Alison Kent's Blah Blog

You can win a copy of NO LIMITS on Maya Banks blog. Click the link and leave a comment!

The Heat is On . . .

Simon Baptiste’s latest SG-5 mission just went south in a major way. With his career on ice for awhile, it seems like a good time to take care of some business back home in Louisiana. Simon knows it ain’t going to be pretty. He’s got some old enemies in Bayou Allain who won’t exactly roll out the red carpet. But Simon’s first night back is more than he bargained for. Not only has the homestead gone to hell in a hand basket, but there’s a half-naked woman hiding inside it—a woman whose face Simon knows all too well. It’s Michelina Ferrer, the sultry spokesmodel for her family’s Ferrer fragrance empire—and Simon’s been staring at her picture on a billboard outside his Manhattan apartment for weeks…

And It’s Only Getting Hotter . . .

Micky Ferrer came down to Bayou Allain looking for her old college friend, only to discover that Lisa Landry has been missing for days. As soon as Micky starts asking questions around town, someone runs her car off the road. She’s hiding out in the old Baptiste place when Simon shows up—and he’s the hottest thing she’s laid eyes on since she got to town. Simon agrees that something strange is going on and that Lisa’s disappearance may be tied to it. As he and Micky search for answers, the sweltering heat makes it hard to keep their heads straight or their hands off each other…even as they unravel the small-town secrets that some people are willing to kill for…

Been doing some garage cleaning. Found folders w/ critiqued manuscripts dated 1995ish. Wonder if those are worth reading and finishing.

I tweeted the above on Saturday. @cuppacafe had been in the garage looking for some Halloween things, and I went through a couple of my old boxes. The manuscripts were fun, as was the TV Guide from my October 1995 appearance on CBS 48 Hours and a slew of congratulatory cards. I also found a ton of research materials for books I never finished, but I think this newspaper we found in a box of things belonging to my kids’ father was the coolest of all. Check out the date and the headline!

That’s where I am, and why my posting is going to be sporadic the rest of the month. As most of you know, I own a Web design business, and my partner is currently on leave because of this. The nerve of the woman. *g* Anyhow, I’ll do my best to pop in, but I’m not sure I’ll have time for anything wordy for a couple of weeks. Then again . . .

Sorry for the delay in posting. I spent Friday working, Saturday cleaning, and Sunday cooking. We had a big family get together on Sunday for #2’s birthday. Lots of good food and good fun with the grandbaby and the dogs and the Wii and the gorgeous weather. Anyhow, the winners from the Heart of LA Readers Luncheon giveaway are:

Sabrina
Lisa G
annalisa

If y’all will send your addresses to me at ak@alisonkent.com, I’ll get the goodies sent out as soon as I can – which might not be for a few days as I’m swamped with work. My business partner had the nerve to have a baby *g*, leaving me very busy!

I am not a cook. I CAN cook. I can follow recipes, but I can’t use ratios or judge ingredients or do any of the cool things real chefs can do to make a dish come together in an edible fashion. The husband can do that. He only recently bought a bread machine to experiment with. And the best loaf he’s made is one where he eyeballed ingredients and used the live yeasty growing thing stored in the back of the refrigerator for leavening. He does the same with other dishes. He makes the best meatloaf ever. I don’t even know what goes into it. I only know it’s better than mine.

The first loaf I made in the bread machine was a huge fail. It was a jalapeno loaf, or would’ve been had I managed the yeast correctly. The second loaf I made was much better, but not great. It was a Sally Lunn recipe and when fresh, had a great flavor, but dried out way too quickly. The third loaf I made was your basic white, and it was good. We cut thick slices and toasted them for huge sandwiches, then as it dwindled, cut thinner slices to toast with butter, parmesan, and garlic to eat with lasagna. But the fourth loaf? Yeah. This one was a winner, and my first made with wheat flour.

The recipe I used is a copy cat of Outback Steakhouse’s Honey Wheat Bushman Bread. We don’t ever eat at Outback, so I can’t speak to how close it comes, but we do eat at Salt Grass Steakhouse, and it’s very similar to their beer bread. The Outback recipe didn’t call for beer, but it did call for cool things like cocoa and instant coffee! I did take the advice of commenters and added powdered buttermilk and molasses, plus it did indeed require the extra flour several reviewers mentioned. I was happy to see that someone had done the whole thing in their bread machine (since that’s the point), and using the settings she recommended, I managed to come up with a very yummy result – though don’t ask me how the weird crust thing happened.

Since Pioneer Woman had posted a recipe for Spaghetti with Artichoke Hearts and Tomatoes, and I knew I had a can of artichoke hearts in the pantry, I had to give it a try. Problem was, I had no spaghetti. We don’t eat spaghetti. In fact, we don’t eat much pasta, or rice, or potatoes. Or even bread, though the above experimentation makes it sound as if we do. Trust me. We don’t. We don’t even eat much in the way of cereal, avoiding simple carbs as much as we can. I don’t really even LIKE pasta. I’ve always thought it had the texture of gooey slugs. I do like lasagna, and I do like spaghetti, but don’t even get me near a pasta salad. Ugh. That said, I’ve been eating more penne and rotini since we’ve discovered Dreamfields’ low glycemic pasta.

