BOO!

You Should Be a Skeleton

You are seen as funny and wacky. You enjoy being the entertainer. You see Halloween as a big party, and you love every costume and decoration. You don't get all that scared on Halloween, though you wish you still did! You love anything gruesome or horrifying. You definitely have a fetish for the macabre.

What Classic Halloween Costume Should You Wear?

Cold-weather goodness

A perfect treat for a cold, snowy day. Yeah, we're still having cold days here in Maine!

Enjoy!!

Cinnamon Babka

Dough:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup plus 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
4 egg yolks
1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour

Topping:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 pound butter
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup all-purpose flour

Cream the butter and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks until frothy.

Mix the yeast in warm water with the 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. Add yeast mixture to egg yolks. Then add milk, vanilla and salt.Add the yeast mixture to the creamed butter mixture. Slowly add the flour, mixing until a soft dough forms.

Turn dough out onto a floured work surface and knead until dough is smooth.

Cover the dough and allow it to rise in a warm place until it doubles.

Butter a 3-quart pan and shape the dough into it. Allow the dough to rise again for about 2 hours.

Combine topping ingredients, then coat the top of the dough with the topping.

Bake in a preheated 350*F oven for 35 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack.

Timing and Mrs. Giggles

"...Timing is a most memorable read with a sympathetic and well-drawn heroine..." - Mrs. Giggles gave Timing an 86 rating!

Have you read Timing yet? It's available from Liquid Silver Books.

Buy it here.

Thank you, Mrs. Giggles!

Triple Treat

To celebrate my return to my regular life I'm having a fast, impromptu contest. This weekend is Halloween (one of my favorite holidays. All that chocolate!!) so to celebrate that as well as my getting back to writing I'm going to offer some treats to my readers!

All you've got to do to enter is post a comment on my blog any time between now and Halloween. Halloween night, when the little ghouls are at our door, I'll randomly choose a winner. The prize is a copy of any of my title as well as a fall candle I picked up last week at the Yankee Candle store. I loved the scent so much I bought two. One lucky winner will get the extra candle. And--did you see it's a triple treat? I'll send the winner a Godiva surprise, as well.

So, what are you waiting for? Comment away! Every comment counts!

Early snowstorm

Oh, this is scary! We've been forecast to have a cold winter but I don't remember the last time we got walloped with a big, blizzardy snowstorm so early in the season! Here in Maine things have come virtually to a standstill. The world outside it white and the wind is whipping the snow around. All around me people are grumbling. I see this as a perfect day for sitting at my desk and writing an outline for the new story I've got percolating.

Snow...long winter...yeah, I think I'm going to like this!

How about you? Any snow in your area? Or are you lucky enough to be in one of those warm, sunshiney states?

Sidelined

Recently I've been sidelined by the circumstance of my life. This happens to all of us from time to time. We get caught up in the day-to-day bits and pieces, and the things we love most often get pushed to the side. For me, that would be my writing.

That's the bad news.

The good news? I'm back!

And I'm ready to write, blog, chat and every other little thing that I love. So look out, friends. I'm here, and I'm ready to have some fun!