It's that time of year again...time to get out the stained manilla folder chock full of cookie recipes and start baking. I have my 'must makes' — almond crescents, peanut butter blossoms, chocolate-dipped candy canes — but I always like to try a few new recipes, fully believing that as far as Christmas cookies go, the more the merrier!

My Christmas book, 'Tis The Season is out now. Originally entitled, 'The Heiress, the Cowboy, the Nanny and The Buzz,' it's a story about...well, an heiress, a cowboy, a nanny and a tabloid writer. Caroline Dixon is the heiress who's lost her way and thinks she finds roadmaps in alcohol and bad behavior. The other three characters help her find a better way back. It's written entirely in e-mails and letters; not a conscious choice, but one the characters decided for me. (I love when these make-believe people push me around!) It's a fun, fast read, but there's some sadness and melancholia too — after all, it is about the holidays!

At a reading last night, a woman asked me what I meant by my dust jacket blurb in which I wish people a renewed commitment to fun. I told her I believe in a deep fun, one in which we are engaged in something we love (I think Einstein probably was having loads of fun as he figured out E=mc 2), engaged in the lives of others, and in our world. Also singing and dancing together ranks right up there on the fun scale. And laughter. Who doesn't feel the restorative 'ahhhh' after a good laugh?

I wish everyone HAPPY HOLIDAYS and the Happiest of New Years. My resolution is to renew my commitment to fun, continuing to seek the important things -- love, friendship, good work, good laughs, and always, good books.