Karen Docter's Blog, page 200
November 3, 2016
Karen’s Killer Fixin’s: Pecan Rolls
It’s time for Karen’s Killer Fixin’s! Over the years, I’ve filled two 4-inch, 3-ring binders with my own creations as well as recipes my family and friends were willing to share with me. I simply love to cook and want to share that love with my readers. So every Friday, I share one recipe I think you and your family might enjoy. It might be a main course recipe. A cookie or baked item. Candy. Salads. Whatever strikes my eye and fancy…which today is PECAN ROLLS!
If you’re looking for a special treat that’s easy to make, you’ll love this recipe. It’s also delicious!
I hope you enjoy today’s Killer Fixin’s. Happy eating!
Karen
P.S. We’re at 284 recipes and counting with this posting. Hope you find some recipes you like. If this is your first visit, please check out past blogs for more Killer Fixin’s. In the right hand column menu, you can even look up past recipes by type. i.e. Desserts, Breads, Beef, Chicken, Soups, Author Specials, etc.
PECAN ROLLS
[Makes 18 rolls}
1 loaf frozen white bread
½ cup chopped pecans
¼ cup butter
2 T. melted butter
½ cup brown sugar
1 T. sugar
1 T. light corn syrup
½ tsp. cinnamon
Thaw dough for 1-1/2 to 2 hours at room temperature. Cut into 6 pieces and each piece into thirds. Melt ¼ cup butter. Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar and corn syrup. Divide mixture into 18 greased muffin cups; sprinkle with pecans. Place a piece of dough in each. Brush each roll with 2 T. butter. Combine granulated sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle on each roll. Cover, let rise until almost double in size (about 1 hour). Bake 375*, 15-20 minutes. Immediately invert onto serving plate.
Happy Eating!
Congratulations NOVEMBER Blog Subscriber Giveaway Winner!!!
Time to announce the NOVEMBER 2016 #WINNER of my Monthly Blog Subscriber Giveaway, where special readers can win a read or coffee – two of my favorite things—on me!!!
And the winner is…
LYNLANGAN…
Congratulations! You have won a $5 gift card from Amazon or Starbucks (your choice)! I’ll contact you privately to arrange for delivery of your gift.
Dear Readers,
If you missed this month’s giveaway, you can still subscribe to my blog at http://www.karendocter.com/ to get my blogs delivered straight to your email and be entered EACH MONTH into a random drawing for #FREE $5 gift card. On the first of each month, I’ll draw one name at www.random.org from all of my subscribers to receive the card.
More wonderful perks to subscribing to my blog? The blogs, when they appear in your Inbox, are pretty and easy to read. You can discover new authors, recipes and reader fun…and many of the authors sponsor GIVEAWAYS just for commenting!
If you’re only in the mood to receive my Special Release Alerts, you can subscribe to my mailing list instead. This is NOT a newsletter, but the occasional Karen/K.L. Docter news release.
Thanks for joining me on Karen’s Killer Book Bench!!
Karen/K.L.
To avoid SPAM filters, I’m announcing this random giveaway on the blog so that all current subscribers will know who won. If your name is announced and you don’t hear from me and can’t find an email in your SPAM folder, please contact me at kldocter@yahoo.com. Thank you!
Winners selected by random.org.
November 2, 2016
Karen’s Killer Book Bench: Mistletoe Cottage (Harmony Harbor #1) by Debbie Mason
KAREN’S KILLER BOOK BENCH: Welcome to Karen’s Killer Book Bench where readers can discover talented new authors and take a peek inside their wonderful books. This is not an age-filtered site so all book peeks are PG-13 or better. Come back and visit often. Happy reading!
~~
MISTLETOE COTTAGE
Harmony Harbor #1
By DEBBIE MASON
Blurb
‘Tis the season for love . . .
Sophie DiRossi loved growing up in Harmony Harbor. But after fleeing in disgrace many years ago, it is the last place she wants to be. Left homeless by a fire, she’s forced to go back to the small coastal town that harbors a million secrets, including her own. Sophie sees this secret reflected every day in her daughter’s blue eyes-and she must keep it hidden from the only man she has ever loved.
Sophie’s return is a shock for everyone . . . especially Liam Gallagher. The firefighter had some serious feelings for Sophie-and seeing her again sparks a desire so fierce it takes his breath away. Now Liam will do whatever it takes to show Sophie that they deserve a second chance at love, even if everything they’ve concealed threatens to keep them apart. In this special town at this special time of the year, Sophie and Liam can only hope for a little holiday magic . . .
MISTLETOE COTTAGE
Harmony Harbor #1
By DEBBIE MASON
Excerpt
Liam held up his hands and took a step back with a wary expression on his handsome face. “Maybe you better tell me what the problem is, Soph.”
“Okay, but don’t laugh. I had to borrow clothes from Rosa for the interview, and they’re too big. So we pinned the skirt . . .”
“Gotcha. How about you take off your coat and—” he began as he moved behind her.
“I can’t. My skirt will fall off if I do.” She heard what sounded like a snort of laughter and looked over her shoulder. “You’re not supposed to laugh.”
He crouched behind her, his eyes glinting with amusement. “I’m not. I’ll just”—he lifted the hem of her coat and disappeared beneath it— “Ah, it’s a little dark under here. Whereabouts is the pin?”
That was an easy enough question to answer. She knew exactly where the pin was—it was stabbing her left butt cheek. But with Liam’s hand resting on her hip while the other one skimmed over the back of her skirt, she was having a difficult time staying focused. All she could think was that Liam Gallagher, who’d once played the starring role in her teenage fantasies, was touching her butt. “Where it shouldn’t be,” she finally managed to say, reaching back to show him. She ended up hitting him on the head instead.
