Romance Writers Weekly ~ Favorite Holiday Recipe ~ #LoveChatWrite

This week, on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, we're asked, "The festive food season is upon us! Share your favorite holiday recipe."

Well, this is always a tough question for me since I have so many favorites. Here's a  relatively recent one. My daughter-in-law grew up in the UK, so Thanksgiving has been something of a culinary learning curve for all of us. My favorite new acquisition is Sticky Toffee Pudding. It's made with dates! Which I've always loved. And served drowning in caramel sauce...which, I mean, does it get any better? 

Unfortunately, I've moved several times since I started making it, so I don't have a regular recipe for it. I did--two moves ago--but now I rely on whatever recipe I find online. Also, I sometimes add whiskey to my caramel sauce, because why not?

So, here's this year's recipe: https://cakesbymk.com/recipe/sticky-toffee-pudding-recipe/ And happy Thanksgiving!  

Now, hop on over to Brenda Margriet's page to learn what her favorite holiday recipe is. And don't forget to check out her book, Secrets Under the Covers.

SECRETS UNDER THE COVERS

Start the Silverberry Seduction Seasoned Romance Series for FREE!

(Also available in print for a low price!)

Two long-time friends…one impulsive seduction…zero percent chance their lives will ever be the same again.

(Helen and Nathan are both 55)

https://books2read.com/SecretsUndertheCovers

A LITTLE HOLIDAY READING!

https://www.pgforte.com/only-for-the-holidays

Winterlude
A Winter Hearts Christmas Collection

Includes This Winter's Night, Winter World of Love and Winter of Our Discontent, and a sneak peek at Lightning in a Bottle.

This Winter's Night:  Dario and Ophelia Leonides are passionately in love. The only things marring their happiness are Lia's homesickness and continued inability to conceive a child. 

Dario would do anything to make Lia smile again. He's hoping to use the miraculous technology his father-in-law has pioneered, combined with the magic inherent in his native land. But calling upon the forces of Kokopeli may have unintended consequences. 

Winter World of Love: Just one short year ago, Ophelia Leonides returned to New Texacali hoping to reconcile with her husband. And, for a while, it seemed that most, if not all, her dreams were coming true. But as the holiday season approaches, Ophelia can’t help but notice that Dario has begun to brood. He says it has nothing to do with her, but trust, once lost, is hard to regain.

Dario is frustrated by his inability to give Ophelia the life he knows she deserves. Now, as old ghosts from his past draw close, and the bright future he’s promised his wife grows increasingly dim, he’s on the brink of making a last, desperate gamble--one that might destroy everything they've been hoping to achieve.

I'll Be Home for Christmas 
An Oberon Christmas Duology

Includes two novellas, If Only in My Dreams, and Spicy Nick. One holiday weekend. Two special stories. Will they both have happy endings? Well, it’s Oberon, so anything is possible.

IF ONLY IN MY DREAMS: Scout is heading home for the holidays when her flight gets rerouted into Alternate Universe Oberon, where nothing is as she remembers it.

 

SPICY NICK: When his wife finally makes it home (after her unexpected adventure) Nick is ready to greet her with a little holiday spice!

We're Dreaming of a Wine Christmas

A Pour Decisions Christmas Story

The Martinelli sisters have a lot of reasons to celebrate this holiday season!

Musical Monday: Simple Gifts (Judy Collins)

 Well, it's Thanksgiving this week, and this song has been my go-to Thanksgiving song for...at least two decades now. Maybe three. It's a Shaker hymn that just feels right for the occasion. 

And yes, of course I have a playlist as well. 

Romance Writers Weekly ~ Romance Mindset ~ #LoveChatWrite

This week, on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, we're asked, "Do you think writing romance novels requires a different mindset or approach compared to other genres?"

I think it absolutely does. But then again, I think all the genres have their own, very specific mindsets. For example, I've said many, many times that I'd love to write cozy mysteries, but sadly it appears my mind doesn't work that way. I mean, I think it's possible to train yourself to do it, but it's hard. I think it's like learning languages; it's just something that comes easier to some people than others. 

