Haunts Haven

Recently, popular LDS writer Kerry Blair, reviewed Haunts Haven by Joan Sowards at SixLDSWriters.

Kerry did a lovely review that praised both Joan Sowards and her first novel, Haunts Haven which shouldn't be missed. I'm just giving a teaser here . . . I'm sure it will make you want to read the whole review.

"When Callie Wilford inherits a century-old inn (hacienda) in southern Arizona, locals tell her of a ghost who guards the inn. But Callie doesn’t believe in ghosts, and she plans to turn the inn into a bed and breakfast. Then things start to happen—strange, spooky things—and she begins to wonder if there is some truth to the ghost stories. If that weren’t bad enough, Callie discovers a mysterious grave in the cellar. As she confronts the inn’s tragic secrets, she also faces her lonely past and learns to embrace her heritage. But it takes a handsome cowboy and a charming rancher to prove that Callie’s long-guarded heart can love again.

Don't you just love it already? If Haunts Haven isn’t exactly what the market needs –an LDS ghost story!—I don’t know what is. It is the perfect book to read before Halloween. Or Thanksgiving. Or Christmas. Or New Year. Or . . . you get the idea. I can’t say it better than the person who wrote the blurb for the back cover (me): Haunts Haven grabs your attention from the first chapter and holds it into the wee hours . . . a love story you will never forget in a tale of suspense you will want to read again and again!

"I can't Believe It's Food Storage" takes out the fear

(Pumpkin waffles from I Can't Believe It's Food Storage)

The idea of food storage can be a daunting one, especially if you are like me and your food storage consists of a 10lb bag of chocolate chips and some additional packages of pasta. Tristi Pinkston felt much the same way, but after reviewing and following the advice in I Can't Believe It's Food Storage, she tells that liked this book because it took the fear away as it was set up so that "The process is broken down into chunks and made manageable. It's not, "run out and buy everything today," but rather, go at it with wisdom and planning."

Which is the greatest praise an author of a food storage cookbook can be given. To remove the fear and make it easy for people to follow the counsel we've been given. Check out the full review here.

Review of "The Route" and Author Interview with Gale Sears

As we head into the holiday season and the closing of a new year, I find myself taking time to reflect on the events of the past year and the lessons I did and did not learn. Which is one of the things that makes the The Route by Gale Sears so wonderful as it is full of little bits of wisdom that make you pause and reflect about where you've been and where you are going.

In the recent review by Sheila at Why Not? Because I Said So , she highlights some of the lessons she learned from reading this book such as "Don't compare yourself to others because you'll always come out better or behind," "The route hasn't changed, only the walkers, and "Take care of your own lawn before you mow the neighbor's lawn." Don't forget to check out her full review for all of the lessons learned.

And an added bonus to the review, you will find an author interview.

Signings, Signings, Signings

Excited to announce author signings for Joyce DiPastena and Ronda Hinrichsen.

Ronda will be signing copies of Missing, TOMORROW, Thursday October 22 at Reflections of Utah from 5-7 p.m.
The address for Reflections of Utah is 47 S Main St., Brigham City, Ut.

Joyce will be signing copies of Illuminations of the Heart THURSDAY, FRIDAY, and SATURDAY from 1-5 p.m. at the following Arizona Costco's.
Thursday, October 22 at the Gilbert Costco 1415 N. Arizona Ave, Gilbert, AZ 85233
Friday, October 23 at the Tempe Costco 1445 S. Elliot Road, Tempe, AZ 85284
Saturday, October 24 at the Chandler Costco 595 S. Galleria Way, Chandler, AZ

If you are in the area stop by because I know they would love to see you!

Food Storage is Hip

Crystal Godfrey was on Studio 5 on Wednesday showing that cooking with food storage is tasty and hip with her Gingerbread Whole Wheat Pancakes

The following text is from the Studio 5 website.

Crystal Godfrey is a master in the kitchen-- but her methods are a bit outside the norm.

She showed us how to bake a cake made with food storage items --- and she claims it's delicious. Claim being the key word.

"Food storage has come so far, in the last 10-15 years that if you haven't tried it since you were little, they have come huge strides and it's a lot easier to use now," she said.

Crystal hasn't always loved food storage, in fact, she used to despise it.

"My mom cooked a lot with food storage and she hates when I say this, but I grew up promising myself that I would never make my family eat food storage because I felt like it was so bad," she admitted.

She says she started collecting food storage out of obligation-- she felt like she "had" to.

But her attitude has changed a lot over the last couple of years.

"Now I can get a new recipe or if I want to use a new recipe, then I have everything on hand," she said. "I'm making it from scratch and I have more control over the ingredients I'm putting in. I can make it tailored just how I like it."

Crystal says her husband, a picky eater, can't tell a difference when she cooks with food storage.

"You'd think my husband would know by now that when I'm really excited for him to try a recipe, there's something hidden in it, but he hasn't caught on," she said.

Crystal says she loves swapping out traditional ingredients for food storage items-- and not only do the finished products fill you up, she says they're better for you.

She says cooking and baking with food storage is easy, affordable, and like this cake, good for you-- or so I justified.

So you can have your cake-- and "like" eating it too.

"It's things that you can do as a normal person with kids and still be hip and cool and like your life for using food storage." she said.