Santa was very good to me

Over the years, my brother has bought most of my small kitchen appliances as Christmas gifts. The very first, was a toaster oven which lasted me over 30 years. YES, you read that right: THIRTY YEARS. It was only when I frapped the cord that I tearfully pitched it in the trash tote. (I bought a replacement at a yard sale for $2. And then I bought another for $4 -- just in case the current one, which was about the same age as the original, dies.)

Over the years my brother bought me an electric fry pan, a crock pot, a waffle maker, a panini maker, an electric hand mixer, a food processor, and I'm sure more. This year, it was an air fryer.
It was back in October, and I freezing my feet off at our summer cottage, struggling to finish the edit on the next Booktown Mystery in order to hand it in on time (and I was a week late) when he called and said, "Would you like an air fryer for Christmas?"

Huh? I had never heard of an air fryer before and had no idea what he was talking about. (I live a very sheltered life.) He said he had bought one and his wife LOVED chicken wings cooked in it and would I like one? (P.S. As far as I know, he has been on a diet since he bought the thing and has never tasted anything cooked in his--but he regularly cooks stuff in it for the rest of his family.) Needing to get off the phone to attend to Tricia and Angelica, I said, "Sure."

So, my Christmas present was locked in more than two months before Santa's late-night journey.

I got my present on Tuesday. Wednesday, my brother dropped in with a package of raw chicken wings, eager for me to try out the air fryer. Unbeknownst to him, I'd already made a turkey pot pie for that evening's repast. But I promised him we would have chicken wings on Thursday.

So last night we wrestled open the box and found the instructions to be sadly lacking. I texted my brother and we went back and forth and I just decided to "wing" my "wings." His instructions didn't match the manual, but I figured as he'd been making chicken wings for at least two months, I'd just take his advice. Earlier in the day, we'd stopped at the grocery store to buy a jar of Boss Sauce (OMG--is it good). And I warmed up some butternut squash (Christmas leftovers) to have with the wings.

Half-way through the cooking time, we turned the wings over and gave them a smart squirt of cooking spray. Already they smelled wonderful. Ten minutes later, we were ready to eat.

OMG -- can you say tasty? And clean up was incredibly easy, too.

So...now I'm ready to scour the Internet to find air fryer recipes because not only it is fast, but boy was what I tried last night TASTY.

Santa was extremely good to me this year, not only with the air fryer, but with books, Orange Pekoe tea (hard to find around here), DVDs, and more.  Yes, Santa was very good to me ... and I'm not sure I can pick a favorite present. Maybe you can ...

So what did you get for Christmas (Hannukah, or Kwanzaa) that you are forever grateful for?

Something to think about!

Did you get a gift card from Christmas?  If you haven't caught up on the 12 Booktown Mysteries, now's your chance!  Check out all the titles on my website.

We Woof You A Merry Christmas

May you have a wonderful day -- from everyone in Booktown!

Here comes Miss Marple as Santa Paws!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Coming in only two weeks!

You know about Victoria Square thanks to the Victoria Square Mysteries. Artisans Alley takes center stage in those books, but the merchants--and their businesses--are just as intriguing. They all have stories to tell ... and that's what the Life on Victoria Square companion series is all about.

The next installment in this series is THE RELUCTANT BRIDE, coming on January 2nd and ready for pre-order.

Don Parsons and Nick Ferrell bought a ramshackle Victorian spinster and plan to transform her into a Painted Lady. Weddings and other parties are a part of their business plan. They’ll be hosting a small ceremony and reception for bride-to-be Lauren Washborne … except she doesn’t seem all that enthusiastic about her upcoming nuptials. Don wants to know why—but Nick is against the idea. Will Lauren have a chance to live happily ever after, or will her suitor be left at the altar?

Kindle US |  Kindle Worldwide  |  Nook  |  Kobo  |  Apple Books

Want to read some reviews?  Check them out on Goodreads.

It's Teacup Tuesday Once Again!

Happy Teacup Tuesday. You don't have to only drink tea out of a teacup -- how about a nice eggnog during this holiday season?

For your cookie pleasure

Sometimes we forget that not everyone celebrates the holidays, be it because they belong to other religious persuasions or have no religion at all. But there's one thing we should all be able to agree on ...

COOKIES!

