Friday, April 28, 2017

Finicky Friday - BEEF AND BLUE CHEESE STUFFED MUSHROOMS




BEEF AND BLUE CHEESE STUFFED MUSHROOMS

Hey everyone, time for Finicky Friday again! These perfectly bite-sized mushrooms are stuffed with a savory blend of ground beef, blue cheese, and chives.


Total Recipe Time: 40 to 50 minutes
Makes 36 to 40 mushrooms



INGREDIENTS

1/2 pound Ground Beef 

1/4 teaspoon salt

36 to 40 small button or cremini mushrooms (about 1-1/2 to 2-inch diameter)

1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese

1/4 cup soft whole wheat bread crumbs

3 tablespoons minced chives

1/2 teaspoon steak seasoning blend 

Minced fresh chives (optional) 



INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 375°F. Remove and reserve stems from mushrooms. Season mushroom caps with salt; set aside. Mince stems to yield 1/2 cup; discard remaining stems.

Combine Ground Beef, minced stems, blue cheese, bread crumbs, 3 tablespoons chives and steak seasoning. Spoon beef mixture evenly into mushrooms.

Place stuffed mushrooms on rack in broiler pan. Bake in 375°F oven 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with additional chives, if desired.



~Test Kitchen Tips


Cooking times are for fresh or thoroughly thawed Ground Beef. Ground Beef should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160ºF. Color is not a reliable indicator of Ground Beef doneness.

Thursday, April 27, 2017

Winner of the In Enemy Hands contest!



Sorry I'm so late with this y'all! Time just got away from me, with all we've had going on here lately. *shakes head* I really hope we don't have to do with whole car/truck shopping deal again any time soon. Plus, trying to get used to a new car after not driving for so long has been... interesting. It's like learning to drive all over again. It's exhausting.

So! The winner is: Laurie P! Congrats!! Email has been sent. :)
~M




Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Release date for Texting, AutoCorrect, and A Prius

Hey y'all! Got the email last night for the release date on Texting, AutoCorrect, and A Prius! It's June 28th, which is a bit earlier than I thought. So, it'll be on the Coming Soon page at DsP by the end of May.

I've seen the cover too. It's really cute and fun. The novella is based on a FB meme. Y'all might have seen it, lol...



Blurb Draft:

Clay McDonald finds the perfect car on Craigslist and is quick to send the seller a text:
Is your penis still for sale?

AutoCorrect strikes again. Damn—he should’ve proofread. How embarrassing.

Luckily Darrell Anderson, a mechanic and the owner of the Prius, is more amused than offended, and the two men agree to meet. When they do, the attraction is instant, and a date is arranged. But a series of mishaps, misunderstandings, and misplaced assumptions sorely test the new relationship.

In a contemporary romantic comedy about the perils of technology and dating in the modern world, a text that went so wrong might just lead to something so right—but only if Clay can refrain from jumping to conclusions and give love the benefit of the doubt.

Sunday, April 16, 2017

Easter Giveaway!




Hey y'all! Happy Easter! I’m giving away an ebook copy of In Enemy Hands. Contests will end next Sunday, April 23rd. Just leave a comment... and make sure to leave your email addy so I can contact you if you’re the winner. :) 

~M






Friday, April 14, 2017

Finicky Friday - Chocolate Bunny Treats




Chocolate Bunny Treats

Hey everyone, time for Finicky Friday again! Recipe by: Rice Krispies "Make these googly-eyed bunnies, complete with frosted cottontails, with your kids, or put the bunnies in their Easter baskets."



40 m

4 servings

694 cals

Prep 20 m

Ready In 40 m



Ingredients

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 (10 ounce) package regular marshmallows

6 cups KELLOGG'S® RICE KRISPIES® cereal

Canned frosting or decorating gel

Assorted candies



Directions

In large saucepan melt chocolate morsels and butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.

Add KELLOGG'S(R) RICE KRISPIES(R) cereal. Stir until well coated.

Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 15 x 10 x 1-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cool slightly.

Using large circle cookie cutter, very small circle cookie cutter and rabbit head cookie cutter coated with cooking spray cut cereal mixture into shapes. For each rabbit, attach one rabbit head shape to top of large circle shape with frosting. Attach one small circle for tail to each. 

Decorate with frosting and/or candies. Best if served the same day. 



Footnotes
MICROWAVE DIRECTIONS: In microwave-safe bowl heat chocolate morsels, butter and marshmallows on HIGH for 3 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Follow steps 2 thru 4 above. Microwave cooking times may vary.
Notes: For best results, use fresh marshmallows. 1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow creme can be substituted for marshmallows.
Diet, reduced calorie or tub margarine is not recommended.

