Kris Bock shares the first Reluctant Psychic #mystery and a Breakfast Burrito #recipe

UPDATE TO THIS POST: This series has had a change of titles and covers. It is now called the Tales of a Reluctant Psychic mystery series. Links may also have changed and can be found here: https://storyoriginapp.com/collections/0dce6156-83d5-46bd-838f-3395ec4ededb

I'm always happy to have Kris Bock on Discover... This time she really satisfies me with a fun, new book and the best recipe. I LOVE Mexican food and mystery! Enjoy.

The Reluctant Psychic Mysteries: Petra Cloch can touch an object and sense the emotions people have left behind. She avoids friendships so she won’t need to explain her gift or feel like a voyeur. Now she’s starting a new job at a quirky private museum in a small New Mexico town. 

A Stone Cold Murder opens with Petra cleaning her new office. The man who previously held her job died suddenly, leaving behind personal items and shelves of mineral samples that aren't on display. When Petra picks up a cluster of crystals, her psychic powers overwhelm her with flashes of rage and fear. The rock was clearly used as a weapon. Everyone says her predecessor died in a car crash, but what if he was murdered? If he died because of the job, she could be next. 

Petra usually avoids making personal connections, because her psychic powers make it awkward. But she needs to know what happened in order to protect herself. Her friendly coworkers—too friendly? – make it easy to get involved in the community. A transplant from Seattle, Petra soon learns about the joys of southwestern food, the benefits and challenges of small town life, and the danger of whatever she's stumbled into. 

Learn more or order The Reluctant Psychic Mystery series, available in ebook and print at all major retailers. 

New Mexicans love their green chile, which comes slathered over almost any dish. The official state question is “Red or Green?” – which version of the chile sauce do you want? Despite what spell check thinks, I’m not talking about chili, which is a stew that may contain beans and/or meat. Rather, chile refers to chopped or puréed New Mexico chile peppers, possibly cooked in broth with some onion and garlic. 

You can buy green chile or green chile sauce in some grocery stores. The 505 brand is good. You can also try salsa or other fresh hot peppers. Poblano (also called pasilla) peppers are a find substitute. 

These books don't include recipes, but here is something Petra might have tried in her new town. 

Breakfast Burrito 

2 bacon strips per person

1/2 cup hash browns per person

2 eggs per person

Salt and pepper to taste

Green chile to taste (or salsa if you can’t find green chile)

1 (8-inch) flour tortilla per person

1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese per person

Extra red or green chile sauce (optional) 

1. Use your favorite method to cook the bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving 1-2 tablespoons drippings.
2. Add the hash browns to the bacon drippings in a skillet at medium heat. Cook until browned.
3. Lightly beat the eggs with salt and pepper. Add to the skillet. Mix in the green chile and stir until the eggs are set.
4. Divide the egg mixture between the tortillas, spooning it down the center.
5. Sprinkle cheese and bacon over eggs.
6. Fold the tortilla into a burrito. Eat it out of hand, or smother the burrito with red or green chile sauce and eat it with a knife and fork.

 Options:

• Use crumbled, cooked sausage, cubed ham, carne adovada (pork cooked with red chile), or chorizo instead of the bacon. Try different cheeses. Or make a veggie version with sautéed mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, and diced tomatoes.
• For a group, you can let people add their own choice of meat, cheese, and veggie.
• You can make a large batch, wrap each burrito in waxed paper and aluminum foil, and freeze for up to a month. To heat, remove the foil and place the waxed paper-wrapped burritos on a plate. Microwave at 60% power until hot, about 1 to 2 minutes. 

Learn more or order The Reluctant Psychic Mystery series, available in ebook and print at all major retailers. 

Snippet: 

Liberty sat at a table and was the first to glance over at me. She smiled and waved me into the room. Haven’s glance followed the gesture to me, and she grinned.

I got a weird feeling. Like . . . people were happy to see me? And I enjoyed it?

