To All Our Friends North of the Border,
Wishing you
from
the Taylor Family
the Taylor Family
Monday, October 14, 2024
Monday, October 07, 2024
EASY CHICKEN NUGGETS
From Stella May
It's Keto, so zero carbs, very tasty and healthy and easy to
make!
Six months ago, I embarked on my new dietary adventure— Keto diet—I am in
constant search of new recipes with low to zero carbs. This one is by far
one of
my most favorites. I hope you like it too.
Zero Carbs Chicken
Nuggets
⅓
cup cheddar cheese, shredded
⅓
cup mozzarella, shredded
¼
cup parmesan cheese, grated
1
large egg
1
ripe avocado, optional
1½
tsp. garlic powder
1
tbsp. dried chives
Salt
and pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Place
all the ingredients in a food processor. Blend until you have the consistency
of chunky paste.
Either
use and ice cream scoop or your damp bare hands to form the mixture into medium
sized balls. Set them on a parchment covered baking sheet.
Bake
for 20-25 min until light brown.
Another
way to bake the nuggets is to scoop them into the muffin pan. Either way is
good, it depends on what works best for you.
Enjoy
eating with marinara sauce, or Greek yogurt.
Bon
appetite!
Here is a little from my latest release for your reading pleasure.
The queen is dead. But the damage Elizabeth Rostoff leaves behind to lives, hopes, and relationships lives on.
Seven years ago, Peter Rostoff
severed all ties with his family—including his sister, Kat.
But at his father’s insistence, he reluctantly returns for the funeral worn thin by his FBI position and burdened by a secret shame. But mostly by one haunting mystery—why the woman he loved like a mother disappeared…
All those years ago, Natasha Sokolova thought abandoning Dmitry Rostoff and the children she’d come to love as her own was the right thing, the only thing, to do. Resurfacing after Elizabeth’s death isn’t the healing experience she’d prayed for, but a gut-wrenching discovery of yet more secrets, and news that could destroy her for good.
Kat Rostoff lives in a bubble filled with her doting father and a mentor that helped mold her into a world-renowned artist. Yet nothing can fill the empty space, and a vague sense of guilt, left behind by the mother figure she barely remembers, and the brother who fled Paris seven years ago without looking back.
Four lives, set on diverging paths with only a glimmer of hope for reconciliation. But will the queen’s evil reach out from beyond the grave to destroy it for good?
Stella writes women's fiction, fantasy romance, as well as time travel romance. She is the author of 2 bestselling series, Rostoff Family Saga, Upon a Time series, and the stand-alone book Rhapsody in Dreams. Love and family are two cornerstones of her stories and life. Stella’s books are available in e-book and paperback through all major vendors.
When not writing, Stella enjoys classical music, reading, and long walks along the ocean with her husband. She lives in Jacksonville, Florida with her husband Leo of 30 years and their son George. They are her two best friends and are all partners in their family business.
Monday, September 30, 2024
LET'S GO CAJUN!
from Sloane Taylor
JAMBALAYA
2 tbsp. olive oil
I had the great pleasure of attending a cooking class with my friend Bonnie several years ago. We were in New Orleans when this bright idea hit us. That’s what enjoying too many Hurricanes at Pat O’Brien’s in the French Quarter will do to a person. 😊 The next day we were still hot to try our hands at Cajun cooking when we happened on The New Orleans School of Cooking. We enrolled in a class and, as our good luck would have, were the only two students. A great time was had by all!
Since then, I’ve used up all the Joe’s Stuff I bought to season the dish and had to devise a new recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
1 cup onion,
chopped
½ cup celery,
chopped
½ cup green
pepper, chopped
½ tbsp. garlic,
chopped
¾ lb. andouille
sausage, sliced to pieces 1 inch thick
2½ cups chicken
stock, possibly more
½ tsp. dried thyme
¼ cup paprika
1 tsp. dried
oregano
½ tsp. red pepper
flakes
½ tsp. tabasco
sauce
2 tsp.
Worcestershire sauce
Freshly ground
black pepper to taste
1 cup rice
1 cup green
onions, chopped, include plenty of green
Warm a Dutch oven on medium heat. Pour in oil. When it shimmers add onion, celery, and green pepper. Sauté 7 – 9 minutes, or until onion is translucent. Adjust heat so onion doesn’t burn. Add garlic. Sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Stir in sausage and stock. Add remaining ingredients, except rice and green onions, and then stir well.
Add rice and bring to a boil. Cover then lower heat to simmer. Cook 25 minutes. Stir well after each 10 minutes so rice doesn’t stick to pan. Add more stock if the food looks dry.
Sprinkle green onions across the rice mixture when you serve.
May you enjoy all the days of your life filled with good friends, laughter, and seated around a well-laden table!
Sloane
Sloane Taylor is an Award-Winning author with a second passion in her life. She is an avid cook and posts new recipes on her blog every Wednesday. The recipes are user friendly, meaning easy.
Taylor's cookbooks, Hot Mean Wear Aprons, Date Night Dinners, Date Night Dinners Italian Style, Sizzling Summer, and Recipes to Create Holidays Extraordinaire are released by Toque & Dagger Publishing and available at all book vendors.