Store no more than two days at room temperature in airtight container. To freeze, place in single layer on wax paper in airtight container. Freeze for up to 6 weeks. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

DsP 25% sale for tax season



 "Tax Relief" - From April 12 to 17,  the entire store will be on sale for 25% off. Link for my DsP books: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/authors/ma-church-525

Saturday, April 8, 2017

Finicky Friday - Easy Tortilla Casserole





Easy Tortilla Casserole
Hey everyone, time for Finicky Friday again! Sorry I’m a little late. Busy, busy week. :)


Ingredients
1 medium white onion, sliced
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 medium zucchini or other summer squash (10 ounces total), thinly sliced
2 cups salsa
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
4 cups torn, stemmed spinach leaves (about 5 ounces)
8 ounces tortilla chips (about 8 cups, loosely packed)
1/2 cup finely grated Mexican queso anejo, Parmesan or Romano cheese (2 ounces)


Direction 
In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, cook the onion in oil until tender, but not brown. Add zucchini. Cook and stir until the vegetables begin to brown.
Add salsa, broth and spinach. Bring to boiling. Add the tortilla chips and stir to coat. Remove from heat. Cover and let mixture stand for 5 minutes.
Very carefully stir the mixture to check that the chips have softened nicely. (If there's still too much crunch remaining, dribble in a little extra broth and return the mixture in saucepan to heat for a few minutes.)
Sprinkle with cheese. Serve from the pan. Or you can spoon mixture onto warm plates or into shallow bowls in the kitchen before sprinkling with cheese. Makes 4 to 6 main-dish servings.

Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 4, sodium (mg) 850, cal. (kcal) 280, fiber (g) 6, carb. (g) 30, chol. (mg) 10, Fat, total (g) 16

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

At Sixes and Sevens is done

So, yay, At Sixes and Sevens is done. This is Aidric's story and the next book in the Fur, Fangs, and Feline series. Here are my notes on the book:



The Werewolves

*(models name is actually Michael Demello)






The Alpha Werewolf - Carter Lovelock of the Dark Lake Pack
Height: 6’4/muscular
Weight: 260
Face: His face was round and strong, with a square jaw. Has black scruffy beard and a diamond earring in one ear.
Hair: bald but has hair on chest, arms, legs. Also has a beard, but it’s not thick. Hair color is black. (Shaved his head when he was younger because he didn’t want responsibility of being an Alpha. Later, when he was older, he liked how other werewolves couldn’t tell exactly what he was even though they could fill his power, so he kept shaving
Eyes: Hazel/more of a golden brown in human form
Job: Alpha
Age: looks 35/165yrs. Been looking for his mate for the last sixty-five years
His scent: woody notes of oak and sandalwood
Drives: Chevy truck and new, black Corvette
Personality: arrogant, but then most werewolves are.
Pack name:  Dark Lake; also lives several hours away.
Worship:  werewolves worship the god Fenrir

Siblings:
Abraham (Bram) Lovelock. Mated to Marlena. Keegan is their child.
Missy Gordon. Mated to Darius Gordon. Jack is their child. Missy is part of Carter’s pack. Carter calls Missy ‘Trouble’ as a pet name.


~Carter lives several hours away from the West Falls Clowder. Dark Lake is the town in his territory. It’s named after the lake in his territory. He’s bisexual -- assumed position thirty years ago.

Pack-50 large

2 betas:
Temple - Head Beta Temple King - muscular but not as heavily built as Alpha Lovelock. His hair was a dark brown and to his shoulders. His eyes were a deep chocolate brown and tan. Full lips and high cheekbones. Goatee. Two years younger than Carter.

Shea - Beta Shea Yates - muscular as Alpha Lovelock. Hair is dark brown and straight - top of shoulders. His eyes are brown. Very pale skin. High cheekbones and a widow’s peak. Goatee, lips are thinner. Two years younger than Carter.  


* * * * 

Missy Gordon
Younger sister by five yrs. Mated to Darius Gordon, a delta. Jack Gordon is their child. Had him very young. Jack hooked up with Marshell and became to stalk  him, Lawson, and Remi, destroyed Marshell’s rental. And entered clowder lands without permission. Jack’s mate is the hunter that attacked Marshell, Baylor. Jack ended up saving Marshell when the hunter attacked him that last time with a tranq. Jack’s wolf  has a dull-brown coat and long lanky legs. Janelle called Jack an overgrown puppy when Jack attacked Heller. Marshell stop seeing Jack because Jack made some remarks about Lawson and Marshell didn’t like. Marshell also didn’t like how obsessed cleaning Jack was becoming and broke it off with him.
Missy is part of Carter’s pack. Carter calls Missy ‘Trouble’ as a pet name. 

