Lyn Cote's Blog, page 41
December 6, 2015
Lyn Reviews Winnie Griggs’ Her Holiday Family
I’m offering my copy of this book, so be sure to leave a comment below to enter the drawing.
booksbylyncote.com.
December 1, 2015
Author Lacy Williams & Williams Family Corn Casserole
My guest today is author Lacy Williams. She is one of the authors who is part of the latest Inspy Kisses Novella Collection. The others are Margaret Daley, Brenda Minton and me.
:-). Here’s Lacy’s
Williams Family Corn Casserole
*1 can whole kernel corn, drained
*1 can creamed corn
*1 stick butter (or 1/2 cup margarine), melted
*1 T. sugar
*1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix
*1 cup sour cream
*2 eggs
Mix all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Spray a 9 x 13 glass pan with Pam or rub with butter, then pour batter into the pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until edges are golden brown and center just begins to crack.
This is a beloved side dish in my husband’s family. Birthday? Special family dinner? Christmas dinner? This casserole gets served (usually two full casseroles are made for all the hungry tummies!).
In the Williams family, there’s also a tradition that if you are celebrating a special occasion (usually a birthday), the person being celebrated gets to eat off of a Waechtersbach Red Plate. (Picture http://www.waechtersbachusa.com). When my husband and I got married, my mother-in-law gifted us with our own Red Plate for our family!
In “Jingle Bell Cowgirl,” the hero and heroine share a poignant meal together
—it’s the first time the hero Ben has shared a meal with a woman since his wife passed away. Here’s a snippet from the scene:
He nodded to the TV visible behind her. “I’m not really into Christmas movies.” Mia had been.
She glanced around in an exaggerated manner. “You don’t seem to be into the holiday at all. Even I have a tiny tree in my apartment.”
He turned his back and grabbed two plates from the upper cabinet next to the sink. Thinking about Christmas just hurt too much.
When Mia died, he’d been forced to come home and take down her boxes of decorations. He’d shoved them in the back of the attic, and there they’d stayed ever since.
If that made him a Scrooge, then…so be it.
“You’ll shoot your eye out, kid.”
“Hmm?” He glanced over his shoulder, but she’d turned so that her back was to the door and her gaze was on the Christmas movie. He’d hoped she’d turn it off.
And then the kid got shoved down the slide at Santa’s village, and Ben found himself smiling. Even chuckling, just a little.
Lila glanced over her shoulder, their smiles and gazes connecting.
She averted her eyes quickly.
She distracted him by quoting the movie again as she came into the kitchen and located the cutlery drawer.
Their shoulders bumped in the close space as she stepped past him to set the small nook table where he and Mia had eaten so many meals together.
He got hung up with both plates of steaming lasagna in hand, staring at those place settings.
Lila was the first woman who’d come in here since Mia’s death, and looking at the silverware set out at exact angles to the table’s edge made him intensely aware of it.
He cleared away the frog of emotion in his throat. “Why don’t we eat on the sofa?”
She took one of the plates of steaming food from him as he scooped up the cutlery from the table.
Sitting across from her on the sofas was better—he and Mia had always sat side-by-side, sometimes snuggling under an old quilt together. The distance and being face-to-face with Lila helped him separate things in his mind.
It didn’t stop his awareness of her dancing eyes.
The movie cut to a commercial, a familiar jingle that had played countless times each Christmas season that he could remember.
And Lila was suddenly singing along.
She looked at him, raising her brows, daring him to join her.
No way. He shoved a bite of lasagna in his mouth.
But he still found himself humming along by the end.
You can read the rest in JINGLE BELL COWGIRL.”–Lacy
To purchase, click here. booksbylyncote.com.
November 29, 2015
Author Vivian Kay & An Unexpected, Shocking Conversation
My guest today is an author new to me who was recommended by another author I know well, Michelle Stimpson. Author Vivian Kay is offering one Ebook copy of Secret Places. So be sure to answer the QUESTION below to be entered into the drawing. Here’s Vivian:
Secret Places was inspired by an unexpected, shocking conversation about an unconventional marriage intervention.
I love spunky, imperfect heroines and my imperfect heroine, Moni Badmus certainly fits that description.
As Moni’s marriage implodes, she is very much aware of her contribution to the messy situation. The problem is, she finds it hard to let go of the wrongs of the past even as it robs her of peace in the present. And Mona tries keep her only child, a self-proclaimed daddy’s girl.
As the novel unfolds so does the transformation within Moni as she hits rock bottom because of her very real fears.
Moni also gets to a point where she has to determine the things important to her. Things only begin to turn around when Moni acknowledges the source of her strength. She also learns that if a woman isn’t sure about her convictions, she will fall for anything. And perhaps lose everything.”–Vivian
To purchase, click here. The post Author Vivian Kay & An Unexpected, Shocking Conversation appeared first on booksbylyncote.com.
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November 22, 2015
Lyn Reviews Winnie Griggs’ The Proper Wife
I am going to giveaway my copy of The Proper Wife so be sure to leave a comment at the end.
