Tilly Greene's Blog, page 12

Remember, remember the fifth of November - its time for this old ditty!

It's Guy Fawkes Day and the cutie is wearing his Englishness proudly!  Here's the ditty for this holiday ... the whole dirty lot!  Now grab some parkin, a pint of fine English ale, stack some branches for a wee bonfire [ours all blew away thanks to 'Sandy'] and sing along:



Remember, remember the fifth of November,

Gunpowder Treason and Plot,

I see no reason why gunpowder treason

should ever be forgot.



Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes,'twas his intent

to blow up the King and the Parliament.

Three score barrels of powder below,

Poor old England to overthrow:

By God's providence he was catch'd

With a dark lantern and burning match.

Holloa boys, holloa boys, make the bells ring.

Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!

Hip hip hoorah!



A penny loaf to feed the Pope.

A farthing o' cheese to choke him.

A pint of beer to rinse it down.

A faggot of sticks to burn him.

Burn him in a tub of tar.

Burn him like a blazing star.

Burn his body from his head.

Then we'll say ol' Pope is dead.

Hip hip hoorah!

Hip hip hoorah!




November 5th is Bonfire night, a British celebration remembering the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. A group of English Roman Catholics organized and came up with a plan to destroy tyrannical rule by King James I of England and the Protestant Aristocracy. Guy Fawkes was the man chosen to blow up the Palace of Westminster [or the Houses of Parliament] but he was caught before this happened. After being tortured, he and other conspirators were found guilty of treason, they were hung, drawn and quartered. Apparently Fawkes escaped the hanging by getting free and jumping from the scaffolding and broke his neck. After that, he was still drawn and quartered.

 
Have a fabulous Bonfire Night!

Tilly Greene

Scorching romances full of twists, turns and ties.

www.tillygreene.com

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It's Thirsty Thursday and J Paulette Forshey has a stew on offer!

J. Paulette Forshey when not combining alcohol and chocolate in the kitchen is busy writing about romance and sex in the bedroom, and a few other places. Her latest release A Tango Trinity is a multicultural ménage wrapped around the professional world of tango. Her characters when not doing the tango are fond of items like Paulette’s Decadent Raspberry Devil’s Food Cupcakes, and comfort food like Irena’s Baba Traraso’s Chicken Stew. Baba Traraso and Paulette like to pair their chicken stew with a Woodbridge Cabernet Sauvignon by Robert Mondavi. The wine has a nice woodsy taste that brings out and compliments the tomato, basil, thyme, chicken and other flavors of the stew. In addition it goes nice with the Hickory Smoked cheddar they sprinkle on the stew right before serving.


Paulette combines her love of food, sexy alpha heroes, a lucky heroine, and an ornery grandmother with four of her favorite recipes in A Tango Trinity .



Irena Traraso, a petite, dark-haired Russian, was a rising competitive American Tango dancer. She and her partner, Vladimir Markrava, were tearing up the opposition at the World Tango dance contest. Until Vladimir’s jealous girlfriend, Anna, had Irena attacked moments before stepping onto the stage. Irena's dreams, confidence, and body were shattered.



Josh Sarchet, a Quarter horse rancher, had two left feet, but he could appreciate the ballroom dancing class from the wings. Watching a dancer practicing in the banquet room of his favorite eatery became one of his favorite past times. And the attraction began to burn. When Irena is injured, he takes her home to his ranch in Ohio to heal more than just her body but her soul as well.



Neyen Delgado loved dance but became disillusioned by the backstabbing and petty politics ramped in the professional Argentine dance world. He relocated to a small Ohio town to teach eager students and perhaps reclaim his passion for the art.



Irena wants to hide from life; Josh wants Irena to live life again, and he knows Neyen is the connection for all three of them to become whole again.



BaBa Traraso’s (okay, really Paulette’s) Chicken Stew



2 tablespoons olive oil

1 or 2 stalks celery, cut into bite-size pieces

2 carrots, peeled, cut into bite-size pieces

1 small onion, chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper (see note about salt below)

2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans chopped tomatoes

2 (14-ounce) cans low-salt chicken broth

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces (or ¼ cup or less of dried)

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

4 chicken breast with ribs (about 1 1/2 pounds total)

1 (15-ounce) can organic kidney beans, drained (rinsed if not organic)

2 (15-ounce) cans of diced potatoes

1 (15-ounce) can of corn



Serving suggestion: Honey Wheat Crusty Bread or Lemon Rosemary Zucchini Bread (recipes in A Tango Trinity



Heat the oil in a heavy 5 1/2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the celery, carrot, potatoes, and onion. Sauté the vegetables until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, chicken broth, basil, tomato paste, bay leaf, and thyme. Add the chicken breasts; press to submerge.