“Hey, I’m doing my best not to touch your ass, but it’s kind of—”
“May I ask what you’re doing, Master Liam?”
Jasper was like a wraith. You never saw or heard him coming. He’d appear out of nowhere. Sophie wanted a do-over. This day was turning out worse than she’d expected. And that had been pretty bad.
Liam’s messy, dark hair appeared from under her coat. “Maybe you could—
Was he seriously going to ask for Jasper’s help? Sophie drew her foot back and lightly kicked Liam in the shin. He raised his eyes to hers, lifting an eyebrow. She gave him a do-it-and-die look.
He grinned. “All good here, Jeeves. My hammer got caught in the hem of Sophie’s coat.”
“In future, I’d suggest you be more careful with your tools around Miss DiRossi, Master Liam,” the older man said, spearing Sophie with his ice-blue gaze. His mouth pressed in a thin line of disapproval as he walked away.
Meet Author Debbie Mason …
Debbie Mason is the bestselling author of the Christmas, Colorado series and Harmony Harbor series. Her books have been praised for their “likable characters, clever dialogue and juicy plots” (RT Book Reviews). She also writes historical paranormals as Debbie Mazzuca. Her MacLeod series has received several nominations for best paranormal as well as a Holt Medallion Award of Merit. When she isn’t writing or reading, Debbie enjoys spending time with her very own real-life hero, their three wonderful children, two adorable grandbabies, and a yappy Yorkie named Bella.
~~~
Links to Debbie’s website, blog, books, etc.
Link to Follow Tour:
http://www.tastybooktours.com/2016/08/mistletoe-cottage-by-debbie-mason.html
Goodreads Link:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29214596-mistletoe-cottage
Buy Links: Amazon | B & N | Google | iTunes | Kobo
Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
~~~
Thanks, Debbie, for sharing your book with us!
Don’t miss the chance to read this book!
November 1, 2016
Karen’s Killer Book Bench: Broke, Busted, and Disgusted (By The Numbers Series) by Leeann Betts
KAREN’S KILLER BOOK BENCH: Welcome to Karen’s Killer Book Bench where readers can discover talented new authors and take a peek inside their wonderful books. This is not an age-filtered site so all book peeks are PG-13 or better. Come back and visit often. Happy reading!
~~
BROKE, BUSTED, AND DISGUSTED
By The Numbers Series
By LEEANN BETTS
Blurb
Wherever you find Carly Turnquist, trouble is sure to follow.
At least, that’s what her husband Mike says.
Back in Bear Cove, Carly’s best friend is being courted by a smarmy stranger, and Mike’s latest client is unhappy with him.
When the client turns up dead and Mike is nowhere to be found, the police suspect him, and the video and paperwork they have that shows someone matching Mike’s description maxed out their credit cards and cleaned out their bank accounts is compelling.
But Carly knows her husband couldn’t kill anybody.
Could he?
Paint Yourself Into a Book
By Leeann Betts
Living in an old house provides lots of opportunity for devising plots, particularly when the task at hand is painting a room. As I slathered yet another coat of paint over the neon blue bedroom walls, I got to thinking about how painting and writing require similar processes.
Here is mine:
When painting a room, the first step is to visualize what color you want on the walls: choose the genre, then the characters and setting. If your book is a romance, you want to choose your hero and heroine and an antagonist who will try to keep them apart. For a mystery, you will choose the problem, who did it, and then create a sleuth to find the solution. Setting includes the time period as well as geographical location. Understand your characters’ goal, motivation, and conflict, and make the goal worthy of the journey.
The next step in painting a room is repairing the defects: come up with a plot line. Most often, you’ll find that the first thing you think of for a plot will be the easy point. To create a compelling story, you must think beyond that first idea, and ask more “And then what?” questions. Fill in the holes in the plot. Don’t let your hero off the hook too easily.
Unless you want your entire room the same color, you’ll likely tape off areas: In writing, your outline, synopsis, and elevator pitch will keep you on track. For seat-of-the-pants writers, you don’t have to write a ten-page outline. Even an elevator pitch, fifty words or less, can keep you on track. And for those who love to outline, the joy still emerges when a character says or does something you weren’t expecting.
Finally, after all the preparation, now paint: Writing requires tools. Included in your toolkit will be something to write on; a notepad and pen; a space where you can write; some software, and patience. Set daily or weekly goals for your writing. Occasionally read over what you wrote the previous day and make a few changes. Keep your outline in front of you to keep you on track. Review your characters’ GMC to make sure your character is changing and moving toward their goals.
Sometimes I fool myself into thinking I can paint a room in a couple of hours, forgetting all the preparation and clean-up to make the job truly complete. Just as painting a room doesn’t begin and end with a single brush stroke, writing a book takes a lot of preparation, process, and finish. But it can be done. I am living proof of that. I’ve painted many rooms and written a number of books. You can too!
Meet Author Leeann Betts
… 
Leeann Betts writes contemporary suspense, while her real-life persona, Donna Schlachter, pens historical suspense. She has released four titles in her By the Numbers series, with Broke, Busted, and Disgusted due for release November 2016. In addition, Leeann has written a devotional for accountants, bookkeepers, and financial folk, Counting the Days, and with her real-life persona, Donna Schlachter, has published a book on writing, Nuggets of Writing Gold, a compilation of essays, articles, and exercises on the craft. She publishes a free quarterly newsletter that includes a book review and articles on writing and books of interest to readers and writers.
~~~
Links to Leeann’s website, blog, books, etc.
You can subscribe at www.LeeannBetts.com or follow Leeann at www.AllBettsAreOff.wordpress.com All books are available on Amazon.com in digital and print.
