Amanda Usen's Blog, page 12

The New Year’s Eve Party That Wasn’t

A Hungry Hearts welcome to Jenna Rutland! You’re going to need a drink for this! Giveaway links at the bottom of the post to encourage you to share your most memorable New Year’s Eve!

A few years ago, my hubby came home from work several days before NYE and told me we’d been invited to a NYE party. It was being hosted by a sweet woman we both knew from work and her husband, who we’d met several times. I bombarded him with questions. Who? What? When? Where? How should I dress? Hubby was able to come up with answers for three out of the five questions so I felt I had enough information.

The night of the party, we arrived promptly at the stated time of 7:30 p.m. Hubby thought he knew exactly where their house was located. When we arrived at our destination, the driveway and street were loaded with cars. Fun times ahead!

Or not.

Upon ringing the doorbell, we received a polite, “So sorry. You’ve got the wrong house. The XYZ’s (name changed to protect the innocent) live next door.” We followed where his index finger pointed to a house with no outside lights on, and certainly no cars in or out of the driveway.

As we tiptoed across the lawn, I used my best quiet, semi-hysterical voice to ask if he was sure they were having a party. As he’s ringing the doorbell, he says, “Well, she said we should stop over for a drink.”

Uh, oh. In my mind, “stop over for a drink” and “you’re invited to a party” are humongously different. Before I could grab his arm and drag him back to the car, porch lights came on and the door was opened. To say our hostess was surprised is like saying the Titanic had a small leak.

After the woman was able to breathe again, she graciously invited us inside, hopefully missing the fact that I’d kicked my husband in the shin. While I’m giving him the universal signal for, “I’m going to kill you,” she took our coats and called for her husband.

While we spewed our apologies for infringing on their evening, they were waving our worries away in a “No, we definitely weren’t expecting anyone tonight, but what the heck! Come on in!” spirit.

It was obvious what we’d walked into. (No, not that. Get your mind out of the gutter.) She was taking down their Christmas decorations while he was figuring out how to set up his new gazillion inch TV. Before we knew it, we had drinks in our hands and an appetizer set in front of us.

After an hour of small talk, I flashed my husband the “let’s get out of here signal.” We stood, stretched, covered the fake yawns we made, and at the same time their daughter arrived because they were going to celebrate their granddaughter’s first birthday!

Can you saw awkward???

As we inched our way to the door to allow them their family time, the host said, “Let’s play a game!” I wanted to weep. But we sat at their table and played a card game, and at the first possible instant we said we had to leave.

For having two nitwits descend on them on NYE, our hosts were gracious and fun.

Bottom line? From that night on, hubby has to produce an actual written invitation before we go to a party!!

A little bit about JUST FOR THE SUMMER…

Available from AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE, KOBO, iBOOKSTORE

Dani Sullivan has come to Lake Bliss to write her latest cookbook and take a breather. After the year she’s had, she deserves a summer retreat to reevaluate priorities and make peace with past decisions. But from the moment single dad and sheriff Matt Reagan shows up, she has a hard time convincing herself that a life away from Lake Bliss could beat the life she might have here.

Recently divorced Matt is ready for a new relationship, but he doesn’t want short-term—his son needs permanence, and so does Matt’s heart. Unfortunately, it’s the smart-mouthed and sinfully sexy Ms. Sullivan who catches his eye. But when Matt learns Dani’s secrets, will he still want her to stay? Or will her chance for love last just for the summer?

A little bit about Jenna:

Jenna Rutland lives in a small Michigan community with her husband, son and senior cat. Her daughter and son-in-law have recently given Jenna the awesome title of grandmother!

While her days are spent working as a medical transcriptionist, her nights are filled writing contemporary romance—stories of love, laughter and happily ever after. Guess which occupation is more fun?

She is a member of RWA and is active in her local chapter. After several years on the MVRWA board, she now chairs the group’s annual fall brainstorming weekend as well as acts as food coordinator for several other events.

Jenna takes pleasure in spending time with her family. She also enjoys reading, gardening and loves the challenge of a new recipe.

Jenna welcomes the chance to connect with writers and readers. For more information, head to her website, and hang out with Jenna on Facebook and Twitter.

Enter to win a copy of JUST FOR THE SUMMER by Jenna Rutland: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hop on the Hungry Hearts Holiday Hop for great Dip, App, and Drink recipes to make your New Year’s Eve delicious! And the chance to win one of three $25 gift cards!

Pass the Pastitsio!

Barbara DeLeo is visiting today! She’s talking about the fabulous Greek food she’s been eating, and I am, in the vernacular of my girl children, totes jelly! You will be too…

Thanks so much for having me on the blog today, Amanda! I hope everyone is having a holiday season filled with fun, laughter and fabulous food and drinks.

New Year in New Zealand is right in the middle of our summer holidays so it’s a fabulous time to get together with friends and family from all over the country.

This year we’re spending part of the holiday with my husband’s Greek family so we’re gorging ourselves on lots of amazing food and drink.

When we were in our early twenties, hubs and I lived in Greece and Cyprus and I absolutely fell in love with the culture. We were lucky enough to travel back there last year with our four kids and spent three wonderful months introducing them to their heritage.

It’s been over a year since our trip so I was hanging out for some good Greek food this year and these are some of the things I’ve feasted on this week.

Have you had Greek food? Do you like it? What are your favorite dishes? Fill out the Rafflecopter form at the bottom of the post for the chance to win your choice of my books, Dishing up Desire, Contract for Marriage or Last Chance Proposal. And if you’d like more Greek food and a recipe for delicious Greek pastries, please visit my blog as part of the Hungry Hearts Holiday Hop. Happy New Year!

So…hungry? Here’s a little something to make your brain drool, too!

Available from AMAZON, KOBO, BARNES & NOBLE, and iTUNES

Cy Hathaway needs a wife, fast, to win custody of his son, Jonty. He returns home to discover the childhood sweetheart he once left behind has become a vibrant, beautiful woman. Even though wanting to sweep her off her feet wasn’t part of the plan…

For Ellie, Cy’s sudden reappearance awakens a flood of memories—and resentments for the way he’d abandoned her all those years ago. But she has a life now, a career. She can’t simply drop everything and get hitched, even if the sight of him still makes her heart race.

