Cooking with Author Lori Altebaumer

Today we welcome author Lori Altebaumer to the blog. Lori has a romantic suspense novel and a recipe to share. SO glad to have you here, Lori! Take it away!

Peg’s Pecan Pie

(From my romantic suspense novel A Firm Place to Stand)

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

4 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 unbaked 9-inch pastry shell

1 – 1 1/4 cups pecan halves

Combine butter, sugar, and corn syrup; cook over low heat, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Let cool slightly. Add eggs, vanilla, and salt to mixture; mix well.

Pour filling into unbaked pastry shell, top with pecan halves. Bake at 325 degrees for 50 – 55 minutes. Serve warm or cold. Peg’s hints for a delicious pie: Use eggs at room temperature for better blending. And use chopped pecans to squeeze even more nuttiness into each bite.

About the novel

She’s either being stalked or losing her mind.

A job at a camp in the rustic and often rugged landscape of West Texas offers Maribel Montgomery a chance to escape both, especially if she makes sure no one knows where she’s there.

But when the body of a woman washes up in the river on her first morning, her hope of a safe place to start over are swept away. The suspicion she’s being watched follows her to her new home, and Maribel is forced to take a stand or keep running. Does she have the courage to face the danger stirring at the Pool of Siloam Camp?

If she doesn’t, another girl might die.

If she tries and fails, it could be her.

Circumstances force her into the acquaintance of Conner Pierce—a man with secrets of his own. Can Maribel risk working with him in order to save the next victim and find a missing girl?

Or is he the killer?

Get your copy of A Firm Place to Stand.

Author Bio

A life-long Texan, Lori lives in a small community not far from the rugged West Texas landscape she loves to write about. The mother of now grown twins, she has learned the secret to survival is a well-developed sense of humor and an active prayer life. After years spent working in the business world, Lori now uses her time to educate, inspire, encourage, and entertain through the written word.

Connect with Lori here:

Website

Facebook

Instagram

Amazon Author Central

Book Bub

Goodreads

Cooking With Author Susan Mathis

Alice: Today I welcome Susan Mathis, who has been a guest here before. So glad to have you back, Susan. I see that you have a new novel out and a recipe for us.

Susan: Want to know where that yummy orange condiment comes from? From the Thousand Islands, between the United States and Canada in the St. Lawrence River, where my novels are set. Here’s an excerpt from Devyn’s Dilemma, my newest novel, that explains:

“What is this sauce, Mother?” Marian smacked her lips as she savored the orange condiment.

“It’s called Thousand Islands Dressing, my dear. Isn’t it yummy?”

Marjorie chimed in. “Isn’t that just the loveliest idea, Mother?”

Howard took a hearty mouthful and nodded. “It’s quite good. Where did it come from?”

Mr. Bourne answered. “It’s a great story, really. Remember George Boldt, who built Boldt Castle on Heart Island near Alexandria Bay?”

Howard nodded. “Of course, Daddy. It nearly rivals The Towers. Nearly.”

The entire group chuckled, and Mr. Bourne continued. “Yes, well, as you know, he used to manage the prestigious Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. His friend and the maitre d’hotel, an Oscar Tschirky, accompanied Mr. Boldt to the castle several times. Once, while on the Boldt’s yacht, Oscar found out the crew had left the salad dressing behind, so he concocted this one. Boldt liked it so well that he named it ‘Thousand Islands Dressing’ and began serving it in all his hotels. Since then, it’s become quite popular.”

Now, whenever you enjoy this dressing, you know—the rest of the story!

Thousand Island Dressing

1 cup mayonnaise
1/8 cup ketchup
1 hard-boiled egg, finely chopped
1 tbs onion, finely chopped
1 tbs green pepper, finely chopped
1 tbs red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 ts. parsley, finely chopped
1 ts. scallions, finely chopped

Mix all ingredients together and chill to blend flavors.


Check out Devyn’s Dilemma, Book 2 of the Thousand Islands Gilded Age series!

Devyn McKenna is forced to work in the Towers on Dark Island, one of the enchanting Thousand Islands. But when Devyn finds herself in service to the wealthy Frederick Bourne family, her life takes an unexpected turn.
Brice McBride is Mr. Bourne’s valet as well as the occasional tour guide and under butler. Brice tries to help the mysterious Devyn find peace and love in her new world, but she can’t seem to stay out of trouble—especially when she’s accused of stealing Bourne’s money for Vanderbilt’s NYC subway expansion.

About Susan:
Susan G Mathis is an award-winning, multi-published author of stories set in the beautiful Thousand Islands, her childhood stomping ground in upstate NY. Her first two books of The Thousand Islands Gilded Age series, Devyn’s Dilemma and Katelyn’s Choice are available now, and she’s working on book three. The Fabric of Hope: An Irish Family Legacy, Christmas Charity, and Sara’s Surprise are also available. Visit her website for more.

Susan is also a published author of two premarital books with her husband, Dale, two children's picture books, stories in a dozen compilations, and hundreds of published articles. Susan makes her home in Colorado Springs, enjoys traveling globally with her wonderful husband, Dale, and relishes each time she gets to see or Skype with her four granddaughters.

Where you can find Susan:
Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas
Amazon
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Pinterest
Goodreads


Alice: Thanks, Susan! It was nice having you as our guest today on Cooking With Authors!