Facebook: http://bit.ly/1pQSOqV
Twitter: http://bit.ly/1qmqvB6
Books: http://amzn.to/2dHfgCE
~~~
**SPECIAL GIVEAWAY**: Leeann is giving away a print (US Only) or ebook copy (winner’s choice) of BROKE, BUSTED, AND DISGUSTED to one lucky reader who comments on her Killer Book Bench blog. Thanks, Leeann, for sharing your book with us!
Don’t miss the chance to read this book!
October 31, 2016
Karen’s Killer Book Bench: Saved By The Firefighter (Templeton Cove #6) by Rachel Brimble
KAREN’S KILLER BOOK BENCH: Welcome to Karen’s Killer Book Bench where readers can discover talented new authors and take a peek inside their wonderful books. This is not an age-filtered site so all book peeks are PG-13 or better. Come back and visit often. Happy reading!
~~
SAVED BY THE FIREFIGHTER
Templeton Cove #6
By RACHEL BRIMBLE
Blurb
How can she forgive him for what he didn’t do?
Photographer Izzy Cooper feels as frozen as her pictures. Trent Palmer might be the hottest firefighter in Templeton Cove, but she can never face him again. Not after he failed to save her brother. But when they’re forced together by a calendar shoot, the sparks between them are undeniable.
Izzy knows it’s not fair to blame Trent for the tragedy, but opening herself up to loss again isn’t something she’s prepared to do, no matter how determined Trent is to show her that pain is part of life and that love—their love—can make any suffering bearable.
SAVED BY THE FIREFIGHTER
Templeton Cove #6
By RACHEL BRIMBLE
Excerpt
The security alarm chimed. Someone had stepped inside the studio. Exhaling a heavy breath, Izzy pulled back her shoulders, lifted her head and forced a smile.
“Hi, how can I…” Her heart stopped. Trent Palmer stood just inside the door. “Why are you here?”
His dark green gaze bored relentlessly into hers, his strong jaw set as he reached behind him and shut the door. “I came by to see how you’re doing.”
Traitorous attraction skittered over the surface of her skin before Izzy turned and strode toward the corner she used for staging portrait shots. The fluffy bunnies, huge furry dice and toys she’d used to relax a toddler earlier now felt macabre.
She spun around, clutching a teddy bear. “The same as I was doing yesterday and the day before. I told you I don’t want to see you. I don’t ever want to see you. Why do you keep coming back?”
He came closer, his gaze locked on hers. “You have to talk to me. I was Robbie’s friend. There was nothing—”
“You could do. Fine. I get it, but why do you feel the need to keep coming in here and checking up on me? What do you want me to do? Dance in the street? Kick up my heels at the fairground? God, just leave me alone.”
“There’s a beach party tonight. I want you to come with me.”
She stared. Why him? Why would a man she really liked—a damn firefighter—have to pursue her like she was someone worth pursuing? “No.”
He looked at the equipment covering the desk alongside him. He lifted and replaced a camera, the hunch of his wide shoulders indicating his discomfort. Izzy hated that she drew no satisfaction from that…only sadness.
He turned. “I want you to come and show your face to the people who care about you. Kate said—”
“Kate had no right to say anything to you.” She lifted her chin. “I’m fine.”
“Then come to the beach.”
“No.”
He crossed his arms. “Why not? What good is it doing you, hiding away in here twenty-four-seven?”
“I’m not hiding.” Liar. “My work is better than it’s ever been. I have lots to keep me busy, and I don’t need you or a damn beach party to make me feel better.”
“This isn’t who you are, Iz. You’ve always worked, always been ambitious, but everyone is used to you taking pictures while you play as well as work. Where have you gone? Don’t you think Robbie would’ve wanted you to step out into the sunlight now and then?”
The sound of her brother’s name on Trent’s lips brought the sting of tears to her eyes. “Don’t talk to me about Robbie. He would want me to do whatever I wanted and right now the last thing I want to do is talk to you.” She turned her back to him and tossed the bear into a plastic crate of other props. She sighed. “Please, Trent. Just get out of here.”
“You know as well as I do that Robbie wanted us together. He actively encouraged it.”
“Yeah, he did and look how that turned out.”
His jaw tightened. “Are you saying it was no good? That we were no good? God, Iz, Robbie would’ve loved knowing we finally got together.”
Loss wrapped around her heart making it ache. “Maybe, but he would’ve also seen we were a bad idea together too.”
Hurt flashed in his eyes, before he exhaled heavily. “Look, you might not want to talk to me, but there’s someone else we have to think about.”
She planted her hands on her hips, her body humming with irritation and the urge the grip him by his stupidly large biceps and march him out of her studio. Didn’t he realize he was invading her only place of peace? “Who?”
“Maya Jackson. We have to do this calendar, Iz. We promised. If we don’t set up the shoot soon, it won’t be ready for Christmas. That little girl, her family and Kate are relying on you…us…to do this.”
She tipped her head back and glared at the ceiling. There was no way she’d let down Maya, suffering so acutely with leukemia, any more than she would continue in a relationship with date the firefighter who’d failed to respond quick enough to save her brother. No matter how the results of the ensuing investigation had confirmed it had been a falling beam that killed Robbie at the garage, she had to blame someone or she’d go insane.
The safest person to blame was strong, reliable Trent. A man she’d grown to deeply care for and admire during the four years before Robbie died. A man who knew her and her brother. Knew her home and her life…and who, God damn it, still wanted to know her.
He didn’t deserve her derision; he didn’t deserve everything she threw at him, yet time and again, he became her target. She had to keep his interest at bay. Better still—stop it altogether.
Meet Author Rachel Brimble
… 
Rachel Brimble lives with her husband and two teenage daughters in a small town near Bath in the UK. After having several novels published by small US presses, she secured agent representation in 2011. Since 2013, she has had five books published by Harlequin Superromance (Templeton Cove Stories) and three Victorian romances by eKensington/Lyrical.
Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and Romance Writers of America, and was selected to mentor the Superromance finalist of So You Think You Can Write 2014 contest. When she isn’t writing, you’ll find Rachel with her head in a book or walking the beautiful English countryside with her family. Her dream place to live is Bourton-on-the-Water in South West England.
She likes nothing more than connecting and chatting with her readers and fellow romance writers. Rachel would love to hear from you!
~~~
Links to Rachel’s website, blog, books, etc.
Link to Follow Tour:
http://tastybooktours.com/ tours-master/2016/08/saved-by- firefighter-templeton-cove- 6html
Goodreads Link:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31858172-saved-by-the-firefighter
Goodreads Series Link:
https://www.goodreads.com/series/161969-templeton-cove
Buy Links: Amazon | B & N | Google | iTunes | Kobo
Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads
~~~
Thanks, Rachel, for sharing your book with us!
Don’t miss the chance to read this book!
October 30, 2016
**Author Peek** Interview with Donna Schlachter
**Author Peek** Interview with
DONNA SCHLACHTER!
INTRODUCING…Donna.
Before we get started talking about your writing, tell us a little about yourself, where you’re from, what you do for a living (if you’re not a full – time writer) what hobbies you have, etc. Whatever you’d like to share to introduce yourself.
I am a Canadian by birth, American by choice. I was born in Newfoundland, Canada, which is where my book, The Physics of Love, is set. I am an accountant by training, a writer by calling. I also proofread legal transcripts, and am a full-time wife and homemaker. I am married to the best man in the world, Patrick, who fully supports my writing and has pushed me when I wanted to give up. I love to read, watch DVD’s (I hate commercials), and live a fairly quiet, clean, boring life. Which is probably why I like to write—so I can live vicariously through my characters.
1. How did you get started writing?
I heard about NaNoWriMo, and wondered if I had at least one book in me. So I sat down to write the first in my mystery series, since I love reading mysteries. I started on November 11th—I know, NaNoWriMo starts on November 1st—and was already behind when I got writing. Wrote about 45,000 words and realized I didn’t know whodunit. So I stopped writing for an entire day until I figured that out, then finished the book by writing 7500 words on November 30th to reach my 50,000 words goal. Then I had to go back and re-write the book about 3 times to make it passable.
2. What genre(s) do you write in and why?
I write historical suspense. I love mysteries, as I said already, probably because I am very legalistic and love justice. In mysteries, the bad guy is always caught and pays the price. I discovered a love for history when my husband and I were preparing to travel and I needed to think of a way to make it a business trip. So I said, “let’s go to a museum and I’ll set a book there.” Well, I didn’t write that book—at least, not yet—but I did find some great stories about the Pony Express, which I have written about.
3. What do you think about when you’re alone in your car?
Since I don’t drive—I know, gasp!—my husband is just about always with me in the car. But when I am alone, I’m usually plotting in the next stop along the way into our GPS, or wondering how this town got its name or whether I can fit in just one more cemetery today.
4. What is your favorite part of writing?
Writing “The End”. No matter how well the writing has gone, or how easy the characters were to work with, there is something very satisfying about those two words.
5. What is your least favorite part of writing?
Editing. I once said to hubby, “I wish I could just write and let someone else do the editing.” Wise man that he is, he responded, “Then you’d never get any better because you wouldn’t learn how to correct your mistakes.” He is right.
6. Pick two celebrities to be your parents. Who would they be and why?
Agatha Christie and Sean Connery. She because of her love for the mystery, and he because he just gets better-looking the older he gets.
7. Where do you get the ideas for your stories?
Magazine articles, stories in the newspaper, cemeteries, obituaries, museums, old books, the lyrics of a song.
8. Tell me about your ideal reader .
He or she – but probably she – loves to read historical suspense set between 1860 and 1960, and is willing to wait six months to a year until my next book comes out. My ideal reader wants a clean read written from a Christian worldview. That’s just who I am.
9. What is your “go to” routine that helps you get in the mood to write? Special beverage? Music? Etc.
I start with prayer. Focusing on my source is important to me.
10. Tell us about your next book & when is it being published?
The Physics of Love releases October 31st at www.amazon.com
Short blurb: a woman looking for love, a boy looking for family, and the man who found both.
Longer blurb: Set in 1930’s and 1940’s Newfoundland, this story is as rugged as the island setting. Years of struggling to survive in a harsh environment have created a unique group of people, isolated by the miles of ocean surrounding them who long to connect with each other. Laura, motherless since she was 12, has sought her father’s love and attention ever since; however, his heart is buried with his dead wife. He has nothing to give. Richard, the son born of a backseat liaison sure to anger her father, stands between the life Laura thinks she wants and the life she will be relegated to in the small town of Carbonear. So she does the unthinkable—she leaves him. Richard grows up thinking Laura is his sister, only to learn when he is a teenager that she is his mother, that his father is really his grandfather, and that the woman he calls Mom isn’t even related to him by blood. But instead of destroying him, Richard sets out on a journey to prove he is wanted and he is part of a family that would love him if they really knew him. In the process, he finds everything—and more—that he longs for.
~~~
Links to Donna’s website, blog, books, etc.
Paperback: http://amzn.to/2eYygc0
www.HiStoryThruTheAges.wordpress.com
Twitter: www.Twitter.com/DonnaSchlachter
October 29, 2016
Congratulations Week 10-10-16, 10-17-16 & 10-24-16 Blog Giveaway Winners!
CONGRATULATIONS WEEK
0-10-16, 10-17-16 & 10-24-16
BLOG GIVEAWAY WINNERS!!