The romance mindset might also be a product, in part, of the accepted "Rules of Romance" which tripped me up many times in the beginning, and which I still tend to ignore--to my own, continued disadvantage. 

Romance readers have expectations. And no matter how many complaints you hear about predictability, or various tropes being overdone, try not giving them those things, and see how happy they are with you. 

Now, hop on over to Jenna Da Sie's page to find out if she thinks there's a Romance Mindset. 

It's latte weather: A good time to cuddle up with the first two books in the 

WHOLE LATTE LOVE Collection!

https://books2read.com/rl/WholeLatteLove

Musical Monday: Autumn Town Leaves (Iron and Wine)

 

I don't really have much to say about this song. It's just has a quiet, autumnal sound to it. I guess maybe I'm in my folk era. lol! Wouldn't be the first time. 

Romance Writers Weekly ~ Keeping Busy ~ #LoveChatWrite

This week, on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, we're asked, "Evening is falling sooner and the dark days of winter are near. What do you do to keep yourself busy?"

I'd like to say I write. And, in the past, that would have been true. Night was always the best time to write for me. In recent years, I've spent more time marketing and promoting than I have writing. I'd really like to change that.

Now, hop on over to Leslie Hachtel's page to find out how she keeps busy. And don't forget to check out her book, The Dream Dancer.

The Dream Dancer

Lady Bryce has a gift.

She can enter dreams and persuade her will onto others. It has served her well, especially in eliminating unsatisfactory suitors of her father's choosing. But when she encounters Lord Rowland she wants him more than any-thing and decides to visit him in his sleep and make him desire her above all others.

As a virgin, she has discovered a diary from a leman who describes seduction in detail. When she has driven Rowland to the edge of longing, she extracts a promise that he will marry her.

As time passes, Bryce and Rowland fall in love. But will their love be able to conquer all once Bryce’s secret is revealed? Rowland must decide if he truly loves her or he has been bewitched.

https://amzn.to/3lI8pfw

Meet the Martinelli sisters: Rosa, Bianca and Allegra. These partners in wine have just inherited a once-storied winery in the heart of Napa Valley. They’re living the dream, right?

 

Not so fast! Because, as it turns out, not everybody is happy for them. And that includes their Uncle Geno who’d assumed the property would come to him.

 

There are hoops to jump through, barrels to get over, and a mountain of regulations they'll have to scale. But the sisters are crushing it—and we don’t just mean the grapes. They’re making wine, falling in love, and working together to restore their inheritance to its former glory, one pour decision at a time.

https://Books2Read.com/Pour-Decisions

Musical Monday: Heart of Gold (Neil Young)

 

So, it's my husband's birthday this week, and this is sort of for him. Well, he does have a heart of gold, after all. Although I doubt he'd be happy with the reminder that we're both getting old. lol  But like I keep reminding him, it beats the alternative. 

But, OTOH, given the current political situation, that's probably a matter of opinion.

Wine Wednesday: Silver Gate Merlot

 

Silver Gate is a new-to-me wine brand. In theory, the grapes come from California. It's not a bad Merlot. In fact, it made me remember why I actually used to like Merlot. Back before it became A. overly popular, ubiquitous, and subsequently, B. ruined by the movie, Sideways. I tend to steer away from Malbec and white Zins for many of the same reasons. Popularity often breeds a lot of not-so-great wines.

But I digress. 

This is a decent, serviceable Merlot. Medium bodied, low tannins, black cherry notes. I paired it with steak and roasted Brussels sprouts, a meal that I'd usually choose a bolder Zinfandel for, and it was surprisingly good.  

Romance Writers Weekly ~ Enemies-to-lovers ~ #LoveChatWrite

This week, on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, we're asked, "What’s your take on the “enemies-to-lovers” trope? How do you make this dynamic feel fresh and believable?"

Um...okay, this is probably an unpopular opinion but I'm not a big fan of this trope. I don't think it happens much (if at all) in reality, and if it does...it's probably not that healthy. I don't like Alpha-holes either, and the two definitely seem to go together.

I guess you could say that Pride and Prejudice is an example of this trope, but honestly, I think that's a stretch. They weren't really attacking each other, they were just prejudiced. 

