---

---

Congrats to elaing8, who won A Gift of Mistletoe, by Alex Whitehall!

Congrats to Wendy, who won Dreams of a Stolen Child (Stolen Child #3) by Anna Mayle!

---

D’oh! My sixth blogiversary was November 22. The blog now bears little resemblance to the blog then, other than regular cat photos. 🙂 Of course, it was just Chaos back in those days… Anyway! Thank you all so much for visiting and commenting – you make each day a little brighter for me.

---

---

Contests

• Coffee and Porn in the Morning is giving away an ebook copy of any book from KA Mitchell’s backlist – including the freshly released Bad Boyfriend. Contest is only today, December 16, so hurry.

• Chaos in the Moonlight is giving away an ebook copy Megan Derr’s forthcoming The Christmas Package. Contest closes today, December 16, so hurry.

• Jordan Castillo Price is giving away an ebook copy of her new short story, Fire Thief. Contest closes December 17 am.

• Chaos in the Moonlight’s also giving away a ZA Maxfield holiday title, or other backlist book. Enter by December 17 for your chance to win.

• Jenre’s giving away an ebook from Kari Gregg’s backlist. Contest closes 11 pm GMT, December 17.

• Chaos in the Moonlight’s giving away an ebook from Kaje Harper’s backlist. Contest closes December 18.

• And Chaos in the Moonlight’s giving away four different ebooks from JP Bowie (Christmas Wishes, He Ain’t Heavy, A Special Christmas, and A Present Christmas. Contest closes December 19.

• Tracy’s giving away three copies of The Other Guy’s Bride by Connie Brockway. Contest closes 7 pm PST, December 19. US & Canada.

• Joyfully Jay is giving way an ebook copy of What We Deserve by Kerry Freeman. Contest closes 11:59 pm EST, December 19.

• Joyfully Jay is also giving away an ebook copy of Take Me Home by Sloan Parker. Contest closes 11:59 pm EST, December 20.

• Cecile’s having Riptide Publishing contests all week on her blog for backlist ebooks from Riptide authors. Make sure you read the rules to enter! All contests close midnight EST, December 24.

Bookity

• New releases and more: Literary Escapism (UF/PNR) and Book Lovers Inc (a little of everything).

• Publishing and book news from Dear Author and Smart Bitches.

• Dear Author on villains in romance.

• Smart Bitches on cliches.

• Tips on printing and binding your own books.

• 12 Christmas trees made from books.

Ebookity

• Nathan of the eBook Reader Blog shares his favorite ebook readers and tablets of 2011.

• Amazon is selling a million Kindle Fires a week, despite issues with wifi and browsing speed.

• Dilbert on tablet computers.

• Are ebook readers and tablets reviving reading?

• “Digital publishing reviving short stories.” Um, I think that’s really only news for those who mostly read stuff from major publishers?! That’s been obvious to the rest of us for a while.

• What will happen to copyright as the remixing generation gets old enough to influence policy?

• The Harry Potter ebooks won’t be available until late 2012 now.

• Read “Kitty’s Zombie New Year” by Carrie Vaughn free at Tor.com.

• The Neverending Story handmade ebook reader/tablet case…

• Gift guide: For people with ereaders

Do, Think, Learn, Make

• Google Street View has updated photos of the tsunami destruction in Japan…

• The 40 best protest signs of 2011. (Thank, Amy!)

• Is Facebook making people miserable?

• Beware getting rewards for doing something you love – you may come to hate it.

• Also beware of salmonella-tainted cilantro…

• Brain myths debunked.

• Coffee may help you stick to your workout.

• Turn earmuffs and old headphones into cold weather headphones.

• To what degree your mobile payments are protected depends on your carrier.

• The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) doesn’t think that people should use phones while they drive – not even handsfree.

• Apparently more and more online reviews are being placed by paid reviewers, sometimes working from China.

• So brilliantly simple… Store sheet sets inside one of the pillowcases.

• Turn an old netbook or laptop into a touchscreen computer.

• The AT&T/T-Mobile debacle, summarized in haiku.

Holidity

• Spiked almond joy milkshake.

• Christmas coal candy. (via The Kitchn)

• Tangled Christmas lights cupcakes. (via The Kitchn)

• 5 latke recipes

• 10 festive holiday cookies

• Rudolph cookies. (via CRAFT)

• Make a gingerbread brownstone. (via CRAFT)

• Geeky gingerbread creations, including a TARDIS.

• Make your own personalized cookie cutters.

• Make mosaic ball Christmas tree ornaments. (via CRAFT)

• Make mini-stocking ornaments from scrap fabric. (via CRAFT)

• Gift guide: For travelers

• Gift guide: For winter backpackers

• Gift guide: For makers

• Quick gift idea: Homemade amaretto

• Beware gifts that will lead to the recipient needing to spend more money.

• Geeky ornaments.

• 15 creepy and bizarre family Christmas cards…

• Build a LEGO model with your family – this family builds a different 100,000 brick model every Christmas.

• Oskar the blind kitteh ruins Christmas.

Cookity

• 5 winter salads

• 10 truffle recipes

• 15 bars, barks, and bon-bons

• 23 bread recipes

• Gluten-free pumpkin crumb cake.

• Gluten-free snickerdoodles and snickerdoodle pancakes.

• Sweet potato fudge. (via CRAFT)

• Whiskey, caramel, marshmallow, and bacon bark. (via The Kitchn)

• Dalek smash cake. (via CRAFT)

• Pancake doodles. (via The Kitchn)

• Martini-soaked olives.

• Top five 2011 cookbooks, as picked by the readers of The Kitchn.

• The 10 essential food groups of Pinterest, as identified by The Kitchn.

