Outside
the kitchen window of our home on Long Island, New York, it was a cold and
windswept November morning of 1970. Thanksgiving Day was approaching, and I
missed my family back in Ohio sorely. Oh, how I wished I could be with them;
but it wasn’t to be. I needed a distraction and decided the best way to
accomplish it was to lose myself in a painting. I gathered fall deco items I
had placed around the house and set them up on my kitchen table in a
composition I deemed worthy of a still life. A sheet of watercolor paper taped
to my board, and with my simple little pads of watercolor paints, a couple of
brushes, and a stick of charcoal to rough in the initial shapes, I got to work. 

The charcoal shapes came together easily.
As is typical of the way I tackle most jobs, I touched my paint-loaded brush to
the item on the paper that I thought would be the most difficult to render—which
was the stem of the pumpkin. My first attempt was a total bust, as was my
second and my third. By then, my heart was galloping in my chest with utter fury
at myself. I pushed away from the table and paced the floor—across the length
of the kitchen, into the hallway, into the living room, and back again and
again…pace, pace, pace…and then a voice sounded ‘round my ears. “Empty your mind
of what you ‘think’ a pumpkin stem looks like and paint only what you actually
see!” I had heard the instruction from my teacher in a painting class I had
taken years before, but obviously it had failed to register in my brain. I
returned to the table, emptied my mind, and painted only what I saw with my
eyes. Voila! In no time at all, the still life painted in a primitive style I
had hoped to execute appeared with what seemed very little further effort on my
part. It was almost like magic. 

I learned a big lesson that day, not
only related to the art of painting, but also to the art of living. Our
preconceived notions (opinions, prejudices, attitudes, and so many other
absolute doctrines we hold in mind) blind us to the truth of things.

With my humble painting titled,
CORNUCOPIA, I wish all of you an open-minded, a clear-eyed, and a very happy
holiday season.

Linda Lee

Here’s
a peek at multi-award-winning
author and artist Linda Lee Greene’s latest book, Garden of the Spirits of the Pots, A Spiritual Odyssey. It is a blend of visionary and
inspirational fiction with a touch of romance. The story unfolds as ex-pat
American Nicholas Plato journeys into parts unknown, both within himself and
his adopted home of Sydney, Australia. In the end, the odyssey reveals to him
his true purpose for living. The novella is available in eBook and paperback.

Driven by a deathly
thirst, he stops. A strange little brown man materializes out of nowhere and
introduces himself merely as ‘Potter,’ and welcomes Nicholas to his ‘Garden of
the Spirits of the Pots.’ Although Nicholas has never laid eyes on Potter, the
man seems to have expected Nicholas at his bizarre habitation and displays
knowledge about him that nobody has any right to possess. Just who is this
mysterious Aboriginal potter? 

Although
they are as mismatched as two persons can be, a strangely inevitable friendship
takes hold between them. It is a relationship that can only be directed by an
unseen hand bent on setting Nicholas on a mystifying voyage of self-discovery
and Potter on revelations of universal certainties. 

A blend of
visionary and inspirational fiction, and a touch of romance, this is a tale of
Nicholas’ journey into parts unknown, both within his adopted home and himself,
a quest that in the end leads him to his true purpose for living. 

AMAZON BUY LINK 

Multi-award-winning author and artist Linda Lee Greene describes her life as a telescope that when trained on her past reveals how each piece of it, whether good or bad or in-between, was necessary in the unfoldment of her fine art and literary paths.
Greene moved from farm-girl to city-girl; dance instructor to wife, mother, and homemaker; divorcee to single-working-mom and adult-college-student; and interior designer to multi-award-winning artist and author, essayist, and blogger. It was decades of challenging life experiences and debilitating, chronic illness that gave birth to her dormant flair for art and writing. Greene was three days shy of her fifty-seventh birthday when her creative spirit took a hold of her.

Garden of the
Spirits of the Pots is available in
eBook and/or paperback on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/GARDEN-SPIRITS-POTS-SPIRITUAL-ODYSSEY-ebook/dp/B09JM7YL6F/

Pastels
and acrylics painting, “Coppers” by Linda Lee Greene

Ready for an easy take on a classic recipe? Then
let’s get stuffed! Of course, I’m talking about gorging on my Savory Stuffed
Peppers. The bell pepper is an excellent
vessel for stuffing meat, rice, and, of course, cheese. It’s strong enough to
hold its shape in the oven, and the flavor is subtle enough to go well with
just about anything. This perfect
comfort food will fill you up, and keep you satiated for hours. Plus, it’s a
great recipe to cook in your home, cottage, or camper any time of the year.
With a prep time of 15 minutes tops, and total time of 1 hour, 20 minutes,
these tasty mega-morsels will serve 6 of your famish family members or friends.
Serve with a salad of your choice and a glass of your favorite red or white
wine. Cheers!

