What's On the Plate, What's Simmering in the Pot

MUSE MONDAY
Series Update 
The first book, The Art of Love and Murder was served up and released on May 2nd. I've been thrilled with the response it's received from both reviewers and readers. They've labeled it suspenseful, a page-turner, character driven and say the setting is a character in itself.

Blurb:
Lacy Dahl never questioned her past until the deaths of her adoptive parents and her husband. A husband who wasn't what he seemed. Her research uncovers secrets about the mother she never knew; secrets that dispute the identity of her father and threaten her life.

Sheriff Chance Meadowlark is still haunted by the murder of his wife and the revenge he unleashed in the name of justice. When he meets Lacy he is determined not to become involved, but their pasts may make that impossible. As they move closer to the truth, saving Lacy may be his only salvation.

Lacy begins to think the present is more important than her past...until Chance's connection to her mother and a murder spin her deeper into danger and further from love. Will the truth destroy Lacy and Chance or will it be the answer that frees them?

Book two, Southwest of Love and Murder is simmering - just a few more edits - and will be out in coming months. Here's a taste.

Blurb:
Mystery writer, Phoebe Anderson, owes her success to killing her first husband on paper seventeen years earlier. Now, someone has actually done it. When she decides to take a few days away on the ranch of her best friend’s brother-in-law, she doesn’t expect romance to find her...or murder to follow her.

Mason Meadowlark is happy with his wild cowboy ways, avoiding love since the death of his baby and the end of his marriage twenty years ago. When Phoebe shows up, he fights to control his emotions, but soon wonders if she just might be worth the risk of opening his heart again.

With an obsessed fan close on her heels, Phoebe is thrown into her own murder mystery…and the next target on his list is Mason.

 I've been working hard on book three of my Love and Murder Series, The Legacy of Love and Murder. The ingredients are still being added and it needs a bit more spice! I've got about two months to have it finished and off to my editor. Since we're coming into the busy season on the farm, it's questionable if I can make the deadline. Writing under pressure isn't a bad thing, but does make me nervous!

Books four and five are in the process of creating the recipe. What I know so far is book four will be back in Flagstaff, Arizona. The Black Fairy, Penny, from The Art of Love and Murder is fearing for her life. For book five we'll go back to Chino Valley, Arizona where Margie and Dirk meet murder and mayhem on the Meadowlark Ranch.

So if you haven't gobbled up The Art of Love and Murder yet, you can find it in both eBook and print in tons of online stores. Here are a few:
The Wild Rose Press    Amazon   Barnes and Noble   ARe   KOBO

And stay tuned for the release date and serving up of Southwest of Love and Murder.

Garlic! Garlic! Garlic! and Kraken's Breath

 Tortuga Thursday

In 2012, on the plains of Northern Arizona, two families joined forces and began the trials and tribulations of building a small family farm with nothing in the bank but love.

Pepper plants today

If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers...it's a little too early for Peter, but the pepper plants are growing bushier and the cucumber plants that will lead us to pickling are flowering. The monsoons have started in Arizona, and the couple of rains we've had gave everything a growth spurt.

Unfortunately, one of those rain storms was accompanied by high winds that destroyed the awning on the RV. I'd been in the RV that morning, cleaning and had put the awning out for shade to keep it cool inside. Later, I was in the house writing, sun coming in the window when the storm hit. It was sunny on my side of the house but blowing and raining on the other. Never thought about the awning I left out. One of those times I really wished I could go back in time.

Pepper plants a week ago

I digress...back to farming...we're branching out in another direction to add to our line of pickles and relish. We grow all our own produce for the Pirate Pickles and Relish, one of which is garlic. After much research and discussion, we've decided to get into garlic on a larger scale, growing it to sell as a product. I didn't realize there were so many varieties of garlic. Some are considered gourmet. This first year, we'll do about a quarter acre of ten different varieties. Then we'll take the top two or three producers to concentrate on next year. Over this next year, we'll have another web site for marketing the garlic. Stay tuned!

Speaking of pickles, we've been getting emails of praise. Had to share this one with you that came with an imaginative recipe!

Cucumber plants today

We tried the Kraken's Breath Hot pickles from these guys.  By we, I mean my son and I. These are solid, good, hot pickles.  

We snacked on 'em first. then we used em with crackers, cheese,and summer sausage. That was a good lunch.

Then we sliced one up to combine with some of my leftover smoked porkloin to create a version of cuban pork sandwiches. That was straight up bitchin. (You can edit here if you like, but I wanted you and your crew to know how I really felt.)

Then, sadly, we were out of pickles...but I still had plenty o' juice! So I did what any self respecting meat cooking man would do and created a marinade for some pork chops.Here's my recipe:

6-8 thick cut porkchops (cuz whats the point if they're thin cut?)

Cucumber plants a week ago

1 bottle of your fave beer. We used Fat Tire.

1/3 cup of Kraken Breath juice

1tbs olive oil

Sprinkle in some oregano, basil, thyme, marjoram, (or just a couple spoons of Italian seasoning)

Black Pepper

Lil pinch o' Sea Salt

Soak the meats for an 30 min to 1 hour.  We use ziploc bags to soak in.

Anyway, grill them meats over some nice hot coals or smoke 'em over some applewood or Jack Daniels oak barrel chips. 

