Showing posts with label crimefiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crimefiction. Show all posts

Monday, November 21, 2016

Bella's Old-Fashioned Coconut #Cake #Recipe from Shades of Wrath by Karen Rose Smith




So many traditions are attached to the holidays. Favorite recipes and baking always play a part in my family's.  Since many of my traditions belong to my sleuth, Caprice De Luca, she bakes and cooks with her loved ones and friends for special days.  Her sister Bella developed this old fashioned coconut cake recipe that you can find in Caprice's latest sleuthing adventure SHADES OF WRATH--Book 6 in my Caprice De Luca home staging mystery series.  SHADES OF WRATH also contains two other recipes--a main dish and a salad.  Its release day is November 29, 2016 but you can pre-order it now!

Enjoy this recipe and your Thanksgiving.  I hope love and warm feelings surround you now and always.

Karen


Bella's Old Fashioned Coconut Cake

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

1/2 cup solid coconut oil
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
5 egg whites
1 whole egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (I use Silk Coconut Milk)
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 cups flour

In electric mixer, cream the coconut shortening with the sugar.  Add eggs slowly and mix until batter is smooth.  Add salt, baking powder and baking soda.  Mix until blended.  Add vanilla and coconut milk and mix just until blended.  Add flour 1/2 cup at a time, mixing two minutes or until batter is smooth.

Pour evenly into a 9 x 13 inch greased and floured pan.  Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  (Or you can make a layer cake as pictured at the top of this post.)
                                                    
Frosting

1 stick (1/2 cup) margarine (softened)
½ cup Crisco

Cream together the softened margarine and Crisco.  To this mixture add:

1 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons flour (1 at a time)
2/3 cup coconut milk (This should be tepid temperature and added slowly.  I use Silk Coconut Milk)
½ teaspoon vanilla

Beat 8-10 minutes at high speed until frosting is smooth.  Spread over the cake and sprinkle the top with flake coconut.


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AVAILABLE NOVEMBER 29
Wendy Newcomb, director of the Kismet women's shelter Sunrise Tomorrow, is thrilled when the shelter receives a legacy.  She hires Caprice to decorate the mansion to serve women who need more than an overnight port in a storm. But in her drive against domestic violence, Wendy has made enemies and is murdered. Caprice finds herself in danger once more as she asks questions and even calls on St. Anthony for inspiration to solve this murder mystery.


Pre-order SHADES OF WRATH on Barnes and Noble


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USA TODAY Bestselling Author Karen Rose Smith is an only child who delved into books at an early age. She learned about kindred spirits from Anne of Green Gables, solved mysteries with Nancy Drew and wished she could have been the rider on The Black Stallion. Yet even though she escaped often into story worlds, she had many aunts, uncles and cousins around her on weekends. Her sense of family and relationships began there. Maybe that's why families are a strong theme in her novels, whether mysteries or romances. Her 97th novel will be released in 2017.
Karen and Paddy

Readers often ask her about her pastimes. She has herb, flowers and vegetable gardens that help her relax. In the winter, she cooks rather than gardens.  And year round she spends most of her time with her husband, as well as her four rescued cats who are her constant companions. They chase rainbows from sun catchers, reminding her life isn't all about work, awards and bestseller lists. Everyone needs that rainbow to chase.

Karen looks forward to interacting with readers. They can find her at the links below. 




©2016 Karen Rose Smith

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Saturday, January 31, 2015

Why Do I Do #Booksignings? by Karen Rose Smith


When my first book was published in 1992, I did booksignings for a practical reason.  I received 1000 free books from the publishing company and I wasn't going to let them sit in my office. I learned about distributors and bookstores and had most of them placed. In addition, I scheduled booksignings to sell them. Back then, I decided I would advance my career by finding one reader at a time.

Life has changed since then. Now I interact with my readers on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. But my philosophy is still the same. Find one reader at a time. When I began indie-publishing in 2011, I had to find a whole new readership--those readers who wanted ebooks rather than print. However, I still have readers who prefer to hold a book in their hand. They like to walk into a bookstore, peruse the shelves, and maybe have a book signed.

I don't do as many booksignings as I once did. But I especially like to connect with my local readers.  I still have a snail mail mailing list and inform them when I have a book signing locally.  Some of them have been coming to my signings for twenty years! Those are loyal readers. Those are readers I want to talk to.


The "soft" launch of GILT BY ASSOCIATION, my third Caprice De Luca Home Staging mystery, was on January 27. E-books began flying to Kindles and Nooks. I'll be having a Facebook launch party on February 3. But February 1 is the date when GILT will be available in brick and mortar bookstores. I'll be doing a book signing at my local Books-A-Million on February 7.

...Just because I think combining the old ways of connecting and the new ways is the best strategy for the future.




GILT BY ASSOCIATION on Amazon

GILT BY ASSOCIATION on Barnes and Noble



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USA TODAY Bestselling Author Karen Rose Smith is an only child who delved into books at an early age. She learned about kindred spirits from Anne of Green Gables, solved mysteries with Nancy Drew and wished she could have been the rider on The Black Stallion. Yet even though she escaped often into story worlds, she had many aunts, uncles and cousins around her on weekends. Her sense of family and relationships began there. Maybe that's why families are a strong theme in her novels, whether mysteries or romances. Her 87th novel will be released in 2015.