The rotini worked. I also diced up two yellow squash and tossed them into the mix. Since I’m the one doing most of the cooking lately, and failing as often as winning, the husband and I have a running gag about yellow squash that’s too complicated to explain, so adding the extra veggies to the dish was a bit of an inside joke, but they were really good. I did leave out the nutmeg; not a fan of the flavor outside of baked goods. I also used half cream, half evaporated milk. I will definitely make this again.

Here’s where the meal gets even weirder. After seeing Pioneer Woman’s recipe for Simple, Pan-Fried Porkchops, I’d bought chops and they were in the fridge needing to be cooked. So I did – even though my side dish was pasta. I’m sure pasta with grilled chicken would make more sense, but call me a rebel. The pork chops were wonderful. I mean, I’ve made pork chops a gazillion times. Usually we grill or broil them, and I’m sure I’ve fried them in the past, but I actually don’t fry a lot of foods.

Again, don’t judge my food intake by the pictures here. I really really don’t eat a lot of bread or pasta or fried things. (Chocolate, on the other hand . . .) This just happened to be ONE OF THOSE DAYS, and as horribly unhealthy as a lot of this is, it all came together swimmingly and was Very Very Good! The husband agreed, though he did say none of these things needed to be on anyone’s plate at the same time, heh.

When you feed your dogs Beneful, you have plenty of bowls at the ready! Plus, with all the extra faux Tupperware dishes stacked in the cabinets . . . well, that doesn’t mean I don’t have pretty matching white porcelain ramekins on my Christmas list.

Those are the ingredients for the cake I made for my birthday. At least part of them. I made it again last month, and looks like I’ll be making it again this weekend for #2’s birthday on Monday. You’d think we’d tire of it, but nah. *g*

When a guy stops at a roadside diner, he expects bad chili, not a hostage situation. But that’s where SG-5 operative Harry van Zandt finds himself when an armed cartel blows through the door. They’re not after him but the woman in the next booth, and their message is clear: she’s got seventy-two hours to locate and deliver a valuable historical document or her brother dies. And if Harry wants to live, he’d better go with her.

Harry has his own undercover mission to finish, but with a trigger-happy band on their tails, it’ll have to wait. Not that he minds helping Georgia McLain. The tough treasure hunter is as smart as she is sexy. She’s also desperate. That artifact could finally clear her late father’s name. She needs Harry if she’s going to double-cross these thugs and keep it for herself, and her gratitude is the kind that could turn a guy’s head. Too bad that document is also of vital importance to the Smithson Group, and Harry’s top-secret mission is to get it before it falls into the wrong hands. Now, the beautiful, infuriating woman he’s starting to fall for could lead him right to what he needs—and what she so desperately wants.

Out on the open road with a price on their heads, two unlikely lovers are caught in a game of secrets, lies, betrayals, and desire, where trust is risky and love is no time to catch your breath…

Did I ever tell the story of finishing up Deep Breath while evacuated for Hurricane Rita? #2 already had a room booked in Fort Worth as she was schedule to attend a veterinary conference. Because of the storm, her roommate couldn’t make the trip, so No. 1 Daughter and I, along with our dog Smith, went with her, leaving @cuppacafe and my son home to batten down the hatches as the men folk are supposed to do.

Did you know that while we were holed up in a room with a view of the Trinity River, a full kitchen, the most comfy pillows ever, and a toilet that overflowed, I got the call from my agent offering me The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Writing Erotic Romance?

Did I ever tell the story of the 5 hour drive home? I had 2 laptops and a flash drive. I ran out one battery charge, transferred the file to the second computer and carried on. I continued to carry on until around 4 a.m. when I emailed the file to my editor.

Later that day? The hard drive on my main computer crashed. I had been uploading the manuscript into my Website’s hosting space as I worked on it, so it was safe. Almost every book I’d written before? Lost. (We’ve since found some of those in early versions on @cuppacafe’s multitude of old hard drives, but some are forever gone.)

Did you know that Finn McLain from Maximum Exposure first appears in this book as the heroine’s sister? As does SG-5 operative Simon Baptiste from No Limits?

Did you know the reissue of this book (the trade edition was published in April 2006) is my first mass market wide release? It’s not a paperback original, but I’m still VERY excited about having something out there at a lower price and in more stores than Walmart where my only other mass markets were sold. In fact, this one is available for pre-order at Amazon, B&N, BAMM, Borders, Chapters, Powell’s, and IndieBound.

Did you know this book takes place in a matter of days? And instead of chapters, it’s divided along a timeline? And that a reviewer at Amazon wondered if I even owned a thesaurus? *g* Here’s the scene that gets the thesaurus-needy story started . . .

