KILL THE WABBIT!

A little Easter humor from the Pollack household. All I can think of is Elmer Fudd singing, "Kill the Wabbit! Kill the Wabbit!" Happy Easter, everyone! -- Anastasia

BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--GUEST AUTHOR DIANA RUBINO

Author Diana Rubino has a passion for history. She writes biographical novels with no fictional characters. Her latest work is Give Us Liberty, the story of Martha Washington as told by her favorite servant, her slave Oney Judge. Today Diana talks about her passion for Abraham Lincoln. Read more about her and her books at her website and blog. – AP




A Necessary End 

Abraham Lincoln has fascinated me since I was eight years old. I don’t know what got me started, but it might’ve been a book which I still have, The Life of Abraham Lincoln, Volume 1, written in 1895. When I was in 3^rd grade, in the mid-60’s (which shows how long I’ve been a Lincoln nut), my teacher asked us to bring a book to school from home for Show & Tell. My mother suggested I bring this Lincoln book, which even in 1966 was in bad shape—yellowed, stiffened strips of Scotch tape barely held the covers to the spine.

With the wisdom of an 8-year-old that sadly, all of us outgrow, I demurred, saying, “This old book? She’ll think we’re poor!” My mother corrected me: “No, she’ll think we’re rich. Books like this are rare.” Then she proceeded to tape it up some more. Those 47-year-old Scotch tape fragments adhere to the book’s spine and pages to this day. The teacher, Miss Cohen, was duly impressed.

I still treasure that book to this day, and it’s one of many on my “Lincoln shelf” which holds books about our murdered president, his wife Mary, his assassin John Wilkes Booth and his family, the “Mad Booths of Maryland” and the conspirators who faced the gallows or years of hard labor because Booth, their charismatic leader, sucked these poor impressionable souls into his insane plot.

After writing eight historicals set in England and New York City, I decided to indulge my passion for Lincoln-lore. I began researching in depth about Lincoln’s life, his presidency, his role in the Civil War, and Booth’s plans to first kidnap him, then to assassinate him.

A Necessary End combined two genres I’m passionate about—history and paranormal. I joined The Surratt Society, based in Maryland, and attended their conferences and tours. Through the Surratt Society, I met several Lincoln/Booth/Civil War experts. One lady I’ll never forget meeting is Marjorie “Peg” Page, who by all accounts except definitive DNA testing, is John Wilkes Booth’s great granddaughter.

My trips to Lincoln's home and tomb in Springfield, Illinois, Gettysburg, Ford’s Theater, and the house he died in, Petersen House, brought me close to Mr. Lincoln’s spirit. My travels also acquainted me with Booth’s brother Edwin, the most famous actor of his time, and his unconventional family.  A recording of Edwin’s voice reciting Shakespeare on one of Edison’s wax cylinders still exists.

My paranormal experience includes investigations at several haunted homes, restaurants and graveyards. I investigate with a group from Merrimack, NH, led by CC Carole. I’ve never seen a ghost, but I’ve received responses to my questions with my dowsing rods. Wishing I had my recorder with me, I made a ghost laugh at the Jumel Mansion in Harlem, New York City, (see the story and photos on my blog)

Tragically, we’ll never hear Abraham Lincoln’s voice. But his spirit lives on. In my book, which is fiction—but we all know that novels are fictionalized truths—I gave Booth what was coming to him. He got his justice in real life, but in A Necessary End, he also got the paranormal twist he deserves.

And I enjoyed sticking it to him!

I paralleled the Shakespeare play Julius Caesar in this story because in the play, Caesar was known as a tyrant to the Senators, who feared losing their power, as Booth feared losing the Confederacy. Booth always considered Lincoln the tyrant, hence his proclamation, “sic simper tyrannis” (be it ever to tyrants) when he jumped to the stage after shooting Lincoln.

Caesar’s Senators, Brutus and Cassius among them, conspired to stab Caesar to death on an appointed day. Booth recruited a group of like-minded disciples to aid him in his insane plot, at first to kidnap Lincoln, then to kill him.

By day, Booth was a Confederate spy and courier, taking dangerous missions so that his beloved South could fight the North in the war that tore the nation in two. But in this story, an even darker secret plagues him—he believes he’s the reincarnation of Brutus, the man who slew the tyrant Caesar, and Booth’s destiny in this life is to murder the tyrant who’s ravaged the South—Abraham Lincoln. In obeying the spirit of Brutus, Booth devises a plot to assassinate the tyrant.

