Who Likes a Good Poll?
I know I do! So go ahead and cast your votes for the best romance novels of 2010 over at All About Romance.
And while you're at it, don't forget about these two! ; )
Let your voice be heard! Vote vote vote!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Let your voice be heard! Vote vote vote!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Beans, Beans, the Magical Fruit...
I'm about to head out to the grocery store for provisions. It's still chilly enough here that I want to make soup or stew, maybe something with beans. Especially after the success of that yummy chickpea & spinach stew last week! Anyone have a great bean recipe to share?
Friday, January 14, 2011
Cover Hotness!
So exciting--I can finally share my new cover with you all! TOO HOT TO TOUCH, first in the Hot Trilogy, will be out August 2nd, and let me tell you, it's not just the title that's hot. I'm in lust...
What do you think? Does it make you eager to meet my new crop of sexy, talented, passionate chefs as they battle it out in the Rising Star Chef competition?
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
The Perfect Dish by Kristen Painter
THE PERFECT DISH by Kristen Painter is now out! Who doesn't love a hot chef hero?
Blurb: Texas-born Kelly Spicer is not just one of Manhattan's hottest young chefs, he's also one of the city's most eligible bachelors. Desperate to help his grieving sister, Kelly uses the magic cookbook passed down through his family's generations to conjure up a recipe of chocolate-laced persuasion to enlist the help of the only woman he thinks can reach his sister.
Psychologist Meredith Black has buried two husbands,an experience which has made her an expert in grief and pushed her to pen two books that landed her on the Oprah show and the best seller list. A cynic in matters of the heart, her success does nothing to ease her belief that she's a jinx. She vows never to love again and when she makes that sentiment public, dating Kelly becomes her best damage control.
You can find it on Amazon or B&N.
Doesn't that cover make you want to drag that guy into the kitchen and...bake a cake? Rowr!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Baby, It's Cold Outside
It is COLD here in Austin today. Does it make me a hypocrite if I kind of like it? I know, I know, I complained a lot about the bitter, looooong winters in Ohio, and I was stoked to live someplace warmer. But here, there's no snow to shovel, I made a hearty stew last night (chickpeas, spinach, and tomatoes, with a garlicky aioli dolloped on top,) and have a fire in the fireplace. It was kind of awesome. Maybe I'm just not a fan of 5-month winters with lots of icy, slushy, snowy mess.
What's your favorite thing about winter weather?
Friday, January 7, 2011
New Year's Resolutions
I know it's a little late, but I thought I'd post about those tricky beasts, New Year's resolutions. There's an art to them, you see. You want to them to stretch you, to propel you further than you've managed to go before--but you also want them to be achievable. Quick hint: don't word them like "I'll NEVER do x and such" or "I'll do x and such every single day!" Unless you were already working hard on that goal, you're not going to be able to make such a drastic, complete switch.
But it's just as dangerous to word your resolution too vaguely. "I'll try to do x and such more." More than what? "More" could mean once, or it could mean three times a week. Be specific, but reasonable.
My goals are these: I will work toward being able to swim a mile three times a week by February 15th. I will take advantage of living in Austin by going out once a week (to a bar, to listen to live music, to take a class, to a museum, etc) and I will read fifty books this year.
That last one is my favorite! I was a voracious reader long before I was a writer, and I miss it. The activities are so closely linked in my head; I tend to feel like if I'm reading, I'm slacking, and should be using that time to write. But reading is actually a part of writing--it's how I expand my vocabulary, not just of word definitions, but of ideas and emotions and personality traits and settings.
Plus, I just plain love to read.
So I'm off to a good start, beginning with AS ALWAYS, JULIA, the collected letters of Julia Child and her first publishing contact and dear friend, Avis DeVoto. I'm about a quarter of the way through it, and it's every bit as charming as you think it is. I'd be glad for some book recommendations from all of you! I'll ask again, don't worry. And I plan to keep track of my progress right here on this blog, so you can all help keep me honest!
What were your New Year's resolutions this year?
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