Fried Lake Erie Perch- Yum!

My character of Mr. Wilder is dear to my heart because he is loosly based on my father. My dad was a man of little words. He worked full time at a demanding job to care for his family but his passion was fishing. From an early age, he took us girls fishing. I learned how to ice-fish on a cold Ohio pond to ride the waves on Lake Erie in search of Lake Perch. 

The Lake Erie Perch is a fresh water, or yellow perch and kin to the Walleye that can also be found in the Great Lakes. The perch has a mild taste and is a frequent staple of Friday Fish Fries around Amherst. But no one makes it as good as my dad.

I thought I'd share the recipe with you, since I write about this yummy treat in Forever Love. Syndie's father makes Lake Erie Perch for dinner one night when, Syn's ex-boyfriend, Thom, comes to visit.

Enjoy!

Fried Lake Erie Perch

Ingredients:

Approximately 15 Yellow Lake Perch filets (best when caught on Lake Erie)

2 cups Milk (to soak the perch in)

2 cups flour

Batter:

4 eggs

½ bottle or can of beer

½ cup of Milk

4 cups cracker meal (I like the McCormick/Golden Dipt)

Deep fryer with 6 cups oil or a deep frying pan with 6 cups oil

Directions:

Wash the perch in water, examining it for any scales that were missed. Then soak the perch in a bowl with the 2 cups milk over night. When you are ready to cook, remove the perch from the milk and put into a baggie filled with flour to coat the filets.

Mix two eggs and equal parts beer and milk in a deep dish. In a separate deep dish (a pie tin works well) pour the cracker meal.

Remove one filet from the flour mixture, place it into the egg/beer/milk mixture then coat in the cracker meal. Lay it on a sheet of wax paper until all filets have been double dipped through the mixtures. If one of the mixtures runs low, add more ingredients until you’ve coated all the filets. Throw out any of the remaining mixtures.

Once the filets have been coated, heat the oil up in the fryer or pan. Place one or two filets into the hot oil and let it cook only until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and enjoy!

Hot Hunk Friday

This hot hunk just gets better with age. Anyone who remembers Pretty Woman will remember:

 

Richard Tiffany Gere born: August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began acting in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in Looking for Mr. Goodbar, and a starring role in Days of Heaven. He came to prominence in 1980 for his role in the film American Gigolo which established him as a leading man and a sex symbol. He went on to star in several hit films, including An Officer and a Gentleman, Pretty Woman, Primal Fear, and Chicago for which he won a Golden Globe Award as Best Actor, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award as part of the Best Cast.

 

Gere was married to supermodel Cindy Crawford from 1991 to 1995. In 2002, he married model and actress Carey Lowell. They have a son, Homer James Jigme Gere, who was born in 2000 and is named after Gere's father, as well as the Tibetan name Jigme.

 

Gere is also a persistent advocate for human rights in Tibet and actively supports Survival International, an organization dedicated to protecting the rights and lands of tribal peoples throughout the world. Gere also campaigns for ecological causes and AIDS awareness.

A WRITER'S HOLIDAY (A cameo piece by Virginnia De Parte)

She lay sprawled on her beach towel, the sun beating on her back. The sound of the surf lulled her brain, relaxing her whole body.  Only the screech of the seagulls disturbed this strip of isolated sand and confident of the solitude in this cove she’d shed her bra’.

The pages she’d been reading held her cheek off the towel, keeping any grains of sand from seeping into her eyes. The erotic scene on page 94 had been a disappointment. She could write better than that! Dozing, languid and as relaxed as a floppy limbed baby, her mind arranged words, shuffled them to new places and rewrote the scene’s beginning:

‘The sun bounced off the white wall of the shed, blinding her gaze for a moment and in the shadow of the porch she couldn’t see his face.

 “Yes?”  Who was this man? “Can I help you?”

 “I hope so,” he murmured, taking a step toward her, causing her to step back and trip. Damn mat. How many times had she thought to remove it? Strong arms caught her as she fell and, her sight clearer in the shade of the hallway, she recognised their gardener.

