while our neighbors to the south shop ’til they drop, we pop in a holiday flick (which we vote on—this year it was Scrooged.)

This year, I had my first Holiday Festive Special. THOSE three words in Canada make mouths water. I’m serious. Strangely enough, in Thailand it means turkey pizza (thanks, Google!) But back in Canada, it’s almost sacrilegious not to have the meal at least once a year, so says the girl who just admitted it was her first time. A quarter leg of chicken, paired with stuffing, cranberry sauce, and fries! And Lindor chocolate for dessert. Can’t go wrong with that.

Isn’t she a beauty?

Best of luck with the shopping and digestion, folks! We’ll see you on the other side of the weekend (and don’t forget to enter the book contest before Sunday. We’re LOVING your stories!)

by Malle Vallik, Digital Team

Happy Thanksgiving to all! I’ve always loved Thanksgiving mostly because it is an occasion to get together with family and friends, eat lots of food and not have to buy presents. I also enjoy the tradition of taking a moment to list what you are thankful for.

The top 5 items the Harlequin digital content team is grateful for (in no particular order):

1. Billionaires
Our editors were prescient. Long before the global economy hit the skids, the classic rich Presents hero had wisely managed his money and invested in people and smart ideas rather than mortgage-backed securities and had become a billionaire. Our heroines deserve a man who can shower her with love and financial security! To understand more completely our appreciation of the billionaire check out THE BILLIONAIRE’S BRIDE OF INNOCENCE or THE BILLIONAIRE’S UNEXPECTED HEIR.

2. Excel
Yes, we are the content group which means we focus on the stories and authors (see Amy’s book dork post) but we have all come to love the magic of Excel. It is an amazing tool to input, share and sort information, and we do a lot of that—we convert around 200 titles into eBook formats every month, and there is this stuff called metadata. It’s as awful as it sounds. But Excel helps keep it all straight. As I say to financial-type people when trying to share my enthusiasm for their favorite spreadsheet, “Excel is just another way to tell a story.”

For example, this screenshot is just a small section of the massive spreadsheet Amy keeps tracks of every single Harlequin eBook on:

3. Readers
Harlequin readers are really special people. They are passionate and engaged; they are generous with their book recommendations; they love to escape by reading. In fact, our research shows that our readers read much more than the average American, and while romance is most likely her favorite genre, she reads many different types of books.

4. The Internet
We at the digital content team wouldn’t have jobs without the Internet, but even more, the Internet has transformed all of our lives and it rocks! Remember life before email or ability to search for information online? It was not as good. Internet banking. eBooks. Sharing photos. Facebook. Twitter (I love twitter; find me at twitter.com/mallevallik). I am amazed at how the Internet has transformed our lives.

5. Romance novels
Romance novels promise a happy ending. No matter what trials and tribulations confront our hero and heroine, no matter how daunting the obstacles keeping them from their happily-ever-after, we know it will end well. The happy ending is great. We need more happy endings in real life!

While we at Romance Headquarters celebrated our Thanksgiving a month ago, we’re Canadian, we want to wish all of our American friends a very happy holiday. We hope you celebrate, have a great meal and find time to escape into an amazing romance novel.

What are you thankful for this year?