Sherry Morris's Blog, page 45

Review: Silent Scream

Silent Scream by Karen Rose

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Beware of free Wifi. An enterprising individual chooses targets to blackmail through a public Wifi connection. He goes into their email accounts, finds the good stuff, then makes his demands. If you don't pay, he wipes out your bank accounts and murders you.

Four college students plan to make an environmental statement by burning down condos under construction in the wetlands. He is there and photographs them. He uses this leverage to force them to commit other arsons.

This was the scariest book I've ever read!



View all my reviews

Recipe: Praline Pumpkin Muffins

Praline Pumpkin Muffins

1 pkg Pillsbury Pumpkin Quick Bread Mix

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup oil

2 eggs

1 cup grated carrots

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

TOPPING

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/3 cup chopped pecans

1 tbsp margarine of butter, softened

Heat oven to 350°

Grease or line 12 muffin cups with paper baking cups. In large bowl, combine all muffin ingredients; stir 50 to 75 strokes or until dry mix is moistened. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. In small bowl, combine all topping ingredients; sprinkle evenly over batter.

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap store in refrigerator. Makes 12 muffins

Fifty Dollar Dame

[image error] Fifty Dollar DameBy Sherry Morris
In WWII Washington, good girl Della toils at night in the President's typing pool. She likes the quiet as she goes about transcribing sensitive documents into an erotic code. She also likes a certain Secret Service Agent Jones, who frequents her lonely office with a sexy smile and a sack of hamburgers. But Della wants more. She yearns for intrigue and danger. To be a dame for her country. Agent Jones has one thing on his mind. To make Della never to yearn for anything. He sets up a kidnapping, and Della is the unwitting yet very eager victim.
Excerpt: July 1944, The White House, Washington, D.C.
Miss Della Davis yanked the pages from her well worn Royal typewriter and separated four onion skin papers from the carbons. She slipped the documents into a manila inter-agency envelope and shoved it into her grey metal out-basket. A breeze wafted in from the huge Palladian window. She leaned her long neck back and inhaled. Finally some relief from subtropical summer in the District of Columbia.She pulled a picture postcard from the corner of her desk blotter. A photo of the snowcapped Swiss Alps. She flipped it over.Dear Della,The chocolate and cheese are delightfully divine and so are the gentlemen. I think of you every time I see a cuckoo clock. Wish you were here. Smooches, Julia.Della sighed. Her cousin Julia lived the life she dreamed of. A secretary for the state department. A different embassy every year. Julia was seeing the world, experiencing everything Della longed to. She glanced at the calendar. July second. They should be posting the interagency transfers soon. Della squeezed her eyes shut. Please don't let them pass over me again. One of these days, she'd get a good government job that let her see the world too. But not as a secretary in a foreign embassy. A position with the Office of Strategic Services. She would dabble in intrigue. Della longed to be a secret agent. A spy. Code Cracker. A woman for her country. Bending down, she fished her navy blue pumps from under her desk and shoved her swollen rayon-stockinged feet inside. Damned war. All nylon was now used to make parachutes. These ugly rayon stockings were tight at the ankles and baggy at the knees, and though her legs were admittedly chubby, she did not have disproportionately fat ankles. She stood up and stretched, yawning. As she made her way over to the window, distant footsteps on the marble floor approached from the corridor. After checking her brown hair in the reflection back from the glass, tucking an errant strand back into the chignon, Della peered out at the big summer moon illuminating the White House lawn. Two young marines patrolled the grounds. She watched as Fala, the President's mischievous little black Scottish terrier, sniffed around the trees, accompanied by Mr. Roosevelt's Oriental valet. The footsteps arrived. Della's heartbeat quickened. She inhaled deeply as her mouth watered. The greasy aroma of hamburgers wafted sensuously, beckoning the twenty-two year old secretary. "Hello, Miss Davis."Smoothing her wrinkled floral shirtdress, she turned toward Secret Service Agent Ashley Jones. Damn he was a looker in his navy pinstriped suit. Around six feet tall. Blond crew cut. Impossibly blue eyes. Broad shoulders vee-ing down to a trim waist. And single."Good evening officer. It appears to be a beautiful night out there. Is it?""Hot and muggy. Full moon. Mother's Day."Della loved his deep voice. So masculine and full of testosterone. Whenever he spoke, she smoldered. She on the other hand, had