It’s time to celebrate. The decorations are up, the pumpkins have been carved, the puppies are in costume, and a big bucket of candy is waiting outside for my trick-or-treaters. I’ve got some party foods in the oven, including pigs-in-a-blanket and spooky English muffin pizzas for the kids. Since I’m having children at the party, I will have some spooky mocktails for them and something a little stronger for me. Make sure you pick one color with alcohol and one color without and please if you are using a punchbowl, put the nonalcohol version out. Keep the over 21 version safely away from children and make sure guests that are drinking are not driving-I can’t stress this enough.
I’ve spent this month getting my newest book, Knot A Psychic out on Amazon in the many forms readers like, so I’m completely batty at this point. After the big release I grabbed my favorite horror books from Stephen King, Anne Rice, Clive Barker, and some of the original greats and have been reading. It’s Halloween here all year, so scary books are not in short supply.
This is also the last day 10/31/2025 to pick up your free Kindle copy of Knot An Actress, book 1 of the All Tied Up In Knots series. Don’t wait until the free offer is gone.
With the snacks in the oven and the timer set, it’s time to start making the mock/cocktails. See the recipes below and let me know which is your favorite.
Pick one for adults and one for children (different colors so there are no mix ups).
Dracula’s Teeth- sure to knock the teeth off your favorite vampire! It’s a fun twist on a Kir Royale.
Adult version-(this has alcohol, so drink in moderation and don’t drive or operate heavy machinery)
Making for children or alcohol free peeps-omit all the alcohol (use the substitutions) and put in cute spooky glasses-yes you can add some fangs ’cause its fun. I’ve also used clear plastic cups with lids and bat stickers-huge success.
What you’ll need:
Wax or Plastic Vampire Teeth
Martini Glasses or Champagne Flutes
A bottle of CHILLED Champagne, Spumante, or Moscato depending on your taste (substitute sparkling cider for children)
Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur (substitute 1/2 ounce blackberry juice and 1/2 ounce black cherry juice for children)
Enough Grenadine to dip your fangs in
Recipe- double, triple, or quadruple as needed
1 ounce Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur (5 ounces if you make it by the pitcher)
5 ounces Champagne, Spumante, or Moscato (entire bottle if you make it by the pitcher)
Enough grenadine to dip your glasses in and fangs to garnish your glasses(see image above for inspiration). What I like to do is take a small plate and pour about 2 ounces grenadine onto it and just refill as needed when rimming glasses. You can also add some red dusting sugar if you have sparkly vampires.
Rim your glasses and soak your fangs in grenadine.
Add 1 ounce Chambord to your glass.
Fill to just below the rim with 5 ounces or so of your favorite bubbly.
Garnish glass with fangs, and serve cold.
Purple People Eaters
Remember, if you are making this for ADULTS THAT DRINK ALCOHOL(over 21) you can use the alcohol version. If you are making this for children or adults that don’t drink alcohol, double the amount and put in cute glasses(not shot glasses).
What you need:
Gummy eyeballs, lots of them!
Shot glasses (or fun cups for children)
Vodka (substitute 7-up or Sprite for children)
Blue Curaçao (substitute Blue Kool-aid for children)
Sweet & Sour Mix (omit for children)
Grenadine (Thicker red kool-aid works fine if you don’t have any on hand)
Cranberry juice- the redder, the better
Ideally, you’re looking to get that purple color so play with ingredients if you don’t like the shade.
Recipe:
1 1/2 ounces vodka
1 ounce Blue Curacao
1 ounce sweet & sour mix
1 ounce grenadine
1 ounce or more cranberry juice
Add all ingredients to a measuring cup or pitcher and pour into shot glasses. Add gummy eyeball, serve.
Remember if you are serving this variation for children, make sure everything (including your grenadine) is alcohol free. Double or triple the recipe for children and don’t forget the gummy eyeballs. Yes, you can make this all in a punch sized bowl, but I prefer cups with lids for small children. (2024 Target had these cute eyeball shaped glasses with lids, perfect for children that want some spooky fun- or you can decorate paper cups with a self adhesive googly eyeball just saying)
First, a little bit about what my weekends have looked like when I’m not gigging. We’ve been running to every farm, orchard, and spooky fun event we can find that fits around the doggies schedules and mine. I have five imps on the cusp of adulthood, so I’m as busy as a bee. One wants to sew his own costume, one wants to go shopping for his, another isn’t certain he is dressing up, and my oldest boy wants to wear his (with full make-up) to work… guess I’ll be face painting, too. My eldest will probably be going out and IDK what she’ll be wearing, but she has the make-up part down no matter what it will be.
