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Here is a dessert I confiscated and made my own. This New Orleans treat is perfect on a special night for two as well as holiday gatherings and everything in between.

Here are a few tips to make preparing this dessert easier:

Soak the raisins in bourbon before you start this recipe. You can even soak them a day or two ahead.

The bread you use should be a little dry. If the bread you are using is fresh, after you cube it, spread it out on a sheet pan and put it in a 200° F oven for 10 minutes.

Go easy on the bourbon sauce. It is strong! But so delicious.

Bread Pudding
1 cup raisins
¼ cup bourbon whiskey
1 loaf French bread, at least a day old, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 qt. milk
3 large eggs
2 cups sugar
2 tbsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. allspice
¼ – ½ tsp. cinnamon
3 tbsp. butter, melted

Combine raisins and bourbon in a small bowl. Cover and soak for 1 to 2 hours or until the raisins have absorbed most of the bourbon.

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Pour milk into a large bowl. Add bread and press into milk with your hands or a large spoon until all the milk is absorbed.

In a separate bowl, whisk eggs until frothy. Whisk in sugar, vanilla, allspice, and cinnamon. Pour over bread mixture. Add bourbon-soaked raisins, with or without the remaining soaking liquid. Stir gently to combine.

Pour melted butter onto bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Coat the bottom and the sides of the pan well with the butter. Pour in bread mixture then egg mixture.

Bake 35 – 45 minutes, until liquid has set. The pudding is done when the edges are just brown and pulling away from the pan edge.

Bourbon Sauce
½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
½ cup Kentucky bourbon whiskey, amount according to taste

Make the bourbon sauce while the bread pudding is cooking.

Melt butter in a saucepan on low heat. Whisk in sugar and egg. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove pan from heat.

Do not allow mixture to simmer! Or the sauce will curdle. By the way, if your sauce curdles, just take it off the heat and blend it smooth in a blender.

Whisk in bourbon. Whisk again before serving. The sauce should be soft, creamy, and smooth.

Serve with whiskey sauce on the side. This dessert is best eaten the day it is made.

Please allow me to share a sneak peek of my Southern Gothic book while you enjoy your pudding.

Koush Hollow:
Where bayou magic abounds and all that glitters…is deadly.

After her father’s untimely death, Jenna Ashby moves to Koush Hollow, a bayou town outside of New Orleans, dreading life with her wealthy mother.

As the sixteen-year-old eco-warrior is introduced to the Diamonds & Pearls, her mother’s exclusive social club, she comes to the troubling realization that secrets are a way of life in Koush Hollow.

 How do the Diamonds & Pearls look so young, where does their money come from, and why is life along the bayou disappearing?

As Jenna is drawn into their seductive world, her curiosity and concerns beg her to uncover the truth. However, in this town where mysticism abounds and secrets are deadly, the truth is not what Jenna could have ever imagined.

Leigh Goff writes young adult fiction. She is a graduate from the University of Maryland and a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI).

Born and raised on the East Coast, she now lives in Maryland where she enjoys the area’s great history and culture.

Her third young adult novel, Koush Hollow, a Southern gothic set in New Orleans, will release on September 1, 2020 from The Parliament House.

Learn more about Leigh Goff on her website and blog. Stay connected on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

Years ago, when we
bought an old house, we promptly began the task of remuddling. Yes, not
remolding, but muddling. We were careful to check out similar homes in the area, so we didn’t change it too much. But I had deck on my mind and no house like
ours was showing anything similar to a deck. We had a lot of things to do
before frivolous building could begin, but I was impatient. In my mind it was
already there. 

So, I picked out my first privacy plant. It was
an ordinary lavender lilac, a puny thing I dug up from my better half’s
childhood home. Only in my imagination was it a visible noise barrier from the
busy highway out front. 

Oh, I petted it and
gave it water during that first hot summer. By the next year I had mostly forgotten
about it. Too many other plants to tend and this one was surviving without me.
Long story short, by the time the deck was finally number one on the task list,
my lilac was blooming and looked like this. 

I’m pleased I had
the foresight to plan ahead. In the summer, we enjoy total privacy while
lounging in gentle summer breezes directly off the kitchen. Originally, we
thought to put a roof over it, but once we sat staring up through the foliage
of an ancient maple, we allowed nature to coax us to leave it be.  

Lilacs bloom in the
early spring. I leave it to either your own experiences or your imagination how
heavenly the fragrance is from these old-fashioned shrubs. Hardy and trouble free, they
delight year after year. I highly recommend you plant one.

