UPDATE! Quest & Kendal’s third (and final) egg hatched this morning and the new family of five were enjoying a meal together this morning. Judging by last year, we should see some remarkable growth in our hatchlings over the next few weeks and Kendal will be kept busy keeping all those bellies full. A fledge watch will soon begin in earnest and we are sure to have some incredible (and hairy) moments as the hatchlings become mobile.

Harlequin encourages anyone who wishes to learn more about peregrines, pledge support or discover what they can do to help this threatened species to visit the Canadian Peregrine Foundation at www.peregrine-foundation.ca.

Last year, Quest and Kendal successfully hatched only one eyas which was banded and named Harlequin. Naturally, we are quite excited at the possibility of being proud godparents/guardians to three new peregrines this year and are already making plans for a fledge watch to ensure that the hatchlings survive their first few days.

Harlequin encourages anyone who wishes to learn more about peregrines, pledge support or discover what they can do to help this threatened species to visit the Canadian Peregrine Foundation at www.peregrine-foundation.ca.

YOUR CHANCE TO GET A RESPONSE TO YOUR SUBMISSION FROM A HARLEQUIN EDITOR – FAST – IS BACK!

In 2010, Medical Romance fever swept through Romance HQ in London – it was the summer of our famous Fast Track. All Medical submissions sent in August were guaranteed a response in August, and wow did you keep us all busy. We read an incredible 174 Medical submissions and went on to buy FIVE authors from it: Louisa George, Leonie Knight, Annie Claydon, Connie Cox and Tina Beckett.

This June, we’re looking to repeat the success:

THE MEDICAL ROMANCE FAST-TRACK IS BACK (BY POPULAR DEMAND!)

• Are you a fan of the Medical Romance series?
• Or perhaps you’re addicted to medical TV dramas?
• Do you want to write for an excitingly unique, globally distributed series?
• And – of course! – do you want an editorial response within a month?

Then this is the initiative for you!

All you need is an idea for a romance in a medical setting and the first chapter only – the rest is simple!

Send us a covering letter with a synopsis of your story and characters (no more than two pages) along with the first chapter

• Fast-track submissions must be received between 1^st and 7^th June 2012 (12.00 midnight BST, British Summer Time)
• Email your submission (as a Word document attachment) to medicalfasttrack2012@hqnuk.co.uk
• You will receive a response by email by 29^th June.
• Otherwise our normal submissions and format procedures apply (visit our ‘Submit  manuscript’ section at www.millsandboon.co.uk )

Excited already? You certainly should be – this is a fantastic opportunity to get your writing noticed by the Medical Romance team and we can’t wait to read your submissions!

If you want to learn more about the Medical series first, then watch this space – we’ll be following up with lots of advice before 1^st June! You can also find our writing guidelines or buy Medical Romance titles in print or ebook format from www.harlequin.com (a Medical Romance podcast is available here too), www.millsandboon.co.uk and www.millsandboon.com.au.  You can also join our Harlequin.com Community discussion where the editors and authors will be sharing tips and guidelines on submitting here

“We are thrilled that Quest and Kendal have returned,” said Donna Hayes, Harlequin Publisher and CEO. “They have become part of the Harlequin family and we are looking forward to watching them have even more hatchlings this year. If you can’t be here, then the Harlequin peregrine webcam is the next best thing—it allows people around the world to get an up-close view of Quest, Kendal and, fingers crossed, their fledges.”

After much drama last year—Quest rejected two of the three eggs she laid—a young hatchling was born, which the Canadian Peregrine Foundation named Harlequin. Appropriately enough, Harlequin was weighed and banded in the Harlequin offices and is now roaming the North American sky.

The world’s fastest animal—they can reach speeds of more than 320 km/h when in their hunting dive— the peregrines have once more begun their high-altitude flirting. But not without attracting some interest: a third falcon, identified as Chester, is also competing for Quest’s attention. Chester was born in 2011 in the Yonge and Eglinton area of Toronto.

Quest, a peregrine falcon born across Lake Ontario in Rochester, New York, and Kendal, a peregrine born in downtown Toronto in 2009, successfully mated in 2011 for the first time, with Quest becoming the first-ever satellite-tagged bird to produce young.