It’s only two weeks until Halloween and I couldn’t be more excited! I love watching all the children in costumes and spooky fun with things like Fright Fest at Six Flags, Haunted Houses, Trunk or Treat events, and as a psychic reader(told you I was a professional entertainer) I love doing lots of fun parties. It’s a great way to meet and greet and of course use some of my talents-highly satisfying for me.
Octoberfest Celebration
In November, everything begins to slow down as enter the holiday season, so this is really the last chance to kick up your heels. The farms and orchards are full of produce. Craft stores are full of spooky odds and ends that will probably end up on my shelves and around the house, because we’re spooky all year at home. It’s like a month long Mardi Gras for me and I love every moment of it.
Those apples are almost black, but so delicious!
Spoils of war, well… they had to find some with green that were low enough to pick. The tarter the better.
Look at all those pumpkins! I can almost smell the pumpkin bread.
While I wait for my water to boil for a cup of tea, I’m going to tell you what just happened- my newest book Knot A Psychic is now available on paperback and Audiobook in addition to Kindle on Amazon. Everything went through so quickly, I suspect they are using A.I. As an IT, I’m not a fan of A.I. endeavors. There are uses for the technology, but every gain comes with some risk, so be careful. No A.I.’s were harmed in the making of any of my books. When I run out of ideas, I take a long walk with my dogs and inspiration finds me. I like to flesh out my characters in my head first before committing them to Word and arguing with it about the spellings. Yes, culantro is a word. It’s an herb in Puerto Rican cooking often autocorrected to cilantro, grr! But more on cooking later.
In any case, despite my unseen arguments with technology, I’ve been writing code since 1986 and am now covering DOS commands with my son who is studying IT since many of the Linux/Unix commands are the same. Being a geek for a kid completely paid off and I hope he finds his passion in computer security. The hard part is to land that first IT job.
My mind is wandering today. I have six books to continue working on but I’m thinking about Monkey Bread and candy apples, or maybe candy apple topped monkey bread-that might be over the top sweet. A girl has her vices, and even on the diabetic diet I do eat carbs, I just count them.
Let’s do this. I’m going to post a recipe below for the quickest easiest Monkey Bread you’ll ever make, instead of a cocktail this week. Even the hubby comes running for this one.
Easy Monkey Bread
Supplies:
Bundt pan
Large Mixing Bowl
Kitchen Scissors
Ceramic bowl
Knife
Cutting board
Oven- sorry no microwaves for this recipe
Ingredients:
1-2 tart apples (if you got a huge apple 1 is plenty)
3 canisters your favorite oven bake biscuits
1 1/2 cups sugar (I use 3/4 cup organic raw sugar and 3/4 cup brown sugar, but whatever you prefer will work)
2 teaspoons powdered Ceylon cinnamon
2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup butter spread if you’re watching your fats)
Here’s what to do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Melt Butter in ceramic bowl in microwave-a few seconds at a time until liquid-save the wrappers to grease your Bundt pan. if you are making a bigger batch, you can freeze your butter wrappers for next time to need to grease something.
Add butter, sugar, and cinnamon to mixing bowl and give it a good stir
Cut your biscuits into fourths or smaller and add to the mixing bowl, try and coat all the pieces in that buttery sweet cinnamon goodness
Core and dice your apple(s) and add to the mixing bowl. If you don’t like apple peels, you can remove them before dicing.
Stir everything in the bowl until well combined and dump into your Bundt pan.
Place the Bundt pan in a well heated oven and bake for 25-35 minutes until golden brown and well caramelized. It is okay to over bake this a little if you’re afraid it won’t turn out nicely. An alternative is using a lined and greased bread pan-parchment paper. It has gotten me out of a lot of sticky situations.
Let cool slightly.
Turn out your Bundt cake onto a ceramic plate and serve warm.
If you are looking to be completely decadent serve with vanilla ice cream or your favorite cream cheese icing.
Sometimes it takes a while to get to get the e-books up and approved, but this one sailed through. I’m hoping the paperback will be released soon, but in the meantime I’m so excited to share this with you.
Knot A Psychic, is book number 9 of the All Tied Up In Knots Series. It is the third full length book and a crossover book between the All Tied Up In Knots Series and the Help Wanted Romance Series (supernatural & monster books). I wanted a fun way to mix things things up in time for Halloween, so I hope you love this book as much as I do.
Many of you know me from my side job as a Psychic Reader. I’ve always had a love of all things carnival. I think I have Seaside Heights and Six Flags to blame for my cheap thrills addiction. Now, I chase carnivals, whether its for the beautiful belly dancers, clever balloon twisters, candy floss (cotton candy) and sweet makers, henna artists, or other entertainers who knows, I love them all.
Having worked with many other entertainers over the years has given me some insight into the personalities behind the performance. Instead of killing the magic, it has done the opposite and I often find myself making pilgrimages to one faire or another for the rush of adrenaline fueled by thrill rides and excited screams.
