Showing posts with label thriller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thriller. Show all posts

Monday, February 8, 2016

Dark Money - Larry D. Thompson, Author


Jackson Bryant’s Huevos Rancheros
By Vicki Thompson (Larry's Wife)

This is an old-fashioned “seat of your pants” style recipe.  It is actually more of a cooking method than a recipe but it is a crowd pleaser.  Have fun with the flavors you add to match your family’s tastes.
Prep time 10 minutes
Cooking time 20 to 40 minutes

Ingredients
1 to 2 large eggs per serving needed: 4 to 6 eggs for 2 cans each of tomato products – add more cans for more eggs.

2 or 3  8 ounce cans of plain tomato sauce
2 or 3  8 ounce cans of plain diced tomatoes
1 or 2 TBS Salsa – homemade or your favorite prepared – this becomes spicier as it simmers
1 – 2 tsp ground cumin
1 – 2 tsp ground red pepper to taste red pepper taste increases as it cooks so start cautiously and add during the simmer to taste as mild or hot as wanted

Extra salsa for serving on the side
Corn chips of choice
1 ½ cups of shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
Mexican crema as desired
Diced onions as desired

Method


In a deep sided skillet add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, salsa and seasonings.  The sauce needs to be slightly deeper than an egg.  Bring the sauce to a full boil and turn down to simmer about 20 mins.  The longer the sauce is simmered the deeper the flavor becomes.  Crack eggs one at a time and drop into sauce in separate sections of the sauce to poach the eggs in the red sauce.  For a two egg serving place two eggs close to each other.  Simmer covered for 12 to 15 minutes until the top of the eggs begin to look white; with a large spoon move the eggs slightly in the sauce to see if the egg is too liquid or is beginning to firm up.  The eggs are best when they hot all the way through, the yolks are still liquid and the whites are firm but not hard. The cooking time differs based on the type of pan, how hard the simmer is and how deep the sauce is.  When learning how I liked to cook mine I would scoop one egg into a bowl to see how cooked it was slipping it back into the pan if necessary.   Line bowls with chips and spoon the eggs and sauce on to the chips.  Add cheese, hot sauce, salsa, onions and crema to taste.   I save left over sauce for more eggs another day or for soft tacos the next morning.

Dark Money - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

"Walt, he's losing a lot of blood.  Pressure is 45 over 20.  Heart is racing at 120 and respirations are rapid and shallow."  Walt called the emergency department at Harris Methodist Hospital to advise that the governor had a chest wound and relay the vital signs.  As they hurried away, they got a report that Edward Hale was dead and Kevin O'Connell was wounded.  Tears came to Walt's eyes as he heard the news.  He was overwhelmed with the thought that he and his team had failed.

Walt Frazier had known Jack Bryant since Desert Storm when he pulled a beam off Jack's leg after an attack by the enemy.  Eventually Walt left the army, joined the Texas DPS and was currently the lead in security for Governor Rob Lardner.  Jack became a powerful lawyer, made his billions and turned his career into a pro-bono which allowed him to help those in most need of a good lawyer.  But when the governor was shot while attending a political Halloween party Jack was assigned to the position of special prosecutor and finds himself participating in the identification of and search for the shooter.

At the very end of this book the Author quotes number 10 of Elmore Leonard's Ten Rules of Writing.   'Leave out the parts that the readers tend to skip.' - believe me, he succeeded!  Yes I'm one of those that has a tendency to 'scan' read.  Not with this book.  I read EVERY word and EVERY word held my attention.  It's filled with murder and suspense as well as politics.  It's not only an enjoyable work of fiction, it's also an eye opener as you learn just how deceitful our political representatives really are.  This book will entertain as well as educate.  I find it a book I would highly recommend to anyone.


Thursday, February 26, 2015

Dead Man Ohio - T. M. Simmons, Author

Granny's Bread Pudding with
Jack Daniel's Whiskey Sauce

Ingredients for Bread Pudding:

2-1/2 cups stale French bread, cut in cubes
1-1/2 cups whole milk
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup raisins
1 cup coconut
1 cup pecan pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8X12 glass baking dish with olive oil cooking spray and set aside.