Here is a glimpse into my latest Cozy Mystery. It is the 4th in the Detective Kevin Fowler series.

Sloane

Sloane Taylor is an Award-Winning author with a second passion in her life. She is an avid cook and posts new recipes on her blog every Wednesday. The recipes are user friendly, meaning easy.

Taylor’s cookbooks, Date Night Dinners, Summer Sizzle, and Recipes to Create Holidays Extraordinaire are released by Toque & Dagger Publishing and available at all book vendors.

Excerpts from her books and free reads can be found on her website, blog, and her Amazon Author Page. Connect with Taylor on Facebook and Twitter.

Book Marketing is a Gamble for Many AuthorsFed up with doing Facebook ads that at one time gave me great
reach and amazing clicks, but no buys, I decided that these kinds of ads didn’t
serve me anymore. So, in March (2024), I asked for feedback from my fellow
authors on what they did that works for them in their book marketing and
promotional world. I received quite a lot of responses—especially from my
Facebook groups—and decided to put together a list of their responses. To give
you the gist, here’s the original call to action I put out on my social media
accounts:

“I’m searching for other ways to market and
promote my books, since Facebook ads don’t seem to be playing nice, and don’t
serve my purposes anymore. So, I thought I’d ask my fellow authors what you do
to get your books out there and into the hands of your readers, beyond the
usual social media posts on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn I see throughout my
feeds.

For example, do you pay for ads on Twitter
or LinkedIn? If so, do they work for you? Have you ever hired a promotional
specialist or company (which can get quite pricey) to do your book marketing?
If so, what was the experience, and were they worth it? Or do you do your own
marketing, scheduling your posts ahead of time? I’d really like some solid
advice, and frankly I’m tired of being approached by these so-called ‘marketing
specialists’ on all my social media accounts.

Thanks in advance for any advice or
suggestions you can share. I appreciate it!”

The response was immediate. My feeds filled
up with helpful advice, and other authors waiting in the wings to know what
magic-marketing-bullet would be best for them. Turns out this book biz is NOT a
one-book-fits-all kind of marketing strategy. I knew all along that it wasn’t.
I was just interested in seeing what other authors do out there, so I could
make a conscious and rational decision on what’s best for ME. That said, below
is most of the feedback I received. Much of these ideas I’ve done, but there
are some that I haven’t, and may give them a go. In the long run, you must
decide what’s best for YOU…

·        
Start
an email list and newsletter. If you have done so, continue to build it.

·        
Don’t
pay for subscribers—instead, engage with readers in genuine ways.

·        
Get
out there in person. Meet other writers, go to events and conferences,
especially events that include both authors and readers. Always bring a signup
sheet or QR code for your newsletter signup.

·        
Shop
at Indie bookstores. Be a part of the literary conversation.

·        Consider
doing Amazon ads. Apparently, Bryan Cohen offers free Amazon ad courses that
usually happen quarterly. Check out when the next course is available here: https://www.facebook.com/bestpageforward/reviews

·        
Other
advertising ventures are BookBub Feature Deals (which can get quite pricey) and
BookBub ads. Apparently, most authors said to stay away from Twitter or
LinkedIn ads.

·        Promotional
and review sites such as NetGalley, Fussy Librarian, Written Word Media, Bargain
Booksy, FreeBooksy, BookFunnel, and Hello Books just to name a few. Price
points vary, so do your research.

·        
In-person
events such as craft shows, fairs, markets, and special events like holidays.

·        Podcast
interviews. An author friend pays $15 a month and gets two lists of ten
podcasters weekly who are looking for guests. Here’s the link: https://podcastguests.com/

·        YouTube
appearances or having your own show. Depending on your personality, helpful content,
and author guests, this may be the way to go for you.

·        
Guest
blogging or working with book bloggers for reviews.

·        Speaking
engagements based on your genre. So, if you write for children or teens,
schools would be a good place to start.

·        
Getting
books into your local library network.

·        Book
signings at your local bookstore, grocery stores, fundraisers, or anywhere else
that’s connected with the setting, content, and genre of your books. Think outside
the box for this. Does your book have a shelter animals slant? How about at a
local pet supply store? Cozy mystery with a baker as the main character? Check
out coffee shops or local bakery stores in your area. The possibilities are
endless.

·        
Garnishing
paid book reviews through Booklist, BookPage, ForeWord, Kirkus, Library
Journal, Publisher’s Weekly, and Shelf Awareness to name a few.

