Wednesday's Chow - Salmon Patties

Salmon Patties


This is a recipe my mother-in-law, a GRITS (Girls Raised in The South) gave me when my husband asked if I knew how to make Salmon Patties. I had to get it from her twice, because I lost the first recipe. And of course, as a true GRITS, this recipe is different from the first …. I know this because I did remember the first a little bit and this one had more flour and corn meal. Which means she just makes it off the top of her head. At least she didn’t tell me “a handful of flour and dash of salt.”

Ingredients:


Large can of salmon
Chopped onion
2 eggs
½ cup flour
½ cup corn meal
Salt to taste

Directions:
Put enough oil in a skillet to make ¼ inch. Heat on medium. Mix all ingredients together in bowl and shape into patties. Fry until brown , 3-5 minutes each side.

THE THINGS I NEVER KNEW

Hugs to you, Anna Kathryn, for haivng me here on your lovely blog. One of the things I'm enjoying on this bumpy road to publication is the Sisterhood of Romance Writers. The support and encouragment shared, to say nothing of the knowlege, is phenominal.

I began writing short stories in the fourth grade and knew then I wanted to be a writer. As time progressed, decades actually, I worked on my writing skills here and there, but I had no clue. No clue that writing entailed so much more. And that the media—movies and TV—were erroneously portraying the life of a writer.

You’ve seen them, I’m sure.

Let’s discuss the scene where a writer is disappointed with representation by his/her agent. The writer simply ditches the lazy agent and hires another. Uh-hunh. And what planet is this writer living on?

When I was seeking an agent, I was rudely ignored or coldly criticized. “Make your submission shine,” one agent encouraged on his website. I hired a professional proofreader to edit my manuscript. “Use this grade of paper,” he further ordered. I made a trip to Office Max. I jumped through all the hoops he listed on his fancy-schmancy website.

And what did I get in return for my “shining” manuscript? A two inch slip of paper, cut crooked with the zeroxed remark that my manuscript “did not meet the needs of his agency at this time,” but, hey, he wished me the best of luck anyway. I queried thirty-nine agents before I was offered representation. Silly me, at the beginning of the process, I thought one chose an agent like one chooses a car mechanic or a plumber. I had no clue. For sure, it sure wasn’t like that in the movies.

Then, we have a movie scene where a writer goes for the mail and opens an envelope from a publisher with an acceptance letter and a fabulous advance check. Right. We all know that ain’t happenin’. Large advances are saved for politicians and celebrities, like Keith Richards who received 7 million from Little-Brown for his autobiography. For the newbie writer, expect an acceptance email and zero advance. Nada. Zip. Not even a dickey bird, whatever that is.

Do expect the publisher to ask how YOU will promote and sell your book. Another reality check for me, folks. “Doesn’t the publisher do that kind of thing?” I asked my agent. I heard her topple out of her office chair in laughter. Oh dear, something else to learn. I mean, I was still struggling with point of view. Now I had to morph into a marketing maven as well.

I reluctantly entered the world of self-promotion. Suddenly my days, once joyously filled with writing, were now split into segments of self-promotion, creating a platform, blogging and, in my remaining time, writing.

Still, for all that, I love what I do. I create worlds and characters and sensual scenes. I dribble in humor and mesh it all together with human emotion. No, a writer’s life is nothing like the movies. It’s real and vibrant and imperative for the health of my soul. And so, I write…

My debut novel, Storm’s Interlude, set in the hill country of Texas, will be released by The Wild Rose Press on July 15^th.

Here’s an excerpt:

Rachel ducked into a little store, feigning interest in the rack of jeans. Her eyes filled with tears. Okay, she’d give herself five minutes to fall apart before she pulled herself together and showed that lying, cheating jerk he was pond scum.

Lies. It was all a lie. All of it. Storm was not through with Pilar. The woman was still wearing a diamond, a big flashy diamond. She sneered as she shoved hangers of jeans back and forth. He’d lied to her, and she’d fallen right into his arms. She rolled her eyes heavenward. He’d told her he loved her, and she’d believed that, too. What a moron! What a sap! What a pitiful…

“Can I help you? We’re having a great sale today. Clothes have been jumping off the racks.” A cheery, pregnant salesgirl with spiky bleached blonde hair, wearing a nametag that read, “La Keesha,” saddled up to her side. “Oh honey, don’t cry. Believe me, I know how hard it is to grow out of your regular clothes, but the baby’s worth it.” She placed a hand on Rachel’s abdomen. “You gotta embrace the bump, girlfriend.”

