A-Z Challenge Day 5 - E

Today is 'E' day and I am going to do something different today.

I am 'shouting out' about some wonderful books with 'E' in their titles, along with some equally wonderful authors with 'E' in their name.



Let me begin with a dear friend and mentor, author Kay Springsteen.  Kay is a prolific author, so I am sharing a link to her Amazon page -http://www.amazon.com/Kay-Springsteen/e/B004RZUWLG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_3/189-2419707-9266059
but in particular I'd like to draw your attention to two of her novels whith 'E' in the titles.

Elusive Echoes can be found here -



http://www.amazon.com/Kay-Springsteen/e/B004RZUWLG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_3/189-2419707-9266059

and Lifeline Echoes can be found here - http://www.amazon.com/Lifeline-Echoes-Kay-Springsteen/dp/1461091136/ref=lp_B004RZUWLG_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1333620769&sr=1-3

You may be forgiven for assuming someone with such a flowing and apparently gentle writing style will produce stories full of pace, impact, intrigue and emotion that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat, but you'd be wrong.
If you've not come across Kay's books before, then please don't delay, give yourself a special treat.

~

I know! I know! Lindsay Downs, does not have an 'E' in it any where, but her wonderful stories about Emily Dahill and Dekota do.

Visit http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Lindsay+Downs+Emily+Dahill and you will find information about three of Lindsay's books here.
What is so special about Lindsay's books?  She writes fast-paced, sharp, tough, miltiary mysteries that will captivate you because her main protagonist is a collie-dog!  Yes, I did say 'collie-dog'!
To assume any story written from the point of view of a dog equalls 'twee' is a massive mistake.  Lindsay Downs is fast making a name for herself and her wonderfully quirky writer's voice.

~

Return Engement http://www.amazon.com/Return-Engagement-Elaine-Cantrell/dp/1603139990/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333621489&sr=1-5 
was the fist of Elaine Cantrell's books I read, since then I have enjoyed several more.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Lindsay+Downs+Emily+Dahill#/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Elaine+Cantrell&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3AElaine+Cantrell 

Once again, Elaine is yet another example that tough, sharp, 'on the edge of your seat' stories can still be 'sweet' and/or 'inspirational' as is her latest book,
The Sentence http://www.amazon.com/The-Sentence-ebook/dp/B007ND7F8W/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333621512&sr=1-3

~

I have randomly picked three of my favourite authors to share with you today, I have so many more, too many to include today.  Keep coming back and one day soon I'll share a few more.

There are nearly 1700 participants this year and you'll find a list HERE  

Who is your favourite author and why?

Today Elaine tells us how Matt Gets Jilted

Matt Gets Jilted

Welcome to Sherry’s blog! My name is Elaine Cantrell, and I’ve been blogging for Sherry for the last two days. If you’re interested in me and my writing, check out my website at http://www.elainecantrell.com. I have some nice free reads there.

If you’ve been following for the last few days, you know I’ve been talking about people who get jilted-just like my heroine Marley Matthews in The Table in the Window. The book is coming out in the next few days and can be purchased at http://www.astraeapress.com. Continuing with my jilted theme, I’d like to talk a bit about my other Astraea Press release A New Dream.

Here’s a blurb about the book.
What do you do when you lose everything?

After an auto accident destroys his NFL career, Matt McCallum struggles to find a new dream for his life, but nothing engages him the way football did. After a stint in rehab, he takes a job managing a grocery store where he meets Violet Emerson.

Violet works in the bakery department, but her dreams carry her far beyond the doors of Chef’s Pantry. As soon as she can save the money, she plans to open a catering business. And she thinks the new manager’s broad shoulders and blue eyes are simply divine.

Thrown together at work, Matt and Violet find a common dream for their lives, but a loose end from Matt’s past returns to jeopardize their future. Will love be enough to save their new dream before it turns into a nightmare?

Of course, before Matt meets Violet he had a fiancée, Stacey Thomas. In this excerpt from A New Dream Stacey agonizes over the accident that took Matt’s football career away.
~~~

Stacey shuddered and splashed some more water on her face. The nausea had passed now. She staggered back into her bedroom and threw herself across her bed. Matt’s legs looked horrible! She’d give anything not to have been at the hospital when the bandages came off. It had been bad enough when a sheet covered Matt, but to actually see his mutilated legs turned her stomach and made her feel faint.

She knew one thing, though. Until this afternoon she hadn’t really understood that Matt’s football career had ended. Oh, she realized he had lost a leg, but somehow it hadn’t been real to her until she saw it for herself. Rolling over, she curled into a tight, little ball. She had had such fun going places with Matt. People always recognized him
and wanted his autograph. He had plenty of money too, and he wasn’t stingy with it. The fame and money had thrilled her, but it was all over and done with now. No more autographs or big money.

Her stomach lurched again. She had more than just fame and money to worry about. Matt had wanted to kiss her this afternoon. In fact, when the doctor came in to take off Matt’s bandages he had caught her sitting on the edge of the bed kissing Matt. The doctor had kidded him about it, but she hadn’t minded being interrupted at all. She…didn’t like to touch him too much now.

Her thoughts drifted to the afternoon of their accident. Their parents wouldn’t approve, but she and Matt had gone to Greenville and checked into a luxury hotel that morning. They had spent his last day of freedom in bed together. She drew a deep, shaky breath.

The day had been everything she’d dreamed it could be. Her body tightened with the faint echo of passion. Matt was a good lover.

Oh, why did they have to have such a terrible accident? What would happen to Matt now? Her engagement ring winked and twinkled as it caught the light. She stared at it for a moment and began to cry.

