Amanda Usen's Blog, page 14
September 11, 2013
Hungry For Love Book Blitz
Watch out, foodie romance lovers! Rachel Harris, Barbara DeLeo and I are blasting our latest releases across the Internet this week, thanks to YA Bound Book Tours. I’m thrilled to be hanging out in such tasty company and sharing a recipe for one of my favorite fall soups, Tortellini and Sausage Soup with Beans and greens. Barbara is sharing a delicious-looking recipe for Lemon Curd Cake (gonna have to try that!) and Rachel is sharing family memories of gathering around the table in New Orleans! We also have excerpts from our books…and a contest!
In order to find our posts, you’ll have to Google our names plus Hungry For Love. We keep popping up all over the place! You can gain entries to the contest on each post and the YA Book Bound Tours site. We’re giving away: a cajun wine charm, apron, mini offset spatula, mini cutting board, and a microfiber dishrag. International entrants can win a $15 gift card to Amazon or Barnes & Noble. A big thank to YA Book Bound Tour for Book Blitzing us!
August 23, 2013
Fangirl Friday – Molly O’Keefe
It’s crucial for me to stay in touch with my inner fangirl. I became a writer because I LOVE to read. When I was a kid, my mother could never get my nose out of a book (and I had selective hearing – still do). I had permanent dark circles under my eyes from staying up too late reading. I always had a book in my purse. If I wasn’t in the middle of a book, I felt off-kilter. Any of this sound familiar?
Well, now I’m all grown up. I have deadlines and my own books to write. Sometimes I’m afraid to read in my genre because I don’t want someone else’s book creeping into mine. I catch myself thinking I don’t have time to read.
Wrongwrongwrongwrongwrong. Because life sucks without good books. And if I had to choose between Reader and Writer…I’d pick Reader. I totally would. (Okay, maybe sucks is strong. I love my husband, kids, family, and friends, but…I’ve been in a relationship with books longer than I’ve known any of them 
) So I find time to read. I make time to read. You all know how I feel about BALANCE!
My latest fangirl moment is over Molly O’Keefe. She’s a relatively new author to me. I read CAN’T BUY ME LOVE, the first book in the Crooked Creek ranch series, on the plane to RWA 2012 in Anaheim last year. I sobbed at a sad part. On the plane. I gave myself a headache over the book, but it was totally worth it. Her writing is rich, the relationships are deep, and she is very good at taking her characters on a real journey through their flaws. Oh, and hot hockey player. Just sayin’.
I haven’t read CAN’T HURRY LOVE, the second book in the series. More on that later.
But we went to the beach on Tuesday, and I read the third book, CRAZY THING CALLED LOVE . Yes, the entire thing. Well, not at the beach. When we came home, and my husband and I started drinking wine, I crouched on the stairs while he made dinner, listening to him with half an ear and answering questions, trying not to get busted reading. Because I had to find out what happened! From page one, I knew I was in good hands. The characters came to life. The attraction was intense. They had serious history, but the backstory was woven in without making me feel like I was being “told” anything. And boy, do Madelyn and Billy have a journey to take before they can find happiness – together or apart. And hot hockey player…
Why didn’t I read the second book in the series? Because the book two heroine annoyed me in book one. I didn’t want to spend a whole book with her. But guess what? I do now. Because O’Keefe’s writing is intense and fun. She is damn good at redeeming her characters. I trust that she can write about tricky characters and make me love them. I think that’s the hallmark of a good writer: the ability to write good STORIES about ANYTHING. O’Keefe can do that. Oh…and there’s a hot cowboy in that one.
CRAZY THING CALLED LOVE (Book Three of the Crooked Creek ranch series)
Dallas TV morning show host Madelyn Cornish is poised, perfect, and unflappable, from her glossy smile to her sleek professionalism. No one knows that her iron will guards a shattered heart and memories of a man she’s determined to lock out. Until that man shows up at a morning meeting like a bad dream: Billy Wilkins, sexy hockey superstar in a tailspin—still skating, still fighting, and still her ex-husband.
Now the producers want this poster child for bad behavior to undergo an on-air makeover, and Billy, who has nothing to lose, agrees to the project. It’s his only chance to get near Maddy again, and to fight for the right things this time around. He believes in the fire in Maddy’s whiskey eyes and the passion that ignites the air between them. This bad-boy heartbreaker wants a last shot to be redeemed by the only thing that matters: Maddy’s love.
August 5, 2013
One Tough Mudder
I’m not sure where to start this story! (Happens all the time.)
