Why not apply it straight to your thighs?

Doesn't everybody love fudge? I rarely eat it though because of the calorie count. The first time I made fudge, I was about 13 and didn't know what a candy thermometer was. We didn't have one, so I winged it. I didn't end up with fudge, I ended up with chocolate-flavored SAND. I felt like Betty Crocker had failed me.

Here's a recipe for peanut butter fudge that doesn't need a candy thermometer and tastes pretty darn good.

1/2 cup butter
 2 1/4 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar and milk. Bring it to a boil and boil for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat. Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla. Pour over the confectioners' sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat until smooth; pour into an 8x8 inch pan. Chill until firm and cut into 1-inch squares.

Yield: 64 pieces

In the Spotlight: Brenda Stanley

FULL DISCLOSURE: This post original ran on The Cozy Chicks Spotlight.

My name is Brenda Stanley. I'm a wife, a mom, a sister-in-law, a sister, a friend, a daughter, and a nurse, and that's pretty much how I define myself--at least at this stage of my life. Talk to me in a week and the order might be different.

Most of the time, I lead a pretty nice, quiet (rather boring) life in Buffalo, NY. I'm not from Western New York. I was born in the city of brotherly love (Philadelphia), and lived there for the first twenty five years of my life.

I was a twin, and there were no two sisters closer than me and the other half of my soul, Ruth. (I used to call her Toothie Ruthie--although we were identical and she did NOT have bad teeth. They were exactly like mine, but it drove her nuts and that was the point, right?) We had such fun. Had. She died--hit by a drunk driver when we were twenty-three. That--and the following two years--were the worst of my life. A rushed romance, a fast (and short) marriage to an abuser. I needed to get away from Philly. So I ran away from home and got a job at a think tank outside of Los Angeles.  And that's when my life took a dramatic turn for the better. That's where I met my husband.

Of course, he wasn't my husband right away. In fact, he was my boss.  I know, I know--you should never get involved with your boss, but he was such a nice guy. I admit; it was me who pursued him. He'd been unlucky in love--and more than once--so he wasn't looking for someone to warm his bed. I called him "Boss."  (It drove him nuts. Do you see a pattern here?)  Hey, Boss!  Here're those files you needed.  Hey, Boss did you remember to eat today?  Hey, Boss, aren't these the cutest shoes you've ever seen? (Insert image of him rolling his eyes at that. He's just not into shoes.)

I never called him by his first name at work. It was either Boss or Dr. Alpert. I never called him boss at home. Uh, we kind of moved in together after a couple of years.

That was the best job ... but there were drawbacks. The biggest being my mother. She didn't like my significant other. He wasn't the right color. I didn't tell her we'd moved in, but it got back to her. (Thank you older sister, Evelyn, for spilling the beans.) My mama didn't speak to me for nine years--but that's another story, too.

The Boss, er, I mean Richard, thought it would be a good idea if we got married. (He's old fashioned that way.) I loved him. I loved being with him. But married?  Been there, done that--wasn't about to go for it again. He asked a lot. I turned him down a lot.

Money at the think tank was getting tight, and they decided to eliminate our little two-person department. So, that job ended and Richard, decided he would like to leave the land of sunshine and move back to his hometown of Buffalo, New York--in JANUARY. (He did consult me, but I could see his mind was pretty much made up.)  I knew about winter in the Northeast. Hey, I'm from Philly, but Buffalo winters are different. It's called lake-effect snow and it's brutal. Richard wasn't exactly the most jolly person to be around right about then, either. (Men. Job loss. Ego. The whole deal.) And then one morning, very early ... the phone rang.

It was the NYPD calling to say Richard's half-brother, Jeffy (I always call him that. Drives him nuts) had been brutally mugged and was in a coma. You never saw somebody hop on a plane so fast in your life. I spent a terrible few days alone in that big (COLD), lonely house on my own, wishing I had gone with him; but the furnace guy was coming and somebody had to be there to open the door. I'd met Jeffy exactly twice when he came back to Buffalo to live with us in the house he had occupied for three-plus very unhappy years as a teen, so you can imagine how thrilled he was to be returning. (Not at all.)  Nobody likes charity, and he least of all. He was determined to recover and get the hell out. But it didn't happen that way, and life for all of us became very complicated.