~~~
Karen’s Killer Book Bench with Barbara Nickless…
**SPECIAL GIVEAWAY**: Barbara is giving away a Kindle copy of BLOOD ON THE TRACKS to one lucky reader who comments on her **Author Peek** Interview or Book Bench blogs. Thank you, Barbara, for sharing your story with us.
WINNER: VONNIE HUGHES!
~~~
Karen’s Killer Book Bench with Eileen Dreyer… 
**SPECIAL GIVEAWAY**: Eileen is giving away an e-book copy of SIMPLE GIFTS to one lucky reader who comments on her Killer Book Bench blog. Thank you, Eileen, for sharing your story with us.
WINNER: JUDITH TULLOCH!!
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Karen’s Killer Book Bench with Anya Summers…
**SPECIAL GIVEAWAY**: Anya is giving away an e-book copy of SUBMIT TO ME to one lucky reader who comments on her Killer Book Bench blog. Thank you, Anya, for sharing your story with us.
WINNER: COLLEEN C.!
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Karen’s Killer Fixin’s with Debra Salonen… 
**SPECIAL GIVEAWAY**: First, I’d like to offer you all a free anthology called CELEBRATE II—5 authors, 5 celebrations of life, love and family! https://www.instafreebie.com/free/PoVGD
WINNERS: EVERYONE!!!
Second, I’m curious about whether you read holiday books throughout the year or only as the holidays approach? A simple yes or no will qualify you to win a free download of any title in my Black Hills Rendezvous series. (All titles are available in all formats, except print.) Thank you, Debra, for sharing your story and recipe with us.
WINNER: EILEEN ABERMAN-WELLS!!
~~~
Karen’s Killer Book Bench with Grace Risata…
**SPECIAL GIVEAWAY**: Grace is giving away a Kindle copy of MOWED to three lucky readers who comment on her Killer Book Bench blog. Thanks, Grace, for sharing your book with us!
WINNERS: AMANDA WARD, TAMMY HALL & BN100!
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Karen’s Killer Book Bench with Kim Cresswell…
**SPECIAL GIVEAWAY**: Kim is giving away Audible audiobooks of both** Reflection and Retribution (US & UK) to three lucky readers who comment on her Karen’s Killer Book Bench blog. Thank you, Kim, for sharing your stories with us.
WINNERS: ROSE ARBOR, BN100 & SHELBY CULBERTSON!!
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Karen’s Killer Book Bench with Eileen Dreyer… 
**SPECIAL GIVEAWAY**: Eileen is giving away an e-book copy of TIMELESS to one lucky reader who comments on her Killer Book Bench blog. Thanks, Eileen, for sharing your book with us!
WINNER: LINDA MOFFITT!!
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Karen’s Killer Fixin’s with Michel Prince…
**SPECIAL GIVEAWAY**: Michel is giving away an audible download of SILLY GIRL to one lucky reader who comments on her Killer Book Bench blog. Thanks, Michel, for sharing your book with us!
WINNER: PHYLLIS LAMKEN!
~~~
Readers Still Have a Chance to Win On The following Blogs…
29 HOURS LEFT!!! Signed Print Copies of BARON, Book two in the Knickerbocker Club Series
http://www.karendocter.com/karens-killer-book-bench-baron-the-knickerbocker-club-2-by-joanna-shupe.html
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29 HOURS LEFT!!! Print set of TO HAVE AND TO HOLD & FOR BETTER OR WORSE (US Only)
www.karendocter.com/karens-killer-book-bench-to-love-and-to-cherish-the-wedding-belles-3-by-lauren-layne.html
~~~
11 DAYS LEFT!!! Amazon Echo
http://www.karendocter.com/karens-killer-fixins-author-special-with-cate-beauman-recipe-chocolate-raspberry-bars.html
~~~
![Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000026_00021]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1477881112i/21003564.jpg)
12 days left…Win a Kindle Fire from CHARITY PARKERSON.
~~~
All giveaway winners chosen by random.org from reader comments with the exception of Rafflecopter giveaways which are determined and announced offsite by publisher/authors. Thank you!
October 27, 2016
Karen’s Killer Book Bench **Author Special** with Michel Prince (First And Ten Book 1) #recipe ~ Killer Chip Dip
Karen’s Killer Fixin’s
**AUTHOR SPECIAL**
with MICHEL PRINCE!
Welcome to my Friday bonus feature called Karen’s Killer Fixin’s **Author Special**!! Today, in lieu of one of my own recipes, I’m going to introduce you to a new author who will share one of her favorite recipes. Not only will you and I occasionally learn how to make something new and delicious, but we’ll get a chance to check out some wonderful authors. Introducing author, MICHEL PRINCE, and her favorite recipe: KILLER CHIP DIP!
FIRST AND TEN
Love By The Yard Book 1
By MICHEL PRINCE
Blurb
In Chicago they say Speed Kills, or at least they have for the last seven years since the handsome running back Jerome Speed lead the Chicago Grizzlies to divisional and conference championships.
Those who know Danika Albright’s parentage assume she needs for nothing. As the daughter of a self made billionaire she shouldn’t, but her father never wanted his children to be spoiled and demanded they make their own way with little to no help from him. Using the skills she learned growing up with the privileged class she’s working her way through school as a stylist when Jerome crosses her path.
With paternity suits hitting double digits the last thing either of them wanted was to let their desires outweigh their previous attempts at relationships. Especially when one of those suits has decided she wants more than money, she wants Jerome back.
Can Danika and Jerome look past what they know to discover what really happens when you fall in love with a person that wants you and not your name?
FIRST AND TEN
Love By The Yard Book 1
By MICHEL PRINCE
EXCERPT
With a plaid black and gray suit on he walked to the three-way mirror to stand on the podium. Ramona would be by soon with accessories that he’d have to remember to keep all together.
