Whopping Weasel Wednesday!

Just when I think I've seen all the pictures there are of Derrick, I find another one. I'm sorry that clicking on him doesn't make him bigger, but perhaps he doesn't need to be.

Wow, the last day of September, and it's getting cold here! Leaves are falling and the wind is blowing and though the sun is shining, it's a bit chilly! Poor Derrick would have goosebumps all over him if he was here with me now. Might be fun to warm him up, though.

I'm going to see my sisters this coming weekend--at least, that's the plan. Last year we went to the races at Keeneland, but I have no idea what's in store this time. I'm just looking forward to a little down time where I don't have to think.

The gang at the hospital is already planning another trip to Nashville and Dale Hollow Lake. Terri has been scouring the Internet for things to do in Nashville, but so far, all we have on our list is the Nash Trash Bus Tour and two restaurants that we were told to check out the last time we were there. We'll be in town over a weekend this time, which should give us more options. It seems that Nashville during the week in February isn't quite what it is at other times of the year.

I told them I didn't care what we did as long as I don't have to make any decisions. That's my idea of a vacation--that and, as I've said before, not having to deal with anyone's shit but my own. I mean that quite literally, too.

Enjoy your Wednesday!

Tasty Tuesday!

Thank goodness Donna keeps sending me recipes, or I wouldn't have anything to post! This week is gonna be an off one on one at the hospital, which is something that just about kills a night shift person. Fortunately, I have lots of pics of Christian St Jon to go along with the recipes. If you ladies ever get tired of him, be sure to let me know.

Marie finished reading Hero, and she seemed to like it pretty well. She did make the point that there wasn't enough sex, but I can always add more! Still waiting to hear from my editor. . . who is in Italy.

Savory Pork Stew

SUBMITTED BY: Donna Cooks

"A savory stew of pork and potatoes to warm you inside and out. Great with crusty bread or corn muffins for dipping into stew and cleaning the bowls!"

---

PREP TIME	15 Min
COOK TIME	2 Hrs
READY IN	2 Hrs 15 Min

SERVINGS 8

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (Ha Ha)

2 pounds pork stew meat

or pork loin

• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• garlic powder to taste
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch, or as needed
• 8 red potatoes
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 1 (11 ounce) can whole kernel corn
• 1 (14 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1 (14 ounce) can beef broth
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

What to Drink?
	Tempranillo

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle pork on all sides with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and lightly coat with cornstarch. Place pork in the skillet, and cook until lightly browned but not done. Transfer to a slow cooker. Place potatoes, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, onion, and corn in the slow cooker.
2. In a bowl, mix the tomatoes, cream of mushroom soup, milk, broth, and Italian seasoning. Pour into the slow cooker.
3. Cover, and cook 1 hour on High. Reduce heat to Low, and continue cooking at least 1 hour.
4. ENJOY!!!! with good crusty bread.

Autumn Leaves

Remember the bamboo I got in Myrtle Beach? It hasn't grown very much. In fact, for a while there, I thought it would die. The little ground-cover weed that came up in the pot with it has done quite well, though.

I took these pictures on Friday morning. It was wet, dreary,and cool. Very fall-like with dead leaves everywhere. I prefer that "Golden Autumn" look, but we may have to wait another week or two before we get that.

It seems odd not to have a book to promote. For the past two years, every change of season has brought another book. It'll be fun promoting Fugitive over the holidays. Maybe I'll even get in on a Christmas book signing somewhere. Who knows? I should probably start talking to the local bookstores, but I'm such a wuss when it comes to that kind of thing. I need one of my buddies to be my promoter. They're much better at it than I am.




















Don't you just love puppies and pumpkins? There's something about having a pumpkin sitting out on the deck that just makes me feel good. Maybe it's the bright color that distracts me from all the plants and flowers that are about to call it quits for the year. My morning glories take all summer to grow up over the deck railing, and then the first frost wipes them out. But that's the way of all things. One dog dies and another takes his place.

I think we finally decided to name the puppy Sweet Pea. It seems sort of natural, because that's pretty much what she is. Very sweet and about the size of a pea. She'll probably outgrow the size thing, but I believe her personality will remain the same. I hope so. Either way, she's off to a good start.

Sunday's Hunk of the Day!