a meek voice that tended to crack. "It's not Mother's Day.""Sure it is. First payday of the month. That means the liquor stores are doing a bustling business. Add the full moon and that means trouble.""But why the Mother's Day reference?""Copper speak. When the fistfights and robberies and fornication ends, some will be crying for their mommies."Della tried not to screw her face up. Not the kind of conversation she was interested in having with such an eligible bachelor. "What's in the sack?""Come closer and you can touch it."She blinked her long brown lashes which felt like they had clumped from the mascara she'd brushed on thirteen hours earlier. Miss Davis sashayed her voluptuous body across the tan carpeted floor. Stopping in front of him, very close, she looked up into those dreamy pools of blue that he was ogling her with. She felt his hot breath as he parted his lips, revealing slightly crooked front teeth. A guy with an overbite. Oh they were the best kind of kissers. Agent Jones grasped her hand, rubbing her wrist with his thumb. Miss Davis felt weak at the knees. "Have they posted the transfer list yet?" he asked."No," she lamented."Well, everything crossed you'll get the position you want. But I'm sure going to miss you..." Della blinked and smiled. "Thanks." She snatched the paper bag from him and turned, spilling the contents out onto her desk blotter. Eight little bundles wrapped in newsprint tumbled out. Rolling her eyes and smiling demurely, she sensually unwrapped a tiny hamburger with onions and catsup on a roll. The hungry secretary paused to admire and inhale the aroma of the heavenly feast."Come on now, don't be hoggish. I haven't seen the boss yet." He teased."You're too late. Mr. Roosevelt is upstairs having cocktails with the Hitchcocks. Done with business for tonight.""How do I know you're not pulling my leg, just so you can gobble all of my burgers?"She giggled and plopped down in her rolling desk chair, propelling it back far enough to cross her long legs. She glanced up to see Jones enjoying the show.Della made yum noises as she took tiny bites, savoring the salty greasy meat. The little fried onions had just the right crunch. She made eye contact with Agent Jones as she licked her lips and ran a finger across her bare skin peeking from the square neckline of her summer linen dress. "Thanks." She wiped her hands with a pink cotton hankie."Have another," he offered."No. I've got work to do." She loaded the remaining hamburgers into the sack and stapled the top shut. To keep her from eating another. She handed it to Agent Jones. "Here you go. I know how much the President appreciates you sneaking these little heart attacks in a sack to him. That diet the doctor has him on makes him mighty cranky. I can't see as I blame him. I mean, gee, he's the leader of the free world and some peon doctor is telling him to eat poached skinless chicken and celery sticks.""I agree. Poor guy. How come you always pull the late shift?""Low girl on the totem pole. Besides, I like working after hours. I can get so much more accomplished. The phone doesn't ring; the other secretaries aren't here to gab drivel." "Gab drivel?""You know how they get. Going on and on about shoes or recipes or men.""And you're not interested in shoes or recipes or men...""Exactly. I'm focused on my career. Advancement. I'm serious about serving my country." She glanced wistfully at the postcard.He said, "Yeah, there's a lot of that going around. Just the other day, Rosie the Riveter was in here eating burgers with me. And now she's been promoted to screwing--"Fala yelped as if in pain then barked insistently outside the window. Miss Davis and Agent Jones hurried over and peered out. They observed two marines chasing a figure across the lawn. Agent Jones exited the office and ran outside.Della pulled her top desk drawer open and removed a pair of scissors. She haphazardly chopped the used carbon paper and crumpled it into the drab green metal waste basket, shoving it way to the bottom, covering it with benign trash. She snatched the inter-agency envelope and made a beeline for the map room. Before she could reach the hallway, a sharp pain hit her in the back. Della froze. She turned her head. No one was in the room. Slowly reaching her right hand over her left shoulder, she felt the sticky liquid. Pulling her hand in front of her face, she screamed at the sight of her own blood.
Purchase the eBook: Smashwords | Kindle

Recipe: Golden Corn Muffins

Golden Corn Muffins

From the kitchen of:The late great Marion Irvin MorrisLong Island Housewife Extraordinaire
1 cup yellow corn meal

1 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar (optional, this is a southern preference)

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup milk

1 egg

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

Preheat oven to 425°

Grease muffin tins or insert paper baking cups.
Combine first five ingredients, add milk, egg and shortening, beat until smooth.
Bake 20 - 25 minutes. 9 servings.

