Friday, August 30, 2013

Last Friday of the Month Recipe ~ Pineapple Fluff Squares


This month's recipe is from Cindy Carroll, it sounds yummy, a perfect Labor Day treat.

Thanks for having me here, L.A. This recipe makes me think of summer. When I lived with my parents my mom would make this when we had family barbecues.
 
Pineapple Fluff Squares:

For the bottom:
  
2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup melted margarine
1/2 cup white sugar  
*you will save one cup of this mixture for the top layer
  
Second layer:
  
1/4 cup margarine
2 cups icing sugar
1 egg (beaten)
Milk as needed to make a soft spread
1 tsp almond flavouring
  
Third layer:
  
2 cans crushed pineapple, well drained. (I use small cans of the pineapple)
   
Fourth layer:
  
Whipped cream (either home made whipped cream or Dream Whip)
  
Top layer:
  
Graham cracker crumb mixture from above.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   
Mix the 2 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs with the melted margarine and white sugar. Press into a 9 x 9 pan. Save about one cup of the mixture for the top layer.
  
Cream 1/4 margarine with the icing sugar. Add the beaten egg and almond flavouring, mixing thoroughly. Add enough milk to make a fairly soft spread. Spread over the graham crumb layer.

Cover the “icing” layer with the crushed pineapple. Cover pineapple layer with the whipped cream. Then top with the remaining crumbs.
  
Refrigerate for at least one and a half hours.

 
 
Bio:
 
Cindy Carroll is a member of Sisters in Crime and a graduate of Hal Croasmun’s screenwriting ProSeries. Her interviews with writers of CSI and Flashpoint appeared in The Rewrit, the Scriptscene newsletter, the screenwriting Chapter of RWA. She writes screenplays, thrillers, and paranormals, occasionally exploring an erotic twist.
 
A background in banking and IT doesn't allow much in the way of excitement so she turns to writing stories that are a little dark and usually have a dead body. She lives in Ontario, Canada with her fiancé and three cats. When she's not writing you can usually find her painting landscapes in oil or trying space paintings with spray paint.

Check out my website: http://www.cindycarroll.com

Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/CindyPCarroll


Sign up for my newsletter: http://www.cindycarroll.com/blog/newsletter

 
 
Blurb For REFLECTIONS:

Stay away from the mirrors
A road trip without a plan sounded like a good idea when Lena and her friends hit the road. A mini vacation and support for Steve, recently dumped, have the friends travelling through small towns and back roads. After hours of driving in the heat in a cramped car they're all ready for something to eat and a good night's rest.
Reflections Inn looks perfect for the group of friends. Though a little run down, it hides a supernatural horror.

Don't read the curse
Everything looks normal when they check in, except an old woman yelling about a curse. Intrigued, some of the friends decide to investigate. Some stay behind and learn about the curse first hand.
Run
A curse that replaces people with their repressed alter egos forces the friends to fight for their lives. And they realize they didn't know each other as well as they thought.
  
Excerpt:
Steve slipped out of Nancy’s room, closing the door with a firm pull. From the silence in the hallway he figured the group wasn’t back yet. Perfect. He made his way down the hall to Margo’s room and pounded on the door.
Keith opened the door, beer in hand. “Dude, what?”
“The girls back?”
“Nah, Lena’s taking them on a mission to find some curse she read about.”
The riddle was far from a curse. Steve could barely control the energy he felt, the need to just do something without his weak repressive side being all moral on him. Keith stepped aside to let him in the room. Steve surveyed the room. Everything still in place didn’t tell him much either. Maybe there hadn’t been as much of a struggle as he’d had. Of course maybe Keith hadn’t looked in the mirror yet. He seemed like his usual self but maybe his replacement was almost exactly like the original Keith.
“I think the curse will find them,” Steve said.
Keith looked at him, quirking an eyebrow up. “Dude, what makes you say that?”
Original Keith. Steve smiled. “How about a beer?”
“Sure. I thought you only drank that cider crap.”
“Special occasion.”
Keith walked, danced, sauntered over to the mini fridge. How he managed to do all three at once baffled Steve. “Sucks, dude, that Rebecca dumped you.”
Steve took the beer Keith offered and nodded. He hadn’t really cared about her but if it got him away from his roommate for a week and sympathy sex he would endure the “there there’s” from his friends. He chugged the beer in one long gulp and let out a burp. He tossed the can over his shoulder then fastened his hands around Keith’s neck.


Buy Links:
 
Buy on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1avH00L
Buy on Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/19Ti2ux
Buy on Kobo: http://bit.ly/13CBz9M
Buy on Amazon Canada: http://amzn.to/15oFc4a
 

 

 

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

First Encounter With a Book Club ~ As Featured Author

Frankly, while I was thrilled to learn that a book club had chosen my book and had asked me to come visit them and discuss that book, I was terrified at the same time.

Mind you, I'm not afraid of meeting new people and anyone who knows me is aware I can talk up a storm with the best of them. 

But this was MY first book, my first child and I was actually going to hear live, not in a written review of what they thought of it.  I think most creative people are all somewhat fearful that what they put out there will be liked or ridiculed. I was no exception.

Yikes.

Well the 5-W's, The Wild Women of Wisdom, Wine and Words, couldn't have been more fun, gracious and interesting.

Christine, Nina, Missy, Diane, Gayle, Dayle, Jessie, Karen and Rose, thank you so much for having me.  You all hold a special part of my heart as my very first book club.

Christine
Christine isn't in the picture...she took the picture


I'd prepared myself for all sorts of questions, but all the answers flew out of my head as the questions started coming.  Why I picked that cover? What was my theme,? What was my schedule and work flow like? Why Jason acted the way he did and my character's pasts. Did I think it was a romance or a kidnapping?  Why change the cover?

In turn I got to ask them if the characters rang true, did the conflict work for them, was it what they expected, did it satisfy them, did they want to throw it against the wall or stay up and read it? Did the Cate scene when she found her daughter, (no spoiler alert here, promise) drive them to tears as it did me?

They also offered great suggestions for future books and made me think. We didn't always agree, but hey, what more could an author ask for?

Nothing. 

There was wine, food, great conversation and I left feeling stronger as a writer, more confident as an author. I found new friends and maybe they'll read my other books. But that's not the reason for my new found confidence.  It was because they'd read a book of mine and enjoyed it and I got to watch their faces as they said so.

And I believe I even found beta readers for my upcoming release.

So, if you're invited to a book club as featured author, jump at the chance.

I want to do more.  So you if you have a book club...find me at www.lasartor.com and use the contact me link.  I'd love to be there.  In person, via Skype chat or Google hangout.  We can make it work.