Friday, November 28, 2014

Last Friday of the Month Recipe From Author Kaye Spencer



Recipe of the Month
Cherry Crumb Cake c. 1960













The recipe and why you love making it:
This recipe is quick to make, and it is a great breakfast/brunch dish that is just as tasty warmed up as it is served cold. The ingredients are standard pantry items, which makes it a trusty stand-by to whip-up in a pinch. Substituting different pie fillings adds variety, as well. If you’re pressed for time in the mornings, you can mix the dry ingredients together the night before, and leave the butter out to soften overnight. The next morning, add the eggs and butter to the dry ingredients, mix, and bake.
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar                                       
4 cups flour                                                 
4 tsp. baking powder                
½ tsp. salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup butter (or margarine), softened
1 can cherry pie filling (21 oz. or larger)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine & mix the dry ingredients
  3. Add eggs & work into the dry ingredients with your hands
  4. Add butter & mix with your hands until the mixture is crumbly & feels more dry than moist. You may need to add more flour a little at a time to reach this consistency.
  5. Spray oil a 9x11 baking pan (standard cake pan size) then put about half the dry mixture into the pan & even it out to the sides—Do Not Pat Down
  6. Spread the cherry pie filling over the dry mixture almost to the edges (or other pie filling flavor)
  7. Cover with the remainder of the dry mixture to the edges—again, do not pat down
  8. Sprinkle cinnamon & sugar or a pumpkin pie spice over the top (can be added after baking instead)
  9. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until the edges pull away slightly & appear golden brown & crispy
  10. Do not turn out onto a plate/serving platter – Cut & Serve directly from the baking pan
  11. Serve hot plain or with milk, whipped cream, or ice cream
  12. Store covered — Refrigeration is not necessary

Short Book Blurb:
Wild Texas Christmas – Anthology from Prairie Rose Publications. My short story in the anthology is: A GIFT OF CHRISTMAS HOPE

A shooting over a poker game, a family seeking revenge, a blizzard sweeping across the Texas Panhandle— it’s more than the world-weary gambler known as Lady Sapphire can handle without help. Determined to make it to her childhood home by Christmas Eve with her stagecoach full of treasure, she needs an escort, and there’s no time to be choosy.

Neal Behlen, a drifting gambler and occasional lady’s man—depending upon the size of the lady’s bank account—has his eye on the contents of Lady Sapphire’s mysterious steamer trunks. Taking on the job as her temporary bodyguard seems a lucrative venture and a pleasant diversion since he plans to work in bedroom benefits along the way.

The price of their business arrangement is steep—their hearts—and both are reluctant to pay. What they need is a gift of Christmas hope, but will it arrive before it’s too late for love?

Buy Links:
Amazon

Bio:
Native Coloradoan, Kaye Spencer writes romances from her basement hovel in a small, rural town in the far southeastern corner of Colorado—no mountains in sight—just prairie dogs, buffalo grass, and glorious prairie sunsets. While drawn to cowboys and the Old West, all genres are within her story-crafting realm.

Reading Louis L’Amour’s westerns, listening to Marty Robbins’ gunfighter ballads, watching the *classic* television westerns, and growing up on a cattle ranch all inspired her love of the American Old West—truths and myths alike. Kaye's favorite movie line is from ‘Quigley Down Under’. At the end of the movie, Quigley outdraws Marston in a gunfight and, as Marston dies, Quigley looks down at him and says, "I said I never had much use for one. Never said I didn’t know how to use it."

Retired from a long career in public education that included teaching through a community college outreach program, Kaye is enjoying being a full-time writer and spoiler of grandchildren. Kaye is also afflicted with ACD—Accumulative Cat Disorder—with no cure in sight.