November 17, 2015
Author Margaret Daley Shares A Sweet Recipe & A Deadly Noel
My guest today is USA Today Bestselling Author Margaret Daley, a powerhouse. She is one of the authors who wrote a novella for the Christmas Eve Kisses collection. And she’s here to share new holiday recipe. Here’s Margare and she sayst:
calories don’t count during holidays 
This is the time of year to indulge in sweets. Like a vacation, calories don’t count during the holidays. I wish that were really true. Oh, well, we can always dream. I want to share a new recipe I came across from Braum, which is a chain of stores that specializes in ice cream and diary products in my area of the country.
Peppermint Cake with Marshmallow Cream Frosting
2 cups of melted peppermint ice cream
1 box of white cake mix
3 eggs
½ cup chocolate mint flavored baking chips
4 oz. softened cream cheese
1 7 oz. jar of marshmallow cream
1 stick of softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ¾ cups powdered sugar
small pieces of peppermint candies
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray nonstick cooking spray in a Bundt pan. Combine the cake mix, eggs and melted ice cream in a large bowl and then beat those ingredients together for 2 minutes with an electric mixer. Stir in the baking chips until they are all mixed in. Fill the Bundt pan with the batter and bake for 35-40 minutes. It should be golden and cooked thoroughly. When you remove the cake from the oven, turn the Bundt pan upside down onto a plate and leave the pan over the cake for at least 4 hours.
For the frosting, beat together the cream cheese and butter until smooth with an electric mixer. Add in the marshmallow cream and vanilla and mix together. Finally put in the powdered sugar slowly mixing in ½ cup at a time. Spread the frosting over the cake and decorate with bits of peppermint.–Margaret
Here’s Margaret’s latest romantic suspense set around Christmas and I see a cowboy!
To purchase, click here.
November 16, 2015
Excerpt of “Winter Homecoming”
Here’s the Excerpt from my novella “Winter Homecoming,” part of the Christmas Eve Kisses Novella Collection.
Chapter One
Christmas Day, 1930
Why couldn’t life go according to plan? In the stark moonlight at the railroad freight yard, Will Gustafson sheltered his ears in his upturned collar against the bitter December wind. They called Chicago the Windy City and they weren’t wrong. In the distance he heard an engine idling. Relief flickered within him. Even late on Christmas Day, the trains were running.
At least something in this country was still working. He’d hoped the feared railroad guards or “bulls” he’d read about in the Tribune would be busy celebrating in their warm office and he could make his escape without meeting them. He didn’t know how to jump a freight, but he’d learn how tonight.
His nearly empty stomach clenched and cold regret had clotted in his throat.. He’d given up trying to swallow it down. In a cloth sack over one shoulder, he carried all that was left of the life he was leaving. He listened in the wind for harsh voices, for the bark of the guard dogs he’d read could savage a man. Icy fear settled in the pit of his stomach.
His mind brought up a memory as bitter as the wind—a beautiful woman in a summer dress, laughing at him. He shoved it away and moved silently through the shadows of the parked freight cars toward the idling engine, slipping soundlessly as if on the hunt for an elusive twelve-point buck.
His ears caught the subtle sound of footsteps on frozen ground. Will stiffened, ready to run, ready to fight.
“Hey,” a man whispered, “gonna flip a train?”
“Yeah,” Will whispered back, hoping flip meant jump.
“Then you better follow me.” A scarf and battered hat pulled down against the wind hid the man’s face. “There’s a train leavin’ in a few minutes but we gotta hustle to make it.”
Will started hustling. “Where’s the train headed?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes, I’m headed north toward home.”
“Home.” The man spat the word like a curse. “You got one to go to?”
Will didn’t reply. He didn’t want to go home to humiliation and “I told you so’s” but he could survive there, hunting and fishing.
“Come on,” the stranger said. “Hustle.” At a breathless pace the man led Will through the maze of track and freight cars, the idling engine sounding closer.
The snarling of a dog split the wind.
The stranger pushed Will into the shadow of a freight car. They huddled there. Will’s heart pounded. But the dog, wherever it was, barked no more.
“Come on,” the stranger hissed. “Guess it’s too cold for the bulls or their dogs.”
And ahead in the moonlight Will glimpsed big wheels beginning to turn. He and the man zigzagged through the shadows and over tracks to the train just rolling.
Will moved to catch one of the handholds.
The stranger held him back. “Wait,” he snapped. “The bulls watch the trains leavin’. Has to be goin’ fast enough they won’t try to drag a man off. Too dangerous for them.”
And more dangerous for us. Will’s pulse sped up, keeping pace with the sound of the wheels on the track.
“Now.” The stranger yanked Will’s coat collar and then flat out ran to the speeding train.
Will raced forward.
The stranger caught hold. Swung himself up onto a car. Shoved the sliding side door open.
A dog barked wildly behind Will.
“Come on!” the stranger bellowed over the roaring wind and clacking of the train.
