THE PERFECT PAIR Boxed Set is Out Now!

THE PERFECT PAIR of Austen-Inspired Modern Romantic Comedies ... is available now on Kindle, Nook, Smashwords, and iBooks!! (Coming soon to Kobo, too. ;)

It's here in time for the holidays! The boxed set containing my duo of fast-paced contemporary romantic comedies with a nod to Jane Austen is finally on the digital bookshelves. Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match & Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Bet are companion novels but they can be enjoyed as stand-alone stories. For anyone who hasn't read them yet, below are the plot details for each book, and you can read excerpts from both stories on my website as well (check out the links: Perfect Match excerpt & Perfect Bet excerpt). Hope you'll enjoy, and best wishes for a safe, healthy, and joyous Holiday Season!

***

Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match

A single mother and an ER doctor meet on an Internet dating site—each for reasons that have little to do with finding their perfect match—in this modern, Austen-inspired story. It’s a tribute to the power of both “pride” and “prejudice” in bringing two people romantically together, despite their mutual insistence that they should stay apart…

Would an Elizabeth Bennet by any other name be as appealing to a Darcy?

Beth Ann Bennet isn’t looking for love. She’s an aspiring social worker using an online alias to study sex-role stereotypes. Dr. William Darcy isn’t looking for love either. He’s just trying to fund his new clinic by winning a major bet. Both think Lady Catherine’s Love Match Website will help them get what they want—fast, easy and without endangering their hearts. Both are in for a big surprise.

Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match…where true love is just a fib and a click away.

Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Bet

The course of true love doesn’t always run smooth -- not even for millionaire bachelors…

Everyone thought Beth Ann Bennet and Dr. Will Darcy had an unexpected romance in Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match. Now, Beth’s best friend, Jane Henderson, and Will’s first cousin, Bingley McNamara, begin their own unlikely love story in Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Bet, which starts at the Darcy/Bennet wedding when they find themselves in the roles of maid of honor and best man for the newlyweds.

Jane is an interning school psychologist and a woman who wears an angelic mask in public, but she’s not as sweet tempered as she’d like everyone to believe. Turns out, she may have just crossed paths with the one person who’ll unnerve her enough to get her to reveal her true self.

As for Bingley, he’s a wealthy, flirtatious and compulsively social guru of finance, who likes to wager on stocks and, let’s face it, on just about anything that strikes his fancy. But this dedicated ladies’ man may have finally met the woman who’ll challenge his bachelor ways!

Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Bet…where life’s biggest gamble is the game of love.

ALL ABOUT US - a Romantic Release and a Giveaway!!

NEW RELEASE by New York Times Bestselling Author Marilyn Brant! 

AVAILABLE NOW! 

Amazon 

B&N

iBooks

Kobo

Smashwords

*SYNOPSIS*

Winterfest is heating up in Abbott Springs...

As the town’s yearly festival kicks off, cold days turn into steamy nights, new flames will be ignited, and old romances will be rekindled.

All Sami Abbott ever wanted was permission to be herself. At home, she aims to be the perfect daughter but never measures up. At college, she’s the bold girl who had a one-night stand with sexy musician, Alex Hamilton. When he arrives unexpectedly in Abbott Springs, her worlds collide and she must reconcile the girl she tries to be with the person she really is.

ALL ABOUT US is a light, contemporary, new-adult romantic novella by New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Marilyn Brant. It's also available as part of the ALL I EVER WANTED anthology!

*EXCERPT*

Mom had put a batch of orange-cranberry scones in the oven just before she’d headed to the parade. I was in the middle of drizzling the icing on the last row of them when the bells on the front door jingle-jangled. I glanced up, expecting to see a local person I’d known forever, who needed a break from the parade crowd.

I expected wrong.

“Alex?”

“Hey. Heard through the grapevine you were here.” He grinned briefly at me, and my heart became a puddle of melted icing.

“Eavesdropping on the townspeople again?” I said lightly. “Collecting Abbott Springs gossip or maybe just inferring it?”

He shrugged. “Somethin’ like that.”

He was dressed much like he had been yesterday—black leather jacket, different jeans, old sneakers—but he didn’t look the same. It wasn’t anything obvious, like his hairstyle or his piercings. It was more like an intensity in his expression. Like he was searching for something.

He took several strides toward me. We had the serving counter between us, but it didn’t seem like much of a barrier. 

