17. July 2010 by admin.

Dear readers;

My book cover for DRAGON’S CURSE is in a contest on the popular blog & review site, YOU GOTTA READ. Traci Markou did a fantastic job of pulling together all the pieces of information I shared in order to come up with a strikingly beautiful cover for my debut Scottish historical paranormal romance. I am proud of the cover and accepted the first proof she showed me!Please honor Traci and my publisher, who hired us both, by voting for us at

                                                  http://yougottareadcovers.blogspot.com/

Please hurry! Voting ends soon!

Many thanks,

Nancy Lee BadgerDRAGON’S CURSE available now at www.WhispersHome.com

and at www.Amazon.com for Kindle

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30. December 2009 by admin.

Angelina Jolie once said “People say that you’re going the wrong way when it’s simply a way of your own.” She is not my favorite actor. She DID lure Brad Pitt into her bed, but her statement matches my thoughts when people ask me about my New Year’s resolutions.

I don’t make resolutions. Why set myself up to fail? My doctor and my dentist keep my health on course. I work hard to spend our income wisely while striving to save a little money. I work from home so changing jobs will not improve my life. I am a writer. I am a soon-to-be published writer and I enjoy what I do. I spent over twenty-two years working in retail. I spent another 8+ years as a well-educated, highly stressed 9-1-1 emergency medical operator. I love helping people which is why I keep looking for avenues where I can volunteer my services while still taking care of family.

The year 2010 is upon us. All I can do is strive to do the best I can. I invite folks to read an excerpt of my soon-to-be-released book, ‘SECRET LOVE MATCH’.  (available sometime in 2010 from Red Rose Publishing) at www.nancylennea.com.  I have posted excerpts of my two Scottish paranormals (unsold as of this posting) on www.nancyleebadger.com

I hope some of my readers find time to make and follow New Year’s resolutions if doing so makes you happy. Remember, do it FOR YOU.

With love, Nancy Lee Badger 

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3. December 2009 by admin.

This recipe is easy as pie, decadent as the richest dessert, yet low in calories. Using a simple boxed cake mix and a can of fruit, this cake will bring a smile to everyone and satisfy your sweet tooth.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Take 1 box of ANGEL FOOD CAKE MIX and 1 can of DOLE CRUSHED PINEAPPLE. (Do NOT follow box instructions)

Mix together by spoon in a large bowl. Spray an Angel Food pan (best) or Bundt pan (second best) with nonstick spray. Place pan onto a cookie sheet (to catch drips) and bake for 45 minutes.

Cool well, upend it onto a platter, and enjoy! Invite a few angels or satisfy a few demons, but make sure YOU SHARE THIS! Nancy Lee Badger 

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18. November 2009 by admin.

The thinking behind ‘Rescuing Romance’ is to give credit where credit is due to the heroes of the romance industry. Whether fictional or real, we all need heroes. I love books where the hero, be it a he or a she, save the day and find true love.

My real life heroes consist of my husband and two sons. We have been through a lot together and I believe Rich and I raised them to the best of our ability. There were tough times but we worked through them…together.

With the boys grown and out on their own, I am dedicating this blog to all the heroes. Watch this space for information, book reviews, author interviews, firehouse recipes, and much more.

Nancy Lee Badger

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23. September 2009 by admin.

I could not face opening the laptop after we headed off on Monday morning. I will miss our two-story condo, but not the near-freezing mornings. We said good-bye to David Bruce and headed to McDonald’s for breakfast ($11.94) which we ate on the way to Belmont, New Hampshire. We drove by our last residence to see the changes and noticed more changes in the area. We stopped for gas in Tilton ($28.37)and made a brief stop at the NH Veteran’s Cemetery in Boscawen to pay our respects to family. Even there, more and more graves have been filled and more plots are being readied.

We hit the NH State Liquor Store ($44.98 after $15 discount for the coupon we found in the Highland games program) and headed for home. My feet, legs, and hips could not get comfortable and I tried to doze, but Ginny-the-GPS kept me awake. She wanted us to go one way, and we wanted to go another. We won. Near Hartford, Connecticut Eric drove in the ‘diamond’ lane for the first time. Neat!

We kept away from NY City and headed towards Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. I looked up several hotels the night before and we decided to go as far as we could. We stopped for gas in Wilkes-Barre, PA then made it a total of 550 miles to the Best Western in Shippensburg, PA. ($148.22 for 2 rooms) What a wonderful place! Since we are again traveling out-of-season, the indoor pool and hot tub were ours, alone. Since we arrived at 7:30 p.m., we enjoyed the pool first, then headed into town. Lovely brick buildings built before the civil war era made for quaint surroundings. We ended up dining on the upper outside deck at Knute’s tavern ($49.26).

