NOT YOUR USUAL SUSPECTS

A group blog featuring an international array of killer mystery, suspense, and romantic suspense writers. With premises and story lines different from your run-of-the-mill whodunits, we tend to write outside the box. We blog several times a week on all topics relating to romantic suspense and mystery, our writing, and our readers. We welcome all comments and often have guest bloggers. All our authors can be contacted separately, too, using their own social media links.

We find our genre delightfully, dangerously, and deliciously exciting - join us here, if you do too!

NOTE: the blog is currently dormant but please enjoy the posts we're keeping online.


Julie Moffet . Cathy Perkins . Jean Harrington . Daryl Anderson . Nico Rosso . Maureen A Miller . Sandy Parks . Lisa Q Mathews . Sharon Calvin . Lynne Connolly . Janis Patterson . Vanessa Keir . Tonya Kappes . Julie Rowe . Joni M Fisher . Leslie Langtry

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Murder, Mayhem, A Good Beverage, & Chocolate

Fans are in for a treat today - TWO Carina authors in one blog post! First up, Bobbie (aka Sunny) Cole, followed by Caridad Pineiro!

Hi - this is Bobbie!  I am so jazzed at being a part of this fantastic group of writers. My first novel with Carina Press, Memories Of You, should debut approximately three months from now, and I am busy working on yet another romantic suspense for them called Lethal Lasagna.

I am often asked which writers or lines made me wish to pen my own romantic suspense stories. Remember the Silhouette Shadows? Sally Carleen aka Sally Steward was one of my first to read.

I also devoured anything by Maggie Shayne
and the fabulous Anne Stewart. Then there were the classics by the likes of Phyllis Whitney, Georgette Heyer, and Mary Stewart.

If heroes who are dark, dangerous, and bad to the bone plus spunky heroines with a penchant for landing in hot water and taming those heroes are your cup of tea, stick around, because the writers in here have those for you...and then some!

Ah, yes, the title of this post also includes the word
beverages. I love having a hot cup of cocoa, tea, or coffee while I write. It kills me that Starbucks' Casa Ciello is seasonal--absolutely pains me to have to wait for that to come out every winter. I'm also in love with the yerba mate an Argentinian friend, Jen, sent me - with a cool silver bombilla. With my favorite beverage of the day, I like chocolate. I'm not particular, although pal Anita tells me that we Americans use too much paraffin in ours! She says the Europeans have us beat on chocolate-making. Speaking of chocolate...I will leave you a recipe a friend sent at the bottom of the post!

So now you know who/what started me on the path to murder and mayhem and what it takes to soothe me as I write. Who are your favorite authors, and what is it about them that intrigues you and keeps you flipping those pages? (And inquiring minds want to know...coffee, tea, soda, or cocoa for you during winter months as you read?)

Now...here's Caridad!


*****

It somehow seems appropriate that I'm sharing blog duty today with Bobbie since my romantic suspense novel from Carina, THE FIFTH KINGDOM, has a link to one of her favorite things: cocoa!

You see
THE FIFTH KINGDOM is set in Mexico and it's a story about a professor, Deanna Vasquez, whose archeologist mother abandoned her years earlier to go in search of Montezuma's tomb. Nearly 15 years later, a sexy CIA Agent, Bill Santana, posts himself outside Deanna's classroom with news that her mother has been kidnapped by a fringe group of terrorists. Why? The terrorists believe Deanna's mother has discovered the tomb and a powerful weapon contained therein. So what does a suspense set in Mexico have to do with Bobbie's favorite cocoa? Well the Aztecs believed the cocoa tree had been brought down from the heavens by their god Quetzalcoatl. The Aztecs named the drink made from the cocoa "xocoatl" and since the Aztecs did not have sugar, the beverage made with the cocoa was sometimes spiced with hot chile peppers to add flavor. The Aztecs even considered "xocatl" to be a health elixir and I can't argue with that!
* * *
 
THE FIFTH KINGDOM will be available in the Spring of 2011, but in the meantime if you're looking for another taste of something spicy, my vampire novella from Carina Press, AZTEC GOLD, hits the shelves on January 3.
* * *
The inspiration for both novels came from a trip I took to Mexico several years ago when I was able to visit some pyramids right outside Mexico City. I loved getting the feel of those ancient structures and the excitement as I walked down the Avenue of the Dead where so many had walked for centuries before me.
* * *

Thanks so much for visiting today!
~ Caridad Pineiro & Bobbie Cole


CHOCOLATE CHILI RECIPE
(the quick version)

2 tbsp. oil
1 c. chopped onion
1 lb. ground beef
28 oz. can tomatoes
1 - 3 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. ground unsweetened chocolate
1 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. pepper
16 oz. can kidney beans
1/2 c. chopped green pepper


In a heavy saucepan, sauté bacon; stir in oil and onion. Add meat and cook until brown. Add tomatoes, chili powder, ground chocolate, garlic salt, cumin, and pepper; heat to boiling. Add kidney beans and green pepper. Simmer covered 20 minutes.