I liked Haven and Liberty. I might enjoy being friends with them—assuming, of course, neither of them were murderers. But even taking murder out of the equation, friendship was hard with a secret like mine. When did you tell people? How would they react? But maybe if we got to know each other as coworkers . . . 

Readers say:

“The prose is sharp, the mystery is addictive, and Petra’s journey is one I won’t forget. If you love atmospheric thrillers with a deeply human core, you need this book.”

 “Petra is such a compelling lead. Her psychometry isn’t just a plot device—it’s a curse that’s shaped her entire life... And her journey from isolation to finally letting people in? Perfection.” 

“The depiction of the small-town environment is so vivid that I could almost sense the dust in the museum and feel the heat of the desert. The mystery itself is exceptionally well-crafted.” 

Kris Bock writes mystery, suspense, and romance, often with Southwestern landscapes. In the Accidental Detective humorous mystery series, a witty journalist solves mysteries in Arizona and tackles the challenges of turning fifty. The Furrever Friends Sweet Romance series features the employees and customers at a cat café. Watch as they fall in love with each other and shelter cats. In the Accidental Billionaire Cowboys series, a Texas ranching family wins a fortune in the lottery and find out winning the lottery causes as many problems as it solves. Kris’s romantic suspense novels include stories of treasure hunting, archaeology, and intrigue. 

Sign up for the Kris Bock newsletter and get an Accidental Detective short story and other freebies. Then every two weeks, you’ll get fun content about pets, announcements of new books, sales, and more. 

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A Taste of Christmas by Kris Bock #WickedWednesday #recipe #romance

WICKED WEDNESDAY

My favorite season is in full swing, as far as I'm concerned. November and December are wonderful months. And good food is everywhere! How great to get a recipe, a wickedly good, recipe from Kris Bock (I adore ginger) along with a taste of her latest release. Enjoy!

As we head into cooler weather in the northern hemisphere, not to mention the holiday season, how about a wickedly good molasses cookie recipe? This has the normal warming spices, along crystallized ginger for an extra kick. The characters make these cookies in my latest release, The Billionaire Cowboy’s Christmas.

Gingery Molasses Cookies

These molasses cookies get an extra kick with two kinds of ginger! Note that this recipe needs to be chilled before baking. Liquid molasses makes the cookie batter very soft. Chilling creates a firm dough. 

¾ cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar    

¼ cup molasses

1 egg

2 cups flour

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

½ teaspoon cloves

½ cup chopped crystallized ginger 

Tip: Dark molasses gives the cookies a stronger molasses flavor. Light or mild molasses provides less flavor. 

1.     In a large bowl, mix the butter, sugar, molasses, and egg.

2.     Stir together the flour, salt, baking soda, and all spices. Pour this into the butter mixture and blend well. Stir in the crystallized ginger.

3.     Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

4.     Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray the cups of a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Scoop spoonfuls of dough and roll them into 2-inch balls in your hands. Place each ball in the cup of a muffin tin.

5.     For soft, gooey cookies, bake about 10 minutes, until the edges look firm but the middle is still very soft. For crisper cookies, bake 12-14 minutes, until they look firm in the middle.

6.     Rest the cookies in the muffin tin for five minutes. Then remove the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling. Store in an airtight container. 

Tip: You can also make these cookies on a regular baking sheet. They spread a lot though, so using the muffin pan results in thicker cookies. 

The Billionaire Cowboy’s Christmas 

He has everything this Christmas, but all he wants is the quiet ranch life he’s losing… 

When Josh Tomlinson’s Texas ranching family wins a fortune in the lottery, the formerly tight-knit family is suddenly on edge. Seeking advice, Josh reluctantly contacts family friend and now attorney, Carly Garza. His business is serious, yet he can’t believe Carly’s morphed from a long-legged colt of a girl to a sophisticated woman. Besides, he knows the intelligent Carly has no interest in a quiet, rugged cowboy like him.

