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My Journey Began With Trixie Beldon
Monday, April 21, 2025
Mailbox Monday feat Author Sharon Michaels
I am an Amazon Bestselling Author. I’ve been writing and publishing non-fiction for over twenty years. It wasn’t until recently I gave myself permission to publish fiction. I guess I was too worried about my imaginary stories being judged. For a “recovering perfectionist” the potential of being judged has been a difficult hurdle to overcome.
Today I happily write in the cactus filled desert of the southwest United States. My extremely supportive husband and I love traveling and exploring the beauty of our country. As I travel I write fun and interesting things in my notebook so I can share these memories with you in stories and books.
I have an exclusive reader’s group on Facebook – Chatting with Sharon where I post fun and interesting things daily.
Sharon Michaels
Author and Coach
Website: click Here
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Amazon Author Page: click Here
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Sunday, March 30, 2025
Cozy New Releases
Internet Problems unable to load phos or links today.
All these titles are available on Amazon.
I will add photo and links when I am able .
The Case Of The Unfortunate Fortune Teller
by Cathy Ace
A fortune teller claims she’s being targeted by someone who’s out to harm her and retains the women of the WISE Enquiries Agency to gather evidence she can take to the police. But, when a body is discovered, Carol, Christine, Mavis, and Annie must scramble to rescue their agency’s professional reputation…and it becomes clear that their client kept critical information from them.
Coyle (Cozy Mystery)
As much as master roaster Clare Cosi adores coffee, the landmark shop she manages won’t survive if she doesn’t sell enough of it. So when the Village Blend’s customer traffic grinds to a halt, she turns to her staff for creative ideas, and the Writer’s Block Lounge is born. Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Scone Cold Dead
by Maddie Day
Robbie is just weeks away from giving birth. While her husband Abe scrambles to get the house ready for their baby’s arrival, Robbie makes last minute arrangements to keep her shop and restaurant, Pans ’N Pancakes, up and running when she’s on maternity leave. And it seems Robbie and Abe aren’t the only ones grappling with anxiety—a stranger is causing a stir in town and Robbie’s Aunt Adele appears unusually preoccupied at the baby shower . . .F
The Gatsby Gambit
by Claire Anderson-Wheeler
Greta Gatsby has at last graduated from her stifling finishing school, is on the brink of turning twenty-one, and hopes to finally have her own legendary summer with her brother and guardian, Jay, at his West Egg mansion. Orphaned along with him some years before the war, Greta has seen her fortunes rise on the high tide of his entrepreneurship, even as she has remained in the shadows of his life—too young to join his late-night soirees or infamous summer parties and too shy to trade banter and barbs with his cadre of new friends.
Death in the Dressing Room
by Simon Brett
Carole Seddon, a very respectable retired woman living in the English seaside village of Fethering, doesn’t care for the theatre. But her neighbour Jude counts the job of actress among her many and varied past careers. So when Jude attends the closing night of a new play based on a classic TV sitcom, Carole is interested – but only because she suspects the leading man, Drake Purslow, is one of her scandalous friend’s ex-lovers.
The Chow Maniac
by Vivien Chien
When Lydia brings Lana onto the case, three of the members of an elite Asian order known as the Eight Immortals have already been murdered. Each member of the order holds one item that represents their immortal counterpart, and someone is dying to get their hands on them all. Lydia’s client insists he—and only he—knows who will be next and wants the murderer captured before there is another victim.
Fudge and Marriage
by Nancy Coco
June is always beautiful on Mackinac Island, which is why Allie chose this month for her wedding to police officer Rex Manning—definitely Mackinac Island’s finest in more ways than one. But if her mother has her way, that’s the last choice Allie will get to make. Allie’s the furthest thing from a Bridezilla—but it looks like she has a Momzilla on her hands. Why else have her mother and extended family shown up a full two weeks before the nuptials to drive Allie to dizzying distraction?
