It's definitely a hot day here, so time to dig out one of my favorite recipes for that.
Pink Lemonade Pie
1 8 or 9 in pre baked pie shell (or graham cracker crust)
1 8oz pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 14oz. can sweetened condensed milk, NOT evaporated milk
1 6oz. can frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed (I generally use the large 14 oz cans since I make a double recipe at one time)
few drops red food coloring, optional
1 4oz. container frozen non-dairy whipped topping, thawed
1/2 cup pink tinted coconut
In large mixing bowl, beat cheese until fluffy, gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk, then lemonade concentrate and food coloring if desired. Fold in whipped topping. Pour into pie shell. Chill 4 hrs or until set. Garnish with coconut. Refrigerate leftovers.
Works well with limade, raspberry lemonade and orange juice concentrate. Fun to experiment with different flavors!
Enjoy!
Linda
Friday, August 28, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Hiding Behind Words
A writer’s life is a solitary one.
We sit at our computers writing words that turn into sentences into paragraphs into pages and ultimately into a finished book.
One of the good things about this? You can be anyone you want to be.
Why is that important?
I’m shy. Oh boy, I’m sure there are friends laughing themselves silly at that declaration.
But it’s true. Growing up I was painfully shy and why I buried myself in books and writing stories. Call it the peril of being an only child with an overactive imagination.
But it was the beginning of what I do now. Back then I wrote about characters that became real to me, my very own invisible playmates. I could thrust myself into a new world where I was brave and confident. Where I could be anyone I wanted to be. Not the shy gawky kid I was.
I was very lucky. Teachers encouraged my love for reading and my need to write stories. Thanks to them I grew in that respect.
What it showed me was that my characters could say what I didn’t have the nerve to say. Do what I wouldn’t be able to do.
Talk about the perfect way to be what you want to be!
You run into a rude person in a store. So many things you’d love to say to them, but you don’t. No problem, go home, create that character for a book and blast them. You’ll feel so much better. Maybe that’s why my favorite alter-ego is a pair of man-eating bunny slippers.
And even now I’m shy. It can be difficult for me to enter a new situation unless a friend is with me. I’ll do it, but I may not be as talkative as I normally am.
So what about you? Do you have the shy gene? How do you cope?
Linda
We sit at our computers writing words that turn into sentences into paragraphs into pages and ultimately into a finished book.
One of the good things about this? You can be anyone you want to be.
Why is that important?
I’m shy. Oh boy, I’m sure there are friends laughing themselves silly at that declaration.
But it’s true. Growing up I was painfully shy and why I buried myself in books and writing stories. Call it the peril of being an only child with an overactive imagination.
But it was the beginning of what I do now. Back then I wrote about characters that became real to me, my very own invisible playmates. I could thrust myself into a new world where I was brave and confident. Where I could be anyone I wanted to be. Not the shy gawky kid I was.
I was very lucky. Teachers encouraged my love for reading and my need to write stories. Thanks to them I grew in that respect.
What it showed me was that my characters could say what I didn’t have the nerve to say. Do what I wouldn’t be able to do.
Talk about the perfect way to be what you want to be!
You run into a rude person in a store. So many things you’d love to say to them, but you don’t. No problem, go home, create that character for a book and blast them. You’ll feel so much better. Maybe that’s why my favorite alter-ego is a pair of man-eating bunny slippers.
And even now I’m shy. It can be difficult for me to enter a new situation unless a friend is with me. I’ll do it, but I may not be as talkative as I normally am.
So what about you? Do you have the shy gene? How do you cope?
Linda
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Confessions of a Chocoholic
Hello, my name is Linda and I’m a See’s chocoholic. I’m not a total chocolate slut. When I go in there it’s their milk chocolate bordeaux, which is a brown sugar cream, or their scotchmallow, marshmallow and caramel dipped in dark chocolate.
