APPETIZER LOVERS UNITE

There are National Months for every known thing but appetizers. As a true lover of awesome finger food I ask you, how unfair is that? So I am declaring December to be National Appetizer Month. Each Wednesday I'll feature a delicious appetizer. To kick off this auspicious event I've invited Sara Daniel to share her Easy Deviled Eggs recipe just in time for your holiday planning. The kitchen is all yours, Sara!

I love to eat deviled eggs—as long as someone else makes them! But as I approached my fourth decade of life, I realized maybe I need to cross this item off my bucket list even though the creation seemed way too complicated and fancy. I’m a busy mom with a full-time writing job. When it comes to food, I don’t do complicated or fancy.

But recently, I had a bunch of leftover Easter eggs and a whole lot of company coming over. I needed my guests to eat those eggs, so they weren’t sitting in my fridge until Halloween! So I scoured recipes online (Thanks Google!) and simplified the simplest recipe. I haven’t figured out a way to simplify peeling hard boiled eggs, but once I got past that part, these eggs were easy-peasy to make.

Easy Deviled Eggs

1 dozen hard boiled eggs
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp. honey Dijon mustard
Paprika

Peel hard boiled eggs. (Muttering and cursing is optional, but I find the eggs respond better to threats and bad temper!)

Slice eggs lengthwise. Scoop yolks into a bowl. Mash yolks, mayonnaise, and mustard together.

Scoop mixture with a small spoon into egg white halves. (If you want to use some fancy thing to make pretty, complicated designs, knock yourself out!)

Sprinkle with paprika. Cover with cling wrap and store in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve.

Like me, the heroine of Wyatt’s Guilt makes work her priority over food, but I think Nicole should give these eggs a try too!

Here is a short intro to one of my favorite books.

Nicole trusted Wyatt with her heart once. She won’t make the same mistake twice.

Nicole DeMonde’s car breaks down the moment she returns to her hometown for her brother’s wedding. The cop who stops to help her is none other than local hottie Wyatt Truman, who slept with her then dumped her when they were teens. She has no choice but to accept his help. However, she knows better than to trust him with her heart twice.

Wyatt is determined to earn Nicole’s forgiveness and make amends for his callous past. Once he lays eyes on her, he can’t help wanting a lot more than forgiveness, despite his intention never to hurt her again.

Just as Wyatt starts thinking his best intentions are of the forever variety, Nicole decides to work Wyatt out of her system with a one night stand. Can either of them make peace with the past in a single weekend, let alone survive with their hearts intact?

To read an excerpt from Wyatt's Guilt, please click HERE.

To read excerpts from other books by Sara Daniel please click a vendor's name Musa Publishing - Amazon.

Sara Daniel writes what she loves—irresistible romance, from sweet to erotic and everything in between. She lives her own happily-ever-after romance with her hero husband.

Learn more about Sara on her website and blog. Subscribe to Sara’s newsletter.

Stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

A UNIQUE TWIST ON PRETZELS

Sara Daniel is here to share a yummy side dish that also works as fabulous dessert. This unique twist on pretzels is a wonderful way to top off your Thanksgiving festivities. The kitchen is all yours, Sara!

I’m no artist, as anyone who’s seen my stick figure drawings can attest. My artistic talent is solely concentrated in my writing. But once in a while I can make something that’s visually appealing and tastes good too. After a harrowing close call with a bag of honey mustard pretzels, I scored with this strawberry pretzel Jello salad recipe!

Strawberry Pretzel Jello Salad
2 cups crushed pretzels (original flavor!)
3 tbsp. sugar
¾ cup melted margarine
8 oz. cream cheese
1 cup sugar
8 oz. Cool Whip
6 oz. package Strawberry Jello
2 cups boiling water
3½ cups sliced strawberries

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Mix together pretzels, 3 tbsp. sugar, and margarine.
Press into the bottom of a 9 X 13 pan.
Bake 8 minutes.
Cool.

Beat remaining sugar into cream cheese.
Blend in Cool Whip.
Spread mixture over pretzel crust.
Set aside in refrigerator.






