Ellen Byron's Blog, page 8
October 13, 2018
Spooky Spicy Cajun Sugar Cookies
Happy Halloween! This is the perfect time to share my recipe for Spicy Cajun Sugar Cookies, a delicious treat with a slight kick. I invented this recipe, but I share Cajun recipes from a variety of sources in my newsletter every month. If you'd like to sign up for it, click here. One new newsletter follower will win the Cajun Country e-book of their choice, plus a small bag o' swag!
Ingredients:Cookies:1 cup (2 sticks) butter1 cup sugar2 large eggs1 tablespoon vanilla extract3 cups flour1 tsp. cinnamon½ tsp. cayenne pepper½ tsp. baking soda½ tsp. saltFrosting:Boxed royal icing mix (available at craft stores)Instructions:Cream the butter, then add the sugar and beat until it’s fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter and sugar mixture. Mix together until well combined. Chill the dough for a minimum of two hours, or overnight.Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Roll out the cookie dough to ¼ inch thickness on a well-floured board. Cut the dough with cookie cutters of your choice, and place the unbaked cookies on an ungreased cookie tray. (If the dough gets sticky, add more flour to the board and/or rolling pin.)Bake for 5-8 minutes, basically until they’re golden brown around the edges. Let cool completely.Once the cookies have cooled, follow the directions on the icing box to make the icing. (Royal icing hardens quickly, so you don’t want to make it too soon.) Ice the cookies.Makes approx. two dozen cookies.
Ingredients:Cookies:1 cup (2 sticks) butter1 cup sugar2 large eggs1 tablespoon vanilla extract3 cups flour1 tsp. cinnamon½ tsp. cayenne pepper½ tsp. baking soda½ tsp. saltFrosting:Boxed royal icing mix (available at craft stores)Instructions:Cream the butter, then add the sugar and beat until it’s fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter and sugar mixture. Mix together until well combined. Chill the dough for a minimum of two hours, or overnight.Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Roll out the cookie dough to ¼ inch thickness on a well-floured board. Cut the dough with cookie cutters of your choice, and place the unbaked cookies on an ungreased cookie tray. (If the dough gets sticky, add more flour to the board and/or rolling pin.)Bake for 5-8 minutes, basically until they’re golden brown around the edges. Let cool completely.Once the cookies have cooled, follow the directions on the icing box to make the icing. (Royal icing hardens quickly, so you don’t want to make it too soon.) Ice the cookies.Makes approx. two dozen cookies.
October 9, 2018
A Book Birthday for MARDI GRAS MURDER!
I'm so happy to share that MARDI GRAS MURDER, my fourth Cajun Country Mystery, officially releases today!
Here's a little about the book, which Publishers Weekly called "superior" and "a winner..."USA Today bestselling author Ellen Byron is back at it with fan-favorite plantation B&B owner Maggie Crozat in a fourth installment of the Cajun Country mysteries.Southern charm meets the dark mystery of the bayou as a hundred-year flood, a malicious murder, and a most unusual Mardi Gras converge at the Crozat Plantation B&B. It’s Mardi Gras season on the bayou, which means parades, pageantry, and gumbo galore. But when a flood upends life in the tiny town of Pelican, Louisiana―and deposits a body of a stranger behind the Crozat Plantation B&B―the celebration takes a decidedly dark turn. The citizens of Pelican are ready to Laissez les bon temps rouler―but there’s beaucoup bad blood on hand this Mardi Gras. Maggie Crozat is determined to give the stranger a name and find out why he was murdered. The post-flood recovery has delayed the opening of a controversial exhibit about the little-known Louisiana Orphan Train. And when a judge for the Miss Pelican Mardi Gras Gumbo Queen pageant is shot, Maggie’s convinced the murder is connected to the body on the bayou. Does someone covet the pageant queen crown enough to kill for it? Could the deaths be related to the Orphan Train, which delivered its last charges to Louisiana in 1929? The leads are thin on this Fat Tuesday―and until the killer is unmasked, no one in Pelican is safe.I hope you'll have a chance to read the book. If you're on a budget like I am, check it out of the library! Our local branch is practically my second home.Before I go, I want to share my recipe for Easy Peasy King (Bundt) Cake from the book with you. It was posted on a wonderful website, cinnamonsugarandalittlebitofmurder.com. And then stick around for a funny picture from moi. Laissez les bon temp rouler!Click here for EASY PEASY KING (BUNDT) CAKE recipe, or click on the photo.
Love you all, dear readers!!
