C.D. Hersh's Blog, page 134
February 14, 2017
Wednesday Special Spotlight Our New Book
Announces
Cant’ Stop the Music
Our new book which is part of The Legend of the Soul Mate Tree. Be sure to get your copy today!
Can’t Stop The Music is released on Amazon today: https://amzn.com/B01N9RDN96/ [image error]
THE LEGEND OF THE SOUL MATE TREE:
I am old, I am ancient, my purpose is clear
To give those who are needy a treasure so dear.
They who come to my roots, touch my bark, stroke my leaves
Find the soul of their lives if they but believe.
When I call and you listen, your prize will be great
If your heart remains open and you don’t hesitate.
Do you yearn? Be you lonely? Is your time yet at hand?
Reach for me and I’ll give to you. I’m yours to command.
For your trust, for your faith, keep my secrets untold
And I’ll gift you forever, to have and to hold.
An ancient legend spanning eras, continents, and worlds. To some, it’s nothing more than a dream. To others, a pretty fairy tale handed down through the generations.
For those in critical need of their own happy ending, a gift.
For college senior and hippie wannabe Rosemary—Rose for short—a teaching job is within her grasp, but she wants more. She wants love, the kind of love that has bound her parents for so many years. When she’s dumped by her current boyfriend because her morals can’t bring her to give in to free love, she finds herself at Woodstock in the middle of the biggest free-love, music festival of the Sixties. Alone, again. Until a magical tree grants her wish and she finds the man of her dreams—and loses him before she really knows who he is.
Dakota meets the girl of his dreams at Woodstock, but a jealous wannabe girlfriend drives them apart before he can discover Rose’s last name and where she comes from. After he sees a disappearing tree that promises him true love, a frantic search to find Rose comes up empty-handed.
Magic and music brings them together at Woodstock in 1969. Misunderstandings tear them apart. Will two flower children find one another again, or live with missed opportunities?
Book trailer for Can’t Stop the Music
Book Trailer for The Soul Mate Tree:
February 13, 2017
Tell Again Tuesday Valentine’s day
Today we’re taking a break from our normal to remind you to that today is
Valentine’s Day.
[image error]
Our new book Can’t Stop the Music releases tomorrow.
Can’t Stop The Music is up for pre-order on Amazon: https://amzn.com/B01N9RDN96/
Magic and music connected them at Woodstock 1969. Misunderstandings separated them. Will two flower children find one another again, or live lives of missed opportunities?
Book trailer for Can’t Stop the Music
February 9, 2017
Friday Features Sara Daniel
Guest talks about
Toffee for your Valentine
by
Sara Daniel
Buying your valentine chocolates? Yep, you and millions of other shmucks.
Going with flowers? Ditto. Sorry.
How about making a sweet for your sweetie this year? It’s sweet, chocolate-y, and easy to make. And the personal effort is worth far more than that bouquet of roses you were eyeing.
Chocolate Toffee
1 ½ cups butter
1 ½ cups sugar
½ tsp. vanilla
Pinch salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup chopped almonds
½ cup chopped pecans
Sea salt
Combine butter, sugar, vanilla and salt in a saucepan over medium heat for 12-15 minutes, stirring constantly with a spatula.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper and spread toffee mixture. Top with chocolate chips. When chips begin to melt, spread chocolate over toffee.
Sprinkle with almonds, pecans, and/or sea salt.
Refrigerate for 1 hour then break into pieces.
Serve with a Sara Daniel romance for the sexiest Valentine’s Day ever!
The Bad Boy’s Commitment
He’s supposed to be the town hero. He’s not!
Haunted by comrades he was unable to save, Drake Miller walks away from his military career for the relaxed, quiet life of running his father’s bar in Regret Hollow. Too bad no one tipped him off that his father sold the bar.
While the townspeople treat him to a hero’s welcome that he doesn’t want and doesn’t deserve, he finds one person who doesn’t fall at his feet, calls him out for bad behavior, and kisses like a fantasy. Unfortunately, she also owns the bar that was supposed to be his.
