Tor Sweepstakes and Lifestyle Magazine
I know some of you have been waiting for a giveaway of some sort. Here’s your chance! Over on the Tor.com blog, you can comment to win one of three copies of The Clockwork Dagger! (Limited to USA and Canadian addresses only, unfortunately.) This only runs through August 29th, so go comment! And please, spread the word.
Also, I’m thrilled that Lifestyle Magazine back home has published an article about me.
The paper magazine is distributed around the Visalia, California area. My parents are already plotting the 20 minute drive to get their own own copy plus a few more, for bragging purposes. You can also view the full magazine online; my article is page 54-56.
Sunday Quote goes boom
Read More“I use my book like dynamite. I place it where I want the explosion to take place, and then I blast my way through with it!”
~Anais Nin
C.E. Murphy’s Fantasy Fudge
Let’s be honest. I’m a C.E. Murphy fangirl. I found her books back when I was starting to write again and I really really wanted to be published. I learned how to write 1st person by reading her Walker Papers urban fantasy series. Through a conversation about fudge (yes, really!) she ended up blurbing The Clockwork Dagger. (I’ll talk more about that on Bready or Not this coming Wednesday in a post I’ve had scheduled for months.)
After the recent Kickstarter potato salad incident, she decided to do a fudge fundraiser via Indiegogo. I have eaten her maple and maple-ginger fudges–mailed all the way from Ireland to Arizona–and it is the kind of stuff that makes the heavens open up and angels sing and you don’t give a damn about the calorie content of what you’re eating, because ****FUDGE.*****
The Fantasy Fudge event is in its final hours. Go take a look at the goodies involved. For $5, you get a bunch of fudge recipes. The woman knows her stuff. I’m really hoping the funds cross the $5k mark so that she writes a story about her character Joanne trying to make fudge.
Read MoreChicken Soup for the Soul: The Cat Did What?
This Tuesday, Chicken Soup for the Soul released a new book that contains two of my stories. I’ve submitted more than one story to several of their books, but this is the first time I had more than one accepted!
Two years ago my cat Palom quickly succumbed to cancer. I’m thinking of him all the time right now, even having nightmares about him and his diagnosis. I hope this dark aspect isn’t something I have to cope with every August and September from here on, but it’s something I’m dealing with now, for sure.
Fortunately, my stories in this book are about brighter times with my obnoxious, outgoing cat. I tell the story about how we adopted Palom and Porom during the early days of marriage when we were dirt poor Navy folk. My other story focuses on Palom and how one day he busted through the barrier of autism to have fun with Critter.
I have a whole bunch of copies of this book, so if anyone wants to buy a signed copy, just drop a comment or contact me through other means. It’s also available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
If you have a kitty, go give’em a scritch. Love them while you can.
Read MoreBready or Not: Chewy Oatmeal White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
A year ago, I shared my favorite Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Aren’t they pretty?
I decided to do a remix of this same recipe but with white chocolate chips and cranberries. See, I had major writing deadlines coming up and I wanted to have reliable dough stashed away in the freezer so I had emergency cookie dough.
Yes, emergency cookie dough. This is totally a thing.
I prepped the dough by scooping it and freezing it on a cookie sheet and wax paper. Then I bagged it all and stashed it in the deep freeze.
Three months later, I baked it.
I took the dough straight from the freezer. I watched it bake because I really wasn’t sure how long it would need. The dough didn’t expand at all, so halfway through I used the bottom of a glass to smush them flatter. The batches ended up taking thirteen to sixteen minutes.
My reliable cookie dough was indeed reliable. The white chocolate cranberry cookies ended up chewy and amazing, just like the original version.
Bready or Not: Chewy Oatmeal White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup butter melted
- 1 cup packed brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat, or use seasoned stoneware.
- Melt butter and let cool slightly.
- Mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the cinnamon, vanilla, egg, and egg yolk for 2-3 minutes until light and creamy. Mix in the flour mixture. Add the oats, white chocolate, and cranberries. Mix until just blended.
- Using a tablespoon scoop, place dough balls on pan. Bake for 10-13 minutes, until the edges are slightly brown and the middle is still soft. Let the cookies rest on the cookie sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Note: Scoop and freeze the dough for months. Bake it straight out of the freezer for 13-16 minutes; dough may need to be flattened halfway through if the cookies don't expand.
OM NOM NOM.
