Behind The Scenes By Jen Turano

Behind the Scenes
by Jen Turano
Publisher: Bethany House
ISBN: 978-0764217944

I didn't realize when I was sent this book for review from Bethany House that I hadn't read any of Jen Turano's books before. The cover of the book piqued my interest and the premise definitely drew me in!

Summary:

After spending the last six years banished to the wallflower section of the ballroom, Miss Permilia Griswold has finally figured out a way to pass the time at all the New York high-society events she attends. Under the pseudonym "Miss Quill," she is the author of society gossip columns filled with tidbits only an insider in society--albeit one on the fringes--would know. 

When she overhears a threat against Mr. Asher Rutherford, the owner of one of the most up-and-coming department stores in the city, she's determined to warn him. But the irritatingly handsome man doesn't believe her, leaving her no choice but to take matters into her own hands. What she doesn't anticipate is that she'll end up putting herself at risk in the process--or that she and Mr. Rutherford, a man with secrets of his own, just might end up joining forces after all.

My Review:

This book cracked me up! I was literally laughing out loud, and texting my daughter about how much I was enjoying the story. Jen's writing is really delightful. I was surprised that much of the first part of the story covers a high-society event where Permilia & Asher form an interesting bond. He's one of the few men this wallflower is actually able to talk to about anything! Very telling I'd say.

When she tries to warn Asher about the murder plot, she's already proven herself a "little" over the top so he doesn't believe a word she says. That is until strange things like arrows and bullets are directed his way. Permilia shows up at some of the strangest times, but always just in time.

The extra characters in the story were fun. Permilia's wallflower sidekick, Gertrude, and Asher's odd friend, Harrison, are a great addition to the story. The strange sisters, Mabel & Henrietta, are so odd, we're not sure if they're to be trusted! They certainly add an interesting twist to the story.

I actually really enjoyed all of it until near the end. And let me say that the end isn't bad. It all happens so fast and seems just so thrown together. It has a different tone than the rest of the book with all kinds of things happening at once. I kind of had a hard time keeping it all straight. Not how I envisioned it all culminating. 

The very end brings everything back full circle to the rest of the story I enjoyed. I'm definitely going to check out the first book in the "Apart From the Crowd" series and the next book coming out this winter. Aside from the end part, I really enjoyed Jen's writing.

About the Author:

Jen Turano, author of eight books and two novellas, is a graduate of the University of Akron with a degree in clothing and textiles. She is a member of ACFW and lives in a suburb of Denver, Colorado. Visit her website at www.jenturano.com.

Keen For Quinoa Recipes

Can you believe I've never tried quinoa? Nope, never. Craziest thing, I know, especially with how much everyone is cooking it these days. I've heard that it can be tricky to cook, so that meant I needed to reach out to some bloggers who have had success with their recipes. Of course, asking them to share had them coming out of the woodwork. I'll have to separate posts, maybe even three because there were so many! Who knew? So, without further ado, let's try some of these ideas!

Christel at The Fit Blog had a guest blogger on her site with an amazingly healthy recipe of Quinoa with Kale, Peppers, and Poached Eggs. This bowl looks seriously amazing, and since I'm trying to eat better it would definitely be up my alley.

I'll admit that until I saw this post from Julia at Savory Tooth, I never would've thought to have quinoa for breakfast. Trust me, this recipe for Chocolate Quinoa Breakfast Bowl With Coconut And Blueberries will make you a believer!

This recipe is perfect for beginners! Tammilee shows us How To Cook Quinoa In A Crock Pot. It's got the ingredients I knew to give it a whirl, but it never dawned on me to simply cook it in a crock pot. Since I'll probably be the only one trying it out, this will be the way for me to start!

With summer literally just around the corner, Brett from This Mama Loves', Parmesan Basil Quinoa Salad would be perfect for any potlucks or get togethers. It looks like a fresh side dish, and hello, quinoa + salad go hand in hand, right? I'll take it!

How about adding a bit of tex-mex to your quinoa recipe? This Southwest Black Bean Salad With Quinoa from Aimee at The Crazy Craft Lady sounds and looks absolutely amazing! All of the ingredients are exactly what I need to be eating this spring.

Ann from Ann's Entitled Life has gone to the Greek side. She's got a recipe for Greek Quinoa Salad. I love that it doesn't take long to whip up this easy dish!

If you're looking for an easy recipe, this one looks like it'll be one that can be done with the right ingredients on hand. Carrie from Kennary has an Easy Turkey Sausage Recipe that would be great for the family on a weeknight.

I think you'll agree with me that this recipe looks absolutely mouth watering! I love the idea of these as a snack or for breakfast. Kelli from Hungry Hobby made these Cranberry Date Quinoa Breakfast Bars. I say, "Bring them on!"

