Torquere Press' Happy Hour's Journal

Username:	Password:
Forgot your password?	Remember Me

Good morning!
My partner in ~~crime~~ ~~life~~ (let's not start those rumours again) jotting things down on occasion and I are here today. Jodi's getting her family off to their places for the day and herself to the day job, and I'm about to run off to my children's winter concert for the morning.

Jodi'll be by asap, I'm sure, and I'll be here this afternoon. Torquere is having some lovely sales of titles, too, so stop by there and get yourself something nice for the holidays. :-)

I think that this afternoon I'll share some holiday memories with you, or shopping lists, or who's baking what on behalf of my characters. So as I walk out the door to be dazzled by the elementary school, you can throw some names at me. Want to know that Joey's buying Lee? What Jake's baking? What Tobias is planning? Ask away, and I'll be back in a few hours to fill you in.

I have two books to give away, too. There's a print copy of Sex, Lies and Celluloid up for grabs that both Jodi and I will sign, if you wish, and I have a print copy of my latest novel, Acquired Tastes. Stay tuned for how to win those.

Later!

Advent Calendar Day Sixteen!
Chris Owen and Jodi Payne are hosting!

To celebrate, we've put Deviations: Submission, Sex, Lies and Celluliod, Apotrophe, Gemini, Dress to Impress, and The Handyman: The Page of Cups on sale at 20% off through to Friday.

Sara's Super Easy Chili
So this last recipe is not really a holiday recipe, but it's perfect for the season because it's quick to fix and great during cold weather. Now I know we have a ton of Texans on the loop who are probably going to say this isn't really chili (I'm thinking BA, Julia, and maybe even Jourdan Lane are gonna skin my hide for daring to call this chili when there's not a jalapeno in the pot). That said, it's perfect for people who like less spicy dishes--a little skin left on their tongues when they're finished eating, perhaps?--and for children or picky eaters. Of course, if you wanted to spice it up, you could always add peppers, hot sauce, and the like.

Sara's Super Easy Chili

2 28oz Cans Diced Tomatoes (juice and all)
2 16oz Cans Pinto Beans (juice and all)
1 Med. Onion, chopped
1 Pound Ground Beef
Chili Powder to Taste

Brown ground beef and onion in a skillet. Drain. In a stockpot combine beef and onion with the tomatoes and beans. Add as much chili powder as desired. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low, cover and continue to cook until hot all the way through (I usually let it simmer at least half an hour to an hour for the flavors to combine), stirring occasionally. Serve with crackers or cornbread.

I'm Such A Goober
So I've been talking about recipes and holidays and totally forget that I have a new release that came out day before yesterday *head/desk*. Some days it's a wonder I can remember to put on actual pants. Anyway, my newbie is The Five of Wands and it's about a poor doctor who can't catch himself a break. The five of wands is the irritant card (as I found out when I was writing it, LOL). Full details and link to a sample are here My fabulous editor Michelle--who should get hazard pay for putting up with me, if anyone is listening--also did an interview with me. If ya'll want to read it, it's here

Grandma's Boiled Custard
I don't know how many of ya'll are familiar with boiled custard, but this is something my husband's grandmother makes every year, strictly for Christmas. It's similar to egg nog, only thicker, and I personally like the taste much better. Some people shy away from traditional custards but because this one is made to be a drink and not set like a pudding, it's an easy recipe.

Grandma's Boiled Custard
1 Quart Milk
1 & 1/2 cups sugar
1/8 tsp salt
6 tbsp. flour
6 large eggs (at room temperature)
2 tsp. vanilla

Slowly warm milk in top of a large double boiler. Blend sugar, salt and flour in a small bowl. Beat eggs until light and add to dry ingredients. Mix well; then beat using mixer or rotary beater. Add egg mixture slowly to warmed (140 degree) milk. Stir constantly with wire whisk reaching all along the bottom of the pan. When mixture thickens and will coat a metal spoon, remove from heat and add vanilla. Cool pan in bowl of ice, stirring often.

