Raspberry Day cake recipe

A little bird named Kathi Macias says it's national raspberry day...in honor, here's an excellent cake recipe from somewhere on the net.

You need to haul out your biggest mixing bowl because this recipe makes A LOT.
I fill a regular bundt pan and a couple of medium ramikins too.

Pumpkin Raspberry Bundt Cake

3 c. flour, 2 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. salt, 2 tsp. cinnamon - sift

Combine in the big bowl:
2 c. sugar, 1 and 1/2 c. vegetable oi, add 2 tsp. vanilla.

Blend into this: 1 c. sour cream and 1 c. pumpkin (canned or fresh or frozen)
Beat in 4 eggs

Beat in the flour mixture from above

Fold into this 1 cup raspberries, and if desired, 1 cup of chopped nuts.

Grease and flour your pans
Bake a good hour at 350 

You can frost it if you want, or serve it with whipped topping, but I never do. It is the most moist, delicious cake ever!

Meet Ace Hansen and his little Green Friends!

Meet Ace Hansen, creator of Outrageous Fiction for Kids,

and have fun...

What do you love about your book? It makes Earthlings laugh out loud! Laughing is good for your  health, especially when you snort through your cute little noses.

Ace, introduce us to the main character: Julius Caesar Brown isn't the smartest kid in fifth grade, but he knows what he doesn't want. He doesn't want to pass green gas. And for Jake the Snake to leave him alone. And to get rid of his best friend's nasty little sister, Millie. And to avoid having his brain eaten by the Zombie Lady down the street.

All Julius wants is a happy family. And for Ivy Chen to hold his hand. If only he could solve the green gas mystery, then all his troubles would vanish into clean air.  

 

Share two things you learned during the publication process: Not everyone thinks green farts are funny. Never, never, never give up! 

The world is farting green! Who will stop the green gas crisis!

If you'd like to learn more about Ace (of course you do!) you can find him on:

Ace Hansen's Website

Twitter

Facebook

If you'd like to purchase JULIUS CAESAR BROWN AND THE GREEN GAS MYSTERY it's available as an ebook now and is coming in print Fall 2013:

MuseItUp

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

Jo Huddleston of Guideposts shares her sequel BEYOND THE PAST

Meet Jo Huddleston

Jo Huddleston's debut novel, That Summer, released in December 2012 as the first  book in The Caney Creek Series. Book 2, Beyond the Past, released April 2013. Book 3 is scheduled to release September 2013. Jo holds a B.A. degree with honors from Lincoln Memorial University (TN), and is a member of their Literary Hall of Fame. She earned a M.Ed. degree from Mississippi State University. Professional membership: American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW).

Jo’s career has spanned a variety of work. She was a high school teacher and guidance counselor, a political campaign secretary, two-time business owner and a real estate agent.  Her writing career includes more than 200 articles and short stories, which have appeared in over 50 well-known Christian and secular publications such as Guideposts and The Upper Room. She contributes to ChristianDevotions.us.

Jo loves spending time with her children and grandchildren, visiting the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico, and reading.

Website: www.johuddleston.com/p/home.html

Blog: www.johuddleston.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jo.huddleston.hope

About the book:

 

Emmajean Callaway’s life in Atlanta plummets from bad to worse.  

Can big brother, Jim, lead her back to the family who loves her 

and also hold the imploding Callaway family together?

 

Jim Callaway looks forward to 1951 and the chance to forge a relationship with Caroline after twenty years apart. He’s sidetracked when his sister and his best friend need his help. His baby sister, Emmajean, skids into jail on drug charges in Atlanta. The ordeal of incarceration and trial diminishes her and she needs rescuing, not only physically but spiritually. She struggles toward recovery and restoration with her lawyer’s help as he champions her inside and outside the courtroom. Jim’s nephew Art is one step ahead of the truant officer, wrecks his car, and officials suspect alcohol is involved. Art awaits his fate at the hands of the juvenile court judge. Jim and Caroline continue their bumpy journey as they seek realization of their dreams, wondering if they really can overcome obstacles to their being together after so many years.

Jo, tell us what you love about your books.

What I love the most about my books are the characters. Perhaps all authors feel this same way but I know these people to their core. Most of them would be welcome to my dinner table any time. While writing this series, I have cried with them, laughed with them, struggled with them when their faith faltered, cheered with them in the happy times and prayed with them in sorrowful times.

