Monday, December 28, 2015

Different World, Different Rules, Can One Woman Change Her Future? #Mystery #ASMSG

Playing the What if game before writing this book.
I asked...

 
     What if a strong willed woman lived in a land where women are expected to find a mate, marry, and give up their career?  Marohka is lives in Lustralia, a distance land. She is doing important work for her country finding iron ore, but because of tradition she has to attend the Mating Ball. Here if a man approved by the council of elders ask for her hand in marriage she must meet him in a dueling ring.

     After attending the mating ball for the last eight years with no offers, Marohka has given up on the fantasy of having a husband and family. This her last year, she just wants it to be over. She has important matters to attend that require her attention.


     When she meets her mate in the first challenge in the dueling arena. She realizes her dream of having the life she planned is in jeopardy.




Blurb for "Mating Rituals"

With rock-hard fortitude, Marohka Taunton battles to maintain her position as top mineralogist and refuses to see why she should marry even if the law requires she take a mate. Fighting her attraction for Stihl Fermesium, she struggles to save her father's company.



Stihl, determined to win her as his mate, is faced with the commission deal of a lifetime and needs the money to save his family land. He wrestles with her emotional resistance and discovers someone other than Marohka is unhappy about their union. In fact, they want to separate them in the most basic of ways, death.



Visit my website and read the first chapter  http://www.tinagayle.net//mrchapter.html





On Sale 12/30 - 1/4
Purchase ebook at:

                
At Amazon


Have a wonderful day,

Tina

Monday, December 21, 2015

#HolidayRecipe and #Excerpt from Circles of Fate @psthib


Chicken Casserole

 

Another favorite dish my mother prepared for family functions. Fast and easy, this casserole is a great and different way to prepare chicken. Have leftover fried, baked or broiled chicken? Use a can of store bought broth and you’ve got a tasty way to serve them up!

 

Ingredients:

1 can of crescent roles

2 or 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 8 strips

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can of chicken broth

 

Optional:

1 small can or jar (or fresh) mushrooms added to broth/soup mix

Onions, celery, bell pepper or other seasonings, shredded cheese

 

Preparation:

Boil chicken breasts, let cool, cut into strips (may use precut chicken breast strips). Save 1 can of broth.

 

Heat soups stirring in broth until desired consistency obtained

 

Roll out uncooked crescent roll, place strip of chicken at widest point, re-roll until all 8 are used.

 

Place uncooked chicken-filled rolls in baking pan. Pour broth/soup mixture over; bake until golden brown according to instructions on can of crescent rolls. Add shredded cheese if desired.

 

*Recipe can easily be altered to fit number of guests. Add a green salad and you’ve got a full course meal.

 

Book to Feature:

Title: Circles of Fate




 

Blurb: Set at the tail end of the Vietnam War era, Circles of Fate takes the reader from Fort Benning, Georgia to Thibodaux, Louisiana. A romantic saga, this gripping novel covers nearly twenty years in the lives of Shaunna Chatman and Todd Jameson. Constantly thrown together and torn apart by fate, the two are repeatedly forced to choose between love and duty, right and wrong, standing on faith or succumbing to the world’s viewpoint on life, love, marriage and fidelity. With intriguing twists and turns, fate brings together a cast of characters whose lives will forever be entwined. Through it all is the hand of God as He works all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

 

Excerpt:

“What?” Todd Jameson’s hand trembled so hard the phone he held threatened to slip through his numb fingers. He wiped a sweaty palm down his thigh and grabbed the receiver then switched ears. The anguish in Mike Ferel’s voice made the pleasantries they shared the first few minutes of the call seem like a distant conversation.

“I’m sorry, Todd, to be the one to tell you this, especially after what you’ve been through this last year.”

He’d spent nine months at war, nine months facing and dealing with death, but not even those things prepared him for the death of his hopes and dreams in nine short minutes. “When?”

A heavy exhale preceded Mike’s answer. “Margaret died six months ago. Shaunna married three months after.”

She said she loved me. He hadn’t meant to utter the thought aloud, but somehow the words slipped past the knot in his throat.

“She cried a long time after you left, didn’t understand why you never wrote or called.”

Though his voice held no accusation, Todd heard the chastisement in Mike’s tone. “I...”