“Oh, I’m not pregnant.” She sniffed and rummaged in her purse for a tissue. “I didn’t realize this was a maternity clothing store.” She wiped her eyes, looked at the girl, then started sobbing in earnest.

The strange salesgirl wrapped her arms around Rachel. “Mercy me!” La Keesha patted Rachel’s back. “What is it?”

“He…he lied to me.” More tears flowed. Sobs racked her body.

“Men. Can’t live with ‘em, can’t shoot ‘em,” La Keesha added, with the appropriate amount of female commiseration. “But we can cut their peckers off.”

“Rachel? Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Storm tugged on her arm. “I saw you come in here.”

She whirled around to face the man who had shattered her heart. “Liar! You told me you broke off your engagement.”

“I did, but…”

“She’s still wearing her diamond.” She swiped angrily at an errant tear.

He glanced at La Keesha who clearly wasn’t going to give them any privacy. “Do you mind?” he barked.

“I’m here for moral support.” The salesgirl laid a protective arm across Rachel’s shoulders. “I’m not leaving unless my new BFF wants me to.”

“What the hell is BFF?”

La Keesha sighed as if he were the most stupid man on the face of the earth. “Best friend forever.”

Rachel leaned into her. “Yea, La Keesha knows how I feel, you lying, cheating mass of horse shit.”

He placed fisted hands on his narrow hips. “Horse shit?”

“You heard the lady.” La Keesha pointed a finger at him. Two more pregnant women ambled over, their expressions questioning.

“Rachel, can we please go someplace private so I can explain.”

“Explain? You mean explain how it was a lie when you told me this morning, in your bed I might add, that I was yours and would be yours forever? Or perhaps you could explain to me how you could promise, when we were having hot standing-up-against-the-wall sex last night, you would never allow another woman to touch you? Maybe you want to claim that was a figment of my imagination.” Her voice rose with agitation. She was trembling, trembling and crumbling into a thousand pieces.

“Hunh,” La Keesha chimed in. “Don’t see how one could imagine having standing-up-against-the-wall-sex. Fanaticize about it, sure, but you’d definitely know if you were havin’ it or not.” The two pregnant onlookers were joined by another.

“Then today I see you all but kissing Pilar here in the mall, tucking her hair behind her ear, running your hand up her arm and leaning in to whisper to her.”

“I can explain all that.” His eyes darted to the group of pregnant woman who’d moved a step closer to him, whispering and sneering.

Rachel wiped her nose and waved the hand clutching a wadded tissue. “I suppose you can explain how you could introduce me as your sister’s nurse!” There was a collective gasp among the eavesdropping women, as if they’d all sucked in air at the same time. Eyes swept from Rachel to Storm.

“Suppose you stop being childish about this!” More sucking in of air by the pregnant mob. Two called him foul names. One asked if he’d like to sing soprano for the rest of his life.

“Childish?” Rachel drew a fist and socked him in his rock-hard stomach, nearly breaking her wrist. “I’ll show you childish.”

He grabbed her by the elbow and looked at La Keesha. “You got someplace private we can talk? A dressing room maybe?”

“Oh no! I’m not letting you use my dressing room. What if you end up having up-against-the-wall—”

“For God’s sake!” Storm tightened his hold on Rachel’s elbow and all but dragged her out of the store. “I’ll explain everything to you as soon as we get one damn private moment alone,” he vowed through clenched teeth.