The holiday season is about spoiling those you love and...why not yourself, too?  And one way to do that is with food.

Here's a recipe for a favorite of mine.

SNOWBALLS
Ingredients
1 cup butter softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups finely chopped pecans or walnuts
Confectioners' sugar

Preheat the oven to 325ºF (170ºC, Gas Mark 3) Cream the butter and sugar in medium-sized bowl until creamy. Add the vanilla; beat until well mixed. Add the flour and nuts; beat at low speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until well mixed. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Place 1 inch apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes or until very lightly browned. Cool for 5 minutes; roll in powdered sugar while still warm and again when cool.

Yield:  4 dozen cookies

Every day can be a holiday. What's your favorite holiday cookie recipe?.

Gateway to the weekend

I don't know about you, but it's been COLD and SNOWY here for a few weeks and I'm feeling very nostolgic for the extremely hot weather we had over the summer.

There are no sandy beaches in my future, but there is a book and a chilled glass of my favorite adult beverage in the near future.

Happy Friday!

The story behind the story - YULE BE DEAD

When my co-writer, Gayle Leeson, and I were deciding what we'd write about for Victoria Square #5, we made a conscious decision to set the book during the holidays.

I've written several short stories that take place during Christmastime, but never a whole novel. (You can check out all my holiday stories on my website. Just click this link.)

When I signed the contract, my publisher decided they didn't want to buy the rights to certain countries, which means that I could publish it in those countries on my own. (So I own the rights to the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and a few other countries.) That's why there are two different covers. (P.S. I like my cover better. How about you?)

Gayle and I make a great team and we're already in the home-stretch of writing Victoria Square #6 (Murder Ink).

Yule Be Dead is now available! Here's the description:

It's the holiday season, but not everyone is jolly--especially not Vonne Barnett. Her dead body has been found near Victoria Square. Katie Bonner, the manager of Artisan’s Alley, happens to be at the tea shop Vonne's mother, Francine, owns when the news is delivered.

Vonne left a trail of men behind her so the suspects are many--but the clues are few. A broken teacup* leads Katie to one of the suspects, but before she can investigate, she’s attacked. Katie may be closing in on a killer, but time is ticking because the killer is definitely closing in on her.


 GET IT NOW!

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books A Million | Chapters/Indigo | Book Depository

Kindle US | Kindle UK | Kindle AU  | Kindle Worldwide | Nook | Kobo | Apple Books


* The Broken Teacup is a short story in my companion series, Life on Victoria Square.

P.S.  I'm having a launch party today on my Facebook Group Page from 7 to 9 pm EST. Be there for the fun and the giveaways! Click this link to get there!

Help me decide how to decorate

-Aren't these candle climbers adorable? They're part of my (ahem, um...over 200) vintage Made In Japan Christmas figurines. CONFESSION: These guys live in my dining room all year.

I've been looking at my cabinet and trying to decide which of my figurines should come out to play in the living room for the holiday season.

Elves? Santa? Musicians (I have a whole heavenly band of angels). Christmas tree people (they are a bit...odd)? Girls dressed in long gowns?

What do you think?

Get your copy right now: YULE BE DEAD

Yule Be Dead is now available! Here's the description:

It's the holiday season, but not everyone is jolly--especially not Vonne Barnett. Her dead body has been found near Victoria Square. Katie Bonner, the manager of Artisan’s Alley, happens to be at the tea shop Vonne's mother, Francine, owns when the news is delivered.

Vonne left a trail of men behind her so the suspects are many--but the clues are few. A broken teacup* leads Katie to one of the suspects, but before she can investigate, she’s attacked. Katie may be closing in on a killer, but time is ticking because the killer is definitely closing in on her.


 GET IT NOW!

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books A Million | Chapters/Indigo | Book Depository

Kindle US | Kindle UK | Kindle AU  | Kindle Worldwide | Nook | Kobo | Apple Books


* The Broken Teacup is a short story in my companion series, Life on Victoria Square.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

P.S.  I'm having a launch party today on my Facebook Group Page from 7 to 9 pm EST. Be there for the fun and the giveaways! Click this link to get there!

Happy National Cake Day!

What a great idea. National Cake Day! A day dedicated to eating nothing but cake. 