He blinked hard and cleared his throat. “What was I supposed to do, blurt out my feelings over the phone or in a letter and ask her to wait? I thought she was too young to go through that, especially with the war and all. Not knowing if, when, I’d get sent over there was hard enough on me; she didn’t need that on her heart. What if I didn’t come back? I couldn’t fathom putting her through such an ordeal. Not with all the responsibilities she shouldered from her mother’s illness.”

“I’m sorry.”

Todd raked a hand over his face. “Is she happy? Is he a good man?”

“Seems to be.”

 

Purchase Links:



Create Space: http://bit.ly/1qRN3cb



Smashwords: http://bit.ly/136qK7n

 

 

Author bio: Award-winning author, Pamela S. Thibodeaux is the Co-Founder and a lifetime member of Bayou Writers Group in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Multi-published in romantic fiction as well as creative non-fiction, her writing has been tagged as, “Inspirational with an Edge!” ™ and reviewed as “steamier and grittier than the typical Christian novel without decreasing the message.”



 

Links:

Website address: http://www.pamelathibodeaux.com  



Twitter: http://twitter.com/psthib @psthib

 
Thanks for sharing,


Tina

Thursday, December 17, 2015

#Authors, Have You Created Your Author Profile on BookBub? #books #readers @BookBub




As most of us know, Bookbub connects millions of readers with authors everyday with their featured book deals.


Now, they have add a feature which allows authors to have a profile page on their site. On the page, an author can put a short bio and list all their books on the site.


This gives readers the availability to follow their favorite authors and see all the books they have available for sales.


Once a reader follows an author they will get a special email whenever that author has a featured deal with Bookbub. This way even if they no longer receive Bookbub's newletter they will still be notified of the special deal. They are also looking at expanding this feature in the future where authors can communicate with readers and follow up with them after they download a book.


So have you add a profile page to bookbub?


Claim your page today at https://partners.bookbub.com/author_profile_claims/new


Once you have been approved you will receive an email with a link to your new page where you can add your bio and books.


Also, make sure to share your page with your fans.


Here's mine
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tina-gayle


Leave yours in the comment section and I'll make sure to follow you.


Tina


Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Fun #Christmas Facts - Enjoy the Holidays

Christmas wasn't a holiday in early America—in fact Congress was in session on December 25, 1789, the country's first Christmas under the new constitution.

christmas photo: merry christmas 2 christmas.jpg

Christmas was declared a federal holiday in the United States on June 26, 1870.

The first eggnog made in the United States was consumed in Captain John Smith's 1607 Jamestown settlement.

Check out more fun facts on http://www.history.com/news/christmas-traditions-past-and-present





Seeing as my children won't be home for the holidays. I don't put up a tree. Instead, we enjoy the season by decorating with a few choice items.


Makes for a much quicker clean up and still puts us in the holiday mood.


Hope you have a wonderful holiday season,
Tina

Monday, December 14, 2015

Lyn O'Farrell Shares a #HolidayRecipe and #BoxSet Hearts and Heroes

The holidays are almost upon us, which means lots of opportunities to overeat! Holiday potlucks are a staple of the season, and if you’re looking for an easy recipe, I have one to share. Like me, it’s a little sweet and a little tart, fairly low-calorie, dairy free, nut free and gluten free. (Unless you doctor it up, that is.)


Lyndi's Cranberry-Blueberry Delight

Ingredients:
1 14 oz. can of Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce
1 package of fresh small blueberries (about 4 oz.)
1 cup of golden raisins

Mix, chill and serve. That's it!

The recipe serves 8-10 ladies. (The attached photo doesn't reflect the full recipe. It's what is left over after a couple of days of snacking on it.) I’ve also spread it on turkey sandwiches in lieu of regular cranberry sauce.

Since it's so simple, it's easy to experiment. Add nuts for crunch or sweeten to taste, if it's too tart. I'm thinking about adding some of those little marshmallows next time for color and sweetness.

And if you’re looking for a bargain boxed set for holiday reading, may I suggest Hearts and Heroes?

What do a cowboy, a biker, a pilot, a P.I. and a race-car driver have in common? They are the heroes of the new Hearts and Heroes Boxed Set of Five Contemporary Romances.


