What can I say? I love Mark Wahlberg. I love that he’s redeemed his life and seems to have accepted responsibility for the things he’s done. There are some of his movies that I will watch whenever they are on, like INVINCIBLE and THE FIGHTER. I think why I like them is because they’re about ordinary guys rising above the ordinary to make something of themselves. I kind of imagine Mark plays those roles so well because of his own life and he rose above it.

I’ve been enjoying the show about his brother’s restaurant, Wahlburgers. It’s fun to watch them and see their interactions with their mom and how she rules the roost.

I hope you’ll enjoy today’s Man Candy Monday!

Photo Credit: Eva Rinaldi@en.wikipedia.com

It’s our Dangerous Dozen Release party today! Come and play with us and our special guests. We’ll have fun and prizes for you! My time slot at the party is from 12 pm to 1 pm EST.

OMG, the big day is finally here! It’s the release day for the Dangerous Dozen Romantic Suspense Boxed Set. It seemed apropos to share with you my vision for Carlos Ramirez, the sexy undercover detective who is tying investigative reporter Sylvia Amenabar into knots! LOL!

Here’s how I pictured him hanging out in South Beach, waiting for Sylvia to finally commit to their relationship.

Sexy, right? But more importantly, Carlos is a true hero who not only saved Sylvia’s life, but also that of his former partner. He’s a man with a heart of gold who is in love with a woman who sometimes doubts she even has a heart.

I loved exploring their relationship as well as the mystery of whether or not Carlos is a dirty cop. That’s the suspense part in the book as Sylvia is told that Carlos is responsible for the murder of another undercover officer and it’s up to her to either prove that he’s innocent or deal with the consequences of not only her feelings for him, but the damage she will do Carlos, his family and her friend Adriana, who is dating Carlos’s old partner, Riley Evans. The man who accused Carlos of being a dirty cop has also fingered Riley as being part of the murder.

I hope you’ll take a moment to check out the boxed set which is specially priced for only .99 for a limited time.

Who doesn’t like chocolate pudding? It’s so rich and thick and tasty. Comfort food.

I still remember coming home from school and my grandma would be standing at the stove, making it for us. She’d be stirring and stirring and when it was done, we’d fight over who got to eat was left in the pot and who got to lick the spoon!

My grandma was an amazing cook and could make just about anything tasty. Even leftovers.

But this recipe is one ANYONE can make. Yep, you read that right, ANYONE. It’s that simple and fast.

Keep It Simple Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients:

2/3 cup sugar (you can substitute Splenda)
2 1/4 cups milk (you can substitute skim milk or almond milk)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cinnamon stick
3 tablespoons corn starch
1/4 cup powdered cocoa (milk of dark or a mix!)

Directions:

Blend together all the dry ingredients and set aside. Add milk, cinnamon stick, and vanilla to a saucepan and start to heat it. Whisk in the dry ingredients. Over medium heat, stirring regularly, bring the mixture to a boil. Stir it for another minute and then pour it into either a big bowl or individual dessert dishes.

Refrigerate for a couple of hours. Let the kids lick the bowl and spoon clean or give yourself a Cook’s Treat!

Some people say to cover the warm pudding with plastic so you don’t get a skin. For a lot of us, the skin is one of the best parts of the pudding, but I leave it up to you since it’s a matter of individual taste.

I want to thank those of you who dropped by the VAMPIRE REBORN & 10th Anniversary Celebration for The Calling-Reborn last night! I hope you had a good time and got lucky and won a prize!

Today’s teaser is from TO CATCH HER MAN, my contribution to the Dangerous Dozen Romantic Suspense Boxed set. You’ve seen bits of the first chapter, but I thought I’d share the whole one with you today!

Also, take a moment to visit with me at the fabulous Lois Winston’s Anastasia Pollack Blog where I’m sharing a recipe from TO CATCH HER MAN.

If you can’t see the teaser below, you can click here to read the first chapter of TO CATCH HER MAN from the Dangerous Dozen Romantic Boxed Set.

TO CATCH HER MAN from Dangerous Dozen Romantic Suspense

It’s hard to believe how long it’s been since my first book came out: September 1999.

Through it all I’ve had my best friend at my side, my daughter. Through good times and bad, she’s believed in me and learned to believe in herself and all that you can accomplish with hard work. I’m proud of you!

Here’s a picture of us at one of my first ever book signings!