Place bread cubes and milk in a bowl. Squeeze the milk into the bread very well and let set for at least 10 minutes.

Using an electric mixer on high, beat eggs with sugar in another bowl until thick. Stir in vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter, raisins, coconut and pecan pieces. Add to the soaked bread crumbs and stir.

Pour the mixture into the baking dish. Bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until firm. Check with a knife inserted in the middle. If it comes out clean, the pudding is done. Let cool in the dish.

Jack Daniel's Whiskey Sauce:

½ cup brown sugar
½ cup Half and Half
1 stick butter (real butter, not margarine)
½ cup Jack Daniel's Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey
Combine the ingredients in a medium saucepan. Stir constantly over low heat until mixture reaches a low rolling boil. Pour a generous amount over the individual servings of bread pudding. Serve hot.



Dead Man Ohio - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

The thing in front of us drew himself up and glared at me.  I could tell it was male - or at least projected a male appearance.  Bare skin gleamed in the overhead light as though he'd smeared himself with bear grease, and there were no breasts other than the small brown nipples on his muscular chest.  The rest of his body rivaled pictures I'd seen of men with toned but not over-blown bodies.  He exuded maleness, even beneath his outlandish facade.  Still, no amount of projected masculinity could overcome my senses.  Mr. Muscles had been dead for a long while.

Yet, the image was a ghost, spirit or whatever you want to call him.  And as it turned out, he wasn't the only one lingering around Alice's Aunt Twila's home and that of her neighbors.  Turns out that this spirit was called Free Eagle and he had been dead for centuries.

Alice had been called by her ex-husband to 'please' come to Ohio to see if she could help out her Aunt Twila.  Apparently there was a spirit that had been causing her trouble and she didn't seem to be able to gain control over it.  That was all it took for Alice and her neighbor and friend Granny to jump into the car and make the trip from Texas to Ohio.  And it didn't take long for Alice to discover that there was more than one ghost to be dealt with.

Then there are the Ohio Grassmen.  Story goes that they live in the area, are covered with grass and stand 8 - 10 feet tall.  They are big!  Just like the 'thing' that was seen depositing a body on Twila's property the night Alice and Granny showed up.  Turns out that he had been murdered and he refused to leave until he found the person who killed him.

Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that Alice and Aunt Twila are 'ghost hunters.'

I think I've read everything paranormal this author has written and I can't get enough.  Be it her series with Alice and Twila or her true Ghost Hunting Diaries, I have a hard time putting them down.  This author is addictive and I hope I'll have another fix coming my way from her soon.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Bitten - Dan O'Brien, Author

 
Rich and Squidgy Chocolate Cake
(A O'Brien Special)
 
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 cup softened butter (or margarine)
1 cup milk
2 eggs
2 cups cocoa
1 1/2 cups sugar
 
Directions:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 320°.
2. Cream the butter with 1/2 cup of the sugar.
3. Add the eggs a little at a time. If the mixture begins to curdle, simply mix a little flour into it.
4. Once all the egg has been folded into the mixture, add the flour about 1/2 cup at a time until the batter is smooth.
5. Place the cocoa and the remaining sugar into a separate bowl and pour 1/4 cup of boiling water into it. Stir until fully combined.
6. Add the cocoa paste to the cake batter and fold gently until combined.
7. Add a little of the milk and stir gently. Repeat until there is no milk left.
8. Pour batter into a greased cake pan, and bake for 1 hour or until a knife no longer comes out wet. (The mixture may still stick to the knife when it is done - but it should a have a fudgy appearance.)
Serve with cream.
 