I saw him swallow and glance at my hands. I was holding the icing bag off to the side of the scones, twisting it so my fingers had something to do. Little dribbles of sweet white icing had leaked out and begun to run down my hand, but I’d barely noticed.

He pointed. “You’re, uh, dripping.”

“Yeah,” I said, looking down. Time to finish putting the drizzles on the remaining scones. He watched me do this with interest but in silence. When I was done, I saw him lick his lips.

Must be hungry.

I set down the icing bag, wiped my fingers clean and slid a fresh scone onto a plate. “Would you like one? They’re good. Just out of the oven.”

He nodded but didn’t take the plate from me. “Can I come back there?”

“Sure.”

Alex slipped through the swinging door and joined me. I was still holding the plate out for him. He took it from me this time…and immediately set it on the counter.

“Oh, sorry! Did you want a fork?” I asked, reaching toward the silverware.

But he put his hand on mine, stopping me. “No, Samantha,” he whispered. “That isn’t what I want.”

He swallowed again and nudged me toward the kitchen wall nearest us until my shoulders were touching it. Until the zipper of his leather jacket pressed against the red Abbott’s Sweet Confections apron I was wearing. Until I could feel his breath on my forehead.

Then he looked into my eyes and waited. Waited until I’d tilted my head up toward him and licked my lips and leaned a little closer. Then he smiled and brought his mouth down on mine.

Everything about our kiss said hunger to me. We were in a place filled with heaping platters of food, but Alex was the only thing in the whole building I wanted to devour. It was like my dream from this morning, only better because it wasn’t a simple dream. Because I could really feel the roughness of his stubble on my cheek, smell the crisp January air when he exhaled, taste the warmth of his tongue as it mingled with mine and left me wanting more. More of him. All of him.

He broke away, pulling back and breathing hard—then he kissed me again, this time deeper and wilder.

The jingle-jangle of the door had us both springing apart.

*ABOUT THE AUTHOR*

Marilyn Brant is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of contemporary women's fiction, romantic comedy & mystery. She was named the Author of the Year (2013) by the Illinois Association of Teachers of English. She loves all things Jane Austen, has a passion for Sherlock Holmes, is a travel addict and a music junkie, and lives on chocolate and gelato. Visit her website at http://www.marilynbrant.com.

*GIVEAWAY* 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

New Release: THE ROAD AND BEYOND!

The release of this novel has been a long time coming! The Road and Beyond is the expanded, book-club edition of The Road to You -- along with the original narrative from the 1970s, it also has a new parallel story, set in the present day, as well as discussion questions for book clubs. I truly hope you'll enjoy it!

This is a digital-first release, available as an ebook on Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Smashwords, and Kobo. The story blurb is below:

One Disappearance Had Been Enough To Last Her A Lifetime… 

Aurora Gray is no stranger to tragedy. In the summer of 1976, when she was just sixteen, her world turned upside down when her big brother Gideon and his best friend Jeremy disappeared. For two years, there’s no word from either of them. No trace of their whereabouts. But then, shortly after her high-school graduation, she unexpectedly finds her brother’s journal and sees that it’s been written in again. Recently. By him. 

There are secret messages coded within the journal’s pages and Aurora, who is unusually perceptive and a natural puzzle solver, is determined to follow where they lead, no matter what the cost. She confides in the only person she feels might help her interpret the clues: Donovan McCafferty, Jeremy’s older brother and a guy she’s always been drawn to…even against her better judgment. 

The two of them set out on a road trip of discovery and danger, heading westward along America’s historic Route 66 in search of their siblings and the answers to questions they haven’t dared to ask aloud. The mystery they uncover will forever change the course of their lives. 

…But Now It Was Happening Again 

Decades later, in the summer of 2014, fifty-four-year-old Aurora receives a terrifying phone call—her adult son Charlie is missing—and this news inevitably brings the memories of her adolescent years rushing back. Haunting recollections she’d hoped to keep buried. 

Were the choices she’d made in her youth responsible for her son’s disappearance now? And how on earth can she find him—quickly—so that she might be able to prevent the trauma of the past from repeating itself? 

If you'd like to read an excerpt, check out this one HERE!!

Hope you're having a wonderful start to fall (or spring, for friends in the Southern Hemisphere :) and that the months ahead will bring many pleasures your way!!

