Cardeno C.'s Blog, page 32
November 18, 2017
Happy Early Thanksgiving! by S.C. Wynne
I won't post again until after Thanksgivng, so I wanted to wish you happy times with family and
friends.
I love all the recipes being shared this time of year! I will admit though, I'm a creature of habit. I like the recipes from my family that have been handed down, although I love the IDEA of trying new things and experimenting with recipes. But you can't put gravy on ideas! :D
My mom makes this lime, cream cheese and pineapple Jello thing on holidays. My mother-in-law made a variation on it with cranberries instead of lime. They're both good, although I think the lime is more refreshing with a heavy meal. But cranberries are a holiday staple. The thing is, even if I'm full and don't really want the Jello, I always have to take at least some and have it on my plate. It just seems wrong to ignore that traditional dish.
Do you have things like that on the table? Something you don't really like eating, but you take some anyway because it's TRADITION?
The photo I posted today has brussel sprouts in it. Is that a Thanksgiving THING? Why wasn't I told? lol I'm not sure about that one. What do you think? Brussel Sprouts on Thanksgiving? Yay or nay?
Enjoy your holiday and be good to each other. Let's not take for granted that those we love will always be around. Be patient and kind to one another and let's truly give thanks for those people that mean so much to us.
S.C.
www.sc-wynne.com
friends.I love all the recipes being shared this time of year! I will admit though, I'm a creature of habit. I like the recipes from my family that have been handed down, although I love the IDEA of trying new things and experimenting with recipes. But you can't put gravy on ideas! :D
My mom makes this lime, cream cheese and pineapple Jello thing on holidays. My mother-in-law made a variation on it with cranberries instead of lime. They're both good, although I think the lime is more refreshing with a heavy meal. But cranberries are a holiday staple. The thing is, even if I'm full and don't really want the Jello, I always have to take at least some and have it on my plate. It just seems wrong to ignore that traditional dish.
Do you have things like that on the table? Something you don't really like eating, but you take some anyway because it's TRADITION?
The photo I posted today has brussel sprouts in it. Is that a Thanksgiving THING? Why wasn't I told? lol I'm not sure about that one. What do you think? Brussel Sprouts on Thanksgiving? Yay or nay?
Enjoy your holiday and be good to each other. Let's not take for granted that those we love will always be around. Be patient and kind to one another and let's truly give thanks for those people that mean so much to us.
S.C.
www.sc-wynne.com
November 16, 2017
Let the Games Begin! by Felice Stevens
I can't believe next week is Thanksgiving. This holiday has always been my favorite. It has nothing to do with religion—it's all about food, fun and family.
I always want to try something new on the holidays but get shouted down by my kids. They want the turkey, and I always make a brisket. I make my own cranberry sauce and add chopped up apples or pears and lots of cinnamon. We have to have bread stuffing—nothing fancy but it's my favorite part of the meal. Simply thinking about the fried onion, mushrooms and garlic mixed with the bread chunks has me salivating.
When I was little my parents best friends were a childless couple and they always spent the holidays with us. My "Aunt" Ruth was an extremely skinny woman who no matter where she went, dressed as if she was was at the finest dinner party. Her hair was always done, nails polished and makeup just so. She also barely ate, except when she came for Thanksgiving dinner and I made a sweet potato pineapple souffle from the Joy of Cooking. Aunt Ruth would take TWO helpings.
I thought I'd give you the recipe, copyright of The Joy of Cooking and ask you what's your favorite Thanksgiving day food memory and if you can, share your recipe!
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare 3 cups of boiled peeled sweet potatoes.
Mash the potatoes with the following ingredients:
3 tbs butter or margarine
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
2 beaten egg yolks
Fold in 1/2-3/4 crushed pineapple. Let the mixture cool.
Whip the two egg whites until stiff and fold into the sweet potato mixture. Pour into a greased 7" baking dish and bake at 350 degree oven for 35 minutes.
Happy Holidays from my family to yours!!
I always want to try something new on the holidays but get shouted down by my kids. They want the turkey, and I always make a brisket. I make my own cranberry sauce and add chopped up apples or pears and lots of cinnamon. We have to have bread stuffing—nothing fancy but it's my favorite part of the meal. Simply thinking about the fried onion, mushrooms and garlic mixed with the bread chunks has me salivating.
