J. Kaye is hosting a whole list of reading challenges for 2009 if you’re looking for one. You’ll need to take a peek at the right sidebar for the full list.

Ear worm alert!

I’m sure many of you remember this Fergie song, London Bridge, since they played it every five minutes on the radio when it first released.

But what you might not have heard is the rock version done by Bowling for Soup. Oh man, LOVE it! I don’t think my husband expected me to like it quite so much when he showed it to me, but now I can’t get it out of my head. Tell me what you think. It’s fun if you watch at least a few seconds of the Fergie one to get a sense of comparison.

Via SciFi Chick

Press Release from Orbit Books:
Introducing the One Dollar Ebook from Orbit!

Orbit – in partnership with a number of major ebook vendors – has launched an innovative promotion offering one ebook for sale each month at the introductory price of $1.00. At the end of the promotional month the cost of the ebook returns to its standard price and a new book will be offered at the discount. Details of the promotion are at http://www.onedollarorbit.com

The promotion will include The Way of Shadows by debut author Brent Weeks, Empress by Karen Miller, as well as classics of science fiction such as Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks.

VP and Publisher of Orbit Tim Holman said: “We believe that this promotion will give readers a great opportunity to discover new writers. Most of our consumer marketing has an online focus, and the digital marketplace offers the perfect platform for price-promotion initiatives such as this. It will be very exciting to see how effective it is. The range of titles chosen for the promotion includes a mix of frontlist and backlist, from both new and established authors, and we will be monitoring the performance of every title very closely.”

A list of titles that will be available at the discount price can be found at http://www.onedollarorbit.com

I went and checked it out and you can get the titles from a list of online bookstores including Amazon, BooksonBoard, Diesel, EReader, Fictionwise and more!

(and other random links)

If you’re interested at all in ebook technology and ebooks, you must go read this blog post by Kassia Kroszer at Booksquare. Kassia is another of those frighteningly intelligent and savvy people who intimidate me (I mentioned a few others here). This post made me want to kiss her square on the mouth, but instead I’ll wait and just buy her a drink in February when we meet up at the O’Reilly Tools of Change conference where we’re doing a panel together (more on that later).

JMC is looking for recommendations for sweet m/m romances. Samhain has some, but with the number of people who say they can’t find sweet m/m romances, it makes me wonder what we can do to make them more obvious.

Karen has information about a fundraiser for Sharon Cullars. More on her situation here.

Dear Author is giving away a Sony Reader. A red one! But there’s work involved, so don’t even follow the link if you’re one of those people who complained about contests that ask you to work for the prize. Not that I’m bitter

Smart Bitches are giving away 10 ARCs of their upcoming book, which I blogged about here. You could win one but the catch is that you have to promise to read it (not just enter to win it for the sake of winning). ‘

Keishon is hosting her TBR challenge again this year, and she makes it very easy to participate. This is the one I did last year and managed to stick with it!

And there was one more link that I wanted to share and I’ll be darned if I can think of it. I hate it when that happens! Do you have a link you want to share?

Two things happened a few weeks ago. First, I got this amazing free sample from Muir Glen. It was four cans of tomatoes delivered in this beautiful wood crate. Very fancy. I was impressed. In the box was fire roasted tomatoes and organic tomatoes. I use a lot of canned tomatoes, so I was excited about the sample and put them in the cupboard for future use. Then, Christmas Eve we went to dinner at Carrabba’s and I had a bowl of the most amazing Fire Roasted Tomato Soup. Brianna ate as much of it as I did, and Josh tested it and declared it a winner. Well, as any parent of a toddler knows, when you find something made nearly entirely of vegetables, you add it to your meal rotation. And as anyone who knows my husband knows, he’s a slightly picky eater so in this case…treat it like a toddler said they liked it!

So I immediately went on the hunt for a Carrabba’s clone of the Fire Roasted Tomato Soup. I didn’t find one, exactly, but I did find a recipe on the Muir Glen website and since they had sent me fire roasted tomatoes, I figured it was destiny! So this week I made this soup for my family. Josh and I both really liked it, and it was easy to make. Brianna was willing to eat it but even with the minimal amount of spices in it, it turned out too spicy for her, which is a huge bummer. I’ll do it different next time to avoid that, because Josh and I can spice it later if needed. Regardless, I highly recommend this recipe! One note, this doesn’t make a huge pot of soup. This is a recipe that’s just right for three to four adults, as it says before, so if you’re feeding more you’ll want to double the recipe.

I served this with homemade Italian Bread, recipe from allrecipes.com but pasted below the soup recipe. Using the bread machine, this was also very easy, though it takes a little planning ahead in your day since the dough needs to go through the dough cycle plus rise than bake. But it takes little effort on your part to make. Score!

Fire Roasted Tomato Soup
Fire roasted tomatoes and a touch of cream add a richness to this tomato soup.