Books included:
THE COLTON CREEK COWBOY by Patricia Thayer
On the run… and right into a cowboy’s arms.
Stalked by an ex-boyfriend, Tori Slater escapes to the family’s homestead cabin in Wyoming where she meets the property’s caretaker. An ex-cop, Logan McNely wants a solitary life so he can forget his past, but finds he’s now protecting this intriguing woman. To save Tori, he has to save himself first before they can have a future together.
THE BAD BOY NEXT DOOR by Mindy Neff
She's thirty, single and on a husband hunt and her bad boy neighbor is definitely not on her list!
Hallie Fortune wanted to marry a safe, boy-next-door type of man. Her real neighbor, bad boy, ex-Marine, single-parent, Cody Brock, would never do. But suddenly, every time she had a date, Cody was there--at her house, at the restaurant, even at the grocery store! If Hallie didn't know better, she'd think Cody was sabotaging her husband hunt. And bringing his baby daughter along as an accomplice.
THAT WILDER MAN by Gillian Doyle
Max is back to save his hometown from a flood, only to be confronted by his past and the woman who betrayed him.
As teenagers, Max "Wildman" Wilder and his girlfriend Liza Jane had raised their share of hell--in town and in bed. Then Liza Jane betrayed him. Now richer and wiser, Max has come home. But he had no intention of giving Liza Jane another chance to break his heart.
THE RELUCTANT NERD by Sandra Paul
Going undercover can change a man in unexpected ways...
Concerned about nerdy Simon Primes' total lack of confidence, scientist Ernestine St. Bennett is determined to enhance his masculinity--and thus his social ease--by applying the principles used in her studies of fish. Little does Ernie know Simon is really Sam Pierce in disguise...and that no enhancement is needed!
WORTH THE RISK by Lyn O'Farrell
A publicity-shy librarian falls for a sexy single dad with a scandalous past, but is love Worth the Risk?
Children's librarian Amanda Lloyd values privacy above all else… until she meets a sexy single dad with a scandalous past.
Ex-racer Mitch Delaney’s life has been plastered across the tabloids more than once. But he believes that anything worth doing is worth a risk, and he wants Amanda in his life. Can he convince her to take a chance on love?
Buy links:




About The Author:

Lyn O'Farrell is the writing team of Anne Farrell and Linda McLaughlin. Their romance novel, WORTH THE RISK, was a finalist in RWA's prestigious Golden Heart contest and was first published in paperback under the title PRIVATE AFFAIR by Kensington Precious Gems. Anne and Linda live in sunny Southern California, the inspiration for the fictional town of Santa Elena.

Connect with them online:


Linda’s website: http://lindalyndi.com

Anne’s website: http://annefarrellwriter.com

Thanks Lyn for sharing,

Tina

Friday, December 11, 2015

From Here to 14th Street by @DianaLRubino #Historical #Romance

 photo GrandmaWedding_zpsjjp18hsq.jpg
HOW FROM HERE TO FOURTEENTH STREET WAS BORN

 

New York City’s history always fascinated me—how it became the most powerful hub in the world from a sprawling wilderness in exchange for $24 with Native Americans by the Dutch in 1626.

 

Growing up in Jersey City, I could see the Statue of Liberty from our living room window if I leaned way over (luckily I didn’t lean too far over). As a child model, I spent many an afternoon on job interviews and modeling assignments in the city, and got hooked on Nedick’s, a fast food chain whose orange drinks were every kid’s dream. Even better than the vanilla egg creams. We never drove to the city—we either took the PATH (Port Authority Trans Hudson) train (‘the tube’ in those days) or the bus through the Lincoln Tunnel to the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

 

My great grandmother, Josephine Arnone, “Josie Red” to her friends, because of her abundant head of red hair, was way ahead of her time. Born in 1895 (but it could’ve been sooner, as she was known to lie about her age), she left grade school, became a successful businesswoman and a Jersey City committewoman, as well as a wife and mother of four. She owned apartment buildings, parking garages, a summer home, did a bit of Prohibition-era bootlegging, small-time loan-sharking, and paid cash for everything. When I began outlining From Here to Fourteenth Street, I modeled my heroine, Vita Caputo, after her. Although the story is set in New York the year before Grandma was born, I was able to bring Vita to life by calling on the family legends and stories, all word of mouth, for she never kept a journal.

 

Vita’s hero Tom McGlory isn’t based on any real person, but I did a lot of reading about Metropolitan Policemen and made sure he was the complete opposite! He’s trustworthy and would never take a bribe or graft. I always liked the name McGlory—then, years after the book first came out, I remembered that was the name of my first car mechanic—Ronnie McGlory.

