Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from everyone in Booktown. Oh, and me, too!

How about starting the year with a fun jigsaw puzzle?  Just click the link and you can do a puzzle of the graphic above.  Leave a comment to let us know how long it took you.

https://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play&pid=32becfaf1a66

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?.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy 4th of July

Who says there's no holiday cheer in space?

Some holiday silliness.

Gee, I forgot to post these over the weekend.  Hope you like them.

 
Makes me itch just thinking about all those spiky leaves.



Or maybe she's just a lowercase letter "t".



If she bursts into flames, she can stop, drop, and roll out the door -- and hopefully into a snowbank!

(Stay tuned ... more to come!)

Happy Labor Day!

That sounds like the perfect (un)Labor Day to me.  What are you up to today?

Hapy St. Paddy's Day, Everyone!

Tonight we're having corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots.  (Truth be told, I like the boiled veggies the best.  What are you having?

Baking for St. Paddy!

I know that in Ireland the don't have corned beef and cabbage for St. Paddy's day. And they probably don't have Irish Soda Bread, either; but that's what WE have to celebrate the day, so why wouldn't I want to share our recipes for Irish Soda Bread?

I included this recipe in Booktown Mystery #1, Murder is Binding, and next week it'll go up on the website.  (I'm in the process of putting up ALL the recipes from the Booktown Mysteries.)  But, if you want to try this for Monday (and we sure will be baking it), here's an easy recipe we've put together from a number of recipes. It works well for us!

Ingredients
4 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1½ cups buttermilk
¼ cup corn or canola oil
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
1 cup golden raisins
1 tablespoon milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Foil-line a baking sheet, lightly grease.

In a large bowl, stir the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.  In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, buttermilk, and oil together.  Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the buttermilk mixture.  Add the caraway seeds and raisins.  Stir until a soft dough forms.

With floured hands, shape the dough into a large ball on a lightly floured board or waxed paper.  With a sharp knife, make an X across the top of the dough.  Place the dough on the prepared baking sheet.  Brush the top with milk.  Bake in the center of the oven until golden brown (30 to 40 minutes).

Serve warm with butter. 

Yum!

How are you celebrating St. Patrick's day?

Foodie Friday: A Sweet for your Sweetheart

Oh, how I love cake.  It used to be that cookies were my favorite dessert/sweet, but not anymore.  Mind you, I will not turn down an oatmeal cookie (or chocolate chip, peanute butter, snickerdoodles, molasses ... well, you get the drift).

Once upon a time, I even took a cake decorating course.  It did not go well.  Oh, the cakes tasted fine, and I think once or twice I might actually have made an icing rose that sort of (kind of) resembled a flower. But that was years ago.

These days, I stick to mostly unfrosted cakes.  If not, I always make my own frosting, because those tubs of stuff from the supermarket are LOADED with Trans Fats, which are really, REALLY bad for you. (And you HAVE to look at the ingredients to see it, too--they're not going to advertise the fact next to the dough boy.)

One thing that's bad about cake (one?) is a double layer or bundt cake makes a lot, and we're just two (not so tiny) people. That's why I love this recipe. It's just right!

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
2¼ cups cake flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ tablespoons lemon zest
4 ½ tablespoons poppy seeds
1 1/3 cups unsalted butter, softened
5 eggs
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup lemon juice

DIRECTIONS: 
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour one 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

Sift together the flour, sugar, and salt. Then mix in the lemon peel, poppy seeds and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Meanwhile, In a saucepan over low heat; cook 3/4 cup white sugar and the lemon juice until stirring until sugar is dissolved. Let cool to just warm or to room temperature.
Remove the cake from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack-place a cookie sheet underneath this rack. Prick the top of the cake several times with a toothpick. Brush the top of the cake with the warm or room temperature syrup, allowing lots of the syrup to run down and soak into the sides and bottom of the cake. Cool slightly in the pan before removing the cake to the wire rack to cool completely. When completely cooled, wrap the cake in foil or plastic freezer wrap and let the cake rest at least one day before serving to your guests.

(Okay, I'm not very patient.  I've eaten in the same day.  Tastes great.)

What are you baking up for your sweetheart on this Valentine's Day?

Sweet memories on Quality Street

One of the great things I love about the holidays is ... Quality Street.

When I was a kid, you only got some of these wonderful chocolates if you went to England or Canada. (We had relatives in England, and we went to Canada!)

