Apollo 11 Anniversary Round-Up + Jell-O

I wrote two guest posts commemorating the Apollo 11 anniversary. Over at Smart Bitches Trashy Books, I tried to reason out the romance of the moon, and at Frolic, I rated the romances in astronaut movies.

Please read, comment on, and share these essays, and if you haven’t picked up the Fly Me to the Moon box set, it’s still just 99 cents. Grab it at Amazon, iBooks, B&N, Kobo, and Google Play.

If you’re here because you read one of those pieces, welcome. If you’re thinking about trying the Fly Me to the Moon series, I hope you do. The fan favorites seem to be Earth Bound (which is in the set) and Free Fall.

And finally, I owe you a Jell-O mold. I made one on the Fourth of July that I intended to run in celebration of A Midnight Spark, but it was an utter disaster. It was even worse than the phallic lobster, which was at least funny. This was just a misshapen lumpy mess.

box set jello final

The concept for this new, and far better, Jell-O came from Liz Lincoln who posted a cola-cherry-cream cheese Jell-O recipe on Twitter; it was similar to this one except the cream cheese was actually in the mold. And, y’all, I just couldn’t bring myself to put cream cheese into Jell-O. It’s what holds me back from embracing the retro, in the end. Basic food decency.

I did like the idea of cherry cola Jell-O, so I played around with what I had in my kitchen. The results were delicious; it’s probably the yummiest Jell-O I’ve ever made. The recipe is after the fold. It’s the perfect thing to eat while pondering the historic significance of Neil Armstrong’s stroll on the moon.

Continue reading “Apollo 11 Anniversary Round-Up + Jell-O” →

Free Fall and Box Set Release Day + Double Jell-O Molds

Today we have not one but two Fly Me to the Moon releases, which means I have double Jell-O molds.
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First up is Free Fall, a marriage of convenience romance between a reticent space cowboy and a vivacious sorority girl against the backdrop of the first American space walk. It’s a little bit angsty, a lot romantic, and the funniest book in the series (I think). You can buy your copy at Amazon, iBooks, B&N, Kobo, and Google Play, as well as add it to your Goodreads shelves and check out the inspiration board on Pinterest.

I should warn you that Free Fall is a turning point in the series. We’re moving into the back half of the stories we want to tell and introducing readers to new characters and technological challenges. We’re in the late 60s now, and the push to the moon is very real and very dangerous.

Second is the Volume One Box Set, which includes Star Dust, Earth Bound, A Midnight Clear, and a book club supplement. All that–170,000 words of space romance romance–can be yours for just 99 cents until August 15, when the price will go up. You can get it at Amazon, iBooks, B&N, Kobo, and Google Play. Earth Bound has never been on sale before, so it’s the perfect time to get everyone you know into the series.

Now onto the Jell-O!

Continue reading “Free Fall and Box Set Release Day + Double Jell-O Molds” →

Suggestive Fizzy Pink Lemonade Jell-O

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If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you may remember my interest in sixties food (see here). And you may know that I typically make Jell-O molds for Fly Me to the Moon release days.

Well, this week I was working ahead, trying to devise a Jell-O recipe as fizzy and femme as Vivy from Free Fall, so I made pink lemonade Jell-O with ginger ale and used a lobster mold because…well, why not?

Except no one on Twitter thought it looked like a lobster. At all. You can enjoy all the replies here.

So if you need a laugh, a close up of the phallic crustacean, along with the recipe, is after the break. I’ll have another less explicit Jell-O at the end of July.

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A Midnight Feast: Jello + Release Day

It’s release day for A Midnight Feast, a book that could be subtitled the Mitch and Margie Thanksgiving angst-fest. So of course I made Jello to celebrate, specifically this simple orange fruit salad. Even though it was a pain to get out of the mold (the same one I’ve used before), it turned out very pretty. (Note to Jello aficionados: plastic molds are awful.)

Enough about the food, though; what about the book?

On my own or with Genevieve, I’ve never written a character who elicited as much fan response as Margie Dunsford. “When will she leave her husband and get an HEA?” began many emails and Tweets.

But did she have to leave Mitch? As we filled in their backstory, we found twenty years of frustrations resentment, passion, laughter, misunderstanding, and, eventually hope. So that was the story we told: about rediscovering love and reimagining a marriage.

You can get your copy at Amazon, iBooks, B&N, Kobo, and Google Play. You can also add it to your Goodreads shelves or check out the inspiration board on Pinterest.

Happy reading, and also happy holidays.

Star Crossed Release Day!

It was a very long time coming, but I’m thrilled Star Crossed is now available in both print and e-book! You can pick it up at Amazon, iBooks, B&N, Google Play, and Kobo; add it to your Goodreads shelves; join the series mailing list; and see the book’s inspiration board on Pinterest. (Whew.)

Star Crossed is the story of Geri Brixton, an ambitious pilot who’d like to be the first American woman in space, if only she were better with numbers. Reluctantly, Geri agrees to be tutored by Beverly Fox, a mathematician whose work has been getting rockets off the ground and who dreams of love and honesty but has been denied both. Geri and Bev develop a friendship and eventually become lovers, but secrets tear at what they’ve built and threaten everything they hold dear.

As has now become Fly Me to the Moon tradition, I’m celebrating release day with a Jello mold. This one is cranberry orange and courtesy of Martha Stewart.

Continue reading “Star Crossed Release Day!” →

Happy Fourth!

Happy Fourth of July to my American friends and readers! (And happy treason day to everyone else?)

I imagine Millie, Parker, Alyse, Liam, Lydia, and Michael (from The Easy Part) would probably grill and watch their kids play and snark about the election. And all the astronauts, engineers, and other folks from Fly Me to the Moon would cook out at Margie’s and perhaps eat a Jello mold like this one.

If you want to replicate it on your own, I used this Sparking Summer Berry Jello recipe. I omitted the rum and scaled it up for this 10-cup mold which belonged to one of my grandmothers. It did not turn out perfectly, but it’s certainly festive and dramatic.

I’m in my writing cave at the moment, but I’ll be back soon with new words. Happy summer!

Seven Days of 60s Food: Wrap Up

So that was longer than seven days. Oopsie! In case you missed one, here was my mid-century menu:

Appetizers

Hot Cream Cheese Canapes

Almond-Parmesan Spread

Entrees

Sides

Desserts

I had tons of fun doing it. When we finish the next Fly Me to the Moon book, I’ll probably dig out my cookbooks and make a few more. I owe a thousand thanks to Elisabeth Lane from Cooking Up Romance for helping me out and taking pretty pictures. And if you haven’t, do read the hilarious cocktail series Gen Turner (my co-writer) did.

In the meantime, check out Star Dust and let me know if you make anything fabulous and retro!

ETA: Right after I posted this, I saw this Book Riot piece about election novels. And it features Party Lines! How lovely is that.

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