 

Carly’s crushed on Josh for years, and she plans to ask him out now that she’s back in Last Stand. She’s hoping he’ll finally see her as someone other than his younger brother’s middle school girlfriend. But when Josh needs advice on how to handle his family’s lottery win, his client and billionaire statuses put him firmly out of reach. If only her heart could ignore the sparks that flare between them.

 

They’re already keeping the family’s lottery win a secret from the town. Can they also hide their budding romance during the most magical time of year? 

Excerpt [Josh’s family has won the lottery, and Carly is helping them navigate their sudden fame. In this scene, Josh stops by Carly’s apartment.] 

Josh lifted the dish he held. “I brought dinner. People keep bringing casseroles and pies. I don't quite understand the logic, but I guess they want to do something to help us celebrate. Only a few of them brought investment ideas or requests for loans at the same time, and we referred them to you. I hope that’s okay. We’re not going to get through all this food, and the deep-freeze is packed.”

   “And you suspected I was here moping because my fridge was empty.” Carly couldn’t stop smiling. “Thanks. Are you staying for dinner?”

   “I’d love to. I’ll pop this in the oven.” He did so and then studied the groceries on her counter. “Doing some baking?”

   “I just haven’t put things away yet.”

   “Well, this might change your mind.” He pulled an envelope out of his jacket pocket and handed it over.

   She opened it. “An invite to the cookie exchange!”

   He hung his jacket in her closet. “Mama is still hosting.” He turned back toward her, hooking his thumbs in his front jean’s pockets. “Ladies only, so you won’t get the pleasure of my brothers’ company. Mama says you’re all grown up and back in town, so you’re one of them now.” Josh shrugged. “I don’t know if you consider that a compliment or not.”

   She hugged the card to her. “It’s sweet. Sometimes I’m not sure whether people here see me as grown up or not.”

   “I guess it’s a good thing you bought baking ingredients. What are you going to make?”

   “Hm. Good question. Should I go classic or try to find something no one else is likely to bring?”

   “Always a challenge. If it helps, I have a pretty good idea of what the other women will make.”

   The room seemed too small with him there. That slow old oven took forever to get warm, and then the casserole had to heat, so they had at least an hour until they could eat. What was she going to do with Josh in the meantime?

   A few thoughts sprang to mind, but she shoved them down. It didn’t matter how sweet he was or how good he looked. She had to keep her hands to herself.

   “That oven takes a while to heat up,” she said. “Want to help me make cookies?”

   “As long as I get to taste test.”

   Maybe the oven was heating up quickly for once, because she was getting far too warm.

   They debated cookies and settled on molasses, because she had her grandmother’s recipe and it was one of Josh’s favorites. Baking distracted them for the next little while.  

Find the series at Tule Publishing       Amazon US     Amazon UK     B&N/Nook             Apple  Kobo   BookBub         Goodreads 

Kris Bock writes novels of romance, mystery, and suspense. Her Furrever Friends Sweet Romance series features the employees and customers at a cat café. In the Accidental Detective series, a witty journalist solves mysteries in Arizona. Get a free cat café novella, mystery stories, and more when you sign up for the Kris Bock newsletter. 

Kris also writes a series with her brother, scriptwriter Douglas J Eboch, who wrote the original screenplay for the movie Sweet Home Alabama. The Felony Melanie series follows the crazy antics of Melanie, Jake, and their friends a decade before the events of the movie. Sign up for our romantic comedy newsletter and get Felony Melanie Destroys the Moonshiner’s Cabin. Or find the books on Amazon US or All E-book retailers. 

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Kris Bock on Inspiration from a Bird of Prey

MUSE MONDAY

Please welcome Kris Bock to Muse Monday with a most inspirational and fun post. Take it away, Kris.

On a beautiful fall afternoon, just outside of Socorro, New Mexico, we witness the ancient battle between hunter and prey. This hunter, weighing in at under three pounds, is a Harris hawk named Etta. 

