Tag Archives: AUTHOR SPECIAL

Karen’s Killer Fixin’s Author Special with Kelsey Browning & Nancy Naigle

November 15, 2013 Karen Docter 17 Comments

Karen’s Killer Fixin’s **AUTHOR SPECIAL**

With Kelsey Browning & Nancy Naigle

Welcome to my Friday bonus feature called Karen’s Killer Fixin’s **Author Special**!! Today, in lieu of one of my own recipes, I’m going to introduce you to a new author who will share one of her favorite recipes. Not only will you and I occasionally learn how to make something new and delicious, but we’ll get a chance to check out some wonderful authors. Introducing co-authors, KELSEY BROWNING & NANCY NAIGLE, and their favorite recipe for CHOCOLATE PECAN PIE!

About the authors, Kelsey Browning & Nancy Naigle….

Kelsey Browning writes sass kickin’ love stories and Southern cozy suspense. Originally from a small Texas town, Kelsey has also lived in the Middle East and Los Angeles, proving she’s either adventurous or downright nuts. These days, she hangs out in northeast Georgia with Tech Guy, Smarty Boy, Bad Dog and Pharaoh, a Canine Companions for Independence puppy. She’s currently at work on the next book in her Texas Nights contemporary romance series and The Granny Series. For info on her upcoming single title releases, drop by www.KelseyBrowning.com.

Nancy Naigle writes love stories from the crossroad of small town and suspense. Born and raised in Virginia Beach, Nancy now calls a small farm in southern Virginia home. She’s currently at work on the next book in her Adams Grove series and The Granny Series. Stay in touch with Nancy on Facebook, Twitter or subscribe to her newsletter on her website ~ www.NancyNaigle.com.

The Granny Series story…

We’re often asked how we decided to co-write The Granny Series. Well, we didn’t so much as decide on it as it decided on us. In early 2012, we were attending the Romantic Times conference in Chicago. Often at events like that, writer roommates invariably stay up late chatting about their latest projects, the industry, and chocolate. Since we’re both Southern gals, we also talked about our home states and our families.

One of Kelsey’s family stories was about a (hypothetical) threat her mom made against a former family member. Of course, it was all a joke, but they decided Kelsey’s mom would have to be the one to make good on the (hypothetical) threat because in prison, she’d get three square meals a day and free health care. Besides, Kelsey looks horrible in orange.

We laughed and laughed about that silly story. But in the morning, Nan woke up and said, “I think we should write that book.” By the end of the weekend, we’d brainstormed a variety of scenarios and laughed until we cried. But the idea stuck, and we began plotting the story that would become In For a Penny.

Of course, In For a Penny is only the start of what we have planned for Lillian, Maggie, Abby Ruth and Sera. Join us and the grannies on the first of their many adventures!

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IN FOR A PENNY by KELSEY BROWNING & NANCY NAIGLE

Book Blurb

Honey, these are not your momma’s grannies…

When Lillian Summer Fairview’s husband up and dies on her, it leaves the last living member of the most prestigious family in Summer Shoals, Georgia, in a hot mess. While Lil was busy being a proper Southern lady, Harlan squandered dang near the whole family fortune on lottery tickets. To keep her financial skeletons in the closet and give him a decent burial, Lil made a deal that has now landed her in prison.

Desperate to keep her troubles a secret and the family estate from falling down while she pays her debt to society, Lil entrusts Summer Haven’s care to her best friend, Maggie, who recruits two more over-fifty ladies to live at Summer Haven and help keep it afloat.

But when Maggie discovers that Lil’s restitution is ten times the amount she “borrowed” from the federal government, she’s convinced Lil has taken the fall for someone else’s crime. And these gals will use every trick in their little-old-lady bags to prove it.

IN FOR A PENNY by KELSEY BROWNING & NANCY NAIGLE

THE GRANNY TAKEOVER

Where did the idea for The Granny Series come from?

Kelsey and I shared a hotel room at a conference and one evening we were relaxing in our jammies – me in my scotty-dog jammies and Kelsey in her moose pants – and we got to talking about my ex-husband. That spawned a conversation about a former family member that Kelsey and her momma had once thought about “taking care of.” As she chronicled the details that she and her mom had brainstormed, I couldn’t help but laugh. Then, she said that her Mom said she should do it because then she could get three square meals and free health care in prison. Kelsey’s response to her mom was, “Good, because I’ve got some more things I want to do.” We went to bed late, late, late that night after hours of silly girl talk and giggles, but the next morning I just couldn’t quit thinking about that story and her momma, a granny, going to jail. We both knew we had to write a story like that…and The Granny Series began.

Each of you also writes romance. Why start a cozy suspense series?

All of my books always have a little suspense in them. The grannies leant themselves to the storyline. Vigilante grannies just sprang to life.

I never expected to be writing cozy (because in my contemporary romances, I write rather…ahem…hottish love scenes). But this idea just grabbed us. Anything that makes me laugh this much HAD to be written. By me 🙂 .

Do you have plans for more Grannies in future books?

Absolutely!! We’ve got five scoped out, but we’ll let the readers guide the pace and frequency. We’ve also talked about doing some novellas where Kelsey can bring her sassy sexy writing style to the page and “Make Teague’s day!”

How many more books in The Granny Series?

At least five, but the number really depends on reader response.

I noticed there’s some strong language in In For a Penny. That’s not normal for Nancy’s work – what’s up?

Blame it all on Kelsey. She has an incurable potty mouth. However, hopefully you noticed the language used in In For a Penny fit the voice of the character using it.

What’s next for the Grannies?

Oh, we can’t keep these gals off the page for long. It’s likely you’ll meet a new granny in the second book and she’ll be a big ole part of their next adventure!

Do you have a website for the series?

Sure do. www.TheGrannySeries.com

How do I get The Granny Series swag?

You can request granny swag through the grannies website www.TheGrannySeries.com or at Nancy’s online store at www.readrelaxrepeat.com.

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Links to Kelsey and Nancy’s websites, blogs, books, etc.

www.TheGrannySeries.com

www.KelseyBrowning.com

www.NancyNaigle.com

Nancy’s online store at www.readrelaxrepeat.com

Buy Links

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/17qDnf2

Amazon: http://amzn.to/HRRhL4

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I hope you enjoy the recipe Nancy & Kelsey are sharing with us today on Karen’s Killer Fixin’s. Happy eating!

Karen

P.S. We’re at 117 recipes and counting with this posting. Hope you find some recipes you like. If this is your first visit, please check out past blogs for more Killer Fixin’s. In the right hand column menu, you can even look up past recipes by type. i.e. Desserts, Breads, Beef, Chicken, Soups, Author Specials, etc.

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CHOCOLATE PECAN PIE

Butter Crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour (refrigerated)

⅛ teaspoon salt

½ cup cold butter

6–8 tablespoons cold water

The trick is in keeping the dough cold. Combine flour and salt in a bowl.
Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until mixture becomes pebbly. Stir in enough water with a fork, just until flour is moistened. Don’t overwork the mixture.
Shape dough into a ball and flatten slightly. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle. Fold into quarters and place in a pie pan. Unfold, pressing dough firmly against the bottom and sides. Crimp edges.
Prick the crust with a fork. Butter the bottom of a smaller cake pan and set it inside the pie crust in your pie pan. Heat for 8–10 minutes in a 475-degree oven until lightly browned.

Pie Filling:

4 Hershey’s chocolate candy bars (1.55 ounce size)

2 tablespoons margarine

3 large brown eggs

⅓ cup sugar

1 cup corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 handfuls of pecan halves

1 handful of coconut (optional)

Just a tap of cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg

Put your butter crust in your favorite pie dish—Pearl was partial to ceramic pie plates.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a double boiler, melt only 3.5 of the chocolate bars and the 2 tablespoons of margarine. Stir until smooth. Let cool slightly while you eat that leftover half of a chocolate bar.
Whisk eggs lightly in medium bowl. Add sugar, corn syrup, chocolate mixture, and vanilla; stir until well blended. Mix pecans into chocolate mixture and then combine with the egg mixture.
Set pie shell on heavy-duty baking sheet and pour in filling. Sprinkle the coconut across the top.
Bake 50–55 minutes. The crust will be golden and a toothpick should come out clean when inserted into the center.

