Gluten Free Dairy Free Pumpkin Bars for Thanksgiving!

The Mall Fairies Sweet Tooth Cookbook will be launched during the Cookies & Books Holiday Sale at a special price, yum!

To celebrate and get your taste buds flowing, here's a recipe from the cookbook, modified to be gluten and dairy free. Can also be nut, soy and egg free. 

PUMPKIN BARS

NOTE: I halved this recipe because it makes a lot and we were a few for Thanksgiving.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour: I use a mixture of 3-4 gluten free, high fiber and protein flours. These include oatmeal, garbanzo bean, coconut, sweet sorghum, and buckwheat.

2 teaspoons baking powder and 2 teaspoons baking soda: Gluten free flours don't rise as well. Having both baking powder and baking soda helps.

2 teaspoons cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon cloves (can be omitted, but why?)

½ teaspoon ginger (also can be omitted, again, why?)

1 teaspoon salt

1 scant teaspoon xanthum gum: This helps the flours stick together. May be omitted.

2 tablespoons potato starch: This helps the flours stick together too. 

4 eggs OR egg substitute. If you use egg substitute, bars will be denser in texture.

1 ⅔ cups sugar (I use dark brown sugar, and a little less.)

1 cup vegetable oil (I use canola)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 large can (15oz) pureed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

Sift dry ingredients and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, oil, vanilla and pumpkin. Add the dry ingredients, gradually. Mix well.

Spread batter in a greased 13”x 9”x 2” baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely.

Variations:

Add nuts, walnuts and pecans work well.

Add chocolate bits.

Add both chocolate bits and nuts.

Be careful not to make the batter too "full" as it will fall apart. I've done this.

Enjoy

Create More, Succeed, Make Money Being Creative with NO Blame!

FOR GAIN, NO BLAME

This post is about a problem that has been bugging me for, well, forever. In this world of social media, it appears to be growing every day, a monstrous cancer destroying creativity.

Okay, maybe not that bad. Except...when we blame ourselves, it destroys our creativity. 

I'm not talking about refusing to take responsibility for our own personal stumbles as in "I drank too much today to create." Also, there are tons of helpful advice available  I'm talking about the insidious, continual "blame game" that some "experts" use to sell their books, podcasts, seminars, classes online and off, even life coaching.

The blame game goes like this (for writing, I'm sure it's similar for other types of creativity):

Your published writing isn't selling? Then you must be blamed because:

Your cover isn't good enough. (Buy this and we'll show you how to have a great cover!)

Your content isn't good enough. (Let us show you how, buy this!)

Your social media marketing isn't good enough. (buy...) 

To be more specific:

You don't have a good enough website. (On sale now! How to have a great website!)

You don't have a good enough email list. (Buy now! Learn how to have a great email list!)

You don't have a platform. (Pay here!)

You don't have a brand.

You're not tweeting enough.

You're not posting enough on Facebook.

You're not doing enough ads on social-media-site.

You're not posting enough and/or posting correctly on your website.

And one more example: You're not posting on your blog enough!

Or even the dreaded shoulds:

You should be only traditionally published.

You should be only self-published.

You should be a hybrid author.

Then there's the more insidious blaming:

You have to do the newest online-whatever right now to sell, whatever it is.

You have to spend a certain amount of time every day selling.

You have to not spend too much time selling. Instead spend your time creating more and more, as quickly as possible. Make sure your creations are fabulous. 

You have to be exactly like the successful people that are used as examples. 

Can you feel your will to create evaporating? Depression setting in? Blaming sucks the life energy out of our creativity. 

Add to all of this one DIRTY ENORMOUS SECRET:

Most creative people are not successful at selling their creations. 

Most books don't sell. Most actors don't have a big career. Most artists never sell their paintings/sculptures/art. Most bands never make it big. It doesn't matter if you're a jewelry designer or a singer or a clay-embedded-fingernails potter, chances are you won't "make it big and make tons of money." 

Does this mean never take a class or read a book about selling your work? No, of course not! Many books, videos, podcasts, classes, etc. are very useful for tips and ways to sell. Ideas that may save you time and money. My only caveat: avoid blame! Realize and remember that you are doing the work. If you're not...give yourself a break. You're only human. 

Make your creative life a no-blame zone and discover energy, time and inspiration!

