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The perfect casserole for any occasion, especially holiday feasts like the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day. These super scalloped potatoes compliment any main dish your serve at your
table. Tender potatoes in a creamy onion sauce baked to golden perfection would
make any mouth water. Whether you’re serving spiral ham, pork chops, poultry or
beef, this tasty side-dish makes six servings to share with family, friends, or
friends of friends. With a prep time of 25 minutes, cook time of 1 hour and 20
minutes, and a rest time of 15 minutes for a total of 1 hour and 45 minutes, you’ve
got plenty of time to visit with your company, and enjoy a glass of your favorite
libation. May I suggest a pint of green beer or perhaps a dram of Irish Whiskey? Slainte!

¼ cup butter

 Preheat oven to 350°F

Sauce

To make the sauce, melt butter, onion, and
garlic over medium-low heat. Cook until onion is softened, about 3 minutes. Add
flour and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Reduce heat to low. Combine milk and
broth. Add a small amount at a time whisking to thicken. The mixture will
become very thick, continue adding a little bit of liquid at a time whisking
until smooth.

Once all the liquid has been added, bring
to a boil over medium heat while continuing to whisk. Stir in salt and pepper
and let boil 1 minute.

Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish. Place ⅓ of
the potatoes in the bottom and season with salt and pepper. Pour ⅓ of the cream
sauce over top.

Repeat layers ending with cream sauce.
Cover and bake for 45 minutes.

Uncover and bake for an additional 35-45
minutes or until golden brown, and potatoes are tender. Broil for 3-4 minutes
to obtain a golden top.

Allow to rest for 15 minutes before
serving.

This casserole is also a wonderful
side-dish to include at your holiday get-togethers too, making a great
substitute for mashed or roast potatoes. Try it. You just might love it! Once
dinner is done, and you’ve got some free time on your hands, why not dig into
your next read? May I suggest a visit to mysterious Fairy Falls, or if you’re feeling really
adventurous, a trip back in time with The
Last Timekeepers? Whichever you choose, either series will
take you on a journey far, far away from entertaining the masses.

Here’s a glimpse
of the premises of both my young adult series:

The Last Timekeepers Time Travel Adventures…

Chosen
by an Atlantean Magus to be Timekeepers—legendary time travelers sworn to keep
history safe from the evil Belial—five classmates are sent into the past to
restore balance, and bring order back into the world, one mission at a time.

Children are the keys to our future. And now, children are the
only hope for our past.

Mysterious Tales from Fairy Falls Teen Psychic Mysteries…

Imagine a teenager
possessing a psychic ability and struggling to cope with its freakish power.
There’s no hope for a normal life, and no one who understands. Now, imagine
being uprooted and forced to live in a small tourist town where nothing much
ever happens. It’s bores-ville from the get-go. Until mysterious things start to
happen.

Welcome to Fairy Falls.
Expect the unexpected.

The
Last Timekeepers Time Travel Adventure Series:

The Last
Timekeepers and the Noble Slave, Book #3

MIRROR WORLD
PUBLISHING
׀ AMAZON ׀ BARNES & NOBLE ׀

The Last
Timekeepers and the Dark Secret, Book #2 Buy
Links:

MIRROR WORLD
PUBLISHING
׀ AMAZON ׀ BARNES & NOBLE ׀

The Last
Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis, Book #1 Buy Links:

MIRROR WORLD
PUBLISHING
׀ AMAZON ׀ BARNES & NOBLE ׀

Legend
of the Timekeepers, prequel Buy
Links:

MIRROR
WORLD PUBLISHING ׀ AMAZON ׀ BARNES
& NOBLE
׀

Mysterious Tales from Fairy Falls
Teen Psychic Mystery Series:

Lost and Found, Book One Buy Links:

MIRROR
WORLD PUBLISHING ׀ AMAZON ׀ BARNES
& NOBLE
׀

Blackflies
and Blueberries, Book Two Buy
Links:

MIRROR
WORLD PUBLISHING ׀ AMAZON ׀ BARNES
& NOBLE
׀

BONUSES: 

Download the free PDF short story The
Terrible, Mighty Crystal HERE

Download the free PDF
writing resource Tips, Tools  & Tricks for the Tenacious Writer HERE

About Beverlee Beaz meets Lowree Louise, the Blue Burmese:

Beverlee Beaz, the brown Burmese, longs to share her creative adventures with someone special. When she meets her new sister, Lowree Louise, the blue Burmese, she knows she has found a true friend with whom to play imagination games…if only she can teach the little kitty how.