When Mr. L and I first started dating, he visited friends in Canada and asked what he could get his first generation American sweetheart.  They said, "Quality Street."  Boy, did he win points.

So, is it any wonder that I collect Quality Street tins?

These are the four oldest tins in my collection. (I have nine.)



Nowadays, you can get Quality Street in the US.  They're now made by Nestles (and I'm sure many people will say they aren't half as good as they used to be), but I still love them because they evoke such sweet memories.

My brother gave me a jar of them for Christmas and I decided to see just how much one of the old tins can hold.  Not much, it turns out.  (About a third of the jar.)


Aren't they gorgeous?

Did you get candy for Christmas?
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What are you doing this Boxing Day???

Happy Boxing Day to all. What a great day to relax, have fun, read a good boodk, watch a video or two, and eat loads of leftovers.

We wanted Santa to have a safe trip on Christmas Eve, so instead of leaving him a martini, we left him some martini cut-out cookies.  Yum!  (We'll try to polish off the rest of the cookies during the next week or so.)



And yesterday, Evolution: Jeff Resnick's Backstory went live.  This collection of 11 short stories explores how Jeff and his brother Richard met, lived together, and what forces forged them into the men they are today.  They're not mysteries, more character sketches that explain why they react the way they have in the novels.  If you like Jeff, I hope you'll give his backstory a try.

Kindle | Nook | iBooks | Kobo | Smashwords

And, don't forget, the first Jeff Resnick Mystery, Murder On The Mind,  is FREE on all e formats.

Kindle | Nook | iBooks | Kobo | Sony | Smashwords

Have a great day!  (How are you spending it?)
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Hankering for Holiday Stories?

This time of year, I like to immerce myself in holiday stuff ... cuz, like--it's fun!  Often in the evenings I'll pick up a favorite holiday book and reread it. (And I've got a bunch of them on my shelves.)

I've also written a few holiday stories.  In case you're interested, they are:
Now, if you haven't read my Jeff Resnick books, then this one won't make a whole lot of sense.  (And if you haven't read Jeff, why not?  The first book, Murder On The Mind, is FREE in all e-formats.  Don't have an e-reader?  Read it on your computer with a free app (from Kindle or Nook), on your smartphone, or tablet.)  It comes directly after the 4th novel, Cheated By Death.  Here's the blurb:

It's Christmas Day, and Richard and Brenda are off to warmer climes, leaving Jeff and Maggie to spend Christmas dinner with Maggie's family. But the Brennan clan has not rolled out the welcome mat for Jeff. It'll be a Christmas to remember . . . but who wants to? 

 Kindle | iBooks | Kobo | Nook | Sony | Smashwords



 The Nichols family is all in a tizzy when it's discovered their penny-pinching Uncle Albert is worth millions, and decide he has overstayed his worldly welcome. But can they bump off the old man and get away with it?


 Kindle | iBooks | Kobo | Nook | Sony | Smashwords


As any adult child who has taken care of an ailing parent can attest, it's hard and heartbreaking.  That's why I have such a soft spot in my heart for the heroine of Blue Christmas.

Christmas used to be a joyous time for Judi Straub, but that was before her parents passed away and her siblings became too busy to socialize with their old maid sister. Holidays spent with friends were a nightmare. Then one late December Judi won an all-expense-paid trip to Puerto Rico where Harry Powell swept her off her feet.  But her fantasy of happily-ever-after was quickly derailed.  Would Judi always have a Blue Christmas?

Kindle | iBooks | Kobo | Nook | Sony | Smashwords

(They're just 99¢ for all e readers.)
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All wall full of holiday greetings!

Back in early December, I lamented the fact that not as many people send out Christmas/holiday cards as they used to.  I may not receive as many as I used to, but I did receive quite a few from my readers.  (YAY!)

They came from as far away as the Netherlands and Australia.  A couple were beautiful handmade cards.

Some of them came after the holidays (or was it just that I didn't get butt in gear and get to the post office in time to get them before the holidays?), but all were a joy to receive.  Do you see your card among them?

My heart-felt thanks to everyone who sent me a card.  I love them all!

A small, life-changing thing?

A writer never knows what she writes that will influence a person--hopefully for all the right reasons.  And where do we get all these wonderful tidbits we share with readers?  Usually from real life.

Years ago my parents had a West Highland terrier who was a joy to walk.  Buddy had gone to obedience school twice. Um, he flunked the first time, but it couldn't have been by much, for he aced it the second time.  And the thing he learned best was how to walk.  That doesn't sound that difficult, does it, but it actually is.  How often do I see people supposedly walking their dogs who are either being dragged by them, or dragging them, or struggling just to control them while on their constitutionals? The answer to that is wayyyyy to often.

