Month: November 2014

50 grams walnut
pieces

For the buttercream frosting

Method:
Preheat
the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4/350°F.

1. Butter two 20cm / 8inch
   sandwich tins and line the base of each with baking parchment.
2. Put the walnut pieces
   and sugar into a food processor and blitz to a fine nutty powder.
3. Add the 225g/2 sticks
   butter, flour, 4 teaspoons espresso powder, baking powder, bicarb
   and eggs and process to a smooth batter.
4. Add the milk, pouring it
   down the funnel with the motor still running, or just pulsing, to
   loosen the cake mixture: it should be a soft, dropping consistency,
   so add more milk if you need to. (If you are making this by hand,
   bash the nuts to a rubbly powder with a rolling pin and mix with the
   dry ingredients; then cream the butter and sugar together, and beat
   in some dry ingredients and eggs alternately and, finally, the
   milk.)
5. Divide the mixture
   between the 2 lined tins and bake in the oven for 25 minutes, or
   until the sponge has risen and feels springy to the touch.
6. Cool the cakes in their
   tins on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, before turning them out
   onto the rack and peeling off the baking parchment.
7. When the sponges are
   cool, you can make the buttercream.
8. Pulse the icing
   sugar in
   the food processor until it is lump free, then add the butter and
   process to make a smooth icing.
9. Dissolve the instant
   espresso powder in 1 tablespoon boiling water and add it while still
   hot to the processor, pulsing to blend into the buttercream.
10. If you are doing this by
    hand, sieve the icing
    sugar and
    beat it into the butter with a wooden spoon.
11. Then beat in the hot
    coffee liquid.
12. Place 1 sponge upside
    down on your cake stand or serving plate.
13. Spread with about half
    the icing; then place on it the second sponge, right side up (i.e.
    so the 2 flat sides of the sponges meet in the middle) and cover the
    top with the remaining icing in a ramshackle swirly pattern.
14. This cake is all about
    old-fashioned, rustic charm, so don’t worry unduly: however the
    frosting goes on is fine. similarly, don’t fret about some
    buttercream oozing out around the middle: that’s what makes it
    look so inviting.
15. Gently press the walnut
    halves into the top of the icing all around the edge of the circle
    about 1cm apart.

The
scars on Ellie Padget’s cheek are a constant reminder of the times
she tried to escape from sexual slavery. Two years ago, Joel—alpha
in waiting of the Tundra-Tough pack—led the rescue party that freed
her. She’s loved him ever since.
Their
relationship finally explodes into steaming sex, but he offers to pay
her off. She walks away with her head high and her heart shattered.
When she learns of a plot to destroy Joel and his pack, her only
option is return to his side and warn him.
Joel
has to fight to retain the pack that should be his by right, and no
one can leave until the pack has a new alpha. He’s horrified when
Ellie turns up on the night he’s to meet the woman he’s agreed to
marry but never met. She’s stuck there until he claims his
birthright. Finally, he realizes Ellie’s his true mate. Now he has
to choose between his arranged marriage, and the one woman he truly
loves. Will he choose with his head or his heart?
To
Mate a Werewolf is a stand alone story within the Scattered Siblings
series.

Book
#2 in the Loki’s Wolves series

• 
  Melissa
  Snark is published with The Wild Rose Press & as an Indie author
  with five unique titles: A CAT’S TALE, THE MATING GAME, LEARNING TO
  FLY, THE CHILD THIEF, and HUNGER MOON.
• Her
  Loki’s Wolves series includes THE CHILD THIEF, HUNGER MOON and
  BATTLE CRY.
• She
  lives in the San Francisco bay area with her husband, three children
  and a glaring of cats.
• She
  is a professional cat herder and unrepentant satirist who blogs
  about books and writing on The
  Snarkology.

• 3
  cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4
  teaspoon salt
• 1
  cup sugar
• 4
  teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2
  cup milk
• 2
  eggs
• 2
  teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2
  cup butter, melted

• 1
  cup butter, softened
• 1
  cup brown sugar
• 2
  Tablespoons flour
• 2
  Tablespoons cinnamon

1. In
   a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
2. 
   Mix milk, eggs,
   and vanilla. Stir thoroughly.
3. Pouring
   slowly, stir wet mixture into dry ingredients.
4. Slowly
   add butter, stirring until batter is mixed.
5. Pour
   into a greased 9×13 pan. 
6. For
   the topping, mix all the ingredients together until well combined.
7. Sprinkle
   evenly over the batter and swirl with a knife. 
8. Bake
   at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30-40 minutes.
9. Allow
   cake to cool for 15 minutes before glazing.