Julia at Happy Foods has a Roasted Butternut Squash Salad With Quinoa recipe that would be delicious any time of the year, especially fall. This is the kind of recipe that would be up my daughter's alley. It has everything she loves in it. I may have to try making it for her!

Is it possible to say, "No," to a coffee cake? Yea, I didn't think so. I love that quinoa is so versatile that you could even make a recipe like Gingerbread Quinoa Coffee Cake with it! The best part? It's gluten-free and vegan. Thanks for this recipe Rebecca from Strength & Sunshine!

Now this meal from VNutrition will be one your family won't soon forget! It looks like a dish that will fill you up, but won't leave you feeling like a sloth by the time you're finished. I'm looking forward to trying Mary Ellen's Southwest Quinoa!

I love being able to share recipes that are created by our bloggers at Collective Bias, where I work! Nate from Wanna Bite is a blogger we use quite often. His recipe for Chargrilled Quinoa Salad was shared almost exactly a year ago. It has delicious summer veggies included that will make the recipe pop!

I love making meatloaf and it never occurred to me to add quinoa to it! Laura from Me and My Inklings has a Gluten Free Quinoa And Vegetable Meatloaf that sounds like it would be a great way to hide the quinoa if people didn't like it on its own.

You won't believe how simple this next recipe is! It would make a great side dish, especially for a seafood meal. Jade from Jonesin' for Taste made Orange Scented Quinoa. Doesn't that sound delicious?

We're pretty big fans of chili around here. Fred has his way of cooking it and I have mine. Both extremely different. I think adding a third recipe that isn't one of ours might make a great meeting of the minds. Felicia from The Starving Chef is serving up Turkey & Quinoa Chili.

I don't know about you, but these recipes look like they need to be tried. I know that I've got to look at my grocery list to see what I need to add so I can get some of these recipes whipped up. I'm not always great at trying something new, but since I've got the quinoa, may as well make use of it!

A Lady In Disguise By Sandra Byrd

A Lady in Disguise
by Sandra Byrd
Publisher: Howard Books
ISBN: 978-1476717937

I was so thankful to be included in author, Sandra Byrd's, inner circle to help promote this book! It had been a while since I'd read any of her novels. This year I'm back on the reading train, and was thrilled to have the opportunity to read her newest novel.

Summary:

In this intriguing novel of romance, mystery, and clever disguise set in Victorian England, a young woman investigates the murder of her own father.

After the mysterious death of her father, Miss Gillian Young takes a new job as the principal costume designer at the renowned Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. But while she remembers her father as a kind, well-respected man of the Police Force, clues she uncovers indicate he’d been living a double life: a haunting photograph of a young woman; train stubs for secret trips just before his death; and a receipt for a large sum of money. Are these items evidence of her father’s guilty secrets? His longtime police partner thinks so.

Then Gillian meets the dashing Viscount Thomas Lockwood. Their attraction is instant and inescapable. As their romantic involvement grows, Gillian begins to suspect even Lockwood’s motives. Does Lord Lockwood truly love her? Or is his interest a front for the desire to own her newly inherited property? And what should she make of her friend’s suggestion that Lockwood or men like him were involved in the murder of her father?

Soon Gillian is convinced that her father has left evidence somewhere that can prove his innocence and reveal the guilty party. But someone wants to stop her from discovering it. The closer she comes to uncovering it, the more menacing her opposition grows. With her life on the line, Gillian takes on an ingenious disguise and takes on the role of a lifetime to reveal the true killer—before it’s too late both for her and for those that she loves.

My Review:

This sort starts off with us meeting Gillian at the funeral of her father. While at the home her grandparents had lived in, she meets the neighbor, Viscount Thomas Lockwood. They spend time getting reacquainted after his mother sends greetings and condolences to Gillian.

From there, Gillian and her companion, Ms. W head back to their home in London. It doesn't take long for her to realize something isn't right. Something is amiss once they get back home, the inspectors who had once been close to her father and their family are distancing themselves from her, and there are rumors her father may have been part of something illicit.

Gillian sets out to get to the bottom of what's happening. At every turn she seems to be watched or under suspicion. Nothing seems right and she doesn't know who to trust. Lockwood seems to take an interest in her, but she's not sure if it's a spark or if he's simply interested in her property that is next to his.

I love that in the midst of her turmoil, she opens her home to young girls who need a chance in life after being child mimes and then discarded. Her hope is to give them skills that will give them a better station in life. Unfortunately because of the mystery surrounding her father's death, she may have put their lives in danger as well.

