#PreOrder TREVOR'S REDEMPTION by Amber Daulton

I'm happy to welcome Amber Daulton to my blog once again. She has an upcoming release in her Arresting Onyx series. TREVOR'S REDEMPTION is Trevor and Shea's story and you can Pre-Order their story now and have it automatically delivered to your e-reader on release day, August 22, 2023. All the best, Amber!

Cooking with the Bachelor

Trevor isn’t a normal bachelor. Even though he’s single and lives alone, he doesn’t eat junk food, drink beer all the time, and live off on TV dinners. He cooks for himself and does a pretty good job of it. So good, in fact, that he wows his new girlfriend, Shea, right out of her panties with a home-cooked meal.

But let me back up a second.

Trevor grew up with an abusive, big he-man of a father, but his loving mother taught him how to cook because he needed the life skill. His dad wasn’t too happy about that, to say the least. Luckily, Trevor adored his mother and continued his cooking lessons with her in secret. Once he grew up and moved out on his own, he furthered his culinary education with help from the Internet. Music and food are his hobbies, his way to unwind after a stressful day, and believe me, he has plenty of stresses in his life.

Fast forward to present day, Shea shows up at his apartment, soaking wet and crying. With a tornado warning in effect, she can’t leave. Not that he wants her to go. She’s had a horrible day at work and is now on administrative leave, and all Trevor wants to do is comfort her. What better way to do that than nourish her heart and belly with an open ear and a delicious meal. As they work side-by-side in the kitchen to make a chicken pasta casserole, their feelings for one another deepen. Then the power goes out. What else can they do but light some candles and fall into bed?

Want to read part of the cooking scene? Check out the excerpt.

Also, I have a special gift for you. Here’s Trevor’s casserole recipe. Enjoy…

Chicken Pasta Casserole

Ingredients: 

4-6 chicken breasts (diced)

16 oz penne noddles

2 Tbsp white vinegar (or water/oil)

3 Tbsp butter or oil

1 onion (peeled and diced)

1 carrot (diced)

2 green pepper (diced)

½ cup cheese

croutons or cracker crumbs

black pepper and salt to taste

Optional ingredients: broccoli, olive, garlic, your favorite spice

Directions:

Heat oven to 350F. Add vinegar to large casserole dish and make sure you moisten bottom and sides. 

In skillet, soften butter on medium heat. Sautée chicken until brown.

Boil pasta and all vegetables in a large pot of water for eight to ten minutes or until al dente. Drain water.

Layer dish with half the pasta-and-vegetable mixture and the chicken. Then another layer of each. Top with cheese and croutons. Add black pepper and salt to taste. Bake, covered, for 45 minutes.

Blurb, TREVOR'S REDEMPTION:

The danger and lies are more than she can handle.

Shea O’Bannon feels like a fifth wheel around her romantically paired-off friends, but there’s too much slime in the dating pool for her to bother with it. Then she sees her two-timing ex, Trevor Madero, serenading the mostly female crowd at a live-music bar. God knows trouble follows him around, but her desire for him rushes back in anyway. After he rescues her from a handsy drunk, temptation takes over.

Determined to prove he never stepped out on Shea, Trevor slides back into her life—and her heart—with forever in mind. Even with the wall he keeps up to protect her, his secret criminal life weighs heavy on his soul and drives a wedge between them.

When the truth comes out and his enemies target them both, they’ll have to fight for their love, or kiss it goodbye.

Will the truth send her running, or will she fight for the man she loves?

Excerpt:

He rolled his stiff shoulders and pushed aside pasta bags, crackers, and vegetable cans in the cabinets. Where were the croutons? After he checked the fridge, he pulled the cracker box off the shelf. “I usually top the casserole with croutons, but this will have to do.” He dumped the square bits of wheat into a bowl to crush.

“No worries. I’m already impressed you’re not feeding me a TV dinner. A man who can cook gets top notches in my book.”

