I know it’s going to be tough for you to focus on this one, but please pay close attention. Hair or no hair? It seems that on romance novel covers it’s usually models with no hair, but I kind of like a little chest hair, not full fur. How about you? Do you like this or that?
P.S. – You may think authors have some say in their romance novel covers, but unless you’re self-publishing, you can only hope the art department has listened to your suggestions for the hero and heroine.
Simple and Tasty Heirloom Tomato Salad
For me, Saturdays are meant to be easy days for relaxing and just enjoying life. Of course, when I was working, Saturday was the day for catching up on chores and getting ready for the rest of the week. But hopefully, whether you’re relaxing or running chores, this simple and tasty heirloom tomato salad is one you can enjoy!
I made this tomato salad with some Black Krim tomatoes my brother-in-law grew from seedlings I gave him! So exciting. The recipe comes from Cochon on 2nd, a fantastic restaurant in Williamsburgh, Virginia. We were lucky enough to be able to eat there recently and highly recommend it if you’re in the area.
Ingredients
2 or 3 vine ripe tomatoes
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/4 cup fresh basil
Extra Virgin Olive oil
1/2 cup crumbled Maytag blue cheese
Directions
Thick slice the tomatoes and lay them out on a plate, slightly overlapping them.
Salt and Pepper the tomatoes to taste.
Chop the basil and sprinkle over the tomatoes. If you want to get fancy, you can do what’s known as a chiffonade. Basically, you roll the basil leaves together and then slice them to create ribbons of basil.
Drizzle the olive oil over the tomatoes.
Sprinkle the blue cheese across the tomatoes.
It’s best to let this sit for about half an hour or so. That will let the salt draw out the juices of the tomatoes and also let the cheese get to room temperature where its taste will be the best.
Serve with a nice sourdough bread so you can mop up all the tasty juices from the tomatoes and olive oil!!
Enjoy! P.S. – Can’t you just see Sara from South Beach Love making something like this at her comfort food restaurant?
South Beach Love is now a Hallmark Channel Movie
I’m so so happy to announce that it’s now officially official that South Beach Love will be a Hallmark Channel movie! The movie stars Taylor Cole and William Levy and will air on October 9 at 9 pm! I’m so excited! The film is currently in production and we’re hoping to be able to visit the set and see the filming! Will keep you posted on that.
A Teasing Taste of South Beach Love
South Beach, two chefs falling in love, and an unexpected competition to be THE CHEF featured in a local magazine! What could go wrong? Did I mention two teen nieces who each want to have the best Sweet 15 party ever? If you love sweet romances filled with flavorful food, humor, emotion, and romance, you’ll love SOUTH BEACH LOVE, now available from Hallmark. It’s my pleasure to share a teaser from SOUTH BEACH LOVE!
Excerpt
“Chef, there’s someone out there who says he’s an old friend.”
Sara peered over the half wall that separated her restaurant’s open kitchen from the dining area. As her hostess jerked her head in the direction of the front door, Sara craned her neck to see an older, but unquestionably memorable face, at the hostess podium. A face she had dreamed about more than once as a teen.
“OMG,” she heard from beside her. “Is that Tony Sanchez? The Tony Sanchez?” said Jeri, her business partner, fellow chef, and long-time best friend. Inches shorter than Sara, Jeri had to rise on tiptoes to peer over the half-wall.
“None other,” Sara said as she grabbed a towel to dry her hands and shot a quick look at a starstruck Jeri. Her aqua blue eyes were wide with surprise in a face of flawless café con leche skin. “Can you handle things for a few minutes?”
At Jeri’s nod, Sara rushed out to greet Tony. She told herself not to make too much of how his smile widened when he spotted her, or how his eyes, those melty chocolate-colored eyes, warmed as he settled his gaze on her. But it was impossible to stop how her heartbeat picked up speed that he was here and seemingly happy to see her.
Hugs had always been freely given by the Sanchez family, but she held her hands out to him to avoid a hug, uncertain of how she’d react to the embrace. “It’s been way too long, Tony.” Nine years and eight months, give or take. Not that she was counting.
Liar, the little voice in her head chastised. Even though Tony had left Miami behind, she’d eagerly followed all his accomplishments. Even dared to wonder if he’d ever make Miami his home again.