I'd love it if you delightful readers would stop by my blog sometime. I blog at http://www.vintagevonnie.blogspot.com/

My website is http://www.vonniedavis.com/

The book trailer for Storm's Interlude is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvzCgLEgTL0  

Satruday's Salacious Suggestions

ISLAND NIGHTS

by P.J. Mellor

Checking out an old hotel on a remote island seems like a waste of time to Reese Parker. Why is her boss interested in this out-of-the-way place? And then she meets the ruggedly handsome and incredibly sexy Ben Adams...He offers to be her local guide and suddenly what started out as a nightmare becomes an erotic dream come true. It's been so long and he's so hot...All it takes is one kiss and Reese is consumed by desire. She wants to strip him naked, touch and taste his body, and surrender to the searing passion that burns within her...

Buy Island Nights now.

Learn more about P.J.'s other books at her website.

The Friday Record - Triangle Shirtwaist Compay Fire

Today marks the 100 year anniversary of the devastating workplace fire that helped shape the labor laws we have today. Below is part of an article by Bruce Watson at Daily Finance on AOL, which explains what happens better than I can.

On March 25, 1911, a fire tore through the top three floors of New York's Asch Building, home of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company. On the eighth floor, where the blaze began, garment workers and their supervisors quickly filed out. Two floors up, the company's owners -- Max Blanck and Isaac Harris -- were notified by telephone of the fire and escaped by jumping to the roof of a nearby building. 

(Victims jumped to their death to escape the flames)

But on the ninth floor there were no phone calls, fire alarms or other warnings. In fact, the 200 seamstresses who worked there -- many of them new immigrants to America -- didn't realize there was a fire until smoke began pouring in from the floor below. Within a half hour, more than half of those women were dead: They had either died in the flames, been caught in the building's elevator shaft, or lay mangled and bleeding on the sidewalk below after jumping from the windows to escape the fire. The last victim, who fell 90 feet, died five days later. Six of the victims were burned so extensively that they would remain unidentified for almost a hundred years.

See full article from DailyFinance: http://srph.it/dW1x2J

Here's a website with Cornell University on the fire, too.

Triangle Shirt Factory Fire

Information on  how the unidentified victims were identified can be found here.

Anna Kathryn Lanier
www.aklanier.com

Characters- Are the names of your characters in your novels important? What about the titles?

    This is my first go with Sassy Brit, but it sounds like fun. I'm not sure my picture link will work, but I'll work on that.

So, this post will be a quickie one, off the top of my head.

I don't do a lot of plotting when I write books.  I don't always spend a lot of time thinking of names either.  For one story, I asked my 20-year-old daughter to name the characters - Conner and Layla.  I like the name David and actually have two heroes named that, in a historical and in a contemporary.  In another story, I named the character in honor of a friend, who then back-stabbed me.  Thankfully, the story wasn't published yet and I was able to change the heroine's name. She didn't seem to mind and I think the new name fit her better anyway. It certainly suited me better!

The way I find names for those walk-on or secondary characters is to look at books on my shelves, who wrote them, not necessarily names in the book.  I've also looked in the phone book.  So, I create names about the same way I write, by the seat of my pants.

I have run into problems with family names.  I have a nephew named Daniel.   And there's an brother-in-law and ex-son-in-law named Robert.  Then there's my husband's family name, James (brother-in-law, father-in-law and nephew).  How can I use these names in a romance novel????

Oh, just thought of this.  One of my daughters is actually named after one of my characters. Well, not really, but when I was pregnant and we discovered it was a girl, my husband and I couldn't agree on a name. Finally I said, "I used the name Holly in a story. I like it." So did he. 

As for titles.  I think the are important in that they should peak the interest of the read.  But I personally suck at titles most of the time.  I did come up with Salvation Bride and A Gift Beyond All Measure. 

Anna Kathryn Lanier
www.aklanier.com

Wednesday's Chow - Spicy Seafood Stew

Keeping with my tradition of not eating meat on Friday's during Lent, here's another seafood recipe.

Don't forget to leave a comment to be eligible for my March blog drawing.

Spicy Seafood Stew
Taste of Home Slow Cooker


Ingredients:


2 pounds potatoes
1 pound carrots, diced
2 jars (6 oz each) sliced mushrooms, drained
1 jar (26 oz) spaghetti sauce
1–1½ tsp ground turmeric
1–1½ tsp minced garlic
1 tsp cayenne pepper
¾ tsp salt
1–1½ cups water
1 pound sea scallops
1 pound uncooked, peeled and deveined medium shrimp


Directions:


In a 5-quart slow cooker, combined the vegetables, spaghetti sauce and seasonings. Cover and cook on low for 4½ to 5 hours or until potatoes are tender.