 

I completed the book in 1995, and my then-publisher, Domhan Books, published it under the title I Love You Because. The Wild Rose Press picked it up after I gave it many revisions and overhauls. My editor Nan Swanson did a fabulous job making the prose sparkle.

 

CHANGING THE TITLE

 

When I proposed the story to Wild Rose, I wanted to change the title, since it went through so many revisions. I wanted to express Vita’s desire to escape the Lower East Side and move farther uptown. I considered Crossing 14th Street, but it sounded too much like Crossing Delancey. After a few more hits and misses, the title hit me—as all really fitting titles do.

 

A BIT OF BACKGROUND—WHAT WAS 1894 NEW YORK CITY LIKE?

 

The Metropolitan Police was a hellhole of corruption, and nearly every cop, from the greenest rookie to the Chief himself, was a dynamic part of what made the wheels of this great machine called New York turn. 

The department was in cahoots with the politicians, all the way up to the mayor's office. Whoever wasn't connected enough to become a politician became a cop in this city. They were paid off in pocket-bulging wads of cash to look the other way when it came to building codes, gambling, prostitution, every element it took to keep this machine gleaming and efficient. They oiled the machine and kept it running with split-second precision. The ordinary hardworking, slave-wage earning citizen didn't have a chance around here. Tom McGlory and his father were two of a kind, and two of a sprinkling of cops who were cops for the right reasons. They left him alone because he was a very private person; he didn't have any close friends, he confided in no one. He could've made a pocket full of rocks as a stoolie, more than he could by jumping in the fire with the rest of them, but he couldn't enjoy spending it if he'd made it that way. They knew it and grudgingly respected him for it. He was here for one reason--his family was here. If they went, he went. As long as they needed him, here he was. Da would stop grieving for his wife when he stopped breathing. Since Tom knew he was the greatest gift she gave Da, he would never let his father down.

 

 photo FromHeretoFourteenthCover20Custom_zpswr5ja4yd.jpg
READ ABOUT FROM HERE TO FOURTEENTH STREET AND HOW VITA FINDS LOVE AND SUCCESS AGAINST ALL ODDS:

 

It's 1894 on New York's Lower East Side. Irish cop Tom McGlory and Italian immigrant Vita Caputo fall in love despite their different upbringings. Vita goes from sweatshop laborer to respected bank clerk to reformer, helping elect a mayor to beat the Tammany machine. While Tom works undercover to help Ted Roosevelt purge police corruption, Vita's father arranges a marriage between her and a man she despises. As Vita and Tom work together against time and prejudice to clear her brother and father of a murder they didn't commit, they know their love can survive poverty, hatred, and corruption. Vita is based on my great grandmother, who left grade school to become a self-made businesswoman and politician, wife and mother.

 

AN EXCERPT:

 

As Vita gathered her soap and towel, Madame Branchard tapped on her door. "You have a gentleman caller, Vita. A policeman."

"Tom?" His name lingered on her lips as she repeated it. She dropped her things and crossed the room.

"No, hon, not him. Another policeman. Theodore something, I think he said."

No. There can't be anything wrong. "Thanks," she whispered,  nudging Madame Branchard aside. She descended the steps, gripping the banister to support her wobbly legs. Stay calm! she warned herself. But of course it was no use; staying calm just wasn't her nature.

“Theodore something” stood before the closed parlor door. He’s a policeman? Tall and hefty, a bold pink shirt peeking out of a buttoned waistcoat and fitted jacket, he looked way out of place against the dainty patterned wallpaper.

He removed his hat. "Miss Caputo." He strained to keep his voice soft as he held out a piece of paper. “I’m police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt.”

"Yes?" Her voice shook.

"I have a summons for you, Miss Caputo." He held it out to her. But she stood rooted to that spot.

He stepped closer and she took it from him, unfolding it with icy fingers. Why would she be served with a summons? Was someone arresting her now for something she didn't do?

A shot of anger tore through her at this system, at everything she wanted to change. She flipped it open and saw the word "Summons" in fancy script at the top. Her eyes widened with each sentence as she read. “I can’t believe what I’m seeing.”

I hereby order Miss Vita Caputo to enter into holy matrimony with Mr. Thomas McGlory immediately following service of this summons.