 “Maxwell, thank you for catching me.” She struggled to stand but he held her tight against his chest.  She inhaled, breathing in the smell of tree pruning, earth and sweat. It all seemed rather nice and she gave up her struggle, resting against the smooth fabric of his shirt. She stroked his back thinking it funny how her hands found their way around his waist and slid down his tight buttocks to grasp them. As if all her daydreams had been answered he lifted her, his arms under her knees, and carried her into the conservatory, placing her gently on the daybed.

 “Are you hurt, M’am?”

 “I will be if you leave.  Here,” she patted the space beside her, “sit beside me for a moment until I recover……’

 That would read better than the original draft.  She sat up and pulled her duffle bag closer, searching in the bottom for a pen, snagging her notebook at the same time.

 “I’m pleased to see you working?”

 She gasped and wrapped her arms across her naked breasts. She recognised his gnarly toes. His legs dripped, the hairs stuck in dark rivulets. There was sand between his toes.  Even on holiday he haunted her - her editor.

 “What do you want?” she asked, echoing her heroine’s words.

 “Have you finished those edits yet?”

****

TGIF Hunk Friday- Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp, love him or hate him... he's developed a long-standing career in television and movies. His most recent movie, The Lone Ranger has received interest and controversy. Yet Johnny's portrayal of Tonto is certainly what drives people to the movies.

From the 1980's television show, Johnny Depp's bad boy image became the heartthrob of many young valley-girls who posted photos of Johnny on their walls. Johnny's careful choices of movies led many to question why he didn't select more mainstream romantic characters. His choice to work with director, Tim Burton brought him the most recognition until the Disney franchise of Pirates of the Caribbean.

For someone who loves living life to the fullest, Johnny Depp has continued to remain tantalizing to the female eyes. Whether it's his longer hair and passion for music or his rock hard abs and tattoos, there is something striking about Mr. Depp.

What do you think? Are you a Johnny Depp fan? Which movie did you enjoy best?

Decadent Desserts - A Visual

I'm not a big fan of porn - it doesn't do anything for me - except sometimes it makes me laugh.  Erotica, on the other hand, does a lot...I can paint the pictures in my head and am totally there.

But desserts, now there's a visual that does do it for me. I've included some amazing pictures of desserts that should soothe anyone's angst--until the scale raises its ugly head--but its probably worth it. Enjoy!

enough to share...

imagine that first lick...

 

just enough chocolate...

too pretty to cut...

an apple a day...

boyfriend replacment...

not a heartache...

Victoria Black, your twenty minutes start NOW!

This time, the topic was a sentence, the opening line: "They found his diary under his bed."

I like my heroes arrogant. They provide such good fireworks. 

They found his diary under his bed. Poor bastard and all that.

But shit.

Katherine Bridges glared at Detective Steven Entmore. Half a minute more, and it would have been no contest. This case would have been hers. She'd been on duty. But she'd been called away with a break and enter. The perp had been the resident. He'd forgotten his housekeys. But, in that half hour window, Detective Entmore had taken over the case.

Katherine gritted her teeth, as she gazed down at the dead victim and that probably vital clue next to his broken hand. Why did it have to be Steve who'd taken the case? He irritated the hell out of her, for all sorts of good reasons. Yes, he was good looking. Bloody good looking. Six foot. Lanky. Dark haired. Muscles hidden beneath his usual badly ironed white, cheap shirt. He lifted his tanned, lean face to her and smiled. Only the cut above his lip saved him from being perfect.

"Well, Detective Bridges, what a surprise." His white teeth glowed in the low light of the dingy room. His eyes glinted with gentle malice. Usually they glinted with something far more inviting. "But I'm afraid you're too late. The case is mine." He grinned again.

She'd seen that grin so many times. Girls weakened at the knees and sighed. Happened in every pub, every restaurant, every time the department got together. He zeroed in on a pretty woman, and she gave in. Katherine growled. Did he think for one moment his sex on legs display was going to work with her?

Then he laughed. No. He was being his usual smart arse, bastard self. His eyes narrowed and he took a step closer. She forced herself to stay put. "So, Detective Bridges," he whispered, "I suggest you run off, and let the big people take care of things."

