"Baby-It's-Cold-Outside-but-I'm-not" Chili

SURPRISE! I'm not posting about sweets today. Instead, I’m sharing a staple meal in the Alexander household and something that you will always find in our refrigerator. And it’s especially good on those cold, gray days of winter. Or if it’s warm and sunshiny where you are, well, it’s really good there too. And it's got some good history to it too! 

For the rest of this post, I invited you to visit Writes of Passage where I blogged on this yummy dish!

Tammy

Are we connected on Facebook?

I've had some great discussions with readers this week on Facebook. If you're on FB, I'd love to connect with you there too. 

We've been chatting about books (duh), publishing, e-publishing, movies, food, favorite things… You name it. I often post offers for free books and giveaways there. And share links for lots of free ebooks, too.

If we're not already connected there, why not? : )

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Tammy

The Awe Factor of God

If you haven't seen this, take three minutes and be reminded of how awesome our God is and that he's fully capable of handling anything that happens to you today. Or ever!

If you haven't read Francis Chan's book Crazy Love, I highly recommend it.

Read a sample of Crazy Love, and share a comment about how the video impacted you. For me, it reminded me once again of God's immense creativity, and majesty, and of his power to speak the world into existence. And that that same power resides in me today through the blood of Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Now, your turn! And have a great weekend!

Women and the War: Tennessee Secession

Tonight there's a PBS special on entitled Women and the War: Tennessee Secession, and when the ad for it came on the other night, they showed glimpses of the Belmont Mansion, the setting for A Lasting Impression. 

I'll be watching tonight and––if you're a history lover––you might be interested in it too...

In my area (Nashville), it's on Channel 8, but check your local listings for the channel in your area. This special this is part of an entire series of documentaries commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War in 2011.

Hope you enjoy!

The Belmont Mansion Novels page

If you've read A Lasting Impression, you may be interested (or not, depending on your mood...grin) in seeing some of the pieces of art that Adelicia Acklen, the mistress of the Belmont Mansion, really owned, and that I included in the storyline of this novel.

If you are, visit The Belmont Mansion Novels page on my website, and you'll see the five statues Adelicia bought while on her grand tour of Europe, along with some other glimpses of the mansion and its history.

I am absolutely LOVING writing about antebellum mansions and weaving a ton of real life history into these stories filled with actual characters who lived and breathed. But I have to tell you… It's a tad intimidating at times.

Because even though I've poured over letters and diaries and newspaper accounts, etc... and definitely have a sense of "knowing" these people, still…over one hundred and forty years separate us so I don't have the luxury of sitting down with those people and truly getting to know them. Or of just "making up their history" as what seems best to me. These people lived. They made choices that had eternal consequences. They have descendants who are reading these books. And these "characters" are very real to me, even more so than usual, with good reason.

One thing that helps me so much is to spend time in their homes. You get a sense of who someone is/was when you visit their home, when you look at what they spent money on, what they deemed as valuable, what they prized, and in reading the letters they wrote to each other [that they, of course, had no idea would be broadcast to the world. Now that's humbling feeling, isn't it? What if the emails you wrote were someday published in a book? Ack!] All of these things say a great deal about a person.

Have you ever been to a historical setting and then felt as if that gave you better perspective into who that person was who lived there? If so, please share!

~Tammy

Downfall Trailer

Check out the book (and trailer) for Terri Blackstock's upcoming release. Enjoy!

And there's a special price for the Downfall ebook if you buy it before the print edition releases! I've already bought mine. Just sayin'...

So tell me, do you like book trailers? Not like them? Or do you feel strongly both ways. ??  : )

Everybody gets Nobody for free

Creston Mapes's acclaimed book Nobody is FREE now on Kindle. Grab it quick and pass on the link to friends you think might enjoy it!

Read the first chapter, if you want.

Then download the full ebook for free!

Are you a widow?

Are you a widow? Or do you know one? If so, please check out this wonderful new site that good friend and writer Gayle Roper, a widow herself, just unveiled. It's such a blessing...

The Widow's Journey

Favorite Romance Moments

I started to chat about the history of Valentine's Day today, because, well...hello! Then I actually read up on the history of Valentine's Day. And well...it's kind of depressing (saints being slain, martyrs, etc...). At least it sounds a tad depressing when I'm writing this post late Monday night/early Tuesday morning after a FULL day of writing. And quite frankly, I'd rather talk chocolate and movies.