I wrote the book as a paranormal instead of a straight historical novel  because spirituality was extremely popular in 1865 and all throughout Victorian times. Mary Lincoln was a staunch spiritualist. So stricken with grief after the deaths of her boys Willie and Eddie, she hired mediums such as Nettie Maynard to visit the White House and hold séances in attempts to contact her sons from beyond the grave.

The extent of séances, table-tapping, Ouija boards, Tarot cards, and otherworldly activities in this era fit perfectly with the story I wanted to tell. We could never enter Booth’s head, but his insane behavior begs the question: was he truly haunted by a spirit who drove him to his heinous act that changed history forever?

Blurb:

When actor John Wilkes Booth, under the guise of seeking spiritual advice, visits the President's medium to gather information about Lincoln's habits in order to kidnap him, a malevolent spirit begins to haunt and torment him, driving him to the brink of insanity. A mysterious coin also appears out of nowhere, and returns every time Booth tries to discard it. Each return of the bloodthirsty Roman coin brings increasingly terrifying events and eerie hauntings. In the midst of these strange visitations, Booth falls in love with Alice Grey, a beautiful actress who's hired by the government to spy on him. She’s torn between her love for Booth and her duty to protect the President from assassination.

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ANASTASIA RECEIVES A SUNSHINE AWARD!

The Sunshine Award is a lovely sunny flower that bloggers give to other “bloggers who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere.”

The other day Kath Marsh, who writes the Letters from Earth blog, bestowed a Sunshine Award on Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers. Thanks so much, Kath!

As with most awards, the Sunshine Award comes with a few simple rules:

(1) Thank the person who gave you the award in your blog post.

(2) Do the Q&A below

(3) Pass on the award to 10-12 deserving and inspiring bloggers, inform them and link to their blogs.

Here are my answers to the questions:

Favorite Color: Black (a pear-shaped, middle-aged girl’s best friend)

Favorite Animal: Ralph, the Shakespeare quoting parrot

Favorite Number: Seventeen. Don’t ask me why. For some reason seventeen always comes to mind first, like when I’m juggling seventeen things at once, which I do constantly.

Favorite Non-alcoholic Drink: Coffee, coffee, and more coffee. Did I mention coffee?

Facebook or Twitter: Who has time for either? I certainly don’t. Thanks to a certain sadistic author, I’m too busy trying to dig my way out of the debt-ridden back-story she created for me.

Your Passion: Finding ways to get out of the messes that sadistic author writes me into. (Think Lois will kill me when she reads this? No way! She’d have to come up with a brand new series.)

Giving or Getting Presents: Giving. Shopping for others is so much more fun than shopping for myself. At least it used to be, back before author Lois Winston yanked me out of my comfortable middle-class life.

Favorite Day: The day I win the lottery, which, unfortunately, hasn’t occurred yet. :-(

Favorite Flowers: All except lilacs which I’m deathly allergic to.

Finally, these are the 10 fantastic bloggers I'm tagging for this award. Check them out:

• Camille Minichino—The Real Me 
• Caridad Pineiro’s blog 
• Cindy Sample’s blog 
• Dru’s Book Musings 
• Five Scribes 
• Get Lost in a Story 
• Inkspot 
• Jill Archer’s blog 
• Lesa's Book Critiques
• Write Here, Write Now with Sheila Boneham 

HEALTHY LIVING WITH JANICE-HOW TO BURN MORE CALORIES

If you’re like millions of others, one of your New Year’s resolutions was to lose weight. Have you? Here’s a handy tip to help you burn more calories with very little effort. 

We’ve all heard that drinking a glass of water before each meal fills us up and helps keep us from overeating. One recent study also found that 16 ounces of water increased metabolism by 30%. But here’s where it gets really interesting—cold water increased metabolism even more. So drop a few ice cubes in that glass of water to burn, baby, burn—calories, that is.

COOKING WITH CLORIS - PENNE CASSEROLE

The calendar might say it's spring, but it's still feeling like winter. Casseroles are a winter staple. Here’s a recipe for a penne casserole that will fill you up without filling you out.

Penne Casserole

serves four

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground turkey

1 lg. onion, chopped

1 cup sliced mushroom

2 cloves garlic, minced

25 oz. jar spaghetti sauce

olive oil

2 cups penne

1 cup low-fat shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Prepare penne according to package directions. While penne is cooking, brown onions in oil. Add mushrooms and garlic, then ground turkey, cooking until turkey is no longer pink.

Pour a small amount of spaghetti sauce into a 10” x 10” casserole, coating the bottom completely. Combine the remainder of the spaghetti sauce with the turkey.

