Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Poetry for November

Candle Song
by Bobbi Sinha-Morey

    In this collection you get the essence of the poet’s inner soul, the fine artistry of her spirituality, the
memorable imagery she displays, the depth of her imagination, her pastiches of life and people who
inhabit them. Her words are like a breath of the golden dawn; their gentle taste and wisdom fall lightly on the tongue. Sometimes poignant, sometimes stirring, her mainstream poetry often lends a dark, fine mystique, one that borders on the macabre. You’ll find a wide range inside here, including, for the first time, a touch of the bizarre. Readers will be drawn into her captivating world lit by her disquieting spirit and her love for the beauty in life.

Orange Slice Cake

Ingredient

Directions

Print 
  1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Lightly grease and flour one 10 inch tube pan.
  2. In a mixing bowl, cream margarine and granulated sugar until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Dissolve baking soda in buttermilk and add to the creamed mixture.
  3. Place flour in a large bowl and add dates, orange slices, and nuts. Stir to coat each piece. Add flour mixture and coconut to creamed mixture. This makes a very stiff dough, so it will be necessary to stir with a wooden spoon.
  4. Pour batter into the tube pan. Bake for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. As soon as cake comes from oven, combine the orange juice and confectioners sugar and pour over hot cake. Let stand in pan overnight.

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving
    from me and my Baby Sister, Spunky!
And everyone at WWI.
We're sorry not to have posted on time, but Jack was too busy eating and my typiingg isn'tt verrrry guudd yet.
    Anyway Roger and Arline had something called "Fluuu Shuuts" and Jaa-aack said. "Okaaay, so they worked! Leave them alone Baby." 
   Everythiiinnng is better today. They woke up. And Arline wants meeee off the machine, soooo, let me say real quick--

"We-are-all-thankful-for-our-blessings-and-for-all-of-you,-too. 
God-Bless-us-every-one!"


Friday, November 18, 2016

Catching UP!


Books that went to Press,or went to press again, this week!
LOVE BITES: The Barbara Garro Poetry Collection, Vol. 1, by Barbara Garro
    Now in her eighth decade, Barbara Garro, at the early death of her mom, became powerfully propelled into poetry. Poem after poem, flows through her as she shares the spirit of a lifetime in innermost love thoughts, fears and dreams. Love Bites is Garro’s debut poetry collection, first in a Series. A lifelong author, she thinks of her poetry as her heart exploding feelings she dresses in words, dancing them into poems. Since her mom’s death opened the floodgates, after “Remembering Mother” was published in The Maple Shade Progress,poems kept coming, 998 and counting. Each holds her heart inside the lines. Garro’s hope is that her heart connects with yours as she shares
her soft and hard feelings of love in Love Bites.


SECOND GROWTH, by Joan L. Cannon
    Serge Dziminowicz is hampered by his past in a dysfunctional family. 
When his career and his marriage both are destroyed by his feckless father, his reputation and his livelihood in shambles, he is forced to leave behind everything that has become meaningful to him. In rural Vermont, he stumbles on a way of life that nourishes a second growth. A near tragedy is the catalyst that enables him to dare to trust. He ultimately learns he must lower his own barriers


THE LIMITEDS, The Geocaching Mysteries, Vol. 2, by Jennifer Kirsch.
    Fourteen-year-old Luke dreams of spending July at Camp Unlimited, where campers explore cave networks, set off fireworks in pyrotech workshops, and sleep in tree house hammocks. But to get into the camp, Luke needs to demonstrate excellence in a sport, the arts, or school.
    More likely, he’ll end up at SURF, his town’s rec camp, where athlete’s foot, mildew, and warts plague the gym, bedbugs and lice infest the couches, and clumps of hair make frequent appearances in the burgers. When weird blobs start popping up on Luke’s computer, he’s too busy trying to complete his Unlimited application to notice. But when the blobs start looking like a secret,
uncharted geocache, he and his friend Gabe follow their trail, only to find themselves battling superbug viruses and navigating labyrinths while on a quest to save lives.