Readers often ask her about her pastimes. She has herb, flowers and vegetable gardens that help her relax. In the winter, she cooks rather than gardens. And year round she spends most of her time with her husband, as well as her four rescued cats who are her constant companions. They chase rainbows from sun catchers, reminding her life isn't all about work, awards and bestseller lists. Everyone needs that rainbow to chase.

Karen looks forward to interacting with readers. They can find her at the links below. 



Karen's Newsletter IN TOUCH

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©2015 Karen Rose Smith



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Thursday, May 22, 2014

Best Five Places To Visit In My #Cozy Town of Kismet, #Pennsylvania by Karen Rose Smith


When you take a trip or move to a new place, you want to know the best places to visit.  My fictional town of Kismet is located in South Central Pennsylvania where I was born. This is a beautiful area with farmland, fields, woods and even rolling hills. The area where I've set Kismet is between York and Harrisburg which gives my sleuth Caprice De Luca access to bigger towns and cities, including Lancaster, Baltimore and D.C.

If you asked a resident of Kismet to answer this question--What are the best five places to visit in Kismet--he or she would probably give you this list!

PERKY PAWS
Since my sleuth Caprice loves animals and takes in strays, PERKY PAWS is one of her favorite business in Kismet to shop in.  He shop is animal friendly.  The front case carries an assortment of biscuits: peanut butter nuggets, gingerman-sized ginger biscuits, pumpkin biscuits, and cheese and bacon biscuits.  Colorful dog cookies also decorate the case and are adorned with yogurt icing.  Her pup, Lady, notices them, too, and stands at the case as if she expects one to jump out at her so she can eat it.  At PERKY PAWS, Caprice can pick up anything she needs from a kitty bed to good food for her furry friends to eat.

BLUE MOON GRILLE
The BLUE MOON GRILLE holds memories for Caprice.  She shared a romantic date there with Dr. Seth Randolph.  The line for seating sometimes stretches through its reception area on the first floor of an arts and crafts mall and practically out the front door.  Stairs lead to the second floor dining area and the deck outside.  Chatter in the main dining room is loud sometimes around the bar but there is a gas fireplace that makes it cozy on wintry nights.  Sliding glass doors open to the outside deck.  There is always a vase of wildflowers on the tables.  Black wrought iron chairs with rounded backs have cushy cushions tied to the backs and the seats.  The glass-topped tables hold white placemats, silverware and crystal.  The outside deck is lovely on a moonlit night.  On the night Seth and Caprice have dinner there, Seth arranges for a guitarist to play Caprice's favorite music from the 60's and 70's.  The restaurant is especially known for its huge soft pretzels with crab and cheese topping.


ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI CHURCH AND GARDENS
The De Lucas are Catholic and Caprice's faith is important to her. The family attends Mass and other services at St. Francis of Assisi Church.  Behind the church there is a garden with a statue of St. Francis Assisi, who is considered the patron saint and protector of animals. Caprice's admiration for St. Francis must play a part in her love for animals.  Her sister calls her a "stray animal magnet" and she finds homes for the strays she takes in.  When Caprice needs to think through a situation, she sometimes sits in the St. Francis garden.  The statue always has seasonal flowers planted around it from daffodils and hyacinths in the spring, to geraniums in summer to mums in the fall.  It's a peaceful and relaxing spot with a cement bench that fits three.  
OLDER AND BETTER ANTIQUES
Caprice is a retro girl.  Her house was built int he 1950's.  She has decorated her house with 1950's furniture and 1960's colors.  Her Nana Celia collected Fostoria crystal through the years and handed it down to Caprice's mom when she moved in with her son and daughter-in-law.  Caprice often uses antiques in staging houses which is her profession.  One of her favorite shops to peruse--from furniture to antique jewelry is OLDER AND BETTER owned by Isaac Hobbs.  Isaac often gives Caprice important gossip and information about collectibles that helps her solve murder cases.  In his shop she can weave in and out of primitive cupboards, pie safes and hand carved rockers.

ALL ABOUT YOU
ALL ABOUT YOU is a unique dress shop opened by Caprice's good friend Roz Winslow.  In the first book of the series, STAGED TO DEATH, Roz was a suspect in her husband's murder investigation.  Once all the dust settled, she decided to use her fashion sense to open a store where all women (not just those who are a size 2) can find fashions they like.  In book 3, GILT BY ASSOCIATION, Caprice finds a forties style fuchsia dress for the Valentine's Day dance at ALL ABOUT YOU.

The dress shop is located in what Kismet residents call Restoration Row.  It is a street of row houses in an older section of town.  Officially a developer named the street Bristol Row when his company refurbished the houses, sand blasting brick, refacing the fronts, putting siding over clapboard, adding black shutters and making the street respectable once again.  Roz rented of the houses for ALL ABOUT YOU.
The store has an unusual layout, with two stories and separate rooms for specific types of fashions.  The back entrance has an insidee stairway with a chairlift for anyone disable who whats to shop there.  There is a ramp out back, too, for the first floor as well as limited parking.  Roz has gone to a lot of trouble to make this boutique exactly the way she wanted with woman shoppers in mind.

You can read more about Caprice, her family and her penchant for solving murders in the Caprice De Luca Home-stager Mystery series, published by Kensington Books.
STAGED TO DEATH, December 2013
DEADLY DECOR, June 2014
GILT BY ASSOCIATION, February 2015
Copyright 2014 Karen Rose Smith
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