You see ... as a consequence of that head injury Jeffy became just a teensy bit psychic.  (Oh, yeah, that went over really well with Richard. Not!) But I recognized it. You see, I have a little bit of the second sight myself. (Richard always called them hunches.) So Jeffy and I are kindred spirits. He's someone really special. (Not that he thinks so.) Before the mugging, he was an insurance investigator. Not the kind that looks at banged-up cars or anything--but a trained crime-scene investigator. After his wife was murdered, though, he transferred to the fraud department. Crime scenes no longer interested him.

Jeffy's kind of hard to get to know. He doesn't reveal much about himself. He's quiet--doesn't make waves ... until he gets what I call one of his "episodes." When his psychic insight makes an appearance all hell can break loose, and it didn't take long after he returned to Buffalo for him to start to have some pretty scary visions. Visions that gave him information about a murder. And didn't he feel compelled to find out who did the deed? It wasn't a pretty end. Richard ended up in the hospital--nearly died. Oh, God, what a mess. But ... it brought us all closer. And I kind of changed my mind about the whole marriage thing ,,,

But that was just the beginning of our adventures. Okay, I mostly sit on the sidelines while the dynamic duo do their investigating thing. I did the volunteer thing for a while at a women's health clinic and the local hospital's low-income clinic. I loved the work. I loved the people. But then ... someone decided to stalk me. And wouldn't you know it--my ex-husband showed up on our doorstep about the same time. (My mother gave him my address. *Sigh* I was remarried--why would she think I'd be interested in seeing him?)

What an awful time in our lives ... because I also had a miscarriage.  I quit my jobs. The stalker actually broke into our home--oh, it was awful. For a while, I didn't know if I could even live in that house again.

I could go on and on ... but maybe it would just be better if you read about our "adventures." Jeffy kind of keeps an account of things. The first account is known as Murder On The Mind. (And it's FREE in all ebook formats. Click this link for more information.)

Jeffy never looks for trouble--but somehow it always finds him. He's just wrapping up the account of our most recent trials and tribulations. It's called Shattered Spirits. (You can read about it here.)

Okay, it's time for me to get back to keeping the home fires burning. At least ... until the next time Jeffy has one of his episodes, because when they come, we never know what will happen next.

P.S. Feel free to ask any questions about the Alpert-Stanley-Resnick household. I know just about everything that goes on. (Just about.)

Announcing: TITLE WAVE

Isn't this angel in pink cute?  It's one of about six or seven that my Dad carved and she's even happier than me to announce that TITLE WAVE, Booktown #10, is finally available in hardcover, ebook, and (tomorrow) audio.

Tricia and Angelica leave Booktown behind for some much needed R&R. Naturally they choose a Mystery Lovers cruise, where they can ponder whodunnit in deck chairs while sipping colorful drinks and soaking up some rays. But the fun is cut short when a fellow passenger is murdered for real. Is the killer a famous mystery author, one of her fans, or a member of the ship’s crew? As Tricia tries to find the killer before they reach port, she may be cruising for a bruising...

Have you seen the video?  You can watch it by clicking this link.

A lot of your questions about why things are the way they are in Tricia's life are answered in this book ... but it's not the end of her story by any means. Read all about it!

In Print: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books A Million | Chapters
Book Depository | Indie Bound

Ebook:  Kindle US | Kindle Worldwide | iBooks | Kobo | Nook

Audio: Audible | Amazon | iTunes | Tantor (CDs)

I hope you enjoy reading/listening to it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Junking: Cheap Entertainment

It was raining cats and dogs on Saturday morning (but I didn't step in a poodle) and after crossing our fingers and venturing out into the gray morning, the few yard sales we saw in the paper weren't open. Mr. L and I were going to lunch and hoped we find one or two on the way back. The skies cleared and the puddles dried up and we made it to three yard sales.



I saw this adorable trivet. Didn't every girl who was ever a scout sing those words? I must admit, though, it was the two adorable kitties that really sold me on the piece. Now to find a place to hang it.



Wow--this picture is actually MUCH bigger than the actual item itself, which measures about three inches high. It's marked CATALINA on the bottom and I know it will look adorable somewhere in my family's cottage.



My next "big" item was this book, Kitchen Junk. The major drawback about buying a used book is that it won't be pristine. This one must have been stored in a damp area.  Can you say musty?  Still, I had an enjoyable hour looking at all the pictures (and there are a lot) and once I let it sit in a bag with some ground coffee for a week or two, the stink will be gone.  You can find it on Amazon by clicking this link.

