Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Easy Soft Chip Cookies -Guest MS Kaye

12:00 AM 1 Comments

It's Too Yummy Tuesday!

On select Tuesdays I share delicious recipes either inspired by my books or that are just plain delicious! Today I'm happy to have special guest MS Kaye, author of  Once. She's here to share an awesome cookie recipe that's so simple even her character, pre-law student Becca, can make it. LOL. Yum!! 

SOFT CHIP COOKIES EVEN BECCA CAN MAKE

Ingredients

1 cup of butter
2 large eggs
1 tsp of vanilla
2.5 cups of flour
1 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp of salt
1 bag of desired chips (chocolate, butterscotch, etc)


Directions
Mix all ingredients thoroughly except flour and chips. Mix in flour a little at a time. Mix in chips. Drop spoonfuls of dough on a greased cookie sheet and bake 6-8 minutes at 400 degrees.


Once
by M.S. Kaye
Buy Links:
Jupiter Gardens Press (Publisher – all formats): http://jupitergardenspress.com/shop/once/


Her first and also her Once.

 Jonathan is studying to become a priest. He is three days from taking vows. He will not be a priest.

 Rebecca’s major is pre-law. She is supposed to take over her father’s law firm. She will not be a lawyer.

Their paths cross at exactly the right moment, when each most needs to hear what the other has to say. Jonathan’s structured life is turned sideways, but Rebecca also helps him learn how to forgive himself. It was self-defense, not murder.
Rebecca finds the strength to stand up to her father, to be the real her. If Jonathan likes her writing, it must be worth pursuing.

They must each struggle to forge a new path without each other’s comfort and strength, with only memories of the one day that changed everything.



About the Author
M. S. Kaye is a 4th degree black belt and certified instructor of Songahm Taekwondo. A transplant from Ohio, she resides with her husband Corey in Jacksonville, FL, where she does her best not to melt in the sun.
Contact M. S. Kaye at:
Twitter: @mskosciuszko
Also available from M.S. Kaye:
Fight Princess: Caught in an investigation of a mysterious murder, a female underground fighter from a high society family learns how to accept love.

iBooks - http://bit.ly/17Asczv
Barnes & Noble - http://bit.ly/1abP1LC
Liquid Silver Books (publisher – all formats) - http://bit.ly/172SszA

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Something's Off Balance -Snippet Sunday

12:00 AM 4 Comments
~~Warning: mature themes~~

On Sundays, I share tidbits of my works in progress as part of Weekend Warrior’s 8-Sentence Sunday


This week, I'm going over edits from my publisher on DISARMING COWBOYS, book 7 of the Lone Wolves of Shay Falls series. The trio has just mate bonded, yet something is amiss...

Jayels awareness of Jerrod and David rushed away, leaving behind a dizzy sensation like the force of the ocean pulling her off balance. She laid there, unable to move and unable to find her old self in the wake of that wave.
“That was intense,” David said soon after. “And I have to say, kind of weird.”
“Definitely weird,” Jerrod said, pulling away from her. 
“I’m not sure that’s a compliment,” she said, still feeling a bit woozy. 
“It wasnt, Jerrod said. Tryin to sense your emotions now is like ridin’ upside down through a tunnel.


So, what do you think?

Find my Lone Wolves of Shay Falls series at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or at Bookstrand here:

Trailer for the Lone Wolves of Shay Falls series:


