My new kitchen has inspired me to be more active about meal planning, shopping, and making new things. I got a refurbished Kitchen Aid Pro 600 for Christmas, so I've been playing with it a bit. Last night I made chocolate chip cookies with walnuts, and today I made butter.

Yes, butter. Never knew it could be so easy to do. I had 3 pints of whipping cream expiring, so I decided to use it rather than waste it. Hubby wanted me to make ice cream with it, so I took out about half the cream when it was whipped to the right consistency for ice cream, stirred in a can of Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk, a teaspoon of vanilla, and a can of chopped up peaches, and stuck that in the freezer.

I turned the mixer back on and let it do its thing until I had a mixture of butter and buttermilk. Poured the buttermilk into a Mason jar to use later for baking, rinsed the butter in cold water and added some sea salt, formed it into a ball, and put it in my butter jar.

In all, it took about 30 minutes to make a quart of ice cream and probably about a half-pound or more of whipped butter. And I saved wasting $6 worth of cream.

Just call me Tori Homemaker from here on out. :)

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Here it is almost Christmas, and I just realized I haven't posted since June! So much has happened over the past few months. If you're Facebook friends, you've heard it all and can skip most of this. :)  If not, and you're interested, read on.

In June we drove our grandson to Georgia Tech for his Duke TIP summer program, and then came home and started packing for our trip to California. My oldest son had just remodeled his kitchen and they saved their old one for me. A far better kitchen than I currently had. We took Bo to the Lone Star Dog Ranch to board for 3 weeks. It was hard for me to do, but I'd searched boarding facilities for weeks until I found just the right place.

For him, it was a three week resort vacation, complete with playmates! The Ranch posts daily pictures so I was able to keep up with him and his activities.

I'd post pictures, but theirs are copyrighted. If you'd like to see what Bo was up to, check out Bo at the Lone Star Dog Ranch. Once we'd dropped him off and I'd dried my tears, we were off to California, pulling a 6 x 12 trailer with our Ford Edge. Gotta give kudos to my Ford. It performed like a champ.

We drove through the middle part of West Texas so I could get some pictures and do some more research on the area where my Lone Star Cowboy books are set. I grew up in this area, but things have changed in mumblesomething years. Not a lot, but some.

Then we drove through New Mexico, stopping overnight in Roswell, visiting the White Sands Monument, before heading for Arizona and the Superstition Mountains. My book, Superstition, is set there and I'd never actually been there. I'd done all my research online. It was starkly beautiful, even though we hiked the park in 107 degree heat.

And then it was on to California! It's a long haul from east Texas to Los Angeles. Up and down hills and mountains, through rain storms and dust storms. I was never so glad to finally make it through the maze of L.A. highways and arrive at our destination.

 We stayed with our son for a couple of days, leaving the trailer at his house so he could use it to haul their camping gear up to Yosemite for their annual camping trip, and then we headed up the 101 (Pacific Coast Highway). It's been a dream of mine for a long time to make that drive. It's absolutely breathtaking. Sometimes literally when you're on hairpin turns coming down or going up a mountain.

The first couple of days were foggy and cold. After that it was mostly beautiful sunshine, but still chilly. We drove the PCH all the way to Washington, where we veered inland to Seattle because we'd spent so much time taking pictures that we were a full day behind schedule. We barely got to see Seattle because just after taking the trip up to the top of the Space Needle, we got a call that our youngest daughter had been involved in a bad accident. She wasn't hurt, but the two people on the motorcycle who hit her were.

There was nothing we could do from so far away, and our oldest daughter and my sister-and-brother-in-law were there to help her, but we'd lost the enjoyment of seeing new places and wanted only to go home. But we couldn't just yet. Our son and his family were on the way to Yosemite with our trailer, and we were supposed to join them. I really didn't think I'd enjoy it at all under the circumstances, but I did. Yosemite is beautiful, something every American should experience at least once. And yes, we roughed it.

After a week at Yosemite, it was time to go back to L.A. and load the trailer with my new kitchen. We got everything but the center island and the range hood in the trailer, and my son brought those out to us in October.

But first, we had two girls to move. My oldest bought a new house, so we moved her and the boys the first week in August. Then the youngest got a job and we moved her from our house to her new place the last two weeks of August.