Weight: 145
Height: 5’10
he Hair: Hair color is a lighter brown with golden highlights.
Eyes: Hazel/golden
Age: looks 33/ 160yrs

Mate: Darius Gordon


Son: Jack. He’s the one who stalked Marshell. Jack’s mate is the hunter, Baylor.


* * * *

Abraham  (Bram) Lovelock
Younger brother by ten yrs to Carter. He’s mated to a female, Marlena, but he lives in another werewolf pack: Boulder Rock pack. He doesn’t hold a rank. He and Carter have a strained relationship. Abraham left because he did not want to grow up in the shadow of his Alpha big brother. Last time he saw brother was a year ago for Bram’s son’s tenth birthday. Keegan Lovelock is his son’s name.

Nickname: Bram
Weight: 200
Height: 6’2
Hair: brown with golden streaks
Eyes: Hazel/Golden Brown
Age: looks 30/155yrs

Mate: Marlena (she’s going to be killed in a car accident leaving her son with Abraham)

Son: Keegan - 10 yrs old in human years. Golden brown/hazel eyes and hair




* * * *

Sabrina Womack - Carter’s current girlfriend. Dark brown hair, chocolate brown eyes, pale skin, banging body. Father is an elder. She is manipulative, spoiled, and dangerous.



* * * *
 
Delaney Womack
Sabrina’s older brother. Older by two years. Delaney’s wolf is a light gray with brown’s mixed in his coat
Eyes: chocolate brown
Hair: dark brown


* * * *

Other Wolf Character name 

*Daniel McGee - Alpha of the Boulder Rock Pack (Patsy is his wife) Pack where Bram is.

*Ryane was a friend to Marlena. She was shot too, but survived

* Fanny and Shirley are the cooks. Fanny is an older wolf.

* Alpha Wynn Covington of the Blue Hills pack. Arrange to have Aidric attacked. Dude is nits

*Wes (short for Wesley) Campbell - werewolf who told Shea that Jack had made it Baylor and started the transformation. Friend to Jack. He was the one who was sent for help when Baylor started having trouble breathing after the mating. Younger wolf.

*Evan – Delta. Made the ‘pussy’ remark to Aidric at lunch. This calls Aidric to get upset and leave to go take a walk. Evan was also with Carter when they found Aidric in the tree after the first attack. When Carter found out he punched Evan in the mouth.

*Nash – Delta. Also with Evan and Carter after the first attack on Aidric. Apologize to Aidric for what Nash said.

*Jack Gordon (real name)/ Gordon Jackson - werewolf stalking Marshell and Remi. his mate is the human hunter Baylor Eads

*Baylor Eads - age 35. Tried to kill Marshell twice. Drives an older-model gray Ford truck wish Marshell and Remi saw while they were eating breakfast one morning. Has light-blue eyes and a narrow nose, wide lips, and strong jawline.

*Trevor Smith – Baylor’s friend who was killed by a Vetala.

*Fanny and Shirley - Dark Lake Pack cook

*Meme and Gerald - Meme set Aidric up and was mean to him

* Faulkner Gains – one of the 7 wolves who attacked Aidric during the full moon hunt. He is taken back to the pack house to question. He dies by Aidric’s hand


* * * *

WEREWOLF MATINGS
A werewolf can lose his mate and still survive, unlike werecats. Werewolves exchanged bites, usually where their shoulder and neck meets, and there’s no time limit. The mating bite usually happens during sex, and the scar stays since the bite mark shows a werewolf is mated. Nobody dies, nobody gets sick. 

When wolves mate humans- the bite infects the human and they take on some of our characteristics. They aren’t able to shift into a wolf, though.

* werecats had to exchange come and blood. Probably will want to top Carter at least once.



Pack house






















Located in the forest on his pack lands. Ultramodern cabin – three levels. visually spectacular. The design grew out of constrictions that become opportunities – such as the incredibly difficult site which drove the building upward and resulted in its being largely lofted out over the ground around it.

A concrete vertical element in the center allows for the drastic cantilevers on each of the three stories of this house, which in turn create open-but-sheltered outdoor spaces below them. From the inside, this creates open interior spaces that thrust out into the forest and create a connection with nature. 