I would often take Buddy for a walk.  You didn't have to take a litter bag with you when you walked with Buddy.  He knew where he was to do his business--and that was at his own backyard.  When you came to a curb, he automatically sat down and waited for the "all clear" signal that it was safe to go on.  He trotted beside you with a smile on his doggy face and tail held high and wagging.  Is it any wonder that when I added a dog to the Booktown Mystery series that I would have him be as well trained?

As I wrote last week, I LOVE getting Christmas cards.  I also love to get those newsy Christmas letters from friends.  Sadly, I don't get as many as I used to get, but I thoroughly enjoy the ones I do get.  I got one on Friday, and added at the end were a couple of personalized paragraphs.  It said:

"As I was reading MURDER ON THE HALF SHELF, and noting the little Bichon would stop at the corners, I found myself remembering how I used to tell my dogs to "stop" and, surprise, they actually did.  Glad I saw that, because now I've begun trying to train my Bichon-Poodle mix and ten-year old shih-tzu to also stop at corners.  This is even more important to me since January, when my next-door neighbor and best friend was killed by a car about a block from home while she was walking two of her shih-tzus.  Thanks for the reminder."

I cried when I read that paragraph. First, for the loss of my friend's friend, and second, that something I wrote has caused her to train her dogs to sit and stay until it's safe to cross the street.

It's just such a little thing, but it made me glad that I write books.  That my words can touch people.  That in some small way I can make a difference.

Thank you, Karen.  You made my day.

Where are all the Christmas cards?

I admit it, I love Christmas cards.  In fact, I collect them.  Well, I collect VINTAGE Christmas cards and have about 50-60 of them.  Thanks to Pinterest, I now have an even bigger collection (spread out over several of my writing personas). 

I like cards from the 1950s.  It was such an innocent era.  (Well, we like to think that.  The WWII had ended, but Korea was in full swing, and there was the Cold War going on ... but let's think innocent.)

Most of my cards came from yard sales.  Usually when daughters were cleaning our their parents homes.  They bagged them up and I bought them. (I also have an entire box of assorted cards for every occasion that I got FOR THREE BUCKS!) I love them all!

Every year I hand the last Christmas card I got from my Granddad back in the 1980s.  It wasn't an expensive card, but it has his signagure on it and it says "with Love"  (sniff).

But so far this year I haven't received one Christmas card.  I'm so sad that that tradition seems to be going the way of the doh-doh.  I looked forward to the mail every day in December. Now people send virtual cards which, less face it, don't entail much effort at all.  Especially when all one has to do is gang a load of email addresses and shoot off one card with one message.

I've got my cards all ready to work on this week, and will feel sad that my wall of cards might only have a couple of it this year.

If you like vintage cards, they have reproductions on Amazon.  I'll be sending out a few of my vintage cards to a chosen few.

Will you be sending out Christmas cards this year?

Holiday stories to put you in a festive mood

Are you having a tough time getting into the holiday spirit?  Well, have I got some great holiday stories for you.  Okay, two of them are mine -- but a lot more are by my friends at the Incredible Indie Authors. (We're all traditionally published authors who have backlist and new titles available as ebooks.)

Mine are:

Bah! Humbug (which really won't make much sense unless you've just read my 4th Jeff Resnick mystery, Cheated by Death).  It’s Christmas Day, and Jeff and Maggie spend Christmas dinner with Maggie’s family, who are not receptive to her new significant other. It’ll be a Christmas to remember . . . but who wants to?

and

We're So Sorry, Uncle Albert:  The Nichols family finds that their stingy Uncle Albert, who’s been mooching off of the family for years, is actually quite wealthy.  Naturally they aren’t at all that happy about it and decide that Uncle Albert has overstayed his worldly welcome.  What to do?  They plot to get rid of him–just in time for Christmas.  It’s a jolly holiday all right!

Both are just 99 cents.  Such a deal!

They have a Facebook page (please LIKE us!), and a Pinterest account.  Here's the link to our Christmas stories (in many genres--and even a few audio books),and here's the link to our regular Pinterest page.

Please come and visit!
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Icing fever strikes!

Every couple of years I make cut-out cookies for Christmas. The reason I don't do it more often is because ... well, let's face it.  If you make it, you must eat it. If I didn't already need to lose (mumble, mumble) pounds, I'd go for it.

