Hi everyone! This has absolutely nothing to do with writing (unless you like to eat while you write, which I do from time to time…lol). But his is a delicious recipe given to me by a friend. I just had to pass it on.

Apricot Nectar Cake

1 yellow cake mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup oil
1 cup Apricot Nectar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease & flour Bundt pan.
3. Add all ingredients in a bowl and mix until well blended (max. 2 minutes).
4. Cook for 45 minutes.

Remove cake from oven and let cool in pan for about five minutes then turn upside down onto your cake dish. After you take cake out of oven to cool, mix the following:

1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
Mix thoroughly and let set for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Once cake is placed on cake dish use a butter knife to poke several holes into cake.

Take the lemon juice and powdered sugar mixture and pour slowly over cake giving it time to seep into cake.

I guarantee you’ll make friends and influence people if you bake this cake. It’s absolutely scrumptious. Cut a slice, sit down with a good book (preferably one of mine) and eat and read. You can’t go wrong! lol

Hi everyone! It’s my turn to post a question for the next person on this blog journey.

What is the hero’s name in Sue Perkin’s novel Three Hearts released by Desert Breeze Publishing?

For the answer, go to Sue’s website.

Remember, you can win prizes for answering these questions! Here is a list of what we are giving away:

Free reads, free books, fresh baked cookies, goodie bags, autographed Postcards, holiday themed handmade jewelry, a $10 Amazon gift card, cover art mugs with coffee, bookmarks, 2010 Calendars, hand crocheted snowflakes, author pens, magnets, tins of mixed nuts, Crucifying Angel tee shirts, cover art canvas bag, 2 book credits to the Desert Breeze Publishing storefront, Irish themed gifts, a book themed gift basket…and the grand prize is a $50 gift certificate to Amazon! Woo hoo!

Take part in the Desert Breeze Blog Scavenger Hunt, and you’ll have the opportunity to win all sorts of great prizes!! Hope you’ll check it out. : )

Hi everyone! I’m excited to report that I was notified by one of my publishers, The Wild Rose Press, that print copies of SKELETON BAYOU are now available from their website here. The book will be up at Amazon and other online sources in mid-December. Yay! I’ve already ordered my author copies. Can’t wait to hold that book–an emotional romantic suspense–in my hot little hands.

Blurb: Savannah Love is emotionally and physically battered, but is determined to survive after escaping the hellish imprisonment imposed on her by her psychotic cop-husband. After seven months in hiding, she resurfaces at Mossy Oak, her ramshackle family home on a Louisiana bayou, and attempts to restart her life. The empty house provides shelter, but isn’t the fortress she needs when her cruel ex comes calling.

Mack O’Malley, former cop turned handyman conflicted over a bad shoot on the job, comes to Savannah’s rescue when the psychopath draws them into a deadly game of cat and mouse. Fearful of Mack at first, she soon discovers that beneath his steely exterior lies a resolute defender with a heart hungry for love. Will their alliance save them, or will they fall victim to the Legend of Skeleton Bayou?

Hope you’ll check it out! I’m thrilled to finally have another book available. This one is dear to my heart. You can review all my titles on my website here.

Hi everyone. Just FYI, I have one title currently available in ebook form (in a variety of formats) at Desert Breeze Publishing, with five more books to follow through June 2011. CHERISHED WITNESS is also available at Amazon for the Kindle, at ebookreader.com, and B&N.com. Barnes & Nobles is about to come out with the Nook, a new ereader that looks fantastic and uses the new Android operating system. I’m going to get one.

CHERISHED WITNESS is the first book in my New Orleans Detective series. In it, Kelly Watson, aka Teresa Pastral, threw the Fifth Amendment out the window when she testified against her mob boss husband at his murder trial. Now divorced, she has begun a new life in the Witness Security Program. Only–the mob finds her, thanks to handsome lawman J.T. Romano, who uses her as bait to lure the man who murdered his wife and unborn child to town. To ensure her safety, she is forced to trust J.T., the man who has betrayed her to the mob. But can she also protect her heart?

Hope you’ll check it out here. In addition to that book, I have six ebook titles out at Cobblestone Press. They are available here. All but one are suspense, and a few are hotter than others. In addition to those, SKELETON BAYOU will be released in December from The Wild Rose Press in both ebook and print. You can read more about it here.

On another note, last week at the Citizen’s Police Academy, we toured the Hinds County Detention Center, a facility that houses 594 male inmates. Next door to it is the Hinds County Joint State-County Work Center, a facility for misdemeanor offenders that houses 200. Another jail downtown houses 200 mostly female inmates. I was amazed at the size of the detention center and now know that I never want to go to jail. Not. Ever. To say I felt claustrophobic in there was an understatement. I admire the men and women who work there. They’ve got to be tough just to walk in the door. Kudos to all of them!!