Galleys that went out, or went out again this week:

THE LAST CHRONICLER, by Judy Johns Heathcoe
    While tunneling through a mountain in the Russian Southern Urals, a team of engineers are trapped in a deep, large, cavern containing a living rain forest. Looking for a way out, they discover a hermitage that once was home to a historical society who called themselves chroniclers, whose
members were able to travel in time to view a famous person or event in order to record history correctly. In the hermitage library, among the many chronicles, they are privileged to view the lives of Vincent van Gogh, Edgar Allan Poe, and Nicholas II, last Tsar of Russia, and his family. But hiding out and watching their every move are the remaining chroniclers who are determined
to keep their existence a secret, even to the point of murdering any that discover it. The engineers find themselves running for their lives through the seemingly endless forest, wondering whether they
would face death at the hands of the dangerous and adamant chroniclers. . .or the primeval creatures of the forest.
 Jack's News!
  by your Official Bookstore Cat, 
and Gossip Columnist.
Hi Folks,

Heard from my Tom Taylor, President  at the Writers Bloc this week.
Poplar Hill Mansion
117 Elizabeth St
Salisbury, MD 21801
Hi Folks,

We will be meeting at Poplar Hill Mansion on Nov 19th about noon... so I will get there at 11:30 to start setting up... please RSVP with a dish to share.

Thanks

Tom T.

PS: I will hopefully make some naked meatballs...  no sauce to spilll... Or do I prepare them naked...? Cannot remember, will have to check the recipe again. :D


Addition from Jack -- I believe it's okay to bring books to sell or swap, too.

As for home, all is well. The water from the new well still tastes funny, but Roger said if I was thirsty enough I would drink it and I AM..

Best of all, Roger's finger is well enough now to play his guitar again, so we can sing. He even played some holiday music I hadn't ever heard before and some ballads, too.

It's starting to get cold, too. We had a real frost and me and Spunky played the chasing game so there were lots of little kitty prints in the driveway...

PLEASE don't YOU forget to send me news of any personal appearances, signings and so on... so I'll have some gossip to pass on next week. 

Just send an e-mail to arline@mail.com with 
 "News for Jack" 
 in the subject line, and
I'll make sure it shows up here for all the world to see!

Friday, November 11, 2016

Catching UP!

Books that went to press, or back to press this week:
    NOODLES, by Elan Mufti
    Akbar Chaniago, an Indonesian army general’s son who recently graduated high school, continues his education at a college in San Francisco.
     The 19-year-old was a boy headed for trouble, but his father hoped the responsibility and overseas life experience would change his son’s attitude. In fact the culture shock does make him change,
but not in the way his father hoped for...


THE LIMITEDS, The Geocaching Mysteries, Vol. 2, by Jennifer Kirsch.
    Fourteen-year-old Luke dreams of spending July at Camp Unlimited, where campers explore cave networks, set off fireworks in pyrotech workshops, and sleep in tree house hammocks. But to get into the camp, Luke needs to demonstrate excellence in a sport, the arts, or school.
    More likely, he’ll end up at SURF, his town’s rec camp, where athlete’s foot, mildew, and warts plague the gym, bedbugs and lice infest the couches, and clumps of hair make frequent appearances in the burgers. When weird blobs start popping up on Luke’s computer, he’s too busy trying to complete his Unlimited application to notice. But when the blobs start looking like a secret,
uncharted geocache, he and his friend Gabe follow their trail, only to find themselves battling superbug viruses and navigating labyrinths while on a quest to save lives.

LOVE BITES: The Barbara Garro Poetry Collection, Vol. 1, by Barbara Garro
    Now in her eighth decade, Barbara Garro, at the early death of her mom, became powerfully propelled into poetry. Poem after poem, flows through her as she shares the spirit of a lifetime in innermost love thoughts, fears and dreams. Love Bites is Garro’s debut poetry collection, first in a Series. A lifelong author, she thinks of her poetry as her heart exploding feelings she dresses in words, dancing them into poems. Since her mom’s death opened the floodgates, after “Remembering Mother” was published in The Maple Shade Progress, poems kept coming, 998 and counting. Each holds her heart inside the lines. Garro’s hope is that her heart connects with yours as she shares
her soft and hard feelings of love in Love Bites.

Galleys that went out, or went out again this week:

THE LAST CHRONICLER, by Judy Johns Heathcoe
    While tunneling through a mountain in the Russian Southern Urals, a team of engineers are trapped in a deep, large, cavern containing a living rain forest. Looking for a way out, they discover a hermitage that once was home to a historical society who called themselves chroniclers, whose
members were able to travel in time to view a famous person or event in order to record history correctly. In the hermitage library, among the many chronicles, they are privileged to view the lives of Vincent van Gogh, Edgar Allan Poe, and Nicholas II, last Tsar of Russia, and his family. But hiding out and watching their every move are the remaining chroniclers who are determined
to keep their existence a secret, even to the point of murdering any that discover it. The engineers find themselves running for their lives through the seemingly endless forest, wondering whether they
would face death at the hands of the dangerous and adamant chroniclers. . .or the primeval creatures of the forest.
 Jack's News!
  by your Official Bookstore Cat, 
and Gossip Columnist.
Hi Folks,

I didn't get any mail again this week. Gee, I hope everyone survived Halloween this year. 

