Random Thoughts Part 9

Why haven’t they buried all the electrical wires yet? Why are there still wires above ground where wind, trees and a variety of other dangerous conditions exist to break said wires? I don’t understand this. Doesn’t the cost of maintenance above ground outstrip the cost of putting the wires underground? Not to mention it looks better. A lot better.

Can there be two weeks of weather that doesn’t require that either the air conditioner or the heater be on? Can we do that say like twice  a year? When summer becomes fall and winter becomes spring. Or something like that. So that I could get a break on my electric bills. Seriously. Be temperate. So I can be off the juice for a few weeks. It would be greatly appreciated.

When I start writing a book it goes slow. Then I get into it and it goes fast. Then at some point, I get sick of the story, want to writ the next one and can’t wait for the story to end. So the ending comes slow as molasses as well. I think you write at mixed variable speeds due to what you are writing as well as you excitement level about writing it. It’s being able to get in 2000 word days even when you aren’t feeling the first word that distinguishes the wanna bes to the already theres.

It never fails that when you need to hear something. Like it is crucial for the continued survival of the human species, a vehicle with a loud ass siren will go by and make whatever it was you were listening to not be heard at all. Not even a whisper. And they don’t just go by in ones .No, they go by in multiples. So it’ll be a while before you can hear what you needed to hear to save the Western Civilization. Some days it just goes like that.

That is all.

Recipes for Cooler Weather

I’m gonna feature some soup. Soup is great for having on hand when the weather decides to turn. And maybe a spice cake. Something tasty to have on hand.

 

Bacon Cheddar Potato Soup

By: Leslie

Ingredients

6 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped (6 cups)
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons instant chicken bouillon granules
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (6 ounces)
1 12 – ounce can (1-1/2 cups) evaporated milk
Cooked, crumbled bacon (optional)

Sliced green onions (optional)

Directions

In a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker combine potatoes, water, onion, bouillon granules, and pepper. Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 9 hours or on high-heat setting 4 to 4-1/2 hours.
Stir cheese and milk into mixture in cooker. Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 1 hour more or on high-heat setting for 30 minutes more. For a thicker soup, mash potatoes slightly. If you like, sprinkle each serving with bacon and green onions. Makes 4 main-dish or 6 side-dish servings

~ For 5- or 6-quart slow cooker: Use 8 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped; 4 cups water; 3/4 cup chopped onion; 1 tablespoon instant chicken bouillon granules; 1/4 teaspoon pepper; 2 cups shredded cheese (8 ounces); and one 12-ounce can evaporated milk plus one 5-ounce can evaporated milk. Prepare as above. Makes 6 main-dish or 8 to 10 side-dish servings. ~

 

Chicken Chili

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound skinless chicken thighs (about 4), cut into thin strips
4 teaspoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
2 jalapeño peppers, seeds and ribs removed, chopped
1 1/2 cups canned crushed tomatoes with their juice
2 1/2 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
1 2/3 cups drained and rinsed pinto beans (from one 15-ounce can)
1 2/3 cups drained and rinsed black beans (from one 15-ounce can)
1 can corn
1 can green chilis
1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
1/3 cup chopped cilantro (optional)

Directions:
In a large saucepan, heat the oil over moderately low heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook until they start to soften, about 3 minutes.

Increase the heat to moderate and stir in the chicken strips. Cook until they are no longer pink, about 2 minutes. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, oregano, and salt. Add the jalapeños, the tomatoes with their juice, and the broth. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Uncover the saucepan and stir in the beans and black pepper. Simmer until the chili is thickened, about 15 minutes longer. You can adjust the thickness of the chili by adding more broth or water. Serve topped with the cilantro.

 

Spice Cake

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup butter, soft
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups buttermilk

Preparation:
Sift together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Cream butter in a mixing bowl; add brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract. Beat at high speed of an electric mixer for 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Scrape bowl often. Add sifted dry ingredients, alternating with buttermilk, mixing at lowest speed just until smooth.

Pour batter into two greased and floured 8-inch round layer cake pans. . Bake at 350° 30 minutes, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on rack for 5 minutes, turn out of pans onto racks to cool completely.

~you can use pumpkin pie spice if you have that combo. Also mace, allspice and add’l cinnamon can be added in the spice mixture as well.

~And I’m not gonna lie. I like my spice cake spicy. So I double the spice amounts. But YMMV, so be aware.

~ Honey Frosting: Combine 1 softened stick (1/2 cup) of butter with 1 bar (8 oz.) of cream cheese and 1/4 cup honey.

Music Monday 10/7/13

Thought I’d do a throwback day with some disco. Fall is my favorite season, the weather makes me wanna dance. But not as much as disco makes me want to dance. So in honor of disco, I am doing a BeeGees tribute.

You know, I don’t think disco gets enough credit. It’s often overlooked. But I think it’s an important bridge from then to now.

First up is Grease. Need I say more?