Does Lockwood have ulterior motives? Can she trust any of the inspectors? Will she find out that she never really knew her father?

About the Author:

After earning her first rejection at the age of thirteen, bestselling author Sandra Byrd has now published more than fifty books. 

Sandra's series of historically sound Gothic romances, Daughters of Hampshire, launched with the best-selling Mist of Midnight, which earned a coveted Editor’s Choice award from the Historical Novel Society. The second book, Bride of a Distant Isle, has been selected by Romantic Times as a Top Pick. The third in the series, A Lady in Disguise, published in 2017. Sandra is excited to continue writing Gothic romance and will be adding books to that genre beginning in October 2018 with Tyndale House Publishers. 

Check out her contemporary adult fiction debut, Let Them Eat Cake, which was a Christy Award finalist, as was her first historical novel, To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn. To Die For was also named a Library Journal Best Books Pick for 2011, and The Secret Keeper: A Novel of Kateryn Parr was named a Library Journal Best Books Pick for 2012. 

Sandra has published dozens of books for kids, tweens, and teens, including the bestselling The One Year Be-Tween You and God Devotions for Girls. She continued her work as a devotionalist, this time for women, with The One Year Home and Garden Devotions. Her latest book, The One Year Experiencing God’s Love Devotional, will be published in October 2017.  

Sandra is passionate about helping new writers develop their talents and their work for traditional publishing or self-publication. She has mentored and coached hundreds of new writers and continues to guide developing authors toward success each year via novelcoaching.com.

Please visit www.sandrabyrd.com to learn more or to invite Sandra to your book club via Skype.

The Essential Amish Cookbook

The Essential Amish Cookbook: Everyday Recipes from Farm and Family

by Lovina Eicher
Publisher: Herald Press
ISBN: 978-1513800295

When I was asked to do a review of this cookbook, I was thrilled. It was perfect timing since we'd just been up in Amish country in Lancaster, PA just a few weeks before. 

I had been ooo-ing and ahh-ing over some of the Amish food we'd been able to sample, and I was happy to give a couple of the ones in this cookbook a try.

Summary:

Join Amish cook Lovina Eicher in her kitchen as she prepares recipes used every day in countless Amish homes in Old Order Amish communities across North America. Many of the more than 100 recipes are richly illustrated with step-by-step photographs to help you learn Amish cooking as if you were in Lovina’s own kitchen. From hearty main dishes to substantial sides—plus a generous sampling of scrumptious cakes, pies, cookies, and other delectable desserts—learn how to make the hearty, simple dishes that the Amish cook together and serve at home, church services, and weddings.

My Review:

First of all, the images are wonderful. Not only are the food pictures delicious, but I love getting glimpses into their way of life. I liked how Mrs. Eicher shared how a recipe would be used, tips for making the dish, or how the recipe fits into their daily lives. The recipes are very easy to follow. I love how they're not complicated, and can be done by pretty much everyone. There aren't a lot of steps to get the recipe complete. Like their lives of living simply, her recipes reflect that as well.

I tried two of her dishes. I've never made potato salad before, and quite honestly, I'm extremely picky about how it tastes. I find there are 3 different ways it can be made: not enough flavor, too much flavor, or exactly right. I have got to tell you, this was exactly right. It was SO incredible, I'm making another batch for my son's graduation on Friday. Planning to wow and amaze the family! I have literally been eating it every single day since I made it.

For Mother's Day I wanted to start the morning off easy for the family so I tried making the French Toast (Overnight) Casserole. I prepped everything Saturday night, and put it in the oven Sunday morning. It was still a bit mushy when it came out so I cooked it for about 5 more minutes. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out how to get the bottom cooked well without burning the top. It was flavorful (I really like cinnamon sugar) so I'll have to try it again and see if I can attempt it a different way to get it cooked all the way through.

The next recipe I plan on attempting, hopefully this weekend, is the Breakfast pizza. It looks delicious!

About the Author:

Lovina Eicher is author of the syndicated column, Lovina’s Amish Kitchen, which appears in 40 newspapers around the United States and on a weekly blog maintain by her editors. She is the author of several cookbooks. Lovina and her husband have eight children and live in rural Michigan.

Road Trip Prep With Prestone and 3M & Giveaway

This summer the boys and I will be making our annual trek to Minnesota. That means getting the car prepared for the miles we're going to be driving and having the right items tucked away! This is where Prestone & 3M comes in. They reached out to me asking me to try their products, and hello, who could turn down such an automotive staple? Of course I agreed!

Now, dad has always done minor work and maintenance on his cars. He didn't pass that gene on to me.