As a single mom and small business owner, Mallory Marquette takes her commitments and responsibilities seriously. She can’t give away her livelihood just because Drake thinks he’s entitled to it—even if he is the town hero and the first man in a decade who gets her blood flowing. Besides, she needs a reliable bartender much more than she needs a lover.
Can this hero turned bad boy step up to a lifetime commitment, or will the freedom he sacrificed so much for cost him everything?
Buy links:
Amazon – Barnes & Noble – iTunes – Kobo – Google Play
Sara Daniel writes what she loves to read—irresistible romance, from sweet to erotic and everything in between. She battles a serious NASCAR addiction, was once a landlord of two uninvited squirrels, and loses her car keys several times a day.
Learn more about Sara on her website and blog. Subscribe to Sara’s newsletter.
Stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
February 7, 2017
Wednesday Special Spotlight Becky Lower
Shares
Mega Bundle News
Becky Lower is pleased to announce her Cotillion Ball Series—nine full-length books plus a novella––available now in one giant bundle. Not only are they in a convenient bundle form, but until February 12, the bundle is only 99 cents! This deal will expire soon, so take a moment, and add this bundle to your TBR pile while you can. Here’s the link:
https://amzn.com/B01MXCL8V1/
You’ll fall in love with the spirited Fitzgerald family as they find romance in turbulent Civil War-era America. Raised to defy societal convention and follow their passions, these siblings’ rebellious hearts meet their matches. Settle in to enjoy these 10 tales of independent, passionate, and strong American heroines!
The Reluctant Debutante: Ginger Fitzpatrick would rather be rallying for women’s rights than attending the Cotillion Ball – until she sets her eye on Joseph Lafontaine, a half Ojibwa Indian, whom New York society deems totally unsuitable for marriage to a fine, cultured young lady. But love knows no such boundaries …
The Abolitionist’s Secret: Heather Fitzpatrick falls for young army lieutenant David Whitman, who is tracking the runaway slave she rescued a few nights earlier. Can their attraction survive the coming divide between North and South?
Banking on Temperance: At age 23, Basil Fitzpatrick is the owner of the St. Louis branch of the family banking business and has his pick of the ladies – but it’s impoverished spitfire Temperance Jones, daughter of a circuit-riding preacher, who catches his eye. She’s determined to get to Oregon – does he have the courage to follow?
The Tempestuous Debutante: The smart choice says Jasmine Fitzpatrick should choose to charm the Viscount of Foxborough at this season’s Cotillion, but the noble’s stable boy, Parr O’Shaughnessy, may hold the key to her heart.
Blinded by Grace: Grace Wagner has been in love with Halwyn Fitzpatrick since they were teens, but now she needs a husband in order to inherit the trust her father has left for her. Will Halwyn’s new glasses help him see her in a new light, or will she take control and propose to him herself?
The Duplicitous Debutante: Writing the popular Harry Hawk dime novels as F.P. Elliott, Rosemary Fitzpatrick is busy hiding her female identity from her new publisher, Henry Cooper. But Henry is not the typical Boston Brahmin nor the typical publisher. When her deception begins to unravel at the Cotillion Ball, will Henry be able to forgive her, or has deceit cost her the man she loves?
Expressly Yours, Samantha: To escape her wicked uncle, Samantha Hughes cuts her hair to pose as a man and become Sam Hughes, a Pony Express rider. Valerian Fitzpatrick joins the hard-riding circuit in an attempt to escape life in the family business. As he and Sam grow close, Valerian’s more than willing to protect her secret, but when Sam’s forced to run yet again, does a future with her mean giving up the freedom he’s always craved?
A Widow’s Salvation: Volunteering at the army hospital, widow Pepper Fitzpatrick Brown meets Colonel Elijah Williams, the head surgeon who can’t shake his experiences in the bloody war. It’s hard to find happiness in a war-torn United States, but these two wounded souls stand a fighting chance – if they can save what’s left of their hearts.
