Last Day of 99 Cent Book Sale!

Today, December 31, 2011, is the last day to snag your copy of Judith Graves' e-book, Under My Skin, for only $.99.

If you're a paranormal lover, this is one sale you won't want to miss.

All her parents wanted was for Eryn to live a normal life...

Redgrave had its share of monsters before Eryn moved to town. Mauled pets, missing children. The Delacroix family is taking the blame, but Eryn knows the truth. Something stalks the night. Wade, the police chief's son and Redgrave High's resident hottie, warns her the Delacroix are dangerous. But then so is Eryn--in fact, she's lethal.

But she can't help falling for one of the Delacroix boys, dark, brooding--human Alec. And then her world falls apart.

A normal life? Now that's the real fairytale.  

Reviews

"Under My Skin is a roller-coaster romp through a supernatural world filled with scary beasties, otherworldly magic, and characters you'll root for...a compelling story full of mystery, magic, action and romance. A fun and engaging read."
~Rosemary Clement-Moore, author of Prom Dates from Hell

"Eryn emerges as a strong, independent, feisty young woman whose sense of responsibility for her "pack" .... fans of paranormal YA fiction will appreciate a protagonist with attitude and anticipate the next volume in the planned trilogy, Second Skin, to be released in 2011."

~ CM Magazine

"I love stories that are filled with paranormal beasties, great characters (especially kick-butt heroines), resident hotties, and humor! I couldn't decide whether I was Team Alec or Team Wade even up to the end."

~ Aly from The Young Adult Literature Review

One More Finnish Treat

For lovers of all things Finnish and paranormal, here's a sneak peek at an excerpt from the anthology Spirited. This story, "The Cold One," is by bestselling, award-winning author Candace Havens.

"Bone-chilling cold and secrets.

Those are the two things I'll take with me when I leave Finland.

If I leave..."

"Havahduttaa jalkeilla apulainen." The words are so loud I jump out of bed and hit my head on the slanted roof. Groaning, I rub the top of my head.

Grandmother stands at the end of the bed pointing at me. "Havahduttaa jalkeilla apulainen." She says it again.

"I am up," I grumble. I can see my breath the room is so cold.

"Wait." I sit back on the bed. "I understood you. You said, 'Wake up, girl.'"

"He's coming. Save me." Poof. She's gone. I mean, like I blink, and she's no longer there.

"Who's coming?" I whisper. I glance at the clock on the wall. Two in the morning. But I'm wired. No way I'll be able to go back to bed any time soon.

I pull on one of the big sweaters mom bought me for the trip and go downstairs. It's even chillier in the living room without the fire. The crazy thing about houses in Finland is that everything is white—the walls, the counters, the floors, and even the cabinets. The house reminds me of a hospital. In the kitchen I fill a glass of water from the tap and chug it down.

Thump. The sound against the basement door sends my glass clattering into the sink.

My breath catches as the door opens. Screaming and moving seem like great options, but my body freezes. My reflexes take a hike.

Maybe this is one of my crazy dreams. And…

"Good, you're awake." A guy's blond head pops out of the darkness. He steps into the kitchen, and I can see he's probably only a year or two older than me. "I can use your help. We're almost out of time."

"Who-uh-who are you?" My voice sounds strangled. He's more solid than the ghosts, so I assume he is real. Though, around here anything can happen. But how did he get in?

"Riku. I'm helping your grandmother. She won't leave me alone. Come on." He waves me toward the basement stairs and then disappears.

Bad things happen in basements. In every horror movie I've ever seen, people die when they go to the basement. Sometimes it's the devil. Other times it's zombies or evil spiders. But they always die. There's a strange guy I don't know in grandma's house, and the smartest thing I can do is tell my mother. Or call the police.

Do they have 911 in Finland?

Then something he says clicks in my brain.

Before I realize it, I'm halfway down the stairs. 

"My grandmother is dead," I say...

 

To read more of this story or others by authors such as Maria V. Snyder, Shannon Delany, Linda Joy Singleton, Jill Williamson, and other exciting YA authors, click here for the ebook or preorder your print copy from the Leap Books store.

And watch for other exciting news to celebrate Leap Books 3rd anniversary on January 1. Throughout the month we'll have books on sale for $.99. One pre-celebration treat is Judith Graves Under My Skin, available now for only $.99.

Finnish Christmas Eve Recipe #3

Patrice Lyle, author

Here's the third recipe that our spies dug up from author Patrice Lyle's secret collection of tasty Finnish recipes for Christmas Eve. And although this is the last of the recipes, if you stop back on Christmas eve, we'll have one more special Finnish treat.

Here's the third secret recipe:

Rutabaga Casserole (Lanttu Laatikko)

Ingredients:

3 fresh rutabagas

4 eggs, beaten

1 TBSP butter

nutmeg

sea salt

pepper

Peel the 3 rutabagas and cut into chunks. Boil in salted water for about 45 minutes or until soft. Drain and then mash. Add the butter, and then salt and pepper to taste. Beat eggs well in a separate bowl and add to rutabagas. Mix well and pour into greased oven dish. Sprinkle with nutmeg and bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for about 35 to 40 minutes. This casserole is really like a soufflé and could be made more like a soufflé using only the egg whites and adding a bit of milk (or Thai Kitchen Lite Coconut Milk for those who don’t do dairy like me J). It can also be mixed ahead of time, refrigerated and then baked on Christmas Eve. This is one of my favorites!

And be sure to watch for Lethally Blonde starring Morgan Skully, the blonde demon who spies for the devil. It releases February 14, but you can preorder a copy at the Leap Books store.

And don't forget to stop back for your special Christmas eve treat...