Cool pie on wire rack to room temperature before cutting. Serve with whipped topping and a few shavings from the last bit of the chocolate bar if you haven’t already eaten it.

~~~

**SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Nancy and Kelsey will give away THE GRANNY SERIES swag pack of a drink huggy, ink pen & an autographed Keeper Kase Card to one of their lucky readers who comments on Friday’s Karen’s Killer Fixin’ blog!! Thanks, ladies, for sharing your story with us!

Karen's Killer Fixin's

Karen’s Killer Fixin’s Author Special with Ava Miles

October 25, 2013 Karen Docter 4 Comments

Karen’s Killer Fixin’s **AUTHOR SPECIAL** with Ava Miles

Introducing author, AVA MILES, and her favorite recipe for GINGERBREAD MEN!

About the author, Ava Miles….

Ava Miles burst onto the contemporary romance scene after receiving Nora Roberts’ blessing for her use of Ms. Roberts’ name in her debut novel, NORA ROBERTS LAND, which kicked off The Dare Valley Series and brought praise from reviewers and readers alike. Much to Ava’s delight, BlogCritics says “It [NORA ROBERTS LAND] captures the best of…a Nora Roberts novel,” while USA Today’s Happily Ever After blog praises the series noting its “wonderful, idyllic setting… [and] great characters.” Ava continued The Dare Valley Series in FRENCH ROAST, which Tome Tender says “raised the entertainment bar again” and then THE GRAND OPENING, which reviewer Mary J. Gramlich says “is a continuation of love, family, and relationships.” Now, Ava releases the fourth book in the series, THE HOLIDAY SERENADE, with her recognized wit and charm, creating happy endings with humor and heart. A descendant of generations of journalists, Ava—a writer since childhood—now lives in her own porch-swinging-friendly community with an old-fashioned Main Street lined with small businesses. Much like Dare Valley.

THE HOLIDAY SERENADE, Book 4, The Dare Valley Series, by Ava Miles

Contemporary Romance/Fiction/Original

October 2013/On Sale 10-21-13/$2.99 (eBook), ISBN: 9781940565026

www.avamiles.com www.facebook.com/AuthorAvaMiles www.facebook.com/NoraRobertsLand

www.twitter.com/authoravamiles www.pinterest.com/authoravamiles

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THE HOLIDAY SERENADE by AVA MILES

Book Blurb

Professional gambler Rhett Butler Blaylock is everything Abbie Maven doesn’t want in a man—flamboyant, flashy, and unreserved. After a horrible experience in her youth, she has spent her life trying to make all the right choices, pouring her energy into being the best possible single mother to her son. But though Rhett doesn’t seem to be husband and stepfather material, he awakens emotions in her that are as frightening as they are powerful. They had a fling she’s never forgotten, and now he has followed her to Dare Valley, Colorado with the intention of winning back her heart…this time, forever.

Rhett’s determined to show Abbie he can be the man of her dreams. He’ll do whatever it takes for the woman he loves, including giving up his flamboyant lifestyle and bad-boy image. As Christmas approaches, he prepares a special surprise for her, hoping the holiday will work its magic and grant him a miracle. Will his holiday serenade heal Abbie’s heart and convince her to give love a second chance?

What Happens When Rhett Butler Wants Martha Stewart?

So, hi there. I’m Ava Miles, a contemporary romance writer of the new Christmas story called THE HOLIDAY SERENADE, part of my Dare Valley series. I want to thank Karen for hosting me today to talk about the heroine of my newest novel, Abbie Maven, who really wants to be Martha Stewart when she grows up.

Abbie loves Christmas, and she loves baking. In fact, she even bakes my family’s gingerbread men recipe, which gets her into a little trouble with the hero, who teases her about only making men. Well, let me give a little more background here. My hero, Rhett Butler Blaylock (yes, you heard me right), is a professional poker player, and he’s carefully crafted a bad-boy image, which includes these two women who serve as his scouts disguised as well…poker babes. They wear beauty pageant wigs and lots of sequins, and they’re beyond embarrassing to Abbie. I mean, she’s a single mother and Rhett’s…well, Rhett. Here’s an excerpt.

THE HOLIDAY SERENADE by AVA MILES

EXCERPT

Instead she gestured toward the remaining dough in the bowl, which gave off that special gingerbread scent she loved, redolent of coffee and spice. “Since your poker babes have such remarkable attributes, perhaps you should be the one to shape some female cookies?”

He must have caught the challenge in her eyes. Their ongoing battle over his poker entourage was one of the main reasons why she’d refused to renew their relationship when he moved to her new town of Dare Valley, Colorado, months ago with the sole purpose of getting her to agree to marry him. He’d played poker in overseas venues for a year after she broke off their secret relationship. He’d returned six months ago, declaring his love for her and saying he wouldn’t ever leave her again. And, shockingly, he’d stuck by that vow.

Dustin angled his head to the right and flashed a smile at their ongoing banter, and suddenly he reminded her of his father, a man whom she’d believed to be sincere and kind until he’d blown that illusion to smithereens.

Trusting men hadn’t been her strong suit since then. Add in the fact that she and Rhett were still ill-suited beyond words, and she hadn’t caved to Rhett’s dogged pursuit.

If there was one thing Abbie had learned to value in life, it was order. Okay, and control, but that made her sound like a control freak, which she was so not. Mostly.

“I just might do that,” Rhett replied, pinching some of the dough out of her holiday Christmas bowl and rolling it into a ball.

“Sweet!” her son cried, jumping up from the bar stool right in front of her kitchen island like he was preparing to make Playboy centerfold gingerbread cookies, a teenager’s Christmas fantasy.

Like she would ever allow that to happen in her home.

Rhett put a hand on Dustin’s shoulder, and he eased back into his chair, about as deflated as an undercooked soufflé.

“Maybe we can just put a dress on them,” Rhett said. “That way your mama can still maintain her dignity, Dustin.”

The compliment did little to diffuse her. As a poker player, and a flamboyant one at that, Rhett had created a rough-and-tumble image for his act. Every time he played poker, he was accompanied by his poker babes—two women clad in tight, low-cut, often sequined gowns, with death-defying cleavage.

Few knew these women were total brainiacs who worked as his scouts. Frankly, she didn’t care that they both had MBAs from Harvard and that he’d never been anything but professional with them.

They were embarr-a-ssing, and she didn’t want them anywhere near her son.

Plus, how could Rhett expect her to walk into a poker tournament with him if his poker babes were flanking them? Abbie wore conservative Ann Taylor suits most days. She was a single mother. Being respected and respectable was important to her, and she’d fought hard for it. She wasn’t about to give it up.

Especially after the horrible way in which Dustin had been conceived when she was just eighteen. Why couldn’t he understand that?

Peggy dropped a plastic container filled with the silver balls in front of Rhett. “If you’re going to make women with dresses, this might work for sequins.”

Abbie gave her future sister-in-law a smile of genuine appreciation. Though there had been some bumps in their relationship, she and Peggy got along pretty well now. True, they didn’t always understand one another. As Dare Valley’s deputy sheriff, Peggy was a cop to the core, and Abbie really did aspire to be Martha Stewart. But they shared a more important commonality—they were both single mothers.

“What a great idea!” Rhett agreed with his usual aw-shucks ease. “Do you have any of these bells in gold? I don’t always like my poker babes to wear the same outfits.”

~~~

And that’s pretty much the push-pull relationship Martha (oops Abbie) and Rhett have.

So, if you could have Abbie bake your favorite holiday treat, what would it be?

And now, here’s the gingerbread men recipe (or gingerbread women). And FYI, my own church-going mother makes both sexes, which makes all of us sometimes uncomfortable. But I can tell you this: they are definitely a conversation piece. 🙂 Enjoy!

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Links to Ava’s website, blog, books, etc.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FZ5H8Q4

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-holiday-serenade-ava-miles/1117165589?ean=2940045327824

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id725314543

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-holiday-serenade-dare-valley-series-4

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/366988

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I hope you enjoy the recipe Ava is sharing with us today on Karen’s Killer Fixin’s. Happy eating!

Karen

P.S. We’re at 114 recipes and counting with this posting. Hope you find some recipes you like. If this is your first visit, please check out past blogs for more Killer Fixin’s. In the right hand column menu, you can even look up past recipes by type. i.e. Desserts, Breads, Beef, Chicken, Soups, Author Specials, etc.

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GINGERBREAD MEN (& WOMEN)

Recipe by Ava Miles’ Great-great Grandma Miles, circa 1900
Baked by Abbie Maven at Christmas

Gingerbread

1 c. butter
1 c. sugar

Cream these two ingredients.

Add ½ c. hot coffee
¾ c. molasses
5 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda
¼ tsp. nutmeg
1 ½ tsp. ginger
½ tsp. cloves

Mix the ingredients. Chill for at least 1 hour. Overnight is best.

Form them into gingerbread men or other shapes and bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Then decorate to your heart’s content.

Icing

4 egg whites
5 c. sifted powdered sugar

Beat egg whites until stiff and slowly add the powdered sugar. Keep covered when not using since the icing dries quickly.

Karen's Killer Fixin's

Karen’s Killer Fixin’s Author Special with Elizabeth Allen

July 26, 2013 Karen Docter Leave a comment

Karen’s Killer Fixin’s **AUTHOR SPECIAL** with Elizabeth Allen

Introducing author, ELIZABETH ALLEN, and her favorite recipe for HOMEMADE TOM GAI SOUP (Thai Coconut Soup) or what Elizabeth likes to call, THAI ONE ON!

About the author, Elizabeth Allen….

Liz is a Florida girl – born and raised in the Sunshine State. Her career path has spanned from physical to fiscal to literary starting in nutrition, then riding the roller coaster we call the stock market as a financial advisor and ultimately penning her first book at age 49. Before meeting her husband and marrying in 1992 Liz lived in New York City and Los Angeles. In 1995 she had a child but fear and impatience with unpredictable earthquakes in California motivated her to move back to Florida in 1999 – just in time for that y2k scare….

Liz’ debut novel “Who Got Liz Gardner” was published in April 2009 as the result of an international contest and is now enjoying tremendous popularity in book clubs around the world. Recently, some critics have called her novel “the intelligent and better-written ‘Fifty Shades of Grey'”. She was also reviewed and highly recommended by USA Today in April 2012. The sequel to WGLG – Discovering Arugula – was released January 2011. She recently released her third novel “Ima Pigg” a young adult/scifi tale which has been described as “Charlotte’s Web” meets “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”.

Liz has been a contributing writer for several women’s magazines as well as a popular speaker for women’s groups.

Liz lives with her husband, daughter and Catahoula Leopard dog. Her unrealized dream is to ride horseback across the fields of Provence for one week. In the meantime, she rides dressage once a week and goes to Epcot. She will not ride Mission Space. She does, however,practice her high school French when she orders crepes.

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WHO GOT LIZ GARDNER by ELIZABETH ALLEN

Book Blurb

When Liz, a married financial advisor and mother of one, logs on to her high school website in an attempt to generate business leads, she inadvertently lands in a chat room made up of her male classmates (and former lovers) from 30 years before. There she witnesses a testosterone-laden discussion and a much unexpected question, “Does anyone know who got Liz Gardner?” The sheer irony that she would be a topic of this world wide circle jerk on her one and only visit catapults her into a graphic and relentless exploration of her life’s journey–with all the erotic, tragic, and hilarious affairs, lessons, and detours that inevitably led to the one “who got her.”

Did she make the same desperate mistakes as her mother, or worse? Was she destined to become her mother?

Her journey takes her from Florida to New York to California with a spicy layover in Denver. She grows and evolves from dealings with divorced parents, abortion, love triangles, infidelity, confused intentions, homeless junkies, aliens, vegetarians, stalkers, past life lesbians, ghosts and angels. Oh, and men. Definitely men.Who Got Liz Gardner is a complete meal with flavors, textures and ingredients reminiscent of “50 Shades of Grey”, and “Sex and the City” combined with a dash of “Fear of Flying”. Readers who enjoy feasts of this caliber will want to indulge in this extraordinary repast and encourage others to take a taste! However, be warned – while some like it hot, this meal hits the top of the Scoville scale. Muy caliente!

WHO GOT LIZ GARDNER

Excerpt

Chapter 1
Atticus Finch

Accolades of “Brilliant! Fantastic!” could be heard amidst the applause usually reserved for rock stars, but this wasn’t a concert. It was a psychiatric convention and Mike Gardner was a key speaker. A celebrity in the ambiguous world of mental health, his psychiatric observations were legend having been published in the most prominent journals. His evaluations were sought on the highest profile criminal cases and his conclusions were instrumental in verdicts. That was the public Mike.