I also came away with a couple of DVDS:

We already watched The Lake House, which was your basic chick flick. Not bad; a few plot holes big enough to drive a car through, and through most of the movie Sandra Bullock wore that horrible hairdo that looked like she'd attacked it herself with a pair of blunt scissors.  Yes, I know that was a fad a few years back, but let's hope it's not one worth repeating. We usually only watch movies on the weekends, so we'll save Cocoon and Cocoon Returns for next weekend. They'll go into the catch an release program (I'll find them a home by giving them away or letting my neighbor have them for her next yard sale.)

Lastly, I got these...



The little black poodle is adorable, but the little brown doggy appears to have suffered some painful Beanie Baby abuse (thanks to his missing nose and the poorly done sutures to mend the hole in his face). But, as these doggies are destined to be cat toys for Mr. L's cat, Chester, who likes to drag them around while howling, and then deposit his "kill" at our feet, I'm sure he won't even notice.

And what was the cost of this loot?  A mere $6.70. Not a bad afternoon's entertainment.  Oh, and we got to see Mr. and Mrs. Duck swimming in a little pond, but I left my phone behind so no pictures of that.

Did you get anything while junking this weekend?

A year without a garden? Impossible!

Three weeks ago this coming Monday, Mr. L had an accident that dislocated his shoulder. In that one instant, our entire summer went on hold.  Of course, we didn't know that at the time. We were unloading the car and he had hands full, and I had even more stuff I was lugging, and down he went on the front step.

At first he said he was okay. He just needed to sit down. But then when 20 minutes went by and his arm still hurt, I convinced him to go to Urgent Care. We weren't even halfway there when he said, "I think I need to go to the ER."

Boy, did we luck out. He was immediately given an ER cubicle and within less than an hour we had the verdict. Of course, Mr. L didn't know what it meant, but I did because I'd once written a story with a character who had a dislocated shoulder.  He was in agony, but he said, "It hurts," because that's just his way. They knocked him out, put the arm back in the socket and said, "Six to eight weeks--unless you need surgery." (We find out today.)

So the rest of the summer is now on hold. Even the garden, he said.

Whoa! DEAL BREAKER!  Okay, we can't put in the annuals we ALWAYS put in around the pool, but there was no way I was going to go the entire summer without flowers.

My veggie garden.  : (

We're now three weeks behind and our yard is a wreck. By now, Mr. L would have turned over my veggie garden and we would have planted sweet peas, tomatoes, and potatoes.  This year it's a weed patch. (BTW, my weed sprayer is NOT filled with herbicide; it's filled with double strength vinegar (available from Amazon). I don't put poison in my garden or on my grass.)

Allium.

Luckily, our perennials are blooming. We've already had two of the rhododendrons bloom, and now our purple puff balls. (Allium.) Alas, we lost three rhodos and an azalea due to winter. But our clematis is thriving, despite the fact we got rid of our old arbor (where it kinda sorta lived) and built a new one (the white one above) just before Mr. L's accident.  My brother helped us (well, me) put the stakes in so it won't blow away (again). (Okay, he did most of the work and I helped.) The clematis voluntarily climbed the fence (which it never did before and we always had to coax it to climb the old arbor) and is doing fabulous. I expect triple the flowers this year.

The only HEALTHY rhubarb plant in my yard. The rest are tiny.

My mother had a HUGE stand of rhubarb and after she passed away last summer, I knew that if I didn't relocate some of it, I'd never have rhubarb crisp or chutney ever again. But I think I went to far transplanting it, because her stand is next to nothing this year, and only one of the five plants I relocated has thrived.

The roses aren't doing much of anything yet, but I'm hopeful we'll have something beautiful to look at in the next month or so.

I knew Mr. L (who is a flower nut) would NOT be happy with no annuals, so on our errands Wednesday, I took us (since he can't drive) to two garden centers (calling them nurseries makes me think they'll be babies growing in the dirt) where we bought a bunch of stuff -- if we can't do the garden around the pool, we can at least fill our urns and big pots with flowers. Of course, there were a few stumbling blocks.  One of the pots had BEAUTIFUL yellow self-seeded pansies (from last year), and Mr.L wanted me to rip them out for petunias. (I LOVE pansies--much more than I love petunias, so in they stayed. I was, after all, doing all the work!)  One of the pots had self-seeded lettuce, too. "Rip it out!" he said. Nope, I just planted the new seeds around them.

