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Monday, November 27, 2006

The Way to a Man's Heart Reviews and Promo




It's a Shameless Promotion, but I have to direct you all to the December Issue of RWR (Romance Writer's Report) where I have joined in with five other Cobblestone Press authors for a great color ad.

For those of you who only read print books, this one is a reissue set in downloadable form and available from at www.cobblestone-press.com. You might want to try something new - digital publishing!

And check out this new review from JoyfullyReviewed.com :

Growing up, Christy Evans had been leery of her neighbor Kyle Warren. He had been a star athlete, too sure of himself and too capable of being a heart breaker. Having returned home after the death of his father to handle his estate, Christy knew it was time for a tentative showing of friendship. It was something “Pop” Warren would have wanted.

Kyle had never been able to get anywhere with Christy – not that he had even tried. First, Pop would have had his hide, but Christy wouldn’t even acknowledge him for the remotest possibility of friendship. Sure he may have been a bit wilder in his youth, but he was an adult now. It shouldn’t be so difficult to be friends.
Although friendship was not necessarily what Kyle wanted now.

The Way to a Man’s Heart by Charlene Sands is a romance that will take you on an emotional rollercoaster. Kyle is a hero that any woman should want, but Christy has been burned too many times in the past. She can’t, or won’t, take chances again. But Kyle isn’t someone to sit back as a quitter. I enjoyed watching his reactions. Charlene Sands proved herself to be a competent writer by creating a hero who does not react in expected fashion and that was a welcome respite from a more predictable plotline.


Be sure to enter my Holiday Surprise contest, if you haven't already! www.charlenesands.com
And the Desire Fortune's Continuity begins in January! Keep up on all and be sure to read my March release Fortune's Vengeful Groom. Six great stories from January to June!

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

MELT IN YOUR MOUTH BUTTER COOKIES

This is a recipe handed down from generation to generation in my family. Be aware you can't eat just one. They truly do melt in your mouth.

BUTTER COOKIES




1 CUP BUTTER
6 TABLESPOONS CONF. SUGAR
2 CUPS FLOUR
1 TSP. VANILLA
1 CUP chopped nuts (optional)



CREAM BUTTER AND SUGAR, ADD OTHER INGREDIENTS. KNEAD WELL, ROLL INTO SMALL BALLS. FLATTEN SLIGHTLY WITH FORK.
BAKE 12-15 MINUTE IN MODERATE OVEN. WHILE HOT-SHAKE POWDERED SUGAR ON THEM.
Makes 24 cookies.

So easy. Enjoy!

Hint: Only melts in your mouth is you use REAL BUTTER. That's the key.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

THANKSGIVING CRANBERRY MOLD

Here's another recipe that's so easy and a way to fancy up your cranberry dish. Enjoy!

THANKSGIVING CRANBERRY MOLD

2 CANS JELLIED CRANBERRY SAUCE
1 BOX ORANGE JELLO (LARGE)
12 OZ SPRITE OR 7 UP


COOK CRANBERRY SAUCE , STIRRING UNTIL BARELY BOILING AND MELTED.

ADD JELLO POWDER – STIR UNTIL BOILING BARELY

TURN OFF HEAT

PUT IN FRIDGE FOR 20-30 MIN TO COOL

PUT SPRITE IN AND STIR

POUR INTO JELLO MOLD WITH NON-STICK SPRAY

UNMOLD IN HOT WATER – IF RUNNY- PUT IN FREEZER FOR A FEW MIN.

**This is easy to slice. You can use a bundt mold, but honestly a Tupperware or other such mold gets the best result.


DON'T FORGET TO ENTER MY HOLIDAY SURPRISE CONTEST! You'll receive your "after holiday" surprises the first of 2007!

Monday, November 20, 2006

Thanksgiving and some great recipes

This week I'll be posting some of my favorite dessert recipes -- traditions that are "must haves" or the family goes NUTS. Sort of like your "auto buys" at the book store. So, these are among some of the family favorites.

NUT CUPS (Great for the holidays!)


1 PKG. CREAM CHEESE 3 OZ.
1/4 LB. BUTTER OR MARGARINE
1 CUP FLOUR

MIX WELL AND CHILL. THEN SHAPE INTO 24 BALLS - ABOUT ONE TSP. AND MOLD INTO CUPCAKE TINS (SMALL ONES)


FILLING

3/4 CUP NUTS (WALNUTS)
1 CUP SEMI-SWEET CHOCOLATE MORSELS
2 EGGS
1/2 CUP SUGAR


BEAT EGGS AND SUGAR WELL. ADD NUTS AND CHOCOLATE CHIPS. FILL WITH MIXTURE - ABOUT 1 1/2 TEASPOONS INTO EACH CUP

BAKE AT 375 FOR 20-25 MINUTES OR UNTIL FILLING IS GOLDEN BROWN. REMOVE FROM TINS WHILE WARM ON PAPER TOWELING. PUT INTO PAPER CUPS AND SPRINKLE WITH POWDERED SUGAR

*These are great to put on the Thanksgiving or Holiday table at each individual setting, in place of after dinner mints. Very festive! And delicious!

Sunday, November 12, 2006

FIVE THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT ME



I've been tagged by good friend and fellow Desire author Bronwyn Jameson, to post Five Things You Might Not Know About Me. Now, I've tagged another good friend and Historical author Cheryl St John to play along. All those with blogs, join in too and let me know it's up on your site and I'll post it to mine.

If you don't have a blog, simply post yours in the Comments section. Here goes and have fun!

1. I couldn't blow a bubble with bubble gum to save my life!

2. When not writing, I teach childbirth classes and babycare basics at a local
hospital. It's estimated that I've taught 500 pregnant couples a year for
the past 20 years.

3. My pride and joy cat, Skittles, is known by family and friends as the Devil Cat!

4. When I was sixteen, I was arrested twice. DON'T GET EXCITED! It was for curfew and my "record" was thrown out before I graduated high
school. I really was a good kid.

5. My father never saw my books in print, so I sneak his name Charles
in every book and in every form: names of streets, towns, nicknames, in code,
so he's always with me. See if you can find some.

Now it's your turn. Play along or simply comment.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Fun Historical Facts

I write westerns, but I love all history and my research uncovers some amazing facts. These, however, were sent to me by a dear friend and are more in the form of fascinating trivia.

Hope you enjoy!

Life in the 1500's:

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s:

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water..

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying . It's raining cats and dogs.

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house.. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, Dirt poor. The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway. Hence the saying a thresh hold.

(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old..

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, bring home the bacon. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat..

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a ...dead ringer..

And that's the truth...Now, whoever said History was boring ! ! !

I love: Saved by the bell! So which one is your favorite? Got any others?


Start the New Year right! Don't forget to enter my new Surprise Contest to win great prizes and signed books. Contest ends on New Year's Eve!