When I was little my parents best friends were a childless couple and they always spent the holidays with us. My "Aunt" Ruth was an extremely skinny woman who no matter where she went, dressed as if she was was at the finest dinner party. Her hair was always done, nails polished and makeup just so. She also barely ate, except when she came for Thanksgiving dinner and I made a sweet potato pineapple souffle from the Joy of Cooking. Aunt Ruth would take TWO helpings.
I thought I'd give you the recipe, copyright of The Joy of Cooking and ask you what's your favorite Thanksgiving day food memory and if you can, share your recipe!
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare 3 cups of boiled peeled sweet potatoes.
Mash the potatoes with the following ingredients:
3 tbs butter or margarine
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
2 beaten egg yolks
Fold in 1/2-3/4 crushed pineapple. Let the mixture cool.
Whip the two egg whites until stiff and fold into the sweet potato mixture. Pour into a greased 7" baking dish and bake at 350 degree oven for 35 minutes.
Happy Holidays from my family to yours!!
November 14, 2017
Weird Thanksgiving Recipes from Ba, Julia, Kiernan and Sean
Today we're sharing some Thanksgiving recipes that are little out there. Offbeat, weird, and wonderful.
BA
Tamale Stuffed Turkey
Cook a chopped onion and a couple of cloves of minced garlic and 2 diced jalapenos in a stick of butter.
Add a can of creamed corn and a dozen (whatever kind you want) tamales husked and chopped up.
If it's too dry, add chicken broth until the mixture loosens.
Stuff your turkey and cook however make you happy until a thermometer reads 165 in the stuffing
(or stick the dressing in a pan and cook at 350 for an hour).
Julia
So my weird recipe for Thanksgiving comes from my dad. It's a relish plate, and people may say how is that weird?
Well, with this recipe, it's the process, not the ingredients.
Mom would ask dad to make the relish plate every year. This was her way to keep him busy after the parade but before football. It would take him an hour. When he got into his 70s, it took him two hours.
So here we go.
Take one really fancy plate. If you have a glass deviled egg plate, use this.
Open a can of jellied cranberry sauce and place it at the center of the plate as is. Unsliced.
Cut 6 gherkins into halves. Place around plate evenly. Cut 6 tiny slivers of cheddar cheese. Disperse samely. Cut carrots into matchsticks and place around. Put one black olive between gherkins and carrots, totaling six. Carve six radishes into roses. Place around cranberry sauce so by the end of the meal they're weird and purple. Fill celery with bottled old English cheese spread and use to add color to plate. Serve cold.
Now, when I married into my wife's family, I said, let Dad make the relish tray. BA said, "Sure," then watched with horror as dad went to town, slicing and dicing.
To make relish trays BA's family way:
Get 3 big trays. Open bags of chopped cauliflower and broccoli and dump on tray. Add baby carrots and cleaned radishes. Add container of ranch dip (recently homemade). Make cheese ball the size of a head of cabbage. Put in in center of second tray. Add crackers, sliced cheese and lunchmeat. On third tray, pile dill pickles (never gherkins) black and green olives, and possibly sliced bell peppers. Voila. You can see the conflict, right?
So, there you have the Talbot/Tortuga relish tray tradition. We still serve both.
Happy Thanksgiving
Kiernan
My mother’s side of the family is Italian, and even Thanksgiving dinner was served with pasta. The first course was antipasto. Plates and bowls of rolled cold cuts, olives, anchovies, peppers, and fresh bread were served. Ravioli was a second course for us, complete with a full accompaniment of meats – sausage, meatballs, braciola, pig’s skin, and chunks of beef all cooked to perfection in tomato sauce (which we Italians in New Jersey call “gravy”). Then came the turkey with all the trimmings, followed at last by dessert and fruit.
The most unusual thing I remember my aunts and mother making was liver loaf, which was served with the second course. Why anyone thought liver loaf was a must-have on Thanksgiving is beyond me, but we always had it for every holiday, beginning with Thanksgiving. Here’s the recipe if anyone has a hankering for liver in loaf form (Note: I did not keep this as a part of our holiday fare because…ew, liver).