The dog snapped at Will’s heels. Will swung up high. The stranger grabbed his arm. Dragged him toward the gaping doors.
The dog jumped, trying to nab Will’s foot.
Downward gravity pulled at Will. The stranger hauled him inside.
Panting, Will lay prostrate on the dusty wooden floor, feeling the clackety-clack of the wheels in his bones. He’d done it; he’d “flipped” a train.
Finally he rolled over and sat up. The freight had sped up and was rocking along fast. Though the doors had been closed against the wind, city lights still flickered through cracks. The two of them weren’t alone. Other shapes huddled around the dark edges. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” the stranger sneered. Then he pulled out a pistol.
Will felt not only his shock but also a wave of shock from the others. “What?”
“Buzzard!” a voice jeered.
“Empty your sack.” The stranger waved his gun, ignoring the insult.
Will sized him up. And prepared.
“I said—”
Will reared up and knocked the man to the floor. He’d never before had to fight while in a moving train. He went down on the top of the man, punching, rolling. He clapped his hand around the wrist holding the gun. He’d grown soft in Chicago but he pinned the man down in a wrestling hold he’d learned in high school.
The stranger gurgled.
Will slammed down the hand with the gun, again, again.
The stranger released the gun.
Will snatched it up, shoved it in his pocket. Then patted the man down, searching for any other weapon or the ammunition. He found none. He flipped open the pistol’s chamber and found it empty too. “Well, that’s stupid. Threaten me with an empty gun.”
The stranger moaned.
“If I hurt you, it’s your own fault.” Will rubbed his throbbing elbow and slid back to his place against the wall. The man’s treachery stung more than the physical pain. Now he realized that what he’d taken as kindness from this man had merely been a strategy to get him where he could rob him away from the law. The stranger hadn’t expected anybody to come to Will’s aid here and no one had. When would Will learn that people here couldn’t be trusted?
The stranger finally dragged himself up and staggered to the opposite wall. The train had picked up speed, swaying more.
“What did you think I had to steal?” Will asked in the heavy silence.
The stranger was rubbing his side. “Hungry.”
The reply surprised Will again. Was it true? Sympathy touched him. The man must have suffered even more than Will had. “Why didn’t you just ask?” Will reached into his pockets and pulled out Hersey bars. “Anybody else want a piece?”
Stunned silence and then a few chuckles. One old guy with a white beard said, “Celebrating Christmas, are we?”
“It’s not roast turkey,” Will replied, feeling lighter somehow, “but it’s all I got.” He counted heads in the dim light and broke the two bars into chunks and handed them out, the last to the man who’d threatened him. Then Will sat back, letting the chocolate melt on his tongue.
“Give me my gun back,” the stranger said, his voice low and rough.
“No,” Will stated. “You’ll just get yourself killed with it. A man doesn’t wave an empty gun in a body’s face. I can use it for hunting.” A pistol wasn’t as good as a rifle but it was something. “I was wondering how I’d get a gun. Now I only need ammo.”
“So you’re stealing it.”
“I’m taking it into protective custody.” Still, his conscience pricked. Will pulled the pack off his back, reached inside, and pulled out a pair of gloves. He tossed them toward the stranger. “Here. Now you’ve been paid.”
The man picked the gloves up and peered at them in the flickering light. “Gloves. Leather gloves.” He pulled them on quickly.
“I can only wear one pair at a time,” Will said. “Deal?”
Another wave of surprise spread through the train.
“Deal,” the stranger muttered. “Sorry.”
Will nodded. “Anybody know where this train’s headed? What direction?”
“North,” one of the shadowy men replied.
“Good.” Will sighed silently.
One of the figures slid closer to him. “Hi.”
Will tensed, then saw that it was just a kid, not more than ten. “Hi.”
“How far north you goin’, mister?”
What was a kid doing here all alone? “Far.”
“Wisconsin?”
“Yes.” Will felt the tension leak out of him. The stress of everything that had happened in the last months, weeks, days, finally hit him as he sat there, swaying on the dusty floor.
The boy settled beside him. “Good.”
The excitement over, the men in the freight car turned in for the night. The cold wind found its way through the cracks. Will shivered. The kid next to him fell asleep and curled up against him like a puppy. Will welcomed the warmth, but he didn’t fall asleep. He couldn’t turn off the mocking images, the rude voices in his head. He deserved them. He’d been a fool. And now he was paying for it.
So there’s the beginning. Chapter 2 brings Cass Newton into Will’s life. So what do you think? Does the beginning grab your interest?–Lyn
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The post Excerpt of “Winter Homecoming” appeared first on booksbylyncote.com.
November 15, 2015
November 10, 2015
November 8, 2015
Lyn Reviews Betty’s Neels’ Classic Romance, The Right Kind of Girl
I will send my well-worn copy of this Betty Neels’ classic to one commenter. Don’t miss the QUESTION below.
November 6, 2015
Launch the Holidays Historical Costume Party on Goodreads!
To join the fun, click booksbylyncote.com.
