Saturday, November 12, 2016

Domesticated Turkeys are too Fat by Paty Jager

photo by my cousin
Did you know that wild turkeys can fly but domesticated ones can't? Yep.

The domesticated turkeys have been bred to be heavier so they can't take off from the ground. The wild turkeys also can fly up to 55 miles per hour and can run 25 miles per hour. while all the fat domestic turkeys can do is waddle fast. Though, when I was a child, we had an old Tom turkey that would put me back in the house faster than you could say, Tom. I thought he was a pretty fast runner!

Wild turkeys make very little noise. They don't want to attract predators. The domesticated turkeys make lots of noise because the only thing they have to fear is Thanksgiving.

With all this turkey talk I thought I share a recipe that was taught to my mom by her best friend. Both of these wonderful talented women are no longer with us but I remember many a Saturday after Thanksgiving when they would be drinking wine, laughing, and preparing turkey enchiladas from the left over Thanksgiving turkey. The best part about this recipe is it's a fit all recipe. You use whatever amount of turkey you have and add the ingredients to give you a good blend.

Turkey Enchiladas

Left over turkey - however much you have.
Chopped onion
Shredded cheddar cheese
Chopped olives
Enchilada sauce
Corn tortillas

Like I said above you make as much as you have turkey for, or you want. I would say one cup of meat would make about four enchiladas.

Shred the turkey into a large bowl. Add one to two chopped onion depending on how much turkey you have. Add one to two cans of chopped olives. After the three ingredients are mixed, add one to three cups of shredded cheese. This depends on how cheesy you like them and how far you need the meat to go.

Warm the enchilada sauce in a frying pan. Dip a corn tortilla in the sauce, place in a glass baking dish, add a 1/3 cup of the turkey mix and roll up, sliding to the back of the dish. Do this until you have filled the dish. Pour the remaining warm enchilada sauce over the top of the rolled up tortillas.

Place in oven at 375 degrees and back for 30-45 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly.  Enjoy with sour cream and guacamole.

That is the tip of my hat to Thanksgiving.

I have a Christmas mystery releasing Nov. 15th, but you can pre-order it now.

Yuletide Slaying


Book 7 of the Shandra Higheagle mystery series

Family, Revenge, Murder
When Shandra Higheagle’s dog brings her a dead body in a sleigh full of presents, her world is turned upside down. The man is a John Doe and within twenty-four hours another body is found.

Detective Ryan Greer receives a call that has them both looking over their shoulders. A vengeful brother of a gang member who died in a gang war is out for Ryan’s blood. Shandra’s dreams and Ryan’s fellow officers may not be enough to keep them alive to share Christmas.

Buy Links:  Amazon / Nook / Apple / Kobo  




Paty Jager writes murder mysteries and steamy romance starring cowboys and Indians.
blog / websiteFacebook / Paty's Posse / Goodreads / Twitter / Pinterest


Photos: Terri Norman Lockwood Cole and me

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

BOOK SCAMS

By Mary Adair 

Another Google Alert hit my inbox. It is amazing how my books are so popular on sites like https://www.flowerfun.net/signup?sf=eone , another site I did not give permission to give my books away. This site offers a “Free” membership with the promise, for supplying the required validation of your account, “Validate Account …Your credit card will NOT be charged for validating your account.” Makes me want to shout out…”Are you kidding??? You take content from authors without permission, while asking people to trust you not to use their credit card information??
Book pirates are an author's
worst enemy

Of course there are pretty tough penalties against using a person’s credit card without permission. But then again, if the CC number is “given” away by the owner to a site that has no qualms about freely giving away or selling author’s work without compensation or permission, maybe there would be a loophole…

I would be impressed if the people reading books by joining one of these sites that send out unlimited titles for “Free” or for a “low membership fee” without compensating the author of the work, would at least thank the author for the enjoyable “read” by going to sites like www.goodreads.com and leaving a review. If the reader didn’t mention the site that provided the creative works without permission of the author, no one would know they obtained the work by bypassing the author and the review would be a nice “Thank you” to the author.

I personally believe most members of these sites are fans of the authors they read and do not realize how they hurt the authors by supporting sites that distribute these creative works of art into which their creators pour their hearts and souls for the enjoyment of their readers and fans. 

Sunday, November 6, 2016

All's Fair in Writing

By Carolyn Hector

I’m kind of at a crossroads with writing. There’s NaNoWriMo going on this month (anyone doing it? chectorhall). I’ve got a manuscript due in February and then another one a few months afterwards but I won’t be on the shelf until June 2017. A good friend said it’s time for me to get an agent… and then there are a few other manuscripts I want to finish. Maybe 2018 there will be a book for every month? One can hope, right?

