Scallops Are Scrumptious

I'm very pleased to bring you Gabriela Sneider, an intelligent young woman with serious goals for her future. Gab has free rein over my blog every third Wednesday of the month when she'll present wonderful food suggestions for all of us to enjoy. Take it away, Gab...

Thanks for sharing your blog with me, Sloane. I'm excited to write about eating healthy from a college student's perspective.

I am a 3rd year student at University of California in Santa Barbara and I love reading your food blog! As a college student, it is important to keep a healthy and balanced diet in order to perform well in school. Now that I am living on my own as opposed to living in the dorms, I have learned to cook healthy meals for myself. Personally, I enjoy eating a sustainable seafood diet. I feel as though I have seen a dramatic change in my health, mostly a weight change as well as feeling more energized and overall healthier due to this seafood diet.

Are you looking for a healthier diet? Stay away from artificial foods and move towards a sustainable seafood diet! Who knew seafood could have so many health benefits? I sure didn't until I researched and learned about all the benefits of eating local seafood.

As a college student, it's difficult to find time in my busy schedule to cook a healthy meal. However, there are some quick and easy ways to make seafood. Scallops, specifically, are delicious and extremely easy to cook. They can be broiled or seared and by adding a few savory spices you create a scrumptious and healthy meal. Coming home from school, all I want to do is relax and eat a yummy meal. Scallops have been my go-to because they are an easy way to enjoy a gourmet delicatessen at home. Eating sustainable seafood makes me feel like a better person because I am supporting local fisherman while still enjoying a delicious meal.

Scallops are incredibly high in nutrient content including vital minerals such as, magnesium, selenium, and potassium. These minerals act in a way, which prevent and protect our bodies from harmful conditions.

5 Top Health Benefits from eating scallops:
1. It is a great source of vitamin B12!
2. Incorporating scallops into your diet 2-3 times a month may prevent ischemic stroke
3. It is rich in fatty acids (omega-3) which help reduce inflammation throughout the entire body
4. Extremely high in protein!
5. Eating scallops can protect against many serious conditions such as, cardiovascular disease and hypertension.


 
How to prepare scallops?
You have to be careful when cooking scallops because you don’t want to overdo it! Too much heat will cause the scallops to become tough and rubbery. Setting a timer is a great way to avoid this issue!




A Few Quick Tips:
• Broil scallops in the oven, skewer them and add a hint of olive oil. Broil 6-8 minutes or until scallops begin to turn golden. Get the easy recipe HERE.
• Sear scallops in butter and oil while adding a few spices like paprika, cayenne, or nutmeg. Get an easy recipe without spices HERE.
• Make a delicious lemon sauce to pour over the yummy scallops. For lemon sauce click HERE. For a lemon cream sauce click HERE. For a lemon basil sauce click HERE.

What to serve with scallops? Any or all of the below are wonderful accompaniments.
o Green salad with tomatoes and cucumbers
o Rice
o Boiled and buttered potatoes
o Asparagus
o Broccoli

Eat Well!
Gabriela

Gabriela Sneider is a business development associate for Santa Barbara Fish Market where you can support the local fishermen and buy fresh seafood online or buy fresh fish online.

I'll be back Monday with Lizzie T. Leaf. Until then...

Bon Appétit!

Sloane Taylor
Twitter
Amazon Author Page

WHY I WRITE SEX

by Arley Cole and Leigh Daley

I write under two pennames—Arley Cole for my YA-friendly fantasy and Leigh Daley for my steamy romance. Arley Cole keeps it out of the bedroom, but Leigh Daley gets into some seriously R-rated territory.

This makes life difficult for me in my tiny Alabama hamlet. When people ask about my latest release, I have to make a quick judgment—do I tell them about the Leigh Daley stuff or will it scandalize them? What would the little women in my church say about me if they read my Leigh Daley stuff? Would they ask me to put a scarlet letter on my choir robe?

But the truth is sex has a hugely important place in women’s lives. We think of men as being the sex-driven beings, but human relationships are cemented together by the physical act of belonging to one another. If we want stronger relationships, we need to be having frequent, mutually beneficial, loving sex.

That is not to say that I am at all in favor of the “jump in bed first, ask questions later” school of relationships. From personal experience, that attitude leads to sleeping with frogs rather than princes. My characters sometimes do sleep with each other before they should – that’s one of the relationship minefields we have to navigate. When they do, I am compelled as a story-teller to deal with their actions in the most realistic way possible. Sex too soon causes trouble they have to work out together.

But sex in the fullness of time in a relationship binds two people together in ways very little else can. I truly enjoy writing about a couple’s exploration of each other. In loving someone else, we really do discover things about ourselves. The sex act opens up all kinds of emotional territory for us, and I love to show my characters discovering themselves through their physical loving of each other.

Our sexual experience affects us profoundly, no matter our age, background, or gender. As an erotic writer, I try to treat the subject with the respect and integrity it deserves. If my readers sometimes find themselves inspired to jump their partners after reading, I am glad of that. Anyone fortunate enough to be in a loving, committed relationship owes it to that relationship to invest in it physically as often and as jubilantly as possible. In fact one of my personal goals as a romance author is to inspire my readers to have more sex!

In my latest Leigh Daley release, Storm Duty - Finally Ever After, a natural disaster shakes up divorced couple Kyle and Jenna. In the midst of the chaos, they both have to learn that all that really matters is who we love, and their love scene is one of my favorites because of the healing that takes place between them.

At this season, especially after the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, I think we all need to remember to hold close the ones we love. So I’m going to keep writing romance, and I hope you all will keep reading. Now, go hold somebody!

Leigh Daley

Their careers drove them apart--could disaster bring them back together?

BLURB:
In the aftermath of a series of tornadoes, Kyle Mathis just wants to guide his linemen to restore power to the devastated town of Milton. When reinforcements in the form of corporate deskjockeys come to work storm duty, he's glad for the extra bodies to help serve food and support the crews working eighteen hour days.