19 comments:

Karin said...

I enjoy the Mexican cinnamon chocolate, but chili and kidney beans???
The books all sound like must buys! Thanks for introducing them to us.

Maureen A. Miller said...

Bobbie, Lethal Lasagna is simply the best title in the whole wide world :)

And Caridad, The Fifth Kingdom is exactly the type of material I like to read.

This is truly a fine group here!

Toni Anderson said...

Chocolate Chili? Oh, man, I'm not sure about that. Cocoa and chocolate are all good though :)

I love the look of the Mexican pyramids. Such a wealth of history!

Caridad Pineiro said...

Speaking of chili, have you ever tried Cincinnati chili? Talk about lots of spices. Very yummy over spaghetti.

Elise Warner said...

Bobbie-LaSagna is our choice for the New Year-non-lethal I hope. Coffee is the drink for me-Columbian. Can the chili be made without the beef and bacon? The recipe sounds scrumptious.

Elise Warner said...

So carried away by the recipes and your fabulous sounding books, I left out Caridad's name. You arre both terrific and I look forward to the books.

Unknown said...

Definitely coffee while I write and wine while I read.

Chocolate chili? Hm, not sure I could handle that. I'll just settle for the chocolate. :)

Bobbie (Sunny) Cole said...

Ya'll crack me up. I know...the chili with chocolate sounds a tad "out there", but once it has simmered, it's tasty.

Thank you all for popping in today!! - And Maureen, that title got me a lot of laughs at a conference when it won an award - lol. Glad you like it. :)

Elise, I LOVE lasagna.

angela henry said...

Caridad,

I love Cincinnati chili. And, yes,it's excellent over spaghetti! Now I'm hungry ; ).

Wynter said...

All the books sound great. I go for coffee whenever possible. I love Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte, also available only int he winter.

Marcelle Dubé said...

Your books sound fascinating, Bobby and Caridad (and anything with cocoa in it can't be bad!). Cool post.

Bobbie (Sunny) Cole said...

I collect recipes and have a ton of them for chili. Was thinking of running a contest for Lethal Lasagns. Recipes. Winner wins free book and their recipe goes into the food and murder cookbook. Follow up books are Killer Kabob, Treacherous Tiramisue, et al.

We are such ghouls, those of us who love mystery, murder, mayhem. Lol.

Bobbie (Sunny) Cole said...

Wybter, I LOVE Starbucks Pumpkin Spice.

And Marcelle, I fully intend to try your recipe from yesterday!

Caridad Pineiro said...

Thank you all for dropping by! I'm going to go home and make up some chili tonight you've all got me so hungry.

Bobbie (Sunny) Cole said...

Ladies, I'm calling it a night. Will be back tomorrow in case anyone has questions (or in case you've tried the chocolate chili and want to string me up by my spices).

Pardon the typos earlier - I really can spell Wynter and Lasagna. You can always tell if I"m cheating (I'm trying to quit smoking), because I'll be in the garage freezing and my fingers turn dyslexic.

Have a great evening, everyone. Thank you for stopping by today!

Julie Moffett said...

Chocolate chili??? Oh, boy! This sounds like something I have to try at least once in my life!! :)

Love to hear about all your books, ladies! Nice post! More reading I must do, I see!! :)

Gretchen said...

How about that! Two of my favorite authors and people in the same blog! And you're talking about two of my favorite things, chocolate and chili...wel three if you count books. Can't wait for your new releases ladies.

Bobbie (Sunny) Cole said...

Is it tomorrow yet? I've been shopping. One of our local book stores is closing. Even the cafe's tables and chairs are on sale.

Julie, I meant to tell you congrats on your sale. Your book looks great. :)

And Gretchen! Am so happy you stopped by. What a lovely thing to say!

Josh Lanyon said...

Great posts, Bobbie and Caridad. I'm really enjoying learning more about my fellow Carina authors.

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