What's better than finding books under the Christmas tree? Maybe a Border's gift card? How about both? And a small stash of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups? Yes, I am the luckiest girl on Earth. I'm not even going to try to deny it.

First, the books that were actually under the tree:

Take Your Best Shot by Austin Gutwein - Austin is actually my neighbor. I'm super excited to read this book about the charity he started to help families in Africa. The Gutweins gave me an extra copy (that Austin has promised to sign) to give away. It will all be happening later in the month, so stay tuned ... In the meantime, check out his website here.

Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld - My husband bought this one for me. We all need to eat healthier, so I'm going to give deception a try ...

Lion House Bakery cookbook (not pictured) - I love these cookbooks published by Deseret Book. The Lion House is a cozy restaurant in Salt Lake City, housed in the home Brigham Young built for his family in 1856. The food is excellent, the recipes are easy to follow and it's all just YUM.

My 5-year-old got this one for me, since he was my Secret Santa this year. He looked a little confused when I thanked him for it as he'd never seen it before. Hee hee. Sometimes you have to help your Secret Santa out a little, you know?

Books purchased with Border's gift card:

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett - I know little about collecting rare books (although I know all about loving books too much), so I thought this true story would make an interesting read. It's all about a book thief, the people he ripped off and the detective who hunted him down.

If A Tree Falls at Lunch Period by Gennifer Choldenko - This one was all of $3. I love Choldenko's books about Al Capone, so I figured I'd give this one a try.

How NOT to Write A Novel by Howard Mittelmark and Sandra Newman - What I really need to know is How TO Write A Novel, but I think that's actually what this one's all about. Someone on here recommended this to me - I'm excited to read it.

Voodoo Dreams by Jewell Parker Rhodes - I didn't know this until I saw an article about Rhodes in The Arizona Republic, but she is a local author. This is the first book in Rhodes' Marie Laveau series. It's all about a voodoo priestess in mid-19th Century New Orleans. It sounds fascinating.

Ruined by Paula Morris - I didn't realize this one was also about New Orleans, but it is. It's a ghost story, and I'm already loving it.

Liar by Justine Larbalestier - Does this one really need an explanation? After all the hoopla over this one, I'm curious to see what I think.

Speaking of bookish goodies, tomorrow's the last day for my 500th post celebration giveaway. You could win the book of your choice from Amazon. So, click on over and enter. Good luck!

Although I don't read a lot of books about the Medieval times (let alone a romance), I just couldn't pass up Loyalty's Web by Joyce DiPastena. It's not the cover that grabbed me, nor the plot summary (although it did sound intriguing), but the author herself. DiPastena is LDS, an Arizonan and just a fascinating person all around. She holds a Bachelor's in history, with an emphasis on medieval history - a course of study I never even knew existed. She also earned a Master's in library science. With a book lovin' expert on the Middle Ages at the helm, I figured I couldn't go wrong with Loyalty's Web. Even if it is a romance.

The story is grounded in real history: It's 1176 and England's King Henry II is struggling to control his ambitious sons, all of whom are vying for control of lands promised to them by their father. Since the peaceful division envisioned by Henry involved one brother bowing to another, jealousy and anger ensued. The Angevin empire (which, according to Wikipedia, stretched from the Pyrenees to Ireland at its peak), presented an especially difficult problem for the king. Here's where the fiction begins: When Loyalty's Web opens, the king has issued a peace treaty in an attempt to rein in his rebellious son Richard. He's sent the Earl of Gunthar to the Poitou region of France to ensure compliance with the treaty, especially among wealthy land barons who support Richard's position. While there, the earl will wed the beautiful Clothilde de Laurant, a strategic move that will bind Laurant to the king.

Almost immediately, the king's plan goes awry: Someone (or several someones) is trying to kill the earl; Gunthar's no more impressed with the fragile Clothilde than she is with him; and Helene, Clothilde's older sister, is being blackmailed into undermining the earl's mission.

While Clothilde's many graces make her the desired sister, it is Helene who is the true heroine of the story. Unlike her sister, she's neither beautiful nor graceful. What she does possess is intelligence, bravery and loyalty. It's the fire in her eyes that catches the attention of Gunthar, the earl. Helene knows such a powerful man can only be teasing her with his flattery, but she can't get him off her mind. As if she has nothing else to think about. With a spy on the loose in the castle, her own impending nuptials to escape, and a childhood friend locked in the tower, she has plenty to occupy her brain. Her schemes will bring her in direct conflict with Gunthar's orders, which will not please the earl one bit. Still, Gunthar and Helene come to an agreement: They need to work together in order to flush out the traitor inside the Laurant castle. Both are fiercely loyal - Gunthar to the king, Helene to her family and friends - something that will stand firmly in the way of their mutual attraction. Will the pair find a way to be together? Is Gunthar just amusing himself by exploiting Helene's naivetee? Can Helene wed another when her heart belongs to the earl? Can Gunthar and Helene find the spy in time? Or are they all doomed to suffer the king's vengeance?