Savory Stuffed
Peppers

Preheat oven to
400° F (200° C). 

In a small saucepan, prepare rice
according to package instructions.

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat
oil. Cook onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and garlic
and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute more. Add ground beef and cook,
breaking up meat with a wooden spoon until no longer pink, 6 minutes. Drain
fat.

Return beef mixture to skillet, then stir
in cooked rice and diced tomatoes. Season with oregano, salt, and pepper. Let
simmer until liquid has reduced slightly, about 5 minutes.

Place peppers cut side-up in a 9” x 13”
baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Spoon beef mixture into each pepper and
top with Monterey Jack cheese, then cover baking dish with foil.

Bake until peppers are tender, about 35
minutes. Uncover and bake until cheese is bubbly, 10 minutes more.

Garnish with parsley before serving.

While you’re digesting your stuffed
peppers and finishing off the last sips of your wine, why not put your feet up
and relax on the couch with a good book? May I suggest a visit to Fairy Falls, or if you’re feeling really
adventurous, a trip back in time with The
Last Timekeepers? Whichever you choose, either series will
transport you to another time and place, leaving the busyness of life far
behind.

Here’s a glimpse of the premises for 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
׀ 

Forty-eight million Americans
serve as caregivers for friends and family members in need.

I have
always considered myself strong and quite capable of taking care of myself, but
life has a way of swatting our perceptions away. I came to this conclusion when
I was stricken with Covid-19—despite being fully vaccinated— a broken leg that
rendered me unable to walk for two months, and an eye infection that affected
my vision. (No, I never do anything halfway.)

I admit
that I rarely thought of caregivers before, but as I stared up from my
bed—broken and sick— at the face of my masked sweetie pie, I was struck by my
utter helplessness. In the beginning, I was too sick to consider how much work
I’d become. Nor did it register that I wasn’t the only person in Ryan’s care.
His prime caretaking responsibility is his 85-year-old mom who is losing her
eyesight and suffers from dementia.  

So, Ry was now faced with
two of us. When the Covid started to ease, I jokingly called Ryan Ethan Frome, the title character in the 1911 novel by
American author Edith Wharton. For those who are unfamiliar with the story,
poor Ethan, who has a disabled shrew of a wife, falls in love with a pretty
young woman. Then, with no way out, they decide to commit suicide together,
however the plan goes awry. They both live, but the woman becomes disabled, so
Ethan now has two sickly people to care for.

Ryan, as my caregiver, had to
do everything when I was sick and broken.

According
to the AARP, “Every day, some 48 million Americans help parents, spouses and
other loved ones with medical care, meals, bathing, dressing, chores and much
more. They do it out of love, not for pay.”

When I
was well enough to notice, I realized the enormous pressure Ryan faced. He had
to feed his mother, monitor her medications, and tend to grocery shopping and
medical appointments, as well as weather her constant confusion and memory
issues. Then he had to come to my house and care for all my needs, as well.
 

As you
can imagine, caregivers are suffering. “Family caregivers now encompass more
than one in five Americans,” says the research series Caregiving in the US.
 “The study also reveals that family caregivers are in worse health
compared to five years ago.” Caregivers spend a whopping 13 days each month “on
tasks such as shopping, food preparation, housekeeping, laundry,
transportation, and giving medication.”

These
constant demands force caregivers to push their own lives and needs aside,
often causing burnout. Between 40 to 70% of caregivers are said to suffer from
depression, with those attending to patients with cognitive decline being the
most likely to be affected. Also, chronic illnesses like diabetes, arthritis,
high blood pressure, heart disease, and immune system disorders can worsen.

Ryan stepped up and became a
caregiver when I needed him. I will always be grateful.

What
can caregivers do? First, ask for help, if you’re feeling overwhelmed. There
are agencies all over the country that offer services to caregivers that can
help lighten the load, so check the Internet and your insurance company to see
what’s available. Do the best you can but forgive yourself when days don’t go
as planned. And carve out some time out for yourself.

Every
Tuesday, Ryan goes to lunch with his long-time buddies. The gathering is his
one time of respite during the week when most of his efforts revolve around me
and his mom. He always seems more energized when he returns from these
get-togethers and happily tells me what’s new with the boys.

November
is National Family Caregivers Month, so I’d like to give a big shoutout to
those who shoulder the responsibilities for others. Caregiving is an
exhausting, often overlooked effort. So, thank you to all the folks who support
those of us in need.