So here we go!

Here are some of my favorite romance moments from some of my favorite romance movies! The subtly in these scenes, the emotions... Oh, wonderful! (And get ready, because I'm going to ask you to share your favorites.)

Set up: Luc Teyssier, a self-proclaimed lover of all women who could never settle for just one woman, is trying to get something out of Kate's bag while she's sleeping. But he gets a little more than he bargained for.

Set up: Robert Redford (Tom Booker) is the horse whisperer who is working with a badly wounded horse that belongs to Kristin Scott Thomas (Anne MacLean), who is married, but not to Redford, obviously. You'll see Annie's husband (Robert), played by the wonderful Sam Neill, at a nearby table. Talk about a sexy moment and note: they're fully clothed. Just goes to show you don't have to get graphic to show powerful attraction and longing.

Set up: Pretty simple... Robert Redford (Denys) is shampooing Meryl Streep's (Karen's) hair. They've been out on safari together. 

Set up: And NO! This isn't the "famous last scene" from Sense and Sensibility where Edward proposes to Elinor, though that one is wonderful! I love this scene because it's at the outset of their relationship and the humor is spot on! Humor is magical to me. Especially in romance. I love to laugh, and the ability to laugh at things (and each other) has helped Joe and me make it these 27 years and counting. 

So now, you tell me, on this Valentine's Day, what is one of your favorite romancey moments from a book or movie? 

Wishing you chocolate and romance but not necessarily in that order,

Tammy

Deadline helpers... Cake Mix Cookies

Okay, so you're wanting a cookie. And not just any cookie. But a homemade, warm from the oven, melt in your mouth, dunk it in your own glass of milk cookie. But you don't have time for the traditional cookie recipe.

The solution: Cake Mix Cookies!

I learned this recipe years ago and am guessing many of you know it too. These cookies are delicious, and are mixed and ready to scoop in three minutes flat! Yes, I timed it. But I did have all my ingredients gathered, in the interest of full disclosure.

All you need is:

Cake Mix (doesn't matter what kind, I used a Pillsbury Butter Recipe Cake Mix above)*
(*Just dump the plain cake mix in the bowl, don't "fix as directed" on the back. Just the dry mix alone.)

2 eggs

1/2 cup of oil (I used canola)

Mix that up and then add:

2 cups of chocolate chips (or white chocolate chips (what I used), butterscotch chips, M&Ms, whatever you're craving)

Pecans or walnuts (if desired, I used pecans)

And mix again. Scoop onto lightly greased cookie sheet, bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees, and you're done. It's that simple.

I store my cookie dough in the fridge for up to 10 days or so. 

Although it rarely lasts that long unless I hide it (from myself) in the back.

(And FYI, you don't have to put the dough in the fridge before baking.)

Yum!

I picked up this handy dandy little scooper at WalMart. Love it!

Just scoop and bake

And now... as Memish (our waiter on our first ever cruise) said years ago, 

"It's yummy time!"

Let me know if you make these, or if you've made them before! And what you add to yours! I might want to try your combo!

~Tammy

The Coyote Shaker

Join me over at Writes of Passage today where I'm confessing something fairly embarrassing, but I'd do it all over again! ; )

National Prayer Breakfast, Washington D.C.

In 1996, my husband and I had the extreme privilege of attending the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., an annual event held at the Washington Hilton with the goal of assembling political, social, and business leaders to build relationships in the spirit of Jesus Christ. 

The 2012  NPB was held this past week, and the message delivered by its featured speaker, Eric Metaxas, apparently left people talking. And with good reason... 

When you have a few minutes, listen to Eric's message where he powerfully lifts up the name of Jesus (Eric's portion comes up right about the 35:00 mark). Every U.S. president since Dwight D. Eisenhower has participated in the annual event.

Excerpt from Worldmag.com...

WASHINGTON—Speakers at the annual National Prayer Breakfast in the nation’s capital usually keep their talks diplomatic. After all, the room is filled with ambassadors, lawmakers from both parties, Cabinet members, and people of various faiths from around the world.

But Eric Metaxas, the featured speaker Thursday morning and the author of biographies on Dietrich Bonhoeffer and William Wilberforce, talked to an audience of 4,000 important people about false religion, human depravity, poverty, slavery, and abortion. But the New York author delivered his sharp commentary with his trademark wit, which kept the audience roaring with laughter...