A woman walked in and sat in the same chair he’d occupied. Not acknowledging him, she stayed focused on her phone flipping screens with a single finger. Unmanicured nail…or did it have a pale pink color to it, just not long claws like he saw on most women.
“Mr. Speed,” Ramona cooed and he swore she cut her eyes at the stranger. “I have a great mix of ties that will go perfect with that.”
A tray of ties arrived and he examined them, unsure which went with the black suit with a charcoal plaid pattern. Was he supposed to pick a bowtie or a straight one? Ramona picked a bright orange bowtie with yellow polka dots. The woman in the chair snorted.
“What’s wrong with it?” he asked, placing his hand on Ramona’s to stop her from putting it on.
“Did you ever watch WGN in the morning as a kid?”
“No, I’m not originally from Chicago.”
“Okay.” She went back to her phone and Ramona tied the bowtie to his neck. The fit was good considering the thickness of his neck.
That’s why he shopped in places like this. They carried the sizes men of his girth needed. Although he wasn’t a behemoth like the linemen, he had broad shoulders and the thick muscular structure needed to plow past defensive linemen.
Checking his reflection in the mirror, he sized up the tie he could take or leave. Contrary to popular belief, he wasn’t a clothes horse. His agent pushed the need for looking a certain way. He preferred a good fitting pair of jeans and a polo.
Right when he was about to say he’d take the whole outfit, socks and all, the woman’s words returned to him.
“What was on WGN in the morning?”
“It might still be on,” she sighed. “I used to watch it before school.”
“You keeping it a secret only Chi-towners can know about?”
“Bozo the Clown. You could win prizes.” She stood and shook her head at him. “I swore I could reach the last bucket in the toss game, but my dad wouldn’t let me even send a letter asking for tickets to the show.”
“You say I look like a clown?”
“If the tie fits.”
Jerome tugged at the tie only to have Ramona place her hand over his.
“It’s amazing. One of the top designers and a hundred percent silk.”
“Sixty or seventy dollars?” the woman asked.
Ramona didn’t answer.
“Eighty-five?” the woman asked with an arched eyebrow as she circled Jerome. “Let’s see. We have a polka dot tie, with a plaid suit and striped kerchief.”
Jerome cut his eyes down to see the orange and creamscile striped kerchief.
“Please say you gave him the argyle socks too,” she giggled with her hands together in prayer. “Because then there’s only like three other pattern styles in the world and he can have them all.”
Curling his toes in the shoes Ramona had picked out, Jerome now saw the idiocy of this outfit. He’d been only looking at the individual items not how they went together, but he was paying for her to dress him. Not toss the six most expensive items together.
The woman pushed Ramona to the side with a swim move he usually feared. Untying the tie, she slipped it back in the tray and stood back to examine him.
“My name is Danika Albright and I’m here to save you from Ramona’s quotas.”
She pulled a simple gray tie off the tray along with a kerchief. “Now this says class although a three button jacket would hold your body nicer. Ramona, love, will you grab this sweet man the Hugo Boss fall charcoal please.”
“Ms. Albright, he’s not one of your clients.” Ramona’s face tightened even more as she pursed her lips.
“That’s obvious.”
“He’s mine.”
“That too, is obvious. The cut on this coat is all wrong. Have you seen his shoulders? Football players are not interchangeable,” she said as her eyes scanned his body as if she were the Terminator measuring him with just a look. “Start with their position, then you understand not only their needs, but the way their bodies move.”
“So you do know who I am.” Jerome smiled.
“No clue. But you’re black, which kinda cancels out hockey. You’re too short to be effective in basketball and both baseball teams have away games today.”
“I could be a businessman.”
“You could, but they tend to make us bring this to the office and your phone has been in that chair for too long.”
“So you really don’t know who I am?”
She measured him with her eyes. Spying the length of his body.
“Maybe, outside of the uniform it’s hard for me. Helmet and all. May I?” she asked before placing her hand on his shoulder and circling him. “Corner… no…” she sighed with her eyes trained on his waist, which was soon followed by her delicate fingers. “Running back… maybe tight end. Your height is deceptive.”
“I’m only six-one,” he replied, trying to keep his focus from her fingertips, with their warm touch.
“Right on the verge.”
Ramona glared with her arms crossed.
“Are you done?” she sneered.
“Weren’t you fetching?”
About Author Michel Prince.. 
Michel Prince is an author who graduated with a bachelor degree in History and Political Science. Michel writes new adult and adult paranormal romance as well as contemporary romance.
With characters yelling “It’s my turn damn it!!!” She tries to explain to them that alas, she can only type a hundred and twenty words a minute and they will have wait their turn. She knows eventually they find their way out of her head and to her fingertips and she looks forward to sharing them with you.
~~~
Links to Michel’s Website, Books, & Social Media:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Kobo
AllRomanceEbooks
http:www.MichelPrinceBooks.com
Facebook
I hope you enjoy the recipe Michel is sharing today on Karen’s Killer Fixin’s. Happy eating!
Karen
P.S. We’re at 283 recipes and counting with this posting. Hope you find some recipes you like. If this is your first visit, please check out past blogs for more Killer Fixin’s. In the right hand column menu, you can even look up past recipes by type. i.e. Desserts, Breads, Beef, Chicken, Soups, Author Specials, etc.
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KILLER CHIP DIP
2 Pats (Two 8 oz. pkg.) of Cream Cheese **
1 roll of Jimmy Dean Sausage Regular not sage, you can do hot if you like it spicy.
1 can of Rotelle tomatoes
Brown the sausage in a 2 or 3 quart pot, drain the fat. Add pats of cream cheese and tomatoes stirring constantly to avoid sticking. Use the spoon to break up the cream cheese so it melts quicker. Once all 3 ingredients are mixed together evenly remove from heat and place in bowl or crock pot to keep it warm. Serve with tortilla chips or pita bread during your favorite sporting event.
