Monday, May 21, 2012

Dark Moon - Maggie Tideswell, Author


Flop-proof Apple Pie
(Maggie Tideswell's special)

1x can pie apples
1x cup flour
1x baking powder
1x egg
1x cup milk + half a cup for caramel sauce
1x cup sugar + half a cup for caramel sauce
1x tablespoon butter + half a table spoon for the caramel sauce
1x pinch salt

Pre-heat over to 180 farenheit. Greaze a pie tin and layer the apples in the bottom. Cream butter and sugar very well together, add the egg and mix well. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together and add alternatively with the milk to the egg mixture. Pour over the apples and bake immediately in the middle of the oven for 30 mins until golden.
While baking the pie, mix together half a cup of milk, half a cup of sugar and half a tablespoon of butter together, bring to the boil and simmer over very low heat, stirring frequently, until the pie is done. Pour the caramel sauce over the pie immediately after removing it from the oven. Serve hot with cream, ice cream or custard.

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

“Well, my girl, I hope that boyfriend of yours is ready to make an honest woman of you.  Congratulations. Everything looks fine so far.”  Though he smiled, there was hesitation in his voice.  Biting her lip to save her cheek, Storm lost the battle with the tears that had been threatening all day and doubly so after Trevor’s rebuff.  Andrew pulled her head down to his shoulder, rocking her from side to side, as he had done many times before.  He let her cry, and then, after what seemed like forever, he said, “There, there, it’s not the end of the world.  You’re going to make yourself ill.  Come on, chin up.  Trevor seems a good sort.  You’ve been dating him for long enough.  Why aren’t you on the pill?”  “It makes me ill, and as there was no reason to suffer, I didn’t bother.”  Calm washed over Storm.  “Uncle Andrew, it isn’t Trevor’s,” she mumbled hoarsely.

Storm Fenton has just had confirmed what she and her best friend Donna had suspected – she’s pregnant.  Problem is, she has been dating Trevor for almost a year and he isn’t the father.  Actually she didn’t even know the name of the baby’s father.  Her pregnancy is the results of a ‘rape’ that wasn’t exactly a ‘rape.’  Maybe it’s best called ‘consented rape.’  But to Storm’s surprise, she will soon meet her mystery man and when he discovers her situation, she can’t seem to shake him.  When she finally tells Trevor that she’s pregnant with another man’s child his attitude splits.  He assures her that she will never have the baby while assuring her that she belongs to him and he will have her through marriage.  His motive as well as his actions come from deep within and he seems sincere when it comes to wanting Storm for himself and does all in his power to keep her away from Jarred, the baby’s father?

Storm is a psychologist who tries to help Elle, an attorney, find a murdering/rapist who has killed 7 women already in a ritual fashion.  Elle also turns out to be his 8th victim and the only one that was spared her life.  But Elle’s life is not only disrupted by the rape but by the appearance of her birth mother who inform her not only that she is a witch but that the murder is her own son, making him Elle’s brother.  The two must band together to destroy him before he kills again and before he performs his final ritual that will give him the powers he desires.

So, who is the killer - is it Trevor or is it Jarred?  Or is it someone else entirely?  Who is really looking out for Storm’s best – Trevor or Jarred?  And which will end up with her in the end – Trevor or Jarred?  Dark Moon is one of the most unusual books I’ve read.  It has everything – murder, rape, witchcraft, fear and even love.  And it left me with a feeling that there just might be a book 2, I hope.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Winter Prey - T. M. Simmons, Author


Deviled Eggs
(One of T. M. Simmons'
Favorite Side Dishes to Accompany
A Yummy Texas Summer BBQ)

Preparation time: approximately 30 minutes

12 eggs
1 tsp. cider vinegar
1 tsp. mustard
3 tbls. sweet relish
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tbls. of Miracle Whip Light salad dressing
Dried parsley to garnish

Bring water and twelve eggs to hard boil. Turn down to medium heat and boil for ten minutes. Cool eggs. If I'm in a hurry, which I usually am, I'll drain the water and stick the eggs in the freezer.

