USA Today Mention!

Pick a language! Any language!

Saturday, September 19, 2015

I. HATE. CHAMPAGNE.

Great day everyone!

So, if you were on Twitter or Facebook last night you may have seen a couple drunken posts by me.  I’ve deleted nothing as I am happily surprised that I kept it neat and cute.  Though others *looks pointedly at Mimi Tremont* were trying to trick me into being less neat and cute.  Believe me when I type that I can be messy when under the influence of alcohol.  I’m happy to see I kept it clean.

Anyhoodles, I said I’d reveal my reason for being tipsy as soon as I sobered up.  But my head had other ideas. *chuckle* So it took me a bit longer to get this post together.  At last, here it is.

I am working on Elyrian Husbands II, among other stories.  If you will remember, I left Vanessa about to become a billionaire.  Her story picks up from there.  How does a new young billionaire celebrate their new found wealth?  Why with champagne and caviar of course!

Therein lay my problem, I couldn’t honestly tell you what caviar tastes like.  I've had it in dish.  It was just one of the ingredients in the recipe.  I really couldn’t remember what it tasted like all by itself.  So that meant cracking open the piggy bank and going for the gusto.  

First though, I needed to do some research.  I wanted to know what was the finest and what was the least finest that should be consumed by itself.  I mean, my grocery store sells caviar.  I found three different brands and none of them cost more than $10 an ounce.  I’m imagining that that is the cooking caviar.  You know kind of like there are diamonds that become exquisite pieces of jewelry and then there are diamonds that are so flawed that they are ground up into dust to be used in costumes.

So to the internet I went studying up on the various kinds of caviar.  Did you know that the USA produces its own caviar, too?  We get ours from salmon and some white fish.  The salmon caviar is a rather orangey pink as opposed the dark gray/black caviar that is most popular.  If you’ve seen my Pinterest account [link]then you know I have a board entitled Because Sunshine Loves Pink. *chuckles* However, I passed on the orangey pink caviar this time.  I decided to go with what is still considered the best of the best, Beluga.

Having decided on which type of caviar I wanted I remembered the scene in the movie Titanic where the doomed hero Jack is asked by a server how he took his caviar.  The camera does a quick flash at the tray the server is holding.  There’s a lot of stuff on the tray but it was a quick flash.  So back to the internet I went.

I scoured the internet for how to serve it.  It must be kept very cold as it is seafood and you don’t want to end up with tape worms.  What to serve it with, the best should be eaten with champagne only.  The further your caviar falls from the best the more condiments you might need.  Depends on your taste buds.  Popular condiments are chopped boiled egg whites, chopped boiled egg yolks, sour cream, and chopped red onions.

I decided since I was going with the top of the caviar line to skip the condiments.  Also, I didn’t feel like doing the prep work.  Hey!  Quit judging me.  I still have a day job.

I found a store online that wasn’t too many states away from me.  They have a restaurant as well as an online store.  They ship overnight.  Truly I placed my order between 6-7 pm and, after a confirming phone call from a pleasant gentleman with an accent I couldn’t quite place, I received my order the next day just before 10 am.  How’s that for service?

I ordered blinis and crème fraiche to go with this delicacy.  Never had crème fraiche and it was only $6.  A drop in the bucket compared to what I paid for the caviar.

Next, champagne!  Top shelf caviar calls for top shelf champagne.  So I chose Moet.  Why did I practically have to pry the bottle out of the store clerk’s hands?  Seriously.  He carries the bottle to the counter and then has a moment with it as he explains to me, “I really love Moet.”

I’m looking at him like he’s crazy as he sighs over the bottle cradling it.  smh This could only happen to me.

So now I have all my ingredients for my mini nosh.  I decide to wait until Friday night when I could sit back and enjoy it (or not) without having to worry about work in the morning.

I follow the directions on the blini packaging and toasted twelve of them lightly in the oven. I did half with butter and half without.

While they were toasting, I took some pictures of what an ounce of caviar looks like.





Okay, I'm a writer not a photographer. *chuckles* I did the best I could.  Next time I do this, I may get someone else to take the pictures of me getting it out of the container and into its special serving dish.  I had to laugh at myself scraping every last tiny fish egg out of that container. For this price, I want it ALL!!!!





I'll spare you the details about the serving dish and utensils for now.  Just that I purchased a special mother of pearl spoon ($7 including shipping and handling) and the caviar company sent me one for free. Bless their hearts, it is the one in the gold wrapping.

So that is an ounce of caviar.  Time to pop the cork on that champagne and get this tasting on the road.

Since I skipped the pink caviar I did go with the rose' champagne.  Oh it went down nice.  Real nice.



I swear I was sitting still when I took these pictures. I have no idea why one turned out blurry.  Must have been a portent of things to come.

From there it was eat and sip and repeat.  I was half way through the nosh before I remembered the crème fraiche.  But I did and it was a good addition.








