Tag Archive | Blog Tour

The Third Day of Christmas – Christi Barth

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…

A cocktail recipe. Hmm…

I admit that my recipe box isn’t bursting with recipes involving liquor. However, I have an awesome recipe for “Hot Buttered Rum” that I’m going to share with you. When I was little, Mom would fix me a “Hot Buttered.” I thought it was one of the finest winter treats that warmed me to the tips of my toes…even without the ‘kick.’

HOT BUTTERED RUM

Ingredients:

1 Standard size vanilla ice cream 1 Pound Butter 1 Pound Brown Sugar 1 Pound Powdered Sugar 2 tsp. Nutmeg 2 tsp. Cinnamon

Let ice cream and butter set at room temperature until soft. In large bowl, mix together with electric mixer. Add sugars and spices. Mix until smooth. Store in tight container in the freezer.

To prepare beverage, mix a jigger of rum with 2 tsp. batter and hot water. Of course, depending on the size of the mug you’re using, you may need to add more water, and possibly more rum. ENJOY!!

Perhaps a little ‘hot buttered’

Today my guest author is Christi Barth! And just in time for Christmas, she’s telling you all about her new release, “Tinsel My Heart.”
Tinsel My Heart by Christi Barth

Becca Huntley’s produced the Lyndale Park Player’s over-the-top Christmas pageant for ten years. The beloved Minneapolis tradition is the theatre’s main fundraiser. But this year’s production is almost canceled when their director disappears into rehab at the last minute. Good thing his directing partner steps in to save the day. Except for the minor fact that he hates everything about Christmas.

Jack Whittaker wiped the Twin Cities off his shoe with his graduation tassel and never looked back. But duty compels him to fulfill Tyler’s promise to direct the show. Even though it means working side-by-side with Becca, the girl he always wanted, lost to Ty, but never forgot.

It’ll take more than a few handfuls of tinsel to soften Jack’s heart toward Becca’s favorite holiday. Steamy kisses that melt the snow right off his boots are a step in the right direction. They’ll both discover that Christmas is about making each other’s dreams come true. But will doing so destroy their chance at a happily-ever-after together?

Buy Links: Amazon | B&N | Carina Press | iTunes | Kobo

As part of The 12 Days of Christmas celebration, Christi donated a complete ebook set of her Aisle Bound series to the prize list. Click HERE for this and many more random drawings. To follow the celebration, find a new recipe, pick up a holiday decorating or shopping tip, click HERE.

About the Author

Christi Barth earned a Masters degree in vocal performance and embarked upon a career on the stage. A love of romance then drew her to wedding planning. Ultimately she succumbed to her lifelong love of books and now writes contemporary romance. Christi is President of the Maryland Romance Writers and lives in Maryland with her husband.

The First Day of Christmas – Darcy Flynn

Dec14

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me …

A wonderful Christmas recipe and a fantastic author! Today is the start of our 12 day event. To start things, “sweet,” I’m sharing an old family recipe. These are the best sugar cookies you’ll ever eat! The secret, (yes, I’m telling!), nutmeg. Yum!

Swedish Sugar Cookies

4 Cups Flour 1 1/2 Cups Sugar 1/2 tsp. salt (optional) 1 tsp. soda 2 tsp. nutmeg

Cut in: 1 1/2 Cups shortening

Beat:

2 Eggs and combine with 1/2 Cup canned milk and 1 tsp. vanilla

Mix with dry ingredients. When I was a little girl and didn’t have the strength I do today, I used to have to get both hands in the mix and combine it by hand. Messy, but I enjoyed licking my fingers. Of course that was back in the time when eating raw cookie dough was okay. How times have changed!

Roll the dough very thin and cut with cookie cutters. Place on greased baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 5-8 minutes. Then the real fun begins! Here’s a photo of my decorated masterpieces! ENJOY!

Swedish Sugar Cookies

And now…something else very sweet. Or, I should say, someone sweet. My guest author today is Darcy Flynn. I’m happy to say that she’s a friend of mine, and a very accomplished author. She writes sweet romance and I know you’re going to love her!

Rogue’s Son by Darcy Flynn

Tough, driven Kit Kendall has replaced her frills and dresses with no nonsense haircuts and wranglers, years ago. As owner of Sage Brush, the once thriving west Texas bed and breakfast ranch, she now struggles daily to keep her business afloat. Since McCabe Resort Lodge reopened next door as a multi-million dollar hotel, her financial difficulties compound, as she suffers one cancellation after another.

Just when she thought things couldn’t get any worse, Kit’s childhood sweetheart turned nemesis returns as the new owner of the resort that’s now putting her out of business, resurrecting memories she thought she’d buried long ago.