He winked at her. After he drained the water, he layered the pasta-and-vegetable mixture with the chicken in a large casserole dish, topped it with crumbs and cheese, and popped it into the oven. “Come here.” He pulled her close and kissed her warm, welcoming lips. Her sweet taste rocketed through him. She twisted her fingers into his damp hair and tugged hard enough to sting his scalp. He groaned. This was real. Normal. The skanky women who flocked to him at clubs and after his gigs no longer thrilled him. Did he have a shot for something real with Shea?

She moaned into his mouth and nibbled on his lip.

Tingles shot through his jaw. “Let me take care of you. I want to give you candles, music, the works.”

“You mean to seduce me?”

“I’ll only go as far as you’ll let me.”

A soft noncommittal noise rumbled from her mouth. He drew her hand up and kissed her knuckles. Was she weighing the pros and cons? Would she let him treasure her as she deserved? He licked the underside of her wrist.

“Oh, God.” Her breathing sharpened, her chest rising and falling faster. She clutched his biceps as he planted light kisses along her nose and brow. “Don’t stop kissing me, Trevor. I want to forget about everything, except you.”

“As you wish.”

Add to Goodreads – https://bit.ly/TrevorsRedemptionGoodreads

Check it out on BookBub – https://bit.ly/TrevorsRedemptionBookBub

PreOrder Today

Release Day – August 22, 2023

Only 99 cents for a limited time!

Universal - https://books.amberdaulton.com/trevorsredemption

Amazon - https://amzn.to/3WKxXqg 

Barnes and Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/trevors-redemption-amber-daulton/1143581784?ean=2940160981512 

iTunes - https://books.apple.com/us/book/trevors-redemption/id6449718746 

Kobo - https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/trevor-s-redemption 

Google Play - https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=AjbCEAAAQBAJ 

About the Author:

Amber Daulton is the author of the romantic-suspense series Arresting Onyx and several standalone novellas. Her books are published through Daulton Publishing, The Wild Rose Press, and Books to Go Now, and are available in ebook, print on demand, audio, and foreign language formats. 

She lives in North Carolina with her husband and demanding cats. 

Social Media:

Universal link – https://linktr.ee/AmberDaulton

#NewRelease from Cynthia Terelst: TAKING THE BULL BY THE HORNS

I'm helping Australian romance author Cynthia Terelst celebrate the release of her newest book, TAKING THE BULL BY THE HORNS. It releases today, July 31, 2023. Best of luck with this book, Cynthia!

Blurb:

Love can heal the scars on your heart

Lachlan

So what if I’ve gone through four nannies in three short years? I know what’s best for my children and it’s not the nanny my mother and ex-wife have hired.

Peyton may be all kinds of beautiful but she is totally unsuitable—city girl, former doctor and no experience.

Problem is, everybody loves her. I don’t want to feel the same; one failure at love is enough. Besides, I have a duty to my family and the farm.

Except the more I spend time with her, the more I’m drawn to her honesty and bravery. I need to remember, a farm is no place for a woman like Peyton; she will not stay.

Peyton

After an accident put an end to my surgical career, I jumped at the opportunity to be a nanny. Moving to Australia will get me away from my controlling family. It’s time I start making my own decisions.

But falling for my boss is not the wisest one I could make, even if it feels right. It doesn’t hurt that his singing makes my panties melt.

Everything is perfect—I feel heard and seen for the first time (and I don’t just mean my scars).

I’m where I belong…until my family get involved. Then I’m left with no job and no home.

Now I need to make the biggest decision of all—stand up to my family, choose my happy and fight for love.

Excerpt:

“Peyton.” Lachlan’s voice aroused me from my sleep. I forced my eyes open. I was lying on the couch. Where were the kids? Lachlan reached out for the remote and turned the TV off. I must have fallen asleep during the movie.

“It’s time for bed,” he said.

I didn’t want to move. My eyes were awake, but the rest of my body was in slumberland. My eyes wanted to follow. 

“Do I need to carry you to bed like the kids?”

I let out a soft laugh. “I’m quite a lot heavier than a child.” 

“You don’t think I could?”

“No.”