Here's a little about the book, which Publishers Weekly called "superior" and "a winner..."USA Today bestselling author Ellen Byron is back at it with fan-favorite plantation B&B owner Maggie Crozat in a fourth installment of the Cajun Country mysteries.Southern charm meets the dark mystery of the bayou as a hundred-year flood, a malicious murder, and a most unusual Mardi Gras converge at the Crozat Plantation B&B. It’s Mardi Gras season on the bayou, which means parades, pageantry, and gumbo galore. But when a flood upends life in the tiny town of Pelican, Louisiana―and deposits a body of a stranger behind the Crozat Plantation B&B―the celebration takes a decidedly dark turn. The citizens of Pelican are ready to Laissez les bon temps rouler―but there’s beaucoup bad blood on hand this Mardi Gras. Maggie Crozat is determined to give the stranger a name and find out why he was murdered. The post-flood recovery has delayed the opening of a controversial exhibit about the little-known Louisiana Orphan Train. And when a judge for the Miss Pelican Mardi Gras Gumbo Queen pageant is shot, Maggie’s convinced the murder is connected to the body on the bayou. Does someone covet the pageant queen crown enough to kill for it? Could the deaths be related to the Orphan Train, which delivered its last charges to Louisiana in 1929? The leads are thin on this Fat Tuesday―and until the killer is unmasked, no one in Pelican is safe.I hope you'll have a chance to read the book. If you're on a budget like I am, check it out of the library! Our local branch is practically my second home.Before I go, I want to share my recipe for Easy Peasy King (Bundt) Cake from the book with you. It was posted on a wonderful website, cinnamonsugarandalittlebitofmurder.com. And then stick around for a funny picture from moi. Laissez les bon temp rouler!Click here for EASY PEASY KING (BUNDT) CAKE recipe, or click on the photo. Love you all, dear readers!!
September 24, 2018
MARDI GRAS MURDER Price Drop!
Who knows the mysterious ways Amazon works when it comes to pricing? I certainly don't. I just happened to glance at the listing for MARDI GRAS MURDER and suddenly saw that Amazon dropped the hardcover price to $17.70. That's almost a $10 savings. Wow! Other sources like Barnes & Noble will probably soon follow suit. In the meantime, click here to see the Amazon listing. I have no idea how long this price will hold, so I recommend moving fast. Laissez les bon temps rouler!
September 6, 2018
Kindle Deals! A contest!
Here's my recent newsletter, with information on Kindle deals, a great contest, and a tasty recipe! Just click here, or on the photo.
August 30, 2018
College Drop-off Made Me "That Mom."
We just dropped our daughter off for her freshman year at college. I thought I'd be fine. I wasn't. You can read about it right here.
August 18, 2018
A Daily Deal and a Deal of the Month!
Had to share that today and today only - Saturday, August 18th, 2018- BODY ON THE BAYOU is a Kindle Daily Deal! For one day - that day being today - it's for Kindle sale at the low price of $1.99! This is the second book in my Cajun Country Mystery series, and won the Lefty Award for Best Humorous Mystery. But wait... there's more cost-saving news!
From now through September 10th,PLANTATION SHUDDERS, the bestselling debut in the Cajun Country Mystery series, is one-book sale for $1.99! That's right, whether you Kindle, Nook or any other form of e-book, you can take advantage of this super-low price!
From now through September 10th,PLANTATION SHUDDERS, the bestselling debut in the Cajun Country Mystery series, is one-book sale for $1.99! That's right, whether you Kindle, Nook or any other form of e-book, you can take advantage of this super-low price!
July 30, 2018
Hate those "Verify" images as much as me???
Then you'll enjoy my post this week at Chicks on the Case. Read and vent along with me and everyone else!
July 23, 2018
A Flash Drive Dream Come True
Last winter, I was the lucky recipient of some fabulous keychain flash drives from usbmemorydirect.com. The company has a great track record of supporting authors, and created a keychain featuring my Cajun Country Mystery logo that was as useful as it was pretty...
I had a blast using them as giveaways - and using them myself. A keychain with 8 gigs of memory? It doesn't get better than that. Or so I thought. But then... MARDI GRAS MURDER, the 4th book in my award-winning, bestselling Cajun Country Mystery series, debuts in October. I love all my book covers, but this one really spoke to me.I put it on coasters, on stickers. Then I thought, what about putting it on a flash drive? Could usbmemorydirect.comdo that? I got in touch with Taylor at the company and we decided a business card flash drive would be the best way to show off the cover. I wondered how the cover might look reduced to the size of a business card. The answer? Gorgeous!!! Amazing!!! A promotional dream come true...
I'm completely in love with these drives. They're easy to use and fit perfectly into a wallet. 
I'll be giving a few of these away in contests as I celebrate the upcoming launch of MARDI GRAS MURDER (which is also available for presale). Make sure you sign up for my newsletter on my website homepage. And thanks a million, usbdirectmemory.com!
I had a blast using them as giveaways - and using them myself. A keychain with 8 gigs of memory? It doesn't get better than that. Or so I thought. But then... MARDI GRAS MURDER, the 4th book in my award-winning, bestselling Cajun Country Mystery series, debuts in October. I love all my book covers, but this one really spoke to me.I put it on coasters, on stickers. Then I thought, what about putting it on a flash drive? Could usbmemorydirect.comdo that? I got in touch with Taylor at the company and we decided a business card flash drive would be the best way to show off the cover. I wondered how the cover might look reduced to the size of a business card. The answer? Gorgeous!!! Amazing!!! A promotional dream come true... I'm completely in love with these drives. They're easy to use and fit perfectly into a wallet. I'll be giving a few of these away in contests as I celebrate the upcoming launch of MARDI GRAS MURDER (which is also available for presale). Make sure you sign up for my newsletter on my website homepage. And thanks a million, usbdirectmemory.com!
July 10, 2018
Booktopia: The American Library Association National Conference
In June, I lived a book lover's dream come true. I got to be a panelist and attend the ALA National Conference in New Orleans. Books, books, and more books? In my favorite city? Getting to know and hang out with the amazing author, Jude Deveraux?Read all about it by clicking here.
