Thursday, June 27, 2013

American Flag Cake

Not only is my author friend Sara Daniel a terrific writer, she's also one dynamite baker. Sara is sharing her special Fourth of July dessert. I guarantee you'll love it!



Nothing beats Independence Day for showing our pride in our country. Flags wave proudly, and red, white and blue are suddenly displayed on every piece of merchandise in the local discount store.


While I don’t have flag plates, napkins or—God forbid—a star-spangled bikini, I love bringing out my once-a-year crafty side to make an American Flag Cake for a cool patriotic treat.

So to satisfy your sweet-tooth I offer you my easy and delicious recipe.




American Flag Cake
pound cake
8oz Cool Whip
Blueberries
Strawberries, sliced

Pound cake can be store bought or made from scratch. Here’s a quick recipe:
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. nutmeg

Preheat oven to 325°

Beat sugar into butter 2 tablespoons at a time until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, then eggs one at a time. Mix in remaining ingredients.

Bake in a greased and floured 9 X 5 pan for 1 hour. Cool completely.

To Assemble American Flag Cake
Cut pound cake into slices and lay across the bottom of a 9 X 13 pan.

Cover cake with a smooth layer of Cool Whip.

Turn pan horizontal. In upper left corner, fill an approximately 3-4 inch by 3-4 inch square with blueberries.

Make seven horizontal lines of strawberry slices. The first four lines should begin from the blueberry section to the far right edge. The bottom three lines should span the entire length of the pan. The top and bottom lines should be touching the top and bottom of the pan respectively to create 13 alternating red and white stripes.

The last step is very important - Thank a member of our Armed Forces and/or a Veteran, and share a piece of patriotic cake.

Enjoy.

Here is a look at my wounded military hero from the Wiccan Haus series:

He has nothing left to offer. She's determined to show him just how much he's worth.

Shot by a member of his military team, Justin Lawson retreats to the Wiccan Haus. Holly Walters refuses to accept her boyfriend's out-of-the-blue rejection without an explanation, even if getting the answers forces her to be trapped on a bizarre island for an entire week. She's going to use every minute to work Justin out of her system once and for all. Justin's body and spirit begin to heal under Holly's loving ministrations. As she talks about never seeing each other again, he realizes he never wants to let her go. But the rogue assassin who had gone after Justin before is after him again. Before he can fight to make Holly believe in their love, he'll have to fight for both their lives.

EXCERPT:
“How did you hurt your knee?” Holly asked.

“Occupational hazard,” Justin muttered.

That wasn’t very comforting, considering he was in the military and always going off on missions that he couldn’t give her any details about. “Did you fall and break it?”

“Bullet shattered it.” His words were clipped.

She flinched, wanting desperately to reach for him, hating to think of the pain he’d been in, the pain she’d known nothing about. “And how long before or after this happened did you send me an eight word break-up text?”

“About seventy-two hours after.”

She immediately knew she’d been right not to take his text at face value. The self-destruction of a client and the week of lost work were worth it. She’d needed this explanation. More than that, it proved there was still hope for them. “So you conceivably could have still been under the effects of anesthesia.”

“I wasn’t.”

“But you were on pain medication for sure.”

“Don’t make excuses for me. I was an ass. I broke up with you, and you deserve better.”

To read more about The Wiccan Haus: A Man Worth Fighting For please click HERE.

Learn more about Sara Daniel on her website and blog. Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter.

Be sure to subscribe to Sara’s newsletter for updates on her latest books and contests.

Have a Safe and Happy Fourth of July! I'll be back Monday. Until then...

Happy Eating!

Sloane

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

It's Wednesday. So What's Cooking?

A 4th of July feast because I've been browbeaten by my old friend Yasmine Phoenix to work up this menu. The woman is relentless. But I do love her.

Barbecued Pork Ribs
Hamburgers Sloane Style
My Mom’s Potato Salad
Baked Beans
Sweet Corn on the Grill
Snazzy Sliced Tomatoes
Ice cold lemonade
Cold beer


Barbecued Pork Ribs
Pork ribs plan 1 slab for 2 people if you make all this food
Beer
Chicken stock
Barbeque sauce – Sweet Baby Ray’s is my favorite

Preheat oven to 325°F


Place ribs in a pan and in a single layer. Pour in about a half inch of stock and the same amount of beer. Cover tight and bake 1 – 1½ hours. You want the meat tender but not falling off the bone.

Carefully remove ribs from pan to a cookie sheet. Discard cooking liquid. Spread barbeque sauce over ribs.