Okay, most people won't be eating nothing but cake, but imagine if you did? On the top of my list is wedding cake. Not because it tastes the best, but it's a celebration cake. And then birthday cake...and then maybe a spice cake.

What's your choice on National Cake Day?

Happy Thanksgiving

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes & Pet Peeves

It's still October! And Pumpkin Spice Month -- so why not Pumpkin Spice Pancakes?

So -- it's time for my October Pet Peeve: Christmas magazines have been arriving. So far, I've got FOUR of them and I am not going to look at them until at LEAST the day after Thanksgiving. Of course, by then, the Valentine's Day theme will be hot and heavy. Grrrrr.

Do you have an October Pet Peeve?

October on Lotus bay

The leaves are starting to turn on the trees around Lotus Bay. Without boats, the geese, swans, ducks, and gulls have the bay to themselves. I love to hear the geese flying overhead. They get restless paddling around, take off, land somewhere else, and the cycle repeats. I'm pretty sure they stay in the area year round, thanks to all the farmland full of leftovers (corn and soybeans) and the retention ponds. 

What's the wildlife doing in your neck of the woods?

Don't we need a little Christmas?

The seasons have changed. The weather is getting dreary (and gloomy--which is saying something). I've already got the SAD light out and using it in the mornings.  That can only mean one thing.

TIME TO BREAK OUT THE CHRISTMAS TUNES.

Unfortunately, Mr. L doesn't believe that last sentence. To him, October is October. Time to think about Halloween, and maybe start considering the Thanksgiving menu. But Christmas? Nah!

Well, he's probably right. But I ran errands the other day and in EVERY store I went to, all the Christmas stuff was out. Okay, I had to walk past the Halloween candy to get to it, but there it was. Slippers up the wazoo. Do you EVER see banks of slippers out at any other time of year? It's like people only buy slippers at Christmas. (That's the only time I've ever received a pair.)

And don't forget the decorations. Faux holly. Faux poinsettias.  Sparkly pinecones. Santa figurines. You name it, the stores have got it.

I have never really decorated the house for the seasons, but this is my first time at it. I've got a few bunches of orange and yellow silk flowers in vases, a few faux leaves on a tray with a couple of faux pumpkins, some gourds, and a sheef of dried corn. Limited and sedate. But I'm thinking already thinking about Christmas. I've got over 200 Christmas figurines that live in a china cabinet, but this year I think I'm going to scatter a few around the house.

And Snow Village! Since we actually bought

furniture for our living room about a decade ago, Snow Village got retired. I have about 20 pieces of it and we had a rather elaborate set-up for a while. Maybe I'll haul a few pieces of that out. I've got the cutest little log cabins and a mirror pond and even The Jingle Bell Houseboat.

But really, Christmas to me is the tunes.

For now, I'll just have to play them before Mr. L gets up -- or resort to the dreaded earphones.

Mind you, we have an unwritten rule in our house. Holiday tunes CAN be played in November, but none with vocals until Thanksgiving. So what's the harm in a little background holiday cheer?

How soon do you start thinking about the holidays?

It's Waffle Wednesday at Swans Nest Inn

Happy Waffle Wednesday! That's what Kathy Grant is serving today at her B&B, Swans Nest Inn.

Mmm...waffles. A little fruit and a dollop of whipped butter (or even better, whipped cream!) on top and some New York State (or maybe New Hampshire for Booktown readers) maple syrup ... even yummier.

What would you like with your waffles?

A question on Teacup Tuesday

Happy Teacup Tuesday. The Victoria Square Tea Room becomes very important in YULE B E DEAD, which comes out on November 27th. In once scene, Vendor Gwen mentions to Katie that one of the scones she bought had a tiny piece of mold on it.

Here's the backstory behind that little tidbit:  There was a little barbecue restaurant near our cottage. There never seemed to be any customers, and Mr. L and I felt sorry for the proprietress. So one day we decided to try it. It was very small--only about four tables. Mr. L LOVES barbecue and she made pork barbecue. So we ordered some pulled pork sandwiches. Mr. L thoroughly enjoyed his. But my bun had a spot of mold. I picked it off and ate the sandwich, but I wasn't happy about it. And we never went back. The place went out of business soon after. Now I always look at the bread on and sandwich I order.

Have you ever been to a restaurant and found mold on anything you ordered?

=========================================

In case you haven't pre-ordered your copy of YULE BE DEAD, links below.