And, of
course, I’m especially grateful for Ryan who jumped in with both feet when my
health failed, never getting angry, and doing his best to cheer me up when I
was down.

Thank
you, Ry. I love you!

Here is a look at one of my thrillers for your reading pleasure.

Ancient ruins, haunted memories, and a ruthless criminal combine with a touch of mystic presence in this taut mystery about a crime we all must address.

Maggie, a National Park Ranger of Native American descent, is back at The Castle—an ancient pueblo carved into a limestone cliff in Arizona’s Verde Valley.

Maggie, who suffers from depression, has been through several traumas: the gang rape she suffered while in the Coast Guard, the sudden death of her ten-year-old son, and a suicide attempt. 

One evening, she chases a young Native American boy through the park and gasps as he climbs the face of The Castle cliff and disappears into the pueblo. When searchers find no child, Maggie’s friends believe she’s suffering from depression-induced hallucinations. 

Maggie has several men in her life. The baker, newcomer Jim Casey, who always greets her with a warm smile and pink boxes filled with sweet delicacies. Brett Collins, a scuba diver who is doing scientific studies in Montezuma Well, a dangerous cylindrical depression that houses strange creatures found nowhere else on Earth. Dave, an amiable waiter with whom she’s had a one-night stand, and her new boss Glen. 

One of these men is a serial rapist and Maggie is his next target. In a thrilling and terrifying denouement, Maggie faces her rapist and conquers her worst fears once and for all. 

Available at Amazon and all major vendors.

Anne Montgomery has worked as a television sportscaster, newspaper and magazine writer, teacher, amateur baseball umpire, and high school football referee. She worked at WRBL‐TV in Columbus, Georgia, WROC‐TV in Rochester, New York, KTSP‐TV in Phoenix, Arizona, ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut, where she anchored the Emmy and ACE award‐winning SportsCenter, and ASPN-TV as the studio host for the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. Montgomery has been a freelance and staff writer for six publications, writing sports, features, movie reviews, and archeological pieces.

When she can, Anne indulges in her passions: rock collecting, scuba diving, football refereeing, and playing her guitar.

Learn more about Anne Montgomery on her website and Wikipedia. Stay connected on Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter.

Halloween October 31 –  Centuries ago ancient Celtics believed that at summer’s end the barrier between
our world and the world of spirits thinned, allowing evil to cross over to us.
Time passed and people dressed as saints and went door to door which is the
origin for tonight’s ghosts and goblins to magically appear at your front door
to trick you if you don’t treat them. 

Invite friends over and celebrate
Halloween with this menu that will tame your creatures who go bump in the night.

This
is an easy appetizer recipe you adjust to suit you. Add more jelly if you
prefer a sweeter taste or cut jelly amount and increase barbeque sauce if you
want a tangy taste. Plan on 4 – 5 meatballs per person.

Scoop
jelly into a medium-sized saucepan set over medium heat. Add 1 bottle barbeque
sauce. Stir until jelly melts. 

Add
meatballs. Stir in more barbeque sauce if needed. You want the meatballs
covered but not swimming. Simmer 5 – 10 minutes, stir occasionally. 

Serve
warm.

Lay
cream cheese in a medium-sized mixing bowl. I know this seems too large, but
you need the room. Use a wooden spoon to mash the cheese against the sides of
the bowl. 

Sprinkle
on garlic. Stir well. Add salt and stir well. Taste for flavor. Add more garlic
if necessary. Don’t add more salt. You’ll get plenty of that flavor from the
pretzels. 

Drizzle
in milk. Stir well. Carefully stir in milk until you reach a consistency soft
enough to dip the pretzel without breaking it. 

Scoop
into a serving bowl, cover with cling wrap, and refrigerate. Remove from fridge
a half hour or so before serving. This dip lasts 1 week in the fridge. 

 

Combine lemon, orange, apple, and sugar in a large
pitcher. Stir in wine and brandy. Taste for sweetness. If the punch is still
not sweet enough, carefully add another ¼ cup (30g) of sugar.

Refrigerate for several hours to intensify the flavors.

 

Just before serving gently stir in club soda. Fill
wine glasses with ice and pour in Sangria.

 

Preheat
oven to 325° F (160°C).

Pat ribs dry. Grind pepper over meat. Pour flour and thyme into a paper bag.
Add 2 – 4 ribs at a time. Shake bag gently to coat meat. Remove ribs and set on
a large plate. Continue until all ribs are coated.

Melt lard or shortening in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until it
shimmers. Carefully add ribs and brown them on all sides. Don’t crowd the pan.
Best to brown meat in batches so the cooking temperature remains constant.
Return ribs to plate. Lower heat to medium.