Finnish Christmas Soup for Good Luck

Patrice Lyle, author

Here's the second recipe that our skullduggery snagged from author Patrice Lyle's secret collection of luscious Finnish recipes for Christmas Eve. As we promised, we're going to post one every other day leading up to Christmas Eve.

So stop back for some more wonderful Christmas treats.

Here's the second secret recipe:

Fruit Soup over Creamed Rice w/ the “Good Luck Almond”

Ingredients for the fruit soup (note: fruit soup is delish served over ham):

1 lb mixed dried fruits
2 ½ quarts water
1 cinnamon stick (note: can sub powdered cinnamon if you don’t have a stick)
1 cup sugar
1 TBSP cornstarch
2 TBSP cold water

Simmer dried fruits in water with sugar and cinnamon stick until tender (about one hour). Dissolve cornstarch in the cold water. Bring soup to boil and stir in cornstarch mixture. Cook covered on low to medium heat until soup has thickened and is clear. Cool with cover on to prevent skin from forming on top. This is an easy recipe to make on Christmas Eve day and just keep warm on the stove. The rice (below) can be made the day before and refrigerated.

Ingredients for the creamed rice:

1 cup uncooked white rice
6 cups of milk (or nondairy substitute of Thai Kitchen Lite Coconut Milk)
½ tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 cup cream, whipped (or nondairy substitute Thai Kitchen Coconut Milk, not the Lite)
Cinnamon sugar mixture
1 almond to put in the bowl (very important b/c tradition has it that whoever gets the almond will have good luck in the upcoming year … but no digging through the bowl to find it allowed!)

Combine rice, milk, salt and sugar in top of a double boiler. Cook over boiling water for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until rice is creamy and milk is absorbed. Cool for about 30 minutes and fold in whipping cream. Then add the ‘good luck almond” and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

This recipe makes a lot! And people love the Good Luck Almond part!

And be sure to watch for Lethally Blonde starring Morgan Skully, the blonde demon who spies for the devil. It releases February 14, but you can preorder a copy at the Leap Books store.

Finnish Christmas Recipes

Patrice Lyle, author

Those of you who read author Patrice Lyle's blog on Julia Karr's Live Journal blog know she mentioned some delicious-sounding Finnish recipes for Christmas Eve. Luckily, for you we have undercover agents to rival Morgan Skully, the heroine of Lethally Blonde, who spies for the devil. We managed to get our hands on 3 (yep, 3 yummy recipes) and we're going to post one every other day leading up to Christmas Eve. So pop back for some more wonderful Christmas treats.

Here's the first secret recipe:

Finska Pinnars (my favorite cookie EVER!!)

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

½ cup sugar

1 tsp almond extract

1 and 2/3 cups sifted all-purpose flour

½ cup finely chopped blanched almonds

3 TBSP sugar

1 egg yolk

1 TBSP water

2 squares semisweet chocolate

2 teaspoons vegetable shortening

Royal Icing

Milk (or nondairy Original Rice Milk)

Beat the butter with ½ cup sugar and almond extract in a large bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in flour until soft dough forms. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Combine chopped almonds and 3 TBSPs sugar on wax paper. Beat egg yolk and water in a bowl until blended. Set both aside.

Remove dough from refrigerator. Take about 2 level teaspoons of dough for each cookie and roll (with floured hands on a floured surface) into 3-inch length “finger shaped” pieces.

Brush each cookie with egg & water mixture, then coat each cookie with chopped almonds & sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees fro about 12 minutes or until golden. Note: cookies will flatten into ovals during baking. Cool on wire racks.

To decorate: melt chocolate with shortening; cool slightly and drizzle over cookies. Thin a small amount of Royal Icing (recipe follows) with milk (or nondairy Original Rice Milk) and drizzle over chocolate. Let set until chocolate and icing hardens. Makes about 3 dozen.

Royal Icing

Ingredients:

1 egg white

dash of salt

¼ tsp cream of tartar

¼ tsp vanilla extract

1 cup (or so) of confectioners sugar

Mix all ingredients together and drizzle over Finska Pinnars. Cover any unused portion in a bowl for later use.

And be sure to watch for Lethally Blonde, which releases February 14, but you can preorder a copy at the Leap Books store.

Talk to Mystery Writer Bonnie Doerr Live

Bonnie Doerr, award-winning author of the eco-mystery series that includes Island Sting and Stakeout, will be hosted by Barry Eva on his program, "A Book and a Chat." You can log on to listen or phone in to ask questions or participate.

We'd love to have you join us:

 “A Book and a Chat with Bonnie Doerr”
Saturday December 17, 2011
11:00am EST

http://www.blogtalk radio.com/ Across-the- Pond
Number to join in is: 347- 237-5398

12 Days of Christmas Giveaway

Author Patrice Lyle and the other authors in the Class of 2k12 are offering special gifts this holiday season, beginning with the kickoff of Patrice's book, Lethally Blonde. Win an ARC and other cool prizes by leaving a comment at Julia Karr's Live Journal blog. And read about the delicious Finnish recipes, that Patrice loves for Christmas.

As for her heroine, blonde demon chick, Morgan Skully, how does she celebrate the upcoming holidays? Obviously, Christmas isn't in her plans...

$.99 Books During December

Looking for a spooky read for December?

Check out Under My Skin, Book 1 in the Skinned series by Judith Graves.

From now until January 1, 2012, you can snag the ebook for only $.99!

To order, click here or here.

If you love Under My Skin as much as we think you will, watch for the release of Second Skin, Book 2 in February 2012...

You can reserve your copy, by clicking here and adding it to your shopping cart.