Before I could swing my legs around to sit up, Lachlan had lifted me from the couch. I yelped. Then to help him with my weight, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. I breathed in grass and man. Good man, not just aftershave and cleanliness. Earth and strength.

I melded into him, swaying with every step he took. Being in his strong arms, I felt secure. I shouldn’t feel like this. But I didn’t try to jump out of his arms. What was I doing? 

“Show off,” I mumbled against his shoulder.

“Just proving you wrong.”

He walked into my room and made his way to my bed.

“Is it wrong to like you?” I asked. My heart beat fast in my chest. Would he think I was stupid?

He lay me down on the bed. His face was shadowed. Was he going to answer?

“No, it’s not wrong.”

He bent down and kissed my temple softly.

Oh, the sweetness of it. I sighed. My eyes closed as my body floated in bliss. 

“I like you too.”

Was I dreaming?

I opened my eyes. He was gone.

Buy Link: https://books2read.com/Bull?store=amazon

Author Bio:

Cynthia Terelst is an Australian author based in regional Queensland, where the sun shines 283 days a year. She is a document controls manager by day and a writer by night. Her contemporary romance novels share a little bit of history, some Australian scenery and a whole lotta love. Cynthia does not shy away from difficult topics, as she feels they should not be ignored.

Terelst has published seven books in her Love Down Under Series and has added short stories to multiple anthologies. She refers to her writing style as heat with heart. Her stories will leave you feeling warm and hopeful.

Social Media Links:

Website https://cynthiaterelst.com/

Newsletter https://www.subscribepage.com/p9p9y0

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/cynthiaterelstauthor/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cynthiaterelstauthor/

TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@cynthiaterelst

BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cynthia-terelst

Amazon Author Page - https://www.amazon.com/Cynthia-Terelst/e/B07ZCTX8SB/

Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/cynthiaterelst

Blog http://cynthiaterelst.com/blog/

Twitter https://twitter.com/CynthiaTerelst

Linktree - https://linktr.ee/cynthiaterelst

#NewRelease from Trevann Rodgers: WAITING FOR THE SON, LGBT Urban Fantasy

Trevann Rodgers joins me today to celebrate the release of WAITING FOR THE SON, book 3 in the Living After Midnight LGBTQ Urban Fantasy series. Best of luck with the new book, Trevann!

WAITING FOR THE SON, Living After Midnight Series, Book 3

Blurb:

The world is on the brink of genocide. Can an incubus rock star really be its only hope?

Cheyenne, the half-human son of the Monarch, is getting beaten up on the regular. He's also fighting with his weretiger boyfriend, holding down his gig in the city's premier nightclub, and taking care of his kids. Adulting is more complicated than he thought it would be.

Someone close to the Monarch is putting the supernatural races at risk. With everyone in his inner circle under suspicion, he asks his son for help unearthing the traitor.

Cheyenne declines. He doesn't have the bandwidth, and politics is not his thing.

When his father's troubles escalate, Cheyenne has no choice but to get involved. If he succeeds, the traitor will be exposed. If he fails, his father will die, and the backstabber will be free to lift the veil of secrecy that protects them all.

Waiting for the Son is the third book in the LGBTQ urban fantasy series Living After Midnight.

Warning: This book features quirky supernatural creatures, a luncheon that makes an orgy look like a made-for-TV movie and an incubus who makes you hope what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

Excerpt:

The standing-room-only crowd at Underhill had been into his new songs. Guys and girls alike had been in sync with him, swaying when he swayed and smiling when he smiled. His skin tingled with all the positive energy—until a voicemail from Unakite City Elementary School sucked all the happy out of him.

Cheyenne thumbed off his phone and tossed it onto the sofa in his dressing room. No sense in getting agitated. He couldn't find out what new crime his kid had committed until Monday morning. So instead, he changed out of his leather and chains performance gear and into more comfortable jeans and a black tee-shirt before packing up his guitar. 

His footsteps echoed as he made his way through the empty club to the alarm panel. Eric, the manager, appreciated the chance to leave early, ensuring he made it to wherever he lay to rest before the sun came up. 