Self-Seeded leaf lettuce.

So now we at least have flowers in our urns and when we sit in our enclosed porch, we can see the four urns filled with colorful petunias, pinks, nasturtiums.

Aren't my self-sown yellow pansies GORGEOUS?

The landscaper we use will come and weed the front and back flower beds (and oy! I had better sell a heck of a lot of books to pay for it), but we will have a tidy yard once again. But I can't wait the 2-3 weeks on their timeline. I will have to weed my veggie patch myself otherwise we won't be eating tomatoes until late October. But it will be a small price to pay.

Mr. Lonely Zucchini

Although ... I'm giving up on certain plants because I can't bear it when the groundhogs, bunnies, and other critters eat them. This year I bought a single zucchini plant. We'll see if it will tolerate growing in a container.

Having flowers and enjoying them is a very simple pleasure in life, one I wasn't about to give up no matter what our circumstances.

More stuff to plant.

What have you got growing in your garden?

A junking I will go!

One of my favorite summer activities is heading out for yard sales on Saturday mornings.Today is the BIG sale in Lyons, NY. It's one neighborhood and I try not to miss it. Okay, the last couple of years it hasn't been as good, but they still sell Zweigle's hot dogs (for Mr. L -- and he eats it at 9 am), fried dough (that's for me!), and I get such great stuff. (Like bracelets, pictures, and books.)

Yesterday, I stopped at a sale and bought these beauties. Aren't they adorable?

They're only 6 inches tall. I haven't decided where they'll go yet, but I will find the perfect spot for them ... eventually. Since I no longer have a booth in an antiques co-op, I only buy what I fall in love with.

What do YOU look for at yard sales?

Getting my hands dirty

"Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul."
--Luther Burbank

I'm getting a late start, but we WILL have a garden this year. Cosmos are among my favorites. What do you have growing in your garden?

Take a trip back in time ...

NOW AVAILABLE:

My latest story is a bit of a departure for me as it's a police procedural. I hope you'll give it a try.

OFF SCRIPT:  It’s 1979. Before cell phones. Before computers. Before the World Wide Web. LA Detectives Robbie Howard and Danny Wallace solve crimes the old fashioned way, by relentless legwork. Multiple deaths on the lot of a movie studio look like your average murder-suicide. At least that’s what someone wants everyone to think. It takes dogged determination for Howard and Wallace to write off a Hollywood killer.

Available for:
Kindle | Kindle Worldwide
iBooks | Kobo | Nook | Smashwords

If you like it, I hope you'll consider reviewing OFF SCRIPT on your favorite online review site (or two)!

Cupcakes for everybody!

Hey, today is my character--Jeff Resnick's--birthday. I've written twice about his birthday, and neither day was happy for him. So today I'm wishing him a happy birthday with his family, his girlfriend, Maggie, and a big slice of cake (or at least a couple of cupcakes).

Your taste buds will love this!

Back in March, one of my readers posted a video blog (vlog) talking about making fried rice. I knew back then that I would HAVE to make the "recipe" for myself some-when soon. But first I had to have the main ingredients on hand to do it.

Well, that happened this week. Mr. L and I bought a very nice pork roast last week, but we knew we couldn't eat it right away, so off to the freezer it did go.

We come from families who used to have a big Sunday dinners, so we waited it for Sunday and roasted it. But since I knew we'd have a TON of leftovers,and I remembered Loremil's fried rice recipe, I decided to make a big pot of basmati rice the same day. You see, fried rice "comes good" when the rice has been made the day before.

So, I tossed a cup of rice into two cups of water, brought it to a roiling boil, and let it sit there for three full minutes. Then I turned off the burner, covered the pot, and let it sit for about 45 minutes.  (You don't even need to let it sit that long--30 minutes usually does it, but I had other stuff to do.)

Once the rice cooled a bit, I put it in the fridge and forgot about it ... until the next day.

Loremil’s Fried Rice
Ingredients
1 cup basmati rice, cooked and set aside for a day
3 eggs, beaten well
Vegetable oil
1 large carrot, diced (optional)
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
Steak seasoning or garlic-pepper seasoning
White pepper (optional)
½ cup diced ham or pork
1½-2 tablespoons soy sauce
½ cup frozen peas (peas and carrot, or mixed vegetables)

Put day-old cooked (basmati) rice in a big mixing bowl and break up. (Wet your hands before breaking it up or use a spoon.)

