Meet the Authors of Sweet Christmas Kisses 4 - Roxanne Rustand and Magdalena Scott

A Christmas in Montana

Roxanne Rustand

A Christmas in Montana is my novella in this year’s Sweet Christmas Kisses 4 anthology.  I’ve written over thirty-five contemporary romance books now, often set in small towns or ranch country.  Since I love the Rockies and grew up with horses and lots of other animals, I love incorporating those elements into my stories. A Christmas in Montana is a loosely connected preview for my Heart of the Rockies series, which thus far includes full-length sweet romance titles Comeback Cowboy and A Montana Legacy.  But more are coming!

Though I grew up in the Upper Midwest, I love writing about ranches, cowboys and veterinarians and have used those elements in a number of my books.   I got my first horse at the age of six, and in our small Minnesota town it was like giving a child car keys, because off I went riding bareback through winter spring, summer and fall, every day, with friends who also had horses. What a Tom Sawyer experience that was.  That whole distant, western suburb of the Twin Cities is now highly developed into beautiful homes—the lakes, hills and abundance of trees made it perfect for that.  But back in the 1960s it was still undeveloped, with quiet roads.  I grew up swimming my horse in the lakes, riding all day long, having adventures, and perhaps it’s a miracle that I survived them all! Looking back, I’m amazed that my parents gave me all that freedom, but times were different then and I wouldn’t change these experiences for anything!

I also began showing, eventually upgrading my horses with whatever money I could save, then moved into raising, training and showing quarter horses.  After marriage, my husband and I raise quarter horses, some paints, and then thoroughbreds for several decades before finally dispersing our breeding stock.  We’ve never been without horses, though...our kids had them while growing up and we still have three.  Just doing chores and seeing them in the pasture makes me feel so at peace.  So, when I do write contemporary romance set in the West—on a ranch, or somewhere in the Rockies, I get to write about the kind of life I love.  I hope you will enjoy reading A Christmas in Montana!

 For those who leave a comment, there will be a drawing for a free copy for Comeback Cowboy!

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A Cowboy for Christmas

Magdalena Scott

A COWBOY FOR CHRISTMAS (Serendipity, Indiana--Book 9) features Hannah Kincaid. Her twin sister, Taylor, is the heroine in Book 8, ONCE UPON A TIME. 

In Taylor's story we eventually learn that Hannah has her eye on a certain tall, tanned cowboy. Just out of college, the twins are living with their parents and working local jobs while searching for something better. Below is a snippet in Taylor's point of view, when she first gets an inkling that her twin is hiding something. 

Upstairs, we lounged in my room. Hannah was pleased about Ken changing my hours. “Now you’ll understand what it’s like to have a real job. That eleven a.m. start was a joke.”

I took one of Opal’s diaries out of the trunk. “I’m going to save every penny toward our place in the city. You are too, right?”

Hannah looked away, back to the laptop she had been staring at. That was suspicious.

“What are you doing?” I peered over her shoulder before she could move to another tab.

“Horses? Why are you reading about horses? Is Francie starting a trail ride service through the tree farm?” B&B guests stayed in miniature cabins secluded in the Christmas trees. It was quaint and seriously dull, but the new-ish addition to the farm seemed to be doing really well for the Standish family. Francie was energetic, and since taking over the farm operation from her mom, she’d added a fall festival. So the trail ride idea wasn’t unbelievable.

“Won’t that be a mess when people swarm all over the farm on foot, in December?” I shivered at the idea of stepping in horse-stuff while looking for a Christmas tree. Or dragging the tree along, and then-smoosh.

Hannah slammed her laptop shut. “No, Francie isn’t starting trail rides. You don’t know everything I’m interested in, Taylor. Just because we’re out of school doesn’t mean we stop learning about stuff.”

Whoa. Somebody was defensive. “I’m just surprised. Didn’t know you ever did research that wasn’t about celebrities or fashion.”

She flipped her hair behind her shoulder. “I’m evolving.”