We started work on the kitchen around the end of September, and finished it on the 22nd of November. We went from a small, cramped, rotting-floor mess to a beautiful, shiny new kitchen in just 8 weeks, doing most everything ourselves (meaning hubby did it and I handed him stuff). The boys came out for a week to help replace the rotted floor joists, run plumbing and electrical, and they helped carry in all the cabinets. Here are a few in-progress pictures.

And the finished product. I love it! Well, almost finished. We still have to put up the backsplash and do some painting around the window, but we're putting that off until after the holidays.

Needless to say, little to no writing has been done along the way. But now that life is settling down a bit, I'm back to work! I'm hoping to have a new release, the sequel to Lone Star Justice, out soon.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas/Holiday season. 

It's That Time of Year--Wedding Season!

The newest boxed set by the Authors of Main Street is now live at Amazon, B&N, and most major retailers. Check out the trailer for Weddings on Main Street in the previous post, or watch it here

 And here are the eleven books offered in Weddings on Main Street: 

What a Cowgirl Wants by Tori Scott. It's wedding bells for Blake and Mandy, but the fairy tale wedding Mandy wants is in jeopardy when Blake's father butts in. Can Mandy still pull off the wedding of her dreams? 

April Fool Bride by Joan Reeves. Is it a marriage of convenience or something more? Something that sizzles like steam heat between Maddie and Jake that neither can resist. 

Wedding Surprise by Mona Risk. Two weeks before the big day, Claire and David receive some startling news that can destroy their relationship. Is their love for each other strong enough to turn the worst wedding surprise into the best? 

Small Town Glamour Girl Wedding by Stephanie Queen. USA TODAY Bestelling Author. Julie and Jack are over-the-moon in love. When their soon-to-be mothers-in-law reveal a stunning secret from the past, Jack and Julie must re-think the wedding. Will they or won’t they say I do? 

The Vow by Pepper Phillips. Coming home after ten years, Ann Normand is still not wanted. Except for Clay Couvillion. He’s a man now and he wants her to stay. Can she forget the past and open her heart or will she run again? 

The Reluctant Bride by Jill James. Jimmy and Claire were highschool sweethearts. After a decade of living together, there is still no wedding in sight. With the help of Claire’s family and friends, Jimmy has a plan to surprise, ambush, and wed his reluctant bride. 

Kiss the Bridesmaid by Susan R. Hughes. Serving as a bridesmaid at her brother’s wedding should be a piece of cake for Mari. The icing on that cake is a gorgeous wedding photographer with an adorable daughter. Life couldn’t be sweeter until a problem Mari had thought she’d left in the past resurfaces to threaten her future. 

Second Chance Wedding by Leigh Morgan. After high school, loss strikes again and, Sunshine MacAlister leaves home with a broken heart. Twelve years later, Sun, now Dr. “Mel” MacAlister, returns home for her best friend's wedding, and comes face to face with the man she loved and left. 

Once Upon a Wedding by Kelly Rae. Cassie Anderson, bridesmaid extraordinaire, is tired of flying solo to all of her friends’ weddings. Unfortunately, the one man for whom she feels any spark has a nasty habit of having a date on his arm. 

Stuck with You by Kristy Tate. Whit offers to forgive Andie's debt if she’ll pose as his date at his brother’s wedding. Andie needs the money, and Whit believes it's the perfect way to escape his mother’s match-making schemes. Whit calls it a win-win situation, but Andie is afraid she may lose her heart. 

I Thee Wed by E. Ayers. A product of broken marriages, Julia never sees marriage for herself. She throws everything she's got into her career with Main Street Bridal Salon, until a crazy redhead with freckles named Aaron sweeps her off her feet. But a family secret is about to change everything. 

The 11 novella boxed set is just $2.99! That's more than 900 pages for less than the cost of most single books.

You're cordially invited to join us for Weddings on Main Street at a retailer near you.

Weddings on Main Street: A Romance Collection (Some Sweet; S

Cover Reveal

I'm taking part in another collection of stories with the Authors of Main Street. This one is titled Weddings on Main Street. Eleven novellas revolving around brides in Main Street towns, and what most of them have in common is that they've ordered dresses from DeeDee's Bridal Salon.