But after Ellie meets his little boy, she can’t refuse. Certain she has a grip on her old feelings for Cy, she agrees to marry her first love until he gains custody. But when did helping out a friend become something with the capacity to hijack her heart?

And here’s a little something about Barbara…

Barbara DeLeo’s first book, co-written with her best friend, was a story about beauty queens in space. She was eleven, and the sole, handwritten copy was lost years ago, much to everyone’s relief. It’s some small miracle that she kept the faith and is now living her dream of writing sparkling contemporary romance with unforgettable characters.

After completing degrees in Psychology and English then traveling the world, Barbara married her winemaker hero and had two sets of twins.

She still loves telling stories about finding love in all the wrong places, with not a beauty queen or spaceship in sight.

Find Barbara and her books here:

Website * Twitter * Facebook * Goodreads

Enter to win Contract For Marriage, Dishing Up Desire, or Last Chance Proposal by Barbara DeLeo: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you’ll also check out our Dip, App, and Drink recipes on the Hungry Hearts Holiday Hop and enter to win one of three $25 gift cards!

Hungry Hearts Happy New Year!

Welcome to the HUNGRY HEARTS HOLIDAY HOP! We are so excited to CELEBRATE the New Year with mouthwatering dip, appetizer, and drink recipes and delicious EXCERPTS from today’s hottest food-loving ROMANCE writers! Hop around each author’s site for a new recipe, and fill out the Rafflecopter form for the chance to win one of three $25 Amazon or Barnes & Noble GIFT CARDS!

In addition to the HUNGRY HEARTS HOLIDAY HOP giveaway, I’ll be featuring Hungry Hearts authors on my site this week and gifting their books to lucky winners. Stay tuned to get in on the fun! If you’d like to party in real time, please join our Facebook Party December 26th – January 1st. Pop in to chat about your New Year’s Eve plans and your 2014 resolutions.

I’m a sucker for citrus…and pomegranate…and martinis. The pomegranate part must run in the family because my New Year’s Eve baby (um…about to turn 12) will sit down and eat an entire pomegranate, seeds and all, several times a week when they’re in season. I prefer to drink mine. Like this:

Pomegranate Orange Martini (Makes two!)

6 ounces pomegranate juice

1 ounce orange juice

2 ounces vodka

1 Tablespoon (1/2 ounce) orange liqueur (more if you like it sweeter like my neighborhood BFF Melissa who miraculously had everything we needed to make these on Christmas morning-ish)

Shake over ice. Pour in a glass. Garnish with festivity! Drink with good cheer!

This is my new perfect drink. It’s sweet but not too sweet. It’s tart without kicking me in the jaw. I’m pretty sure I drank three while we were playing cards, and it’s rare that I’ll drink anything alcoholic before the sun goes down. The fact that I drank so many and held my own during the game tells me it could use a hair more vodka, but I’ll leave that up to you.

I love festive beverages, and I often incorporate them into my books. Jack and Lila drink Blackberry Smashes during their red-hot truce in INTO THE FIRE. Jenna quaffs a Hibiscus Margarita before sealing the deal with Roman in SEDUCING THE PLAYBOY (coming soon!) and Betsy is about to imbibe a rainbow of daiquiris in a French Quarter bar in Book Three, the book I’m writing now.

On New Year’s Eve, my house will be filled with twelve year-olds celebrating my daughter’s birthday. There will be pizza, brownies, smoothies, games, and enough noise to have me reaching for the martini shaker, I’m sure. How are you celebrating this year?

For more mouthwatering dips, apps, and drinks, click here:

To enter our giveaway for 3 $25 GIFT CARDS to Amazon or Barnes & Noble, click here: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Great Holiday Reads From Entangled Publishing!

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Click to view all our holiday titles!!

What’s Your Christmas Craving?

All I want for Christmas…is books! Me, a bowl of party mix, a Classic Coke, and the couch…now that is holiday heaven. Here are a few of the books I’ll be cozying up with this year. I love food, and I love romance, so you’ll notice a theme here! Hey Dasher and Dancer? Bring on the sexy men, smart women, and the “shared appetizers.” Isn’t that what the kids are calling it these days? Since we’re talking book cravings, I’ll be giving away an e-copy of Liz Everly’s latest release CRAVINGS at the end of the post! I hope you’ll enter to win her book, as well as THE CUPCAKE COWBOY by Lissa Matthews, TINSEL MY HEART by Christi Barth, THE HOLIDAY SERENADE by Ava Miles, and our Grand Prize Hungry Hearts Holiday Hop Giveaway for a Harry & David Tower of Sweet Treats, book gift cards, and author swag. All giveaways open until Christmas Eve!

CRAVINGS by Liz Everly – On the run from a troubled past, Sasha will do whatever is necessary to survive. That includes cozying up to the enigmatic Sanj, a darkly handsome man who seduces her like the richest chocolate. Hungry for more, she gives into the sweetest temptation, craving the feel of his hard body and longing for exquisite carnal pleasure…

THE SUGAR COOKIE SWEETHEART SWAP featuring Kimberly Kincaid – Ingredients: One pragmatic caterer desperate for money to start her own bakery. One hotshot pastry chef in need of a boost to his reputation as a risk-taker. One Christmas cookie competition that promises money and prestige to the winner. Combine well, and watch the kitchen heat up for the holidays.

THE CUPCAKE COWBOY by Lissa Matthews – Warning: Uses of frosting that frosting was never intended for. A dirt road showdown. A lesson in milking cows. A whole truck full of mouthwatering cupcakes (some with liquor). A little family drama. And dreams on their way to coming true…

TINSEL MY HEART by Christi Barth – “I want to have dinner with you. Only you. Not because we used to be good friends. Not even because we’ve slid pretty well back into those roles. And not just dinner.” Jack grasped her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “You’re a beautiful woman who heats me up every time you slide those cool lake eyes over me. With enough talent and know-how and passion for my business to make for interesting conversation. So what I want from you, Becca, is a date.”