Mild West Mysteries on SALE 3 days only! .99! Audio out too! And a GF, dairy free, egg free easy recipe!

In honor of the release of the audio book version of Mild West Mysteries, the eBook version is on sale, only .99, through January 8th!

Woot! Now Mild West Mysteries is out in all formats! Enjoy!

And here are some cookies to munch on while you read/listen to Mild West Mysteries. These are gluten, dairy and egg free!

EASY QUICK CAKE COOKIES (mildly sweet and nutty)

Ingredients:

1 cup cashew, almond or peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup oatmeal flour + 1/2 cup oatmeal flour

1/4 cup potato starch

3 teaspoons Xanthum gum

1 tablespoon vanilla

2 tablespoons Vegan Egg in 1/3 cup cold water

Nutmeg and/or cinnamon to sprinkle on top

Directions: 

Place rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, potato starch, sugar and Xanthum gum together. Add liquids and stir well. Dough will be stiff. Roll into balls and press on cookie sheet until 1 to 1/2 inch depth. Sprinkle with nutmeg and/or cinnamon. Bake 15 to 20 minutes depending on thickness of cookies (thinner cookies will be crunchier, thicker more cake like). Flip cookies half way through baking. Cookies should be lightly brown both sides.

Again, enjoy! And pick up your on sale copy of Mild West Mysteries, just .99 through January 8th.

Christmas Romance Audio Novella Giveaway! Free! While supplies last!

Some of this year's Christmas Decorations

To get you off in a festive mood, here's a gift to get you into the holiday spirit. While supplies last you can have a code for an audio book download of A Crispy Rice Christmas FREE.

Fun, clean Christmas romance! A Crispy Rice Christmas!

This will be a download from Audible, the audio book arm of Amazon. You will have to go onto Audible.com and sign in (no membership required) to redeem. Yes, they'll send you a few emails asking you to become a member, those can be ignored. And yes, I would love an honest review IF you have time! But mostly I really loved writing this story and want to share the Christmas joy!

So COMMENT (with your email written out as in: name dot yahoo dot com and I won't publish your comment either) for your free audio book!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

Back to School Deals: The Mall Fairies series! (Why you should go direct to publishers)

 Get The Mall Fairies: Exile and my other Mall Fairies titles for 30% off through September 30th!

Here's one reason why I'm a hybrid author. My publisher, Muse It Up Publishing, is having a great Back to School Deal. What did I have to do? Write my Mall Fairies series as well as I could.

And The Mall Fairies: Exile, The Mall Fairies: War and the stand alone short story, A foodie Fairy's First Foray are not the only Middle Grade, Tween and YA reads you'll find for sale, there's lots more (and having read several, I can say these are often great reads for adults too!). 

The reason to go direct to publishers? Two reasons are here: you get an additional 30% off the eBook already discounted sale price and the authors get a bigger royalty percentage of the sales  (as the publisher doesn't have to pay vendors).

Here's the directions and links (or just click on my titles). Enjoy!

The Mall Fairies: Exile by Conda V. Douglas

Save 30% this month during our BACK TO SCHOOL Event

Use discount code MUSEITYOUNG2015 in your Muse cart, save, then finalize the order.

Perfect time to stock up your child’s eReader for the holiday season or begin your pre-holiday shopping before the hustle and bustle begins.

Special exclusive at MuseItUp Publishing $2.99 plus an additional 30% off with code
MUSEITYOUNG2015 until end of September

http://bit.ly/TheMallFairiesExile

One Reason Amazon Rules the Book Publishing World and an Opportunity for Great Free Reads!

Foul Wind by Kathy McIntosh is a humorous mystery set in wacky North Idaho. Want an opportunity to read it for free? Then read on!

The publishing world keeps changing and Amazon keeps coming up with excellent ideas that are part of that change. One of Amazon's newest publishing ventures is KindleScout, in which the readers act as acquiring editors and pick the titles to be published! I think this is a brilliant idea. Who better to pick books they want to read than the readers? And Amazon came up with a great idea to "pay" those readers, if a title you nominate is bought and published by Amazon, you get that title for FREE when it's published! Woot! 

Plus, it's easy to do. Just head over to KindleScout and sign in with your Amazon account. The site is easy to navigate and each book has a cover, a blurb and the first three chapters for you to peruse. You can only nominate three books at a time and they are only up on KindleScout for 30 days so I usually go to "Ending Soon" first and take a look.

