Tag Archives: book-review

Lunar New Year Freebie & Devil Dogs

Liquid Friday Blog with Our Guest – Deserie Kelly

Its time for the Lunar New Year Celebrations to begin in earnest and while we search our favorite apps and museums for indoor and chilly outdoor events, Deserie Kelly has an upcoming offer you’ll want to put a reminder in your virtual calendar for. Don’t miss it.

Thursday, February 8th, 2024 (12:00PST) to Monday, February 12, 2024(11:59PM PST) you can pick up your Kindle exclusive eBook copy absolutely FREE just in time for the Lunar New Year. 

Get Your Free Kindle eBook Copy!

Deserie: The Lunar New Year is something I look forward to celebrating every year. We hand out red envelopes so our friends have a little mad money to spend on their favorite treats and sweets, like candied lotus root and lucky red candy. This year as an added treat, I decided to offer up the first book in the Tales of the Zodiac Shifter Series as an eBook promotion for the Lunar New Year, so be sure to get your copy for the Kindle app.

Eden: I heard you were considering getting your dog a little brother.

Deserie: Absolutely, dogs are social animals and they enjoy life a lot more when they have company, just like people. Right now, I’m looking to adopt, if possible, another crazy Chinese Crested dog. I know lots of people enjoy the hairless variety of the breed, but our boy is powderpuff and with the chilly winters in NJ, its for the best to have a thick coat of fur even if that means searching a little longer.

Powderpuff variety do take a bit more grooming than other dogs, but daily brushing with a coat designed for the undercoat helps so much. He has a double coat, undercoat and people like hair. When groomed properly he looks like a little pony (almost a poodle cut). Chinese Crested are one of the better breeds for allergy sufferers and I have been living with allergies most of my life, so he’s perfect for me.

Butler the CC(Chinese Crested) is my constant companion at home and my best little writing buddy. with book three in the series about to debut, he has the patience of a saint and sit dutifully at my side until playtime. You might find his inspiration in my books, as I always have one character with his tenacity and love of snacks. I train my little fur baby on an ongoing basis so his mind stays sharp and quick, though he has a bit of a temper, making him a little devil dog.

Cute little beastie always gets me with his smile, so his mini tantrums are easily and quickly forgotten.

Eden: Do all of your books have dogs?

Deserie: So far all that have been published have a dog in them. It’s a little tribute to my best friend and the impact he has had on my life. I live with an autoimmune disease that can flare up at a moments notice. My little beastie tends to notice that they are coming and nudges me to let me know something is off (not to be confused with the demand for pizza crust nudges which are over the top or play with me now snuggles). He wasn’t specifically trained to do it, but there are some service dogs that are trained to alert for just that purpose. Service dogs are life altering for people that need them. It can mean the difference between going outside and being confined to the house, so I support organizations that train them for people.

You can read about a service dog in Jesse of the Apocalypse, my newest book.

We celebrate his gotcha day every year, but he may be a little bit spoiled. Just look at that sweet face and those keen eyes. I knew he was going to be trouble times twelve when we got him, because its so easy to fall under his spell and let the little infractions go.

He may be a little spoiled, but life is too short not to enjoy snacks and equal amounts of work and play time- same goes for people, too. Butler(named for the white “gloves” on all his paws) is my fur-ever friend. and will be getting a special treat for the Lunar New Year, something lucky for him, too. You can read more about him on my blog at http://www.DeserieKelly.com

Eden: Thanks so much for coming by with your free book and puppy love. I hope you have some fun over the Lunar New Year! Please come back and talk with us again when your next book is out.

Deserie: Absolutely!

LIQUID FRIDAY WITH AUTHOR K. M. FAWCETT

Hello my friends, today we will welcome back K.M. Fawcett, author of Small Town Wilde Romance Book Series and will focus on Wilde Christmas: A Candlewood Falls Novel; book 2 in the series. But first let us kick back and relax with her favorite drink, which as you will find out soon is super appropriate for this season.

Here is a word from K.M. Fawcett:

Thank you for inviting me to the blog today!

I’m happy share one of my favorite drinks during the winter months and especially around the holidays—spiked peppermint hot chocolate. I love this drink so much that it made its way into my holiday small-town romantic suspense, Wilde Christmas. Bed and breakfast owner Lacey Wilde makes this for wounded warrior Dean Hunter while wrapping gifts together in her kitchen during a pivotal scene in the book. Wilde Christmas is free until the end of the year. Enjoy the story while sipping on a delicious spiked peppermint hot chocolate!

SPIKED PEPPERMINT HOT CHOCOLATE
Ingredients:

2 cups milk (skim, 2%, or whole)
4 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 oz peppermint schnapps
1 oz cream de cacao (optional)
whipped cream (for serving)
candy canes (for serving)

Directions:

1) Heat milk in a small saucepan over medium heat.
2) While milk is heating, microwave chopped chocolate for 30 seconds. Remove chocolate and stir. Repeat microwaving and stirring the chocolate until it’s just melted. 
3) When the milk reaches the scalding point (180ºF with bubbles on the side), turn off the heat and add the melted chocolate, whisking to combine.
4) Serve hot chocolate in glasses fortified with a jigger (1.5 oz) peppermint schnapps or peppermint schnapps and creme de cacao. (I used 1 oz of each)
5) Top with whipped cream and crushed candy cane pieces on top. Add a candy cane to stir.

Enjoy!

K.M. Fawcett

Now that we got our drink, let’s dive into the books.

Wilde Christmas

As Lacey Wilde works to open her bed-and-breakfast in time for Christmas, she meets Marine veteran Dean Hunter — who claims her adopted military working dog is his! Can Dean and K-9 Remi protect Lacey from a mysterious threat? A suspenseful small-town romance to warm up the holidays.

And here is some more info about our wonderful guest K.M. Fawcett:

Whether her romances are set in a charmingly quirky small town or on a dangerous alien planet, award-winning author K.M. Fawcett writes emotional stories featuring underdogs and fish-out-of-water characters who find their place in the universe. She believes in happy endings, that humor is food for the soul, and that if true love can’t conquer it, then it probably deserves a good throat punch.

K.M. and her husband—the inspiration for all her heroes (and some of her villains)—own a dojo in NJ, where they teach Okinawan karate and weapons. Incorporating two decades of martial arts experience into her stories, she forges resilient, timeless characters who aren’t afraid to fight for the life and love they deserve.

Become a member of K.M.’s lively reader community by signing up for her monthly newsletter and joining her Facebook Readers Group.