CassaFire by Alex J Cavanaugh

Today, the sequel to the awesome CassaStar is out. CassaFire is ready to burn up the market!

Today is the Catch Fire Blog Party my friends! And I’m serving Ultraviolet Smoothies at this stop. The color reminds me of spaceship plasma reactors.

More Exciting Stuff
Captain Ninja, the author, is having a blog tour running through March 9 – and anyone who comments on his blog posts during that time can win a special package from his publisher.

CassaFire by Alex J. Cavanaugh is an adventure-sci-fi-space-opera.

The Vindicarn War is a distant memory and Byron’s days of piloting Cosbolt fighters are over. He has kept the promise he made to his fallen mentor and friend – to probe space on an exploration vessel. Shuttle work is dull, but it’s a free and solitary existence. The senior officer is content with his life aboard the Rennather….

Available today!
In Print and Ebook

• Amazon
• Amazon Kindle
• Barnes and Noble

Now on to the smoothies I promised. The recipe is from The ABC’s of Beverages.

Ultraviolet Smoothie

Ultraviolet Smoothies

• 2 cups ginger ale or 7-up
• 2 cups raspberry sherbet
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
• 1/4 cup frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed

Blend all the ingredients in a blender until smooth. Serves 2. - So easy, right?

Are you ready for a space adventure? Tell me (if you can remember) how many stops have you made on the Blog Party today?

Sunstone, Variety of Oligoclase from India

Sunstone, also known as heliolite, is a plagioclase feldspar that exhibits aventurescence, a metallic glitter. It also demonstrates the shiller effect where the metallic inclusions reflect light in a brilliant display of color.

Its colors include clear, yellow, red, green, blue, and copper shiller.

The golden sparkle caused the Greeks to dedicate this stone to the sun-god Helios. They believed the stone protected the earth and kept the sun on course.

The Vikings used it as a talisman. The stone has been found in Viking burial mounds.

During the Renaissance, magicians used the stone to call upon the power of the sun.

unpolished sunstone

The Oregon Sunstone has an optical effect caused by the reflections from red copper inclusions concentrating more in the center creating a darker middle.

Sunstone is not a common gemstone. Its most famous location is in Norway. However, a large deposit was found in Oregon, United States and it is that states official gemstone.

Magical and mystical properties include:

• stimulating self-healing
• relieving sore throats
• reducing depression
• relieving Seasonal Affective Disorder cause during dark winters
• helping to relieve exhaustion
• promoting good circulation
• promoting cheerfulness, good humor, and good temper
• promoting self-confidence and self-esteem
• heightening intuition
• providing protection

Sunstone and moonstone are used together in Solstice rituals. Typical placed side by side on the altar or the priest wears sunstone and the priestess wears moonstone.

To recharge sunstone, once a month let lukewarm water run over the stone, then place in the sunlight for several hours. (In stone therapy, when using stones to heal, their energy is used up, requiring the stones to be recharged.)

This is a reference for fiction writers and should not be taken as medical or spiritual advice.

This is what happens when you don't follow your own recipe, add too much milk to the frosting, and run out of powder sugar. It still tasted good though.

So, I needed cupcakes. And since February is the sign of the Banana Cupcake, I made banana cupcakes.

So what makes a banana cupcake a cupcake and not a muffin? Frosting? Well, yes, but it is more than that. Cupcakes should have a fat (butter or shortening) and sugar. They should be lighter and sweeter.

These fit the bill. I topped these with a nice chocolate frosting for the chocolate covered banana taste.

These only make eight, so it’s easy to whip up a batch and not over indulge!

Banana Cupcakes
makes 8

• 1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Place rack in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 350F. Line cupcake pan with paper liners. Cream shortening and sugar together. Beat in egg, vanilla, mashed bananas, and milk. Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Fill muffin cups 2/3’s full. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centers come out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Frost and decorate as desired.

Chocolate Buttercream

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2-2/3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

Cream butter. Blend in the cocoa powder, vanilla, powdered sugar, alternately with the milk. Beat with an electric mixer, until the desired texture is achieved.

Anyone else have one of those weeks? Commiserate with me.

Image from Wikipedia

Yup, that’s right it’s my special Valentine to all of you. I know some of you don’t have a Kindle reader so, here is a recipe from that book and one of my all time favorites-

Glazed Lemon Squares

• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• glaze:  1/2 cup powdered sugar mixed with 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan. Combine 2 cups flour, butter, and powdered sugar until crumbly. Press into the bottom of pan. Bake 20 minutes or until edges are golden. Whisk together 2 cups granulated sugar, eggs, lemon juice, baking powder, and the remaining 1/4 cup flour. Pour over hot crust. Bake until set and light brown, about 25 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into squares and brush with lemon glaze.

Is there a special dessert you would love to eat this Valentine’s Day?

Unfortunately, after my host’s last service maintenance a set of sites were struck with the continual database errors. Mine was one of those sites.

During a repair on Friday around noon, I lost all comments- I mean all of them and no new comments were accepted.

That repair has now been repaired, but any comments between Friday noon and Sunday noon were lost.

Once things have settled down, I will do a fresh install to work with a clean database (I’m not convince the old one is trouble free.)

DEAR, OH DEAR
I’m still facing issues. I will do the fresh install on Wednesday. Crossing my fingers. If it doesn’t work I’ll have to start from scratch – copying each post over one by one. I’ll lose the comments, but that will definitively fix it.

Delicious deviled eggs photo from Wikipedia.

According to the TV show “The Secret Life of…” deviled eggs date back to Ancient Rome. How cool is that?

