Hi Everyone,
I returned late last night from a research trip to the beautiful Martha’s Vineyard and I’m sharing pictures and tidbits about it on the Craftie Ladies Blog today. Hope you’ll stop by.
The winner of Permanent Vacancy by Katy Lee is Patti Gelner. Patti if you don’t see my email in your inbox, requesting your snail mail address, please contact me through the website. Thank you so much to all who participated!
I’m delighted to welcome back one of my favourite romantic suspense authors, Katy Lee, who has an intriguing new book coming out. 
Isn’t that dog adorable?!
Okay, take it away, Katy!
Hi Everyone,
I hope you brought your sweet tooth. Tis the season to be covered in flour and chocolate as I stand among the tastiest holiday treats from my generation’s past. My kitchen has been turned into a cookie factory made from my too-numerous-to-count recipe cards that I really should rewrite sometime. However, there is just something about an old, yellowed index card with batter stains dripped on it from previous years that tells me the holidays are here.
My gift to you today is my tasty and colorful Church Window recipe, so stay tuned for that. They not only taste yummy, but they brighten up your plate and stand out from all those tan and brown cookies. But before I pass it along, and as yummy and colorful as they are, I have to admit there is something to be said for those tan and brown cookies.
They are a sure thing.
My favorite cookie of all time is the basic homemade chocolate chip. You can’t go wrong, and when you are trying to be “good” by only taking two cookies from the table of assorted treats, you know you’ll be happy with your choice.
I like to equate a chocolate chip cookie to a favorite author. Time is limited. Money is limited. You have to be selective in your purchase, and at the bookstore with so many books to choose from, I still will grab a book by an author I know and trust. They’re the sure thing…just like that light and crispy, warm and gooey chocolate chip cookie.
The chocolate chip cookie has been branded in our minds, homes and culture since 1930 when the owner of the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts ran out of baker’s chocolate and substituted broken up pieces of a Nestle bar. She created a mixture all her own, and voilà, the cookie was found.
But only because the baker tried something new and proved there are lots more new favorites out there to be found.
So, this season I encourage you to try a new cookie recipe, and maybe even try a new author. You never know, you might find a new sure thing.
Now here’s that recipe I promised you:
Church Window Cookies
Melt 1 stick of butter/margarine and a 12 oz. bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips in a double boiler
Once melted, remove from heat and add colored marshmallows and chopped walnuts. Mix up until chocolate covers everything.
On your counter have ready aluminum foil with coconut sprinkled in the middle. Pour marshmallows onto the coconut and form into a log. Roll to spread coconut evenly around whole log.
Wrap log up in foil and freeze. When it hardens, unroll foil and slice into ½ inch cookies.
Bonus: Make a bunch to keep in the freezer for when you need to make a dessert for a bake sale or an impromptu visitor. People will wonder where you find the time!
Sandra here again, first with a tip: keep that foil log away from the dog. That’ll be too tempting to resist! 😉
Katy, thanks so much for sharing this recipe. Now… Christmas will come early for one lucky participant. Katy’s giving away a copy of her June release Permanent Vacancy (US residents only).
Here’s the question we’d like you to answer to enter:
Your Turn: What authors and cookies are your sure things?
And be sure to check out Katy’s newest novel:
RACE AGAINST TIME
Lacey Phillips believes Captain Wade Spencer knows something about her brother’s mysterious death. So she throws caution to the wind and tracks him down on Christmas Eve looking for answers. Wade tries to turn her away—until bullets start to fly. He doesn’t want to take the stubborn beauty on his life-or-death mission to find out the truth about how Wade’s past may have cost her brother his life. But with killers lurking everywhere, he has to protect her—especially when she breaches the walls around his heart. Can Wade and his faithful service dog keep Lacey alive long enough to figure out who’s targeting them?
