Showing posts with label #cozyromance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #cozyromance. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 2, 2025

New Cozy Fantasy Book!

Author Kristen Vale is a member of the Chicago North Romance Writers, a group I am the current secretary for. She just had a cozy fantasy come out and I wanted to share it here. Have you read any cozy fantasy? 
Here is a link to get the book if the blurb below leaves you wanting more:

A maker of magical jewelry finds her life turned upside down when she ends up on the run with a half-giant in this spicy and cozy fantasy romance—perfect for fans of Legends & Lattes and The Spellshop

Elikki may not have a family, but she has her fierce independence, boundless charm, and enough talent as a jewelry artisan to make a living on the road. Unfortunately for some, she also can’t yet manage to control her chaotic magic. . . and her temper. Sweet, soft Barra lives a quiet life with his mas and three sisters, managing the books for his family’s business. All he wants is to blend in and not make waves—a bit tricky, as a nearly eight-foot-tall purple half-giant. 
 
When Elikki lands in hot water after dealing with a particularly rude customer, Barra finds himself helping her flee the constables. With a bounty on her back—and a severe crush forming on his end—they decide to travel together to the next town. So begins a journey filled with cozy inns, delicious meals, heaps of excellent sex, and a sprinkling of danger.  As their adventures bring them closer together and the threat of capture rises they find themselves changing in surprising ways. He’s given up on finding love. She’s always refused to try. But traveling together, they may discover unexpected, powerful romance and stronger self-identities—if the bounty hunters don’t get them first. 

 

Sunday, January 5, 2025

I Love This Recipe So Much I'm Putting It In My Book

In It App-ened One Night, Susan makes a butternut squash soup for her mom. It's a soup I love to make in the fall and winter because the veggies are in season and usually on sale and it is vegan as made so a good choice for any diet. You can of course add cheese or a protein to the finished soup.
I'm putting the recipe in the back of my book, this isn't traditionally done in romance books. Those of you who read cozy mysteries know many of the books include recipes.
I think I'd like to include a recipe in the back of each of my romances going forward. It adds to my desire to embrace coziness as my author brand. Is there anything better than enjoying a cozy day? 
And now on to the recipe:

Butternut-Leek Soup

Ingredients:
Peel and dice one butternut squash - Or use a package of precut squash
Slice two leeks, just the white and a little of the light green portion.
Peel and dice one potato or sweet potato 
Peel and slice one parsnip. (optional this is my secret ingredient)
4-5 cups of vegetable or chicken (if you don't need it to be vegetarian) broth 
a tbsp of dried poultry seasoning or thyme
or 1-2 tbsps fresh rosemary and thyme
Salt and pepper to taste.

Put it all in a slow cooker on low and cook for 6-8 hours or until the vegetables are soft. Then use an immersion blender to puree the soup. 
Serve with gruyere or Swiss cheese grated on top or add a couple of tbsps of diced ham or crumbled bacon. 
This soup pairs very well with a nice crusty bread. I would pair it with a Reisling if I was having a glass of wine.
The leftovers taste great and this soup freezes well. 
If you try it let me know! 

 

Sunday, September 8, 2024

The Sunday Post! It's The Cold or Allergies Time of Year!

 


The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. you can write about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme.

The temperatures in my neck of the woods have been downright tolerable lately.  I often say that if you want to visit Chicago, September is the best weather time of year to do it. I forget each year that it's also ragweed season and that I am allergic to ragweed. This weekend I've been playing the is it a cold or allergies? I have all the miserable allergy symptoms: itchy eyes, itchy ears, runny nose., sneezing frequently, sinus congestion, and worst of all, the dreaded itchy throat. I slacked off earlier this week and didn't take my daily allergy pill for several days. I guess now I am paying the price. I used to be able to take Benadryl for allergies but now I can't take it. It causes me to have restless legs and that is even worse than allergy symptoms. Okay enough of me! Do you have allergies? 

This weekend I finished reading Haunted To Death by Frank Anthony Polito. I am about halfway through reading Payback is a Witch by Lana Harper (physical book), I have three hours left of One of Us Knows by Alyssa Cole on audio, and I"'m ten percent into Divorce Towers on Kindle. Divorce Towers was an Amazon First Reads. 

This is my 996th blog post. With only a few posts to go, I'll hit 1,000 posts! That's wild! I didn't imagine that when I started this blog way back when!