Prep Time:20 min
Start to Finish:50 min
Makes:4 servings (1 1/3 cups each)

1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cans (14.5 oz each) Muir Glen® organic fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (14 oz) reduced-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves, cilantro leaves or Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup whipping cream

1. In 3-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until onion is crisp-tender.
2. Stir in tomatoes, broth, 1 tablespoon of the basil, the sugar and pepper flakes. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat; pour mixture into large heatproof bowl; cool slightly, about 15 minutes.
3. In blender, place half of the mixture. Cover; blend until pureed. Return to saucepan. Repeat with remaining mixture. Heat over medium heat until hot. Remove from heat. Stir in cream and remaining 1 tablespoon basil.

Bread Machine Italian Bread

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

* 4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
* 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
* 1 1/3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (per the reviews I cut this to 1 tsp of salt and it was fine)
* 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
* 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
*
* 1 egg
* 1 tablespoon water
* 2 tablespoons cornmeal

DIRECTIONS

1. Place flour, brown sugar, warm water, salt, olive oil and yeast in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.
2. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Form dough into two loaves. Place the loaves seam side down on a cutting board generously sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover the loaves with a damp cloth and let rise, until doubled in volume about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
3. In a small bowl, beat together egg and 1 tablespoon water. Brush the risen loaves with egg mixture. Make a single long, quick cut down the center of the loaves with a sharp knife. Gently shake the cutting board to make sure that the loaves are not sticking. If they stick, use a spatula or pastry knife to loosen. Slide the loaves onto a baking sheet with one quick but careful motion.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

*note about the bread. I used a baking stone and baked them side by side. Rather than move them around, I just let them rise right on the baking stone, which worked out very well. I covered the baking stone with parchment paper, and skipped the cornmeal. This is a slightly denser bread (more like an artisan bread, a little more chewy, like they’d serve at Carabba’s) but not too dense.

Holiday Hangover

Originally uploaded by Angela James

I guess it’s been a long two weeks of vacation for Brianna. This is her around 5pm tonight, watching TV on the couch. She was drifting off but told me she was just “blinking her eyes”.

I think she’s ready to get back to daycare and her routine. I know I’m ready for her to get back to daycare. I love her to pieces, but two weeks of togetherness is plenty. And almost NO work got done while she was home. Now I remember why she goes to daycare.

My friend Trish posted about Project 365 as something she’s going to do this year and I thought I’d give it a whirl.

The idea is that you take a photo a day for 365 days. I think this seems like an ambitious goal for me, but Brianna has shown a lot of interest in using my camera to take pictures recently, so I’m going to do it “with” her and use a combination of her photos and mine. The first three days are all pictures she took.

One thing I did make sure to clarify was that I don’t have to POST the pictures every day. I just have to take one each day and can post them in batches once a week or whenever I get around to it. That sounds more doable than promising to post a picture every day. I already know I’d fail that. What I did do was set up my Flickr account and add it to the sidebar, so if you’re curious about my project, you can either check out my sidebar or add the RSS for my 365 set to your feed. If you hover over the picture it will tell you the title/date, but if you click on the picture and go to it, I’ll add a little blurb about each one on Flickr. And if you’re interested in other photos, there’s also a 365 Flickr group.

I have to say, looking at some of the pictures is a little intimidating, because people are taking these amazing photos, editing and photoshopping them and creating some beautiful art. I, uh, I’m just going to slap photos up there. If I get all anal about this and try to take the perfect picture every day, I’ll give up in days. So don’t expect to see any works of art here! Some days, you may even see camera-phone pic and anyone who knows the iPhone knows it doesn’t take the most amazing pictures.

I didn’t find out about this project until yesterday, so if you’re like me and want to join a few days late, Trish said it was okay to post pictures that represent those first days that you missed. The idea here is to create a photo journal of your year, both the memorable and the mundane. I hope you’ll let me know where to follow your photos if you decide to join in!

I have no idea how I’ve missed this blog/website before, but just in case any of you out there have also missed it, I’m passing it along. I stumbled along it thanks to Google Alerts.

You must check it out because it’s got some amazing resources including a monthly “newsletter” that lists paranormal/fantasy news and releases (lots and lots of great information here!), a page dedicated to upcoming release dates for different genres, and a series page that lists series in different genres as well as the first book in each series. The website owner writes in her latest newsletter that she welcomes any suggestions for additions to the series page.

Not only that, but she also lists different 2009 challenges, including one she’s hosting, reviews, interesting blog entries, weekly posts with that week’s releases and more! Go check it out.

