Mansion House Spinach and Feta Cheese Dish...and an announcement

Jan here, with so much to tell you I don't know where to begin!

First of all, I have a HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT!

Yes, that's a contract! I am tickled pink every time I look at this! Three books, Amish historicals, coming out in 2016 and 2017.

Here's what the series is about:

In the middle of the 19^th century, against the background of a nation wrestling with its own growing pains, the Amish church underwent what historians call “The Great Schism.” Amish communities were faced with the decision to hold to the old way of living and worshiping God, or to change with the times and embrace new ideas, while still holding fast to their Anabaptist beliefs. Follow the story of one Amish family during these turbulent times.

The first story is done, and I'm buried in research as I prepare to write the second one.

I love this writing life!!!!

But, we can't let business details distract us from what I really want to share with you today!

In the middle of Wyoming, between the Tetons and the Black Hills, lies this treasure store called the Big Horn Mountains.

If you've ever read The Virginian by Owen Wister, you've been here. The Virginian "got his man" in the streets of Buffalo, Wyoming, in front of the Occidental Saloon.

Of course, as an author, Owen Wister didn't name the town or saloon, but he did spend time writing while he stayed at the Occidental Hotel in Buffalo. And if you read the last couple chapters of the book, you can tell he had made that ride into Buffalo with the Virginian and his lady love, through the prairies that nestle up against the foothills of the Big Horns.

And if you're a fan of the Longmire books by Craig Johnson, you've been here, too!

Of course, as an author, Craig Johnson (from nearby Ucross) fictionalized Buffalo to create his much smaller town of Durant, but that doesn't stop folks from ordering Walt Longmire's "usual" at the Busy Bee Cafe - right next to the Occidental Hotel of Owen Wister fame.

In fact, there's so much literary history and history history around this town, it's easy to get the two mixed up!

You've heard of the Johnson County range wars? One local told me (with a wry grin) that some families are still fighting that war.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid...the Bozeman Trail...Chief Red Cloud and his confederation of Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors...the Montana Gold Rush.....  The history never ends.

A week ago, my husband and I took a few days to celebrate my birthday (I'm past my mid-50's now...well past...) and our anniversary (32 years, thank you very much!). We drove over to Buffalo (only a few hour's drive) and stayed at a beautiful B&B, The Mansion House Inn. (Be sure to click on the link so you can browse through the web site - the interior of this Inn is gorgeous!)

We spent our days exploring the mountains, after fueling up with a delicious breakfast provided by our hosts, Pam and John.

Monday morning's breakfast - now THIS is the way to live!

We enjoyed our time at the Mansion House so much, I started thinking we need to have a writer's retreat there someday. Who's up for it?

Pam and John were gracious enough to give me the recipe for our breakfast on Sunday morning - a spinach-feta quiche that makes it's own light crust. Delicious! And I get to share it with you!

Mansion House Spinach and Feta Cheese Dish

Ingredients:

4 large eggs
1 medium onion, diced
6 oz. lightly cut fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 1/3 cups non-fat milk
1/2 cup feta cheese

Instructions:
Beat eggs in large mixing bowl at low speed, Saute diced onions and baby spinach in a sauce pan until spinach is wilted and add to eggs. Then add your flour mixed with: baking powder, salt, and cayenne pepper. Follow up by adding your milk. Butter a 9" x 13" baking dish then evenly pour out the egg dish. Now take the feta cheese and gently sprinkle it over the top. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. Bring up to room temperature and bake at 385° for roughly 30 minutes, until the center is set and the outside a beautiful golden brown. Allow dish to cool for 15 minutes and then cut and serve. Enjoy!

Of course, on Monday we had to turn our car toward the east again, saying goodbye to Wyoming.

For now.

Because "once you've caught the lure of it, you're homesick til you're back in Wyoming...."

Cute Puppies, Cute Kids and Exciting News!

Ever have one of those weeks where things just don't go according to plan? 

One that's filled with the unexpected?

Well, mine apparently spilled over into this week, because I'm not able to bring you the post I had planned.

But I still have a few things I'd like to share, so I hope you won't click to the next blog just yet.

First, I haven't showed you a Maddie picture in a while. She's gotten so big since she was last here.

She and Dixie are best buddies.

One thing that did go according to plan last week was the 4th.

We got to spend it with our favorite firecracker baby. 

Elijah turned three this year, so Old Glory and Superman teamed up to make the best birthday cake ever.

I found a nice surprise on my doorstep last week, courtesy of the UPS man. 

Whoo-hoo!! I love the smell of new books.

Unfortunately, the rest of you will have to wait until Mid-August/September.

To pre-order, click here.

But the BIGGEST and MOST EXCITING news of all--and you're hearing it here first--

Drumroll, please.

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I received a two-book contract from Love Inspired Books!!!!!!!

I'm still happy dancin'.

Titles and release dates are yet to be determined.

So while I may not have a recipe today, we do have virtual cake and punch, so I hope you'll join me in celebrating. Shoot, you can even have seconds, because virtual cake has absolutely NO calories. :)

Happy Tuesday, y'all!