Read-A-Romance Month 2014

Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match --
On sale for a few more days in celebration of
the release of the new companion book:
Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Bet!

Let's Celebrate ROMANCE!

I'm so honored to be invited to participate in RARM (Read-A-Romance Month) this year by a wonderful contemporary romance writer, who also happens to be one of my good friends and critique partners -- national bestselling author Laura Moore! I love ALL of her books, and I have copies of all of them on my keeper shelf, too!! Definitely check out her Rosewood Trilogy and her latest Silver Creek Series. Such fabulous heartthrob heroes -- mmmm! ;)

I fell in love with romance novels when I was in junior high and discovered Phyllis A. Whitney and Victoria Holt at my tiny local library. I'm pretty sure I read every single one of their Gothic romances in the collection. Not only did these stories make me long to meet a tall, dark, and handsome stranger from a foreign land, but they also spurred my interest in international travel, castles, and mystery plot lines...

As far back as I can remember, my favorite songs, movies, and novels were love stories -- sometimes with a dash of danger, frequently with a bit of humor, and always with some strong emotion. I'm thrilled to be a part of the community writers that gets to publish romance today and, hopefully, give a whole new generation of readers the joy of discovering tales of passion for the first time!

Questions:

My coming-of-age romantic mystery (which was
chosen by The Reading Frenzy to be one of
their Top 20 Novels of 2013) The Road to You.

1. Describe the most daring, adventurous or inspiring thing you ever did.
I'm not a big physical risk taker. I haven't skydived out of any airplanes or skied down a slope much higher than a bunny hill. However, I've taken some fairly major emotional risks... Like auditioning for a community theater musical, even though I didn't have any formal vocal training. (I did get a chorus part in the show, though!) And auditioning for a university dance group that was going to tour Europe, even though I didn't have any formal training in dance either. (I was lucky enough to get accepted into that, too, although I really had to work hard to come up to speed on those Charleston steps, LOL.) But probably the most adventurous thing I ever did in my life -- aside from motherhood -- was to apply to be an AFS exchange student as a high schooler. I was 16 and there was a lot of work involved. My parents were supportive of me, but they made it clear that if I wanted to do it, all the initiative would have to be mine. So, I filled out stacks of papers, got teacher recommendations, officially applied, did the in-person interview when I'd made it through to the second round of the submission process, and waited for what seemed like an eternity... I got a placement and was able to spend the summer between my junior and senior years in high school in Brisbane, Australia. I *loved* it, and the world just seemed to open up like a treasure box once I'd had a chance to travel halfway around it... It was a fabulous and truly memorable experience.

2. Tell us about your journey to becoming a writer. (How did you decide to get started? Did you always know or was there a specific moment when you knew?)
I always loved both reading and writing -- and I do think the two go hand in hand. (Someone once wrote that reading is the "inhale" and writing is the "exhale"... Love that.) I wrote songs and poems in elementary school, but it wasn't until 6th grade that the notion of writing professionally even occurred to me. But I didn't pursue it. In fact, aside from being on both the newspaper and yearbook staffs in high school, I didn't take writing seriously at all until I was in my early 30s with a newborn baby at home. Then I started writing about him (he's never fond of hearing this!) -- articles, parenting-related essays, and poems at first. When my son, who's now in high school, was just a toddler, I began drafting my first novel, and the end result was dreadful. No one will EVER see that book! It took five completed (different) manuscripts before I got my first contract with a New York publisher, and it's been a roller-coaster ride ever since.

My debut novel, According to Jane,
which won RWA's Golden Heart
Award & was a #1 Kindle bestseller...

3. Tell us about The (or A) Book That Changed Your Life. (Why?)
There are MANY novels I've loved, but the one that changed my life -- hands down -- is Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. (I even wrote a blog post about it HERE for the 200th anniversary of its release.) In my opinion, it's a work of stunning brilliance, and I'm just as much in awe of it now as I was when I first read it at the age of 14. Austen knew human behavior. She understood they way people thought, acted in public (and in private), dealt with difficult news, with tedium...or with joy. Her characters are timeless and universal and, more than any other author, she's made me recognize many of the traits of her most famous characters in the real people I know from my life, including my own family members. Her novels have greatly influenced the direction of my writing as well. My debut novel, According to Jane, along with the new contemporary romantic comedy series I'm working on now (Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect ___ ), are both direct nods to Austen's genius. I'm forever grateful to my high-school English teacher for assigning that novel!