Chey didn't like the vampire and owed him no favors. He didn't have to be the last to leave, and Eric knew it. Chey stayed when it worked for him, either because a fan-with-benefits caught his eye or he needed extra time to come down from the post-concert high. 

He punched in his code and turned on the alarm. A sense of peace washed over him as the whirring of the industrial fans slowed, the florescent blue lights faded, and internal doors locked with a mechanical swoosh that reverberated throughout the cavernous building. The click-click of the alarm system started a rhythmic chant signaling it was time to leave or risk being trapped inside.

The club's rear double doors closed behind him with a clang. Underhill's parking was never adequate for the number of people attending his shows, but Cheyenne always arrived early to be sure he parked close to the building. With his history of getting jumped in alleys and parking lots, he wasn't taking any chances. At least Gre'gori, the owner, had installed adequate lighting. 

He headed to the Cutlass, his ever-faithful ride. She stood waiting right where he left her, dependable if not shiny and new. Not that a bit of wear and tear was a problem. It kept anyone from thinking she was worth stealing or vandalizing. One day he'd be able to afford a new ride, something bigger and fancier, but even then, he'd keep this pretty green thing, maybe give her to the kids one day so she'd stay in the family. But for now, she was all his, like his guitar, the other important inanimate object in his life. 

"Hey there, sweetness." He patted her roof affectionately, placed his guitar case on the passenger seat, and froze. The acrid taste of challenge and jealousy, something like burnt marshmallow and ash, assaulted his senses.

Jeeze. Not again. Was the entire population of incubi out to kill him? 

Buy Link: 

Amazon - https://www.amazon.ca/Waiting-Son-Steamy-Fantasy-Midnight-ebook/dp/B0C9XVHZKW

Author Bio:

Trevann Rogers writes rock star romances, urban fantasy, and LGBT paranormal romances. Her books include HOUSE OF THE RISING SON and AFTER MIDNIGHT: The Beginning. 

Her short stories appear in the anthologies Dangerous Curves Ahead: An Anthology, and Wickedly Ever After. 

Each story incorporates an unquenchable addiction to music and Trevann's love for vampires, Weres, incubi and rock stars. She writes long after the sun goes down because, like these elusive creatures, she learned long ago that sometimes being yourself means Living After Midnight. 

Trevann lives in Connecticut with Toby, her 10-year-old rescue puppy, and Lil Monkey, a sock monkey who thinks he's real but refuses to chip in on the mortgage.

Trevann's internet home is www.trevannrogers.com/about

Social Media:

www.bookbub.com/profile/trevann-rogers 

www.facebook.com/trevannr 

www.pinterest.com/trevannr 

www.twitter.com/trevannrogers 

www.trevannrogers.com/about 

For up-to-date information about releases www.subscribepage.com/enter_livingaftermidnight

Booksweeps Small Town Giveaway!

 Today, I have a fun surprise to share with you...

I’ve teamed up with 45+ fantastic authors to give away a huge collection of Small Town

Romances to 2 lucky winners!

Oh, and did I mention the Grand Prize winner gets a BRAND NEW eReader? ��

You can win my novel LIES AND SOLACE, plus books from authors like JILL SHALVIS and

LEEANNA MORGAN.

Enter the giveaway by clicking here � https://www.booksweeps.com/giveaway/july23-win-a-

bundle-of-small-town-romance/

Good luck and enjoy!

#NewRelease from Lisbet Sarai: BY MOONLIGHT

Lisabet Sarai joins me today with a look at her new release, BY MOONLIGHT a lesbian historical romance. Lisabet says the inspiration for this story comes from the poem THE HIGHWAYMAN by Alfred Noyes (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43187/the-highwayman) The biggest change from the poem, aside from BY MOONLIGHT being a lesbian romance, is that it has a happy ending rather than a tragic one. She made it a true romance! Welcome Lisabet!

Don’t Throw Anything Away

Inspiration is fickle. One day you’ll be seized by an idea that just won’t let you go. You throw yourself into the writing, intoxicated by the process of creation, certain this will be the best book you’ve ever produced. The sentences and paragraphs flow, the story taking shape on the page almost without effort.