Find Kaye:



Thursday, November 27, 2014

Book Signing Saturday At Loveland Barnes & Noble

Special Holiday Book Signing

Are you looking for the perfect Christmas gift? Autographed books are always a favorite, and you may find just the right one for someone on your Christmas list this Saturday. Seven authors will be signing copies of everything from mystery and romance to romantic suspense and Chicken Soup for the Soul. You won't want to miss this event.
  • When: Saturday, November 29 from 1 to 3
  • Where: Loveland Barnes & Noble (Centerra Shopping Center)
  • Who: (in alphabetical order)

Amanda Cabot | Jane M. Choate |Audra Harders |Jill Haymaker   
Marilyn Leach | Dena Netherton | L.A. Sartor :)

The Promenade Shops at Centerra, 5835 Sky Pond Drive, Loveland, CO 80537, 
970-663-9473





Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Five Secrets From Author Jennifer Delamere



Today we learn five secrets from Jennifer Delamere whom I first met through Scriptscene, RWA's screenwriting chapter.  At about that same time Jennifer got a multibook contract and her screenwriting took a back seat...for the moment, she says, about ready to dive back into screenplay waters.

Please welcome Jennifer.

Bio: A history fan, travel lover, and outdoor enthusiast, Jennifer Delamere writes sweet historical romance with plenty of joy and sizzle. Her debut novel An Heiress at Heart was a finalist for the Romance Writers of America RITA® award. Her follow-up novel, A Lady Most Lovely, earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly. Jennifer loves reading histories, biographies, and travelogues, which she mines for the vivid details to bring to life the people and places in her books. For more information about Jennifer’s books, blog, and mailing list, visit www.jenniferdelamere.com.

Hi Jennifer, please tell us Five Secrets we may not know about A Bride for the Season or you, but will after today!

Leslie, thank you so much for having me on your blog! I’m ready to spill the beans on my latest literary adventure.

1) The hero, James Simpson, shares the same first name and birthday (the date is actually mentioned in the book) as my husband. However, his looks are modeled after one of my very first crushes. That’s because I’d already used my husband as the model for Geoffrey Somerville, the hero of my first novel, An Heiress at Heart!

2) When the heroine, Lucinda Cardington, made her first appearance as a minor character in An Heiress at Heart, it was supposed to be a brief, “walk-on” role only. But I ended up liking her so much, I decided to give her a starring part in her own romance.

3) My working title for this book was “Portrait of an Heiress.” That’s because James and Lucinda both have an interest in photography—which at the time the book is set (1853) was only about a decade old. But there is a deeper meaning as well—it’s also about how love can change the way you see a person. How you fall in love with their true, inner beauty, rather than merely the outward appearance.

4) The book’s current title also has two meanings: it refers to both the London “season” and the Christmas season. At one point, Lucinda finds herself in a critical situation where she must find a husband before Christmas.

5) This is the most lighthearted of my three books. I also included several humorous lines of dialogue that are actually private jokes among family or friends. I won’t tell you which ones, though. You’ll just have to read the book and try to guess for yourself! (Feel free to email your guesses to me via the contact form on my website. If you are right, I’ll send you a prize!)


Blurb :
London’s most amiable rogue has finally met his match.
Lucinda Cardington doesn’t care that she is close to being “on the shelf.” She has more serious pursuits in mind and is perfectly content to leave dreams of romance to silly young ladies like her sister. Yet when her sister places herself in a compromising situation with London’s most scandalous bachelor, the entire family’s reputation comes perilously close to ruin. Suddenly Lucinda is in the limelight…and in need of a husband.
James Simpson’s rakish ways have finally caught up with him. Snared in a scandal that for once is not his doing, he is forced to do the honorable thing and offer marriage to the lady. But her father won’t agree to a dowry unless James can also find a suitable husband for the lady’s elder sister—quiet, reserved Lucinda Cardington. As James gets to know the vibrant, charming, and passionate woman behind Lucinda’s shy exterior, he comes to the distressing realization that he doesn’t want her in anyone’s arms but his own…

Buy Links:

Find Jennifer:
 Facebook  |  Twitter  | Website