Stir in water, scallops and shrimp. Cover and cook 15-20 minutes or ntil scallops are opaque and shrimp turn pink.


Serve with noodles, rice or spaghetti.

Gothic Romance: Do You Have a Secret?

After years of reading and now months of writing gothic romance, I have a theory that the genre is all about secrets and how love grows or dies in the context of those secrets. Perhaps the power of secrets is even more frightening than ghosts or spooky old houses.

So what kinds of secrets might one find in a gothic romance novel? Surprisingly, the secrets in these novels are the same kind people keep in real life. I have never felt a need to write urban fantasy or world build because there is so much to write about in this world-- so many hidden things to discover or uncover.

In two of my novels, one coming out in May and a work in progress, the secrets spun out from true stories I heard. Yes, people really do find underground tunnels, or secret love children documented in a long forgotten trunk, or even items related to a past “curse.” Heroes sometimes hide pasts they are ashamed of, and heroines run from knowing their hidden heritages. In fact, in my own family, secrets and stories that don't quite add up whisper in dark corners. They beckon to me and maybe to you as well. 

So, do you like secrets? How do you see them playing a role in gothic romance or the romance genre in general as well as in “real life?”

Lisa Greer is an adjunct English instructor and writing tutor. Her debut novel, Magnolian, is a contemporary gothic romance released in March and available from BookStrand in e-book format (print comes out in June). It is currently on the BookStrand bestseller list at #23: www.bookstrand.com/magnolian

About Magnolian:

When her father dies, college dropout Lillian Mullins steels herself for a future of nothing special in Pittsburgh. An invitation to Magnolian holds promise, but nightmares, ghosts, and murder threaten to derail her attempt to get a life.

Lillian heads to the South, leaving Donovan Ross, an angsty potential lover, behind. After she finds her mother's old journal at Magnolian and learns a shocking secret, Lillian resolves to find out what happened nearly forty years ago to her mother's African American lover, Samson Jones. Mysterious accidents and threats make her wonder whom she can trust: her enigmatic distant cousin Willoughby Tate, who is running his father's gubernatorial campaign, her Aunt Lorelei, who warns of a dire future, the ghost who beckons her in the night, or her father's voice in the recurring dream that will not let Lillian rest.

Find Lisa on her website: www.lisalgreer.com

Facebook: Lisa Greer Author

Gothicked (a gothic romance review blog): http://gothicked.blogspot.com

Saturday's Salacious Suggestions

CHARLOTTE AND THE GYPSY

by Jannine Corti Petska

Charlotte Nikolos keenly feels the difference between the dark coloring of the Gypsies who raised her and her own pale hair and skin. When she learns she has two sisters somewhere who share her looks and psychic powers, she's determined to search for her lost family and find answers about her past. But how?

For three years, Rafael Cazares has been away from the Gypsy camp and the woman who makes his blood boil. He's determined to win back Char's trust and recapture her heart. He insists on helping her to find her true family, but someone or something is determined to keep them apart. When a deep dark secret is revealed, Rafael will do everything in his power to keep the only women he has ever loved out of harm's way. Even if he must die.


Buy CHARLOTTE AND THE GYPSY now.


Jannine Corti Petska
Bringing History and Passion to Life


Coming in 2011:

CHARLOTTE AND THE GYPSY, book 2, The Sisters of Destiny trilogy, OUT NOW!!!


LOVE'S SWEET WAGER, love along the California Trail


THE LILY AND THE FALCON, book 1, Italian Medieval series


SURRENDER TO HONOR, book 2, Italian Medieval series


www.jcortipetska.com

Washington Post's Mensa Invitational

Here is the Washington Post's Mensa Invitational which once
again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by
adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new
definition. Here are the winners:

1. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders
the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.

2. Ignoranus : A person who's both stupid and an asshole.

3. Intaxication : Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts
until you realize it was your money to start with.