My experience with mold is in the comments.

Amazon: https://is.gd/yUMf3f
B&N: https://is.gd/U3na1j
Books A Million: https://is.gd/MReu4E
Chapters: https://is.gd/uRArFe
Book Depository: https://is.gd/PZeR2h
IndieBound: https://is.gd/ANfG13
Kindle US: http://amzn.to/B07BD22MJ6
Kindle Worldwide: http://authl.it/B07BD22MJ6
iBooks: https://is.gd/5HI8cH
Kobo US: https://is.gd/trJwG0
Nook: https://is.gd/6b5sds
More info on my Website: https://is.gd/QSU4WS

Morning on Lotus Bay

The sky is gray and bay is calm in this first October morning. The wind starts to rise just before lunch. The leaves are still pretty much green, but they will start to turn any day now. Then the west side of the bay gets fiery red and orange and we call it the burn side. Spectacular.

Soon the cottages will be shuttered because the water needs to be turned off before the ground freezes. Customers are few and far between during the week during October when the water gets low. But life on Lotus Bay is peaceful and Tori Cannon wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

Sunset on Lotus Bay

Breakfast all day long on National Pancake Day

It's National Pancake Day. Imagine being at a charming B&B on Martha's Vineyard that overlooks the ocean, with beautiful gardens, and a hostess who makes you feel welcome with a wonderful home-cooked breakfast of pancakes. That's what I imagine it's like at Blythe Cove Manor, where there's always a little magic in the air. (Think sparkles!) What side would you want with those heavenly pancakes?

Haven't tried the Tales From Blythe Cove series? Read about it on my website. Just click this link

Gayle Leeson's Latest Release!

Happy Bookday to my friend and co-author Gayle Leeson. Putting Down Roots in Kinsey Falls, the second book in that series, is out today and for a short time is 99 cents for the ebook. (The paperback is also available.)

Greta Parker is absolutely certain that newcomer Joanne Faraday is up to something. Her best guess--and it's backed up by the Silver Sleuths--is that Joanne is planning some sort of heist. Thinking that Joanne might be in dire financial straits, Greta thinks maybe they can lure Joanne away from the dark side with the offer of a fund-raising bake sale.

But when Joanne's and Greta's worlds collide in an unexpected way, both women have to take stock of what they really want out of life …

Kindle US: https://is.gd/AS05JB
Kindle Worldwide: http://authl.it/B07HB9FLJ8
Kobo: https://is.gd/WyxHJ3
Nook: https://is.gd/d6j2lo
Amazon: https://is.gd/6qyrWh

Didn't read the first one (Hightail it to Kinsey Falls)? It's only 99 cents for a short time, too!

Amazon: https://is.gd/dhQQvA
Kindle US: https://is.gd/pFAKWf
Kindle Worldwide: http://authl.it/B07C46H3WH
iBooks: https://is.gd/VPmrv4
Kobo: https://is.gd/CU43Jb
Nook: https://is.gd/y9Z0YP

My weekend thrifting haul--check it out!

Just a few things I got this weekend while thrifting. The little candle rings with the bird ornaments were in a $1 bag along with little mercury glass balls that I will transform into earrings for my November craft show. I think they look adorable and I’m going to use them as is to decorate one of my coffee tables. (Um, doesn’t everyone have five separate sitting areas?) The tray is unusual in that it has feet.


The little vase was choked with roots and dirt. That took a little work cleaning up. The mug is Syracuse China and I already had a small bowl that matches, so this was something I wanted.  Mr. L collects vintage cocktail shakers, and he didn't have anything this one, which looks like it might be from the 1950s.


This darling little needlepoint pillow came from the good rummage sale for a buck. It really needs to be cleaned, but I’m not sure what to use. This is where a girl needs her Mother. My mother had so much knowledge, especially about the “domestic arts.” She did every kind of needlecraft there was, from sewing, to cross stitch, to knitting—she did it all and well (although quilting was her favorite). The back is velveteen and the pillow inside is going into the washing machine with my towels. My Mum had this special detergent (very gentle) for washing sweaters and you don’t even need to rinse. Just soak. I wondered if that would be something to use on the needlepoint. Please, let me know what you think about that. Thanks.



