Today’s another obscure holiday–Hot Sauce Day! Since I’m a lover of hot sauces, I thought celebrating them would be fun.

Did you know that chili peppers originated in the Americas? They were spread around the world by Spanish and Portuguese traders. They get their heat from something called capsaicinoids. They’re rated, too, on something called the Scoville Scale. Reading the rating of some of the hot sauces I looked at, I’m a bit of a weenie with my favorite sauces (Cholula, Tabasco, and Frank’s) only rating in the 1000s. Tabasco is the hottest in my fridge at 7,000. Da Bomb, which I listed in the puzzle, is a scorching 119,000 to 1.5 million!

So, for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me whether you’re a fan of hot sauces and which ones are in your fridge!

UPDATE: The winner is…Angela Carter!
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So, the other day, I posted a poll to choose the next theme for another Boys Behaving Badly Anthology. The winner of the poll is “Burn”—a tentative title. I’m okay with that. So, authors start thinking about how you can use heat/burning/fire in a short story between 2500 to 5500 words. I’ll put together a Call for Submissions soon and make a formal announcement.

Ugh. My puzzle generator changed, and I don’t like change. I hope it works similarly to the old version. Since I’ve settled on a theme for the antho, I thought I might list some ideas authors might play with for their stories. For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me which idea you love. If you have another idea to offer, I’m sure authors would love to see it!

UPDATE: The winner is…Beckie!
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Christmas decorations are still up, but it’s time to make some plans for the New Year!

Is this something you like to do? Do you set resolutions? Plan to join Weight Watchers? Sign up for yoga classes at the local rec center? Set a budget to improve your finances? Maybe plan a trip or two?

Every year, always, I set plans in motion. Some goals I achieve, some I lose interest in working on by mid-January, but others, are a constant work in progress. I love the process of planning for a new year—and it always begins with my writing goals. Seeing as I abandoned writing in August due to my diagnosis, I’m a bit wary of setting goals too far in the future, and I have tons of self-doubt about whether I can ever achieve my former productivity, but I am going to set some goals anyway as something to shoot for. And I’ll go for pie-in-the-sky because I’m an optimist, and if I have to adjust later, ah well. I have to have goals and starting points to remain motivated.

So, for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle to keep that gray matter functioning, then tell me whether you have any goals for the new year, big or small. 

UPDATE: The winner is…Beth!
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Counting down the days until Christmas, trying to come up with holiday-themed posts, can be hard! I do love movies, though. I read all day long (editing, writing), and when I want a break, it’s not a book I gravitate to. I love movies. I love the full immersive experience. Lights off, volume up. After Thanksgiving, I get serious about hunting down holiday movies to watch with the family, and we’ve watched quite a few, so far: Elf, Hot Frosty, National Lampoon’s A Christmas Vacation… I know we’ve watched a couple of others, but they escape my mind.

Last night, the 15-year-old and I sat down to watch my favorite (and yes, it is a Christmas movie!), Die Hard. Get this. She’s 15—and had never seen it. When it was over, she said, “Best Christmas movie ever!” I feel so vindicated. LOL

Because there’s still time to fit a few more movies in, I’m looking for your suggestions. I listed the new film, Red One in the puzzle below, because I’m hoping to talk my family into watching another action flick with me (my favorite genre!). For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, give me some more suggestions for holiday movies to watch!

UPDATE: The winner is…Kristal Allen!
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I have all my gifts, other than gift cards, purchased. One thing I don’t have to worry about is getting the stocking stuffers. That’s Mom’s job now. She’s assembling her bits. They include some of what I’ve listed below in the puzzle. With a bunch of girls, hair ties are always needed. Small, collectible figurines like Pikachu and Hello Kitty get squeals from the 11-year-old. She also likes those plastic insert decorations for her Crocs.

I remember the day when nuts, oranges, and candy canes were the filler.

If you were stuffing a stocking for someone, what might you include? Answer in the comments below for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card.

UPDATE: The winner is…Krystal!
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We have several trees around our house. It seems we “grow” more trees, large and mostly small, every year. Many of the ornaments are ones we’ve inherited or collected over the years. Some are handmade by the children. All hold memories.

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, and then tell me about one ornament you have that you cherish!

Open Contests

1. Memory Puzzle: Dead Horse Bounty Hunters (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win a FREE book!
2. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Turkey Day is Coming! — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Anna Taylor Sweringen/Michal Scott: Alice Ruth Moore Dunbar Nelson — More Than a Famous Poet’s Wife (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Gabbi Grey: Audio Love (Contest) — Win a FREE audio book!
5. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Advent begins tomorrow! — Win an Amazon gift card!
6. November into December (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!

The winner is…Courtney Kinder!
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So, I released a book yesterday that featured a shifter. She’s not an animal I’ve seen used a lot, but she got me thinking about my favorite kinds of shifters. Who doesn’t love werewolves? I’ve written those. I’ve also written panthers (Bad Moon Rising). Do you remember the kid’s movie, Sky High? One of the characters shapeshifted into a guinea pig, which earned her a lot of teasing from the other kids with superpowers until they needed a small animal to perform a task. So, she’s on my list of favorite shifters, too.

My question for you today is: What kind of shifters do you love or would love to see in a book or movie? Answer for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!