~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ *~ *~ * ~ *~ *

For more awesome snippets, check out 

~~~~


I'm J. Rose Allister, wife, working mom, and the author of over twenty-five books. Somewhere in between one and the next, I love hanging out here on my blog and over on Twitter. Give me a comment or follow-I love chatting with people!

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Coconut Cream Cake -Guest Author Leslie Ann Sartor

12:00 AM 2 Comments

It's Too Yummy Tuesday!

On select Tuesdays I share delicious recipes either inspired by my books or that are just plain delicious! Today I'm happy to have special guest Leslie Ann Sartor, author of  Dare to Believe. She's here to share her recipe for coconut cream cake...yum! Take it away, Leslie!


COCONUT CREAM CAKE

This fabulous cake came from the majestic Halekulani Hotel on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii, where it has been the hotel’s signature cake for years. It’s cut into three layers, then pasted together with pastry cream. Don’t worry if your layers aren’t perfect; once it’s put together, you’ll never know. The taste is all you’ll care about.

Ingredients

Sponge Cake:

1 1/2 cups cake flour

2/3 cup sugar, plus 1/2 cup, divided

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

2/3 cup water

8 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Pastry Cream:

2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk, divided

1/2 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 tablespoons cornstarch

2 eggs

2 tablespoons butter

1 1/4 cups sweetened flaked coconut

1/2 cup amaretto

Whipped Cream:

3 cups heavy cream

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut 

Directions

1. To prepare the cake, preheat the oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 9-inch springform pan.

2. Sift together cake flour, 2/3 cup sugar, salt and baking powder in a small bowl. In separate bowl, combine oil, egg and water; add to flour mixture. Mix until smooth.

3. Whip egg whites and cream of tartar. Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar and whip until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into batter until just combined.
 
4. Pour into pan and bake about 30 minutes or until center is set. Remove from pan set aside to cool. Store in the refrigerator several hours before cutting.

5. To prepare the pastry cream, combine 1 3/4 cups milk, sugar, salt and vanilla in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until tiny bubbles form. Combine remaining milk with cornstarch; add eggs and beat several times.

6. Add ½ cup hot milk mixture to egg mixture; mix well. Pour egg mixture back into milk mixture in saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Scrape custard into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator.

7. To prepare the whipped cream, combine heavy cream and sugar in a nonreactive mixing bowl and whip until stiff peaks form. 

8. Add 1 cup of whipped cream, amaretto and 1 1/4 cups coconut to pastry cream; stir well. Set remaining whipped cream and coconut aside.

9. When cake is completely cooled, cut into three layers using a serrated knife. Place one layer on a 9-inch cake board or a serving plate. Place half the pastry cream on top and spread to edge evenly. Place second layer of cake on top of pastry cream and spread remaining pastry cream on top. Place third layer of cake on top. Frost top and sides of cake with remaining whipped cream and sprinkle with 1/2 cup coconut.

Recipe by permission from the Halekulani Hotel, Honolulu.
http://www.relish.com/recipes/halekulani-hotel-coconut-cake/#ixzz25inq0GVW


Dare to Believe
by L.A. Sartor
Buy Links:
Amazon:  http://amzn.to/Qjzzgm   
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/MMSLXS    
Barnes and Noble:  http://bit.ly/QNQCh2 
iTunes Bookstore : http://bit.ly/14O3lTx   
Smashwords:  http://bit.ly/MlYSSA 
Goodreads:   http://bit.ly/YRf1pa  


The Pulitzer prize winning writer …
Catherine Hemstead Malloy had it all – riches, glamour and happiness – or so it seemed. When her husband dies in an accident, she discovers she never really had anything at all. Now with nothing but a dismal bank account and her precious daughter, Cate fights to rebuild her life—until her daughter is kidnapped. Cate has no money, no resources – why would someone target her child?

And the knight in shining armor …
Jason St. Pierre doesn't think of himself as a knight, just a man who does what must be done, lives by his rules and damn the consequences.  He'll move heaven and earth to protect the innocent, and his heart—he loved once and lost and won't risk it again, especially to Cate Hemstead.

Together …
Their reunion pits them against a kidnapper who is always one step ahead and takes them on a hunt from the majestic mountains of Colorado to the idyllic beaches of Hawaii.  Can they solve the who-dunnit turned why-dunnit kidnapping in time to save Cate's daughter?

About the author