The Forgotten Debutante: Saffron Fitzpatrick spent her teenage years mourning the dead rather than dancing at her debutante ball, with the exception of one forbidden kiss with solider Ezekiel Boone. Fate reunites the couple three years later, and they discover unexpected common ground and begin to build a relationship. But though the war is over, a future together may still elude them . . . especially if Saffron’s brother and the U.S. Army have anything to say about it.
An Unconventional Courtship: Discover where it all began with this bonus novella featuring the Fitzpatrick parents! Charlotte Ashcroft knows her family would never approve of her attending a women’s rights speech in New York City alone. So when a busybody from back home confronts Charlotte, she grabs the man in a jaunty blue hat nearby and introduces him as her escort. What’s an up-and-coming young banker like George Fitzpatrick to do but help a lady out?
Buy Link: https://amzn.com/B01MXCL8V1/
Sensuality Level: Sensual
Social Media Links:
Website: http://www.beckylowerauthor.com/
Facebook: http://facebook.com/becky.lower
Twitter: http://twitter.com/BeckyLower1
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/authorbeckyl/
Newsletter: http://beckylowerauthor.com/contact.html#newsletter
Blog: http://beckylowerauthor.blogspot.com
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6159227.Becky_Lower
G+: https://plus.google.com/103332938863838564766
Amazon page: http://amzn.to/1FOy3Sd
Author Bio: [image error]Amazon best-selling author Becky Lower has traveled the country looking for great settings for her novels. She loves to write about two people finding each other and falling in love, amid the backdrop of a great setting, be it on a covered wagon headed west or in present day small town America. Historical and contemporary romances are her specialty. Becky is a PAN member of RWA and is a member of the Historic and Contemporary RWA chapters. She has a degree in English and Journalism from Bowling Green State University, and lives in an eclectic college town in Ohio with her puppy-mill rescue dog, Mary. She loves to hear from her readers at beckylowerauthor@gmail.com. Visit her website at http://www.beckylowerauthor.com/
February 6, 2017
Tell Again Tuesday Job Description
A blog series where we shamelessly share posts from others that we have enjoyed.
[image error]
The job description for a writer friend might go something like this…
About The Role
Writer friend needed to provide long-term creative and emotional support to a fellow writer.
Hours: Can vary each . . .
For the rest of the blog go to:
BlondeWriteMore
February 2, 2017
Friday Features Spinster Suzanne G. Rogers
Guest talks about
Hot Punch Recipe & Spinster
by
Suzanne G. Rogers
Whenever I’m writing Victorian-era English romance, I will often consult Mrs. Beeton’s The Book of Household Management (1861), for ideas on how things were done. Mrs. Isabella Mary Beeton was the Martha Stewart of the age, writing a highly-plagiarized cookery column for “The Englishwoman’s Domestic Magazine.” Her book covers diverse topics such as household duties, dining, kitchens, servants, doctors, and the rearing of children, as well as detailed recipes for everything from soup to nuts. I’ve downloaded the manuscript onto my computer from Project Gutenberg, which makes it available to everyone in all different formats HERE.
Since it’s winter, I thought I would share one of Mrs. Beeton’s recipes for Hot Punch, which sounds perfectly delicious and terribly intoxicating.
TO MAKE HOT PUNCH
INGREDIENTS.— ½ pint of rum, ½ pint of brandy, ¼ lb. of sugar, 1 large lemon, ½ tspoonful of nutmeg, 1 pint of boiling water.
Mode.— Rub the sugar over the lemon until it has absorbed all the yellow part of the skin, then put the sugar into a punchbowl; add the lemon-juice (free from pips), and mix these two ingredients well together. Pour over them the boiling water, stir well together, add the rum, brandy, and nutmeg; mix thoroughly, and the punch will be ready to serve. It is very important in making good punch that all the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated; and, to insure success, the processes of mixing must be diligently attended to.
Sufficient.— Allow a quart for 4 persons; but this information must be taken cum grano salis; for the capacities of persons for this kind of beverage are generally supposed to vary considerably.