My Aunt Savola's Coconut Cake
When I got married, My Aunt Savola, my granny's sister, took me aside and told me she was giving me a present every southern woman had to have: the recipe to her coconut cake. I made the mistake of telling the head of the ladies group at church that I know how to make a "real" coconut cake and now I get called on to make this darned thing every Christmas for the church party. If you want to be really festive you could place some red and green cherries around the top for a Holiday look (this cake also works great for Easter).

Aunt Savola's Coconut Cake
1 Box White Cake Mix
1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 Can Cream of Coconut (small size if you can find it; if not use half)
1 Tub Cool Whip
1 Pkg Flake Coconut

Prepare white cake mix according to package. Once done, punch holes with the handle of a wooden spoon evenly over the surface of the cake. Combine condensed milk and cream of coconut. Pour evenly over cake letting mixture soak into holes. Let cool. Frost with Cool Whip and sprinkle with flaked coconut.

Greeting From Your Host Redux
Okay, ya'll. Here we go again.

Hey Ya'll,

Bet ya'll thought I wasn't coming. Hehehe, fooled you. I'm here and I'm even wearing matching socks. In addition to the 20% off sale on three of my works that Torquere was kind enough to offer today (I know I'm not supposed to have a favorite, but these were three of the most fun things I've ever worked on) I'm going to be sharing with ya'll some my family's favorite holiday recipes throughout today and this evening. I invite ya'll to please join in with your own favorites. If there's one thing southern people like to do during the holiday season, it's eat. I think we start around Halloween and don't quit until New Year's Day.

This first recipe is one I take to different family functions, church dinners, potlucks, etc, etc. I took it to my aunt's on Thanksgiving, in fact, and by the time we got home all I had left was an empty casserole dish. I can't really claim credit for it. That belongs to the good folks at Jiffy Baking Mix. Enjoy, and I'll be back in a bit with more.

Sara

Jiffy Corn Casserole

1 Can Creamed Corn
1 Can Whole Kernel Corn
1 Con. 8 oz. Sour Cream
1 Box Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
1 Stick Butter

Mix all together. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour until golden brown.

PS Thank you to the kind soul who pointed out I'd posted this in the wrong place. My theme song today is "If I only had a brain." Think Wizard of OZ, only with a punk beat.

Advent Calendar Day Fifteen!
Sara Bell is hosting today.

To celebrate we've put The Devil's Fire, The Lovers, and Aquamarine on sale for 20% off through to Thursday.

first word prompt
I'm heading out in a few so this'll be the last post for tonight. I'll still answer comments though. Anyway, here's the first word prompt. The rest should be up tomorrow on my lj. The words for this one were couch, 'buns of steel' and air freshener.
Enjoy

Aya helped Aoi to the couch and gave him a worried look. “You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine. It’s my knee that’s the problem.” Aoi poked at the offending joint which was red and slightly puffy. “How the hell am I supposed to dance tomorrow?”