THE HOLIDAY SERENADE by Ava Miles – “The urge to squirt the egg-white gingerbread frosting onto Rhett’s red thermal shirt and jeans came over her, but better sense prevailed. Her action might prompt him to strip his shirt off in her kitchen, and frankly, she wouldn’t be able to draw a straight line with her frosting if he did that…”

LEAVE THE LIGHTS ON by Karen Stivali – “Sophie went up on her toes, leaning in toward him, her lips parting beneath his. She tasted like the chocolate they’d had and red wine they hadn’t, a decadent blend of the richest flavors he’d ever savored. He no longer noticed the rain or heard the thunder—his whole world had condensed into the kiss. The only word his brain could form was Sophie…”

ALL FIRED UP by Kate Meader – Shane has carefully structured his career and life around one goal: connecting with the family that doesn’t know he exists. Marrying a woman with more issues than a magazine stand wasn’t part of the plan, but melting Cara’s icy exterior is so worth the detour. Now as the annulment date nears and long-buried secrets are revealed, Shane will have to fight for the one thing guaranteeing the perfect life he craves . . . the current Mrs. Shane Doyle.

BACHELOR’S SPECIAL by Christine Warner – Intrigued by her ambition–and determined to get her in bed–Chet offers Jill the chance of a lifetime: Work for him for the next eight weeks as his live-in chef and he’ll help her get her catering business off the ground. When sparks fly in the kitchen, Jill realizes what’s cooking with her commitment-phobic employer is a recipe for disaster…but it’s just too tasty to not take a bite.

SEVEN DAY FIANCE by Rachel Harris – Angelle Prejean is in a pickle. Her family is expecting her to come home with a fiancé—a fiancé who doesn’t exist. Well, he exists, but he definitely has no idea Angelle told her mama they were engaged. Tattooed, muscled, and hotter than sin, Cane can reduce Angelle to a hot mess with one look—and leave her heart a mess if she falls for him. But when she ends up winning him at a charity bachelor auction, she knows just how to solve her fiancé problem…

RECIPE FOR ATTRACTION by Gina Gordon – Bad boy Neil Harrison may have a sexy body and an even sexier smile, but there’s no way in hell architect Carson Kelly is falling for the elusive bachelor. For starters, he’s her boss, and getting intimately involved with the infuriating alpha male could be a career-killer. And secondly, he’s battling personal demons in one of the most dangerous ways possible: illegal street racing. After a friend’s tragic death years ago, Carson swore she’d never get involved in that life again…

SOMETHING’S COOKING by Meg Lacey – Tess Banyon has turned her brilliant recipe and crafting ideas into a multimedia empire. Landing her own TV show throws her into a panic. If she’s not careful, the public will discover she isn’t the domestic diva everyone thinks she is.

Investigative reporter Josh Faraday smells something smoking in Tess’s world. His goal to expose the real Tess goes into overdrive when she lands a television show deal. He secures an assignment to shadow her, reporting on her program, but what he’s really doing is getting dirt for his expose. Things get even stickier when Tess’s family play matchmaker. There’s no shortage of fire between them, and after an impulsive night together, Josh discovers a story he never expected–or bargained for.

JUST FOR THE SUMMER by Jenna Rutland – “She eased into a black fake-leather chair. After she leaned back, she crossed her legs. Her totally bare legs. When his groin failed to twitch in response to her movement, he took a slow, deep breath. He applauded his self-control, then realized he had a death grip on the armrests.

“What can I do for you, Ms. Sullivan?”

Dani leaned forward in her seat. “I have a problem only you can fix, Sheriff Reagan.””

LAST CHANCE PROPOSAL by Barbara DeLeo – Cy Hathaway needs a wife, fast, to win custody of his son, Jonty. He returns home to discover the childhood sweetheart he once left behind has become a vibrant, beautiful woman. Even though wanting to sweep her off her feet wasn’t part of the plan…

For Ellie, Cy’s sudden reappearance awakens a flood of memories—and resentments for the way he’d abandoned her all those years ago. But she has a life now, a career. She can’t simply drop everything and get hitched, even if the sight of him still makes her heart race.

But after Ellie meets his little boy, she can’t refuse. Certain she has a grip on her old feelings for Cy, she agrees to marry her first love until he gains custody. But when did helping out a friend become something with the capacity to hijack her heart?

I’m drooling at the thought of some alone time with these books! You know why? Because for most of December, I’ll be cuddled up with SEDUCING THE PLAYBOY revisions. Woohoo! It’s coming out early next year. When I’m not doing that, I’ll be hammering away on Book Three of the Hot Nights series. MY stolen moments with other people’s books are luscious. Scrumptious. Sacred. Oh Holy Night, I can’t wait to be alone with a fantastic book! I hope you get the books you’re craving, too.

Merry Christmas from the Hungry Hearts authors!

Enter to win CRAVINGS by Liz Everly in your stocking: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Enter to win THE CUPCAKE COWBOY by Lissa Matthews, TINSEL MY HEART by Christi Barth, THE HOLIDAY SERENADE by Ava Miles, and our Grand Prize Hungry Hearts Holiday Hop Giveaway for a Harry & David Tower of Sweet Treats, book gift cards, and author swag under your tree. All giveaways open until Christmas Eve!

We’ll be back for Dips & Drinks for New Years!

The Little Red Tree

Hey, y’all! I have Lissa Matthews, my kitchen soul sister, here today! She loves to cook, and she writes naughty books! #LOVE Don’t forget to enter our giveaways at the bottom of the post… Hi Lissa!

I love Christmas trees and holiday lights. They’re my favorite. Even more than presents, especially as I’ve gotten older. I love walking into a room or looking through windows or driving by houses and through neighborhoods looking at the lights. It’s something we’ve been doing since I was a child and I’ve carried that tradition on.

We only had one tree when I was growing up. But when my kids were little and even still some years, they’ve had a small tree in their rooms, decorated with their own box of ornaments.

And, I’ve had a tree too. In my room. The kitchen. It’s an appropriate place for my tree as I spend so much time in it, cooking and baking. It’s a small, 2.5 foot red tinsel tree. It sits on the island and it is decorated with Coca-Cola polar bear ornaments, cookies and cupcakes and the annual red cup ornaments from Starbucks. Caribou Coffee has ornaments on my tree as well. It’s a special tree to me. It’s festive and bright and reflects a bit of me. I love putting it up and hate taking it down.