Ha! We've got Christian on his knees now, begging for mercy!

I REALLY like the untrimmed body hair on him. Very natural and NICE!!!!

I'm blogging on Wickedly Romantic today. Drop by if you have the time!

Saturday's Hunk of the Day!

Christian is holding up the wall so we can all escape the crumbling building!

Anyone want to volunteer to save him?

Something for a rainy day....

I read Marie Force's manuscript for See You Next Time yesterday and finished it at about 7pm when I realized I hadn't written today's blog! It's a good book. I think you'll all enjoy it very much when it's finally published.

If you missed the update on the puppy, it's a girl. Must change the name. Don't know how I let the DH talk me into believing she was a boy when I was pretty sure she wasn't. But that's me, sometimes. Every now and then I let someone convince me I'm wrong when I'm pretty darn sure I'm right. I need to be more assertive.

The puppy formerly known as D'Argo was a real trooper on her first visit to the vet. She got four shots and two pills and then we went back to the waiting room where she met a Great Dane. Didn't bat an eyelash for any of it, just kept right on looking cute. What a girl!

I sent Marie my manuscript for Hero. No idea what she thinks of it yet, or even if she's started reading it. I seriously doubt that our editor has looked at it yet either. It's one of those limbo times. I'm glad I'd started writing on Renegade, or I'd really be feeling lost. It rained continuously yesterday, too. I took the dog to the vet in the rain, fed the horses in the rain, fixed dinner while it rained. . . you get the idea.

Somebody suggested a "Wet Hunks" week a while back. Not sure if this guy is wet or oiled, but since it's still raining, I'm gonna say he's wet.

And here's a little something for Donna on her last day at work!!!!!
Have a great day and enjoy your retirement!
We're all so envious. . . .

What's in a name?

After the post about D'Argo the puppy yesterday, I have no idea what to blog about now. No ideas whatsoever. But just in case none of you have ever seen Farscape and were wondering where the name came from, this is D'Argo. Doesn't look much like my puppy, does he? Except maybe the eyebrows. . . .











Which brings me to another character in the Farscape series, John Crichton. He was, as you might expect, my main reason for watching the show, but they had some pretty cool villains, too. There's a lot of John in Jack, my heroine in Slave. John called his gun Wynonna (Jack called hers Tex) and would mystify the aliens he hung out with by rattling off pop culture references from present day Earth, which is something Jack does, too.



























Jack had a lot of John, a healthy dose of Han Solo, and just a touch of Captain Jack Sparrow in her. How she ever turned out female is anyone's guess, but since those are three of my favorite male characters, putting them all into the one who I think is easily my best heroine seemed appropriate for some reason. I was looking for a tough, quirky, unromantic heroine who needed a guy like Cat, and I think it worked.




























I'm currently working on developing the characters for Renegade. We've talked a lot about the hero. He looks like Benjamin Godfre, has a flame tattoo on the left side of his neck and cheek, wears a gold earring in his left ear, and braids his hair back from his face. His curls are as tight as dreadlocks and he always wears a white T-shirt and gray cargo pants with everything you can imagine stuffed in the pockets. We've talked about his name, and you all seem to like Jag, but the opening scene with Jack turned into a "Jag said, Jack said" thing that seems a bit confusing, so the jury is still out on that name. Several of you have sent me lists of words for cat in other languages, and Kotka (Bulgarian for cat) is my favorite so far, along with Nahuel (Native American for jaguar). Later on last evening, Marie and I were emailing back and forth and I came up with the name Dax, which she liked very well. It's not feline, but I like it.



Right now, my heroine is a Terran/Aqureian cross called Ava who has huge, aquamarine eyes, flippy blond hair, and can breathe underwater. Not a whole lot to go on, is it? I wrote the scene where her character is introduced last night, but I wasn't sure if she should be sweet and innocent or as quirky and tough as Jack was. We'll see. Guess I'd better start writing some more and find out, huh?

Look what I found!

On my on my way home from work Monday morning, I found a dog--one year to the day since I posted a blog on Wickedly Romantic about my yellow lab, Chewbacca, who had died earlier that week. I've been hoping another dog would show up the way Chewie did. He was the perfect dog, and just appeared one day and decided to stay.