INGREDIENTS
1 pound of beef liver, sliced and skinned
1 egg
2 tablespoons of tomato ketchup
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1-1/2 teaspoons of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
1 pound of ground pork sausage
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
INSTRUCTIONS
Put the egg and ketchup in the blender. Cut the liver in small chunks and add slowly along with the chopped onion. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper, and blend until the entire mixture is smooth.
Pour into a large bowl and add the sausage meat and breadcrumbs. Spread in a greased 9 inch loaf pan and bake at 325 degrees for one hour. Let cool, then slice and serve.
Sean
So I usually spend Thanksgiving (the US version) with BA and Julia and one year I'd seen this recipe for bacon wrapped chicken bites and asked if we could try it. Of course they said yes - BA and Julia are the queens of encouraging my culinary adventures. It was so good, we've made it as a part of my Thanksgiving visit every year since.
You take a pound of bacon and cut each slice into three pieces. Then you cut up a couple of large chicken breasts into one inch pieces. They should all be the same size, but I can tell you from experience that none of the pieces are the same size. That's totally okay. Wrap the chicken in the bacon slices.
Next, you take a cup or so of brown sugar and mix in 3 tablespoons of chili - you can put in more or less chili depending on how spicy you like things. Roll the bacon wrapped chicken chunks in the brown sugar mix and put in a single layer on a cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 until the bacon is crispy.
These taste great warmed up. We usually make them Monday or Tuesday and then snack on them while we're cooking the rest of Thanksgiving. Now it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without them.
Visit our websites:Sean's is http://www.seanmichaelwrites.comJulia’s is http://www.juliatalbot.comBA’s is http://www.batortuga.comKiernan's is www.KiernanKelly.com
Facebook:Sean -- https://www.facebook.com/SeanMichaelWritesJulia -- https://www.facebook.com/juliatalbotauthorBA -- https://www.facebook.com/batortugaKiernan -- https://www.facebook.com/kiernan.kelly
Sean
smut fixes everything
BATamale Stuffed Turkey
Cook a chopped onion and a couple of cloves of minced garlic and 2 diced jalapenos in a stick of butter.
Add a can of creamed corn and a dozen (whatever kind you want) tamales husked and chopped up.
If it's too dry, add chicken broth until the mixture loosens.
Stuff your turkey and cook however make you happy until a thermometer reads 165 in the stuffing
(or stick the dressing in a pan and cook at 350 for an hour).
Julia
So my weird recipe for Thanksgiving comes from my dad. It's a relish plate, and people may say how is that weird?
Well, with this recipe, it's the process, not the ingredients.
Mom would ask dad to make the relish plate every year. This was her way to keep him busy after the parade but before football. It would take him an hour. When he got into his 70s, it took him two hours.
So here we go.
Take one really fancy plate. If you have a glass deviled egg plate, use this.
Open a can of jellied cranberry sauce and place it at the center of the plate as is. Unsliced.
Cut 6 gherkins into halves. Place around plate evenly. Cut 6 tiny slivers of cheddar cheese. Disperse samely. Cut carrots into matchsticks and place around. Put one black olive between gherkins and carrots, totaling six. Carve six radishes into roses. Place around cranberry sauce so by the end of the meal they're weird and purple. Fill celery with bottled old English cheese spread and use to add color to plate. Serve cold.
Now, when I married into my wife's family, I said, let Dad make the relish tray. BA said, "Sure," then watched with horror as dad went to town, slicing and dicing.
To make relish trays BA's family way:
Get 3 big trays. Open bags of chopped cauliflower and broccoli and dump on tray. Add baby carrots and cleaned radishes. Add container of ranch dip (recently homemade). Make cheese ball the size of a head of cabbage. Put in in center of second tray. Add crackers, sliced cheese and lunchmeat. On third tray, pile dill pickles (never gherkins) black and green olives, and possibly sliced bell peppers. Voila. You can see the conflict, right?
So, there you have the Talbot/Tortuga relish tray tradition. We still serve both.
