Food,Free Books and Something Unforgettable

 Today we are digesting something spicy for dinner. Chorizo Chili Dogs. You all know that I am a left over specialist. My crock pot has prepared many yummy dishes this week, including Pot Roast and Beef Stew. So what to do with the left overs? Chili and Chorizo is what I came up with. I mixed my leftovers together, added some more diced tomatoes, more onion and chili spices. I grilled the chorizo hot dogs, put them in toasted buns and topped them with the chili, cheese and raw onion. Nummy!

Now for other news, I want to tell you about a Labor Day Blogfest and Book Fair. I am letting you know now so that you have plenty of time to sign up. Mark the dates and sign up now...Sunday September 2nd -Tuesday the 4th. (Some free eBooks included!) Wayman Publishing is holding a book fair in honor of Melynda Fleury--who has bravely been fighting diabetes and almost completely lost her eyesight--Wayman Publishing is offering unlimited free downloads of their top ten bestselling books to all entrants during this event! 

 In addition, they are featuring some great books you should check out, one of which is the Fantasy Anthology "Open Doors."  My short story, "Secrets of the Ash Tree," is included in this anthology which is being released on Sept.4th. Check out the details for that blogfest and book fair HERE!


I wanted to do something special as well so I am having my own blogfest starting on Monday the 13th of this month and lasting until Wednesday the 15th. For this blogfest I want you to post about some strange and unusual place or person you have visited. A place or person that has left a lasting impression, one that you can not forget. I am curious to see where your travels have taken you and who you have met there. Come back on Monday to hear about mine. Don't forget the Unforgettable Blogfest!

Here is the banner, you know what to do with it.

Also, add your link to the tool below so others can visit you as well. Are you going to join the book fair and my blogfest? I hope you help me spread the word. Isn't that picture of our dog adorable? So what are you having for dinner? Don't forget to fill out the submission form for your free giveaways HERE. Hope you all have a wonderful week-end!

Eye Spy True Nonsense and more

Eye Spy has been making the rounds this week and has discovered some interesting news. Melynda Fluery, "Queen of Nonsense" is coming out with a new book in her series of nonsense. This one is called True Nonsense and if it is anything like her first two books you should be in for some good laughter. Check out her Crazy World HERE

As many of you probably know, Christine Rains is hosting a blogfest to celebrate the release of her book “Fearless.” Creepy childhood monsters are the theme of this blogfest which you can still enter. Check it out HERE and be prepared to have your skin crawl. You can read my entry HERE.

Karen J. Gowen’s new book “Lighting Candles in the Snow” is coming out next month. This is a special book for Karen and unlike her previous works, Candles is not autobiographical.  You can find out more by visiting her blog, “Coming down the Mountain.”

That's all my pink panther friend has for you now. Come back on Friday to see what's for dinner.

Jack in the box, scary blogfest.

This is a blogfest about our greatest childhood monster, in honor of Christine Rains book release, Fearless! Check out her book and blog by clicking on the pic above. Congrats, Christine! I decided to use part of my book to describe what fears me. Does this scare you as well? Do you have a childhood fear you want to share? Here is mine:

Over and over again, was the sound of a Jack in the box toy accompanied by a strange laughter that sent shivers down her spine.  She felt dizzy and choked on some vomit, dazed and confused it took a moment before she recognized her own bed. She wondered where her uncle was and why it was so hard to think.  The sound of rustling papers and the ticking sound of a toy being wound up came from inside the closet. Slowly her focus returned and the moonlight cut through the darkness casting a wicked looking shadow just inside the closet door. Not being able to breathe, a sudden numbness trapped her senses. In her head a familiar voice whispered, “Stay still, and don’t let it see that you’re awake.” This was a dream, it had to be a dream and as she approached the closet and slowly opened the door, a stench filled the room and panic set in raising every hair on her body. Through the darkness and inside the shadows lingered a half human shape of what must have been a man. Slowly with claw like fingers it cranked up one of her old toys, and his yellow eyes glowed with evil as he laughed again before singing along in an odd inhuman voice.

“Round and round the cobbler's bench

The monkey chased the weasel,

The monkey thought 'twas all in fun

Pop! Goes the weasel.”

Just then the music stopped, and a small clown jumped out of the jack in the box causing Liv to startle. Standing there like a puppet frozen in time, she watched as the toy master turned his glowing eyes towards her. Not a single inch of her body listened as she stood there begging to run. Out of the shadows and closer he came until he stood there in front of her. Pieces of long black hair clung to patches of skin that hung from his head and face. Towering over her he put his large claws on Livs shoulders and drew her near. His foul breath lapped at the air as he said, “So nice to finally meet you Princess.” He made a crooked bow and then continued to speak with a strange drawl as if half drunk, or as if the words felt strange on his tongue.