Enjoy the punch over a copy of my latest sweet Victorian romance, Spinster.
Staring down life as an old maid, newly jilted Clare flees to a country home she’s inherited from her grandmother. She doesn’t count on clashing with her handsome neighbor, whose gentlemanly manners and education are at odds with his workingman’s image. As their relationship unfolds, however, she discovers the mysterious Meriweather Holcroft is not what he appears to be.
Suzanne’s historical Victorian YA book is available January 31, 2017 for your Kindle at Amazon.
Suzanne G. Rogers lives with her husband and son in romantic Savannah, Georgia, on an island populated by deer, exotic birds, and the occasional gator. She’s owned by two Sphynx cats, Houdini and Nikita. Movies, books, and writing are her passions.
Learn more about Suzanne G. Rogers on her historical romance blog and her fantasy blog. Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter. Also, be sure to check out the website for the Sweet Romance written by Suzanne G. Rogers.
January 31, 2017
Wednesday Special Spotlight The Soul Mate Tree
Announces
Can’t Stop the Music
by C.D. Hersh
Yes, you are reading that correct. We have our new book coming February 15th.
Our book, Can’t Stop the Music, is currently available for pre-order. Our book is number two in a multi-author series entitled:
THE LEGEND OF THE SOUL MATE TREE:
I am old, I am ancient, my purpose is clear
To give those who are needy a treasure so dear.
They who come to my roots, touch my bark, stroke my leaves
Find the soul of their lives if they but believe.
When I call and you listen, your prize will be great
If your heart remains open and you don’t hesitate.
Do you yearn? Be you lonely? Is your time yet at hand?
Reach for me and I’ll give to you. I’m yours to command.
For your trust, for your faith, keep my secrets untold
And I’ll gift you forever, to have and to hold.
An ancient legend spanning eras, continents, and worlds. To some, it’s nothing more than a dream. To others, a pretty fairy tale handed down through the generations.
For those in critical need of their own happy ending, a gift.
For college senior and hippie wannabe Rosemary—Rose for short—a teaching job is within her grasp, but she wants more. She wants love, the kind of love that has bound her parents for so many years. When she’s dumped by her current boyfriend because her morals can’t bring her to give in to free love, she finds herself at Woodstock in the middle of the biggest free-love, music festival of the Sixties. Alone, again. Until a magical tree grants her wish and she finds the man of her dreams—and loses him before she really knows who he is.
Dakota meets the girl of his dreams at Woodstock, but a jealous wannabe girlfriend drives them apart before he can discover Rose’s last name and where she comes from. After he sees a disappearing tree that promises him true love, a frantic search to find Rose comes up empty-handed.
Magic and music brings them together at Woodstock in 1969. Misunderstandings tear them apart. Will two flower children find one another again, or live with missed opportunities?
Book Trailer for CAN’T STOP THE MUSIC:
Short Excerpt:
As they made their way to the festival site, Rose and her friends grooved to the music coming from the stage.
When they reached the makeshift bridge over the road, someone yelled, “Hey beautiful! You with the red hair.”
She looked around to see if there was anyone else with red hair. Then she glanced up and spotted two guys, one blond and the other dark-haired, leaning over the side of the bridge.
“Yeah, you,” the blond called out as he caught her gaze.
Willow halted beside her. “He’s cute. How about him?”
Rose looked away, her gaze landing on the other guy.
He jabbed his companion in the ribs. “Quit trying to pick up every girl you see.” Then he leaned farther over the rail. “Don’t pay any attention to him. He’s high.”
“So she’s not beautiful?” Willow yelled to the hippie.
She poked her friend. “Stop it, Willow, you’re making a scene.” In spite of her protest, her gaze remained on the dark-haired guy.
He rested his elbows on the rail and stared back at her. The intensity of his expression shot heat into her belly.
“I didn’t say that, just that she shouldn’t pay attention to him.” He flapped a hand at his blond buddy, then tapped his own chest with his thumb several times as if to say, ‘Choose me!’