Peel eggs and put whites on deviled egg tray, yolks in bowl.

It's best to add each ingredient separately and mash it into the yolks with a fork.

Mash in 1 tsp. cider vinegar
Mash in 1 tsp. mustard
Mash in 3 tbls. sweet relish
Mash in salt and pepper
Mash in 3 tbls. Miracle Whip Light salad dressing

Spoon the mixture back into the egg whites. Garnish with some dried parsley. Best if chilled in the refrigerator for a half-hour or so before serving.

You can adjust the ingredients to your individual taste. If you like it a bit tarter, add a little more vinegar and mustard. Sweeter, a bit more sweet relish. Enjoy with a yummy meal of Texas BBQ, which for us includes: ribs, brisket, sausage, beer-butt chicken, T. M.'s special potato salad, T. M.'s Yankee beans, ears of corn from the grill, French bread, and if room, any desserts guests bring along.

Winter Prey – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; A Book and A Dish; Think With Your Taste Buds

“Let’s get all of our cards on the table, Sheriff. You’ve got a monster due to start prowling the Northwood again in a few weeks. One that’s been around for three centuries and the same species of evil entity that I suspect killed my wife and son. But yours is – ”

“It isn’t mine,” Hjak interrupted in a level voice, but Caleb continued over the attempted disruption.
“—on a different timetable than that Colorado bastard,. Maybe you aren’t even sure the rumors of this thing are true, since you were probably a kid the last time it appeared. On top of that, from what I could find out, not many whites know about this one. So far, it’s always focused its kills among the Native American population.”

Caleb McCoy is a paranormal investigator that is accustomed to talking to both believers and non-believers of the supernatural entities so his conversation with Sheriff Hjak can go either way. After the death of his wife and son Caleb is positive that the same type creature that took their lives will soon be waking from its forty year sleep in its lair hidden deep within the mountains.

Lieutenant Colonel Kymbria James, R.N. has resigned from her military career to do something she never thought possible. She will now devote her life to raising her daughter Risa, but first she has problems of her own that must be resolved if she has any hope of doing this successfully. Her time spent in Afghanistan trying to help the soldiers cope with their injuries both physical and mental, her own husband dying in her arms as he called the name of another woman and her own battle with PTSD must be sedated before she can become the mother Risa needs and deserves. The best way to accomplish this is to leave the white-world medicine and give the Old Ways a chance. And to do that she must go back to her origin and her own people – the Ojibway Tribe of Native American Indians.

As Kymbria will soon find out, the healing will be disrupted by Caleb and the beast he seeks to kill. The creature the tribe calls a Windigo.  Its existence has been known for over 300 years but no one has been successful in destroying a Windigo.  Its pattern consists of waking up every 40 years to feed, keeping the number of humans it feeds upon to 16, always Native Americans. With Kymbria being an Ojibwa, she just may be his next meal but if that’s true, why is it trying to communicate with her? What makes her different? The answer was a surprise to me as I believe it will be to you too.

When I first saw the word Windigo it sounded familiar so I googled it. Sure enough, it’s a Native American entity that is believed to be a cross between Big Foot and a Werewolf. This knowledge gave Winter Prey and an even more interesting appeal to me. The author has combined history with folklore to give a mystery that is believable. All through the book I found events taking place that were a total surprise to me as a reader. Winter Prey is a very enjoyable read that might just have you looking out the window at night to see if you might see a Windigo.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

An Extra Topping of Horror - Darrell B. Nelson, Author


Easy Pizza Recipe
(A Darrell B. Nelson Favorite)


Forget Frozen Pizza, here's a quick and easy way to make your own.

Ingredients:

Prepared Pizza dough
Prepared Pizza sauce
One package of Pepperoni
One package of Mozzarella

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Place the Pizza dough on a pizza screen.

Spread the pizza sauce evenly over the Pizza dough. Thick or light
depending on taste.

Secret hint: If you like your pepperoni slightly done, place them on the
pizza before putting on the cheese. The cheese will keep them from
getting crisp. If you like crispy pepperoni place them on top.