Those have been my absolute fave chocolates for what seems like forever and woe be to anyone who dares get between me and my See’s!Excellent example: I was part of a group book signing some years ago and someone placed a box of See’s near me. And there it was. Milk chocolate bordeaux. All that glorious creamy texture in milk chocolate and chocolate sprinkles that some days is as good as sex. And it was MINE!
Except a good friend of mine along with her family was there and Susan is also a bordeaux slut and proud of it. Picture this. She’s reaching for that piece, smiling at me, hoping to catch me off guard, but voila! I got there first and held it up with that aha! of triumph. She thought she’d be quick and snatch it out of my hand. There was only one thing to do. I licked the bottom and the piece was now well and truly mine. Susan later got even with me courtesy of a slice of boysenberry pie, but that’s what friends do. Battle over chocolate and exact revenge when need be. Or make up a chocolate care package when a friend needs that creamy smooth comfort.
Just as when our See’s opened here Susan and I were out for an early breakfast to make sure we were at that door when the shop formally opened. Who cared about speeches? Just open the shop already! Needless to say, the mayor was trampled by all the women waiting just like we were.
There’s no need for PMS as an excuse for See’s. If it’s just a good day, have one. If it’s a bad day, have three. If it’s a really bad day, get yourself a whole box.I didn’t need to be told chocolate could be good for you or make you feel good. I knew that a long time ago.
And that’s why, no matter the reason, I dip into my See’s stash.Which reminds me. I need a See’s run!What about you? Does chocolate do all those cool things for you?
What I've Been Watching
I’m a movie slut and proud of it.
With so many reruns on now, I’ve been keeping Netflix busy while watching classic TV series and movies I’ve either missed at the theater or ones that moved straight to DVD.
My latest viewing was a cute quirky romantic comedy titled Carolina staring Julia Stiles – who I loved in 10 Things I Hate About You – and Shirley MacLaine.
The blurb reads “In this romantic comedy featuring Shirley MacLaine, a wacky Grandma Millicent Mirabeau, Southern girl Carolina Julia Stiles envisions an entirely different existence for herself, far from the maddening mix that is her family. But her efforts are soon wasted when she finds herself torn between two men. Who will win her heart?”
Carolina’s neighbor is Albert, a total cutie who’s a romance author who hires women to portray him at signings. In the beginning you’ll even catch a glimpse of Barbara Eden who still looks really good. And there’s no doubt he’s in love with Carolina, but sadly, she sees him as her best friend.
She works on a TV dating show and no thanks to a disaster as in Grandma calling her at work about her crazy sister, Carolina’s fired, but she meets this very sexy British guy named Heath who’s very interested in her.
Carolina sees him as her chance for a sane life. She’s got a dad who wanders the country and only came back home to drop a baby off with his mother and each girl was named after the state she was born in. An aunt, played by the wonderful Jennifer Coolidge, who’s a madame and brings her “girls” to the family holiday dinners. But it’s Shirley MacLaine, as the wonderful wacky Grandma who truly holds the family together.
Carolina wants a normal life, but is that what she needs?
You’d have to watch the movie to find out and I highly suggest this film for laughs, sighs, and a few tears.
Linda
With so many reruns on now, I’ve been keeping Netflix busy while watching classic TV series and movies I’ve either missed at the theater or ones that moved straight to DVD.
My latest viewing was a cute quirky romantic comedy titled Carolina staring Julia Stiles – who I loved in 10 Things I Hate About You – and Shirley MacLaine.
The blurb reads “In this romantic comedy featuring Shirley MacLaine, a wacky Grandma Millicent Mirabeau, Southern girl Carolina Julia Stiles envisions an entirely different existence for herself, far from the maddening mix that is her family. But her efforts are soon wasted when she finds herself torn between two men. Who will win her heart?”
Carolina’s neighbor is Albert, a total cutie who’s a romance author who hires women to portray him at signings. In the beginning you’ll even catch a glimpse of Barbara Eden who still looks really good. And there’s no doubt he’s in love with Carolina, but sadly, she sees him as her best friend.
