Welcome! Today is a celebration. My fourth book, my second romantic suspense novel, came out yesterday, and I have a week-long party planned! I hope I get to meet some new readers, and maybe a few old friends, as well.
First off, let me tell you a little about myself. I’m a reader, as well as a writer. I love to read historical romance and romantic suspense. I used to buy my books or go to the library; now I have a Kindle, with way more books on it than I should. While I like print books (and their smell, if that isn’t too weird), my Kindle makes packing a book wherever I go a snap. Which do you prefer, print books or digital?
I’ve always liked to write. Being a former middle school English teacher, I guess that goes with the territory. It wasn’t until my sons grew up that I began dabbling in writing my own romances. I eventually found an online writing site, Wattpad, and grew my audience there. In fact, they were the ones who encouraged me to get my scribblings published. I’m so glad I listened, because now four of my books from there are published, with a possibility of three more in the wings!
If I’m not writing or reading, I’m taking walks with my husband of thirty-four years, and my five-year-old Sheltie, Scooter. We live in SoCal, Orange County, to be exact, and right now the weather is perfect for long walks.
I also like to bake. I make a mean apple pie, though my signature dessert has to be my gingerbread men at Christmas. They are a two-day labor of love, but oh, so worth it! In fact, here’s the recipe, and a picture of the final result.
Gingerbread Boys
Mix thoroughly: 1/3 C. soft butter or margarine
- 1 C. brown sugar, packed
- 1 1/2 C. dark molasses
- Slowly stir in: 2/3 C. cold water
- Sift together & stir in: 7 C. sifted flour
- 2 tsp. soda
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. allspice
- 1 tsp. ginger
- 1 tsp. cloves (ground)
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
Cake decorating icing tubes (for later): 2 red, 2 white, 2 green
Chill dough a couple hours
Roll out very thick (1/2”). Use gingerbread boy cookie cutter. With a spatula, carefully transfer gingerbread boys to lightly greased sheet. Bake. Cool slightly, then carefully remove from baking sheet. Allow to cool. (I wait overnight). With cake decorating icing (I use Betty Crocker or Cake Mate, but you can make your own), make hat, eyes, mouth, tie, cuffs, belt & buckle, shoes, buttons, and any other designs. You may use candies and raisins instead of icing.
Temp: 350?
Time: about 15 min.
Hint: If you do happen to bake these a bit too long and they get crunchy, you can slice up an apple and put a few pieces in with the cookies overnight in their air-tight container. This will soften up the cookies to the perfect consistency!
While I’m a reader, my husband is a movie fan. He loves action/adventure, but he’s a closet romantic at heart. We watch Hallmark movies together, believe it or not! Every time one comes on, he grouses, “They all have the same plot: boy meets girl, boy gets girl, boy messes it up, boy makes up and they live happily ever after.” And then he sits through the whole show, commenting and making predictions like the characters are real people. I should record him sometime, just so I can share with readers like you.
Another activity I enjoy is puttering in the garden. I don’t say ‘gardening,’ because I’m not very good at that, but I do trim and prune, and fertilize. And cut flowers. I love cut flowers in the house! I always have a vase in the bathroom, and on the kitchen table. I find other places around the house when my garden is in full bloom. My favorite flowers are roses and sweet peas. They both fill a room to bursting with rich aroma. What are your favorite flowers? Do you like them in the yard, or do you cut them and bring them in the house, like me?
And finally, I’m a dog person. Not just any dog, mind you. My dog, Scooter. As I said before, he’s a five-year-old Sheltie, and he’s the first dog (we’ve owned three over the years) who loves me. The others tolerated me because I was the one who fed them, but Scooter treats me like master. He races past everyone to see me in the morning, he follows me around the house, and lays by me while I write. I love him to pieces, and he knows it. Are you a dog or a cat person? I’d love to see photos!
Now that you know a little about me, I’d like to share my books with you. Undercover with the Nanny has two of my favorite characters in it, Kate Munroe and Sawyer Hayes. Their chemistry will burn your fingers right off the page. I really, really enjoyed creating them, as well as their story. Here’s the blurb, a great excerpt, and the buy link. After reading them, I hope you’ll pick it up.
