August 1, 2017
Can you smell it? Fall is just around the corner—or so it seems. The first NFL game of the season, college football is gearing up, and the kiddos are getting ready for school. Won’t be long and you’ll be shopping for Halloween candy and Christmas presents.
In this Issue:
© Quote of the Month
© Check This Out
© Featured Author
© New Releases
© Author Recipe of the Month
© Upcoming Events
© Coming Next Month
Quote of the Month: “We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world” ~~ Buddha (563 BCE ~ 483 BCE)
A Weekend with the Authors in Nashville was a blast! It is a small and intimate reader event with a limit of 50 authors attending. There was speed dating, a western party and cookout on Friday night, the signing on Saturday, steampunk party on Saturday night, and so many other events and games for those who attended. I’m looking forward to March next year! Click here to see pictures of the signing.
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I am always looking for ways to give my readers something. I am currently seeking several people who are interested in reading an Advance Reader Copy of Simply to Die For and posting a review within 1-5 days of the release date. Click here to read sample chapters. If you are interested in reading/reviewing the entire book, please send me an email to obtain a link to the ARC. Thank you!
I’ve always loved stories based on families, especially when there is a strong parent. I grew up watching shows like Bonanza and The Big Valley, and I remember being drawn to Ben Cartwright and Victoria Barkley, even though I was young when those shows aired. When the authors at Eskape Press agreed to do a multi-author series about a widower with several children, I immediately signed on to write the patriarch’s story.
Since the alpaca business is not as lucrative as it once was, I had to be sure my character had another profession to fall back on. I thought of careers that could continue on a part-time basis and decided the Tom Cooper would be a successful attorney who became an alpaca rancher when he inherited the ranch from his grandfather. Tom had a loving marriage, and has mourned his wife for ten years. To get him to take a chance on love again, I needed a compassionate woman who understands loss all too well, and former nurse Laurie Matthews came to be.
For inspiration I chose two television actors. The hero is modeled after my favorite silver fox – Mark Harmon. He’s about the age of Tom Cooper, my alpaca rancher. He’s handsome, but not what I’d call pretty. The characters he plays are intelligent, but he’s not flashy. Actress Jean Smart was my inspiration for the heroine. I loved her as office manager Charlene Frazier on the show Designing Women. She’s sassy, but there’s an underlying layer of pain.
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Tom Cooper left his high-pressure law practice in Indianapolis for life on an alpaca farm in the tiny northwest Indiana town of Escape. Though he continued to practice law, the farm provided a good life for him, his wife, and their four children. But when his wife died, grief consumed him. His withdrawal into himself damaged his relationship with his children, and they've all left. He's resigned to taking care of the farm alone, but a disturbing medical diagnosis could change things.
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Laurie Matthews left her nursing job in shame. The town of Escape has welcomed her, and she now owns the local diner. She's attracted to the handsome widower who comes in for coffee and a hot meal but keeps her distance. Everyone she's ever loved has died -- her grandparents, her parents, her husband, and one other -- one she still can't bear to think about.
A romantic relationship isn't on the agenda for either of them, but when the diner falls on hard times, Tom steps in to help, paving the way for them both to escape the loneliness in their lives.
Buy Links
Author Links
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New Releases This Month:
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A U G U S T 1
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Hunter’s Blues
A Woodcutter’s Grim Series Futuristic
When the evil in Woodcutter’s Grim unleashed, humans turned into ravenous ghouls. Guardian hunter Reece Pallaton discovers the source of the evil, the mirror that’s the opposite half of the “glass darkly” world, and his own terrifying connection to both.
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The Way It Hurts
Two teens who dream of fame find it in the worst way possible... a viral tweet.
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A U G U S T 1 7
The Good, The Bad, And The Scandalous
Andrew Elliott, Earl of Hartland has received a warning: danger is heading for London and it’s looking for Sarah Shipton. Can Hart keep her safe from a person hell bent on her destruction?
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A U G U S T 1 8
Close to the Skin
Book 2 The Skin Quartet
Can a powerful crime boss give up his empire to save the woman he loves?
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A U G U S T 2 2
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A Hero To Love
Book 2, Changing Tides Series
Navy Chief Master at Arms Jackson "Jax" Faraday is at a crossroads. As the Navy base veterinarian, town local Risa Reynolds is right where she belongs: close to her parents in a farmhouse full of animals-with room to grow.
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Simply to Die For
A Black Horse Canyon Novel
Can ex-adult film star, Kandi Kyses and surfer reporter, Jimmy O’Brien find a serial killer before he finds Kandi?
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I love a good chicken recipe with lots of flavor and this one is oh, so French. It was the favorite of Jean Donet, comte de Saintonge, the hero in Echo in the Wind.
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Chicken Fricassee
also known in 18th century France as Fricassée de Poulet a l’Ancienne
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1 chicken, cut into four parts
2 Tbs. butter and 1 Tbs. olive oil
sea salt and fresh ground pepper
½ cup grapes
1 medium onion, diced
2 cups chicken broth
¼ cup breadcrumbs Juice of 1 lemon
1 shallot, diced
4 cups white wine (can use less)
1 tsp. parsley, minced
3 egg yolks
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· Cut the chicken into four parts. Coat lightly with breadcrumbs and parsley. Over low to medium heat, sauté in butter and olive oil with salt and pepper until lightly browned on both sides.
· Place chicken in a stewpot with broth, wine, onion, shallot, grapes, and lemon juice. Simmer for 25 minutes. You can also add vegetables to the pot.
· Remove chicken.
· In a medium bowl, whip the egg yolks. Gradually add ¼ cup of the sauce to the yolks while stirring to temper the eggs. Be sure not to cook the egg yolks. Stir mixture into the rest of the sauce. Heat gradually until sauce thickens.
· Pour sauce over the chicken and serve with steamed or sautéed vegetables (unless you cooked them in the pot).
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Can Donet resist the English vixen who entices him as no other woman? Will Lady Joanna risk all for an uncertain chance at love in the arms of the dashing Jean Donet?
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Regan Walker didn't start out as a writer of romance. Although she wrote stories as a child, by the time Regan got to college, and at the urging of my professors, she became a lawyer. After years of serving clients in private practice and several stints in high levels of government, she decided it was time for a change. Becoming a bestselling author and winning awards were the subject of dreams when Regan first began writing historical novels. But dreams sometimes do come true.
She loves hearing from readers. Visit her online:
Website / Blog / Facebook / Amazon Author / Goodreads
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With much gratitude, until next time…keep reading.
Maxine
Spark your imagination and entice your mind
Be adventurous in your own mind
Take a journey into a new world and be inspired
Enjoy the pleasures of reading ~~
It does the mind and body good.
Above photo from Pinterest
Schoolhouse Rock: Grammar - Conjunction Junction Music Video –
Disney Educational Productions video from YouTube
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