She works on a TV dating show and no thanks to a disaster as in Grandma calling her at work about her crazy sister, Carolina’s fired, but she meets this very sexy British guy named Heath who’s very interested in her.
Carolina sees him as her chance for a sane life. She’s got a dad who wanders the country and only came back home to drop a baby off with his mother and each girl was named after the state she was born in. An aunt, played by the wonderful Jennifer Coolidge, who’s a madame and brings her “girls” to the family holiday dinners. But it’s Shirley MacLaine, as the wonderful wacky Grandma who truly holds the family together.
Carolina wants a normal life, but is that what she needs?
You’d have to watch the movie to find out and I highly suggest this film for laughs, sighs, and a few tears.
Linda
Saturday, August 15, 2009
The Evolution of a Writer
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Welcome to my first post at my personal blog. As you can see, I've changed from my first publicity photo.
I thought the best launch post would be about what goes on in a writer over the years.
I loved to write and began when I could hold a crayon. Any story that came into my mind was written down. Many were probably best forgotten. And life took a few curving turns along the way.
I read romances although the only category romances out were Harlequin Romances and Presents. And it was long before I muttered, “I can do this”. My husband just looked at me and said, “then do it.” I’m not one to turn down a dare!
Since my best friend and I were taking a ballet class, I thought how fitting to write about a ballet dancer. When that book was finished I wrote a second romance. Both books were sent to the brand spanking new romance line, Silhouette Books that was looking for new authors for a line that would be launched the following year.
Did I know what I was doing? I could spell, knew my grammar, and punctuation. And I loved telling stories. And surprise, surprise, I got “the call” on my wedding anniversary. Silhouette wanted to buy both books.
That was the beginning of a career that’s taken some interesting twists and turns along the way.
If you look at my booklist, you’ll see I also wrote for Dell Ecstasy, a single title romance with Dell, Loveswept, and a romantic suspense with Kensington Books.
I thought the best launch post would be about what goes on in a writer over the years.
I loved to write and began when I could hold a crayon. Any story that came into my mind was written down. Many were probably best forgotten. And life took a few curving turns along the way.
I read romances although the only category romances out were Harlequin Romances and Presents. And it was long before I muttered, “I can do this”. My husband just looked at me and said, “then do it.” I’m not one to turn down a dare!
Since my best friend and I were taking a ballet class, I thought how fitting to write about a ballet dancer. When that book was finished I wrote a second romance. Both books were sent to the brand spanking new romance line, Silhouette Books that was looking for new authors for a line that would be launched the following year.
Did I know what I was doing? I could spell, knew my grammar, and punctuation. And I loved telling stories. And surprise, surprise, I got “the call” on my wedding anniversary. Silhouette wanted to buy both books.
That was the beginning of a career that’s taken some interesting twists and turns along the way.
If you look at my booklist, you’ll see I also wrote for Dell Ecstasy, a single title romance with Dell, Loveswept, and a romantic suspense with Kensington Books.
I wrote strict romance, humorous romance, romantic suspense, an action adventure, and my first love, paranormal romance, which I’m having a blast writing right now.
A writer's life is pretty solitary and thanks to the Internet, we writers can keep in contact a lot more easily. And a great way to keep in contact with our fans too.
During these years I’ve learned a lot, I keep on learning, and I’ve made some fantastic friends that I consider the same as family. I’ve also written a lot of books I’m very proud of and have a lot more books I hope to write. At least as long as my fans want my work.
But enough about me. What would you like to know?
Linda
During these years I’ve learned a lot, I keep on learning, and I’ve made some fantastic friends that I consider the same as family. I’ve also written a lot of books I’m very proud of and have a lot more books I hope to write. At least as long as my fans want my work.
But enough about me. What would you like to know?
Linda
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