Me and Spunky had a quiet holiday this year. We had plenty of treats, thanks to Roger, who took time away from his plumbing problems to to the store for us.  We didn't have any little kids in costume, though. All the kids in our neighborhood have grown up or moved away.  

I sure used to love to see them, though, although Spunky gave them a wide berth, especially the troupe of five that used to bring their dog with a treat bag hung around her neck. The oldest kid would always introduce everyone and when he got to the dog, he'd say, " This is my sister, Maggie. Doesn't she have a great dog costume?"

PLEASE don't YOU forget to send me news of any personal appearances, signings and so on... so I'll have some gossip to pass on next week. 

Just send an e-mail to arline@mail.com with 
 "News for Jack" 
 in the subject line, and
I'll make sure it shows up here for all the world to see!

Thursday, November 10, 2016

A Royal Read and a Recipe

by Anna Dynowski
    Prince Stefano, Crown Prince of Mondoverde, never shirks the responsibilities attached to his privileged position. Born to reign and trained from birth, he accepts his life is not his own and does not complain about his duties to the House of Graziani, at least, not publically. But now he must
wed and produce the next heir to the throne. Can he find a woman who is willing to take him on, embrace the public life of a princess, and produce the required heir?

    Newspaper reporter Sofia Burska is big-time ticked off with her editor. She asks to cover real, gritty, soul-stirring news events. He sends her to some never-before-heard-of principality
somewhere on the Adriatic Sea to cover some never-beforeheard-of prince at some boring high society shindig. She so does not care for celebrity gossip, designer clothes, or expensive
champagne. But the prince is real easy on the eyes. And the heart. Too easy. She will have to evade her growing feelings for him. After all, she’s not princess material.

Princess Cookies

Ingredients

1 h 5 m48 servings90 cals


Directions

Print 
  • Prep
  • Cook
  • Ready In
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until thoroughly combined. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until creamy, about 5 minutes, then beat in eggs, one at a time, incorporating each before adding the next. Beat in the lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Gently mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Chill the dough about 30 minutes.
  3. Scoop up about 1 1/2 teaspoon of dough per cookie, gently form into a ball, and place the balls onto baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
  4. Bake in the preheated oven until the cookies are set and just beginning to brown at the edges, about 8 minutes; cool on baking sheets for 1 minute before removing to finish cooling on racks.

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Ghostly Read and a Recipe

by Robert Kanehl
Love does not end with death or at the gravesite. It lingers in this world, as powerful after death as before. Ashley Dunlap and David Paine discover this first hand, as a benevolent spirit guides their lives toward its desires. Will the two follow this spirit’s pathway or rebel against its power to follow their own free will?

This spirit of a murdered family member hovers over the two youths, providing timely nudges and direct pushes toward chance meetings and shared experiences. Her influence twists and turns their earthbound lives into a series of meetings and departures until the helix of their family history finally completes its cycle.

Eternal rest for the spirit of Alice Svenson hinges on the completion of her mission to assist these two young people down the correct, unseen path. Alice’s guidance is not always welcomed, and brings forth anger and wrath on her part, as well as that of Ashley and David. Can there be a happily ever
after for these two?

Pale as a Ghost Cookie Recipe

Ingredients

25 m18 servings205 cals

Directions

Print 
  • Prep
  • Cook
  • Ready In
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. Mix cake mix, dried cranberries, vegetable oil, and eggs together in a bowl until dough is smooth. Drop 1 to 2 tablespoons batter per cookie onto a baking sheet.
  3. Bake in the preheated oven until cooked through, 6 to 10 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheet for about 5 minutes; transfer to a sheet of waxed paper to cool completely.

Footnotes

  • Cook's Note:
  • Cookies will never look 'done' as they don't brown up like a traditional cookie does.
  • Store in an airtight storage container. Put wax paper between layers when storing. If cookies become too hard, simply add a piece of bread to the storage container.