My Official Bio:

Marilyn Brant is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of contemporary women’s fiction, romantic comedy & mystery. She was named the Author of the Year (2013) by the Illinois Association of Teachers of English. She loves all things Jane Austen, has a passion for Sherlock Holmes, is a travel addict and a music junkie, and lives on chocolate and gelato. Visit her website: www.marilynbrant.com . 

Release Week for PRIDE, PREJUDICE & THE PERFECT BET...and the NY Times Bestseller List!

I'm so thrilled to finally announce the release of my latest romantic comedy, Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Bet (Perfect #2, Bingley & Jane's story), which is the follow up to Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match (Perfect #1, Will & Beth's story).

*Throwing confetti in the air!!*

About the book:

The course of true love doesn’t always run smooth…

Everyone thought Beth Ann Bennet and Dr. Will Darcy had an unexpected romance in Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match (Perfect #1, January 2013). Now, Beth’s best friend, Jane Henderson, and Will’s first cousin, Bingley McNamara, begin their own unlikely love story in Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Bet (Perfect #2), which starts at the Darcy/Bennet wedding when they find themselves in the roles of maid of honor and best man for the newlyweds.

Jane is an interning school psychologist and a woman who wears an angelic mask in public, but she’s not as sweet tempered as she’d like everyone to believe. Turns out, she may have just crossed paths with the one person who’ll unnerve her enough to get her to reveal her true self.

As for Bingley, he’s a wealthy, flirtatious and compulsively social guru of finance, who likes to wager on stocks and, let’s face it, on just about anything that strikes his fancy. But this dedicated ladies’ man may have finally met the woman who’ll challenge his bachelor ways!

Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Bet…where life’s biggest gamble is the game of love.

It's available all over the world and at most e-tailer sites right now!!

Perfect Bet:

US – Kindle   

UK – Kindle  

CA – Kindle  

AU – Kindle  

US – Nook  

UK – Nook
iBooks

Kobo

ALSO, Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match is on sale for a limited time for just 99 cents! If you haven't read that novel and would like an ebook copy, here are those links, too.

Perfect Match: 

US – Kindle  

UK – Kindle  

CA – Kindle 

AU – Kindle 

US – Nook   

UK – Nook  

iBooks
Kobo 

  

And, finally, in very exciting news, the boxed set my story On Any Given Sundae was a part of this summer -- the Love, Laughter & Happily Ever Afters collection -- has hit *two* New York Times Bestseller Lists (the E-Book list and the Combined Print & E-Book list), and it has been on the USA Today Bestseller List for *three weeks* in a row!! All I can say is THANK YOU to all of you for reading our stories and spreading the word! We all truly appreciate it :).

All-Star Romantic Comedy Boxed Set - Just 99 Cents in June!

I said last month that I would still post all of the really exciting book updates on the blog...and this is one of them! I'm thrilled to be part of this incredible boxed set of EIGHT full-length romantic comedies, all by bestselling authors, but it's only going to be available for a very limited time...

While it's here, though, LOVE, LAUGHTER & HAPPILY EVER AFTERS (June 2014) will be just 99 cents for readers, and there are pre-order buttons coming soon (see below -- the iTunes one is already available and I'll add the rest as we get them). So don't miss it! Grab a copy before it disappears!!

Check out this information about the set:

LOVE, LAUGHTER, AND HAPPILY EVER AFTERS COLLECTION

Eight Fun, Romantic Novels by Eight Bestselling Authors

Just in time for summer!  An all-star collaboration by some of today’s most popular bestselling romance authors.  From the funny and sweet to the steamy and heartfelt, this collection has eight full-length FUN, romantic love stories hand-picked to bring a smile to your face while you’re lounging out in the sun this summer.  This limited edition boxed set will only be available until July so get yours today! 

Total length is 1,800 pages and at just **$0.99** for eight novels, that’s a $27 savings!