Spread Mozzarella evenly over the crust, use slightly less than you
think you want as it will melt and spread out. (If you have large clumps
of Mozzarella in spots and spots lacking in cheese, pick up the screen
and pizza an inch off the counter and spin it so it make one turn while
falling to the counter. This will even out the cheese.)

Put in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until the cheese is melted and
slightly brown.
Cut in slices and serve.
The choice of guests is up to you.
Enjoy.

An Extra Topping of Horror – Guest Review by Matthew Morrison

This one has it all:  ALIENS! PIZZA! TIME TRAVEL! A 50 FOOT CAT!

In An Extra Topping of Horror, Darrell B. Nelson takes over a sleepy little town and makes it the nexus of a rambling series of loosely connected (by time) vignettes.  It’s almost as if Stephen King’s character, Roland, in The Drawing of the Three sat down to a palaver with a John “Johnny Wad” Homes about the merits and detriments of applied String Theory, and somehow Mr. Nelson (no doubt, disguised as a lobster monstrosity) managed to record their conversation.  If one looks beyond the plethora of interplanetary inter play, in the end, this is a love story in reverse at least for one of the pair of lovers. 

I will place An Extra Topping of Horror on the shelf between the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams and the Talisman by Peter Straub, just beneath my massive collection of Rodox!

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Death Comes Silently - Carolyn Hart, Author


Curried Chicken Salad
(A Carolyn Hart special)

Simmer deboned chicken breast until done, approx. 20-25 minutes.
Cool, remove skin, chop chicken into bite-sized pieces.
Combine 1/4 c. chopped celery
1/4 c. chopped green pepper
1/2 c. water chestnurs if desired
Mix then add to dry ingredients:
1/2 c. mayo
1/4 c. milk (or thin to desired consistency)
1 to 1 and 1/2 tsp. curry
Chill. Serve on lettuce. Serves two.


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

Annie was struck by the weariness evident in his broad face. He was Billy, big,
brawny, and muscular, but Billy without his customary equanimity. Tight lines
marked the corners of his eyes, bracketed his generous mouth. Instead of a
jacket and slacks or a suit, his usual dress for work, he wore a navy pullover
and jeans. His blue eyes had a lost look. "I know you support me, but that
isn't what matters at this point. There's a dangerous killer out there who will
remove anyone seen as a threat. Right now Henny is safe. Jeremiah's arrest
will reassure the killer that she doesn't know enough to be a danger. As for
the rest of you" - he looked at Annie, Emma, and Laurel in turn - "don't even
think of trying to investigate." Annie felt a deep twist of disappointment.
"Jeremiah's innocent!"

Annie Darling is owner of Death on Demand, a mystery bookstore. She is also a
volunteer for Better Tomorrow, a charity shop that offers groceries, clothing and
other needs for those in financial binds. Due to a scheduled booksigning for
author Emma Clyde, she switched days with Gretchen Burkholt. This switch turned
out to be fatal for Gretchen when she found a note in the pocket of a jacket
that had belonged to Everett Hathaway. Everett's body had been found two
weeks earlier floating not far from his overturned kayak. An autopsy listed
drowning due to unconsciousness as a result of hypothermia as the cause of
death. According to the voice mail messages from Gretchen to Annie's cell
phone, the note she found leads her to believe his death wasn't an accident but
murder.

There are three people who would benefit from Everett's death. His much
younger wife, his nephew who wants to manage the family advertising business and
his 16 going on 21 year old niece who wants to run her own life, with her own
money. So which hated him enough to want him dead? Could Annie be wrong and
Jeremiah is the guilty party? Or was Everett's death actually an accident and
has nothing to do with Gretchen?

I can't get enough of Author Carolyn Hart's books. She has entertained me with
all of her Death on Demand stories and I simply love her Bailey Ruth ghost
stories, which I hope she writes more of soon. With all of her books Hart
combines love, humor and a 'whole lot of mystery' making each page flip by
quickly to see what clue the next holds. You can't help but love this author.

 
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