Then I knew. “Okay, who’s the guy? Let me guess—somebody who works for Francie commutes on his horse.”

Her face was red. “Of course not.” She knew it was pointless to try to keep holding me off. We could never keep secrets from each other. In a way it felt like being untrue to ourselves to be less than fully honest with our twin. That was inconvenient sometimes. For Hannah, now was one of those times.

 ~End of Excerpt~

 Find ONCE UPON HERE: 

iBooks: http://apple.co/2r8GsNe
Kindle: http://amzn.to/2qras5u
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2qve1Ho
Nook: http://bit.ly/2r8eFwm

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Find SWEET CHRISTMAS KISSES 4 here:
Amazon: http://a.co/600caJ1
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2xgU0sG
Google: http://bit.ly/2viH7g4
B&N: http://bit.ly/2g8xyO8
Tunes: http://apple.co/2ykC8NM

Meet the Authors of Sweet Christmas Kisses 4 - Milou Koenings and Merrillee Whren

The Gift of Yesterday

Milou Koenings

 

 

The Gift of Yesterday is my new holiday novella included in the Sweet Christmas Kisses 4 box set.

The heroine of my tale is Bailey, a pastry chef who moves to Green Pines to open up her dream pastry shop. Of course, she's got a signature confection and it is the stuff of dreams: the merveilleux.

The word is French for marvelous, which describes the thing just right. 

It's made of three layers of meringue held together by whipped cream, covered over by more cream, and rolled in dark chocolate shavings.

The merveilleux is a Belgian treat that only made its way south to France in the last 20 years or so. I found out while I was writing this book that there are now merveilleux shops in London and New York City. So I guess the secret is out. Or at least some of it...

My uncle was a baker and pastry chef in Belgium. Merveilleux were my absolute favorite thing he made. His secret—which I have yet to see anyone else copy—was that he hid pieces of fruit at the center of each merveilleux. My favorite was the pineapple one, but the red currant version he made only in December were pretty special, too.

I'd like to share with you a taste of Bailey's magic in The Gift of Yesterday, so here is Bailey's recipe (courtesy of my uncle!):

 Chocolate Merveilleux

Makes about 6

150 grams egg whites (that's about 3 medium egg whites)
300 grams of sugar
600 ml whipped double cream* or heavy whipping cream
3-4 Tbsp icing sugar
2 tsp vanilla
Dark-chocolate shavings

 Meringues

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Pour the sugar evenly over the paper and bake in the oven for 5 minutes, or until the edges of the sugar layer start to melt.

Whisk the egg whites in a stand mixer set on low speed. Once bubbles form, increase the speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form.

Remove the sugar from the oven. With the mixer set on high, add the sugar to the egg whites one tablespoon at a time. Keep beating the eggs for at least 5 more minutes after all the sugar has been added. The mixture should be smooth and glossy.

Lower the oven temperature to 200 degrees Fahrenheit (100 degrees Celsius). Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Draw 18 2-inch (5-cm) circles on the paper (9 on each cookie sheet).

Fill the circles with a layer of egg whites about 1 inch (2.5 cm) high. (Use a piping bag or a spoon.) Bake in the oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. The meringues should be crisp to the touch. Turn off the oven and let the meringues stay there for another 2 hours.

Cream

Beat the cream with the icing sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form.

*It's almost impossible to find double cream in the U.S. Use heavy cream and a stabilizer instead, such as cornstarch, gelatin or a whipping cream stabilizer. If you follow the link to the recipe for lavender and honey merveilleux below, you'll see that recipe uses mascarpone as a stabilizer.

Assembly

Spread a layer of cream on a meringue disk, then layer another meringue on it to form a sandwich. Cover that meringue with cream as well. If you want to use fruit, place one or two small berries or pieces of canned pineapple on top of this meringue. Cover with more cream and top with a third meringue. Spread whipped cream all over the sides. Refrigerate a few minutes.