Last year? When I watched my husband do his first Tough Mudder obstacle course – when I decided, maybe, since it was coming to Buffalo in 2013, I’d do it, too?
With the Dirty Girl Mud Run I did last year? (The post is here.)
In April, when I wrapped up my ECC course and decided I could add running to my schedule without going nuts?
Or 11.5 years ago, when my first post-partum hemorrhage started my body and my health on a slow slide toward fatigue and chronic pain, so you will know this isn’t entirely about me being a badass? That it’s about getting strong again and reclaiming my self, my power? For so long, I felt like one more setback might actually break something important.
Right! Start with action!
The Tough Mudder is an 11.5 mile obstacle course designed along the same lines as the one done by the British Special Forces during training. Or something like that. You can read all about it here. What it means to me is mud, fire, electric shocks, ice-cold water, and running farther than I have ever run in my life. But I paid my money. I trained. (Well, sort of. My husband said if I could run 4 miles without stopping, I’d survive. I could run 5 by the day of the event.) It dawned cool and rainy. We drove to the site which looked like this: mud.
A kiss before…
What was I thinking? I’m glad the sun isn’t out so we don’t get a sunburn. Running that far is going to be brutal, but I’m going to do it. That Cage Crawl looks like a mindfuck. Don’t think about it. There is no way I can do the Funky Monkey bars without falling into the mud pool. Not enough upper body strength. Chicken out or do it? Do it. Walk the plank? I haven’t willingly jumped into water in a decade. 20 foot drop. Shit. Do it. Arctic Enema. Hell on earth. I hate being cold, can’t even think about it. Gonna do it. Mt. Everest. Nobody can lift me up for that one. What if…
So, yeah, we got our numbers pinned on, written on our heads, arms, and we went over the wall into the “whipping up” pen – the holding tank where one of the most inspirational speakers on earth got us ready to run. The National Anthem. And then we were jogging. In mud, rocks, mud puddles, and more rocks. Slow going. First obstacles were 15-foot inclined wood walls. My husband, Ben, lifted and Mark, our other teammate, boosted, and I dropped down the other side. Done.
It was good to have two strong guys on my team, guys who would never, ever, leave me behind. This was Ben’s third Mudder, and Mark has run several marathons. I wasn’t worried about them having trouble. I was free to obsess on my own bumps, bruises, burning lungs, 400-pound legs, etc. I kept jogging. Next obstacle was that 20-foot drop into a deep, muddy swimming pool. I’d read Don’t think about it or you won’t do it. Just jump. My husband asked me if I wanted to go first…so I jumped.
It’s not a good idea to scream before you hit water.
But at least my glasses were clean now. I did it!
Honestly, the smaller obstacles and first few miles were just bumps on the road on the way to the obstacles I feared…like the Funky Monkey bars. Which were closed! I was secretly thrilled even though the guys were bummed. Who likes failure? The bars spanned the length of an average-sized yard and they were peaked. Up one side. Down the other. There was not a doubt in my mind I would fall. We ended up getting rerouted and making our way back to the monkey bars later, when I was totally Zen from endorphins and having run at least double what I had ever run before. I did fall. And I screamed again. I felt muddy water go up my nose, and I spit it out my mouth when I broke the surface. Both of the guys made it across, and it was fun to watch them be so strong. I didn’t care about falling by that time. Lots of big brawny dudes fell, too. Those bars were slippery little suckers. (CLICK THE RED BOX BELOW TO READ TIL THE PAIN!)Each time I saw a sign announcing the next obstacle I felt a zing. Especially for the Electric Eel. Time to crawl through mud under barbed wire with electrified wires hanging down. If I got low enough, maybe I wouldn’t get zapped. Right about the time I heard someone shout, “Stay low and just keep moving!” I got shocked on the ass. Just a little goose but enough to make me get lower and move faster. Four shocks total and I was running again. Through the Mud Mile. The Warrior Carry. Easy for me because I got carried! Then…
The Arctic Enema. You could hear the howling before you saw the obstacle. How long was the chest-deep swimming pool full of ice and water, mostly ice? I have no idea. But I knew I had to wade through it and duck UNDER the surface to get beneath a couple of boards in order to get to the other side. Couldn’t go over the boards. Barbed wire on top. Bastards. Did I mention I hate being cold? The three of us jumped at the same time, going for distance. Less time in the ice. Holy fucking shit! Move! Move! Monster brain freeze. Move! Can’t breathe. Muscles thick. Fury. I have to duck. Terror. No thought process. I grabbed the board and pulled myself under it, instinct forcing me to the other side because I goddamn well couldn’t see or think with my hair in my face and water and mud and fear all over my glasses. The woman who had jumped just before me still wasn’t out, and she was stuck. I hated her. Because this whole Tough Mudder thing is about teamwork. I put my hands on her ass and pushed up. Twice. With my dwindling might. I sensed others pulling on her, and then they were pulling on me. I heard my husband shouting at me, and I told him he was going to have to pull me out because I couldn’t fucking move. And I knew he would.
