Morgan James's Blog, page 2
October 9, 2019
Epilogue or No?
Typically, I just jump right into my stories. The Devil You Know was a little different, though. I knew right from the onset that I was going to have to set the scene since something that had happened 10 years prior affects Victoria’s life forever.
I’m not typically a fan of stories that jump around from past to present, either. It makes it a little difficult to follow and hard to get into. As far as a prologue, though, I think it’s okay to give a little background. Sometimes it helps to draw readers in and explain why the main character is now they way they are. Much like with Victoria–She experienced something traumatic and was forever changed.
Will I use more prologues in the future? Who knows? You’ll just have to read on to see. 
September 29, 2019
Author Feature – Beth D. Carter
Beth D. Carter is bringing us another AMAZING romantic suspense from Evernight Publishing!
Untraceable is the second book in the World of Danger series. These men will risk everything to keep the women they love out of harm’s way. Book One: Invincible (out now) Book Two: Untraceable (new release) Book Three: Ruthless (out 2020).
Blurb:
Mae Sawyer has a huge crush on her
boss, JD Harlan, but he doesn’t even know she exists. She blends into the
background of her data entry job, living for glimpses of him walking through
the office. Then one night, everything changes. While working late, she’s
caught up in a plot to kidnap him…and gets taken as well.
They wake up in an underground bunker. No electricity. No way to be traced. Alone, they have to rely on each other to stay strong until their captor decides their fate. Danger lurks outside the bunker, waiting for a moment of vengeance.
Buy Links:
EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING- https://www.evernightpublishing.com/untraceable-by-beth-d-carter/
SMASHWORDS- https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/958960
Author Info:
I like writing about the very ordinary girl thrust into extraordinary circumstances, so my heroines will probably never be lawyers, doctors or corporate highrollers. I try to write characters who aren’t cookie cutters and push myself to write complicated situations that I have no idea how to resolve, forcing me to think outside the box. I love writing characters who are real, complex and full of flaws, heroes and heroines who find redemption through love. I love to hear from readers so I’ve made it really easy to find me on the web:
https://twitter.com/BethDCarter
https://www.facebook.com/bethdcarterauthor
https://www.instagram.com/bethdcarter
http://bethdcarter.blogspot.com
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/beth-d-carter
Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/BethD.Carter/e/B00EOTD1T0/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1385417145&sr=8-1
September 28, 2019
Author Feature – Megan Slayer
Hey, lovelies! Happy Saturday
September 27, 2019
Kitten Fever
If you follow me on social media, most of you probably know that my husband and I bought about ten acres of land out in the country a few months ago. It’s been a heck of a project so far, but more about that later…
So, there’s an existing log cabin on the property which my father in law now lives in…. along with a few stray cats. As you might guess, one of the cats starting growing around the middle. (Someone’s been slutting around, apparently… lol)
We now have 3 furball additions to the family. I spent the evening giving these little guys a flea bath and getting them settled in their new home. Needless to say, my kiddos are having a blast loving on them. Now I just need to find homes for them before we get too attached…
July 19, 2019
Best Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER!
Looking for the perfect treat for, well, everything? Here’s the perfect recipe for homemade chocolate chip cookies! Make sure to check out the tips and tricks at the end for best results!
¾ cup granulated (white) sugar
¾ cup light brown sugar
½ cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 eggs (large, room temp)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 ¼ cups flour, sifted
2 cups chocolate chips
(Optional: walnuts, M&Ms, etc.)
In separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In medium mixing bowl, beat sugars and butter at medium speed until well blended.
Add eggs, one at a time. Beat low/medium until just combined.
While mixing, add vanilla extract.
Gently add dry ingredients, ¼ cup at a time until mixture is fully combined.
Fold chocolate chips, M&Ms, walnuts, etc. into mixture
Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 12 minutes, or until edges are golden brown. (Middles may still look a little gooey.)
Tips and tricks:
Start prepping approximately one hour before baking. Set butter and eggs out to cool. It’s best for these to be close to the same temperature when blended.
I make my dough a couple days prior to baking – this allows the butter to redistribute throughout the mixture. It gives the cookies that perfect sheen rather than the fluffy texture you get when baking immediately after mixing!
If you’re only planning to bake a portion, seal the remaining dough in an airtight container and refrigerate. (Mine usually keeps up to about two weeks.)