Called by various names throughout the world, this appetizer is simply hard-boiled eggs, peeled, and cut in half lengthwise. The yolk is removed, mixed with other ingredients, and then stuffed back into the egg whites.

There are all sorts of add-ins to make these eggs unique for special occasions like salsa and cheddar cheese for Tex-Mex barbeque or chopped shrimp for a bridal shower. The most common way of serving them in the United States is with a little mayonnaise and mustard.

Though easy to make, one of the most common errors I’ve come across is when people add too much mayonnaise making the texture more like a pasty mush and the yolk flavor disappears into a mouthful of goo-maise. (It is not pleasant.)

Here is my recipe for basic deviled eggs from The ABCs of Appetizers (now available in on Kindle).

Deviled Eggs

• 12 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chilled
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 green onions, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons well-drained pickle relish
• paprika for garnish

Slice eggs in half lengthwise. Remove yolks and set whites aside. Mash egg yolks with mayonnaise, mustard, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce until smooth. Stir in green onions and pickle relish. Spoon mixture into egg whites. Sprinkle with paprika. Refrigerate until serving time. Makes 24 appetizers.

Tell me, what is your all time favorite appetizer?

What is it?

It is the brainchild of Rachael Harrie. The goal is to meet other authors and help build platforms. It sounds like fun. I hear there are challenges, but honestly, I don’t know what those are. I guess I will find out.

I was torn at which group to join. I decided to go directly into a focused group: Urban Fantasy. I follow lots of writer’s blogs, but very few write the same genre as I do. Time to meet some.;)

Update (2/9/12): I just joined the Paranormal Group as well. These two groups are closely related and I do have a paranormal story too.

Are you an UF writer? Join me in the Fourth Writers’ Platform-Building Campaign. Sign up ends Feb.15^th.

The campaign runs until Saturday, March 17, 2012.

Are you joining? What group did you join?

Plea to campaigners: Please remove captcha from your comments. Blogger has a great spam filter. Keeping the captcha slow downs comments and may dive people away.

It’s clean. It’s simple. You can import your feed into Bloglovin’. It’s easy to resort your blogs, and it just seems more…roomy.

Screen shot of my Bloglovin' area.

A nice feature is that you can open your posts with the Bloglovin’ frame. See it there at the bottom of the image below)? I can read, comment, and then click the next button to visit the next blog. This is a huge time saver. I’ve already been able to read more blogs. With a few more adjustments I hope to visit everyone.

Bloglovin' in frame

I can also “like” a post. I liked this post. It is just like starring or favoring a post and Bloglovin’ places the post in a special folder I can refer back too.

Bloglovin’ was developed by some guys in Sweden that just wanted an easy reader that worked. They succeeded. Check it out. (You can use Bloglovin’ on your mobile devices as well.)

What feed aggregator do you use?

Side note: For the last week and a half, I had problems with my database that prevented comments and page viewing. I apologize to all of you who were affected. It is suppose to be all fixed now.

Bottom note: In addition to hosting problems I encountered Internet connections.

Quick Update: Importing
You can import all you blogs and keep them sorted as they are in Google Reader. In Google Reader, go to the little gear on the right hand side. Choose reader setting. Then Import/export.Create an OPML file. Then import into http://www.bloglovin.com/import.

Yet another update (2/7): I have been able to visit a LOT more blogs, some I haven’t visited in a long time.

I will be posting recipes from this series this month.

Look for a special promotion around the middle of the month too!

The Highlights

The ABCs of Appetizers
This booklet contains 50 of the best appetizer recipes. Included are classics (like Caramelized Pear over Brie), favorites (like Wonton Wrappers), and my own creations (like Jambalaya Spirals).

The ABC’s of Beverages
This booklet contains 78 of the best beverage recipes. Included are classics (like Hot Caramel Apple Cider), favorites (like Tiramisu), and my own creations (like Ultraviolet Smoothie).

The ABC’s of Desserts
This booklet contains 52 of the best dessert recipes. Included are classics (like Key Lime Cheesecake), favorites (like Malt Shop Pie), and my own creations (like Latte Fudge).

If all my ducks aren’t in a row, I shut down the whole process. I need to get over myself.

I need to tell myself – over and over (maybe listen to a recording while I sleep):

• It’s okay if you don’t have the scene nailed down. Outline it and move on.
• It’s okay if the words aren’t coming out right. Outline it and move on.
• It’s okay if I don’t have the perfect transition. Make a note of it and move on.

You get the point.

I’m my biggest frustration right now. Boy, do I feel silly saying that, but I need to acknowledge it. I suspect we all create our worst barriers. Time to tear them all down. Who’s with me?

To do this I need a plan and goals.

First
The Goals

• This year I plan to finish my historical urban fantasy.
• I plan to edit my previous book and send it to readers.
• In my head, my goals are more grandiose but I’ll just write down the practical, doable goals for now.

Second
The Plan

• I’ve set up an arbitrary writing schedule. To help keep me on track, a writing buddy and I will swap paragraphs once a week.
• I will also write my blog posts ahead of time so my focus during the week can be on my story.
• An important factor here is flexibility. While my schedule is new it may change to reflect reality (yeah, it does have to come into play).

Let’s hear it for 2012!

What to look for this month…

• a new gemstone, this is a new one for me and it’s sparkly
• more cupcakes
• a big announcement and a giveaway

…And one more thing. I’m creating The Book Wall that features all the wonderful books written by all my blogging buddies. Please check it out. Please let me know if I missed your book, I’m still adding books. You can add it here in the comments, use my contact form, or just friend me on Goodreads (new account, you may get a friend request from me this week too).

Please visit other insecure writer’s on The Insecure Writer’s Support Group. (Post are supposed to go up on the first Wednesday of each month).