This adorable little bucket and the two pumpkins were part of two displays at one of the sales and the sign said, “10¢ to $1 – Pay what you want.” Holy smoke, did they have a lot of cute stuff. I paid $5 for everything and the woman was happy to “get rid of some of mom’s crap” and I was happy to get so many silk flowers and other cute stuff. I love the little bucket. It’s adorable and something cute (and probably silk) will go in it.

To see everything else I found, check out my Facebook Group page, Lorraine's Perpetual Tea Party Page. Here's a link.

So, what's your favorite?

What's with this pumpkin spice thing?

Hey, it's pumpkin spice time! Um...I'm not into pumpkin spice. I have tasted pumpkin pie, but didn't like it. (Tried more than once, so you've gotta give me that.) Never had a latte, let alone a pumpkin spice one. Never had a pumpkin spice cookie, muffin, cupcake, or meat pie.

I like the idea of pumpkin spice, but can't think of anything that would entice me to eat/drink it.

What do you think the whole pumpkin spice thing?

Baking with my characters

I was speaking with my hairdresser the other day (got my roots done -- I'm YOUNG again!) and she was telling me that her husband doesn't like to eat. She has to remind him to eat.

A person who doesn't like to eat??????????

I smell cake/cookies/muffins/Yorkshire pudding and I gain weight. Therefore, I live vicariously through my characters who love to bake. Among them: Katie Bonner, Kathy Grant, and most recently Tricia Miles. These ladies are baking up a storm--and they can do it and not get fat because they have an audience they can feed. Katie has her vendors at Artesans Alley, Kathy has been experimenting with recipes for her B&B and feeding her friends Tori, Anissa, Noreen and Paul. Tricia has her employees, Pixie and Mr. Everett (and when you read A Killer Edition, which will be out next year, this will become really obvious.)


But I like to bake, too. And the other day my neighbor, who has a huge garden, put out a little stand for veggies his family can't eat. It's so cute with a colorful umbrella to shade the veggies during the day. And I picked up a zucchini, tomato and a chili pepper. The zucchini was too big for stir fry, but I knew when I picked it up it was destined for zucchini muffins.

Who's my audience? Mr. L. He loves baked goods for breakfast and this will be my second batch of zucchini muffins this summer. In fact, I will need to make a double batch because it is such a big zucchini. That doesn't worry me!  Here's my recipe.

Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
2 cups finely shredded unpeeled zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup dried currants or chopped raisins

Preheat oven to 350° In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Combine the egg and oil; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the zucchini, walnuts and currants. Coat muffin cups with cooking spray or use paper liners; fill three-fourths full with batter. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

Yield: 12 muffins

Who do you bake for? (And care to share a recipe, too?)

==========================================

Recipes to Die For: A Victoria Square Cookbook, was the first companion book I did for my New York Times bestselling  Victoria Square Mystery series. In it, Katie Bonner shares her favorite recipes, and those of her vendors and the merchants on Victoria Square, plus each contributors signature drink and anecdotes about their lives on Victoria square.

Treat yourself today!

Amazon (trade paperback)

Kindle | Kindle Worldwide | Nook | Kobo | iBooks

Decorating for fall

Happy Tuesday! I haven't hauled out all my "fall stuff" (and I haven't got much more than this), but this is the start of my fall decorating. I never thought to do this before I saw "Hillary from Old World Home's" seasonal $5 Goodwill Thrift Store Challenge on Youtube. Basically you spend $5 and add something to your decor. Everything here except the fabric pumpkin (which belonged to my Mum) I got at yard sales. The flowers and vase were bought within the past couple of weeks. You might remember the little "boo" and the gold tray were found this summer, too.

Here's a link to Hilary's challenge.

Do you decorate for the seasons?

P.S. My Mum made the runner for me.

When you're thirsty, drink tea!

If you know anything about me, you know that I LOVE tea. I start every day with a cup (and usually drink an entire pot) and often have another cup or two in the afternoon.

I am a tea addict, and I'm not ashamed.

That said, I mostly drink English Breakfast (black) tea, and not much else. The fun part comes because I have a lot of teacups and tea mugs. Choosing one every day makes the day start with a lot more whimsy.

Not long ago, Mr. L and I visited the Buffalo area and visited the Millard Fillmore house. I was surprised at how many artifacs were available from our 13th pesident, a man who only served two years after the death of Zachary Taylor.

