~ SEBASTIAN'S SPAGHETTI SAUCE ~

I have one more recipe for you ~ from BETWEEN ROCK AND A HARD PLACE! Recipes and excerpts like this one can be found in the SWEET & SAVORY COOKBOOK~over 70 recipes from 35 Amazon authors for only 99¢! Find it here:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K08SI3S/ref=cm_sw_su_dp

Excerpt ~ 

These were the thoughts haunting him when he was supposed to be stirring his sauce. That and images of Jazz from the concert the night before, which had been pushing their way into his mind all day. At least the smoke had thinned out to a sort of ethereal haze. He went to check the table for the fourth time. There was a table cloth Luke had insisted on ironing. It did look a lot less…lumpy. Wine, his and Juliette’s wedding china—which he was hoping wasn’t a bad omen of some sort—wine glasses, candles. Things seemed in order. When he returned to the kitchen and glanced out the window, he could see Luke strolling up the sidewalk with a bag. At the same time, he saw Jasmine pull up outside. “Oh, shit! Shit! Shit!” He rushed to the back door, getting to it at the same time as Luke did. He reached out and pulled the surprised Luke in by his jacket.

“What the—”

“Get in here, you moron! She’s coming!”

“Hey, this moron just went downtown to get you a red sauce—”

“Oh, no! You didn’t go to Sebastian’s did you?” He grabbed the bag out of his hand and recognized the familiar logo. “You went to Sebastian’s.” The despair was thick in his voice.

“What’s the big deal? Sebastian’s has one of the best—” The doorbell rang and he seized Luke by the lapels again.

“I’m going to go out there and distract her.” He pushed Luke hurriedly toward the back door. “You’re going to sneak out the back and keep your head low when you pass the windows.”

“Keep my head low? What the hell for? OUCH!”

He gave Luke a sharp rap on the head and then hissed at him.

“Head. Low!”

“You’re a nut,” Luke mumbled as the door was slammed in his face.

He scrambled to answer the door. “Hey, come on in. How’s it going? Do you want some wine?” he said without taking a breath. He held out a glass he had already poured.

“Hi. Is Luke here?”

“Luke? Luke?” he stated like a parrot, his eyes betraying his alarm.

“Your brother…Luke?” Jasmine repeated, nodding slowly.

“Oh, Luke. No, Luke’s not here. Remember, he’s going to Kole’s.”

“Yes, I know that was the plan—” Her sentence was lost in a sudden kiss. He had seen Luke walking by outside, brazenly holding his head high and waving as he passed the windows. In order to distract her, Heath threw her into an unexpected lip lock. The awkward kiss was over before it had even begun. He tried to inconspicuously scan the windows again. When he turned back, Jazz was staring over his shoulder with a puzzled expression on her face. He spun his head to look out the window but didn’t see anything.

Jazz lifted a hand to the side of his face and turned his head away from the windows so he was looking at her. “Heath—” She kissed him tenderly. “—whatever is bothering you, don’t let it worry you anymore.” She kissed him again. “All I need is right here—” She feathered a kiss on his lips, then looked him directly in the eyes. “—with you.” She planted a kiss on him so wonderful it did make him forget about his annoying brother.

“Okay, then,” he said, “let’s get this dinner over with so we can have sex.” He turned and marched through the swinging door.



As the door swung back and forth he heard her mumble, “That was some of the strangest foreplay I’ve ever had.”

Sebastian’s Spaghetti Sauce ~  

1 onion, chopped

3-4 stalks of celery, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 T. olive oil

1 T. butter

1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes

2 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste

2 (15 oz.) cans tomato sauce

1 ½ c. water

2 tsp. basil

2 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. parsley

¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper

2 tsp. brown sugar

½ c. red wine





In large skillet sauté onions, celery, and garlic in olive oil and butter until veggies are soft and slightly browned. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Add spices and brown sugar. Stir well and bring to boil. Add red wine and simmer on low, stirring frequently, for one hour. Can add ground beef or Italian sausage.

