Monday Miscellany: WIPs, Recipes, and Blogging

So I have fleshed out the action draft of the new WIP and made some changes and, now, it will be decent to share under my current romance/erotica pen name. I just have to, you know, actually write it. Since it's a short story and I'm only shooting for 10,000 words it should be easy peasy. Well, that, and the fact that I really like it. I've even already found the cover art for it. Once I have a mockup I'm happy with, I'll share.

Last Friday, I made whiskey cookies. I used this recipe, but I would suggest the following changes: use half as much baking soda, add about 1/4 tsp lemon extract, and add an extra tablespoon or two of whiskey. I didn't add the nuts or fruit, but I planned to drizzle them with chocolate. They were still pretty good. Because writers don't have enough ways to ingest booze!

In the draft stages now I have a post on where/how to learn about the publishing industry. I am also planning a post on how and where to buy e-books and a post containing tips on cover design (the last one because I have seen some truly awful self-published covers recently).

Even though I'm not in the States, I'm still celebrating Thanksgiving this week. The hubs and I aren't doing it traditional, either. We have a brisket and a squash and we're planning mashed potatoes, homemade rolls, and some cherry cobbler. Nice and low-key and delicious.

And speaking of giving thanks: for a brief span of time, The Cowboy Next Door was on Amazon's Top 100 contemporary romance list. So a huge THANK YOU to everyone who bought the book!

Monday Miscellany

The hubs, the kid, and I are finally getting out of the house on the weekends and seeing Germany. This weekend, we went to a Thanksgiving farmer's market in Ramstein-Misenbach. It was great. We're really fortunate to be stationed here and we haven't taken advantage of the travel opportunities available at all. The hubs is going away for training, so next week, the kid, a friend, her kid, and I are all going to Frankfurt to check out the zoo. I'm really excited. I keep checking the newspapers for things going on locally in the community. Germany is such a beautiful country.

Greta van der Rol's The Iron Admiral: Deception is out and you should get it. As soon as I finish, I'll do a review post, but already, I can tell you that Admiral Saahren is seriously hot (I absolutely love manly men, and he is definitely a manly man) and that the first eight chapters are so intense that I didn't breathe much while I read.

We recently tried plain old grilled hamburgers (prepare the ground beef with salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and an egg) topped with sliced bleu cheese. Delicious! I also recently made this Smothered Chicken recipe, which was so good. This summer, the husband mentioned that he was getting bored with our regular menu, and I agreed. So I've been looking for new recipes. Mostly this means I watch the Barefoot Contessa while the kid naps or I search Allrecipes.com with the ingredients we have on hand. When I grocery shop now, I shop for the pantry, rarely for specific recipes.

A friend recently showed me a white eggplant Alfredo recipe that I really want to try, but I haven't been able to find any white eggplant.

Today, I'm hoping to finish the action draft of chapter two of the vampire WIP and to start on the draft. With the husband gone, there will be a lot less to clean up (I love you, honey!) so I'll be able to spend a lot more time writing.