| Off to dinner... |
[Dec. 26th, 2009|07:07 pm] |
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I'll be back in a couple of hours - keep those entries coming in! |
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| Contest time! |
[Dec. 26th, 2009|03:37 pm] |
This one will be for a free copy of "Sour Puss". It's easy, comment on this post and give me either a picture or a pointer to an interesting cat toy.
I'll put the names in a hat and pull one out shortly after 11am tomorrow morning, PST. I'll take entries until 9am on Dec. 27th, PST since it's kind of late in the day.
[ETA] Should have clarified "interesting" - I meant interesting to cats. Basically, point me to something that's not a catnip mouse. |
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| Note to self and "Sour Puss" excerpt |
[Dec. 26th, 2009|02:42 pm] |
Note to self: keep track of the stuff you randomly shove into your mouth when you're starving, because having a piece of mint-flavored chocolate and then a tofu hot dog tastes... interesting. (Although that's not the weirdest combination of food I've eaten.)
Anyway, excerpt time! This is from "Sour Puss", my lighthearted tiger shifter holiday story. (Say that ten times fast!) To set the scene, Dominic (the tiger shifter) just crashed into his friend Ryan's apartment. He was sporting a bad wound, and Ryan had just finished stitching him up.
( Excerpt under here ) |
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| Speaking of holiday drinks |
[Dec. 26th, 2009|01:14 pm] |
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Does anyone have a favorite holiday drink? I frankly think eggnog is evil (especially non-alcoholic eggnog), but if anyone's had a good version, or some other drink recipe you're fond of, I'd love to hear it! |
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| Glogg recipe |
[Dec. 26th, 2009|12:33 pm] |
So, my SO and I usually have mead or mulled wine for Xmas. This time, we decided to have glogg, which is a Scandinavian high octane mulled wine. I prefer the version with akavit, which has more of a kick.
Here's the recipe we tried this year:
( Cut because it's long ) |
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| Happy Boxing Day, everyone! |
[Dec. 26th, 2009|07:24 am] |
Morning! I have the helm today - I'll be posting a drink recipe later as well as having a giveaway for my Holiday Sip, "Sour Puss".
If you're not shopped out, Torquere has put three of my stories on sale: "Spikenard", "Blank Canvases", and "Yuppie Blues" are all 20% off.
Speaking of Boxing Day, is it a day to relax for you, is it a day filled with stress, or is it a day to go, "Oh my God, I really wish I hadn't drank my cousin's 'special eggnog' because I'm seeing tapdancing pink elephants"? When I was little, it was a meh day, because my oldest sister would inevitably need to return something, and I'd have to brave the huge, long lines with her. Boring as hell, but my parents wanted me out of their hair because my Dad's workplace always gave him a box of truffles for Xmas. Guess who ate most of them and became so hyper that they needed to burn off the energy by scampering around the mall?
I know better now, and I make it a rule to avoid all shopping centers the day after Xmas. |
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| Contest Winner(s)! |
[Dec. 25th, 2009|11:59 pm] |
In the spirit of the season, when the Plastic-Cup-O-Doom (tm) tossed out two names instead of the expected one, I decided to abide by its decision. *hee*
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) molly_church and crystal_lilly, please be in touch either through LJ's private message feature or via email (tcblue @live .com -- without the spaces) and let me know which story you've each chosen.
Thanks again to everyone who stopped by to play on Christmas Eve Day and I hope your holiday season is happy, healthy and joyous!
~Tis |
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| Thank you and Good night! :) |
[Dec. 25th, 2009|12:06 am] |
Well, it's just past twelve and that means my day here is officially over.
Many thanks to everyone who joined me today! I appreciate the time you spent away from family and loved ones just to keep me amused. *hee*
Remember, contest is open til 9 p.m. tomorrow (Christmas Day). Particulars and such can be found in my previous post.
I wish you all a healthy, happy holiday season and all the best in the coming New Year!
Peace, everyone. Be good... and if you can't be good, be memorable!
~Tis |
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| Prompty-story-- FINALLY!!! (NOT work or wee-ones safe!!!) |
[Dec. 24th, 2009|11:33 pm] |
Well, with everything going on, it's taken me until just now to finally finish part 4 of The Irregular Regular, but I did it! Whee!
As this is going up so late, I'm going to leave the contest open until 9 p.m. EST tomorrow (Christmas Day). The Plastic-Cup-O-Doom (tm) will choose the winner and I'll post that around midnight tomorrow. Once again, this contest is open to all those who offered prompt-words AND those who comment on this prompt-story.