Cowboy, entrepreneur Sam Dawson has returned to Sugar Creek, Texas after six years of exile with a secret that could destroy Kit’s happiness. He left town because of it and for the past two years has secretly tried to make it right. Having failed, he now returns to make one last attempt to undo the tangled web created by his father.

Set in motion by his father’s Last Will and Testament and with the clock ticking, Sam has only weeks to convince Kit to sell him her ranch or reveal the truth that will break her heart.

Pick up a copy today at Amazon.

As part of The 12 Days of Christmas celebration, Darcy donated a package full of author swag, paired with a $10 Amazon card from Jennifer Faye to the prize list. Click HERE for this and many more random drawings. To follow the celebration, find a new recipe, pick up a holiday decorating or shopping tip, click HERE.

About the Author

Joy Dent writes sweet contemporary romances as Darcy Flynn. Her life is a gumbo world. Take a little New Orleans heritage, some art, music, dance and add a lot of love and time to simmer and all you have is spice, flavor, and a memory of something so fine you can’t wait for another helping. Her fiction is a few B&Bs, a bit of moon magic and a lot of problems mixed with a healthy portion of sweet romance. Add a dash of sizzle and a lot of sass and all that’s left is magic.

A native of New Orleans, Darcy swapped her city roots for garden boots when she and her husband moved to their farm in Franklin, Tennessee, where Darcy is surrounded by her beautiful gardens and a menagerie of living creatures–English setters and Millie Fleur chickens, being her favorite.

Although, published in the Christian non-fiction market under her real name, Joy Dent, it was the empty nest that turned her to writing romantic fiction. A lover of lighthouses, Darcy’s first novel, Keeper Of My Heart, is set in a small Maryland fishing village on the Chesapeake Bay. Her short story, Sealed With a Kiss: Prequel to Keeper of My Heart is available on Amazon and Smashwords.

My Writing Process — the Blog Tour

Mar17

Being a member of Romance Writers of America, as well as my local chapter, Music City Romance Writers, brings unique opportunities my way. And today I am acting upon one of those opportunities!

Fellow member, Jody Wallace, is part of an ongoing blog tour that highlights each writer’s writing process. Please check out her blog at: http://meankittybox.blogspot.com. You will find her writing process blog on the March 10th posting. Jody is an author of paranormal, science fiction/fantasy, and contemporary romance, as well as a few other goodies as the mood strikes her. She is especially fond of cats and when she engaged me to participate in this tour and helped me tweak my blog page, she hinted that I may now see cats pop up in my posts unexpectedly. Hmm… Good thing I like cats!

So now it’s my turn to answer four simple questions about my writing process. I know that I have a number of other authors who follow my blog, so if you’d like to hop on board, send me a message.

Question 1: What am I working on?

I decided several months ago to take an enormous step into the world of self-publishing, and will be releasing “Marked” in late April. So, I am working on some deep revisions, and have already hired a cover artist and editor so that my book is the best it can be. Terrifying? Yes. Exciting? Most definitely! Please check out my “books” tab after you read this post and you can read my prologue. 🙂

Question 2: How does my work differ from others in its genre?

I initially thought I was writing ‘romance,’ and though my book is a love story it goes beyond the typical romantic elements needed to make it fall specifically into the romance genre. It has a happy ending, but the angst the characters go through makes it fall into the line of ‘women’s fiction.’ Also, I don’t know of anyone else right now who is writing a book that takes place on an 1850’s Mississippi River steamboat.

Question 3: Why do I write what I do?

I love history, research, and happy endings. I also love stories that have depth and plenty of emotion. I want my readers to feel something that will touch their hearts. And most of all, I love to step back in time and imagine what things could have been like. Books should take us on a journey, so that’s what I always try to accomplish with my writing.

Question 4: How does my writing process work?

Strange as it may seem…most of my ideas have come from dreams. Somehow ideas just pop into my head and I run with them. I always jot down my basic plot and know how the story will start and end, but the middle is always a mystery. My characters take on lives of their own and often lead me down new unexpected paths. That’s the fun part!

Next Monday, March 24th, another fellow writer will be posting her blog, so please check out her page.

Deanndra Hall is a working author living in far western Kentucky with her lovable partner of 32+ years and three weird little dogs. When she’s not writing, she’s probably in the gym, kayaking at a local national recreation area, or lunching with friends. She writes erotic romance and erotica, which embarrasses her two grown kids to no end, and has two ongoing series and two independent novels to her credit, with another series in the works. You can see what she’s up to on her blog at http://www.deanndrahall.blogspot.com.

WRITE ON!!

A cat…for Jody. 🙂

Jeanne Hardt

In the footsteps of the past…We, too, shall walk. Romance, Love, and so much more…