The Claimed #Paranormal #Romance #FreeRead

THE CLAIMED Paranormal RomanceI’ve been busy re-reading and taking notes from THE CLAIMED as I will shortly be starting the next book in the series, THE SHATTERED.

For those who have been asking, YES the hero and heroine are Sammie and Ryan. I so loved both of them in THE CLAIMED and I hope you will not be disappointed with their story. It’s going to be a very emotional one as Sammie and Ryan deal with all the changes in their lives while getting sucked even deeper into the war between the united Hunter clans led by Adam, Bobbie, Christopher and Victoria, and the Dark Shadow Hunter clan led by Christopher’s father, Alexander.

Plus, there will be some very interesting new Hunters in the mix, from new life for the Hunter leaders and some totally unexpected visitors who bring a warning about how life can be if the Hunters do not end the war between the Light and Dark factions.

So excited! Plus, I’ve heard all of you about the Carrera family and you will be seeing more of Mick, Caterina, Liliana, Jesse as well as younger brother Tony. I’ve missed them also. By the way, if you’re looking for the books from the SINS series on the site, try in the Suspense section. Although they were released as “paranormals”, I always thought of them as suspense books.

Since I’ve been reading THE CLAIMED, here’s a sexy – VERY sexy – excerpt from the book for you. WARNING – 17 and over please for the read.

If you can’t see the excerpt below, you can click here to read it.

THE CLAIMED #Paranormal #Romance by Caridad Pineiro

Barley Summer Salad

As you know, being healthier has been on my mind a lot as has losing weight. Because of that, I’ve been eliminated some things in my diet, like certain carbs. I’m missing my rice, though. In my house as a kid, we ate rice every night, so it’s a tough habit to break.

I’ve tried quinoa and it’s okay, but the one thing I’ve discovered that satisfies the rice craving and cooks up suprisingly similar is barley. Plus, while you may pay $5 or $6 for a bag of quinoa, you can head to the dried beans aisle and pick up a bag of barley for under $2.

So what is barley? Barley is a healthy high fiber, high protein whole grain whose soluble fibers can help reduce the risk of heart disease. It can also help lower your cholesterol levels and its insoluble fibers can assist with Type 2 diabetes. Also, high fiber can also help lower the risk of colon cancer. Barley is also low in fat. One cup of barley has about 200 calories, but it’s packed with 6 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein!

Today’s recipe is inspired by a classic tabouleh salad and it’s what I call a refrigerator cleaner. Besides those veggies I’ve included in this recipe, add any others you may have around, like carrots and celery. I added some cooked asparagus to the basic recipe and it was delicious.

Barley Summer Salad

    2 cups cooked barley*
    2 Roma tomatoes
    1 medium red onion
    1 medium cucumber (regular or 1/2 English cucumber)
    1/4 cup pecans
    1/4 Craisins
    1 tablespoon capers
    1/2 chopped pimentos
    2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
    1 tablespoon olive oil
    1 tablespoon fresh basil
    1 tablespoon fresh parsley
    Salt and pepper to taste

*To cook the barley, use 1 cup of dry barley, rinsed. Boil with 2 cups of water and/or broth. It’ll take about 35 to 40 minutes to cook. If you pre-soak the barley for an hour, it’ll take about 15 minutes to cook.

Put oil and vinegar in a large bowl. Chop all other ingredients into small pieces. Add to bowl and mix. Add barley to bowl and mix.

Done. It’s that simple and it’s a tasty side dish to burgers or any other summer meal!
Barley Summer Salad

#ManCandyMonday Robert Taylor & Bailey Chase from Longmire

I’ve gotten hooked on Longmire. What’s not to like about the gruff steely-eyed sheriff played by Robert Taylor and his young handsome rival, Bailey Chase? Of course, I’ve loved Bailey from the Buffy days when he was the sidekick to Marc Blucas (Riley Finn, Buffy’s Season 4 love interest).

Plus there is the whole cowboy thing with the faded jeans, boots and cowboy hats. Man oh man, what could be hotter? Not to mention the fascinating story lines based on Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire mystery series.

What’s not to like? If you can’t see the video below, you can click here to watch!

Video Credit= A&E Television

NEW Old Spice Guy Fabio

Cruising the ‘Net for you to find some fun for this yucky Friday and I came across these Fabio Old Spice Ads. There are twenty-seven (yes 27!) of them.