The prize is a .pdf copy of wither of my new holiday stories, the single shot Snow & Mistletoe or the sip Nice: A Change of Pace. In the event that the winner already has both of these stories, they can select another from anything on my backlist at TQ... OR they can choose to wait until some time in February for my new high ball The One That Stayed (third in the One and One series). Cuz i'm all holiday-mood-sih. *hee*
OKAY. So the words, as randomly spit out by the Plastic-Cup-O-Doom (tm-- cuz this amuses me, not cuz it's actually trademarked) are:
Grumpy, grotesque andy_slayde; mystical, malign chris_quinton; telephone, teleport (I ended up using teleportation-- hope that's close enough!) kelgar01; twins, hunk cowboygal; angst, fashionable akmmiles; egg nog (as offered in my first post cuz she was working later) pd_singer; couch, junk marasmine; penguins (and cheese, just cuz :P) ali_wilde; diverse, random molly_church; blue, window ciraarana; sunshine, clouds pink1dragon!!!
It turned out being a bit on the porny side, so... you've been warned. Or tempted. Whichever. *snerk* As always, this is entirely unbetaed. Hell, I haven't even done a read-through. All mistakes are mine. Yep. :)
Thanks to all of you for playing and I hope you like the finished product! *hee*
And now, without further ado, I give you... *drumroll*
( The Irregular Regular, part 4 )
* * *
I'll likely be back with one final post for the day, so until then, have fun you guys, and try not to tear the place up! :P
~Tis |
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| One more snippet! |
[Dec. 24th, 2009|05:42 pm] |
WHEW! Finally back now, though without my car (long story).
Prompt-call is closed and the Plastic-Cup-O-Doom (tm) will soon be selecting the words that will be used. I MAY have to run out again to deal with the car situation (assuming I can get a tow truck on Christmas Eve), in which case I may not have time to finish the story.
But have no fear! If I can't get it up tonight (the story, you filthy-minded elves! :P), I'll post tomorrow. I don't think that'll be a problem since nobody's got the comm for Christmas Day! (This would mean the comment-for-a-chance-to-win portion of the contest would be extended. Likely to noon on the 26th).
Okay. That said... here's a wee snippet of my holiday sip, Nice: A Change of Pace.
( Those boys are at it again... )
* * *
I'll be back in a little while with more stuff, though I don't know what. :P
~Tis |
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| Snippet time! |
[Dec. 24th, 2009|03:50 pm] |
You guys knew it was coming, didn't you? :P
First, let me thank everyone who's offered up prompt-words and remind those who haven't that the call is open until 5 p.m., EST. Just over an hour!
Second, I may have mentioned my holiday single shot Snow & Mistletoe before (I know I did *hee*), so here's a snippet under the cut, totally work safe! It's a sweet little story (I think) and I hope you'll enjoy the excerpt!
( Meet Richard! )
I'll be back in a little while with another snippet, this time from the holiday single shot... and maybe even a sneak peak at The One That Stayed, book 3 in the One and One series, which should be released sometime in Februrary if I'm remembering correctly!
See you guys soon!
~Tis *wanders off humming Jingle Balls* |
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| What says Holidays more than... |
[Dec. 24th, 2009|12:05 pm] |
COOKIES, right? *hee*
I'm not sure why, but for me, the two go hand in hand.
That said, here's a little recipe I use as a general, all-purpose cookie dough base. I've added all sorts of ingredients to this before. In fact, when I had a big, industrial mixer at work, I used to multiply this recipe by 10, then separate out smaller portions to combine with different additions.
I usually make the cookie dough and once everything's mixed in, I'll roll it into parchment paper, making rolls about an inch and a half across and a foot or so long. They freeze really well and I can just remove one roll of dough and slice it into discs, peel off the paper and they're ready for the oven. *grins* About 325 degrees until brown at the edges (usually 7 to 10 minutes).
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks, 1/2 pound) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
* * *
Combine dry ingredients and set aside.
Cream butter and sugars together in stand mixer then add vanilla and eggs. Combine.
Slowly add dry ingredients to wet, a little at a time (to avoid the huge dusty flour cloud).
* * *
Some of my favorite things to add are white chocolate chips and pistachios, or dried cranberries and chopped pecans, or chopped dried apricots and slivered almonds. The possibilities are endless.
You can also not add any nuts or chocolate and instead sift in a tablespoon of ground cinnamon with the flour and such for a very basic cinnamon cookie. Or two tablespoons cocoa powder for chocolate ones. :)
And there you have it. Tis's cookie dough recipe. *hee* |
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| I'm back! (contesty thing) CLOSED for prompt-words!!! |
[Dec. 24th, 2009|11:44 am] |
That's right, I've managed to claw my way from the strangle hold of sleep and here I am! *hee*
It's just about 11:30 a.m. now, so I think this would be a good time to put out the call!
