Random garden pics

Disclaimer: I'm not a photographer, and I don't really have a garden. It's more like a wildlife preserve.

It's been a cool year so far, but here at last is the first ripe blackberry. Usually they're all ripe by now and mostly eaten by birds. (Not that I don't like blackberries, but the mosquitoes like munching on me.)

It's been rainy, too, and this week mushrooms popped up everywhere.

 

Even a blue one. Is it really blue, or is that mold?

This is my favorite -- a hat!

And farewell from the rosemary bush, which thrives regardless of neglect and the weather.

Heart of Constantine

HEART OF CONSTANTINE, the long-awaited third book in the Bayou Gavotte series, will be out September 10th!

Tentative Cover (which I love -- isn't the owl awesome??):

Tentative Blurb:

Vigilante Native American rock star Constantine Dufray has hit rock bottom. His telepathic abilities have spun out of control, and destructive rumors about him run rampant. Some are true—he caused a violent cop’s suicide, and telepathy destroyed his marriage—but he didn’t poison his wife, and he couldn’t have caused riots at his concerts, killing his fans…or could he? Now an unknown enemy is trying to frame him for rape and murder. 

Aura reader Marguerite McHugh finally gets a close encounter with the mysterious star, but it’s nothing like she expected. When Constantine finds her after she’s been drugged at one of his shows, she’s pulled into his quest for the truth. As dangers mount and murders pile up, Constantine and Marguerite are forced into an ever more intimate relationship. Only by facing their fears and working together can they unmask the killer before more innocent people die. 

Heart of Constantine is available for pre-order here.

Monday Morning Muffins

Actually, I made these on Saturday, but I'm making more this morning by special request. They're great by themselves but go equally well with cheese or jam.

Oatmeal Apple Muffins

1 cup oatmeal
1 cup white whole wheat flour (or white or whole wheat)
1/2 cup turbinado sugar (but regular brown sugar is fine)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil (I use canola)
1/2 cup applesauce (If you use the applesauce that comes in single-serving containers and it's less than 1/2 cup, make up the rest with milk)
1/2 cup milk

Mix the dry ingredients together. Ditto the wet ingredients. Combine and spoon into greased muffin pans. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, maybe a little more. Yum!

Giveaway!

Today I'm visiting Cynthia Woolf's blog, where she very kindly interviewed me. Drop by for a chance to win a $10 gift certificate from Amazon or Barnes & Noble, winner's choice. (http://cynthiawoolf.com/blog/)

In other news... I'm waiting with bated breath for the cover of Heart of Constantine. I will post it here as soon as I have it.

Swans in Le Teich nature reserve, near Bordeaux, France. Are they the descendants of swans seen by Eleanor of Aquitaine almost 900 hundred years ago? It's a nice thought. (I like thinking about that sort of thing.)

Saturday Pancakes

 

We made pancakes today, so I thought I would share my recipe. (I don't have a photo of my pancakes, so you get a stork's nest instead.)

2 cups white whole wheat flour (I love this flour. It’s whole wheat with a consistency more like white. If you can’t find it, use ½ whole wheat and ½ white.)

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

2 eggs (I use large or extra large)

3 tablespoons vegetable oil (I use canola)

2 cups buttermilk to start and more if necessary to get the right consistency

Mix the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, oil, and 2 cups buttermilk. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together. Add more buttermilk to get the consistency you like for pancake batter. You may have to add more buttermilk later, as the batter may thicken a little.

I am no great shakes at anything done in a frying pan, so I won’t offer advice. Hopefully you or someone you know is good at it. This morning’s worked fine, but I give the credit to luck. :)

These are also nice with broken nut pieces (pecans or walnuts), which can be added to the batter or dropped onto the pancake just after the batter is ladled into the pan.

This should feed about 4 people, more or less...

We use various syrups according to taste – Maple Grade A, Maple Grade B, or Agave. All good!

Release Day... was almost 5 days ago.

I'm late with this... No excuse except that in doing other blogs I forgot this one...but Bewitched By His Kiss came out on May 1st! It's Book Two of the May Day Mischief novella duet. It's available in both e-book (many places) and audio format (Amazon.com).

 

England, 1804

Lucasta Barnes knows the folly believing in magic can lead to—and she won't accept that her illicit tryst with a notorious rake was the result of anything more than pure lust. Or that it has bonded them together forever. Yet, she can't deny that she yearns for just one more night in his arms…

David, Earl of Elderwood, is known as an enchanter of women, but ever since a passionate encounter with Lucasta three years ago, he desires only her. How can he convince his thoroughly practical paramour that love is the greatest magic of all?

 

Release Day! Giveaway!

Today's the release day for The Magic of His Touch, and I'm celebrating with a giveaway (a $25 gift certificate) over at Wicked Romance. (Isn't that a fabulous name for a blog? I love it.) There are lots of ways to enter, and I've included excerpts of both today's release and the sequel, Bewitched by His Kiss, which comes out on May 1st. (Very appropriate, seeing as both stories happen on May Day.) Please do stop by and enter. :)