My children are equally big on cheap thrills and we get season passes for places I know they’ll stay from the time they open until they shut down for the night. Whether it’s a magician or the thrill of lit up carnival rides after dark that get’s you, you know that feeling of excitement.
Before the big venues shut down for the season, I’m going to go on one more roller coaster (as soon as the weather lifts) and maybe have one last candy apple before Halloween.
Now, back to the book… Knot A Psychic
Here is the blurb:
Mystic, psychic reader extraordinaire, can help everyone else with their troubles but is completely lost when it comes to her own messy life. Her whisperers offer advice but she can’t force people to bend themselves to her will and change the future for the better. It cost her the love of her life, Mike, because he refused to listen to her pleas and succumbed to injuries caused by a motorcycle accident. Bereft, Mystic decides to live her life out alone, away from people.
Johnathon Riley convinces him to do one more gig, an annual event for charity. Chaos ensues, when a serial murderer comes to destroy the only person who might be able to identify him, Mystic. Together with Detective Steve Turner, Mystic is determined to flesh out the criminal, even though it means attending a BDSM event on a cruise under a different identity with no way out if things go wrong.
Ghoulish fun at Six Flags in Jackson, NJ
Since I always include a segment about the author and a recipe, let’s combine the two. I’m a huge fan of apple picking and apple cider-hot, cold, with alcohol… doesn’t matter-just love the stuff. Since I’ve picked up a gallon of apple cider which will last about a day with the imps in the house. It’s cocktail time for me.
Top Shelf Caramel Apple Cocktail-’cause you deserve the good stuff
Ingredients:
Ice
Apple Slices for Garnish
Chopin or Belvedere Vodka
Butterscotch Liqueur
Apple Liqueur
Apple Cider (to taste)
Caramel Drizzle
Fill tall glass with ice and add equal portions (1/2 jigger of each) of Vodka, Butterscotch Liqueur, and Apple Liqueur. Add apple cider to taste and drizzle over caramel for that syrupy sweet taste. Garnish with a slice of orchard fresh apple and serve.
We are just weeks away from the big day! As many of you know, this is my absolute favorite time of year. We’ve been picking apples at our favorite orchards. I’ve sampled some local wines at chocolate pairings… a girl must get her antioxidants and polyphenols, after all. The pups have gotten their costumes and the children have visited the costume store and some specialty online retailers for embellishments to theirs. My small skeleton is smiling from inside the front window and I have my orange and purple lights up. I’m pretty much finished decorating for the season, because my home is spooky year round.
This year, the family has adopted a divide and conquer mentality. Some will be trick-or-treating (weather permitting), some will be handing out sweets at home, and I’m handing out sweets at the mall this year with our martial arts school. I’ve even signed up for some spooky vending opportunities. You’d think I was all set for Halloween.
However, I’m not the traditional spooky Mom with inflatables and pumpkin spice lattes. I swap out haunted hayrides for time alone on completely empty beaches with a book or my work in progress and a hot apple cider. As the roar of the ocean booms over a silent beach, I’m home. There is much to be discovered in the stillness, and I always take time mentally preparing myself for big holidays. It’s a witchy thing, grounding yourself when you need to and I have my favorite ways to ground.
I know that the children will be excited for loot, seemingly ill gotten gains they politely ask for in the form of whatever delectable sugary sweetness is available. I have tiger pops this year and gummy brains, since an itty bitty mentioned a chocolate allergy last year. I also have spider rings and things that are completely sans sugar, since some trick or treaters can’t have any sugar at all. Still, despite the pleasure from seeing children run amuck in their alternate personas, my thoughts return to the family members and pooches that won’t be with us this year. My beloved dead are well cared for in my thoughts and there is not only the memory of the times that we shared held dear in my heart, but the ways in which they forever changed me. I’m kind of like a Frankenstein’s monster in that way, a collection of parts taken from other people and held precariously together.
However, I am exchanging my dumb supper for the mirth of children, something I know my beloved dead would have been most eager to see and hear and I will share that with them this year and for as many years as I drag this body around the earth. It’s my tribute to them in a way, as I know every doorbell ring would have got them up and to the door with candy, maybe not the dogs, but they would have barked their fool heads off in excitement. The thing about loving anyone (even a dog) is you feel their loss acutely, but you also remember their joy. To the matriarch and sister that showed me grace, to the aunt and uncle that showed me perseverance, and to the dogs that gave me endless affection, visit with joy when the veil thins and return with a little of our happiness.
Take a moment to remember your beloved, breath in their wisdom, breathe out despair, and then re-enter the world inspired.
Now, back to the mundane.
With the coming Nor’easter, I have my candles ready.