That's a cardboard cut-out of President Fillmore on the porch.

For such a small house, which Fillmore built with his own two hands, there were an astonishing amount of presidential artifacts.

The teapot above belonged to Fillmore's first wife, Abigail.  I wonder how many wonderful cups of tea she delighted in from that pretty pot.

This teacup belonged to the Fillmore family. It was probably used by the President. Think of the history!

The above tumbling-block quilt was made by the first Mrs. Fillmore. The stitching was exquiste. The bedframe was the bed they took to the white house and slept in for their two-year tenure.

The docents at the Fillmore house were fantastic and kept us spellbound with their tales about the last Whig-party president.

I went to visit the Buffalo area because I needed to reconnect with my character, Jeff Resnick, for an upcoming book, but I'm pretty sure he never visited the Fillmore home. Still, it never hurts to visit the rich history of any area you write about, and I'm sure glad I visited the Fillmore House.

This makes three presdential homes I've visited. The first was Mount Vernon, home of George Washington. The second was James Buchanan's home (Wheatland) in Lancaster, PA, and now Millard Fillmore's home.

Have you ever visited a home of a president?

To decorate my neck

The Yard Sale Season is winding down, but yesterday it was smoking hot. I scored these four necklaces.  #1 and #4 look like the kind my friend (and fellow cozy author) ElleryAdams wears. I'm having a hard time deciding which I like best. 

What's your pick?

Just what I asked for

WA couple of weeks ago, I blogged about how I wanted a golf cart. (In case you missed it, click here.)

It turns out, Mr. L actually does read my blog because he decided to do something about it.


Of course, the golf cart Mr. L bought me was only about three inches tall. Not a problem. We don't have room in the garage (and don't have a shed) so where would I put a bigger one?

When my folks were alive, they lived seven houses down the street from us. A golf cart would have been handy because I would go and visit them once or twice a day, and they would have dinner with us pretty often. It would have been handy (and fun) to drive up and down the street.

I wish I could have had a real golf cart, but this one made me smile and it will for a long time to come.

Luckily I have a sense of humor--and so does Mr. L ... maybe that's why we've been together so long.

So, have you been on the receiving end of a joke present? Tell all!

Nothing says lovin like something from the oven

I was speaking with my hairdresser the other day and she told me that her husband doesn't like to eat. She has to remind him to eat.

A person who doesn't like to eat??????????

If I smell cake/cookies/muffins/Yorkshire pudding and I gain weight. Therefore, I live vicariously through my characters who love to bake. Among them: Katie Bonner, Kathy Grant, and most recently Tricia Miles. These ladies are baking up a storm--and they can do it and not get fat because they have an audience they can feed. Katie has her vendors at Artisans Alley, Kathy has been experimenting with recipes for her B&B and feeding her friends Tori, Anissa, Noreen, and Paul. Tricia has her employees, Pixie and Mr. Everett (and when you read A Killer Edition, which will be out next year, this will become really obvious.)

But I like to bake, too. And the other day my neighbor, who has a huge garden, put out a little stand for veggies his family can't eat--and everything is FREE. It's so cute with a colorful umbrella to shade the veggies during the day. I picked up a zucchini, a very nice tomato, and a chili pepper. The zucchini was too big for stir fry, but I knew when I picked it up it was destined for zucchini muffins.

Who's my audience? Mr. L. He loves baked goods for breakfast and this will be my second batch of zucchini muffins this summer. In fact, I will need to make a double batch because it is such a big zucchini. That doesn't worry me!  Here's my recipe.

Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
2 cups finely shredded unpeeled zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup dried currants or chopped raisins

Preheat oven to 350° In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Combine the egg and oil; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the zucchini, walnuts and currants. Coat muffin cups with cooking spray or use paper liners; fill three-fourths full with batter. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

Yield: 12 muffins

Who do you bake for? (And care to share a recipe, too?)

==========================================

Recipes to Die For: A Victoria Square Cookbook, was the first companion book I did for my New York Times bestselling  Victoria Square Mystery series. In it, Katie Bonner shares her favorite recipes, and those of her vendors and the merchants on Victoria Square, plus each contributors signature drink and anecdotes about their lives on Victoria square.

Treat yourself today!