Does he want me to pay attention to him? Her heart thumped in rhythm to his jabbing thumb.
“Take that one,” Willow whispered. “He’s the real cutie.”
Before she could respond, the crowd pushed them forward. When they reached the other side of the bridge, she looked back, searching for the dark-haired hippie, but the spot where he’d stood was empty.
Just my luck. I see someone who’s intriguing and he disappears.
With a sigh, she continued the trek to the festival grounds.
Can’t Stop the Music is up for pre-order on Amazon: https://amzn.com/B01N9RDN96/
Amazon buy links for other books by C.D. Hersh:
The Promised One (The Turning Stone Chronicles Book 1)
Blood Brothers (The Turning Stone Chronicles Book 2)
Son of the Moonless Night (The Turning Stone Chronicles Book 3)
The Mercenary and the Shifters (The Turning Stone Chronicles Book 4)
Sizzle in the Snow: Soul Mate Christmas Collection
January 29, 2017
Tell Again Tuesday Publishing Future
A blog series where we shamelessly share posts from others that we have enjoyed.
The Future of Publishing
by Maggie Lynch
I’m going to modify my predictions for next year to focus exclusively on Indie publishing—also known as Self-Publishing. The reason is that the publishing playing field is . . .
For the rest of the blog go to:
January 26, 2017
Friday Features Laurel Wanrow
Learns about
Hornwrots
From
Laurel Wanrow
Today readers we get to learn about hornworts and what part they play in Laruel Wanrow’s new book Passages.
Hornworts
[image error]
Bryophytes on stones of Patowmack Canal, Great Falls NP
Hornworts…have you seen one? This simple plant is related to mosses and liverworts in a group called Bryophytes, and has been on earth since the Cretaceous period. Mosses are so common they are familiar. You may have run across the ribbon-like leaves of both hornworts and liverworts in a damp greenhouse, but identifying which is which is difficult. My find—not sure if it’s a hornwort or a liverwort—lives on the damp stones of the Patowmack Canal ruins in Great Falls National Park.
I’m enamored with these simple but long-lived plants, so they easily came to mind while I was searching for a problem plant for Passages. I did change a few things to create Aarde’s indigenous hornworts. Earth’s hornworts grow as wavy-edged and lobed thallus (primitive leaves) that anchor themselves to soil or rocks with root-like rhizoids, and extract their nutrients from water washing over them.
[image error]
Close up of a Bryophyte
On Aarde, I made them thermophiles, able to live in the volcanic hot springs. I decided they would only enter their reproductive stage, the sporophyte stage, if the water nutrients were correct. (Actually, that’s true for most plants; wrong nutrients and they won’t grow.)
When a hornwort reproduces, it grows ‘horns,’ which is where the spores—the Bryophytes’ primitive seeds—grow.
[image error]
Hornwort-young sporophytes (Phaeoceros sp.)
© B. Fuhrer, Australian National Botanic Gardens’
Once the spores mature, the ‘horn’ dries and splits open, and the microscopic spores are plucked up by the wind and blown to new locations. Some of the spores have spiky outer coverings, like this liverwort.
[image error]
Thallose liverwort. Spores & elaters (Fossombronia foveolata)
© C. Cargill, Australian National Botanic Gardens
Once I saw that image, I elaborated on it for my story, making the Aarde species’ spores tough and sharp enough to cut human lung tissue. And, voila, a volcanic planet with a killer plant growing out-of-control for my characters to combat.
Thank you to Dr. Christine Cargill and Cheryl Backhouse of the Australian National Botanic Gardens for permission to use these hornwort and liverwort images from the Australian Plant Image Index.
Follow the Passages Blog Tour (list below) to read more science & fantasy tidbits!
Excerpt:
I opened one of the community notes, then the rest. What? Another two Zeffirites wanted to talk to me. I shoved the papers at Evard. “Look here. You haven’t been blabbing about the hornwort status, have you?”
