Jeffrey Carver at Star-Crossed Romance

Good morning everyone! Today Science Fiction author Jeffrey Carver visits us at Star-Crossed Romance with an article about characterization.

You can see his article here http://star-crossedromance.blogspot.com/2011/01/guest-jeffrey-carver.html

Also I did a review on one of his books, Neptune Crossing. You can see my review here

http://star-crossedromance.blogspot.com/2011/01/review-neptune-crossing.html

Have a wonderful day!

Resolutions - Are they working?

I don't ordinarily make New Year's Resolutions anymore. Got tired of feeling like a failure when I broke them, lol. But this year I decided to take better care of my fingernails and cuticles. You see, I'm a cuticle ripper-offer. The skin would get dry, maybe peel a little and I'd rip it off. The result? Ugly.

So this year, I decided to break the habit.

I'm polishing my nails (hoping that by making them pretty I'll stop tearing up the cuticles) once a week. So far, it's working...more or less. I've had tiny bouts of tearing the cuticles but nothing like in the past.

It's an uphill battle so keep your fingers crossed for me. And if you'd like to share how you're doing on your own New Year's Resolutions, feel free to comment.

Check out Stephanie Rowe at Star-Crossed Romance

Good morning all!

I've got a new to me author guesting at Star-Crossed today

http://star-crossedromance.blogspot.com/2011/01/guest-stephanie-rowe.html
PLUS a review of her book, Kiss At Your Own Risk

http://star-crossedromance.blogspot.com/2011/01/review-kiss-at-your-own-risk-by.html

Sourcebooks is sponsoring a giveaway so make sure you check out how to enter the drawing.

Dakka Soup Revised

After shoveling the driveway and sidewalks, I was cold to the bone. I wanted something nice and hot and comforting for dinner. In other words, I wanted soup. So...I didn't have dakka :-) or pumpkin handy. But I did have some lovely cubed butternut squash in my freeze.

I happen to love butternut squash so in the fall, I buy extra squash and freeze it. That always makes me feel all Suzy Homemakerish  when I can prepare food from scratch :-)  I also keep canned milk on hand for extra creamy soups but if you only have regular milk, that will work too. Add a nice spinach salad with clementines or oranges and a light raspberry vinaigrette dressing and dinner is ready :-)

Give it a try. I think you'll enjoy the soup as much as I did.

Dakka Soup Revised

1 lb frozen butternut squash, cubed
2-3 C. chicken or vegetable stock (I like the stock in a box)
1 6 oz can condensed milk
1/2 t. nutmeg, optional
3 T. applebutter
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place squash in 4 qt sauce pan, add enough stock to cover. Bring to boil, then simmer 20 min. When fork tender, mash until smooth (or use an immersion blender), add condensed milk, applebutter and nutmeg. Stir. Simmer about ten minutes to allow flavors to meld. Serve. Appx 4 servings

Review for Heartstone from Long and Short Of It Romance Reviews

Wow! I just discovered a great review for my novel, Heartstone, over at Long and Short Of It Romance Reviews.


http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.com/2011/01/heartstone-by-lynda-k-scott.html

It makes an author's heart all warm and fuzzy when she sees a good review and it inspires all kinds of weird and funky Happy Dances :-)