Bring the cooking liquid to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently uncovered until the chicken is almost cooked through, turning the chicken breasts over and stirring the mixture occasionally, about 25 minutes. Using tongs transfer the chicken breasts to a work surface and cool for 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Add the kidney beans to the pot and simmer until the liquid has reduced into a stew consistency, about 10 minutes.



Discard the skin and bones from the chicken breasts. Shred or cut the chicken into bite- size pieces. Return the chicken meat to the stew. Bring the stew just to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. (We don’t add any salt, for us the ingredients provide that.)



Ladle the stew into serving bowls and serve with the bread. Grated cheese can be added as a garnish before placing on table (Hickory Smoked is our favorite).



Makes six or more servings, depending on the bowl size. Great frozen and reheated later, too!



Pick up your FREE copy of Passionate Cooks for J. Paulette’s Decadent Raspberry Devil’s Food Cupcakes recipe, but first grab the button below and claim to the world:









J. Paulette Forshey/Genevieve Delacroix

"Spreading Sexy Happily Ever Afters"

www.jpauletteforshey.com

Tilly Greene

Scorching romances full of twists, turns and ties.

www.tillygreene.com

Facebook│Twitter│Blog│ARe Cafe

Have a Naughty Coffee with #AReCooks @Sabrina_York on this Thirsty Thursday!

Naughty Coffee with Sabrina York



The cooling weather has me remembering the delicious cinnamon rolls that my mom would make on a chilly fall morning. This was my contribution to the Passionate Cooks cookbook, available for free from All Romance eBooks. I adore the smell of bread baking, and the cinnamon and spices make my mouth water.







But you can’t just eat these steamy cinnamon rolls naked. Well, you can eat them naked. But you can’t eat them naked and alone.



Here’s my suggestion for a super delicious companion beverage.



Naughty Coffee

1 ½ cup steaming coffee

1 ounce marshmallow flavored vodka

3 ounces of Irish cream

Generous mound of whipped cream

A tiny sprinkle of pumpkin spice



Yum.




If you are hankering for an early Halloween, check you’re my latest erotic release, Trickery, a tale of witches and warlocks and sexy magical domination.


Though seducing a mortal is expressly forbidden, novice witch Willow Ostreth wants Austin. Bad. Unbeknownst to Willow, Austin—the glorious, delicious specimen who makes her heart pound and her body weep—is no mere mortal. He’s really Damien DeWinter, a powerful warlock, a man determined to lure Willow—and bind her—to his bed.



When the luscious Willow breaks the rules and uses her magic to ensnare him, Damien—rebel, renegade, outcast from the Witching World—figures he has carte blanche to pursue her and seduce her using any means possible. And his arsenal is vast.



What neither of them realizes as they tempt and torment each other with pleasure is that there’s a greater magic at work here. One that could bind them together, forever.



Check it out, or read an excerpt: http://www.amazon.com/Trickery-ebook/dp/B008BOVQX2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1349141046&sr=8-2&keywords=trickery



Visit Sabrina York at sabrinayork.com.

Tilly Greene

Scorching romances full of twists, turns and ties.

www.tillygreene.com

Facebook│Twitter│Blog│ARe Cafe

Thirsty Thursday is showcasing #AReCooks @SharonKleve and her Mouth Watering Blackberry Margarita - yum!

Sharon Kleve, when not getting busy in the kitchen is writing The Corny Myer's Series and releasing the third book Klutzy Love.


Corny is a hot chick with a great job that she loves. All that changed in the blink of an eye when her boss had an accident involving an oversized rubber band. She’s still a hot chick, but her boss is dead.




Steve Spears is a seasoned narcotics cop who ends up wanting to strangle Corny on a regular basis. After finding out Corny’s dream of opening a pet detective business, he decides he doesn’t want a girlfriend who routinely puts herself in danger. That’s his job!



Corny misses Steve, but she’s getting on with her life. She decides to get a month’s worth of dating out of the way in a single night, by combining her three favorite things—men, food, and alcohol.



Steve’s big gun and cop’s intuition saves Corny’s life, but not from another trip to the emergency room. He makes Corny promise never to get hurt again—she agreed, but has her fingers crossed behind her back.