Monday, September 23, 2024
NEW RELEASE FOR STELLA MAY
Multi-published romance author Stella May is elated to announce the release of her latest novel New Life, Book Three in the Rostoff Family Saga! Here's the blurb and an excerpt to pique your interest.
In a kingdom held together by secrets and lies, the truth could heal—or destroy.
The queen is dead. But the damage Elizabeth Rostoff leaves behind to lives, hopes, and relationships lives on.
Seven years ago, Peter Rostoff severed all ties with his family—including his sister, Kat.
But at his father’s insistence, he reluctantly returns for the funeral worn thin by his FBI position and burdened by a secret shame. But mostly by one haunting mystery—why the woman he loved like a mother disappeared…
All those years ago, Natasha Sokolova thought abandoning Dmitry Rostoff and the children she’d come to love as her own was the right thing, the only thing, to do. Resurfacing after Elizabeth’s death isn’t the healing experience she’d prayed for, but a gut-wrenching discovery of yet more secrets, and news that could destroy her for good.
Kat Rostoff lives in a bubble filled with her doting father and a mentor that helped mold her into a world-renowned artist. Yet nothing can fill the empty space, and a vague sense of guilt, left behind by the mother figure she barely remembers, and the brother who fled Paris seven years ago without looking back.
Four lives, set on diverging paths with only a glimmer of hope for reconciliation. But will the queen’s evil reach out from beyond the grave to destroy it for good?
BLURB
A candid snap of a teenage girl, beautiful in her budding femininity, smiling shyly in the camera. Hair of true platinum color, a rare Nordic shade, long and silky, and eyes the color of a sky before it rained. Katie... His beautiful princess, his baby sister... No, not a baby anymore. Peter sighed.
Ekaterina Rostoff, a famous artist, sculptor, celebrity.
His salvation. And curse.
Just thinking about her made his heart melt and sigh and stutter.
And burn with shame.
Peter lifted his hand, then dropped it down without touching her
beautiful image. With a helpless oath, he turned away, pulled at his hair with
both hands. Defeated, he dropped into a chair, and closed his eyes. As if
conjured by his unruly imagination, her face swam before him. Peter fisted his
hands.
Dammit.
Seeing Katie in Zolotoe
Selo took a toll on him. For almost seven years, he deliberately stayed
away from her, from California and his grandmother’s estate where they grew up. If not for Elizabeth’s
funeral, he would never have returned to that place.
That estate and the monstrosity of the manor house repelled and
attracted him at the same time. Two days ago, as soon as he saw it again after
all these years, the memories ambushed him. Bittersweet and poignant and
heartbreaking.
It made him feel again like a lost little boy from so long ago.
Or just yesterday? Two decades seemed to shrink to just two days. Or
even minutes. His imagination played a nasty trick, as the painfully familiar
face of a young woman swam before his eyes. Red curly hair, impossibly green
eyes, petite frame. And the voice, deep and velvety, like raw honey drizzled
over milk. Natasha. His first
adolescent crush, his best friend, his second mother.
With an effort, he banished her image from his mind, shut a lid on his
memories. Eighteen years ago, Natasha vanished into a thin air after accepting a
hefty check from Elizabeth. She never reappeared again.
Her betrayal still hurt. It always will. He forced himself to stop
wondering where she might be, or worrying if she was alright. No point to dwell
on it. He wished her well.
But dammed if he was able to forget or forgive.
Even the vivid reminder of Natasha paled in comparison with meeting
Katie.
She stole his breath the very first time he saw her. Just a tiny baby,
to him she seemed the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. That moment etched
into his memory forever. The gazebo in his grandmother’s estate, the small
cradle, and the tiny baby with a mop of a silky hair. She slept with her
cherubic mouth half-open, covered in a pink blanket. And when she opened her
eyes, blinked, and smiled at him, she claimed his young heart. Forever.
Almost two decades later, she still remained the most beautiful thing
under the sun. And still every time she aimed her pewter eyes at Peter, his
heart broke.
Katie. His princess. His greatest joy.
His worst nightmare.
When not writing, Stella enjoys classical music, reading, and long walks along the ocean with her husband. She lives in Jacksonville, Florida with her husband Leo of 30 years and their son George. They are her two best friends and are all partners in their family business.
Monday, September 16, 2024
PITCH YOUR STORY
from C.D. Hersh 
In March of 2013, we had the best editor pitch in our careers—the one that sold our book The Turning Stone Chronicles—The Promised One to Soul Mate Publishing. It wasn’t the first time we had pitched this book, or others, and it probably won’t be the last time we have to pitch. Pitching is a constant for any writer and that face-to-face contact goes a long way. Along our journey we’ve picked up a lot of tips. Here are twelve pointers we hope you’ll find helpful.
1 - Dress for success. Whether you realize it or not, this is a job interview. Even though you might type in your PJs, you want to make a good first impression on the editor.
2 - Make a cheat sheet note card (small enough to fit discreetly in your hand) with your title, subgenre, book length, hook, your blurb and any contests the book finaled in. These are notes for you, not for the editor. We all get nervous and forget the simplest things. A cheat sheet comes in handy when this happens.