Amazon (trade paperback)

Kindle | Kindle Worldwide | Nook | Kobo | iBooks

Dolly Madison has Grape Expectations

My 4th Tale From Blythe Cove Manor, set on the beautiful island of Martha's Vineyard, is out today.

With the advent of Labor Day, the "season" on the island is now over,but you don't have to wait until the end of next May to visit. It's waiting for you right now in this series of stories about a unique bed and breakfast, and its hostess, Blythe Calvert. The place? Blythe Cove Manor ... where just a little magic awaits all its guests.

Young heiress Dolly Madison arrives on Martha's Vineyard with an agenda to discover and taste the great wines of this picturesque island off the coast of Massachusetts … only to learn there are none. What she will find, however, is far more compellingÑand could just change her life.

Kindle US | Kindle Worldwide | Nook | Kobo | iBooks | Smashwords

Where are my glasses THIS time?

I used to wear glasses for distance. Then as I got older, I didn't need them anymore.  Now I need glasses for close-up work--like reading. The problem is ... I can never find them.

Well, that's not entirely true. I do find them--all the time in fact, but that's only because I have to hunt for them. Hunting gets pretty tiresome when you end up doing it ten or twelve times a day. Yeah, yeah, I do have a couple of pairs on a chain, but often I'll take them off and then they'll be among the missing.

By among the missing, I mean missing as the other ten or twelve pairs of cheaters. Yup, The Dollar Tree is my best friend when it comes to cheaters--and sunglasses, too. I have a tendency to go from the car into the house with my sunglasses on and then take them off and leave them...somewhere. That's why I have 3-4 pairs of sunglasses in both cars--or at least are supposed to be in each of our cars..

But I have come up with a bit of a solution for my my glasses and that is (are) relish trays. I get them at yard sales and pay between 25 and 50 cents a piece. I have them in the kitchen, my office, the living room, the dining room--anywhere I tend to read.

I must admit, I like the ones with patterns on them best (usually some kind of flower), but I do have a couple of clear glass ones as well. These days, not many people use/have relish trays. That's another thing I've done recently...I often add a relish plate to our evening meal.  Pickles, relishes, crudites, whatever is in the fridge. It reminds us of a couple of restaurants we used to go to that offered that delight of days gone buy. (Of course, we haven't found a corn relish that can compare to what they served at the old Cinelli's. Or the pickled watermelon rind they had at The Royal Scot. Hmmm...these restaurants are long gone. Was it because of the relish trays?)

But for me, relish trays play an important part of my daily life. And sometimes they do double duty. Like this one also has a couple of rubber bands and a screw in it. Just in case I need them, too!

So, what's your solution for corralling objects you don't want to lose?

Doesn't everybody want one?

For several years now, I've been wanting something I have absolutely no use for.

A golf cart.

Yup, that's what I want. I have nowhere to store one. I have nowhere to drive one to, but I still want one.

Mind you, I have never driven one. I just think it would be cool to have one and drive it around. Before my parents passed, it would have been cool to have one because I could have driven it up the street to their house. I used to visit them at least once a day (often twice or more--very handy when I was missing an ingredient for a recipe), but ... now they're gone and the house belongs to someone else. (Which makes me want to cry every time I see it.)

I don't have any place to store a golf cart, either. Our garage barely fits our two cars as it is. In fact, I can't park Mr. L's car in the garage because of the way we have to maneuver them in so we can open the doors, and he can't park my car because of how close I have to get it to the wall. The original owner should have had a 2.5 car garage because ... STORAGE. My parents' garage was 2.5 and it would have been dandy to store a golf cart.

Whenever we head to our cottage, we pass a place on the road where there is always at least one used golf cart for sale. The house has a BIG garage, and I figure the guy who owns it probably buys broken golf carts and then fixes them. There was a pretty blue one last month that I coveted, but somebody else bought it.

I don't play golf, but my sister-in-law does. She gets to drive a golf cart around all the time. She thinks nothing of it.  My brother has a friend who rents a site in a campground for the summer and he has a golf car. He let's my brother use it when he camps. Lucky people!

Do you have something totally unreasonable item on your wish list and of no practical use that you'd like to own?

I Got Swans

My family has had a cottage on the “real” Lotus Bay for over forty years. So I’m pretty familiar with the area, which is one reason why I’ve chosen to write about it.

