First of all, thank you, Cait, for sharing your blog with me today! Ever since Cait and I met through Crimson Romance I knew we were both cut from the same somewhat wacky but equally stunning cloth. I consider her my Soul Sister Across The Sea!
Hey that sounds like a great title for a book...how 'bout it MJ, shall we co-write...what a giggle that would be :). Are you looking forward to the upcoming holidays? (PS love the cloth comment thank you!)
I’m feeling a bit nostalgic and remembering one of my favorite Christmases ever. This is the year my Dad got my sister and I matching red hooded robes with white trim. (My parents were divorced and I have the feeling some well-meaning sales clerk helped him out with his purchases! “They’ll look so cute!”) They sound gorgeous, I want to get them for my girls!!I also got a wood burning kit and a studding tool (It was the 70s! “It’ll keep the little boogers busy for hours!”) But by far the best gift was my Nancy Drews! The neighbor girl had ALL of them! The whole set! I think there were 120 at the time (Why and how I remember this is beyond me. There are like a bajillion of them now!) When I unwrapped my gift and saw FOUR of those beautiful yellow spines, I was over the moon with happiness!
Remember the way that felt? A good book to read over break, or on those long, cold winter weekends when you couldn’t go outside and play? (Come on, now! Channel your inner-geek!) Absolutely, I'm with you here, MJ. I loved a new book, the smell, the smart spine that gradually got shabby as I read the book.
For me there was nothing more exciting than a new book. I’m hoping you’ll say the same for you because I have a new release to share with you…but not before I give you a Christmas gift! I know, I didn’t have to do it, but I wanted to! We all love eating our way through the holidays so I, the rock romance writer, am going to share with you a recipe for
MJ’s ROCKING ROLLS ~ 6 T. butter, softened
½ c. packed brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/3 c. milk chocolate English toffee bits
2 tubes (8 oz. each) refrigerated crescent roles (I use the seamless variety.)
1 c. powdered sugar
4 ½ tsp. milk
¼ tsp. vanilla
1) In a small bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon until light and fluffy. Stir in toffee bits.
2) Separate each tube into four rectangles (seal perforations if not using seamless variety.) Spread evenly with butter mixture. Roll up each rectangle jelly-roll style, starting with long side.
3) Cut each into 6 1-inch slices. Place cut side down on two ungreased 8-inch square baking dishes. Bake at 375 degrees for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown.
4) In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Drizzle over warm rolls.
Yum! I'm looking forward to making these.
So, there you have it! They would be great for Christmas morning or any day during break. Now, to tell you a little bit about that one book you want to have in your virtual Christmas stocking…
Heath “Hawk” McGowan is a young, single, cop and father. Jasmine Barrett is the rock star who has just discovered her best friend murdered in her own bed. Jasmine, or “Jazz”, as her fans call her, is not at all what Heath expects when he first meets her. Anticipating having to work with a prima donna, he is surprised to find her sweet and completely unassuming, in addition to being as sexy as her onstage persona. After outlining a number of reasons why he shouldn’t become involved with her—the top reason being he is the lead investigator in the murder of her best friend—Heath finds that he can’t stop himself from falling in love.
Things heat up between the two, especially after Jazz discovers another body in the condominium’s garage, and her terror drives her closer to Heath. Will Heath be able to solve the murders before Jasmine becomes the next victim? Or will he save Jazz, while, at the same time, losing his heart to her?
Excerpt ~
Okay, I’ve saved for you all the never-been-seen-before excerpt where Heath is cooking Jasmine dinner. (Ya know? To go along with our cooking theme.) Heath burns his spaghetti sauce and has to send his brother Luke out to get some. Only Luke returns with some from Jazz’s favorite restaurant!
These were the thoughts haunting him when he was supposed to be stirring his sauce. That and images of Jazz from the concert the night before, which had been pushing their way into his mind all day. At least the smoke had thinned out to a sort of ethereal haze. He went to check the table for the fourth time. There was a table cloth Luke had insisted on ironing. It did look a lot less…lumpy. Wine, his and Juliette’s wedding china—which he was hoping wasn’t a bad omen of some sort—wine glasses, candles.
