Category: Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley

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Geralyn Corcillo Featured Author

November 29, 2018 by in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as , , ,

Geralyn Corcillo | Featured Author | A Slice of Orange

 

Gerayln Corcillo Featured Author

 

When she was a kid in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Geralyn Vivian Ruane Corcillo dreamed of one day becoming the superhero Dyna Girl. So, she did her best and grew up to constantly pick up litter and rescue animals. At home, she loves watching B&W movies, British mysteries, and the NY Giants. Corcillo lives in a drafty old house in Hollywood with her husband Ron, a guy who’s even cooler than Kip Dynamite.

Geralyn is not only an author of romantic comedy and women’s fiction novels, novellas, and short stories, she is also an avid and eclectic reader. You can read her book reviews here on A Slice of Orange, in her monthly column Things That Make Me Go Mmmrrh . She loves to connect with readers on Facebook and Twitter—drop her a line or leave a comment here.

 


A DRAKENFALL CHRISTMAS
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Geralyn Corcillo Featured Author

November 21, 2018 by in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as , ,

Geralyn Corcillo Featured Author | A Slice of Orange

 

Geralyn Corcillo Featured Author

 

When she was a kid in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Geralyn Vivian Ruane Corcillo dreamed of one day becoming the superhero Dyna Girl. So, she did her best and grew up to constantly pick up litter and rescue animals. At home, she loves watching B&W movies, British mysteries, and the NY Giants. Corcillo lives in a drafty old house in Hollywood with her husband Ron, a guy who’s even cooler than Kip Dynamite.

Geralyn is not only an author of romantic comedy and women’s fiction novels, novellas, and short stories, she is also an avid and eclectic reader. You can read her book reviews here on A Slice of Orange, in her monthly column Things That Make Me Go Mmmrrh .  She loves to connect with readers on Facebook and Twitter—drop her a line or leave a comment here.


QUEEN OF THE UNIVERSE
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Thanksgiving with Kat Martin and Pecan-Raisin Stuffing

November 8, 2018 by in category Spotlight tagged as , , ,

Thanksgiving with Kat Martin | A Slice of Orange

 

Thanksgiving with Kat Martin

&

Raisin-Pecan Stuffing

 

Since Thanksgiving is just around the corner, I thought it might be fun to talk about my second favorite holiday (after Christmas), Thanksgiving!

With its glorious red, yellow, and gold colors, Fall is my favorite season of the year.  Then in November, on Thanksgiving day, we have a big family gathering.  We cook a huge turkey stuffed with old-fashioned dressing and serve it with mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, candied yams, fresh vegetables, hot dinner rolls, and pumpkin or pecan pie for dessert (or both!).

We start in the morning and cook all day, then sit down to a table filled to overflowing with the goodies we have been blessed to prepare.  We have kind of an open-door policy for friends and neighbors—anyone who, for whatever reason, hasn’t got a place to go that particular year.  It always adds a fun element to the get-together.

Since I love this holiday, I thought I would share a favorite recipe a dear friend gave me.  It’s been so long ago, making it every year has become a family tradition.  The best part is that every year when I read Sally’s recipe card, see her handwriting in fading blue ink, I think of the friend I haven’t seen in years.  Cooking her dish makes me appreciate her friendship all over again.

So here it is.  I hope you like it as much as we do.

 

PECAN-RAISIN STUFFING

 

Cook turkey neck and giblets in pan of boiling water until done (about 1 1/2 hours).

1 can chicken broth

2 cubes butter

1 can sliced water chestnuts and juice

1 small can sliced mushrooms and juice

1 small can of olives (drained)

1 whole apple chopped (peeling off or on)

1 medium onion chopped

1/2 cup of pecans

3/4 cup of raisins

1 egg (optional)

1 box stuffing mix (cornbread or regular)

 

Peel cooked turkey meat off neck and set aside.  Chop remaining cooked giblets and set aside.  (Leave some for turkey gravy.)  Pour can of chicken broth into large saucepan.  Add sticks of butter.  Bring to a low simmer.  Add turkey.  Add mushrooms and juice, water chestnuts, sliced olives, chopped onion, chopped apple, raisins, and pecans.  Beat egg and add to mixture.  Simmer until onion and apple are cooked.