Heat grill to medium. Carefully rub vegetable or olive oil onto the grates. Lay ribs on grate and grill 10-15 minutes turning at least once and basting with sauce.

Hamburgers Sloane Style
Ground chuck about ¼ pound per adult
Ground sirloin about ¼ per two adults
Worcestershire Sauce 1 dash per adult
1 egg per 1 ½ pounds meat
chives snipped, fresh or jarred

Beat egg lightly in a small bowl. Combine the meat, Worcestershire Sauce, and handful of chives into a mixing bowl. When the mixture is well combined, break off clumps of the meat and form balls. Set them onto waxed paper, then cover with another sheet of waxed paper. Use a cake plate or large soup bowl to press the meat into a patty the thickness you like. Refrigerate until ready to grill.

On medium heat, cook patties until they are done to your preference. Be sure to turn only once.

Use any type roll that suits your fancy. Dress the burgers with ketchup, mustard, lettuce, onion, and tomato. You can also add cheese for the topping. If you do, then lay it over the burger a minute or two before the end of the cooking time.

My Mom’s Potato Salad
1 red potato per person
1 hardboiled egg for every 2-3 potatoes
one stalk celery for every 5 potatoes chopped small
½ med onion for every 5 potatoes chopped small
Pepper
Mayonnaise – NO substitutes

Boil the potatoes in their jackets until just fork tender. Remove from pot as they are done and allow to cool. Scrape the skins off. Slice in half widthwise then lengthwise. Slice into the bite size pieces.

While the potatoes are cooking, lay the eggs in a saucepan, cover with water, and place a lid on the pan. Bring to a boil, then shut off the heat and allow to sit on the burner for 7 minutes. Cut into quarters, then slice. Set aside covered with plastic wrap or a paper towel to eliminate drying out.

Combine celery and onion in a large bowl. Grind in a healthy amount of fresh pepper. Stir in several large spoonfuls of mayonnaise. You have to gauge by the number of potatoes you use. Mix well.

Add the potatoes, two at a time and mix well. Continue until all the potatoes are added. Check the salad for dryness. It should be moist but not swimming in mayo. Add mayo as needed. Add the sliced eggs and stir again. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Baked Beans
1 small can Bush’s Honey Baked Beans
1 small can Bush’s Homestyle Baked Beans
2 tbsp. dried mustard
2 tbsp. maple syrup - optional
2 strips bacon

Preheat oven to 325°.

Pour beans into a metal loaf pan or oven safe dish. Stir in mustard and syrup. Lay bacon strips on top. Bake in the center of the oven uncovered for 45 minutes or until desired consistency.

To cook on the grill:

Heat grill to medium.
Prepare as above, then place pan on top rack. Cook about 45 minutes or until desired consistency.

To serve – discard bacon.

Sweet Corn on the Grill
1 ear fresh corn per person – do not remove husk
Water
Butter or margarine
Salt

Pour cool water into a container large enough to hold the sweet corn. Soak corn still in its husk at least 1 hour, but no more than 2 hours.

Set grill on medium high. Remove corn from the water and lay the ears on the grill. Roast until the husk is brown on that side, then turn and repeat the process. Total cooking time is about 20 – 25 minutes.

To serve - peel back the husks. Roll the ears in butter or margarine, then sprinkle on a touch of salt, and enjoy!

Snazzy Sliced Tomatoes
1 tomato per two people
Red wine vinegar
Garlic powder or fresh garlic minced
Fresh or dried chives

Prepare this dish about an hour or so before serving.

Slice tomatoes ½” thick and arrange on a serving plate.

Drizzle vinegar over the tomatoes, then dust with garlic powder or fresh garlic. Sprinkle plenty of chives across the top.

Set on the counter away from sun or heat to flavor through.

Have a great rest of the week and weekend. I'll be back Monday. Until then...

Happy Eating!

Sloane

Monday, June 24, 2013

Christmas Came Early

Look at this BEAUTIFUL banner Kelly Shorten created to showcase the Magnificent Men of Munich series. The woman is an artistic genius!


Thank you, Kelly. I appreciate all your amazing support.

To see the banner in its fullness or to read an excerpt from one of the books, please click HERE.

Pop back in Wednesday to see What's Cooking. The new recipe will be posted bright and early. Until then...

Happy Reading,

Sloane

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

It's Wednesday. So What's Cooking?

A unique cake served up with a generous helping of humor from Marci Boudreaux.