~CATCH THE FINAL EXCERPT OF THE AN UNCOMMON LOVE BLOG TOUR HERE TODAY!~

I am mostly known as a rock romance writer, because of my ROCKING ROMANCE COLLECTION. My most recent release, however, is part of my ROMANTIC REALMS COLLECTION, books with some sort of royalty as a main character, set in fictional times and places. Some might see this as quite a divergence from my norm. But I’m not sure that the chasm is that wide. 

You see, I contend that blacksmith’s were the rock

stars of their times. Let’s look at the similarities. Both blacksmiths and rock stars are usually physically fit from their jobs. Blacksmiths, after all, spent a great deal of their time swinging a hammer. Rock musicians also have to be in peak condition to be able to perform at a high energy level night after night. While hot by the forge, it is also hot underneath blazing stage lights. Both blacksmiths and rock stars create something beautiful in an angry sort of way. They both provide things we need. And, well, both are into metal… ;)

Okay, that last one may be stretching it a bit, but you get the idea. The hero from my new release, AN UNCOMMON LOVE, Seth Hobbes, actually reminds me a lot of Chad Evans, super rock star from TRAPPED UNDER ICE. Both have tempers, but are good men underneath it all. And then, too, they both are gorgeous. There’s that! Let me tell you a little more about AN UNCOMMON LOVE.

Blurb for AN UNCOMMON LOVE~

Princess Adriana had her life all figured out. Or, to be more precise, she had her life all figured out for her. Before she was even born she was betrothed to Garin, and that was perfectly acceptable as he became her childhood friend, and then, eventually, the person she would swap kisses with inside the palace gardens. She never questioned it, never had a reason to, until the day a commoner was brought before her father, the King, to be punished.



As soon as Adriana’s eyes connect with Seth’s across the stone courtyard, she begins to question everything in her life. For his part, Seth Hobbes is confused about his feelings for the beautiful princess who refuses to match any of his preconceived notions of what a princess should be like, starting when Adriana begs her father to release him. When Seth creeps into the castle at night to thank her, they begin to build a relationship with one another that is often as explosive as it is endearing. When fate ends up separating the two, they must undertake a long and arduous journey to be reunited and then overcome the objections Adriana’s father has to their relationship. Will Adriana be able to make Seth see her for herself and not as the princess that he imagines? And if she does, will she ever be able to convince her father that, despite his objections, there is nothing “common” about Seth at all?

Excerpt~

The king seemed to consider her argument a moment. He shrugged indifferently. “Well, if that is what you want.” He smiled at her, waving a hand over the gathering beneath him. “Release the prisoner.”

There was a cheer from the small part of the crowd that had come in support of the accused commoner. The brunette rushed to the prisoner’s side and threw her arms around him.

Adriana was about to turn to go, when the prisoner raised his head from where he had laid it on the woman’s shoulder and studied her. Her breath felt tight in her chest.

The man’s arms, which a guard had been working to release with a small dagger, came free and he swooped the woman up, closing his eyes for a beat, and then saying something to her with a tender smile. He set the woman on her feet and slipped an arm around her shoulder. He glanced in Adriana’s direction one more time as he turned to go.

She dropped her eyes, filled with confusion. When she glanced up again, all she could see was the man’s back. His shirt was ripped to shreds and bloodied from the blows he had received, but he walked away with a happy ease she found enviable.

Garin’s hand clasped her shoulder. “Why did you do that?”

“I do not know,” she answered honestly.

“It could not possibly be because the commoner was—” he quirked an eyebrow, “—somewhat handsome.”

“Nay.” Feeling her response was a bit too adamant, she hurried to add, “I just did not want to see anything happen—to anybody, boy, girl, good-looking, or not.” Besides he is not somewhat handsome, he is gorgeous! She looked back over her shoulder just as the object of her thoughts was passing under the stone gate of the castle’s outer walls and sighed wistfully. Then she turned back to Garin with a smile. “Let us go get ready for my ball.”

He smiled in return and gave a little half-bow. “After you, m’lady.”

To find out the rest of the story, buy AN UNCOMMON LOVE here: Amazon and BN.com

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