Katy Lee is the author of six published novels. She writes suspenseful romances that thrill and inspire. She believes all of her stories should stir and satisfy readers—from the edge of their seats. A native New Englander, Katy loves to knit warm wooly things. She enjoys traveling the side-roads and exploring the locals’ hideaways. A homeschooling mom of three competitive swimmers, Katy often writes from the stands while cheering them on. Her 2014 book, Grave Danger, received the highest honor in romance: a RITA® nomination in the Romantic Suspense category, as well as a nod for the Daphne du Maurier award for excellence in mystery and suspense.
Visit Katy at: www.KatyLeeBooks.com
Breaking News…
Deadly Devotion, book 1 in my Port Aster Secrets mystery series, is currently free as an Ebook at online retailers:
Kindle: http://amzn.to/1bxYfCN
Nook: http://bit.ly/16nmsaJ
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1SxxxeI
iBooks: http://apple.co/1MX0KxW
Join me on the More to Life Magazine’s blog for “Five Tips on Staying Healthy This Holiday Season”.
Well, it’s that time of year again when the family is asking for Christmas gift ideas. So…I thought I’d help out all of you out there with writers in your lives.
1) Chocolate
This really shouldn’t need further explanation. It both consoles and re-energizes overtaxed brain cells.
2) A Pet
Another no-brainer. Walking the dog is a great time to dream up the next scene in a book. Not to mention an excuse to leave the desk. After all, too much sitting is not good for one’s health. The bonus is a pet gives a writer something to post on Facebook. 😉
3) Post-it Notes
Go for the multicolour stacks. There’s no better way to procrastinate writing, ur work at solving a plot problem, then jotting down summaries of every scene you’ve already written and of those you plan to write, in a different colour for different points of view, and moving them around on a story board until they work the way they’re supposed to.
4) Chocolate
The importance of this essential nutrient to a writer’s creativity cannot be underestimated.
5) Research Trips
Writers are always told to write what they know, so…let them see, hear, smell, touch, and taste the adventure. Yes, that’s the car from Back to the Future. What can I say? My honey bunny spares no expense to ensure I get the details right, by going to the source…whether it happened 200 years ago or 200 years in the future. 😉
Or a nice card works too!
Happy shopping!
RT Book Reviews calls Nancy Mehl‘s newest release “Romantic suspense at its best, with an engaging plot that’s not overpowering. Mehl is an amazing author who writes believable stories, knows what fans expect and does not disappoint.”
And who could resist that cool cover?
It was Nancy’s covers that first drew me to her books, when my publisher asked me to provide examples of the type of covers I’d like for my Port Aster Secrets series. At the time, Nancy had another series out with similar type covers, depicting the hero or heroine at the top of the page and a scene at the bottom.
I love them! And I was happy that my publisher did to and produced something similar. 😀
But back to this cool book. I asked Nancy if there was anything unique or unusual about it and this is what she had to say:
“Yes, there is! My main character, Sophie Wittenbauer, actually appeared in a different series–UNBREAKABLE, book two in my Road to Kingdom series. I always felt her story was left hanging, and I wanted to bring her full cycle. My editors allowed me to move her into this new series and give her new life!”
That is so fun!
Gathering Shadows and Deadly Echoes are the first two books in this Finding Sanctuary series. But don’t worry, each book is a standalone romantic suspense.
Here’s the Back Cover Blurb for Rising Darkness:
Sophie Wittenbauer left her strict Mennonite hometown under a cloud of shame and regret. After a rough childhood, her teenage poor choices harmed others, leaving her with no choice but to change her life. Her entry-level writing job at a newspaper puts her in the right place at the right time to overhear office gossip about a prisoner who has information on a decades-old unsolved crime. While the other reporters write off the tip as the ravings of an angry criminal, Sophie can’t ignore it because she knows the name of this prisoner from her old life.