Something can be said for Pinterest. I have learned so much from that site about gardening, decorating, and fashion. So when it came time to plan my daughter’s birthday party, I pulled up my Birthday board and took a gander.

Oh, polka dot cake…my daughter loves polka dots. So much so, that I painted her room pink with purple polka dots just last summer.

Now, anyone who has ever tried something off of Pinterest knows that, generally, it’s not going to go as smoothly as assumed. Well…let me tell you about the polka dot cake.

The first sign of trouble was when I read the directions and I didn’t have the required cake ball pan. Well. I have a mini muffin pan, I can improvise. I’m good at that…as you’ll soon see.

So I took out my three cake mixes, stirred one together, and split the batter. So far so good.

Then I dyed the batter. Well…my colors didn’t come out nearly as vibrant, but that’s okay. We can go with dingy pastel shades. So I made the mini muffins.

Then I mixed up the other two batters and layered the first bit on the bottom of the pan. And suddenly, like a light bulb going off, I realized my polka dots would look like…well, mini muffins. So I gently pried the muffin tops off and decided that was close enough. (These are a bunch of eight year olds, really, they’re just happy there’s cake, right?)

I cover my make-shift muffin polka dots with the rest of the batter and…wait…my muffin-dots are rising. I push them down and hurry up and put the cakes in the oven. Because we all know, the quicker you get it in the oven, the faster we can pretend that everything is resolved and all will work out.

Twenty five minutes later, the timer dings and I tentatively open the oven door to find…more muffins?

Oh, yes, perhaps I overfilled the pans just a touch in my attempt to cover my muffin-dots. The cake had grown up and over the cake pans, making giant, yet thin muffins.

Hmmm. These are supposed to layer, right? How can I layer muffins? I considered this for a long time. I even had an in-depth discussion over the phone with my husband who obviously didn’t care in the least about the ins and outs of layering cakes that looked like muffins.

Finally, it was decided. I’m just going to decorate one cake. There are only a few girls anyway, so I chose the better looking of the two and slathered it in white frosting. I did this because we had picked out lovely glitter infused purple icing (the package said it was pink, that stuff was purple) to put on lovely little polka dots and polka dot sprinkles to go with the awesome polka (muffin) dots inside.

So the icing is set and I get out the purple-not-pink decorative icing and start putting on the polka dots. But even icing doesn’t play nice when it is going on a Pinterest cake. It smeared, it smudged, it taunted me at every turn. I’m fairly certain I heard some of those TV bakers laughing at me as I tried to mimic their squeeze, push, and pull technique for making dots.

Well, at this point all the warm and fuzzy Betty Homemaker feelings were gone. I grabbed the biggest meanest looking spatula I could find and I smeared that damned icing, not giving a crap what it looked like. Damn it, it’s just a cake. They only want it for the sugar buzz anyway.

Then I stood back and I smiled because, despite all the trouble, I had just made a beautiful white and purple-not-pink tie-dye looking mini muffin-dot cake.

And it was lovely.

I set it aside, ready for the glittery candle to be placed, headed straight for my laptop, and deleted that damned polka dot cake recipe from my birthday board. But, I’ll share it with you, just in case you want to give it a try.

Polka Dot Cake
2 boxed white cake mixes (plus the oil, water and eggs to make them according to the package)
You favorite frosting (I used my butter cream recipe, doubled, which you can get by clicking HERE.)
Sprinkles or candy to decorate the cake.

Preheat oven to 350°F

Make one of the cakes according to package directions.

Divide batter evenly into smaller bowls based on the number of colors you want to use (I did 4).

Color the batter using color gels (I love the Wilton brand in particular because it gives such a vivid color)

Following the directions for your particular cake pop maker, make cake balls using each of the colors.

While cake balls are cooling, preheat oven to 350F, and make the second cake mix according to package.

Spray 3 – 6″ round pans with non-stick spray and set a circle of parchment paper in the bottom of each one (to keep your layers pretty!)

Spread a thin layer of batter in the bottom of each pan, place cake balls on top in any pattern you choose and divide remaining batter over the top of the balls so they are completely covered.

Bake layers for about 30 minutes. You can use the toothpick test (I recommend it!) but be careful to hit cake and not cake balls…you can kind of tell where they are- they bump up just a bit.

When cooked all the way through, tip over on a cake rack to cool completely.

Trim, if needed, to flatten layers and use frosting to stack all three layers and cover the entire cake with frosting. Decorate as desired.