Anyway, hop on over to Jill Haymaker's page to learn what her take is. And don't forget to check out her book, Montana Pines Christmas Rescue.

MONTANA PINES CHRISTMAS RESCUE

Now available for pre-order, get this heartwarming story of two unlikely people who just may find love at Christmas with the help of some adorable animals.The beautiful Montana mountains form a perfect backdrop for this opposites attract romance.

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FXT4JVBX 

https://books2read.com/Que-Sera-Syrah

Que Será, Syrah

Pour Decisions: Book Three

 

They may be keeping secrets and telling lies, but a little white wine never hurt anyone.​

Allegra

It’s not every day that you inherit one-third of a winery. I should be on top of the world, floating on Cloud Wine, as they say. Instead, don’t you just know it? I’m about to make one of the biggest mistakes of my life. And that’s saying something. My family has always viewed me as something of a screw-up, not always fairly. But in this case? They’re not only dead right about me messing things up; they don’t even know the half of it. Yet.

Complicating my quest to redeem myself, earn my sisters’ respect, and help them turn our winery into a straight fire success, is my low-key relationship with Sheriff’s Deputy Clay Romero. Sure, there are risks involved in sleeping with the enemy, but ‘what’s meant to be will find a way,’ right? And whether Clay believes it or not, I know we’re fated. With a capital F.

Clay

We’re Capital F somethin’ all right; but I don’t think it’s fate. Ever since Legs (AKA Allegra Martinelli) blew back into town, I’ve been flirting with disaster. Literally. I doubt that woman’s ever met a rule that she didn’t want to at least bend. And, as luck would have it, it’s my job to try and stop her. I love my job, and I think I love her. But there’s not enough wine in Napa to convince me that I’ll be able to hang on to them both. 

Legs keeps likening us to Romeo and Juliet.  And as I keep trying to remind her; that kind of story tends not to end well. I’m sure there are exceptions, but are we gonna be one of them? I guess we’ll find out.

Musical Monday: Power to the People (John Lennon)

 So, tomorrow's election day here in the states. I hope everyone who can is getting out the vote. Here in my neck of the woods we're voting on a new mayor, two city council seats and seven pages worth of propositions and amendments. Longest ballot I've seen in a while. 

In any case, here's a little music to put you in the mood. And, if you want more, I've included a link to my new Protest Playlist that I created after No Kings Day. 

Romance Writers Weekly ~ Halloween Costumes ~ #LoveChatWrite

This week, on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, we're asked, "What was your favourite Halloween costume when you were a kid? Do you still dress up now?"

Um...all my favorite costumes from my childhood would probably be considered cultural appropriation now, so let's not go there. I do occasionally still dress up for Halloween--usually if there's a party involved. One of my most favorite recent costumes was when I dressed up as a Dead Unicorn Trope. 

In case you're not familiar with this literary device, allow me to explain. 

You've doubtlessly heard the expression, to beat a dead horse--meaning to continue to do something even after it's pointless. An example of that in writing would be to use the cliche of having the butler be the murderer--the butler did it!--if you were writing a cozy mystery set during a Victorian era house party. The idea being that it's pointless. That particular trope is so overused that it would be immediately obvious and anti-climactic. 

EXCEPT! Plot twist! It's not overused at all. In fact, it was never actually a cliche at all. There are very few books in which the butler is revealed to be the murderer and--fun fact!--almost all of those were parodies written after the phrase was coined.  

So...what's a type of horse that never actually existed? A unicorn, obvs! So a dead horse trope that is based on a cliche that was never really a cliche in the first place becomes: a dead unicorn trope.

For more info about dead unicorns, check out this article here: https://tropedia.fandom.com/wiki/Dead_Unicorn_Trope

But to continue: I'd already had my hair dyed in my usual pastel unicorn shades, so for my costume I simply added a matching unicorn horn headband, and then paired that with a colorful, Day-of-the-Dead skeleton costume. And voila! 

Now, hop on over to Jill Haymaker's page to learn what she has to say about costumes. And don't forget to check out her book, Colorado Golden Sunrise.

