Live to Love on the Edge Blog

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Helping Out Friend and Fellow Author Olivia Gates

Many years ago I had the opportunity to meet Olivia Gates during an RWA conference. Olivia is a delight! Bright, witty, beautiful and so giving. We have been friends ever since and now it’s time to help out a friend.

Olivia lives in Egypt and as you may know there are serious problems occurring there. I hope that Olivia and her family are safe and that there is a peaceful transition to a democratic government for the sake of all Egyptians.

Because of these problems Internet service and communications have been disrupted and that’s where we all can help Olivia.

You see Olivia Gates has a February 1 release by Harlequin Desire called To Tempt a Sheikh. Her friends and fellow authors would like to get out the word about her book since Olivia cannot.

Please help us by posting the information below on your blog, your Facebook page or by tweeting a link to Olivia’s home page. Just copy and paste the text below and this cover by right clicking your mouse. Let’s support an author who cannot access the internet to promote her book.

To Tempt a Sheikh by Olivia Gates

He rescued hostage Talia Burke from his royal family’s rival tribe and swept her into his strong embrace. But Prince Harres Aal Shalaan soon discovered there was more to the brave beauty than he knew. Talia held information vital to protecting his beloved kingdom…and she had every reason not to trust him.

Marooned together at a desert oasis, Talia couldn’t resist Harres. Yet even as his sizzling seduction entranced her, his loyalty to his family and country would always make them enemies. Falling for the sheikh would be her heart’s greatest mistake…but she feared it was already too late….

In stores February 1!

Available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders, Books A Million and bookstores everywhere. Also available at eharlequin both in print and as an ebook.

To read a first chapter and visit Olivia’s webpage, please click here.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and spreading the word.

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Joe Manganiello – Totally Hot Guilty Pleasure

With the frightful cold weather we need something really really hot to warm up these chilly days – Joe Manganiello. Now I don’t watch TRUE BLOOD, but Joe has me reconsidering that decision. Can we say way hot? Check out this video of a photo shoot for MEN’S HEALTH AND FITNESS.

Not sure I’m a fan of the beard though. What do you think?

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Fun Friday – Odd News

In the first odd news of the day, I woke up yesterday morning and had somehow been transported to Wisconsin. Yes, seventeen more inches of snow had fallen from Wednesday night to Thursday morning, blanketing the streets and homes in New Jersey. Adding another foot and a half to the mounds lining streets and my driveway. It is now official that I can barely see over those mounds to the street!

So sorry that I didn’t provide a blog yesterday, but part of the morning was spent shoveling out and then I worked from home so as to not fall too far behind at work.

And now for some more Odd News! If you cannot see the video below, you can click here to view it.

M

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Paying It Forward

I’ve been blessed many times in my life and for that reason, I believe in paying it forward. Whether it’s by helping other writers through the Liberty States Fiction Writers or participating in various charitable events, I think it’s the right thing to do.

That’s why I never hesitate to contribute to the Brenda Novak Auction for Diabetes Research. This wonderful annual auction has raised over 1 million dollars to date and I hope they set a new record this year.

If you’d like to help Brenda meet that goal, check out the auction by clicking here! Here’s a list of the items I’m contributing to the auction:

SONY PRS300SC Reader Pocket Edition LOADED w/Books: Sony PRS300SC Reader Pocket Edition (silver) loaded with a collection of all the books in THE CALLING Vampire Novels in addition to the AZTEC GOLD, SINS OF THE FLESH and STRONGER THAN SIN e-books. The prize also includes a STRONGER THAN SIN tote bag, AZTEC GOLD T-shirt, Caridad.com re-usable grocery bag and a copy of the ARC for THE LOST (August 2011).

One-Hour Consultation: One hour consultation on any topic of your choice, whether a read and critique of your 30 pages from your work, review of your website with suggestions, recommendations on your marketing plan in addition to a guest visit on her blog and author interview which will be distributed to various news and article web sites.

Autographed CHICAS Collection: The winner of this bid will receive an autographed CHICAS collection of the three books in the series, namely, FRIDAY NIGHT CHICAS, SEX AND THE SOUTH BEACH CHICAS and SOUTH BEACH CHICAS CATCH THEIR MAN.

