Beaufort Falls - Mari Sloan, Author

Brandied Peaches

2 cans (29 oz.) peach halves
1 cup sugar
Approximately 1/2 cup fruit brandy (apricot is best, peach will do)
3 or 4 drops (or more) almond extract

Drain peaches. Reserve 1 cup of the peach juice from the can.
Mix the sugar with the reserved peach juice and boil until reduced to about 1/2 of the original quantity. Cool, measure and blend with an equal (or to taste) amount of brandy and the almond extract. Pour the syrup over the peaches and refrigerate in a large, tightly-sealed, jar for at least three days, maybe even a week, before serving. This recipe can (and probably should) be doubled. ENJOY. These are alcoholic and should be served to adults. They are a favorite at Christmas and New Years gatherings and I have to bring a couple of large jars of them.

Beaufort Falls - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat

The characters of Beaufort Falls:

Molly age 8 and Tessie age 5 are the daughters of JD. Both children are well experienced in keeping a spotless house and making dinner for their father. And they both know the consequences that will be paid if it’s not done perfectly.

Molly is little Tessie's guardian angel until she is placed in a mental hospital for children after setting a fire at her home. As mysterious things start to happen on her first night in the hospital she quickly becomes an outsider and keeps to herself until she meets Mickey or RatBoy as she fondly calls him.

After Molly is taken away Tessie has to take full responsiblity for the housework and cooking for her father. She knows she must be perfect or her punishment will be severe. But this abuse comes to an end when JD’s lady friend Anna, who is also a social worker, sees him beating little Tessie. She’s taken away and is placed in the home of Anna who is quite taken with her sweet, loving personality.

JD is a God fearing, ex-circuit preacher/mechanic who rules the girls with strong punishment, preaching and prayers. He also enjoys filing law suits against anyone that crosses him, including the hospital where he is treated after wrecking his truck, being poisoned, bitten by hundreds of baby Black Widow spiders and attacked by Ghost the dog.

Charlie is the ex-lover of JD’s deceased wife Eliza who was the only woman he ever really loved. But Charlie has a problem. His hobby is collecting and preserving human heads and calling them his friend.

Verbena is the ex-girlfriend of JD and later Charlie but when she discovers Charlie’s hobby she finds herself living in a cave in hopes of not becoming a part of his collection.

Spike and Virgil are 2 hit-men hired to kill JD before he tries to sue the only hospital in town. Their lack of success leaves the hospital director up in air since they were paid before the job was actually done.

Ghost is a mysteriously beautiful white dog that protects Molly and Tessie and loves them both dearly.




Eliza – is JD’s late wife and mother of Molly and Tessie. Eliza died when Tessie was 2 but she’s not really gone. She watches over Molly and Tessie as they deal with their father and hopes to one day bring the 2 girls back together. She will stop at nothing to protect her children and will use everything within her spiritual powers to bring revenge on anyone that hurts them.

And then there is Mickey (RatBoy). He can't talk but he can read peoples minds and feelings. He can also appear just about anywhere and be seen only when he wants to be seen. He and a group of other boys from the hospital are preparing for the upcoming "Plan" that will save them all. But who is he and why are his feelings for Molly so deep and protective?

Beaufort Falls was one of the most complete books I’ve ever read. You have the bad guys and good guys but you also have the cluts that give the book humor. This turned out to be a book that I didn't want to put down until I had read every page.

The Other Side of You - Debi DeSantis, Author

Chicken Broccoli

A pack of boneless-skinless chicken breasts
1 small container of sour cream
1 block of cream cheese
1 can of cream of broccoli soup
1 bunch of broccoli (frozen or fresh)
1-2 cups of rice (your preference)

cut the chicken into strips and saute in butter until golden brown
next add the sour cream and cream cheese and stir until melted and smooth
then add the soup and stir until mixed with other ingredients.

While cooking the chicken start the broccoli until tender and drain. Now put the broccoli in with the chicken mixture and stir lightly until mixed.

After the rice is done, scoop serving amount onto plate and add the chicken and broccoli on top

Dig in and enjoy!!!!!

The Other Side of You - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat

Every emotion has an opposite - love/hate, happy/sad, pleasure/pain, honest/dishonest - and there is a fine line that separates each of these emotions. In The Other Side of You Debi DeSantis brings all of these emotions together in one heart warming story.

Morgan is an interior designer who has her dreams and future in her hands. She has the perfect world - so she thinks. Bree is the country club mother of two who also has the perfect world - so she thinks. And Jason is an airline pilot that travels to the most beautiful cities in the world and has the perfect world - so he thinks. But when these three perfect worlds come together they start to crumble as the emotions of hate, sadness, pain and dishonesty enter into their lives. There is only one way to put these lives back together and that is through a miracle provided by God.