Drain cooked penne and pour into casserole dish. Spoon turkey over penne. Sprinkle cheeses over top. Back at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, until cheese browns. Serve with choice of vegetable or salad.

CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA - BEADED TRINKET BOX

Craft this beaded box as an Easter gift for a young girl, get a jump on a Mother’s Day gift, or treat yourself to this cute box for storing tiny treasures. The sample was made with a 2-3/4” x 4-3/4” box, but you can choose any size, depending on what you want to store in it. I went with a basically monochromatic palette with a few pops of color, but this box would also look great in a combination of pastel colors or even rainbow hues. -- AP

Beaded Trinket Box

Materials:

Papier maché box, primer, acrylic paint in your choice of color, foam brush, piece of scrap paper at least the size of the lid dimension, pencil, assorted decorative buttons and glass seed beads in your choice of color(s), jewelry glue, fabric glue, ribbon and decorative trims

1. Trace the lid onto the scrap paper.

2. Prime the box and lid. Allow to dry.

3. Paint the box in your choice of color, applying two coats. Allow to dry between coats.

4. While paint is drying, arrange the buttons on the template you’ve drawn on the paper. Play around with the buttons until you have a pleasing assemblage.

5. Using fabric glue, glue ribbon or lace trim around edge of lid.

6. Apply liberal layer of jewelry glue to top of lid. Place buttons one by one on the lid, following the template you’ve created. Sprinkle seed beads over the lid to fill in areas between buttons. Allow glue to dry for several hours before moving the lid.

THIS WEEK'S BOOK WINNER

Thanks to all who stopped by Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers this week and a special thanks to our guest authors. Author Annie Adams visited us on Wednesday and offered a copy of The Final Arrangement to one of our readers who left a comment. The winner is Lynn Holt. Lynn, please contact me at anastasiapollack@gmail.com so that I can put you in touch with Annie.

BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--GUEST AUTHOR L.J. CHARLES

L.J. Charles realized her dream of writing novels seven years ago and hasn't looked back. She is of mixed Irish and Italian heritage, grew up with a love of mysteries, and a soft spot for romance. It's no wonder her Everly Gray adventure series was created with mixed genres, and has two male characters in leading roles—one Italian and one Irish. Learn more about L.J. at her website and blog. -- AP

A Touch of Betrayal is the fourth book in the Everly Gray series. Prior to this story, Everly and her significant other, Mitchell Hunt, have been featured as main characters. In A Touch of Betrayal the 'other man' in Everly's life steps between them, and puts her trust in their friendship to the test.

Tynan Pierce was born from black Irish stock, and has the bordering-on-black hair and azure eyes to prove it. He graces the pages of Everly's adventures with a fondness for fading into invisibility, and for answering important questions with inscrutable, incomprehensible syllables. For all of his adult life, Pierce has been involved in military and special ops occupations and has honed his skills to perfection.

He has three rules for living:

1. Watch your back.

2. Silence saves lives.

3. Love hard and fast. Then long and slow.

What he hasn't done: anything domestic. Today he's breaking the mold to share his favorite bread recipe with you. Simple, fast, and suited to a man without a known address, the recipe produces a tasty loaf with only three ingredients.

1 – 12 ounce can beer (Pierce prefers a solid amber.)

2 cups self-rising flour

3 Tablespoons sugar

Mix sugar and flour. Then pour in beer and mix lightly. It will foam up, so don’t be alarmed or try to slurp off the suds. You need ‘em in the bread! Bake at 375F in a metal pan or 350F in a glass pan for about 30 to 45 minutes. Glass tends to take the full 45 minutes.

Note: Pierce has a standing offer of a passionate, er, kiss for Kelsey Browning in gratitude for teaching him how to make the bread. Readers are welcome to visit her website for more information because Tynan Pierce doesn't kiss and tell.

To learn more about Pierce, I invite you to discover the Everly Gray Adventure series.

A Touch of Betrayal

Bored, restless, and ever curious, Everly Gray schedules a week off from her personal coaching business, takes her ESP fingers out of protective custody, and begins to explore the remains of her parents' property. It's time for her to track their killers and bring them to justice.

That's the plan. Until one of her so-called friends (Tynan Pierce) kidnaps her for an impromptu trip to Hawaii, and she discovers the pain of betrayal.

Before he married Everly, Mitchell Hunt made a bargain with the devil—and lost. When he shows up in Hawaii to make things right, danger follows him, and escalates when a rogue government agent, and a militant psychopath with her gang of minions vie for control of Everly and her healing gifts.

Mitch's betrayal has put Everly's life in danger and flips their relationship to the other side of romance, where there's no way back—or is there?