No Roast for the Weary
by Cleo Coyle
As much as master roaster Clare Cosi adores coffee, the landmark shop she manages won’t survive if she doesn’t sell enough of it. So when the Village Blend’s customer traffic grinds to a halt, she turns to her staff for creative ideas, and the Writer’s Block Lounge is born.
Scone Cold Dead
by Maddie Day
Robbie is just weeks away from giving birth. While her husband Abe scrambles to get the house ready for their baby’s arrival, Robbie makes last minute arrangements to keep her shop and restaurant, Pans ’N Pancakes, up and running when she’s on maternity leave. And it seems Robbie and Abe aren’t the only ones grappling with anxiety—a stranger is causing a stir in town and Robbie’s Aunt Adele appears unusually preoccupied at the baby shower . .
Waters of Destruction
by Leslie Karst
After a vacation of a lifetime in Hilo, Hawai‘i, retired caterer Valerie Corbin and her wife Kristen have decided to move permanently to the beautiful – if storm-prone – Big Island. The couple are having fun furnishing their new house, exploring their new neighborhood and playing with their new little dog, Pua. But while they’ve made good friends with local restaurant manager Sachiko and her partner Isaac, they can’t help but feel a little lonely.
Dead Post Society
by Diane Kelly
Carpenter Whitney Whitaker and her cousin Buck are no strangers to murder. After all, they’ve encountered corpses on their properties before. But this is the first time they’d decided to take a chance on a property where two suspicious deaths have already occurred. Most buildings on the former boarding school property will be repurposed for an upscale retirement community, but the developer has no use for the headmaster’s house given its violent history. The headmaster and his wife were killed there decades earlier, their deaths remaining unsolved to this day.
Written Stone
by Paige Shelton
When Delaney wins a special Hidden Door Festival invitation to artist Ryory Bennigan’s studio, she isn’t sure quite what to expect. What she finds is an elusive fellow obsessed with the Picts—complete with his own versions of their blue tattoos and vibrant red hair—recreating the stones they left behind. She also meets a visiting paleontologist, Dr. Adam Pace, from the University of Kansas attempting to sell an artifact that might just explain what the Picts’ language really sounded like.
Thursday, March 27, 2025
Amber Royer Guest Posr
Research Trip to Japan
When we went to Japan in September, we arrived at Haneda one day before our boat was supposed to sail for the cruise I was lecturing on. Even though we were tired from the flight, we didn’t want to chance being late for getting aboard the boat, so we basically had one night to do research for Vanishing Into the 100% Dark. I’d been in Tokyo before, and my husband and I follow a lot about Japanese culture, including watching Japanese-language dramas (and yes, selected anime), reading translated Japanese mysteries, and watching Japan-based YouTubers. So we talked a friend into going with us on a train to the area where the hotel that inspired the fictional one my characters stay at is located. I also wanted to see the giant 3-D cat billboard. (Don’t judge – I love cats and I’m that big of a nerd.)
We went down there, I took my pics, and our friend took us downstairs to a basement restaurant she’d looked up so we could all have ramen.
That all may seem like a lot of effort for the amount of time we had, but I think the experience lent depth to the scenes when I wrote them. The book is told from a visitor’s perspective, so those first impressions really do count. And I’ve had several reviewers praise the research that went into the book.
Here’s a collage from our trip, which taught me tons of nuanced things about Japan. We even went to a sushi museum! I had no idea how many regional specialties there are.
Of course, some of my research was done using Google maps plus my own imaginations, as many of the buildings in the story are loosely based on the type of architecture I saw in the area. I hope the setting and culture elements blend in seamlessly so you can enjoy the story!
More at the authors website and blog
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Wednesday, March 26, 2025
Amber Royer's Characters That Cook
In A Shot in the 80% Dark,
blogger Tam Binh and Carmen, the Pastry Chef at Greetings and Felicitations spend some time in the kitchen coming up with fun, fusion desserts. They’re also making coffee, so one of them decides to take the spices meant for the café de olla and use them to flavor a cake.