I have recently submitted a crossover book, something that bridges the gap between my All Tied Up In Knots Series and my Help Wanted Romance Series and now, I’m waiting for the gods of Amazon to release it officially, so I can bring you all the spicy and gory news of it’s arrival.
In the meantime, you have a moment to catch up on both series. Today I’m going to showcase the full length books in the All Tied Up In Knots series. Rope is near and dear to my heart, and I hope I’ve portrayed it in the best light. Rope suspension can be freeing and I hope you have a chance to experience it, whether it’s at a dungeon, a rope event, or one of the many rope shares.
Violet, a young acting student, sees her last chance to get picked for the lead role in the school’s stage production slipping away. Knowing that a talent scout will be there at the opening performance, she must win the lead and cement her chances for stardom or put the last nail in the coffin of her future as an actress.
“You can’t take directions! Seven performances, seven dress rehearsals, and you treat each play as if you personally wrote it.”
But there is still a glimmer of hope. Violet still has four weeks to re-fashion herself into a star, but it’s going to take more than learning lines. She has to reach into everything she has buried down deep inside and find out who she really is.
She meets Jericho Blythe, a strong attractive man, who after making a fortune on Wall Street, dedicated himself to pursuit of darker pleasures. He agrees to train her, if she gives him full control of every aspect of her life for the next critical four weeks.
Time is short but the romance between the two of them will either have them burning as hot as a bright star or leave them scorched forever.
Holly, a former runaway, returns to her hometown to reclaim her life, but it might prove more difficult than she thought. She was the only witness to a double homicide. Her father, a detective, and her mother are both gone and even though she was shot, Holly can’t recall any of the event at all.
Focusing on her future, Holly attends a local college, gets a part time job and is consumed with the desire to learn some fancy pyrotechnics from a renowned expert in the field. As fate would have it, Mr. Riley, is a master of more than one skill and soon she begins to fall for him.
Now that Holly is back and surrounded by people, places, and things from her past, the tumultuous memories begin to resurface. She begins to suspect that she might just be the killer and part of an elaborate cover up. She is torn between her desire for love and the fear of what she might be capable of. Will the truth set her free or destroy everyone she loves?
I always include a recipe of some sort with my blog, and instead of sitting down with a nice amaretto, I’m adding 1/2 shot to my cupcake batter-trust me it’s delicious.
I always include a recipe, and since we are a few weeks away from Halloween, this gives me the perfect chance to give you a super quick cupcake recipe-you can modify it to your taste and I have included some options below, but this is great if you have a school bake sale or just need a cupcake.
Ghost Cupcakes- so good they’ll disappear
Ingredients:
2 cups flour- I use unbleached
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt- you need it to bring out the sweet
1 stick unsalted butter (or 1/2 cup butter substitute)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar or vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup whole milk (or milk substitute-I use Lactaid, hubby prefers oat milk)
optional add-ins: a few drops food coloring, 1 bar melted dark chocolate, 1/4 cup coconut flakes, 1 Tablespoon amaretto (trust me, it’s delicious), 1Tablespoon lemon juice… just go with whatever flavor profile you’re in the mood for
supplies:
measuring cup/spoons
bowls
whisk or mixer
cupcake liners 20-24
cupcake baking pan
Hot to make it:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (325 degrees Fahrenheit if using nonstick pans) or 177 degrees Celsius. Give it a good ten minutes or so to get warm.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. You can do this by hand or with a mixer. If you are adding in some melted chocolate this is the time to do it.
Add in your vanilla and any liquid flavorings or coloring
Add eggs one a time (always check your eggs first). If you get a shell in, wet your finger and grab it out-works every time. If you want super light cupcakes, whip your egg whites and fold in wet ingredients before adding dry. There are just so many variations on the same recipe.
Combine your dry ingredients in a separate bowl and mix (sift if you light light airy cupcakes)
Add milk to your wet ingredients and mix until smooth. This is your last wet ingredient and you will start to stir in your dry ingredients next, so make sure your bowl is big enough to handle everything.
Gradually add in your dry ingredients 1 cup at a time and stir until incorporated. I try not to over stir as the gluten makes the cupcakes chewy instead of fluffy, but you need all of your flour and dry ingredients incorporated.
Sprinkle some rice onto the bottom of your cupcake baking tray in each space. This will stop the bottoms of your cupcakes from burning. Then, line cupcake baking pan with paper liners and add enough cake batter to fill 1/2 to 2/3 of the liner. The baking powder will make them fluff up so you want to leave some room so they don’t spill over and become one giant monster cupcake.
Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-25 minutes (this varies with your oven and altitude). You can check doneness with a toothpick(should come out clean) or but lightly touching surface. A cooked cupcake will spring back, a raw cupcake will compress.