She looked at him in disbelief. And breathed in deep, deep breaths. She was not going to take the bait. This time, she was going to be cool, calm, collected.

"Fuck you!"

The words exploded out of her mouth before she could stop them. "This is my case, Detective Entmore. You were officially off duty. So you toddle off like a good little boy, and I'll deal with this. Didn't I hear there was a bicycle stolen from the local high school?" She smiled, hoping her teeth glinted back at him.

He stiffened at her response, and took another step closer. He did that on purpose, Katherine knew, to intimidate. She'd seen him do it to countless men. They'd always backed off. Of course, he'd never done it to a woman, as far as she knew. He'd known he'd already won.

But not with her.

HOT HUNK FRIDAY

A picture tells a thousand words...

Oded Fehr (DOB: November 23, 1970) is an Israeli film and television actor now based in the United States.. He is known for his appearance as Ardeth Bay in the 1999 remake of The Mummy and its sequel The Mummy Returns, as well as Carlos Oliveira in Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Resident Evil: Extinction and Resident Evil: Retribution. He recently portrayed Eyal Lavin, a Mossad agent, on the TV series Covert Affairs, as well as Beau Bronn on the TV series Jane by Design. This past season of NCIS, he played Ilan Bodnar, deputy director of Mossad.

 

 

He's appealing in any genre!!  Oded Fehr

EXCERPT FROM MEMOIRS OF LADY MONTROSE

This story will be available on Total-e-Bound's site and can be ordered now for pre-release on 1st July; and general release on 29th July. Here's something to tempt you and make your Wednesday more enjoyable.

****

The hall clock chimed ten o’clock.  Time for the game to begin.
  Mortlock’s footsteps thumped and his murmurings grew to sound very cross as he hunted without success.  Today he’d searched the library and in his hurry he’d missed her. He’d come so close the drapes had swayed. She’d suppressed a shiver and her nipples had hardened, brushed by the velvet.  Now his heavy tread moved upstairs as he looked before he pounded down the staircase. The door of the billiard room thudded as it hit the wall.  Moments later the library door opened, its familiar creak giving away his progress into the carpeted room.

 He began his second search of the room beginning on the opposite wall. She heard him opening the cupboards, shifting the couch away from the window wall, swishing the curtains. Her skin tingled, her sex heated and her muscles tightened low in her belly. The thrill of knowing he would find her at any moment made her legs weaken and with a swish the curtain yanked back.  She stood revealed,  shivering in the draught,  her buttocks tense, her feet barely holding her on the low stool.
Her erect nipples ached, her flesh tingled with goose bumps and a giggle of delight escaped her as he stared, his gaze raking her from top to toe.
“At last.”
 She stretched her arms up high to relieve their tension from being still for long minutes. Excitement bubbled and fizzed within her. He wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her against his bare chest. His exertions had given him a sheen of perspiration. She toppled as the stool tipped. He righted her while he sucked and nipped her breasts. Hiding for so long had wound her like a coiled spring. She yelped in surprise . He released her and as the stool tipped once more he wrapped his arms around her waist to hold her steady.
“Minx.” He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder so her breasts rested on his back and her
arse received a swift spank.......

My First Crush- Tell Us About Yours!

My First Crush

I will never forget Tracey W. and that special summer we had riding bikes around town and kissing by the train depot.  It was a perfect summer romance.  Tracey will always be my first crush and my first boyfriend.

Tracey and I grew up together in small town- Amherst, Ohio.  There are photographs in an album at home of him and I sharing a sandbox, playing in the grass and having fun.  I honestly didn’t remember much about our childhood playdates.  I don’t remember how close our families were or how we spent a lot of time together.  The first time that Tracey came on my radar was in junior high.  He sat next to me in a class and we got to talking about how we knew each other. 

Tracey was a blond Sylvester Stallone or even Joey from Friends.  He had those piercing eyes and casual attitude that said, “Take it or Leave it”.  Most of the girls were already in love with him.  I remember Missy sitting by us and flirting with Tracey.  His smile was reserved but when he really found something funny, his whole face shone like a floodlight.  I was so jealous when he’d turn that smile onto another girl. 

