Readers of my series THE REVEL NIGHT SAGA know that Bev’s Diner is where plans are hatched, new friendships are established, secrets revealed, and a place to go when one is in need of comfort food.
A burger, onion rings, and Bev’s famous Triple Chocolate Milkshake will fix everything! And save room for a piece of Marionberry pie!
Readers have asked “Is Bev’s real?” So sorry, Bev’s and Remy Oregon are entirely fictional. I do, however, have a killer recipe for a triple chocolate milkshake!
Bev’s Triple Chocolate Milkshake
3 cups Chocolate Ice Cream (softened)
1 cup Chocolate Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2-3 tablespoons Chocolate Syrup
Whipped Cream for serving (I prefer the spray kind for authenticity)
Drizzle the chocolate syrup down the inside wall of a fountain glass and set aside. Put the ice cream, milk , and vanilla in a blender and process until smooth and frothy. Pour the milkshake into the fountain glass and top with whipped cream.
February 4th 2010 on a website then called Wishing For Horses this appeared.
It was my first blog post.
Thinking back I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my shiny new website but I was excited! I had a lot of ideas!
Would I chronicle my life as a parent of sons (then) aged 15 & 13? (turns out no, definitely not) I could write restaurant reviews? (nah) Maybe I’d become an agony aunt and give advice to the lovelorn of the internet? (hard pass)
Eventually my imagination settled down and I became realistic about my chances of being a famous blogger. (1 in 500,000 as it turns out) I soon realized that this was a great place to simply play.
I became interested in painting and visual arts, so I shared my inspirations with a series called “Art is Everywhere”
I got interested in learning to cook, that’s when things started to take off around here. I began posting recipes. The posts were essentially me trying to write things down so I would have my own personal data base for the things my family liked. I put all those recipes together in a book called “The Family Table”
A four years later I published “Dinner Tonight” a second book based on my blog.
And it was fun when people started showing up (other than my mom that is 🙂 )
And then, in 2013 everything changed. My oldest graduated and was off to university. One kid down in the house triggered a major light bulb moment. I looked through my story ideas notebooks, some of them were pretty good! I thought, hey I’ll just amuse myself. I started to write.
I’ve found and/or acquired a few things in January that I’ve been telling everybody about and I thought maybe you’d like to know too!
First off this beautiful wall paper!It graces my laptop screen and phone lock screen as we speak! And guess what? It’s FREE! 🙂
You will never find a bigger beauty product skeptic than me. That said, Make-up remover cloths really do live up to the hype. Prices vary widely but, I bought the cheap ones at the grocery store and they work great.
In keeping with the ECO/ZeroWaste theme I’ve been giving Shampoo Bars a try. I’ve been usingJR LIGGETTS and they work very well. (Oh! P.S.! They have PET shampoo too!)
I’ve also been trying out Educated Earthling’s conditioner bar. Now, I have long hair and though I’m not that picky about shampoo, I do not put up with wimpy conditioner! You guys, it’s great! Highly recommend!
I also have a bar ofBeauty and the Bees conditioner to try. I’ll report back!
Homesick Candles are so very lovely to give as gifts or to remind you of a place or time. I have the Hawaii one in my bedroom and it’s perfect!
Hello everyone! Welcome to 2020. I hope you all had a nice holiday season and New Year’s!
In lieu of a recap of 2019 (we’re all pretty much sick of those by now anyway, right?) I figured, onward we go with new book news!
The Fallen Shadow: The Third Book of the Revel Night Saga is due out June 20, 2020, and I’m pleased to be able to show you the cover!
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Tada!
Here is what the story is about….
“Plucked from Heavens flames, the Fallen Shadow will rise again to smite those who feed upon the kingdom of angels”
Born to be a weapon of war, Tynan Tenebris takes his duty as commander of the Shadows seriously, but he didn’t expect to meet someone like Livia Windancer.
Their passionate liaison on Revel Night is always on his mind though he knows a relationship is doomed. She is an angel, a creature of immeasurable light, and he is a Shadow who haunts the darkness.