And he was very generous with his sperm. Enthusiastic, some might say.

His given name was Melvyn, but he hated it and went by Mike. A slim, stunning man, he bore an uncanny resemblance to Gregory Peck. The facial arrangement of a sexy smile and deep soulful eyes was magnetic to men and women alike. He was a hugger; no one could escape his warm embrace as he bellowed “hellooo!” in lieu of handshakes. Every crushing squeeze was accompanied by that unique whiff of Brylcreem.

He had conformed and married his college sweetie. Realizing the American dream with a thriving practice and four young children was within his reach when he hired Radiance as his receptionist.

Radiance was a four-time divorcee and had a ten-year-old daughter, Bobbie, from the second marriage. She was a diminutive spitfire and like the saying goes—dynamite comes in small packages. Radiance was explosive. What she lacked in stature, she more than made up in attitude. She maintained a knock-out body, shamelessly tempted men with indigo eyes and used her sex appeal brilliantly. She could shift into an adorable Betty Boop voice while thrusting her perfect B cup breasts toward any man she wanted—the way her mother had taught her. She also bore a remarkable likeness to Ann Margret.

Her life had not been easy, especially starting off with a moniker like Radiance. Her father, Louis, died when she was ten years old. She never recovered from the loss and was traumatized into believing men were unreliable and would always leave her—and they always did.

Radiance may have let four husbands get away, but she hadn’t lost her touch. Within two months of employment, Mike left his wife and kids for her and for two years, Mike was in orbit around this red-haired vixen. He severed all ties to his first family, never returning sobbing calls from his children. In 1956, he married Radiance and adopted Bobbie, her daughter. Less than nine months later, my brother David came along. Fifteen months after that, I landed on the planet.

For more, read the Amazon Sample, which includes Prologue & Chapters 1 & 2: http://www.amazon.com/Who-Got-Gardner-Elizabeth-Allen/dp/184923888X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373293746&sr=8-1&keywords=who+got+liz+gardner

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Links to ELIZABETH’s website, blog, books, etc.

www.elizabeth-allen.com

http://www.amazon.com/Who-Got-Gardner-Elizabeth-Allen/dp/184923888X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373293746&sr=8-1&keywords=who+got+liz+gardner

http://www.amazon.com/Discovering-Arugula-Book-GARDNER-Series/dp/1432766627/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17664477-ima-pigg

http://www.amazon.com/Ima-Pigg-ebook/dp/B00BUVDMEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373293623&sr=8-1&keywords=ima+pigg

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I hope you enjoy the recipe Elizabeth is sharing with us today on Karen’s Killer Fixin’s. Happy eating!

Karen

P.S. We’re at 101 recipes and counting with this posting. Hope you find some recipes you like. If this is your first visit, please check out past blogs for more Killer Fixin’s. In the right hand column menu, you can even look up past recipes by type. i.e. Desserts, Breads, Beef, Chicken, Soups, Author Specials, etc.

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HOMEMADE TOM KA GAI SOUP
(Thai Coconut Soup aka Thai One On)

1 can coconut milk

Thai fish sauce

lemongrass stalk

lime

brown sugar

ground garlic powder

toasted sesame oil

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup chopped vegetables ( broccoli and napa cabbage work nicely)

1/2 cup chopped scallions

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1 cup cooked chicken tenders (or shrimp)

Bring coconut milk to low simmer and add 3 tablespoons of brown sugar, the cup of chicken broth, 3 teaspoons of fish sauce, the lemongrass stalk, the juice of one lime, the garlic powder and a touch of sesame oil. Bring back to low simmer and add vegetables for five minutes. Turn down heat and add cooked chicken.

Can be served over rice or Thai rice noodles. If you like it spicy, add a dash of cayenne to taste!

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**SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Elizabeth will give away a Kindle version of both of her releases, WHO GOT LIZ GARDNER and DISCOVERING ARUGULA, to one of her lucky readers who comments on Friday Killer Fixin’s **Author Special** blog!! Winner will be randomly selected and announced Monday, July 29, 2013. Thanks, Elizabeth, for sharing your stories with us!

Karen's Killer Fixin's

Karen’s Killer Fixin’s Author Special with Christine Warner

July 12, 2013 Karen Docter 8 Comments

Karen’s Killer Fixin’s **AUTHOR SPECIAL** with CHRISTINE WARNER

Introducing author, CHRISTINE WARNER, and her favorite recipe for THE JUICY LUCY!

About the author, Christine Warner….

Christine Warner is living her dream in Michigan along with her husband, three children, one laptop and a much loved assortment of furry friends.

Besides laughing and a good round of humor, she enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, reading, writing but no arithmitic. A confessed people watcher, she finds inspiration for her stories in everyday activities. She loves to read and write about strong heroes and determined, sometimes sassy, heroines.

A girl gone wild, at least where social media is concerned, she enjoys meeting other avid readers and writers on facebook, twitter and her website.

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[Editor’s Note: Entangled Publishing is revamping their Indulgence Line covers and Christine’s cover will be replaced July 15th. To avoid confusion, I’m placing both covers here so you, my wonderful readers, know what you’re looking for.]

BACHELOR’S SPECIAL by CHRISTINE WARNER

Book Blurb

Jill Adgate wants three things from life: a successful catering business, a family, and the love of an exceptional man. What she has is no job, a mounting pile of bills, and her outspoken best friend—who sets her up on a blind date with the man who inadvertently ruined Jill’s life.

Chet Castle is a businessman who has everything, except the ability to trust. Burned by a money-hungry fiancée, he refuses to get involved in any relationship that has a shelf life longer than a head of lettuce.

Intrigued by her ambition—and determined to get her in bed—Chet offers Jill the chance of a lifetime: work as his live-in chef and he’ll help her get her catering business off the ground. When sparks fly in the kitchen, Jill realizes what’s cooking is a recipe for disaster…

BACHELOR’S SPECIAL

Excerpt

Author’s Note: The excerpt I’m sharing has a little taste from both Jill and Chet’s perspective. ENJOY!

Her body hummed as his smile wavered. Although he wore sunglasses, she’d bet her last dollar his gaze swept across her chest, lingering on the betrayal of her pert nipples pushing against the fabric of her suit.

Until this moment, shyness had never been a trait she possessed. Air stalled in her lungs, her palms grew sweaty, and she itched to cover herself with a towel. Even though her replica vintage swimsuit hid more than most sets of women’s underwear, she felt too exposed. She turned to the side slightly and folded her legs up. Not that it helped, but it made her feel a bit less exposed.

Chet slid his feet from his sandals, brushing a hand through his hair. The heat from the sun wasn’t the only thing scorching her skin. She trickled several droplets of water over her arms, but she couldn’t drag her focus from his toned flesh.

Jill soaked in his ripped abs and the obvious package of goodies covered by his brown swimsuit—the same sexy brown as his hair. Damn, did a man have a right to fill out a pair of swimming trunks like that? Flecks of hair, just enough to give him a manly appeal, covered the etched muscles of his long, tan legs.

She licked her lips, hoping she could still speak. “Do you want some privacy?” Yes, say yes. She needed an excuse to make an escape without coming off like someone desperate to be making an exit.

***

Hell no, he didn’t want privacy. Through the shield of his sunglasses, he inspected her body from the tips of her pink-painted toenails to the top of her brightly flowered swimming cap. Did people still actually wear those things? “No, you look comfortable. Stay and enjoy the day.”

“Oh…are you sure?”

“Sure.”

Amazed at his own ability to talk without his tongue hitting the cement, Chet turned to throw his towel and sunglasses on a nearby lounge chair. Damn.

The red and white polka-dot halter-style suit featured a tight bodice, but her slender hips and shapely thighs hiding beneath a matching skirt grabbed his attention until all oxygen left his blood. Even showing less skin than the average girl on the beach, she far exceeded sexy and alluring.

Get a grip, Castle. She’s off limits, no matter how delectable.

He turned and stepped onto the diving board. He bounced along the surface as he made his way over the water. When he looked at Jill’s bathing cap covering her head, he held back his grin. The neon rubber flowers reminded him of something his grandmother would’ve worn, but there the similarity ended.