I always look for new ornaments. I would love to have some miniature kitchen utensils for my tree.

I think Christmas trees are so magical and beautiful. They hold memories in the ornaments that decorate their branches. And the lights keep the darkness at bay and brighten the corners.

Do you have a favorite ornament? Or do you have a small tree that represents you?

I hope you have a wonderful holiday season full of hope and joy and love.

Lissa

Jackson Dawson had known only one way of life: ranching. That is, until he went to college in the city. There, he was introduced to a whole new world of people, food, and way of life. He never dared to imagine that he could do or be anything other than a rancher’s son, but with his mother’s words ringing in his ears and his sister’s encouragement, he took a chance. And in the process, found himself and met the woman of his dreams.

Pastry Chef Cass Jamieson’s only desire had been to own a bakery. After a stint in pastry school, she quickly learned that trying to make your dreams come true wasn’t easy. She was dejected when her bakery closed and soon returned to the classroom as a teacher to eager young bakers with the same stars in their eyes that had once been in hers.

So, when the stubborn, determined, and hot as summer in Texas cowboy walked into Cass’s pastry kitchen, it turned her life and libido upside down. When he seeks her out for heated kisses and her thoughts on his cake bakery idea, she gives in to the lust, but gives cautious business advice born of experience, only Jackson didn’t see it that way.

Who will bend first in this battle of wills involving sugar and spice and everything naughty and nice? Come take a ride with The Cupcake Cowboy and find out…

Warning: Uses of frosting that frosting was never intended for. A dirt road showdown. A lesson in milking cows. A whole truck full of mouthwatering cupcakes (some with liquor). A little family drama. And dreams on their way to coming true…

Excerpt:

Jackson’s text said he needed to talk to her, but it seemed she wasn’t done running from him or the deal they’d made just yet. Well, the deal he’d made and she’d gotten pissed about. He’d had no right telling her she should try again with a bakery, no right in telling her that he wanted her to take another chance. She didn’t have the right to tell him he needed to talk to his father either, so in that, they were even. Still… She’d lost everything when her bakery went under. She’d lost her pride, her confidence, her ability to dream. It had devastated her in ways she hadn’t been expected, not only professionally, but personally. She’d pulled in on herself, become a hermit. She’d stopped dating and until Jackson had wandered into her class, she couldn’t have told anyone the last time she’d been interested in anyone.

It had humiliated and embarrassed her. It was only with her tail tucked between her legs that she’d contacted her former pastry instructor looking for a teaching job. She hadn’t been able to bring herself to look for jobs in other bakeries. And now Jackson wanted her to take a chance again, to put herself out there, to set herself up for failure.

Why couldn’t he understand that going to him, facing him, confronting him was as much as she could do? He hadn’t rejected her as she’d feared, not really. He’d needed a nudge and an explanation of her feelings, but once he had it, once he realized her intent had never been to undermine, but instead caution, he’d been all over her.

What he was asking of her was different, harder. The one thing in the world she’d always wanted, until him, had flopped. It broke her heart and she’d never fully recovered.

“You’re as bad as my brother.” Samantha’s voice called Cass back to the present.

“Huh?” She looked down. “Oh.” Cass smiled, chagrined. “Sorry about that.”

The ball of dough she’d been kneading wouldn’t be worth anything if she kept it up. One more fold, press, and a final fold over and she grabbed a rolling pin from the center of the large marble worktable.

Samantha had a decked out pastry kitchen with all the essentials. It was a small space that wouldn’t afford a lot of gadgets or the latest machines, but it had everything she needed for her craft. Excellent copper pots for making caramel. Three professional grade stand mixers for making small batches of dough. Two magnetic strips hung on one wall and held her knives. The most extravagant piece of equipment was the work surface. Half marble, half butcher block. It swallowed the room whole with its monstrous size. It was well made and it’s base was hollowed out for storage cubbies full of rolling pins, pans, and bowls. It was gorgeous and Cass couldn’t quell the pangs of envy, jealousy, and wistfulness.

She dipped her hand in the bowl of flour several inches in front of her and coated the already well seasoned rolling pin in her hand. The dough was a little tough to roll out because she’d kneaded it too much. It wasn’t as elastic as it should have been.

“Hey guys, see this?” Cass took the circle she’d rolled out and held it up. It didn’t have a lot of give. “This isn’t what we’re looking for,” she told her students. “We’re looking for elastic, not rubber.” The few days she and Sam had been doing this little hands-on field trip, Cass has only been able to bring four students at a time. But it had been a big success and the administration had been all for it. There was already a waiting list for future classes.

Sometimes, though bullheadedness and charging headfirst worked, having this kind of training outside the classroom would be an invaluable part of their education.

Jackson hadn’t been approached about it yet and Cass didn’t know if he would be. She’d been avoiding him and it wouldn’t look right if she showed up asking for a favor.

“So, you mean you’re not perfect, Chef?”

“Man, that’s a relief.”

Cass stared at her students. This group was fresh out of community college and younger than the group she’d brought over two days ago. She flicked flour in their general direction. “Of course I’m not perfect, but you won’t be either if you do this to the dough.”

“Perfection is overrated,” said another of her students.

“Depends on what you’re trying to perfect.”

Cass froze at the voice behind her. Her fingers involuntarily tightened on the circle of dough. Sam reached out and ripped it away from her with smirk. “Here. I’ll take that before you murder it.” To the people gathered around the table, Sam said, “This is my brother, Jackson. He owns The Cupcake Cowboy mobile bakery. By the name, you should be able to guess what his specialty is.”

“Oh man, I love your cupcakes. That red velvet is to die for.”

“Nah. The coconut cream is the best.”

“I like the chocolate stout with beer buttercream.”

Cass hadn’t turned to look at Jackson, but she felt him. He was so close to her back that the heat of his body flowed into her. Not that she needed to be any warmer. The heat in The Sticky Cowgirl kitchen was oppressive enough with the extra bodies filling the space, but the heat from Jackson was of a different variety. It caused her heart to start racing, her palms to sweat, liquid to pool between her legs.