“You’re not.”
Aoi’s eyes widened. “What?”
“Look you need to stay put until that knee gets better. I already told Kale and he’s fine with you taking a couple of weeks off.” Aoi headed into the kitchen and came back with an ice pack. “Here this’ll help a little.”
“Thanks, Aya-love.” Aoi plopped the ice pack on his knee with a sigh. A couple of weeks didn’t sound like much but it was more than enough to make Aoi stir crazy. He was used to being busy and on his feet. “What the hell am I supposed to do for two weeks if I have to stay off my feet?”
“I don’t know but I’m sure Itsuki and I’ll think of something.” Aya flipped on the TV and handed the remote to Aoi. “Why don’t you watch TV for a bit and I’ll see what I can do about lunch.”
“Okay…”
Aya disappeared into the kitchen again, leaving Aoi alone with the TV. Of course there was nothing on. Okay, there was the ‘Buns of Steel’ infomercial which held Aoi’s interest for all of thirty seconds and something about bears and how to keep them away, with car air fresheners of all things, on Animal planet with wasn’t terribly entertaining either. Aoi gave up and turned the TV off.
“I’m home!” Itsuki bounced through the door with a large box balanced on one arm.
“Hey, Itsuki.”
“What happened to you?” Itsuki rushed over to the couch and eyed Aoi worriedly.
“I tweaked my knee trying out a new routine that’s all.” Aoi shrugged. He glanced over at the box that was now taking up most of the coffee table. “What’s in the box?”
“Christmas stuff, I was feeling festive.” Itsuki sat beside Aoi and ran his fingers over Aoi’s leg. “Are you going to be okay?”
“Yeah, it’s nothing major, just me being stupid.” Aoi scooted over so he could see what was in the box. “Do you need help with the decorations? I mean, I’m stuck here for a couple of weeks so I might as well do something, right?”
“You can direct. You have to stay off your feet remember.” Aya popped out of the kitchen with a pile of sandwiches piled on a plate. He smiled at Itsuki and gave the kitsune a quick kiss. “Glad you’re home.”
“Me too.” Itsuki brushed his fingers over Aya’s cheek. He gestured toward Aoi. “So, what are we going to do about him?”

“You two can keep me company, that’s what. What better way to keep me off my feet than to fuck me silly, right?” Aoi grinned at both his lovers. He was pretty damned sure that neither of them would say no to that.

“Can’t argue with that one.” Itsuki flicked his foxy ears forward and leaned in to nuzzle Aoi’s cheek.

“Okay, how about we have some lunch, deal and then see about keeping you entertained?” Aya set the sandwiches down and snuggled with both his lovers.
“Sounds good to me.” Aoi reached out so he could touch both Aya and Itsuki. Oh, maybe it wasn’t going to be such a bad day after all.

Christmas now with Were-squirrels
While I work on word prompts I thought I'd post up a little snippet from my new Christmas sip 'A Nutty Sort of Christmas'. This story introduces two new characters, Brinn, a vet tech who happens to spend a good chunk of his free time at a certain strip club...and Caelan who happens to be a were-squirrel.

Enjoy!

"So, you're some kind of were-squirrel." Brinn raised an eyebrow. It was kind of sad really that someone as cute as Caelan was downright crazy. "You've got to be kidding me. Look, I don't know how you got in here, but you'd better leave before I call the cops."

"I'm serious, Brinn." Caelan shook his head. "I figured that you of all people would believe me, considering that club you're always at."

"Hey! Where I hang out is none of your business." Brinn gave Caelan an icy glare. "I don't really think you can talk about The Body Shop, considering you just snuck into my place naked."

"I didn't say it was a bad place. I just think it's kind of funny that you hang out somewhere with a were-tiger and a were-fox, but you can't believe that I'm a squirrel."

"Wait, what?"

"Never mind." Caelan stood, his tail flicking back and forth behind him. "I'll just show you what I am. It's just easier."

There was a puff of blue-gray smoke and, before Brinn could say another word, a large and very familiar-looking squirrel was standing in Caelan's place.

"Do you believe me now?" The voice coming out of the squirrel was squeaky and higher, almost like Caelan had taken in a lung full of helium. "I would have said something sooner, but I don't like talking when I'm like this."

"Why is that?" Brinn slipped out of bed and crouched next to Caelan. It was a lot to take in, but Brinn didn't really have a choice, did he?

"Listen to my voice." Caelan shrugged, which looked a little odd since he was still a squirrel. "I sound like one of those singing chipmunks and I hate it." There was another puff of smoke and Caelan shifted back to his more human form. "Ah, much better."

"Okay, you're a were-squirrel." Brinn swallowed dryly and tried not to stare. It was hard not to, though. "Why were you on my doorstep? And why were you so determined to come home with me?"

"I'm your Christmas present."

"What?"

Caelan scooted closer and nuzzled Brinn's cheek. "I'm your Christmas present. Why do you think I was in that box?"

"If you tell me that Santa left you on my doorstep--" Brinn backed up a little. It was hard to think straight with Caelan so close. He really needed to get this figured out.