I went face first over the side of the tank and down the shallow wooden steps because getting out was more important than saving my face or keeping my glasses intact. More important than not breaking my arm. Halfway down I turned it around and got my feet under me. Then I started swearing. And running. How else was I going to get warm? Eventually I stopped swearing and started laughing. Some of the obstacles were easier than I expected, but that one was much worse. I’d run 11.5 miles again, but I’d kill a man before I’d jump into ice water without a damn good reason. It gave me a new respect for Titanic survivors. It was the purest adrenalin experience I’ve ever had in my life, probably because the other times I was kind-of dying, and this time I knew I was not.
So which obstacle was easier than expected? The Cage Crawl. The Tough Mudder site describes it like this: “This obstacle will take your fear of confined spaces and water and combine them. Flip over on your back and pull yourself across 60 feet of cage with only 6 inches of breathing room. Floating along on your back may seem like a tranquil experience, but the sense of entrapment will quickly begin to play on your mind.” And the pictures made my heart pound. The actual experience? Plenty of breathing room. Warm water, comparatively. Very relaxing. Just a simple little mindfuck, nothing to fear after all.
Everest
And then we were running again. And I was wondering where the freaking adrenalin was now. Because I wanted to walk. But the guys were running. Of course they were. Jerks. Lots and lots of people were walking by now, but…I was only planning to do this once. So I ran, as fast as I could, which wasn’t very fast, but it wasn’t walking. When it got really painful I pondered title ideas for Book Two of the Hot Nights series. That worked for a while. Still hurt. Only two obstacles left. Everest and a little Electroshock Therapy. And then someone was going to give me a friggin’ beer. The thought made me want to throw up.
I did not want to suffer the shame of spectators watching me throw myself up Everest again and again and falling back down. I didn’t want them rooting for my eventual success. I didn’t want a dozen guys yelling down to me, “Jump! We’ll catch you!” I wanted to get up that wall. I knew from watching it last year that you had to jump. You couldn’t run in mud fast enough to scale the wall. If you were tall enough, strong enough, you could jump, reach the top, and pull yourself up. All I had to do was jump high enough for Ben to catch my hand. Then he and Mark would pull me up. I took a deep breath and started running.
I got halfway up the wall and lost faith. I didn’t fall. I turned around and ran back down.
I did it again. I lost faith again.
I was afraid to jump. Afraid to fall. Afraid to fail.
Damn it.
I hadn’t come all this way to not jump. I started running again.
And I jumped.
I wish I could say it was easy. That I got a leg up and was on top of the wall grinning like a fool in no time. But I felt like my body weighed every one of its 145 pounds and then some. They had to pull me. Not just my husband, but Mark and another guy, too. But I finally got a leg up. I made it. And I stayed up on top of the wall long enough to lock eyes with the woman behind me, who was in the same boat I had been in. I shouted, “Jump.” I pointed. “Jump right there. They will catch you.” She jumped. I shouted again, “Get a leg up. You’ve got this.” She did. I climbed down the other side very carefully. So close to the finish line. Breaking a leg now would be tragic.
Electroshock Therapy
Just one obstacle left. All we had to do was run through some electrified wire, jump over some bales of hay, and they’d give us the Tough Mudder headband and t-shirt. And beer, which wasn’t sounding bad now that Everest and 11.5 miles were behind me. Mark got zapped mid-jump and took a mud dive. I don’t know what happened to Ben. I got one little love tap on the ass before I saw a huge hole through the mess of wires and I took it.
Wheeee!
By this time the sun was shining. We staggered around drinking beer and eating energy bars, trying to decide if washing off the mud for the drive home was worth it when adding water might make more mud. Eventually we opted for the hose down, but as we expected, it didn’t help that much.
Mark, Ben, and me.
But we didn’t care. We felt like heroes. Perhaps not as heroic as the 70-year-old man who finished right after us with a broken nose, who shrugged off the blood and said, “Not the first time it’s been broken.” Not nearly as heroic as those who had served our country and were running in memory of fallen comrades. Or the mother who was running in memory of her beloved son. But heroic none the less, grateful and humbled by the strength and spirit within us and around us.
