Friday, October 18, 2013

Halloween Hop from Entangled Publishing


Welcome to the Entangled Publishing and Indulgence Books Halloween Hop.
When I'm not known as Meg Lacey, I’m Tess Banyon, you know the lifestyle guru with the new TV show?  As far as I’m concerned Halloween is the best holiday of the year.  It’s a time when Something’s Cooking in my kitchen. 
Don’t worry, I’m not burning anything, not at the moment anyway, because I’m making my prized Pumpkin Loaf Recipe.  (Check the end of this post for the recipe.It‘s one of my absolute favorite Halloween recipes. It’s easy to make, but it tastes as if you’ve spent forever in the kitchen. I know it’s rich, satisfying and probably off my diet, but I overcome that fact by telling myself that pumpkin is healthy and good for you. Naturally, I am ignoring the cream cheese and other delicious ingredients calories that make it taste like a dream.   
Do you know the other thing I love more about this time of year than my favorite pumpkin recipe—dressing up, pretending to be someone, or something, I’m not.  Part of the fun is donning a costume so the candy guzzlers at my door get a trick as well as a treat.  This year I’m going to dress as a witch, and I’ve been taking lessons from a real sorceress as well.  I don’t care what my mother says about my over-achieving personality, my witch studies are going well. I did draw the line at adding eye of newt and Mexican red lizard gizzards to my stew, however.  There is another reason I’ve been studying witchcraft though.  I’ve been experimenting with a love potion that I’m planning to use on Josh Faraday.  I hope it works!
 If you were planning a love potion what would you put in it? 
PLEASE POST YOUR COMMENTS AND SHARE YOUR OWN LOVE POTION IDEAS.  AT THE END OF THE MONTH, I WILL BE CHOOSING A WINNER FROM THE COMMENTS AND WILL BE SENDING YOU A SPECIAL HALLOWEEN GIFT. 


Something’s Cooking by Meg Lacey

Tess Banyon has turned her brilliant recipe and crafting ideas into a multimedia empire. Landing her own TV show throws her into a panic. If she’s not careful, the public will discover she isn’t the domestic diva everyone thinks she is.
Investigative reporter Josh Faraday smells something smoking in Tess’s world. His goal to expose the real Tess goes into overdrive when she lands a television show deal. He secures an assignment to shadow her, reporting on her program, but what he’s really doing is getting dirt for his expose. Things get even stickier when Tess’s family play matchmaker. There’s no shortage of fire between them, and after an impulsive night together, Josh discovers a story he never expected–or bargained for.












As another Halloween treat, here is an excerpt from Something’s Cooking:
She dashed across the room to the bathroom, flung open the
door, and stepped into what felt like a sauna. The fog in the room was so thick she could hardly see. Stunned by his effrontery, she stood frozen for a minute before she said faintly, “What do you think you’re doing?”

At the same time, Josh jerked back the curtain that encircled the claw-footed antique bathtub. Hands clenched on the divided curtain, his eyes widened to the size of half-dollars, and his jaw practically dropped to his chest as he stared at her for a long moment.
“Am I missing something here?”

Tess studied the length of his body, coming to rest on his
most volatile piece of male equipment. “Nope, all there,” she said, “every inch.”

He laughed. “That’s a relief.”

Her heart was pounding with a staccato fury, and for a
moment she felt like she’d melt. He was gorgeous. “What are you doing in my bathroom?”

Josh swiped his hands down his body to shed the excess water, then stepped out of the tub onto the bathmat. He reached for the towel hanging on a rack. Lazily, he wrapped the terrycloth around his waist, tucking the end in. He smiled. “You said the door right at the top of the stairs.”

“I said turn right at the top of the stairs.”

“Oh, turn right.” He grinned. “I thought you were being a bit forward.”

“Were you snooping in my bedroom?” she asked, amazed at
the thought.

He nodded toward the door. “Are you sure that’s your room?
It looks like a stage set. There’s nothing personal to identify you in there. No mementos, nothing. I found that disappointing, considering your skills.”

“You admit it? You were looking through my room?”

“Only on the way to the bathroom.”

“I don’t believe you,” she said, punctuating her words by
poking her finger into his chest. “You’re a low-down snoop, that’s what you are.”

“A snoop? A reporter being called a snoop? Surely not.”

His chuckle was infectious, but Tess wasn’t buying it. She was red-faced and perspiring, although that could have been from the heat and moisture in the room, not because she was more embarrassed than she’d ever been in her entire life, or wanted to rip the towel from his hips.

“Where are your clothes?”

Josh indicated a pile in the corner of the room. “I threw
them over there before I remembered my luggage is in my car, so I have nothing to change into.”

“You were supposed to come up here and wash your chest
not take a shower.”

He leaned toward her. “I did wash my chest. I also washed my ears. Want to check?”

Tess could feel the doorknob imprinting on her back. “No, I
don’t want to check.”

“If you have any other concerns regarding my cleanliness I’ll be happy to oblige.”

“I’ve already seen everything, thank you very much.”

“You’re welcome.”

Pumpkin Loaf Recipe
Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
½ tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
2/3 cup of flour
2/3 cup of pumpkin pie mix (Can-Libby’s or your choice)
2 Tbs. butter
8 oz. Cream Cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
¾ tsp. vanilla

Directions:
Mix eggs, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, pumpkin, and flour.  Grease cookie sheet. Cover with wax paper.  Pour mixture over wax paper. Spread evenly. Bake 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.  Let cool.
Mix butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla.. Spread icing on top of cake. ,Roll across (should have a long roll, so you roll across the short side of the rectangle), Wrap in foil and freeze.

Note:  As you roll, you will be peeling off the wax paper , the cake may break a little, but this is OK, do not consider it ruined if it does, once it is wrapped in foil (do so tightly) and frozen, the break will heal. Wrap in foil and freeze.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

If it were easy...

From Meg Lacey:

In a fit of office organizing, I decided to clear a closet where I had some old unpublished novels. Rather than recycle the paper immediately I took a trip down memory lane...which is something I do very seldom as I prefer to move and look forward. Being a masochist that day, however-- actually, I was avoiding working on a frustrating WIP -- I sat on the floor and reviewed some of the early work to see if I had any interesting ideas that I could redevelop.

For hours I wallowed in my past mistakes as a new writer, and patted myself on the back for what I discovered instinctively worked even if I didn't know why at the time. The interesting thing about this experience, besides clearing my closet space, was the rediscovery of it all. As I read, I realized where I make the same mistakes and where I make new ones. But, what really hit me was how much I loved creating new lives with new people to live them. I loved doing that in the beginning of my career and I love it now. The work changes, but the joy of creation never does.

There is something so magical about sitting down with your fingers on the keys and opening a door to somewhere else, to a life you can control -- somewhat, because characters seem to have a mind of their own and they insist on doing their own thing. There is also an opportunity to live vicariously as you become these characters and interact with people you might never have an opportunity to meet, or experience situations that are completely opposite of your own. You can be witty, wise, compassionate, or utter the perfect insult, be forever slender and appealing, never have a bad hair day unless you want to, etc. We get to create worlds where we can wield the power of words and create the people who speak them; where we can help determine an outcome that makes sense.

I think that is the real power of romance writing and those who are compelled to write and read the stories. Our writing brings us into a world that offers a satisfying ending every time. Wouldn't it be great if real life always did the same?!

Meg

THE FIREMAN'S CHRISTMAS,
November, 2009