Gently hold each merveilleux sideways, holding it by the top and bottom, which have no cream, and roll it in chocolate shavings until the sides are covered. Top each merveilleux with cream and sprinkle chocolate shavings over the top. (You could also just mound whipped cream all over the top, then sprinkle the shavings all around.)

There are a lot of possible variations on this. You could flavor the cream and/or the meringues with coffee, or pumpkin spice, and use chopped nuts instead of chocolate shavings. Be creative, like in this wonderful recipe for a dark chocolate, honey and lavender merveilleux from the butterandbrioche.com blog.

Enjoy — with a good cup of coffee and a delicious, brand new box set of 14 marvelous holiday stories!

 

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www.miloukoenings.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/MilouKoenings
Twitter: @MilouKoenings

 

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Puppy Love and Mistletoe

Merrillee Whren

 

 

 

Interview with Scott Graham, hero of

Puppy Love and Mistletoe.

What is the most interesting thing about you?

I’m the guardian of a six-year-old girl, Lily, and she keeps me on my toes all the time. She’s the daughter of my best friends who died in a tragic car accident.

What do you do for fun?

I love to spend my free time with Lily. We play games. I read to her, and we walk her dog, Jet. With Lily and that dog, there are no dull moments.

What is your current state of mind?

Concerned. I’ve started a new consulting job with the town of Hallburg, Maryland. The mayor ran on a promise not to raise taxes, and that means he has to cut the town budget. That’s my job, and it often makes me very unpopular with the people whose budgets I cut. It isn’t fun being the bad guy.

What are you afraid of most in life?

I’m most afraid of making the wrong decisions where Lily is concerned. She’s the most important thing in my life. I want to keep my promise to her dad and take care of her. I often consider adopting Lily, but I’m never sure that’s the right choice for her. She needs a mom and a dad. Lily is always on the lookout for a prospective mom. That does get embarrassing. I call Lily my personal matchmaker.

What do you want out of life?

I want to have a peaceful life here in Hallburg, where Lily can grow up without the stresses of the city.

Tell me about your family.

I have one sister. She is married with two boys. They live in Baltimore City, so I don’t get to see her as often, since I moved to Hallburg. Our parents have recently retired to Florida.

What do you most value in your friends?

Friends keep their promises. I made a promise to my best friend Danny to take care of his little girl if anything happened to him. That’s why I guard Lily with my life.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I would worry less and enjoy life more. It’s a big responsibility to care for a child, so that worry thing is constantly with me.

Connect with Merrillee:  Website  Facebook  Twitter  Pinterest  Google +

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Easy Cheesy Baked Rigatoni by Denise Devine

This is my newest creation for a chilly winter night. I threw it together one night when I couldn't think of anything to make that we hadn't eaten lately. It was an immediate hit. My husband loves it and always eats too much. It's super creamy and so good!

Easy Cheesy Baked Rigatoni

1 box (16 oz) rigatoni

1 jar spaghetti sauce (any of the cheese-added variety)
½ ring of sausage (such as Hillshire, etc.)
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 soup can of milk
1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheese (parmesan or mozzarella)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Cook rigatoni in a large saucepan, drain and pour immediately into a lasagna pan.
Pour spaghetti sauce, soup, milk and sour cream into large saucepan and heat, stirring occasionally. In the meantime, thinly slice sausage and add to mixture. When sauce is smooth and bubbly, pour over rigatoni noodles, top with shredded cheese and bake for 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted and pan is bubbling.

Let sit for 10 minutes then serve.

As always, any recipe can be modified to your tastes. Feel free to experiment!

Note:  This recipe makes a lot of sauce, but trust me, it’s not too much. Rigatoni absorbs a lot of moisture when baked and this casserole (or hot dish, as we call it in Minnesota) will come out of the oven very creamy, but that is what makes it so good. As it begins to cool, it will thicken.

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Denise Devine is a USA Today bestselling author who wrote her first book, a mystery, at age thirteen and has been writing ever since.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Her newest publication, A Merry Little Christmas, is on sale now for 99 cents. And, yes, it includes a pet!

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