Why did I run? I ran to reclaim my strength, my spirit, but I also I ran for Ben. The man who inspires my books and my life. The man who will never leave me behind, although he might have to haul me out of ice water, up walls, and through 11.5 years of slow recovery. I ran because I’ve seen him covered in my blood, and mud looks much better on him.
I loved him when I married him and when our children were born. I love him now and always. But I REALLY loved him when he pulled me out of the ice water!
Darling, I never would have done it if you hadn’t done it first, and I couldn’t have done it without you, my hero.
August 4, 2013
RWA 2013 Bar Highlights
Non-bar highlight: Barbara O’Neal hugged me!
I feel like I should write a Romance Writers of America national conference 2013 wrap up post, but I’ve read so many “how to get the most of your conference” and “Wisdom from RWA 2013″ that I’m scared. The number one tip seems to be “Don’t spend all your time in the bar.” Guilty! On any given night you could find me sitting in a group of fun folks with a beer in one hand and a glass of water in the other. I didn’t get drunk once, but I successfully fought the urge to go hide in my room. No one ever believes I’m shy, but drop me down into a room full of strangers, and I want to read my book. I might do a quick pass through the bar, simultaneously hoping someone will flag me down while trying to look like I have somewhere super-important to be. Does this sound familiar to anyone? If so, find me in the bar at the next conference. We can be strangers together.
Tiffany Reisz and Eden Bradley burning up the bar!
Bar highlights: Eden Bradley, Jessica Topper, and I hashed out an RT workshop proposal and sent it off – from the bar! People introduced me to people, and I got to fangirl. Yes, it’s a verb. For example, I found Robin Covington hanging in the bar. She introduced me to Avery Flynn. Kimberly Kincaid is already my pal, and it was sweet to hang out drinking IPAs with those three musketeers of smex and awesome. I love their books! Tiffany Reisz met me in the bar. I could probably stop here. I adore that woman. As much as I love her books! A LOT! Of course, we could have arranged to meet somewhere else, but we landed in the bar, so it counts as bar #win. I became comfortable enough in the bar that I made NEW friends, and they found me on FB and Twitter so we can continue being friends. I reconnected with old friends I look forward to seeing every year. I guess they know they can find me in the bar…
Jessica Topper and I played hooky from the conference and went to Tough Love Yoga. Balance! Read her post here.
While I was standing in the bar, two women from the Microsoft convention (also at our hotel) came over to talk to us. They were avid romance fans and had a lot of questions. One of them even had an app on her phone that tracked her favorite authors release dates! Yes, we swagged her up one side and down the other, but she was begging for it. And then we just talked about our favorite authors and books. Now, are you ready for this? Kristan Higgins and her McIrish came into the bar Friday night. Yes, yes I did. And anyone who heard her speech and didn’t get to tell her it was amazing will understand why. I totally shook her hand or hugged her, I don’t even know which, because my heart flew into my throat at memory of the grace and humor and strength and brilliance she displayed during her speech. I thanked her for sharing it with us. And I thanked her adorable husband for supplying her with all that good sex. I also asked her to fill in the last blank here because I was sobbing too hard during the speech. Balance = joy = heart =…books. You all KNOW how I feel about balance.
Balance is my Holy Grail.
Let’s look for it in the bar next year in RWA14 in Texas!
June 18, 2013
How To Have A Great Block Party
If I could, I’d put a pig roast in every book I write. That’s how much I love them. However, I think you can only pull the trigger on a pig roast once, and I put one in SCRUMPTIOUS. So for any of you out there wondering why the HELL Joe and Marlene drove to Kentucky to have a pig roast, now you know. My books are a big ole reflection of my life in food! And speaking of pig outs…
My kids went hog wild with cupcakes!
Last weekend was the Fourth Annual Pig Roast Block Party in our neighborhood, an event that our kids call “The Best Day of the Year!” Part of what makes it so special is the pig, of course. It’s a novelty, and it gives the neighbors a chance to hang out and socialize for up to twelve hours while it cooks. My husband Ben is the Pig Master and our next door neighbor plays Games Master. There are at least 80 kids on our street, and while they like to squeal about the pig on the spit, they need lots of activities to keep them entertained. The adults manage just fine on their own. 
8 hours in!
You certainly don’t need to go the pig route to have a great block party! (However, if you do want to roast a pig, this post covers our process.) Here’s how to work block party magic before, during, and after the event. (Disclaimer: I asked Ben what is the single most important thing for a good block party. His response: the uncontrollable…weather. About a month before the party, he becomes a weather worrywart, checking the forecast every few hours. OMG, the torture. There’s nothing you can do about the weather, but here’s how to plan for everything else we can think of!)