Crafty

• Make paper snowflakes of Star Wars characters.

• Knit a cozy neck warmer. (via CRAFT)

Cool

• You absolutely must go watch this lovely video. I’ll wait.

• Draw a Stickman! (via Dear Author)

• Imagine coming home to find a baby seal napping on your couch…

• Superheroines promoting regular breasts exams for women.

• Snow Dalek. (via The Mary Sue)

Cool or Wha…?

• LEGO introduces curvy female minifigs…

• Some very over-the-top yarn creations at the LB Studio.

• Mana and health earrings, Diablo2 style.

• Hello Kitty toaster. (The comments on that post have other fascinating things, like a bubblewrappish waffle maker.)

• Zombie half ski mask. (via The Mary Sue)

• Artistic masterpieces recreated in spices, salts, and food coloring.

Wha…?

• The richest kitteh in the world is very rich indeed. (Thanks to everyone who sent me that link!)

• Does having cats void your computer’s warranty?

• Mountain Dew contains a flame retardant.

• You can shoot up real people in Google Street View.

• “Woman kills man with amateur penis injection.”

• A dining room table that needs to be mowed. (That would not work very well with cats……..)

• An iPhone app so you can broadcast the location of and sexual position in which you just had sex…

• Knitted ear caps.

• Giant dried beetles wearing handmade costumes and being sold on etsy.

LOL

• Most do-able to-do list ever.

• Truth.

• Why is Yo-Yo Ma on the floor of a bathroom with a wombat?!

• The importance of caffeine on Star Trek.

• 10 more autocorrect misunderstandings with parents.

• HTTP error messages illustrated with cats.

• A new Simon’s Cat!

• How to inspire kittens to become astronauts…

• On introducing a new kitten to the house…

• Be patient, kitteh!

• I think you’re right, kitteh!

• Recharging…

• Cat world problems.

• Oh oh…

Teh Cute

• Kitten! Baby flamingo! Kitten! Baby cheetah! Cat and kitten! Baby cheetahs! Kittens! Baby cheetah! Baby reindeer! Owlets! Kittens! Reindeer and baby! Kitten! Penguins! Kitten! Fennec! Baby opossums!

Reading Update
The Gift by Kim Dare. ebook. Sweet kinky m/m holiday romance about a dom who’s visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past and shown how his sub has interpreted their time together…
An Australian Christmas in New York by Sean Kennedy. ebook short. Very good short m/m holiday romance about an ex-pat Australian living in New York City with his American boyfriend and feeling homesick for a properly hot Christmas. Tim Minchin’s “White Wine in the Sun” made an excellent soundtrack for reading this.
Carol of the Bellskis (Bellskis #1) by Astrid Amara. ebook. reread. Very good m/m Hanukkah romance about a paralegal who breaks up with his boyfriend (also his boss) because his closeted boss is backing out of their vacation plans. The paralegal heads off on vacation to his aunt and uncle’s kosher B&B alone… and finds himself taking care of all the guests, with his aunt and uncle nowhere to be found.
Miracle of the Bellskis (Bellskis #2) by Astrid Amara. ebook. Very good m/m Hanukkah/Christmas romance that takes place several years after Carol of the Bellskis, as Seth meets Lars’ somewhat icy parents for the first time… because Lars’ parents are staying with Lars and Seth for the holidays.
Fire Thief by Jordan Castillo Price. ebook short. Very good steamy short m/m story about two guys who strike some sparks together in a bar.
Numbers by Theo Fenraven. ebook short. Very good, very short m/m romance about two guys who are acting together in the musical Grease and dancing around each other offstage.
The Housekeeper (Will Crawford) by Theo Fenraven. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about a housekeeper from Mexico who falls in love with his movie star employer.
Picture This (Will Crawford) by Theo Fenraven. ebook short. Good short m/m story about a discreet photographer who’s hired to take nude photos by a closeted movie star. I wish I had realized that this is a series of sorts, and that The Housekeeper was the most recent one – I read The Housekeeper first and kept wondering if Will was cheating scum as I read this one.
Love at First Sight (Will Crawford) by Theo Fenraven. ebook short. Pretty good short m/m romance about a closeted actor who pursues a bookstore owner who isn’t interested in one night stands. I’m still confused about these “Will Crawford” books. In this one and in Picture This, Will gets involved with a guy and the story ends with the sense that they’re in a relationship, trying to make things work. The Housekeeper begins with Will not involved with anyone and ends after Will makes a commitment to someone and follows through with it. Are the three books to be taken together as Will’s journey to finding love and coming out? Note: The author just posted the order of these yesterday, and I read them exactly backwards. 🙂
Zombie Wonderland by Piper Vaughn. ebook short. Very good short paranormal m/m holiday romance about a waiter who’s rescued from encroaching zombies by the customer he’s been crushing on for weeks. I’m not a fan of gruesome stories, but I am fan of Piper’s writing, so I braved it.
Christmas Baby by Johnny Miles. ebook short. This short story takes place right before Christmas in 1957 and is told from the perspective of a teenager whose parents drive off to a holiday party, never to return. Suddenly, an uncle he’s never met before is the only person he has in the world.
Secret Santa by Clare London. ebook short. Good short holiday m/m romance about two guys who are always fighting, including over the mysterious Secret Santa presents they received.
NYPD Christmas by Eden Cole. ebook short. Meh m/m romance about a guy whose sister sets him up with a cop. Although he ditches the cop after they screw, he can’t get seem to get the guy out of his mind. Near instalove and awkward writing make this one to miss.

---

“That was a very suspicious noise, big kitty!” -Mayhem

“I agree, May, I agree. Stay alert!” -Chaos