Then, ancient enemies attack the Angelic realm. Livia is injured during the battle and falls from Heaven. An outcast now, she turns to her only ally—Tynan.
Staunch isolationists, the Angelic Hierarchy will not allow the Shadows of Faerie to come to their aid; even though Livia’s father is the prize captive of the traitorous Sons of the Serpent.
But Tynan and Livia have other ideas. They will free her father, even if the cost is their lives.
One more post before the decade ends! 🙂
An often requested recipe at the holidays. Easy, quick, tasty; all the good things!
Bacon & Brussels
1 lb. fresh Brussels Sprouts
1/4 cup Lemon Juice
6 rashers of Bacon
2 tablespoons Garlic Oil or regular Olive Oil
1 cup Dried Cranberries
Salt & Pepper
In your food processor, fitted with the slicing blade, shred the sprouts. Toss with the lemon juice.
(At this point you can keep these in a zip top bag in the fridge for up to 24 hours)
When ready to cook, cut the bacon into half inch pieces and fry until crispy over medium heat in a large sauté pan. Do not get rid of the bacon grease!
Add the sprouts and cranberries and toss well in the bacon grease. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Cover and cook for 5-9 minutes or until tender but still bright green.
For those who have read THE DARK STAR (Book Two of the Revel Night Saga) the main character of book three won’t come as a surprise. Tynan Tenebris is in for a wild journey! For his book I rewind the timeline and we see the events of Revel Night from his point of view.
You’ll meet the the Shadow Boys, journey to the Angelic Realm and meet the red headed girl who Clare saw through the “Glimpse” she shared with her twin brother. Grandmother Sibah’s prophecy will be fulfilled in:
THE FALLEN SHADOW(Book Three of the Revel Night Saga)
“Plucked from Heavens flames, the Fallen Shadow will rise again to smite those who feed upon the kingdom of Angels”
Born to be a weapon of war and commander of his father’s army of Shadows, Tynan Tenebris takes his duty seriously, but he didn’t expect to meet someone like Livia Windancer.
Their passionate liaison on Revel Night is always on his mind though he knows a relationship is doomed. She is an angel, a creature of immeasurable light, and he is a Shadow who haunts the darkness.
Then, ancient enemies attack the Angelic realm. Livia is injured during the battle and falls from Heaven. An outcast now, she turns to her only ally—Tynan.
Staunch isolationists, the Angelic Hierarchy will not allow the Shadows of Faerie to come to their aid; even though Livia’s father is the prize captive of the traitorous Sons of the Serpent.
But Tynan and Livia have other ideas. They will free her father, even if the cost is their own lives.
By now you are no doubt deep into holiday gift shopping mode. Maybe you are one of the lucky few who have started early. Lucky you! I’ve rounded up some gift guides for you to check out. Most are helpful, but I do enjoy looking at the more outrageous ones out there; Anyone want to buy an old west ghost town, or a chunk of the Moon?
Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell is the sequel to Carry On. And if that statement has started an ear-worm of a certain Kansas song then you are not alone! Something I suspect was not a coincidence.
It’s appropriate considering this is a story about a road trip. A crazy, careening, out of control road trip that is the perfect follow up to the crazy, careening, out of control first book in what looks to be a three book series.
The story is supposed to be over.
Simon Snow did everything he was supposed to do. He beat the villain. He won the war. He even fell in love. Now comes the good part, right? Now comes the happily ever after… So why can’t Simon Snow get off the couch?
What he needs, according to his best friend, is a change of scenery. He just needs to see himself in a new light…
That’s how Simon and Penny and Baz end up in a vintage convertible, tearing across the American West.
They find trouble, of course. (Dragons, vampires, skunk-headed things with shotguns.) And they get lost. They get so lost, they start to wonder whether they ever knew where they were headed in the first place…
With Wayward Son, Rainbow Rowell has written a book for everyone who ever wondered what happened to the Chosen One after he saved the day. And a book for everyone who was ever more curious about the second kiss than the first. It’s another helping of sour cherry scones with an absolutely decadent amount of butter.
Come on, Simon Snow. Your hero’s journey might be over – but your life has just begun.
Kathleen Rear 