"No, I did that." Caelan trailed his tail over Brinn's hip. "The trickiest part was knocking and then getting back into the box."

Word Prompts anyone?
This was fun last time even if it did hurt my brain. So, give me a couple of word prompts to work with and a couple of my boys and I'll give you a paragraph or two. If I don't manage to get them up today I'll post them up on my LJ tomorrow.

Have fun!

Since I have a weresquirrel...
In my latest Christmas story 'A Nutty Sort of Christmas' Brinn finds himself with a most unusual Christmas present...a weresquirrel named Caelan. In honor of Caelan and other squirrels out there, shifter or not, I'm throwing up a couple of squirrel pictures that my hubby took. The first one is what I imagine Caelan would look like in his squirrel form. The second one is just cute because I swear the squirrel was posing for the picture.

Good Morning and Happy Holidays!
Yup, I'm your host for the social LJ and the Advent calendar today. There will be Christmas snippets, word prompts and in honor of my newest Christmas story 'A nutty sort of Christmas'a couple of squirrel pictures.

Okay, so while I try to wake up and get my my brain in gear for the prompts, here's a snippet from my first Christmas sip for Torquere 'Sex and Presents'. This one features one of my favorite strippers, Aoi and his were-fox lover Itsuki and is about their first Christmas together.

Enjoy and I'll be back.

Misa

(sorry about not cutting this part but my cut functions seems to not be working...)

“I have to sometimes, you hog the blankets.”
“Do not. Besides, last time you slept in that form, you ended up curled up on my chest and you’re too damned heavy for that.”

“I don’t complain about you…” Aoi brushed a few strands of blue-black hair behind a slender, pointed ear. “I’m just an elf… I don’t leave fur all over the bed or chew on shoes when I’m upset.”

“I don’--you’re teasing me again, aren’t you?” Itsuki cocked his head to one side studying his lover.

“Maybe…” Aoi grinned. “It’s hard not to when you make it so easy.”

“You know what else is easy? Shifting while I’m riding that tight, little ass of yours... maybe I should try that sometime.”

“Hell no! I don’t do animals.”

Itsuki just flashed Aoi that mischievous gin of his and kissed him on the nose. “Merry Christmas, love.”

“Merry Christmas to you too…damn fox.”

They had been together for nearly six months and Aoi was still getting used to his lover’s little quirks. Then again, he was still getting used to waking up next to the same man every morning… Aoi was a dancer…okay, stripper, and occasionally a whore…and was never been terribly interested in anything long term, of course that was before Itsuki showed up in his life.

“You better not let Santa hear you talking like that…”

“Itsuki…even if there was a Santa Claus, it’s not like he’s going to come and take stuff back.” Aoi slipped his arms around the kitsune’s neck and nipped at his bottom lip. “Besides, I thought you liked it better when I was naughty.”

“True…I guess I could always leave you presents even if Santa won’t.”
“And I’d rather have you sliding down my chimney any day.”

“You don’t have a chimney, love.” Itsuki blinked at Aoi making hopeful puppy eyes.. “But, since you’re up…”

“Yes, we can go open presents.” Aoi threw his hands up in disgust. “Don’t forget we have the Christmas party tonight too…Kale’ll kill me if we don’t show up tonight.”

Advent Calendar Day Fourteen!
Misa Izanaki is hosting today.

To celebrate, we've put Between a Fox and a Hard Place 1: Threesome, Ride the Tiger: The Six of Swords, and Naughty: Sex and Presents on sale for 20% off until Wednesday.

No prompt story number 2
I'm afraid my brain only writes one setting a day. I'm just not successfully switching gears from the fantasy setting to the historical setting. Sorry to disappoint the folks who gave me prompts for Jason.

Current Mood: embarrassed

And Now for Something Completely Different - A NSFW snip from Lessons
Lessons is the very first story I sold. It's available in the Cherry anthology ( http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&manufacturers_id=272&products_id=2066 ), along with a number of other fine stories.