Leslie Ann Sartor (aka L.A. Sartor) began telling stories around the age of 4 when her mother, at Leslie’s insistence, wrote them down and Leslie illustrated them.  As an adult she writes suspense and action adventure novels with a dash of romance, and screenplays—she's had a contracted adaptation!  She lives in Colorado with her husband whom she met on a blind date. Leslie loves to travel and thinks life is an adventure and we should embrace the journey.  She has a blog: www.anindieadventure.blogspot.com. She is also one of the Five Scribes atwww.fivescribes.blogspot.com.  Check out her website, www.lesliesartor.com.

Social Links
L.A. Sartor's website:  http://bit.ly/Msu6J8
Facebook Writer:  http://on.fb.me/MUU9HK


Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Rustic Beef Stew -Guest Author Harper St. George

12:00 AM 2 Comments
It's Too Yummy Tuesday!

On select Tuesdays I share delicious recipes either inspired by my books or that are just plain delicious! Today I'm happy to have special guest Harper St. George, author of His Abductor's Sweetheart, who's here to share a satisfying beef stew recipe.  Take it away!


My debut book, His Abductor’s Desire, is set in the Wild West. The heroine, Charity, is a bank robber who kidnaps the hero during a bank robbery. She takes him back to her cabin in the wilds of Montana Territory. The cabin is fairly rustic with little more than a fireplace for cooking, so they eat a lot of one pot meals. One of the meals she fixes for him is elk stew. I’d like to share a similar recipe for stew that we love at my house. I don’t personally have access to elk so I’ve substituted beef. I also added wine. I doubt Charity would’ve had red wine, but it makes just about everything better.

Rustic Beef Stew

Ingredients:
3 lbs of beef cut into 1 inch cubes
1 lb carrots
1 lb mushrooms
1 lb potatoes
½ lb onions, diced (about 1 to 2)
¼ cup flour
4 tbsp butter
2 cans (around 14.5 oz each) beef broth
1 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
1.5 cups red wine
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cut all vegetables (carrots, mushrooms, and potatoes) to ½ to ¾ inch cubes. Lightly dredge the beef with flour with salt and pepper to taste. On medium heat, melt the butter into a stock pot. Add beef. Lightly brown the beef. Add beef broth, then carrots, mushrooms, potatoes, onions, thyme, and bay leaf. When stew starts to boil, reduce heat to low/medium. Add red wine. Simmer for 2 to 4 hours until desired tenderness.

His Abductor’s Desire
Historical romance novella
Publisher – Harlequin
Available Now!


Blurb:

Montana Territory, 1887
Heiress-turned-outlaw Charity Blake is determined to get back the fortune the Davenport banking family took from her father—even if she has to hold Brent Davenport ransom to do it! After all, the seductive charmer stole something even more valuable from her five years ago: her heart. But once she has Brent in chains, Charity must face the fact that her desire for the man has grown from the sweet dreams of a young girl to the unquenchable passion of a woman. And soon it's not clear whether she's the captor, or the captive….


Author Bio:

Harper St. George was raised in the rural backwoods of Alabama and along the tranquil coast of northwest Florida. It was a setting filled with stories of the old days that instilled in her a love of history, romance, and adventure. By high school, she had discovered the historical romance novel which combined all those elements into one perfect package. She has been hooked ever since.

She lives in Atlanta, GA with her husband and two young children. Look for her short story in the first Romance Writers of America anthology. She would love to hear from you. Please visit her website at www.harperstgeorge.com.

Follow Harper
Twitter: @HarperStGeorge

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Full Moon Habits -Snippet Sunday

1:47 AM 4 Comments
~~Warning: mature themes~~

On Sundays, I share tidbits of my works in progress as part of Weekend Warrior’s 8-Sentence Sunday


This week, I'm going over edits from my publisher on DISORDERDLY COWBOYS, book 6 of the Lone Wolves of Shay Falls series. Last week, Lana had a visitor who was holding back from sharing an important secret. Let's pick up where they left off.

“I came to tell you the truth about Shay Falls,” Jayel said, “including why I carry some very special weapons.”
Lana folded her arms, not at all happy about where this was going. “You told me the woods are dangerous.”
“Even more so since the full moon starts tonight, so I sincerely hope you aren't planning to go dancing around naked in it.”
“I haven’t done rituals like that for a while now. But as it happens, I do know tonight is a full moon. Keeping track of moon phases gets to be a habit when you were raised pagan.”
“Gets to be a habit when you hunt werewolves too.”



So, what do you think?

Find my Lone Wolves of Shay Falls series at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or at Bookstrand here:

Trailer for the Lone Wolves of Shay Falls series:


~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ *~ *~ * ~ *~ *

For more awesome snippets, check out 