 

 

 

From Romantic Times:

Immigrant Vita Caputo escapes New York’s Italian ghetto and secures a job in a Wall Street bank, along with a room in a Greenwich Village boarding house, thanks to Irish police officer Tom McGlory. With her new beginning, Vita even joins the Industrial reform movement.

Tom is an honest cop, with little interest in women until he meets Vita. When Tom’s cousin is murdered and Vita’s father and brother are arrested for the crime, the two team up to investigate and soon discover that they are falling in love.

Vita and Tom face economic problems, prejudice, and cultural differences. Ms. Rubino’s research is obvious.—Kathe Robin

From Rhapsody Magazine:

FROM HERE TO 14th STREET by Diana Rubino is all that and then some. Everything about this book is what writing should be--original and wonderfully executed. Bravo!—Karen L. Williams 

From Book Nook Romance Reviews:

Diana Rubino has done a masterful job of researching the life of Italian and Irish immigrants in turn-of-the-century New York, its society and politics and crime. She paints a vivid picture of the degradation immigrants of Italian descent suffered, particularly at the hands of the earlier Irish immigrants they succeeded. Barred from all but the most menial jobs, forced to live crammed into the worst slums, she makes it easy for the reader to understand why many of them turned to a life of crime and violence. Not only can the reader see what Vita and Tom see, they can smell it, hear it, and taste it.

Vita is a delightful heroine, as full of vivid life as the city she lives in. Stubborn, determined to escape the ghetto in which she lives and make something of herself, she never loses her commitment to and love for her family. That very devotion, however, threatens her growing relationship with Tom, since the Irish and Italians are the Capulets and Montagues of 19th century Manhattan. Although she cannot help falling deeply in love with him, she knows that her father and brothers will never permit her to spend her life with him. And, in a departure from the usual super-masculine hero, Tom is a sensitive, secret poet as well as a cop.

If you like vivid characters and a book that carries you effortlessly back to an earlier time, FROM HERE TO 14th STREET is a good choice. –Elizabeth Burton

MORE ABOUT THE LOWER EAST SIDE:
 
One fascinating place to visit is the Lower East Side Tenement Museum
at 97 Orchard Street, once an actual tenement. They have tours describing life as it was back then, with each floor of the building decorated (if you want to call it ‘decorated’) to depict each time period when immigrants lived there.
 
I read a lot of books to research this story. One book I remember reading as a kid is How The Other Half Lives by Jacob Riis, a photographer and reformer of the time. The photos in his 1901 book vividly illustrate the poverty and deprivation of the times, for adults and children alike.
 
 

ABOUT ME:

 

My passion for history and travel has taken me to every locale of my stories, set in Medieval and Renaissance England, Egypt, the Mediterranean, colonial Virginia, New England, and New York. My urban fantasy romance, FAKIN’ IT, won a Top Pick award from Romantic Times. I’m a member of Romance Writers of America, the Richard III Society and the Aaron Burr Association. I live on Cape Cod with my husband Chris. In my spare time, I bicycle, golf, play my piano and devour books of any genre. Visit me at www.dianarubino.com, www.DianaRubinoAuthor.blogspot.com, https://www.facebook.com/DianaRubinoAuthor, and on Twitter @DianaLRubino.

 

Purchase FROM HERE TO FOURTEENTH STREET

 

 


 


 


 

 