Danny O'Riordan is a character with a lot of history behind him. He started out as an FRP character in a game run by BA Collins. She's kindly agreed to let me write using the setting she created. I've expanded and fleshed out a lot of things involving the Tengri empire, which didn't get much air time during the game. It's turned into something of a shared world between us. There's so much creative bootstrapping that it's very hard at this point to separate who should get credit for which bits.

Right now I have three stories set in this world:

Leap of Faith - Danny has a brief appearance here. It's set about a year before the others, and Danny hasn't yet figured out that he's bisexual.( http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&manufacturers_id=272&products_id=2203 )
Embracing the Dragon - currently running as a serial on a Turn of the Screw. ( http://www.aturnofthescrew.com/ ) This tells the story of Danny discovering his interest in men as well as women, and getting involved with the Tengri Emperor. Part two, dealing with repercussions of his relationship with the Emperor on his other relationships, is in the planning stages.
Winter King (coming in January) - a menage story featuring Danny, his wife, and the Elven King Aran.
Lessons - several months after the events in Embracing the Dragon

Sex is an art form for the Tengri. In Lessons, Danny has been persuaded that he needs some remedial work to keep up with life in the Imperial City, and he' s been signed up for a basic Tengri sex education course, with lots of hands on lab work. In this snip, he's part way through his first lesson, and is realizing just how badly he does need them.

-----
( Read more... (NSFW) )

Christmas Dinner
I'm back, after spending most of the afternoon reshuffling things in the garage so that most of the cars fit in it now. I am so no ready for winter....

I promised you all holiday recipes, so I'm back with Greg's mother's complete instructions on how to prepare the traditional family holiday dinner. (Which coincidentally happens to be identical to my family's usual dinner....)

The centerpiece of the meal is the Christmas Goose (although everything here works with turkey, chicken, duck, etc.) Lots of people are intimidated by goose, because they've heard it can be greasy. It isn't at all, if you know a few tricks when you prepare it.

First, remove the packet of giblets and the neck, and rinse your goose thoroughly in warm water. Check for any bits of entrails which might still be clinging to the inside of the body cavity. Remove them if you find them. Remove any large chunks of fat too. Check the outside for any pinfeathers the processing plant missed, and remove them. Tweezers work well for this. Arrange it in a roasting pan. Before stuffing, put a layer of apple slices on the bottom of the body cavity. I like to use a slightly tart cooking apple like a Granny Smith. They can be either fresh or dried, if you don't want to peel apples. These will absorb excess grease as the bird cooks, so it doesn't end up saturating the stuffing. Now stuff the remainder of the body cavity. It's traditional in my family to hide the organ meats (liver, heart & gizard) in the stuffing to be found as little surprises, but if your family and guests revolt at this idea, save them and pan-fry for a snack which the bird is in the oven.

Once the bird is stuffed, brush the outside with melted butter, then sprinkle with seasonings to taste. For goose mine usually include salt, pepper, orange peel, ginger, coriander, sage, thyme and some rosemary. Add a meat thermometer. The little pop-up timers are nice if available, but a good thermometer is more accurate. Cover the bird with foil or a roasting pan lid, and bake at 375. My rule of thumb is 20 min. per pound, but that's not cast in stone. Cooking times vary. You'll remove the cover in an hour or so to let the bird brown.

Check on it at least every half hour. After the skin starts to brown, poke it in a variety of places with a sharp fork. You'll see grease bubble out where you poked it. This is the other trick that keeps your goose from coming out greasy. Those holes in the skin let the grease out, where it can be used to baste the outside, giving you a tasty skin surface instead of greasy meat.

The family stuffing recipe is very simple. Buy a bag of Pepperidge Farm Herb stuffing and a bag of Cornbread stuffing. Mix equal parts together, with the appropriate amount of water and butter as shown on the bag. Add an egg for moistness, two if you're making a large volume of stuffing. As a child I used to love to eat the stuffing before it went into the bird. Back then nobody worried about raw egg and salmonella. I err on the side of caution these days and don't do that any more. I also add dried cranberries to the stuffing, but that's a recent innovation. If you want more stuffing than fits in the bird, or you know you'll have people who worry that the stuffing inside the bird isn't adequately cooked, mix up some extra and bake it in a covered loaf or cake pan. It usually takes about half an hour, so you won't want to put that in until shortly before dinner.

