Cardeno C.'s Blog, page 64
July 25, 2016
I Tried it at Home: Peeling Hard Boiled Eggs by Cardeno C.
Happy Monday! I have finally found an effective way to boil AND peel eggs. It's one of those things that should be simple, but I always end up with most of my egg breaking apart or sticking to the shell. But not since I saw this video. I took photos of my process so I can share them with you.
1. Put water in the bottom of a pot that has a pasta steamer (no higher than the bottom of the steamer) and turned the heat on high.
2. Put the eggs into the steamer (which is not yet in the pot).
3. When the water is boiling, put the steamer into the pot and put the lid on it. Cook for 13 minutes.
4. While the eggs are cooking, get an ice bath ready.
5. When the eggs are done, pull the steamer up and spoon the eggs into the ice bath.
6. When the eggs are cool, hit them against the side of a bowl and peel away!
7. Easy breezy ...
8. No chunked eggs!
If you try it, let me know how it works for you. Have a great week.
CCwww.cardenoc.com
1. Put water in the bottom of a pot that has a pasta steamer (no higher than the bottom of the steamer) and turned the heat on high.
2. Put the eggs into the steamer (which is not yet in the pot). 
3. When the water is boiling, put the steamer into the pot and put the lid on it. Cook for 13 minutes.
4. While the eggs are cooking, get an ice bath ready.
5. When the eggs are done, pull the steamer up and spoon the eggs into the ice bath.
6. When the eggs are cool, hit them against the side of a bowl and peel away!
7. Easy breezy ...
8. No chunked eggs!
If you try it, let me know how it works for you. Have a great week.
CCwww.cardenoc.com
July 21, 2016
New Release by Felice Stevens
I had a new release this week; my first since April. For many authors that's quick, but I happen to be a fast writer, so three months is a while for me.
The Arrangement is also an unusual book for me, in that it is a stand alone, and if you know me, you know I love my series. But like my first book, Rescued, Carter and Reed's story popped into my head and wouldn't let go until I wrote it for them. Their stories may have come out of nowhere, but these two men told me exactly how their story should unfold.
I hope you enjoy Carter, Reed and little Jacks's story. Theirs is a story of overcoming hardships and dealing with adversity. I like to think of it as not a gay romance or an MM romance, but simply a modern day romance of family and finding love.
You can find The Arrangement here:
Amazon: http://mybook.to/CarterandReediBooks: http://apple.co/29JbH8kAllRomance: http://bit.ly/CarterandReedNook: http://bit.ly/29Sff7uKobo: http://bit.ly/29PmDF5
The Arrangement is also an unusual book for me, in that it is a stand alone, and if you know me, you know I love my series. But like my first book, Rescued, Carter and Reed's story popped into my head and wouldn't let go until I wrote it for them. Their stories may have come out of nowhere, but these two men told me exactly how their story should unfold.
I hope you enjoy Carter, Reed and little Jacks's story. Theirs is a story of overcoming hardships and dealing with adversity. I like to think of it as not a gay romance or an MM romance, but simply a modern day romance of family and finding love.
You can find The Arrangement here:
Amazon: http://mybook.to/CarterandReediBooks: http://apple.co/29JbH8kAllRomance: http://bit.ly/CarterandReedNook: http://bit.ly/29Sff7uKobo: http://bit.ly/29PmDF5
July 19, 2016
dream vacations with BA, Julia, Sean and Kiernan-- Reader q
Reader Jan asks tell me what your dream vacation would be right now.
B.a. At this point I just want to sleep in air conditioning for a week -- no internet, no stress. Possibly knitting and lots of gluten free pizza.
Sean An isolated little cottage on the beach in Nova Scotia (the water never truly gets warm in our end of the Atlantic and the water is beautifully cold even in summer). I would sit on the beach and listen to the waves all day long.
Kiernan On a ship at sea with no deadlines, no phone, no internet, but with certain good friends(shoots BA, Julia,and Sean puppy eyes), and tall, icy very alcoholic drinks.
July 18, 2016
New Release: Not a Game by Cardeno C.
Not a Game, my new contemporary novel is now available!
An accidental meeting and a misunderstanding lead to a life-altering connection.