Mix Jello and boiling water.
Add strawberries.
Set in refrigerator until it begins to gel.

Pour Jello mixture over cream cheese layer.
Refrigerator until Jello is set or overnight.



How about a brief look into my real art while you enjoy your work of art? Here's little from Zane's Art for your reading pleasure.

A high school art teacher must choose between her students and the artist she never stopped loving.

High school art teacher Julianne Truman's last chance to save her beloved art department from budget cuts is to sell the old sketches that her former boyfriend—and now famous artist—Zane DeMonde drew for her. But is she prepared to let go of his artwork and the last traces of him in her life?

Desperate to save his artistic reputation from the exposure of his early works, Zane returns to the home town he wanted to forget. He accuses Julianne of profiting from his success and demands she take his art off the market and cancel the auction.

Their high school attraction flares back to life, forcing Julianne to choose between the students who count on her and the man she never stopped loving.

Excerpt:
“Cancel the auction.”

Julianne Truman’s head snapped around at the hard male voice. The stapler fell from her hand and cracked open on the floor, as she caught sight of the extraordinary face that went with the voice. Her knees shook as she climbed down the ladder. She hadn’t faced Zane DeMonde in nearly fifteen years. At one time she’d believed he’d be part of every single day of her future.

“Zane, I didn’t expect you to come.” She stepped toward him. His black hair was a little shorter than the last time she’d seen him, but at shoulder length it was still far longer than most men’s. Gone were the black hoodie and ripped jeans of his youth. Now he wore chinos and a sharply pressed blue button-down shirt, open at the neck.

The dark storms in his cobalt blue eyes were exactly the same as the day he’d walked away from her. “Cancel the auction. The sketches and painting are not for sale.”

She swallowed. “I own them. If I choose to sell them, that’s my business.” And it was breaking her heart to part with the only piece of him that she’d been able to hang onto all these years.

“When they have my name on them and you’re getting rich off me, it’s my business.”

Getting rich was so far from the truth Julianne would have laughed if her chest weren’t so tight. “It’s an honor to have you back in town.” At least her students would think so. Her brother would likely burst an artery. And she—well, she couldn’t even begin to process the mix of emotions she was feeling. “Do you have a minute to talk? I can explain what’s going on.”

“I know what’s going on.”

She hoped he couldn’t hear how hard her heart was hammering or sense how desperately she longed to wrap her arms around him and pick up where they left off fifteen years ago, as if he’d never left her. “Then you know that the arts are at the bottom of the school district’s priority list. To have supplies for the classroom, to restore the school mural, to give my students a chance to explore different mediums, the art program needs an alternate source of funding.”

“You’re the Dentonville High art teacher?”

She couldn’t help feeling defensive at his derisive tone. “Yes, and I love my job.”

“Do you? Or have you never moved beyond your high school life?”

To read more on Zane's Art please click a vendor name Musa Publishing - Amazon.

Sara Daniel writes what she loves—irresistible romance, from sweet to erotic and everything in between. She lives her own happily-ever-after romance with her hero husband.

Learn more about Sara on her website and blog. Subscribe to Sara’s newsletter.

Stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

4th of July Treat

from Dominique Eastwick

Italian Raspberry Torte
1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
2/3 cup sugar & ¼ cup sugar
¾ cup sour cream
½ cup butter, melted
2 eggs
½ tsp. vanilla
½ tsp. almond extract
1 8 oz pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 cups fresh raspberries
Fresh mint sprigs (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Grease a 9" springform pan: set aside.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl combine 2/3 cup sugar, ½ cup sour cream, melted butter, eggs, vanilla, and ¼ tsp. almond extract with an electric mixer.

Add flour mixture to sugar mixture. Beat until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake 15 minutes. Remove partially baked cake from oven and place on wire rack.

In a new bowl beat cream cheese and ¼ cup sugar with an electric mixer until smooth.

Beat in remaining sour cream and almond extract.