 
Bitten – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat and A Book and A Dish
 
“Agent Lauren Westlake.  Yes, I know about you Agent Westlake.  What are you an agent of I wonder?” posited the woman quizzically.  “Right.  So yeah, anyways.  About the creature?”  The woman folded her hands across her lap and sat back.  “There are many creatures in this world, Lauren of the Lake Tribes of the West.  My question is what are you an agent of?  We all represent something in this world.  What do you represent?”  Lauren looked at the woman strangely, feeling claustrophobic.  “I am an agent of the federal government,” she replied mechanically.  The woman was not convinced with the answer.  “That is to say you are an agent of a rock, Lauren of the Lake Tribes of the West.  Would you like me to read your life?”  “My life?  Lake Tribes of the West?  I thought you had information about the creature.”  “I have information on a great many things, Agent Westlake.  What information do you have for me?  Nothing in this life is free.  A cycle of reciprocity, surrounded and envelopes us, even if we do not see it.”  Lauren gripped the edge of the chair, lifting her body.  “I think there has been a misunderstanding.  I thought you had something to tell me…”  The woman waved the agent down with a quick movement of her hands.  “Let me begin then.  I am called Hecate.  I serve as the guide from this world.  Not the only guide mind you, but a guide nonetheless.  I am an agent of wisdom and of truth.  And you, daughter of the Lake Tribes of the West, what are you an agent of?”
 
Federal Agent Lauren Westlake had been in Locke, Minnesota for just a few days and she is now conversing with a another crazy woman.  The first was Madeline Leftwich who for years sat every night at the train station waiting on her mother to pick her up.  Now Madeline is dead and the particulars of her death are what keeps Lauren in her seat as she listens to the puzzling comments coming from Hecate.  Madeline, as well as another woman found at the lake, had both been murdered by what appears to be the same ‘person.’  Both were mutilated with patches of skin removed.  After catching a glimpse of what Lauren believes to be the murderer, she is convinced it isn’t a person she’s perusing but a monster of some type.  From what she saw, it’s large and it’s hairy.  Definitely not human.
 
Dominic McManus has had his own encounter with Hecate.  She has given him hope for the future.  She has ‘read his life’ and assured him that there will be someone coming that will help him.  But Dominic sees his time running out and needs help fast.  Could Lauren possibly be the one he’s been waiting on? 
 
While reading Bitten, I felt as if I was reading a possible script for one of the supernatural shows on television involving vampires and werewolves.  I also felt that it might even be a script for Criminal Minds.  This book would fit both.  The questions I kept asking myself as I read were – is this monster a werewolf?  - is Dominic the monster?  - could it really be just a crazy maniac?  And then I would tell myself – if this book were made into a movie I would spend more time hiding my face from the screen as a got the heck scared out of me.  Bitten is a true thriller!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Sarah They're Coming For You - Susan Kronick, Author


My Family's Favorite "Jewish" Coffee Cake
  A Susan Kronick Recipe

This was always the cake that was sent to camp, college,
and is still requested by my family for Holiday tables. Enjoy!
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees, spray 2 loaf pans with non-stick spray.
Mix filling and set aside:

1/4 cup melted butter
1 cup brown sugar
3 TBL. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup “mini” semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans
Batter:
1/2 cup softened, room temperature butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup sour cream

Sift flour, baking powder and salt in bowl, set aside.
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. This works well in bowl of a standing mixer,
as the batter will get thick.
Beat eggs into butter mixture, one at a time. Add vanilla and sour cream.
Slowly add in the dry ingredients, a little at a time, until well incorporated.
Spread 1/4 of the batter evenly in each of the loaf pans. Top with 1/4 of the filling
mixture. Repeat this step, ending with the filling mixture on top.
Bake for 50-65 minutes… Enjoy….Freezes and ships very well!!