Big Picture:
If you want to roast a pig, source the roaster and book it as soon as you have a date. Crazy people like us book months ahead of time.
Distribute the flyer to all the neighbors about a month in advance.
Call the town or whoever is in charge of allowing you to close down the street, and get that set up. The town drops off the barricades, and we close off the center of our street for as long as we are permitted. Guess what? Kids LOVE to play in the street!
We also request a visit from the local volunteer fire department. As it turns out, it’s even MORE FUN to play in the street when it’s flooded! It helps to know someone in the department, and we feel very lucky to have such a good neighbor. If you are as lucky as we are, don’t forget to take up a collection for the fire department!
The Food:
We charge a per family fee to cover the pig, the roaster, prizes for the games, ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce, rolls, plates, forks, napkins, and ice cream novelties (unbridled access to ice cream sandwiches=awesome).
Everyone brings a dish. Ben refuses to micro-manage this, so some years everyone brings pasta salad…and some years there’s a great mix of dishes.
BYOD – Bring your own drinks. We do solicit a donation from Pepsi because a Pepsi guy lives on our street. YAY!
The Fun:
The games are great fun for the kids, and usually one adult takes the helm of each game. That way no one has to be in charge all day and can be free to drink beer…or water. Whatever.
We do an annual decorated bike parade for the littler kiddies, and a coloring contest (a pig, of course!) and scavenger hunt for kids of all ages. Dollar Store/Party Store prizes are key for this! So is getting an impartial judge, i.e. one with no kid in the contest.
This year we added a pie-eating contest that Ben wanted to be a cross between Stand By Me and Revenge of the Nerds. The prize for that event was a Vosges chocolate candy bar with BACON in it! The Games Master conducted a balloon toss and a home run derby in the yards across the street, and then it was time to eat.
After dinner, the adults lined up for the traditional egg toss. Actually, this year we let quite a few kids participate, too. I made a spectacular catch! But then I fell on my butt, so that’s a push. One year I caught an egg full in the chest, and was glad indeed the party was in my front yard. I had to shower and change clothes! Great fun – highly recommend the egg toss for pure hilaritaire.
Other ideas: a band, a visit from the K-9 corps, a magician…ask around and find out who on the street has contacts. Then work them! It’s great to have a tent for the food, for example. Thanks, neighbor! And…PAULA’S DONUTS!!!!
Need…more…donuts!Other helpful hints:
Get the perishables cleaned up within the 2-4 hours zone after dinner if there is anything you plan on keeping.
Do a pass for garbage, cans, and bottles when you take the barricades down. That way it won’t blow around overnight.
Don’t eat too many of these:
…and stay away from the gummy worms soaked in rum, especially if you are on clean-up duty the next morning!
Have a great block party!
June 10, 2013
Into The Fire Release Day And Blog Tour!
The book that began at RWA 12 when my agent handed me a big glass of Sauvignon Blanc and suggested I have FUN writing a super-sexy contemporary for Entangled releases TODAY! Yip! Yip! Yip! YAY!
I am spending the day driving home from the Lori Foster Reader & Author Get Together in Cincinnati, my hometown. I have a Skyline Chili and Graeter’s ice cream hangover. My head is buzzing with new book ideas. I got to hug my Dad, to whom INTO THE FIRE is dedicated, my mom, who gets the next book, and my sister, who is in line for Book Three in the Hot Nights series. She made cupcakes!
I hope readers enjoy Lila and Jack’s story. It has a little bit of all my favorite stuff in it: sexy banter, sexy sex, and sexy food…oh dear. I’m sensing a bit of a theme there. Hmm…
I’m okay with that. It’s a bargain at $2.99 and can be purchased from AMAZON
, BARNES & NOBLE, GOOGLE,Into the Fire - Amanda Usen" target="_blank"> iTUNES and more. If you get hungry or thirsty while you are reading (for food, that is) recipes from INTO THE FIRE can be found here. I hope you enjoy it and that you’ll let me know what you think, either by leaving a review on a retailer site or by giving me a shout out in the comments here or on FB or Twitter. I do so love to hear from you!
