Coming soon...

First of all, Happy Halloween! I hope you all have a safe, and fun, Halloween.

I have an awesome treat for you all (appropriate, no?) ; )

I love Thanksgiving and more and more it seems to get lost between Christmas and Halloween displays. So I decided to get together with a few authors, published and unpublished, to give homage to Thanksgiving.

Starting Nov 1st and lasting throughout the month, authors across genres are stopping by to share what they love about Thanksgiving, favorite memories, recipes and traditions.

Please stop by to read these posts and share what you love about Thanksgiving.

SQUEEE!

ALTERED DESTINY was nominated for  RT's October Seal of Excellence!

Hi!

It's been crazy busy around here. I've been spending a lot of time editing--my day job--carting the kids around, checking and helping with homework, doing yard work, and even working on my WIP as well as a few other projects. Note I did not mention housework. The house looks as though 6 children live here. ; )

Sadly, I've also neglected the blog this week. Well, today, I'm cleaning house and posting. Yay! I am also setting up a wonderful treat for all my readers. In November, I've lined up 15 authors who will blog about Thanksgiving. What it means to them, favorite recipes, etc. It's going to fun! Stay tuned for more information. : )

Meanwhile, here is a blog I posted on Everyone Needs a Little Romance.

I love fall. Partly because I love to bake and it’s hot here in the summer. In the fall and winter, I can bake to my heart’s content and heating the house is a good thing!

This is one of my favorite recipes because I took a basic banana bread recipe and fiddled with it over the years until it I made it mine. My husband told me I should enter it in contests. My kids get as excited about banana bread as they do cookies and cake. Best part? It’s easy.

SHAWNA’S BANANA BREAD

4 OVER RIPE BANANAS
4 TABLE SPOONS SOFTENED BUTTER
1 CUP SUGAR
1 EGG
1 1/2 CUP FLOUR
1 TEASPOON SALT
1TEASPOON BAKING SODA

POUR INTO LOAF PAN BAKE AT 325′ UNTIL DONE. ABOUT AN HOUR.

Another thing I like about this recipe is it’s versatile. Although it’s good alone, sometimes, for a special treat, I sprinkle chocolate chips on the top before baking. I’ve even baked this in an 8 X 8 pan, sprinkled instant oatmeal and/or chocolate chips over the top and served it as snack cake. Kids ate it up!

My favorite way to make this is to sprinkle a pouch of instant oatmeal over the top before baking. The best, in my opinion, is maple and brown sugar but experiment—don’t use the apples and cinnamon though, the apples don’t cook in the oven. Chewy.

If you want to get fancy, pour half of the batter in the loaf pan, sprinkle your chosen topping and then add the rest of the mixture, bake as directed.

Enjoy

What is your favorite fall recipe?

There be Monsters!

Today I'm over at Katie Reus's blog talking about vampires and things that go bump in the night. Please stop by and say hi!

(PS: helps when I put the link in, doesn't it?)

Selia

I wrote Selia with one purpose in mind: to make her different.

I didn't want her to be a typical kick-ass heroine, although I did want her to kick some ass. Stereo-types are sometimes hard to avoid, but I really wanted to do my best.

So the first thing I decided, in honor of my sister, was to make her half black. (there is no Africa or America in ALTERED DESTINY so...) However, that is just who she is, so I didn't stress or highlight that fact. But go through the book with that in mind and it's obvious.

The second decision was to make her a virgin. To be fair, I fought it. I mean I write some pretty spicy stuff under a pen name, it felt...weird. But as I examined her situation and character, I couldn't deny that if felt right.

I didn't want Selia to be beautiful. I wanted her striking with a sure knowledge of who she is, and who she isn't. Confidence comes from knowing who you are, not pretending to be more than you are. I think that is beautiful in its own way.

Selia is also a study in contractions. She spends a good part of her life proving to others that she is not her mother's daughter, yet she loves her mother. She is strong because she has to be, because there was no one else to be strong, yet her life is catapulted into chaos by the decisions of others.

 Selia has a determination I admire. Tell her she can't do something and she'll say watch me. That quality also gets her in a lot of trouble.

I have a clear image in my head of what Selia looks like, but I couldn't find anything online that comes close. Well, with the exception of the woman on the book cover. So, for the next month, send me what you think Selia looks like. If there is more than one response, I'll randomly chose one and send the winner a $10 Amazon gift card! Sound good?

Contest will run until November 3rd!