Back To Work and That Kind Of Magic Book Video

Well, I had a whole six days off, which is unusual for me. A day off here and there, yes, but this felt like it was a regular vacation.  Except for the fact that I didn’t go anywhere but run errands.

I can’t complain. Jim installed some new programs on my computer, so I’m pretty excited! My plans to self publish are that much closer to reality!! Got Paintshop Pro so I can do my own covers too.

One thing I did do was make my very own book video for That Kind of Magic. I am pretty impressed with myself!!

 

GOOD FOOD FRIDAY

Good morning everyone! I’m so happy that it’s Friday. Even though I’ve had the last two days off and I won’t be back at work until Tuesday, I still love Fridays.

Today I’m posting one of my family’s all time favorite recipes.  This used to be a once in a while kind of thing, a treat, but over the last few years it’s actually become affordable to make. And it’s so easy my kids could make it.

SHRIMP SCAMPI

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb shelled and deveined raw shrimp
4 lg cloves garlic
1 cup butter
2T tomato paste
2T lemon juice

Crush garlic. In small sauce pan melt butter with garlic, tomato paste and lemon juice over low heat, stirring often.

Place shrimp in single layer in flat Pyrex type baking dish. Pour butter mix over shrimp so all are coated.

Broil on high 5 minutes or until shrimp are pink.

Serve over egg noodles, rice or couscous

We do this recipe at least once a month at our place. Add a little Parmesan cheese and it’s sooooo good!  I tend to add a little extra garlic.

Enjoy!

 

Yesterday’s Tomorrow Contest. And The Winner Is……

Congratulations to MomJane for winning the drawing for a copy of Yesterday’s Tomorrow!

I’ll email you a copy of the story this morning.

Everyone else, thanks for playing.  You gave some great answers to an interesting question. I really appreciate everyone stopping in!

 

CONTEST TIME!! WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENT?

What would you do if life gave you another chance to go back and get it right?

No one needs a mental health day more than forty-four year old Lila Weidner, but when the overworked HR director wakes up in her twenty-three year old body, she’s left wondering what is going on. Where is her life as a successful business woman? Where is her equally successful husband? And how is she going to maneuver through the day in order to stay on the same path she followed over twenty years earlier? Lila soon rediscovers old dreams and old friendships that she left behind and wonders if this is her chance for another shot at a truly fulfilling life. Does she dare to step off her original path and allow yesterday to become her new tomorrow?

Morning everyone!

Do you ever wonder what you would do if you had a chance to do things over? I know I do. What point in your life would you go back to? Is there a fork in the path where you wish you could go back to? And what would that do to your current life?

I’d love to hear everyone’s comments. What would you do? One lucky commenter will receive a PDF copy of my latest short story Yesterday’s Tomorrow, now available at Still Moments Publishing

 

I’ll announce the winner tomorrow!!

 

GOOD FOOD FRIDAY

It’s Friday and that means another recipe!

I hear it’s going to be a cold weekend (I really can’t complain, this has been one of the mildest winters I can remember) so I thought I’d post a great cold weather recipe-

 

THE HEBERT FAMILY CHILI

Ingredients:

1 lb hamburger
1 can baked beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can butter beans
2 pkg med chili mix
1 can diced tomatoes (I like the garlic and basil flavored)
1 pkg bacon (yup…. bacon. I like maple for its sweetness)
1 sm can tomato paste
1 onion-diced

In large skillet cook hamburger until nearly done. Meanwhile cut up bacon into small pieces. Add to almost cooked hamburger. When hamburger and bacon are completely cooked add all other ingredients.  Simmer. Can also transfer burger/bacon to a crock pot then add all the other ingredients and cook in crock pot for several hours.

It’s such an easy recipe and one of my favorite chili recipes ever. Sometimes we add chipotle for a little extra kick and flavor.

Hope you enjoy it!

MY BOOKS

I thought I’d post all the books I have available.

SWEET FOREVER 

Torn between the home she loves and the man she’s falling in love with, Hayden must decide which one she will leave behind.

When Hayden Merrick travels to meet her grandmother for the first time, she doesn’t expect to find the father who abandoned her or a man who could prove to be the love of her life.

There hadn’t been much time for romance in Ben Winslow’s life and no woman has interested him enough until Hayden arrived at his neighbor’s home. As soon as he meets her, Ben believes she could be the woman he’s always hoped for, but he has to convince her life could be just as sweet on the prairie as on the coast.

Hayden’s plans to return to her home are put on hold as she struggles with a difficult decision—pursue a life in South Dakota or return to the one she’s loved at the edge of the ocean? Ben hopes he can give her the best of both worlds.

AVAILABLE FROM SAMHAIN PUBLISHING

WHERE ONE ROAD LEADS

Krista knew that coming home would be the hardest thing she’d ever done, but she never imagined she’d find forgiveness, love and someone who’s out to kill her.

Krista Faye has decided it’s time to put her dark past behind her and face her personal demons in her hometown. Matt Burgess isn’t ready to have her back, especially when he finds out that they’re going to have more to do with each other than he cares for.There’s someone, though, who wants Krista gone even more than Matt, and the two are forced to work together to find out who so Krista can make her dream come true. Along the way, Matt discovers a woman with passion, confidence and unyielding determination. Krista finds a man who is able to put aside everything he’s believed for fifteen years and look beyond the scars the past left behind into a heart that is at last ready for love.