The plot becomes complicated and confusing, with lots of political detail as well as a large cast of characters. It took me a chapter or so to get into the story, but once I did, I did in a big way. The story's action-packed, with lots of courtly intrigue, romance and family tension to keep it chugging along. We know from the beginning that Gunthar and Helene belong together, but DiPastena manages to instill enough doubt that the reader is kept guessing right up until the finale. Unfortunately, that doesn't hold true with the spy mystery - I realized the traitor's identity right away. Still, though, I enjoyed the story, especially the feisty, but tender relationship between Gunthar and Helene. Loyalty's Web has some issues - all in all, though, it's a fun, gripping tale that will keep you entertained until the last sentence. It's not my usual fare, but I enjoyed it anyway. Romance and all.

The Laurant sisters' story continues in Illuminations of the Heart, now available at Deseret Book and Amazon.com. Stay tuned for my review - coming soon!

Grade: B

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG for violence and very mild innuendo

To the FTC, with love: Joyce DiPastena kindly sent me a copy of Loyalty's Web to review. Thanks, Joyce!

In Jones' Need, Zara White figures this out almost as soon as she steps off the plane in Bangor. Still grieving the death of her beloved stepfather, Zara knows she's not exactly herself - which is the whole reason her mother shipped her off to her grandmother's in the first place - but she's pretty sure a freaky, pale guy is stalking her. She sees him standing in the middle of the road to her grandma's house, on the campus of her high school and in the woods around the small town of Bedford. Her new friends seem as creeped out as she is, but their theory is about as whacked as the idea of some random guy following her around. Still, as Zara settles into her new life in Maine, she can't deny that something is very wrong in Bedford. Even her stunningly gorgeous boyfriend seems a little ... unworldly. What exactly is going on in the sleepy little town? Why are young boys disappearing? What's with the trails of gold dust everywhere? And why is Zara being threatened? The questions are bizarre enough, but the answers will challenge everything Zara has ever known about herself, her family and her destiny.

Despite obvious Twilight comparisons, I think Need adds some freshness to a genre that's fast becoming a big, old copycat fest. It steps away from vampires - thank goodness - to flesh out some less-explored beings. Jones turns popular notions on their heads by villainizing a creature most people find about as sinister as a butterfly. Likewise, it spins the peaceful beauty of a Maine winter into something appropriately eerie. Above all else, it's this shivery sense of place that stands out. The novel's plot is less original, but the story definitely speeds along fast enough to keep the reader's attention from flagging. Need's cast could use some developing, as could its "otherworldly" elements. Without any real foreshadowing, the whole magical thing almost comes out of nowhere, making it all a little confusing. Other than that, the book's got a little bit of everything - an engaging heroine, a sweet romance, family secrets, a spectral landscape and a shivery mystery. Need didn't blow me away, but I still flew through its pages, anxious to discover Zara's fate. News of a sequel coming in January might have even made me squeal a little bit. Need doesn't go as deep as Twilight, but it's a fast, entertaining read that will appeal to Stephenie Meyer groupies and other fans of the genre. The Maine Tourism Board? Um, not so much.

Grade: B

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG for mild language and some violence

To the FTC, with love: I checked this one out from the library, and I've got the overdue fines to prove it.

Since I'm still working on Loyalty's Web, a fun medieval romance by Arizonan Joyce DiPastena, I'm going to save that review for next week. Today, I want to tell you all about a wonderful author/illustrator I just discovered. Her name is Nancy Tillman, and I'd never heard of her until I saw her featured in BookPage. The illustrations in the sidebar just enchanted me, so I bought both The Spirit of Christmas and On the Night You Were Born. Both books are beautiful - the pictures have this vivid, but dreamlike quality that just really speaks to me.

On the Night You Were Born is my favorite, so I'm going to start with it. The book celebrates the birth of a child. I couldn't even get through the first sentence without feeling tears well up in my eyes:

The rest of the story touched me in a similar way as it talked about trumpets blowing in heaven, birds staying on the windowsill, bears dancing at the zoo, and geese honking in the sky all to herald the arrival of a new baby. It's a story that will make every child feel unique and special. If you can read it to your little ones without sniffling a little, then you're made of stronger stuff than I am.

On the Night You Were Born is the perfect gift for a young child or a new mother. It's sweet, beautiful and tender. I adore it.

Grade: A

The Spirit of Christmas is also sweet and beautiful, but it's not quite as impactful as On the Night You Were Born. I made it through its opening lines without any tears:

The "Spirit of Christmas" goes on to teach an important lesson about the true meaning of the holiday. It's a familiar message:

Although The Spirit of Christmas didn't capture me as much as On the Night You Were Born, it's still a lovely book with incredible illustrations that will capture the imaginations of children big and small.

Grade: B

(Book images are from Barnes & Noble; BookPage excerpt is from Nancy Tillman's website.)

