Today's Guest--- Emlyn Chand!

Today's guest is Emlyn Chand, author of Farsighted, a paranormla YA that I loved.  Do yourself a favor and check out Farsighted as well as lots of information at the end of Emlyn's blog here.  You won't regret it!!! 

Take it away Emlyn Chand, author of Farsighted

 

Did you resolve to read more this year?  Maybe you've dubbed this year as the year you finally start your own book club.  To be successful with either of these goals, you'll need to keep that all-consuming passion for reading alive.  Here are five examples of what NOT to do.

I have been guilty of each and every one of these bibliophile misdeeds. To avoid making these mistakes, it helps to be cognizant of what they are and how they may put-off your love of reading. My list is, of course, not exhaustive. Please feel free to add other ways in which your enthusiasm for the written word has been destroyed or derailed.

1. By taking too long to finish reading a particular book - many a decent book have been utterly destroyed for me simply because I took too long to get through them. Sometimes this is because of a busy work or personal life that interferes with my time that is generally allotted to reading; others it is because I am reading the wrong book.

2. Because of reading the wrong book—what makes a book wrong? Some people say that if a book does not grab you in the first 50 pages that you should give up reading it. I don’t know if I, however, subscribe to an exact number of pages that must be read before giving up. Sometimes books get started a bit late. Jonathan Safran Foer’s “Everything is Illuminated” for example takes a while to get heated up, but once it’s there, this is one of the most incredible books.

3. Through turning your leisure activity into a chore—if reading as a hobby is very important to you, it’s best not to subject yourself to reading materials that can be deemed more as work than pleasure. A classic example of this phenomenon is graduate school. I am not suggesting that you forego higher education to maintain your zeal for the written word; rather i’d like you to understand that you may undergo a 2-, 3- or even 5- year hiatus in this instance.

4. In choosing to miss out on other activities to sit at home and read—so you’re a book-worm that probably means you, like many others who share your passion, are an introvert. That’s great, but don’t use reading as an excuse to miss out on some of the other things life has to offer, like a social life. Don’t get too caught up in the fictional realm that you forget that life exists outside of the pages of a novel!

5. Upon assigning too much meaning to fictional characters—Loved ‘Twilight’ and now find yourself pining for a boyfriend just like Edward Cullen? No man even comes close? Surprise, surprise. Never measure real people up to invented ones, everybody loses. Similarly, if you find a glimmer of someone you know in a villainous character, you may start subconsciously assigning some of the fictional player’s deeds to your real-life loved one. Don’t do it!

Blog Tour Notes

THE BOOK:  Alex Kosmitoras may be blind, but he can still “see” things others can’t.  When his unwanted visions of the future begin to suggest that the girl he likes could be in danger, he has no choice but to take on destiny and demand it reconsider. Get your copy today by visiting Amazon.com’s Kindle store or the eBook retailer of your choice. The paperback edition will be available on November 24 (for the author’s birthday).

THE CASH PRIZES:  Guess what? You could win a $100 Amazon gift card as part of this special blog tour. That’s right! Just leave a comment below saying something about the post you just read, and you’ll be entered into the raffle. I could win $100 too! Please help by voting for my blog in the traffic-breaker poll. To cast your vote, visit the official Farsighted blog tour page and scroll all the way to the bottom. Thank you for your help with that.

THE GIVEAWAYS:  Win 1 of 10 autographed copies of Farsighted before its paperback release by entering the giveaway on GoodReads. Perhaps you’d like an autographed postcard from the author; you can request one on her site.

THE AUTHOR:  Emlyn Chand has always loved to hear and tell stories, having emerged from the womb with a fountain pen grasped firmly in her left hand (true story). When she’s not writing, she runs a large book club in Ann Arbor and is the president of author PR firm, Novel Publicity. Emlyn loves to connect with readers and is available throughout the social media interweb. Visit www.emlynchand.com for more info. Don’t forget to say “hi” to her sun conure Ducky!

MORE FUN: There's more fun below. Watch the live action Farsighted book trailer and take the quiz to find out which character is most like you!

Recipe Wednesday --- Cranberries and Meatballs!!!

This recipe is now on my ‘to be made’ list and probably one of the healthier ones, if you want to call it healthy, that will appear here over the next few weeks (after all, it’s the holiday season).  I love cranberries and the tangy bite of the BQ sauce only makes me want to try it move.  My tweak will be to use ground turkey instead of ground beef.  Also, I’ll substitute Agave for the brown sugar.

The suggestion on the All Recipe site is to serve as an appetizer or along with the turkey dinner, but I can see this as a stand-alone meal, especially when the granddarlings are over.  Add potatoes and a veggie and voila…the gang will be happy campers.  

Cranberry Meatballs  

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/3 cup ketchup

• 1 (16 ounce) can jellied cranberry sauce
• 1 (18 ounce) bottle barbecue sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (175 degrees C).

2.  Mix together the hamburger, bread crumbs, eggs, soy sauce, pepper, garlic powder and ketchup. Form into small balls and bake for 30 minutes.

3.  In a saucepan over low heat, combine the cranberry sauce, barbecue sauce, brown sugar and lemon juice. Simmer and stir until smooth. Add meat balls and simmer for I hour. Serve warm.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 718 | Total Fat: 37g | Cholesterol: 171mg

Playing today with Vamps, Weres and Faeries!

Stop by and say hi today and enter to win a signed copy of Beyond Magic.  I'm at http://vampireswerewolvesfairiesohmy.blogspot.com/?zx=1951a24b7760e10b

Monday Musings!