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BEAUTY WITH NICOLE - BB CREAM

BB Cream

Have you discovered BB cream yet? What are you waiting for? BB cream has become a working woman’s best friend, a one-and-done product that eliminates the need for many other skin care products.

BB is short for “blemish” or “beauty” balm. Think it’s only a tinted moisturizer? Think again. BB cream is an all-in-one skin hydrator, primer, foundation, and sunscreen. Some BB creams also contain caffeine and antioxidants that will help tighten and rejuvenate your skin.

BB creams are now available from many cosmetic manufacturers. You’re bound to find one that best suits both your skin and your budget.

DECORATING WITH JEANIE--GUEST AUTHOR ANNIE ADAMS

Annie Adams is the author of The Final Arrangement, book one in The Flower Shop Mystery series. When not writing she can be found teaching workshops to authors about the business of being a writer, or arranging flowers and delivering them in her own Zombie Delivery Van. Today Annie visits us to discuss using flowers to decorate your home. Learn more about Annie at her website.

Annie is offering either a paperback or e-copy of The Final Arrangement to one of our readers who posts a comment. Please make sure you either leave an email address with your comment or check back on Sunday to see if you’re the winner. We can’t get your book to you if we have no way of contacting you. -- AP

The Final Arrangement is the first in The Flower Shop Mystery Series, where you will find our heroine, Quincy McKay working away in her flower shop. Following are some things she would like to pass on about using flowers in your home.

Flowers are beautiful, they smell nice, and they are used to mark special occasions. Too expensive to keep around the house…right?

Wrong!

Even a single bloom has the power to make an emotional impact in your life as soon as you see it, not to mention what the aroma can do to balance hormones and improve your overall well being. And, a single flower can cost as little as a dollar or two.

  

Did you know it’s been proven flowers have an impact on your emotions? At Rutgers University, a team of researchers performed a 10-month study of responses of research participants to receiving flowers. They found the following:

1. Flowers have an immediate impact on happiness. All study participants expressed "true" or "excited" smiles upon receiving flowers, demonstrating extraordinary delight and gratitude. This reaction was universal, occurring in all age groups.

2. Flowers have a long-term positive effect on moods. Specifically, study participants reported feeling less depressed, anxious and agitated after receiving flowers, and demonstrated a higher sense of enjoyment and life satisfaction.

3. Flowers make intimate connections. The presence of flowers led to increased contact with family and friends.

http://www.aboutflowers.com/health-benefits-a-research/emotional-impact-of-flowers-study.html

I always recommend visiting your local florist to find out what’s in season and to see some fantastic ideas for what you can do with flowers. There are several economical and long lasting blooms such as alstromeria, carnations and chrysanthemums that come in hot, vibrant colors sure to warm up a gloomy winter room.

Carnations and mums were once the lowly forgotten flowers of design, but they’ve made a big-time comeback in party design at places like the Oscars, Oprah’s parties, and more.

Besides using longer-lasting varieties, there are tricks to extending the life of flowers. Make sure you keep the water clean by changing it daily. If you receive a packet of flower food with your purchase, it is imperative you read the directions on the back of the packet and follow the measurements to the letter. Studies have shown that dosing flower food improperly can actually be worse for the flowers than not using any food at all. So keep the home remedies like sugar, soda pop, aspirin, pennies and whatever else you may have heard of, out of the vase.

Give the stems a fresh cut just before placing them in clean water. Lastly, keep your flowers cool. This is the most important step in my opinion. Optimal temperature for flowers is generally 38-42 degrees Fahrenheit. Most of us don't have a flower cooler in our homes, so the next best place is a cool area in the house.  

It only takes one flower to lift your mood and stave off the effects of depression, so stop and pick up an affordable bouquet, even if it’s from the local grocery store. Flowers are calorie-free, drug-free and guilt-free sources of happiness that don't have to break the bank.

Blurb:

The Vulture is dead.

The body of Quincy McKay’s nemesis and biggest competitor in the floral business has just been discovered in a casket at the mortuary, complete with flowers on the lid.

Derrick Gibbons, aka The Vulture, stole all of Quincy’s funeral business, and now she’s on a mission to get it back. But there’s a problem—Quincy is now the main suspect in The Vulture’s murder.

Armed with only her Zombie delivery van, good intentions, and the business card of a handsome cop named Alex, she must find the killer, save the flower shop, and keep from ending up in the next casket. If she can dodge burning bushes, the plague of a polygamist ex, and her mother's Mormon Mafia Spy Network, her life with Alex and her shop could become the perfect arrangement.