Spoon cream cheese mixture over top of partially baked cake, Spread mixture carefully to edges. Return cake to oven. Bake 20-25 mnutes or until top is set and edges are brown.

Place cake on wire rack. Mound berries on cake, pressing some of the berries gently into cake top.

Cool 10 minutes. Loosen sides of cake from pan.

Cool 30 minutes more. Remove sides of pan.

Serve chilled. Add mint sprigs, if desired.

Makes 12-16 servings.

While your torte is chilling, how about a hot read?

Even the big mistakes can be forgiven if you love enough.

If you love something...

Riley Sherman knew when to cut her losses. Although she loved Barret, he never seemed ready to commit. His business would always be his first love.

If it doesn't come back...

Barret Briggs grew up poor and would be damned if anyone he loved ever went hungry again. Too late he realized that hunger can eat at the heart too.

But what if loves bumps back into you?

When fate throws them together again, can he prove to her he is now worthy of her love? And can she open herself up enough to let him back in?

To read an excerpt from Kissing the Tycoon please click here.


Dominique Eastwick currently calls North Carolina home with her husband, two children, one crazy lab and one lazy cat. Dominique spent much of her early life moving from state to state as a Navy Brat, because of that traveling is one of her favorite past times. When not writing you can find Dominique doing her second love…photography.

Learn more about Dominique Eastwick on her website, blog, and Amazon author page.

CHARISMATIC HOLLEY TRENT

I'm excited to welcome back one of my favorite authors and friend Holley Trent. Holley's new release Back to Storafalt is a hot romance that's sure to make you tingle. I think you'll enjoy a peek behind the drawn shades in this small western town.

He stood her up. Now she's standing out.

The last time Justine Eklund had heard from Gray Voss was when he’d agreed to take her to her sister’s wedding. He stood her up. Twelve years later, he’s back in Wyoming as the new owner of Storafalt’s only pharmacy. He didn’t come alone, though. He brought along the small cowboy town’s best-kept secret—his preteen son, Danny.

Gray wants to pick up where he left off. He never stopped loving the beautiful rabble-rouser, and thinks she’ll fit seamlessly into his little family. Justine yearns to reignite that old torch, but she’s wary. She’s not convinced her high school sweetheart will stick around.

Storafalt’s only school is on a rapid decline, so Gray may have no choice but to return Danny to the life they built in Austin. If he goes, there’s no way Justine can go with them. Unlike Gray, she’s rooted too deeply to leave.

EXCERPT:
“This is casual. Having sex with people you’re not involved with is casual.”

“I’d like us to be involved.”

“Are you on drugs?” She closed her eyes and cringed. Probably a bad joke to make to a pharmacist. “Don’t answer that.”

She finished buttoning her dress.

At that, he finally moved, slowly and sinuously toward his clothes.

She watched as if he were some sort of exotic cat she’d only ever seen in books.

He’d always been gorgeous, but he’d grown into that lankiness he’d had as a young man, and now he looked delightfully athletic. He certainly seemed strong enough, judging by the way he’d picked her up so easily and dropped her onto his desk.

He eyed her, his expression a curiously blank mask as he dressed. “I’m not on drugs, Justine. I meant it. Why couldn’t we pick up where we left off? Give me one good reason.”

Bells chimed at the pharmacy’s front door, and a boyish voice queried, “Dad? You here? I need more money.”

Dad?

Gray’s jaw twitched.

“Dad, huh? Well, there’s a reason.”

BUY LINK

To see all of Holley's books, please click here or here.

Holley Trent is the author of Executive Decision, Mrs. Roth’s Merry Christmas, and Her Resident Jester – all available now from Musa Publishing's Calliope Romance Line.

Learn more about Holley Trent on her blog and follow her on Twitter.

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

Happy Reading!

Sloane

She is All About Reading and Writing Romance

Sexy Sara Daniel is here to share her true feelings about what makes the world go round. Take it away, Sara!