Upon learning from the man that one of the other suspects is hiding out in the Missouri town of Sanctuary, she takes on a false identity to investigate and meets the young pastor of a local church–the very man she’d loved as a troubled teenager. As she gets closer to finding the suspect, will the truth of her own past come out before she discovers the identity of the criminal–or the very person she’s seeking puts a fatal stop to her investigation?
Are you intrigued?
All of Nancy’s novels have an added touch – something for your spirit as well as your soul.
“I welcome the opportunity to share my faith through my writing,” Nancy says. “God is number one in my life. I wouldn’t be writing at all if I didn’t believe that this is what He’s called me to do. I hope everyone who reads my books will walk away with the most important message I can give them: God is good, and He loves you more than you can imagine. He has a good plan for your life, and there is nothing you can’t overcome with His help.”
Learn more about Nancy and her 20 books at: www.nancymehl.com.
She is also part of The Suspense Sisters: www.suspensesisters.blogspot.com
And on Facebook
Great news for those with Ereaders or who enjoy reading on their phone, tablet or iPad, in celebration of 10 years of digital publishing, Harlequin had put 10,000 backlist titles on sale for $1.99–several of mine included!
I found Fatal Inheritance, Perilous Waters and Identity Withheld
marked down to $1.50 on Amazon and $1.99 on Barnes and Noble (Nook). They weren’t marked down on Kobo (they are supposed to be). Although the Epub versions are available directly from Harlequin. iBooks is also participating.
Amazon, bless their heart, is also offering great deals on the rest of my backlist ~$3 each for Deep Cover, Shades of Truth, Critical Condition and Emergency Reunion.
So…if you’ve missed any, it’s a great time to stock up.
Even my longer mystery titles–Deadly Devotion, Blind Trust, Desperate Measures and A Fool and His Monet (preorder)–are on for under $4!
Clicking the vendor names above will take you to my books at the vendor. Clicking the book title names will take you to the book description on my website, which also has buy links. So be sure to take advantage of this great deal!
It ends November 17th.
Bonus…click here to see which titles of your other favorite Love Inspired authors have been included in this deal.
Please share this limited time sale with your friends!
Kate Adams—the I-have-a-tea-for-whatever-ails-you sleuth of my Port Aster Secrets series—shares this tea to get us into the autumn spirit. 😉
To your favorite pot of black or rooibos tea, add:
-a finely chopped slice of dried apple
-a pinch of ground vanilla bean
-¼-½ tsp of pumpkin spice to taste (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove, allspice)
Then add boiled water and steep for 2-3 mins, sweeten with honey, and enjoy.
The aroma alone will set you dreaming of pumpkin pies and holiday meals.
Your Turn: What hot drink do you enjoy most in the autumn season?
Click here to check out more bonus features for Port Aster Secrets.
Teacup image courtesy of aopsan at freedigitalphotos(dot)net
With a new mystery series set to debut in March, I’ve been perusing the gamut of products out there that can be personalized with book and author info. Bookmarks, of course, are a given, but I love to be able to share something unique with my readers, too.
Which is why I’m super-excited about what we’ve created for the Serena Jones Mysteries.
The first is a very unique USB key embossed with the series’ logo and my web addy.
These are from USB Memory Direct and the salesman I worked with there was awesome at answering my questions and providing quick delivery of a well-constructed product. I’d highly recommend them. They have a phenomenal range of USB style choices and accessories, as well as, options to include preloaded content on the keys, or what I did, configure it to appear in the Windows viewer as an art frame logo.
I plan to share these with my editors and critique partners; bookstore owners who have me in for signings; as a thank-you to the authors who endorsed A Fool and His Monet; and in gift baskets at events.
But…
I also wanted to have something I could economically mail to lots of readers or give away at events that would:
This is what we came up with:
It’s a mini-first-aid kit for your purse or briefcase, complete with bandaids, antiseptic wipes and a quick reference guide. The plastic pouch is credit card sized and can easily be restocked as needed. I figured my heroine is an FBI agent. Law enforcement are supposed to help people…so now my readers can, too. 😉
If you’d like me to send you one, email me your address and I’d be happy to do that. I can even include a couple of extra for you to share with friends.