But Kyle is not prepared to face one of the latest arrivals, his ex-wife Jenna. Jenna left him years ago, choosing her career over their marriage. However, being back together in their home town brings back memories and desire--for both Kyle and Jenna.

Can Kyle and Jenna find each other again in the midst of the devastation? Or will their jobs pull them apart and leave not only their homes but their hearts shattered?

EXCERPT:
The instant Jenna Harlow heard her ex-husband’s voice, she wished she hadn’t agreed to come.

She certainly wanted to help and Cedar Hill had been home once. But as she stood and saw Kyle face to face, she wished she hadn’t. There were just too many memories.

“Yeah, I’ve got some made already,” she answered him, aware that his eyes had widened at the sight of her. She covered her own desire to stare by pouring him a cup. “Do you still take cream and sugar?” she asked, trying to keep her tone light even though her heart pounded so hard she could feel it in her fingertips.

“I’m drinking it black these days,” he answered, his tone just as even.

As she passed him the cup, her hand trembled. He took the coffee, but the hot liquid splashed out a little over the side. His hands were shaking too.

He cursed under his breath as he sat the cup down on the table and grabbed a napkin to mop up the spill.

“Don’t worry,” she insisted. “I’ll clean it up.” She looked at his face in the dim light. His eyes that same dark green, his hair the same light brown—still cut the same as she remembered from seven years ago.

But his shoulders were broader, and he stood taller, more muscular. His jaw had a strong, determined set, and little sun crinkles had begun to frame his eyes. She’d always thought he was good-looking, but now in the fullness of manhood, he was downright gorgeous...

To read more of Storm Duty, please click HERE.

BUY LINKS
Musa Publishing
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
All Romance E-books

Leigh Daley lives with her husband and kids in the wilds of West Alabama along with her dogs Bruno and Jack. Now on her fourth career, she has spent most of her life writing for other people, but these days she is writing for herself. She eats like a cavewoman, posts crazy fanfic as Arcole, and tries to meet her creative needs by writing romance as Leigh Daley and fantasy as Arley Cole. She’s a really big fan of happily ever after.

Learn more about Leigh Daley on her blog. Stay connected on Facebook.

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

Happy Reading!

Sloane Taylor
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Amazon Author Page

A Special Treat from Down Under

Please allow me to introduce you to an author you definitely want to read who is also a phenomenal baker Eva Scott.

Take it away, Eva.

In The Reluctant Wedding Planner Mrs Winter, one of Georgi Mac Intyre’s clients, bakes some delicious Monte Carlos biscuits. Now for those of you who don’t know, Monte Carlo biscuits are an Australian classic. There are a few variations on the theme kicking about but here’s the Australian Women’s Weekly version – tried and tested and scrumptious to boot!



MONTE CARLO BISCUITS
125g (8 tablespoons) softened butter
¾ cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons honey
a pinch of salt
2 cups self raising flour
1/3 cup raspberry jam, warmed
2 cups icing sugar (powdered sugar)
15g (1 tablespoon) softened butter, extra
1 teaspoon vanilla essence (vanilla extract)
2-3 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 180°C which is 350°F.

Line a biscuit tray with baking paper also known as parchment paper.

Cream butter and sugar until well blended. Add egg, honey and a pinch of salt. Fold through sifted flour.

Roll mixture into a log. Cover with plastic and allow to rest for about 20 minutes.

Uncover and slice into 1/2 centimeters or 1/4 inch slices. Place on tray and bake for 15 minutes or until golden.

While still warm brush ½ the biscuits with the jam. Set aside to cool.

Sift icing sugar into a bowl. Add butter, and vanilla essence. Mix in enough milk to form a thick icing. Spread other half of the biscuits with the icing and sandwich together.

Serving size: Serves 10 or more
Cooking time: Less than 60 minutes

Here's a little from my latest release to enjoy with your biscuits.

Not only flowers bloom...

BLURB:
Dr Camden James is a rural vet, not a wedding planner, so he quickly feels out of his depth when, in a fit of generosity, he offers to glam up his sister's budget wedding in a secret move designed to surprise her. With only six weeks to make this the wedding of his sister's dreams he needs to move fast.

Stumbling around in the largely female world of weddings he gets a lead on the go-to girl for wedding flowers - Georgiana Mac Intyre. Georgi, reeling from a very public breakup, is not interested in men in anyway shape or form. Not even super-cute vets - even when they are clearly interested in her.

Cam shamelessly uses his story to get her to help. It has all the elements; romance against the odds, true love, orphans (you can't have good story without an orphan or two), and a bride.

To read an excerpt from The Reluctant Wedding Planner, please click HERE.

Eva Scott lives on the Sunshine Coast, in Queensland Australia with her fabulous husband and gorgeous little boy. When she's not writing romance, you can find her on the water kayaking, fishing or swimming. When on dry land its all about the shoes and the coffee.

Learn more about Eva Scott on her website. Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter.

I'll be back Monday with Arley Cole and Leigh Daley. Until then...

Happy Reading!

Sloane

The Queen of Hot is Back

That's right, Jan Springer is here with a thigh-clenching novel that requires buckets of ice at your side. Use those chilly crystals as you see fit while you indulge in RESISTANCE. Check it out.

RESISTANCE
Book five in the Outlaw Lovers Series
Jan Springer
ISBN 978-1-41994-006-4
Ellora’s Cave Publishing

Ménage à trois

BUY LINK

BLURB:
Fugitive female… Renegade Resistance leader Reena “Red” Wilde is in for the fight of her life when she experiences an erotic attraction to the two most dangerous men she’s ever met.