I’m going on a little blog tour to celebrate the book, so if you want me, you can find me (left of center) spilling all kinds of details about INTO THE FIRE over the next few weeks. Today I’m visiting with Stella at Ex Libris and talking about the one line that inspired the whole book! I hope you’ll enter my ongoing tour-wide giveaway because I’ll be lonely without you. Grand prize winner gets book money and to name Betsy’s hero in Book Three and give him one physical characteristic (with my approval, but I plan to be very approving). Runner up gets book money and to pick a dish to go into Book Three. I’ll put the recipe up on my site, too! Since I’m a big fan of immediate gratification, we’re also picking five random winners over the course of the month. Those lucky folks will win my very favorite, can’t live without, almost always have one within reach cooking tool: a mini offset spatula! *cue the cheers* If you don’t have one, you need one! It will spread anything from frosting to mayo. It can get into tight corners, level off layers in your bar cookies, and smooth ganache like you wouldn’t believe. So c’mon, get in there! Join me, leave your fields to flower…join me, leave your cheese to sour…join me, let’s talk about food and romance. Here’s where I’ll be:
Monday, June 10th – Ex Libris The line that started the FIRE
Wednesday, June 12th – Viviana, Enchantress of Books asks me about my culinary school days and how my hot chef heroes compare to my husband!
Thursday, June 13th – Paranormal and Urban Fantasy Reviews Exclusive Excerpt!
Friday, June 14th – Stitch – Read – Cook. How to write hot…food. And the recipe for Chicken Alighieri!
Monday, June 17th – SassyCat’s Books Review My top 5 moments from INTO THE FIRE
Tuesday, June 18th – Fictional Candy Strawberry Rhubarb Mojito recipe
Wednesday, June 19th – Blogging On The Brink Oh my goodness! Jess is one of my critique partners. She has all the dirt on me, and I haven’t seen her interview questions…
Friday, June 21st – My Written Romance My process, my writing superhero, my favorite part of writing a book, and more!
Monday, June 24th – I am, Indeed My guilty pleasure, favorite caffeine, fantasy dance-off partner, peanut butter, and more off-the-wall awesomeness!
Wednesday, June 26th – Book Scents Excerpt!
Thursday, June 27th – Lusty Penguin Reviews Seduction in the Kitchen: Aphrodisiacs *giggle*
Friday, June 28th – Ramblings From This Chick Recipe Post
Monday, July 1st – Books-n-Kisses Interview
Wednesday, July 3rd – Waves of Fiction Review
Sunday, July 7th – A Little Bit Tart, A Little Bit Sweet (Limecello)
Ready? Let’s go…INTO THE FIRE!
Into The Fire Release Day
The book that began at RWA 12 when my agent handed me a big glass of Sauvignon Blanc and suggested I have FUN writing a super-sexy contemporary for Entangled releases TODAY! Yip! Yip! Yip! YAY!
I am spending the day driving home from the Lori Foster Reader & Author Get Together in Cincinnati, my hometown. I have a Skyline Chili and Graeter’s ice cream hangover. My head is buzzing with new book ideas. I got to hug my Dad, to whom INTO THE FIRE is dedicated, my mom, who gets the next book, and my sister, who is in line for Book Three in the Hot Nights series. She made cupcakes!
I hope readers enjoy Lila and Jack’s story. It has a little bit of all my favorite stuff in it: sexy banter, sexy sex, and sexy food…oh dear. I’m sensing a bit of a theme there. Hmm…
I’m okay with that. It’s a bargain at $2.99 and can be purchased from AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE, GOOGLE,Into the Fire - Amanda Usen" target="_blank"> iTUNES and more. If you get hungry or thirsty while you are reading (for food, that is) recipes from INTO THE FIRE can be found here. I hope you enjoy it and that you’ll let me know what you think, either by leaving a review on a retailer site or by giving me a shout out in the comments here or on FB or Twitter. I do so love to hear from you!
I’m going on a little blog tour to celebrate the book, so if you want me, you can find me (left of center) spilling all kinds of details about INTO THE FIRE over the next few weeks. Today I’m visiting with Stella at Ex Libris and talking about the one line that inspired the whole book! I hope you’ll enter my ongoing tour-wide giveaway because I’ll be lonely without you. Grand prize winner gets book money and to name Betsy’s hero in Book Three and give him one physical characteristic (with my approval, but I plan to be very approving). Runner up gets book money and to pick a dish to go into Book Three. I’ll put the recipe up on my site, too! Since I’m a big fan of immediate gratification, we’re also picking five random winners over the course of the month. Those lucky folks will win my very favorite, can’t live without, almost always have one within reach cooking tool: a mini offset spatula! *cue the cheers* If you don’t have one, you need one! It will spread anything from frosting to mayo. It can get into tight corners, level off layers in your bar cookies, and smooth ganache like you wouldn’t believe. So c’mon, get in there! Join me, leave your fields to flower…join me, leave your cheese to sour…join me, let’s talk about food and romance. Here’s where I’ll be:
Monday, June 10th – Ex Libris The line that started the FIRE
Wednesday, June 12th – Viviana, Enchantress of Books asks me about my culinary school days and how my hot chef heroes compare to my husband!
