Maxine Douglas

Friday, January 10, 2014

Guest Blogging

Thinking about writing a newsletter? Not sure where/how to start? I'm blogging about them today @ http://wp.me/p3O05Y-k8 ! Stop by and say HI.

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Happy New Year!!! 2014 has dawned, I hope everyone enjoyed and had a safe New Years Eve. Does everyone have their list of New Year resolutions done? I know, what’s the use? Remember to think positive and those resolutions will come to be.

In this Issue:

Winner of the $25 Gift Card Contest

Quote of the Month

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Christmas Legends Part 1

Santa Claus

The American version of the Santa Claus figure received its inspiration and its name from the Dutch legend of Sinter Klaas, brought by settlers to New York in the 17th century.

As early as 1773 the name appeared in the American press as "St. A Claus," but it was the popular author Washington Irving who gave Americans their first detailed information about the Dutch version of Saint Nicholas. In his History of New York, published in 1809 under the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerbocker, Irving described the arrival of the saint on horseback (unaccompanied by Black Peter) each Eve of Saint Nicholas.

This Dutch-American Saint Nick achieved his fully Americanized form in 1823 in the poem A Visit From Saint Nicholas more commonly known as The Night Before Christmas by writer Clement Clarke Moore. Moore included such details as the names of the reindeer; Santa Claus's laughs, winks, and nods; and the method by which Saint Nicholas, referred to as an elf, returns up the chimney. (Moore's phrase "lays his finger aside of his nose" was drawn directly from Irving's 1809 description.)

For more information:

http://www.the-north-pole.com/history/

http://www.time4me.com/card/legend/SantaClaus.html

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Free Book Raffle

Celebrate 2013 Contest

Send me an email at Maxine Douglas for a free review of copy (or purchase a copy at one of the links below) of

Amazon

MuseItUpPublishing

Post a review on Amazon.com
Enter your name below to be eligible for a $25 American Expedient Gift Card
Winner will be drawn randomly from eligible entrants on January 1, 2014.

*All entries will be checked for review posted by midnight (CST) December 31, 2013, when contest ends. Winner will be notified via email. One entry per person.

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Wednesday, December 11, 2013

New Release December 2013

Nashville Rising Star

There were only three of them left now—Casey Montgomery from Oklahoma, the darling Emerald Braun, and himself. By this time next week, he was banking on only two left standing before the show even started. Emerald Braun wouldn’t be one of them.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope.

Everything I’ve wanted the past few years depends on this...and what’s inside it.

“Welcome back. Our next performer of the night is...”

Utah Sheridan intends to win Nashville Rising Star at all costs;

will his bribe be the end of Emerald Braun?

$.99 cents – Kindle

Print coming in 2014

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Cooking Up Love for Two -- Apple Knockers

It’s a cold, bitterly cold, December day here in Oklahoma so I thought I’d share this recipe from A Taste for Love, A Romantic Cookbook for Two by Elizabeth M. Harbison and Mary McGowan in hopes of warming you and your loved one up.

Apple Knockers

1 cinnamon stick	½ tsp whole cloves
1 pinch nutmeg	1 ½ cup apple cider
¼ cup sugar	½ cup orange juice
2 T fresh lemon juice	¼ cup brandy

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Road Angel

Chapter One

“‘Let It Snow’ on this...” the radio DJ hummed through the radio. Before long I was humming along with the classic Christmas song that more than described the frightful weather.

The snow truly fit snow-packed Interstate 94 which I travel westbound weekly. With less than a week until Christmas, I dropped the load in Gary, Indiana. Then with a mere eight miles to go before hitting Chicago, I can head back home to Wisconsin and my little girl. Damn if I’ll let her spend it with strangers again. I promised and mean every word.

The northwest wind whips across Lake Michigan, causing the blinding lake-effect snow I hate—the trucker’s nightmare I’ve learned to ignore. I’m on a mission, damn it, and no stupid storm will stop me.

Still, I have to admit visibility is slim, like driving through a kaleidoscope of white. The effect plays tricks on my eyes, but I squint, refusing to pull over. I’ve never allowed the weather to interfere with my job, and I’m not about to start now —especially this close to spending Christmas with my family for the first time since my baby daughter was born three years before. She was my Christmas miracle, Isabella Mae Thomas—perfect in every way. Crystal-blue eyes sparkle even when full of sad little baby tears. Light, curly, strawberry-blonde hair falls above her shoulders, framing her round little face and chubby cheeks, giving her a cherub look. Sandi named her Bella, and I was fine with that, as long as a glittering vampire didn’t show up at our front door with a large wolf at its side.