COLLECTION INCLUDES:

ON ANY GIVEN SUNDAE -- by USA Today Bestselling Author Marilyn Brant

FINDING THE RIGHT GIRL -- by NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Violet Duke

SWEET TO YOU -- by iBooks and Barnes & Noble Bestselling Author Jessie Evans

UNAFRAID -- by USA Today Bestselling Author Melody Grace

LOVE LOVE -- by Amazon Bestselling Author Beth Michele

TEMPTING LOVE -- by Amazon Bestselling Author Melanie Shawn

NOT OVER YOU -- by NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Marquita Valentine

And in her much-anticipated indie debut, Samhain bestselling author Erin Nicholas with the never-before-published novel, GETTING OUT OF HAND.

99-CENT PRE-ORDER LINKS:

Amazon (up and running now!)

iTunes (up and running now!)

Barnes and Noble, GooglePlay, and Kobo (pre-order links coming soon - yay)

And there's also a RAFFLECOPTER giveaway going on for just the next few days in celebration of the cover reveal. Enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Seven Years...and a Time for Change

Coming Summer 2014! Design by E.M. Tippetts
(http://www.emtippetts.com)

It's nearly impossible for me to believe that seven years (to the day!) has gone by since I began this blog. I remember exactly when and why I started it: I'd gotten the very exciting call two weeks prior that I was a 2007 RWA Golden Heart finalist for According to Jane and, with that, the thrilling launch of my online professional life, along with my very first author website ;).

A lot has happened in the years since. I won that Golden Heart award, sold several novels (eventually!) to a traditional New York publisher, indie published several others, hit the USA Today bestseller list and the #1 spot on both the Amazon and the B&N Top 100 lists...and, best of all, made some WONDERFUL friends in the writing world, online and off. I'm incredibly grateful to you all.

Many more professional publishing-related tasks have been added to my workday in the past few years, though, and not much has been taken away, so I'm sure it's no surprise to anyone who's been a regular visitor to Brant Flakes that I'm not blogging with the frequency that I used to. Most of my readers and fellow writers have told me that if I needed to make a choice between writing blog posts and writing novels...that I should choose the novels. And so I shall.

However, while there will be longer periods between posts, I'm not completely closing down this site. The archives have seven years worth of fun conversations, book info, guest visits, recipes and hot guy pics, after all! And I still intend to pop back on this page occasionally -- to share a new book cover or a release date or a piece of particularly exciting news -- but, for the most part, you'll probably find me more often on Facebook, where I'll post the majority of my updates (I hope you'll join me there -- if we're not FB friends already, please send me a request!) and on Austen Variations (their FB page & the blog), too. Less frequently, I'll be on Twitter, Goodreads, Magical Musings and the Girlfriends Book Club. And, of course, there will always be updates/events/release info on my website.

In that spirit, I'll share the first of these updates here with the latest book news -- the official cover reveal for PRIDE, PREJUDICE AND THE PERFECT BET -- coming out this summer!! What do you think?!

This is Bingley McNamara and Jane Henderson's love story, the cousin and the best friend respectively of Dr. Will Darcy and Beth Ann Bennet from Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match. Jane is a school psychologist and a woman who wears an angelic mask, but she's not as sweet tempered as she'd like the world to believe. At Beth and Will's wedding, Jane crosses paths with the one person who unnerves her enough to get her to reveal her true self. As for Bingley, he's a wealthy, flirtatious, compulsively social guru of finance, who likes to wager on stocks and on just about anything that strikes his fancy. But this dedicated ladies' man may have just met the woman to finally challenge his bachelor ways...

I'm so excited about this story and can't wait to share it with you all soon!!

Prepping for St. Patrick's Day

Technically, I'm not a drop Irish, but my husband is and, thus, so is our son... During this time of year, all of us like to celebrate the inexplicable delights of green beer, shamrock cookies, and cupcakes featuring leprechauns or clovers. Who wouldn't, right?! 🍀🍀

For those of you who are Irish -- or at least Irish in spirit on March 17th! -- here are links to a few fun recipes from various baking sites to help you kick off the holiday:

Irish Soda Bread
Shamrock Cookies
Irish Potatoes and Cabbage
Corned Beef and Cabbage
Leprechaun Cupcakes

Enjoy!! And may the luck of the Irish be with you!! :)

A Summer in Europe ~ Book Club Pick!

Just want to jump in quick and share this bit of fun news: A Summer in Europe is the Women's Fiction Book Club pick for March!! The discussion will be taking place on Goodreads, and it's completely open to the public and free to join. So if you're interested, I hope you'll come along on this virtual European trip with us ;).