1. The Love Story: Obviously, right? I love to read about two people who care about each other so much that they’ll fight for each other. I love that they believe in each other more than anyone ever has before or will again. There is something so satisfying, so heartwarming to watch two characters fall in love, usually against their will, and rise above all the conflict to live out that love they deserve.

2. The Emotions: No other genre does the roller coaster of emotions like romance. One minute I’m laughing at a particularly witty line of dialogue, and the next I’m sobbing as the hero or heroine takes a figurative (and occasionally literal) punch to the gut. Does your life feel stale and blah? For the hours that you’re reading a romance, you’re living the gentleness of the hero caressing your cheek, the frustration of that one person who always has to make life difficult, the thrill of finally giving said person their comeuppance, the sweetness of a first kiss, the stark terror of falling for the person who could cause you to lose everything, and absolute joy of spending forever with the love of your life.

3. The Happily Ever After: Of course, we all know how a romance novel ends. The hero and heroine get together and live happily ever after. Some people scoff at this guarantee, but it is my number one reason why I will always read and write romance novels. Every day you can pick up the newspaper and read about a life that ends in tragedy. In our own lives and in the lives of our friends and neighbors, there are problems that we can’t wave a wand and make everything magically turn out okay. Who needs to read about more pain, suffering and general cynicism? Definitely not me. Instead, sit down for a couple hours and escape to a romance. Vicariously conquer every roadblock thrown at you. Best of all, no one can take away your happily ever after when you reach the end.

See what I mean with this short intro to one of my favorite books.

Nicole trusted Wyatt with her heart once. She won’t make the same mistake twice.

Nicole DeMonde’s car breaks down the moment she returns to her hometown for her brother’s wedding. The cop who stops to help her is none other than local hottie Wyatt Truman, who slept with her then dumped her when they were teens. She has no choice but to accept his help. However, she knows better than to trust him with her heart twice.

Wyatt is determined to earn Nicole’s forgiveness and make amends for his callous past. Once he lays eyes on her, he can’t help wanting a lot more than forgiveness, despite his intention never to hurt her again.

Just as Wyatt starts thinking his best intentions are of the forever variety, Nicole decides to work Wyatt out of her system with a one night stand. Can either of them make peace with the past in a single weekend, let alone survive with their hearts intact?

To read an excerpt from Wyatt's Guilt, please click HERE.

Sara Daniel writes what she loves—irresistible romance, from sweet to erotic and everything in between. She lives her own happily-ever-after romance with her hero husband.

Learn more about Sara on her website and blog. Subscribe to Sara’s newsletter. Stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Be sure to enter Musa Publishing's January Giveaway.

Easy Dinner - Delicious Appetizer

from Sara Daniel

These are so easy I commissioned my nine-year-old to make them when she wanted to cook dinner for the family to give me a break. (Yes, she can be absolutely adorable when she wants to be, and yes, I still supervised the chopping and the oven.) These roll-ups also make a wonderful appetizer for holiday parties.

Ham and Broccoli Roll-Ups

2 cups chopped broccoli
2 tbsp. parsley flakes
2 tbsp. margarine/butter softened
1 ½ cups shredded Colby-jack/cheddar cheese
2 cups ham chopped
2 (8-roll) cans crescent dinner rolls


Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cook and drain broccoli.

In a large mixing bowl, combine parsley and margarine. Add cheese, broccoli and ham. Mix. Set aside.

Grease a round pizza pan. (A rectangle cookie sheet works too.) Separate the crescent roll dough into the pre-cut triangles. Arrange triangles around the outer edge of the pan, points hanging over the outside of the pan, bases overlapping. If you have more rolls than the pan will hold, you can use the remaining rolls to make a small inside circle as shown in the picture.

Spoon ham filling evenly over the bases of the triangles. Fold points of triangles over the filling and tuck under the bases toward the center of the pan.

Bake for 17-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Nicole trusted Wyatt with her heart once. She won’t make the same mistake twice.

BLURB:
Nicole DeMonde’s car breaks down the moment she returns to her hometown for her brother’s wedding. The cop who stops to help her is none other than local hottie Wyatt Truman, who slept with her then dumped her when they were teens. She has no choice but to accept his help. However, she knows better than to trust him with her heart twice.