“Thanks. What’ve y’all got goin’ on here?”

When Cass started to move, which way she didn’t know, Jackson settled a large, firm hand on her shoulder. Was she going to turn around? Was she going to run out the back door? Was she just going to crawl into the oven and be done with it?

“A teaching lesson,” Sam offered. Cass was so thankful that the other woman was there. She could carry the conversation with Jackson while Cass stood mute, unsure what to say to the man at her back. “I approached Cass last week about it and every couple of days, she brings in a fresh batch of young, bright eyed people for me to corrupt to the darkside.”

Jackson’s fingers flexed on Cass. “Sticky buns are the darkside?”

Samantha stuck her tongue out at her brother. “Going into business for yourself is the darkside. It’s not easy, and they’re learning valuable lessons about running a kitchen of their own.”

“That’s a great idea. But… I have to say I’m a little hurt that no one mentioned it to me.”

“Maybe you and Cass should step outside and discuss how you’d fit more than one extra person in the back of your cupcake truck.”

Cass shook her head, but Jackson ignored her by saying, “Yes, maybe we should. Ms. Jamieson, a word please.” He didn’t give her a chance to respond. He just used the hand on her shoulder to turn her wooden body toward the door leading to the outside of the shop.

She would have to face him now. She would have to look him in the eye and tell him she couldn’t do what he wanted her to do. But that would evidently have to wait because he had maneuvered her until her back was against the wall and his mouth was on hers.

Their tongues tangled and his hands anchored her in place. She grabbed for his t-shirt and pulled him even closer. He situated one of his thighs between her legs and repeatedly nudged with pointed precision.

She should’ve pushed him away. She should’ve ended their kiss and gotten the conversation out of the way so she could get back inside to her class. She should’ve done a lot of things, but she didn’t. Instead, she stayed put, trapped between his hard body and the hard wall, rocking on his thigh.

The proverbial rock and hard place. Only it wasn’t proverbial anymore. It was literal. Real. Happening to her.

She worked, against her better judgment, to increase the friction of hard denim seam, silky satin, and male thigh strength. She wrenched her mouth from his to inhale air into her lungs, but he took her with another kiss almost immediately.

His teeth nipped at her. His tongue slipped and slid around her mouth, tasting every inch, then engaged her tongue once more in the play.

He tasted like sugar and chocolate. Buttercream. It was her favorite and on him, it was divine and she’d never be able to lick it from a spoon, a beater, a cupcake without thinking about him.

“Remember this position, baby? Remember being on my couch that first time?”

Oh yes, she remembered everything about that night. The wickedness of the frosting foreplay ramped up the arousal currently assaulting her. His lips skittered from her mouth across her cheek, down to her jaw and over to her ear. He bit the lobe gently and the heat of his breath made her moan.

Bright sunlight glared at her. The sky was a clear, crystal blue without a cloud to mar its beauty. She could see tree tops with bright green foliage and in the distance she could hear the activity from inside the kitchen, laughter, and the always busy Riverwalk district and downtown business happenings.

She could see it, hear it, but she couldn’t respond to anything other than Jackson. She bucked and rode his thigh, seeking an orgasm that was just over the ridge. “Please,” she managed to croak out.

“Feel good, baby?”

That drawl she’d been ruminating on earlier teased her with its nearness. It jacked up her need. “Better than…”

WHEW! *fanning myself* You KNOW you want to ride THE CUPCAKE COWBOY, too. Here…there’s enough of him to go around.

Buy Links: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | All Romance eBooks

For more about Lissa, her books, and her coffee addiction, please visit:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest

Enter a giveaway for THE CUPCAKE COWBOY, and maybe you’ll find Jackson under your tree! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don’t forget to hop around the HUNGRY HEARTS HOLIDAY HOP to get some fantastic cookie recipes and the chance to win a Tower of Treats, gift cards, author swag, and more! Click the pic for more information!

What’s Your Regional Holly Jolly?

A big Hungry Hearts welcome to Christi Barth! We met a few years ago at an RWA conference and bonded over breakfast bagels. She writes sweet, sexy, sassy contemporary romance that always ends up making me hungry! You’ll see why…Welcome, Christi!

One of my favorite things about the holidays is the special food. I can’t tell you how many eggnog and gingerbread lattes I drink in two months. Nor shall I divulge how many bags of cranberries I hoard in my freezer once the twinkle lights come down. Sure, some holiday food is universal, but some is regional. I just discovered that in Baltimore, they always serve pork and sauerkraut alongside the turkey on Thanksgiving. I’ve lived here eleven years, but I’m still not quite on board with that tradition (two entrees? That’s just a whole lot of extra work to me, no matter how delicious).

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So when I write Christmas stories, even though I’m packing all things holly and jolly onto every page, I make sure to capture the regional flavor. My latest release, Tinsel My Heart, takes place in Minneapolis. The city—heck, the whole state—has strong Norwegian and Swedish contingents. Don’t worry, I’m not going to mention lutefisk (dried cod treated with lye), because while it may be traditional, in the five years I lived there I never encountered a single person who actually liked it.

The food that everyone does go bonkers for is cheese curds. And the epitome of this local delicacy is to deep fry them. Here’s my Scrooge-tastic hero, Jack Whittaker, enjoying his first serving of cheese curds in ten years.

He popped a palmful of fried cheese curds into his mouth. Eyelids shut, he moaned with a look of bliss on his face. Bliss that could easily be interpreted as orgasmic. A jolt of awareness—eagerness?—shuddered through Becca. As if she’d slugged back a shot of sexual caffeine. Jack looked dark and dangerous these days. Just the kind of man a woman fantasized about at night. About having in between her flannel sheets. About not needing flannel sheets anymore. Not with a man like Jack to keep her warm on these long Minnesota nights. Becca grabbed the coffee cup and drained it, fast. Hoped it would explain the red flush she felt heating her cheeks.

“They’re as good as I remember. Maybe even better. Which is kind of amazing. Almost nothing lives up to your expectations after ten years.” A long, measured look across the table at Becca. “Almost…” Jack drew the word out slowly.

