C.H. Admirand's Blog, page 16

A Wedding in Apple Grove - Giveaway in November Issue of RT

I'm desperately trying to get ready to leave to attend Lora Leigh's RAW in the morning, and before I forget wanted to post to readers about my giveaway in the November issue of RT.  My brain is like the proverbial sieve! YIKES...have to get back to my deadline for book 3 in the Small Town USA series: WELCOME BACK TO APPLE GROVE. :)
Anyway...Here's the scoop:
C.H. Admirand is giving away 5 signed autographed copies of her November release, A WEDDING IN APPLE GROVE, the first book in her new Small Town USA series for Sourcebooks. For more information, please see the November issue of RT's Contests & Giveaways, page 112, or to enter to win send your name and address to Liz@RTBookReviews.com with "Admirand Apple Grove Giveaway" in the subject line. 


Sooooo, send your emails to Liz and don't forget to add "Admirand Apple Grove Giveaway" in the subject line.  
Good Luck!!!

Jelly...it's what's for breakfast!

Growing up I was lucky that my mom spent part of July and August, canning. The first thing she put up was Chili Sauce. We used to be able to clear our sinuses when the sauce was cooking on the stove top and  loved having that fresh sauce in the middle of winter.
Then she tried Bread and Butter Pickles, Tomatoes, Peaches, Plums and Grape Jelly! Our favorites. We'd work hard slicing, dicing and helping sterilize the jars and our reward was listening the musical ping of the jars as they sealed while we ate dinner. It was hard work, and hot. I remember my mom sighing more than once when my dad suggested they go for a ride to New York State to pick up a basket or two of fruit...he loved mom's Grape Jelly!
When I was first married, I canned Bread and Butter Pickles and gave them as Christmas gifts that year. Then when we moved into our house, one of the plant gifts my parents gave us was currant bushes. The next year, we harvested enough currant berries to make a few jars of jelly. If you've never had fresh Currant Jelly you have missed out. They are notoriously tart, even after you add the sugar, but the flavor cannot be surpassed on a fresh croissant hot out of the oven with a cup of hot tea!
When our kids were little, they loved picking currants or raspberries, hoping for jelly. But alas, life got busy and the birds reaped the rewards from our berry patches. This year, I had a yen to make jelly and although my first attempt was tasty, the strawberries overpowered the other fruit in the jam. Not going to make that one again...but it looked pretty...here's the picture of the refrigerator Mixed Fruit Jam

A week ago, I had beautiful nectarines and purple plums that were dead ripe. I hate to waste food, so I cooked them up and then decided rather than just eat them as a sauce, I'd make jelly! This time, I went out, sterilizing jars and listening to the satisfying sound of jelly lids pinging as they cooled and sealed. Here's the Nectarine Plum Jam
We already finished up the partial jar and gave a jar to Jessi to take home...that leaves three lonely little half pint jars in the basement...I wonder how long they'll last?
OK...so then I saw some gorgeous rhubarb at the farm stand the other day...Yep! the bug is still with me, so I cooked up the rhubarb and made Rhubarb Jam...talk about yummy! I could eat it off a spoon...but I was raised to share, so I only had a few spoonfuls! LOL. There was enough for two half pint jars and a container that I put in the freezer. Here's the Rhubarb Refrigerator Jam

Soooo, did I tell you about the gorgeous Concord Grapes that tempted me yesterday? I'm thinking I'll head up to Penning's Farm or Och's Orchard in Warwick, NY. All I need to pick up is more jars and sugar!
Enjoy the rest of your summer! I'm thinking of posting the recipe for the Nectarine/Plum Jam or the Rhubarb Jam on my website in the next week or so. Sooo...be sure to check back!

LASR 5th Anniversary Event + Trilogy Giveaway

LASR's Fifth Anniversary Event starts August 18th and runs through August 26th!!  Be sure to follow this link to enter their contest...so many exciting and fun prizes...I've donated a signed copy of those seriously stellar Texas cowboys...The Garahan brothers: Tyler, Dylan & Jesse. Here's the link for their event:  http://www.longandshortreviews.com/promo.htm
LASR is also doing a blog hop, I'm blogging on the 19th @ 2pm; this link will go live on the 19th  http://lasrguest.blogspot.com/
2012/08/anniversary-blog-fest-ch-admirand.html

 
Just a reminder about the contest Coffee Time Romance is hosting for me this month. Here's the link to enter to win a signed copy of my Hot Cowboy Trilogy: Tyler, Dylan & Jesse. http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/ContestPage.html







So saddle up all you Cowboy Crazy Romance Lovers...we're burnin' daylight!

The Leather Lair my sister, Suzanne's, Shop!!!

 
 My sister, Suzanne, owns The Leather Lair and is the creator of some FABULOUS leather jackets, skirts, butterfly corsets, dragon tails, faerie wings, etc. From Medieval to Steampunk,  Suzanne has been designing and sewing these creations for years, apprenticing at the NY Renn Faire, but she soon realized that this is what she wanted to do with her life...unlike her older sister (me) who dreams up characters who then start to argue in her head!



Our sister, Charette...the middle sister, and talented artist and creator of bustles--the rage for those into the Steampunk movement--is far more sane. We know our older brother, Dean, one half of the singing duo Kindred Spirit is just this side of crazy like me! But if you're in the mood for Irish Rebel tunes...or ballads, you need to check out his website and find out where he's playing so you can raise your glass and sing along with Dean and Tim. Here's his website: http://www.kspirit.info 

But...I digress...OK...back to my leather-crafting sister, Suzanne has a booth at the PA Renn Faire, which BTW, opened on August 4th and will run through to October 28th, 2012. What a great venue for a fun weekend with your sweetie, or your entire family! Guaranteed good time for everyone...Follow the link for more info http://www.parenfaire.com/ 
You can see more of Suzanne's creations... The Leather Lair has a shop page on facebook http://www.facebook.com/theleatherlair 

A month or so ago, I finally had the chance to visit my sister's store located at 1060C South State Street, Ephrata, PA 17522. I fell in love with her store and everything in it! She has always had a knack for decorating, and her store is a fabulous showcase for her clothing and bits and pieces of things my sister loves. Here are some shots of the interior of her store...