About the novel:
On her thirtieth birthday, Gwendolyn Reese receives an unexpected present from her widowed Aunt Bea: a grand tour of Europe in the company of Bea's Sudoku and Mah-jongg Club. The prospect isn't entirely appealing. But when the gift she is expecting -- an engagement ring from her boyfriend -- doesn't materialize, Gwen decides to go. 

At first, Gwen approaches the trip as if it's the math homework she assigns her students, diligently checking monuments off her must-see list. But amid the bougainvillea and stunning vistas of southern Italy, something changes. Gwen begins to live in the moment: skipping down stone staircases in Capri, running her fingers over a glacier in view of the Matterhorn, racing through the Louvre, and taste-testing pastries at a Marseilles cafe. Revelling in every new experience -- especially her attraction to a charismatic British physics professor -- Gwen discovers that the ancient wonders around her are nothing compared to the renaissance unfolding within...

"Brant's newest...distinguishes itself with a charismatic leading man and very funny supporting cast, especially the wonderful elderly characters with their resonant message about living life to the fullest." ~ Publishers Weekly

"Brant's charming and engaging tale will allow readers to immerse themselves in the magic and beauty of Europe along with the characters. Although the descriptions of the scenery are amazing, the development of the characters and their unique personalities are what really make this novel shine. What an enjoyable escape!" ~ Romantic Times

Have a wonderful weekend and a lovely start to March, everyone!!

Short Stories and Sweet Treats

On our new Austen Variations blog and in honor of this heart-filled holiday, several of us (myself included) have Valentine's Day excerpts up from our stories. I also have a free short story available to anyone who'd like it called "A Tale of Two Matchmakers" (featuring the ever-meddlesome Emma Woodhouse, Mr. Knightley, and a fairy name Sylvia, LOL). Hope you'll enjoy both!

And, of course, what would be a romantic holiday without a few sweet treats, right? Well, it turns out that February 5th was "World Nutella Day!" Yes, a celebration devoted to one of my favorite foods... I didn't know about it until this week, but better late than never, right?! Here are a bunch of recipes to make sure you can eat something Nutella laden all day long, if you so desire :). And I've included the one I most want to try below, because I think it's a PERFECT treat for Valentine's Day. Hope you'll enjoy it, too, and that you'll have a wonderful and romantic weekend!!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

--- See the step-by-step instructions with pictures on "The Kitchn" Blog HERE ---

Strawberry–Nutella Pop Tarts 
adapted from Macheesmo, makes about 8-10 Pop Tarts

2 cups, plus 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of sugar
2 sticks of chilled, unsalted butter, diced
4 tablespoons of ice water
Best quality strawberry jam/preserves and Nutella, for filling
Powdered sugar for dusting

Combine the flour, salt and sugar in a food processor and pulse until mixed. Add the butter and pulse until it is roughly the size of peas. Next, add the water, and process until the dough starts to form a ball. Split the dough into two balls, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes to an hour. Roll out the dough into a rectangle on a lightly-floured surface until it is about a 1/4-inch thick. Cut the dough into evenly-shaped rectangles using a knife or a pizza cutter. Repeat with the second ball of dough. Line two baking sheets with foil and place the squares of dough down on them, about an inch apart.

Spread the preserves or Nutella (or both) in the center of each rectangle (I used about 1-2 tablespoons).
Top each rectangle with a second sheet of dough and seal the edges by gently pressing dough on the dough with a fork. Work your way around the entire tart with the fork, making sure the edges are sealed.
Prick each pop tart with a fork. Now, freeze the tarts for several hours. Bake them for about about 25-30 minutes, at 375 degrees F. Let the pop tarts cool slightly, before dusting them with powdered sugar. (you can make a glaze, but I like them lightly dusted with sugar).

(part of The Kitchn's "Breakfast with a Blogger" series)

• You definitely want to visit Kasey and Matthew's blog for LOTS of amazing recipes and music to go along with them: Turntable Kitchen

What Does the Groundhog Say?

Last year, that bizarre but utterly memorable song "What Does the Fox Say?" was all the rage on YouTube. The first time I saw it, I was with a few writing friends and we laughed until we literally had tears streaming down our faces -- it was just so funny and strange! (If you haven't yet seen it, check out the video HERE. :)

I have no idea what the fox might say today, but I have a fairly strong prediction of what the groundhog might say tomorrow. Given the "polar vortex" or whatever benign term meteorologists have been using to try to explain this horrendously cold weather, I'd be shocked if Punxsutawney Phil didn't decide that not only was spring SO NOT coming early, but that we'd better expect it not to start until sometime in late April. At the very soonest.