A NOOK COLOR, with Cover, LOADED with E-Books from Carina Press Authors: A Nook color with cover, loaded with e-books from Carina Press authors including AZTEC GOLD by little ol’ me!

A Kindle 3G with leather cover & light, loaded with e-books from Carina Press authors: A Kindle 3G with leather cover & light, loaded with e-books from Carina Press authors including AZTEC GOLD by little ol’ me!

Bidding on the items will run from May 1 to May 31 so save your pennies and mark your calendars for this awesome event.

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STRONGER THAN SIN Awakenings Excerpt on Wicked Wednesday

This Wicked Wednesday I’m offering up an excerpt from STRONGER THAN SIN that I’ve titled “Awakenings” because as Jesse and Liliana are thrust together, understanding awakens desire, especially in Jesse. He’s been alone for so long that Liliana’s caring and compassion are almost overwhelming.

If you cannot see the excerpt below, you can click here. Don’t have the time to read it now or want a more private moment? You can click on download to save it to your electronic reading device.

Stronger Than Sin Excerpt Awakenings

If you’ve bought STRONGER THAN SIN, many thanks for your support. If you haven’t, click here for more information on STRONGER THAN SIN or take a moment to stop by one of these booksellers to check it out.

Order at Amazon
Order at Barnes & Noble
Order at Books-a-Million
Order at Borders
Order at Powell’s
Order at Target
Order at Walmart
Indiebound

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Spaghetti Squash Bake

This recipe will take a little bit of time to make but it is definitely worth the effort, especially if you are trying to watch bad carbs and need the taste of some comfort food along the lines of mac and cheese.

The first thing you need to do is to prep the squash.

Directions for the squash:

  • Cut the squash lengthwise
  • Scoop out the seeds
  • Lightly grease a baking dish and lay the squash open/flat side down on the dish.
  • Bake at 375 for approximately 35-40 minutes (until you can pierce the rind and the flesh beneath is soft)
    Cool a bit until you can handle.

Directions for the cream sauce:

I will never again make a cream sauce doing it the hard way with a roux and milk. Nope, this is much easier, creamier and less fattening.

  • Use half a bar (4 oz) of low-fat/fat free cream cheese. Soften with about a half cup of milk.
  • Mix in about a cup of low fat cheddar cheese. Keep a half cup of cheddar cheese as a topping (You can also use swiss or any other kind of cheese you like, but I love cheddar!)

Directions for the bake:

  • Lightly grease a 2 quart baking dish. Preheat the oven to 350.
  • Pick up the squash and with a fork, shred the inside into a mixing bowl (you can even do it directly into the bowl with the cream and cheddar mixture.) The inside should come out in strands that look like spaghetti hence the name of the squash. Use only half the squash. You can keep the other half to be eaten with garlic and oil or even tomato sauce.
  • Mix the squash, cream cheese and cheddar mixture. Transfer to the baking dish and cover with the remaining cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 for approximately 35-45 minutes until bubbling hot.

This squash bake makes a great side dish to any meal and will have you enjoying a creamy cheesy mix that is lower in fat than traditional mac and cheese and will help you get a dose of vegetables as well.

Hope you enjoyed today’s recipe! Next week I’m going to be offering up an entire collection of recipes in one book titled Recipes for the Romantic Soul. It’ll be a freebie that you can download and I hope you’ll enjoy that as well.

Photo Credit: Forest & Kim Starr@en.wikipedia.com

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Guilty Pleasure Heat for an Arctic Monday

How cold was it this morning when I left my house? 2 degrees Fahrenheit. 2! How cold is that really? Well take a look at this snapshot of the Bryant Park fountain which was freezing over from the arctic chill.

Well, we definitely have to generate some heat to combat that arctic chill and what better way than with a nice hot Guilty Pleasure? But with it being so cold, we need a man who can heat us up in the kitchen as well with something so delectable we’ll be shivering in anticipation. So today’s Guilty Pleasure is Curtis Stone, celebrity chef. Curtis has been on a number of television cooking shows both in his native Australia and here in the States. You may remember how nice he dressed up when he appeared on Celebrity Apprentice.

Curtis Stone Celebrity Chef

I hope you enjoyed today’s Guilty Pleasure.

Curtis Stone Photo Credit: Joseph Trotz@en.wikipedia.com

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