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My new release, SILENCE OF THE LAMPS (Caprice De Luca Home Staging Mystery, Book 5), will be released on April 26th. Our rescued cat Halo is in this book. I even kept her name! Join in on the fun at my launch party on April 26th from 7-10 p.m. on my KarenRoseSmithBooks Facebook page.
I'm finishing two projects. I'm editing LEMON TEA CAKE MURDER, the first book in my Daisy's Tea Garden series. To better picture descriptions, I've made a collage of her barn house and drawn up the floor plans. As release date aproaches next spring, I will share elements of the mystery and pictures of her surroundings with you. At the present time, I am readying the sequel to my Search For Love book HER SISTER for publication. I plan to have THE WEDDING PROMISE, Book 8 in the Search For Love series, available in e-book and print in June. It will also be available in audiobook later in the summer.
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The dessert recipe I developed for SILENCE OF THE LAMPS is Nikki's version of carrot cake. I've included the recipe below as a special sneak peek for my newsletter subscribers. I hope you like it. My friends, neighbors and family enjoyed taste-testing this recipe!
Nikki's Carrot Surprise Cake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour 9 x 13 inch pan
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup flaked coconut
Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and orange zest in a large mixer bowl. To that mixture add sugar, oil and eggs. Beat on medium speed for about one minute until well-mixed. Then fold in carrots, pineapple, walnuts and coconut until completely blended.
Pour into 9 x 13" greased and floured cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting. After the cake is iced, refrigerate until you are ready to serve it.
Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese (softened)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
1 box (1 pound) Confectioners Sugar
Beat softened butter with softened cream cheese until smooth. Add vanilla and orange zest. Blend in Confectioners Sugar and beat until smooth and spreadable. Frost the cake and refrigerate until you are ready to serve it.
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Since I enjoy gardening, I started geraniums, impatiens and heirloom tomatoes in our basement. As you can see the impatiens have really taken off. The tomatoes have sprouted, and I hope to produce enough plants for our garden, as well as our friends and family. We're trying raised beds this year, and I'll let you know how they work out!
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Our inside fur babies are busy watching birds and enjoying the occasional open window on a warmer day. When the temperatures drop (we've had see-sawing weather in PA), they cuddle in the throws with us...or each other.
Our trail camera catches the parade of night and day visitors, but Bonnie and Clyde are the most frequent visitors. They are attached to each other and don't trust us yet. We usually see them twice a day for hearty Fancy Feast meals. I hope throughout the summer they'll realize they can trust us.
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In DRAPE EXPECTATIONS, my Sleuth Caprice adopts a white Persian cat name Mirabelle. In this newsletter, I'm giving away a locket depicting a white Persian cat to one lucky newsletter subscriber. Click on the button below to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway.
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