A new job, a new city, and hopefully a new life. When chubby gamer Oliver Barnaby receives a job offer from the best boutique game developer in the country, he leaves his family and his less than spectacular existence in Oklahoma without a second’s hesitation. Determined to change more than his career and his geography, Oliver implements a plan to finally land a boyfriend. Step one is improving his skills in the bedroom.
A life that looks perfect on paper, but feels empty in reality. Attractive, successful, charismatic Jaime Snow has a life other people envy. His already booming business is growing. He isn’t lacking in friends. And he has no trouble finding a date. But there’s an emptiness in Jaime’s heart and a hole in his life that only the right man can fill.
An accidental meeting, a misunderstanding, and falling in love. When Oliver and Jaime end up at the same bar at the same time, they each see something they want in the other. Going to bed together that first night is easy. Building the lifetime relationship they both desperately crave will require trust, time, and a little misunderstanding.
Word count: 55,872
Sample
Chapter 1
He had chosen the bar because of its name. The Bookstore. It was clever and unusual and he had laughed internally at how happy his mother would be if he told her he was spending time at the Bookstore instead of in front of his computer. Oliver’s entire life, she had mourned the fact he wasn’t a reader, and even though he had now moved two thousand miles away from their home in Oklahoma City, she still sent him books she was sure he’d love. Maybe someday he’d open one of them.
For now, he glanced down at the only book he had read countless times and adjusted it at the edge of his table to make the spine as visible as possible. The title—Coding—wasn’t as clever as the bar name, but the information and the way it was phrased had clicked perfectly in Oliver’s brain when he was a college freshman. He had long since moved past the information inside, but the textbook was the closest thing he had to a security blanket, so he had held onto it through four years of progressively more complicated computer science classes, three dead-end computer repair and technical support jobs, and a move to Seattle to finally, finally, live his dream developing video games. When he had to pick a way to identify himself to the stranger who would guide him on the last phase of his journey toward living the life he had always wanted, the first thing that came to Oliver’s mind was the book that had started it all.
With the spine facing the bar and walkway and his glass empty, Oliver had nothing left to do but wait or get his phone out to play a quick turn on Clash of Clans. He reached into his pocket almost before his brain had formulated the thought. Aquick glance at his screen confirmed it was still twenty minutes shy of eight o’clock. Oliver prided himself on timeliness, something his father had drummed into him since he was a boy, and after two months in Seattle, he hadn’t yet gotten a handle on how long it took to get anywhere, so he had erred on the side of caution and ended up arriving half an hour early.
In his head, his mother lectured him about playing on his phone when he should be paying attention to people, but he was twenty-eight years old, and she was too far away to see him, so he ignored her and tried to lose himself in a game. Besides, taking his mind off why he was in that bar would stop him from falling headfirst into an anxiety attack, and even his mother would agree that was a good thing in a social setting. Not that she would ever have the chance to know about his plans that evening, because, despite how close they were, this was one activity Oliver absolutely would not share with his family. Or anyone else for that matter.
Nerves rising, he scratched his upper back through his shirt with one hand and his thigh with the other. Recognizing what he was doing, he forced his hands away before he broke the skin. Hoping for a distraction, he jerked his gaze toward his pop when, suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he noticed someone moving in his direction. Instinctively, Oliver grabbed the glass and scrunched over it, using the act of sipping from a straw as a shield to keep himself from staring at people who inevitably didn’t notice him. But when the man didn’t veer away and instead came closer, Oliver glanced up and realized the stranger was looking right at his book. Which meant he was either coming to tease the chubby nerd for having a textbook ata bar on a Friday night or…
Oh my God. This is him. Oliver kept his head down but couldn’t stop himself from flicking his gaze back and forth between his still empty glass and the approaching man.
Older than Oliver, but not too old, broad shoulders, light eyes, short dark hair, anda sculpted face. The man stopped right next to the table, waited for Oliver to look up, and then said, “Interesting reading choice.”
CONTINUE READING SAMPLE
Have a great week!
CC
www.cardenoc.com
An accidental meeting and a misunderstanding lead to a life-altering connection.
