Happy Holidays!

I hope your holidays are the brightest and lovely, happy times decorate this time of the season!

Want to win Christmas cash??

Just in the Nick of Time! There's $250 up for grabs in PayPal cash of an Amazon gift card. Many chances to enter to increase your odds! Good luck!

Enter Giveaway Here!

Happy Easter!

Happy St. Patrick's Day - Celebrate with Us!

The authors of The Keeper Shelf are having a party today! Come join us on Facebook for fabulous fun, and lots of great giveaways from jewelry, books, cake, to gift cards! Click to join the Party!

Have a great St. Patrick's Day!

Happy Holidays and Looking Ahead to 2015!

May your holidays be filled with family and friends,

laughter, love, and good cheer!

I'm looking forward to an exciting and amazing 2015. I have numerous fiction projects in the works and you'll be seeing more from me!

My awesome agent has not one but two young adult manuscripts we'll be shopping to publishers after the New Year. I'm working with an amazing group of authors at The Keeper Shelf to publish in January a fun, sexy, flirty excerpt anthology! I'll also be re-issuing a newly edited version of my first novel Chasing Shadows (after my rights revert back to me from its original publisher) in April, and I hope to publish a second psychic romantic suspense novel to follow it later in the year (it's written, but needs extensive edits). I'll continue to contribute blog posts with the fantastic young adult authors over at the UnCommonYA site.

I have some great giveaways planned too! 

Don't forget to sign up for my new Newsletter. All subscribers will be entered into exclusive, subscriber-only giveaways. You'll also hear about my news first and have the opportunity to get freebies, including chances to read my books for free! Newsletter Signup.

Hope you had a wonderful 2014.
I look forward to seeing you all in an even better 2015!

 

To-Die-For Unique Holiday Recipes!

You don't want to miss the UnCommonYA blog for some great holiday recipes! Here are some of them. Check back for more... Enjoy!

Grandmother's Mashed Potatoes

Caribbean Chicken Nuggets

Kolachky

Mayonnaise Biscuits

Pretty Sushi Balls

Buttercream Frosting

Pineapple Bread Pudding

Ambrosia

Sweet Potato Pie

Jumbals "Smelling of Lemon"

Pantry Cuisine

Happy Independence Day, America!

On July 4th, 1776
This great nation, the United States of America,
In a struggle for what was right and free,
Was proudly born...
May we celebrate that precious freedom
For which our forbears fought so bravely...
The freedom that is inherent
In the Stars and Stripes, our revered flag...
Celebrate Freedom
This Fourth of July!

Source:  The Holiday Spot

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving day and long weekend!

To read some humorous Thanksgiving Day quotes, head on over to The Keeper Shelf.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

and

Happy Gateway to the Holiday Shopping Season!

Happy Creeptastic Halloween!

Walk Into My Parlor

by Mary Howitt

 

“Will you walk into my parlor?"
said the spider to the fly;
"Tis the prettiest little parlor that you ever did spy.
The way into my parlor is up a winding stair,
And I have many curious things to show when you are there."
"Oh no, no!" said the little fly,
"to ask me is in vain;
For who goes up your winding stair
can never come down again."

Happy Halloween!

 

 

 

Fun History of Thanksgiving!

I found this funny history of Thanksgiving and thought I'd share it with you for a laugh or two!

Thanksgiving history states that the first gathering among the pilgrims (Fred and Ethel Pilgrim, that is) and the Winnebago Indians, took place in 1621, as previously stated, and was regarded as a harvest festival event though there were few hippies and Jesus Freaks and rock bands at the time.

Following a harsh winter in 1620, followed by a drought, prayers for rain, and a rain that came down like cats and dogs, the autumn harvest festival featured fine foods such as turkey, giblets, gravy, mashed potatoes, lettuce, turnip & pea. Pheasants and swans were also offered and ironically, no one wanted the turkey wishbone at that time, but the kids all fought over the swan's neck.

According to scholars of Thanksgiving history, this autumn harvest festival was a time of overeating, dancing, drinking and merriment, which was strictly forbidden by the pilgrims' puritanical religion at the time and doomed all of the participants to an eternal life in hell or a life of wearing those ridiculous costumes with buckles on their shoes, whichever, they individually deemed harsher. The history of Thanksgiving states that pilgrims and Indians played games such as rugby, Native American soccer, badminton and Jarts.