I think you guys know the drill by now, but if not... leave me anywhere from one to five words in comments here between now and... let's say 5 p.m. EST. I'll use at least one word from each of you in the fourth part of the ongoing saga of "The Irregular Regular", which I'll try to post before I finish up here tonight. :)
Each person who offers words or comments later on the finished product will be entered into a random drawing, courtesy of the Plastic-Cup-O-Doom (tm), the winner to be announced tomorrow, noon (which is when I'll close this contest).
CLOSED FOR PROMPT-WORDS!!!
If that's not clear, prompt-words 'til 5 p.m. today and comments 'til noon tomorrow (EST) will all be eligible to win. Prize is a 'pdf copy of either my Holiday single shot "Snow & Mistletoe" or my Holiday sip "Nice: A Change of Pace" (or if the winner already has those, something else from my backlist).
In case anyone doesn't feel like navigation my wordpress for the first three parts of the continuing story:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Have at it, people! *grins* Oh, and it's not actually the Holidays in the story, so don't feel as though you have to be holiday-themed. :) As usual, anything goes!
~Tis |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 24th, 2009|07:24 am] |
I know for a FACT that Tis won't mind if I sneak in here and announce my winner from yesterday. How do I know this fact? I just do. She'll even vouch for me.
stormwever!!
Yay for you. Email me at ragingpixie at gmail dot com with the name of any title from my back list and I'll send you a free download.
Merry Christmas Eve, everyone! |
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| Happy Christmas Eve Day!!! |
[Dec. 24th, 2009|02:32 am] |
Good morning (though it's barely that where I am, what with it being... 2:30-ish a.m.)!
Welcome to my advent calendar day!
I don't have anything particular planned for those who actually manage time away from friends and family on this very special day of the year, but I've gotten fairly good at winging it here.
One thing I DO plan is to continue my prompt-story that I started way back when, "The Irregular Regular." Previous parts can be found on my site Here!
Click on the links for parts one through three on on the right, under free reads.
I'm also thinking I'll have a contest or two to celebrate the releases of my new holiday single shot and sip.
There might even be a recipe or two, from my cheffing days. *grins*
So, welcome. There's coffe around here somewhere and lots of pretty boys just waiting to serve you. Do try to behave until I get back. *grins*
Oh, and if you guys have any questions at all, feel free to ask. I'll answer as soon as I can!
~Tis |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 23rd, 2009|09:07 pm] |
Night, everyone. Thanks so much for hanging out today. I'll pick a contest winner and announce it tomorrow morning, and in the meantime, check out the books that Torquere put on sale today. Thanks again!
Chasing Victory, Keeping Karma and The Sound of Cicadas on sale for 20% off.
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| nummmm |
[Dec. 23rd, 2009|03:49 pm] |
Even though my family celebrates Hanukkah, I do NOT get away with a Christmas-free holiday. Most of my friends and neighbors celebrate Christmas, and the husband and I usually exchange stockings on Christmas morning. (He gets Hanukkah presents, but he is not of the Chosen People. Double presents for him! Lucky.)
So anyway, just now I was downstairs trying to wrap up some of the munchies and baked goods we'll be taking to neighbors, and I realized that ALL of the baked stuff was everything I like to eat myself. I thought I'd just give you one of my favorite holiday recipes so you can try it out, too.
( Millionaire's Shortbread Bars ) |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 23rd, 2009|10:12 am] |
Two of the three emails I got this week asked me if I was planning on doing more with Chris and Morgan from Tinder. The answer is yes, although the project got stalled for a few months while I dealt with some day to day real life stuff. Things are slowly getting back on track for me now, so I expect to resume work on their third and final installment.
This one is coming from Morgan's POV, so it's a bit different for me. Here's a little taste of what goes on inside Morgan's head.
( Morgan knew, even before he opened his eyes, that Christopher was not going to let this birthday pass unnoticed. )
I can take any questions you guys have about Chris and Morgan, or anyone else from my catalogue! All questions and/or comments to this post will be thrown into the hat and I'll pick a winner by tomorrow. The winner gets their choice of a free download of anything from my backlist.
Go on, ask. :) |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 23rd, 2009|07:22 am] |
Good morning! I'm sure the day is well underway for anyone not on the west coast, but it's just a little after seven in southern California, so I congratulate myself for being this early on a non-workday. You all should congratulate me, too. ;) No coffee, even!
Well, I was debating a few days ago what to actually post about, but then I got THREE emails just this week about my Oceanside Fire series, so. Firemen it is! I have a couple of snippets for you later and a super easy contest, but for now I'll leave you with one of my very favorite things to watch on the web. It's pretty NSFW because of language and sexual situations, but those are always the best kind, aren't they? It's also not very complimentary toward police officers, but the two cops I've shown this to found it hilarious. And all the firemen I know think Jake is their hero.
Here, watch and judge for yourself.
Policeman Perry and Fireman Jake are best friends who work in competitive industries... |
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