Then, suddenly and inexplicably, the fire dies out. The magic evaporates, and you’re left to plod along, trying dutifully to complete the opus to which you’ve devoted your time, despite your doubts about its quality. 

If you’re trying to make a living writing, you can’t afford to wait for the muse. You’ve got to produce. If, like me, you write primarily for the joy of the process, you may abandon the entire project when your inspiration disappears.

That’s what happened with By Moonlight. For years, I’d wanted to write an erotic tale based on the Alfred Noyes poem “The Highwayman”. One day the stars aligned. I sat down and wrote the first chapter in a couple of hours. It turned out exactly as I’d imagined it, both lyrical and arousing. I was chuffed, as my UK author friends would say, eager to push the tale forward.

The next weekend, though, when I sat down to continue, I discovered that inspiration had fled. The whole notion seemed silly. I really couldn’t force myself to write any more.

So I put the barely-started tale aside and worked on something else. I always have lots of potential projects in mind, far more than my writing time allows.

That was four years ago. I’d almost forgotten By Moonlight. Then a stormy night recently reminded me of the poem, and the poem reminded me of the story. When I pulled it up and re-read it, I was freshly impressed and determined to complete it. 

After such a long lag, I worried that I wouldn’t be able to recreate the tone of that intense first installment. Fortunately I was able to get feedback from my online critique partners, who helped me to adjust the language and the atmosphere appropriately. All in all, I’m happy with the result. I think I’ve managed to fulfill my intentions, offering homage to the Noyes poem while twisting the story in an original (and happier) direction.

The lesson here, though, is clear. If you are an author, don’t throw anything away! Keep all your snippets, all your abandoned projects, all your monuments to the departed muse.

You really never know when inspiration will return.

Blurb:

I’ll come for you by moonlight – though Hell should bar the way

In her eighteen years on earth, Bess has never traveled more than twenty miles from her Devonshire village. The raven-haired innkeeper’s daughter has little time to dream of adventure as she labors from dawn to dusk to keep her abusive father satisfied.

Then, at the weekly market in Tavistock town, she meets a handsome dandy who claims her with a single stolen kiss. When the gallant gentleman makes a midnight visit to the inn, Bess learns that her new lover is none other than Kit Latour, a notorious French highwayman who has been boldly relieving the local nobility of their valuables. Well-aware of the risk she’s taking, Bess still offers herself to the seductive outlaw. Even Kit’s darkest secrets cannot quench the flames of her love.

Excerpt:

She must have drowsed, despite her determination to remain on guard. She heard no hoof beats clattering in the inn yard, no tapping on the barred shutters, only a soft whistle under her window that had her instantly alert.

She leaned out, her hair spilling over the casement. “Kit!” she cried, heedless of anyone hearing. “You’ve come at last.”

“Well met, my fair lady.” The lithe figure below gave a little bow. “Did you doubt me?”

“No doubt, my love, only fear. Your fame has spread wide. There be many who’d delight in spilling your blood.”

“Even more after tonight, I’ll wager. I’ve had rich takings along the high road. A fat, dyspeptic earl and his broomstick wife contributed generously to my cause.”

“Lord Haverstock? Oh Kit, he has the King’s ear.” She shrank back into the shadows of her bedroom, then peered anxiously into the distance. She almost expected to see His Majesty’s troops mustering on the country lane. “Why must you take such risks?”

Kit chuckled. “Without risk, life wouldn’t be worth living.” The bandit grasped the gnarled ivy vines that clung to the old inn and clambered up to the second floor. In moments, Bess was face to face with her beloved. 

What was her Kit thinking, to ride in such finery against the wealthy and powerful? The coat was burgundy velvet, worn over a pure white linen shirt with a ruffle of lace at the throat. Supple doe-skin boots rose half-way up those strong thighs. The jeweled hilt of a dagger glittered at Kit’s waist. The hungry light in the bandit’s eyes burned brighter still.