Morning came around 8 a.m. We devoured the free breakfast in the empty dining area. Waffles, bagels, and more! We loaded the trunk while a black cat purred and pleaded for a pet, then we headed south about 9 a.m.  The Smokey Mountains were gorgeous, as usual, and we stopped and I took pictures while the boys broke out beverages. Everything went flying (me included) when a pick-up truck swung into our lane, but Eric avoided disaster. The weather turned delightfully warm, but we arrived home around 4 p.m. under a horrific deluge. Soaked, we waited a while before unpacking. My sister Erla believes we got well over 2” of rain and many roads had flooded.

Blaze seemed very happy to see us. The cat meowed and purred…unusual traits in him. We dropped everything where they lay and I figured all could wait until today. The men went to the movies and Hooters (don’t ask) and brought home pizza then we bid our son Eric goodnight. I stayed up until 11:30 cleaning out most of my accumulated e-mail.

The entire week is now a blur and I will make a point to re-read my blog submissions to remind me that we endured the long miles (900 miles each way), painful feet, long hours without rest, cold winds, as well as lots of fun for a very good cause…the New Hampshire Highland Games and their continued effort to bring the sights and sounds of Scotland to New England.

Nancy Lee Badger

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21. September 2009 by admin.

It is about 6 a.m. on Monday and I could not physically post anything about yesterday. My legs and feet ached and we stayed out late. To crash in a comfortable bed was my only goal after the Highland games closed down about 5 p.m.  

We had a wonderful day. Started with a chilly 39 degrees and Eric had frost covering his car. We dressed in layers and by 10 a.m. I was down to a T-shirt. It was a pleasure to see the sun and NOT have hurricane-force winds blowing our raffle tickets away. We did good and raised thousands of dollars for the organization to use towards bringing more pipe bands here and for giving scholarships for young people to pursue the Scottish arts of dance, harp, and bagpipe. I lost track of money spent but not much passed through our fingers. We have become a thrifty lot and spent more on pitchers of beer in the Piper’s Pub (upstairs in the Gov. Samuel Adams Ski Lodge) during the impromptu, but always crowded, after hours jam session. Wall to wall people, mostly co-workers and officials, gabbed and drank amid drummers and pipers who would gulp a few then serenade us with song. 

Invited to join the ‘big guys’ for dinner, we grabbed Dave Bruce and headed for the Beacon Resort. Ed Clermont served up a grand meal and Eric’s night was complete when a boiled, Maine lobster arrived in front of him! Watching him devour the orangey-red crustacean was priceless! We do miss being able to get lobster around the corner as we did when we lived here, so close to Maine and the ocean.   We offered Dave a bed since Rob and Joey headed back to Vermont earlier in the day. Again, we were all tired from helping people and holding the raffle and cleaning up our 20-foot by 20-foot tent. Now all we need to do is pack, close up the condo, and head south. We plan to swing by our last house in Belmont, New Hampshire then stop to pay our respects to family at the NH Veteran’s Cemetery in Boscawen, NH. Home is only 900 miles away! Nancy Lee Badger

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20. September 2009 by admin.

I awoke at 6:30 unsure of my surroundings. I slipped from my extra high, king-size, four-poster bed, and met the family for a quick bite of food. We arrived at Loon Mountain at a breezy 7:30 a.m. I chose to wear my all-purpose, floor length, black skirt with a purple, satin, long-sleeved shirt, and a peasant vest, laced up the front. Too bad I had not included a ski parka. Last night’s wind wrecked several tents in clan village. Ours was unscathed. 

People arrived early and in droves;  pipers needed directions to the Piper Steward; cute little girls with mom’s in tow, who carried dress bags, searched for the dance competition area; muscular men in kilts arrived to populate the athletic demonstration area; and venders started up the cook-fires.

 My band of volunteers grew when son Robert and his partner, Joey, arrived from Burlington, Vermont. They made me instantly jealous when they announced they spied two moose on their drive. Sue Boska arrived as well as Jan Bruce. With my annual clan of knowledgeable helpers, the day could only get better! We sold raffle tickets for a trip to Scotland as well as official programs. These full-color souvenirs contain photos, an explanation of events, a schedule of events, a map, and the name of all our volunteers…except poor Eric. Maybe next year? The day flew by as my fingers chilled into ice cubes and my feet began to spasm. I am no longer used to standing for long periods and the pavement won. Sue and I took a break, now and then, to eat and shop, but I still never made it near the Gov. Adams Lodge where more vendors and the infamous historical village sat. Sunday will prove our first chance.  

