Monthly Archives: March 2015

Free Read – A Perfect Party!

Cover-APerfectParty

As a special thank you to all my readers, I’m posting a free download of A Perfect Party and the French translation La fête parfaite.

This is my New Jersey Ice Cats short story featuring Taylor ‘Mad Dog’ Madden and Lizzie Martin. It originally appeared (and is still available!) in the FREE anthology Tiny Treats: A Holiday Collection.

Here’s the blurb:

CoverFRENCH-APerfectPartyJust Good Friends?

Ice Cats defenseman, Taylor ‘Mad Dog’ Madden wants more than friendship from Lizzie Martin. Much more. So when a Christmas party provides the chance to kick their relationship up a gear, should he take it or will he lose her completely?

For those of you who’d like this story on its own, to add to your collection, I’ve had a special cover designed and created a download.

Simply head over to the For Readers section, click on the cover of the version you’d like and download the PDF.

Happy reading!

March is here!

A Perfect Catch CoverIt’s been a lovely week, here in Cambridge, with glorious sunshine every day. There is still a nip in the air to remind us that it’s still only March, but the snowdrops, daffodils and crocuses are out and the cherry trees are beginning to flower, so spring is definitely on its way. Hope it’s lovely where you are — that the snow has melted in North America and it’s not too hot Down Under!

La Proposition IdealeThank you for your amazing support during February, with the launch of A Perfect Catch and La proposition idéale. Thanks to your purchases, A Perfect Catch hit #1 in Canada and #4 in the USA and La proposition idéale was a top 50 ebook in France!

TinyTreats1666x2499Thank you too to all my new readers who discovered A Perfect Party in Tiny Treats: A Holiday Collection (still available and still free!) and decided to buy the other New Jersey Ice Cats books.

I’m hard at work on book 4 – tentatively titled A Perfect Choice – and enjoying putting reader favourite Jean-Baptiste ‘JB’ Larocque through his paces. This book is scheduled to be out in early 2016. I know that’s a long wait, but I’m a slow writer and want to make sure A Perfect Choice is the best book it can be.

St Patricks Day Tiny TreatsDon’t worry, there will be several NJ Ice Cats short stories to bridge the gap – starting with A Perfect Lucky Charm, which is in Tiny Treats 2: A St. Patrick’s Day Collection.

A Perfect Lucky Charm introduces readers to a new Ice Cat – Patrick ‘Paddy’ Mullroney – who isn’t Irish, despite his name, and doesn’t believe in luck! Until the shamrock from green-eyed beauty Shayla Friel’s ear-ring drops at his feet. Could St. Patrick’s Day be lucky for him, after all?

Enjoy the rest of the month and don’t forget to keep an eye out for a special extra treat in a few days!

More Two Nations Divided!

Thank you once again to all of my lovely readers and followers on Facebook, who have told me how much they enjoy my regular Two Nations Divided feature. When I started this, I knew there were quite a few differences, but I’ve been amazed by just how many there are! I’m learning new ones all the time.

You can catch up with the latest Two Nations Divided every Friday on my Facebook Author page. Don’t forget, you can always find any you’ve missed here or on my Pinterest board.

TND feb 2015 1 TND Feb 2015 2 TND Feb 2015 3 TND Feb 2015 4 TND Feb 2015 5 TND Feb 2015 6 TND Feb 2015 7 TND Feb 2015 8 TND Feb 2015 9 TND Feb 2015 10 TND Feb 2015 11 TND Feb 2015 12 TND Feb 2015 13

Recipe for Tracy’s Cheese Scones

A Perfect Catch CoverIn A Perfect Catch, everyone likes Tracy’s cheese scones — especially Ike. Emily, Tracy’s niece (and Maggie’s daughter from A Perfect Distraction), enjoyed making them too. They’re a fun recipe for youngsters to make as the best way to mix the ingredients is to roll up your sleeves and do it by hand!

Several readers have asked if I would share the recipe, so here it is. These are delicious on their own, served warm, with butter, or with crispy bacon. Happy baking!

 

Ingredients: (makes 1 doz)

225g or 8oz of self-raising flour
55g/2oz butter
85g/3oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated
125ml/4 fl oz milk
1 egg

  1. Preheat oven to 220 C/425 F
  2. Mix together the flour and butter
  3. Mix in the grated cheese
  4. Add egg
  5. Add milk to get a soft dough
  6. Turn onto floured surface and knead lightly
  7. Roll out so that it’s approx 1/2in thick.
  8. Use a 5cm/2in cutter to cut out rounds. Try not to twist as you’re cutting.
  9. Knead remaining dough together, roll out and repeat for more rounds.
  10. Place rounds of a greased tray and brush the tops with milk.
  11. Bake for 12-15 mins until golden.

[This recipe originally appeared on The Romance Dish]

Lizzie’s Sweet Treats Shortbread Cookie Recipe

Cover-APerfectParty

 

In A Perfect Party, we learned that Lizzie Martin (Jenny’s younger sister from A Perfect Trade) has set up her own personalised cookie business, called Lizzie’s Sweet Treats.

Since I know you all love recipes, here is Lizzie’s recipe for delicious, buttery shortbread cookies.

 

Ingredients: (approx 12 cookies)

150g self-raising flour
150g salted butter
50g golden caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence (optional)
Cadbury’s Chocolate Buttons or any chocolate pieces (optional)
Cling-film or plastic wrap.

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F
  2. Add flour, sugar and butter (plus vanilla) to food processor or mixer and pulse until mixture is like wet sand.
  3. Lay out a large piece of cling-film on the counter and pour the mixture onto it.
  4. Using the cling-film to help keep the mixture together, press and roll, until you have a long, solid roll of dough, wrapped in plastic.
  5. Store in refrigerator for an hour.
  6. Slice dough into ¼” or ½” rounds and put onto a well-greased or sheet-lined baking tray.
  7. Cook for approx 15 mins. Note: timing depends on how thickly you cut the rounds.
  8. When cooked, use a spatula to slide onto a wire rack. Note: the cookies will be very soft when warm, so if they’re too fragile, it’s okay to let them cool on the tray for a few minutes to let them harden a little.
  9. (Optional) While cookies are cooling, add chocolate button to the centre of each cookie.

Note: If you don’t use metric measures, keep the flour, butter and sugar in the ratio of 3:3:1 (eg 6oz, 6oz, 2oz)

[Note: This recipe first appeared as part of Tawny Weber‘s Cookies & Kisses Blog Hop.