Introduce us to one character from the latest book, please.

The basic premise of this series and this book is that whatever decisions we make, they will have consequences. This is so true for several of my characters in this series. Let me introduce you to Emmajean Callaway. She grew up dirt poor on a rented farm. Before her poppa came to know Jesus, he was mean to her brothers and even she and her sister became afraid of him. As soon as Emmajean finished high school, she took money she’s saved from part-time jobs, bought a bus ticket to Atlanta, and headed for a career in the fashion industry. Never having been in a big city, Atlanta and the people there overwhelmed her. She worked two jobs just to pay her rent. A man offered her a lucrative job, which she accepted in her naïveté. That decision, although made innocently, put her in great trouble. She has no one in Atlanta and needs her family that she discarded many years ago. Will they help her when she asks them for help?

Share your best three marketing tips?

Some beginning authors incorrectly think that once they get a publishing contract for their book, it’s fun time from there on. No, they have to slay that dragon called marketing. Marketing is not like cooking spaghetti—take a noodle, throw it at the refrigerator and if it sticks it’s done. I find marketing harder than writing. One of the three marketing things I’ve used to my best advantage is a virtual blog tour—setting up dates to visit other blogs with either being interviewed about my book or writing an article related to my book. Another is interviewing a character from the book, either on my blog or elsewhere online. A third one that’s worked well for me is announcing and talking about my book in my newsletter. Subscribers to my newsletter are people who, by giving me their email address, already want to hear from me about my books. I haven’t found a magical bullet for marketing. However, you do have to start with a great book to market.

BUY THE BOOK:

Signed paperback copies available in left sidebar at www.johuddleston.com
Paperback copies available at publisher’s website
Paperback and eBook copies available at Amazon

 

Announcing a new devo by Rose Chandler Johnson

God, Me, and Sweet Iced Tea

 

Click over to Amazon, if you'd like to have a look inside the book, and read the first devotional.

 

 

Being confident of this very things, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6

 



 

Now, let me tell you how you can win your own copy of God, Me, and Sweet Iced Tea.  Rose is making it an easy click, click.

 

 

1.  Please "LIKE" her Facebook author page.

 

www.facebook.com/rosechandlerjohnsonauthor

 

2.  Share about this blog post today on your own Facebook page so your friends will know about it and have an opportunity to participate as well.  You can do that by clicking at the bottom of the page or sharing my post when you go to my page to "like" it.

 

3. Leave a comment on her blog and include your email address so that I can contact you if you are a winner.

 

Take these easy steps no later than Saturday, July 13th at 11:00.  The winner will be announced on Monday, July 15th.  If up to 20 readers participate, she will give away 2 copies.  Thanks again.  And thank you for blessing her by participating.

Announcing exciting new book: Swept Up by the Sea

SWEPT UP BY THE SEA….. It’s Pirates of Penzance meets Princess Bride

 

 

 

ABOUT THE BOOK:

ISBN	978-1-60907-661-0

Children's Fantasy

17.99 Print

9.99 E-book

 

Determined to seek his fortune, Percival Taylor leaves behind his sleepy hometown and sets out to become a legendary pirate—only no one at the roguish seaport of Blackshore will allow him any- where near a ship!

Percival must find other means to win the heart of the beautiful Tuppence Magrathia-Paddock, who has mistaken him for a pirate rogue out of one of her romantic tales. She is entirely willing to swoon into his arms if he can prove his buccaneer soul—and she is willing to arrange her own kidnapping to prove it.

Percival eventually finds himself captain of a broken-down ship, complete with a crew of pirates who make their living selling fake treasure maps, a jilted fiancee, a reclusive Master Shipwright, and an old professor with a secret that could kill them all. It’s Pirates of Penzance meets Princess Bride as this motley group of characters sets sail for treasure and romance.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHORSTracy Hickman is a New York Times best-selling fantasy author who has published more than 40 novels, many of the co-authored with Margaret Weis. He published the first of his solo novels in 1995. Laura and her husband, Tracy have been collaborating on fantastic works of fiction since their marriage in 1977. Together, Laura and Tracy have written role-playing games, screenplays, and works of fiction, including their first co-authored novel in 2004.