“My you are a pretty little thing, not what I expected at all.” He took one of his knifelike fingers and traced it slowly over Livs breast.

“I can feel your heart beating like a scared little rabbit underneath that pink skin of yours.” Tilting his head he leaned over and smelled the small of Livs neck, and she shivered as his long tongue swept over her skin tasting it like a piece of candy. 

“You can make this easy on yourself and just give me the box you found and a small drop of your blood.” He backed away and studied her closely, and then tilting his head to the side he said,

“You do not know what you are, do you?”

Check out other scary stories and let me know what you think of mine.

So I am getting the creepy crawlers!There are a lot of scary monters out there.

Minnie's Pink Snails-Just Gibberish

Minnie is back from vacation and she looks like she needs another vacation to get over her vacation. 

It was not an easy feat to get her out of bed today so that she could finish what she started. Yes people, finally you have an ending to her gibberish tale of Pink Stinky Snails. Minnies group "Controlled Patriots of Standard Word Abuse" is always looking for new recruits. All you have to do is play and take this banner with you.

This month the following members, in order after Minnie, have played and used their imaginations well:

Summer Ross 

Gossip_Grl

Suzanne Furness 

lizy-expat-writer

Gwen Gardner

EvalinaMaria

Michael Di Gesu  

Susan Roebuck

And Minnie

Here is the finished story about Stinky Pink Snails (some small changes have been made to keep the flow of gibberish)

Stinky Pink Snails had formed an army in the Bee-Fairy's garden and with weapons dipped in…. poison applesauce, they speared the flowers in the garden only to find that underneath each delicate little flower blossom was hidden a back up of Fire Army Ants wearing pint tutus. Their lasers were set to stun, but pink snails are notoriously difficult to stun as their shells are made of turtle shell reinforced by a specially designed pink nail polish impossible to penetrate. That is except for acid rain, which removes all the pink nail polish. Poor turtles were now in jeopardy of getting attacked by the fire ants, unless they could come up with a plan.

"QuicK! Get under the frondzy fig leaf, I read somewhere that it can repel acid rain," Squeaked a baby snail wearing black horn rimmed glasses. So the stinky pink snails huddled under one fig leaf, pushing and shoving for position. But they didn't all fit and Sloppy Stinky Pink Snail was left on the outside.

"Hey!" cried a voice. "Watch what you're doing to my leaf."

They all craned their slimy necks to where the voice came from. Kayput the blindingly neon-colored caterpillar clung to a top part of the rocking leaf, a multi-striped umbrella stuck to her head. The others turned their oozing necks and watched as the bee fairy gathered her forces of army ants and turtles. Kayput led the charge and with one single bucket of acid rain all the smelly pink snails disappeared from the garden forever. All that is except for one tiny sloppy stinky pink snail, and a baby snail wearing black horn rimmed glasses.

 
You guys prove to me each month what a crazy imagination you all have. Keep it up and thanks for playing!

"Eye Spy" is on the roam now looking for something interesting for this Wednesdays post. You never know where my pink panther suit will show up :) Come back on Wednesday and see. Until then, Happy tales!

A Few Good Fantasies

Yesterday I promised you some exciting news. I have two things to tell you about, and one of those things I have been itching to tell you for months. For the past year I have been working on an epic fantasy that combines the world of Norse Mythology and Norwegian Folklore into a story about a young girl in search of answers. Although my book is not quite finished, the first chapter will be published as a short story in a Fantasy Anthology called “Open Doors” on September 4^th by Wayman Publishing. 

 Release Date: 9/4/2012

An enticing collection of fantasy stories from previously published, as well as, up-and-coming authors.

Plans are being made in order to celebrate this book release so keep your eyes open for more news in the coming weeks. I am really excited because this is the first story of mine that has ever been published. Here is the teaser for my book and short story called “Secrets of the Ash Tree”:

Shortly after her father dies Liv finds out about a secret chest that is buried underneath an Ash tree in her garden. Once she discovers how to find and open this chest, her life is changed forever. Liv discovers her father’s secrets which eventually cast her into a world full of dangerous creatures, mighty Norse warriors and perils beyond her belief. Her father’s fairy tales were to become not only her legacy, but a guide line to survival and a map to the world she was about to enter... 

The other news that I want to share is about my good friend Roland Yeoman. Roland is having one of his famous contests again and giving away for this week-end only his great urban fantasy called “The Rival.” Make sure you visit Writing in the Crosshairs and enter his contest. You could win a great prize and don’t forget to secure yourself a copy of his book. If you have not read his work before then this book is a must. You are bound to fall in love with his characters just as much as I have. Check out his limited free book offer HERE.