Everything beneath that cap was far from making him think of Grandma.

~~~~

CONNECT WITH CHRISTINE AND HER BOOK:

Website: http://christine-warner.com/

Twitter under @ChristinesWords: https://twitter.com/#!/ChristinesWords

Facebook page : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Christine-Warner/143430882396013

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5763713.Christine_Warner

BUY LINKS:

Barnes & Nobel: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bachelors-special-christine-warner/1115250848?ean=9781622661312

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Bachelors-Special-Entangled-Indulgence-ebook/dp/B00CNTSVB6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369342052&sr=8-1&keywords=christine+warner

Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Bachelors-Special/book-ymNN_qSIaUi8PBWwPe_JyA/page1.html?s=K2kMxRAOXE-3u7T7udMTew&r=2

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I hope you enjoy the recipe Christine is sharing with us today on Karen’s Killer Fixin’s. Happy eating!

Karen

P.S. We’re at 99 recipes and counting with this posting. Hope you find some recipes you like. If this is your first visit, please check out past blogs for more Killer Fixin’s. In the right hand column menu, you can even look up past recipes by type. i.e. Desserts, Breads, Beef, Chicken, Soups, Author Specials, etc.

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THE JUICY LUCY
[Makes 1 Burger]

The recipe Christine is sharing is one that is mentioned in Bachelor’s Special. Jill is a chef, but one night Chet decides to take Jill out to the Burger Bar and give her a break from the kitchen. In the process Jill has an adventure with a new burger.

THE JUICY LUCY…perfect for this summer’s menu.

Lightly mix 6 ounces ground beef chuck with a big pinch of salt. (I use sea salt)

Form into two equal balls, and then shape into two flat patties.

Take 2 slices of your favorite prepackaged cheese. (I use American and Swiss). After I open each slice and divide into 4 smaller individual slices…so I finish with 8 tiny squares. You can also leave them whole if you prefer and just lay each slice on top of the other on one patty.

After you have your cheese on one patty, place the other patty on the top and crimp along the edges so that the cheese is hidden and you have 1 patty total. Make an indentation in the center of the patty.

Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat; sprinkle the skillet with salt. Cook the burger 4 to 5 minutes per side. Serve on a soft bun with your favorite toppings and enjoy the gooey cheese-filled center when you bit into your Juicy Lucy.

Karen's Killer Fixin's

Karen’s Killer Fixin’s Author Special with Mark Knight

April 26, 2013 Karen Docter 1 Comment

Karen’s Killer Fixin’s **AUTHOR SPECIAL** with MARK KNIGHT

Introducing author, MARK KNIGHT, and his favorite recipe for YORKSHIRE PUDDING!

About the author, Mark Knight….

Mark Knight grew up in Massachusetts, USA. Settling in the UK, Mark continued to write novels of differing genres, including horror and television scripts. Mark has worked on scripts for Hollywood’s Little Slices of Death production company and one for Illusion Studios, for which he has recently signed an Option Acquisition Agreement. He also won several short story competitions, and has had his work featured in published anthologies. Mark concentrates now on Young Adult urban fantasy novels.

Mark Knight:

I fell in love with books and movies very early on. Roald Dahl, Planet of the Apes, Tolkien, Star Wars…they were all part of my journey. From age sixteen I was compelled to write my own. I have always been fascinated by amazingly ‘out there’ type stories – be it fantasy, horror, or science fiction – that have an element of reality in them. You know, where you can say ‘Oh yeah, I can relate to that’ or ‘I know someone who has that problem’. To me, the more real your characters, their emotions, problems, etc, then the more thrilling it becomes when the fantastic comes knocking at their door.

For instance, Daniel Dark, the seventeen-year-old protagonist of Blood Family, has family problems that have led him to smoke weed and chug beer with his equally indolent friend. But then he discovers that he is a half-vampire with incredible powers. Finally, his dull going-nowhere life is supercharged.

Fifteen-year-old Solomon, hero of Solomon Grimm and the Well of Souls, comes from a broken home and suffers from hypoglycaemic attacks his diabetes. It screws up his life—until a gypsy curse renders him undead. Diabetes is the least of his problems now.

Dealing with the death of a parent was bad enough for Gunner Robinson. He has a sixth-sense, the ability to know when evil is near. Other powers are manifesting themselves as well, and they are getting him into trouble, at home and at school. Which is why he wound up in therapy. Telling the doc that he is a warrior angel reborn would definitely make things worse…

~~~~

BLOOD FAMILY by MARK KNIGHT
Book Blurb

Life as part of a debt-free, middle-class family in the New England suburbs should have been heaven.

But when your father is a Man of God and you’re a vampire, it sure can be hell.

Until the age of seventeen, Daniel Dark had no idea of his true origins. Something was ulcerating deep inside him, striving to claw its way free. Pastor Nathan Dark and his wife, Annie, had adopted him and brought him up as their own. But Daniel always felt that there was a secret they feared tell him…

Everything changes the day a mysterious package arrives at his home. It contains blood – human blood. It is a message from his true father – a vampire named Dominus. Daniel’s vampire half awakens and takes its first step out of the shadows. Vampires, Daniel learns, are not like in the movies. They’re worse, much worse, and cannot be killed by sunlight or stakes.

The once lazy, goalless youth transforms into sharp-sensed killer. Now, there is no turning back. On his trail is Pastor Nathan Dark, obsessed with destroying the boy he’d adopted as his own…

Armed with ever-evolving powers, Daniel sets off to find and free his birth mother, imprisoned by Dominus since the day of his birth.

It is a journey that takes Daniel to Mexico and the mysterious Mayan shaman woman, Xochil, guardian of Vampire secrets. From there the trail leads to misty moors of southern England, where he joins forces with Logan DuPris, a vampire hunter as attractive as she is deadly. Together they piece together the weird clues that lead to…

The Vampire Key

~~~~~~

BLOOD FAMILY
Excerpt

CHAPTER 13

As evening painted the sky a deep purple, Daniel stepped through his front door and looked around. As his life had changed, so too had all that surrounded him. He was sensing something. Daniel had never been one for deep thinking, but now his perceptions stretched themselves out over the landscape, over time, feeling out new possibilities and new horizons. He exhaled a big, purging breath, scratching the back of his head. Was he really going to do it? Leave home?

The ‘incident’ with Daelin had left him confused. Part of him had wanted to take advantage of her in the most gruesome and bloodiest of ways. Part of him wanted to protect her forever. Would it be best for her—and for him—to stay, or to leave? This wasn’t exactly something he could talk over with the town’s youth counselor. For the first time in his life, he had no one to fall back on. Future decisions would be down to him and him alone.

No more of this soul-searching crap. I want my bed.

Entering, he kicked off his sneakers and thudded up the stairs. As he grabbed the door handle to his room he halted. Mom stood there, down the hall, looking…defenseless.

“Daniel…”

“Just a minute, Mom.” He wanted to change his shirt a.s.a.p.—his unbidden hallucination had made him very sweaty, not to mention the sex play with Daelin.

He entered his room.

That was his first mistake.

Dad was waiting for him—he and six other pastors. Not one appeared to be in a forgiving mood.

It was a shock to Daniel—he hadn’t even seen any cars parked out front, not even Dad’s.

He then made his second mistake. He didn’t move quickly enough.

Another pastor, who had been waiting next to the door, kicked it shut. Then, the tallest of the ministers facing him shot him with what looked to be a crossbow. The arrow tore into the boy’s left shoulder, pinning him to his bedroom door. He roared in pain. Before the roar was over, an arrow pierced his other shoulder.

“I know you hate me for this, Daniel,” said Nathan Dark. “But I’m doing this to help you.”

“Help me?” spat Daniel. “You want to kill me!”

“It’s taken me years to put together this Deliverance Team, Daniel,” Pastor Dark told him. “And unlike even my own church denomination, our newly founded division knows about the existence of creatures like you.”

“Creatures like me?”

“Yes,” said Nathan coldly. “Demons—like you.”

The pastors rushed at Daniel as he grasped the arrow shafts, trying to pull himself free. The seven men began shouting out religious passages at him, fear knocking their phrases out of unison. Five of them restrained Daniel while two others (including his father) performed the laying on of hands, placing palms on his head and chest. Enraged, Daniel bellowed back at them, irises turning blood red as his would-be deliverers watched in increasing terror.

And something else was happening: the arrows that impaled Daniel were dissolving, actually turning to ash and smoke before their eyes. Through the tears in his son’s shirt Nathan Dark could see the arrow wounds healing before his eyes—flesh growing and knitting, liberated blood retreating back inside the boy’s body before the holes closed.

Revivified, Daniel flung his arms outward in a mighty push, hurling the men to the floor. The deliverers howled in pain.

Nathan Dark regained his senses. His son was nowhere in sight. Then, hearing a sound like the panting of a wounded wolf, he looked up. Daniel clung there, defying gravity, hugging the ceiling like a bat. Nathan barked through gritted teeth to the crossbow-wielder, who hastily reloaded his weapon of choice. He was good—very good—and had no trouble in unleashing another duo of deadly carbon shafts into the boy’s body—one in the leg, and the other in his shoulder. The idea was to get so many of them stuck in the youth that he would weaken long enough for the team to overpower him. In this case, ‘overpower’ would mean one of two things—either to free him of his curse, or to free him of his life.

Detaching from the ceiling, Daniel landed in the center of the pastors, now on their feet in a rough circle. He spun, elongated nails gashing each face in rapid succession. Blood sprayed in all directions. The deliverers reeled back in pain. But Nathan avoided injury, stepping back just long enough to retrieve from his jacket the object that he had secreted there as a last resort.

There had been accounts of wooden stakes actually working against demonics and undead entities, but Nathan had never verified any of these accounts. Sure, maybe it was just movie nonsense. But this, right here, right now, was real. He was going to put right this terrible wrong—this boy’s abominable existence—in God’s name. He would succeed no matter what, even if –

Daniel had locked his gaze on to his father. The stake dropped from his hand. Pastor Nathan Dark grabbed his head as though trying to keep it from falling off. The look of sheer terror in his face was proof enough that the hypnotic assault was working. The other members of the deliverance team watched, transfixed.

“No!” Nathan was screaming. “Don’t leave me in this place! Get me out! Take me out of here!” He was no longer in this world, not consciously. Daniel had succeeded in making this devout Christian man believe that he was in Hell.

It had not been difficult for Daniel to target his father’s greatest fear. But he didn’t know how long he could keep up the illusion. This ability was new to him, powered by raw instinct.

Sensing the approach of the other ministers, Daniel whirled to confront them.

“Keep back!” he warned. “Unless you want me to invade your little minds as well!” His own words frightened him. Never before had he spoken words like that, nor with such rage. What had he become?

Pastor Nathan Dark screamed even louder. Even Daniel had no idea as to what his Dad was seeing within his mind’s eye.

“Daniel! Stop it, now!”

Mom!

Daniel was shocked to see that she’d entered. He released his father.

Jerking his head toward the window across the room, he barked at it as though giving an order. The windowpane shot up with a bang.

Daniel’s exit was a blur—a dark streak that could have been the boy taking flight. No one in the room would ever know.

He was gone.

CONNECT WITH MARK AND HIS BOOK:

http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Family-Quest-Vampire-ebook/dp/B00C456EJU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367033768&sr=8-1&keywords=blood+family

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blood-Family-Quest-Vampire-ebook/dp/B00C456EJU/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1364730430&sr=1-11

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C456EJU

~~~~

I hope you enjoy the recipe Mark is sharing with us today on Karen’s Killer Fixin’s. Happy eating!

Karen

P.S. We’re at 88 recipes and counting with this posting. Hope you find some recipes you like. If this is your first visit, please check out past blogs for more Killer Fixin’s. In the right hand column menu, you can even look up past recipes by type. i.e. Desserts, Breads, Beef, Chicken, Soups, Author Specials, etc.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

YORKSHIRE PUDDING
[Serves 6]

A classic Yorkshire Pudding is quick, easy to make and with this, my best Yorkshire Pudding recipe, guarantees success every time. A traditional Yorkshire Pudding fresh from the oven should be well-risen, golden brown with a crisp exterior and soft middle.