Sarah They’re Coming For You – Review by Martha A Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat
 
‘Each time the psychic buzzer sounded, she hoped the numbers indicated the time on the clock would be different, anything but the dreaded 3:33 a.m.  Sarah knew the sound existed exclusively within her own head, unheard by all others.  Still, she looked over at Richard in the same way she had long ago glanced at her sister Nancy.  Why can’t anyone else hear the buzzer, too?  She silently begged for an answer. Weary from her repugnant routine, Sarah prayed for protection from the inevitable parade of lost souls.  Slowly creeping closer and closer, any moment they would begin their morbid ascent into her bedroom.  The intense dread accompanying the gathered spirits had not dissipated at all throughout the years.  Drenched in a cold sweat that signified primeval fear, tense muscles throbbed in her aching neck, joined by an accomplice of terror so strong the blood in her veins ran cold and threatened to congeal in its tracks.  Her heart palpitated with such force thoughts of an imminent heart attack lingered in her mind.  Sarah knew what it meant to be scared to death.  The air was sucked from the room, and she struggled to breathe.  Heaviness paralyzed her limbs, rendering her unable to move.  The morbid chant assaulted her auditory sense.  “Sarah, they’re coming for you…Sarah, they’re coming for YOU…Sarah, they’re COMING FOR YOU.”
 
For most of her life Dr. Sarah Pullman has been haunted as dead figures ascend into her bedroom at night with one purpose which is to torment her.  Sarah having a Ph.D. in psychology with a specialty in paranormal studies has spent the last fourteen years investigating haunted houses across the world to Austria.  But nothing in her education, training nor experience has prepared her for the events to soon happen in her own life. 
 
Sarah had been invited to give a talk regarding the differences between the three different types of haunting, Sarah is approached by an older woman who introduces herself as Dinah.  She tells Sarah that she is the reincarnated soul of her great-great-great-grandmother and that she must trace her family history to find the answers to put an end to her own constant haunting by demons from the past. 
 
Sarah’s research ends taking her to a castle on the other side of the world, which had been owned by several generations of her past family, known as “Weiser Schloss.”  Dinah has agreed to be her travel companion as well as her tour guide since she was originally from the same area and could speak the language.  Along the way, the duo will encounter 12 of her own cousins who insist on claiming the castle as their own.  But with Dinah’s help and a trio of nuns they meet on their train ride across the country, Sarah is made aware that she must be the 1st to reach the castle if she wants to end her torture.  
 
This has been one fascinating book to read.  Author Susan Kronick takes us on a tour of Vienna that is so clear that you can’t help but picture each place as it’s described.  In Sarah They’re Coming for You I found Susan Kronick to be a writer with a very vivid imagination.
 
147 pages
2009
Wild Child Publishing
ISBN# 978-1-936222-32-2

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

The Strangers Outside - Vanessa Morgan, Author



Belgian Cinnamon Waffles
  A Vanessas  Morgan Favorite
 
I’m originally from Belgium, the land of the Belgian waffles. Here’s one of my favorite waffle recipes. I prepare them with cinnamon and spelt because it makes the waffles taste so much better.
 
Ingredients
 
·        300 gr. spelt flour
·        200 gr. unrefined sugar
·        200 gr. butter
·        2 eggs
·        ½ teaspoon baking soda
·        Ground cinnamon to taste
 
Directions
·        Preheat your waffle iron
·        Whisk together the egg yolk with half of the sugar
·        Beat in spelt flour, sugar, melted butter and cinnamon
·        Whip the egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff and fold into the batter
Put the batter into the waffle iron in batches and cook until the steam subsides


The Strangers Outside – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat
 
‘After walking quickly along a winding sidewalk toward the outermost building on the left of the complex, the sisters arrived at their holiday cottage.  Louise already had her key in hand and quickly unlocked the door, gesturing for Jennifer to go inside first.  Before closing the front door behind her, Louise cast another look at the strangers standing outside on the far side of the parking lot.  They stood in the same spot, staring in her direction.  A shiver ran down her spine and she quickly closed the door, locking it behind her.’
 
Louise believes that no matter what happens, you learn from it and it will always be better the next time.  Her younger sister Jennifer believes that nothing will ever work out no matter how many times you try.  Their discussions on this matter never changed even though Louise always tried to encourage Jennifer to believe in the positive.  So, when their vacation was interrupted by strangers surrounding their cottage, Jennifer knew what the outcome would be.  Was she right?
 
Again Vanessa Morgan has gotten to my sense of security after dark.  Her short story The Strangers Outside has one problem…it’s too short.  I would love to see this made into a full length book.

 
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