Thursday, June 13th – Total Book Geek Excerpt!
Friday, June 14th – Stitch – Read – Cook. How to write hot…food. And the recipe for Chicken Alighieri!
Monday, June 17th – SassyCat’s Books Review My top 5 moments from INTO THE FIRE
Tuesday, June 18th – Fictional Candy Strawberry Rhubarb Mojito recipe
Wednesday, June 19th – Blogging On The Brink Oh my goodness! Jess is one of my critique partners. She has all the dirt on me, and I haven’t seen her interview questions…
Friday, June 21st – My Written Romance My process, my writing superhero, my favorite part of writing a book, and more!
Monday, June 24th – I am, Indeed My guilty pleasure, favorite caffeine, fantasy dance-off partner, peanut butter, and more off-the-wall awesomeness!
Wednesday, June 26th – Book Scents Excerpt!
Thursday, June 27th – Lusty Penguin Reviews Seduction in the Kitchen: Aphrodisiacs *giggle*
Friday, June 28th – Ramblings From This Chick Recipe Post
Monday, July 1st – Books-n-Kisses Interview
Wednesday, July 3rd – Waves of Fiction Review
Sunday, July 7th – A Little Bit Tart, A Little Bit Sweet (Limecello)
Ready? Let’s go…INTO THE FIRE!
May 30, 2013
Boobs Ahoy!
Boat of Hope 2013
Although October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (and you can click the link to find low-cost screening options in your area), May has me thinking about my breasts. Partly because each May I participate in the Boat Of Hope benefit, a fund-raiser for the Hope Chest Dragon Boat Team of WNY. I cook gluten-free snacks and serve them up to folks supporting the team, a great bunch of women who have formed “a very positive support group empowering breast cancer survivors.” I think it is incredible that the Hope Chest Team has banded together to support each other while engaging in a physician-approved exercise program uniquely designed for women recovering from breast cancer. I remember when a friend of mine was diagnosed with breast cancer and was told after surgery that she shouldn’t exercise or even carry her purse on that arm because of the risk of lymphedema. The Hope Chest Team exercises together and some of them even race a dragon boat! I am not a doctor, but this makes sense to me, so I do what I can to support the team. This year I made chocolate-quinoa breakfast bars, raspberry-coconut-almond blondies, Vietnamese noodle salad, my neighborhood BFF’s famous salsa, apple cider vinegar hummus, and balsamic fruit “salad.” The recipes can be found here.
You know why else I’m thinking about my boobs? Because another good friend of mine was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer this month. She’s my age, which either means she’s young, or my idea of “old” is changing as I age. (I’m 41.) Terrifying. I’m so glad we have Roswell Park Cancer Institute practically in our backyard. She’s a romance reader, so I’m going to drop off a box of books this afternoon and a roasted chicken next week. I doubt she’ll feel like eating it after chemo, but her daughter has a thing for my husband’s chicken. She calls it “Mr. Ben’s chicken.” So cute! (Note to self: ask Ben to roast a chicken. And mash potatoes.) I also just called the Breast Cancer Network of WNY and set up a time to pick up a bag full of breast cancer books (including Dr. Susan Love’s Breast Book, highly recommended by my breast cancer survivor friend), support group pamphlets, and survivor aids for her. The BCNWNY offers educational meetings, quality of life activities, social events, and support group sessions. They are “local women working together to change the breast cancer story in our community.” I love that I can make a phone call and be given a way to help my friend. In fact, I’m so grateful, I’m going to bust out my checkbook and make a tax-deductible donation. If you feel the urge to donate to any of these organizations as well, I’m sure details can be found on their websites.