 

In large missing bowl, place both packets of stuffing mix (I usually buy 2 boxes so I can add a little extra to achieve the right consistency)  Pour chicken broth/giblet mixture over stuffing a little at a time, stirring as you go.  Add thyme, sage, salt and pepper to taste.

When you are finished, stuff your turkey (stuff the old boy, my friend’s recipe card says), or grease 9 x 13 inch backing pan, load stuffing into pan, and bake for forty-five minutes at 350 degrees.

When you take it out, you will have a great, old-fashioned raisin-pecan stuffing for your table that I hope will become a family tradition.

And since it’s November, I hope you will watch for my new digital novella, WAIT UNTIL DARK, the prequel to my upcoming Maximum Security series that starts with THE CONSPIRACY, out January 22nd.

 

Till then, happy Thanksgiving!  Kat.


Kat Martin | A Slice of Orange

Photo by Juan Carlo, Ventura Country Star

New York Times bestselling author Kat Martin is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara where she majored in Anthropology and also studied History. Currently residing in Missoula, Montana with her Western-author husband, L. J. Martin, Kat has written sixty-five Historical and Contemporary Romantic Suspense novels. More than sixteen million copies of her books are in print and she has been published in twenty foreign countries. Her last novel, BEYOND CONTROL, hit both big lists … NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LIST as well as the USA TODAY BEST-SELLING BOOKS LIST. Kat is currently at work on her next Romantic Suspense.


WAIT UNTIL DARK
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Geralyn Corcillo Feature Author for November

November 7, 2018 by in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as , ,

Geralyn Corcillo Featured Author | A Slice of Orange

 

Geralyn Corcillo Featured Author

 

When she was a kid in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Geralyn Vivian Ruane Corcillo dreamed of one day becoming the superhero Dyna Girl. So, she did her best and grew up to constantly pick up litter and rescue animals. At home, she loves watching B&W movies, British mysteries, and the NY Giants. Corcillo lives in a drafty old house in Hollywood with her husband Ron, a guy who’s even cooler than Kip Dynamite.

Geralyn is not only an author of romantic comedy and women’s fiction novels, novellas, and short stories, she is also an avid and eclectic reader. You can read her book reviews here on A Slice of Orange, in her monthly column Things That Make Me Go Mmmrrh .  She loves to connect with readers on Facebook and Twitter—drop her a line or leave a comment here.

Catch a Falling Star is Corcillo’s only romantic comedy to feature an alpha hero (she tends to write beta heroes.)

When TV star Wendy Hunter is about to have her most closely guarded secret viciously exposed by the paparazzi, she desperately tosses out a juicy bone to distract them: she announces her engagement to southern high school football coach Colin Scott. One problem. She’s not really engaged to him. In fact, she barely knows him. Um … barely. But will one unforgettable night last year be enough to get him to go along with her charade? To Wendy’s surprise, Colin agrees … as long as she plays by his rules.

Keep scrolling to read an excerpt …

 


CATCH A FALLING STAR
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From Catch a Falling Star

 

“But what about a ring?” Becks Astie called. “You’re engaged, but I notice there’s no ring. Where’s the ring?”

Wendy kept her smile bright even as the reporters started murmuring their excitement about The Ring. She laughed as sweetly as wind chimes on the breeze as she leaned into Colin. But what was she going to say?

“It’s simple,” Colin announced, kissing her on the head. “I’m—”

“He’s going to make me one!” And Wendy gave a little hop of glee. “Isn’t it too exciting?”

“Make you one,” one of the reporters echoed. “You mean, like, out of scrap metal? Or wood?”

Wendy managed to turn her hysterical giggle into another trill of laughter. “No, I mean he’s going to design it himself. Nobody knows this, but … Colin loves to design jewelry. It’s how he relaxes.”

Wendy braced herself for a pinch or a poke from Colin, but he just pulled her closer. “It’s true,” he said, smiling like a goofball as he squeezed her shoulders. “But Wendy is so into Hello Kitty that it’s a challenge getting the whiskers just right. And I still haven’t decided on the best stones for the bow.”

The front sidewalk erupted with queries.

“Really, Wendy?”

“You’re going to have a Hello Kitty engagement ring?”

“Coach, can you post your designs online?”

“Has Wendy worn your jewelry designs before, Coach?”