You might think I’d forgotten, but I didn’t. I said I’d name a winner for the license plate contest sometime after Christmas so here we are…

I really enjoyed reading the suggestions. I have to admit that my favorite was actually Shannon Stacey’s of KDNTRNK (Kid in trunk) since it’s a two seater and there’s three of us. It made me laugh but my husband was quick to nix it, darn it! He and I both had had the thought of EVLEDTR and that was a popular recommendation in the comments. But I also like Kristen’s suggestion of HOTWHLS and Stephanie’s of HOTMOM. Actually, I like a lot of them so I’ll stop listing now. I haven’t decided yet. If I can’t have KDNTRNK I’m just not sure I want any

Anyhow, the winner’s prize is their choice of one of these books: Undercover by Lauren Dane, Wicked Burn
by Beth Kery or Riding Temptation by Jaci Burton. All are recommended reading! If the winner is international, the prize will be in ebook format. U.S. winners will get a print copy delivered from Amazon.

The winner is:

» Dena said: | Edit { Dec 25, 2008 - 05:12:40 }

My first thought was EVLEDTR too. So another one is YOUWISH

Dena, please contact me using the contact form, give me either your mailing address and book preference or, if you’re international, your book preference and I’ll gift the book to you via Fictionwise. Congratulations and thanks again to all of you who left comments and suggestions.

I’m looking forward to some books releasing in 2009, but there are two I’m particularly excited about.

The first is this one: Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches’ Guide to Romance Novels I’ve always both admired and been intimidated by Sarah and Candy’s intelligence, sense of humor and just plain chutzpah (the only other person I feel similarly about is Jane, who is also kind of scary in her intelligent commentary). I know this book promises to be their particular blend of all three of those qualities and I can’t wait! Releases in April 2009.

The second book I’m super excited about is Pioneer Woman’s cookbook. There’s no specific information on it on either her website or Amazon, but from reading her blog I know it’s due to be released in 2009. If you’ve never tried a PW recipe, you’re missing out so get thee to her website and check out her recipe file. Subscribe to the Cooking blog for sure, but also to her other blogs–she’s funny and entertaining. Oh, and she also has some pretty amazing giveaways on her various blogs just about weekly, though she does get about 14,000 entries in one day’s time!

Here’s some of the fiction books on my Amazon wishlist for 2009–these are only the ones that I had note of, I’m sure there are many, many more I’m missing. One thing you might note about my wishlist is that it’s comprised almost entirely (with the exception of Kristan Higgins, Victoria Dahl and JD Robb) of urban fantasy, fantasy and paranormal. I think for 2009 my resolution will be to read more contemporary and historical:

January 2009

Kiss of a Demon King (The Immortals After Dark, Book 6) by Kresley Cole

These two are available now but deserve mention as January releases:
Talk Me Down by Victoria Dahl Kindle edition

Veil of Midnight (The Midnight Breed, Book 5) by Lara Adrian

February 2009

Too Good To Be True by Kristan Higgins

Promises in Death by J.D. Robb

The Better to Hold You by Alisa Sheckley*

Bone Crossed (Mercy Thompson, Book 4) by Patricia Briggs

Undone (Outcast Season, Book 1) by Rachel Caine

White Witch, Black Curse (The Hollows, Book 7) by Kim Harrison

March 2009

(see ARCs below for March wishlist)

April 2009

Blue Diablo: A Corine Solomon Novel by Ann Aguirre

Sins & Shadows by Lyn Benedict*

May 2009

Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, Book 9) by Charlaine Harris

Crouching Vampire, Hidden Fang: A Dark Ones Novel by Katie MacAlister

Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow

Once Dead, Twice Shy (Madison Avery, Book 1) by Kim Harrison

June 2009

Mark of the Demon by Diana Rowland

July 2009

Branded by Fire by Nalini Singh

Hunting Ground (Alpha & Omega, Book 2) by Patricia Briggs

Mercy Thompson Homecoming by Patricia Briggs

August 2009

Redemption Alley by Lilith Saintcrow

September 2009

October 2009

Doubleblind by Ann Aguire

November 2009

Kindred in Death by J.D. Robb. *sidenote* I love how Nora Roberts has her entire 2009 release schedule on her website. It lets fans know what’s coming. There are some authors on my list who really need to do better about updating as some don’t even update AFTER the book’s release (or don’t have a website to speak of at all). Ack!

Unknown release date

Book 5 of C.L. Wilson’s Tairen Soul series. Write faster C.L.!

Some 2009 books I have ARCs and have either read or have TBR:

Angels’ Blood by Nalini Singh releases March 2009

Magic Strikes (Kate Daniels, Book 3) by Ilona Andrews (I’m also very excited about her June release from Samhain!) releases March 2009

Living on the Edge by Ilona Andrews (pssst, Ilona, you need to update your website…it still says “Border Rose” and your Samhain book isn’t even on there. *sniff*)

Pride (Werecats, Book 3) by Rachel Vincent releases February 2009

The Treasure Keeperby Shana Abe releases March 2009

The Shadow Queen (Black Jewels, Book 7) by Anne Bishop releases March 2009

The Sharing Knife, Volume Four: Horizon by Lois McMaster Bujold releases January 2009

*No author website.

So what books are you looking forward to in 2009?