Join Beverlee in her latest tale as she mentors her sister in the ways of imagination.

Genre: Children’s Picture Book, Fantasy, Adventure

Meet the Artist:

Wei Lu is an illustrator and graphic designer. She has loved books, cartoons, and fantasy stories since she was a kid. She grew up in China before studying at Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. After moving to Toronto, she worked as a graphic designer for three years, but her passion for drawing kept growing. After she illustrated her first book for a children’s book author, she realized working with authors to make their characters and stories come alive brought her so much joy and fulfillment. Now she is a freelance illustrator working with authors from Canada and the US to create more great stories for children.

I
used to make these Pinwheels for my kids when they were in elementary school.  The recipe is pretty easy and quite
versatile.  By that I mean, you can
flavor and add color to both layers. 
Example: add cinnamon or almond flavoring to the chocolate dough, and
add peppermint flavoring and pink food coloring to the white one.  Can you imagine eating a purple and green
spiral cookie on somebody’s birthday?  Or
how about a black and orange cookie on Halloween? 

And
just before you put them in the oven, you can also top them with sprinkles,
candy shapes, or just plain sugar.  Use
your imagination to make the most interesting of cookies for any holiday or
celebration, because experimenting is part of the fun with this dough. 

e 
Grama Tina’s Spiral Cookies 
f

¾ cup of softened butter

Lay parchment paper on 2 large cookie
sheets or grease well.  

In large bowl, beat butter with
sugar until fluffy.  Then beat in the egg
and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk flour with baking powder. Add to butter mixture in 2
additions, stirring until it becomes a soft dough.

Divide dough in half.  Add cocoa powder (and/or cinnamon, peanut butter, Nutella, or mint
flavoring).  Mix and set aside.  Now move to the other ball of dough.  Leave this white and add mint or a cinnamon
flavoring or any flavoring you like and coloring. Remember – both the colors and flavors should go
together well. 

Roll each ball out flat, and then place one on top of the
other.  Take one end and slowly roll
this up into a log.  Length-wise or width-wise determines how large your cookies will be. 

Once you’ve completed rolling the dough,
wrap it in plastic and place in the refrigerator until chilled.  This could take up to 2 hours, but you can
leave it in the fridge for up to 3 days. 

When you’re ready to bake, take the log out and remove
the plastic covering.  Beginning at one
end, slice the cookies about ¼” thick and place them on the prepared cookie sheets.  

Bake for
about 10 minutes – you want them to be a lovely golden brown.  Let cool and serve. 

**HINT – using a piece of thread instead of a
knife, makes it easier to cut the dough.

The chill is in the air and all things that go bump in the night are about to happen. Time to curl up with a good romantic thriller by Tina Griffith.

On Hallow’s Eve, as the veil between the two worlds was thinning, the face of the full moon was lit up like a Christmas tree. The dead would soon come alive, the alive would dress up as the dead, and witchcraft had a way of piggybacking off other spells. This was the ideal night to be a witch, for the effectiveness of all incantations, divinations, and other avenues of magic, was perfect.

Jayla is a clever witch, who had been cursed in her teens by her friend, Ophelia. Since then, she has had to retrieve dark souls from shrewd men in order to survive. While she has taken hundreds of souls in her lifetime, this story is about her trying to take the one which belongs to Roger Casem – the man she accidentally fell in love with.

Could she kill him, as she had done with the others? If she wanted to continue living, she must. But today, when his eyes skimmed her body with unbelievable passion, she began to recognize her own needs. As she blushed and turned her face away from him, Jayla did the only thing she could.

Tina Griffith, who also wrote twenty-seven children’s books as Tina Ruiz, was born in Germany, but her family moved to Canada when she was in grammar school.

After her husband of 25 years passed away, she wrote romance novels to keep the love inside her heart. Tina now has eleven romance novels on Amazon, and while all of them have undertones of a love story, they are different genres; murder, mystery, whimsical, witches, ghosts, suspense, adventure, and her sister’s scary biography.

Tina has worked in television and radio as well as being a professional clown at the Children’s Hospital. She lives in Calgary with her second husband who encourages her to write her passion be it high-quality children’s books or intriguing romance.

Stay connected with Tina (Griffith) Ruiz on her Facebook group Tina Speaks Out.