4. Reintarnation : Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

5. Bozone ( n): The substance surrounding stupid people that
stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately,
shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

6. Foreploy : Any misrepresentation about yourself for the
purpose of getting laid.

7. Giraffiti : Vandalism spray-painted very, very high

8. Sarchasm : The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and
the person who doesn't get it.

9. Inoculatte : To take coffee intravenously when you are
running late.

10. Osteopornosis : A degenerate disease.
(This one got extra credit.)

11. Karmageddon : It's like, when everybody is sending off all
these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and
it's like, a serious bummer.

12. Decafalon (n.): The gruelling event of getting through the
day consuming only things that are good for you.

13. Glibido : All talk and no action.

14. Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter
when they come at you rapidly.

15. Arachnoleptic Fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just
after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

16. Beelzebug (n.) : Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets
into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

17. Caterpallor ( n.): The color you turn after finding half a
worm in the fruit you're eating.

Anna Kathryn Lanier

"A story full of emotions... hurt, loss, and betrayal, turning it into a story of love, family, and happiness. A seasonal read, A Gift Beyond All Measure delivers on it's title." ~Talina; Night Owl Reviews

http://www.aklanier.com/

Wednesday's Chow - Crab and Shrimp Casserole

Here's another seafood recipe for your meatless Friday meal.  BTW, did you know that Sunday's don't count as days in Lent?  If you count all days from Ash Wednesday through Holy Saturday, you'll have more than 40 days, but if you substract the Sunday's, you have correct days of Lent.  Sunday's are feast days and as such, you can celebrate the day by doing what you gave up....yep, that means you can have a piece of chocolate or soda pop!

Crab and Shrimp Casserole


Ingredients:


Oil
1 cup chopped green onions
½ cup bell peppers, chopped
1 4-ounce can deveined shrimp
1 7-ounce can crabmeat
1 tsp celery salt
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs, divided
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp margarine
½ cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup water


Directions:


Preheat oven 375⁰. Grease casserole dish.


Place onions, garlic, and pepper in skillet with a little oil and sauté until tender. Add to remaining ingredients, reserving 1/3 cup bread crumbs. Mix well and pour into a greased casserole dish.


Cover with remaining bread crumbs and dot with margarine and cook for 30 minutes.

Anna Kathryn
http://www.aklanier.com/

Guest Blogger - L. K. Below

Vertigo of the Heart

by L. K. Below

 Love is a scary thing. Or, in the words of my cynical main character from Stone Cold Kiss, love isn’t worth the heartbreak involved. You see, my main character Kelsey has what I like to call vertigo of the heart. She’s afraid of falling in love.

I’ve been there. After a hard breakup, it just seems easier to shun love and dating. Kelsey may not have had a recent breakup, but she’s faced a parade of men trying to force her to be more feminine instead of accepting her for who she is. A workaholic who loves her job.

Fortunately for Kelsey, she has an actual fear of falling as well. Heights aren’t her favorite thing and yet she somehow finds herself at the top of Blarney Castle in Ireland, bending over backwards in an attempt to kiss the Blarney Stone. Even though she finds herself a bit paralyzed with her fear, she is lucky. Because the very man to save her -- Seamus McKinley -- just happens to be a man willing to save her from all of her fears, even her fear of love.

Seamus is one of my favorite characters for just that reason. I’ll admit it, I might have a lot in common with Kelsey. And who doesn’t want a man willing to do anything to hold on to the woman of his dreams?

Confession time: Now that I’ve made my confession (and like Kelsey, I was lucky enough to find a man willing to overlook my workaholic tendencies…), who else has experienced vertigo of the heart?

L. K. Below writes romance and speculative fiction. Read more about her newest release, Stone Cold Kiss here. Visit her online at http://www.lbelow.net/ or on her blog at http://lbelow.blogspot.com.  

Saturday's Salacious Suggestions

HEART OF VESUVIUS

(Sequel to DARKEST MEMORY)

by Sky Purington

Two vampires…one goal.


Alexandria has no choice. She must flee to the last place she wants to. Straight into the arms of a vampire she was determined to forget. Salvator, ancient vampire, finds this a clever fix to obtaining the one vampire he’s always desired…Alexandria.