A Working Writer, Again

My last day of working outside the home was a month ago. I have jumped back into the writing world without pinching my nose. This is what I've been doing:

I am the 2011 President-Elect of the Virginia Romance Writers. As such, I have attended one board meeting, two committee meetings and one general membership meeting.

I am a coordinator for the HOLT Medallion contest and have mailed out books to thirty judges.

I've met with two writing friends for working lunches.

I have formatted four manuscripts, written synopses and query letters and sent them out to a publisher.

I have refreshed, renamed and reblurbed eight short stories. I made covers for them. I self-published them on Kindle and SmashWords.

I have sent my webmistress a massive website update.

I have joined a new group blog, The Night Writers. I have written and scheduled my first post.

I have judged three writing contests.

I have outlined a new work-in-progress. Kinda. I'm a panster and have never tried this before.

Easy Bran Muffins

Easy Bran Muffins
1 egg, slightly beaten1 cup milk1/4 cup vegetable oil2 cups bran cereal1 cup all-purpose flour1/3 cup sugar1 tbsp baking powder1/2 tsp salt1 cup dried fruit (I use cranberries)
Preheat oven to 400°
Grease 12 medium muffin cups or use paper liners.
Combine egg, milk, oil an cereal. Stir to break up flakes and set aside.
Stir together remaining ingredients. Add cereal mixture all at once to dry ingredients. Stir just until moistened. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. 
Bake about 20 minutes or until lightly browned. 
Makes about 12 muffins.

Book Covers

I designed these book covers today for my cousin, Josephine. She will be publishing them as Kindle eBooks. Stay tuned!

Recipe: Banana Muffins with Pecan Topping

Banana Muffins with Pecan Topping1 3/4 cups unsifted all-purpose flour3 sp baking powder1/2 tsp salt1 egg3/4 cup mashed banana (2 medium side bananas)1/2 cup milk1/4 cup vegetable oil1/2 cup maple flavored syrupBrown sugarChopped pecansPreheat oven to 400°Grease only bottoms of twelve muffin pan cups or use paper liners.Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in large bowl.Lightly beat egg in medium sized bowl. Stir in masked banana, mik, oil and maple syrup.Pour liquid ingredients all at once into dry ingredients. Stir mixture briskly with fork until moistened; do not over stir. Batter will look lumpy.Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full with batter. Sprinkle tops with mixture of brown sugar and chopped pecans.Bake for 22 to 24 minutes. Remove pan to wire rack. Remove muffins at once and serve piping hot.

Versitile Blogger Award

Versatile Blogger Award
I just received the versatile blogger award from pal Sandra Cox. Thanks, Sandra-Pie!
With the award comes certain expectations. I am to:
1. Share seven things about myself.
2. Pass this award on to other bloggers.
3. Link with the blogger who was kind enough to give me the award.


So here's seven thing about myself:
1. I will NOT eat mayo nor dine with someone eating mayo.
2. I enjoy popcorn, but my hubby has a popcorn problem...
3. I love going to Disney World every year.
4. My favorite chocolate is Russell Stover's Sugar Free Toffee.
5. I'm one of the old ladies who run the precinct on Election Day.
6. I have talked two large cops into giving me their weapons and boots.
7.I've kissed and cuddled with three members of the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame.

Here are my versatile blogger nominees:
1. Sandra Cox
2. Alleyne Dickens
3. Shara Lanel

The Night Writers

Thanks to our lovely pal, Sandra Cox, The Night Writers Blog will launch on February 14, 2011. She hand-picked seven lady authors to blog magazine style. There will be Valentine's Day goodies, so please drop by.

It's official. I am done with my two year hands-on research for my next novel. I now know what it's like back in the workplace in the millennium. How modern employees interact. Fierce friendship and selfish betrayal. What it's liked to be loved and not so much.

I'm busy formatting, revising, synopsetysing and querying my languishing manuscripts from back in the day. Can't wait to get them submitted and sold.

My publisher rebranded my perennial book in print and eBook, Hundred Dollar Bill. It is now an Ellora's Cave Blush title. I love the new logo. I have two reader reviews on Amazon, and they found it funny!

I am the 2011 President-Elect of the Virginia Romance Writers.

I feel like an author again. And it feels right.

But even better, I'm home with my family. I missed them more than they missed me, but that's what Mom's do.