~~~
Pretty bad, huh? Yeah, she jilted him the next day. She didn’t have the nerve to do it face-to-face. She returned her engagement ring by messenger. What a witch! Oh, well. If she hadn’t jilted Matt, he never would have met Violet. In my story Violet works in a bakery before she opens her own catering business. If you’ll leave me your email address in a comment I’ll email you a PDF copy of her favorite dessert recipes.

Can I brag for a minute? Romance Junkies gave the book a 4.5 out of 5 stars and said, A NEW DREAM is a wonderful contemporary romance with heartwarming characters and heartfelt moments. Elaine Cantrell creates a beautiful, believable relationship with old fashioned values that adds sweetness to the story. All of her characters were likable with emotions and reactions that one can relate to. My favorite though had to be the hero Matt, who had to face a very difficult reality. His growth and the way Ms. Cantrell portrayed his struggles with coming to terms with the changes in his life was nicely done. This is one of the best inspirational romances I’ve read in a while.


Romantic Times gave it four and a half stars and said, Readers will love this touching and inspirational story in which a former football player learns to live his life under new terms after a tragic accident.

I’m also tickled pink to tell you that A New Dream is on the publisher’s bestseller list!


The book is available at http://www.astraeapress.com/#ecwid:category=677872&mode=product&product=2676585 or at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_12?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=a+new+dream+by+elaine+cantrell&sprefix=a+new+dream+

In a few days I’ll pick the winner of the contest I offered yesterday. I hope each and every one of you have the merriest holiday season ever, and don’t forget to give books to the readers on your list. Sherry, thanks so much for letting me come. I’ve enjoyed being with you and your readers.

Congratulations, Elaine, and best wishes with your new Christmas book, thank you, too, for visiting with us here these last few days.

Elaine Cantrell introduces us to Marley's New Guy

Marley’s New Guy

Welcome back to the blog! I’m romance writer Elaine Cantrell, and Sherry was kind enough to invite me to her blog. If you’re curious about me and my writing, check out my website at http://www.elainecantrell.com. You might also like my blog which is found at http://www.elainepcantrell.blogspot.com

Yesterday I promised I’d tell you what my heroine in A Table in the Window did when her fiancé jilted her. Uh, I mean what happened after she cried a river and went shopping to make herself feel better.


In this excerpt, Marley is Christmas shopping and stops to eat at the restaurant where her fiancé jilted her.

Excerpt:

Barton’s hostess picked up a menu. “Table for one?”
“Yes.” Marley’s eyes prickled, but she swallowed hard and followed the hostess to a small table near the kitchen. Guess they saved the nice window tables for hunks like Michael.
She sat her purse and packages in the empty chair beside her and tried not to stare at the table where it had all occurred. Her heart burned. Maybe she shouldn’t have come here after all.
“Hi, may I take your drink order?”
Marley looked up and saw Robert, the waiter who’d served her and Michael on that awful day when Michael broke up with her. She blushed and hoped he didn’t know why. “Maybe some hot tea,” she decided, “and I know what I want to order. I’d like a chicken salad plate.”
He smiled at her. “Coming right up.”
As he vanished into the kitchen, Marley heard someone yell, “Hey, Rob, what are you doing here? Your shift’s over.”
So Robert’s friends called him Rob. Marley liked that name better. Robert sounded like someone her father’s age, but Rob sounded young and upbeat. Wonder why he wanted to hang around Barton’s after his shift ended? Didn’t he have some place he needed to be at Christmastime?
He returned to her table and set her tea in front of her. “Have you ever tried tea the way the English drink it?” he asked. “I brought you some cream in case you’d like to try it.”
“Thank you, that’s very thoughtful,” Marley answered. “Maybe I will try it.”
She thought he’d go away, but he remained standing beside the table. “Uh, is there anything else?” she asked.
He smiled at her. “My shift’s over. If I’m not bothering you, I wondered if you’d like some company for lunch.” His eyes twinkled. “In case you’d like to know, you’re the first customer I’ve made that offer to.”
How strange. She’d seen this guy in Barton’s for over a year now, yet she couldn’t have described him to save her life. She paused for a quick inspection. He wore black trousers and a long-sleeved white shirt with a red and black striped tie. A green bib apron covered his shirt and tied around his neck and waist. He’d spiked his short, blonde hair ever so slightly in front. He had blue eyes and a square jaw and definitely wasn’t as buff as Michael who spent a lot of time in a gym. Michael was taller too.
The sparkle in his blue eyes decided her. “Sure. Have a seat.” She swept her packages and purse into the floor, and he sat down beside her.