Together, they must find a way to evade her powerful enemy, Salvator’s brother Luciano. On the run, they struggle to understand one another. Deep, dark secrets are revealed. Denied passion ignites. Blood is spilled.


Within the heart of Vesuvius, anything is possible. All can be conquered. But will it be? Can wrongs be made right? History is the locked door. Forgiveness is the key. Time will tell if ancient love can once again flourish.

Purchase Links…Buy it NOW!

The Wild Rose Press

Amazon Kindle

Ficttionwise

Visit Sky on her website and at A Writer’s Mind Blog

Links for Writing Tips

Here's a few Links to articles and posts I've come across with gret tips for writers.

What is Tagging? Tag My Book on Amazon Blog

How To Tag a Book on Amazon at Just Write! with Anne Marie Novark

17 Writing Secrets at Writer's Digest

Tip of the Day at Writer's Digest

8 Ways to Write a 5-Star Chapter One at Writer's Digest

Writing Tips and Links by Once Upon A Romance

What website or blog post do you recommend?  Leave a comment to help your fellow authors and be eligible to win WRITING TOOLS: 50 ESSENTIAL STRAGEGIES FOR EVERY WRITER by Roy Peter Clark.
Anna Kathryn Lanier
www.aklanier.com

Wednesday's Chow - Oyster Scallop

Today is Ash Wednesday and as such, it's a day that should be observed by fasting from sun rise to sun set.  I've fasted on a few Ash Wednesdays, but I'm not making any promises to fast this year.  However, I will observe the tradition of not eating any meat today (nor on Friday's during Lent).  So, keeping that in mind, here's a seafood recipe to share with your family during this season of reflection and sacrifice.

BTW, Lent is also a time to grow closer to God, either by giving up something or taking up something.  In the past, I've given up soda pop....and, okay, I can't think of anything else, because I doubt I've ever given up chocolate or sex....lol.  I am not good at doing a daily devotional reading (okay, I'm terrible at it!).  So, I think this year, I'll 'take up' doing a daily devotion or bible reading.

And, I think I'll post meatless recipes, as well as not posting sweet/dessert recipes, during Lent to help those who want to observe as I do.


Oyster Scallop


Ingredients:


4 tbsp butter, melted
2 cups soda-cracker crumbs (about 24 crackers)
½ cup chopped parsley
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 pint oysters (about 2 dozen)
Reserve liquid
½ cup light cream
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce


Directions:


Preheat oven 350⁰.


Mix crackers crumbs, parsley, salt and pepper with butter. Drain oysters, reserving liquid.


Sprinkle 1/3 crumb mixture in 9-inch square baking dish. Add half the oysters, half the remaining crumbs, then rest of oysters.

Combine reserved liquid, cream and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over top. Sprinkle remaining crumbs.


Bake for 30 minutes.

Anna Kathryn
http://www.aklanier.com/

Body Language

Because of its spontaneity, body language is hard to fake. If the clues don’t match, we are suspicious. Also, because it is spontaneous, it is more likely to reflect underlying feelings. The reaction is more likely to be off the cuff and true to his thoughts or emotions.


Verbal communication is open to manipulation. Non-verbal communication is not.

“Body language is your primary mod of communication, primary in the evolutionary history of the human species, and primary in your life.” The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Body Language. Body language is more basic than the spoken work.

Animals are great at reading body language. I’m not exactly a calm person and when I pick up one of our rabbits, I need to chill before I do it. Our female responds well to my husband because he’s naturally a steadier person.

A few weeks after my father died, I was still kind of bumping into walls. I thought I was fine, but my dog was glued to my side. He knew I wasn’t right when I refused to admit it.

The human body is able to function well on autopilot. Think back to this morning. Do you really remember brushing your teeth? You know you did, but do you REALLY know you did?

Body language is part of that autopilot, other wise it would be stilted.

Non-verbal communication encompasses all parts of your body.

Your eyes are the primary way you receive body language cues and usually the primary way you send it. You invite someone to communicate by making eye contact. I know this because EVERYONE talks to me at the grocery store. I make eye contact without really meaning to.