He raised his hands. “Not me. They have their sources. We just…confer. Work talk.” But he studied the names, his frown growing. “Only half these people are my hires for the fungal project, and they know we’re well stockpiled to mitigate a spore release. It’s got to be some other complaint.”
I pinched my suddenly aching forehead. Zeffir was safe, far from the thermal areas where the hornworts grew, and our elders had emergency plans. So what was causing this level of community panic?
Evard blew out a breath and dropped into a chair at a monitor. “I’ll check the news, but I suspect it’s those bloody new ministers and their damned ‘don’t worry’ stance. That only promotes worry. And not just over the hornworts. I didn’t want to get your hopes up, but my hires plan to approach the Docga when they arrive in two weeks. They’re in a positive tizzy about that idiotic decision to transfer us—Great Grünmann, that’s it! The new protocol. Someone’s heard something.”
I groaned. “What could be worse than a transfer?”[image error]
Blurb:
“Find someone you can trust.”
For decades, Eve and her fellow electorgs—part human, part machine—have worked on the quiet planet of Aarde, beating back toxic spores that threaten to poison the native people. When the new commander halts work right before a deadly spore release, Eve frantically plots to protect the villagers she considers friends and family.
On the run after an ambush, Quinn holds a secret that nearly got him killed. If only he knew what it was. Though the attack scrambled his memories, Quinn is sure of one thing—he can’t trust the electorgs. But they know information he desperately needs to puzzle out who wants him dead, and why.
With the fate of life on Aarde in the balance, the logic of joining forces with Eve overrides Quinn’s fears…and erupts into an attraction that could prove fatal for both of them.
Because the planet’s commander might just be Quinn himself.
Passages is on preorder & sale for .99 through February 5th.
Add Passages to your Goodreads shelf!
Author bio:[image error]
Before kids, Laurel Wanrow studied and worked as a naturalist—someone who leads wildflower walks and answers calls about the snake that wandered into your garage. During a stint of homeschooling, she turned her writing skills to fiction to share her love of the land, magical characters and fantastical settings.
When not living in her fantasy worlds, Laurel camps, hunts fossils and argues with her husband and two new adult kids over whose turn it is to clean house. Though they live on the East Coast, a cherished family cabin in the Colorado Rockies holds Laurel’s heart.
Find Laurel at:
Website| Twitter| Facebook | Pinterest| Goodreads
Below are the bloggers participating in the Blog Tour for Passages. Each stop will have excerpts and tidbits about the science & fantasy, and a chance to win the tour prizes: a $10 Amazon eGC or a sign paperback of Passages. (Giveaway open to US/CAN)
Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway!
[image error]
Links will be active on the date listed.
Jan 27: Goudrogen Crystals on Jessica E. Subject’s Happily Ever Afters Across the Universe Click here to read.
Jan 29-31: Thermophiles on The Multiverses of Liza O’Connor Click here to read.
Jan 29: Author Interview with Mia Jo Celeste on Other World Diner Click here to read.
Jan 30: Moons and Rising Waters with Laurie A. Green on Spacefreighters Lounge Click here to read.
Jan 31: Creating a Character’s Home Planet—in a Red Dwarf Star System on Pippa Jay’s Adventures in Scifi Click here to read.
Jan 31: What kind of a book is it? With Kira Decker on Toni Decker Books Click here to read.
Jan 31: Lacuna, a Bit of Realism, a Bit of Magic on Author J. C. Nelson’s Urban Fantasy and More Click here to read.
Feb 1: Resolving your story problems…including knocking out a pesky spore? on Riley Moreland’s Whiskey With My Book Click here to read.
Feb 3: What do you think of when I say “cyborg”? on Veronica Scott’s Science Fiction & Fantasy Blog Click here to read.
Feb 4: The Mystery of Transporters on Heather Massey’s The Galaxy Express Click here to read.