The solid core of the building becomes the main circulation and serves the spaces surrounding it. A combination of steel, concrete, glass, aluminum, maple and bamboo bring together natural materials with modernist choices – synthesizing the contemporary style of the home inside and out with the surrounding natural landscape.



The Clowder

Aidric LeClair - (cat shifter): 
Height: 6’1
Weight: 160
Hair: collar-length wavy, fly away sable brown (has some reds and blacks in it) hair and
Eyes: Lapis blue eyes.
Face: Scruffy with a thin upper lip and full bottom lip. Cute smile. Apple cheeks. A dimple in one cheek that is seen when he smiles
Job: copywriter. Degree in advertising. Works from home
Age: 150 yrs old but looks around 25ish.
His scent: Vanilla/ Vanilla cupcake

Drives: truck with a lift kit.
is one of the 4 betas.
Personality: A little stuffy and anal. Stickler for the rules.




His cat: Mostly black in face with a little brown and red mixed in there. Tortoiseshell is a color pattern, often confused with calico. Tortoiseshell patterns have no white in their coats, just black and brown or red. Calico coats usually have large patches of the three colors, whereas you can see that these tortoiseshell cats have a more blended or flecked appearance. The coloring is caused by a combination of certain genetic traits that mostly occur in females.
Aidric does not respond well when he figures out for werewolf’s mate. In fact, after they meet in Dolf’s kitchen, Aidric turns around and leaves.

Dolf gives Alpha Lovelock Aidric's cell number.

Aidric wonders what he’s done to deserve having a werewolf as a mate. Aidric doesn’t like change. He comes across as being a little bit of a stuffed shirt and born. Aidric is the unrelenting of all of the betas. He slow and steady.

Home: There’s a stream in front of his log cabin






* * * *

Breanna-little sister to Brier.
Height: 5’10
Weight: 145 
Description: long, slightly wavy black hair and big blue eyes. Very pale and clear skin. Straight nose, full pink lips, and nicely sculpted eyebrows 
Job: works at The Perfect Touch Auto Spa and Detailing Shop. Lawson hired her as a favor to Brier. She’s an accountant. Lives in apartment. 
Age: 140 yrs old but looks around 25ish. (Ten years younger than Brier)
Her scent: N/A

Drives:  Maroon Jeep Wrangler.

~4 betas for Dolf’s
Aidric LeClair
Brier Fendon
Remi Ginn
Heller Wirth

Book #1 Dolf and Tal’s book. (Trouble Comes in Threes) 

Book #2 Heller’s book (Behind the Eight Ball) 

Book #3 Remi’s book. Marshell is his mate. (It Takes Two to Tango) 

Book #4 Aidric’s book. (At Sixes and Sevens) 

Book #5 Brier Fendon. 


* * * *
Other characters:
Alpha’s name (Dolf’s dad) – Armonty Hoyer (no longer Alpha. They go to Hawaii to vacation in Tango.)

Monty’s mate – June Hoyer

Tal’s name - Talise Martin

Dolf’s name - Dolfoon Hoyer

Kirk Wells – mate to Tal and Dolf

Heller - mated to Lawson

Remi Ginn - mated to Marshell Foles

Sam Ross – just under 6 feet, collar length dark brown hair that’s often messy and light blue eyes. Mated to Janelle.

Janelle Foles - short, kinky black hair. Her hair was a mass of corkscrews that barely touched her shoulders and her skin was a beautiful, smooth mahogany. Good friend to Lawson. five foot five & rocking figure

Pearl Bowen/Bruce Bowen- her husband who is also a Elder
Mindy Conrad/Lester Conrad – Elder husband

Ann Conrad - Her grandfather is one of our elders. - has a boyfriend. Marshell mentions she needs to meet Janelle. Works at Remi’s shop

Jacko Miles - clowder member who acts like an ass to Lawson in Behind the Eight Ball.

Lanny - Twin who caused trouble at Triggers with Marshell by flirting with him. Called Marshell a player.

Sherry and BJ Adams - new mates who were introduced in Aidric story



  
A Vetala preparing to feed.
§  Paralyzing Venom - Vetala paralyse their victims with a venomous bite. It knocks the victim out cold, and causes a ringing in the ear along with weakened strength.
§  Feeding - Like vampires, they feed on human blood.
§  Super strength - Vetala appear to have enhanced strength that allows them to overpower even well built humans.
Super senses - Vetala appear to possess enhanced hearing, as one was able to detect someone sneaking behind his back.

Silver knife - They can be killed by being stabbed in the heart with a silver knife (Knife must be twisted once to complete and effectively kill). When they die their bodies crumble apart.