Hope everyone is enjoying their week-end. Let me know what you think about my upcoming publication and Roland’s contest. Minnie is back on Monday to tell you all about Pink Snails, and I have more stories about being a tourist in Norway coming soon.

Swedish Made in China

My crock pot and I. Continuing with my series called “What’s for dinner Mom?” I want to tell you about the newest member of my appliance family.  Her name is Betty Crockpot and I had to go to Sweden in order to buy her.

Being an American mom who loves to cook and lives in Norway can be a challenge. There are so many things that you cannot get over here. Two things that I have really missed in my kitchen are a garbage disposal and a Crock Pot. When we built our new kitchen I finally got a garbage disposal through E-bay and talked the plumber into installing it, you see I am not entirely sure it is legal here.  

While my son was here from the states we took him on a ferry over to Sweden and as all Norwegians do, we stopped at the big shopping center to buy food and drink because it is so much cheaper in Sweden. My husband needed an adapter for the cooler so we stopped into a hardware store and there she was. It was as if I had found a long lost friend as I touched her black stoneware sides and stood there in awe. She was beautiful, just as I remembered her. My husband finally found me standing there with big round dewy eyes and it didn’t take long before I was walking out of that store with my baby in arms. There was no room for her in the back of our car, so I sat with her in my lap for the long drive to our family’s cabin.

Three people in the backseat and my Crock Pot

It was hard to leave her in the box for the week-end, but I did much to my dismay because when we arrived home I unpacked her only to find the wrong size and model inside. This was not my Betty, but her sister. A smaller round crockpot more suited for soup then roasts and with no thermostat. My heart sunk. Back into the box she went and my husband, who is forever proving to be my hero, took and exchanged her a few days later while making a service call near Sweden. I waited patiently for his return and when he did I had a piece of beef already waiting to be turned into a delicious pot roast. I plugged Betty in and ZAP! All the circuits in our kitchen went out. As it turned out there was a major problem with her wiring and no amount of surgery could fix her. I packed her away and made my pot roast in the oven. Needless to say, I was totally heart broken and lost all faith for made in China and bought in Sweden. Maybe I was just not meant to have a crock pot.

Once again my hero would not give up and he took the dead crock pot back with him into Sweden and exchanged it once again. This time before coming home he stopped at our cabin and tested it out with his Dad. Now Betty is home and resting comfortably on my kitchen counter. She can’t wait to get started cooking and to show my family just what she can do, even though she is from Sweden and made in China, she is totally American to me.

CROCK POT CHICKEN CACCIATORE    

 3-4 lbs. boneless/skinless thighs and breasts
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 large red or green bell peppers, sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 teaspoon each basil and oregano

1 teaspoon suger
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 bay leaves
1 (8 oz.) can stewed tomatoes with chiles
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups burgundy wine (any red wine will really do, if you don't have wine use beef boulion and 1 teaspoon lemon juice and some grape juice if you have it :)
Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling before serving

Place sliced onions on bottom of crock pot. Add chicken.

Stir together remaining ingredients and pour over chicken.

Cook on low 7-9 hours or high 3-4 hours. Serve over pasta or rice, with a salad on the side.

Enjoy!

There is a secret I have been dieng to share with you, as well as some exciting things happening this week-end so come back tomorow for an extra post from me! If you haven't visited Minnie yet, go pay her and my Gibberish friends a visit HERE. Rumor has it that she is coming back from vacation on Sunday.  Have a fantastic week-end!

Computer Separation-IWSG

It is hard to believe that another month has already gone by, and it is once again time for the Insecure Writers Support Group. For a couple of weeks now I have been adjusting to a new computer. I still find myself looking lovingly at my old Dell, and missing its familiar desktop. Do you get attached to your writing tools? I am in the process of developing a relationship with my new Asus, whose keyboard is different because he has come all the way from America with my son. You do notice that I call my computer as he, a habit that I have for all my appliances as well. So with this adjustment to my new writing tool I have found my temper rather short fused, and this has affected my writing. Transferring files, updating software and photos onto our new network is time consuming and confusing. My technical skills are not of a geeks nature so I stumble along and resort every now and then to asking for help from my husband or sons, who have a very geek side to their natures. 

Oh faithful pen and paper, you are good to have in times of technical despair. I know that eventually I will learn to love my Asus and to appreciate all the fancy “Whatever’s” that my manly “geeks” insist are there. In the meantime, I find more comfort in the smell of fresh ink on paper. Poor Dell, don’t worry, I am not packing you away just yet. So tell me my writer friends, are any of you going through a computer separation, and how does it affect your writing?

For all of you out there that have been wondering about Minnie and her latest Gibberish, I am still waiting for her to come back from vacation. It is not to late if you still want to play just click HERE.