In the mood for some romantic reading?  Win a copy of Aching for Always by Pittsburgh’s own Gwyn Cready!  Email us at booksnatblog  [at] gmail  [dot] com and we’ll pick a winner at random.  For more on Gwyn & her books (all set in the ‘burgh)–see previous post.

Who knows romance better than a romance author?

Gwyn Cready is the RITA® Award-winning writer of four sexy, funny romances. She is a Pittsburgh native and all of her books are set in Pittsburgh. Her latest, Aching for Always, is in stores now. Booksnat asked Cready to choose her top five romantic movies for our readers:

The top five romantic movies, huh? It’s a tall order, but I am up to the challenge.

Let’s start with the ground rules. First, a romantic movie is one that makes us feel as if we have helium bubbling through our veins long after we’ve hit the Eject button. Which means, of course, Gone With the Wind is not in the running. Sorry. If that makes you feel like you have to pack up your Franklin Limited Edition Rhett Butler plate and go home, you have my sympathy. But the fact is no one leaves that movie happy. Satisfied, perhaps, or emotionally spent, but not happy. Titanic goes, too, as does Romeo and Juliet in all its incarnations including West Side Story. Second rule, sappy is a show stopper. Wave a tearful farewell to Love Story, The Notebook and Bridges of Madison County. Third, you need to laugh. Anyone who’s been in love knows that if you can’t share a chuckle, the relationship is going to collapse under its own weight faster than you can say, “Did I mention my conspiracy-theorist brother is coming for a week?” And the last ground rule: absolutely no Nazis. Sorry, Maria and Captain Von Trapp. You’ll have to climb a different mountain.

My picks for best romantic movies are:

(Click links for trailers)

> Sixteen Candles (John Hughes, 1984.) Samantha Baker, nerdy, adorable high school student wins the heart of the cutest guy in school. Jake Ryan, the guy that raised the bar forever on what it means to be a good boyfriend, helps Sam celebrate her birthday when everyone else forgets.

> Pride and Prejudice (Simon Langton, A&E mini-series, 1995.) When Colin Firth slashed his rapier through the air in an attempt to master his feelings for Lizzy Bennet, crying, “I shall conquer this,” the DNA of a generation of women was instantly re-sequenced. Their collective “Oh!” started an Austen frenzy that exists to this day.

> Bridget Jones’s Diary (Sharon Maguire, 2001.) Colin Firth spoofs himself in Helen Fielding’s wonderfully updated version of P&P. Bridget counts alcohol units and bemoans Smug Marrieds but wins the heart of sexiest man since Fitzwilliam Darcy. Find out how real men fight when Firth takes on a villainous Hugh Grant to protect Bridget’s honor.

> 13 Going on 30 (Gary Winick, 2004.) A dark horse, but you can’t pass up the story of 13-year-old Jenna Rink, who is transported into her future and discovers a great job and a closet full of shoes isn’t enough to make up for losing the one boy who really understood her. The über-fun dance numbers, “Thriller” and “Love is a Battlefield,” made this 80s gal squeal with delight.

> To Catch a Thief (Alfred Hitchcock, 1955.) Gorgeous locations, Edith Head dresses, a witty screenplay and, sigh, Cary Grant. I’m a sucker for charming thief stories, and there’s no denying the charm here. An ethereal Grace Kelly pursues Grant across the Côte d’Azur first for stealing jewels then for stealing her heart. That fireworks-studded kiss on the balcony of the Carlton Hotel is a classic.

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Gwyn Cready can be reached at her website, which also features 20 Valentine’s Day Ideas Under $20.  Her books can be found at local retailers and online:

Lindsay Nixon, author of The Happy Herbivore, will be making cookies and signing books in the ‘burgh at 2pm on Sunday, February 13 at Right by Nature.  

The Happy Herbivore is a cookbook and website that focuses on healthy vegan meals that are easy to prepare–including treats that sneak in healthy foods, like Black Bean Brownies.  Lindsay has a great blog on her site, tackling topics such as how to eat healthy while traveling and fat-free Superbowl snacks.

We chatted with Lindsay about her book, her cooking, and her upcoming event in Pittsburgh:

Q.  What kind of cookies will you be making at your Pittsburgh event at Right by Nature?  How did you come up with that recipe?

A.  They are called “No Bake Choco-Oat Cookies” and all you do is mix the ingredients together, shape it into a cookie and then let it “firm” a bit and you have a cookie! Without using your oven!  I’ve been mixing the ingredients – oats, peanut butter, cocoa and maple syrup, together for years as a quick and relatively healthy snack when the sweet tooth hits.

I’d first heard about the ingredient combo when I was on a raw detox and it was one of the desserts (only the detox used carob, agave, groats and raw nut butter in a slightly different proportion to make a “cookie dough” you ate with a spoon). After the detox I used more common ingredients, changing the ratios a bit, and then shared it with some friends. It was my friend Heather that realized if you let the “dough” sit out, it will turn into an actual cookie!

A.  I wanted to show vegan food can be easy, affordable, healthy & above all — approachable for everyone, even non-vegans. I think a lot of vegan cookbooks can be intimidating to new comers because they use specialty ingredients, which are often hard to find or expensive. I also wanted there to be a vegan cookbook out there that is low in fat and uses wholesome ingredients like whole wheat flour. I think there is a stereotype that vegan food is healthy, and it certainly can be, but most vegan cookbooks use a lot of oil and margarine, refined sugars, white flours —  and so it’s a more ethical alternative, but not necessarily a healthier one. My mission is to show food can be just as nutritious as it delicious

Lindsay Nixon

Q.  What is your favorite recipe from the new cookbook?

A.  Right now I’m really obsessed with the Quick Queso. I think I need an intervention.

A.  I do have a great recipe for baked fries (that I bet would be yum in a sandwich) and I also have a lot of recipes for foods that are traditionally unhealthy — like meatball subs, chimichangas, guacamole, bacon bits, fettuccine alfredo and cupcakes.

A.  It took 10 different tries to get the spicy sausages “just right.”  Most recipes didn’t need more than 1 or 2 attempts, but those sausages (they taste like pepperoni) were brutal. The recipe itself is really easy to make. One of the nice things about the book is how easy they are to make, but there are a couple, like the baked onion rings, that you’ll get better with over time.

A.  I do! I’m supposed to meet up with my publisher shortly after my signing in Pittsburgh to talk about another book So hopefully I’ll be back in Pittsburgh with my new book next year.

If you’re interested in meeting Lindsay, you can RSVP to her event at Meetup or on Facebook.