• 2
  cups powdered sugar
• 5
  Tablespoons milk
• 1
  teaspoon vanilla

1. Combine
   ingredients in a bowl and stir until combined.
2. While
   the cake is still warm, drizzle the glaze over the top. 

I’m pleased to welcome L.J. Harris and her new release “Just Like Pulling Teeth”

A trip to the dentist has never been so… interesting…

EXCERPT:

“BOLLOCKS,” I groaned, failing at my attempt to chew on the wedge of pickle-covered cheese. It was only Tuesday, and yet, as I sat at the end of the bar at the Thistle and Lion, whining and moaning with every bite of my ploughman’s lunch, this particular week had already begun to drag. I’d had the mother of all headaches for two days, and throbbing gums for three, the pain so bloody awful I’d been driven to take some long overdue time off work. My bite had been out of alignment for weeks, thanks to the swelling in the back of my mouth, and everything above my shoulders hurt.

Even my sodding hair.

The ibuprofen I was taking was no longer helping, and I hadn’t slept well in days. Luckily my sister, Rachel, was able to secure an appointment with a new dentist near where she worked. Dr. Anderson had been looking after my teeth ever since I was a young lad, but retired earlier in the year. As much as I felt awkward around new people, I figured I’d give this new bloke a shot, considering my dear sister had been gushing about how wonderful he was non-stop for the past few weeks. It wasn’t as though I had much choice, anyway. The other dentists I’d contacted, including every one of them at the Holistic Solutions Clinic, were booked solid for months ahead.

I didn’t even give a toss if I had to get my teeth pulled, if it meant the pain would go away.

Unable to finish my meal, I downed the rest of my pint to help sate my hunger and perhaps give me a little Dutch courage before I left a tenner on the end of the bar and headed for the men’s to carefully floss and brush.

It was torture, yes, but no sense in grossing out the new dentist with my recently acquired mustard pickle and beer breath.

I made my way across the cobbled alleyway that was a stone’s throw away from the city centre, the London sun shining and the air brisk with mid-October winds, until I found myself standing in the lobby of the two-storey building. Quickly checking the directory located next to a small cafe, I made my way up the single flight of stairs, passing by everything from chiropractors to physiotherapists, acupuncturists to hypnotherapists.

I was certain the name on suite door number ten, Acacia Dental Spa, was a contradiction in terms.

JUST LIKE PULLING TEETH is also a part of the BOLLOCKS! Anthology

BUY LINKS:

Amazon US I Amazon UK I Amazon AU

Barnes & Noble

All Romance Ebooks I Wayward Ink Publishing

L. J. HARRIS is a mother of teenage twin boys who she loves with all her heart. Her family is her life, her soul, and the very reason she gets out of bed every day. Coming a close second to her family is her writing.

She only just discovered a passion for writing in the past five or so years. She’d always written little poems in birthday cards for family members, but that was as far as her writing aspirations went…until she decided to write poems and give them to family members as homemade gifts.

It was then a spark was lit, and ever since, she hasn’t been unable to switch off the urge to write.

After a close family member fell ill, she began questioning what she wanted and searching for answers. Unable to sleep one night, she sat up and typed out her feelings on the laptop. Her husband read what she’d written and encouraged her to write more. It was then she knew she wanted to share her thoughts with others. She began with writing what she knew–her life story, but couldn’t get into it. Instead, she decided to write about something not based on fact, but fiction, and wrote a dream sequence which she showed to her family. They encouraged her to expand on it, and she hasn’t stopped since.

L.J. Harris discovered that as much as enduring pain, loss, betrayal, or any other negative thing in our lives can be devastating, if she hadn’t experienced them for herself, she not only wouldn’t have found some lifelong friends, she doubts she would have been able to write the feelings of anguish and loss that some of her characters have had to endure.

L.J. has been previously published and has shared several online stories and looks forward to continuing to share her work.

CONTACT LINKS:

Blog I Facebook I Twitter I Goodreads

Also by L.J. Harris:

Heart of Glass