Once done, let cupcakes cool on wire rack, so they don’t continue cooking in the hot pan.
Decorate with your favorite vanilla icing and chocolate jimmies or mini chocolate chips.
Welcome back to our Liquid Friday blog. We’re excited to announce our next book in the Help Wanted Series.
Here’s the blurb:
What would you do if the guy you’ve been crushing on kept you in the friend zone and you found out it’s becuase you were betrothed to a werewolf? Sasha’s been in love with Jinx since she met him. He’s the perfect geek complete with tech pockets and wide rimmed glasses. She knows there is more to him than meets the eye, but then she meets her betrothed, the very sexy Werewolf King Gavin and sparks fly. Will she end up with her first love or embrace the King of the Werewolves?
Other books in the series:
While we wait for the gods of Amazon to pot our book, books 1 & 2 in the series are still available for purchase and now also on Audiobook with virtual voice narration.
In her last year of college, with the promise of an exciting future in veterinary medicine, Autumn discovers she won’t live to see her next birthday. Before she blinks out, her dying wish is to be immersed in her own movie fantasy of vampires and monsters, even if just for a moment. For as long as Autumn can remember, Horror films were her favorites. She connected with those monsters on the screen, flawed, strange, and beautiful in their own way. Before the final curtain is drawn, Autumn wants to meet the monsters she’s dreamed of her entire life. She puts up a help wanted ad for a hospice nurse, titled: Desperately Seeking Vampire. Andrei, a man hot enough to melt Autumns steel resolve accepts the job offer and agrees to play the game… but is he just pretending? And what happens when things get hot in the bedroom? As Autumn begins to fall for Andrei, they embark on a monster seeking adventure, and she soon discovers that some fantasies are real.
After finding her twin brother murdered, Madison hunts down the suspected killers, only to find out they are vampires. Needles to say, she gets subdued, captured and placed on trial by the Conclave. She knows to much to be allowed to live, but they seem hesitant to just kill her. One of the Obsidians, a group of Conclave’s enforcers, named Gabriel saves her life by offering to keep her captive for the rest of her life or until she willingly chooses to become a vampire.
She vows to kill them all, even the one who saved her life, while she bides her time and plots to escape. She’d put a stake in his heart, but the longer she is around him the deeper Maddie falls in love with him.
To help put the ghost of her murdered brother to rest, despite never finding his body, she participates in his memorial celebration and all hell breaks loose as werewolves bent on world domination crash the event.
Will Maddie ever find out what happened to her brother? Will she kill every last member of the Conclave or spend eternity with Gabriel?
Butler and Mooshu- enjoying a little sunshine
Since we usually include a cocktail, I’ll be popping open a bottle of bubbly tonight to celebrate the completion of another book and enjoying some Mimosas tomorrow. Since I party with children and the two little werewolves, I’ll also have some sparkling cider, pear is my absolute favorite. If you’re drinking, stay home or uber back safely. Please don’t drink and drive.
While we wait for the big release day for book three, here’s a little author info-
About the author
Eden Freed approaches everything with a Jersey Girl tenacity, whether it’s researching material for her newest book, soccer mom duties, or training the “Perpetual Puppy” a.k.a. Butler the Chinese Crested Powderpuff and his younger brother from another mother, Mooshu. Eden loves the beach, a good cocktail, cozy reading time, and a good walk with Butler. Don’t forget to visit her blog for Cocktail Recipes, Guest Authors’ Insights, and Books . She loves your feedback, so please leave a review or a comment on her blog . Happy reading!
It’s almost officially summer! As a summer baby, I love the beach, carnival rides, and of course being outside with my children, both human and canine variety. Since I’m often the one packing for our adventures, I always toss in a couple books or my Kindle, home to lots of books and my comics.
For car rides, I put on Audible books. Family friendly adventure books work out if I play them on the speakers in the car, or I can go with spicier books if I use my Beats headphones.
Since my hands are often busy with tasks, I’ve found that I can use my Kindle for narration for books I don’t have a chance to page turn. Knowing that lots of readers prefer to have an audible version of books available, I have gone ahead and listed my books available for Audible download through Amazon. We used an ai voice instead of a human voice so we could get it out to you sooner. That being said it may have some of the more comical ai pronunciation mishaps I’ve heard in other books, so if you catch and error please message me and I’ll try and get it corrected. If you have a prime account on Amazon, you may even be able to get these books free-just click the links and check. I’m hoping to have the next book in the Help Wanted Romance Series available in late June and the next book in the All Tied Up In Knots series should be coming out in time for Halloween, edits, edits, edits…
Remember these books are all stand alone books, so you can read just one or all of them. I just didn’t want readers that missed a book to feel overwhelmed when the next one comes out and they feel like they have two to read or need to read them in a specific order. I despise cliffhangers. As a reader, waiting for that next book to drop while I’m stuck on a cliffhanger ending just kills me, so you get a complete story in every book.