For weeks, we’d tease around and chat.  All the while, I’d watch him go out with a different girl each week.  It wasn’t until almost June before he gave me a chance.  I wasn’t going to let that chance go. We would meet in the hallways at school, hold hands before class and sneak a kiss.  On the weekends, we’d ride our bikes to the pool in town and hang out or meet each other at the train depot.  It was the joyous feeling of new love.  We thought we’d be together forever.

 

But like any good love story, something happens and we broke up.  We remained friends and still hung out sometimes together, although my feelings never really changed toward him.  In our sophomore year of high school, his parents decided to move into a bigger house in a different town.  My heart was broken.  We wouldn’t be able to ride our bikes and see each other, never to hang out again at the train depot.  In fact, that year was the last time I saw Tracey as he played football for the opposing team one night in October.

Fast forward thirty years…

Tracey and I haven’t reconnected or been in contact in those years since he moved.  I’ve heard from his family but nothing much about him.  It is like he is a missing person these days. We could pass on the street and not know each other. However, I just have to close my eyes and I see his tosseled blond hair, his striking smile and deep blue eyes.  It takes me back to junior high school and my youth. And when we have those memories, we are always connected.

I did create my character of TJ from Forever Love off those memories of Tracey. Here's a snipet of TJ and Syn's romance.

After getting out of my car, I hiked down the stairs. It was a mild September day, and the beach was fairly empty—just myself and a few seagulls. I walked slowly along the shoreline with my head down, not noticing the person swimming in the water until he began to climb out of the surf.

A dark, cropped haircut framed a face so beautiful that it could be described as the face of a Roman god. He had a strong nose and jawline that showed just a sprinkling of whisker stubble. However, it was his body that made me pause. His muscular shoulders and upper arms looked like they could carry a girl off to bed. His wet torso was covered with hair that immediately drew my eyes and tempted me to caress it. The chest hair tapered down his narrow waist and seemed to lead the way to paradise. I stopped walking and just stared. God, please let there be no drool dripping off my chin. This guy was smokin’ hot! Then he smiled and I noticed his face, complete with a little dimple in his chin. He seemed familiar, but I wasn’t sure where I recognized him from. When he saw that I noticed him, he winked as if he recognized me too.

“Hello! Nice day for a walk, huh? The weather has been kind to us this year.” He spoke and my knees wobbled. His voice was like chocolate, smooth and delicious.

“Hi…Yes…I’m glad the weather is nice enough to get out, but isn’t the water too cold for a swim?”

“Not at all. I enjoy my morning workouts after a long shift at the station. You don’t remember me, do you, Syndie?”

My mind was drawing a blank. How did he know my name? Who was this hottie?

“Not really. You do look familiar, but I can’t place you. I’m sorry.”

“It’s been a long time. We grew up together, our parents were best friends. We even went out in high school. I’m not surprised you don’t remember me, you hightailed it out of Amherst like your butt was on fire after graduation. We never saw each other again. I’m Thom Johnson, but everyone called me T.J.”

Oh wow. I’ve got a lot on my plate and he has changed over the years, but to not know someone so connected to most of my life was baffling. This man had been my best childhood friend. I was T.J.’s girlfriend for a while, but he dumped me for someone who put out. Before we went out in high school, I grew up with images in my head of him as the ideal guy. Our families encouraged our dating, thinking we were perfect together. When he dumped me, it broke my heart. I couldn’t stand watching him move on without me.

“Yes, I recognize you now, T.J. I took off because I thought that a big city had more to offer me. Well, it was nice to see you again. I had better get back to my walk, you seem busy.” I took off wanting to escape this awkward moment. Having to explain to T.J. why I was back in town was the last thing on my to-do list today.

“All right, Syn. See you around.” T.J. smiled. “Glad you’re back!”

I began heading back to my car, no sea glass having been found. Instead I’d discovered the one guy who broke my heart and, based upon my initial reaction to the sight of him, has the potential to do it again. I backed out of the parking spot and headed back onto the main road into town, thoughts of T.J. occupying my mind.

You can read more about Forever Love on my blog: http://www.melissakeir.com

Tell us more about your first crush. Did you have a summer romance? Was it a crush on someone famous? Who did you fall for and why! 