Yorkshire Puddings are a classic British recipe and one of the major components of England’s national dish, Roast Beef and Yorkshire Puddings, a regional dish with national (and international) appeal.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

4 large, fresh eggs, measured in a jug
Equal quantity of milk to eggs
Equal quantity of all purpose/plain flour to eggs
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp lard, beef dripping or vegetable oil

Preparation:

Heat the oven to the highest temperature possible, however, do not exceed 450F/230C or the fat may burn.
Pour the eggs and milk into a large mixing bowl and add the pinch of salt. Whisk thoroughly with an electric hand beater or hand whisk. Leave to stand for 10 minutes.
Gradually sieve the same volume of flour (as the eggs) into the milk and egg mixture, again using an electric hand beater or hand-whisk to create a lump free batter resembling thick cream, if there are any lumps pass the batter through a fine sieve.
Leave the batter to rest in the kitchen for a minimum of 30 minutes, longer if possible – up to several hours.
Place a pea-sized piece of lard, dripping or ½ tsp vegetable oil into your chosen Yorkshire pudding tin/5cm hole tin or 12-hole muffin tin and heat in the oven until the fat is smoking. Give the batter another good whisk adding 2 tbsps of cold water and fill a third of each section of the tin with batter and return quickly to the oven.
Leave to cook until golden brown approx 20 minutes. Repeat the last step again until all the batter is used up.Serving Yorkshire Pudding
- In Yorkshire serving the pudding is traditionally with gravy a starter dish followed by the meat and vegetables. More often smaller puddings cooked in muffin tins are served alongside meat and vegetables.
- Yorkshire pudding isn’t reserved only for Sunday lunch. A large pudding filled with a meaty stew or chili is a dish in its own right.
- Cold left-over Yorkshire Puddings make a lovely snack with a little jam or honey.
- Yorkshire Puddings do not reheat well, becoming brittle and dry.

~~~~

**SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Mark will give away an ebook copy of his book, BLOOD FAMILY, to one of his lucky readers who comments on his Killer Fixin’s blog!! Winner will be randomly selected and announced Monday, April 29, 2013. Thanks, Mark, for sharing your story and recipe with us!

Karen's Killer Fixin's

Karen’s Killer Fixin’s Author Special with Jennie Marts

April 12, 2013 Karen Docter 10 Comments

Karen’s Killer Fixin’s **AUTHOR SPECIAL** with JENNIE MARTS

Introducing author, JENNIE MARTS, and her favorite recipe for BETTER THAN SEX CHOCOLATE CAKE!

About the author, Jennie Marts….

Jennie Marts has been dreaming about writing a novel since she was in fifth grade and self-published her first Nancy Drew style mystery to a small readership of family, teachers, and two friends.

She lives in Colorado with her husband, two sons, and two dogs. Tucker, her golden retriever, was the inspiration for the dog, Beau, in this story.

Jennie enjoys being a member of (RWA) Romance Writers of America, the Pikes Peak Chapter of RWA, and Pikes Peak Writers.

Jennie spends her spare time playing volleyball and reading and believes you can’t have too many books, shoes or friends.

Jennie loves to hear from readers. Visit her website at www.jenniemarts.com or follow her on Facebook at Jennie Marts Books.

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ANOTHER SATURDAY NIGHT AND I AIN’T GOT NO BODY by Jennie Marts

Hi, my name is Jennie Marts and I am excited to share a little bit with you about my recently released romantic comedy, Another Saturday Night and I Ain’t Got No Body. My story features an ordinary school teacher named Sunny Vale whose well-meaning friends decide to help her find her Mr. Right.

Sunny considers herself a dog-loving, romance-reading, homebody. But her life goes from dull to deadly when her book club fires her from her own love life and sets her up on six blind dates- one of whom might be with a murderer. More trouble arrives in the dead of night, in the form of Jake Landon, a mysterious stranger, who breaks into her neighbor’s house and possibly her heart. But Jake is packing more than a loaded gun in his well-fitting Levi’s. He brings an arsenal of secrets and plenty of heat to Sunny’s ho-hum summer.

Jake Landon finds himself caught up in the capers of the sexy blonde in the house next door. But he has his own agenda which doesn’t involve playing hero to a curvy second-grade teacher and babysitting her panty-puking puppy. He’s got other problems like fiery explosions, a missing person…and a parade of jerks Sunny insists on dating.

Could Sunny’s Mr. Right be right under her nose? Even though Jake is gorgeous, likes her dog, and has abs she can crack an egg on, can she really go out with him if he’s just murdered her next door neighbor?

JAKE’S COFEESHOP INTERVIEW

Today, I am sharing with you a little inside scoop not available in the book. Let’s take a peek into the small town of Pleasant Valley, CO, where Janice Tuttlebaum, local reporter has just cornered Jake in the coffeeshop. The whole town is talking about Walter’s disappearance and this handsome stranger who has moved into Walter’s home. Nobody’s nosier than Janice, except maybe Edna, Sunny’s 80-year-old neighbor, friend and fellow book club member. Edna has been suspicious of Jake from the start, ever since she saw him sneaking around the night of the — but I’m giving too much away.

I think Janice is trying to interview Jake now. She certainly has her chair pulled close enough to his to smell his aftershave or sneak a bite of his danish. Let’s listen in…..

“This is Janice Tuttlebaum from the Pleasant Valley Times,” she says into a small handheld recorder. She also has a steno pad on the table and is scribbling notes whiles she talks. “I am here today interviewing Jake Landon, the witness who reported our local townsmen, Walter Mead, missing. Jake, what do you know about Mr. Mead’s disappearance?”

Jake sighs and folds his newspaper in half. “Not much. I expected him to be here when I arrived in town. It’s been several weeks and we really have no idea what happened to him.” He takes a sip of his coffee, then turns the questions to Janice. “How well do you know Walter? What can you tell me about him?”

“Well, he was just the sweetest old man. He fixed my front gate last summer and wouldn’t let me pay him a thing. He said his only payment was to have me bake him one of my cherry pies. My pies are prize winning at the county fair every summer. I mean, er…..I will be conducting this interview, Mr. Landon.” Flustered by the attention of this handsome rogue, Janice pats her chest and tries to take back control of the interview. “Exactly what is your relationship with Walter, er…Mr. Mead?”

Jake gives her a mischievous grin. “I’d rather talk about this cherry pie of yours….”

A bell tinkles as the front door opens, and in walks Edna, fanning herself from the summer heat. “Whoo-ee, it’s hotter than two rats — What are you doing here, Mr. Froofroo Coffee? Do you think you have enough whipped cream on that drink?”

Another sigh escapes Jake. “I ran into Ms. Tuttlebaum here while I was getting my coffee, and she asked to interview me for the local paper.”

“Why are you sitting so close together?” Edna asks, as she squeezes a chair in between them. Fluffing her hair, she turns to Janice. “Now, let me tell you, I have been neighbors with Walter for almost twenty years, and I am telling you, I suspect foul play. You work for the paper, what are you doing to find Walter?”

“Well, we…uh…we certainly would cooperate or try to help….wait a minute….doesn’t anyone understand I am the reporter here. I ask the questions.”

“Geez, touchy.” Edna turns to Jake. “What did you do to make her mad?”

“Nothing! I don’t even know her. I was just sitting here drinking my coffee, trying to read the paper…”

“Why is she all grouchy then?” Edna asks in a not-so-subtle whisper.

Janice huffs. “I am most certainly not grouchy. Now if you will excuse us, I was trying to conduct an interview, Ms……?”

“Allen. That’s with two L’s.” Edna looks pointedly at her steno pad, and gives her a conspiratorial wink. “In case you want to quote me.”

The bell tinkles again and Sunny marches in, eyes scanning the store for her neighbor. “Edna, what is taking so long? I’ve been in the car for 10 minutes…… Oh, hi, Jake. What are you doing here?”

“Evidently NOT drinking coffee, OR reading the paper. I think I’ll just take my coffee to go. Bye, Sunny.” Jake nods his goodbye at the women. “See you around. Edna. Nice to meet you, Janice.”

Janice and Sunny watch him walk out the door, both obviously appreciating the view.

Edna taps on the reporter’s notebook. “Alright Janice, now we can get down to the real story. If you two could peel your eyes off the man’s bum for a minute, I am telling you this guy, Jake, is the real trouble. We don’t know where he came from or what he does. I think he’s dangerous.”

Sunny scoffs. “Oh Edna, you are always exaggerating! Don’t start rumors.”

Janice, now all ears, flips to a new page in her steno notepad, clicks her pen several times then begins taking notes. “Now, Ms Allen, with two L’s, you said. What exactly do you mean by danger?”

“Well, now I’ve got your attention. You might want to wipe that drool off your chin, Janice. Let me tell you about this Jake character….”

“Alright, that’s enough.” Sunny says. “Sorry, we don’t really know anything about the man.”

“Oh, she’s just saying that because she has the hotsie-totsie’s for him! If you know what I mean, Janice.” Edna winks at the reporter again, but Janice doesn’t notice as she continues to write furiously.

“What? I do not! What are you writing there?” Sunny cranes her neck to see Janice’s pad. “Quit writing! Edna, I am leaving, so if you want a ride home, you better get your hotsie-totsie out to the car! I don’t even want coffee anymore!” She pulls on Edna’s purse strap while Edna is making ‘call me’ miming motions with her hand up to her ear to Janice.

“I gotta go, Janice. But mark my words, this guy might be booty-licious, but there is trouble brewing in Pleasant Valley…”

Well, that’s a small dose of life in Pleasant Valley. For more of the antics of Sunny and her pals, the Pleasant Valley Page Turners, check out ‘Another Saturday Night and I Ain’t Got No Body, available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle editions.

I am often told that Edna is a favorite character in my book, due to her fun and quirky personality. I would love it if you left a comment about a favorite character you love, in fiction or in real life, that makes you laugh just by thinking about them. Edna is a composite character made up of several older women in my life, but especially, my own grandmother, who always had me stitches.

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free Kindle copy of Another Saturday Night and I Ain’t Got No Body. And I have included one of Edna’s favorite recipes- Better Than Sex Chocolate Cake- it is easy and so yummy! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the book.

CONNECT WITH JENNIE AND HER BOOK:

Website: www.jenniemarts.com

Facebook: Jennie Marts Books

Email: jenniemarts@yahoo.com

Amazon buy links for Another Saturday Night and I Ain’t Got No Body:

Kindle

Paperback

~~~~

I hope you enjoy the recipe Jennie is sharing with us today on Karen’s Killer Fixin’s. Happy eating!