Please, also check out your local authors. The only thing holding them back from reaching bigger audiences may be your five (5) star review. Ah, algorithms!
Since this is a Liquid Friday listing, I am also including today’s drink.
Ready for Summer Iced Tea-(serves 4)
What you need:
Tea pot (to brew the tea)
Pot to boil the water (it’s ok if you boil the water in a glass pot and add the loose tea in that, however you make tea works)
4 Glasses
6 cups water
2-3 Tablespoons loose assam tea in a tea ball or 2-3 of your favorite teabags(you can get creative and mix and match flavored teas or go for high antioxidant teas for your health)
Sliced lemon or other fruit
Ice
Flavored alcohol/spirits (optional- I’m going without so I can hydrate today)
How to:
Bring the water to a boil and carefully pour over tea leaves in a pot/carafe… whatever heat safe container you have. Nothing stings like a burn, so be careful here and if you’re using glass make sure its heat safe borosilicate glass with no defects or cracks.
Steep the tea. I like bitter so I do 5 minutes or omit the tea ball completely and just leave the loose tea to settle and continue to steep. You can do 2-3 minutes if you like a more mild taste.
Let the tea cool before you add the fruit, so you get some vitamin c
Add lemon slices, fruit, herbs… to reach the right flavor profile. I’ve done everything from cranberries to grapefruit and mint, so good.
Optional: Add 3 to 6 ounces of flavored alcohol to the carafe for guests over 21 (should be .75 ounce to 1.5 ounce per serving). I like Peach Schnapps or Blackberry Brandy, but I’ve heard Lemonade Flavored Vodka is great, too. It’s always a good idea to list the ingredients for your guests, since lots of people have allergies or choose to opt out of alcohol. Serve teas with alcohol exclusively to adults and get juice boxes or water bottles to younger guests so there are no mix ups.
Serve and enjoy
Now, onto the books. I have links below to the books, just select the audible versions. If you have an Audible Premium Plus account, they should be free, otherwise they are the low price of $3.99 plus tax.
Here are the links:
My monster series, ’cause every good girl loves things that go bump in the night.
Desperately Seeking Vampire, Book 1: Help Wanted Romance Series
Every author loves five(5) star reviews and of course, I’m no exception, so please leave a review. It helps me fight the algorithm and get my books on the first page in their category, so I can reach lots of readers like you.
Don’t forget your purchases support our crazy Chinese Crested puppies. Mooshu is still fighting his blood disorder like a champion and Butler is giving him all the love a big brother can.
Download your free ebook today, this offer end on Christmas Eve 12/24/2024
Around the holidays, I think back to my childhood and it was the Christmas lights, more than anything, that made me happy. The same still works today and I find myself leaving the holiday lights up all year and just changing the color for the next holiday.
It’s the Grinch! We found him at Shadybrook Farms
Maybe it’s my inner Year of the Rat and love of all things shiny, but I go for long rides looking at the lit up houses and to every possible light show working a two hour ride(well, I make the mister drive it).
With five children there is always the need to keep them entertained, so light shows are a big hit and help get them outdoors on cold evenings, when they’d otherwise be engaged in video games & online media.
We also do outings to Science Museums, Zoos, Art Galleries… and you can see a lot of them pull out all the stops for Holiday festivities.
Bronx Zoo Holiday Lights
In the spirit of our Liquid Friday blog, I have to leave to you with a favorite holiday drink- hot chocolate!
Hot Chocolate Recipe below
Ingredients: (4 big servings)
8 ounces dark chocolate chips(semisweet) or chopped brick chocolate
4 Tablespoons sugar (or equivalent in your favorite sweetener)
5 cups milk- we use lactose free and omit the sugar, but any heat stable milk substitute works
Save your add-ins for the side and let guests customize their beverage
Add-ins:
Marshmallows
Peppermint sticks
Whipped Cream
Cinnamon stick
Pinch Cayenne Pepper, really warms you up
Directions:
Warm milk and chocolate in a pot on low to medium heat(stirring continuously to avoid scalding milk) until chocolate has melted and mixture is hot, add sugar to taste- alternatively you can put your milk and chocolate in a crock pot and keep it warm while children play outside
Stir again before serving as chocolate will settle
Serve warm and let guests choose their own toppings, for a special treat
Desperately Seeking Vampire Hunter: A Help Wanted Romance (Help Wanted Romance Series Book 2) has been published and we’re pleased as punch, cranberry punch to be precise (recipe below).