Cooking With Author Robert Sanasi!

Today at my Cooking with Authors segment on The Patchwork Quilt Blog, we welcome Robert Sanasi from the South of Italy, but when he wrote his novel, he was living in Dublin. He has a recipe for us to try and a bit about his novel, Dublin Calling.

Welcome, Robert. Thanks for joining us here.

Robert says: This is my recipe for an Italian "frittata" (our omelette).
Whisk eggs, basil, salt, breadcrumbs, and parsley in a large bowl; pour eggs along with some ham or salami as you prefer. Sprinkle with some Parmesan cheese. Cook on the saucepan for about 5 minutes until everything becomes a solid shape that you can slice and serve. It is kind of special to me as I remember it was the first thing my mom tried to teach me how to cook before I moved out of home long ago.


That's a sweet memory. Also, I like frittatas. Tell us about your debut novel.


                                                                

Here's the blurb:
A Southern Italian man who finds himself hungry for life decides to emigrate to the crazy Northern European city of Dublin. From that moment onward, no matter where else he chooses to travel, Dublin is forever calling him! Dublin Calling is a fascinating and honest insight into the life of a 2.0 migrant.

I was jumping on a rollercoaster for a long and amazing ride. I was a young soul waiting to take-off and experience unpredictability. Hope, pain, love, sex… and everything in between. Dublin was calling me.


Readers, you can get a copy of Robert's book here on Amazon.

Robert, thanks for being my guest today. 

If You're Going to Write a Negative Book Review, At Least Spell Correctly!

It's happened more often than we care to admit. The longer you are in the business, the higher your chances. Authors receive bad reviews.

It might just be one. Or ten. We know that everybody is entitled to his or her opinion. And as my husband says, "Opinions are like belly buttons, everybody has one and everybody's is different." (He also equates opinions with other body parts, but like my novels, this is a G-rated post, so I will refrain.)

When a woman wrote that she felt like goauging her eyes out while reading my debut novel, Rain Song, I must confess I was a bit bothered. As a new author, I hadn't expected such venom from another human. Then I ended up laughing as I tried to imagine what goauging eyes out looked like. Not finding a definition for goauging in any of my dictionaries, I thought that perhaps she had meant to write gouging. Gouging is a metal tool with a curved, sharp end that is used to cut and shape wood. Had that been what she felt like doing while reading my novel?

A bit gothic for this G-rated inspirational author to stomach.



Since Rain Song's debut at six years later, I still get unhappy reviews. Truthfully, I don't even read reviews for my novels anymore. In fact, I encourage new authors not to read the reviews for their books either.

You can get so bogged down in the poor reviews, you might feel like cow manure and never be able to lift a finger to write again.

That's not good.

However, I will let myself indulge in the reviews fellow authors receive. I have found some well-written unfavorable reviews on books I have enjoyed and some lengthy prose on books I wasn't as fond of, but the reviews were written with attention to detail and contained points that were thought-provoking. (To see examples of these, go to the Amazon page for The Help and look at some of those 2-star reviews.) I have also seen some poorly-written reviews for The Help as well as for lesser-known works.

Which brings me to, if you're going to write a bad review, can you at least do a little spell checking before letting it run wild and live on Amazon?

After writing a happy 5-star review for a book on journaling, I read a 2-star review for the same book. Sadly, the reviewer ended his review with, "Sorry to be such a "bad sport" about this book, but I just didn't find it worth whiled." Hmmm . . . I wonder if any book is worth whiled?

So let your voice be heard! Everybody needs an opinion! But if you are going to write a book review, particularly one that is negative, make sure you've gone over your grammar notes first.

Otherwise, you sound pretty silly.

Interview with K. Dawn Bryd

1. I have always been fascinated by your name. Tell me about how you got the name K. Dawn Byrd.

K. Dawn Byrd is a pen name due to the fact that my employer wasn't entirely comfortable with my using my real name. I think my pen name is kind of catchy. I've been called everything from Kay to Karen to you name it.

2. What do you enjoy most about writing?

I love, love, love to plot! It's the best part as far as I'm concerned. I plot heavily before beginning a new novel, but I do allow my characters the freedom to take a life of their own. That's when things get really exciting!

3. What is the most humbling aspect of being an author?

I'm totally humbled by all the work that goes into marketing. Prior to a new release, I'll spend days just filling out blog interviews.

4. What inspired you to write your recent book, Killing Time?

I've always been an avid reader and planned to write a book one day. When I began work as a counselor in a jail, I thought that would be a neat setting for the book. I began to jot down notes about the environment such as sights, sounds, and smells. Before I knew it, my heroine had formed in my mind, begging me to tell her story.

5. Summer is a great time for a break from the routine. Where do you like to vacation best, and why?

I enjoy the beach and go at least once a year, sometimes twice. Since I live in the mountains, it's nice to escape to a new environment for a while. However, I'm always glad to return to the mountains when vacation is over.

Thanks, K. Dawn, for the interview!

Read more about K. Dawn Bryd and order Killing Time today!

Queen of Hearts (April 2010) & Killing Time (August 2010)
http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-template/KDawnByrd/Page.bok
YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/user/kdawnbyrd#p/a/u/0/grqPjGvfRa0
YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ncljBid61g
BLOG: http://kdawnbyrd.blogspot.com