Kind of tongue-in-cheek, especially this one. Now Fabio is a nice guy. I’ve met him at several RTs and he’s surprisingly self-effacing. Anyway, hope you enjoy and get a little chuckle of them.

If you can’t see the video below, you can click here!

So much news to share today!!

NOW AND ALWAYS and FAITH IN YOU, my two very first books, will be coming out in late June and July respectively. These books will be available both digitally and in print. I’ve both updated and expanded these books from their earlier versions and I hope you will like them. Both had earned 4 stars from Romantic Times Magazine when they came out. NOW AND ALWAYS was even on the cover! A very exciting moment.

TO CATCH A PRINCESS, the sequel to THE PRINCE’S GAMBLE which features Princess Tatiana and sexy detective Peter Roman, will be out on August 12, 2013. I am very excited to say this will be a digital first release, but print copies will be available in the future! YEAH!! I so love print books for my keeper shelf and I adore Tatiana’s and Peter’s story. It’s glamorous, emotional, and action-packed!

Now even more news. . .Yeah, I have a lot to share with you today!!!

I FINALLY HAVE DATES FOR THE REBORN/THE CALLING BOOKS! They, too, will be digital first with print copies in the future.

VENGEANCE CALLS is now titled BORN TO VENGEANCE and it will be out on 09/09/13.
BORN TO SERVE will be out on 10/14/13
BORN TO LOVE will be out on 11/11/13
BORN TO DIE will be out on 12/09/13

OMG! SOOOO EXCITED ABOUT ALL THIS and I hope you are as well. In the meantime, I’ve started work on the next SIN HUNTER book, THE SHATTERED, which is Sammie and Ryan’s story. Due to contractual obligations, I won’t be able to release this book until at least January 2014 and I am so sorry to keep you waiting for it. I am so in love with Sammie and Ryan and can’t wait for you to read their story!

Thank you all for your support and friendship. It means the world to me!

Now and AlwaysSmall

Faith in YouSmall

CAPTIVE #ScienceFiction #Romance by K.M. Fawcett

CAPTIVE Science Fiction RomanceI am so pleased to have my dear friend and fellow author K.M. Fawcett here today to celebrate the release of her debut novel, CAPTIVE, a science fiction romance that is available from the Forever romance line.

Yeah, K.M.! So excited and proud! So without further ado, here’s K.M.

Fun Facts about Captive (book 1 in the Survival Race series) and K.M. Fawcett

While watching the rescue of mistreated horses on an episode of Animal Cops, K.M. wondered how people would feel if they were penned up and abused. What if humans were the pets, and someone–aliens perhaps–bred us and gambled on us for entertainment like we do with horse racing, dog racing, and cockfights? The idea for Captive (the Survival Race) was born.

The Survival Race is a blood sport in which the last gladiator alive wins. Since the hero must be an athlete possessing speed, endurance, agility, and strength, K.M. decided to make him a decathlete.

While both are difficult, K.M. finds writing fight scenes easier than writing love scenes.

According to her husband, “Not only does K.M. write kick-butt heroines, as a third degree black belt in Isshinryu karate, she is a kick-butt heroine.” 

K.M. combined American and Scottish folklore to create the alien race in Captive. They are a cross between Sasquatch, Am Fear Liath Mor (The Great Grey Man), and her imagination.

Excerpt from CAPTIVE

Addy glanced around the dimly lit room—if you could call it a room. Actually, it looked more like a ten-foot box. There were no doors. No windows. Nothing.

Except for a miniature fireplace and logs centered on one wall, the body pillow bed in one corner and a large terracotta flowerpot in the opposite corner, the room appeared empty.

She crept to a wall and drew her hand up, down and across it, searching for a hidden doorknob or lever.
“If you’re looking for me, I’m over here.”

She jumped and spun to face the stranger but was tripped up by her hangover and stumbled into the wall. Righting herself, she tried for a casual smile but knew it didn’t pass for anything more than a nervous tic.

When the room stopped spinning, she noticed he had propped himself up on one elbow. His dark, shoulder-length hair and sleepy eyes enhanced his wicked attractiveness. He made no attempt to move closer. Of course, he made no attempt to cover himself, either, and his sheet had slid further down.

She forced herself to look at his eyes. Eyes that shone eerily in the dark like a cat’s. Eyes that appeared emerald.

Odd choice for colored contacts.

“Come here.” He lifted the sheet with one hand and patted the pillow bedding with the other.

Her heart rate revved as she stared at the parts of him beneath the sheet. “I…uh…I…umm.”

“Skittish little thing, aren’t you?”