Harlequin encourages anyone who wishes to learn more about peregrines, pledge support or discover what they can do to help this threatened species to visit the Canadian Peregrine Foundation

It was such a treat when I was recently asked to participate in writing a special online read.  I, along with a few other authors, were each given the same opening paragraphs to a story, and asked to complete it in the theme of the Harlequin line we write for. (Editor’s Note: Christine Bell recently wrote on the blog about her own online read that she wrote with the same prompt!) I write for Nocturne, so after reading about a woman searching for her lover at a party, and finding him unexpectantly in the arms of another woman, my mind set off on a wickedly evil tangent.  I wanted to have some fun with this story.  And there’s a dark, twisted part inside me that wanted to get some mental exercise.  And really, Nocturne is all about creatures of the night and harrowing experiences, so why not give zombies I try, I told myself.  Zombies can find love too.  Right?  :-)

Yes, they can.  And in Night of The Living Wed, I got to explore zombies and love.  (With a healthy helping of brains.  Can’t have zombies without brains, am I right?)  So I hope you will enjoy the weekly installments of this story as Charlotte and John get married, rescue each other, have mad, passionate honeymoon sex, and fight off the zombies before the world ends.

Editor’s Note: Read on for a sneak peek at Night of the Living Wed! The story debuts on Harlequin.com on March 14!

***

Charlotte winced as an inebriated party-goer stepped on her foot, but she kept moving determinedly toward the doors that led to the balcony. The Duncans would be delighted with their party; it was clearly the event of the season, and their daughter had been successfully launched into society.

Unfortunately, the noise, the heat and the crowd combined with Charlotte’s pounding headache to make her want to escape for a breath of fresh air. Reaching the balcony doors, she opened them to find two people engaged in a passionate kiss.

“I’m sorry.” The words escaped her mouth before she realized it would have been better to make an exit without being noticed. The couple jumped apart.

Charlotte felt the blood drain from her face as she stared at her fiancé. “John! I thought you were dead!”

John dropped the woman in his arms and rushed to Charlotte. “You’re okay?”

“Of course I am.”

“Then why did you think I was dead?”

“I was being sarcastic! I haven’t seen you all night. You didn’t even join me for the toast. After our fight in the car, I assumed you wanted some space. I don’t know why you can’t agree to allow a priest to marry us.”

“Charlotte, I’m a scientist, I don’t believe in—ah, forget the argument. Don’t you realize what’s going on?”

“Besides me finding you in some woman’s arms? Really, John?”

“Forget her, too,” John said, indicating the woman draped over the balcony railing like a doll dropped on her stomach. “They’re here,” he said ominously.

***

In 2002, we gave authors from different Harlequin series the same opening paragraph and asked each of them to write the rest of the story. The resulting innovative and compelling stories found a special place in our readers’ hearts. So now we’ve put together a special anthology of four of the original reads, plus two brand-new endings to Charlotte’s story!

Night of the Living Wed is the second of those new stories, taking Charlotte and John into an entirely different situation that endangers their lives, their love…and their brains.

Charlotte and John’s evening turns deadly when some uninvited guests show up at their friend’s party—a horde of hungry zombies. The couple is in a fight for their lives when a new, heroic side of John emerges, and he vows to protect Charlotte no matter the cost….

Where: Harlequin Facebook Livestream: http://on.fb.me/yFLuhj 

When: February 22^nd 3pm ET / 12 pm ET

LORI WILL TALK ABOUT:
Release of A Perfect Storm, and a brand new series coming in 2012!
Her novella in the LOVE BITES benefit anthology coming June 1 from HQN e-books 
Buckhorns, Men Who Walk the Edge of Honor, and a fan Q&A

EXCITING EXCLUSIVES & GIVEAWAY:
An exclusive cover reveal of RUN THE RISK, Lori’s Oct. ’12 HQN title.
Men Who Walk the Edge of  Honor Video
Exclusive Buckhorns download
Also, Lori will sign on screen and giveaway LIVE her latest book A Perfect Storm

Do you have a burning question for Lori?  Send them to us before Monday Feb 20^th 11:59PM EST through: Twitter using the hashtag #HarlequinLive, Harlequin Facebook or in a comment on this blog post.

Publisher’s Weekly has already put A Perfect Storm in the TOP TEN for romance this year and says “Foster has an amazing ability to capture a man’s emotions and lust with sizzling sex scenes and meld it with a strong woman’s point of view.”  Lori Foster fans really shouldn’t miss this event, but if you can’t make it we do keep the full Livestream video on our Facebook page.

See you there!

Editor’s Note: For each New Year, New You post we’ve asked a Harlequin Nonfiction and fiction author to share their New Year’s resolution. For today’s post authors Dr. Howard M. Shapiro, Chef Franklin Becker and Victoria Dahl have shared theirs!

Dr. Shapiro’s resolution:

“I lost some weight recently, and I resolve to keep it off by using the guidelines I’ve set forth in Eat & Beat Diabetes.”

Chef Franklin Becker’s resolution:

“When we wrote Eat and Beat Diabetes, we wanted to show that making the right choices can help. One of the right choices for me to help control my diabetes is a good cardio workout and my resolution is to get to the gym at least 3 times a week.