Mercer Mayer and I share some news!

Hello everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back and I have news to share!

(This post has been brought to you by Little Critter. Author illustrator Mercer Mayer publishes these with Golden Press and Random House. We have a huge collection. They seem to fit every occasion.)

 

Anyway, NEWS!!

I got a wonderful phone call from my editor Shana Smith a few weeks ago. She says she did NOT hear me yelling at my children as someone handed me the ALREADY OPENED CELL PHONE.

At least, I'm pretty sure I was yelling. I might have been saying something loudly for all to hear. Something about their mess of a room. But, I digress...

I've always wanted a book contract for more than one book. Maybe even one that wasn't written yet. It's called a blind contract and that means you sign on the line and PROMISE to write a book. How fun is that??? And Shana offered one! The wonderful folks at Love Inspired wanted to buy the book I'd sent as a sequel to Season of Joy (Nov 2012) AND one of those grown-up deals for a book that didn't even exist yet!

Hooray for me!!!!

I babbled on and on and on. Poor Shana. Anyway, I finally let her off the phone.

I felt like this for a whole five minutes!!!

And then I started to worry. Mr. Big Bad Joy-Stealer started to whisper in my ear. Didn't I have enough on my plate? Boy, was I going to have my hands full! (Which I might point out, no one ever says to the President of the United States because it's rude. It implies you are inherently incapable and will FAIL.)

Mr. Doubty-Pants is a bully who likes to remind me of all the things that must be done around here and how I am the only who can do them.

Uh oh, the children will go without shoes! (Wait, they usually run barefoot anyway.)

We do have frogs. If they get out, I'm not going to go looking. (If the turtles get loose, then we'll probably have to find them. That big one likes to bite.)

We've got a newly potty trained kid and one just starting out. Don't their bathroom needs come first?? What if setting up a new writing schedule puts them years behind their peers? What if they're wearing diapers at the prom??? (Hm. Mr. Whispery Voice of Doom, I have to say the prom was overrated. Try again.)

Won't my six beautiful darlings hate me forever because I'm working on a project wholly unrelated to their needs? (Actually, most of these smallish people understand the direct correlation between my typing frantically at a keyboard and the number of cool trips we get to take. For the ones who miss the point, there is always candy to win back their fickle little hearts.)

What about home schooling? They'll get years behind if I try to take on any more than I already have! They will never get a job and will live in my house FOREVER! (Mr. Fear-of-the-Future, you obviously haven't seen us in action. Every time we have a newborn, I face this fear and stomp it into the ground while clutching their awesome test scores. Try again.)

What? Already? No more whispery-worries-in-the-dark? Well, now that we've got the cowardly doubts put to bed...

We can take a good hard look at the situation and see what's actually true.

Contracted books mean revisions, first (ARG!!! Pain!! Torture!! Mayhem!!.. Ok, done whining. Sorry.) It also means excellent time management, scheduling, planning, and perseverance.

A contract means understanding there are only so many hours in the day. It means we have to sleep, eat, and pray without ceasing. (And I mean only that last part without ceasing. Although I do like to eat without ceasing. And nap intermittently.)

It means encouraging small people to help themselves, even when I do love to brush their hair and pick out matching socks and wipe noses. (Can you tell which one is a BIG LIE. Hint: it's not the socks.)

It means letting other people do a job that I could do better, because I need their help. I think this is good for everybody, really.

So, now that I've signed on the line (whee!), just in time for Speedbo, I've got lots of work to do. And there are still people to feed around here. So, here's a super quick warm-you-up snack. It's silly simple, but hey, remember that contract. We're on Speedbo time here.
So, chop a few Granny Smith apples.

Per one apple, add 1 tsp water, dash of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp sugar.
Zap in the microwave for 3 minutes.

Ta-dah!  Compote de Pommes a la Maison. heehee! Seriously, they're pretty tasty. And don't take a lot of time. and kids can make them ALONE. Bonus. If you don't want them to handle the knives or have an older kid to chop (or trust them with the sugar) you can always prepare a bunch in a bag for the freezer. Even in smaller bags, for each portion. But let's not make it complicated, right?

So, thanks for sharing my good news with me, Yankee Belle Cafe folks! I'll see you around the 1k1hr group on facebook to keep myself accountable (Away with you, Pinterest!) and on track. :)

And if you haven't guessed, the next book will also be a Christmas book! I've never loved Christmas so much in my life!

 Until next time, when Julie Hilton Steele will be posting some great tips from the World War II era!

 

Story Time (With Red Velvet Cake)

So I sold a book. My FIRST book.

Am I excited?

You bet your sweet bippie :-)

Now before I break into the long, drawn out, possibly boring story of THE CALL, I want to entice you with some of this wonderful red velvet sheet cake. (The recipe will have to wait until next week)

Go ahead and eat all you want, it's on the house. (Just don't tell Ruthy)

When I started writing, some eight and a half years ago, I just knew I was destined to be the next Nora Roberts.