Whisk the eggs and cook them in a fry pan with a little vegetable oil. Season with the garlic salt, steak seasoning, and white pepper.  When the eggs are half done, turn them over.  When thoroughly cooked, cut up into strips or snip with cooking shears.

In another fry pan, add a little vegetable oil and brown the pork or ham until crispy.  Add the carrots, onions, and garlic. Stir, but don’t let them burn. Add seasoning to taste. Let the vegetables cook until the onions are translucent but still a little hard.

Add the rice and more seasoning to taste.

Combine the rice, the vegetables, and the eggs. Add the soy sauce.  Add the frozen peas and stir.

Lower the heat.  Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes. Then raise temp to med-high for 5-6 minutes to brown and crisp everything up.

Serve as a main or side dish.

I must admit, this was the BEST fried rice I've ever eaten in my life (and I've eaten a lot), and I think it was because I may have put a tad more garlic in it than most restaurants use.

Okay, it's a little fussy to make, but the results will be well worth it.

If you'd like to see Loremil make this dish, just click this link to see her video.

What's your favorite "ethnic" recipe?

The best big sister

Angelica -- love her or hate her, she's here to stay.

Who?  Angelica Miles from the Booktown Mysteries.

When I started the first book, Murder is Binding, I had no idea Angelica was going to show up and be a perpetual thorn in her sister Tricia's side from then on.  I thought I had an idea of who Tricia would be, but Angelica continues to not only surprise Tricia, but me, too!

The Miles sisters carry a LOT of baggage.  They come across and two pretty straight forward people (except for the fact Tricia seems to stumble over a lot of dead bodies while running her vintage mystery store, Haven't Got a Clue).  The issues started and seemed to be on the way to being solved, but then more kept popping up.

Like the secret life Angelica led for many years.  The things she'd kept from not only Tricia, but other members of their family.

Tricia always thought of her sister as a bullying narcissist. But that wasn't true at all, and with every book, Tricia's awe in the things her sister can do continues to grow. You see, she always thought she was the "good" sister. These days, she's not so sure.

One of my favorite aspects of Angelica's personality is her love of cooking. She's changed my life. You see, before I started writing the Booktown books, I didn't like to cook. Tricia and I seemed to have a lot in common.  Then my editor asked for recipes. Uh-oh!

Let Angelica loose in the kitchen and suddenly she's cooking for friends and family. He desire to feed the world grew to the extent that she felt the need to open a restaurant. But she didn't want it to eat up her whole life -- so Booked for Lunch only serves ... lunch!  But even that wasn't enough.  She wanted to become a cookbook author.  She worked hard and voila! She became a nationally bestselling cookbook author. (All the recipes in all the booktown books are available on my website. You can find one from every book here.)

Now, like Angelica, I find myself chopping carrots, onions ... whatever, and enjoying myself. Something I never had the patience for has suddenly become fun. And I'm cooking from scratch.  Yesterday Mr. L and I decided what kind of cake he would like for his upcoming birthday. He said, "you can buy a spice cake mix."  I don't think so.

Sometimes when I'm in a fix, I say to myself, "What would Angelica do?" (She's really much, much smarter than me. Well, than just about everyone.) She's got a big ego, but she's also got the biggest heart. t's never more apparent than in the next Booktown Mystery, Title Wave.

Tricia and Angelica leave Booktown behind for some much needed R&R. Naturally they choose a Mystery Lovers cruise, where they can ponder whodunnit in deck chairs while sipping colorful drinks and soaking up some rays. But the fun is cut short when a fellow passenger is murdered for real. Is the killer a famous mystery author, one of her fans, or a member of the ship’s crew? As Tricia tries to find the killer before they reach port, she may be cruising for a bruising...

It comes out on June 14th in hardcover, ebook, and on audio, and is available for preorder now.  Click here for links.

What would you like to see Angelica do next?

Look out, Telenia: Amanda Shelton is on the loose!

I'm a mystery writer.  I write mysteries ... except when I don't.

I've also written sweet romance, women's fiction, and sorta kinda action/adventure/fantasy. The latter would be my Tales of Telenia series.