Black ops assassin… Months ago, Will “Blade” Smith spent one sizzling evening in the arms of a red-haired seductress. Now she’s his next assignment. One look into her gorgeous eyes and he’s wrestling his heated cravings all over again.

Bounty Hunter… When Cade Outlaw nabs his bounty, sexy-as-sin Reena Wilde, his profession dictates she’s hands-off. But he can’t ignore the magnetic sparks between them…or that she is the biggest temptation of his life.

Resistance is futile… After Reena escapes Cade and Will and falls prey to a band of evil hunters, she’s grateful her sexy hunks come to her rescue, and in return, saves their lives. Trapped in a solitary cabin during a wicked snowstorm, she can’t resist her two well-hung studs, nor can she deny they’ve claimed her heart.

EXCERPT:
Blade’s finger tightened on the rifle trigger when he caught the petite red-haired woman in the scope. Red was flanked by two people. A man and woman who were friends of Blade’s.

Pull the fucking trigger. That’s why you’re here, dammit! Kill her!

Try as he might, though, he couldn’t bring himself to shoot the redhead. It should have been easy. He’d killed people before. He’d obeyed orders. Killed men and women who were trouble for the U.S. Government. But he’d never killed a woman he’d had sex with before.

Unfortunately, SKULL considered this woman a military object of elimination. He didn’t agree. She was more of a…nuisance to the government. A woman heading a resistance in order to get all rights back for women shouldn’t be hunted down like a dog. It was wrong.

Three months ago, she’d been the best fuck of his life. Now he’d been ordered to kill her. He’d no idea the woman SKULL had rescued from a pleasure house had actually been the leader of the U.S. Resistance Movement. He’d had no clue he’d fucked someone so goddamned important.
Dammit! Hell of a time to sprout a conscience.

Maybe he could wait until she was alone? Kill her then?

Blade frowned. The finger on the trigger eased as guilt slammed into him.

You’re stalling, Blade. Take her down in front of witnesses. Follow your orders or there will be hell to pay.

This was the perfect opportunity. The two witnesses would report back to the Resistance that their leader was dead. The cause would collapse. Or so the government hoped.

Personally, he believed killing her would only make the Resistance stronger. Besides, he hated doing this right in front of people he knew. They were good people. Tyler Outlaw and his woman Laura had some rough years apart, but now they were back together. He didn’t want to cause trouble for them.

They would just have to deal with this assassination. Just as he would have to deal with it.
Once again his finger tightened on the trigger, but he quickly eased off as cold metal kissed his temple.

“I don’t think you want to do that, do you, Blade.” He knew that deadly calm voice. Cade Outlaw, the brother of his ex-SKULL partner, Colter Outlaw.

“This isn’t your concern, Outlaw,” Blade warned coolly.

“You’re on Outlaw land. It is my business. Drop the gun.”

The icy threat sent shivers up his back. Blade hesitated.

“I know we’re friends, Will, and I hope you won’t hold it against me if I blow a hole in your head, but I will unless you drop the rifle.”

And he probably would, too. Cade was just as much a killing machine as Blade. If not more. Especially if those rumors about him being a torturer during the Terrorist Wars were true. A man had to have a strong stomach to do that sort of work.

Blade sighed and dropped the gun. From the other side of the bushes laughter erupted. The two women hugged. They were saying their goodbyes. His gut twisted as the best opportunity for carrying out his job slipped through his fingers.

“She’s your SKULL assignment, isn’t she?” Cade asked.

Blade said nothing.

“You’ve been sent to kill her. Kill the leader of the Resistance. As if that will stop women from fighting to regain their freedom.”

“She’s a marked woman. If I fail, someone else won’t,” he replied.

“You’ve failed, Will. Tell your boss the leader of the Resistance is under Outlaw protection now. Anyone who tries to go after her will have us to answer to. Got it?”

The two of them stood in silence as the Resistance leader waved goodbye to her friends. A moment later, an entourage of her supporters came out of the trees edging the field. The entire group vanished into the neighboring woods, the success of his mission disappeared and, strangely enough, relief poured through him.

Sure, he’d lost an opportunity to kill her. And yes, there would be hell to pay when he reported his failed mission. But at least he could live with himself tomorrow. That is, if Cade didn’t kill him.

BUY LINK

Jan Springer lives in Ontario, Canada and writes full time. She enjoys kayaking, hiking, photography and gardening. She is a member of the Romance Writers of America, Passionate Ink and The Author’s Guild. She also loves hearing from her readers.

Learn more about Jan Springer on her website and blog. Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter.


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

Happy Reading!

Sloane Taylor
Twitter
Amazon Author Page

RAGIN' CAJUN JAMBALAYA

by Rita Monette

Jambalaya is a favorite meal for Nikki Landry. Without the wine of course, because Nikki is the main character in my YA book, The Legend of Ghost Dog Island.

This is the closest to my mom's recipe I could find. I see some recipes where they serve it over rice. The rice should be steamed with the ingredients (as shown) for best flavor.

Bon appétit!






RAGIN' CAJUN JAMBALAYA

1 lg. onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½ cup chopped celery
1 lg. bell pepper, finely chopped
1 ½ lbs. sliced sausage (kielbasa or andouille)
2 lbs. cooked shrimp, chicken, crawfish, or any combination
2 tbsp. olive, vegetable oil, or bacon drippings
1 cup fresh, chopped tomatoes, optional
1 ½ cup uncooked long grain rice
3 cups chicken or seafood stock
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. onion salt
1 tsp. black pepper **
1 tsp. white pepper **
1 tsp. cayenne pepper **
1 tsp. thyme
1 tbsp. file
1 tsp. oregano
2 bay leaves
Tabasco or Louisiana hot sauce to taste

Place a large, heavy pot on the stove at medium to medium high temperature, sauté sausage in oil until well browned; drain well.

Add chopped onion, garlic, celery and bell pepper, saute until almost tender.

Add seasonings and continue to sauté for 1 minute. If desired add fresh, chopped tomatoes.

If using chicken, add cooked chicken pieces to take up flavors.

Add chicken or seafood stock and rice. Turn heat down to gentle simmer and cover for about 20 to 25 minutes.

If using cooked shrimp or crawfish, add at the end of cooking time to prevent breaking down.

Add hot sauce to individuals taste. Serve with favorite wine and French bread.

**Whimps use ½ teaspoon each of black, white, and cayenne pepper; "Cajuns" use 2 teaspoons each.

While your jambalaya simmers, take a peek into young Nikki Landry's life.

Papa says every legend starts with a truth. But what is the truth behind the legend of Ghost Dog Island?

BLURB:
Moving is nothing new for ten-year-old Nikki Landry. Her fisherman father relocates their raggedy old houseboat several times a year in search of better crab fishing spots. However, their latest move has brought her to a mysterious bayou where she feels like something is watching her and her beloved dog Snooper from a nearby island. But when Papa tells her about a local legend that something sinister might be living nearby and stealing the souls of dogs, she fears for her constant companion’s life. Join Nikki as she seeks to discover the truth behind the legend…before it’s too late.




To read an excerpt from The Legend of Ghost Dog Island, please click HERE.

Rita Monette was born and raised in Southwest Louisiana. After retiring from her “real” job as an administrative assistant, Rita began doing what she always wanted to do…write and paint. Five long years later, Musa Publishing offered her a contract for her debut middle grade novel, The Legend of Ghost Dog Island, which also includes her artwork. Her stories are set in the beautiful, yet mysterious, bayous and swamps of her home state. Rita now resides with her husband, four lap dogs, and one lap cat, in the mountains of Tennessee.

Learn more about Rita Monette on her website and blog. Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter.

I'll be back Monday with Jan Springer. Until then...

Bon Appétit!

Sloane Taylor
Twitter
Amazon Author Page

ONLY A HERO WILL DO

The latest release by Susan Lodge.

Hetty’s desperate gamble to avoid an odious match lands her all at sea. Can an overbearing ship’s physician really be the hero she needs to escape her treacherous family?

BLURB:
Marriage to a cruel dandy is not how Hetty Avebury envisions spending the rest of her life. Determined to raise funds to escape the match she earns money the only way she knows how—gambling. Her plans go astray and she finds herself onboard a man-of-war under the care of its stern physician. But Hetty soon realizes that the disapproving Doctor Withington is not at all the man she had first imagined.

If it wasn’t bad enough declaring one of the pressed men as a woman, Robert has been tasked with the tiresome job of returning her safely back to her dysfunctional family. It was ten years ago when his father gambled away his inheritance, home, and any chance of marrying the woman he loved. So when Robert discovers Hetty gambling he takes drastic action to cure her of the habit.

EXCERPT:
“Annie, will you please walk beside me? Try to remember, I am supposed to be your brother not your employer. You must keep your arm on mine.” Annie pursed her lips but did as she was told.

At five foot four, Hetty was tall enough to masquerade as a male. Her disguise was not of fine quality this time, as she had no desire to stand out in the crowd. It was serviceable and clean, if a little ill-fitting.

She resembled a rather youthful clerk.

They had left in the early hours after Hetty had written her aunt a short note to tell her not to worry. She couldn’t risk anything else, as she knew Stark and her father would ask too many questions. If she knew nothing, Aunt Amelia wouldn’t have to lie—something she didn’t like to do.

After a moment, Hetty and Annie searched for a respectable inn, both having missed breakfast. It was only after they had seated themselves in the Boar's Head and ordered a modest meal that Hetty realized it was a bad choice. The tables were occupied by groups of unsavoury looking males, half of whom were staring at Annie in a very vulgar way. Hetty looked around with a feeling of foreboding while picking at a cold rabbit pie. The room started to empty as a strange murmur of discontent rippled through the establishment.

Annie fidgeted beside her. “I don’t like it, Miss Hetty! It ain’t right.”

Hetty groaned. “Harry—not Miss Hetty! For heaven’s sake, Annie!”

“Beg pardon…Harry,” she said, as though the name was blasphemous, “but I think we should go now.”

Hetty agreed and prepared to rise when the door shot open and the remaining customers scattered in all directions. A small party of hefty men, armed with wooden batons, sauntered in and stopped in the center of the room, assessing the occupants.

Annie grabbed Hetty’s arm. “It’s the press-gang!”

It took a moment for Annie’s words to register then Hetty swallowed violently. If only her skirts were back on. One of them noticed her and narrowed his eyes with a terrifying gleam like a predator. He pointed his finger her way. “Now, lad, I reckon you look ripe for adventure. Eager to serve your king, I wager.”

Hetty shook her head and grasped Annie. “No, sir, I have my sister here to look after.”

The man wandered closer, his fleshy face beamed and his voice cajoled. “What’s your name, lad, and how old are you?”

“Harry Blake. I am fourteen." Surely that is too young.

The man considered her for a moment, and Hetty didn’t dare to breathe.

“Bring him.”

Logic ceased. Hetty ducked under the table and tried to crawl toward the door, but one of them crunched a foul-smelling boot down on the small of her back, and her breath escaped in one whoosh of pain. A large hand hoisted her up by the neckcloth and placed her on her feet.

BUY LINK

Susan Lodge is a life long writer, but has marketed her work just these last few years. When she is not writing, Susan tinkers on her piano, enjoys the company of her children, or takes long walks along the coastline with her real life hero.

Once asked the most important piece of advice she had been given in pursuit of publication, Susan answered -
The only difference between the unpublished writer and the published writer is the fact that the published writer didn't give up.

Catch up with Susan on her website and blog. Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter.

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

Happy Reading!

Sloane Taylor
Twitter
Amazon Author Page

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, DUSTY CRABTREE!

In case you haven't seen it on Facebook, Dusty Crabtree is throwing a huge party for Shadow Eyes's one-year anniversary - a one-month blog tour!

To top it all off, Dusty is giving away a KINDLE FIRE along with other prizes!

It all began on her blog with a list of tour stops and a link at the bottom to Rafflecopter. Below are the links to all the stops.

Let the games begin! And may the odds be ever in your favor…

February 24th – The Paperback Princess (Why Young Adult Urban Fantasy?)

February 25 – Little Hyuts (Shadow Eyes Behind the Scenes Excerpt)

February 26th – Nomi’s Paranormal Palace (Author Interview)

February 27th – More Than a Review (Review)

February 28th – Tina’s Book Reviews (Writing about Teen Issues from a Moral Perspective)

March 1 – YA Book Addict (Review)

March 2 – Living Fictitiously (Personal Experience in Shadow Eyes)

March 3 – Colorimetry (Author Interview)

March 4 – Melissa’s Bookshelf (The Story of My Cover Art)

March 5 – Becky’s Barmy Book Blog (Writerly Tips and Tricks)

March 6 – A Reading Daydreamer (Inspiration Behind Shadow Eyes)

March 7 - Ja citam, a ti? (Review)

March 8 – Urban Fantasy Reviews (The Theme of Hope in Shadow Eyes)

March 9 – Deborah’s Books (Review)

March 10 – Sharon Ledwith (5 Truths and 3 Lies)

March 11 – Coffee, Books, and Me (Cast for Hypothetical Shadow Eyes Movie)

March 12 - Blkosiner Book Blog (My Soundtrack for Shadow Eyes)

March 13 – Heart of a Bookworm (Review)

March 14 – Books are Sanity (My Journey in Becoming an Author)

March 15 – Buried in Books (Top 10 Ways I Shape a Character)

March 16 – For What It’s Worth (Top 10 Favorite Quotes from Shadow Eyes)

March 17 – Sarah Daniel (Character Interview with Patrick)

March 18 – Helen Katsnis (Author Interview)

March 19 – Anatea’s Bookshelf (My Top 5 Favorite Book Series)

March 20 – Reading Under the Stars (Review)

March 21 – Leisure Reads (Inspiration for the Main Character Iris)

March 22 – Books, Books, and More Books (Review)

March 23 – Book Briefs (Review)

Click the Rafflecopter image below to take you to the Rafflecopter giveaway where you can enter all sorts of different ways! Don’t forget you can post a comment on all the

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Have a wonderful week. I'll be back Monday with regency author Susan Lodge. Until then...

Happy Writing!

Sloane Taylor
Twitter
Amazon Author Page

MICHAELA’S EXPERIMENT
Book two in the Sex: Outlawed Series
Jan Springer
ISBN 978-1-78184-116-7
Total E-Bound Publishing
Ménage à trois

BUY LINK

BLURB:
When Michaela Long discovers a friend is engaged in illegal sex experiments, Michaela is forced to experience the same forbidden pleasures...

After learning her friend, Anica Maine, is engaged in illegal sex with the rebels, Michaela Long avoids a mind erase by volunteering to participate in a sizzling hot sexual experiment.

Doctors Flynn Campbell and Bryce Davids are immediately attracted to the cute brunette and swiftly introduce Michaela to incredible pleasure with their scorching ménages. Easily addicted, Michaela is determined to keep her newfound enjoyment and her sexy men a secret, even if it means facing Elimination if they are caught.

EXCERPT:

Earth Year 2304, Biosphere A1Z9

The moment she entered her boss Anica Maine’s apartment, intriguing moans whispered through the living room, making a rush of alarm snap through Michaela. Instantly she located the room’s Red Alert button on a nearby wall.

If she touched it, the Order of Authority would arrive immediately and assist. She took a step towards it but another seductive whimper drifted down the nearby hallway, stopping her cold.

The soft sound belonged to a female. Anica? She didn’t sound distressed. Contrary, she appeared to be enjoying something. But what in the world was she doing to create such unique noises?

A familiar flush of excitement zipped through Michaela and she bit her bottom lip and paused. Unfortunately, over the past several weeks her excitement had been getting her into a bit of trouble. She’d been warned by the Order of Authority to get herself adjusted yet again for her emotion problem or risk Elimination. Numerous attempts to curb her excitement by the OA had been unsuccessful and it was why she refused to push that Red Alert button now.

If nothing was wrong in Anica’s apartment and Michaela alerted the OA, it was one more black mark against her. One step closer to Elimination.

She blew out a frustrated sigh. She just wanted a peaceful existence, but the interesting sounds intrigued her, luring her deeper into the apartment. Michaela tiptoed down the hallway to Anica’s sleeping room and froze in the open doorway.

Sweet biosphere! What is going on here?

A volley of grunts, moans and naked flesh greeted her. Limbs were tangled together as three people writhed on the air bed. Her friend Anica was one of them! She was intertwined with two males, with her waist-length honey-blonde hair being illegally dishevelled. Her hourglass figure gleamed pink with exertion and sparkled beautifully with perspiration.

What in the world were they doing?

Anica was lying face down, the length of her body fully upon a brown-haired male who lay face up. Kneeling between their wide-spread legs was a black-haired male, his hips pistoning madly against Anica’s naked behind.

A low keening exploded from Anica. The foreign sound...the shocking scene...they made Michaela...excited. The exquisite expressions of joy lacing their flushed faces seemed to her...curious.

But why wasn’t Michaela feeling what Anica was so obviously enjoying?

Press the panic button. This is abnormal. Illegal!

But if she did that, the authorities would come, and because of the seriousness of what was happening here, whatever it was, the OA would bypass re-adjustment and go straight to Eliminating Anica. And more than likely Eliminate Michaela too, for simply watching.

Despair pushed away her excitement. Have mercy, she was so in trouble just seeing this, whatever this was. She should leave. They hadn’t seen her yet. The males were too involved with Anica.

BUY LINK

Jan Springer lives in Ontario, Canada and writes full time. She enjoys kayaking, hiking, photography and gardening. She is a member of the Romance Writers of America, Passionate Ink and The Author’s Guild. She also loves hearing from her readers.

Learn more about Jan Springer on her website and blog. Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter.


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

Happy Reading!

Sloane Taylor
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It's Wednesday. So What's Cooking?

How about Carrie’s Best Ever Homemade Pancakes from my good friend, romance author Marci Boudreaux? I've made these and they are marvelous. Take it away, Marci!

Widow Carrie Gable, the heroine in Unforgettable You, has taken over the role of caregiver for her ailing mother-in-law Doreen. Determined the keep the woman in her family home for as long as possible, Carrie has agreed to board several movie stars who are filming in her small town. Though resentful of the demands placed upon her, Carrie does her best to abide by the wishes of her guests, even when she finds them over the top.

When health conscious starlet Juliet Ramirez insists that her hostess stop tempting her with fried meat and eggs at breakfast, Carrie agrees but refuses to remove her signature pancakes off the menu because, as she insists, serving breakfast without pancakes goes against everything she’s ever learned about being a good hostess.

Carrie’s Best Ever Homemade Pancakes

Dry Ingredients:
2 cup white flour
1 cup wheat flour
5 tsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. sugar
1 ½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. cinnamon

Liquid Ingredients:
2 ½ cups milk
2 ½ tsp. white vinegar
2 eggs
6 tbsp. melted butter
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Fresh fruit can be added if desired. Frozen fruit can change the texture of the batter, fresh is better.

Mix vinegar and milk together and set aside for five minutes to sour. (2 ½ C buttermilk can be used in place of soured milk.)

Whisk dry ingredients together into large bowl.

In separate bowl, mix eggs, soured milk, and vanilla. Slowly mix in cooled melted butter.

Add liquid mixture to dry mixture and whisk until combined. Fold in fruit if desired.

Pour ¼ cup portions onto hot griddle lightly coated with cooking spray. Flip with spatula once edges brown.

Serve hot with your favorite syrup.

Here's a little from Unforgettable You for your reading pleasure.

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.

I'll be back Monday with with the Queen of Hot Jan Springer. Until then...

Please pass the syrup!

Sloane Taylor
Twitter
Amazon Author Page

Reading Feeds the Soul

by Eleni Konstantine

For the last year, I had been part of conference committee and I also began studying. So much of my spare time was tied up with those activities that I noticed that my reading had gone downhill. My current reads are at 25 for 2012 whereas in 2011 I had read 74 books. That’s quite a difference. Please check out my reading list at Eleni’s Library.

The other thing I noticed was I felt down that I couldn’t get more reading done. Gone were the days when I used to read all night. With chronic fatigue syndrome, if I’m tired, I can’t read past a few pages.

That is very sad. Don’t you think?

I’m of the belief that reading feeds the soul, especially the writer’s soul. Nothing is like escaping into a book, reading about events and characters as if it were happening right in front of you. And when that isn’t happening - it’s like losing a piece of yourself.

I was finding that my own writing and creativity suffered because of this. I couldn’t really get settled into my work. Editing was fine (thank goodness because I had releases to work on), but writing something new felt stifled. No new idea grabbed hold or felt right.

However for the first time in months, I wrote something new the other day. It’s different, and still forming, but I like the basic idea.

Why the change?

Conference is over for 2012, I dropped a couple of subjects at school and I’ve started reading more again. In the last month, I have read six stories. Not all of them were novel length, but it’s still more reading than I’ve done for ages. I feel so much better for it.

My muse is rubbing her hands together and saying, “Yes, we can work on this and this, and that. Oh, and this one as well.”

It’s a good feeling to have choices for writing after a year where it really didn’t seem to.

How about you - does reading feed your soul?

~Eleni

Zeta will protect the one she loves, even if it means living in Hell.

Mastering a unique power was much safer for Zeta Kosmos with a mentor to help her along. Now that he’s disappeared, Zeta must continue alone with her calling—closing Gateways to Hell.

Daniel Richards is in the family business—Warding supernatural evil from causing havoc on humans. As such, he’s only interested in the safety of one-night stands. Until Zeta. This bad boy now wants a long, lasting relationship.

But Zeta can’t let go of her past, nor can she ignore the secret demonic threats against Daniel’s life. She’d rather fight demonic spawn and be dragged into Hell than allow anything happen to him. Can Daniel convince her to stay? Will she have to pay the ultimate price?

To read an excerpt from Gateway to Hell, please click HERE.

Eleni Konstantine is Fantasy and Paranormal fiction writer, with a number of shorts published. Her stories range from flash fiction to novels. She blames her mother for her writing bug because as a child she was given many books, including illustrated fairytales. That and a love of Greek mythology, and Eleni was destined to become a writer.

Eleni lives in Adelaide, Australia, with her family and feisty American Staffy.

Learn more about Eleni Konstantine on her website and blog.

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

Happy Reading!

Sloane Taylor
Twitter
Amazon Author Page

Free from Musa Publishing and Sara Daniel

In celebration of the most romantic holiday of the year, Musa Publishing is offering every romantic a free download of Second Chance Valentine by Sara Daniel. Click HERE to claim a copy, then sit back and enjoy.

What would you do if you got a second chance at love…with your husband's best friend?

Rick has always been a shoulder for his best friend's widow to lean on, but to him she will always belong to his friend. Gianna is ready to move on with her life, and no other man affects her like Rick. To give them both a second chance at love and life, Gianna must convince him that her husband would have wanted him to be the man she moves on with.

EXCERPT:
Gianna Viterelli-Smith was conspicuously single as she followed the maître d’ to the table for two. The beachfront restaurant on Florida’s southeast coast was elegant and in demand on a slow day. Today, Valentine’s Day, was not a slow day. In fact, it was impossible to get a table unless one had made their reservation weeks in advance, which Gianna had.

She might not have been on a date in over four years, but she had made the decision to jump back in the dating pool and try again. What better time to start than the mushiest, most romance-friendly day of the year?

LINK TO FREE READ

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.

I'll be back Monday with Eleni Konstantine and next Wednesday with a new menu. Until then...

Happy Reading!

Sloane

A Highly Recommended Read

LETHAL REFUGE, a spine-tingling suspense novel by Vonnie Hughes, is set in seldom seen New Zealand. The story griped and held me because Hughes expertly wove fear throughout while adding twists and just enough reality to make the story plausible. LETHAL REFUGE is a book I believe you all will enjoy. It left me afraid to turn the lights off.

LETHAL REFUGE
Vonnie Hughes
Print ISBN 1-60154-996-2
The Wild Rose Press

Available in both paperback and e-book from:
The Wild Rose Press
Amazon

Who can you trust if you can’t trust your own mother? Through the clammy fog, Celie Francis hears the chilling message. “I know who you are, Celie. I know where you live.” And in the terrifying aftermath she reconnects with her dysfunctional family in ways she had never imagined.

BLURB:
Abused and abandoned as a child, Célie Francis knows better than to trust anyone. But after she witnesses a murder, she's placed in the Unit "New Zealand's witness protection program" where she's expected to trust strangers with her life.

It's psychologist Brand Turner's job to ease witnesses into their new identities, not to protect them, but Célie stirs feelings in him that are far from professional. When it appears someone is leaking critical information that could endanger Célie, Brand will do anything to protect her. But first he has to convince her to trust him.

Adrift in a frightening world, Célie would like to believe the handsome psychologist is everything he seems, but as witnesses are murdered and danger swirls around them, Célie must decide "can she trust Brand with her life?

EXCERPT:
Célie Francis ran faster than she ever had in her life. Fingers of fog rolling in from the sea grabbed at her as her feet alternately flew and stuttered over the uneven pavement of the ocean road.

Where was he? How much time did she have?
The wash of the sea was a calm counterpoint to her harsh, frantic breathing. Above the sound of her thudding feet, the shriek of a bird pierced the air.

No, not a bird. Something was squeaking. Occy’s old bicycle.

He had found her.

Faster, Célie, faster, shouted the little man on the treadmill in her mind.

I can’t, she sobbed.

Fancy the consequences?

No God, no!

Then run faster.

But her aching legs could not obey. And on the roadway the relentless squeak, squeak kept pace with her.

Frantically she zigzagged, seeking a haven in the fog. It was barely dawn on the lonely North Auckland cliffs above the Pacific Ocean. No help anywhere.

Have to hide. Have to hide. Her shoes slapped a rhythm.

Salty sweat stung her eyes. Ignore it.

The slap of her running shoes echoed then died in the mist. Died...

Her brain, tumbling in an endless whirl of fear and futile questions asked—-why Occy? Why had he killed a man this time?

Up ahead loomed a deep grey cloud of mist. Thank you, God. She blasted into the fog bank and the squeaking receded behind her. This is your chance, the little man said.

Veering off the sidewalk, she streaked across a pristine lawn and crouched behind a lavender bush. Her chest heaving, she struggled to gulp another breath of sodden air.

Squeeeak. He was back. This was it. Eyes streaming, she curled into a ball on the cold ground and waited.

Something yellow zinged past her face and tickled her arm. A needle-sharp sting pierced her elbow, then another. Bees, irritated by her invasion, were trying to drive her out. No you won’t. What’s out there is a lot worse than what you can do, bees. As the pinpricks tingled and burned, she pressed her lips together so hard that the muscles on the side of her face ached.

Louder now, the squeaking advanced and receded. He was casting up and down, looking for her. Please, please...

A sibilant whisper reached her through the clammy fog. “I know who you are, Célie. I know where you live.”

Available in both paperback and e-book from:
The Wild Rose Press
Amazon

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

A Tasty Treat is Berry Dark Chocolate Pie

Dusty Crabtree dropped in today to help me out while I conquer edits on soon to be released novels. Her book and recipe are both awesome. Take it away, Dusty. :)

I've been an overly creative person, my mind constantly swimming with artistic things and creative ideas. Before I started writing, that creativity often found an outlet in cooking. I started with intricate recipes, then added my own spin on them, and turned some of them into my own.

This is one of my favorite creations, mainly because I absolutely love berries and chocolate together! It's tart and fruity with the intense dark sweetness of chocolate.

Also, seeing as how Iris, the main character in my YA urban fantasy Shadow Eyes, has violet eyes and her favorite color is naturally purple, I thought this strikingly dark purple pie would definitely be fitting. I hope it wins you over like it would Iris.


Berry Dark Chocolate Pie
2 chocolate piecrusts
16 oz. package frozen blackberries, thawed and drained or 2 cups fresh
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
½ cup blackberry jam
3-4 tbsp. or ½ package of Jell-O sugar-free chocolate fudge pudding mix
1/3 cup lemon juice
½ tsp. almond extract or vanilla extract if preferred
1 container 8 or 9 oz whipped topping
1-2 oz. dark chocolate squares, grated or shaved or use chips

Combine blackberries, sweetened condensed milk, blackberry jam, pudding mix, lemon juice, and almond extract. Beat on medium high speed until well blended and thick, about 2 minutes.

Spoon blackberry cream mixture over 2 chocolate crusts evenly. Refrigerate for a total of 4 hours.

After about 1 hour, top with whipped cream and dark chocolate shavings. Continue to refrigerate for another 3 hours or until set.

Serves 16

While the pie is chilling, pour yourself a lovely glass of wine and curl up with Shadow Eyes.

Iris thought she could ignore the shadows...until they went after everyone she loved.

BLURB:
Iris Kohl lives in a world populated by murky shadows that surround, harass, and entice unsuspecting individuals toward evil. But she is the only one who can see them. She’s had this ability to see the shadows, as well as brilliantly glowing light figures, ever since an obscure, tragic incident on her fourteenth birthday three years earlier.

Although she’s learned to cope, the view of her world begins to shift upon the arrival of three mysterious characters. First, a handsome new teacher whose presence scares away shadows; second, a new friend with an awe-inspiring aura; and third, a mysterious and alluring new student whom Iris has a hard time resisting despite already having a boyfriend.

As the shadows invade and terrorize her own life and family, she must ultimately revisit the most horrific event of her life in order to learn her true identity and become the hero she was meant to be.

EXCERPT:
I meandered slowly to my locker. Even though I didn’t need anything, I rummaged through it as if I were searching for a tool on a job that paid by the hour. The longer I waited, the less people and, therefore, shadows would be waiting for me when I stepped into the parking lot.

I hated crowds and tried to avoid them as much as possible. Three years of dealing with the visions had taught me how to cope in various ways, but I’d never gotten used to walking among herds of people that were ignorant of the truth I was forced to see. It was like being the only one wearing ultraviolet glasses that unveiled every germ and bacteria around me and having to constantly witness unsuspecting people touching things and getting into things that are disgusting and potentially dangerous. Some people would feel lucky to have such insight. Me? I felt trapped, helpless, and exposed.

Luckily, since it was Friday, everyone wanted to get away from school as quickly as possible. By the time I stepped outside, the parking lot was basically empty. Only a few cars belonging to football players remained.

I began to trek the long distance to my car, which was at the end of the lot due to my near tardiness every day for the same reason I always left late. However, even though the lot was void of people, a couple of dark figures loomed over and around a yellow Camaro to my right. I recognized it as Marcus Beaman’s new car. He was a well-known football player and had been bragging about the birthday present for three months since he got it in June.

Why were these shadows out in the parking lot without any humans around? The bizarreness of it made me pause, and my mind began fabricating all possible explanations—none of which I could do anything about. Lost in my thoughts, I must have peered at them with critical eyes just a tad longer than was safe. One of them stopped, inclined its head to glare at me, and flashed an evil grin. I shuddered, closing my eyes tightly in an attempt to erase the image and pretend the scene away as I cowered toward my car like a timid little girl.

I threw open the driver’s side door, jumped in, tossing my backpack on the passenger seat, buckled my seatbelt, and locked the doors. As if that would help.

Watch Shadow Eyes book trailer on YouTube.

BUY LINK

Learn more about Dusty Crabtree on her blog. Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter.

I'll be back Monday with the Queen of Hot Jan Springer. Until then...

Happy Reading!

Sloane Taylor
Twitter
Amazon Author Page

Like Tiger and Vin, only prettier

by Holley Trent

There’s this bit in my new release Her Resident Jester where my protagonist, Shane, waxes poetic about her identity:

I’d almost forgotten about that ultrasound. I didn’t generally volunteer for medical studies, but one of my coworkers’ kids was on the investigative team and I got strong-armed into it because I’m from an underrepresented ethnic group. That is to say no particular ethnic group. I’m more mixed up than Vin Diesel, but far less coy about it. I leave that to Marcia. She’s really uptight about that sh*t.

Shane and Marcia are sisters (you’ll meet Marcia formally in April in Love by Premonition), and constituents of the Great American Melting Pot. They can’t simply itemize what they are, because at some point in the family tree the colors blur. They’re sort of a lot of things and nothing in particular.

Shane’s fine with that. She’s okay with her ambiguity and having people ask her about it. Culturally, she’s North Carolinian, Southern, and American. Marcia is far more sensitive about her perceived identity. She’s not self-hating, exactly, but as a lapsed physicist, she sort of likes being able to put things into neat little boxes. So, when people question her on what she is (and isn’t), she dances around the subject and deflects. It’s not easy for her to answer, and she doesn’t like other people guessing about it, either. She could hedge and say “I’m black,” but she isn’t. Bi-racial wouldn’t be accurate, either. Tri-racial would work, but it’d be imprecise.

Shane doesn’t mind imprecision so much, but it makes Marcia twitchy.

I made this a “thing” with Marcia because I think people should sometimes come in shades of gray (even if they don’t have cool names for themselves like Cablinasian)…and I think sometimes they should be sensitive about not having a tidy label.

Although I identify very well with characters like Shane and Marcia (good luck trying to itemize all my components), they make requesting cover art extremely tedious. I could spend an hour scanning through stock art depositories looking for models who are suitably ambiguous and only come up with one or two.

For Her Resident Jester, we stepped around that casting issue and put the hot doctor Derek on the cover instead of Shane or a couple. (Isn’t he pretty?) We’ll see what happens with Marcia’s story.

Here’s the gist of Her Resident Jester:

Marketing executive Shane Andrews’s reluctant participation in a research study leads to the stunning discovery she needs immediate surgery.

Out of sorts, and in a moment of spectacular tactlessness, she insults a man wearing a red rubber nose and big floppy shoes. He turns out to be Derek Palmer: Edenton’s hottest young surgeon…and the resident observing her operation.

With her body and pride both on the mend, Shane hides out to prevent further humiliation. She can’t avoid the gorgeous clown too long, however. Edenton is a small town, and Derek isn’t content with letting her wallow. What kind of clown would he be if he did?

Her Resident Jester is available for purchase in most major eBook formats at the Musa store and also at third-party retailers like Amazon and All Romance eBooks.

To learn more about Holley Trent, visit her website or watch her navel gaze on Twitter.