It’s finally cold in town.  I think there’s something about the fair that brings it…
and young love.
I’m a people watcher and I spent the day watching. Everyone had a story in my head.

There was the big guy at the strong-man machine thing. It reminded me of a scene from Popeye.

I love watching the hot dads try to throw a dart or a basketball in order to win their date a stuffed animal. ... Then there are the dads you see determined to get their kid something. 

I’m not a big fan of rides. The older I get (and fatter)… the bigger scaredy cat I become. But it’s fun watching some of these group dates get on the Ferris wheel and then seeing that one couple break off to get some alone time.
Ahh love at the fair. Ain’t it grand? Do you have a favorite fair story.. or book you’ve read? One of my favorites is by  Candace Shaw … AND it’s a Christmas story too. Check it out. Only You For Christmas

Well I have to get back to my NaNoWriMo… I hope to report success on


















PS... Can I say that there are some books that make me so jealous for not coming up with the idea... here's one... I FREAKING LOVE THIS!!!
Bravo y'all! 


Happy Reading! Happy Writing!





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Find me-
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The Beauty and the CEO

Friday, November 4, 2016

Historical Romance Lovers #FallBackInTime @JacquieRogers


Fall Back in Time!
by Jacquie Rogers

Do you love historical romance?  I do!  And this is the weekend to show it.  While we're turning back our clocks, we're also sharing our appreciation for the readers and authors of historical romance novels.  


Who: Booklovers
What: Post photos with #FallBackInTime in the text
When: November 5, 2016
Where: ALL social media--Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, LinkedIn... anywhere you can think of!
Why: If we all post and share, our hashtag could trend, and that's good news for historical romance!

You do know how to take a selfie, right?  If not, find a 14 year-old to tutor you.  Or take another type of picture.  I'll show you a few fun ideas.

This is Moriah McCormick posing with Hot Work in Fry Pan Gulch.
She has text on her photo, but you certainly don't have to include it.
Moriah could tweet it this way:
I'm reading Hot Work in Fry Pan Gulch by Jacquie Rogers #FallBackInTime
Or, on Facebook, she could even post a few comments about the book.


Don't want to take a selfie?  No problem.  Diane Garland took a picture of Seamus reading Much Ado About Madams (Hearts of Owyhee #1).

Seamus admires the cover of Much Ado About Madams.
A sample Instagram comment might be:
Seamus loves historical romance! #FallBackInTime #catsoninstagram #historicalromance #HeartsOfOwyhee #JacquieRogers
Or the same thing could be used on Twitter except change #catsoninstagram to #cats.

Of course, on Facebook you can be as wordy as you wish.  I think the limit is 5,000 characters, which is a lot considering Twitter limits you to 140.  But the main thing is to post the picture and use #FallBackInTime in the text.  This way, others can search on the hashtag and share your post.

Honey Beaulieu reads as she works out at the gym.
Or, you could take your book wherever you go and take a photo.  Could be the gym, could be the grocery store, or maybe even the library or bookstore.  Or the kitchen.

Honey's reading her book at the library.
To learn more about this event, or to ask questions, you can join the Facebook event named (you guessed it) Fall Back In Time.

Keep up with Jacquie Rogers' latest news at the
Pickle Barrel Gazette!

Honey Beaulieu - Man Hunter series



Hearts of Owyhee series




Wednesday, November 2, 2016

WRITING FOR A BOX SET


What goes into a box set with linked stories? Stay with me and I'll explain.

Here we are barely past Halloween, but Christmas books and novellas are popping up right and left. That’s fine with me because I love Christmas time, that is the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. In fact, it’s my favorite time of year. I like decorations strewn all through the house.



Writing stories set during the Christmas season makes me happy. Actually, writing stories set anytime keeps me content. Like other authors, I appreciate readers who buy and read my stories so I can keep writing.

Over the years, I’ve been in numerous box sets/anthologies. Usually, they have a theme such as the Old West, Contemporary West, or Christmas but each author chose what she wanted to contribute. This year, I’m part of a Christmas box set in which each story takes place in 1890 in the town of Mistletoe, Montana and is appropriately titled WILD WESTERN WOMEN – MISTLETOE, MONTANA. You can purchase the book on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M6BD4TB/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1477957862&sr=8-9&keywords=Caroline+Clemmons




Interweaving our stories involved my coordination with Sylvia McDaniel, Kirsten Osbourne, and Merry Farmer. Fortunately, we four work well together and planned our plots to include as little of one another’s characters as possible. That way, there’s no chance of contradiction from one story to the next.