Mouth Watering Blackberry Margarita from Sharon Kleve
12 oz. Agave Tequila

6 oz. fresh squeezed lime juice

3 oz Agave nectar

3 oz water

¼ cup blackberries, frozen will work if they're not in season.

A pinch of rock salt




Shake vigorously and pour over crushed ice.



Makes about 6 servings, depending on the glass size



Pick up your FREE copy of Passionate Cooks for Sharon Kleve's Lip Smacking Pork Roulade recipe, but first grab the button below and claim to the world:

Tilly Greene

Scorching romances full of twists, turns and ties.

www.tillygreene.com

Facebook│Twitter│Blog│ARe Cafe

Books I have coming out very soon are a big mix of HOT PASSION!

Taste for Blood is short, hot and bloody - and I say that not just because it takes place in England!


People visit Whitby to enjoy an old English seaside town, eat fish and chips and possibly see a vampire or two. Ella lives there and is hunting a fake vamp that uses a famous book series to ruin many young girls’ lives. One night a man she’s been watching shows his true colors and she puts her plan for revenge into action. Everything was in place for an anonymous act except an unpredicted twist that flips things on their head. With only seconds to decide, she’s forced to make changes and ends up getting something she hadn’t bargained for—a sexy man who wants nothing except her body.



Revenge is sweet, but is a night of wild sex too high a cost for vengeance?





Leather Bride is a scorching novella that traces a path filled with a fashion forward woman and her love of leather, bondage and Mr Right for her!



There
are two things on Mimi St. John’s mind. Her lover and how he’s finally given
her exactly what wanted: to be bound and taken. Everything was wonderful until
she wakes up to find he’s left days before they were to share the spotlight at
Fashion Week.


 

Mimi
tries to back out of walking the runway at the Safe, Sane and Consensually Wild
show except there’s a problem.  She’s the
muse behind the collection and the designer, her friend, won’t hear of her not modeling.  The final ensemble is a real showstopper
designed for her to wear and no one else.

 

A
misunderstanding threatens to tear them apart, but will a fashion show bring
them closer together?

 

WARNING! Leather Bride has lots of sex and some of it involves
leather and toys. Here’s more of a WARNING: as the heroine has a thing for
leather, some of the toys are made of leather!




Come to Me is the second book in the Come trilogy with more of those sexy white haired shape shifters bringing their love's to their side and disposing of all challenges they face.


Instead of running for her life, Ali stays and finds what she forgot she’d had—love.



As a huge mirror in her bedroom starts reflecting animals in a most intimate manner she begins to wonder about whether she wants to keep it or not.  When the male tiger starts appearing in her dreams with a gorgeous man who demands she come to him, she worries.



Taking a trip to New York City for the holiday season seems to be the best option, but when she is at an award show and the gorgeous man from her dreams appears, now she knows she should be running for her life.


But she doesn't.  She stays and gets the ride of her life.

Tilly Greene

Scorching romances full of twists, turns and ties.

www.tillygreene.com

Facebook│Twitter│Blog│ARe Cafe

Banned Books Week: Lord of the Rings burned, no really, BURNED!

Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkien
Burned in Alamagordo, N.Mex. [2001] outside Christ Community Church along with other Tolkien novels as satanic.



And there you have it, a classic burned in the twenty-first century and because of shuttered stupidity no less.  How embarassing is that?!?



Stepping off my platform for another year doesn't mean the subject is forgotten ... I don't ever forget there are people out there trying to tell others what they and their children can and can't read.



To end on a lighter note, I've seen the trailer for The Hobbit film and it looks wonderful ... go see it December 14.

Tilly Greene

Scorching romances full of twists, turns and ties.

www.tillygreene.com

Facebook│Twitter│Blog│ARe Cafe

Banned Books Week: What do John Milton, Lyndon Baines Johnson and Mae West have in common?

I'm not a huge quote person, but I found a couple that spoke well of what challenging/banning books leads to and they are:



Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties.

John Milton, Aeropagitica



Books and ideas are the most effective weapons against intolerance and ignorance.

Lyndon Baines Johnson, commenting as he signed into law a bill providing increased Federal aid for library service, February 11, 1964



And finally, because she makes me laugh,



There were a lot of things the censors wouldn't let me do in the movies that I did on stage.  They wouldn't even let me sit on a guy's lap and I'd been on more laps than a napkin.

Mae West, Index on Censorship

Tilly Greene

Scorching romances full of twists, turns and ties.

www.tillygreene.com

Facebook│Twitter│Blog│ARe Cafe

Thirsty Thursday is showcasing #AReCooks @Cat_Johnson Buckin' Bourbon to go with her Orgasmic Cheesecake!