To see what the Polka Dot Cake should look like, please click HERE.

Here's a little from Unforgettable You, my latest contemporary romance, for your reading pleasure while you sit back with a glass of chilled wine and forget you ever thought of baking.

Is their love strong enough to survive their real lives?

Desperate to keep her ailing mother-in-law Doreen in the family home, Carrie Gable agrees to board a few of Hollywood’s elite actors. Despite her resentment of their demands, she can’t stop her attraction to actor Will Walker.

Will, out to save his failing career, agrees to a project that bores him. The more time he spends with his egotistical co-stars, the more drawn he is to their hostess. Long nights talking with Carrie make him realize he wants a simpler life, but his ties to L.A. refuse to let him go.

The temptation to regain stardom pulls Will in one direction while the obligation to family tugs Carrie in another. Against all odds, the couple struggles for a solution to save their new found happiness.

To read an excerpt from Unforgettable You, please click HERE.

Check out the trailer for Unforgettable You HERE.

Learn more about Marci Boudreaux on her website. Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter.

No posts next week because I'm on jury. I'll see you all June 24. Until then...

Bon Appétit!

Sloane Taylor
Twitter
Amazon Author Page

Monday, June 10, 2013

Vonnie Hughes and Musa Publishing

are delighted to present CAPTIVE, an Aurora Regency, for your reading pleasure.

When Alexandra Tallis sets free the attractive man her sister stupidly tried to hold captive, her actions lead not only to a love she never thought to find, but also to a horrific family secret that threatens that love.

BLURB:
When Alexandra Tallis discovers that her witless sister has imprisoned their father’s nemesis, Theo Crombie in their attic, she quickly frees him, fighting an unladylike impulse to keep him as her own special captive. Despite the brutal beating she receives from her father for her actions, Alexandra continues to yearn for the delicious Mr. Crombie even though she knows that nothing will ever come of her dreams.

Injured and shackled in a stranger’s attic, Theo unexpectedly discovers the woman of his dreams. But how can he pursue those dreams when her bizarre family’s complex relationships threaten the very foundation of his existence? Somehow Theo must find a way through this maze to claim his lady.

EXCERPT:
“Oh, no, Emmaline! Please untie him. Let him go.”

Whatever would her sister do next? At seventeen, she was an eligible man’s worst nightmare. And this latest escapade—

“Don’t be such a bore, Lexie. ’Tis a great joke! For once, Papa will thank us. Especially when he finds out who it is we’ve trussed up.” Emmaline laughed her silvery, seductive laugh that drove men wild and irritated women.

“Thank us? He is more like to beat us. You cannot capture someone and bring him here and…and just tie him up!”

“Of course I can. I already have. I shall lock the two of you in here together and then raise an outcry. Papa and the servants will come running and—,” she waved her pretty hands in the air, “—the rest will take care of itself. Papa’s investment problem will be solved, and with a bit of luck, you might even be married by next week, sister.”

“Are you out of your mind?” rasped an angry voice from the darkest corner of the garret.

“Ah, you’re awake!” trilled Emmaline.

Alexandra Tallis gulped. She was doing her best not to look at the near-naked man half-hidden in the shadows. But her eyes refused to behave. Stripped to the waist he was a wondrous sight, all muscle and taut sinew. His arms tensed and strained as he struggled to escape.

“Get me out of here,” he snarled.

Alexandra blinked and looked more closely, but her eyesight was not the best. She lifted a candle from the wall sconce and took a step forward. And another.

“You’re bleeding!”

He swiveled his head to look in her direction. “Sense at last. Yes, I’m bleeding. I’d be obliged if you’d free me from these bl—these ridiculous bonds.” There was a clank and rattle as he tried to move.

Gracious! Emmaline hadn’t just tied the man up—she had chained him. Alexandra closed her eyes for a few seconds.

“Emmaline! How on earth did you manage—?”

“Davy did it for me. Well, he would fight, so Davy had to subdue him.”

“What did that witless boy do? Shoot the poor man?”

“Yes, actually. He did,” the man muttered.

BUY LINK

Vonnie Hughes is a New Zealander living in Australia. She loves animals and jogging. Vonnie writes Regencies and romantic suspense novels along with short stories. She is presently working on a romantic suspense, working title: Innocent Hostage and a Regency novella, working title: A Tale of Two Sisters.

Her earlier book Coming Home is about a soldier and a nurse, thrown together during the Napoleonic wars, who find more danger on their return to England than they ever did on the Iberian Peninsula.

