Finicky Friday - Firecracker Milkshake for 4th of July holiday

Welcome to Finicky Friday! Since this is 4th of July holiday in the US, check out this milkshake that promises a firework of explosive flavors for your mouth. 

link: http://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a42978/firecracker-milkshake/

TOTAL TIME: 0:10

LEVEL: EASY

SERVES: 4

INGREDIENTS

1 half g. vanilla ice cream

2-3 drops red food coloring

2-3 drops blue food coloring

DIRECTIONS

Soften ice cream to a soft serve/yogurt texture. Evenly divide ice cream into three bowls.

Place red food coloring in one bowl and blue food coloring in the other, using a whisk beat each bowl until color is well blended.

Layer bottom of glass with red ice cream, then plain vanilla and blue ice cream, using long spoon or knife drag it from the bottom to the top, stirring in between to mix the color (do not overmix).

Optional decorating idea: Finish with whipped cream and red, white and blue confetti

Tuesday Teaser - Bound by Destiny

This is from Bound by Destiny and is Raiden and Dayo's book.

“Dayo! Hey, sweetie!”

“Hey, dad.” Dayo kicked off his boots and sat on the bed. He breathed a silent sigh of relief as he got comfortable. At least the bed was soft.

“Well, I can tell you’re not in your quarters.” Chad made a show of looking at the area behind Dayo. “Nope. Definitely not your quarters. I happen to know you’re not a fan of gold. So, where are you guys?”

“Quai. We’re here to pick up the new mates and scheduled to stay for three days—”

“Wait. Isn’t that the plant mostly covered in snow? It is, isn’t it?”

“You got it.” Dayo pretended to shiver. Truth be known, he didn’t have to pretend much.

Chad tried hide a grin, but he didn’t quite succeed. “Oh, good times. I know how much you love the cold weather.” 

Finicky Friday - Mermaid Lemonade

Mermaid Lemonade

Hey! Time for Finicky Friday

http://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a53044/mermaid-lemonade-recipe/

TOTAL TIME: 0:10

PREP: 0:10

LEVEL: EASY

SERVES: 4

INGREDIENTS

2 c. ice

1/4 c. Blue Curacao

1 c. white rum

2 c. lemonade

4 Lemon Slices, for garnish

8 Maraschino cherries, for garnish

4 paper umbrellas

DIRECTIONS

To four glasses, add ice. Add blue curacao, rum, and lemonade to each glass. Stir to combine. (If you prefer a lot of ice, stir together mixture first, then pour over ice.)

Skewer a lemon slice and two maraschino cherries on each paper umbrella and garnish lemonade.

Fliegende Fellbüschel (Behind the Eight Ball)

Behind the Eight Ball, in German, is up for pre-order at DsP! Release date is July 11th.

https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/fliegende-fellbuschel-by-ma-church-8666-b

and here is book #1:

https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/aller-guten-dinge-sind-drei-by-ma-church-5349-b

It looks like the ebook is already out, but the paperback is due to release June 27th

Tuesday Teaser

This is from Bound by Destiny and is Raiden and Dayo's book.

“Seriously?” Raiden stood at attention next to First Officer Ziffer and Weapons Chief Nair Ance.

“Me?”

“You heard me, Raiden.” Captain Munn sighed. “The Quai know you’re a royal and insist you attend this banquet they’ve planned. In fact, they want you there for the whole three days.”

“Can I point out Dayo is also considered part of the Royal Family? Not just me?”

“He is, but only through your mating. You, on the other hand, are a blood descendent of King Duran.”

“Um, they do know I’m not in direct line to assume kingship, right? I mean, that’s Hamza. He’s the young birthed to Duran and his mate, Jolak.” Raiden resisted the urge to run his finger around the collar of his uniform. Suddenly it was strangling him.

First Officer Lute snorted. “Notice how he calls him Hamza? Not Prince Hamza? And King Duran is just Duran?”

Happy Father's Day!

Finicky Friday - Strawberry Cheesecake Salad

Time for Finicky Friday! This is my kind of salad!

link: http://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a52759/strawberry-cheesecake-salad-recipe/

INGREDIENTS

16 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 c. powdered sugar

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

16 oz. cool whip

16 oz. Strawberries, sliced

2 ripe bananas, sliced

12 oz. raspberries

3 tbsp. crushed graham crackers

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Beat in Cool Whip until combined.