Monday, December 7, 2015

Welcome Diana Rubino Sharing a #HolidayRecipe and Excerpt

Christmas treats
Photo by belchonock from depositphotos.com
Diana Rubino is here today to share her grandmother’s #HolidayRecipe for Strufoli (Italian for honey balls) and to tell us about her historical novel set in Turn of the Century New York. The honey balls look delicious!
Can anDR-FromHeretoFourteenthStreetSmaller Italian sweatshop worker aWnd an Irish cop fall in love on Manhattan’s Lower East Side in 1894? The answer is a big YES, and once they’re enjoying wedded bliss in their Greenwich Village brownstone, they spend their first Christmas together feasting on her Strufoli! (Italian for honey balls).
In FROM HERE TO FOURTEENTH STREET it’s 1894 on New York’s Lower East Side. Irish cop Tom McGlory and Italian immigrant Vita Caputo fall in love despite their different upbringings. Vita goes from sweatshop laborer to respected bank clerk to reformer, helping elect a mayor to beat the Tammany machine. While Tom works undercover to help Ted Roosevelt purge police corruption, Vita’s father arranges a marriage between her and a man she despises. As Vita and Tom work together against time and prejudice to clear her brother and father of a murder they didn’t commit, they know their love can survive poverty, hatred, and corruption. Vita is based on my great grandmother, who left third grade to become a self-made businesswoman and politician, wife and mother.
Vita’s hero Tom McGlory isn’t based on any real person, but I did a lot of reading about Metropolitan Policemen and made sure he was the complete opposite! He’s trustworthy and would never take a bribe or graft.
Pre-order FROM HERE TO FOURTEENTH STREET in paperback from The Wild Rose Press.
Or buy an e-book from Amazon Kindle.
DR-HoneyBalls
Here’s Vita’s Honey Balls recipe:
When my grandparents came from Naples and landed at Ellis Island in the early 1900s they brought many recipes with them, but only in their heads. No one brought cookbooks or written recipes on the boat along with their possessions. A favorite Christmas treat is Struffoli, better known as Honey Balls. One Christmas when I was a kid, I watched my grandmother make them and scribbled down the ingredients as she sifted and mixed and baked and drizzled. Here’s an accurate recipe in English!
Ingredients
Dough:
•2 cups flour, plus extra for dusting
•1 large lemon, zested (about 2 teaspoons)
•1/2 large orange, zested (about 2 teaspoons)
•3 tablespoons sugar
•1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
•1/4 teaspoon baking powder
•1/2 stick (2 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, at room temperature
•3 large eggs
•1 tablespoon white wine, such as pinot grigio
•1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
•Canola oil, for frying
•1 cup honey
•1/2 cup sugar
•1 tablespoon lemon juice
•1 1/2 cups hazelnuts, toasted (see Cook’s Note)
•Vegetable oil cooking spray
•Sugar sprinkles, for decoration
•Powdered sugar, for dusting, optional

Directions

For the dough: In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together 2 cups of flour, lemon zest, orange zest, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add the eggs, wine, and vanilla. Pulse until the mixture forms into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Cut the dough into 4 equal-sized pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each piece of dough until 1/4-inch thick. Cut each piece of dough into 1/2-inch wide strips. Cut each strip of pastry into 1/2-inch pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a small ball about the size of a hazelnut. Lightly dredge the dough balls in flour, shaking off any excess. In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, pour enough oil to fill the pan about a third of the way. Heat over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil reaches 375 degrees F. (If you don’t have a thermometer a cube of bread will brown in about 3 minutes.). In batches, fry the dough until lightly golden, about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. (The rested and quartered dough can also be rolled on a floured work surface into 1/2-inch thick logs and cut into equal-sized 1/2-inch pieces. The dough pieces can then be rolled into small balls and fried as above).
In a large saucepan, combine the honey, sugar, and lemon juice over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the fried dough and hazelnuts and stir until coated in the honey mixture. Allow the mixture to cool in the pan for 2 minutes.
Spray the outside of a small, straight-sided water glass with vegetable oil cooking spray and place in the center of a round platter. Using a large spoon or damp hands, arrange the struffoli and hazelnuts around the glass to form a wreath shape. Drizzle any remaining honey mixture over the struffoli. Allow to set for 2 hours (can be made 1 day in advance). Decorate with sprinkles and dust with powdered sugar, if using. Remove the glass from the center of the platter and serve.
Note: To toast the hazelnuts, arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven until lightly toasted, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool completely before using.
Total Time: 4 hr 12 min
Prep: 1 hr 30 min
Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Friday, December 4, 2015

#HolidayRecipe for Pineapple Haupia and a #NewRelease Strange Markings


 photo pineapple haupia_zpswzdn1fnf.png
Pineapple Haupia

Haupia is a traditional dessert at Hawaiian style Luau feast.

 

Ingredients

1-1/2 c. coconut milk

1/1/2 c. water

1/2 c. +2 TB sugar

1/2c. +2 TB cornstarch

1 c. crushed pineapple, drained

In a sauce pan over medium heat, combine coconut milk, water, sugar and cornstarch, stir until thickened. lower heat, continue to cook 5-10 minutes. Transfer mixture to 8-inch pan. Stir in pineapple. Refrigerate until set about 2 hours.