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COOKING WITH CLORIS-BROCCOLI, CHEESE & POTATO SOUP

How would we ever get through winter without hot, hearty soups? Serve this one with a hot loaf of French bread for a stick-to-your-ribs meal. Added bonus—because it’s made with fat-free broth and milk and low-fat cheese, you can eat as much of it as you like without packing on the calories.

Broccoli, Cheese, and Potato Soup

Ingredients:

2 small onions

2 carrots

1 celery stalk

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoons flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

32 oz. fat free chicken broth

2 cups fat free milk

2 medium potatoes, peeled

2 cups frozen chopped broccoli

4 ounces low-fat sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Dice onions, carrots, celery, and potatoes.

Melt butter in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Sauté onions, carrots, celery, and garlic in butter on low heat. Add flour and salt, stirring until smooth.

Add chicken broth and milk. Bring to a boil. Add potatoes. Cover and cook on low until potatoes are soft. Remove cover and add broccoli. Heat through.

Add cheddar, stirring well until cheese melts.

CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA - EASTER EGG BUNNY

Here’s a cute little Easter bunny to add to a child’s Easter basket. Or make several and add one at each place setting for Easter dinner.

Easter Egg Bunny

Materials:

2-1/2” Styrofoam® egg, scraps of pastel print calico fabrics, pinking shears, ruler, pencil or fabric marker, tacky glue and jewelry glue, foam brush, 2-1/2” white or straw doll hat, two 5mm wiggle eyes, two 5mm white pompoms, 3mm pink pompom, scraps of white and pink felt, scrap of cardboard

1. Using the ruler and pencil or fabric marker, draw 3/4” squares on fabric scraps. Cut out squares with pinking shears. You’ll need approximately 30 squares to cover the egg.

2. Water down the tacky glue to a consistency that will be easy to spread with the foam brush. Working one fabric square at a time, glue squares to egg, overlapping edges. Cover egg completely with fabric squares. Allow to dry.

3. Print out patterns to 1-1/2" in height. Using pattern, cut out feet from cardboard. Glue a piece of white felt to cardboard. Allow to dry. Trim felt to cardboard.

4. Using pattern, cut out two white felt ears and two pink felt ears. Glue a pink ear to a white ear. Allow to dry. Apply small amount of glue to bottom of pink ear. Fold ears in half at bottom edge. Allow to dry.

5. Glue hat to top of egg. Glue an ear to each side of hat.

6. Glue on eyes (using jewelry glue) and pompoms as shown in photo. Make a small bow from ribbon and glue to egg as shown.

7. Glue bottom of egg to feet.

BOOK CLUB FRIDAY - GUEST AUTHOR KATHRYN J. BAIN

To survive and pay bills, Kathryn J. Bain has worked as a paralegal for over twenty years. She began writing more than ten years ago and has since published several books. Today she joins us at Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers to talk about the “What if” game. Learn more about Kathryn and her books at her website. -- AP

The “What if” Game

As a writer, I am always asked where do I come up with ideas for my stories. One of the places authors find to be a goldmine is the news. Dick Wolf of Law & Order fame was wonderful at “ripped from the headlines” stories.

How did he do it? He took a news story and asked “what if”. For instance, take the election back in November. Here are just a couple of “what if’s” I came up with:

1.             What if one of the lesser known candidates won,

2.             Or no one won,

3.             Or what if a write-in candidate won?

Another recent news story was the man who kidnapped and held a five year-old boy in a bunker for seven days. Thankfully, the child is now home safe. But what’s a good “what if” for that? Here are some of mine:

1.             What if the man was the boy’s father who thought his son was being abused,

2.             Or a man who lost his son and wanted to replace him,

3.             Or an ex-boyfriend angry with the boy’s mother?

Now it’s your turn. Take the news story of the thirty-three co-workers who won a one million dollar lottery ticket and give us a “what if” on it.   

I’ll almost bet an idea just popped into your head. I’d love to hear what you thought up.

Of course, now you’ll be mad at me because every time you hear a news story, you’ll be asking yourself “what if”.

Knight & Day

A name can mean a lot. You expect a Jasper to be the CEO of a company. Name your son Phineas, well, he might get beat up a lot. However if you chose to call your daughter Trubleh (True blay), you get what you ask for.

Trubleh Lawrence makes a habit out of discovering dead bodies. When the police look to her as a suspect, she has no choice but to search for the killer. If that’s not bad enough, she has to deal with a grandmother who has visions, a co-worker who makes the Wicked Witch of the West look like Shirley Temple, and a guy who constantly reminds her that celibacy is hard when a hot male's around.

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