Robert Frost is one of my favorite poets. At this time of the year his poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening warms me and makes me long for spring. I hope you enjoy the poem and my short inserts.

Whose
woods these are I think I know.       

His house
is in the village though.
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

He
gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep

Of easy
wind and downy flake.

Acknowledge we all long for warmer
weather. In the depths of winter with no hope as yet for spring, we assess the
year’s past.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

Take stock. What plan worked; what was a dismal failure.

My
little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake       
The darkest evening of the year.

Taxes loom, but not yet as the spring catalogs have started
to arrive. For this household, it’s time to plan, to dream, to make notes, to
check budgets. While the snow whirls and the winds blow, the photographs of new
varieties of plants sparkle on the brightly colored pages and wish lists grow
down the page. 

Out my window I see long whips of forsythia, buds
protruding, waiting for the first peep of spring breezes. I feel a slight thump
of adrenalin race through my veins. Am I already behind on my paperwork? Hard
winter, after all, lasts only a few weeks. I finish the last stanza of my
favorite poet, Robert Frost. He was an avid nature lover as am I. Best ignore
those dark, snowy mornings and get to work. The upcoming warm breezes are
sirens of temptation and I’ll want to be outside and doing soon.

The
woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Here’s a peek at Emma’s winter anthology for your reading pleasure.

A Wild Wicked Duke
After a cruel family betrayal, Caroline Engelson vows the wicked duke will never regain her love unless he first earns her respect, no matter how fervently she longs for his kisses.

A serious accident delivers the wicked duke into Caro’s care, but she is shocked and hurt when he refers to her teen years as the ‘brat with tangled curls.’ Caro is all grown up now when the wicked duke tries to take advantage of her emotions, even as he turns the orderly household into total chaos with his ducal roars. To his astonishment, his best friend’s sister is made of sterner stuff. The situation changes drastically when Caro learns of a shocking family secret.

A Duke Finds Love
Young love is disrupted and the couple parted, but their unsympathetic parents fail to extinguish the strong bond between the two.

Roseland, left pregnant by the duke’s son, weds a neighbor, mistaking that her lover has been forced to marry another. A war and five years later, the two face a second chance, but despite their deep love for one another, impediments must be faced before happily ever after will be theirs at long last.

Beloved Soldier Returns
A wounded British soldier faces amnesia and frustrating dreams but is finally well enough to reclaim his fiancée and his heritage when a gypsy woman arrives to share an important secret.

Robert Cooper-Hanton, a soldier who fought against Napoleon at Waterloo, is seriously wounded and suffers amnesia but survives in a gypsy camp for three years. Pockets of memory are still missing, leaving him with dreams of people with no names, when he makes the decision to begin his journey home. He has no conscious remembrance of a fiancée he left behind but is not surprised to learn that a cousin has usurped his property. When neighborhood friends reveal the fact of his engagement to Lynda Clarington, his memory of her returns in a flash and he recognizes the woman of his dreams.

Lynda had struggled without much success to accept her loss and is overjoyed to learn that Cooper is alive. She has loved him since childhood, but can she adjust to a man who seems irrevocably changed? When a gypsy woman shows up searching for Cooper, Lynda is plagued with doubt. Will Cooper manage to reunite with his old life and the woman he loves, or will he remain lost in his hazy memories, dreams and a changed reality?

Dark Domino
Sarah Louise and Ethan have loved each other all their lives, but a war and time apart may have jeopardized their relationship.

Ethan has been away at war for six long years—without a single letter to the young girl he left behind. He is certain she has forgotten him, but he is still drawn to her. Dressed for a masquerade in a dark domino, he leads her to the garden and tries to steal a kiss. Sarah does not know why the man in the dark domino is so familiar, and why a stranger should give her a feeling of home. When Ethan reveals his identity, Sarah’s anger and hurt overwhelm even her love. Can a new life be built on the foundations of a first love? Or will the Dark Domino remain alone forever?

BUY LINK

Emma Lane lives in Western New York where winter is snowy, spring arrives with rave reviews, summer days are long and velvet, and fall leaves are riotous color. 

Borscht is the
most famous Ukrainian dish. It is kind of a sour soup common for Eastern
Europe. It is low on calories, full of vitamins and minerals, and can be served
hot or cold. And you can keep it in your refrigerator for several days. The
flavor will only improve. Serve crusty rye bread and butter to complete a
terrific dinner or lunch.