“Oh, Bess, how I’ve missed you!”  Kit seized her, crushing her against the velvet, and captured her mouth. Bess pressed her soft body against her lover’s harder form, savoring the heady mixture of familiar comfort and forbidden arousal she always felt in Kit’s arms. A brazen tongue ravaged her mouth while knowing hands slipped under her shift to palm her buttocks and pull her closer still.

“Take this off, girl, before I rip it from your limbs,” Kit gasped, tugging at the fabric that hid her flesh. “I cannot wait another instant.”

Not so long ago she’d been a bashful virgin, but there was no shyness in her now. She pulled the garment over her head and tossed it onto the chair, shaking her long hair free.  Moonlight from the window made her pale skin glow. Kit’s eyes roamed over her nakedness. She’d never felt so beautiful, or so needy.

Buy Links:

Kinky Literature – https://www.kinkyliterature.com/book/1183-by-moonlight-/

Amazon  US – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C99C59RY

Amazon UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C99C59RY

Smashwords –  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1413596

Barnes and Noble – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/by-moonlight-lisabet-sarai/1143711659?ean=2940166073495

Kobo  - https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/by-moonlight-8

Apple Books - https://books.apple.com/us/book/x/id6450718058

Add on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/180643788-by-moonlight

Add on BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/by-moonlight-by-lisabet-sarai

About Lisabet:

Lisabet Sarai became addicted to words at an early age. She began reading when she was four. She wrote her first story at five years old and her first poem at seven. Since then, she has written plays, tutorials, scholarly articles, marketing brochures, software specifications, self-help books, press releases, a five-hundred page dissertation, and lots of erotica and erotic romance – over one hundred titles, and counting, in nearly every sub-genre—paranormal, scifi, ménage, BDSM, LGBTQ, and more. Regardless of the genre, every one of her stories illustrates her motto: Imagination is the ultimate aphrodisiac.

You’ll find information and excerpts from all Lisabet’s books on her website (http://www.lisabetsarai.com/books.html), along with more than fifty free stories and lots more. At her blog Beyond Romance (http://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com), she shares her philosophy and her news and hosts lots of other great authors. She’s also on Goodreads, BookBub and Twitter. Join her VIP email list here: https://btn.ymlp.com/xgjjhmhugmgh 

RESCUE ME #onsale for #99cents!

 RESCUE ME is #onsale for #99cents at Amazon from June 21-26!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008WU7FEY

Blurb:

Chelsea Andrews can’t decide who’s more dangerous—the creep on the Toronto city bus, or the handsome stranger who rescues her. Was he acting as he claimed, or is he that weird in real life? She doesn’t stick around to find out. Fate intervenes when her rescuer, out of work actor Matt Malone, sublets the apartment across the hall. Chelsea soon discovers the most dangerous thing about her charming new neighbor is the damage he’s inflicting on her heart.

Or is it? Soon after Matt moves in, creepy unsigned romantic notes begin showing up at the art gallery where she works. Then she’s followed home from the bus stop late one night, and sentimental keepsakes go missing from her apartment. Though all the evidence points to Matt, Chelsea doesn’t want to believe the funny, sincere man she’s falling in love with could be the culprit.

Matt is at a crossroads. He’s given up a lot for his acting career and it’s given him little in return. Should he continue? When he moves in across the hall from Chelsea, he begins to believe he could have it all, love and career. But those hopes are dashed when he discovers what she believes he’s capable of.

Chelsea must decide whether Matt is the man of her dreams or her worst nightmare. And Matt has to decide what, and who, is truly important to him.

Excerpt:

Megan tugged on Matt’s hand. “Come on, Matt, you promised you’d sing for me. My favorite. Remember?”

Chelsea turned to stare at Matt, surprised. He could sing? The man was full of surprises.

Matt kissed Megan’s cheek with obvious affection. “How can you say no to a pregnant woman?”

Chelsea watched as he hopped up onto the stage and spoke to his father and the other musicians. A moment later he picked up the microphone.