Except when I know the book is something I want to read! Foul Wind by Kathy McIntosh is such a book! Here's the blurb: 

Noses wrinkle in Hancock, Idaho, when a foul wind blows from the new wind turbine at a nearby hog farm. When a blackmailer threatens to reveal secrets about the development and its investors, suspicion falls on Feather Sullivan and her sister, compelling their mother to meddle. Interfering moms on a hog farm get messy—and deadly—fast! When the blackmailer ends up murdered, Feather and a mouth-watering PI seek answers while she tries to keep her snooping mother from becoming another victim.

Just my type of humorous mystery, perfect for an cup of tea and cozy chair afternoon. If it's your cup of tea too, head over to Foul Wind soon as there is only 8 days left to nominate this title!

Dear readers, what do you think of KindleScout? Love it? Hate it? Or?

Carrot Cake Muffin Recipe, A Free Cookbook, and a Link to Bottlecap Jewelry Making! Summer Fun!

Hopefully this kinda unappetizing photo of a Carrot Cake Muffin will give you a smile, for this Smile Power Day! Recipe follows.

It's time for summer fun, so let's start out with what to take on a picnic. These muffins are gluten, soy, egg and dairy free and delicious, I promise! They also travel and freeze well.

Gluten Free, Egg Free, Soy Free, Dairy Free Carrot Cake Muffins

Crusty outside, moist inside

Makes 6 good sized muffins

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups gluten free flour mix (consistency will differ a little depending on mix)

¼ cup dark brown sugar or molasses (muffins will not be very sweet, can add more sugar if you prefer, molasses will make a bit sticky)

2 teas bicarbonate of soda

2 teas baking powder

2-3 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¾  to 1 cup food processed until fine carrots

½ cup sultana raisins (may be omitted, I always omit these because I don’t like raisins in food)

1 cup nuts, walnuts or pecans (may be omitted)

¼ cup vegetable oil (coconut oil works best)

 2 teas apple cider vinegar or white vinegar

1 cup applesauce plus ¼ cup coconut, almond, cashew or rice milk

2-3 teas vanilla

Directions:

Add the ingredients into a mixing bowl in the same order as listed.

Mix well. Mixture will not be terribly thin, if it is add flour

Place muffin papers in a large muffin pan.

Scoop mixture into papers until well filled. Gently tap down until you have a imperfect “muffin top.”

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

More easy, cheap and "regular" dessert recipes can be found in The Mall Fairies Sweet Tooth Recipes, along with short stories of the fairies from my Mall Fairies  series FREE today only here.

Bottle Cap Jewelry are fast, cheap and easy to make gifts, here are a few ideas for Christmas ones.

Visit my post on Lois Winston's blog Killer Crafts and Crafty Killers for how to make cheap, easy bottle cap jewelry, great for summer fun for kids and adults alike! Lois is the editor of Bake, Love, Write: 105 Authors Share Dessert Recipes and Advice on Love and Writing. On page 99, you'll find my recipe for Soda Cracker Pie, another easy recipe and cool and delicious for those long hot summer nights!

Enjoy! Celebrate! And what's your favorite thing about summer?
.

   

My Bridesmaid Romance Story on SALE, Plus Happy Rocky Road Day with a recipe!

Now on sale for 99 cents for a limited time only! Get my humorous romance, The Bridesmaid Wore Stains, now here!

 My publisher and I, in honor of June brides, has placed The Bridesmaid Wore Stains on sale, in which will Kat's trademark clumsiness condemn her to a bridesmaid's worst nightmare? Enjoy!

But wait, there's more...in honor of today, Rocky Road Day, here's an easy, fast and cheap recipe for Rocky Road Bites, with how to make it dairy, soy and egg free as well. Who knows, the bride of The Bridesmaid Wore Stains may very well have served this at her wedding! She's that kind of gal.

Rocky Road Cups

These Rocky Road Cups are ooey-gooey delicious and for that reason work best in cupcake or muffin papers. Although licking your fingers is not only allowed but encouraged.

Makes six, may be doubled.

Ingredients:

1 cup milk chocolate morsels or dairy and soy free chocolate morsels

1 cup mini marshmallows, check to make sure they are egg, dairy and soy free

1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped with fairly big pieces

Directions:

Place large cupcake papers into a large muffin tin.