To serve, cut into 2-inch squares. Serves 8-10



STRANGE MARKINGS
by
Janet Elizabeth Lynn and Will Zeilinger
Summary
The Pacific breezes blow many things in from the ocean, this time its power, greed, and murder. At the dawn of the television age in 1955, Skylar Drake is called to identify the remains of a fellow movie stuntman found buried in a shallow grave. While there he is shown mysterious wounds and strange tattoos on two additional bodies.
A wealthy Bel Air matron sends her enticing niece to enlist Drake’s help in locating a missing nephew. The search takes him back to pre-statehood Hawaii where he stopped off on his way to the hell of the Korean War. Unexplained deaths, politics and superstitious locals turn the tropical paradise into a nightmare where nothing is what it seems and no one can be trusted.  

 

When they met it was murder... like a real Hart to Hart. Authors Janet Elizabeth Lynn and her husband Will Zeilinger just released the second novel in the Skylar Drake Mystery series, Strange Markings, a Noir mystery set in 1950's. They have been writing separately for over a decade and have two more Skylar Drake Mysteries in the works
Contact information:  www.janetlynnauthor.com

                                   www.willzeilingerauthor.com

Will have to try out this recipe,


Tina

Thursday, December 3, 2015

A #NewRelease by Janet Elizabeth Lynn and Will Zeilinger - Strange Markings #Mystery



STRANGE MARKINGS
by
Janet Elizabeth Lynn and Will Zeilinger
Summary
The Pacific breezes blow many things in from the ocean, this time its power, greed, and murder. At the dawn of the television age in 1955, Skylar Drake is called to identify the remains of a fellow movie stuntman found buried in a shallow grave. While there he is shown mysterious wounds and strange tattoos on two additional bodies.
A wealthy Bel Air matron sends her enticing niece to enlist Drake’s help in locating a missing nephew. The search takes him back to pre-statehood Hawaii where he stopped off on his way to the hell of the Korean War. Unexplained deaths, politics and superstitious locals turn the tropical paradise into a nightmare where nothing is what it seems and no one can be trusted.  

Excerpt:


We met them at the Coroner’s office and waited for the Medical Examiner to get back from lunch.  Casey called the hospital, Bev had gone home.  He called his house, no answer.  “I’m not worried,” he said.  His eyes said otherwise.

I hadn’t been down here in a long time.  Yep, the same frigid air, smell of alcohol and bleach have never left my mind.  The door swung open and Dr. Harold Logue came in wiping his mouth with a paper towel.  I remember he always ate at the most inopportune times, “Hey Drake and Dolan, LAPD’s two best detectives.  Nice to see both of you.” Logue was an old timer.  We worked a lot of cases with him.  He put his arms on our shoulders, “Sure miss working with you two geniuses.  I could never figure out how you caught all the bad guys.  These youngsters they got in here now are...” He stopped when he saw the young FBI agents standing by the wall.  “Oops, sorry.  No offense,”  and shook their hands.

Agent Miller kept hold of Dr. Logue’s hand and said, ”We're here to see the remains of Ted Stone.”

“Yes sure, come this way,” Logue said.

He had the bones laid out on the table, a complete skeleton.  How was I suppose to ID the remains of Teddy from this?

“I don’t know if this will help you,” Agent Tanner said,  “but here are the clothes we found, his accessories and wallet.”

The clothes looked like his.  I knew him as a rather classy dresser when he wasn’t working. 

“We found a hundred dollar bill hidden in the wallet.” Miller remarked

“You can’t trace the bill?”

He shook his head, “We tried, nothing.”

I knew Teddy well enough to know he didn’t carry so much cash around.  “He was a Las Vegas hound.  We’d get paid.  He’d go to Vegas and blow the wad, all of it - then come back broke.  He was a real gambler and big with the ladies.  I’m not surprised he had that much cash, but he seldom carried it around.  He either banked it or lost it.”

“And the clothes?” Agent Miller lifted his pencil from his notepad to point at the clothing spread on a different table.  Dolan and I spent time looking at what they found. “Shirt, tie, suit, vest, socks, pants.  It was all there.”

“What about these?” Tanner asked.

 

When they met it was murder... like a real Hart to Hart. Authors Janet Elizabeth Lynn and her husband Will Zeilinger just released the second novel in the Skylar Drake Mystery series, Strange Markings, a Noir mystery set in 1950's. They have been writing separately for over a decade and have two more Skylar Drake Mysteries in the works
Contact information:  www.janetlynnauthor.com

                                   www.willzeilingerauthor.com

Thanks for telling us about your new release,

Tina