Karen

P.S. We’re at 86 recipes and counting with this posting. Hope you find some recipes you like. If this is your first visit, please check out past blogs for more Killer Fixin’s. In the right hand column menu, you can even look up past recipes by type. i.e. Desserts, Breads, Beef, Chicken, Soups, Author Specials, etc.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BETTER THAN SEX CHOCOLATE CAKE

From the kitchen of Jennie Marts – Author of Another Saturday Night and I Ain’t Got No Body

1 German Chocolate Cake Mix

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup butterscotch ice cream topping

2 Heath candy bars, crushed (or crushed toffee pieces)

1 carton of Cool Whip

Mix and bake cake mix in a 9×13-inch pan, according to package directions. Remove cake and while hot, poke several holes in the cake with the handle of a wooden spoon. Pour sweetened condensed milk over the top of the cake. Then pour the butterscotch topping over the top of the cake. Let stand until cool. Spread Cool Whip over the top of the cake then sprinkle with toffee pieces. Enjoy!

~~~~

**SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Jennie will give away a Kindle copy of her book, ANOTHER SATURDAY NIGHT AND I AIN’T GOT NO BODY, to one of her lucky readers who comments on her Killer Fixin’s blog!! Winner will be randomly selected and announced Monday, April 15, 2013. Thanks, Jennie, for sharing your stories with us!

Karen's Killer Fixin's

Karen’s Killer Fixin’s Author Special with Ashlynne Laynne

March 29, 2013 Karen Docter Leave a comment

Karen’s Killer Fixin’s **AUTHOR SPECIAL** with MARI COLLIER

Introducing author, ASHLYNNE LAYNNE, and her favorite recipe for EASY BROCCOLI CASSEROLE!

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About the author, Ashlynne Laynne ….

Ashlynne Laynneis a songwriter, poet and author of erotic paranormal and contemporary romance, who has always had a soft spot in her heart for vampires but grew tired of the garlic fearing, sun-loathing creatures of old. An avid horror movie fan, she tends to enjoy media and music that is of a younger, more eclectic nature. This was the catalyst for her writing The Progeny. The vampire/witch pairing is unique and different when most books pair vampires with werewolves.

Ashlynne loves writing on the edge—combining the erotica and romance genres—and thinks of Ascher and Shauna as the wicked, damned version of Romeo and Juliet. She is currently working on book four of her Progeny Series, book one of her upcoming Rocker Series, and an untitled novella WIP. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, reading and spending time with her family. She juggles the hats of wife, mother, full time employee and part-time writer, hoping to write exclusively one day soon. Find and follow here online on Twitter.Check out her Manic Readers page, Blogand Website, or leave her a note in her Reader Email.

Ashlynne lives in North Carolina with her husband and teenage son.

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BOOK PEEK – BLOOD PROMISE by ASHLYNNE LAYNNE

Blood Promise (The Progeny Series #3)

“Their love is fated by an ancient prophecy. Now the promise is fulfilled.”

Ascher Rousseau is a half-human, half vampire whose life has been a series of prophecies and predictions. After finding incredible love and passion with Shauna—a Wiccan with powers beyond anything he’s ever known—he seals to her and hopes for happiness. But his enemies seek to destroy all that he loves, and he finds that happiness never lasts for long.

Darkness is descending and a vampiric revolution is nearing. A new brood of hatchlings is born to join their darkling brothers, in preparation for war. A preordained chain of events is set into motion that could lead to the rise of the demonic “cloaked one” and his half-human fallen children, while ending humanity—as we know it.

Can a supernatural love and the loyal bond of a family save the Rousseaus and the world from certain extinction?

ABOUT THE PROGENY SERIES

At its core, The Progeny Series is simply about a man and woman who fall in love, and the fact that he’s a half-blood (half-human, half vampire) and she’s a Wiccan human are secondary factors. When we meet Ascher, he’s grumpy. Frankly, who could blame him? He’s engaged to seal to Ursula—a cold and careless vampire who wants nothing more than to get her hands on a bloodstone— and he feels conflicted about his existence.

All of that changes when he meets Shawnette McCutchin. She’s beautiful, intriguing and possesses some of the most potent blood that he’s ever smelled. A war immediately begins inside Ascher. He craves Shauna’s blood just as much as he craves her body and the closer they get, the harder it is for him to control his urges. After Ascher calls off the sealing to Ursula, the trouble begins. His family’s peaceful period ends when Ursula’s army attacks the Rousseaus.

This series encompasses a family dynamic of which we’ve never seen. The Rousseaus share a common mortal and immortal bloodline, but loyalty is the thread binding this clan. Shauna and Ascher’s dissuaded love only strengthens the family bonds. Their unique union transcends bloodlines and completes the prophecy, defying the beliefs of centuries old covenants while shattering the wall between the Wiccan and vampire worlds that has existed for ages. This series is erotic paranormal romance intended for adults, as it contains adult sensuality, language and themes.

The Progeny Series is available for purchase at Amazon US Amazon UK BN Smashwords

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I hope you enjoy the recipe Ashlynne is sharing with us today on Karen’s Killer Fixin’s. Happy eating!

Karen

P.S. We’re at 84 recipes and counting with this posting. Hope you find some recipes you like. If this is your first visit, please check out past blogs for more Killer Fixin’s. In the right hand column menu, you can even look up past recipes by type. i.e. Desserts, Breads, Beef, Chicken, Soups, Author Specials, etc.

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EASY BROCCOLI CASSEROLE

½ stick melted butter

(1) can cream of mushroom soup

(1) can cream of chicken soup

(1) 8 oz. jar of Cheez Whiz

(2) 10 oz pkg of thawed chopped broccoli

1 ½ C Minute rice (if you shop generic it’s instant rice)

¾ C chopped onion

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in casserole dish and bake in a 325 degree oven for 1 hour.

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Thanks, Ashlynne, for sharing your story AND your delicious recipe with us!

Karen's Killer Fixin's

Karen’s Killer Fixin’s Author Special with Mari Collier

March 15, 2013 Karen Docter 6 Comments

Karen’s Killer Fixin’s **AUTHOR SPECIAL** with MARI COLLIER

Introducing author, MARI COLLIER, and her favorite recipe for HUCK FINN CHEESE PIE!

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About the author, Mari Collier….

Mari Collier was born in Iowa and grew up on a farm. She’s lived in Arizona, Washington, and now resides in Twentynine Palms, CA. She’s a Director on the Board or the Twentynine Palms Historical Society and Coordinator for the Desert Writers Guild. Previous employment includes bookkeeper, collector, receptionist, and Advanced Super Agent for Nintendo of America. Earthbound is the prequel to Gather the Children, and available online. Several short stories have been published and she pens two columns for the Old Schoolhouse Journal.

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BOOK PEEK – EARTHBOUND by Mari Collier

A man with Thalian-Justine genes is marooned on the planet Earth. He has the spaceship and has hidden it in the wilds of Texas. He must survive on this violent planet and return to destroy the Justines and avenge his mother and Thalia. He takes the name of MacDonald and rescues Rolfe during a barroom brawl. He joins Rolfe in the fur trade until it ends. They become traders until a Kiowa raid destroys their goods. MacDonald admits he has gold hidden away. A trip to the spaceship provides funds for a land grant from the state of Texas. MacDonald becomes a Scout for the 2^nd Dragoons. During a raid on a Comanche camp, he rescues Anna, a woman tall enough and warrior enough to match him. Will MacDonald and Anna survive plaque, the enmity of their Southern neighbors, a raid on Schmidt’s Corner, and the Civil War?

EXCERPT – EARTHBOUND by Mari Collier

Outside a whoop cut through her thoughts and she snapped the last diaper pin into place and put Auggie back into the crib. Auggie promptly resumed his screams.

His screams were covered by the whooping going on outside and the whinny of a horse. Anna ran for the front door ready to face whatever was out there and yet she knew.

She looked upward over the door to two empty gun racks and knew it was futile. Mr. Lawrence had taken both the rifle and the shotgun. She grabbed the broom set by the door and rushed out. Three Comanche warriors sat there looking at the small ranch house and buildings. It was as if they knew there was no one inside but a woman. Comanche women didn’t fight. They were trained to grab their children and then run and hide.

As Anna ran out the door one of the men slid down from his horse and started up the one step onto the porch. She was holding the bottom end of the broom and swung the hard hickory shaft against his knees. They had not expected her to fight; nor had they expected a woman taller than they were. The man’s knees buckled and he went down. Anna swung the broom again with all her strength and smashed it into his head. Her next blow was straight down into the ribs and she heard one crack. She whirled to face the next man coming toward her.

The first man’s horse had reared and fled toward the cornfield. It wanted no part of the flailing broom. The horse next to it began to rear and back away, but his rider had it back under control. He was grinning as though this were some sort of fluke; a woman downing a Comanche warrior. The other man was up on the porch. He was watching her, waiting for her to swing the broom again. Anna realized he was waiting to catch it, sure that his masculine strength was more than hers.

She edged to the side. Perhaps she could draw them away from the house. Her teeth were set, the lips drawn tight. She would stop them somehow and she started to swing and then hurriedly pulled the broom handle back. The Comanche grabbed air and she swung the broom into his arm, side-stepped, and slammed the hickory handle into the man’s head. He went down to his knees.

The other Comanche stepped out of the house carrying the squalling Auggie by one heel, swinging him back and forth. Anna’s mouth dropped and her eyes widened. The man looked ready to bash Auggie’s head into the doorframe. All the while he was looking at her, his head cocked to one side.

Anna dropped the broom and held out her arms for her baby. The Comanche stepped up to her and started to let Auggie drop. She grabbed him and held him tight. The other one had risen and approached with a knife, but the man that had held Auggie shook his head and said something in their language. He directed the man to go inside. He motioned Anna to walk over to the other one. He nudged him with one foot. To Anna his words had no meaning.

The one with the broken rib pulled himself up and looked for his horse. It was gone. His voice rose in anger. The one in charge said something to him. Anna was able to understand the contempt in his voice. There was no pity for a warrior bested by a woman.

She saw movement coming from the field. Was Mr. Lawrence coming to rescue them? Her heart sank. It was two more Comanche warriors and Daniel was riding in front of one.

CONNECT WITH MARI AND HER SERIES:

You will find me online at: http://www.maricollier.com/