This puppy was running down the middle of the road near my house, and if I hadn't stopped to pick him up, I probably would have hit him. He was wet and covered with burrs and came right up and tried to climb in my car when I opened the door. I'd been waiting for a sign, and this one was pretty obvious. Turns out he belonged to a neighbor who was giving pups away, so now he's out there on the porch where Chewie used to hang out, eating out of Chewie's bowl and making himself at home. He doesn't seem to like the dog house, though. He prefers to sleep on my boots!

























I think we've finally decided to name him D'Argo, which is what I told the vet's office when I made his appointment. Did you know puppies get shots every three weeks until they're four months old???? I don't think human babies get that many, but then, they usually don't go outside and roll around in the dirt!



























In other news, I hear that our friends Leslie and Lisa are a bit under the weather. I hope you both feel better soon!

Tasty Tuesday Meatloaf!

Looks like Donna has been in the kitchen again, and this time she's playing with the meat instead of the buns!

She sent me this recipe and said all I had to do was provide the hunk, and when I think "meat," I think of Derrick, so here he is. Be sure to click on him!

I'm blogging on Casablanca Authors today, so after you get done drooling, come on over!



Donna's BIG MEATLOAF serves 7

• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1/8 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup dried bread crumbs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup tomato juice
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon barbecue sauce
• 1 dash liquid smoke flavoring
• 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons prepared mustard
• 2 dashes liquid smoke flavoring

• 
  

What to Drink?
	Merlot
	Fruity-Punchy

DIRECTIONS on handling the meat:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, combine the beef, onion, oatmeal, cornmeal, bread crumbs, salt, sugar, egg, tomato juice, water, barbecue sauce, 1/8 teaspoon liquid smoke and vinegar. With your Hands, Mix together thoroughly and place mixture shaped like a Large YUMMYDOODLE into a lightly greased 9x5 inch loaf pan.
3. In a separate small bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar, mustard and 2 drops liquid smoke and mix thoroughly. Spread over the top of the meatloaf.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately one hour. Take it out of oven.
5. Let it set for awhile before Serving. ENJOY the Meat. Serve with a nice salad, baked potato, and Hunky Pull- a- Part Buns.

Christian is checking to make sure his yummydoodle is okay. I'm sure it is. Probably very tasty, too. . . .

Ahhhhh.......

This is another of yesterday's hunk, Christian St Jon. It's my favorite of all the pics I've found of him. I really like his expression in this one. Be sure to click on him. He gets much bigger.

I sent in the synopsis and the Hero manuscript last night, so, I'm feeling a little more relaxed--NOT!!!!

Unfortunately, when I sent it to my editor, I got an out of office reply. She's going to be gone until Oct 5th! After she reads it (probably not anytime soon) I'll have to go back and work on it some more. The thing I don't like about that is having to track the changes after the editor reads it. I hate that. It makes it look like a teacher has marked all over it. It's very hard to see your mistakes, too, because things aren't smooth. It has a very cut and paste look to it. But, no matter. It will get done eventually.

I've got a job for you ladies! Has anyone got an idea for a name for the "Benji" character in Renegade? If I use your suggestion, your name will appear in the acknowledgments, so if you're into that sort of thing, give it a go! Something feline sounding would be nice, but I'm open to any other suggestions.

Sunday's Hunk of the Day!

This is Christian St Jon.



Click on him. His eyes are blue. . . .



I'm blogging on Wickedly Romantic today. If you can tear yourself away from Christian's eyes, come on over!

Saturday's Hunk of the Day!

First up is that magazine cover that was mentioned yesterday. Looks like trouble, doesn't he?




















This is one that Sharon set me a while back.
Can't go wrong with Benji pics. He always delivers.
Enjoy the day!

Zetithian Thunder

I think I need to write a book about Derrick and his thunder thighs, don't you? I still like that Zetithian "man whore" idea. He could bounce from woman to woman without a care in the world, driving them all wild with that curvy cock of his, and then one day some mousy little girl will snare him.

Sounds like fun, doesn't it? I'll have to run that one past my editor. Not sure she'd go for a book called The Cat Star Chronicles: Man Whore though. We'd have to come up with something more clever. Gigolo, or Stud, maybe. "Hung" has already been done, unfortunately. Of course, all Zetithians are hung, just some more hung than others. Still, there's such a thing as too big. Have to be careful about that. Or more subtle like, Escort. I could use Lover since that one got tossed out in favor of Outcast. Rake is a good one, but he might end up sounding more like a garden tool than a lady killer. God knows.