If they eye contact is longer than a second, the two people begin to make a connection. Immediacy behaviors, like prolonged eye contact, singal availability. Eye contact is powerful that way.

Besides the obvious body language there are also more subtle versions. Your pupils dilate because of lack of light, but also for things you find attractive.

The reverse is also true. Our pupils constrict when we see something we don’t like. We react to that on an unconscious level.

Eye contact controls interaction. If you don’t make eye contact, you don’t send out an invite for someone to interact with you. One symptom of Asperger’s is not making eye contact. It isn’t because they don’t want to interact, they just don’t think about it. They don’t need you to make eye contact for them to interact with you.



Excerpt from: Layering: Not Just for Cakes being offer at www.writersonlineclasses.com in May.



Chris Redding’s latest is Incendiary, out in print in March, already available in all electronic formats. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, two kids, one dog and three rabbits. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. When she isn’t writing, she works part time for her local hospital.

You can find her on the web:

www.chrisreddingauthor.com

www.facebook.com/chrisreddingauthor

www.myspace.com/chrisreddingauthor

http://chrisredddingauthor.blogspot.com

Saturday's Salacious Suggestions

BLOOD HUNTER~THE BEGINNING

by Robin Badillo

Top Ten Best Seller

For thirty years, Raven Prince has lived just fine with no mate and no hassles. The carefree vampire, happy to be the odd-girl-out in a small, close-knit coven, lusts for one thing and one thing only—human blood. The more handsome the snack, the happier she is.

Thorne Abbott, on the other hand, only has a taste for the blood of the vampire that savagely murdered his father eleven years before. The determined human won’t rest until that craving is satisfied, even if it means getting himself killed in the process.

A sexy game of pool in a small town bar throws a wrench in both of their plans and ignites a flame so hot, neither could have extinguished even if they wanted to.

The hunter and the hunted battle with themselves and each other as passion, love and a quest for truth sends them on a deadly mission that’s sure to either destroy them…or set them free.

Can lovers from different worlds manage to see past their differences, or are there good reasons why the two species should never unite?
Will it be friend or foe that goes bump in the night?

Available now from Devine Destinies.

Sometimes love’s journey begins with a glance,

sometimes with a kiss, but some journeys begin with a bite.

 
Robin Badillo
http://www.robinbadillo.com/

Wednesday's Chow - Recipe for a Happy Life

Okay, here's a different kind of recipe.....Recipe for a Happy Life....things to do to make not only your world better, but the world of those you encounter during the day better, too.

RECIPE FOR A HAPPY LIFE

1. Compliment three people every day.
 2. Watch a sunrise.


3. Be the first to say 'hello'.


4. Live beneath your means.


5. Treat everyone as you want to be treated.


6. Never give up on anybody, miracles happen.


7. Forget the Jones'.


8. Remember someone's name.


9. Pray not for things, but for wisdom and courage.


10. Be tough-minded, but tender hearted.


11. Be kinder than you have to be.


12. Don't forget that a person's greatest emotional need is to be appreciated.


13. Keep your promises.


14. Show cheerfulness even when you don't feel it.


15. Remember overnight success usually takes 15 years.


16. Leave everything better than you found it.


17. Remember winners do what losers don't want to do.


18. When you arrive at your job in the morning, let the first thing you say brighten everyone's day.


19. Don't rain on another person’s parade.


20. Don’t waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.


21. Keep some things to yourself and don't promote hurting people you love.


22. Smile!

What would you add to the recipe?  Leave a comment and be eligible for the book "98 Things A Woman Should Do in Her Lifetime."

Anna Kathryn
http://www.aklainer.com/

February Winner

Congrats to Joanne S. for winning my February prize - six romance novels:

THE WILD ROAD by Marjorie Liu


IN THE HIGHLANDER'S BED by Cathy Maxwell

INDISCREET by Carolyn Jewel (autographed)

ONE TOUCH OF SCANDAL by Liz Carlyle (ARC)

THE PERFECT POISON by Amanda Quick

RUNNING HOT by Jayne Ann Krentz


Stay tuned for the March prize!  To be eligible to win, all you got to do is comment....the more you comment, the more chances you have to win!

Anna Kathryn
http://www.aklanier.com/