So, I won't be getting my hopes up for a quick return to umbrellas and windbreakers, or deluding myself into believing that March will "go out like a lamb"... I will, however, be watching one of my favorite romantic comedies -- Bill Murray in "Groundhog's Day" (1993) -- and catching some of the Super Bowl. I'll also be getting ready for my month-long book club with Deb Haupt at The Reading Frenzy! (Check out the interview she posted here!) We start a read/chat of The Road to You on February 3rd and will be having a fun discussion there all month. Of course, EVERYONE of you is welcome to join in at any time (!!) and stay for however long you might like...

How about you? What's been going on? Any special weekend plans or fun events ahead for February?

THE ROAD TO YOU ~ 99-Cent Special & Book Club Event!!

Something awesome is coming up in February!! I've been invited by the wonderful Deb Haupt (B&N General Fiction Book Club Moderator) to be her first book-club guest of 2014 on her blog, The Reading Frenzy! We're going to be spending the month reading & chatting about THE ROAD TO YOU, starting on Feb. 3rd.

Right now, as part of a special Reader Appreciation sale, the ebook is priced at only $0.99 for a very limited time on Amazon (worldwide), B&N, and Apple/iTunes!! If this coming-of-age romantic mystery is a story you or someone you know may be interested in, I hope you'll grab a copy now during the promotion! And please know that you're ALL welcome to join in the Book Club event, too, with Deb and me, if you'd like to discuss the novel or even just want to pop by and say hello :).

There's also a Goodreads giveaway going on right now for 2 signed paperback copies (US & Canada). And for anyone who's a print lover, the Kindle Matchbook program has a deal for THE ROAD TO YOU. If you buy a new print copy of the novel from Amazon during the time of this promotion (or even if you already bought a new copy of this book from them in the past), you can get a Kindle copy of the ebook for yourself, too, for FREE!! Amazon has the details on both the paperback and the Kindle pages. (Here's the link to the print copy -- just scroll down to "Product Details" and look on the right-hand side of the page under "Kindle Matchbook.")

THANK YOU so much for being such wonderful friends & readers! I'm incredibly fortunate to have such fabulous and supportive people in my life!! xo

All I Ever Wanted ~ Out Now for 99 Cents!!

We've been sharing this all over the Internet, but just in case you haven't yet seen it...it's Release Week for ALL I EVER WANTED!!!

It's been tremendously fun to get to finally share this sexy/new-adult winter anthology with everyone, and it was a pleasure to write these four linked novellas with my author friends, Rhonda Helms, Lexi Ryan, and Caisey Quinn!

In celebration of the release, the ebook is just $0.99 for a limited time and available at most vendors already:
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1eLU2bN
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1afKrai
Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/1kuT4rj
BN: http://bit.ly/1exe616
Kobo: http://bit.ly/JPIwmf
iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/all-i-ever-wanted/id794517215?mt=11
And it's also available in paperback on Amazon for all print lovers!!

If you'd like to get a taste of the story, below are four short excerpts -- one from each of us -- that'll give you a brief introduction to the characters:

From ALL ABOUT US by Marilyn Brant

Alex slipped through the swinging door off to the side of the counter and joined me. 
I was still holding the plate with the scone out for him. He took it from me this time…and immediately set it on the counter.
“Oh, sorry! Did you want a fork?” I asked, reaching toward the drawer with the silverware.
But he put his hand on mine, stopping me. “No, Samantha,” he whispered. “That isn’t what I want.”
He swallowed again and nudged me toward the kitchen wall nearest us until my shoulders were touching it. Until the zipper of his leather jacket pressed against the red Abbott’s Sweet Confections apron I was wearing. Until I could feel his breath on my forehead.
He looked into my eyes and waited. Waited until I’d tilted my head up toward him and licked my lips and leaned a little closer. Then he smiled and brought his mouth down on mine.
Everything about our kiss said hunger to me. We were in a place filled with heaping platters of food, but Alex was the only thing in the whole building I wanted to devour. It was like my dream from this morning, only better because it wasn’t a simple dream. Because I could really feel the roughness of his stubble on my cheek, smell the crisp January air when he exhaled, taste the warmth of his tongue as it mingled with mine and left me wanting more. More of him. All of him.