I'm rambling again. Better shut up and go play Farm Town on Facebook. Anyone need their pineapples picked?

Just chillin'. . .

I was in the mood for a sweet one today. I think he qualifies.

I keep thinking I need to be starting another book. Actually, I have. I have the template set up and the first two sentences of Renegade. That's all! It's hard to imagine that it will eventually become a 90,000+ word book someday.

LOL! Only 89,970 words to go. . . .

Maybe I'll just chill on the beach with him for a while. Who knows, I just might be inspired!

Funny thing about inspiration. You never know when it will strike. Too bad I can't write everything that pops into my head down just when I think of it. I have to mull it over first and then write it. I say I don't plot out books ahead of time, but maybe I do. I just don't do it on paper.

I'm rambling, can you tell? This is what happens when a writer loses direction. They ramble until they find their way. At that INRWA meeting I went to last Saturday, the speaker said the same thing: Just write. It doesn't matter if it's any good because you can always fix it later. You just have to do it. I have no problem writing most of the time. I hear voices in my head: They speak, and I write. Trag (Hero) was easy. He's not based on any particular actor or singer or anyone else, for that matter. He was just that younger brother type. I can't explain it any better than that. I hope the Renegade guy can speak to me as well as Trag did. Manx (Fugitive) was pretty good, too. He always knew what to say, but I did base him on someone. He's Jeff Goldblum, believe it or not. Somewhere along the way I lost Jeff's voice and it became Manx's own. It's nice when that happens, but it doesn't always turn out that way. You just have to find that starting point. After that, they take on a life of their own.

Come on little voices! Speak to me!

The King of Dirty Dancing

When I first took my current nursing job, oh, so many years ago, one of my first experiences with my new coworkers (and soon to be friends) was to go out to dinner and a movie with a big gang of them. I barely remember the restaurant we went to, but I remember the movie quite well. We went to see Ghost. I can't remember if I'd ever seen Patrick Swayze before, but I knew I'd never forget him after seeing that!

Since then, I've seen Road House, Dirty Dancing, and several others, including,"To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar," where he played a drag queen--quite well, actually--but I've always liked Dirty Dancing the best. It showcased his greatest talent. Did you know he taught John Travolta how to dance? I read that somewhere a while back. One thing for sure, whether he was dancing or just standing still, he could make you feel the heat.

When I read that he had pancreatic cancer, I knew he wasn't long for this world. Hardly anybody survives that one, and he lost that battle on Monday, but he certainly put up a good fight. He'll be missed.

Taste Tempting Tuesday!

I have recently discovered the joy of cooking with Odobo seasoning, which is a mixture of salt, pepper, garlic powder and finely ground oregano. I made my own version which doesn't have MSG in it like the commercially prepared stuff does, but if MSG doesn't bother you, go for it!

Another thing I enjoy is putting together a meal with what I can find out in the garden at any given time of year. I came up with this menu a week or so ago after I'd watched the movie, Fried Green Tomatoes. This is my own version of the late summer favorite.


Pork Tenderloin with Hot Pepper Sauce and Fried Green Tomatoes

Thick sliced pork chops or thick sliced pork tenderloin (1 per serving)
Odobo seasoning
2 tbsp olive oil

Sprinkle both sides of pork chops with Odobo seasoning and then sear on both sides in 2 tbsp olive oil in iron skillet on high heat. Then place skillet in preheated 400 degree oven and bake for about 20-25 min. If you cook these in order (chops first, then tomatoes, then sauce), the chops will be done at about the same time as you finish the sauce. This also gives the tomatoes a little time to cool down so you don't burn your mouth!

Fried Green Tomatoes:

2 sliced green tomatoes
1/2 cup self-rising flour
2 tsp Odobo seasoning
Vegetable oil

Place flour in bowl with tight-fitting lid. Add 2 tsp or more of Odobo seasoning and shake green tomato slices until coated. Fry in non-stick skillet in 1/4 inch of vegetable oil until browned on both sides. Remove and drain on paper towels. Makes 2-4 servings depending on how big your tomatoes are.