Victoria Dahl’s resolution:

“I’m going totally clichéd this year with a resolution to get in shape. I got halfway there in 2011. In 2012 I plan to reach the rest of my goals and make my outside match the way I feel on the inside!”

***

Eating is a matter of choosing, and the New Year brings a clean slate to make the best decisions for your health, beauty and happiness. Below are different food options with equal calories. Seeing the difference between food options can help you make healthy choices for a healthier you.

For 85 calories: 1 part-skim mozzarella stick OR 1 cup black bean soup

For 5 calories: 1 sip lemonade OR 1 cup diet lemonade

For 75 calories: 1 Weight Watchers Giant Fudge Bar OR 4 fruit popsicles, no added sugar

For 400 calories: 1 serving fries OR 4 ears of corn

For 420 calories: 1 wedge apple pie OR 4 baked apples

For 550 calories: 1 cup granola OR 5 cups Cheerios

For 540 calories: 1 blueberry muffin (6 ounces) OR 6 light waffles with blueberries and sugar-free syrup

For 400 calories: 1 individual raspberry tart OR 8 cups raspberries

For 650 calories: 1 buttered bagel OR 14 slices light bread with sugar-free jam

For 620 calories: 1 cup yogurt pretzels OR 16 cups popcorn

For 760 calories: 1 cup superpremium ice cream OR 19 frozen fudge pops, no added sugar

For 110 calories: 1 cup orange juice OR 3 oranges

Monday’s post on resolutions made me think about the other side of the coin: book challenges! They’re fun ways to inspire you to read more, or to branch out and read things that you wouldn’t normally. A couple of years ago I did a graphic novel book challenge that expanded my horizons indefinitely. I didn’t know I liked Spider-man as much as I did!

I thought I would round up some of the plethora of challenges that exist online for this year. Now, I entitled this the Ultimate Reading Challenge Round Up, but it really doesn’t scratch the surface of what exists out there. However, it does highlight the breadth and depth of just how many challenges exist and really, choosing a couple from this list alone will probably satisfy you for the whole year. For me, the goal isn’t to finish the challenge, but to discover new and exciting books to read that you may not have been exposed to previously. Are there any challenges on this list that you’ve joined? Or would like to join? Have you started a challenge yourself? Leave it in the comments!

Generic Book Challenges

50 Book Challenge
Books Won Challenge
ARC Reading Challenge
100 Books in a Year Challenge
New Authors Reading Challenge
Tea & Books Reading Challenge (For books over 700 pages.)
Off the Shelf 2012
Read Your Name Challenge
Mammoth Book Reading Challenge (For books over 450 pages.)
Books I Started But Didn’t Finish Reading Challenge

List Specific Challenges

BBC Book Challenge
Adoption Reading Challenge (Books about Adoption)
1001 Book You Must Read Before You Die Challenge
All the Books of Pern Challenge
The Dark Tower (Stephen King) Reading Challenge
Rizzoli and Isles Reading Challenge (Terri Gerritsen)
Women’s Murder Club Reading Challenge (James Patterson)
Agatha Christie Reading Challenge Carnival

Genre Specific Challenges

Romance Reading Challenge
Sports Romance Reading Challenge
Operation Deepen Faith (Religion and Faith-centric books)
Witches and Witchcraft Reading Challenge
Clocks, Cogs and Mechanisms Reading Challenge (Steampunk)
What Would Jane Do Reading Challenge (Jane Austen and Austen inspired reads)
Mystery and Suspense Reading Challenge
Zombie Challenge 2012
Horror and Urban Fantasy Reading Challenge
Speculative Romance Challenge
Time Travel Reading Challenge
Dystopia 2012 Challenge
Short Story Reading Challenge
Immigrant Stories Reading Challenge
Fairy Tales Retold Reading Challenge

Country-Specific Challenges

Six Book Challenge (UK)
Nordic Book Challenge
I Love Italy Reading Challenge
Global Reading Challenge
Where are You Reading Challenge

Time Specific Challenges
(Dates are listed in italics and brackets beside each challenge)

A Winter’s Respite Read-a-Thon (January 23 – January 29, 2012)
Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks (a book a week, that sounds hard!)

When I was younger, the majority of my Christmas traditions were Polish. We ate fish on Christmas eve, looked for the first star in the sky that evening, and, having found it, opened presents! Then my family expanded and our regular Polish traditions melded with new (to us) Canadian traditions, such as turkey stuffing, Christmas stockings and (my favourite) eggnog.

