A little FREE Loving and a lot of Gingerbread!

One of my favorite things around the holidays is baking! When I was a little girl, my mother used to make a house out of cardboard, and we used to cover it in chocolate and stick candies all over it. Later, when I was an adult, I added to it.

I started baking my own gingerbread to make the house. Now, let me tell you that I was doing this before you could buy Gingerbread house kits! Personally, I absolutely love baking the Gingerbread so my entire house smells so yummy! This year, my daughter and I are going to make the gingerbread and bake it ahead of time so when my grandkids are here next weekend, they can help to decorate one to take home with them!

I was lucky that many years ago, I found stone molds made by Pampered Chef, and I have made sure to take good care of them through the years so that every year I can make one of these lovely concoctions!

I also have the gingerbread train, and one time, I made an entire village, with six buildings, and a 20 car train! I donated that one, and I sure wish I could find the pictures because man, was it impressive! But this is similar to what the house will look like when we are done with it this year.

If you’re interested in making your own gingerbread, here is a great recipe that goes with the gingerbread molds that I use!

INGREDIENTS

3 cups all-purpose flour 1 12 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground ginger 12 teaspoon baking soda 12 teaspoon salt 14 teaspoon ground cloves 12 cup vegetable shortening 12 cup sugar 12 cup molasses 1 egg

Lightly spray the mold with nonstick cooking spray; blot out any excess oil using a paper towel. Combine flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, salt, and cloves; mix well. In a large mixing bowl, beat shortening and sugar until blended. Add molasses and egg; beat until smooth. Gradually add flour mixture; mix well. Shape dough into a ball; divide the dough into 2 portions. Wrap each portion in plastic wrap; chill for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Press 1 portion of dough firmly into prepared mold, filling all sections. Holding a serrated knife parallel to the surface of the mold cut excess dough from mold. Bake 17-20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to cooling rack. Cool in the mold for 5 minutes. Carefully remove cookie pieces from mold; cool completely. Cool mold completely before filling with the remaining dough. Repeat procedure with remaining dough.

Check out two of my Holiday Romances!

Tangled in Tinsel

Mistletoe & Cocoa Kisses

Apple Strudel and other news… 😊 @melinda_de_ross #mgtab

Happy Apple Strudel Day!

How do you feel about pastries? I adore them, which makes it really hard for me, because I have decided to cut back on sugar and carbs. The pandemic brought me a few extra pounds and a lot more aches and pains than a year ago. While I’ve been putting everything on account of being sedentary, I’m starting to think that eating sugar several times a day might contribute to all that. 🤔

However, I have a lot to show for all those hundreds of hours spent with my butt in the chair, glued to my laptop. It’s been a while since my last news bulletin, so make yourself comfy! 😊

First of all, I am super happy to let you know I sold the gaming rights for three of my books: my suspense romance, The Diary, and two detective mystery romances, Killer Score and Silent Strike, written in my other pen name, Melinda Colt. I don’t know when the games will be developed or in what format, but if you’re subscribed to my NL or follow me on social media, you will be the first to know!

The other news is that you can grab not one, but TWO of my stories for free!

BANG! is a short story that is available exclusively through my newsletter.

The other one, HOOKED, is a re-release of a novella that I wrote last year and which is now free at all major retailers. Whether you’re going on a holiday this summer, you have two beach reads that will give you a free taste of my Lovestruck series – if you haven’t read it already.

Hopefully I left you with a craving for books (and probably pastry). Until next time, I wish you a wonderful summer, stay healthy and happy!

 

Hugs,

Melinda

 

 

FREE eBooks for the Taking @Donna_Fasano

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Diana Gabaldon and me

Is there someone in your life who made a huge difference even though you’ve never been introduced? Well, I have and her name is Diana Gabaldon.

Photo courtesy Variety – Terrence Patrick

How did she impact my life on such a grand scale? It started with a gift. My eldest daughter gave me a paperback book for Christmas. On it was a little handwritten tag. ‘The story of the most perfect man in the world.’ Yup. Outlander, the story of a time traveler and the man she fell in love with.

The story reignited my fascination with time travel that H.G. Wells had lit when I was a teenager. When checking her website to see if she had more books, I noticed we were born the same year and both attended the same university at the same time. I wondered if she had endured the same jerk I had for Freshman English. Until he came into my life, I loved writing. What stuck with me, though, was her declaration that if you love to write, WRITE!
My passion to create stories had returned. What would happen if I fell into Outlander? I couldn’t get that idea out of my head. Little themes kept sprinting through my head, twisting through forests of elaborate scenarios, bumping into encounters between her fictional characters and mine.
So, overcoming the literary passion-gutting of my Western Literature professor at NAU thirty years earlier, I started to write again. Working full time and with a daughter in school, all I had were late nights and stolen moments for my new obsession. Of course, I couldn’t use Outlander, so I created a different fictional time travel story. The premise remained the same, though: an older woman is rejuvenated and awakes in a different time, interacting with fictional characters from her favorite romance novel.
I didn’t publish anything for a long time, but I did keep writing. Did I even want to be published? Well, sort of. I wanted my novels to be available to my daughters and granddaughter (no male heirs). Being published had to be the best way to do that. Photocopies and journals were easily lost. Searching library systems for Nana’s name would be easier.
I had four books written before I published my first one. The first two in the series still weren’t ready to be shared and I knew it. I cringe when I look back at my early drafts. But you know what? The passion kept me going. Now if I reread my stories, I smile with pride. I didn’t give up. I didn’t think I’d ever finish that first book (now free), Naked in the Winter Wind but I did. Right now, I’m working on number thirty-one. Take that, NAU Professor!

No matter who inspires you, take that kernel of desire and work toward your dream, revel in your passion. Do no harm and be respectful, and who knows, maybe you’ll be an inspiration to others, too!
Thanks, Diana!

Love living the life of the rich and famous but without the debt or paparazzi? Check out ALL THAT GLITTERS: GLITZ, GLAM, AND BILLIONAIRES. See if your Mr. Marvelous is in here.