If you’re looking for similar items for your own promotional needs, I found them at Hit Logic. Darryl, the owner, was another awesome guy to deal with. I met him at Write Canada and we talked about a lot of different things–no high-pressure sales tactics, at all, and a great selection at economical prices.
For Deadly Devotion, the first book in my Port Aster Secrets mystery series, I shared marigold seed packets, since the victim was believed to have died from drinking the wrong kind of marigold tea. One of my Facebook fans actually proposed the idea and even sent me links to a site that sells them!
These proved very popular with readers. Many of my newsletter subscribers contacted me to receive packets for themselves and to share. Bookstores were also happy to include them in bags. And browsers at book signings enjoyed having something to take home to plant. Several emailed me pictures of their flowers at the end of summer.
For Blind Trust, we created whistle key chains with a light–something every amateur sleuth, putting her life in jeopardy, could use, right? 😀 These were a lot of fun to share. The kids especially loved the whistle. But they proved to be pricey to mail, due to their thickness, so I wasn’t able to share them as widely.
So…I’m learning to balance the fun, the usefulness and the affordability.
Your Turn: What is the most useful or appreciated promotional freebie you’ve received from a company or author?
With the arrival of September, you’d think my mind would be turning to the routine of Fall, but here in Niagara, we’re enjoying one of our most “summery” weeks yet, after a peculiar roller-coaster ride in the weather department over the last few months. Would you believe I actually had to turn the heater on in my office last week?!
So…I’m planning swim dates every afternoon with the grandkids.
Always a splashing good time!
Did I mention we have a new grandson?!
He’s a big hit with his big brother.
And is the reason I haven’t been too talkative around here lately, as I’ve been enjoying having my two eldest grandchildren visit. Of course, many of you caught my odd post to FB, when I managed to snatch a few minutes to share a picture. I do so enjoy celebrating these blessings with all of you.
My autumn is showing no sign of slowing down with a wedding for my son in the works, but I promise to keep writing, between all the tempting distractions. 😆 Babies are so fun too cuddle and they grow up so fast.
I hope you have also enjoyed a blessed summer (winter for my friends in the Southern hemisphere).
Your Turn: I’d love to hear about your summer escapades or plans for the upcoming season!
P.S. If you missed it, I was also blessed to be interviewed with the Christian Fiction Online Magazine last month. If you’d like to read the interview, please click the cover image below.
Around here these days, we have our noses in the baby names book as our daughter and son-in-law debate the merits of various suggestions for my newest hero or heroine–aka their soon-to-be-born baby. 😀
I’ve suggested a few of my favorite fictional heroes’ names, but it doesn’t sound like any of them will fly. 😉
1) Has a good meaning.
2) The resulting initials won’t be anything they’ll be teased about.
3) No one else in the family already has the name. (It’s a big extended family so this is actually problematic)
4) Hubby doesn’t hate the name. (some surprising ones fell into that category!)
5) She likes it.
1) Has an apropos meaning. My heroine in my new series is Serena. Her parents were hopeful she might live up to the name (i.e. be serene). You know where I’m going with this, right? 😎
2) Limit the number of names that start with the same letter or end the same way, to avoid confusion. (Ex. Bonnie, Betty, and Libby) It’s funny how similar sounding names creep in and add up and then I have to debate whether to change them or keep them.
For example, I’m currently juggling Tanner, Tyrone, Truman, Tasha and Ted. The first 3 are non-negotiable, but I really like the last two so I hate to change them just to get rid of two more “T” names!
What do you think? Too confusing?