 
And her creations!!!
 
 

So if you happen to be in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania--or attending the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire--and are in the mood to browse custom leather designs...be sure to check out The Leather Lair.

My wonderful sister gave me this totally awesome leather corset--in my favorite color, green, last year. I wore it to Lora Leigh's RAW. It fit like a dream! Here's a pic of me wearing the corset...hamming it up with Nikki Duncan...and a pic I took just now of the corset so you can see the details--the buckles across the front of the fitted corset and the lacings up the side. What can I say, my sister's a genius!

Years ago, Suzanne designed this rough-cut leather jacket, and I fell in love with it and HAD to have it!! My favorite outfit is my ankle-length black lace dress, granny boots and this jacket. :) Such a lovely shade of green and with her signature touches...round-braid ties and pewter Celtic knot buttons.
Soooo...here's to my amazingly talented sister...thanks for being you, Suzanne!!!

Special Thank You to the TOTALLY FAB...Kim Rocha!!!!

There are people you meet in life who touch your life and suddenly things aren't the same...and that's what happened last year when I received an email and friended Kim on facebook. I love hearing from readers, but for some reason...maybe the planets were aligned differently...maybe it was a full moon...I'm not sure...but we connected and started chatting back and forth.

During the RWA Book Fair last year in NYC, she came up to me with a Book Obsessed Chicks Book Club t-shirt and tote bag...for me! But that's not all, she had to wait in line...outside in the heat...for hours just to get into the book fair. Kim's a much stronger woman than me.
She's an amazing woman who not only holds down a job, but has 3 great kids, runs the Book Obsessed Chicks Book Club...and all that that entails: meetings, promo, events, etc. AND...and this is a BIG and...she's a FABULOUS photographer! I'm sure there are many other things she tackles on any given day, but that's all that I know of. LOL! I'm exhausted just thinking about all that she does. :)

 This is a pic she took of us at Lora Leigh's RAW last year. I'm sooo glad I had the chance to go, it was a fabulous event and a great place to meet one-on-one with readers!








  

Here's my favorite pic from her Book Obsessed Chicks Annual BBQ at Lido Beach, Long Island. The weather cooperated and was only overcast with sprinkles...not the rain we were afraid would happen. :)

We had the BEST time!!!






Recently we were chatting about a street team and after choosing a name...Colleen's Celtic Mavens...she ran with the idea and is already hard at work getting things going while I'm writing, editing, and meeting deadlines. The woman is amazing and an unstoppable force of nature...and I'm blessed to count her as a friend.
Sooooo, Kim...you didn't know I was going to post this, but I just wanted to say a special thank you, to you, for all you do!

THANK YOU!!!

July 12th Virtual Tour Stop + Giveaway

I'm delighted to be a guest blogger today at Romance at Random today. Please stop by and comment, I'm giving away a signed copy of the trilogy: TYLER, DYLAN and JESSE!


Here's the link:
http://www.romanceatrandom.com/cowboys-and-romance-what-a-pleasant-combination/

JESSE's Virtual Tour July 10th + Giveaway

Today I'll be at The Royal Reviews. The interview is not up yet, but here's the link http://theroyalreviews.blogspot.com/
 
Jen's Lovlivlifereviews is drawing a winner today from her blog. Here's the link to enter: http://www.lovlivlifereviews.com/2012/07/coffee-with-garahan-brothers-and.html


Cocktails & Books Blog is drawing a winner tomorrow, July 11th! Here's the link to enter http://www.cocktailsandbooks.com/2012/07/blog-tour-interview-giveaway-jesse-c-h.html

Night Owl Romance Blog is drawing their winner on July 27th. Here's the link to enter http://nightowlromanceblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/ch-admirandj-westerns-contest.html

And the Hot Cowboy Trilgoy Winner is...

Rhonda! 

Congrats, Rhonda. DiDi from the Guilty Pleasures Blog emailed the good news that you're the winner.

I'm heading to the PO around noon (EST), so watch your mailbox because the Garahan Brothers are coming to stay. LOL!

July 9th Virtual Tour Stop + Giveaway!

I'm guest blogging at Night Owl Reviews today about why I love write about cowboy heroes. Terri at NOR gave JESSE a 4.5 Stars Top Pick and said..."Hot guys, independent women and to kill for story lines kept me glued to each story and had me up way past my bed time because I just couldn’t put them down" 

Here's the link to the blog, enter to win a copy of JESSE until July 27th:


http://nightowlromanceblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/ch-admirandj-westerns-contest.html

July 6th Virtual Tour Stops & Giveaway!

I'm guest blogging about creating heroes readers will love at Cocktails and Books today...plus giving away a print copy of JESSE! Stop by and leave your comment :)
Here's the link: http://www.cocktailsandbooks.com/2012/07/blog-tour-interview-giveaway-jesse-c-h.html http://www.cocktailsandbooks.com/


  

The Book Reading Gals invited me to do an interview today.
Here’s the link that will go live later today: http://thebookreadinggals.com/2012/07/author-interview-c-h-admirand.html


Stop by and visit me on my new FB Author Page. I'm still working out the kinks, but at least I'm there today! Now it's off to create an Android App!