** Editorial Note: Learned something new with this one! Didn’t know a Pat was an 8 oz. package of cream cheese. Thanks for the new knowledge, Michel!
~~~
**SPECIAL GIVEAWAY**: Michel is giving away an audible download of SILLY GIRL to one lucky reader who comments on her Killer Book Bench blog. Thanks, Michel, for sharing your book with us!
Don’t miss the chance to read this book!
October 25, 2016
Karen’s Killer Book Bench **Cover Reveal**: Season of Survival Box set: 3 Action-Packed Romantic Suspense Series Starters by Bestselling Authors Kim Cresswell, K.L. Docter & Rachel Kent
RELEASING NOVEMBER 1, 2016!!!
SEASON OF SURVIVAL
3 Action-Packed Romantic Suspense Series Starters
By Bestselling Authors Kim Cresswell, K.L. Docter & Rachel Kent
REFLECTION (A Whitney Steel Novel – Book One) by Kim Cresswell
“A deeply emotional romantic suspense that starts bold and holds you captive to the very end.” –New York Times Bestseller, Dianna Love
Blurb: Lunch with the ex-husband is not always a fun thing especially when bullets start flying and reporter Whitney Steel finds herself in the middle of a human cloning story that will rock the world…providing she lives long enough to get her byline.
Bio: Kim Cresswell resides in Ontario, Canada. Trained as a legal assistant, Kim has been a story-teller all her life but took many detours including; working in legal and adult education before returning to her first love, writing.
Her debut suspense novel, REFLECTION, has won numerous awards: RomCon®’s 2014 Readers’ Crown Finalist (Romantic Suspense), InD’tale Magazine 2014 Rone Award Finalist (Suspense/Thriller), UP Authors Fiction Challenge Winner (2013), Silicon Valley’s Romance Writers of America (RWA) “Gotcha!” Romantic Suspense Winner (2004), and an Honourable Mention in Calgary’s (RWA) The Writer’s Voice Contest (2006).
Kim’s short novel thriller LETHAL JOURNEY won RomCon®’s 2014 Readers’ Crown (Thriller/Suspense) and was a finalist in From the Heart Romance Writers (FTHRW) Golden Gate Contest (2003). Her high-octane thrillers have been highly praised by reviewers and readers. As one reviewer said, “Buckle up, Hang on tight!”
She also recently published two action-packed Kindle Worlds novellas featuring characters from her Whitney Steel series and JET from Russell Blake’s New York Times bestselling action JET series.
Connect with Kim:
Website: www.kimcresswell.ca
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KimCresswellBooks/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kimcresswell
KILLING SECRETS (A Thorne’s Thorn Novel – Book One) by K. L. Docter
Blurb: “This romantic suspense is full of wonderful secrets, twists, turns and has an evil serial killing villain. The kind of killer we see on the TV show CRIMINAL MINDS.”–RT Book Reviews, Bernadette Cychner
Some secrets are better left dead. Too bad the Angel Killer’s digging them up. Rachel James’ ex-husband is released from prison determined to reclaim her and her traumatized child, his key to the James fortune. Patrick Thorne isn’t interested in helping another of his parents’ charity cases, especially after losing his unborn son and wife to suicide. Only trust will untangle the secrets that dominate their lives, free a child of her silent prison, and save them both from a killer who stands too close.
Bio: Bestselling Author Karen Docter writes contemporary romance. When she feels the need to feed the dark side, she writes intense suspense thrillers as K.L. Docter. She’s an award-winning author, a four-time Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® finalist, and won the coveted Kiss of Death Romance Writers Daphne du Maurier Award Category (Series) Romantic Mystery Unpublished division.
When she’s not saving her characters from death and destruction or helping them to fall in love, she loves camping and fishing with her family, reading, gardening & cooking. If she can do most of those things over a campfire, all the better!
Connect with Karen/K.L.:
Website/Blog: http://www.karendocter.com/
Twitter: @KarenDocter
Karen Docter FB: goo.gl/6TXc5X
K.L. Docter FB: goo.gl/uD1iGL
Goodreads: https://goo.gl/bsswDd
BROKEN PIECES (Bits & Pieces – Book One) by Rachel Kent
Tara Jacobs had her life completely planned. She truly did have it all after a lifetime of struggles. Unfortunately, her stepbrother arrives in town and threatens to ruin her well-laid plans with some blackmail. Tara stops at almost nothing to keep her skeletons from tumbling out of the closet.
Bio: Rachel Kent is a 30-something mother of two who has been writing since the 7th grade. When she’s not writing she follows her other passions — working out, practicing yoga, or dancing.
She loves writing steamy romance and steamy romantic suspense.
Connect with Rachel:
Website: http://www.rachelkentbooks.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rachelkentbooks/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rachelkentbook
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32764369-season-of-survival-box-set
*The Season of Survival Box Set contains adult situations, language and violence. Each story can be read as a stand alone. This is a reissue of the Seasons of Thrills Box Set.*
HAPPY READING!
October 24, 2016
Karen’s Killer Book Bench: Timeless (Wounded Heroes Collection Book 3) by Eileen Dreyer
KAREN’S KILLER BOOK BENCH: Welcome to Karen’s Killer Book Bench where readers can discover talented new authors and take a peek inside their wonderful books. This is not an age-filtered site so all book peeks are PG-13 or better. Come back and visit often. Happy reading!
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TIMELESS
Wounded Heroes Collection Book 3
By EILEEN DREYER w/a KATHLEEN KORBEL
Blurb
Genevieve Mallory can’t sleep. As odd as it sounds, she thinks her beach house might be haunted. She’s hearing odd sounds and having odder dreams. Then she finds a naked man unconscious on the beach, and her world gets much more frightening.