Traditional fixings to accompany the bird include cranberry sauce, homemade mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, squash, sauteed onions, and rolls. Squash is delicious with the addition of some maple syrup molasses, and pumpkin pie spice. Desert is minced pie with vanilla ice cream, or apple pie with a slice of cheddar cheese and vanilla ice cream.

Of course there also the usual condiments - cranberry sauce, sweet pickles, and so forth. We've never bothered with gravy.

A little snip from Private Performance to get things going
Private Performance is a radical departure from the stories I've previously published with Torquere. The others all share a setting, and a genre, near future urban fantasy. Private Performance is a historical, with no obvious fantasy elements.

I've been thinking for some time about doing a historical novel, revolving around the events of the 1916 uprising in Dublin. I had plot - the history of the event, and some secret occult machinations behind the scenes driving the overt historical events, but I didn't have characters. And I didn't want to be writing history with a thin layer of fiction slathered on top. That kind of historical novel is dull. I was kind of poking at it one night at the gym while sitting in the hot tub, looking at general options - male/female, how they might get to meet the movers and shakers in the situation so they could become involved, and so forth, and Jason popped out. He needed a love interest, because that adds a level of emotional tension that makes the story more personal, and I realized that I didn't really want to write a woman of the period. She'd have to be either a proper, boring person, or a pale imitation of the really remarkable historical female figures (Maud Gonne, Constance Markiewicz, etc.). But if I made his interest male, then I have not only the tension of worrying about the safety of your lover in dangerous times, but also the tension of needing to stay very much in the closet. That really made things click.

About the same time Michelle put out a reminder about the deadline for Christmas stories, and I thought "Gee, I could write something playing with these guys, and get a better feel for the characters. I'd already decided Jason met some of the people he'd need to know later because he was involved with the Abbey Theater. When I pulled out my history of the theater, and saw that it's opening performance was on Dec. 27, 1904, that was a clear sign that doing a Christmas story with these guys was going to work. So I dashed off a quick note to Michelle, saying I had an idea, and throwing myself on her mercy about the deadline. She gave me a couple of extra weeks, and this story about how they met is the result.

It's also a departure in terms of the sex involved - I like to write slow, sensual scenes, and BDSM, and these guys just aren't having any of those. They're both too much in the closet, and too afraid of getting caught to entirely relax and enjoy things. Although risk can be exciting, as Jason discovers:

------------------------
( NSFW snip behind the cut.... )

Find out what happens next by buying the story, here:

http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2385

Call for Prompts
I'm going to be a little braver than usual today, and give you guys more options to make my life difficult.

First, give me prompt words. I'll try to use at least one from everyone.
Next, pick the character you'd like to me to use those words with. Your choices are:
- Danny O'Riordan (appears in Lessons in the Cherry anthology, in Embracing the Dragon, and briefly in Leap of Faith)
- Greg Taylor (Leap of Faith)
- Jason Goldsmith (Private Performance)
- Other - if there was a side character in one of my stories that you though was really cool, go ahead and ask for them, and we'll see what my subconscious spits out. Who knows, it may turn into something.

I will ask that if you want to see something related to Private Performance, that you give me words that make sense in 1904 - no computers, space shuttles, internets, TVs, famous people who wouldn't have been alive then, and so forth.

[Edit: Sigh. LJ is being weird this morning. When I preview this, it looks lovely, with plenty of space between the paragraphs, and two levels on indenting with bullets. When I look at it on my friends page, I've got one level, and the bullets on on top of the icon. Hope it looks a little more readable in your browsers.]

[Edit 2: Note to self - do not post before coffee... The prompts close at 6pm, so I have some time to write and still get to bed at a sane hour for work tomorrow....]

Current Mood: crazy