From ALL I NEED by Caisey Quinn

Somehow it had become bigger than us. Bigger than a couple of kids playing around in the garage. At our last few shows, we’d been approached by managers and even a few small record labels.
I gripped the steering wheel so tight to keep from reaching over and putting my hand on her knee that my knuckles ached. As much as I wanted to comfort her, I knew if I ever touched her like that I wouldn’t be able to stop. A hand on the knee would turn to a hand on her inner thigh. Which would turn to… Jesus. I could not go there while operating a motor vehicle. Think of the band, dude.
We were on the brink of something huge, and in a way, it was fucking terrifying. What was even more terrifying was that every second of the day I knew I was one wrong move from ruining all of it. From destroying Ev’s dream of the band making it big before she’d even had a chance to live it.

From ALL FOR LOVE by Rhonda Helms

With her eyes fixed down at the table, Maya’s voice was soft as she began to organize the trays for easy carrying. “I’m not a little kid anymore, Oliver.”
No, she wasn’t—she was nineteen now, no longer that scrawny pre-teen girl our family had unofficially adopted. My gaze was drawn to her face, and I studied her like it was the first time I was really seeing her. Her high cheekbones, the bridge of her small nose, the proud thrust of her chin.
My focus moved to her mouth, and I detected a slight sheen of pink gloss on her lips. 
Funny, that color made her mouth look more plump than usual.
My throat tightened.
“What are you thinking about?” she suddenly asked as she turned to face me. Her intense brown eyes locked on mine.
I swallowed; my heart gave a knock against my ribcage. “Um, what?”
Maya took a step toward me, and her tongue darted out to lick her lower lip. My eyes darted down and I noticed her coat was unzipped a touch. Enough for me to see right into the curves of her cleavage.
A strange stirring pumped through my torso, a throb that ended at my crotch and caused my back to stiffen. I ripped my attention away from her chest and looked back into those eyes that were staring so innocently up at me. What the hell was my problem today? Was I seriously just checking out Maya—my friend?

From ALL OR NOTHING by Lexi Ryan

“So, are we going to pretend it didn’t happen?” he asked. His voice was low and rough, and I wanted to rub against it, nuzzle it like a cat. You’ve lost your mind, some sane part of my brain told me. “Because I think we should talk about it.”
My head snapped back and my eyes went wide. “Talk about what?”
“October? You showing up unannounced? Naked in my bed? Ring any bells?”
This was not the conversation I’d expected to have tonight. Didn’t he want to pretend it hadn’t happened even more than I did?
His dark eyes softened as he studied me, and I stiffened at his pity. I hated that he felt sorry for me.
“Yes,” I finally said. “Yes, we’re going to pretend it didn’t happen. I hardly remember it anyway. You know me. I get drunk and do stupid things.”
“And then you avoid my calls for months? Fuck that, Bree.” I tried to escape his embrace, but he drew me tighter against him and whispered in my ear, “I’m not going to let you throw this friendship away just because you’re embarrassed by some dumb drunken mistake.”
Dumb drunken mistake? Five years of unrequited love and he thought the night I found the courage to act on it was a drunken mistake?

We're also hosting a Rafflecopter giveaway for 4 x $10 Amazon/BN gift cards! If you're interested, you can enter HERE! (For "Follow this Blog," you can just write in mine: Brant Flakes. ;)

My heroine in "All About Us" is famous for her Mexican Hot Chocolate, so I'm sharing Sami's specialty with all of you (see one version of the recipe below). Enjoy and please stay warm!!



MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE

Ingredients
6 (12-ounce) cans evaporated milk
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Pinch cayenne pepper
2 (12-ounce) bags semisweet chocolate chips (recommended: Hershey's)
Cocoa powder, for serving

Directions
For stovetop: In a large pot over medium heat, whisk together milk, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and nutmeg. Add chocolate chips. Stir until chocolate is melted. Cover and turn heat to low for 5 minutes.

For slow cooker: In a 4-quart slow cooker, whisk together milk, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and nutmeg. Add chocolate chips. Cover and cook on LOW setting for 2 to 3 hours, stirring every 15 to 20 minutes.

Serve with a dusting of cocoa powder.