3 - Smile. It makes you look confident.
4 - Keep eye contact with the editor. This also helps you look confident.
5 - Give her your business card. Make sure all your contact information is on your card: website, email, telephone, and any other contact information you’d like to add. We put our book blurb on the back of our business card so it’s available for her to read (should she choose) after we’ve left. It’s also a great way to keep your story in front of her since most editors don’t accept one-sheets or other papers at a conference, but they will accept your business cards. Remember, they have to carry anything they accept back with them on the plane.
6 - Take a deep breath and talk distinctly and slowly. It’s natural to speak quickly when you’re nervous, but in a room with several other editors and writers giving their pitches it’s easy to miss words that are said too fast.
7 - Start your pitch with your book title and book cover blurb. Don’t read it—memorize it. Do your best to make it sound like you’re telling a friend about your book, not reeling off a commercial. Practice makes perfect on this hint. After you hooked her, hopefully, with your great blurb, let her know the subgenre, length, contest wins, or other pertinent information about the book.
8 - Be enthusiastic about your book. She’ll notice your passion and it could spark her interest.
9 - Keep your initial presentation to about half the time allotted for the pitch. This leaves time for her to ask questions.
10 - If you see she’s not interested, or she says she just bought something like it, or you have extra time, have another book ready to pitch. Just make sure it’s in a genre she’s accepting. Catherine actually pitched three books in one session because her initial pitch went so fast. The editor asked to see all three!
11 - Ask her how to submit. Make sure you get her business card with contact information. There’s nothing worse than leaving the interview and realizing you didn’t find out where to send your manuscript. And, yes, Catherine has been so nervous and excited that an editor asked for her book that she walked out without her contact information.
12 - Don’t forget to say, “Thanks” as you leave. This may seem like a given, but in tense situations it’s easy for things slip your mind, as noted by Catherine’s mistake in the hint above. If she doesn’t ask for your book, be sure to thank her for her time. You don’t want to burn any bridges. You might have another book later you’ll want to pitch to the same editor or house.
Our chance came, not at a scheduled meeting, but at the breakfast table. When you’re at a conference you need to be ready to give your pitch at anytime. Just keep it short and to the point.
Do you have any tips to add to this? Please insert them in the comments.Here's a little from our latest release, a time-slip book. We hope you like it.
Susan Trowbridge is the victim of mistaken identity, trapped in the past by a ghost and a haunted wedding gown. To return home she must discover the identity of the ghost’s murderer. Can Susan stop the murder, or will history repeat itself, with her as the victim this time? And if she does stop the murder, must she return home and leave the man she has come to love?
Duncan Hawthorn is a man battling his own demons. But when Susan falls into his life, Duncan finds himself inexplicably attracted to a woman he thought he hated. Should he believe she is in danger? Should he believe her irrational claims that she is from the future? Either way, he realizes he will lose the woman who has become his salvation and his true love.
Amazon Buy Link
C.D. Hersh–Two hearts creating everlasting love stories.
Putting words and stories on paper is second nature to award-winning co-authors C.D. Hersh.
They’ve written separately since they were teenagers and discovered their unique, collaborative abilities in the mid-90s. As high school sweethearts and husband and wife, Catherine and Donald believe in true love and happily ever after.
Their paranormal series titled The Turning Stone Chronicles can be found on Amazon.
They are looking forward to many years of co-authoring and book sales, and a lifetime of happily-ever-after endings on the page and in real life.
Monday, September 09, 2024
COVER REVEAL for STELLA MAY
Acclaimed romance author Stella May is elated to share the cover for her soon to release novel New Life, Book Three in the Rostoff Family Saga! Here's the blurb and an excerpt to pique your interest.
In a kingdom held together by secrets and lies, the truth could heal—or destroy.
BLURB
The queen is dead. But the
damage Elizabeth Rostoff leaves behind to lives, hopes, and relationships lives
on.
Seven years ago, Peter Rostoff severed all ties with his family—including his sister, Kat.
But at his father’s insistence, he reluctantly returns for the funeral worn thin by his FBI position and burdened by a secret shame. But mostly by one haunting mystery—why the woman he loved like a mother disappeared…
All those years ago, Natasha Sokolova thought abandoning Dmitry Rostoff and the children she’d come to love as her own was the right thing, the only thing, to do. Resurfacing after Elizabeth’s death isn’t the healing experience she’d prayed for, but a gut-wrenching discovery of yet more secrets, and news that could destroy her for good.
Kat Rostoff lives in a bubble filled with her doting father and a mentor that helped mold her into a world-renowned artist. Yet nothing can fill the empty space, and a vague sense of guilt, left behind by the mother figure she barely remembers, and the brother who fled Paris seven years ago without looking back.
Four lives, set on diverging paths with only a glimmer of hope for reconciliation. But will the queen’s evil reach out from beyond the grave to destroy it for good?
When not writing, Stella enjoys classical music, reading, and long walks along the ocean with her husband. She lives in Jacksonville, Florida with her husband Leo of 30 years and their son George. They are her two best friends and are all partners in their family business.
Monday, September 02, 2024
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