People filled the bleachers at the closing ceremony at 5 p.m. , enjoying the bands and pipers so we held off on closing up. By 6 p.m. we buttoned up our tent and sighed with relieve. One injured woman, several lost, then found, wallets, cell phones, keys, driver licenses, and a lost child filled the day while we directed visitors around the huge ski area.

The lost keys were retrieved by an Asian man who came to enjoy the Highland games. He bowed several times when he saw we had them. As we drove over the bridge which connected the ski area to the main road, hundreds still stood in line for the shuttle buses. A lone piper played while he stood on a huge boulder in the river. Nice touch. Back to the condo, take-out Chinese, and family.    We look forward to Sunday at the games. More low-key, less visitors, more time to drink in the sights and then the beer in the pub after closing. But I will share a bright spot today. While I stood freezing with my hair whipping around in a snarled mess, I stepped out of the tent and spied a great ‘X’ in the sky! Two military planes on maneuvers must have given us their blessing. God Speed. Nancy Lee Badger

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19. September 2009 by admin.

I’ll make this a short posting as it is late,  and I am BEAT. Remind me again why I am up and on the mountain at 8 .m., cannot get coffee or the programs we are supposed to sell until after 9, and the wind and rain threaten to take my long hair and whip it into a frenzy? Things actually went well. The ‘doors’ opened at  10 a.m., I missed the sheep dog trials but made it up at lunch. Sue Campbell Boska, a former co-worker of mine from NH 9-1-1 joined me for fish ‘n chips and a soda ($11.25) Best part? The rock band Albannach was playing not twenty feet away! Drums and bagpipes and lots of clapping hands. 

A short rain shower in the afternoon and the growing winds had us shutting down at about 4:30 but not until we did a substantial business with programs and the raffle. A trip for 2 to Scotland, a made-to-order kilt, and a lovely gift basket of Scottish items made for good sales.  Spent TOO much time dropping off the money, then rushed to the condo, dressed up, and arrived at the Beacon Resort for the Chieftain’s reception and Tartan dinner. Yummy! We all snuck out early but not until Eric tried his first taste  of haggis. 

We shall arrive at our post no later than 7:30 Saturday with high hopes sons Rob and Joey will arrive raring to go from Burlington, Vermont. The more people we have in our information tent, the more time we have to go off and eat, drink (soda), hear music, buy souvenirs, and enjoy the crowds. About 50,000 usually expected. What a crush! Glad we have rented a ski area. I do believe someone saw snowflakes today. EEEK!

Nancy Lee Badger

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18. September 2009 by admin.

Thursday September 17^th, 7 a.m.  Up and out to join Eric and Rich at the complimentary breakfast before departing our hotel at 8 a.m. We swing through Albany and Troy and make our way to Bennington, VT. We travel the new bypass (partially under construction) then stop for coffee and rest room at the McDonalds in Brattelboro, VT ($9.30 because I wanted a hash brown and Eric had a cheeseburger….so early?) after filling the gas tank. ($33.97) Traveled through Keene, NH and began to see lots of trees, pumpkins for sale, and more road construction. Is every town paving and painting stripes before the snow flies?  

We head in the capital of New Hampshire (Concord) and follow some campers who exit onto the bypass to the New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon which is about 10 miles northeast. Why are the games AGAIN competing for hotels and highway space with the races? Years ago the date was pushed back a week so as NOT to compete. We hit the Wal-Mart in Tilton at about noon and buy windbreakers. Rich forgot a coat and I could not pass up a new, unlined, windbreaker for warmer North Carolina for $12, and NO sales tax. Had to make a pit stop at Home Depot so Rich could say ‘Hi’ to his old cohorts, then headed for Plymouth. Picked up our several pints of made-in-Rumney-NH maple Syrup ($55) at the Peppercorn Natural Foods and I snuck a peek into Rands Hardware where I passed 22 years before 9-1-1 and writing fulltime. 

We barely made it into Annie’s Overflow Restaurant for a late breakfast ($30.60) before she closed at 2 p.m. Her diner used to be across the street before they built a new bridge and ran the road through her property. She is still in a flood plain, hence the name. We bought Rich some scotch at the liquor store ($36.98/2) and I bought 2 lottery tickets ($3), then we drove past our first home in Rumney where we lived for 22 years and raised our boys. It is in sad shape which makes me want to cry. They have let it go. I don’t know who ‘they’ are since it has changed hands several times. 