Happy Thanksgiving
Kiernan
My mother’s side of the family is Italian, and even Thanksgiving dinner was served with pasta. The first course was antipasto. Plates and bowls of rolled cold cuts, olives, anchovies, peppers, and fresh bread were served. Ravioli was a second course for us, complete with a full accompaniment of meats – sausage, meatballs, braciola, pig’s skin, and chunks of beef all cooked to perfection in tomato sauce (which we Italians in New Jersey call “gravy”). Then came the turkey with all the trimmings, followed at last by dessert and fruit.
The most unusual thing I remember my aunts and mother making was liver loaf, which was served with the second course. Why anyone thought liver loaf was a must-have on Thanksgiving is beyond me, but we always had it for every holiday, beginning with Thanksgiving. Here’s the recipe if anyone has a hankering for liver in loaf form (Note: I did not keep this as a part of our holiday fare because…ew, liver).
INGREDIENTS
1 pound of beef liver, sliced and skinned
1 egg
2 tablespoons of tomato ketchup
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1-1/2 teaspoons of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
1 pound of ground pork sausage
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
INSTRUCTIONS
Put the egg and ketchup in the blender. Cut the liver in small chunks and add slowly along with the chopped onion. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper, and blend until the entire mixture is smooth.
Pour into a large bowl and add the sausage meat and breadcrumbs. Spread in a greased 9 inch loaf pan and bake at 325 degrees for one hour. Let cool, then slice and serve.
Sean
So I usually spend Thanksgiving (the US version) with BA and Julia and one year I'd seen this recipe for bacon wrapped chicken bites and asked if we could try it. Of course they said yes - BA and Julia are the queens of encouraging my culinary adventures. It was so good, we've made it as a part of my Thanksgiving visit every year since.
You take a pound of bacon and cut each slice into three pieces. Then you cut up a couple of large chicken breasts into one inch pieces. They should all be the same size, but I can tell you from experience that none of the pieces are the same size. That's totally okay. Wrap the chicken in the bacon slices.
Next, you take a cup or so of brown sugar and mix in 3 tablespoons of chili - you can put in more or less chili depending on how spicy you like things. Roll the bacon wrapped chicken chunks in the brown sugar mix and put in a single layer on a cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 until the bacon is crispy.
These taste great warmed up. We usually make them Monday or Tuesday and then snack on them while we're cooking the rest of Thanksgiving. Now it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without them.
Visit our websites:Sean's is http://www.seanmichaelwrites.comJulia’s is http://www.juliatalbot.comBA’s is http://www.batortuga.comKiernan's is www.KiernanKelly.com
Facebook:Sean -- https://www.facebook.com/SeanMichaelWritesJulia -- https://www.facebook.com/juliatalbotauthorBA -- https://www.facebook.com/batortugaKiernan -- https://www.facebook.com/kiernan.kelly
Sean
smut fixes everything
November 11, 2017
Audio Books by S.C. Wynne
Morning all!
I'm trying to decide if I should dip my toe into audio books. It's not cheap. Even short books aren't cheap.
Audible.com is coming out with a new subscription service for listeners. I'm not sure if that will be a bad thing or a good thing for authors. All these concepts like an audio book subscription service and KU are awesome for readers, but they are slowly choking the revenue stream for the authors. I'm not sure how Amazon thinks authors will survive to create content if they take away our ability to make a profit.
But even with that said, I'm interested in seeing what making an audio book is like. I've been listening to auditions this week and some of them are good and some are simply dreadful. Often the ones that aren't a good fit aren't bad because of the actual narrator's performance. Maybe it's something as simple as they sound too old for the character I've written. Or too soft and hesitant. I found it amusing that some of the narrators apparently didn't understand who the two MC's are and so the second main character, who is a detective, was portrayed as a cigar smoking tough guy with a NY accent. lol It was very amusing.
Do you read audio books? Do you buy them only with the credits or do you also spend your money o books you really want?
I've been thinking more and more I'd enjoy audio books. Because I write so much by the time my day winds up, my eyes are tired and I love the idea of having the story told to me.
Tell me what you think. :)
S.C.
www.sc-wynne.com
I'm trying to decide if I should dip my toe into audio books. It's not cheap. Even short books aren't cheap.