My story is related to my Lone Star Cowboys series. Blake and Mandy are getting married in What a Cowgirl Wants. Here's the cover.

Look for Weddings on Main Street June 9 at all major retailers.

RONE AWARD FINALIST

Beneath a Texas Star is a RONE Award finalist in the Cowboys, Cops, and Jocks category!  Thanks so much to everyone who voted and helped move my book into the final judging category. I'll let you know if it wins.

 

No more Amazon gift cards...

My sincere apologies to those of you who've enjoyed winning Amazon gift cards in the past, but I will no longer be offering those as prizes. You see, Amazon pulled nine of my sixteen 5-star reviews from Behind a Texas Badge because I gave away gift cards, and they see that as me buying reviews. I don't even ask you to use the card to buy the book, much less ask you to leave a review in return, but that doesn't matter to them. They have the power to remove them (and removed more after I complained), and there's nothing I, as an author, can do about it.

I wish Google Play was a bigger player in the market, but so far I've sold exactly one book there, so they aren't going to be an Amazon competitor anytime soon. B&N sales are increasing, but not enough to make up for the sales I'll lose due to the lack of reviews and the inability to advertise because most sites require at least 10 reviews.

Am I angry? Yes. Frustrated? Yes. Is there anything I can do about it? Nope, not a thing. It's like dealing with the government. All the power is in the hands of people who couldn't care less about me, or you.

I've been MIA from my blog lately, but I've had good reasons. A back-home college kid with a Great Dane puppy (the size of a small horse) and a cat, and I've been working on a new book!

Book 6 in the Lone Star Cowboys series, Behind a Texas Badge, is out now! It's up everywhere except Google Play, I think. Working on that now.

Shelby Campbell has a secret she's kept from her friends and her newly-found family. She's a victim of domestic abuse, hiding from her psychopathic ex-husband. She hopes to leave her past--and her ex--behind when she moves to Morris Springs and changes her name. She thinks she's left no trail for him to follow, but she quickly discovers her ex is more resourceful than she gave him credit for.

Tommy Bell is the sheriff of Morris Springs and it's his job to keep Shelby safe. He has no idea how determined her ex-husband is to make sure that if he can't have Shelby, no one can. When Shelby--or Dani as she's now known--leaves the protection of the Triple S to save her son, Tommy has to find her, before it's too late. 

Don't miss the final book in the Lone Star Cowboys series! 

I also have a small bit of news to share. Beneath a Texas Star is a 2014 Rone Award nominee! We'll see if it got enough votes to advance to the final round. Fingers crossed! 

NEW RELEASE!! Between Lonesome and Texas

Between Lonesome and Texas is book 5 in the Lone Star Cowboys series, with returning characters from the first four books. Come join the Morris Springs family as they celebrate love, new babies, and new beginnings. 

Blake Kaufman loves the rodeo, but without his best friends Cooper and Nick, he's finding life on the road a lonesome prospect. Most of all, though, he misses Mandy Wagner, much to his surprise. He's never really thought about settling down, and he doesn't think he could stay in one place for very long. But sometimes a man has to choose between being alone and footloose, and being with the one he loves. 

Mandy Wagner wants a husband and a family. Blake is her first choice, but loving a man who is always on the road doesn't fit in with the idealized version of marriage she's created. Besides, she has responsibilities at home that won't let her pick up and follow Blake. Which is more important? Responsibility, or love? And then there's that secret she's kept for far too long… 

Eleven Authors, Eleven Books, One Great Price

The Christmas Collection by the Authors of Main Street is now available for purchase at Amazon!

These popular, bestselling authors await you with Christmas stories on Main Street: 

The Christmas Wish by Tori Scott. Merry is a long way from home and missing her family as Christmas approaches, until she falls right into Santa's lap. 

Christmas Wedding Muddle by Mona Risk. The perfect fiancé is a cheater and the fabulous Christmas wedding is off. But the would-be honeymoon cruise may fulfill the dreams of Julia and her unexpected companion. 