In my story, MISTLETOE MISTAKE, I may have made a grievous error. Since my heroine is the new doctor in town and has not been well-received, I decided to have a measles epidemic. My idea was that her tireless work would endear her to the town (and our hero, the sheriff). Well, that part worked, because I made sure it did. ☺

I love children in a book because it gives readers the chance to see how characters react to a child. What I consider a mistake is that I “have a cast of thousands” as the term goes for too many characters in a story. I do hope readers can keep track of all the children who come down with measles. I had no trouble, but they’re real people in my head. ☺

Measles may seem like a minor illness, but in the 19th century, measles was sometimes fatal, caused deafness, and created other problems such as encephalitis. My great-great grandfather, Robert Gamble, died of measles in 1888 Tennessee, two years before this box set takes place.

Mistletoe, Montana receives several snowstorms and one great blizzard. I admit I got cold writing the snowy parts. This reminded me of the book JAMIE that I wrote some time back in coordination with Sylvia McDaniel (ETHAN), Callie Hutton (CALEB), and Cynthia Woolf (GIDEON). Those four books also involved a blizzard. I promise I almost froze while writing JAMIE. ☺ (Recently, we boxed these four books together at https://www.amazon.com/Surprise-Brides-Jamie-Caleb-Gideon-ebook/dp/B01HOWDC9W/ref=sr_1_39?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1477958167&sr=1-39&keywords=caroline+clemmons.)


You can see that authors immerse themselves in the books they’re writing. I’m now working on another Christmas book and will be keeping the fan in my office on high so I’ll stay cool. Writing two Christmas books and a winter book has me in the mood to dig out the Christmas decorations, but I’ll wait until the weekend after Thanksgiving. This new book is ANGEL FOR CHRISTMAS, a contemporary. I’ll tell you about that one next month. Or, you can sign up for my newsletter here and be the first to receive the news and a Christmas surprise.

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Best Moonlight & Magnolias Conference Ever by Suzanne Rossi

Hi everyone.

I promised in my last post to give you a blow by blow description of my experience at the 2016 Moonlight & Magnolias Conference sponsored by the Georgia Romance Writers. I've always loved this event. The workshops are informative for all levels of writing and the members are warm and friendly. Have a question? Just ask. There's always someone to help out or give you an answer.

This year's conference did not disappoint. My book, The Good Twin, had finaled in the Maggie Awards Contest, so I attended with an added bonus.



I arrived late Thursday afternoon, checked in to the hotel, and took an hour to decompress from traveling before heading down to register for the conference. When handed my goodie bag, I proudly wore my badge that stated, Maggie Finalist on a bright purple ribbon. My next stop was the lounge for a glass of wine and an early dinner. Within minutes another lady approached and asked if she could join me. Naturally, I said yes. This is how it works at conferences. You say hello to people you don't know, and then talk about anything that comes to mind. Not long after, two more ladies joined us. Thanks to a good conversation I now have two new Facebook friends.

My Friday morning was filled with good workshops, and I met an old friend, whom I hadn't seen in over fifty years, for lunch. The afternoon was a repeat of the morning, and dinner that night saw me with another group of new friends discussing the days' events.

I woke up on Saturday only slightly nervous. The Maggies would be announced at the dinner that night. I tried not to think about it, but couldn't stop myself from composing an acceptance speech. Silly, I know, but sometimes that's how it is. Later in the afternoon, I was waylaid by the Maggie Chairperson and asked to give a short speech in front of a video camera on what the Maggies meant to me. Wanting to be humble, I said I didn't care if I won--that just being a finalist was like the cherry on top of the sundae. I lied. I did care. I really wanted to win, but at this stage, the competition was top-notch.

Everything went fine until I walked into the ballroom and saw the cameras set up. They would be streaming the event live on YouTube. Now, I got nervous--so nervous I could barely eat. After a heartfelt and tearful dedication to a GRW member who had passed away the week before, they got down to business. Thankfully, they presented the Published Maggie Awards first. I'm not sure my nerves could have stood waiting any longer. Win or lose, at least I could relax and hit the dessert bar.

My category, Single Title, was second on the list. The chairperson read off the finalists in alphabetical order. I was last. "And the 2016 Maggie goes to..." was announced. I held my breath determined to clap and cheer for the winner because by this time I was convinced it wouldn't be me. I stared at the video screen. "Suzanne Rossi for The Good Twin!"

Hey! That's me! I won! Somehow I made my way onstage. To this day, I'm not sure what I said as I accepted the award, but friends assured me I made sense and even made them laugh with one comment. I honestly don't remember, but I do know I thanked my editor, Johanna Melaragno. This was the last book she edited for me before leaving the company. I also thanked my publisher, The Wild Rose Press.