3) The name needs to suit the personality. So a grumpy guy might be Mr. Bitterman. And a hero definitely needs to have a heroic sounding name, with all due apologies to the Leroys and Leonards out there. 😳
Single syllable guy names apparently resonate with me since my first 9 heroes were–Gabe (unpublished), Rick, Ethan (Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible, need I say more?), Zach, Josh, Sam Steele (I really knew a guy by that name), Jake, Cole, Tom, and in my upcoming series…
The guy who eventually gets the girl might be Tanner or… it might be Nate. Time will tell. 😉
(and I hope a lot of readers will chime in, too!)
4) For villain names, it needs to sound slimy or sublimely innocent or creepy, depending on how astray I want to lead my readers. 😛
5) The names have to be easy to read. Nothing drives me crazier than not being able to pronounce names I’m reading in a book. I also try to avoid names that might confuse readers as to whether the person is male or female. (ex. Chris, Alex, Dale, Jamie)
Your Turn: What would be your top-pick names for a hero, heroine or bad guy? What kind of names confuse you in a story?
woman Image courtesy of anankkml at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
confused boy Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
I learned about the new anthology 7 Essential Habits of Christian Writers over the weekend and wanted to share it with the writers and aspiring writers amongst my blog readers. (And there’s a bonus surprise at the end for readers!)
This anthology deals with seven key areas for Christian writers: Time with God, Healthy Living, Time Management, Honing Writing Skills, Crafting a Masterpiece, Submitting, and Marketing.
The contributing writers, all members of ICWF— InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship—come from various walks of life and write in various genres for a range of audiences. Through fiction, poetry, and nonfiction such as devotionals, essays, and articles, they generously share their own discoveries, success stories, and hard-won lessons in order to encourage and support other Christian writers.
Here’s what well known authors are saying about the book:
Phil Callaway, bestselling author and host of Laugh Again Radio says, “I love seven things about this book: It is practical. It is affordable. It is encouraging. It is worth highlighting, underlining and dog-earing. Plus it made me forget about my toothache.” He continues his endorsement: “Whether you’re a newbie or a veteran writer, you’ll discover 7 Essential Habits of Christian Writers to be jammed with instantly actionable advice that will make you a better writer. Dig in.”
Jeff Goins, bestselling author of The Art of Work and other titles says, “This book is a beautiful blend of faithfulness and craft. It will help you answer the practical questions of what it means to be a writer while honoring what you believe. I wish I’d read this when I got started.”
Kathi Macias, award-winning author of more than 50 books, says, “7 Essential Habits of Christian Writers is an absolute gem! I love that it covers all the basics a writer needs to know, making them simple and practical. I also love that the book has many authors, giving us ideas and suggestions from their own writing journey. I highly recommend this book to anyone seriously considering writing as a vocation or even an avocation, particularly those writers who see their work as a ministry—which it certainly is!”
Nancy Rue, bestselling author and creator of Shadow to Shelf, a mentoring program for writers, says, “There are hundreds of how-to-write books on the market, but none that I know of touches both of the vital aspects of writing as a Christian better than this anthology from InScribe. The practical and the spiritual are woven into a whole by a remarkably creative group of writers who are in the trenches as we speak. I intend to snack on this fare again and again.”
The e-book is currently available on Kindle. The paperback version will be released in September, during the ICWF Fall Conference in Edmonton, Alberta. Click to learn more about ICWF and their annual conference.
Giveaway Opportunity: Stephanie Nickel, one of the anthology’s editors, is generously giving away a paperback copy (open to US and Canadian addresses) when it releases in September, to one randomly selected commenter below who lets us know an essential habit he or she is working on as a writer.
Bonus Giveaway for the non-writers who took the time to read this post anyway: 😉
An advanced copy (once available) of my next mystery, A Fool and His Monet, will be mailed to one randomly selected commenter who shares a humorous or unusual personality quirk or incident he or she would like me to include in the next novel. 😆
P.S. My newsletter subscribers will receive a sneak peek of A Fool and His Monet this week. Click here if you don’t want to miss it.
To receive new release and discount alerts:
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