Kidding! I love doing what I can on my own with my car. So much so that I've tried to pass that on to my kids. What I love is getting a call from my oldest daughter (who's in Minnesota) and her starting off with, "Mom, my car is..." I try narrowing down what might be going on and try to give her the confidence to figure it out or to be wise in finding someone who can help her.

Empowering myself and my family when it comes to our cars is really a necessity. Do you realize how much money you can save by doing things like checking brake fluid, restoring headlights, and checking your antifreeze/coolant? Keeping up with home maintenance on your own vehicle will not only save you money, but will extend the life of your car.

So, let's get into the nitty gritty before we talk about what you should take with you on any road trip!

Have you EVER driven in Minnesota in the middle of mosquito season? It literally rains bugs. And at night, forget about it. You may as well drive with the windshield wipers on. The Prestone BugWash® is what will get us through driving through the midwest in July! lol It's also great because it creates a barrier from things sticking to your windshield.

When we moved into our house Fred was parking on the right side and I parked on the left. I don't know what happened, but somehow we ended up swapping our cars around. One day I came out and noticed both of our driver's side mirrors were warped. I also realized my driver's side headlight was messed up. We think the windows on the house are doing the damage. The 3M Headlight Restoration Kit is exactly what was needed!

Now, I don't know about you, but I'm as skeptical as they come. For real. I'm rarely buyin' what you're sellin'. Get my drift? I'll be honest with you (aren't I always?) that I wasn't sure how this was going to perform. THEN what do I do? I kind of gave the kit the stink eye as I started the process.

I read through the instructions, grabbed a small spray bottle, and a Meguiar's microfiber towel, and set to work. The first step was to clean the headlight and then tape it with the tape that's provided in the kit. I was only targeting the damaged area because the rest of the headlight looked fine. If you're going to be scrubbing near the paint of your vehicle, I would highly suggest doing a double wide line of the tape in case you slip as you're sanding. Nothing like working on one thing and scratching up another.

There are 3 different grits of disks: 1000, 3000, and 5000. You use them in order from smallest to largest spraying the water on the light and disc as you go along. The steps are incredibly easy to read and understand. With the first pass of the 1000 grit the headlight was still pretty hazy. I was trying not to be too judgey judgey. I still had a couple steps to go.

Next the 3000 and 5000 grit were used and I finished by spraying off the headlight and then wiping it down once again. My initial response was, "No way!" I hadn't been expecting the results I got. It was literally crystal clear. You can see the difference in the before & after images. The only negative part was I now see how bad the rest of the headlight is and will have to do the rest of it! I mean, eureka. No need to drop cashola on replacing the entire headlight cover.

My hubby came home halfway through the restoration. Now, some of you might have a hubby who will just take care of all things automotive or if he sees you attempting something will swoop in and just do it himself. Not my guy. He knows better. lol He came over to say, "hi," and then went about his merry business.

I thought checking and filling fluids on my car would be relatively easy. And I'd say it was other than Chevrolet putting covers on things so you have to unsnap them to get to what you need. No problem. Just went to grab my car manual and flat head to find what was needed.

It was easy enough to fill up the windshield washer fluid. It's one of the most obvious looking caps under the hood. Every car engine I've looked at has that windshield wiper design on it. It was nearly full, but since it's spring, aka "bugs are alive and well season", no reason not to top it off!

From there I checked my brake fluid, but that was already full since my car had been into the dealer recently. Then came the fun of finding the spot for the power steering fluid. I found it in the manual, but realized it had to take off a rather large cover to get to it. So strange. Once I took off the oil cap, I just had to heave ho the large cover and it came off. Voila there was the power steering fluid. I cleaned off the dip stick, filled it up until the fluid was between the min & max, replaced the cap, and put the cover back on.

The antifreeze/coolant was a different story. The place to ADD the coolant was visible. The place to CHECK the radiator fluid, not so much. I had to remove an extremely large cover from the engine to see how the radiator fluid was doing after I filled the reservoir. Thankfully removing the covers only takes a minute. Everything was good to go so I replace the cover and was finished with my tasks.

Now that everything under the hood was taken care of, I wanted to show you what I like to keep in the car for not only road trips, but for any surprises that might come up! Here's the list of what we'll bring:

• blanket
• emergency road side kit
• snacks
• personal reading light
• power inverter
• hand wipes
• first aid kit
• sunscreen/bug spray
• bottled water
• tire gauge
• umbrella

I bought a tote a couple weeks ago, and a friend from church has an embroidery business. I put in an order for her to personalize the tote for all of the road trips we do, including to Minnesota. I love, love, LOVE how it came out!

Will you be hitting the road this summer? Where will you be headed? Before you go anywhere, be sure to enter the giveaway to win what I received from Prestone and 3M!

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