The youngest but cutest Pirate

Manly dinner for the night before setting sail!

So, that's my testimonial.  I can't wait to see you guys again and try more of them pickles.  I think the relish will do quite nicely mixed with sauerkraut, hot mustard, spooned over a fat beer brat with a nice shooter of beer-cheese sauce. Sweet Moses, get more product SOON!

Corey/Jackkyl

We'll be back at the farmers' market by September. Meanwhile, we have to try out this recipe.

Reader or Writer: Got the Muse Blues?

MUSE MONDAY
Please welcome my guest Barbara White Daille to Muse Monday. She has a great giveaway so be sure to get to the end and enter!

A big thanks to Brenda for inviting me back to Muse Monday to chat with you.

Whether you’re a reader or a writer, you probably have a muse of your own. 

To me, a muse is that helpful voice in our heads that stimulates and motivates us to accomplish what we need to achieve.  You may call him or her or it your creative well or your brainstorming cap.  Whatever works for you!

Typically, people make connections between the muse and a creative endeavor.  As “to muse” means “to think (in silence) on a subject,” I’d say the phrase covers such widely diverse projects as coming up with decorations to match a party theme or daydreaming a list of potential vacation spots.

My muse is female, finicky, and fickle.  At the moment, I’m keeping her very much in mind (no pun intended), since I’m on deadline for a book that’s due at the end of this month.  And as usual, the closer I get to a due date, the more she wants to play.

When she gets in that mood, here are some things I do to rein her in so we can both get back to business:

1. Sit down to work, set a timer, and vow not to get up from the chair till the buzzer rings.

2. Make a list.  For a book, that would include scene checklists, what-ifs for plot twists, or notes about edits to be incorporated into the next draft.  For life in general, that could be a to-do list or this week’s menu plan.

3. Switch gears.  If I’ve been at my desk all morning, I might take the laptop to another room for the afternoon.  If I’ve hit a snag while working on the computer, I’ll switch to a notepad to figure things out.

4. Take a break.  That sounds counterproductive, I know.  But sometimes our muses—and brains—have been hyper-focused for so long, they need time to recharge.

Do any of these strategies work for you when you’re trying to get motivated?

I can always use more ideas, so please feel free to share if you have any other suggestions or strategies you’ve heard about!

Also, I’m giving away a copy of my upcoming book, The Texan’s Little Secret.  Check out the Rafflecopter below.

Cover blurb from The Texan’s Little Secret:

Coming home might be the worst decision Carly Baron has ever made. Each minute on her family's busy ranch is one minute closer to seeing him—her first love—the man who broke her heart seven years ago. While coming face-to-face with Luke Nobel again brings back painful memories, Carly quickly realizes there are other strong feelings just under the surface…. 

Luke would be a lot better off if Carly had stayed away. Being a single dad to an adorable two-year-old girl and managing the Roughneck is tough enough, but resisting the sparks that fly whenever he and Carly are together is near impossible. But first she must tell him her secret. The truth could heal their past…or forever destroy their chances of becoming a family.

The Texan’s Little Secret can be found at:

Amazon  Amazon UK  Barnes and Noble  Books a Million  Harlequin  Powell's Books  The Book Depository  IndieBound

Originally from the East Coast, award-winning author Barbara White Daille now lives with her husband in the warm, sunny Southwest, where they love the lizards in the front yard but could do without the scorpions in the bathroom.  Barbara writes romances—usually with cowboys, kids, and a touch of humor.  Her current title is Rancher at Risk, and she’s excited that her upcoming book, The Texan’s Little Secret, releases in less than a month! 

Barbara would love to have you drop by her website:  www.barbarawhitedaille.com

and to see you on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/BarbaraWhiteDaille
and Twitter:  https://twitter.com/BarbaraWDaille

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Purple Peppers Pirates

 Tortuga Thursday

In 2012, on the plains of Northern Arizona, two families joined forces and began the trials and tribulations of building a small family farm with nothing in the bank but love.

Peppers of several varieties

To quote one of my favorite songs "it's a hot one, like seven inches from the midday sun." This has been the hottest spell for the longest and the earliest since we landed on Tortuga Flats. I can't handle the heat. And since I'm out there weeding everyday, I have to start early. I'm so very glad most of the rows have the black plastic this year. The Bermuda grass finds a way through but not nearly as bad as last year when we didn't use the plastic.

I'm picture sharing this time. Our fields are looking good! And we will have fruit after all. The orchard is like an afterthought that no one has much time to work on. I try to keep suckers trimmed and Frank waters the trees. Lance did such a massive trim, and that could be why we'll have some fruit. We love fruit, but with only so many hours in the day, the trees are way down on the list for care.

Each year, Lance plants something I've never heard of or seen. One year, we had green beans, but they were purple. Another year, we had red and yellow carrots. This year, we have purple okra. I love surprises!

Our heads are deep in thought, debate and planning on how to expand. The pickle business won't grow much until we can find a way to build a commercial kitchen. Another crop is being considered, but the investment is still a tough problem. Investors are being sought as well as other creative solutions. Stay tuned!

Reminder - we have Pirate Pickling shirts available. Here's the web site if you're interested. Click on apparel: http://www.piratepickling.com/

Purple Okra plant

Cucumber plants

Zucchini plants

Black Arkansas apples!

Pears!