Colorado Golden Sunrise

Get in the holiday spirit with this heartwarming romance set in a small town in the Colorado mountains. When Kelly Charm leaves her home in Nebraska for a new life in Peakview, Colorado for herself and her teenage son, the last thing she expects is to find love. But when her son suffers an asthma attack, handsome EMT Jake Midnight is there to help. Can these two find love and family over the holidays?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07828MFF1 

https://books2read.com/VisionMidnight

https://books2read.com/HungryHeartOberon

Musical Monday: Fancy Like (Walker Hayes - featuring Kesha)

 There's no real reason for posting this song right now. I mean, I am supposed to be working on a short story involving my characters from Que Será, Syrah, and I guess this would fit their dynamic. Sort of. At least from Clay's perspective. But that's still a stretch. I mean...boxed wine? Hard pass.

But anyway, it's a fun song and I really like this particular version featuring Kesha. 

Wine Wednesday: Grape Creek 2021 Ser-en-dip-i-ty

 

Serendipity is one of Grape Creek's member exclusive wines. The '21 has a lovely aroma--rose petals and raspberries. It's a soft, medium bodied wine with lots of juicy raspberry flavors and hints of pepper and smoke. 

I have no idea what I'd pair this with, to be honest. It's not bold enough to stand up to  steak or most pasta dishes. And it's a little too sophisticated for beef stew. Maybe Beef Stroganoff, or a Marsala? Something with mushrooms, perhaps?  Or a Tex-Mex/Indian fusion dish? It has enough acidity to cut through the queso, and it's soft enough to balance out the heat from the curry.

It makes me think of cool fall nights, sitting by the bonfire, watching for falling stars. And maybe that's all the accompaniment it needs. 

Alternately, there's a great wine scene in Visions Before Midnight, which is set at this time of year. So, perhaps, I'd pair this wine with a good book. lol!

Romance Writers Weekly ~Real Life Love Stories ~ #LoveChatWrite

This week, on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, we're asked, "What real-life experiences have inspired your romance writing?"

Wow. That's a tough one. I mean, there have been a lot of details and small events that I've lifted from real life and slipped into a book, but nothing really big. I mean, the biggest was probably a rash of bear encounters I had while camping in Yosemite, many years ago. One of those played out not too differently than how it's portrayed in A Sight to Dream Of (Oberon, Book Two). 

And the bear was, in fact, as big as a picnic table, just like my characters insist. 

Which reminds me, back in the day I had a skateboard themed T shirt that bore the logo "picnic tables are fun". That may have inspired certain scenes, as well. Unfortunately, I lost it somewhere along the way and was never able to find a replacement. 

It would be seriously vintage now, but if anyone knows where I might get my hands on another one, please hit me up! 

Now, hop on over to Brenda Margriet's page to find out what's inspired her. And don't forget to check out her book, No Life But This.

NO LIFE BUT THIS

​​​Abigail Garsson feels trapped in her safe, boring, conventional life. Desperate to escape, she signs up for an adventure vacation on the Portuguese island of São Miguel.

Santos Carregado enjoys introducing tourists to his tiny island in the middle of the Atlantic. At first he barely notices the unassuming Abigail. He soon finds her meek exterior hides a vibrant woman who teases his senses and ignites his passion.

Abigail is stunned to discover the handsome, confident Santos is attracted to her, but his fiery kisses and searing caresses convince her to accept a sensuous invitation.

Will the realities of life shatter Abigail's holiday daydream? Or can the shifting sands of a short-term fling become the rock on which a life-long relationship is built?

https://books2read.com/NoLifebutThis

A Sight To Dream Of

Oberon Book 2.0

Sam Sterling is a man with problems.  Including a partner who is trying to kill him, and a nosy reporter, who's just turned up dead! It's going to take a miracle to save him.  Or, better yet, an angel.

​ Marsha Quinn is used to being called a witch.  After all, her abilities as a psychic make a lot of people uncomfortable.  But no one has ever called her an angel before! 

Falling in love was not a possibility she'd ever envisioned, until Sam the skeptic arrives in Oberon, and teaches her to see past the scars she carries, and the lies he's told her, to the love that lies within their hearts and minds.

https://books2read.com/SightDream