“My sister asked me to sing and said if I didn’t, she’d give birth right here on the dance floor. I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want to see that.” When everyone quit laughing, he continued. “This is one of my favorite songs, and even though Robbie Burns wasn’t Irish, I’m going to sing it anyway.”

Matt’s father played the introduction to the song, the sound of his fiddle so sweet it would make the angels weep. And then Matt sang.

“My love is like a red, red rose,

That’s newly sprung in June:

My love is like the melodie

That’s sweetly played in tune.”

Chelsea sat transfixed, barely breathing. Matt’s rich tenor swept over her, embracing and enveloping her with its warmth. The words struck a chord somewhere deep in her soul.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008WU7FEY

Recipe from J. Arlene Culiner, author of The Blake's Folly Trilogy

 J. Arlene Culiner shares a vegetarian recipe today and tells us a little about her Blake's Folly series. Your recipe sounds wonderful. Thanks for being here today!

 Seductive Vegetarian Food: Polenta, Mushrooms, Red Wine

 by J. Arlene Culiner        

        Once upon a time, I travelled to Italy to visit a friend, Donata, who lived in a mountain village in the north of the country. One day, Donata’s brother was invited to lunch by Licia, a woman who was doing her best to seduce him: he really was a handsome guy, and she was a very determined woman. To make her planned seduction less obvious, she also invited me, Donata, and two other people.

Licia lived in a traditional village house. There were wooden benches around an open fire in a nook, and this is where we sat while the meal was being prepared. I must say, it was an incredibly simple meal, but so delicious, I’ve never forgotten it. 

Earlier that morning, Licia had gone out to collect wild mushrooms. Now she stewed them with fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, marjoram) diced shallots, black pepper, chopped cloves of garlic, olive oil, butter, and red wine. At the same time she boiled up some polenta and when it was cooked, she put it into a buttered baking tray in a one-or-two-inch thick layer and set it in the oven until it had a cake-like quality. When it was ready, she cut the polenta into squares and ladled the thick cooked mushroom mixture onto it.

We all loved it! What a simple but wonderful meal. And now you’re wondering if Licia did get her man. Yes, she did.

For those not familiar with polenta, it’s simply ground cornmeal. American grits is basically polenta. You can buy uncooked polenta that is cooked like rice or oatmeal, but you can find it in many natural foods outlets as a big ready-cooked roll. If you manage to find the roll, all you have to do is slice it, heat it in a pan or in the oven with butter.

  Licia’s recipe was so wonderful, I mentioned it in my romance book, A Room in Blake’s Folly, but there are other vegetarian recipes in the Blake’s Folly trilogy. In All About Charming Alice, my heroine, Alice Treemont, is a herpetologist who protects snakes and rescues dogs. Jace Constant, a well-known writer, is renting a room in Alice’s house out in the Nevada wasteland, and he’s determined to win her heart, even if that means becoming a vegetarian! 

“You look like a carnivore to me, not a vegetarian,” Alice said. A cannibal, a woman-eater.

 

Excerpt from All About Charming Alice:

The sound of loud banging had Alice shooting down the stairs and out through the front door. What was going on? It sounded as if a whole wrecking crew was slugging away at the very walls of her house. Any second now, the whole entire building would collapse into a vast heap of dust and shattered sticks of furniture.

She found Jace sitting on the ground beside the veranda, nails sticking out of his mouth, a hammer in his hand and a stack of thick old wooden beams beside him. Now what was this absolutely infuriating person up to? He wasn’t going to make her life miserable all day long, was he? Yes, it looked like he was.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

He turned his head, gazed at her nonchalantly. Took the nails out of his mouth and whistled lasciviously.

“Jeans. I didn’t know you owned a pair of jeans. I like your hair like that, too.”

She blushed. She’d pinned her hair back in a low, loose chignon but would rather have been eaten by ants than admit she’d taken special care with her appearance this morning. Why? Because she really did want to please him. “Jace, I want an answer. What are you doing?”

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you a house needs upkeep? If you want this place to be standing in another one hundred and fifty years, there are things that have to be done. Urgently. This joist here, for example. It needs to be reinforced, so I’m doing that.”