Next up is Stayin Alive. See, the second iconic disco movie after Grease is Saturday Night Fever. Seriously.

And last is Jive Talking. It’s not least. There are a ton more I wanted to include, but I only have so much room, ya know? Normally three is that limit. So this ultimately cool song is the third to be featured.

FarSeen Snippet 3

In less than two weeks, my novella, FarSeen, will be released from Total-E-Bound. On October 18, 2013 to be exact. And to be more specific, FarSeen is available fFarSeenor pre-release download right now from the TEB site. It’s the general release that isn’t until 10/18/13.

FarSeen is part of TEB’s Wanton Witches collection. Which coincides perfectly with the Halloween holiday. Because FarSeen has three witches and it involves All Hallows Eve. Magic and menage, a fabulous combination. So without further adieu, here is the blurb followed by an excerpt. The third of my promised four. The fourth snippet will be posted on the day the book is generally released. Until then, enjoy excerpt the third. 😀

 

Blurb:

Taking a break from finding the cure for a magic sickness killing witches, Evangeline (Evie) Parker picks up Drew for a night of hot sex. One night is not enough, however. In strange twist of fate, Trent, Drew’s partner also comes into Evie’s life. One night is definitely not enough when two becomes three. As they come together, they realize while separately they are good, together they are great.

All Hallows Eve is the time when the cure to the magic sickness is predicted to make itself known. Combining magic and sex on that special night cures more than the magic sickness afflicting the witch community, it also cures three lonely hearts.

FARSEEN is hot and sweet in a small tasty bite. It is filled with sex magic, lit up chakras and hearts slowly opening up to each other.

 

Excerpt:

Before she could answer, her grandmother returned with a large man. Even though she had left Drew’s bed that morning, this man took her breath away.

He was large. Not tall but stocky, built. Big. He had light brown hair, threaded with golden highlights, but it was the stormy grey-green eyes that really captured her attention. He was almost too rugged-looking to be considered classically good-looking, but his eyes turned him from nondescript to stunning.

“Evie, honey, this is Trent,” her grandmother introduced the large man. “He’s going to help you find the source of the sickness.”

“Ummm, okay, Grandmother.” Evie was distracted again. At this rate, she was never going to figure out the cure. Between Sara’s interest in her hook-up last night and her grandmother bringing hot guys to her stillroom, Evie was going to be off track for days.

“He owns a computer security company but he’s agreed to do some consulting work for the coven,” her grandmother offered.

Evie’s brain finally caught up to the conversation with her grandmother. “Umm, I already have some help, Grandma.”

“Not as good as Trent, child,” her grandmother informed her primly.

“Oh, well.” She looked at Trent and shrugged her shoulders. “Umm, hi. I’m Evie.” She held out her hand.

“It’s nice to meet you, Evie,” he told her as he took her hand.

Oh snap. Her body shivered when he took her hand. The last guy she had had this reaction to was Drew and she had got all naked and sweaty with him.

 

FarSeen Banner

 

Current Projects 2

So I have a lot on my plate. Took almost a month and half off this summer. I had a few non-writerly things that needed doing. I got ‘er done. But it pushed back my schedule a bit. Which means, I have to race to the finish line now. I have several goals I want to meet before the end of the year. So instead of a full blog post, I thought I’d use the nifty little feature my post page is showing me and just do a brief status update on my current projects.

1. I’m trying to learn Scrivener. Many writerly types have told me that I will think writing is revolutionized by this program. So far so good. I’ve imported several manuscripts into it and I’ve been cruising right along.

2. I’m awaiting edits on the first book in a new series call LG Custom. It is a series with standalone novels. About some dudes who do custom body work and the women they end up meeting and falling in love with.

3. I am finishing up a novella in my OtherKind universe. Cat shifters, MFMM menage and romance all thrown in together. Giving a little depth and context to the world I am building. This series is gonna start out all paranormally, but by the end, it should have crossed over into Urban Fantasy.

4. I am about 1/3 done with Book 2 in the Name of the Game series. A soccer player, a secret baby from a one night stand between two people who don’t really like each other. It’s been fun so far.

5. I am outlining the first Book of the Steel & Stilettos. Zoe, Deke and Nathan are going to be getting into some trouble as they try to navigate their relationship. They get thrown some curveballs by bad guys who have nothing to do with skips and guard duties. The genre will be Romantic Suspense with some whodunits and whyfors and whatnots. All that stress can put pressure on any new relationship. But when there’s a triad minefield as well, it’s just complicated.

 

So that’s the bi-yearly wrap up for me. If I can get these things done before the end of the year, I’ll call it good. Cause next year is looking like it’s going to be even mo’ busy.

Winners Announced- Open Road

I got so excited about this Blog Hop, I picked two winners for an ebook of Open Road.

By random drawing, the winners are:  strawberryrosered and Julianne

I’ve sent you both an email. Check your inboxes.

Thanks to everyone else who participated!!!