Drove over the Smith Millennium Covered Bridge, totally rebuilt in 2001. An arsonist took it down when the town could not decide whether to tear down the closed and unsafe one-lane structure and rebuild, or simply remodel it. Both methods sounded expensive. I believe insurance helped build a huge and beautiful two-lane bridge. Arrived in Lincoln, NH about 3:15, got the keys to our Forest Ridge 3 bedroom condo, and drove onto the mountain. Loon Mountain Ski Area is again host to the three day NH Highland Games and was a bustle of activity. Our tent was there but completely empty. Thanks to a young man names Josh, we suddenly had tables AND chairs!  

Tomorrow we hope to find flags stating ‘Information’ and ‘Raffle’ have gone up. Giving away a trip to Scotland only works if we sell enough tickets. Anyway, the total mileage for the day (including our little side trips) was 260 miles. My hips are a bit stiff, and tomorrow is a BIG day.   We plan to be at our post by 8 a.m. and I hope the temperature is above freezing. I find it hard to draw posters when my fingers are frozen. We will work the tent until about 4:30 then go back and dress for the Chieftain’s reception and the Tartan Dinner & Dance. We scored free tickets! (otherwise, $43/person) I may not be able to blog about Friday’s festivities but believe me when I say I do not plan to sit on my throne directing people…on the other hand, maybe I will! Nancy Lee Badger

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17. September 2009 by admin.

Hi. I plan to blog each day, if I can, about our annual trip back to New Hampshire to ‘man’ the Information Tent at the New Hampshire Highland Games which are held
Sept. 17-19 at Loon Mountain Ski Area in Lincoln, NH. My husband, Richard, has the distinction of being the longest continuous volunteer. We believe he started back in 1982. September 16 at 4 a.m.: Up and finish the packing, then cook eggs and the last of the maple sausage for Rich, son Eric and myself. The cat, Blaze, senses something is going on.  Eric has never slept over before, and why are all these bags clogging up the foyer? By 5 a.m., Eric’s Sonata is packed. My laptop and I are happily ensconced in the back seat, and we are on our way. Packed to the gills with bags, maps, and a cooler of food and drink, we start our trip here in Raleigh, North Carolina and head north.  Don’t forget the music! We listened to the local station long enough to hear it was going to be a beautiful day. Already a warm 72 degrees, we wondered if we would be dressed appropriately for New England. Rich says he forgot to grab a coat. Wonderful. I had packed enough gloves for all as we froze our fingers last year. We end up going through our CDs. Trace Adkins joined Bon Jovi and Seven Nations. (Love those bagpipes) 

Rich was amazed how close we live to Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Manassas. I feel another road trip coming on. Later.  Right now, New Hampshire and the Highland games are calling. We stop for coffee and a rest room break in Thornburg, VA. ($7.60) and then again at 10:15 at a lovely rest area south of Baltimore. Purple pansies in September. Cheery. I have worked on my manuscript in progress and add another 1700 words as I edit. Stopped for gas in Newark, Delaware ($36.07) While Rich pumped and paid, and I made bologna sandwiches in the back seat, Eric raced over to the Wendy’s restaurant where he used the facilities, felt guilty, so bought French fries. He ate half of the single order then passed them to me. I am in Heaven.  We raced over the Delaware Memorial Bridge into cloud-covered New Jersey. Made a small wave towards the north from where Dad’s relatives hail. Most have since retired to sunny Florida. I still keep in touch with several cousins and their children (Hi, Nancy! Hi, Christine!) Now it is raining as we stroll along the narrow New Jersey Turnpike heading towards New York City. Some bumper to bumper in construction zones, but not bad. Rich has made it clear we better not be traveling through NYC. NOT his favorite place. Been through often enough when he started dating me, a native of Huntington, Long Island. We shall see what Ginny the GPS says. South of Albany, NY is our destination and we arrive a little past 3 p.m after about 10 hours and 609 miles. About 200 more to go. Tomorrow. Decided not to think of tomorrow. Checked into the Best Western in West Coxsackie (about $187 for 2 rooms) and swam in the heated pool then relaxed in the hot tub. Little girls wearing float tubes in the pool, not another soul in OUR hot tub!  Dinner out at the Ambrosia Diner in nearby Catskill, NY. Just in time for the senior citizen specials (don’t ask…please) Great food and tons of it. Eric could not finish the largest piece of red salmon I’ve ever seen! Chicken Cordon Blue and Crabmeat stuffed chicken for the ‘old folks’. ($55 including salad or soup, fries, rice or baked, teas or soda. And dessert)Back to our rooms by 7 p.m. with a chance for Rich to read today’s paper as we figure out why the flags are all at half-mast. I check on my e-mails, post this on my blog, and plan for tomorrow. Lots to do!Good-night, Nancy Lee Badger

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