AVAILABLE FROM SAMHAIN PUBLISHING

THAT KIND OF MAGIC

What’s a witch to do when she refuses to use magic to find love? Beautiful Wiccan Charlotte Noone has a shop for magical supplies and a goddess who’s pushing her to find the man of her dreams. When Patrick Riordan, a straight-laced non-believer enters her life, Charlotte falls madly in lust with him. Despite their very different lives, neither can stop the erotic journey they’ve embarked on, but will it be enough to break through their barriers so they can accept that love itself is magical?

AVAILABLE FROM THE WILD ROSE PRESS

YESTERDAY’S TOMORROW

What would you do if life gave you another chance to go back and get it right?No one needs a mental health day more than forty-four year old Lila Weidner, but when the overworked HR director wakes up in her twenty-three year old body, she’s left wondering what is going on. Where is her life as a successful business woman? Where is her equally successful husband? And how is she going to maneuver through the day in order to stay on the same path she followed over twenty years earlier? Lila soon rediscovers old dreams and old friendships that she left behind and wonders if this is her chance for another shot at a truly fulfilling life. Does she dare to step off her original path and allow yesterday to become her new tomorrow?

AVAILABLE FROM STILL MOMENTS PUBLISHING

CHARACTER CAREERS

I need some input. I’m working on a manuscript that has gone through an editor at a publishing company. She pointed out some things that I’m going to fix (my heroine was too perfect, and I guess I have to admit she’s right), but one thing she mentioned was my hero’s career.

When the story starts he’s back at ranch in South Dakota which his young daughter inherited from her maternal grandfather. Ranching is something my hero loves, he grew up on a ranch but spent about fifteen years away from it.

That’s all well and good, but while he was away from South Dakota, his late wife was a reporter who covered events all over the world so he more or less lived abroad with her. I needed a career for him, something that he could do while moving from place to place, taking care of his daughter while his wife was doing her job. I decided to make him an author-suspense thriller type. He was good at it but after his wife passed and he and his daughter returned to South Dakota to take over the cattle ranch he kind of put the writing aside.

The editor didn’t like that. Didn’t like that he had just dropped his career as an best selling author to go back to his roots.

I disagree. His first love is the land. Why is it such an odd thing for him to put aside his writing career (which he would concentrate on in the winter months)?

And what other careers could a man who lived mostly out of hotels do? I don’t want him being a “househusband” or a stay at home parent. Day trader?

Should a writing career be off limits for a character? What careers should a writer stay away from when it comes to her characters. Yes, I hear that movie stars and rock stars (country stars etc etc etc) aren’t popular.

I’d love some input from other writers and readers alike. Until then I think I’ll stick to my guns and make my hero a best selling author who’d rather be a rancher.

GOOD FOOD FRIDAY

The Super Bowl is this weekend!! Whether you’re a Patriots (YAY!!) fan or a Giants fan, it’s going to be a day of lots of munchies. My son is hoping for wings and dips and chips.  I have a recipe for an awesome dip that has become a family favorite in my home.

MEXICAN CORN DIP

Ingredients:

3 -11 oz cans Mexican style corn (Mexicorn) drained
1-4oz can diced green chilis (drained)
5 green onions chopped
1-8oz container sour cream
1 jalepeno pepper chopped
3/4 cup mayo
10oz shredded cheddar cheese (I’ve seen a recipe added pepper jack cheese too)

Directions:

In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

It’s really tasty. I’m thinking of trying it out with elbow noodles and making it a pasta salad. I think it would work!

Hope you enjoy and GO PATRIOTS!!!

YESTERDAY’S TOMORROW BOOK TRAILER

I was very pleased to see that Yesterday’s Tomorrow has a book trailer posted over at You Tube!  I just love book trailers!

 

I hope everyone goes and checks it out. Yesterday’s Tomorrow is available at Still Moments Publishing for the wonderful price of $2.99! Can’t lose!

Now Available from Still Moments Publishing: Yesterday’s Tomorrow

What would you do if life gave you another chance to go back and get it right?

No one needs a mental health day more than forty-four year old Lila Weidner, but when the overworked HR director wakes up in her twenty-three year old body, she’s left wondering what is going on. Where is her life as a successful business woman? Where is her equally successful husband? And how is she going to maneuver through the day in order to stay on the same path she followed over twenty years earlier? Lila soon rediscovers old dreams and old friendships that she left behind and wonders if this is her chance for another shot at a truly fulfilling life. Does she dare to step off her original path and allow yesterday to become her new tomorrow?

What a good way to start the day! My short story, Yesteday’s Tomorrow was released today from Still Moments Publishing! I’m very excited!  And as if that weren’t enough, I also have a review on it!

Review – Yesterday’s Tomorrow

 Yesterday’s Tomorrow by Ceri Hebert reads like a dream. In what could have been a very overdone fantasy romance, Hebert gives a fresh take. I was immediately pulled into the story and found it difficult to put it down. Not only does Lila not know how long this is going to last, but she also is dis-satisfied with her older life and has to decide if she is going to make any changes. Forty-six pages later, my heart sank when the story was over, even though Lila had her happy ending.

Lila Weidner wakes up one morning in another time twenty years earlier in her life. What makes the story interesting is that she retains her memory of her older self. This only complicates matters as Lila comes to term with her own choices so many years ago, and whether she will change her future. The heroine is refreshing as she takes responsibility for the choices she makes. She doesn’t whine about the consequences. She ultimately makes the right choice without knowing when or if she’s ever going to return to her former life.

Hebert doesn’t weigh the story down with explanations about how the fantasy occurred, which keeps the tension high. It was fun and easy to read. I wanted to spend more time with Lila. I hope to see more stories from Hebert.
Review By Dawn Brotherton