Why else am I thinking about breasts? My high school BFF flunked her mammo. (Her boobs are fine.) AND I have this chronic pain in my arm that I KNOW is caused by bad posture, typing, and yoga, but all these things add up, and I called the radiology place, and boom they gave me an appointment for the next day, and what do you know I flunked my freaking mammo, too. More pictures. Everything looks good but we’d like to do a sonogram to make sure. A really long sonogram during which the ultrasonographer took a zillion pictures and would say exactly nothing about what was on the screen. The verdict: cysts. Tons of them, which if you’ve ever seen my boobs, seems hard to believe. If my breasts are full of cysts, then I would be an A—– without them. Since they don’t bother me, I get to keep them, and I’m glad my boobs really are fine. Really glad. And grateful. And you can bet the farm on me going boob-in next May for another mammogram. If you are around my age and have breasts, may I suggest you get a mammogram, too? (Actually, I know a man who had breast cancer, so I’m not sure the guys get a free pass on this one.) It only hurts for a second, and the girls will forgive you, I promise. May is almost over, but you could have a Juno-mammo or a Fourth of Mammo…pick your month and go, go, go! Early detection is key.
Feel free to give me a shout out if you need more encouragement!
May 14, 2013
Into The Fire Cover Reveal!
Ta daaaaaaaa!
I love this cover! Look – he’s grabbing her butt! They’re making out! Don’t you want to join them? Wait – that didn’t sound right…
I mean don’t you want to know their story?
You can! June 1oth! If you are into semi-immediate gratification, pre-order links are up at AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE, GOOGLE,Into the Fire - Amanda Usen" target="_blank"> iTUNES, and more. If you want a little something to whet your appetite, I’ll be giving away Chapter One excerpt booklets on FB and Twitter for the next few weeks. Follow me there for more details.
Meanwhile, here’s the blurb:
Jackson Calabrese has a lot of nerve. He beat Lila Grant in the Culinary Academy competition using her recipes. Now, he’s opening a restaurant and wants her help? Fine, she’ll fix his menu, but it’s going to cost him.
Heir to the Calabrese restaurant empire, Jackson can buy anything he wants, except creativity, so he buys Lila’s instead. He can craft perfect paella, but to take New York by storm he needs her innovative spark.
Skillets aren’t the only things hot in the kitchen, and an uneasy truce ignites into passion. They’re great in bed, but Jackson doesn’t trust her, and Lila is contemplating revenge. The restaurant opening approaches, the menu is completed, and the tables are set for one final act of betrayal. How can love bloom in the midst of such a hot mess?
Flower-shaped ice cubes! My kids love ‘em!
Also – the sexy/foodie/cover reveal contest runs through May 20th, so I hope you’ll get in on the fun. There are about a zillion easy ways to enter right here: a Rafflecopter giveaway
The main reason to enter the giveaway is the flower-shaped ice cube maker, though…well, that and I don’t know about you, but I totally needed new measuring cups and spoons. And I’m sick of grabbing a paper towel to cut apples on when I make the kids’ lunches. But mostly the flower-shaped ice cubes…YAY! Thanks for celebrating INTO THE FIRE with me!
May 13, 2013
INTO THE FIRE Cover Reveal Contest!
INTO THE FIRE has a hot cover! It’s spectacular. I love everything about it – the lush, warm colors, the kissy faces, and the kitchen in the background (no health codes broken, I promise!). I love it so much I decided to have a party and invite six fabulous friends…and you. We’re serving up puzzle pieces of the cover and guessing the heroine’s favorite dessert. Visit each of the blogs listed below and gather one ingredient. Enter each ingredient into the rafflecopter (there are a gad-zillion other ways to enter, too). We’ll pick a winner next week, but I’ll post the entire gorgeous cover right HERE tomorrow!
The prize! All this plus an exclusive peek at the first chapter of INTO THE FIRE! Click the pic to visit the RAFFLECOPTER!
I was so excited about our party, I rushed to the kitchen store and bought prizes. I’ll be honest, I put one of each into the prize box and one into my cupboard. I figure if I want it, someone else might, too! My kids love the flower-shaped ice cubes, and I love having the ever-elusive 1/8 cup measure. I also love the 1 1/2 Tablespoon measure. I just can’t help it. I’m a kitchen geek. However, I REALLY adore the excerpt booklet I made especially for the giveaway. SO CUTE. I felt like a formatting GENIUS when I figured out how to print it. For those of you already waiting for INTO THE FIRE to be released on June 10th, the excerpt contains a sneak peek of Chapter One. Spoiler: it’s hot! My editor asked me to get Jack and Lila hot and heavy…fast!
I hope you will celebrate INTO THE FIRE with me and join today’s party!
Visit these amazing blogs to gather ingredients:
Then plug them into the Rafflecopter (on any of the sites). If you mix the six ingredients together in a special way, they make my heroine’s favorite dessert…and another entry in the contest! A big thanks to the participating bloggers, my Entangled publicists Jessica and Cameron, my cover artist Pamela (whom I’ve never met but want to tackle hug), and YOU for celebrating with me! Let’s start the party!