Falconer Matt Mitchell releases the bird and moments later we’re striding across the scrub desert. Etta flies ahead, soaring 20 or 30 feet above the ground before landing on a small tree. We pass by, trying to flush a rabbit from the brush. When we get ahead, Matt raises his left arm, which is protected by a thick leather glove, and the hawk flies to him. 

As the late afternoon sun drops towards the horizon, a jackrabbit bolts from a bush. The hawk takes off on silent wings. Seconds later she dives behind a bush. The rabbit shrieks. 

We run toward the action. The rabbit has vanished, leaving only a tuft of fur caught in the bush. One of Etta’s feathers sticks out at a sharp angle. I’m probably imagining her indignant glare. “She got beat up,” Matt says. “That rabbit put some moves on her. The jackrabbit went around these bushes in figure eights and whatnot and stalled the bird out. The bird ended up on the ground and the rabbit took off.” 

Chalk one up for the prey. 

I met Matt several years ago. I tagged along on hunts and visited his home to see newly hatched hawks and falcons. Raising falcons is an intense, time-consuming, and expensive hobby, but as an author, I could do the next best thing – I could write about it. 

In What We Found, set in a small town in central New Mexico, a young woman stumbles on a dead body in the woods. Audra gets drawn into the investigation, but more than one person isn’t happy about her bringing a murder to light. Fortunately, she has some allies, including her brainy 12-year-old brother and self-appointed sidekick, Ricky. And because this is suspense with a dose of romance, she has a love interest, Kyle.

 Audra accompanies Kyle on a falcon hunt. As you can see, this scene is closely based my experiences with a falconer. 

   We strode across the desert, angling to pass by bushy patches where rabbits might be hiding. The

hawk flew ahead again, soaring about twenty feet above the ground before landing on a small tree. She waited until we passed by, then made another hop, farther that time. Kyle raised his left arm to shoulder height. The hawk flew back and landed. Watching her come in sent a strange breathless thrill through my chest. I’d seen owls and eagles fairly close in the zoo, but there they were sitting quietly on perches. This was a glimpse of something wild and beautiful.

    A jackrabbit bolted out of a bush twenty paces ahead. The hawk took off after it.

    Seconds later, she swooped down behind some bushes several hundred feet away. She rose up, made a small loop, and dropped down again. Something shrieked.

    Kyle was already running toward the action. By the time I got there, he had the hawk on his arm again. She had a feather sticking out awkwardly from her wing. I didn’t see the rabbit and wondered if Kyle had hidden it to make it easier on me.

    “She got beat up,” Kyle said. “That rabbit had some moves.”

    “It got away?”

    He nodded and plucked a small tuft of gray fur from the bush. “She made contact. But this time, it looks like the rabbit won.” He opened his fingers and the small tuft of fur drifted away on the breeze.

    “The rabbit won!”

    “It happens sometimes. Fortunately for our girl, she won’t starve.” He looked into her black eyes. “It’s frozen quail for you tonight, my dear.” 

The falconry aspect helped me develop thematic elements of What We Found, added some unusual action, and provided readers with insight into an usual pastime. One reader wrote, “The falconry aspect was almost as intriguing as the unveiling of the murderer!” 

Kris Bock writes novels of suspense and romance with outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes. The Mad Monk’s Treasure – currently free at all e-book retailers – follows the hunt for a long-lost treasure in the New Mexico desert. Whispers in the Dark features archaeology and intrigue among ancient Southwest ruins. In Counterfeits, stolen Rembrandt paintings bring danger to a small New Mexico town. 

Fans of Mary Stewart, Barbara Michaels, and Terry Odell will want to check out Kris Bock’s romantic adventures: “Counterfeits is the kind of romantic suspense novel I have enjoyed since I first read Mary Stewart’s Moonspinners.” 5 Stars – Roberta at Sensuous Reviews blog 

Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page. Sign up for the Kris Bock newsletter for announcements of new books, sales, and more.