This week we’ll hear from investigators. I’ll do my best to report back on that session on Friday. Should be a good one. Then Saturday night I have my ride-along. Can’t wait!!

You can check out all my titles on my website here. Hope you drop by!

This week during our Sheriff’s Department Civilian Police Academy class, we heard from the Warrant Division, the Civil Process Division, and the Crime Lab, or Crime Scene Unit. A big brutish guy gave the talk on warrants, and told us stories about dragging people out of crack houses with lots of backup. Looking at him, I was surprised he needed it. I learned so much in a short period of time, about warrants, indictments, serving them, and the like. Important procedural tidbits I will definitely use in my books.

Civil Process is just that. It doesn’t involve any criminal activity. They handle writs of garnishment, writs of assistance, serving divorce and child custody papers, lunacy writs, and so on. The lieutenant who talked to us about this had stories, too, about running down a man who bought a car for 14K from a local dealership and managed to do it without giving them any personal information…just a counter check from a bank. Bet that car salesman caught hell! Anyway, he finally ran the man down after three weeks…and after he’d sold the car to a woman who gave it to her daughter in Texas. He paid for the car–with a cashier’s check this time–and all was forgiven.

The crime scene investigation guy described his approach to a crime scene and gave us details pertinent to our local area. Our capital city is in this county, but they have their own police force and CSI unit, so the county isn’t responsible for investigating crimes taking place there. Although deputies can perform their duties within the city if necessary.

My current work in progress is set here in my neck of the woods, so all of this information is invaluable. Next week we’ll tour the detention center and the county farm. We have a meal before each class, too; food cooked by some of the inmates–and it’s delicious. Tonight, we had chili.

If you write suspense, I highly recommend attending your local CPA if one is offered. It’s awesome!

Hi everyone! I’m currently attending a Citizen’s Police Academy sponsored by my local sheriff’s department, and I’m loving it. Last week, we learned about the court system. And last night, we leaned about the SWAT team, the reserves, who are really active in this jurisdiction, and DUI enforcement.

I loved the presentation made by the SWAT guys. They taught us about body armor, automatic weapons, “less lethal” weapons such as Tasers, gas canisters, and bean bags, equipment like the hooligan tool and the big shields they carry, medical support and logistics. We also were able to check out a really cool armored vehicle and their mobile command center. Lots of firepower.

Our SWAT team is made up of officers from two separate jurisdictions, which helps both of them. On the scene in a hostage situation, they have an immediate action team, a deliberate response team, a containment team, snipers, medical support, and logistic personnel. They are highly trained and do an excellent job.

DUI enforcement is critical as well, and from the sound of it our DUI team is overworked because they also train other law enforcement officers throughout the entire state. I had no idea. I’m proud to have such qualified men working our streets.

Our reserve unit is one of the best, with 89 fully certified officers. They receive the same training as all sheriff’s deputies and are qualified to carry out the same duties–only they do it for free because they love it. They also have to buy their own firearms and equipment. Wow. I’m amazed!

My hat is off to these brave men and women who risk their lives for us everyday. My latest WIP is set right here in my area, and I’m excited about that. Be sure to check out my website to read about my available titles and what I have coming up. You can do that here.

I’m an only child, so I don’t know what it’s like to have a sister. I’ve always been on my own and never had that unique connection most siblings have. So when I had my sons, that was a special challenge. They had a brotherly bond I didn’t understand.

Families are the foundation of our society. Families are our heart and soul. Our safety…or not. Some families aren’t nurturing or loving. They are filled with abuse and pain. I’m thankful my family growing up wasn’t like that and isn’t like that now, and I feel for those people who don’t have that support system. That cocoon of safety and hope.

My friend Therese Walsh has written a novel about family, about sisters. THE LAST WILL OF MOIRA LEAHY debuts today, October 13, and is available here. I’m so excited for her. This is her first release, and it’s a big one. Please support her and check out her fabulous book!!!

“Today I’m participating in a mass blogging! WOW! Women On Writing has gathered a group of blogging buddies to write about family relationships. Why family relationships? We’re celebrating the release of Therese Walsh’s debut novel today. The Last Will of Moira Leahy, (Random House, October 13, 2009) is about a mysterious journey that helps a woman learn more about herself and her twin, whom she lost when they were teenagers. Visit The Muffin (http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/blog.html) to read what Therese has to say about family relationships and view the list of all my blogging buddies. And make sure you visit Therese’s website (http://www.theresewalsh.com) to find out more about the author.”

Chris Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler on SVU

Nothing says HOT like a handsome man toting a big gun. My fave, of course, is Detective Elliot Stabler on Law & Order SVU, but many others have also caught my fancy. So stay tuned on Thursdays to see who I’ve chosen as the big gun of the week. ; )