DO NOT, I reiterate, DO NOT OVERBAKE. <<<<< This is my pet peeve. If the cookie is completely brown coming out of the oven, you’ve baked them too long. The dough will continue to bake for a few minutes after coming out of the oven – as soon as the edges begin to brown, pull those babies out! The inside will look a little gooey, but that’s okay! Once they cool, they’ll be perfectly soft and chewy! I promise!
For a (slightly) healthier alternative, you can sub applesauce for the eggs. I typically use about one cup applesauce with a tablespoon or so of baking powder. This gives the dough a slightly better consistency than using applesauce alone.
Like anything else, baking takes time and practice. Every oven is different, too, so your time may vary by a minute or two. I have a convection oven, so I use the “fast bake” function at 325 and bake for 11 minutes. If you have a regular oven, try 350 for 10-12 minutes. If one side begins to brown faster than the other, wait until they’re AT LEAST halfway through. Opening the oven changes the temperature and jeopardizes the baking process. I typically turn mine when there’s about 3-4 minutes left on the timer.
June 23, 2019
Lemon Cheesecake Bars
Hey, y’all! Summertime is finally here and I’ve decided to kick off my favorite season by posting one of my favorite recipes.
If the idea of lemon freaks you out – trust me, it’s amazing. It’s not tart or overly sweet, it just gives the cheesecake this incredible light, fresh taste that’s perfect for summer. (I actually use almost triple what the recipe calls for.) It’s super easy and turns out perfectly every time. (Just follow the directions to a tee and be sure not to overbake it – Jiggly in the middle is good!) If it begins to crack around the edges toward the end of baking, no worries. I promise as it cools, it will settle and the cracks will all but disappear.
Clink on the link below for the cheesecake bars and check out some of the other awesome recipes on Jenn’s site. You’ll see it more than once, because I pull a ton of inspiration from her page!
https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/cheesecake-bars.html
You can thank me later. :o)
June 11, 2019
Featured Author – Lacee Hightower!
If you guys haven’t checked out Lacee’s stuff, you definitely should! Her newest release, Intrigue Me, is a little dirty, a little erotic, and a whole lot of fun! Check it out:
I grew up wealthy, a spoiled rich kid some
would say, blessed with a natural athletic physique and erotic good looks that could
get me into the panties of just about any girl I set my mind to.
I wanted … what I wanted.
And that meant one thing: the beautiful
brunette from study hall—but she left me high and dry.
Today, I have a heart made of stone. I’m angry, a professed lifelong bachelor, and
a sexual sadist.
My soul is a cold river.
Eight years later, she’s back in my life
and holding secrets that are ruthless, unforgiveable.
I want to punish her, make her cry, watch
her suffer. I want to hate her for what
she’s done.
But I want my hands on her.
Mine.
All mine.
I simply want … Ava Montgomery.
Excerpt:
I ached for him with such a depth that it was a visceral kind of pain.
I wanted his hands on me, touching me everywhere, taking me to that place I’d
fantasized about for years.
“It’s your decision, doll.”
“Are you going to tear up my butt? Leave bloody marks on my back? Ruin
my nipples? Are you…” My voice faded into silence as I stared at his focused
expression that was so sure, so certain, his eyes that sent shimmers down my
spine, his body that made me cave with pleasure every time it came near me.
Heat flowed through my veins. “Yes. God, yes. I want to know everything. I want
you to…”
Before I finished the words that were caught in my throat, his lips
were on mine, crushing his mouth against me with a scorching kiss that felt
like he was ravenous. His hands twisted fiercely through my hair, my body
arching into him as he licked into me, purging deep, kissing me for long
minutes like he wanted me more than any one thing in his existence.
I wanted this so badly that it hurt.
His lips fell to the sweet spot just underneath my ear. “You wouldn’t
happen to still have that blindfold by any chance?”
Another whimper rose up my throat as I collapsed into his chest,
turning to soft liquid and ceding in submission.
Of course, I still had the blindfold. I’d stared at it a dozen times.
Fantasized about what it would feel like being bound, in the dark, his hands on
me, oblivious to his next move, and if all my daydreams were a reality … or a
fool’s paradise.
“Yes,” I breathed, captivated.
“Grab it, kitten. And follow me.”