It was a very rich experience. I cooked a meal never believing that an ounce of caviar would fill me up.  However, it did in the way that a meal with lots of butter or cream or both would.

I could have skipped the meal but it was shrimp scampi and I had already downed half the bottle of champagne.  My faculties were telling me that though I might not want to eat more, I indeed needed a little more food in my stomach.

Sooooooo...




Did I mention how rich the nosh was?  Well scampi made with butter and wine is pretty rich, too. *chuckles*

By the time I finished what I could of dinner, about half, I was almost done with the champagne.  My night ended with an impromptu concert of my favorite Rihanna songs using the bottle as my microphone. LOL

My neighbors have my apologies.  I think karma got even with me come the morning.  I...a seasoned veteran drinker... was awakened out of my sleep with a headache the likes of which I hadn't felt in years!  Hence, the title of this post.  Ugh!  There would be six painkiller capsules, ringing phones, ringing doorbells, and many jokes and tauntings before I would be right enough to write this missive.

My verdict on the caviar?  I think I'll let Vanessa tell you.  A hint though, now that I've had the best I will try the rest.  Hey!  They cost less and I'll go light on that champagne.  *shakes fist at the empty bottle*

That's tricks.  Remember, Courted II will be live on September 28th.  So bon appétit and have a great night.  And of course, no matter what you are reading: HAPPY READING!




Monday, April 27, 2015

*yawn* And Elyrian Brides: Octavia's Reign is LIVE!

Happy Monday... *yawn*

It's midnight and that's the best I got. *tired chuckle* I just wanted to be awake long enough to post that the next in the Elyrian Brides series is live. Octavia's Reign is ready for your reading pleasure.

Here is the lovely cover done by KiratheArtist. You can find her on DeviantArt or just click her name.  It will link you to her page. She's done a great job once again.  The link to buy is HERE.



As always I enjoyed writing this story and sharing it with you all. I am really enjoying watching Octavia and Kade's relationship evolve. I had quite a bit of fun at poor Kade's expense.  In the end, he learns to enjoy it.

Well, I'm all caught up on the books that were on my publishing schedule.  Now to come up with a new schedule.  Stay tuned!

As always, I thank you all for your continued support.  It means a great deal to me.

Now I'm going to get some sleep so I can get up and get back at it after the sun comes up.

Wishing you a great day and no matter what you're reading, HAPPY READING!

Sunshine :-)



Wednesday, April 1, 2015

CONTEST TIME!

It is my third anniversary as a published teller of stories. So if you're interested in winning Elyrian Brides swag as well as cash… yes I said cash, then head on over to my page to enter.

Good luck!

Sunshine

LINK TO CONTEST

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

A day late but better late than never.

Another story is on the shelves so to speak. Elyrian Husbands went live this morning after a minor snafu on my end yesterday. *feels judging eyes* What? No one is perfect. I was just excited to be back on schedule. So maybe I should have stuck around until Amazon said that there were no errors before I closed my browser. I live and learn.

Here is the cute cover.


The link to by is HERE! *relieved sigh*

So that leaves Octavia's Reign to hit the shelves and I'm back on schedule.  Whoo hoo!  So I'll soon have publishing dates for Minxy Choices and Courted II.  I can't wait to get those in your hands.

I'm participating in #CampNaNoWritMo in April.  For those not in the know, it is an e-camp for writers to challenge themselves to write a novel in a month.  I've already got the title, synopsis, and started working on it.  It is Elyrian Brides: Mimi (title is subject to change).  Here is the synopsis:
Synopsis:
Mimi Tremont is in training to be a world class jewel thief. She's smart, classy, and full of that certain something that immediately catches a certain vexing Elyrian male's attention. But Vex has nothing that Mimi is interested in stealing or does he?

Vex has arrived on Earth and spies something strange. A feminine silhouette slinking around corners and scaling not so small buildings. He's intrigued with what he is sure is his imagination. He's both love and sex starved and he's sure his mind is playing tricks on him. Upon closer investigation he finds Mimi doing what Mimi wants to do best. Steal. Now if only he can get her to see the value in stealing his heart.
Vex is going to drive Mimi crazy. *chuckles* He's just terrible. *chuckling harder* Wish me luck on my challenge.

Then if that isn't enough, I've got a new story idea I'm working on that I'm trying to keep mum about. I'm terrible at keeping secrets.  It is really a tantalizing idea. I haven't written a word yet which is why I'm keeping mum. But the scenes are shaping up nicely that I can see.  Here's hoping I'll have something new for you to fall in love with by 2016.

And for those wondering, Stormy hasn't forgotten she owes you three books. The technological clean up on those is coming along nicely and I hope - uh - she hopes to have them out this year, too.

OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH! TOMORROW STARTS MY CONTEST!!!!