Audible.com is coming out with a new subscription service for listeners. I'm not sure if that will be a bad thing or a good thing for authors. All these concepts like an audio book subscription service and KU are awesome for readers, but they are slowly choking the revenue stream for the authors. I'm not sure how Amazon thinks authors will survive to create content if they take away our ability to make a profit.
But even with that said, I'm interested in seeing what making an audio book is like. I've been listening to auditions this week and some of them are good and some are simply dreadful. Often the ones that aren't a good fit aren't bad because of the actual narrator's performance. Maybe it's something as simple as they sound too old for the character I've written. Or too soft and hesitant. I found it amusing that some of the narrators apparently didn't understand who the two MC's are and so the second main character, who is a detective, was portrayed as a cigar smoking tough guy with a NY accent. lol It was very amusing.
Do you read audio books? Do you buy them only with the credits or do you also spend your money o books you really want?
I've been thinking more and more I'd enjoy audio books. Because I write so much by the time my day winds up, my eyes are tired and I love the idea of having the story told to me.
Tell me what you think. :)
S.C.
www.sc-wynne.com
November 7, 2017
Things We Are Grateful For with BA, Julia, KIernan and Sean
Today we are sharing three things we are grateful for, one big, one medium and one small.
BA
Big: My girl.
Medium: My readers
Medium-Light: Coffee
Julia
Big: My wife and dogs and home
Medium: my fans and books and all the amazing people I know
small: tacos and pizza
Kienan
Big: My family and my friends who are like family.
Med.: The ability to work at what I love.
Small: Coffee. Because... coffee.
Sean
Big: My country. I love being a Canadian.
Med: my readers - I am grateful to them every day
Small: snow - I wasn't sure if this should go in big or small, but I decided to put it in small for each individual snowflake. Snow makes me happy, deep down.
Visit our websites:Sean's is http://www.seanmichaelwrites.comJulia’s is http://www.juliatalbot.comBA’s is http://www.batortuga.comKiernan's is www.KiernanKelly.com
Facebook:Sean -- https://www.facebook.com/SeanMichaelWritesJulia -- https://www.facebook.com/juliatalbotauthorBA -- https://www.facebook.com/batortugaKiernan -- https://www.facebook.com/kiernan.kelly
Sean
smut fixes everything
BA
Big: My girl.
Medium: My readers
Medium-Light: Coffee
Julia
Big: My wife and dogs and home
Medium: my fans and books and all the amazing people I know
small: tacos and pizza
Kienan
Big: My family and my friends who are like family.
Med.: The ability to work at what I love.
Small: Coffee. Because... coffee.
Sean
Big: My country. I love being a Canadian.
Med: my readers - I am grateful to them every day
Small: snow - I wasn't sure if this should go in big or small, but I decided to put it in small for each individual snowflake. Snow makes me happy, deep down.
Visit our websites:Sean's is http://www.seanmichaelwrites.comJulia’s is http://www.juliatalbot.comBA’s is http://www.batortuga.comKiernan's is www.KiernanKelly.com
Facebook:Sean -- https://www.facebook.com/SeanMichaelWritesJulia -- https://www.facebook.com/juliatalbotauthorBA -- https://www.facebook.com/batortugaKiernan -- https://www.facebook.com/kiernan.kelly
Sean
smut fixes everything
November 6, 2017
Bayou Book Junkie's Anniversary Giveaway by Cardeno C.
Happy Monday! This week, I'm participating in Bayou Book Junkie's anniversary giveaway. Lots of authors are participating and giving away prizes. Mine is winner's choice of an ebook and audio book. Check out their blog for more prize details and good lucking winning!
Have a terrific week.
CC
www.cardenoc.com
Have a terrific week.
CC
www.cardenoc.com
November 4, 2017
Trying to decide GRL next year or not By S.C. Wynne
Hello all!
I see all these posts about GRL 2018 and I want to go next year, but a part of me doesn't. It's a weird thing. I have the desire to go, but I think that's because the idea of things seems so much more amazing that the reality sometimes. Reality is usually a let down. Yes, I sound like one of my characters. lol
However, there are a lot of people I'd love to actually meet in person; readers, authors, bloggers. I know there would be wonderful times, but also awkward moments because... people.