Fold in strawberries, bananas, and raspberries. Transfer to serving bowl and sprinkle top with graham cracker crumbs.

Tuesday Teaser

Okay, I'm going to try to post a teaser from whatever WIP I'm working on each Tuesday. We'll see how this goes lol. This is from Bound by Destiny and is Raiden and Dayo's book. :) It's at 20K as of right now.

~M

Ten earth years ago Raiden mated Dayo, and the two of them immediately went into the Space Academy located on Tah’Nar. It took them four earth years to complete the program, then they were assigned to the Starship Castfore, where they spent almost six years. They transferred to the Starship Unity three earth months ago.

“Then aren’t we fortunate there was an opening aboard, huh?” Dayo winked as he tugged Raiden towards the holodeck doors.

“More than I can say.” Raiden secured his hajar and followed Dayo out.

Together they walked down the corridor, nodding to several shipmates. All different types of races passed them, but that wasn’t unusual for Tah’Narian starships. Even when his dabba was captain, there were other races on his crew.

Dayo was silent as they walked, but Raiden wasn’t worried Dayo was still mad. At least not overly so. Dayo couldn’t hold a grudge if his life depended on it. But now was not the time to discuss the private plans they had for later, though. 

The Pulse Massacre - One Year Later.

For Those We Lost And Those Who Survived: The Pulse Massacre One Year Later.

Looking back at an unspeakable tragedy – and looking ahead for the communities that will never be the same. 

By James Michael Nichols

The pain of June 12 still pangs just as palpably today for Mayra Alvear as it did one year ago.


It’s been twelve months since Omar Mateen entered Pulse nightclub during Pride month 2016 and opened fire with a semi-automatic assault rifle in a three-hour rampage that left 49 people dead – including Alvear’s youngest daughter, Amanda.


It was the worst mass shooting in modern American history, occurring on the LGBTQ club’s Latin night – a targeted attack against queer people of color that sent shockwaves through the LGBTQ community globally.


The time between then and now has held unimaginable grief for many – a daily struggle to make sense of the lives taken and the level of sheer horror and hate that permeated Pulse that morning.


And for Alvear and countless others, that grief has now been harnessed and channeled into a resolute mission: to be a voice for those who were lost ― to ensure that their loved ones are never forgotten, and to bring awareness to the culture of violence and deep-seated bigotry towards minorities permeating the fabric of the United States.


Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pulse-massacre-one-year-later_us_593575cee4b0765bff0f510c

In remembrance

Stanley Almodovar III, 23 years old
Amanda L. Alvear, 25 years old
Oscar A. Aracena Montero, 26 years old
Rodolfo Ayala Ayala, 33 years old
Antonio Davon Brown, 29 years old
Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 years old
Angel Candelario-Padro, 28 years old
Juan Chavez Martinez, 25 years old
Luis Daniel Conde, 39 years old
Cory James Connell, 21 years old
Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25 years old
Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32 years old
Simón Adrian Carrillo Fernández, 31 years old
Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 years old
Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26 years old
Peter Ommy Gonzalez Cruz, 22 years old
Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22 years old
Paul Terrell Henry, 41 years old
Frank Hernandez, 27 years old
Miguel Angel Honorato, 30 years old
Javier Jorge Reyes, 40 years old
Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19 years old
Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30 years old
Anthony Luis Laureano Disla, 25 years old
Christopher Andrew Leinonen, 32 years old
Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 years old
Brenda Marquez McCool, 49 years old
Gilberto R. Silva Menendez, 25 years old
Kimberly Jean Morris, 37 years old
Akyra Monet Murray, 18 years old
Luis Omar Ocasio Capo, 20 years old
Geraldo A. Ortiz Jimenez, 25 years old
Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36 years old
Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32 years old
Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 years old
Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25 years old
Jean Carlos Nieves Rodríguez, 27 years old
Xavier Emmanuel Serrano-Rosado, 35 years old
Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24 years old
Yilmary Rodríguez Solivan, 24 years old
Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34 years old
Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33 years old
Martin Benitez Torres, 33 years old
Jonathan A. Camuy Vega, 24 years old
Juan Pablo Rivera Velázquez, 37 years old
Luis Sergio Vielma, 22 years old
Franky Jimmy DeJesus Velázquez, 50 years old
Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37 years old
Jerald Arthur Wright, 31 years old


#OrlandoUnited

Finicky Friday - Cranberry-Raspberry Salad

Cranberry-Raspberry Salad

Hey everyone, time for Finicky Friday again! 