Honeycomb Cake
This Vietnamese-style honeycomb cake may have an untraditional flavor profile, but it maintains the traditional “honeycomb” structure that comes from the gloss of the tapioca flour, with the air pockets that are maintained by cooling the cake upside down. (As otherwise it might collapse in on itself.) The eggs are handled gently in the preparation stages as well, to allow for the most height in the cake.
vegetable oil, for greasing the pan
1 c. coconut cream
¼ tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. espresso powder
¼ tsp. clove
¼ tsp. anise
3/4 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
5 eggs, at room temperature
1 c. tapioca starch
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
3 oz. dark chocolate
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease the bottom of an 8 inch round cake pan and place it in the oven to heat up.
In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the coconut cream, salt, espresso powder, clove, anise, and sugar. Place the bowl in the microwave and cook for one minute on high. Add the vegetable oil and mix to combine. Set aside.
Crack the eggs into a separate bowl. crack the eggs. With a pair of scissors, cut the egg yolks into small pieces. Pour the eggs into the bowl with the coconut mixture.
Sift together the tapioca starch, rice flour, cream of tarter and baking soda. Slowly add the tapioca mixture to the egg mixture, constantly whisking gently.
Carefully remove the cake pan from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. Press the cake mixture through a sieve, directly into the hot cake pan. Holding the pan with oven mitts, tap it on the counter a couple times to release air bubbles. Place the pan into the oven and bake for 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, set up a cooling station, using two cooking racks with a gap between them to allow the cake to cool upside down at least three inches above the counter.
Take the cake out of the oven and immediately rest it upside down on the cooling station. Allow to cool for 40-50 minutes, or until lukewarm. Flip the pan over, and remove the cake from pan.
In a small bowl, melt the chocolate in the microwave, stirring at ten second intervals. Drizzle the chocolate over individual cake slices and serve.
Chicken Chorizo Stew by Mateo
Mateo’s Chicken and Chorizo Stew
In 70% Dark Intentions, Felicity interacts with an international team of researchers who have come to Galveston to research local plants and animals. One of them takes a job at her shop – and then promptly goes missing. But not before giving Felicity a bowl of this stew, with is a classic Spanish dish. Make sure you are using Spanish chorizo – which is a hard, sliceable sausage packed with paprika – rather than Mexican chorizo, which is soft. This does get a bit greasy as it cooks, so be prepared to skim the fat off the top.
6 bone-in chicken thighs
1 ½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. Spanish chorizo, sliced
1 large yellow onion, sliced
2 red bell peppers, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp. dried parsley
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 bay leaves
1 c. white wine
2 ½ c. chicken stock
2 Tbsp. orange juice
1 tsp. orange zest2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
3/4 c. green olives, pitted and sliced
Sprinkle the salt and pepper over the chicken thighs.
Place the olive oil in a large Dutch over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add half of the chicken thighs, and brown them, turning during cooking (approximately 8-10 minutes). Transfer the chicken thighs to a plate and keep warm. Repeat with the remaining chicken thighs.
Add the chorizo to the Dutch oven. Cook the chorizo until it releases a bit of the fat. Then add the onion and bell peppers. Cook, stirring frequently, until the bell pepper is softened and the onion turns translucent. Add the garlic, parsley, thyme, paprika, cumin, and bay leaves. Cook for an additional two minutes, then remove the chorizo and vegetables and set aside.
Add the white wine to the Dutch oven, and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom. Cook until the wine has reduced by half, and then add the chicken stock, orange juice, orange zest, tomatoes, and tomato paste. Stir until the mixture is uniform, then return the chicken, chorizo and vegetables to the Dutch Oven.
Bring the mixture to a boil and then the heat to medium low. Cover the Dutch oven and cook for an hour, or until the chicken is tender, stirring occasionally.
If the sauce is still thin after, remove the chicken and increase the heat to medium-high and cook until the sauce thickens. Skim the extra grease off of the surface. Return the chicken to the pan. Add the sliced olives and stir to combine. Heat the stew through, then serve warm, either over rice or with a side of crusty bread.
Visit Ambers blog for more about the book ...
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