Now, you can always find eggnog readily available in the supermarket at this time of year. But it isn’t actually that difficult to make your own–and you get to learn how to do more fun kitchen techniques like emulsifying eggs in the process! (Okay, so maybe I’m a bit of a foodie nerd.) I was quite pleased when I discovered this recipe for Christmas Eve Eggnog in the Debbie Macomber Christmas Cookbook. I can always count on Debbie to bring a little extra holiday cheer into any recipe. She’s the Queen of Christmas, after all! The recipe is not difficult to follow and it’s a perfect addition to any holiday party you’re planning, including the most important one of all, whether it be on Dec. 24th or 25th!

Ingredients:

• 6 large eggs, separated
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• Salt
• 1/2 cup brandy
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Garnishes: Ground nutmeg, chocolate shavings, cinnamon sticks

Method:

1. Place a large bowl in a larger bowl of ice water; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks and 1/2 cup of the sugar until thick, for about 2 minutes.

3. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, bring milk, vanilla bean, and a pinch of salt to a simmer. Remove from heat; whisk 1 cup of this hot milk mixture into the yolks. Slowly pour yolk-milk mixture into milk remaining in saucepan. Place pan over medium heat; cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture reaches 160F and is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.

4. Strain eggnog base through a fine-mesh sieve into bowl in ice bath. Let cool for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, for about 1 hour.

5. Whisk brandy and cream into chilled eggnog. In large bowl using an electric mixer on high speed, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add remaining 1/2 cup sugar; beat on high until stiff peaks form. Gently fold whites into eggnog until blended. Cover, refrigerate for several hours or overnight, or until cold. Pour into a pitcher to serve. Garnish servings as desired.

Enjoy!

I hope you get a chance to try this recipe out. Let me know in the comments if you do. Or tell me what your favourite holiday recipe is. Maybe we can start our own Harlequin Blog holiday recipe collection?

When: Dec 6th at 3pm ET / 12 pm ET

LINDA WILL TALK ABOUT:
Release of Big Sky Country, new series coming in 2012!
Creeds, McKettricks, and a fan Q&A

EXCITING EXCLUSIVES & GIVEAWAY:
Cowboys in Love: Big Sky Country behind the scenes COVER SHOOT Video
Exclusive Montana Creeds download
Linda will sign on screen and giveaway LIVE one of her Christmas books!

Do you have a burning question for Linda? Send them to us before Monday Dec. 6th at 9:00AM EST through: Twitter using the hashtag #HarlequinLive, Harlequin Facebook or in a comment on this blog post. Linda Lael Miller fans really shouldn’t miss this event, but if you can’t make it we do keep the full livestream video on the Facebook page.

To celebrate this event, all print and ebooks in Linda Lael Miller’s Montana Creeds Series are 10% off on Harlequin.com! Use Promo Code: HARLIVE3 (valid Dec 1 – Dec 31)

HERE IS A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM LINDA LAEL MILLER:

Yeehaw!  It’s rodeo time again—and I’m talking about the BIG rodeo here, folks—the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, held every year in early December.  I always look forward to the event—but this year, it’s going to be even more exciting than usual.  I’ll be on the Flint Rasmussen Show—Flint is a former rodeo clown (they’re called bull-fighters now), a major radio personality, and one of my favorite people.  He’s from my mom’s hometown, Choteau, Montana, which practically makes him kin.  My fabulous Harlequin family has teamed up with Caesar’s Entertainment for some special appearances and signings at the Paris casino and, of course, there’s the rodeo itself—my favorite event being the bull-riding, since my dad was a bull-rider, back in the day.  A cowboy has to be real brave—or real crazy—to ride these enormous critters and live to tell the story.

Cowboy Christmas, a huge trade show, is a highlight for me, too.  They sell everything there, from custom saddles and other tack to boots and purses and vests and jewelry.  Be still my beating heart!

Wendy, my daughter, and Jeremy, her future husband, will be joining me for part of the visit, and my cousin Lee and his wife Margie will be there, too—they’re coming all the way from Prince George, B.C.

Why do I love the rodeo so much?  Because it represents the Western way of life, and I’m all about that.  I love the excitement and the fireworks and the gathering of thousands of good, salt-of-the-earth people under one roof, especially when they sing the National Anthem.  I love that cowboys are “tough enough to wear pink” one day of the rodeo—and they all do—to promote a cure for breast cancer.

Heck, I just plain love cowboys, period.  And there’ll be a lot of hat at the NFR, as we country types say.

I’ll be doing a live online interview from Las Vegas, in hopes of sharing as much of the experience with all of you as possible, and I’ll be blogging right along, too, and posting pictures to Twitter and Facebook as well as the blog.

If you’re going to be in town for the festivities, so much the better.  Be sure to come on up to me and say howdy!

Linda Lael Miller