Adventures N Writing

We would like to welcome Reese Reed today on the blog. Reese has written a poignant story for anyone who has ever been a mother. Filled with humor, love, and serious growth, we are pleased to turn you onto Reese's debut novel, "Childproofed." When people ask me what "Childproofed" is about, I'll admit that I stumble. It's not that it's a difficult question to answer, it's just that most of the time the people who ask me are the ones I realize probably won't "get it." For example, just this weekend I was visiting with family when my younger cousin turned to me and said, "So tell me about your book. What's it about?" "Uhh. Umm. Well." See what I mean? It's not that I don't think him capable of understanding. It's just that most people who truly understand motherhood and its joys and sorrows already know what the book is about by simply reading the title: Childproofed. To a mother, that w...

I received some really great comments/stories from other horse owners when I posted this blog last week on the other blog I write for equestrianink.blogspot.com and so I thought I'd post it here. Obviously the question that I posed to horse owners crosses into all animal owners. But it was such a great experience and it has further opened my eyes to the power of emotion, and how strongly our animals feel them and express them. If you've had a similiar experience with any of your animals, please share. Cheers, Michele I have a question for you...Has anyone ever used an equine communicator? I have actually had a gal "talk," with our pony Monty, and it was a pretty amazing "discussion." Monty came into our family about a year and a half ago. He was fabulous. For seven months Monty was fabulous. My daughter took lessons from a wonderful teacher who is a dear friend, but who is also a school teacher, so when she had to go back to her day job, she let u...

The darling JB Stanley and I are fascinated by displays of gaudy Christmas lights, so we agreed to venture out and capture our findings on film. So here are my alarming results. (Pardon the awful camera work...I was drunk off egg nog.) My son calls all this stuff, "Christmas puke." Smartie! -Jessica

I have some cool news. This is not a gimmick, your name won't go onto any list, it's just me wanting to get books into the hands of readers. For the rest of this month if you order a copy of Happy Hour off of Amazon, you will receive two FREE books of your choice of my current releases. I will happily personalize and sign them however you would like me to. If you've never read a wine mystery or Michaela Bancroft mystery, or if you've been interested in getting a copy of my children's book but haven't done so, now would be a good time to try one. If you've already read my books maybe there is someone on your gift giving list who is a reader. Books do make a perfect gift. To check out my newsletters that will give you some more information, here are the links: http://bit.ly/6VkNOd and http://bit.ly/6JgSt6 To order Happy Hour off of amazon http://bit.ly/8lLJmq Once you order your copy, email DVinePress@gmail.com and state that you have ordered your c...

I promised to make a holiday murder mystery title out of whatever words my Facebook followers gave me. Okay, fine, I cheated a little by giving chapter titles, too… Tough! Gingerbread Wassail Roses Glasses Levi Johnston Santa Claus Beer Rick Springfield Blonde Horse Egg Nog St. Clair Broiler Nausea In-laws Candy caned The Blonde In-Law Murders: Santa Claus Gets His Candy Caned Chapter 1 : In Which I Meet Rick Springfield at the St. Clair Broiler for Gingerbread Egg Nog and We Get Our Wassail On.  Chapter 2 : In Which My Beer Glasses Saw Only Roses Until A Glimpse of Levi Johnston’s “Horse” Induced Nausea. There you go! And that's why I'm an incredibly famous writer. Yeah, I need another cup of coffee... Happy Holidays! Jessica

Please welcome our guest today, Angela McKeller! Jessica met cook Angela online and they've been pals ever since. Angela contributed recipes to the fourth Gourmet Girl book, Fed Up , and is all all-around delight. She's got her hands in a bit of everything these days, and her latest venture is this delightful and charming cookbook. Please check out her links to learn more about this talented woman! Passion on a Plate: EASY and Affordable Gourmet is a perfect gift and very unique compared to other cookbooks currently available. Perfect for the aspiring gourmet or any foodie that just loves to cook!  College students, newlyweds,parents, grandparents - anyone looking for something fun yet practical. Passion on a Plate: EASY and Affordable Gourmet simplifies "kooking" in the kitchen by showcasing plate presentation in full color photographs, full meals grouped together by category (appetizers, breakfast, chicken, pork, beef, dessert)...