I'm sure the costume party would be fun. Will the Cocky Boys be there next year? Dare I hope, yes? lol I'd love a photo with Carter Dane and plenty of other sexy Cocky Boys. Or some of my favorite narrators. They seem to be a bigger draw these days. I'd love to meet Kale Williams. His voice is fantastic.
Mostly, I think I'd adore just hanging out with other authors and readers in the bar area. I mean, do you really ever know anyone until they have two margaritas or a beer minimum in them? lol I don't think so. Until someone is buzzed, they're probably trying really hard to be something they're not. I could be wrong. Maybe that's only me? lol
It's quite a commitment to go to a conference. Some authors are so good about going to all of them. Then there's swag, shipping books and committing to panels or readings. It's like you have to be a grown up or something. Why would that be necessary? :P
The good part is, there's time to decide. I'm very glad about this. Will I make the right choice? Who knows. Possibly? What even is the right choice? lol Sometimes the mystery of an author is better than the reality.
S.C.
www.sc-wynne.com
I see all these posts about GRL 2018 and I want to go next year, but a part of me doesn't. It's a weird thing. I have the desire to go, but I think that's because the idea of things seems so much more amazing that the reality sometimes. Reality is usually a let down. Yes, I sound like one of my characters. lol
However, there are a lot of people I'd love to actually meet in person; readers, authors, bloggers. I know there would be wonderful times, but also awkward moments because... people.
I'm sure the costume party would be fun. Will the Cocky Boys be there next year? Dare I hope, yes? lol I'd love a photo with Carter Dane and plenty of other sexy Cocky Boys. Or some of my favorite narrators. They seem to be a bigger draw these days. I'd love to meet Kale Williams. His voice is fantastic.
Mostly, I think I'd adore just hanging out with other authors and readers in the bar area. I mean, do you really ever know anyone until they have two margaritas or a beer minimum in them? lol I don't think so. Until someone is buzzed, they're probably trying really hard to be something they're not. I could be wrong. Maybe that's only me? lol
It's quite a commitment to go to a conference. Some authors are so good about going to all of them. Then there's swag, shipping books and committing to panels or readings. It's like you have to be a grown up or something. Why would that be necessary? :P
The good part is, there's time to decide. I'm very glad about this. Will I make the right choice? Who knows. Possibly? What even is the right choice? lol Sometimes the mystery of an author is better than the reality.
S.C.
www.sc-wynne.com
November 1, 2017
Ask Andrew - Favorite Childhood Book
Dear Andrew
What was your favorite childhood book?'
Dawn
Dear Dawn
I was blessed with a grandmother and aunt who read to me a lot as a child. I think that's where my love of story came from. I know I drove them crazy because I already knew all the stories word for word and wasn't happy if they changed a word. "That's not how it goes," was apparently a common correction on my part.
The stories I remember most from my childhood are ones that are still around today in one form or another. Curious George, Clifford, Babar, these were all stories I was read as a child. I adored them all. There were others of course, but those seem to have bene my favorites. The Night Before Christmas was another one. I knew it by heart. (A number of years ago I actually saw the hand written original poem in a museum in California.)
I loved being read to as a child and I read to both my nieces. Those were special times for me because it was like I was sharing the joy that the grandmother and aunt gave me with those books all those years before.
Hugs and Love
Andrew
Ask Andrew is your chance to ask questions of a gay romance author. The questions can be about the writing process in general, writing sex scenes, gay men, sex, characters in romance, characters having sex... okay you probably get the picture. I promise to answer your questions as frankly and with as much humor as I possibly can.
So if you have a question, please send it to andrewgreybooks@comcast.net. This is different from my usual email so your questions don't get lost. I will answer one question a week.
Please remember this is meant to be all in fun. (I was going to say good, clean fun, but who wants that.) So send me your questions and let's see what mischief we can get into.
Visit Andrew on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andrewgreybooks and you can join Andrew's fan group All The Way With Andrew Grey.
What was your favorite childhood book?'