A Snowy Christmas in Wyoming by E. Ayers. A Native American cowboy with his thirteen-month-old daughter and a national news anchorwoman have nothing in common, except for their pasts, but in this season of giving, will fate reach through time and give the gift of love? 

The Christmas Con by Jill James. Contemporary Romance. Two reformed jewel thieves, Robin and Ian, are on the job to retrieve a priceless necklace, but Santa has special plans for a reunion of the ex-lovers. 

Small Town Glamour Girl Christmas by Stephanie Queen. Small town girl Julie hates being an Audrey Hepburn look-alike. When the big city man of her dreams comes to town for Christmas will she sell out to model in the city or settle into small town life on his terms? 

The Christmas Gift by Pepper Phillips. When an opportunity to make money presents itself, eleven-year-old George faces the biggest decision of his life. Will he become a thief like his father or will he discover the fact that giving, rather than receiving, is the best gift of all? 

A Potters Wood Christmas by Leigh Morgan. A plot to steal an ancient artifact in the Bennett’s possession could be the key to opening an even greater prize. Will Cian find family and the spirit of Christmas again? 

A Baby for Christmas by Susan R. Hughes. When Ryan opens his home to Paige, a beautiful stranger who happens to be pregnant, will it take a Christmas miracle to make them realize where their hearts truly belong? 

A Light in the Christmas Cafe by Kristy Tate. A food thief, a haunted house, a matchmaking grandmother and a handsome stranger: Are the apron strings tying Deirdre to her grandmother’s café tangling up her life plans or are they leading her to love? 

What if...this Christmas by Kelly Rae. Will a marriage proposal be the end of Katie and Chris' forever? 

A Smoky Mountain Christmas by Carol De Vaney. Falling in love wasn’t in Tina’s plans. She’d survived the snowstorm, but could she survive the love of recently divorced Hank Gordon who’s sworn off women? 

Two new anthologies coming soon!

I have Christmas stories in two different anthologies. The first--Christmas on Main Street--is a compilation of stories from the Authors of Main Street. My novella, The Christmas Wish, will be a part of this collection. If you like small town stories, heartwarming stories, and Christmas stories, you'll want to check it out. Release date is Nov. 1, 2013.

The second is Debra Holland's Sweetwater Springs Christmas collection. My story is A Promise for Christmas, which is the story of how Logan Tanner's great-grandparents met. (Logan is the hero of Blame it on Texas) It's my first foray into writing historical fiction. This collection is now available for pre-order, with a release date of Nov. 18th.

It's hard to believe Christmas is only ten weeks away! Order your copies now to help you get in the holiday spirit. Goodness knows, if you're like me, you can use a little help. :)

New Blog Post up at Authors of Main Street

Have you ever been to the State Fair of Texas? Check out my blog post at the Authors of Main Street.

Also, The Authors of Main Street are putting together a Christmas boxed set. Eleven authors, eleven Christmas books ranging from novellas to full-length books. Coming November 1!

Things have been chaotic at my house all summer. We drove nearly 10,000 miles in June and July. We took our grandson to North Carolina and took the long way home, going up through Shenandoah National Park and touring the Smoky Mountains. Then we had to go pick up our youngest daughter in Boston and move her home. Right after we got home, my mom came to visit for seven weeks.

Then the youngest bought a puppy. Oh my word. There's nothing like a Great Dane puppy to disrupt your household.

All the above means this next book is LATE! I haven't written much in the last few months. A short novella for Debra Holland's Christmas collection, and now I'm working on Book Five in the Lone Star Cowboys  series that's tentatively titled Take Me Back to Texas. I also put Lone Star Justice out in print--just waiting for the proof copy so I can approve it and make it available for sale.

So how was your summer? Anything fun happen?

Freedom 911

A moment forever frozen in time

In all of our hearts and all of our minds

As we watched with horror what a few evil men

Can do with hatred and evil intent.

So many emotions filled us that day

Stunned disbelief, anguish, anger, and pain.

Our minds as clouded as New York's city streets

We could only pray and tremble and weep.

We waited for news of loved ones so dear

And listened to stories of bravery and fear.

We cried with the mothers and fathers and wives

We grieve for the children who want to know why.

How can we answer their questions when we,

as adults never dreamed how evil mankind could be?