There are
literally hundreds of different recipes for borscht. Here is my family’s
favorite version. I hope you like it too.

BORSCHT

Arrange
the ingredients listed above through the fresh dill into a large pot and bring
to a boil.

Reduce
the heat, add beets and cabbage. Let simmer until the vegetables are tender.
Stir occasionally.

When
the soup is almost done, add salt and pepper.

Serve
with additional dill and sour cream.

Enjoy!

Here is a little from my latest time travel romance for your reading pleasure.

The
only way to save their future is risk a journey back to her past.

Time
is running out. The message rings in Abby Coleman’s head as clear as the chime
of the grandfather clock, her time portal on Amelia Island.
Her instincts scream that she must move. Act. But where? And why? 

Through
she leaped forward a century in time to live an independent life, she reluctantly
admits she needs Alex, the insufferable thorn in her side who had the audacity
to make her hope. Dream. Yearn.

Alex
is through waiting for Abby to come to her senses. And to his complete
surprise, the maddening, beautiful woman admits she loves him. Yet to his
everlasting frustration, she refuses to marry until she solves her mystery. 

In a
blinding flash of light, the portal spits out a desperate, heavily pregnant
Nika, and the reason becomes all too clear. With Abby missing from her own
time, Eli
stands accused of her murder. The only way to clear his name is for Abby to go
where Alex can’t follow—back through the portal. And
one passionate night together may be all they’ll ever have.

AMAZON BUY LINK E-BOOK    

AMAZON BUY LINK PAPERBACK

Talented author Stella May is the penname for Marina Sardarova who has a fascinating history you should read on her website. 

It’s a bitter-sweet
birthday for me this February. Why? Well, unfortunately, 2025 marks the end of
an era for my publisher, Mirror
World Publishing, as they will be closing up shop at the end of December
after eleven years in business. I feel so grateful for connecting with them ten
years ago, and I applaud Justine, Robert, Sabrina, and Rhiannon for a job well
done! So, without further ado, as February is my birthday month, I usually like
to celebrate the whole month by giving my readers a good deal on my books to
bulk up on their winter reading. This year is unprecedented, and we’ve never offered
this kind of discount before. Starting February 1^st and running through
until February 28^th, ALL my ebooks and books will be on sale for 25%
off the listed price through Mirror World Publishing’s online bookstore. This
way, readers can pick and choose
which books or ebooks they would like to dive into.

The discount code for February’s 25% off
promotion is BIRTHDAYBASH25. To make this even
easier for my amazing readers, here’s
the link and QR code for the sale which automatically applies the discount:

https://www.mirrorworldpublishing.com?cc=BIRTHDAYBASH25

If you’re interested
in a journey to Atlantis or Fairy Falls, check out the covers and blurbs for
each book featured
in Mirror World Publishing’s online bookstore. You never know. Maybe you’ll get an intuitive hit of living in
Atlantis in a past life, or have a nostalgic feeling of visiting a small
tourist town like Fairy Falls where anything is possible. Wink.

The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis
(Book #1):

When 13-year-old Amanda Sault and
her annoying classmates are caught in a food fight at school,
they’re given a
choice: suspension or yard duty. The decision is a no-brainer. Their two-week
crash course in landscaping leads to the discovery of a weathered stone arch in
the overgrown back yard. The arch isn’t a forgotten lawn ornament but an
ancient time portal from the lost continent of Atlantis.

Chosen
by an Atlantean Magus to be Timekeepers–legendary time travelers sworn to keep
history safe from the evil Belial–Amanda and her classmates are sent on an
adventure of a lifetime. Can they find the young Robin Hood and his merry band
of teens? If they don’t, then history itself may be turned upside down.

Legend of the Timekeepers
(prequel):

Lilith
was a young girl with dreams and a family before the final destruction of
Atlantis shattered those dreams and tore her family apart. Now refugees, Lilith
and her father make their home in the Black Land. This strange, new country has
no place in Lilith’s heart until a beloved high priestess introduces Lilith to
her life purpose—to be a Timekeeper and keep time safe.

Summoned
through the seventh arch of Atlantis by the Children of the Law of One, Lilith
and her newfound friends are sent into Atlantis’s past, and given a task that
will ultimately test their courage and try their faith in each other. Can the
Timekeepers stop the dark magus Belial before he changes the seers’ prophecy?
If they fail, then their future and the earth’s fate will be altered forever.