Pepper sauce:
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 bell pepper, seeded and sliced
2 jalapenos, seeded and sliced
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 small tomatoes, peeled and chopped
Chipotle sauce to taste
2/3 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese

Saute onions, garlic, green pepper, and jalapenos in 2 tbsp of oil on medium high heat until onions are soft and translucent. Add chopped red tomatoes and several dashes of Chipotle sauce and sprinkle with Odobo seasoning. Cook about 2-3 min until tomatoes are soft and the juice is reduced by half. Sprinkle with about a tbsp leftover flour mixture from green tomatoes. Cook until thickened and then add the cheese, stirring until cheese is melted. This makes enough sauce for 2-4 pork chops.

Place pork chops on plate and top with sauce. Serve with the green tomatoes and enjoy!


PLEASE NOTE!
The hunk is NOT optional and MUST be included for optimum enjoyment!

Meeting deadlines.....

There's nothing quite like realizing at 9pm that you have no post ready to go up at midnight, but here goes!

I've been reading through the final edits of Fugitive for the past several days, and the one thing that stands out is that I know I could have done better. It's amazing how much I've learned since I last edited that manuscript. Just yesterday I went to the meeting of the INRWA and the guest speaker gave us plenty of useful pointers; some that I'd never heard before. I guess it just goes to show that writing is, indeed, a learning process, sort of like practicing nursing or law. You can't know everything at the outset, you have to gain experience along the way.

I figured out a lot of things on my own before I was published, and I've learned quite a few since then--most of which I wish I'd known from the start. It would have made my life (and editing) much easier!

I wonder if my readers realize what a rookie I am. I've had thirty years to become a good nurse, but writing is a relatively new activity for me. I have to assume that those folks who review my books don't know anything about me; they only know what they read on the pages of my novels. Can they tell that I'm only a beginner? Probably. My writer friends are all very encouraging, but I still don't know everything I think I should about being an author. Unfortunately, I have to keep writing whether I know what I'm doing or not. I attended plenty of workshops at the conference in DC and came away with an even stronger conviction that I'm totally clueless!

After I finished with Fugitive, I probably should have drunk a toast or something, but all I did was send the corrections in an email and then open up the file for Hero. I'm glad I did, though, because I've had such a pleasant surprise! I'm not seeing a million things I'd like to change, so I must be improving. Either that, or I'm just slightly brain-dead from all the editing. Time will tell.

Meanwhile, here's a nice new hunk for you to enjoy. Frank Sepe is his name. Donna sent me several pictures of him. He's a little too beefy for my tastes, (she thought so, too) but you be the judge.

Sunday's Sleeping Hunk!

Shhhh! Marco is sleeping in this morning. Be very, very quiet!










Yeah, I know he cut his hair, but still. . . .


No, wait! he's in the shower! And look! His hair is long again!
Guess that's not the only thing that gets longer when it's wet. . .



























I'm blogging on Wickedly Romantic today. Come on over!

Saturday's Hunk of the Day!

Today we have standing, sitting, and sleeping buns!

I've used the standing buns once before, but they are so fine that I just had to bring him back for buns week!

I'm at the INRWA meeting today, so I won't be back until later on. Enjoy your Saturday!

Patriot Day

Not going to post any hunkybuns today. Doesn't seem appropriate somehow. I found pictures of guys with flags, but it still didn't seem right. So, here's another kind of hunk for the day. Hopefully they'll all soon be back home with the people who love them.


And speaking of heroes, I got this yesterday. It's Trag. Are you happy? I am!

Three for Thursday!

Today we have young buns,



























tattooed buns,






















and climbing buns!




























What more do you need?

OMG! I'm looking forward to the weekend! This has been a really long stretch. I'm too tired to say anything on the blog. This is serious! I sooooo need to retire. . . .

Multiple Buns!

There are smooth buns, hot buns, kissable buns, and buns that make you want to bite, but as we saw yesterday, Brock's furry buns are hard to beat.



























Then we have shadowed buns.



















And strong buns. . . .



























But just in case you've forgotten what the rest of Brock looks like, I'm including the frontal view, too, 'specially seeing as how it's also Whopping Weasel Wednesday!

Be sure to click on all of these for the, um, full effect....





















. . . . and have a nice day!