Hello, all and thank you for stopping by Thirsty Thursday, which Tilly was kind enough to invite me to join in today!




We’re celebrating the new cookbook being put out by All Romance eBooks called Passionate Cooks. It’s a collection of the favorite recipes from romance authors. My contribution is the Orgasmic Cheesecake and what is more perfect with dessert after a nice meal than an after dinner drink, or perhaps coffee with a bit of a “kick”.



I developed, through arduous trial and error and tastings, some bourbon recipes to celebrate my cowboy series. In my newest release, Flanked (Studs in Spurs, Book 5) I have my professional bull rider Garret James drinking bourbon and cola. But being a former bartender, I couldn’t resist coming up with something a bit more creative to do with that bourbon. Below is one of the recipes I came up with. It’s tasty, strong and oh so good to warm you and your cowboy up on a cold autumn night along with a slice of that cheesecake and a nice roaring fire perhaps…



Enjoy!



Cat Johnson
www.CatJohnson.net




 

CAT’S BUCKIN’ BOURBON

1 part Bourbon

1 part Kahlua® Coffee Liqueur

Serve over ice

Variation: Add hot coffee and cream for coffee with a kick



Pick up your FREE copy of Passionate Cooks for Cat Johnson's Orgasmic Cheesecake recipe, but first grab the button below and claim to the world:

Tilly Greene

Scorching romances full of twists, turns and ties.

www.tillygreene.com

Facebook│Twitter│Blog│ARe Cafe

Banned Books Week: Witchcraft and Sorcery is a problem, seriously ... NOT!

Yes, in the 21st century there are actually people who are concerned about witchcraft and sorcery, not just in practice but also in Fiction, young adult fiction to be precise.



After all I've said this week, I know none of you are surprised to find out that the entire Harry Potter series by JK Rowling was banned/challenged.  Where I get my laughs is from the reasons stated for why they should be pulled off shelves.



Here are a few from the Banned Books 2007 Resource Guide:



Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Retained at Orange Grove Elementary School in Whittier, Calif [2000]. It was challenged for dealing with magic and bad experiences.



Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Challenged, but retained in Frankfort, Ill. School District [2000].  Parents were concerned that the book contains lying and smart-aleck retorts to adults.



Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Challeneged, but retained in Arab, Ala. school libraries and accelerated reader programs [2000] over objections that the author "is a member of the occult and the book encourages children to practice witchcraft."



Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Challenged, but retained in the Newfound Area School District in Bristol, N.H. [2000] despite an objection the book "is scary".



Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix



Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Removed by the Wilsona School District trustees from a list recommended by a parent-teacher committee for the Vista San Gabriel, Calif. Elementary School library [2006] along with twenty-three other books. ... The Wilson School District board approved new library book-selection guidelines in wake of trustees' controversial decision.  Books now cannot depict drinking alcohol, smoking, drugs, sex, including "negative sexuality, implied or explicit nudity, cursing, violent crime or weapons, gambling, foul humor, and dark content."



Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows



Nope, I didn't change a word ... bad experiences, smart alecks, scary, dark content ... were all reasons given.  Ridiculous!  It looks like all the books can be borrowed for free from Pottermore through Amazon if you're a Prime member, go read them all over again!

Tilly Greene

Scorching romances full of twists, turns and ties.

www.tillygreene.com

Facebook│Twitter│Blog│ARe Cafe

Introducing #AReCooks Passionate Cooks Cookbook + Beverages = Thirsty Thursday and starts here - tomorrow!

Every good meal has a wonderful beverage served at some point.  Whether its an aperitif, wine, cocktail or beer, this is the place you'll find out what drink the Passionate Cooks authors pair up with their dish.




I shall kick it off by suggesting you pick up a bottle of red wine to go with my Vegetarian Lasagne Roll-ups for Gods and Goddesses.  Your favorite will do but I actually paired my recipe with Cabernet Sauvignon called Santa Julia from Mendoza, Argentina.  It's an organic wine the producers describe on the bottle as:

The Cabernet Sauignon is full of black cherry, currant and plum flavors with a touch of spiciness.  This wine would pair well with red meats, firm cheeses and pastas with red sauce.

PERFECT!



Pick up your FREE copy of Passionate Cooks and grab the button below, claiming to the world:

Tilly Greene

Scorching romances full of twists, turns and ties.

www.tillygreene.com

Facebook│Twitter│Blog│ARe Cafe