The Last
Timekeepers and the Dark Secret (Book #2):

Fourteen year-old Jordan Jensen
always considered himself a team player on and off the field, until the second
Timekeeper mission lands him in Amsterdam during World War Two. Pulled into the
world of espionage, torture, and intolerance, Jordan and the rest of the
Timekeepers have no choice but to do whatever they can to stay one step ahead
of the Nazis in order to find and protect a mysterious book.

With the help of the Dutch Resistance, an eccentric
baron, Nordic runes, and an ancient volume originating from Atlantis, Jordan
must learn that it takes true teamwork, trust, and sacrifice to keep time safe
from the evils of fascism. Can Jordan find the hero within to conquer the
darkness surrounding the Timekeepers? If he doesn’t, then the terrible truth of
what the Nazis did will never see the light of day.

The Last
Timekeepers and the Noble Slave (Book #3):

Eleven-year-old Drake Bailey is an
analytical thinker and the genius of the Timekeeper crew. However, no logic or
mathematical acumen can change the color of his skin, or prepare him for this
third Timekeeper mission in antebellum Georgia. To survive, Drake must learn to
play the role of a plantation slave and when confronted with the brutality,
hatred, and racism of the deep south, he’ll have to strategically keep one move
ahead of his sadistic captors to ensure his lineage continues.

In a dark world of Voodoo, zombies,
and ritualistic sacrifice, the Timekeepers must ensure a royal bloodline
survives. Can Drake remove both literal and figurative chains to save both
himself and a devout slave girl from a terrible fate? If he can’t summon the
necessary courage, humanity could stand to lose one of its greatest leaders.

Lost and Found,
Book One: Mysterious Tales from Fairy Falls:

The Fairy Falls Animal Shelter
is in trouble. Money trouble. It’s up to an old calico
cat named Whiskey—a shelter
cat who has mastered the skill of observation—to find a new human pack leader so that their home will
be saved. With the help of Nobel, the leader of the shelter dogs, the animals
set out to use the ancient skill of telepathy to contact any human who bothers
to listen to them. Unfortunately for fifteen-year-old Meagan Walsh, she hears
them, loud and clear.

Forced to live with her Aunt Izzy in the safe and quiet
town of Fairy Falls, Meagan is caught stealing and is sentenced to do community
hours at the animal shelter where her aunt works. Realizing Meagan can hear
her, Whiskey realizes that Meagan just might have the pack leader qualities
necessary to save the animals. Avoiding Whiskey and the rest of shelter animals
becomes impossible for Meagan, so she finally gives in and promises to help
them. Meagan, along with her newfound friends, Reid Robertson and Natalie
Knight, discover that someone in Fairy Falls is not only out to destroy the
shelter, but the animals as well. Can Meagan convince her aunt and co-workers
that the animals are in danger? If she fails, then all the animals’ voices will
be silenced forever.

Blackflies and Blueberries, Book Two:
Mysterious Tales from Fairy Falls:

City born and bred, Hart Stewart possesses the gift of
psychometry—the psychic ability to discover facts about an event or person by
touching inanimate objects associated with them. Since his mother’s death,
seventeen-year-old Hart has endured homelessness, and has learned ways to keep
his illiteracy under wraps. He eventually learns of a great-aunt living in
Fairy Falls, and decides to leave the only life he’s ever known for an
uncertain future.

Diana MacGregor lives in Fairy Falls. Her mother was a victim of a
senseless murder. Only Diana’s unanswered questions and her grief keeps her
going, until Hart finds her mother’s lost ring and becomes a witness to her
murder.

Through Hart’s psychic
power, Diana gains hope for justice. Their investigation leads them into the
corrupt world threatening Fairy Falls. To secure the town’s future, Hart and
Diana must join forces to uncover the shocking truth, or they risk losing the
true essence of Fairy Falls forever.

Remember,
this amazing 25% off deal won’t last long! Plus, I can’t think of a better way
to ride out the forecast that Mr. Groundhog gives us than relaxing with a good
book, a comfortable chair, and cozy blanket. Unless you live in the southern
hemisphere and get to enjoy reading by the pool or at the beach. Keep warm (or
cool), and I hope you choose to escape to the past and have a blast with me,
this February! This will be the last birthday I celebrate with Mirror World
Publishing, but I hope that I’ll connect with some new readers moving forward. Cheers, and thank you for taking the time to
celebrate my birthday month with me. I appreciate you!