As you follow their lives, ask yourself a question... "Would I have done the anything different?" This is a book that you will not only enjoy but remember for a long time.

Fools Rush In - Sunny Frazier, Author

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

3 eggs, beaten
1 cup raisins
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup chopped pecans

Combine eggs, vanilla and raisins in a small bowl; cover and let stand for 1 hour. This will plump up the raisins.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a large bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar together. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, and baking soda; stir into the creamed mixture. Then stir in the raisin mixture, rolled oats, and nuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an unprepared cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.


Fools Rush In - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat

Christy Bristol is an office assistant for the sheriff’s department in the San Joaquin Valley. She sees the crimes that happen in the valley on a second-hand basis, as she files the reports prepared by the officers in the field. But Christy has a gift that her co-workers brush aside due to disbelief. You see, Christy is an Astrologist. She doesn’t predict the future but tells the future through the position of the planets.

In Fools Rush In Christy is asked by her unbelieving ex-boyfriend, who is an undercover narcotics detective, to do a “chart” on a leading drug dealer who does believe in Astrology. What does this chart show for the future of dealer Lloyd Parr? And just as important, what does Christy’s own chart say about her future? To find out follow Christy as she deals with the non-believers that are connected with Parr, his ex-girlfriend who wants Christy dead and the Columbian dealer Christy actually finds attractive.

I thoroughly enjoyed Fools Rush In. It was a book that caught my attention from the beginning and held it to the end and even made me wonder about Astrology.

Hell Swamp - Susan Whitfield, Author

Venison Chili

2 pounds venison, ground into burger
28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
10 oz can of red kidney beans, drained
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
2 ½ tablespoons of ground chili powder
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ teaspoons of salt
½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
Ground black pepper to taste.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet. Stir in the onion, garlic and chili. Saute over a medium-to-high heat until the onion is tender (takes 4-5 mins).

Add venison and cook until the ground venison is no longer red.

Add all the remaining ingredients except the kidney beans.
Pour into crock pot and let simmer for 1-3 hours, stirring occasionally. Stir in the beans during the last twenty minutes.
Serve hot with bread and cheese.

Hell Swamp - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat

I’ve followed SBI Agent Logan Hunter through her internship at Genesis Beach as she solved her first murder. I followed her through the NC Mountains in Just North of Luck as she solved yet another murder. Now I’ve followed her into the NC backwoods as she tries to survive in Hell Swamp while solving the murder and gutting of Clara Banoak.

Clara is a widow and getting up in age so who would want to murder her as if she was an animal? The answer is everyone. Clara was the most hated person in the whole area around Hell Swamp. She hated hunters and wasn’t afraid to tell them or anyone else that would listen. But Clara’s death isn’t the only mystery. Cats and dogs are starting to become missing. Is there a cult running loose in Hell Swamp? And is this cult possibly connected with the church that allows its members to drink poison and handle rattle snakes?

Whitfield really outdid herself with Hell Swamp. She has created a murder mystery that has a surprising ending while including a little humor along the way that only Whitfield can get by with. This was another enjoyable book in the Logan Hunter series. I can’t wait to read her next book “Gator Creek.”

Hannah's Man - Rita Hestand, Author

Sourdough Flapjacks

1 cup of flour
3 teaspoons of baking powder
3 eggs
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 Tablespoon white sugar
2 tablespoon of butter
1/2 cup of regular milk
2-3 teaspoons of vinegar (add this to the milk, so the milk has the consistency of buttermilk, but don't use buttermilk)

Mix dry ingredients, melt butter slowly add, add eggs, then add
milk with the vinegar already in it. It will be 3/4 to 1 cup of liquid.

Stir well.

Heat frying pan to hot
reduce heat to medium hot

Pour a ladle into frying pan. Brown on both sides, butter and add your favorite syrup. Best pancakes you ever ate.

Tip: Be sure the milk and vinegar is lumpy, this assures sourness

Hannah's Man - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat

I have one wish right now and that is to find a man like Hannah's Man. For someone who seldom reads romance books I found this one to be so warming and loving. Hannah is a hard working woman trying to save her father's ranch. Rusty is a hard working cowboy in love with his life long girlfriend Jennifer. But the Travers name and the promise a Travers makes come 1st with Rusty. And the promise Rusty made to his family and Hannah was a promise of marriage to save the ranch.

Will this marriage actually take place? Will the ranch be saved? What will happen to poor Jennifer if Rusty marries Hannah? And what is the Vegas secret that Hannah keeps from Rusty about her past. Find out for yourself as YOU read one of the sweetest romances I've ever read.