This week I'm happy to relaunch the series, which has been on hiatus for several years. I kept putting off writing the third book because, let's face it--the first two weren't doing all that well. Why? Is it because they're bad books? I don't think so--and apparently neither do the (extremely) small but vocal audience begging me to write the next book. So it's a series in search of an audience. (And if you can help me find it, I would be truly grateful.)

As part of the releaunch, I decided to get new covers. I also decided that the name of the first book wasn't exactly helping sales. Threshold? What did that mean? To me, it meant that crash-landing on a gray and orange rock known as Telenia meant that my heroine, Amanda Shelton, was on the threshold of a new life.  But after talking to my "focus group," I thought STRANDED was a better title (and hope you do, too).

They new covers are up with all the ebook online distributors. Next up, changing the print and audio covers. (For audio, we have to re-record the opening and closing on Stranded. And if you haven't heard Steven Barnett's wonderful performance of Stranded and Journey, you're missing out on something good!)

You can find out about all the books by checking out my website.  Click here.

And even if you don't like adventure-fantasy -- please try the sample chapters available on all the ebook retailer sites. You just might like Amanda!

When I want to lose weight -- I eat this for lunch

For many years I practically bragged that I didn't like to cook. I'm rather impatient and cooking takes time.  I did like to bake, but cooking?  Not so much.

And then my father passed away and my mother stopped cooking for herself.  She would eat a microwaved poached egg and toast, or heat up a frozen fish fillet in the toaster oven, and that was about all. It was up to my brother and me to make sure she was eating something with nutrition. It turns out that my brother is a pretty darn good cook. I needed to step up to the plate.

Something my Mum liked was egg drop soup from the Chinese take-away around the corner. I shudder when I think of that container of greasy goop that passed for egg drop soup. I needed to find a healthier recipe.  The one I now use takes about five minutes to make and is practically fat-free. (The time sink is getting the chicken stock up to a boil.)

Ingredients
4 cups chicken broth or stock
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional)
2 teaspoons seasoned rice vinegar
salt, to taste 
2 green onions, (spring onions, scallions) green parts only, thinly sliced

In a saucepan, bring the chicken broth to a boil. Add the sugar, salt, and the rice wine or dry sherry if using. Cook for about another minute. Remove from the heat. Gradually stir in the egg white, stirring in one direction only. Chopsticks work well for this if you have them. Garnish with the green onion and serve.

Yield: 2-4 servings
I make this for lunch several times a month. It's very low in calorie (I don't even put the sugar in it--instead using more of the rice vinegar).

Do you have a fast, easy recipe you use on a regular basis?

Welcome to Stoneham, NH

Stoneham, NH is the setting for my Booktown Mysteries. It's a very pretty little village very close to the New Hampshire and Massachusetts state lines.  Back in 1822, the village was founded by Hiram Stone, who owned a granite quarry. 

The village was falling into disrepair until Bob Kelly, the then-president of the local Chamber of Commerce, recruited a number of used booksellers to come to the village. Among them, was Tricia Miles, who opened the vintage mystery bookstore, Haven't Got a Clue. It was Bob's vision that Stoneham should be known as BOOKTOWN.

Hay on Wey mystery bookshop.

What's rather odd about that is that Bob was never a big reader. What he was is an operator. He saw an online story about Hay on Wey, a little village in Wales that is full of bookstores (and antiques and other charming shops). Bob also became romantically involved with Tricia's sister, Angelica ... but that's another story.

The Chamber of Commerce has always been behind the village's rebirth, and that continues even though Bob is no longer its president. That job fell to Angelica Miles after a bitter election (and after she and Bob broke up).

For years, Stoneham was known as the "safest village in New Hampshire," but that changed when prosperity arrived--soon after the bookstores opened. A lot of people say that changed once Tricia Miles arrived. You see, she seems to have a knack for finding the recently deceased (and in some cases, the just-about-to-be deceased). After Tricia found her second body, she became known as "the village jinx," a title she loathes.

Since crime picked up, it was decided that Stoneham should try harder for another distinction: Prettiest Village in New Hampshire. Should being the operative word. That should be an easy title to win, considering how lovely the shops are, and all the beautiful hanging baskets of flowers that line Main Street (as well as the urns in front of every store) every summer. However, one year, someone was determined to make sure the village wouldn't be in the running.