You thought I meant hungry for food, didn’t you? Well…that, too. TINSEL MY HEART sounds like a holiday treat! Here’s the blurb:

Becca Huntley’s produced the Lyndale Park Player’s over-the-top Christmas pageant for ten years. The beloved Minneapolis tradition is the theatre’s main fundraiser. But this year’s production is almost canceled when their director disappears into rehab at the last minute. Good thing his directing partner steps in to save the day. Except for the minor fact that he hates everything about Christmas.

Jack Whittaker wiped the Twin Cities off his shoe with his graduation tassel and never looked back. But duty compels him to fulfill Tyler’s promise to direct the show. Even though it means working side-by-side with Becca, the girl he always wanted, lost to Ty, but never forgot.

It’ll take more than a few handfuls of tinsel to soften Jack’s heart toward Becca’s favorite holiday. Steamy kisses that melt the snow right off his boots are a step in the right direction. They’ll both discover that Christmas is about making each other’s dreams come true. But will doing so destroy their chance at a happily-ever-after together?

You can find out tomorrow! Yay! Release day! If you need more sparks from Becca and Jack right away (and there are sparks, trust me!) you can purchase TINSEL MY HEART at  Amazon  Barnes & Noble  Carina Press

Or for the chance to win, enter our giveaway for one e-copy of TINSEL MY HEART: a Rafflecopter giveaway

And that’s not all…if you want even more Christmas, you can purchase ALL I’M ASKING FOR, which is an anthology containing TINSEL MY HEART and two other Christmas novellas. Pretty sweet!

A little bit about Christi:

Christi Barth earned a Master’s degree in vocal performance and embarked upon a career on the stage.  A love of romance then drew her to wedding planning.  Ultimately she succumbed to her lifelong love of books and now writes contemporary romance.  She is the award-winning author of the Aisle Bound series. Christi is President of the Maryland Romance Writers and lives in Maryland with her husband.

Website | Blog | Pinterest | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon Author Page |Facebook

Don’t forget to hop around the HUNGRY HEARTS HOLIDAY HOP to get some fantastic cookie recipes and the chance to win a Tower of Treats, gift cards, author swag, and more!

Are Gingerbread Men Sexist?

I am thrilled to welcome Ava Miles to the blog today! I think she might be my lost twin. She’s a chef. (She says former chef, but whatever. I think once you earn the jacket, you get to keep it.) She writes romance. (Her books are totally on my list because they sound awesome.) And her Hop cookie is a gingerbread house! Do you know how many gingerbread houses I’ve put together?! I threw a gingerbread house birthday party for my oldest daughter! I love those things! I’ll hush now, so she can introduce herself, but hop over to our FACEBOOK PARTY today. Because we’ll be posting gingerbread pics you won’t want to miss! And please enter to win a copy of Ava’s latest book THE HOLIDAY SERENADE in the Rafflecopter at the end of the post!

So, hi there. Happy holidays! I’m Ava Miles, a contemporary romance writer and former chef who simply loves food and writing, especially when they come together so nicely like they have in my Christmas novella, THE HOLIDAY SERENADE, part of my Dare Valley series which kicked off with my first book, NORA ROBERTS LAND a few months ago. Thanks to Amanda for hosting me during our incredible holiday hop chock-full of tantalizing recipes (check out mine fyi since I labored over a gingerbread house—not men this time).

Well, as I said, I love to include food in my books, so it’s only appropriate that my heroine is a die-hard Martha Stewart wanna be. And who’s her perfect compliment? Well, my hero is the modern version of Rhett Butler. Seriously. His name is Rhett Butler Blaylock. He’s a poker player just too sexy for words. (Can you tell I love Gone with the Wind?).

Well, Rhett is full of it, as they say, and he lays a charge at my heroine’s feet as she bakes her gingerbread cookies: aren’t gingerbread men just a tad sexist?

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Here’s a snippet.

Usually Abbie Maven adored the way Christmas allowed her to get her Martha Stewart on by decorating and baking her heart out.

Usually she loved sharing the thirteen different types of cookies she made with family and friends, everything from star-shaped sugar cookies dotted with candy silver balls to grinning gingerbread men.

Usually she didn’t have a crazy cowboy and badass poker player named Rhett Butler Blaylock in her kitchen popping cookies into his mouth faster than the Cookie Monster while cracking obscene jokes from a barstool in front of her kitchen island.

“You know, Abbie,” he murmured, leaning on the tan granite countertop and waggling his ash-brown brows, “it seems downright chauvinistic of you to make only gingerbread men. Maybe you should add breasts to some of these for balance.”

Like that would ever happen in her kitchen, with its caramel-colored cabinets and stainless steel appliances, now dotted with vintage Christmas cards of red-cheeked Santas, frolicking reindeer, and luminous angels.

Her sixteen-year-old son, Dustin, hooted with laughter from his barstool beside Rhett. She even saw her brother, Mac, and his fiancé, Peggy, standing to her right, bite their lips as if they were trying not to join in on the hilarity. Thank goodness Peggy’s eight-year-old son, Keith, was in the other room watching the claymation version of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, which everyone agreed was disturbing. This was so not the PG-rated cookie baking experience she preferred. Especially when everyone was only watching her work in the kitchen, the biggest hangout room in the house. They’d complained that making gingerbread men was too hard. Wimps.

The urge to squirt the egg-white gingerbread frosting onto Rhett’s red thermal shirt and jeans came over her, but better sense prevailed. Her action might prompt him to strip his shirt off in her kitchen, and frankly, she wouldn’t be able to draw a straight line with her frosting if he did that. The man had the best chest she’d ever seen—not that she’d seen many outside of the movies and firemen calendars.

I just realized that Rhett taking his shirt off would be the perfect entertainment at a holiday cookie swap. Too bad I can’t order that one up for you, but hey, you have your own imagination.

Where did I get this idea about gingerbread men? Well, my mother makes anatomically correct gingerbread (oh yes she does), and she has six kids and is active in just about every church program out there. We laugh at the irony of all of this. I don’t know that my mom decided gingerbread men were sexist exactly. I think she thought it would be rather funny and a bit shocking. She’s sassy that way.