From little ole me here at BBB to all my readers, wherever you may be - MERRY CHRISTMAS! May you find all kinds of wonderful secrets under your tree, between the pages of a book, and in the smiles of family and friends. Have a wonderful holiday.

Once upon a time I gushed over men like George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, and Viggo Mortensen (he's delicious in Lord of the Rings) - these days, I get more excited about celebrities of another sort: Neil Gaiman, Pseudonymous Bosch, Lief Enger, and so on. I may have gone a little far when I told Evan Marshall that chatting with him was like meeting my favorite rock star, but it's true. I freaked out when I saw his e-mail in my inbox. Just ask my friend, Robin. Well, she might not remember my freaking out because of her own freaking out. We may be mature thirty-somethings, but when it comes to Mr. Marshall, we're like crazed groupies.

Why, you ask? Well, it's like this: He's a genius. Seriously, though, I've been trying to write a novel since I was around 7. Sometimes I came up with a great opening, sometimes a fascinating character, occasionally, a great plot, but I could never stay with it long enough to turn all the elements into a story. A few years ago, I had a story idea germinating in the back of my head. In my brain, the whole idea sounded brilliant - unique, clever and engaging. So much so that I was entertaining Susan-as-J.K.-Rowling fantasies. It wasn't until I actually started typing up the story that I realized how silly it all sounded. Frustrated, I headed to my friendly neighborhood Borders to get some help from real writers. I came home with two books in hand: The Marshall Plan for Novel-Writing by Evan Marshall, and its accompanying workbook. In the former, Marshall basically boils the modern novel down to a formula, even going so far as to tell the wannabe writer how many pages should be in his beginning, middle and end. He stresses the importance of good plotting, focusing on its essential ingredient - conflict. Then, he shows the novelist-in-training how to use Action/Reaction sheets to plan out each section of the book. Doing so helps the writer plan out her book, work out plot kinks, and make sure each part of her novel works in harmony to accomplish the story's goal. The workbook basically takes the would be novelist through each of these steps. It contains forms about everything - characters, plot, story goal and so on - that can be photocopied and filled out. Once the whole novel has been sketched out, it basically writes itself.

Needless to say, I fell hopelessly in love with The Marshall Plan. It helped me see right away that my brilliant novel idea needed a little ... work. I eventually abandoned that idea, but I've remained loyal to my man, Marshall. My only complaint about his system had to do with all the photocopying and filling in forms by hand. The cost of paper and ink, plus the hand cramps made outlining not only expensive, but also tedious and painful. Just a few months ago, I decided to give my novel another go (this time with a different brilliant idea). As I was printing out a pile of Action/Reaction sheets, I thought, "Wouldn't it be nice if I could just type up all the information on my computer, then print it out?" I even scoured the Internet to see if, perhaps, Evan Marshall had had a similar thought. I found nothing.

Then, I happened to mention Mr. Marshall in a blog post. The next thing I know, he's not only contacting me, but offering me the very thing I had been longing for a short few months ago: The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing software.

True story.

Being the Marshall fanatic that I am, I downloaded the software immediately. Registering and looking around took a few minutes, but within 10, I was hammering out the physical characteristics of my main character. The software isn't fancy - there are no graphics or flashing icons - it's basically an automated version of the workbook. Still, it's organized, user-friendly, and so much better than writing everything out by hand. Like the workbook, the software takes you through all the aspects of your novel - you fill out sheets about the protagonist, the antagonist, the romantic interest, the minor characters, the main plot line, subplots, etc. Once you've plugged in the names of your main players, the software shows you how many sections should be devoted to each character. It also walks you through the fine art of juggling plots and subplots. The greatest advantage is this: the software creates a template of your novel based on the information you supply. You will know exactly where your novel's going, exactly what the goal of your story is, and exactly how to achieve it. If you think The Marshall Plan takes all the creativity out of writing, guess again. It simply provides you with an outline. In fact, my only real complaint with the software is that it doesn't write the novel for you. It comes pretty darn close, though.

Marshall, author of eight mystery novels, with more on the way, was so concerned about the software staying true to his program, that he spent three years learning computer programming so that he could write it himself. After three years, it's now available for download at http://www.writeanovelfast.com/ . You can also learn more about Marshall (the rock star) and co-author Martha Jewett on the site. If you're interested in joining a community of writers using The Marshall Plan, check out The Marshall Planet.

If you need a last-minute gift for the writer in your life (yourself, perhaps?), you've found it. At $149, I admit the software's a little spendy, but it really is worth it. If you can't cough up that much, at least treat yourself your favorite writer to The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing and The Marshall Plan Workbook. I'm just going to warn you now, though: As soon as you start photocopying workbook sheets and filling them out by hand, you're going to want this software. You might as well just buy it now and save yourself the trouble. I'm serious - this software elevates my man, Marshall, from a rock star to a God. I'm not kidding. I love it.