Despite the bodies piling up, Stoneham really is a very nice place to visit. There are restaurants (The Bookshelf Diner, Booked for Lunch, and the Brookside Inn), a pub (the Dog Eared Page), and of course, many bookstores.

If you haven't already visited, try reading Murder Is Binding.  The village welcomes all new visitors.

If you have visited, what's your favorite thing about Booktown?

If you have a cool (or cold) night--this is perfect.

While we're already deep into spring, Mother Nature doesn't seem to have noticed. We had frost earlier this week, which gave me a hankering for some good English comfort food.  I read a bunch of recipes for Shepherd's Pie and Cottage Pie and US recipes just weren't going to cut it, so I went to the BBC to find 3 different recipes--and all were quite different. I picked one and had to make some adaptations.  (Example:  Finding ground lamb around here was going to be a BIG problem, so I decided to go for Cottage Pie, which uses mince ... er, I mean hamburger.)

Last summer I found a really cool, OLD casserole dish that I knew would be perfect for this dish.
Here're the ingredients:

 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
 1 large onion, finely chopped
 2 medium carrots, diced
 2 stalks celery
 1 cup frozen peas
 1 pound hamburger
 1 tablespoon plain flour
 2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
 3 tablespoons tomato puree or sauce
 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
 16 fluid ounces of or beef stock
 salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the mashed potatoes
 1½ pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into halves or quarters
 ¼ cup milk
 2-3 tablespoons butter
 1 egg yolk
  

 In a large frying pan, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and fry the hamburger, stirring, until browned all over. While the meat is frying, break up any lumps with the back of the spoon.  Add the flour and stir. Mix well and add the thyme, Worcestershire sauce and stir. Set aside.

 Boil the potatoes.
 
 
 Deglaze the hamburger pan with a little stock. and saute the onions, carrots, celery, and stock. Cook until the onions and carrots are soft.  (About ten minutes).  Add the peas and the tomato sauce.

 Preheat the oven to 400°F.


Add the cooked hamburger to the veggies and bring to a high simmer, adding a pinch of salt and pepper, stirring regularly.  Once it's all heated through, put it in the casserole dish.

For the mashed potatoes, boil the potatoes until tender (about 10 minutes). Drain, add the milk, butter and egg yolk, then mash until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
 
 Spread the mashed potatoes on top, smooth over and drag a fork over the top for decoration.

 Put the dish into the oven and cook until the surface is golden-brown. (About 40 minutes.)

 And here's a picture of my dinner.

 Serves 4 good sized portions.  Yum!  Enjoy! (And you just know this recipe is going to end up in one of my books, right?)

 What's your idea of comfort food on a COLD day???

How I got me a couple of horses

A running gag in the Booktown Mystery series I write (as Lorna Barrett) is that the protagonist, Tricia Miles, is a jinx. She keeps finding dead bodies, and some bad luck, too, and the nickname has stuck.

Could I be a jinx?  Maybe ... I'll tell you why. But first, a little history.

My aunt and uncle are animal people.  For as long as I can remember, they have always adopted pets nobody wants--usually old dogs, cats, and in the past--and present--they have also sponsored retired racehorses. They donate monthly to Redwings Horse Sanctuary.  (You may already feel you know my aunt.  She's become a character in my Booktown Mysteries:  Michele Fowler.)

Having read just about every book Dick Francis wrote about horse racing, the idea of helping retired racing horses fascinated me.  We have a couple of race courses near where I live, and I know that the life of a horse who isn't in the running for the Kentucky Derby can be pretty miserable. That's why I so liked the idea of sponsoring horses who have worked hard and deserve a rest.

I recently got the Cracker Box Palace (Farm Animal Rescue and Sanctuary) newsletter (you can read it here). I've been donating to them for quite a few years now, watching as they started out as a small rescue entity, and growing until now they are able to do a lot more good work. Unfortunately, there are far too many animal cruelty cases in Wayne County, NY, but Cracker Box Palace always steps up and takes as many of the animals as they can. Not only do they have horses, but pigs, goats, chickens, rabbits and often end up taking in cats and dogs, too.

"Tuna"

The last newsletter had pictures of a couple of older horses. Tuna and Buddy. When I saw Tuna's picture, it was love at first sight.  His owner had died and he and a bunch of cats and dogs ended up at Cracker Box Palace. I knew when I saw Tuna's picture that I had to sponsor him.  I was feeling flush that day (had just gotten paid my twice-yearly check from my publisher), so I decided to not only sponsor Tuna, but Buddy, too.