It took a week for me to return to reality. I have the certificate in a nice frame and the Maggie Medallion pendant on a lovely chain. I can honestly say it was the proudest moment of my career.

I want to publicly thank the judges, GRW, and especially, Maggie Chair and Coordinator, Christina Crayn. You guys put on a spectacular show. I will never forget the 2016 Moonlight & Magnolias Conference.

Oh, and before I forget, my book, Killer Conference, the second in the Snoop Group series, was released in all formats this month, too. It's all about a critique group that solves murders, and of course there's a healthy dose of romance in the bargain. The first book was A Novel Death. Number three, A Taste of Death, is going through critique at the moment.



Wow, this was some October! I hope you all have a great month of November and I'll be back with tales of Thanksgiving.

Suzanne

Friday, October 28, 2016

The Poltergeist In Our Old Farm House

Years ago, my son moved into the big white Victorian house on our other farm. We have two farms quite near each other in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and both homes are well over one hundred years old. Some of his guy friends moved in, too, and everything was fine, then he and his fiancée (now wife) began remodeling the house. At first, no one thought much about the noises. Neither of them mentioned a thing to me. Then one night my son called, alone and uneasy. He was hunkered downstairs with the cat. His opening question was, had I said cats ward off ghosts?

No, I'd said they have a heightened awareness of them.

Oh. He informed me about the footsteps he couldn’t account for and an upstairs bedroom with a door that wouldn’t stay shut. No matter how many times he closed it, come morning it was always open. Earlier that week, his fiancé had been distressed when the bathroom doorknob turned and the door opened on her. No one was there. It freaked the cat out. Didn’t do her much good either. She was promptly converted from a disbeliever in ghosts to one strongly considering their reality.
Now, she’d gone away on a trip with her church and none of my son’s other friends were around. The last of his roomies had moved out. I suspected all the remodeling they’d done to the house had stirred something up. So, I went over.
Here, I’ll digress to say I’d dreamed earlier of a small grave plot way back in the fields behind the house and of a restless spirit associated with both. As it turned out there is just such a cemetery, an antiquated one. After I arrived that evening, my son and I went upstairs to the suspect bedroom and shut the door. I wanted to scream, and not just because I’m claustrophobic.
We held hands and I repeated the Exorcism prayer sent to my mother from an Episcopalian woman in England. She’d written my mother about visiting her church manse at the invitation of the new priest who was plagued by a poltergeist–one so violent, it had flung portraits down from the hall and hurled a saucepan lid across the kitchen. But the congregants, along with the priest, had prayed it out. As this was a Christian prayer, my son and I did the same. Never again did he or his fiancé hear footsteps or have any more trouble with doorknobs turning. That bedroom door remained as they left it and the chill feeling I had in the room dissipated.
Now, what do you think of that?
Here’s the Anglican prayer. Do not try this alone if the presence you sense is evil, only with a strong group of Christians, the more, the better. And join hands. Even if you think I’m nuts.

“In the name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost, may this distressed soul be relieved of his obsession with this world and sent to where he belongs.”
I added, ‘go to the light,’ although a truly evil presence won’t, but a troubled, restless one may. Seems only right to offer that as an option.
This is one of the experiences that influenced the writing of my ghostly time travel romance novel Somewhere My Love.

Story Blurb for Somewhere My Love (Somewhere in Time series)



Fated lovers have a rare chance to reclaim the love cruelly denied them in the past, but can they grasp this brief window in time before it’s too late?

Two hundred years ago Captain Cole Wentworth, the master of an elegant Virginian home, was murdered in his chamber where his portrait still hangs. 


Presently the estate is a family owned museum run by Will Wentworth, a man so uncannily identical to his ancestor that spirit-sensitive tour guide Julia Morrow has trouble recognizing Cole and Will as separate. 

As Julia begins to remember the events of Cole’s death, she must convince Will that history is repeating, and this time he has the starring role in the tragedy. 


The blade is about to fall. 

"A beautiful love story with plenty of suspense and mystery. With a murderer on the loose and a house haunted by the ghosts of the past, can William and Julia figure everything out and survive? Visit Foxleigh Hall and find out."~Night Owl Romance, a Night Owl Top Pick  

"As I read Somewhere My Love, I recalled the feelings I experienced the first time I read Daphne DuMaurier's Rebecca long ago. Using the same deliciously eerie elements similar to that gothic romance, Beth Trissel has captured the haunting dangers, thrilling suspense and innocent passions that evoke the same tingly anticipation and heartfelt romance I so enjoyed then, and still do now." ~joysann for Publisher's Weekly


To keep up with me follow my Amazon Author Page:  https://www.amazon.com/Beth-Trissel/e/B002BLLAJ6