I mentioned last week that I would be posting up some chapters of my next release (El Patron) due out next month. I hope you enjoy! I will be posting chapters throughout the month. Cheers, Michele BOOK I 1969-1976 Calí, Colombia CHAPTER ONE Emilio Espinoza traced the scars across the undersides of his wrists, now white with time, but still visible. Not like the ones that remained on his heart. Moving to the ornate wooden armoire, he picked up a framed photograph of his brother Antonio and his lovely young wife Lydia. He stared at his brother’s face, his eyes becoming slits of hatred. He closed them, and threw the picture across the room, smashing the frame against the wall, his hands balling into fists as his vision clouded with tears. Glass shattered into small splinters across the adobe-tiled floor. Pulling the photograph from between the shards of glass, filled with rage and despair, Emilio ripped it into pieces. Antonio was the reason the scars upon his h...

For some reason I have a lot of online pals about to give birth (yay!) so I have a very important piece of advice: Don't let the dad-to-be bring anything into the labor and delivery room. No mp3 players, cell phones, Blackberries, gadgets of any kind. Nothing. Especially a good book. My husband decided to pick up Harry Potter the day I was induced and I will never think about this goddamn series without cringing a bit. Now, I supposed I didn't mind so much that he was lost in this book while I was having minor pain and, truthfully, just watching Days of Our Lives. But when the doctor decided to break my water, causing me to regrettably understand the term "blinding pain," it would have been nice not to feel that I was dragging him away from something more interesting than his wife's agony, and forcing me to grunt, "Get. Over. Here." He's lucky I didn't run off with the anesthesiologist who gave me the best f'ing epidural anyone has ever had, ...

The insanely wonderful vice principal at my son's school is on a mission to get kids reading, so she has promised to KISS A PIG when the kids reach the set goal of reading for however many thousands of minutes she's planned out. ("That's how much I want kids reading!" she says.) Granted it's a small pig that is another teacher's pet, but still.... So my eight-year-old son has to read for a measly fifteen per night as part of his daily homework. Big deal, right? And with the incentive of watching his VP kiss a pig...I mean, come on! Nick is a very good reader and this should be no big deal, but what I'm met with every night is a myriad of complaints about how he hates reading, it's boring, has the timer gone off yet...? This aggravates me to no end. Not only is reading not hard for him, but his mother is a goddam writer who loves reading! He should LOVE reading! He should be getting lost in fun stories, other worlds, interesting characters, off on ...

So, I'm too tired to write a big blog today... Some of you know that my poor cat Larry is not doing well. I won't go into all the gross details again, but the cat needs to eat. And eat a lot. And he isn't. We're playing beat-the-clock right now and I've been feeding him all day with various disgusting combinations of high-calorie foods and supplemental milk for kittens. Larry is ticked at me, but at least I've fed him four times like this so far today. Our dog Fritzy is such a love and is watching over Larry. The two boys are snuggle buddies and I'm hoping that Fritzy is lifting Larry's spirits and helping him fight. So many people are sending good thoughts for Larry and so I want to thank everyone for their love! We feel it! I'm hoping Larry gets better and I get to write about Levi Johnston. Or Shakira. Or awful Old Navy commercials.... or anything but sick pets.

I'm a soup chick. I've always loved soups. I really like them these days because they're easy, fast, and tend to be on the cheaper side to make. Plus there is usually a bowl or two left over for the following day. I like to invent new soups, and last night I made a soup that scored big points with the family. It's super easy and tasty. Give it a try! Just make sure you have some crusty bread to soak it all up. And please share your soup recipes here. I'm actually in need of a good clam chowder (or seafood chowder) and a lobster bisque. I have no name for this one, so let's see...Okay, how's this? "Chicken, Leek, and Potato Soup (with a few other things thrown in there, too.) Soup Recipe Salt and pepper two boneless chicken breasts and brown in olive oil in a large pot. Don't worry about cutting them up. They will break apart as the soup simmers. I used 1.5 box(s) of chicken broth, 1 cup of white wine, 1/2 cup of cream (if you want to cut out any fat...