Wendy turned to Colin and looked at him with a cutesy-fake-mad face. “Colin …”

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Geralyn Corcillo: November Featured Author

November 1, 2018 by in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as , , ,

Geralyn Corcillo | Featured Author | A Slice of Orange

 

Featuring: Geralyn Corcillo

 

When she was a kid in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Geralyn Vivian Ruane Corcillo dreamed of one day becoming the superhero Dyna Girl. So, she did her best and grew up to constantly pick up litter and rescue animals. At home, she loves watching B&W movies, British mysteries, and the NY Giants. Corcillo lives in a drafty old house in Hollywood with her husband Ron, a guy who’s even cooler than Kip Dynamite.

Geralyn is not only an author of romantic comedy and women’s fiction novels, novellas, and short stories, she is also an avid and eclectic reader. You can read her book reviews here on A Slice of Orange, in her monthly column Things That Make Me Go Mmmrrh .  She loves to connect with readers on Facebook and Twitter—drop her a line or leave a comment here.

Miss Adventure has hit the top of the Amazon Kindle charts and has won awards for both humor and romance. Keep scrolling to read an excerpt …

MISS ADVENTURE

MISS ADVENTURE

$13.99eBook: $2.99

Can a daydreaming city girl find her backbone by going on daring adventures with an adrenaline junkie?

More info →
Buy now!

 

CHAPTER 7

“Yes, Lisa. Naked.”

“Naked, naked?” I swallow, then take a deep breath. He can’t be serious. “You want my naked skin touching this thing?” I look at the long, black wetsuit in my hands. We drove all the way back to his house up in the hills of Glendale just to get this stupid suit that’s not going to fit me, no matter how naked I get.

“It’s the best way.”

“So there are other ways.”

Jack sets the duffle on his kitchen table. “Yes,” he says, unzipping the bag. “Some people wear a swimsuit underneath, or Under Armour.”

“Armor?” It’s for the sharks, I know it!

“Under Armour. It’s like a spandex body suit.”

“Let me do that, then. You must have one lying around here somewhere.” I look around Jack’s house. Nothing.

Just beyond the big wooden table in the kitchen, the room morphs into a family room. But the kitchen looks like a normal kitchen with a fridge and stove and all, and the family room just looks like a regular family room. Couch, TV, coffee table. No spandex lying around anywhere.

I wander into the living room at the front of the house and hit pay dirt. At least, potential pay dirt. The spacious room, which I think is supposed to be part dining room—the demarcation is unclear because of the mountain bike and the saddle—is messy with gear, junk, and working-type stuff, just like his office at Into the Wild.

Jack follows me.

“Lisa, do you know the point of a wetsuit?”

I don’t answer. As far as I’m concerned, a wetsuit is for wearing if you’re on a show like The Man from Atlantis or if you work at Sea World.

He gets in front of me, right in my face. “It keeps frigid water away from your skin.”

“But you were in shorts this morning!”

“I had to test the suit, and I didn’t want to wait until July. Anyway, I’m a little more used to it than you are.”

“Then the body armor stuff will keep me a lot warmer than wearing a wetsuit with nothing on underneath.”

“Wrong.”

In that one word I hear the thumping finality of a guillotine.

“Anything you wear underneath,” he explains, facing me squarely, “even a bathing suit or a pair of underwear, allows air between the suit and your skin.”

“Letting your skin breathe is good. I saw that James Bond movie where—”

“Air in a wetsuit is bad,” he says, cutting me off as he heads back to the kitchen.

I have no choice but to follow him. Back to the kitchen. Back to the duffle of doom. He starts unloading the bag. A small yellow box, flippers.

“It increases the chances that ice-cold water can seep in,” he continues. “And guess what, Lisa?” He turns to meet my eyes. “It won’t seep back out again. You’ll just freeze your ass off until you become a medical risk. Then I’ll bring you back.”

He turns his attention back to unloading the duffle. Is that a bulletproof vest? What kind of adventure is this going to be? Beginners have to deal with bullets? He must be purposely trying to scare me to see if I’ll back down.

I look back at the wetsuit I’m holding. It looks so much slimmer than I feel.

“So, I just get naked and squeeze in?”

Jack hands me the little yellow box. “This should help.”

I look down at it. “It’s cornstarch.”

He taps his nose. “Full marks for being able to read your native language.”

I look at him. I’m guessing he doesn’t want me to bake a cake with it. “Thanks?”

“Use it like talcum powder.”

I am so totally screwed. “Where do I suit up?”


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