Ingredients:

1 three ounce package raspberry-flavor gelatin

1 three ounce package lemon-flavor gelatin

1 cup boiling water

1 eight ounce carton dairy sour cream

2 cups raspberry sherbet

1 cup Fresh Cranberry Relish or purchased cranberry-orange relish

*Lettuce leaves (optional)

*Sugared cranberries (optional)

Directions:

Dissolve both gelatins in boiling water. Beat in sour cream with a wire whisk or rotary beater until smooth. Stir in sherbet until smooth. If necessary, chill until partially set. Add cranberry relish. Turn into a 5-cup mold.

Cover and chill 4 to 6 hours or until firm. 

*Unmold onto lettuce-lined platter. Garnish with sugared cranberries, if desired. Makes 8 to 10 servings.




Nutrition Facts (Cranberry-Raspberry Salad)
· Per serving:

· 264 cal.,

· 8 g fat

· 4 g sat. fat,

· 15 mg chol.,

· 73 mg sodium,

· 49 g carb.,

· 1 g fiber,

· 4 g pro.

Link: http://www.bhg.com/recipe/salads/cranberry-raspberry-salad/

Trouble Comes in Threes pre-order - German paperback/ebook

Release date: June 27th

Buy link: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/aller-guten-dinge-sind-drei-by-ma-church-8619-b


Buy the paperback, get the eBook for free! Whenever you buy one of our paperbacks, you get the ebook for free!

Aller guten Dinge sind drei

Buch 1 in der Serie - Fell, Fangzähne und Feliden

Ein Schneesturm im Süden – an Silvester – das kann nur in einer Katastrophe enden. Nach zwei schweren Schicksalsschlägen wartet Kirk nun auf den dritten, als plötzlich zwei Katzen in sein Leben platzen und Schutz vor der Kälte suchen. Kirk nimmt die beiden auf, obwohl er es sich eigentlich nicht leisten kann und die Katzen sich sehr auffällig verhalten. Dolf und Tal machen es sich bei Kirk bequem. Als ihr Mensch beim Holzholen schwer stürzt und sich verletzt, haben die beiden keine andere Wahl, sie müssen offenbaren, was sie sind.

Als Kirk aufwacht, muss er feststellen, dass er keine Katzen, sondern Katzenwandler aufgenommen hat und nicht nur das, er ist ihr Gefährte. Eine Dreierbeziehung, noch dazu mit zwei Katzenwandlern, ist schon schwierig genug, aber bald muss sich Kirk auch noch mit feindseligen Rudelmitgliedern rumärgern, die der Meinung sind, dass sich Wandler nicht mit Menschen einlassen sollten.

Kirk hatte geahnt, dass die beiden Katzen, Dolf und Tal, Ärger bedeuten würden, aber er hat keine Ahnung, was wirklich noch auf ihn zukommen sollte.


Cover Artist: Paul Richmond

Translator: Mona Silberstein
Series Fell, Fangzähne und Feliden | Buch 1

Genres Holiday / M/M/M or More / Werewolves/Shapeshifters

At Sixes and Sevens, the next book in the Fur, Fangs, and Felines series, is under contract

Dreamspinner spins me a dream! Yay! Got the word last night that DsP accepted At Sixes and Sevens. The release date is Oct/Nov. I'm thinking it'll probably come out in November since Dragon's Hoard, the Dreamspun Beyond book, is scheduled to release in October. And ya'll, this is a loooong one too. Close to 90K before DsP edits.


So, a little about At Sixes and Sevens...

Karma is a bitch.

Aidric LeClair was one of the more outspoken betas of the West Falls Clowder when  Dolf reveled he planned to mate with a human named Kirk. Humans mating with werecats? Unthinkable. Little did Aidric know the changes that were about to sweep through the clowder. 