Dawn
Dear Dawn
I was blessed with a grandmother and aunt who read to me a lot as a child. I think that's where my love of story came from. I know I drove them crazy because I already knew all the stories word for word and wasn't happy if they changed a word. "That's not how it goes," was apparently a common correction on my part.
The stories I remember most from my childhood are ones that are still around today in one form or another. Curious George, Clifford, Babar, these were all stories I was read as a child. I adored them all. There were others of course, but those seem to have bene my favorites. The Night Before Christmas was another one. I knew it by heart. (A number of years ago I actually saw the hand written original poem in a museum in California.)
I loved being read to as a child and I read to both my nieces. Those were special times for me because it was like I was sharing the joy that the grandmother and aunt gave me with those books all those years before.
Hugs and Love
Andrew
Ask Andrew is your chance to ask questions of a gay romance author. The questions can be about the writing process in general, writing sex scenes, gay men, sex, characters in romance, characters having sex... okay you probably get the picture. I promise to answer your questions as frankly and with as much humor as I possibly can.So if you have a question, please send it to andrewgreybooks@comcast.net. This is different from my usual email so your questions don't get lost. I will answer one question a week.
Please remember this is meant to be all in fun. (I was going to say good, clean fun, but who wants that.) So send me your questions and let's see what mischief we can get into.
Visit Andrew on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andrewgreybooks and you can join Andrew's fan group All The Way With Andrew Grey.
October 31, 2017
Halloween Flash Fiction! from BA, Julia, Kiernan and Sean
We've each writting some Halloween Flash Fiction for you today! It's our favorite way to Trick or Treat. We wish all our readers a very Happy Halloween. May all your tricks be treats.
BA"We need candy."
Gus stared at his mate, trying hard not to growl. "Sammy. Chocolate is not for pups, you know that." Surely his feline mate could understand that.
"But it's Halloween!" Sam came up to him, those green eyes bright as the sun through a bottle. "They're going to trick or treat. They've got costumes and we've built it up and...""No chocolate."
"No worries, Sammy. I got your back." Connor came sauntering up, bouncy kitty from top to bottom. "Look what all I got for the little ones. Carob covered kibbles. Peanut butter bites. Candy carrots with yogurt..."
Everything was wrapped and packaged in orange wax paper.
"Where did you...Are those wax lips?"
Sammy leapt at Connor, hugging the bobcat tight. "You saved Halloween!"
"I just found what you need. What our family needs."
Gus shot Brock a look, and the big wolf shrugged.
Right. What their family needed.
Happy Halloween.
From Just Like Cats and Dogs and What the Cat Dragged In.
Julia
“Wow, look at you.” Jack stared at Miles, who wore an amazing warrior sort of costume with a leather kilt and a harness and lots of oil. “Wow.”
Miles flexed, showing off all that lean muscle that no one ever knew was there. No one but Jack and Kenneth. “Happy Halloween.”
“Uh-huh.” It was almost midnight, the kids having been sugar hyped from the trunk or treat down at the high school. “Are we going somewhere?” If so, Jack was the last one to know, and who was watching the kids?“Nope.” Miles drifted closer. “This is a private party.”
Jack felt a grin spread across his face, and his cock lifted in his jeans.
“What kind of party?” Kenneth asked, his voice a growl as he slipped into the room. He’d been letting out the dog and locking up.
“Masquerade,” Miles said immediately.
“Do we have costumes?” Kenneth joined him, pressing close, his hands freezing cold.
Miles’s eyes glowed gold for a moment. “You just get naked. I’m the conquering barbarian and you two are my captives.”
Jack’s body definitely took an interest. “I like this party.”
Miles went to their bedroom door to lock it. “I thought you might. Now strip.”
Clothes began to fly, and Jack chuckled.
This was the easiest Halloween costume ever.
Jack, Miles, and Kenneth come from Wolfmanny, available at Dreamspinner Press, and Amazon.
Kiernan
Hey y’all! Here’s a little flash fiction set in my Seti’s Heart universe. It takes place after the events in the book. Seti and Logan are having a bit of a disagreement brought about by Seti’s misunderstanding of the Halloween tradition of dressing up in costume.