A new job, a new city, and hopefully a new life. When chubby gamer Oliver Barnaby receives a job offer from the best boutique game developer in the country, he leaves his family and his less than spectacular existence in Oklahoma without a second’s hesitation. Determined to change more than his career and his geography, Oliver implements a plan to finally land a boyfriend. Step one is improving his skills in the bedroom.
A life that looks perfect on paper, but feels empty in reality. Attractive, successful, charismatic Jaime Snow has a life other people envy. His already booming business is growing. He isn’t lacking in friends. And he has no trouble finding a date. But there’s an emptiness in Jaime’s heart and a hole in his life that only the right man can fill.
An accidental meeting, a misunderstanding, and falling in love. When Oliver and Jaime end up at the same bar at the same time, they each see something they want in the other. Going to bed together that first night is easy. Building the lifetime relationship they both desperately crave will require trust, time, and a little misunderstanding.
Word count: 55,872
Sample
Chapter 1
He had chosen the bar because of its name. The Bookstore. It was clever and unusual and he had laughed internally at how happy his mother would be if he told her he was spending time at the Bookstore instead of in front of his computer. Oliver’s entire life, she had mourned the fact he wasn’t a reader, and even though he had now moved two thousand miles away from their home in Oklahoma City, she still sent him books she was sure he’d love. Maybe someday he’d open one of them.
For now, he glanced down at the only book he had read countless times and adjusted it at the edge of his table to make the spine as visible as possible. The title—Coding—wasn’t as clever as the bar name, but the information and the way it was phrased had clicked perfectly in Oliver’s brain when he was a college freshman. He had long since moved past the information inside, but the textbook was the closest thing he had to a security blanket, so he had held onto it through four years of progressively more complicated computer science classes, three dead-end computer repair and technical support jobs, and a move to Seattle to finally, finally, live his dream developing video games. When he had to pick a way to identify himself to the stranger who would guide him on the last phase of his journey toward living the life he had always wanted, the first thing that came to Oliver’s mind was the book that had started it all.
With the spine facing the bar and walkway and his glass empty, Oliver had nothing left to do but wait or get his phone out to play a quick turn on Clash of Clans. He reached into his pocket almost before his brain had formulated the thought. Aquick glance at his screen confirmed it was still twenty minutes shy of eight o’clock. Oliver prided himself on timeliness, something his father had drummed into him since he was a boy, and after two months in Seattle, he hadn’t yet gotten a handle on how long it took to get anywhere, so he had erred on the side of caution and ended up arriving half an hour early.
In his head, his mother lectured him about playing on his phone when he should be paying attention to people, but he was twenty-eight years old, and she was too far away to see him, so he ignored her and tried to lose himself in a game. Besides, taking his mind off why he was in that bar would stop him from falling headfirst into an anxiety attack, and even his mother would agree that was a good thing in a social setting. Not that she would ever have the chance to know about his plans that evening, because, despite how close they were, this was one activity Oliver absolutely would not share with his family. Or anyone else for that matter.
Nerves rising, he scratched his upper back through his shirt with one hand and his thigh with the other. Recognizing what he was doing, he forced his hands away before he broke the skin. Hoping for a distraction, he jerked his gaze toward his pop when, suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he noticed someone moving in his direction. Instinctively, Oliver grabbed the glass and scrunched over it, using the act of sipping from a straw as a shield to keep himself from staring at people who inevitably didn’t notice him. But when the man didn’t veer away and instead came closer, Oliver glanced up and realized the stranger was looking right at his book. Which meant he was either coming to tease the chubby nerd for having a textbook ata bar on a Friday night or…
Oh my God. This is him. Oliver kept his head down but couldn’t stop himself from flicking his gaze back and forth between his still empty glass and the approaching man.
Older than Oliver, but not too old, broad shoulders, light eyes, short dark hair, anda sculpted face. The man stopped right next to the table, waited for Oliver to look up, and then said, “Interesting reading choice.”
CONTINUE READING SAMPLE
Have a great week!
CC
www.cardenoc.com
July 16, 2016
What is a twunk? by Renae Kaye
What is a twunk?
It feels like a mighty weight has been lifted from me. I can finally reveal the title of my new book – Don’t Twunk With My Heart.