Add onions and carrots to the same pot. Sauté until onions are soft and
transparent. Add garlic. Cook 45 – 60 seconds.

Stir in stock. Bring to a boil over high heat. Scrape in any brown bits
clinging to the bottom and sides of the pan.

Reduce heat to medium. Stir in bay leaves and Worcestershire sauce.

Nestle ribs in pan and bring to a boil. Cover and then place in oven. Braise
ribs for 1½ hours or until meat shows no resistance when pierced with the tip
of a sharp knife.

Arrange ribs on a clean platter and tent with foil to keep them warm.

Strain braising liquid through a fine sieve into a saucepan. Press down hard on
vegetables to extract juices. Discard vegetables. Skim off surface fat. Bring
to a hard boil. Cook 2 – 3 minutes to intensify flavor.

 

Pour sauce into a gravy boat and
serve alongside ribs.

Preheat
oven to 220° F (100°C).

Pour
one-inch (2.5cm) chicken stock into saucepan. Place potatoes in saucepan. Add
tap water to cover by at least one inch (2.5cm). Cover the pan and bring to a
boil over medium heat. Lower temperature to a strong simmer. Cook approximately
20 – 25 minutes. Potatoes are done when a fork inserts easily into a section.

Drain
potatoes. Stir in butter, sour cream, and pepper. Mash well. Drizzle in milk.
Mash and continue to add milk until you achieve the consistency you prefer.

Keep
the saucepan warm in the oven while you finish preparing dinner.

Veggie
Sauté

Leftovers
from this easy recipe make a tasty lunch when reheated in a little butter and
served with crusty bread and a glass of cold white wine.

Clean mushrooms with a paper towel to remove
bedding soil. Slice them in half lengthwise if medium size or into thirds if
large. 

Dribble
oil into a medium-sized frying pan set over medium heat. Do not let it smoke.

Add all the vegetables except mushrooms. Turn up
heat to medium-high. Sauté about 4 minutes, stirring frequently.

Lower temperature to medium. Stir in mushrooms,
garlic powder, and pepper.

Continue to cook 3 minutes or until peppers are
at the crispness you prefer.

May you enjoy all the days of your life filled with good friends, laughter, and seated around a well-laden table ~ 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, Date Night Dinners Italian Style, Summer Sizzle, and Recipes to Create Holidays Extraordinaire are released by Toque & Dagger Publishing and available at all book vendors.

What
inspires a writer?

For
me, it was a perfect storm of three factors. Simultaneously, I suddenly had
more time to devote to personal projects, I enrolled in a world mythology
course at my university, and there was a story spiraling to life inside me. 

In
the course, I learned about the common elements in myths across many cultures,
the hero cycle, and how the characteristics of ancient heroes are the same as
those of modern-day heroes.

It
was fascinating to find out that nearly every culture has a flood myth to
explain that there are consequences for disobedience and bad choices. I loved
the course, and it inspired me to get my story down on paper—digital paper that
is. 

The
story I was working on was Disenchanted. My hero was a sixteen-year-old
girl who had to break her ancestor’s true love curse carried down through
generations onto a boy she was destined to fall in love with. The setting, Old
Wethersfield, Connecticut, is the home of the first American witch trials (not
Salem). Witch trials–talk about consequences for bad choices! I was inspired
by one of those Wethersfield witches who went to trial, so I cast her as the
ancestor that curses the family of the witch trial judge. 

Sources
of inspiration are different for everyone. If you’re seeking inspiration for
writing or creating, unplug from social media, take a class like I did, change
your environment even for just an hour, visit a museum, or take a nap and
dream. Let the wonders of the world around you spark your imagination!  

Leigh Goff is an author of three published young adult novels. She is working on her next novel, a young adult thriller, while her current manuscript, Wicked Sweet, is on submission.

You can find her current published novels at Audible | Amazon | Apple   

Learn more about Leigh Goff on
her website and blog.
Stay connected on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkTree

About It Hurts Every Time:

“Death is not the end, sir,

No, sir, not the end of the line,

Just remember what I say to you;

It hurts, baby,

It hurts every time.”

Pluto Garcia is a lieutenant in the Community Militia of Morrisette, a post-communist city-state where a miracle drug has advanced enough to allow the dying a second chance at life by launching them into the nearest available universe in which they are still alive.

In his latest incarnation, Pluto is tasked with investigating the death of Krishna Klein, a brilliant but troubled philanthropist who has been found with a bullet in his head following a week-long bender. With the aid of his assigned partner, Esther Dupont, Pluto uncovers a techno-fascistic plot to plunge the flawed Utopia of Morrissette into authoritarian control once and for all.