Cranberry Punch for your Halloween Party (see recipe below)
About the Author:
Since it’s me, I’ll be candid. I am a beach loving Jersey girl with a spooky obsession. I blame all those books on cryptozoology and monsters that I read as a child for making me the lady that’s just bat-shit crazy over Halloween.
Even before the autumnal equinox, I’m busy as a bee preparing for Halloween. It’s my absolute favorite holiday and I kinda put a spooky twist on everything, even my favorite treat- candy apples.
When you are a fulltime writer and Mom to a large family, you learn to make due and save the splurges for science center memberships and walking sticks for our hikes. Instead of buying overpriced costumes, I let the imps pick out cool weapons and implements (gotta have swords) and make more unique costumes for Halloween with the aid of a sewing machine (or 3) we use year round for alterations and my ebay store (paying for the tiny sickly canid monster’s medical care with my earnings).
This year my youngest imp, Soph, decided to make his own costume and I couldn’t be prouder. I supervised while he picked out a pattern, shopped for fabric (coupons, coupons, coupons), and read the instructions to prepare himself. He pinned and cut everything out and slowly the garment began to take shape. There was a small accident with pinking sheers that left a little hole as he was trimming his edges, but he patched it up and you can’t tell even up close. Costume finished, he put it on and paraded around the house, victorious.
His older brother Esteban found some cool weapons in one of the many Halloween stores we visited. Spirit Halloween is his favorite store and he will probably stop by every one within a two hours drive of our home-it’s an obsession. This year he needs a black cape for his costume and is now completely out of children’s sizes that we have at home, so it may give Soph an extra sewing project to do before Halloween.
Unless it’s raining, the plan is to put our the big folding table complete with spooky tablecloth, the black flame candle, the book, and wait for a virgin to arrive-or something like that. We will have safe spooky treats like spider rings and candy for the thirty to fifty trick-or-treaters brave enough to stop by and let me ooh and ahh over their costumes.
This will be my first year having two crazy canids (dogs) to dress for Halloween and I haven’t even started on their costumes yet, so I have to play catch-up now and come up with something truly brilliant. Wish me luck.
Book Blurb:
After finding her twin brother murdered, Madison hunts down the suspected killers, only to find out they are vampires. She gets subdued, captured, and placed on trial by the Conclave. She knows too much to be allowed to live, but they seem hesitant to just kill her outright. Gabriel, one of the Obsidians, a group of Conclave’s enforcers, saves her life by offering to keep her captive for the rest of her life or until she willingly chooses to become a vampire.
She vows to kill them all, even the one who saved her life, while she bides her time and plots to escape. Madison would put a stake in his heart, but the longer she is around him the deeper Maddie falls in love with him.
To help put the ghost of her murdered brother to rest, despite never finding his body, Madison participates in his memorial celebration and all hell breaks loose as werewolves, bent on world domination, crash the event.
Will Maddie ever find out what happened to her brother’s body? Will she kill every last member of the Conclave or spend eternity with Gabriel?
A word from the Author, Eden Freed:
I hope you get to read Desperately Seeking Vampire Hunter: A Help Wanted Romance (Help Wanted Romance Series Book 2). Yes, Autumn is still in there, but we have switched focus to Madison for this book. I have some more fun in store for Book 3 and even bigger plans for the series. If you have KU, you’ll get to read them all for FREE. I’ve kept the price down for eBooks and you can always order a signed copy from me or get yours at one of my book signing events. If you’re saving your money for Halloween costumes and candy, ask your library to order a copy.
I always appreciate likes, stars, and shares for both the blog and the books, so thanks for making this Jersey girl smile. It take a lot of juggling squeezing in writing time with two amazing dogs and five busy children, but you keep me motivated, thanks. Enjoy the recipe below.
Cranberry Punch Recipe: Perfect for Cocktails, Mocktails, and little Monsters at the door
Ingredients:
64 ounces Cranberry Juice (cran-grape or sugar-free work great, too)
1 liter Gingerale or Lemon Lime Soda(can be sugar-free)
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of 1 lemon
Optional: Gummy spiders, gummy worms, and gummy bugs to adorn glasses, eyeball ice cubes look cool floating in the punch.
Optional: Add 1/2 liter of your favorite vodka and 8 oz blackberry brandy for partygoers over 21
Instructions:
Mix ingredients in a large punch bowl with plenty of ice and serve. Have some Gummy body parts, eyes, spiders, worms… to adorn glasses for extra fun.
Caution: If serving children and adults, make it alcohol free. Children tend to try everything at a party, so its safer to stick with a mocktail. You’ll be certain adults can drive their children back home safely, if they haven’t ingested alcohol. If it’s only an adults party and you are drinking, pre-plan transportation (party bus, Uber, Lyft…), so everyone is as safe as can be. DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE
We’ll have this book available for purchase soon but in the mean time a little teaser is in order. Let’s start with the cover.