Pinterest is terrible.  It is.  There are hundreds and hundreds of pictures of cut-out cookies and dammit--I must repin and admire them over and over again. I was actually so inspired, I spent Sunday making cookie dough, and yesterday baking the cookies.

I lost my favorite recipe, so I often punt--and use an unfamiliar one.  I must stop this.  Next year (for I've already baked my cookies), I'm going to do more research to find the perfect recipe ... although, perhaps i won't have to look that far.

Thanks to Google, I found a great blog that walks you through decorating your cookies.  (And gives recipes and tips and stuff.)  OMG -- I could explore this site for days on end.  It's called The Sweet Adventures of Sugar Belle. Of course now that I have investigated the site I want to go out and buy all the things you need, like icing bottles, and have learned all kinds of new terms like 20-second icing and fill icing and icing bottles, etc. And that I should make icing 4 pounds at a time.

Will I ever have the talent to make gorgeous cookies?  Not unless I practice a whole lot and I won't do that because I would eat the cookies and gain more weight and ... it's a vicious cycle.  Maybe I should just BUY a cookie now and then.

Still, I've got 5 dozen uniced cookies in the freezer and must hit the craft store (which has a HUGE Wilton section), or maybe just Amazon.  After all, I have just under three weeks before Christmas to finish these cookies.  (Mostly stars.  I'm a star girl.)

Are you baking cookies this year?  If so, the Cozy Chicks Blog is going to hold a Cookie Exchange -- 7-8 (we haven't decided yet) of our favorite recipes to share.  It'll be Dec. 16-22.  Don't miss it!

It's the holiday season--haul out your Christmas music!

I don't know about you, but I LOVE Christmas music.  I know, I know -- I blog about it every year, but I can't help myself. 
I've been playing Christmas music in my office since about the first of November. Nothing with singing -- mostly just a plain piano.  I have to admit, I like the jazz or new age ones the best, but I'll take just regular "classic" tunes as well.

It's funny that I should listen to so many piano CDs (yes, I still have a gazillion of them--and CD players scattered around the house, too.  They're hard to find.  I buy most of them at yard sales these days). When I was a kid I took piano lessons, but I could never sight read, which was a huge disappointment to me. I had friends who could sit down at the piano and play any piece of music I put in front of them, but their playing had no soul. It was very mechanical.  So here I had all this soul, but no ability to play without memorizing every note first.  I gave it up.  I never understood how I could take to typing so easily, but not playing the piano. I don't even think when I type...my fingers just know what to do.  But then I'm just thinking the words not trying to read them letter for letter.

I got a lot of my piano Christmas CDs from The Dollar Tree.  (Yeah, a buck a piece.)  I have little notes written on the inside of the sleeve:  Not bad.  Slow tunes.  Okay.   The ones marked "not bad" are ... not bad!  One of them is of Celtic tunes.  That's really good, but is so lively it kind of distracts me when I'm trying to write. And as it happens, while I'm listening to Christmas music, I'm writing about Valentine's Day.  Oh well, at least it's still winter.

Our local radio station has been playing Christmas tunes 24/7 since November 16th.  That's a bit early to be hearing Michael Jackson wail "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" or "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus."  Why couldn't they start out with instrumentals (of which you never hear ANY) and gently ease into the singing ones.  They could play just about any tune from A Charlie Brown Christmas and everyone would be happy and tapping their toes.

As for singing ones, my favorite is Celine Dion's These Are Special Times, but I will admit to listening to Der Bingle and The Andrews Sisters, too. (Theirs is my very favorite version of Jingle Bells.)  I've also made a lot of compilation Christmas CDs.  Where else can I hear the Waitresses Christmas Wrapping and the Tran-Syberian Orchestra?

So, what's your favorite Christmas music?
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The most precious gift

Well, the tree and ornaments are packed away for another year.  The stockings likewise. The holiday music is back in the drawer (taking up most of it, I might add), and Mr. L has breathed a sigh of relief for another 11 months.

Santa was very good to me this year.  Mr. L gave me a Kindle Fire (which I will blog more about later) and a bunch of other swell stuff, but the gift that meant the most to me was this one ... in a frame.



This picture of our sister act was taken only a few months before we lost our dear sweet Bonnie (left).  Unwrapping this made me cry, but only because I miss her so.  Bonnie wasn't smiling, but maybe that's because she already didn't feel well.  (We'll never know.)

What was your favorite Christmas or Hanukkah gift?
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