Earthbound Kindle edition: http://www.amazon.com/Earthbound-Volume-1-ebook/dp/B00BEM4OZA/ref=tmm_kin_title_0

Earthbound paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Earthbound-Volume-1-Mari-Collier/dp/061576133X/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

Gather The Children: http://www.amazon.com/Gather-Children-Mari-Collier/dp/1604417374/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236400448&sr=8-1

Gather The Children: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gather-the-children-mari-collier/1100095269?ean=9781604417371&itm=9&

Before We Leave Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Before-We-Leave-ebook/dp/B006M3XMEK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1324219927&sr=8-3

Before We Leave Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/before-we-leave-mari-collier/1107928798?ean=9781618426994&itm=2&usri=mari+collier

Before We Leave iBook: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/before-we-leave/id487907160?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Short stories on Smashwords.com can be accessed from here: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Skewedmind

Mari Collier’s Blog: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4618494.Mari_Collier/blog?auto_login_attempted=true

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Twisted-Tales-From-A-Skewed-Mind/124947397618599

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I hope you enjoy the recipe Mari is sharing with us today on Karen’s Killer Fixin’s. Happy eating!

Karen

P.S. We’re at 82 recipes and counting with this posting. Hope you find some recipes you like. If this is your first visit, please check out past blogs for more Killer Fixin’s. In the right hand column menu, you can even look up past recipes by type. i.e. Desserts, Breads, Beef, Chicken, Soups, Author Specials, etc.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HUCK FINN CHEESE PIE
[An Original Recipe by Mari Collier]

2 1/2 Cups frozen blue huckleberries (Substitute frozen blueberries)
1 ½ Cups Sugar
8 Oz. Package Cream Cheese
3 Tbs. Cornstarch
½ Cup Milk
1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
1 Tsp. Vanilla
1/2 Tsp. Salt
Dash of Cinnamon
1 Egg
1 Unbaked 9 ½ to 10 In. pie flan (high rim)

Heat oven to 400^0.

Combine huckleberries, 1 cup of the sugar, 3 tablespoons of cornstarch, ¼ teaspoon of salt, lemon juice, and dash of cinnamon in three quart pan. Cook over moderate heat 5 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently until thickened and clear. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

While fruit mixture is cooling soften cream cheese (30 to 40 seconds in microwave) and blend in ½ cup of sugar and ¼ teaspoon salt. Beat in eggs one-at-a time using an electric mixer. Blend in milk and vanilla on low speed. Pour the blue huckleberry mixture into the pie shell. Next, pour the cream cheese mixture slowly over the top. Do this in a circular motion.

Bake on lowest shelf in oven at 400⁰ for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 325⁰ and bake for 40 to 50 minutes longer until top is golden brown (not burned) and center is set. Let cool before serving. It tastes best if put into the refrigerator and served cold. You can use whipping cream, but this pie is rich enough without it.

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**SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Mari will give away a Kindle (or Nook) copy of BEFORE WE LEAVE (the sequel to GATHER THE CHILDREN) to one lucky reader!! Comment on this Karen’s Killer Fixin’s blos for a chance to win. Winner will be randomly selected and announced Monday, March 18, 2013. Thanks, Mari, for sharing your story AND your delicious recipe with us!

Karen's Killer Fixin's

Karen’s Killer Fixin’s Triple Author Special with Cynthia Woolf

January 18, 2013 Karen Docter Leave a comment

Karen’s Killer Fixin’s **AUTHOR SPECIAL** with CYNTHIA WOOLF

Introducing author, CYNTHIA WOOLF, and her favorite recipe for MONSTER COOKIES!

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About the author, Cynthia Woolf….

Cynthia Woolf was born in Denver, Colorado and raised in the mountains west of Golden. She spent her early years running wild around the mountain side with her friends.

Their closest neighbor was one quarter of a mile away, so her little brother was her playmate and her best friend. That fierce friendship lasted until his death in 2006.

Cynthia was and is an avid reader. Her mother was a librarian and brought new books home each week. This is where young Cynthia first got the storytelling bug. She wrote her first story at the age of ten. A romance about a little boy she liked at the time.

She worked her way through college and went to work full time straight after graduation and there was little time to write. Then in 1990 she and two friends started a round robin writing a story about pirates. She found that she missed the writing and kept on with other stories. In 1992 she joined Colorado Romance Writers and Romance Writers of America. Unfortunately, the loss of her job demanded she not renew her memberships and her writing stagnated for many years.

In 2001, she saw an ad in the paper for a writers conference being put on by CRW and decided she’d attend. One of her favorite authors, Catherine Coulter, was the keynote speaker. Cynthia was lucky enough to have a seat at Ms. Coulter’s table at the luncheon and after talking with her, decided she needed to get back to her writing. She rejoined both CRW and RWA that day and hasn’t looked back.

Cynthia credits her wonderfully supportive husband Jim and the great friends she’s made at CRW for saving her sanity and allowing her to explore her creativity.

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BOOK PEEK – THE SWORDS OF GREGARA – JENALA by Cynthia Woolf

Jenala Delasa is alone and in trouble. Someone wants her kalcion mine. They’ll stop at nothing, even murder. Jenala needs help.

Santro Baltin is just what the beautiful red-head needs. He’s huge, a master swordsman, and has a heart big enough to give her the room she needs to heal. When it comes to Jenala’s enemy however, he has his own agenda.

To defeat the notorious Zlaten Vandalar, they have to work together, mind to mind, shoulder to shoulder and heart to heart.

EXCERPT – THE SWORDS OF GREGARA – JENALA by Cynthia Woolf

Swords clashed. Jenala Delasa fought savagely for her life against the man who would dare try to get her kalcion mine. And claim her. The bastard Zlaten Vandalar. The man she believed murdered her father six months ago. He attacked her with the intention of kidnapping and raping her, giving her no choice but to be claimed under the law. She’d fall on her own sword before she’d allow him to claim her. No, he attacked her in the narrow alleyway with every intention of kidnapping and raping her.

A passerby, having heard the gray metal swords clanging off of each other, sparks flying, and her shouts of rage, rushed to watch the spectacle. Jenala dared him a quick glance when he yelled and ran toward them. Momentarily startled, she missed her jab. Zlaten sidestepped, turned and flayed open her back from the left shoulder to the bottom of her ribcage on the right side. Jenala fell to the ground. Zlaten looked up at the stranger approaching and visibly paled. He sneered at her as he ran a finger through her blood that dripped from the tip of his sword. “You’re not fit now. I’ll come when you’re healed then you’ll be mine.” He looked up at the stranger getting closer, turned and ran.

The stranger came to her, her sword still tightly gripped in her right hand. She dropped to her knees, never releasing her sword. The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth from where she’d bitten her tongue. She looked up with pain bleary eyes, expecting to see reproach or perhaps opportunity. If this man decided to claim her as Zlaten had, she could not fight him off. Instead she saw compassion. He removed his shirt and took great care to wrap her back to staunch the flow of blood. Jenala hissed at the contact, white flashing light blurred her vision. She knew he tried his best to cause her as little pain as possible, but it didn’t matter Jenala didn’t know if she could handle the searing pain another moment. He picked her up and carried her toward town. The only person who could help was the town nupenian, who cared for animals. The quack they had for a doctor would surely kill her and she wasn’t taking the chance. Brenton could sew her up as well as the doctor could.

“Take me to the nupenian,” she said, her voice little more than a croak.

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BOOK PEEK ~ THE SWORDS OF GREGARA – RIZA by Cynthia Woolf

Dr. Riza Lamrona is on the run from a notorious space pirate. She knows his secrets and he wants her dead.

Darick Remaul was a Star Patrol detective who’s trained in trouble and sees it in Riza. He also sees beneath the baggy clothes and glasses to the beautiful woman underneath. Will he be able to get beneath her defenses before the pirate accomplishes his deadly task?

EXCERPT ~ THE SWORDS OF GREGARA – RIZA by Cynthia Woolf

“Ow! Are you trying to kill me, Doc?”

The man was understandably nervous, but he had to allow her to set his leg. She knew he was in a lot of pain. The bone stuck out through the skin and he had lost a lot of blood, but he needed to relax so she could set the leg.

“I haven’t even started yet. Stop being a baby. Here we go. You’ll feel a little pinch in your neck, then count backwards from one hundred.”

“Ouch! Little pinch!”

“Count, now!”

“One hundred, ninety-nine, ninety-eight, ninety-seven, ninety….”

“Finally.” Riza worked quickly, not sure just how long he would stay out. She opened his leg, surgically implanted two kalcion rods and several screws to secure them to the bones. It would have been so much easier with a med-tech unit. But there were none on Gregara. They weren’t allowed. There were many things on the other civilized planets that weren’t allowed here, like blasters, but for some reason blasters always seemed to make it through the customs process. In Ruciem it seemed that as many people carried blasters as carried the traditional kalcion sword.

Most of the planet preferred to keep their customs, barbaric as they were. They used swords, not blasters and preferred the body to heal itself without help from technology. It made her work much more difficult. A broken leg like this one could have been healed in a few hours in a med-tech unit.

She stitched everything closed. Doing surgeries like this one allowed her to keep her skills sharp. It may not be necessary, but this man would have the smallest stitches ever put on a leg repair. Her skills as a plastic surgeon might not be usable here, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t keep her stitching up to par.

With her patient now awake and groggy, Riza went to talk to the next of kin. There was only one man in the waiting room. An extremely attractive man, if you liked handsome in a rugged sort of way. He hadn’t shaved recently and his inky black hair was on the long side, tied back with a leather strap. It suited him.

He stood as she approached. Well over six feet tall, he towered over her own five feet, ten inch height.

“Mr. Remaul?” she said holding out her hand.

“Yes.” His hand engulfed hers.

“I’m Riza Lamrona.”

“Doctor. How is Tarin?”

“He’ll be fine, but he’s going to have to stay in bed for a week or so before he’s ready to travel. I want to make sure the bones start to mend properly. Can you arrange that?”

“Of course. We have rooms at Wardson’s Bedstay.”

She nodded. “I wish there was a hospital here. A med-tech unit would be even better but….”

“I guess they don’t think they need one.”