The Second Son is actually a prequel to Coming Home. A second son, filled with angst, stands to inherit a title and property through the death of a brother he has always loathed and mistrusted. A young disabled woman teaches him how to find his self-respect and how to love.

Another Regency Historical, Mr. Monfort’s Marriage, has businessman Matthew Monfort inveigled into marrying an earl’s daughter. With good reason he loathes the ton, so his new wife needn’t think she’s going to win him over, even though she’s quite delightful…and intelligent…and sweet…However Verity shows him that not all members of the ton are idle layabouts and that he can do much good with his largesse and with—shock, horror—the unexpected and embarrassing title conferred on him by Prinny.

All of Vonnie’s books are available on Amazon and Musa Publishing.

Learn more about Vonnie Hughes on her website and blog.
Stay connected on Facebook and Goodreads.

I'll be back Wednesday with a new menu. Until then...

Happy Reading!

Sloane Taylor
Twitter
Amazon Author Page

Wednesday, June 05, 2013

Soup Fit For A Duke

My kind friend Emma Lane has stopped in with an amazing soup recipe and a brief intro to her wonderful book. Take it away Emma!



The Duke and Miss Amabel Hawkins is my newest Regency tale. The story pits two very strong characters against each other. Each person in this young couple struggles passionately for control. Eventually everything gets turned around into something more interesting for lovers of romance. The book is coming soon from Musa Publishing and other popular download sites.


Here's a little from The Duke and Miss Amabel Hawkins along with a tasty recipe to tease your appetite for reading and food.


When a suspicious duke decides to join that managing female, Miss Amabel Hawkins, on her errands around the estate, he winds up coaxing a reluctant fat pony to a stop in front of a thatched cottage. Miss Hawkins brings gifts to a new baby while many children hang around outside with the duke and the new father. The duke is impatient and starving when Miss Efficiency herself, Amabel, appears holding a bowl of a steaming liquid. The fragrance is tantalizing and irresistible. She spoons the duke a large taste and then hands him the bowl. He declares it delicious, finishes it off quickly and demands to know if his cook has the recipe. The farmer and Amabel suppress their chuckles. "It's cabbage soup, Milord."

A plebeian meal, for sure, but if you're a fan of the cabbage family, there is nothing better than a big bowl of cabbage soup. It's nutritious, easy to make and delicious. There are probably no wrong ways to make this soup. The main ingredient, of course, is chopped cabbage. After that add one chopped onion, a chopped carrot or two, a ham hock or just some small pieces of ham. Some folks like to add a bit of bacon, but I am a firm believer in ham with my cabbage. Optional but delicious is a chopped potato. Add another if you love this cooked with the cabbage as I do.

Place all the ingredients in a good-sized pot, then add water to cover. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the all vegetables are soft. More simmering is fine especially if your house needs added moisture on a cold day. Be sure to leave enough liquid (add more if necessary) so you can declare it soup. The broth is the best part. Cook up a pan of corn bread and serve.

Okay, I will take pity on you and suggest you follow these directions to rid your house of the aftermath of cabbage soup. During kitchen clean-up, of which there isn't very much, add the following into a small saucepan: water, whole cloves with a dash of cinnamon (a piece of whole cinnamon is fine) whole all spice if you have it, and a capful of vanilla flavoring. Simmer for one hour. Don't let the water run out. You'll love the fragrance of your house and will not regret that earlier decision to cook delicious and nutritious cabbage soup that's able to feed a large family and even a duke can love the taste.

Don't forget the corn bread.

Enjoy!

To read excerpts from Emma Lane's other Regency novels, please click HERE.

Emma Lane teeter totters between her love for writing and her love for nature. She lives on a few acres with her patient hubby and two cats right outside a lovely village in Western NY.

Monday, June 03, 2013

What Makes Cozy Mysteries so Popular?

by Sam Cheever

IMG_7837_120x180What is it about cozy mysteries that makes them so much fun? To answer that question, I guess you need to start with the basic elements of a cozy. When one thinks of a cozy, one might think Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple or maybe Angela Lansbury’s character, Jessica Fletcher, of Murder She Writes fame. The traditional cozy is set in a specific, confined area, such as a bunch of people stranded in a remote location with a killer in their midst, a.k.a Clue (Best. Movie. Ever). Many contemporary cozies are in small town settings, with quirky characters and the challenges and opportunities inherent in small town living. A cozy generally revolves around a murder, but the murder is usually off screen and/or not overly violent.