Tuna was 24 years old and had a heart murmur. I figured that because he was so old, maybe nobody would want to sponsor him. So I wrote the check and sent it off.  My family's cottage is just a few miles from the farm, so I figured I might buy a big bag of carrots and go visit my horses next month.

"Buddy"

But I got a phone call from the director of the farm on Tuesday saying that Tuna had passed away on Saturday, which was a shock to all since he was doing well. He was gaining weight and had just had his hooves trimmed. It broke my heart to hear the news. They have a horsey graveyard and Tuna was buried there.  : ( 

Hearing this news got me to thinking. Am I like Tricia? Was my sponsoring poor Tuna  the kiss of death? (I sure hope not.)

Fortunately, Buddy is doing well, and they will transfer my sponsorship to another horse. His name is Amp and he's a retired racehorse. His windpipe collapsed and he could no longer race. (Horses are a lot more delicate than most people think.) Because of this, he can't "ney!" Cherie said it sounds funny when he tries. I am happy to help Amp have a happy retirement. Too many former race horses end up as horse meat in Japan. (I kid you not!)

So, now my job is to find a place that sells carrots in bulk. I will try to visit my horses next month, and when I do, I'll take pictures and share them with you.

Have you ever thought about sponsoring a horse?  Do you donate to animal rescue sites?

Bet you didn't know I could write one of these ...

It's a fact: 2015 was not a good writing year for me. In fact, it wasn't a good year at all. (The end of 2014 wasn't much better.)  My mother got sick and died. That put a huge crimp in my writing life, and she would have been appalled to know she was the cause. Every day she would ask me: "Did you get your words today?"

So, this year I've been busting my buns to turn that around. So far this year I've finished a couple of writing projects, and I'm currently juggling two others, with two more on the schedule to be finished by year''s end.

What's my latest?  Off Script, which is currently up for pre-order and will be available on May 24th.
This is something I'm not known for writing: a police procedural.

It’s 1979. Before cell phones. Before computers. Before the World Wide Web. LA Detectives Robbie Howard and Danny Wallace solve crimes the old fashioned way, by relentless legwork. Multiple deaths on the lot of a movie studio look like your average murder-suicide. At least that’s what someone wants everyone to think. It takes dogged determination for Howard and Wallace to write off a Hollywood killer.

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I hope you'll give Robbie and Danny a chance.

Happy Book Day to my friends!

It's always a happy day when friends have new books out.

BREACH OF CRUST by Ellery Adams
Plate up another slice of Southern magic and mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Lemon Pies and Little White Lies . . .

PIE SHELLS AND DEATH BELLES

Ella Mae LeFaye’s delicious pies are still drawing long lines—as well as the attention of Beatrice Burbank, president of the Camellia Club, a philanthropic organization comprised of high-society Southern ladies from the charming and affluent town of Sweet Briar, Georgia. To ensure the success of their centennial dessert cookbook, Bea hires Ella Mae to teach the tasty tricks of her trade to the club’s members at their annual retreat. Eager to work on new recipes for customers with food allergies and dietary restrictions, Ella Mae readily agrees.

But when Ella Mae finds Bea’s body floating in Lake Havenwood, she wonders what she’s gotten herself mixed up in. Someone certainly wanted Bea to eat humble pie, and the retreat offers no shortage of unsavory characters, including Ella Mae’s longtime nemesis, Loralyn Gaynor. Ella Mae definitely doesn’t need magic to tell her she must find the killer before someone else gets panned.
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BREAKING FOR BODIES by Duffy Brown
Evie Bloomfield puts the pedal to the metal—in the latest Cycle Path mystery from the national bestselling author of Geared for the Grave.

Moving from Los Angeles to small, picturesque Mackinac Island to work in a bike shop might seem crazy, but Evie knows it’s the best decision she’s ever made. That’s not to say she’s gotten rid of all her stress; after all, the upcoming Lilac Festival has everyone in town riding in circles.

But things really go downhill when a ferry full of tourists—including Evie’s friend Fiona’s former boss, the editor of a sleazy rag in LA—arrives on the island. No one knows why Peephole Perry came all the way to Mackinac, but things aren’t looking good for Fiona when Peep is found dead. Now Evie has to gear up and get a grip on the truth if she wants to clear her friend’s name...
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