“Well, he will heal fine, but it could be so much faster and better. You’re not from around here, are you?”

“No. I came from Alerkan a couple of years ago. And you, where are you from?”

“I’m from many places. Alerkan is one of them.” Riza retreated to her work. She didn’t want to make small talk. Her secrets were too dangerous. “Here are some pills to help with the pain. Have Tarin take them. Don’t let him try to ‘tough’ it out. Sarina Wardson is used to my sending her patients to care for. I’ll check on him in the morning.”

“What time do you want him here?”

“Oh, I’m staying with Sarina myself until I find a place of my own. I’ll come by before I head to work.”

“Good.”

“Yes. Um. Well. It was nice to meet you.” Riza wasn’t usually tongue-tied but she seemed to be with this man.

“You, too. Perhaps, since you are staying at Wardson’s, I’ll see you at dinner tonight.”

“Unless I get an emergency call, you can count on it.”

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BOOK PEEK ~ THE SWORDS OF GREGARA – HONORA by Cynthia Woolf

They stole her love, her life and want to steal the secrets secured in her mind. Secrets that could topple world governments and decimate quadrant security forever. Now she’s on an epic quest to find out why and make those responsible pay.

Honora Reyestat gave up everything to become a member of the esteemed Gregarian Guard. No family, no friends, no connections–nothing that can ever be used against her. Captured and enslaved, she’s become a prized gladiator for her master. Given the task of training a new slave, she recognizes a fellow Zolthor and the son of a tribal leader at that. Her mission changes from discovery of the enemy’s tactics and secrets to returning Joridan to his people.

Drawn to this fierce woman as no other, Joridan Dolana tries to explain she is wrong. He’s not Zolthor, he’s Centauri. He was raised on Centauri with his sister. Faced with proof of a father’s ultimate betrayal, he must choose between revenge and the protection of this woman who has sworn to never return his love.

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EXCERPT ~ THE SWORDS OF GREGARA – HONORA by Cynthia Woolf

“Oww” a woman’s voice awash with pain reached his ears.

“You disappoint me, Honora. You continue to try to escape me. When will you learn?” asked a whiney voiced man.

The whip struck flesh. Again the woman moaned but didn’t scream. She didn’t scream.

When he woke again he was not alone but the man with the whip was gone. Chained across the room from him, hung by her wrists, was a woman. He could see the lash marks on her back. Lash upon lash, new over old. They obstructed the beautiful tattoo of a dragon on her back. The blood hard to see within the red of the dragon.

Crawling to her he released her hands from the chains holding her up. She collapsed in a heap on the floor. He crawled back to his side of the room as darkness overtook him once more.

*****

The dried blood on her back cracked with each movement, but she worked through the pain as she stretched. Breathed deep and accepted the pain. Her sword weighed heavier in her hand than usual. More evidence of the lashing two nights ago. She looked down at the unconscious man at her feet. A new recruit. A Zolthor, like herself. Another reason Perdor punished her for her attempted escape, her sixth try in as many months.

This last punishment was the worst. Five lashes. Not enough to incapacitate her but enough to make her remember. Perdor wanted her to be able to train the new slave. He wanted them to be a team, good enough to take on all contenders. He’d be the only owner with two Zolthor fighting for him. Not just one, but a team. He was practically wetting himself in anticipation of the beras that he’ll win with a team of Zolthor fighters.

Again she looked down on the naked man. Long brown lashes lay against his cheek. A nice contrast to his golden blond hair. What color eyes did they hide? Blue? Green? Brown perhaps. She’d find out soon enough.

He was a beautiful man. Well formed. Broad shoulders. Trim waist. Long muscular legs. He looked like a warrior. Would be a good fighter. Maybe even a good lover as he appeared well endowed there as well.

He’d awakened from the drug induced sleep long enough to crawl over and release her from the chains. For that she was grateful. Her wrists didn’t hurt as much as usual because of him. Using her blades was easier than it had been after her previous punishments.

Time to wake up the sleeping man and get him trained. Time was short and she intended to make the most of it. He would learn or he would die.

CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA AND HER SWORDS OF GREGARA SERIES:

Website: www.cynthiawoolf.com

Blog: www.cynthiawoolf.com/blog

Jenala – http://amzn.to/JFXEQv

Riza – http://amzn.to/IQv7mp

Honora – http://amzn.com/B00AS4MOJI

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Cynthia Woolf’s CENTAURI Series

I hope you enjoy the recipe Cynthia is sharing with us today on Karen’s Killer Fixin’s. Happy eating!

Karen

P.S. We’re at 72 recipes and counting with this posting. Hope you find some recipes you like. If this is your first visit, please check out past blogs for more Killer Fixin’s. In the right hand column menu, you can even look up past recipes by type. i.e. Desserts, Breads, Beef, Chicken, Soups, Author Specials, etc.

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MONSTER COOKIES

1 pound butter

1 dozen eggs

2 pounds brown sugar

4 cups white sugar

1 large package M&M

1 large package Reeses Pieces

1 large package chocolate chips

1 large package butterscotch chips

3 pounds peanut butter

8 teaspoons baking soda

1 tablespoon white Karo syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla

18 cups oatmeal

In extra large bowl, cream butter, peanut butter, vanilla and sugars. Move to extra large soup pot. Add dry ingredients then add candies. Drop by tablespoon full. Makes 22 dozen cookies. Dough freezes well and the recipe can easily be cut in half or quarters.

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**SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Cynthia will give away a kindle gift (or Nook or Smashwords coupon) of SWORDS OF GREGARA – HONORA to one lucky reader, as well as a $5 Starbucks gift to a second lucky reader!! Comment on either her Monday Interview and/or Wednesday’s Karen’s Killer Book Bench blogs for a chance to win. Winners will be randomly selected and announced Monday, January 21, 2013. Thanks, Cynthia, for sharing your stories with us!

Karen's Killer Fixin's

Karen’s Killer Fixin’s Author Special with Jodie Pierce

December 28, 2012 Karen Docter Leave a comment

Karen’s Killer Fixin’s **AUTHOR SPECIAL** with JODIE PIERCE

Introducing author, JODIE PIERCE, and her favorite recipe for CHEESECAKE!

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About the author, Jodie Pierce….

Jodie Pierce is thirty-seven years old and lives with her hubby, John in Cleveland, Ohio along with four beautiful step-children. She has had a fascination with vampires since they were introduced to her as a child and has had a long history with them. It wasn’t until she started reading the Anne Rice vampire books that she was truly inspired. She was an exchange student in Brasil in high school so you can find some of her experiences from there in her stories. Many of her stories have historical or researched facts as she also enjoys research and learning about new places. She has published five short novels (Eternal Press), a short story in “Midnight Thirst 2”, an anthology(Melange Books), has two self-published books and has several short stories that she still works on. She’s always busy with the next great vampire story as her mind is non-stop and even plagues her dreams.

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BOOK PEEK ~ THE DEMISE OF THE VAMPIRE QUEEN by Jodie Pierce

The Queen is once again ruling her subjects only this time it is a school for the ‘different’ children in Scotland. A school full of vampires, witches, warlocks, elves and fairies, one that is feared and hated by all who attend. A new group of witches and warlocks show up to her gates and cause all kinds of havoc within the school. Vampires and witches are at odds and only a few can see the survival of the school. An ancient lover and the Queen are reunited but at what costs? A new, as well as an old lover unite to attempt to take the Queen off her throne. Will it work? Will the Queen maintain her horrendous rule over the students? Can the spells woven work and change history? All will be told in the end.

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CONNECT WITH JODIE AND HER BOOKS:

http://www.thevampirequeen1@gmail.com

http://www.thevampirequeen1.weebly.com

http://www.thevampirequeen1.blogspot.com

http://www.jodiepierceauthor.blogspot.com/

http://www.vampiricallyrical.blogspot.com

www.groups.yahoo.com/groups/Sink_Your_Fangs_In
www.goodreads.com/user/show/5216941-jodie-pierce
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jodie-pierce/25/357/b22Twitter: vampiregdshttp://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/thevampirequeen https://www.facebook.com/jodie.pierce.14

http://www.facebook.com/jodie.pierce.779

http://www.facebook.com/VampiricalLyrical

http://www.facebook.com/authors.authority

Here are some of my buy links (I’ve only included my traditioinally published books)

The Vampire Queen:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Vampire-Queen-Jodie-Pierce/dp/1615723625/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356565598&sr=8-1&keywords=jodie+pierce

The Vampire Chronicles:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Vampire-Chronicles-Jodie-Pierce/dp/1615725814/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1356565598&sr=8-3&keywords=jodie+pierce

Demise of the Vampire Queen:

http://www.amazon.com/Demise-Vampire-Queen-Jodie-Pierce/dp/1615728074/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1356565598&sr=8-5&keywords=jodie+pierce

Condemned By A Vampire:

http://www.amazon.com/Condemned-Vampire-Jodie-Pierce/dp/1615726497/ref=sr_1_24?ie=UTF8&qid=1356565759&sr=8-24&keywords=jodie+pierce

Please also buy (all can be found on amazon & smashwords):

The Reluctant Vampire-self-published YA paranormal romance

Tales of the Vampire: From A-Z-self published personal anthology

Once Sanguist, Twice Bi-self published lesbian erotic paranormal romance

Midnight Thirsts 2-Traditionally published anthology

I hope you enjoy the recipe Jodie is sharing with us today on Karen’s Killer Fixin’s. Happy eating!

Karen

P.S. We’re at 71 recipes and counting with this posting. Hope you find some recipes you like. If this is your first visit, please check out past blogs for more Killer Fixin’s. In the right hand column menu, you can even look up past recipes by type. i.e. Desserts, Breads, Beef, Chicken, Soups, Author Specials, etc.

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CHEESECAKE

2 8-oz packages of cream cheese

2-tubes of crescent rolls

1-cup sugar

1-egg separated

1 tsp. vanilla

Sprinkle cinnamon (Optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread out one tube of crescent roll on wax paper so it’s 11×9 size. Grease bottom of 11×9 baking pan and place crescent roll in bottom. Stretch to fit all sides. Mix together cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and egg yolk until creamy. Spread mixture on top of crescent roll in pan. Spread out second crescent roll on wax paper to size of pan. Peel off and place on top of cream cheese mixture, spreading to all sides of the pan. Whip up the egg white and lightly brush it on top of crescent roll. Sprinkle sugar on top and finish with a light dusting of cinnamon on top (optional). Bake for 25 mins or until golden brown. Chill completely and serve cold. Enjoy!

Karen's Book Bench