Tony took both her hands in his and playfully wagged them. “You’ve grown up, chiquitica.”
She laughed and tried to ignore the tingle building where her hands rested in his. Slowly she eased her hands free. “I couldn’t stay ten forever. You look good,” she said and prayed it didn’t sound too much like flirting. To cover for it, she blurted out, “What brings you to Miami?”
“Family,” he said and glanced around the restaurant. “I ran into Rick the other day and he mentioned you had a place, so I decided to come by and say ‘Hello.’”
“Well, hello,” she said, feeling more and more like a tongue-tied fool with every passing second. “Monica will get you a table.” She waved at the hostess and when the young woman came by, she said, “Please seat Tony as soon as you can.”
He raised his hand in a ‘stop’ motion. “Por favor, no special treatment.”
Sara peered around the dining room. Every table was full inside and a quick look through the windows confirmed the outdoor seats were all taken. Plus there were quite a number of people milling around outside waiting to be seated.
“It may be a while,” she said with an apologetic grimace.
Tony mimicked her action, scrutinizing the restaurant and outdoor area. “I can wait. I’ve got all night. And if I’m still here when the rush is over, maybe we can grab a coffee later?”
Coffee? With Tony? Butterflies erupted in her stomach, but she somehow got the word out. “S-s-s-ure,” she stammered and without waiting for his reply, she rushed back to the kitchen before she embarrassed herself even more.
“You’re blushing. I’ve never seen you blush before,” Jeri kidded as Sara resumed the final plating of the nearly complete orders.
“It’s the heat in the kitchen,” she said, although her partner probably knew it was a lie.
“Sure, Sara. The heat and not…” Her friend paused and looked over the wall to where Tony waited outside, just beyond the entrance to the restaurant. “That hot guy you obviously have a crush on.”
“Not a crush,” she said and jerked tickets off the board to place them and the finished plates on the counter. Like clockwork her servers came over to pick up the meals and take them to their respective tables.
“Sure thing, Sara. Whatever you say,” Jeri teased as she finished up an order of sliders by topping them with slices of perfectly grilled foie gras. When she was done, she passed the plates to Sara for the final touch of caramelized onion compote before a toasted brioche bun top completed the slider and the order went up on the counter.
“Please, Jeri, leave it alone,” she pleaded and with a reluctant nod, her partner returned her focus to the new orders while Sara prayed that she wouldn’t make a fool of herself with Tony when it came time to chat with him.
She’d tried to keep her crush a secret from him and if he’d ever noticed it, he’d been gentleman enough not to mention it.
She wanted to keep it that way.
He had his restaurant and life in New York and she was here in Miami and never the twain would meet.
But in the back of her mind, she wondered, “What if?”
Order
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Ky0OwQ
Apple Books: https://amzn.to/37mQbpX
B&N: http://bit.ly/BNSouthBeachLove
Google: http://bit.ly/GoogleSouthBeachLove
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/south-beach-love
Additional Retailers: https://books2read.com/SouthBeachLoveHallmark
Time for this or that! Suspense or Contemporary?
As you may know, I wrote dark paranormal suspense for nearly a decade, but lately I’m loving romantic suspense and contemporary romances for a change of pace. I also love reading romantic suspense and contemporary romances! What about you? Share what’s your fav kind of romance to read!
The Eyes Have It!
They say the eyes are a window to the soul and when you think about it, eyes can say a great deal. Shifty eyes warn us someone is lying. A teen eye roll can make you grit your teeth! We communicate so much with our eyes, especially in romance novels. While I try to avoid it, I confess there is often quite a lot of gazing into eyes. LOL! And what about the eye color? Does that matter? Share which is your fav eye color for a hero! Personally, I like dark-haired men with light eyes – either blue or green.
#TGIF It’s Friday Night! Time to…
It’s Friday night and time for #FridayFavorites! What’s your fav thing to do on Friday nights? My hubby, daughter, and I used to love to grab some pizza and sit and watch television. It was our time to relax after a busy week and spend some time together. My late Friday night guilty pleasure now is to watch the Hallmark Channel after hubby goes to bed!