Since the vampires won’t be drinking cocktails, we’re making Assam Iced Tea- directions below.
About the book-
Madison is an a vlogger, filling her days with adrenaline and candy fueled adventures her brother arranges. It seems like the perfect life until her brother is killed.
She blames vampires for his murder, and after losing her temper in front of the conclave ends up beholden to Gabriel, oldest of the Obsidians.
On the other side of the world, Queen Autumn is bringing the clans together. Her dream of peace is almost within reach. Meanwhile, several high ranking members of the conclave and rival clans want nothing more than to see Queen Autumn’s plans foiled.
Madison is about to find out not all vampires are out for blood, but which ones can she trust? What happens when clan politics are put to the test?
Sometimes you just need to call in a vampire hunter.
Assam Iced Tea-
What you need:
Water
2 Heaping tablespoons Assam Black Tea
Lemon to taste
Honey or sugar to taste
Ice
I steep my Assam Tea in a small 2 cup glass pot for an hour- bitters have health benefits and I don’t rush the process. This also lets the tea concentrate cool naturally.
As this is now a concentrated tea, I fill a tall glass with ice and pour enough of the concentrate to fill in the gaps(usually 1/2 cup to 1 cup). Add a wedge of lemon or freshly squeezed lemon juice for a vitamin c pick me up.
I think most of us began as fearless children, the ones that wanted to jump the highest on the trampoline, swing highest, build a ramp and take it at top speed, sit on the edge of a cliff and looked down, rode the Cyclone as many times as they’d let us in a row(trust me it was a lot)… we set the bar high.
What separated us from the rest of the pack wasn’t a lack of imagination of the bad things that could happen with our stunts. To the contrary, we probably had the best imaginations of the horrors that could occur, we just didn’t let fear stop us. We didn’t let anything stop us. We ate that fear like it was sugar coated cereal on a Saturday morning.
While our friends cringed and covered their eyes, ours were wide open. We waited for that little terror to make us giggle and make us feel alive. We were the first to tell spooky stories by the campfire and approached Halloween with religious reverence. (Still the best day of the year)
We played out Horror movies in backyards and parks and got into character, complete with black trash bag capes and weird smelling leftover plastic Halloween masks. The thrill was everything.
And with classic horror movies like Nosferatu, The thing With Two Heads, Mars Needs Women, Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, the Black Cat, Fall of the House of Usher, the Phantom of the Opera… we got hooked on the terror and the monster themselves. In the 1908’s we saw so many great monster movie remakes. They were brilliant and we were so ready for them.
Then came slasher movies like the Nightmare on Elm Street, Sleepaway Camp, Halloween. Puppet Master… How many of us bought that Freddy Krueger glove and sat in the movie theater for the third or fourth time scaring the wits out of unsuspecting people? Okay, I did but it was all in fun.
We’ve watch so many great vampire films like Near Dark, the Hunger, the Lost Boys, Fright Night… and laughed at so many cheesy ones like Modern Vampires, Vampire’s Kiss, Subspecies, My Best Friend is A Vampire, Vamp… while we were reading incredible books like Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire (we’ll chat about that movie later).
And we ate up movies with jump scares like Poltergeist, the Evil Dead, Pet Sematary, the Exorcist, IT, Cujo, the Descent, Hell House and others because we couldn’t get enough. It’s in our blood.
Highschool ended and I packed up my things (movie posters included) to take with me to college. The first day I went room to room knocking on every door trying to find all the horror film fans I could and I brought out my shoebox of vhs horror films and we sat and giggled our asses off watching them. They were also the same group that went to comic book conventions and got the very best vampire/monster/horror comics, some wrapped in brown paper for mature audiences only-but they got them all the same in vinyl bags with backboards or cruised the mall for the bookstores and read every scary word they could find. You know your people and where to find them.
Now we are streaming horror films and playing the audio in our cars or as ringtones on our phones and why not? It’s all in fun, right? Break out the popcorn for viewers in the back while we drive to the latest horror film, horror book signing, vampire convention, book store hunt, or other dark broody adventure.
If your the choosy connoisseur and prefer a signed copy, those will be available directly from me at Vampires of New Jersey Convention on November 18, 2023 from 2p to 8p at QXT’s Night Club, 248 Mulberry St, Newark, NJ.
I’m going to be there and we’re going to have some fun, talk about horror films, books, comics… Promise I’ll keep the Freddy Krueger glove at home, so the scares will have to come from someone else this time (maybe).
Claire will be vending jewelry to die for and I’m going to have some kooky things like filled coffins, goodies, give aways, and we’ll also have Deserie Kelly’s Zodiac Shifters books.
edenfreed.com 