 

 

My review will be coming later.....Lisa

K Dawn Byrd's newest book - Hotline Girl

K Dawn Byrd, that marvelously prolific author, sends us another intriguing novel!

Please check K Dawn's online links for purchase info.

Blog: www.kdawnbyrd.blogspot.com

Facebook Christian Fiction Gathering: https://www.facebook.com/groups/christianfictiongathering/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/k.d.byrd.7

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kdawnbyrd

Abby is surprised to find out that the guy she's been counseling through the hotline at school is her forever crush. Can she give good advice when she really wants to tell him to dump his girlfriend?

Hotline Girl


When the school counselor asks Abby to work a counseling chat line, she begs her to choose someone else. When Race, Abby's three-year crush, begins using the chat line to talk about his girlfriend problems, can Abby be impartial when she really wants to tell him to dump her?

Race notices Abby after she has a complete make-over. He begins to spend more time with her and feels like a cheater because he likes the hotline girl too. How can he like two girls at once?

Abby is thrilled when Race begins spending time with her, but she's crushed when he tells the hotline girl that he likes her and wants to take her out. Is he a player? Will he even want to be with her when he finds out that she is the hotline girl and knows all his deepest secrets?

KDawn talks about the book

What would you like readers to take away from your book?

 It's important that when Christian teens choose a boyfriend or girlfriend, they choose someone who shares their Christian faith. 

Why did you choose to write this book?
I thought it would be fun to explore how a couple could fall in love on-line. When my heroine's high school begins a counseling hotline, she's chosen to work it anonymously. She finds herself giving advice to a guy she's had a crush on forever. Once she knows all the hero's secret, will love blossom or fail? When he divulges the problems he's having with his girlfriend, she's tempted to give him advice that will break them up. Will she do the right thing? 

What did you learn while writing this book?
I really love writing for the young adult market. Bouncing back to YA after writing suspense is a refreshing break.

 

About the Author:
K. Dawn Byrd is an author of inspirational novels in several genres, including historical, suspense, romance, and young adult. Some of her favorite things are chocolate, sports cars, and her pets. Her hobbies include reading, writing, and riding down country roads in the passenger seat of her husband's Corvette Stingray. When asked why she writes, her response is, "For the simple joy of placing words on the page!"

When painting with words...expect the unexpected!
Blog: http://www.kdawnbyrd.blogspot.com/  

Author Page: www.amazon.com/author/www.kdawnbyrd.com  

 

Just Verdicts - brand new (cheap!) fiction from Max Lewis

    

         

 

Just Verdicts on Kindle

– Literary Short Stories, by Joseph Max Lewis

On the heels of his success with the open throttled, no time for doubts novel, The Diaries of Pontius Pilate, Joseph Max Lewis displays his versatility with a new release, Just Verdicts.   These are “first person” short stories of legal suspense.

Hunting Lawyers – A troubled man victimized by the legal system decides to hunt lawyers.  Neither he nor his prey are likely to escape unscathed.

The Judge’s Eyes – Gulf War Veteran Ralph Jackson returns to Iraq after the second Iraq war as a legal advisor to Isha Hami, Iraq’s first female Judge.  When Isha defies Iraq’s deadly political factions, Jackson’s legal and military skills are put to the test.

Redemption – (Previously released)   After a personal tragedy, Steven Burgess allowed himself to sink into self-pity and his law practice into disrepute.   Now he has one last chance, but will it lead to ruin or Redemption?

Just Verdicts costs 99 cents and, as with The Diaries of Pontius Pilate, a portion of the author’s royalties go to support Pine Valley Camp, a Christian Ministry that provides a free camp experience for inner city kids.

About Max:

Joseph Max Lewis served as a member of an Operational Detachment in the U.S. Army's Seventh Special Forces Group, the storied Green Berets.  During his service Lewis received antiterrorist training and his detachment was tasked to "Special Projects."  Afterward, he served as an instructor at the Special Forces Qualification Course.  Lewis attended the Pennsylvania State University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, the University of Tel Aviv in Israel, and the University of Pittsburgh, receiving degrees in International Politics and Law while being certified in Middle East Studies. After living and studying abroad, first in the Middle East and then Southeast Asia, Lewis returned home to practice law.  He’s a columnist in the New Bethlehem Leader-Vindicator, author of The Diaries of Pontius Pilate and currently lives, writes, and practices law in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.