Friday, April 27, 2012

Book Friday - Lisa Greer's March Release

I read a lot of Gothic novels in my younger years, but drifted away from the genre.  The recent trailers blasted all over television for the Johnny Depp/Tim Burton's take on Dark Shadows made me think I needed to go back to a genre I enjoyed so much.  To that end I've kicked off my revisit of Gothic novels with Lisa Greer's Secrets of Summerspelle and I'm losing sleep from the need to see what happens next.  Now I get to blame Lisa for my sleep depirvation!


Can Ezra English and Jane Wintersmith break the curse from the past that shadows Summerspelle and find love?
After finishing her graduate degree in history, 24 year old Jane Wintersmith travels to her Alabama cousin’s family estate, Summerspelle. She relishes the opportunity for summer employment and archival work, and she meets Linton Collins, a budding local photographer who helps take her mind off a failed love affair. A find in the cupola room of the house unleashes an old secret of rage and obsession that threatens to destroy Jane even as it binds her to Ezra English, a handsome but troubled local professor of history.

The passion between her and Ezra is frightening, and Jane wonders if it is real or only linked to the house. Jane must tease out the difference between love and obsession if she is going to find happiness and put the past to rest with Ezra’s help.

Available from:
Musa Publishing
Amazon US
Amazon UK

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Recipe Wednesday - Wicked Indulgence


Green Irish Tweed
A very evil drink when one thinks about the calories (and alcohol content) but so yummy I’m ready to ask for it to be served in a bowl so I can lick out every delicious drop.  For me this a one drink pleasure if I want to accomplish getting off the couch, with two I barely manage to crawl up the stairs to bed.  Okay, I’m not a heavy drinker, but there are some drinks I really enjoy and this is one of them.

2 oz. Baileys Irish Cream (original)

1 oz. Crème de menthe liquor

1 oz. Crème de coca liquor

Shake in mixer and pour into glass.  Indulge!

Monday, April 23, 2012

Monday Musings - Weekend Happenings

Busy weekend for sure.  Meeting for Heart to Denver Romance Writers on Saturday.  Great speaker...Thank you, Tiffany!  And a big thank you to the board for stepping up to relieve some of the pressure on an up coming event.

The MEETING!















Sunday was a fun time at the Englewood Libary and their Meet the Faces event.  I met a lot of nice people and connected with some of my friends.

Me hanging with the Delightful Deb Parker, one of the driving forces behind the event.



The Three Amigos...Jeanne Stein, Leslee Breene and moi.  A fun day had by all!

Have a great week everyone!



Friday, April 20, 2012

Book Friday...Sam Cheever's Latest!


Sam Cheever has given us another book in the Dancin’ With the Devil series through Ellora’s Cave, and as usual she delivers with a fun spicy read.  Here’s a blurb and a short excerpt to whet you appetite.   

The Devil You Want (Dancin' With the Devil, Book 5)
Astra Q Phelps gave her boyfriend a magic hickey. Usually not a world-changing issue. But in Astra’s case, her boyfriend is king of the Royal Devils. And Royals have always thought that only males could mark their mates. So how did she do it? Even Astra doesn’t know. That’s the first of her problems.
Now somebody’s trying to kill the naturally curious Astra, which is always a problem.
Thirdly, there’s Slayer. He’s shown up on Astra’s turf and wants her to hire him. Given their undeniable sexual chemistry, that’s probably not going to go over well with her boyfriend. Not to mention that he’s got some baggage that’s gonna come back to bite Astra big time.
Add in the nearly constant sexual need caused by her Settling and you have a whole lot of stuff for Astra Q Phelps to handle. But, as you probably know by now, she’s definitely up to the challenge. 