Shortly thereafter, beta Heller found his mate—another human—named Lawson. Each beta seemed to be falling one by one to mated bliss. Not long after, beta Remi mated with the Vetala, Marshell. Then Marshell’s sister, Janelle, mated another clowder member called Sam. When the heir-apparent Dolf assumed Alphaship of the clowder, the elders were in uproar over the changes Dolf wanted to make concerning humans, and other paranormals, joining them. 

Now, thanks to the wolf stalking Marshell, a werewolf Alpha has come to call on the West Falls Clowder to make reparations for the damage his errant pack member caused. 

Aidric’s life takes an unexpected and dramatic turn when he meets Alpha Carter Lovelock of the Dark Lake Pack. Werecats mating humans was bad enough, but now Aidric finds that his mate is none other than a werewolf. An Alpha werewolf at that. What is his goddess Bast thinking? Werewolves are arrogant, violent, and egotistical.

And now Aidric has a decision to make: accept the mate the goddess has blessed him with, or deny the gift she gave him. Aidric’s concerns are not simply based on how inflexible werewolves are either. Werecats are also smaller and weigh less than their doggy counterparts.

Aidric struggles. If he accepts Carter, he has no choice but to give up his clowder. Carter is an Alpha. There’s no hope of him joining Aidric’s clowder, plus there’s the fact that Carter has his own pack. The animosity between cats and dogs is real. Aidric worries if he will be accepted by Carter’s pack. The issues Aidric foresees are indeed real, but there are also some hidden pitfalls he was unaware of: like the fact Carter was involved with a female werewolf named Sabrina who is damned and determined to be the Alpha-mate. Then there is her brother, Delaney, who is also very outspoken in his regard toward Aidric.

Carter Lovelock is in a pickle. He always assumed his mate would be a female werewolf. How else is Carter supposed to carry on his line and retain Alphaship? Sabrina isn’t giving up easily, Delaney’s disagreeable behavior is a thorn in Carter’s side, and some of the other werewolves are purposely going out of their way to make Aidric feel unwelcome, including one of his deltas, Evan.

Carter tries to help Aidric adjust, but things are not going well. If the situation isn't already tense enough, there's the member of Carter's pack who stalked Marshell—a werewolf who just happens to be Carter’s nephew, Jack. Added to the stress is Jack’s mate, Baylor, who is none other than the hunter who tried to kill Marshell.

Even with all the disastrous events in their lives, Carter and Aidric find common ground. Love roots in the turmoil and slowly grows. They work to put their lives back together and bring peace to the pack.

Unfortunately, what little headway they make is destroyed during a full moon hunt. Will it cement their relationship or tear them apart?

Find out in book four of the Fur, Fangs, and Feline series!

Finicky Friday - Hamburger Pie

Hamburger Pie

Hey everyone, time for Finicky Friday again!

Link: http://www.bhg.com/recipe/beef/hamburger-pie/

MAKES: 6 SERVINGS

PREP: 30 MINS

BAKE: 30 MINS 350°F

Ingredients

Mashed Potatoes* or one 24-ounce package refrigerated mashed potatoes

1 ¼ pounds lean ground beef

½ cup chopped onion (1 medium)

¼ teaspoon salt

Dash black pepper

2 ½ cups frozen cut green beans, thawed

1 10 3/4 ounce can condensed tomato soup

½ cup shredded process American cheese (2 ounces)

Directions

Prepare Mashed Potatoes; set aside. In a large skillet cook meat and onion until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat. Add the salt and pepper. Stir in thawed beans and soup; pour into a greased 2-quart rectangular baking dish or casserole.

Spoon Mashed Potatoes in mounds on bean mixture (or, if desired, pipe potatoes using a pastry bag and a large star tip). Sprinkle cheese over the potatoes. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree F oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until mixture is bubbly and cheese begins to brown. Makes 6 servings.

THREE OPTIONS FOR MASHED POTATOES:

1. Use four servings refrigerated mashed potatoes.

2. Prepare 4 servings instant mashed potatoes according to package directions, except reserve the milk. Add egg and seaon to taste with salt and pepper. Add enough reserved milk so potatoes are stiff enough to hold their shape.

3. Make mashed potatoes using 5 medium potatoes.