Oh, she’s done it now! Can Rob be the one to mend her broken heart, or will she find that rebound relationships never work?

If you like the sound of A Table in the Window, please check it out at http://www.astraeapress.com/#ecwid:category=1651593&mode=product&product=7885677 or at Amazon. By the time you read this it has released. Find it at: http://www.astraeapress.com/#ecwid:category=662245&mode=product&product=7885677

Marley works at a bakery in New York City. I nagged her until she agreed to share her recipe for chocolate cake. If you have a better recipe, let me know. This is one of the best I’ve ever tasted. In fact, if you post a recipe for us I’ll throw your name in a hat for a book giveaway.

Marley’s Chocolate Cak
2 cups flour
4 TBSP cocoa
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 stick butter
1 tsp soda
½ cup cooking oil
2 eggs
1 cup water
1 tsp vanilla

Sift flour and sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Place butter, oil, water, and cocoa into a saucepan and bring to a rapid boil. When mixture boils, remove from heat and pour over sugar and flour mixture. Mix well with spoon and add buttermilk, soda, eggs and vanilla. Beat lightly and pour into greased and floured 13 X 9 X 1 ½ inch pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.

Wet Chocolate Frosting
1 stick butter
4TBSP cocoa
6 TBSP evaporated milk
1 box powdered sugar

Place butter, cocoa, and milk in saucepan. When mixture comes to a boil remove from heat and add 1 box powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla. Pour over cake while hot.

Jilted! Elaine Cantrell explains...

Jilted!

Have you ever been jilted? Once upon a time I was, but even though he didn’t mean to do me a favor, he did anyway. If he hadn’t wanted to date that silly little girl… Well, if he hadn’t wanted to date someone else, I never would have met my husband, the love of my life. I always thought that term was probably invented by romance writers who wore rose colored glasses, but I was wrong. I found my soul-mate, and I can truthfully say I love him more today than I did the day we got married.
It’s interesting to see how people cope with being jilted. This picture was taken in China when a jilted bride tried to jump out of a window. Notice that she’s wearing her wedding dress. Lucky for her the guy who caught her had plenty of strength in his arms.

And what about this? The Farmers Almanac tells the story of one jilted woman who invited people to her wedding reception (She couldn’t get her money back.) and asked them to contribute to a couple of charities she had selected.

In my new Christmas short The Table in the Window, my heroine, Marley Matthews, also gets jilted. The skunk called her and asked him to meet her in their favorite restaurant. Here’s what happened...


“Hey, there,” she called, even before she reached the table. “Seeing you makes up for the lousy weather.” She smiled as she took her seat and busied herself with removing her wet coat.

Michael, who wore the wheat‑colored sweater she’d bought him last month, stared out the window as if he saw something far more fascinating than rain and fog. He hadn’t met her eyes once, and he didn’t have the hint of a smile on his face. “Hello, Marley.”

The waiter, a guy whose name tag identified him as Robert, approached to take their order. “What’ll it be?” he asked with a smile. “Hot chocolate? Coffee? Or do you need something stronger to warm you up?”

“Coffee,” Marley answered.

Robert offered them a menu, but Michael waved it away. “I’m not having lunch.”

Marley’s eyebrows shot up. As the waiter left the table, she said, “I thought you wanted to have lunch.”

“No, I said I wanted to talk to you.”

“Okay, talk.” Marley reached for his hand, but he drew it away and put it in his lap.

“Uh…Marley…I have something to tell you.” He cleared his throat, and this time he stared at some point right behind her left shoulder.

Marley’s heart thumped. “What is it, Michael? What’s wrong?” Was he ill? Had he lost his job?

He stared at a burned spot on the rustic table as if it had come to life and tried to bite him. “I…I’ve met someone.”

Marley cocked her head. “Who did you meet?”

He’d pitched his voice so low she had a hard time hearing him. “Her name is Heather.”

Everything clicked. He wouldn’t hold hands with her. He wouldn’t look at her. Cold more intense than that outside settled into her veins and almost took her breath away, but she clung to the hope that she was wrong. “I...I don’t understand.”

His eyes met hers briefly before they slid away. “Yes, you do. I’m sorry, Marley, but I can’t marry you after all.”

Pretty tacky to do it in public, wouldn’t you say?

If you’d like to find out how Marley copes, check back tomorrow.


The Table in the Window is published by Astraea Press, and available at
://www.astraeapress.com/#ecwid:category=1651593&mode=product&product=7885677