Read the rest of this entry »

As I mentioned yesterday, I attended the Heart of LA’s Readers Luncheon on October 3rd. There were around 100 attendees who came to hear Kelley St. John and Cynthia Eden while enjoying an awesome lunch at Drusilla Seafood Restaurant. Both @cuppacafe and I chose their fried catfish, and it was truly some of the best ever.

The night before, we had arranged to have dinner at Sammy’s Grill with Toni McGee Causey and her husband. Several other authors came, including Cynthia Eden and Amber Leigh Williams, Elaine Grant and Rhonda Leah, and we had a great time discussing writing and the writing life and sharing our processes as well as comparing reading habits. You might be surprised. *g* (BTW, the choice of Sammy’s was an order from No. 1 Daughter. She and her boyfriend love it, and eat there every time they’re in Baton Rouge. She told me if I ever made a trip through, I had to stop for their shrimp.)

There were DOZENS of prizes given away at the luncheon in addition to the MONSTROUS goodie bags full of swag. There was also a signing. I was still blonde at the time, and sitting at the end of the table next to Cherie Coen and Amber. The hint of a red sleeve belongs to Maya Banks. I got to visit with her for a few, but there’s never enough time at these things. Since @cuppacafe and I were both attendees (I was a featured author, he was just along for the ride – and to drive) we came home with two big bags full of STUFF.

I’ve divided everything you see below (minus the bag which I’m keeping) into three prize packs, one of which will include a copy of DEEP BREATH since I was one book short when divvying up the mountains of loot.

To be eligible to win one of the three prize packs, leave a comment here by Friday, October 16, 2009, noon CDT telling me what holiday food you’re most looking forward to eating this year. Is it something you cook? Something a family member fixes? Something a co-worker brings to the office every year? Something you order from a favorite bakery? Feel free to leave a recipe or link to one! Let’s nosh!

. . . or maybe you haven’t noticed I’ve been absent. And that’s fine. Lately, there hasn’t been much reason to stop by here except to enjoy the very cool autumn theme.

Just looking at it makes me want to bake pumpkin muffins, and I may do that today.

Fall has finally arrived, at least temporarily, and I love the cool weather (meaning temperature in the sixties), though I am really missing the sun. It’s been raining for days, and I could use some Vitamin D. Anyhow, here’s what’s been keeping me away:

1) I was sick with the first true head cold I’ve had in years. I’m finally feeling better, though the allergies just won’t let go. It’s ragweed season, and until we get a frost, I figure I won’t be able to breathe right, but at least the coughing and fever are gone.

2) There have been a lot of family things going on. From car troubles to illness and surgery to long work and school hours to a bunch of upcoming birthdays and holidays to plan for. Oh, and Sam’s going to have a baby sister or brother next May or so.

3) I’ve had a lot of web work to do, and will be having even more over the next few weeks as my business partner is having a baby – an event that might actually be happening today as there was some early morning activity indicating it’s baby time!

4) I’ve been watching The Shield. All of it. It’s my latest TV show crack, and I’ll probably be posting about it soon and relating it to what I love about writing characters that pop.

5) I’ve been writing, but not so much WRITING as pondering what I’ve written. It still counts as writing, but it doesn’t feel like forward progress since much of it is the fine tuning projects require to make them work. The pondering isn’t so easy with a head full of goo, so that’s been an impediment as well.

6) While sick, I went to the Heart of LA Readers Luncheon. I was feeling better when we went, but I got to feeling worse while there, so was thankful it was a single afternoon event. Had great fun meeting online friends and have some goodies from the event to give away. Just need to sort and compile into prize packs.

7) I went brown, with red low lights, and still some blonde. The hair color is actually dark blonde, but it’s more brown on me. It’s causing some confusion for @cuppacafe.

8) I’ve been doing a lot of Internet cooking. Some of the recipes have been a hit and others not so much. Some haven’t turned out as shown but were still good, and others were just blech. Most likely my inability to follow directions; you wouldn’t believe how often I skim right over a step or read a measurement wrong, sigh. I just got new glasses, so can’t blame the eyes. More like the brain is pulled in so many directions it’s out of processing power. The adventures in cooking have included baking bread in @cuppacafe’s new bread machine. He finally decided he wanted one (he’s the bread baker) so we’ve been experimenting with that.

9) I’ve been putting together the Website for the new women’s fiction chapter of RWA. I’m not designing it or building or coding; I’m only helping implement a WordPress magazine theme to serve the chapter’s needs. Very excited about the new chapter and will post here once the site is live. The anticipated launch date is 11/01.

10) I wish I could say I’ve seen a good movie, or read something I couldn’t put down, or been wrapped up in the new fall TV season, but none of that has happened. Too many other things going on I guess, not to mention my addiction to The Shield taking up my entertainment time. The only new show I’m sticking with is Flash Forward and the only returning shows I’m watching regularly are House, Lie To Me, NCIS, and Criminal Minds. The others I catch on Hulu if the mood strikes. It doesn’t very often.

And that’s about it for what’s been going on with me. What about you?