So we hold our own close, so glad they are safe

And ask God to surround them with angels each day.

Then we lift our heads high and stand firm and tall

As we proclaim to the world that our country won't fall.

We stand united, red, black, white and brown.

And say you can't keep America down.

We'll see these men punished for what they have done,

No stone left unturned till we've found every one.

We'll pray for our soldiers as they fight and they win,

Then we'll put it behind us and build once again.

But we'll never forget the ones who were lost

in airplanes and buildings, we've counted the cost.

We'll mourn and grieve the heroes once more,

and emerge even stronger than ever before.

God bless America, this land of the free

May you always reign righteous and always believe

In the Almighty God who holds us upright

And ever continue, for our freedom, to fight.

Pamela J. Payne

September 12, 2001

Working on Book 5 in the Lone Star Cowboys series. Do you have the first four yet?

What an amazing couple of months! We took one of our grandsons to Davidson College in North Carolina for a summer program the first part of June. After we dropped him off, we headed up the Blue Ridge Parkway and drove it all the way to the end of Skyline Drive. It took us all day, because we had to stop at every overlook to take pictures. We hiked some just so we could say we'd hiked the Appalachian Trail. One particular hike nearly did me in. It sounded easy enough. Three quarters of a mile down to the waterfall. Not so far, and they'd labeled it as a moderate hike.

OMG. That first part wasn't too terribly hard, though it was strenuous. The falls were beautiful. But the hike back up? I thought I'd die. We weren't planning on hiking far, so we didn't take any water with us. Big mistake. No walking stick, either. But after lots of stops for me to catch my breath, I made it to the top without needing either paramedics or a body bag. (Wasn't so sure about either of those outcomes halfway through.)

The next day we drove back to where we'd started and went south on the Blue Ridge Parkway for a while. I have a book started that is set on the Blue Ridge, so I needed to do some research on the area.

From there, we headed to Smoky Mountain National Park. We loved the Smokies. So cool and peaceful, even with all the tourists. We drove through Cade's Cove, and we hiked up to Clingman's Dome. Saw bears and deer, wild turkeys, and more motorcycles than we'd ever seen in one location.

The hike up to Clingman's Dome was difficult for someone with COPD and mild heart failure, but I did it. The view was worth it, as was the sense of accomplishment.

From there we headed down to the Indian Village, but got there too late. Something to do on the next trip, I guess.

The next month, we had to go pick up our daughter (and a trailer load of her things) from Boston. We took a scenic route that took us through the Ohio Amish country. Loved it. So peaceful up there. Hubby really enjoyed the lunch at Mrs. Yoder's kitchen, too. Then we drove up through Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. We stopped at Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, Ithaca, Lake Placid, and took a ferry across Lake Champlain. I got to swim in a waterfall pool in Ithica, and there was an Amish couple on the ferry, both highlights of the trip for me.

In Maine, we went out to see the Portland Head Light (lighthouse) and drove through Kennebunkport.

All in all, we drove over 7000 miles, visited 20+ states, saw some amazing sights, got some great pictures, had lots of fun, and found places we'd love to live.

Have you taken a major road trip lately? Tell me about it in the comments!

New Release!

Just Released on Amazon! Beneath a Texas Star, Book 4 in the Lone Star Cowboys series.

Bull rider Nick Jackson has spent his entire life not knowing who he really is. Abandoned as a toddler and raised in foster homes, Nick is afraid to put down roots, to make commitments, to love, because life has a way of ripping those things away from you when you least expect it.

Psychologist Jean Sutherland wants to help Nick discover his true identity and find his family, but not as a professional. Her interest in Nick is purely personal. She finds it difficult not to cross the line between her personal and professional lives, and nearly ruins them both in the process.

Sometimes it's better to leave the past alone…

New Book Cover

Came home tonight to find this beautiful sight in my email. The new cover for Beneath a Texas Star. Thank you, Ade Ratna!

Look for it the second week of June, 2013!

My First Ever Live Interview

I'm being interviewed tonight on Blogspot Radio by the lovely Layla Darnell. Come join us at 8 p.m Central time and bring your questions! http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dreamersradio/2013/05/24/literary-symposium-tori-scott