BOOK REVIEW: Baked! by Lacey Dearie

SCHEDULE: Oct. 14 - 18, 2019

Monday, Oct. 14 - BOOK REVIEW: Baked! A Short Story
by Lacey Dearie

Tuesday, Oct. 15 -  ENTERTAINMENT: 
Movie Review - Ad Astra

Wednesday, Oct. 16 - ART: The Artist Leonid Afremov

Thursday, Oct. 17 - ART & BOOK:
The New York Dance Project

Friday, Oct. 18 -BOOK:  Bentley Square
by Carol Ann Kauffman

BOOK: The Baslicato by Carol Ann Kauffman

When Dr. Brook Wilson agreed to take on celebrity Italian race car driver Jason Maxwell, known as"The Baslicato," as her patient, little did she realize their relationship would turn her calm, pleasant, well-ordered life upside down, sending her off on dangerous adventures in southern Italy and northern Ohio. 

As she prepares him for his big race, she must deal with his demented wife while driving her boyfriend, Dr, Garrett MacEgan into acts of criminal desperation in a attempt to hold on to her.

When tall, handsome British actor Richard MacKenzie wakes up in the hospital after an accident, he discovers he's a short Italian race car driver named Jason Maxwell, known as THE BASLICATO.

Amazon Buy Link:  http://tinyurl.com/kd8ymgm

Dear Gentle Readers,

The Baslicato will always be special to me when I look back on all the books I've written. My wonderful father was born in Basilicata Provence in southern Italy.

And although all the characters in the book are fictional, my daddy did have a lead foot! He also taught me how to drive. 

If you haven't read The Baslicato and you enjoy a good adventuresome love triangle and don't mind a bit of body-hopping, give The Baslicato a try!

Have a great day.
Hugs,
Carol 

A NOTE FROM CAROL: Entertainment Pick of the Week - Longmire

Dear Gentle Readers,

Every now and then a series comes along and firmly grasps your interest, and then your heart. For me, a few of these have been MASH, the Highlander series with Adrian Paul, and Monk. 

The latest series obsession is Longmire. If you haven't seen it, you are in for a treat. Set in Absaroka County, Wyoming and filmed in beautiful New Mexico, it's a contemporary western crime drama, complete with the grieving, recently widowed sheriff who rides (drives) a Bronco, a talented and endearing supporting cast of actors who rivet you to the TV screen, and some of the best writing to grace the small screen in a very long time.

Longmire began on regular TV on the A & E channel. It is based on the Walt Longmire Mysteries series of novels by the best-selling author Craig Johnson. Somehow this excellent series got canceled and later showed up on Netflix. There are six seasons.  

Catch it!

Hugs,
Carol

ART: The Navajo Skywalk and Eagle Point

The Skywalk is one of those lifetime experiences that stays with you long after you've returned home. It was one of the few remaining places on my bucket list and, to be honest, I didn't think we were going to get there. 

But we did. And it was a breathtaking experience. I highly recommend it.

All these gorgeous photos are from the Skywalk and Eagle Point website. 

Don't delay. The Grand Canyon is a life changing experience. When you peer down into the canyon, all those things you worried about, agonized about, and lost sleep over seem so small and unimportant in the grand scheme of things. And the Skywalk is the ideal place to experience the Grand Canyon.




This is my sweet husband standing in the 
tepee doorway. I am so thankful we got there! 

FOOD: Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

1 pkg. yellow cake mix

1 c. packed brown sugar

1 can pineapple slices

1 stick butter

Maraschino cherries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter. Pour into 9 x 13 x 2 pan. Stir in the brown sugar and mix thoroughly. Drain pineapple slices and arrange in the sugar mixture. Put a cherry in the center of each pineapple slice. Prepare cake mix as directed and pour over the fruit. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let stand five minutes for topping to start to set. Then turn upside-down onto a large platter.

NOTE: I also make this in a well-greased cupcake tin. You may need to cut the pineapple slice a little so it fits into the bottom of the muffin tin. They are so cute! 

This recipe is from Echo of Heartbreak, A Recipe for Life by Carol Ann Kauffman. It was my mother's recipe and she was a fantastic baker. I did not inherit those genes.

Echo of Heartbreak, A Recipe for Life is a recipe book written in the form of a letter from an ill mother to her unborn daughter.

Amazon Buy Link: https://tinyurl.com/y7shup8o

Photo Credit: Pinterest

BOOK REVIEW: Murder & Mayhem in Goose Pimple Junction

SCHEDULE: Oct. 7 - 11, 2019

Mon., Oct. 7 - BOOK REVIEW: 
Murder and Mayhem in Goosepimple Junction
by Amy Metz

Tues., Oct. 8 - FOOD: Recipe
Pineapple Upside Cake

Wed., Oct. 9 - ART: Architectural Wonder -
The Navajo Skywalk and Eagle Point 

Thurs., Oct. 10 - ENTERTAINMENT: Netflix
Longmire 

Fri., Oct. 11 - BOOK: The Baslicato

by Carol Ann Kauffman

BOOK: The Belterra Saga b y Carol Ann Kauffman

The Time After Time Series follows a pair of unlikely lovers on their adventures through their many lifetimes together, this time on an alien planet divided into four tribes.

Can one person make a difference?

When Neeka, daughter of the Lord of the Warrior Clan, was out picking lavender in their vast fields of the West, she felt a stirring in her heart. She felt him coming for her, and she was ready for him. 

When Braedon, Lord of the Soldier Clan of the East, rode into those lavender fields, searching for the woman he had dreamed of so often, he had no idea if she were even real. But there she was, standing there looking up at him, smiling. 

He reached his hand down to her. She accepted, thus beginning their new adventures together, changing not only their lives forever, but the course of life, unity, and the political structure on their planet forever. 
An alien planet. 
Or is it?


Dark Return is the sequel to Belterra, Time After Time, and takes place about ten years afterwards. When Belterra was populated long ago by a select group of humans sent here by the ancients in the hope of saving the human race, the indigenous race of bat-like creatures called the Batrach were forced into the ocean and underground sea caves by a giant force field. The force field has now weakened. The Batrach have emerged from their watery prison and they want their planet back.

This is the original cover of BELTERRA. It was taken looking down into one of the lush green valleys in the Tuscan region of Italy. Because I took the photo myself, I allowed myself to be talked into believing it did not properly convey the feeling of the book.

The second cover was the large green tree. It did not go over big, either.

This is the current cover, by the wonderful Suzi Albracht of Wickedly Awesome Designs. It typifies the main character, Neeka, and how one person CAN be the instrument of change.

This is the sequel to BELTERRA. In Dark Return, we still have Neck and Braedon, but the indigenous race of bat-like creatures have regained their strength and now want their planet back. They emerge from the dark and watery caves near the shoreline, intent on devouring the human race.

ENTERTAINMENT: On Amazon Prime Video - Carnival Row, Series, Season 1

 Give this series a chance. It starts a bit slow and dark, photographically, because it has some important world building to do. The writing is excellent, the acting superb. And I love the costumes and special effects. It is steampunk Victorian fantasy with a very real current events aura.

I give this series a Carol 5 Star rating.

Orlando Bloom is nothing short of wonderful in this series as a detective called in to solve a series of gruesome crimes.