The only way to stop gawking was to squeeze her eyes shut. “Who are you?”

“You don’t know?” His voice oozed disappointment.

Apparently they had gone through this already. So why couldn’t she remember? What else couldn’t she remember? “Did I—? Did you—? Did we—?” There was no polite way to ask if (a) she’d given herself to him under duress or (b) he’d violated her while she was unconscious.

“Mate?”

Okay, that was one way. Odd word choice but it sufficed. She nodded.

“No.”

She relaxed.

“Not yet.” There was no menace or presumption in his words. He spoke them casually, matter-of-factly, as if they’d already discussed sex and concluded they’d sleep together. When had she given him that idea?

Her head ached trying to remember.

“I’m sorry. You seem like a nice guy, but I can’t…you know…do this.”

“Oh. First time, huh?”

“What?”

“Though judging your age, I wouldn’t have pegged you for a virgin.”

“Excuse me?”

“Relax.” The sleep in his voice gave the word a husky sexiness. “I’ll make sure you enjoy it, too.” He got up and strode toward her, eyes hungry and body very ready to make good on his word.

If her pulse was a car, the turbo just kicked in. “Stop right there,” she said, and he did. The surprise was evident on his face. With a body like his, he probably wasn’t used to rejection.

“Woman, this won’t work unless we’re closer. Much closer.” He winked.

She turned back to the wall, frantically feeling for that doorknob. But it was too late. He was behind her, towering over her. Sweeping the hair off her shoulder. Brushing his lips down the side of her neck.

A tingling sensation slid down her spine. “Stop it. I’m warning you.”

“I understand your hesitation,” he said between kisses. “But it’s going to happen sooner or later.”
Like hell it is. She pivoted around and kneed him in the groin.

Captive (The Survival Race) is available now at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

K.M. can be found on:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/km.fawcett‎
Twitter: twitter.com/KMFawcett
Attacking The Page blog: www.attackingthepage.wordpress.com
Her website: www.kmfawcett.com

K.M. Fawcett was a born romantic. At six years old, she would beg her parents to take her to a restaurant with, “Soft music and candles” where she could drink Shirley Temples and twirl on the dance floor. As she grew, her desire to be whisked into a romantic adventure by a knight in shining armor also grew – to the point of annoying her friends and family. When she received A Knight In Shining Armor (a novel by Jude Deveraux) for her eighteenth birthday, she fell in love…with the romance genre. ♥ Now K.M. writes sci-fi/ paranormal romances, and enjoys stories filled with adventure and strong, kick butt heroes and heroines.

K.M. holds the rank Sandan (3rd degree black belt) in both Isshinryu Karate and in Ryukonkai (Okinawan weapons). She and her husband own Tenchi Isshinryu Karate Dojo in NJ where they teach karate, weapons, and self-defense.

CAPTIVE K.M. Fawcett Blog Tour

Ricotta & Parmesan Tomatoes #Recipe #healthy

I’ve got some tomatoes already set on my plants (yeah!) and can’t wait for them to ripen so I can have some tomatoes right off the vine. In the meantime, I’ll use the store bought ones to make something really tasty and healthy!

This recipe was inspired by one from Fitness Magazine for Parmesan Tomatoes. I know my recipe adds some calories due to the reduced fat ricotta (about 30 calories per serving), but this will make a nice side dish.

Ricotta & Parmesan Tomatoes

4 Roma Tomatoes, cut in half and cored
1/2 cup reduced fat ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/8 cup chopped fresh basil (or if using dried, 1 tablespoon)
Olive Oil (a few teaspoons to oil the pan)

Place a paper towel in a strainer and let ricotta sit there for about half an hour. This will help draw out the moisture and keep the insides from being so runny.

Preheat oven to 450. Oil baking sheet with olive oil.

Cut Roma tomatoes in half (either way although if you go the short way you may need to take a bit off the bottom for them to stand upright). Oil the tomato bottoms and place on baking sheet.

Mix basil and ricotta. Spoon 1/8 cup into each tomato half. Pepper to taste. I don’t use salt since the parmesan has a ton of it, but you may wish to also salt at this point.

Sprinkle ricotta with parmesan cheese.

Bake at 450 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes or until tomatoes are soft and parmesan is toasty. You may even wish to give it a little broil for that extra caramelization.

For a variation on this theme, try the recipe with some zucchini halves or eggplant. Just one caution on the eggplant, you may have to cook it a little before so that it’s fully cooked.

tomatoricotta