Of course, my version is filled with fictional characters, and it’s not exactly in the same part of New York State as the real one is, and the names are all changed, but a lot is still the same. The seasons, the fishing, the lotuses, and the swans.

Swans are an important part of my Lotus Bay “universe.” Kathy Grant, one of my main characters, is opening a B&B called Swans Nest. (You can read all about it in the latest book, A REEL CATCH.)

But since I’ve been writing about Lotus Bay and the swans … I started collecting swans. Okay, I did have a few swan planters beforehand, but it didn’t become a collection (and you have to have three for a collection to start) until I started writing the series.

I’ve got tall swans, and itty bitty swans. Many white ones, but in pink, green, and orange. (I know! What’s with that?) And recently I acquired a lotus and lily pad salt and pepper shaker set. I mean, how could I resist it?

I’ve also got swan coasters, swan prints on the wall, and a couple of swan decorative plates. They’re such beautiful birds—how can one NOT like (love) them?

Have you got any swans?
=========================================

Swans Nest Inn is about to open, and Kathy Grant solicits her BFF, Tori Cannon, to help spruce up her property at the marshy end of Lotus Bay, only they didn’t count on finding a body. Who was he? What’s his connection to their friend Paul Darcy? Meanwhile, two entrepreneurs with vast business ties are interested in helping Tori reopen the Lotus Lodge, and their real motives are as murky as the bay after a storm. Will Swans Nest open on time? Will the Lotus Lodge reopen at all?

Trade Paperback:  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books A Million 

Book Depository (free shipping worldwide)

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Taking a dip and a drink

My mother had bird baths. So eventually, I got one too.

I admit it. I haven’t been a good bird bath owner … until this year. I read where birds have a hard time finding water all year long.

Really?

Okay, so I decided this year I would try to make a point of keeping the bird bath clean and full.

Holy cow—what had I been missing?

During the summer, I like to write in our screened-in porch. This year, I moved the bird bath from the outer yard to the area around our pool. Holy crap! Those birds are there all day long. Not only are they taking a drink (and I’ve seen sparrows, robins, crows, red-winged blackbirds, grackles, and others I don’t know of) and bathing. Holy cow, do they like to bathe!

The other day, there was a bath-a-thon. Five birds at a time were vying to clean their feathers (while others sat on the electric lines scraping their beaks clean). Suddenly there were twenty or more birds vying to take a bath. The overflow decided the pool might be a handy bath—but too many times Mr. L has had to fish out dead birds from the skimmers, so I ran out and made noise to let them know that the pool was a potential death trap. So when they all flew away, I noted the water in the bird bath was a disgusting brown. So I dumped it and started again. The first couple of birds decided the water was too cold and flew away, but an hour later, it was bird bath heaven once again.

I read where it’s really hard for birds to find water in the winter, so now it’s my job to figure out how to get water in the bird bath and not let it freeze. I know there are electric wires for horse troughs, so are there heaters for bird baths?

The birds have given me so much pleasure watching them do what we do—keep clean and drink. It’s such a small thing to help them to keep doing that.

Do you have a bird bath?
 

A Reel Catch -- just a little late

The days before a book launches are always filled with excitement and a lot of extra work, especially when you don't know if the paperback edition will be available in time, and the audio edition is taking longer than I had anticipated to get started.  So what did I forget to do on launch day?  I forgot to blog about it!  So, I'm here to remedy that little error.

The trade Paperback edition!

The reviewsare starting to come in. I was thrilled with the Fresh Fiction review (above, you can read the whole thing here), and there are at least three more reviews from bloggers, too.

Here's the description:

Swans Nest Inn is about to open, and Kathy Grant solicits her BFF, Tori Cannon, to help spruce up her property at the marshy end of Lotus Bay, only they didn’t count on finding a body. Who was he? What’s his connection to their friend Paul Darcy? Meanwhile, two entrepreneurs with vast business ties are interested in helping Tori reopen the Lotus Lodge, and their real motives are as murky as the bay after a storm. Will Swans Nest open on time? Will the Lotus Lodge reopen at all?

Trade Paperback:  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books A Million 

Book Depository (free shipping worldwide)

Kindle US | Kindle Worldwide | Nook | Kobo | iBooks

Coming to Audio, too!

Have you ordered your copy yet?