Blistering heat flooded my core as he trailed kisses across my neck.
“And, Ava,” he added in a hard tone, “before the night ends, my marks will be all over you.”
Buy Links:
Evernight: https://www.evernightpublishing.com/intrigue-me-by-lacee-hightower/
Amazon: https://amazon.com/dp/B07SSYJTQK
Books2read(Universal link): https://books2read.com/u/bQ6qAd
Social Media Links:
Facebook: Facebook
Twitter: Twitter
Instagram: Instagram
Website: laceehightower.com
BookBub: Bookbub
About the Author:
Lacee
Hightower is an American writer and romance novelist, referring to her style as
contemporary romance with a nice big pinch of kink. Living in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex,
she describes herself as a foodie that can’t cook, a large lover of fashion and
shoes, and an enormous hopeless romantic.
Since she was old enough to know what the word meant, she loved the
whole concept of romance and happy endings. Even though she has always enjoyed
writing, life got in the way and she never really thought of pursuing it
seriously until she decided to write her first book after both her children
were grown in 2017. Now with a nice
glass of wine in hand, or not, she is learning to love bringing the characters
in her head to life on paper for those who enjoy peeking into another world.
June 2, 2019
Fiction vs. Reality
Do you ever look at someone or read about something that happened and think, “that belongs in a book?” I love basing characters and situations off of real people and things. Plus, when someone pisses me off in real life, I can kill them off in my book and not get arrested. ;o)
In my newest release, Death Do Us Part, my main character Nick is a Detective in Florida. In one part of the book, he’s talking about some of the cases he’d worked, like this one below:
Thankfully, there wasn’t too much traffic, but that would change in just a couple of weeks. By the end of October, all of the snowbirds would have flocked south to the warmer climate, clogging up the roads. He supposed he shouldn’t complain, since it brought a ton of money into the state, but they always got an influx of calls during ‘season’ and he wasn’t particularly looking forward to it. It’d been busy enough as it was without the Sheriff’s Office fielding calls about stolen dentures. Nick rolled his eyes. He still couldn’t believe that one. An elderly man had left his dentures in a glass on the front porch and gone inside for a few moments. When he’d come back, they were gone, apparently stolen by the resident next door as part of an ongoing feud. Nick had been with the force for over a decade and that was one of the strangest—and most hilarious—calls they’d ever received. He chuckled softly. People never ceased to surprise him.
Believe it or not, my friends, this is based on a true story. Years ago, I used to peruse the police log of our local newspaper just to see what the crazy people of our small town were up to, And, yep, the police responded to a call about stolen dentures.
Sometimes you just can’t make shit up!
May 31, 2019
Marvel vs. DC
Yep, so you all know where this is going. Lol
Is there anything better than superheroes looking super-sexy and saving the world? Probably not, no. I’ve always been a DC girl myself and I absolutely adore Batman. He’s been my character crush since I was four years old and if I’d ever wavered at some point in my life, Christian Bale in the role of the Dark Knight totally sealed it for me. He’s British. AND he’s Batman. Seriously. Ace.
It’s a little gritty and totally dirty, but Deadpool is freaking awesome. I’m also totally in love with Ryan Reynolds, Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Hemsworth. I just want to stare at them all day. Lol
May 19, 2019
Social Media
Social Media is an incredible thing. I’ve had Facebook for years now, probably since I was in high school. I’ve met a ton of great people there and the support groups are amazing. You can find almost anything you want on Facebook.
Twitter is pretty awesome, but I hate that they limit the number of characters in each post–typical writer problem, I know. Admittedly, I’m not very good at Twitter yet. It’s still pretty new to me, since I’ve only had an account for a couple months, but the support I’ve gotten so far is pretty incredible.
Another new platform to me is Instagram. I honestly thought I’d hate it, but it’s become my absolute favorite over the past month and a half since I’ve had it. It sounds crazy because, really, how many pictures can you take? The answer: a crap ton. I LOVE playing with photos more than I ever thought I would. I play with covers of my books all the time, adding captions and quotes. It probably drives people crazy, seeing the same thing all the time, but hey. It happens. I’m not a huge selfie person (since I generally prefer to not terrify my audience) but I post a few pics of me here and there.
If you’re on any of these, look me up! I love meeting new people