Fever boiled beneath the surface of my skin. My body thrummed with need. The adrenaline rush from fighting the dragon…and maybe a little bit the close proximity to Slayer…had fired my Settling to a near violent state.
As soon as we deposited the family of greens on Olympus, I popped away, stepping out of my space shift inside a well-appointed, lushly carpeted hallway. I strode quickly toward the golden doors at the end of the hall, ignoring the surprised, red faces and beady gazes of Dialle’s guards.
As I approached, I lifted a hand and threw the doors open before me, barely slowing to acknowledge the guards’ attempts to stop me.
They were half-hearted attempts anyway. The guards were terrified of me since I put the pretty, little tear-shaped mark on their boss’s neck.
Dialle turned in surprise as I strode into the room, along with several hundred dark-world types who had gathered there for an audience with the newly crowned King of the Royal devils.
The special guards flanking his throne stepped in front of him, closing him off from view. Without even thinking, I flicked my fingers toward those guards and sent them flying. My steps barely faltered as Dialle’s loyal soldiers smacked hard against the wall behind the throne.
Dialle stood, his impossibly handsome face dark with anger. “Astra!”
I didn’t stop until I stood inches away, only a shallow platform separating him from me as I reached for him, touching his hickey with the tip of my finger. His face went pale. He reached up and clasped my wrist but didn’t wrench my finger from his throat. I need you now.
This isn’t a good time…
I don’t care.
You see, the thing about my Settling is that it isn’t just a sexual thing. The struggle a Tweener deals with at age twenty-five, when her Settling sets in, is with the dark and light sides of her nature. Right at that moment my dark nature had bitch slapped my light into submission and my devil had come out in a big way.
I’ll take you right here.
For the first time, the hint of a smile curved Dialle’s lips. You wouldn’t dare.



Monday, April 16, 2012

Friend Appreciation!


Do you have those de je vu moments?  The ones when the past comes back to bite you in the butt with memories so strong you’re transported back in time.
I’m dealing with one of those now and hate it.  There’s no need to bore you with the details, but suffice it to say the emotional turmoil is enough to keep me awake at night and anxious during the day.  This morning I made a phone call to the person I thought would understand and it did help to talk to her. 
She didn’t tell me not to worry when I burst into tears and shared the reason.  When I acknowledged it was probably foolish to react this way, instead of telling me not to worry she understood my terror.  Just hearing her give validity to the fact she’d have similar fears if faced with the situation and understanding the memories it brought forth helped. 
This is one of the reasons we need friends who know us well in our lives.  The person who ‘gets’ you under any circumstance and is there to cheer during the good times, and offers the shoulder to cry on while they encourage you during the tough ones.  
Though I appreciate her so much at times like this, she’s appreciated for all the little things too.  The unimportant grumbles she listens to when I’m having an off day, the way she laughs at my lame jokes and how she’s interested in what’s happening with my family, as I am with hers.  That’s an added bonus of being friends for so long and our kids wandering through each other’s lives.  We’ve become sisters of the heart and created a bond that each of knows they can depend on no matter how serious the issue or how minor it may see to an outsider.  It becomes important to one of us when it affects the other.
And yes, I do have other friends I value, but my sister friend has been part of my life for so long I almost can't remember it before her.
Do you have someone like that in your life?  If so, share a comment about them.  Let’s make this “Love & Appreciate True Friends” week!

Friday, April 13, 2012

Book Friday - Meet New YA Author J.L. Bowen

Today's focus book is by debut author, J.L. Bowen that released April 12th.  If you enjoy enjoy paranormal with deep emotions and a dark twist, you'll enjoy this one.  Read the excerpt at the publisher page to get a taste...excellent and your heart will bleed for the young hero's agnony.


Thirteen-year-old Armond Costa heals in three days, no matter what abuse his uncle and aunt inflict upon him. On his fourteenth birthday, he sprouts wings and discovers his aunt and uncle had lied to him. He's the lost Golden Demon's Healer. His father, King of the Golden Demons, insists he return with him and save his people from being persecuted by their mortal enemies, the Dark Demons. Now, Armond must choose between the Ellis brothers and seventeen-year-old Rusty Owens -- the only family he's ever known -- or condemn the Golden Demons to extinction.




 http://www.featherweightpublishing.com/ShowBook.php?YA=JB_HEALER

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Recipe Wednesay - Easy Easter Treat

Part of this week's Toddler fun was making chocolate bird nests.  This is an easy treat to do with little one and one I'd forgotten until coming across a recipe recently.  Basically there are 3 ingridents...chocolate, crispy chow mein noodles and small candy of choice.  WARNING:  It can get messy so have lots of wipes handy!

Chocolate Bird Nests

Melt chocolate chips (we used 2 cups)
Add chow mein noodles to desired consistency (you can also use coconut)
Small Candy (jelly beans, mini pastel malted milk eggs)

Drop spoonfuls of the chocolate/noodle mixture on waxed paper.  Make an indent in the center with the back of spoon.  Place candies in nest. (2 or 3 work, but for Toddler more was better on the ones she claimed as hers).  Cool.  I put them in the refrigerator for quick cooling and they were a little hard when we sampled.  Eating worked much better when the nests went back to room temperature.