In a saucepan, slowly melt chocolate on low heat. Or place in a microwave bowl and melt slowly by microwaving for 30 seconds at a time for about a minute and a half, stirring between times. Do not overcook. If in a saucepan, stir constantly to avoid scorching and burning the chocolate. It will turn grainy and nasty if overcooked. Trust me, I’ve done it.

When melted beat until smooth.

Stir in marshmallows and walnuts or pecans.

Spoon by generous tablespoons into cupcake papers. The Rocky Road mixture will be irregular in shape—that’s part of the fun.

Chill to harden. I leave the cups in the fridge or freezer and take out one by one and let soften for a few minutes before eating. Will last for a week to 10 days, I think, in the fridge and longer in the freezer. I say I think because they never last that long! Sometimes it's difficult to wait until they set up!

And everyone, what are some other holidays you enjoy celebrating?

Leave Politics, Agendas and Rants Out of Your Public Social Media: A Rant

All proceeds from sales of Romance and Mystery Authors on Writing go to libraries!

The newest publication I'm in, Romance and Mystery Authors on Writing, inspired me to this rant.

Nowadays if you're an author selling titles you have to be on social media. But there are some guidelines if you want to have a good effect, i.e. have people buy your books, when you are using Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc.

A major one: be professional and share only content that would be interesting/funny/informative to your public audience. Or at least not annoying.

Or to put it another way: if you are using social media in an "I'm an author" public way then no proselytizing of any kind about politics, religion or any agenda. No rants, she says ranting.

There's one simple reason for this. It turns potential readers off.

How can you know what the impact of any post will be? It turns readers off quickly if they don't agree with whatever. You're assuming your audience agrees with you in all ways. Or that you can change their minds by floggings by social media--which almost never if ever happens.

The surprising thing is that it turns potential readers off even if they agree with whatever it is you're ranting about. This is because of several things. The first is that there's a certain air of smugness, an "everybody thinks/believes as I do because I'm right and I know it" about those sort of posts. There's also sometimes an implied mild threat of "you'd better hop on board with this or else..." Or else what? You won't let them read your work?

Most of all, writers with an agenda can push that agenda to all exclusion of everything else, including good writing. Readers know this. Sure it's possible to write a powerful, award winning agenda driven manuscript, but it's very difficult to do. Most are rants.

If you have Facebook or Pinterest or whatever just for family and friends then go ahead and post those rabid political cartoons, get into a comment fight with your granddaughter about some news item, or whatever. It's a personal page and therefore limited, not an author page with a public persona.

There's one sorta/kinda exception and that is if the issue is part and piecemeal of what you write. For example, if you have a character who struggles with a disability, than news items about something particular to that disability might be okay to post. Or personal stories around the issue. Same might be true around a subject in your nonfiction titles, new nutrition facts if you write cookbooks--if you keep it specific and/or personal. The line between okay and annoying is thin.

So, dear readers, do you agree? Disagree? Rant away in the comments!

Dirty Secrets Self Published Authors and Publishers Never Tell, a Taste of My New Class

Reading my award winning flash fiction.

This coming Tuesday, March 10th, from 7:30 to 8:30 I'll be teaching a one night class in Navigating the New Publishing World for the Boise Community Schools. It will be at Timberline High School in Boise, Idaho. The fee is $8.95, cheap! Details and sign up here: Navigating the New Publishing World.

So this is a bit of a teaser for the class, but also two of the main secrets new authors need know while path finding a way through this amazing new biz of publishing. 

First secret: The huge majority of well-selling self-published authors are those authors who already have name recognition, a distinct brand, a platform and a large fan base. Such an author may have been traditionally published, popular in another media, or excellent at marketing, or in a very few cases, just plain lucky. But for almost all new self-published authors the way to sales is a difficult path.

Second secret: If you have sold your manuscript to a publisher, you have lost much of your control of that manuscript. The publisher is the one who edits to their standards, provides a cover and publication date, and sets price, including when/what and where to have the title on sale. True, many small indie publishers now allow authors to have a lot of input on much of this, but it's not the same as having total control. 

 

Though these two "secrets"  may be discouraging, the truth is that authors have more opportunities than ever before for success. We'll talk about those in class.

Now, I suspect that some of my author friends may be of a differing opinion, or may want to add to what I've said here. Please comment away!