·        
Promotional
specialists or companies. A word of warning on this: if these people approach
you, they’re most likely crossing a boundary or invading your virtual space.
You’re the one who should be contacting them.

·        
Paying
a publicist. This one can get expensive, with prices ranging from $1250 to over—
are you sitting down—$10,000 for a four to five-month campaign. Yikes! But,
depending on the book, and if it’s worth your time and investment, then go for
it!

·        
Last,
but not least, the tried and true method: Word of Mouth. Works. All. The. Time.
   

Hmm.
So many ideas, so little time to actually write those books to market. What a
conundrum! With all this wealth of information listed above, I bet you’re
wondering what marketing strategies I’ll be using moving forward. First, an
admission – I don’t have an email list. I’ve resisted having one for so long
because frankly, I didn’t want to do the extra work involved with sending out a
newsletter with barely anything to say. Book marketing expert Sandra Beckwith advises to start and build an email list
for the simple reason that if your pet social platform disappears or crashes, you
lose everything. But not your email list. You own that sucker. Plus, it’s an
excellent way to get to know your readers and have genuine conversations with
them. Makes sense, but to be honest, I don’t feel this is the best use of my
book marketing time.

However,
If you’re interested in starting an email list or building your existing list, writing
coach and speaker, Colleen M. Story has a couple of
great articles to whet your book marketing appetite with HERE and HERE. Check them out
when time permits.

So what am I going to
do? Nothing.
At least for now. I’ve decided to take a break, take a breather, and take
myself out of the game of feeding all those book marketing ploys manipulating
authors out of their hard-earned money. My former publisher used to say, Money
flows to, not away, from the author. Wouldn’t that be nice if that was
the norm? The best advice I received was from author Vonnie
Hughes, a dear friend from New Zealand, who offered, “What about just writing because you can’t help it and not
writing to be published but just writing for YOU?” In a perfect world, wouldn’t that be
amazing? I may just heed her sage advice. As a life-long
learner, I strive to do better when I can, and hope what I learn, I can pass
along to others. At least, that is my wish.

Does the thought of marketing or promoting your books make you
cringe? Do you have an email list? Are you tired and overwhelmed with all the
marketing strategies out there, that you chose to do the bare minimum or
nothing? Is the continual expense of doing book promotions sucking the joy out
of being a writer for you? If so, I totally understand, and would love to read your comments. Cheers and
thanks for taking the time to read my blog. I appreciate you! 

These little taste
treats are my own creation. It is an easy and skinny version of individual
cheesecakes, yet still packed with plenty of flavor. This recipe makes one dozen
little cakes. Dress them up with a bit of fruit on top after baking and you’re good to go. Sorry, there’s no picture. Those two rascals I live with ate them too fast.

Cream Cheese Mini-Cakes

Remove cheeses
from refrigerator 2 hours before making this recipe. They both need to be at
room temperature to cream properly. 

Place cheeses in a
large bowl. Mix on a low speed with an electric mixer until creamed. 

Add eggs, sour
cream, sugar, and vanilla. Increase mixer speed to blend well. Pour in almond
flour and baking powder. Combine well. 

Pour mixture into muffin
tins lined with cupcake papers or do like me and use a silicone form for
cupcakes. You’ll need to lightly oil it. 

Pre-heat oven to
350° F. 

Very important: put a medium-sized
bowl filled with water on the bottom of your oven. 

Bake 35-40 min, or
until golden brown.

Here is a peek at
Stella’s time travel romance novel for your reading pleasure. 

One key unlocks the love of a lifetime…but could also
break her heart. 

Nika Morris’s sixth sense has helped build a successful
business, lovingly restoring and reselling historic homes on Florida’s Amelia
Island. But there’s one forlorn, neglected relic that’s pulled at her from the
moment she saw it. The century-old Coleman house.  

Quite unexpectedly, the house is handed to her on a
silver platter—along with a mysterious letter, postmarked 1909, yet addressed
personally to Nika. Its cryptic message: Find the key. You know where it is.
Hurry, for goodness sake! 

The message triggers an irresistible drive to find
that key. When she does, one twist in an old grandfather clock throws her
back in time, straight into the arms of deliciously, devilishly handsome Elijah
Coleman. 

Swept up in a journey of a lifetime, Nika finds herself
falling in love with Eli—and with the family and friends that inhabit a time not
even her vivid imagination could have conjured. But in one desperate moment of
homesickness, she makes a decision that will not only alter the course of more
than one life, but break her heart. 

’Til Time Do Us
Part
is available in Kindle and Paperback at AMAZON. 

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