January 24, 2017
Wednesday Special Spotlight Holiday recovery lunch
Guest talks about
Boxing Day and Soup
by
Carol Browne
Photo by imagerymajestic
What is this thing we Brits call Boxing Day that takes place every year on December 26th? Does the stress of the festive season require a violent catharsis? Do people engage in fisticuffs in the street? Is there anarchy in the UK?
No, it’s a civilised affair dating back around 800 years, when the church alms boxes were opened and the money within was distributed to the poor. This tradition of being charitable is reflected in the Christmas Carol Good King Wenceslas, which concerns a Medieval king who takes food to a poor family on Boxing Day (also known as St Stephen’s Day. Traditionally, servants had a day off from tugging their forelocks, and were allowed to celebrate Christmas at home with their families and friends.
Photo by graur razvan ionut
In the not-too-distant past, tradesmen and merchants would receive a Christmas box from their customers. This was like a tip to thank them for their work throughout the year. This custom has largely died out but I recall when I was a child, my mother setting aside money or small gifts for Christmas boxes that would be given to people like the milkman and the postman. We had so many things delivered in those days and I seldom saw the people responsible so that, thanks to my child’s imagination, they became an assortment of surreal characters that still make me chuckle to this day: The Potato Man, the Paper Boy, the Fish Man, and the Coal Man, for example!
Although Boxing Day is a public holiday in the UK (and other countries with a connection to it, like Canada, New Zealand, and Australia) many people prefer the frenzy of the Boxing Day sales to chilling out with friends and family. It is also an important day for sport, especially horse racing and football. Many people go for a long walk, perhaps to burn off some of that food they have overindulged in. It was traditional for the upper classes to go fox-hunting too, but, thankfully, this barbaric practice has been outlawed now.
After the excesses of the holidays, why not try a simple vegetable broth for your lunch? A steaming mug of this with a chunk of crusty bread is both warming and nourishing and just the ticket on a chilly winter’s day. The following recipe is vegan but if you’re a meat-eater, you can add some of that leftover turkey if you still haven’t had your fill of it!
Vegetable Broth
Photo by KEKO64
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
4 large carrots, diced
1 swede (rutabaga), diced
1 large potato, cut into large chunks
1 leek, chopped
2 pints vegetable stock
vegetable oil or vegan margarine
Heat the oil or margarine in a large pan and add the chopped onion and minced garlic. Sweat them together until soft.
Add the carrots, leek, and rutabaga. Sweat these with the onion/garlic mix, ensuring they are mixed well.
Stir in the potatoes and vegetable stock. Bring to the boil. Turn the heat down as low as possible and place lid on pan. Simmer and stir occasionally until vegetables are tender.
How about a glimpse into the life of a strong woman while your soup is simmering?
In 2012 when young Polish immigrant Agnieszka visits fellow countrywoman Krystyna in a Peterborough care home for the first time, she thinks it a simple act of kindness. However, the meeting proves to be the beginning of a life-changing experience.
Krystyna’s stories about the past are not memories of the good old days but recollections of war-ravaged Europe: The Warsaw Ghetto, Pawiak Prison, Ravensbrück Concentration Camp, and a death march to freedom.
The losses and ordeals Krystyna suffered and what she had to do to survive are horrors Agnieszka must confront when she volunteers to be Krystyna’s biographer.
Will Agnieszka be able to keep her promise to tell her story, and, in this harrowing memoir of survival, what is the message for us today?
Buy Links
Dilliebooks – Amazon UK – Amazon US
Carol Browne regards Crewe, Cheshire, as her home town and graduated from Nottingham University in 1976 with an honors degree in English Language and Literature. Carol writes speculative fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. She is also a ghost blog writer, proofreader, copy editor, and copywriter. Along with a passion for gardening, Carol is an avid animal lover.
Carol lives in the Cambridgeshire countryside with her dog, Harry, and cockatiel, Sparky.Pagan and vegan, Carol believes it is time for a paradigm shift in our attitude to Mother Nature and hopes the days of speciesism are numbered.
Stay connected with Carol on her website and blog, Facebook, and Twitter.