He can’t even remember how he ended up naked on Genevieve’s beach. He can’t even remember where he’s from or who he is, except that his name is Jake and he’s come to save Genevieve. Is it true, or will he jeopardize not only her heart but her life?
“An all-time classic” – RT Booklovers
TIMELESS
Wounded Heroes Collection Book 3
By EILEEN DREYER w/a KATHLEEN KORBEL
Excerpt
As always, the dream began in hell.
She heard it first, smelled it, saw it. A long, large building with worn wooden floors. An old warehouse, maybe, with high, grimy windows and bare white walls. Nothing to dull the echoes, no shield to hide the sights.
But Gen didn’t really notice them. Not the rows and rows of cots swathed in mosquito netting, not the sighs and whimpers and cries of the men stretched out there, lined up on the floor, staining the old wood with their blood. Not the stench of death that permeated the very walls until it couldn’t be scrubbed clean. She didn’t take the time to stop for them, this once, even though her apron was stained and torn from her efforts. She lifted a hand to brush damp hair out of her eyes and hurried on.
Looking. Desperately searching before it was too late.
“Rafe,” she muttered to herself again and again as she looked into each soldier’s gaunt face and then ran on. A plea, a prayer. “Rafe, please be here.”
Genevieve O’Shea Carson Mallory knew nothing about the Civil War. But the Genevieve in this dream knew that she was in Richmond. She knew it was 1864 and Lee and Grant had been fighting over a stretch of woods that began at the Wilderness and marched inexorably her way. She’d seen the bodies, the horrific wounds suffered there, heard the unbelievable stories of dead carpeting the beautiful woods along the way. She knew that the South, her South, would soon die. But right now, she didn’t care.
“Rafe, my God, please…”
Her eyes filled with tears. Her hands clutched the full skirts of her dress, and she ran on, her heels clattering, her heart stumbling with dread certainty. She knew he was here. She was terrified she wouldn’t find him in time.
“Gen…”
Genevieve shuddered to a stop. He was there, propped against a wall in the corner. Not even afforded a bed. Not needing one for long. Gen cried out, an incoherent rasp of grief that seemed to rend her in two. She bent to him, gently, and held his ashen face in her hands.
“Oh, my love…”
“Thank God, Gen,” he managed with a weary smile. “It is you.”
She smelled the gunpowder and grime on him, the sweet stench of the whiskey they’d given him to ease the pain. She heard the terrible rattle of his breathing. But she saw only his eyes, those sweet sky blue eyes that had so enchanted her. The grim set of that proud jaw, the tumble of raven black hair that she loved to sweep her hands through. She sobbed and bent to pull his emaciated body into her arms, knowing there was nothing else she could do. Knowing that her world had ended.
“Don’t die,” she begged, nestling his head against her breast, stroking that hair that was now so dank and limp. “Please, my love. Don’t die.”
“Oh, Gen,” he whispered, really smiling, even with his hands at his belly to hold his life in for just a little while longer. “It won’t… be so… bad…”
Her tears mixed with his and stained the floor. “I can’t live without you.”
“You… won’t, girl. I’ll never… really leave….”
“You will. Oh, you will, and I can’t bear it.” She pulled him tighter, protecting him against death, rocking him to ease the terrible pain.
“I won’t… ever. It’s a… promise… a solemn…”
And he was gone. Her husband. Her life. Deserting her when she needed him the most.
“No, Rafe, no! Come back!”
Gen came awake with a start, shaking. Sweating. Sobbing as she never had for Michael. The storm had broken, the thunder ferocious in the deep night, the lightning looking so much like the shudder of field artillery on a ridge. The house shook and the trees shrieked. A shutter banged somewhere, and the lights had gone off.
Gen scrambled to her feet. She couldn’t stay there. She couldn’t stay still, not when she was certain that she still felt the weight of that man’s head on her chest, felt the life drain from him.
She knew it was guilt, she knew it, over not having grieved more for Michael. It was the terror of abandonment that had followed her from childhood, showing up again in a horrible way. The song of her losses, from her father to her husband to her best friend, Eddie, who’d died trying to pull her from the pond when she was seven.
It didn’t matter. Whatever fomented these dreams left her sick with loss and wandering in a house that seemed to groan with almost human agony. Shadows writhed and climbed the walls. Beyond the dunes, the ocean roared, and the storm battered the windows. Gen was terrified of it, because it sounded just like a battle, and Gen had never heard a battle before. She was alone, yet she could have sworn that footsteps followed her from that terrible hallway where the dead still beckoned to her.
Meet Author Eileen Dreyer
… 
New York Times Bestselling, award-winning author Eileen Dreyer has published 40 novels and 10 short stories under her name and that of her evil twin, Kathleen Korbel in contemporary romance, paranormal romance, historical romance, romantic suspense, mystery and medical forensic suspense. A proud member of RWA’s Hall of FAME, she also has numerous awards from RT BookLovers and an Anthony nomination for mystery. She is now focusing on what she calls historic romantic adventure in her DRAKE’S RAKES series. A native of St. Louis, she still lives there with her family. She has animals but refuses to subject them to the limelight.
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Links to Eileen’s website, blog, books, etc.
Available for Pre-order on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MDP7IXW/
Other Titles in the Wounded Heroes Collection:
Jake’s Way
Simple Gifts
Website: http://eileendreyer.com/
~~~
**SPECIAL GIVEAWAY**: Eileen is giving away an e-book copy of TIMELESS to one lucky reader who comments on her Killer Book Bench blog. Thanks, Eileen, for sharing your book with us!
Don’t miss the chance to read this book!