Cozy mysteries feature amateur sleuths of all kinds. For example, some of the most popular contemporary cozy series feature flower shop owners, chefs, caterers, accountants, book store owners, writers, and dog trainers. These unlikely sleuths find themselves repeatedly embroiled in murder most foul and struggling to figure out whodunit. The mystery is made more interesting by the quirkiness of the people involved, their tendency to lie and cover, and the misconceptions that come from knowing someone for years. It’s a fun formula fraught with opportunities for both the reader and the sleuth to go awry and lose their way.

Which brings me to the reason I love a good cozy mystery. I love the challenge and journey of figuring out whodunit in a light, fun environment. No guts, no gore, no over-the-top sensuality. Just a big, fun puzzle.

My own cozy mystery series is centered on an antiques store owner and has an additional fun twist. Filled with lots of great, old things, Yesterday’s Antiques is a hotbed of paranormal activity, giving Yesterday Mysteries a paranormal edge. This aspect adds an extra element of fun to the already enjoyable mystery. Anna Yesterday is a kind, attractive young woman trying to make a living doing what she loves in a small town in Southern Indiana. When Anna opened Yesterday’s Antiques, she inherited two spirits, who are tied to objects that were once buried under the store.

Joss is a cowboy from pre-Civil war times, whose gun belt and holster were uncovered behind the store when Anna was having some improvements made. Joss is sexy, protective, and obviously in love with Anna, and she feels pretty much the same about him. The second specter, Bess was a saloon girl who sometimes cleaned the floors in the inn that was located where Yesterday’s now exists. She lived in the mid to late 1800s and Anna isn’t sure what her transference object is. Bess and Anna butt heads on a regular basis, mostly due to the fact that Bess is jealous of Anna’s relationship with Joss, but also because…well…Bess is kind of a crank.

To make things even more interesting, Anna has a sexy, flesh and blood assistant who’s an ex-cop to help her with her sleuthing. Her growing feelings for Pratt are confusing and cause no end of tension between the two men in her life. All in all, it’s a fun series with likeable characters and I’m really enjoying being on the creation side of the cozy mystery genre for a change! I hope you’ll check these books out.
~~*~~


Book 1: Yesterday MysteriesAntiques can be a dangerous business. Especially when you’re dealing with a desperate politician, a sexy ex-cop, and a couple of “spirited” companions.

Anna Yesterday owns Yesterday’s Antiques in small town USA. When she finds an old newspaper clipping lining the drawer of an antique dresser, she realizes she’s never heard the ugly story of rape and suicide detailed on the yellowed newsprint. So she starts to dig, and her sleuthing exposes an ugly cover-up that casts the residents of Crocker, Indiana into danger and intrigue, and leaves them with a corpse.

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~~*~~


Book 2: Yesterday's Mysteries - April 2013A deadly secret is tangled up in Yesterday’s Threads, and Anna is racing the clock to get it unraveled.

In 1859, Elisabeth Margaret Nelson traveled to Crocker, Indiana to meet her new husband and start a new life. Her family never saw her again. The story of her death and a heartbroken husband who grieves his entire life is a sad tale for sure. But is it true?

When Anna Yesterday receives some vintage dresses from the local museum, she’s excited about highlighting them at Crocker’s annual Apple Blossom Festival. But someone wants the dresses back, and they’ll apparently stop at nothing to get them—leaving a trail of murder and destruction in their wake.

As Anna and Pratt work to uncover the deadly intrigue behind the vintage dresses, interference of another kind is working its way to the surface. All too soon, Anna and Pratt find themselves neck deep in trouble from more than one dimension—and wondering which will get them first!

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Sam Cheever writes mainstream romantic suspense and fantasy, all heat levels; and Declan Sands for M/M romantic suspense and fantasy. Her books are fast paced and fun loving. Not one of them will solve a single world problem, but you definitely won’t be bored while reading them!

Sam’s published work includes 40+ works of young adult, romantic suspense, and fantasy/paranormal. My books have won the Dream Realm Award for fantasy, been nominated and/or won several CAPAs, were nominated for Best of 2010 with LRC and The Romance Reviews, and won eCataromance’s Reviewer’s Choice award. She is published with Ellora’s Cave, both Romantica and Blush; Changeling Press; Electric Prose Publications (her own imprint), Musa Publishing, and Red Rose Publishing.

She lives on a hobby farm in Indiana with 13 dogs, 2 horses, and one husband.


Sam Cheever links: Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Blog

Declan Sands links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads