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Fireworks & Flirtation Anthology – Perfect for 4th of July

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Fireworks & Flirtation is Now Available!

Just in time for your 4th of July enjoyment, the new summer anthology from Tender and Tempting Tales, Fireworks & Flirtation is now available on Amazon. You can get your copy (either print or KU) here. Just as the title implies, all the stories in this steamy collection include fireworks of some kind and a whole lot of flirtation!

To go along with your reading pleasure, summer wouldn’t be complete without a refreshing glass of ice-cold sweet tea – spiked with a bit of bourbon, of course! This recipe is made the old-fashioned way – enjoy!

Bourbon Peach Iced Tea

Ingredients for Peach Simple Syrup:

1 ½ lbs Fresh Peaches (about 3) peeled and sliced

2 Cups Granulated Sugar

Ingredients for Tea:

6 Black Tea tea bags

½ Cup (or more) Bourbon

Ice

1 Fresh Peach, sliced

Directions:

Peach Simple Syrup:

Make Ahead. Syrup can be made 1 month ahead. Keep refrigerated.

  1. In a medium pot over medium heat, bring peaches, sugar and 2 cups of water to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until peaches are completely softened – about 10-15 minutes. Let cool.
  2. Strain syrup through a fine mesh sieve, pressing on peaches with a spoon to release more juice. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.

Tea:

  1. In a medium pot, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Remove from heat and add tea bags. Let steep 5 to 8 minutes. Discard tea bags.
  2. Pour tea into a pitcher. Add 1 cup of peach simple syrup and 4 cups of water and stir to combine. Let cool.
  3. When ready to serve, add bourbon. Taste and add more bourbon and/or simple syrup, as needed.
  4. Serve over ice with peach slices.

I hope you enjoy reading Fireworks & Flirtation as much as I and each of the other authors enjoyed bringing these stories to life for you. I hope you enjoy imbibing this wonderful tea as much as I do!

PTK Annual Holiday Village

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I am so excited to be a vendor at the PTK Annual Holiday Village at Laurel Ridge Community college this Saturday, November 22 from 10 am – 2 pm. This is a free event where I will be selling and signing copies of Moonlight and Margaritas, the spicy romance anthology in which I am featured. This isn’t just a writer/reader event, however. There will be other crafters and makers there as well, selling their wares, so it will be a good time to get some Christmas shopping in! Be sure to stop by and say ‘hi’. I look forward to seeing you then!

Find out more about this event here: PTK Annual Holiday Village

Stafford Book Festival

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Come join me at the Stafford Book Festival September 13th from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm. This free event will connect book lovers with local authors of all genres. While this event is free, tickets are required, get yours here.

In addition, be sure to come see me in the Author Signing Room between 9:30 am – 10:30 am, where we can chat about what I’m working on now, as well as my short story in the newly published romance anthology Moonlight and Margaritas, available here (https://geni.us/moonlightandmargaritas). I will have copies of the anthology available for purchase and, of course for signing.

The Stafford Book Festival will be held at the Holiday Inn and Conference Center in Fredericksburg, VA. I hope to see you there. Be sure to drop me a line in the comment box below and let me know that I’ll see you there!  

 

Moonlight and Margaritas Anthology is LIVE

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MOONLIGHT AND MARGARITIAS ANTHOLOGY IS LIVE!

Moonlight and Margaritas is now available in print and ebook.

EEK!

My romance, Clumsy in Love, is out in the world for all to see. It feels a little like going to the beach in a bikini when you’ve always worn a one piece – is anyone looking? Do they like what they see? Do I look as good as her?

I’ll let you be the judge of my story. I think it mixes humor with steamy and a little angst in just the right amounts. My protagonist, Natalie Devor is known for her clumsiness more than her prowess with men. The red headed beauty manages to catch the eye of Dr. Jake Bresard one night, while she and her friend drink margaritas and argue the attributes of Pete Mitchell and the Top Gun movies. Jake isn’t looking for love when his eyes find Natalie, but soon more than his body is on fire for her, much to his chagrin.  He’s been burned before, can he overcome the fear that has plagued him to find true love with this clumsy beauty who has stumbled her way into his heart?

Of course, there are twelve other equally enthralling and tantalizing romance stories to thrill an titillate you this summer season. I do hope you take a look and check out Moonlight and Margaritas Anthology: Moonlight and Margaritas Available to Buy

Make Up Your Mind

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Make Up Your Mind

Finnicky. I hate it. Make up your mind already. Geesh. Especially when it comes to the weather. I live in Virginia and I never know how to dress. I eventually give up and just dress in layers. Yesterday the high was 56 degrees. Today the high is 82 degrees. What? The lows make it even worse, just because the high was 82 doesn’t mean the low won’t be, well, low. The low this morning was in the lower end of the 40’s. To me, that’s too cold for it to be 82 a mere 6-8 hours later.

 Enough about the weather. I hate finnicky in the book characters I read about, too. They make me crazy. I guess another way I’d put it is wishy-washy. In romances, it’s usually the woman facing the dilemma of “do I go for the guy or the (blank)” – {spoiler – going for the guy always wins out in the end}. But getting to the decisive end sometimes makes me crazy, especially if the conflict doesn’t feel real enough or angst enough.

 I guess that’s why I like the romances where the guy is a strong character, knowing what he wants (the girl) and decisively goes after her, winning her heart in the end, even though she may be resistant or (gasp) wishy-washy in the process.

 How about you? What type of romances do you like? Let me know by commenting.

Joy is a Four Legged Word

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Joy is a Four-Legged Word

A couple of months ago, I shared the grief my family and I had in the passing of one of our family dogs – Beastie, the Alaskan Malamute.  Her passing left us as a one-dog household, with our Shepherd – Bear.  When I say my family was in mourning over the loss of Beastie, I include Bear in that statement.  He looked for her everywhere, at her food bowl, sniffing her harness and leash, and her favorite resting and sleeping places within the house and in the outside kennel.  He literally moped around and wasn’t his usual exuberant self.  He was sad and depressed without a friend and playmate.  Not only that, but he also wasn’t really eating, either.

It took us less than a month to realize that Bear needed a companion, or he would waste away and we would lose him, too.  Although Bear is a Shepherd (how we came to adopt him into our family is a story for another time), we are partial to the sled dog breeds and we always rescue our family pets, so we contacted the rescue group that gave us Beastie. 

They remembered Beastie and were sad to hear of her passing but were happy that we were ready to adopt.  With the help of the adoption coordinator, we were able to meet a young, female Alaskan Malamute with Bear and the two hit it off right away.  We now have a new addition to our “pack”. 

Please meet Tika, our two-year-old Alaskan Malamute.  She’s what we call a mini-mal because she is at her full-grown size and only weighs about 70 pounds.  Most female Malamutes get closer to 100 pounds. 

She does have some Beastie-like behavior, but she is definitely her own personality.  For one thing, she is the most vocal dog I have ever met.  She “woo-woo’s” us constantly, sometimes to the point where we can’t even hold a human conversation in the same room with her, she is that persistent and loud.

All in all, she’s a perfect fit.  Bear is now back to his usual, excitable self with his new playmate and friend, Tika.  Tika now has a loving home to call her own.  Joy fills our home once again.  What more could we ask for?

 

Moonlight and Margaritas Anthology – Margarita Recipe

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In honor of the upcoming anthology titled “Moonlight and Margaritas” (of which I’ve been invited to submit a steamy story), below is the recipe for my favorite margarita.

SANGRIA MARGARITA
750 ml Fruity, Dry Red Wine
½ Cup Tequila
½ Cup Triple Sec or Cointreau
½ Cup Simple Syrup
½ Cup Orange Juice
¼ Cup Lime Juice
Plate of Salt
Lime and Orange Slices for Garnish

  1. In a large pitcher, stir together the red wine, tequila, triple sec or Cointreau, simple syrup, orange juice and lime juice. Taste and if desired, add more syrup or tequila for a sweeter or boozier vibe. Garnish pitcher with lime and orange wedges.
  2. To serve, cut a notch in a lime wedge, then run the lime around the rim of each glass. Dip the edge of the rim into the plate of salt. Add 1 handful of ice and pour the sangria margarita into the glass. Garnish with a lime and orange slice.

Moonlight & Margaritas Anthology

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Exciting news!  I’ve been invited to submit a romance story to an upcoming anthology, titled Moonlight and Margaritas, due out this summer.  This is the debut anthology for Tender and Tempting Tales.  Future anthologies are also planned.  As a teaser for readers, you can sign up for the Tender and Tempting Tales newsletter and receive a free romance story, titled It’s About Damn Time, that’s a teaser for the type of stories that will be found in the Moonlight and Margaritas anthology.  Head over to get your free copy of the story at Tender and Tempting Tales or clicking on the image.  You will be added to the list for updates on the anthology, information about participating authors (like me!), and more.  Thanks for your support.  As always, drop me a line from my contact page with any comments, questions or suggestions you may have.

Historical Fiction or Science Fiction?

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Historical Fiction or Science Fiction?

Wow, both of these choices encompass a large array of subgenres.  My favorite is historical romance, I’m a fan of Julie Garwood’s early works.  Her historical romance was usually set in, you guessed it, Scotland.  As you all know, I’m a huge fan of Scotland.  Her books are also very funny, the hero is usually the heroine, as in she tends to save herself (for the most part).

Science fiction is not really my bag, I’m not into space worlds or fantasy worlds, although I do like paranormal worlds.  Tell me, which do you like?  Historical or science fiction?  Tell me in the comments below.  Thanks for your feedback.

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