As a few select friends can attest to, I came up with this title about 20 months ago. It was a long, long time. I’ve been holding it secret for ages, hoping that no one else would steal it from me. It came from the Black Eyed Peas’ song – Don’t Phunk With My Heart.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4Bda6_usuc
I was doing some googling and research on twinks and came across the term “twunk.” Immediately the Black Eyed Peas’ song began rolling through my head, but this time with a small twist. I was sing, “Oh no no no, don’t twunk with my heart…”
It was a perfect title. Just that little bit zany to capture my author’s attention. And I knew who would be spouting the term – Jay from Loving Jay. So I wrote the story.
So what exactly isa twunk? The definition may change depending on who uses the term, but basically a twunk is a twink with muscle. He’s a twink that has turned into a hunk.
And using that definition I created Jay’s friend – Kee. He used to be similar to Jay. Kee used to be a twink although he never did the makeup. But he worked the twink image for all it was worth. And then something happened that hurt Kee. He withdrew from his friends and concentrated on getting better. And when he reappeared, Jay declared that he’d changed. He was now a twunk.
Now all he needs to do is find a man, and twunk with that man’s heart…
Don’t Twunk With My Heart will be on preorder by the end of this month.
July 13, 2016
Why did I think this was a good idea? by Riley Hart
I'm writing three books and revising one.
Yes, you read that correctly. LOL. I have no idea what possessed me to think it's a good idea to write three books and revise one at the same time. In my defense, the book I'm revising is the only book that's strictly mine. The other three are collaborations. And one of them, we are working on really, really slowly because we're both so busy, so in a way, it's two books and a revision.
The only thing that's saving me right now is the fact that they're different genres. One is a YA (the really slow book). The other is a NA (that should be done very soon. We're in the home stretch!). And the last one is an adult (emotional, emotional, emotional!).
It keeps things fresh to work that way. I get in different moods at different times and when I do, I can always find something to write. Or times like now...too many things! LOL.
So that's what I'm up to this summer. What about you?
Yes, you read that correctly. LOL. I have no idea what possessed me to think it's a good idea to write three books and revise one at the same time. In my defense, the book I'm revising is the only book that's strictly mine. The other three are collaborations. And one of them, we are working on really, really slowly because we're both so busy, so in a way, it's two books and a revision.
The only thing that's saving me right now is the fact that they're different genres. One is a YA (the really slow book). The other is a NA (that should be done very soon. We're in the home stretch!). And the last one is an adult (emotional, emotional, emotional!).
It keeps things fresh to work that way. I get in different moods at different times and when I do, I can always find something to write. Or times like now...too many things! LOL.
So that's what I'm up to this summer. What about you?
I Love My Editors - Andrew Grey
We authors don't do what we do alone. We have partners who support us along with many other people who help bring our work to you and a very important part of that process is our editors. I have long maintained that I view my editor as a close partner in my writing process. They are the people who help me look good. They clean up my manuscript and often times hold a mirror up to it so I can see the work more clearly.
I recently received and edit and the entire time I reviewed it, I was swearing and cursing. The air in my entire house was blue. Dominic stayed away from me as much as he could. At one point he brought me something to drink and then dashed out of the room. The good thing is that the only one to hear my frustration was Dominic. While the edit was painful, by the time I had gone through everything and made the changes, the story was better and I was completely wrung out. (A cigarette would probably have bene appropriate if I smoked. )
The thing is in the end the story was tighter and better. So I want to send a thank you to my editors, Nicole, Tricia, Lynn, and Jane. These are the ladies who work with me and I am ever so grateful for the expertise.
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.
Follow him on Twitter: @andrewgreybooks
Visit Andrew's web site: www,andrewgreybooks.com
I recently received and edit and the entire time I reviewed it, I was swearing and cursing. The air in my entire house was blue. Dominic stayed away from me as much as he could. At one point he brought me something to drink and then dashed out of the room. The good thing is that the only one to hear my frustration was Dominic. While the edit was painful, by the time I had gone through everything and made the changes, the story was better and I was completely wrung out. (A cigarette would probably have bene appropriate if I smoked. )
The thing is in the end the story was tighter and better. So I want to send a thank you to my editors, Nicole, Tricia, Lynn, and Jane. These are the ladies who work with me and I am ever so grateful for the expertise.
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.