 I returned from son's home in Sioux Falls late yesterday with fingers crossed I don't come down with the evil stomach virus attacking the granddarlings. There's too much to do accomplish to devote any leisure time to devote hours in the bathroom or huddled under the covers.

The trip was fun, even with sick kids and I discovered my son is an excellent cook.  I knew he cooked…he developed the ability as a teen when he and his siblings were assigned a night each to be in charge of making dinner.  In the past, the meals he prepared had been calorie bombs of fat and carbs, but he’s now focused on healthy and oh my!  The turkey breast he made Thursday night was melt in your mouth tender and the pork tenderloin Saturday night…I could have stayed at the table stuffing my face longer if my stomach would have cooperated.  Delicious!!!  Even the veggies he made to go with it had me going back for seconds.

Now back to the real world.  Laundry to get out of the way and a couple of other things that have stacked up (yes, DH knows what a dishwasher is, but he seems to forget how to stack it) and catching up on emails.  From there, back to work on the Christmas story.  Sure, I took it with me on the trip, but didn’t get much work done.  By the time I turned in at night, I was more than ready for sleep.  It’s amazing how visiting can wear a body out.

So, hope your week is a great one and I’d love to hear what’s happening in your life.  I fell so out of touch!!!!!

The Chocolate Diva Shares in Time for Thanksgiving!

This month Joleen Allis, our chocolate diva is sharing a cool receipe that you can serve in addition to (or instead of) pumpkin pie.  Warning...reading does not add calories to your daily intake!!!

Also, Joleen's prize for the November drawing is Dove Chocolate Discoveries White Chocolate, Pear Flavored Cider!  How's that for a seasonal treat to YOU!  Don't forget, all it takes to enter is comment to any or all posts during November.  The more you comment, the more chances to win!

Chocolate Pumpkin Dessert Cake –

Forget the turkey – this is all you will need for Thanksgiving…

Ingredients

• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup butter
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9 inch Bundt pan.

2.     In a medium bowl, mix the flour, cocoa powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and baking soda. In a large bowl, beat together 3/4 cup butter, 2 cups sugar, applesauce, and eggs. Mix in 1/2 cup heavy cream and pumpkin. Stir into the flour mixture just until blended. Spread evenly in the prepared pan.

3.     Bake 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan over a wire rack. Invert cake onto a serving plate.

4.     Place the brown sugar, 1/2 cup butter, and 1/3 cup heavy cream in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil while stirring to blend until smooth. Cook until sugar is dissolved. Whisk in the confectioner's sugar, and drizzle over the cake immediately.

Recipe Wednesday -- How About Sweet Potatoes?

Growing up in North Carolina I ate a lot of sweet potatoes.  They still are one of my favorite comfort foods, but in addition there is a lot of nutrition packed in those tubers.  

My husband loves to nosh at night, so I came up with the brilliant idea a few weeks ago to buy sweet potato chips.  They’re made from healthy produce, so why not convert him from corn chips since he does like sweet potato.  Well, as in lots of good ideas you need to read the package my friends…fried, the little slices of goodness is in there with regular potato and corn chips on calories, fat and salt. 

Then I put my mind to work on something other than paranormal creature and/or sexy stories.  Why not try to make my own by oven roasting them.  I went out on the internet and searched for recipes and ideas and got the basics down.  From there I gave it a try yesterday with one sweet potato…after all, if my efforts flopped I didn’t want to destroy good food.  I’m happy to say it didn’t!  Darling Husband loved the end result! 

Here’s what I did:  Washed and dried a sweet potato and then sliced it with a gadget (a mandolin I think it’s called) and threw the thin slices into a bag with a tablespoon or so of olive oil and shook them for a light coating.  Popped them into a 400 degree oven and baked for 12 minutes.  Turned the slices over, dusted them with sea salt and put them back in the over for another 10 minutes.  Once they cooled, they were crunchy and I read somewhere if you don’t eat them all right away, pop them back in the over for a few minutes to re-crisp.  So now I have a healthy snack my husband and I both enjoy. 

What’s even better, they’re good on Weight Watcher diets (1 point, but I forgot the amount), diabetics can enjoy them since sweet potatoes are recommended over regular spuds for them and for us addicts of the yummy tuber, the chips are just plain good. 

Here are a few links with additional recipes so you can see how this very delicious veggie can work in other ways too.  And yes, I know everyone doesn’t like sweet potatoes (I have a daughter who falls into that category…that is until I made Sweet Potato Balls for Thanksgiving one year), but if you may discover there are some combinations that work for you. 

http://www.informationaboutdiabetes.com/Sweet_Potato.htm

http://www.laaloosh.com/2009/02/02/weight-watchers-baked-sweet-potato-chips-recipe/

October Winner & November prize

I'm happy to announce the winner for October is Jennifer Mathis!!!  Congratulations, Jennifer.  I've sent you an email requesting your mailing address so I can send out your Lizzie 'goodies' and the Chocolate Diva can get her prize out too!

Now for the November prize...not sure what the Choclate Diva has up her sleeve, we'll find that out when she blogs on Friday.  But from Lizzie...how about a dozen of her infamous cookies?

It will December when the winner is announced and also the month a lot of baking goes on in Lizzie's kitchen.  So make sure to comment to posts during November to get into the drawing for cookies as well as some NICE promo goodies from my author friends!  Here's the chance to Treat YOU to something special for the holidays!