Five Things to Look Out for When Self-Editing

Five Things to Look Out for When Self-Editing

You’ve written a wonderful novel, a compelling story that must be published. But the first step in getting anything published is to make it shine. This is where self-editing comes into play. The writing process is just that- a process- and editing is an important step. It’s where you can correct those simple mistakes that will lead a publishing house to accept or deny your story.

There are many things that you need to do to make your story better from commas to semi-colons. Capitalization, spelling and grammar are just small pieces of the puzzle. There are so many different things to good editing that we could spend all day talking about them or taking a class on them. Today I’m sharing with you just five simple things to look out for when you edit.

Spell Check is Not the Best Tool

Most of us rely on spell check when we are writing. It automatically corrects those spelling mistakes corrects punctuation for us. But spell check is often incorrect and does miss some very common errors. In fact, depending on your settings it may not even be checking the words in your document. Rather than rely on spell check, it’s best if you use a dictionary or thesaurus if you are unsure about a word.

With the advent of the auto-correct, I’m seeing more and more silly wordings in documents. The auto correct will anticipate what word you are trying to type and put it in the sentence, only for you to find that it called your mother a “gas” instead of a “guest”.  Turn off the auto-correct function. It will only lead to more silly mistakes then it corrects.

Read Your Manuscript Differently

One of the best things you can do is to change the format of your manuscript when you do a read through. By changing the formatting, your eyes will see the mistakes more easily. One author that I know prints off her pages and uses the dreaded little red pen to mark her mistakes. She’s found that a hard copy makes it easier for her. Other authors use their Kindle to read through their story to see how the reader will see it. This allows for you to notice any spacing issues as well.

Even reading your story aloud will make a huge difference. If you come to a part that you stumble with as you read aloud, your audience will as well. Often line editors will read the manuscript back from the end word for word to catch mistakes. Our eyes are trained to fill in those words that we know are supposed to be there. No matter which way you choose or which way works for you, you should make sure to read through your manuscript with a keen eye to help you find those mistakes.

Over Use of Words

We’ve all done it. We have some favorite phrase and use it too often. Just think back to the speaker who kept saying “like” during their speech. Remember how annoying it was? When we write, often it is a form of our own spoken language. Because of this, we tend to use words that we are comfortable with. These words can be used over and over again, making the story line appear comical.  Microsoft Word has a function that will help you find the words you use constantly. By clicking on the page number at the bottom of the document screen (page 1 of 1), a Go To dialog box will open. Click on Find and then type in a word such as “and”. The search function will tell you quickly how many “ands” were in your document as well as highlight each one.

Formal vs. Informal Language

Most of us understand that when we write a dissertation on a research subject, we must use formal language. That being said, I am horrible about slipping into a formal speech pattern when I write. See I did it there^. Contractions are an author’s best friend. It sounds more natural for your characters to use the contraction phrase of “I’m” rather than “I am”. By using the contractions for your characters’ speeches, your characters come alive to the reader. Readers are better able to connect with them and find them less pretentious.

Characterization Errors

When your story started, your heroine’s name was Syndie with an “S” but somewhere during the story line, the name changed to Cyndie with a “C”. The hero at the beginning of the story had deep blue eyes, but later on his eyes were chocolate brown. These are content errors. When writing a story, authors sometimes have to stop in the middle of the story and come back to writing another day. But when we come back to writing, things have changed in our minds. That’s why it is important to put these characterization pieces down in writing before you begin your story. It will help you keep things straight in your head.

But let’s say you’ve already written your story, how do you correct it or look for this? That’s simple, you can always create a characterization at any time. Write down the character’s gender, eye color, hair color and length, and as many details as you can about them from your read through. This will allow you to have a list. Then you can always refer back to your list as you read to see if there are any inconsistencies.

These are only five things that you should look out for when self-editing. There are so many more things that you can work to improve upon. I like to learn about one of my editing mistakes and keep a sticky note on my computer so that when I’m writing the next book, I can eliminate that mistake from my work. After all, if we don’t have time to do it write then we must have time to do it again. Those mistakes will always catch up to you in editing!

Happy Writing!