Some older accounts of Thanksgiving history state that Pocahontas joined Captain Myles Standoffish for the first Thanksgiving celebration, but revisionist history states this isn't so as Pocahontas actually died just a few short years before the first celebration. According to new data in regards to the history of Thanksgiving, it is now known that the body of Pocahontas was dug up for the celebration and propped up at the end of the table. She was regarded as the wise old aunt who barely spoke a word and probably had a buzz on as she was smiling the whole time.

Again in 1621, Governor William Bradford declared Thanksgiving Day as a national holiday, but since the Revolutionary War had yet to take place, no one knew what this meant. In wasn't until George Washington was President in 1789, that he had the power, after the Revolutionary War to declare Thanksgiving as a national holiday. After doing so, George promptly bit into a huge turkey leg and split in two his fine wooden teeth.

So, there you have the history of Thanksgiving, albeit one that is factually incorrect, full of misinformation, misdirection and downright lies. For more factually incorrect, yet humorous information regarding Thanksgiving history, check out the rest of this site. http://www.thanksgivinghistory.net

 

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Tribute to Halloween -- Creepy Movie Quotes

My tribute to Halloween…popular, scary movie quotes from classic movies. What are some of your favorite creepy movie quotes? Or which one of these do you like best?
 

She just goes a little mad sometimes. We all go a little mad sometimes. Haven't you? (Norman Bates - Psycho)

Close your eyes and count to seven, when you wake you'll be in heaven. (Chucky - Child's Play 2)  

The only person that I let in on the fact that I was still alive was a six-year-old kid. I'm gonna be six years old again. Well, John, it's been fun, but I gotta go. I have a date with six-year-old boy... and you have a date with death. (Chucky - Child's Play)  

I met him, fifteen years ago. I was told there was nothing left. No reason, no conscience, no understanding; even the most rudimentary sense of life or death, good or evil, right or wrong. I met this six-year-old child, with this blind, pale, emotionless face and, the blackest eyes... the DEVIL'S eyes! I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up for I realized what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply... EVIL! (Dr. Sam Loomis - Halloween)  

I'm gonna split you in two. (Fred Krueger - A Nightmare on Elm Street)  

A boy's best friend is his mother. (Norman Bates - Psycho)  

Listen to them: the children of the night. What sweet music they make. (Vlad Dracula - Dracula) [about the wolves that are howling] 

The Divine Kitty Litter Cake!

This recipe is worth repeating. As horrific as the picture looks, it's really a fun party cake in disguise! It's a great treat for your Halloween gathering. Everyone I know who has made one or eaten it absolutely loves it. Try it for yourself and have fun with it!

Recipe

Ingredients:

1 spice or German chocolate cake mix
1 white cake mix
2 large packages vanilla instant pudding mix, prepared
1 large package vanilla sandwich cookies
green food coloring
12 small Tootsie Roll candies

1 new kitty litter pan
1 new kitty litter pan liner
1 new pooper scooper

 

Directions:

1.    Prepare cake mixes and bake according to directions (any size pans).

2.    Prepare pudding mix and chill until ready to assemble.

3.    Crumble sandwich cookies in small batches in food processor, scraping often. Set aside all but about 1/4 cup. To the 1/4 cup cookie crumbs, add a few drops green food coloring and mix until completely colored.

4.    When cakes are cooled to room temperature, crumble into a large bowl. Toss with half the remaining cookie crumbs and the chilled pudding. Important: mix in just enough of the pudding to moisten it. You don't want it too soggy. Combine gently.

5.    Line a new, clean kitty litter box. Put the cake/pudding/cookie mixture into the litter box.

6.    Put 3 unwrapped Tootsie rolls in a microwave safe dish and heat until soft and pliable. Shape ends so they are no longer blunt, curving slightly. Repeat with 3 more Tootsie rolls bury them in the mixture. Sprinkle the other half of cookie crumbs over top. Scatter the green cookie crumbs lightly on top of everything -- this is supposed to look like the chlorophyll in kitty litter.

7.    Heat 3 Tootsie Rolls in the microwave until almost melted. Scrape them on top of the cake; sprinkle with cookie crumbs. Spread remaining Tootsie Rolls over the top. For the fininshing touch take a couple Tootsie Rolls and heat until pliable, hang over the side of the kitty litter box, sprinkling it lightly with cookie crumbs. Place the box on a newspaper and sprinkle a few cookie crumbs around for a truly disgusting effect!

8.    Notes: some people use half the amount of pudding…your choice. You can use any kind of cake mix since the topping will cover it.