~~~~


I'm J. Rose Allister, wife, working mom, and the author of over twenty-five books. Somewhere in between one and the next, I love hanging out here on my blog and over on Twitter. Give me a comment or follow-I love chatting with people!

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Jumbuck Casserole -Guest Author Simone Sinna

12:00 AM 2 Comments
email
It's Too Yummy Tuesday!

On select Tuesdays I share delicious recipes either inspired by my books or that are just plain delicious! Today I'm happy to have special guest Simone Sinna, author of  Ballbreaker. Take it away!



Jumbuck Casserole followed by Pavlova
I had a lot of fun writing my latest novella, BallBreaker, set on a sheep ranch in Victoria, Australia. It was inspired by a friend’s property (since sold) and I spent many weekends there riding (though not on the cross country course where Sam shows Mike up – though they do hunt there, there are no designed jumps as described) and occasionally helping out with their sheep. The sheep were breed for wool, not meat, but it made me think of a lamb recipe that’s very Australian. There are pets in the book (look out for a Chihuahua with attitude and how she tames the dog the size of a pony) but no pet sheep!
If you have a crock pot/ slow cooker this is a great meal in virtually any weather. In winter I have it with potatoes (small and roasted with rosemary), in summer with salad.

Jumbuck Casserole

Jumbuck is a slang word for sheep, featuring in a favourite Aussie song, Waltzing Matilda. 
Use shoulder chops, two per person or three if you’re hungry! For 4-6 people: Put the chops in a plastic bag, add a couple of tablespoons of flour, pepper to taste and two teaspoons of curry powder. Heat some oil, slowly cook two sliced onions, remove, add a little more oil and turn up the heat a bit higher to brown the chops. Remove and use a little red wine (it’ll hiss and evaporate, so add a little more if needed) to loosen the flour that is there. Put onions and browned chops in a casserole dish with a tablespoon of brown sugar, two tablespoons each of tomato and Worchester sauce, a bit of red wine and a bit of stock- enough to completely cover and cook at 350 Farenheit for half an hour. Then add 300-500gm pumpkin in one-two inch chunks, add more stock if needed to cover and cook another half hour. Add salt to taste.

Pavlova

We Australians think pavlova is ours (after our famous ballet dancer Anna Pavlova) but who knows! I can’t imagine any ballet dancer eating this if they wanted to keep their figure. The homemade base is soooo much better than any bought one, even if it doesn’t rise. You can always serve it as a triumph with a ton of cream and fruit. The secret is clean egg whites (not a speck of yolk!) in a very dry bowl and a slow steady oven. Electric does this better than gas.

Beat 6 egg whites while slowly adding I cup of sugar and 1 cup of castor sugar…for a long time (my mother says 15minutes!)…until stiff, white and thick. Then add 3 teaspoons of cornflour, 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder, 1 ½ teaspoons of vanilla essence and three teaspoons of  white vinegar for one minute. Pour onto a tray greased and topped with greased baking paper. Oven temp to 375 degrees, down to 150 after you put it in. Check regularly after one hour (may take up to two) for it to rise and be white and crisp on top.
When it’s cold, thinly slice bananas on top. Then whip up cream with a little castor sugar, a dash of vanilla essence and layer over. On top of the cream put Kiwi Fruit and strawberries. Some healthy things and all taste great!
Enjoy eating and reading!
Simone Sinna
Foolow @simonesinna

Ballbreaker
Samantha Coulton hates her job. She loves father, who she can’t say no to, but unfortunately he is also her boss and relies on her to be the ballbreaker in his hardest assignments. She is the only one that is likely to be able to broker a deal between Jeremy and his brother Mike Sandford after their father dies, over management of their sheep. If they can’t agree, then she gets a vote and the majority wins.
Trouble is, the Sandford boys have other ideas. With her stuck on their sheep ranch until the deal is done, Jeremy plans to seduce her and Mike scare her off. But as both of them fall for her, and she them, things don’t go exactly according to plan, jeopardising the future of the farm unless Samantha can find a way for the brothers to work together against a common enemy.
Genre: BDSM, Contemporary, Ménage at Trois/Quatre, Western/Cowboys
Length: 26,343 words
Available: www.bookstrand.com/simone-sinna only $4.50


Sunday, March 2, 2014

A Reluctant Visitor -Snippet Sunday

12:00 AM 6 Comments
~~Warning: mature themes~~

On Sundays, I share tidbits of my works in progress as part of Weekend Warrior’s 8-Sentence Sunday


This week, I'm going over edits from my publisher on DISORDERDLY COWBOYS, book 6 of the Lone Wolves of Shay Falls series. The heroine, Lana, talks to a visitor who is bearing some news they are reluctant to divulge.

“So why did you come back, really?” Lana asked.
“I wasn’t going to, Jayel replied, but I kept thinking of you being all alone in this cabin, and I’d feel responsible if something happened and I didn’t warn you.”
Coffee gurgled unpleasantly in Lana’s stomach. “Warn me about what?”
Jayel stared into her mug. “Maybe booze isn’t such a bad idea.”
“You’re starting to freak me out, Jayel. Warn me about what?”


So, what do you think?

Find my Lone Wolves of Shay Falls series at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or at Bookstrand here:

Trailer for the Lone Wolves of Shay Falls series:


~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ *~ *~ * ~ *~ *

For more awesome snippets, check out 

~~~~


I'm J. Rose Allister, wife, working mom, and the author of over twenty-five books. Somewhere in between one and the next, I love hanging out here on my blog and over on Twitter. Give me a comment or follow-I love chatting with people!

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