Wyatt is determined to earn Nicole’s forgiveness and make amends for his callous past. Once he lays eyes on her, he can’t help wanting a lot more than forgiveness, despite his intention never to hurt her again.

Just as Wyatt starts thinking his best intentions are of the forever variety, Nicole decides to work Wyatt out of her system with a one night stand. Can either of them make peace with the past in a single weekend, let alone survive with their hearts intact?

To read an excerpt from Wyatt's Guilt, please click HERE.

Buy Links:
Musa Publishing
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
All Romance eBooks

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.

New Series - New Release

by Sara Daniel

Early this year when Musa posted a submissions call for a series called Finally Ever After, I jumped at the opportunity. The stories were to be short, happily ever romances about lovers who have loved each other and lost. Now, they have a second chance to create the happy ending they didn’t get the first time.

I love characters with a past history, especially in a short word count. They have instant attraction and long-standing unresolved conflict—the perfect elements for a fast-paced, emotion-packed read. Zane’s Art had all these things coupled with a strong present conflict. The story flowed out of me so fast I knew it was meant to be!


Here's little from Zane's Art for your reading pleasure.

A high school art teacher must choose between her students and the artist she never stopped loving.

High school art teacher Julianne Truman's last chance to save her beloved art department from budget cuts is to sell the old sketches that her former boyfriend—and now famous artist—Zane DeMonde drew for her. But is she prepared to let go of his artwork and the last traces of him in her life?

Desperate to save his artistic reputation from the exposure of his early works, Zane returns to the home town he wanted to forget. He accuses Julianne of profiting from his success and demands she take his art off the market and cancel the auction.

Their high school attraction flares back to life, forcing Julianne to choose between the students who count on her and the man she never stopped loving.

EXCERPT:
“Cancel the auction.”

Julianne Truman’s head snapped around at the hard male voice. The stapler fell from her hand and cracked open on the floor, as she caught sight of the extraordinary face that went with the voice. Her knees shook as she climbed down the ladder. She hadn’t faced Zane DeMonde in nearly fifteen years. At one time she’d believed he’d be part of every single day of her future.

“Zane, I didn’t expect you to come.” She stepped toward him. His black hair was a little shorter than the last time she’d seen him, but at shoulder length it was still far longer than most men’s. Gone were the black hoodie and ripped jeans of his youth. Now he wore chinos and a sharply pressed blue button-down shirt, open at the neck.

The dark storms in his cobalt blue eyes were exactly the same as the day he’d walked away from her. “Cancel the auction. The sketches and painting are not for sale.”

She swallowed. “I own them. If I choose to sell them, that’s my business.” And it was breaking her heart to part with the only piece of him that she’d been able to hang onto all these years.

“When they have my name on them and you’re getting rich off me, it’s my business.”

Getting rich was so far from the truth Julianne would have laughed if her chest weren’t so tight. “It’s an honor to have you back in town.” At least her students would think so. Her brother would likely burst an artery. And she—well, she couldn’t even begin to process the mix of emotions she was feeling. “Do you have a minute to talk? I can explain what’s going on.”

“I know what’s going on.”

She hoped he couldn’t hear how hard her heart was hammering or sense how desperately she longed to wrap her arms around him and pick up where they left off fifteen years ago, as if he’d never left her. “Then you know that the arts are at the bottom of the school district’s priority list. To have supplies for the classroom, to restore the school mural, to give my students a chance to explore different mediums, the art program needs an alternate source of funding.”

“You’re the Dentonville High art teacher?”

She couldn’t help feeling defensive at his derisive tone. “Yes, and I love my job.”

“Do you? Or have you never moved beyond your high school life?”

BUY LINK

To learn more about Sara Daniel and her work, please visit her website and blog. Stay connected on Sara's Facebook page and her Sara Shafer page.

Remember, Sara is also only a tweet away.

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

Happy Reading!

Sloane Taylor
Twitter
Amazon Author Page