October 28, 2017
My Newest Mpreg Release by S.C. Wynne
Hello all you little Cafe Risque peeps!
I have a new release coming, hopefully October 31st, and it's the third book in my mpreg series Bodyguards and Babies. It's called Manny's Surprise Baby. The title went through many changes and this is the one I settled on, finally.
BLURB:
Pierce MacPherson is a solar eclipse omega with a chip on his shoulder. He was in a horrible relationship where his alpha sold him to other alphas for their pleasure, and now that he's free, he definitely has a thing against alphas.
Seth Rider works for Shield and he's an alpha with no desire to settle down with one woman. But when he discovers that a one night stand eight years ago produced a daughter he'd never heard of, he steps up to the challenge.
The problem is, Seth doesn't know the first thing about raising a kid. Pierce has some experience working with kids and when they meet, Pierce is guilted in to helping out for a week. It's only supposed to be one week. But when Seth starts having unusual sexual feelings toward Pierce, things get a little complicated. And when the two men give into their urges, and Pierce gets pregnant, things get even more muddled.
I find writing Mpreg kind of relaxing. I'm not sure why really. Maybe because I can allow the characters to be more vulnerable. You're dealing with pregnancy, which is such an emotional time, it's impossible not to focus on the feels more than usual. Because Mpreg is really ALL about the feels.
When I started this series, I wasn't really sure how the first book would do. I'd never written Mpreg before so I wasn't sure if my existing readers would be interested. But many of them were and all of the Mpreg books so far have done extremely well. I'm very glad I took the chance!
I realized by this third book, that tying in bodyguards is getting tricky! I mean, to have all these pregnancies only occurring to the bodyguards who work at Shield is becoming suspicious. Is there a pregnancy virus going around that only affects the guys at Shield? lol Because of this dilemma, I've decided to start the next three book series with cops. Who doesn't love cops, right? It will be the same tomfoolery you've grown used to, but instead of bodyguards at least one of the characters will be a cop. I'm looking forward to it. I think it will be fun! :)
Well, have an amazing weekend and I'll talk to you next Saturday.
S.C.
www.sc-wynne.com
I have a new release coming, hopefully October 31st, and it's the third book in my mpreg series Bodyguards and Babies. It's called Manny's Surprise Baby. The title went through many changes and this is the one I settled on, finally.
BLURB:
Pierce MacPherson is a solar eclipse omega with a chip on his shoulder. He was in a horrible relationship where his alpha sold him to other alphas for their pleasure, and now that he's free, he definitely has a thing against alphas.
Seth Rider works for Shield and he's an alpha with no desire to settle down with one woman. But when he discovers that a one night stand eight years ago produced a daughter he'd never heard of, he steps up to the challenge.
The problem is, Seth doesn't know the first thing about raising a kid. Pierce has some experience working with kids and when they meet, Pierce is guilted in to helping out for a week. It's only supposed to be one week. But when Seth starts having unusual sexual feelings toward Pierce, things get a little complicated. And when the two men give into their urges, and Pierce gets pregnant, things get even more muddled.
I find writing Mpreg kind of relaxing. I'm not sure why really. Maybe because I can allow the characters to be more vulnerable. You're dealing with pregnancy, which is such an emotional time, it's impossible not to focus on the feels more than usual. Because Mpreg is really ALL about the feels.
When I started this series, I wasn't really sure how the first book would do. I'd never written Mpreg before so I wasn't sure if my existing readers would be interested. But many of them were and all of the Mpreg books so far have done extremely well. I'm very glad I took the chance!
I realized by this third book, that tying in bodyguards is getting tricky! I mean, to have all these pregnancies only occurring to the bodyguards who work at Shield is becoming suspicious. Is there a pregnancy virus going around that only affects the guys at Shield? lol Because of this dilemma, I've decided to start the next three book series with cops. Who doesn't love cops, right? It will be the same tomfoolery you've grown used to, but instead of bodyguards at least one of the characters will be a cop. I'm looking forward to it. I think it will be fun! :)
Well, have an amazing weekend and I'll talk to you next Saturday.
S.C.
www.sc-wynne.com