So, what about you? Do you think women need to assert themselves and get baked in their luscious form right alongside gingerbread men? Come on, I know you want to tell me!

Here’s a little bit more about THE HOLIDAY SERENADE:

Professional gambler Rhett Butler Blaylock is everything Abbie Maven doesn’t want in a man—flamboyant, flashy, and unreserved. After a horrible experience in her youth, she has spent her life trying to make all the right choices, pouring her energy into being the best possible single mother to her son. But though Rhett doesn’t seem to be husband and stepfather material, he awakens emotions in her that are as frightening as they are powerful. They had a fling she’s never forgotten, and now he has followed her to Dare Valley, Colorado with the intention of winning back her heart…this time, forever.

Rhett’s determined to show Abbie he can be the man of her dreams. He’ll do whatever it takes for the woman he loves, including giving up his flamboyant lifestyle and bad-boy image. As Christmas approaches, he prepares a special surprise for her, hoping the holiday will work its magic and grant him a miracle. Will his holiday serenade heal Abbie’s heart and convince her to give love a second chance?

If you must find out RIGHT NOW, buy THE HOLIDAY SERENADE from iTUNES, SMASHWORDS, KOBO, AMAZON, and BARNES AND NOBLE! If you can stand to wait (I’ll admit I’m not much of a wait-er. I like immediate book gratification, but you never know…) Enter to win an e-copy of THE HOLIDAY SERENADE right here: a Rafflecopter giveaway

A little bit about Ava Miles:

Ava Miles burst onto the contemporary romance scene after receiving Nora Roberts’ blessing for her use of Ms. Roberts’ name in her debut novel, NORA ROBERTS LAND, which kicked off The Dare Valley Series and brought praise from reviewers and readers alike. Much to Ava’s delight, BlogCritics says “It [NORA ROBERTS LAND] captures the best of…a Nora Roberts novel,” while USA Today’s Happily Ever After blog praises the series noting its “wonderful, idyllic setting… [and] great characters.” Ava continued The Dare Valley Series in FRENCH ROAST, which Tome Tender says “raised the entertainment bar again” and then THE GRAND OPENING, which reviewer Mary J. Gramlich says “is a continuation of love, family, and relationships.” Now, Ava releases the fourth book in the series, THE HOLIDAY SERENADE, with her recognized wit and charm, creating happy endings with humor and heart. A descendant of generations of journalists, Ava—a writer since childhood—now lives in her own porch-swinging-friendly community with an old-fashioned Main Street lined with small businesses. Much like Dare Valley.

To learn more about Ava, you can find her at:

http://www.avamiles.com
http://www.facebook.com/AuthorAvaMiles
http://www.facebook.com/NoraRobertsLand
http://www.twitter.com/authoravamiles
http://www.pinterest.com/authoravamiles

Don’t forget to hop around the HUNGRY HEARTS HOLIDAY HOP to get some fantastic cookie recipes and the chance to win a Tower of Treats, gift cards, author swag, and more!

Hungry Hearts Cookie Recipe Exchange!

Welcome to the HUNGRY HEARTS HOLIDAY HOP! We are so excited to CELEBRATE the holiday season with mouthwatering cookie recipes and delicious EXCERPTS from today’s hottest food-loving ROMANCE writers! Hop around and fill out the Rafflecopter form on each author’s site to enter our GIVEAWAYS: a spectacular mix of Harry & David Truffles, books, gifts cards, and Hungry Hearts author swag! Lots of awesome prizes to win! Links at the bottom of this post!

All this and MORE! We’ll add a prize for every 500 entries!

In addition to the HUNGRY HEARTS HOLIDAY HOP prizes, I’ll be featuring Hungry Hearts authors on my site this week and giving their books away to lucky winners. Stay tuned to get in on the fun!

When the holiday season arrives, our hearts fill with CHEER. Life is a gift, isn’t it? Hop with us for the chance to win, and share your holiday JOY while we share our favorite COOKIE recipes with you!

I’ve eaten A LOT of cookies in my life. Aside from all the cookies I’ve encountered and devoured in regular life and while working in various restaurants over the years, I worked part-time in a fantastic gourmet bakery for eight years. Even though I never worked in the cookie department, I found plenty of cookies to snitch! We decorated over thirty THOUSAND cut-out cookies every holiday season. Sometimes…the cookies broke and could not be sold. Imagine a pile of cut-out cookies glued together by frosting. It’s about a foot across and six inches tall. Then imagine me taking one home and eating it. At least once a week, for several weeks every year…

And that was just the cut-outs. I also had a weakness for the lemon-pistachio drops…and the orange ricotta cookies. However, they never broke, and they were quite labor intensive, so I rarely swiped them. But the cookie I miss the most is the apricot almond thumbprint. It makes me remember my friend Ned, who was one of the major cookie elves and must have made a zillion of the suckers every year. It’s a pretty cookie, not too sweet, with interesting bits of almond to savor. Of course you can make it with any jam you like, but I have a weakness for apricot. This is not the original recipe, but it’s just as satisfying!

Cookies are comforting…at least to me…and Jack, the hero of INTO THE FIRE, the first book in my Hot Nights series with Entangled Publishing. When the heroine gets the scoop on Jack, she learns he has a thing for cookies…

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 The older woman nodded. “Long enough to know he’d make a great boss. My husband and I worked together at Breeze, Drew Calabrese’s flagship restaurant. He’s still there, but I was thrilled to follow Jack to Inferno. Jack used to come into the Breeze bakeshop all the time, hiding from his father, not that he ever said that. He would have said it was for the cookies.”

“But you knew better?”

“Honey, everyone knows better. Those two fight like cats and dogs. Well, Drew fights. Jack walls up and turns his fury into food. He’s a tornado on the line. I don’t think he even needs the rest of the guys. When he gets going, he could probably work every station himself. But cover your head and batten down the hatches if you see his father in the kitchen. One of these days, Jack’s going to blow. That’s why I keep the bakeshop well stocked with cookies.” The other woman’s grin turned sly. “Maybe you should give him a different kind of cookie.”