Things seemed in order. When he returned to the kitchen and glanced out the window, he could see Luke strolling up the sidewalk with a bag. At the same time, he saw Jasmine pull up outside. “Oh, shit! Shit! Shit!” He rushed to the back door, getting to it at the same time as Luke did. He reached out and pulled the surprised Luke in by his jacket.
“What the—”
“Get in here, you moron! She’s coming!”
“Hey, this moron just went downtown to get you a red sauce—”
“Oh, no! You didn’t go to Sebastian’s did you?” He grabbed the bag out of his hand and recognized the familiar logo. “You went to Sebastian’s.” The despair was thick in his voice.
“What’s the big deal? Sebastian’s has one of the best—” The doorbell rang and he seized Luke by the lapels again.“I’m going to go out there and distract her.” He pushed Luke hurriedly toward the back door. “You’re going to sneak out the back and keep your head low when you pass the windows.”
“Keep my head low? What the hell for? OUCH!”
He gave Luke a sharp rap on the head and then hissed at him.
“Head. Low!”
“You’re a nut,” Luke mumbled as the door was slammed in his face.
He scrambled to answer the door. “Hey, come on in. How’s it going? Do you want some wine?” he said without taking a breath. He held out a glass he had already poured.
“Hi. Is Luke here?”
“Luke? Luke?” he stated like a parrot, his eyes darting around in alarm.
“Your brother…Luke?” Jasmine repeated, nodding slowly.
“Oh, Luke. No, Luke’s not here. Remember, he’s going to Kole’s.”
“Yes, I know that was the plan—” Her sentence was lost in a sudden kiss. He had seen Luke walking by outside, brazenly holding his head high and waving as he passed the windows.
In order to distract her, Heath threw her into an unexpected lip lock. The awkward kiss was over before it had even begun. He tried to inconspicuously scan the windows again. When he turned back, Jazz was staring over his shoulder with a puzzled expression on her face. He spun his head to look out the window but didn’t see anything.
Jazz lifted a hand to the side of his face and turned his head away from the windows so he was looking at her. “Heath—” She kissed him tenderly. “—whatever is bothering you, don’t let it worry you anymore.” She kissed him again. “All I need is right here—” She feathered a kiss on his lips, then looked him directly in the eyes. “—with you.” She planted a kiss on him so wonderful it did make him forget about his annoying brother.
“Okay, then,” he said, “let’s get this dinner over with so we can have sex.” He turned and marched through the swinging door.
As the door swung back and forth he heard her mumble, “That was some of the strangest
foreplay I’ve ever had.”
LOL I love it!! Can't wait to read this baby!
Bio ~
MJ is a lunch lady in the heart of Central Illinois. My gosh, can you get more folksy than that? She met her husband at the University of Missouri-Columbia and now she has an eighteen-year-old (how did that happen?) and sixteen year old triplets! She loves to read, karaoke (where she can pretend she is a rock star) and spends WAY too much time on Facebook. She grew up in St. Louis and still has family there.
You can find M.J.at: www.mjschillerauthor.blogspot.com,
MJ on FB, Twitter, Pinterest, and Goodreads.
You can buy BETWEEN ROCK AND A HARD PLACE at: BN and Amazon.
Thanks for having me, Cait! I enjoyed myself immensely! Anytime, Soul Sister, I love having you at Cait's Place :).
Thanks again for having me on! Always love hanging with you, Cait!
ReplyDeleteMe too MJ, me too!! You're looking preddy darn good too!!
ReplyDeleteLove the excerpt, and I bet the rolls are great, MJ. Just couldn't help but notice there were faces...Cait, thanks for having MJ on. She's always fun!
ReplyDeleteGreat fun, I love having her here...thanks for coming by!!
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