Follow him on Twitter: @andrewgreybooks
Visit Andrew's web site: www,andrewgreybooks.com
July 12, 2016
8 quick questions for Sean, BA, Julia and Kiernan
We did a quick and dirty Facebook chat this week because Kiernan's publicist (her hubs Butch) awaits foot surgery in the hospital. Sigh. Hugs to him. So we weren't able to do in depth...
The questions were: Facebook or Twitter? Cream or sugar? Oral or anal? Dogs or cats? Reading or writing (if you had the choice), hot or cold, weddings or baby showers, spanking or bondage?
BA Tortuga
Facebook, sugar, oral, dogs, reading, hot, baby showers, try it and I will kick your ass.
Sean Michael
Facebook, cream, Oral AND Anal, thank you very much, dogs, writing, cold, baby showers, spanking AND bondage are both yummilicious
Kiernan Kelly
Facebook, cream and artificial sugar, anal, both. Don't make me choose. Please don't make me choose. I can't. It's an impossible choice. Depends - hot for beverages except when I'm really warm and thirsty, and hot for temperature, except when it gets to be 100F and feeling like 120F. Oops...hit send too quickly. Either or, although I kind of like the quirky little games they play at baby showers. Spanking.
Julia Talbot
Twitter, Cream, oral, dogs, reading, hot, weddings (I cna't hack eating baby food as a game), spanking
Spare a few good thoughts for Mr. Kelly, will ya?
XXOO
Julia
You can find us on Twitter at @seanmichael09, @juliatalbot, @batortuga and @KiernanKelly
Sean’s website is http://www.seanmichaelwrites.com
Julia’s is http://www.juliatalbot.com BA’s is http://www.batortuga.com
Kiernan's is www.KiernanKelly.com
Facebook:
Sean -- https://www.facebook.com/SeanMichaelW...
Julia -- https://www.facebook.com/juliatalbota...
BA -- https://www.facebook.com/batortuga
Kiernan -- https://www.facebook.com/kiernan.kelly
July 11, 2016
July 9, 2016
My newest book by Renae Kaye
Is it the 9th of July already? Wow. How this year has flown.
Despite my attempts to think I could do otherwise, I’ve only released one story this year. I feel a bit like a failure on that front. Only one book out this year, and it wasn’t successful in sales or ratings. That’s always disappointing to an author, but a learning curve. It makes one doubt their writing, and even their validity in continuing to write. I’m still debating with myself whether to continue certain series, move into another sub-genre, or even into another genre completely.
But in the M/M romance genre, have you seen the new authors out lately? There has been an explosion of new voices, and this should be a reason to celebrate. More voices mean more choice for the reader. There should be something for you to love, even if your preference is for unpopular sub-genres.
I’ve had a look at the latest books on Amazon in the gay romance section, and I’m amazed at the variety of books, the explosion of unfamiliar authors and amount of new stuff coming out.
Amazed. Yes. Jealous? Definitely.
It seems like everyone has new release out… apart from me. For some time there I thought about changing my Facebook workplace from “Author” to “Former Author.” I find it hard to blog when I have no news to impart, and any blog that is political or opinionated is often not well received. Someone recently wrote that they felt like the world was on fire. I feel the same – and the radical tensions from factions in every form make it hard work.
However, leaving aside that stuff, I finally DO have some news to impart. Sort of. I have a new book coming out in … well, seven weeks. It’s ages away, I know. You can’t know more than me. With my birthday coming up next week, I wanted to do something special to celebrate on my birthday. So, guess what? Cover reveal! Yay!
Probably too early, but guess what? I don’t care about conventional advice any more. I just want a happy birthday for me, and showing you my latest cover is happy for me.
SO – there’s a catch. You either need to follow me on Facebook if you want to be second to find out... or sign up to my brand new newsletter if you want to be first to see.
http://eepurl.com/b5r175
A simple email address is all you need, and you can be assured with a promise from me that I’m only sending newsletters out with news. No spam. No email every week. Just when the exciting news comes out.
So, be watching. And hopefully you will enjoy Kee and Tate’s adventure.
How to contact Renae: Email: renaekaye@iinet.net.au Website: www.renaekaye.weebly.com FB: www.facebook.com/renae.kaye.9 Twitter: @renaekkaye