“You’ve no right!” She leaned forward aggressively, hands balled into fists.

His eyes twinkled. “A man likes to catch up on home repairs on his day off.”

“This is my house, not yours!”

“Quite right. You own the house. But, at the moment, this happens to be my home.” He put a nail into place and banged away at it.

All Alice could do was stand there, wait patiently for the noise to stop so she could continue the argument. God, he was infuriating. “It isn’t your home! Your home is in Chicago.”

“My apartment is in Chicago. That’s true enough. A nice, big, flashy apartment with expensive, modern furniture. I’ve also worked out that it’s perfectly impersonal and soulless. Simply an apartment, get it? Not a home. This place is a home. A real home. And I feel like helping you protect it.” He began attacking another nail. Stopped. Looked at her. “And when I’m finished with this job, the veranda isn’t going to cave in like it was threatening to do. And, by the way, I’m not stopping with the veranda. There’s all the rest.”

The wide gesture he made encompassed the whole house, the yard, the road, all of Blake’s Folly.

“The entire state of Nevada,” Alice muttered sourly and glared ferociously, hoping he’d eventually take the hint or feel intimidated. But since he didn’t bother looking up again, her effort was wasted.

Blurb - All About Charming Alice:

 

Trust in love and solutions will appear

Alice Treemont has no intention of falling in love. Living in Blake’s Folly, a semi-ghost town, she cooks vegetarian meals, rescues unwanted dogs, and protects the most unloved creatures on earth: snakes. What man would share those interests?

Jace Constant is in Nevada, doing research for his new book, but he won’t be staying. He’s disgusted by desert dust on his fine Italian shoes and dog hair on his cashmere sweaters. As for snakes, he doesn’t just despise them: they terrify him.

So why does the air sizzle each time Alice and Jace meet? A romance would entail far too many compromises.

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/Charming-Alice

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l2VyHtsY7A

Blurb - Desert Rose:

 

Secrets are the best protection against love

Rose Badger is the local flirt, and if the other inhabitants of backwoods Blake’s Folly, Nevada, don’t approve, she couldn’t care less. With a disastrous marriage and a dead-end career far behind her, settling down is the last thing she intends to do. Newcomer Jonah Livingstone is intriguing, but with his complicated life, he’s off limits for anything other than friendship. Besides, Rose has a secret world of her own—one she won’t give up for any man.

The last person geologist Jonah Livingstone expected to meet in a semi-ghost town is the sparkling and lovely Rose Badger. But Rose, always surrounded by many admirers, doesn’t seem inclined to choose a favorite. So why fret? Jonah keeps his personal life well hidden…and that's the best way to avoid disappointment.

Purchase links: https://books2read.com/RosesDesert

Trailer : https://youtu.be/tHPrIciT0XU 

Blurb - A Room in Blake’s Folly:

If only the walls could speak…

In one hundred and fifty years, Blake's Folly, a silver boomtown notorious for its brothels, scarlet ladies, silver barons, speakeasies, and divorce ranches, has become a semi-ghost town. Although the old Mizpah Saloon is still in business, its upper floor is sheathed in dust. But in a room at a long corridor's end, an adventurer, a beautiful dance girl, and a rejected wife were once caught in a love triangle, and their secret has touched three generations. The six stories in A Room in Blake’s Folly tell the tale.

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/BlakesFollyRomance

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wt3VkYUTVNk

 

About the Author:

Writer, photographer, social critical artist, and impenitent teller of tall tales, J. Arlene Culiner, was born in New York and raised in Toronto. She has crossed much of Europe on foot, has lived in a mud house on the Great Hungarian Plain, a Bavarian castle, a Turkish cave dwelling, a haunted house on the English moors, and on a Dutch canal. She now resides in a 400-year-old former inn in a French village of no interest where, much to local dismay, she protects spiders, snakes, and all weeds. She particularly enjoys incorporating into mysteries, non-fiction, and romances, her experiences in out-of-the-way communities, and her absurd conversations with very odd characters.

Author links: https://linktr.ee/j.arleneculiner