Then I joined a writer's group and got a nice dose of reality.

Back then, I was writing for the secular market. Shoot, I didn't even know there was such a thing as Christian fiction. No, that's not true. I had heard of it, but they were all prairie romances (no offence intended), and I was not a prairie romance kind of gal.

But God had other plans. And He used whatever avenue necessary to let me know that He wanted me to write for Him.

About that same time, I heard about a group completely devoted to Christian fiction and that people wrote just about everything that was in the secular market, but from a Christian worldview.

So, in 2006, I joined ACFW and have never regretted the decision to write for God's glory.

In 2010, my first novel, a romantic suspense, finaled in the Genesis. But it still wasn't good enough for publication. And today it still sits on my shelf because I had another calling--romance.

Oh, how I love to watch people fall in love. And what better place to do it than in a breath-taking setting like Ouray, Colorado. I fell in love the first time my MIL introduced me to the small alpine town where her parents' homesteaded in the 1920's.

Fast forward to ACFW Conference 2011, a conference I almost missed because my husband broke his back ten days before I was due to leave. He could barely get out of bed on his own, let alone dress himself. Nonetheless, he was determined that I was going to go.

So I did.

I pitched my Ouray story to Melissa Endlich and she requested the full manuscript. I'd never had a request for a full before, so this was VERY exciting.

I came home, polished that puppy, got it out the door in early October, and waited. And waited. Which turned out to be a good thing since, through the broken back, they discovered my husband had kidney cancer and had to have his kidney removed. Long story, just know that it was contained and he's cancer free.

Long about last spring I received a revision letter from Melissa. I brainstormed, rewrote, and sent it back to her this past October. Again, I waited, knowing that God's timing is perfect, and I would sell in His time.

So Friday morning I had just finished my quiet time. I was still in my comfy quiet-time chair, checking emails on my Ipad, when a new email popped up. Oh, my gosh. It's from Melissa Endlich! And she wants to talk to me!

My serene moment was over as my heart about pounded out of my chest. I rushed up the stairs to my husband's office.

"I just got an email from Melissa Endlich."

"So email her back." (like I wasn't going to)

When she called, she said those words I will never forget. "I'd like to offer you a contract."

I guess I had spent all my excitement before she called, because I was surprisingly calm. But then I screamed as soon as I hung up the phone.

So my book will come out THIS September, I'm fixin' to be neck deep in revisions, I finally get to see what an art fact sheet is, and I have no idea what my title will be.

But I got THE CALL. And it's every bit as exciting as I dreamed it would be. Actually, even more so, because by Friday's end, I had signed with Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency as well.

The publisher of my dreams, the editor of my dreams, and the agent of my dreams...all in one day.

God is so stinkin' good to me.

Oh, and in case you want to know a little bit of what my story is about:

Dr. Trent Lockridge came to Ouray, Colorado for a fresh start. What he finds is a son and the woman he betrayed ten years ago. Having grown up in the foster system, Trent’s greatest desire is to have a family. Is he destined to be alone or is love strong enough to overcome the past?

How about another piece of cake? You know you want one.

New Contract Simply Saturday!!!!

I made these (chocolate peanut butter swirl chip brownies) yesterday to celebrate!

HOW LAME IS THAT????

(NOTE: BIG GRIN ATTACHED!!!)

Yes, I'm writing this grinning because the sweet hand of God the Father Almighty has rested upon my L'Orealed head once more...

Through his grace and Love Inspired's largess and Natasha Kern's devotion I have just been granted a four book contract to use on a law enforcement series set in Western New York!

OH, YAY!!!!!

"Kirkwood Lake"

a series of books by Ruth Logan Herne

Hot cops. Sweet cops. Hard-working heroines. Downtrodden souls. Bridge builders. Gentle hearts. Pretty flowers. Rolling hills. Gorgeous lakeshore. Seeking faith. Finding hope. Trees, trees and more trees to feed my dryad heart! And did I mention a farm that just makes me SMILE FROM EAR TO EAR????  Mostly because it makes Mary Connealy cringe that I'm setting up a dairy farm for this tough heroine.

:)

We're bridging the Men of Allegany County into this series, so the final book of Men of Allegany County (next May, a beautiful story of surviving cancer and saying goodbyes...."The Lawman's Second Chance") is actually going to be the FIRST book of the "Kirkwood Lake" series.

I am happy dancing here!  And I'm celebrating by NOT COOKING A DARN THING!!!  :)

Take-out, anyone????

But I am working on a new and wonderful dessert tomorrow, one to share next week and I'll show it to youse, pass or FAIL.  Imagine tender, fried pastry, stuffed with cheese filling, dusted with cinnamon sugar, melt in your mouth goodness...

That's what I'm attempting tomorrow, so I'll either embarrass myself (like that's never happened before, LOL!) or make you all smile to see how simple it is!

Get those deep fryers ready and don't tell me it will be just as good baked.

Oh, yuck.

:)