Yep!  I've been a published teller of stories for three years now! Time to celebrate with gifts for you kind and faithful readers. Contest rules and questions to be posted this week. I hope you are all caught up on your Elyrian Brides facts.  You're going to need them this year.  I've posted a few of the prizes up for grabs on my facebook page HERE.

So that is tricks for now.  Thank you all for your continued support!  And no matter what you're reading, HAPPY READING!

Sunshine

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Of Guardians, Gods, and Goddesses is LIVE!

Hello!
Hello!
Hello!
Hello!
Hello!
Hello!

What?  I’m excited!  I got the technical glitches worked out, I’m back on the publishing trail, and I’m enjoying it!

In case you missed it yesterday, Of Guardians, Gods, and Goddesses went live on Amazon.com yesterday!  Woooo hooo!  Here is the beautiful cover done by KiratheArtist!
  


The buy link is HERE!

I know I’ve said it before but I really want to thank everyone for being patient with me while I worked out the technical issues.  I appreciate your patience, patronage, and encouragement.  I even appreciate the prodding.  It is cold and flu season here, too.  A cold always makes me drag my butt for a few days.  So I had a few days when signing into Facebook and seeing the message “Where’s my book?” or my favorite “Give me what I want!” made me chuckle before opening my laptop and getting back to work.

You all are truly awesome and I am really grateful to finally have something to contribute to my community.

Most of my life I have tried one creative thing after another trying to find something to contribute to the community of mankind.  Seriously, I’ve tried pottery, sewing, knitting, and even calligraphy.  I was actually pretty good at calligraphy.  Pottery and sewing?  Eh!  One day I’ll post pictures of my finished products that will show why I gave them up.  Though it was fun trying.  Knitting?  *LOL*  Seriously laughing out loud.  My poor knitting teacher.  She stood over me, giving me step-by-step instructions that I followed to the letter.  So tell me why every time I held up my yarn everything unraveled?  She was in a quandary.  I remember vividly her saying, “I don’t understand why it’s not staying together.”

Meanwhile, I was doodling little stories and pieces of stories and tossing them in a file cabinet.  It isn’t that I didn’t think story telling wasn’t a worthy contribution.  It’s just that my stories were so different from what I was finding on library and bookstore shelves.  I thought I’d be the only one entertained by my stories.  That’s why I am so grateful and thankful to find that there are others who enjoy my stories just as much as I do.

So if I seem gushy with the thanks, it is because I am really happy to have people to share them with and I appreciate each and every one of you.

Okay.  Enough with the mushy stuff.  Keep an eye out for Elyrian Husbands coming March 30, 2015. 

Oh!  And I’m or rather Stormy Reddick is still working through the technical issues with Black Silk and Silken Death.  I’ll keep you all posted!

So that’s tricks.  Wishing you a great day and, no matter what you’re reading HAPPY READING!!!!


Sunshine

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

"…and the technology gurus fixed all that shall be fixed and there was peace in Sunshine's life once again."

Well the holidays are officially over.  Booooooooooo!

However, I am back with the new publishing schedule. Yayyyyyyyyy!

I just want to say thank you to all of you for bearing with me while I worked out the technical issues.  Technology is grand when it works.  I just concentrate on how often and well it does work and shrug off the glitches.

So without further ado here it is!

March 2, 2015 Of Guardians, Gods, and Goddesses
Book three of the Ascension Earth series finds us back with Earth's guardians as Death begins the next step of Calypso’s plan.  Unbeknownst to her, he no longer has what she wants but he knows who has it.  He just has to find him and get it back.  That task, however, is not going to be as easy as he thought.

March 30, 2015        Elyrian Husbands
Kellat, Forin, Itaz, and Noom have been banished to Earth to find wives for themselves or spend the next two years trying. All four men are accustomed to doing things as a group on Elyria.  They soon find on Earth that they will have to do things differently.

April 27, 2015  Octavia’s Reign
Being a protector of Earth and Elyria is now part of her life whether she wants it or not. For the record, the Elyrians’ and the Axyslions’ combined technologies make it pretty easy.  They all know what they are supposed to do and how to do it for the most part.  What they don’t know they sit down and cooperate with each other until they find a way to make it happen. Octavia doesn’t have to do much more than let Kade make love to her and act as an ambassador of goodwill with the Axyslions.  There is the rub.  Not all the Axyslions have goodwill on the mind.

Also coming up this year but publishing dates haven’t been set yet:

Elyrian Brides: Minxy Choices
Elyrian Brides Courted II: Babs, Jill, Sharon, & Tracy

Stay tuned for more information as things get finalized on my end.

I’m also tooling around with my little fairy, Shawntiqua.  I left her and Booty on a cliffhanger and I really want to get back to what those two are up to.  Hopefully, once all the rest of my publishing dates get set for the year I’ll have more of their story.

That is tricks for now.  Take care and no matter what you are reading, happy reading!


Sunshine