 She looked so hopeful, Lila couldn’t help but laugh. Only in my dreams…

Jack has a thing for chocolate chip, and I never turn those down. However, at holiday time I crave these apricot almonds thumbprints. After you taste one, you’ll know why. Enjoy!

The kids like strawberry!

Apricot Almond Thumbprints (3 dozen-ish)

2 ¼ Cups Flour

½ teaspoon Baking Soda

¼ teaspoon Baking Powder

2 Sticks Butter, slightly softened

1 Cup Powdered Sugar

1 Egg

3 Ounces Cream Cheese, cut in chunks, room temperature

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 teaspoon Almond Extract

2/3 Cup Almonds, chopped

Apricot Jam for the centers (or any jam!)

1. Preheat the oven to 350.

2. Cover cookie sheets with parchment paper.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk dry ingredients.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Slowly add egg.

5. Beat in cream cheese, vanilla, and almond extract. Incorporate dry ingredients.

6. Shape the dough into one-inch balls with lightly greased hands.

7. Dip the tops in nuts.

8. Place, nut side up, on the baking sheet about 1 ½ inches apart. Using your thumb, press a deep well into the center of each cookie.

9. Place ¼ teaspoon of jam in each cookie.

10. Bake the cookies about nine minutes, reversing the trays front to back, top to bottom, halfway through the baking time. Bake until they just begin to brown around the edges. Transfer cookie to a wire rack to cool before sampling because that jam gets HOT!

Why yes, I did make a batch just to take a picture for this blog post. Why yes, I did eat quite a few of them myself. Why yes, I have been thinking about my old job at that bakery all week. Isn’t it amazing how food evokes memories? That bakery was plumb crazy at Christmas time. We worked around the clock to get all those darn cut-outs frosted, all those Christmas cakes decorated, and those spectacular one-of-a-kind gingerbread houses finished. And don’t get me started on the wedding cakes. Or the employee cookie exchange, dubbed “The Joy Experience” by the evil elf cracking the cookie whip over those of us holiday-drunk enough to sign up.

Cherished memories!

Most of mine involve food…and friends. What about you? Do you have a special holiday cookie or dish that you love to share with friends? Something that makes the season special for you? Evokes a memory or gives you joy to cook it, eat it, or give it away? Is it a cookie? I hope you’ll leave a comment on the Rafflecopter and tell us about it! We’re celebrating the season by giving away a Harry & David Tower of Treats, a book gift card, and Hungry Hearts Author swag. Lots of chances to win! Share your JOY!

CLICK HERE TO ENTER: a Rafflecopter giveaway

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPECTACULAR COOKIE RECIPES! YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS DELICIOUSNESS!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THE HUNGRY HEARTS HOLIDAY HOPpers!

Choosing Gratitude

I’m so thrilled to have Liz Everly and her new book CRAVINGS, releasing November 21st, on the blog today! She’s talking about one of my favorite subjects…gratitude! We hope you’ll tell us what you are grateful for when you enter our Hungry Hearts author swag pack giveaway at the end of the post. The Hungry Hearts are also giving away a gift basket chock full of chocolates, fruit, and cheese, so check out the Holiday Hop for delicious Thanksgiving recipes and the chance to win. Visit us on Facebook for more fun prizes! Now let’s hear from Liz…

I confess. Sometimes I’m a Grinch all the way from Thanksgiving through Christmas to New Year’s. It’s easy to become jaded by the commercialism and worn out from all the extra work and activities. But when I take some time to reflect and honor the meaning of the season, I see my blessings. So this year, I’m choosing gratitude. Here are the top five things I’m grateful for this year.

1. The season. The changing of the seasons, here in the state of Virginia, is an amazing thing to behold. The turning leaves across the mountains are spectacular—crimson, gold, yellow, fire-orange. It’s the season heralding us to prepare to hunker down a bit for the winter. Ain’t nothing wrong with that. *wink*

2. Food. Good food surrounds us during the holidays. Sometimes it feels like an embarrassment of wealth considering how many hungry people exist in this world—heck, in this country. We live in troubled times. Being grateful for food on our table is one thing we should all reflect about.

3. Friendship. The holiday seems to be the time we carve out our schedules to get together with our friends. I’m so grateful for my girlfriends. Where would I be without them? I shudder to think.

4. Family. I’m surrounded all year long by them—my two daughters and husband—and sometimes the others like my parents and nieces, my husband’s parents and sister—but during the holidays we spend so much more time together. Even if things don’t go smoothly—and let’s face, most of the time they don’t—it’s good to spend time with your people.

5. Readers. I sometimes wonder if readers know how much joy they bring to writer’s lives. The connection between reader and writer is magic. I am honored by every person who takes the time to read any of my books. That is the simple truth.

If I sat and thought more, I know my blessings would reach into the hundreds, but for now these five things are more than enough to keep my Grinchiness at bay. How about you?

Liz Everly’s newest book in her SAFFRON NIGHTS SERIES is CRAVINGS.

A change of scenery can unleash the wildest hunger. . .

Sanj has come to Ecuador ready to enjoy food and fun with his good friends Maeve and Jackson. Only his friends are nowhere to be found. Instead, he meets a stunningly beautiful woman who asks him for help. A man of discriminating tastes, Sanj can’t wait to enjoy her luscious lips, savor her sultry curves, and indulge in his desire for sexual ecstasy. . .

On the run from a troubled past, Sasha will do whatever is necessary to survive. That includes cozying up to the enigmatic Sanj, a darkly handsome man who seduces her like the richest chocolate. Hungry for more, she gives into the sweetest temptation, craving the feel of his hard body and longing for exquisite carnal pleasure. . .

Click HERE to read Chapter One of CRAVINGS. (Go ahead…we’ll wait!)

Now that you’ve had a taste, I bet you’ll want more! Pre-order CRAVINGS at AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE, and more!

You can contact Liz at lizeverly@rocketmail.com

http://www.lizeverly.com

@Lizeverly1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LizEverlyAuthor

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/lizeverly/boards/

The Hungry Hearts authors are giving away a prize pack! Click this link to enter a Rafflecopter giveaway

And don’t forget to hop around the Hungry Hearts Holiday Hop to get some great Thanksgiving recipes and enter to win a Harry & David Crater Lake Gift Basket!