I chuckle. “I have a feeling Sandi would have been thrilled to have a Twilight family of her own.” I chuckle again at the thought of chasing both off while Sandi asks them to come in for dinner. I take my gaze off the road for an instant, the picture flitting through my mind even as the sadness of losing her resonates through me.

Flexing my hand, I remember how Sandi nearly crushed it during delivery. “I can feel your presence Sandi.”

Her grip had felt like being caught in a vise, every bone about to be shattered, leaving me wondering when she’d acquired super-human strength. My soft-spoken wife became a rowdy-mouthed sailor spurting things totally incomprehensible as she pushed our baby into the world, and then it was over. Her body relaxed, her breathing returned to normal, and our lives forever changed with the wail of a new life.

The words “it’s a girl” swelled my heart with pride, but it was seeing Sandi nuzzling the pink bundle in her arms that poured great love into me. I’d never felt anything as amazing as that day. I couldn’t wait for the next time we’d welcome a baby into the world.

A moment later, my life came crashing down around me when Sandi closed her eyes for the last time as Bella snuggled contently in her arms.

“I wish they could have saved both of them, but the aneurism…”

The tires of the truck catch a patch of ice and jolt me back to the reality of the snow-covered highway. “Damn. Keep your mind on driving, you fool!” I push the past away and return to concentrating on getting through the December snowstorm. If I were to lose my focus now, I could end up jackknifed in the road, causing a mass of destruction in the aftermath and cost Bella her one remaining parent.

The strange, otherworldly view through the windshield is like looking into a snow globe after the first shake, only this snow isn’t stopping; it’s getting heavier as I creep farther down the highway. The faster my wipers move, the less visible the tire tracks in the snow-covered highway are. At this point, it doesn’t matter what speed they cleared the glass; the wind blows the snow immediately back into place.

The crackling of the company cell phone slices through the whistling of the wind. Irritated, I tap the button on my wireless earpiece. “It’s snowing like hell; what ya want DJ?”

“You pulled over yet?” The dispatcher’s voice comes through full of static, sounding like an old scratched 78 record. “Get that damn truck off the road as soon as possible. Interstate 94 west of Gary is closing within an hour. You’ve got to bed down for the night.”

No way am I going to break my promise to my daughter. Besides, pulling over is a moot point when I can’t see the edges of the road. “Right,” I snort. “Like that’s gonna happen. I can’t even see the shoulder, let alone find a place to pull over.”

“I don’t care how or where you do it, just do it. Too damn dangerous for you to be pushing through, and you know it,” DJ snaps.

“Gotta make it home for Christmas.” I glance down at the speedometer and then settle back in my seat. Forty miles-per-hour isn’t going to get me home as early as I’d like, but it will get me there sooner than bedding down for the night. “Can’t afford to be stranded in some truck stop. I promised this year I’d be there… not here.”

“You aren’t going to be any good to your little girl in a pine box! Boss wants all the trucks pulled over within the hour. It’ll give you time to update those logs of yours while waiting out the storm, eleven hours or not!” DJ says and then hangs up.

* * * *

Rubbing my face, I yawn big and deep, pulling in as much oxygen as I can, trying to focus. It’s no use; my eyes are fuzzy. Finally feeling the effects of driving in a blizzard, I reluctantly admit I need to find a place to get off the road and bed down for the duration.

“A little cat nap, and then I’ll be good to go.” The eight-mile length of road between Gary and Chicago isn’t getting any better. The question is: where’s a good place to stop? I can’t see the shoulder. Hell, I can’t see the road. Driving in these conditions is like trying to find my way out of a box full of shipping popcorn— nearly impossible.

Glancing down at the speedometer, I wonder when I slowed to thirty miles an hour. At this rate, I’ll find myself stuck with no place to go. “I hate to admit it, but DJ was right.” I have to get off and find a place to wait out the storm. The sooner the better.

I’m not even sure where I am at the moment. All the road signs are obscured by snow, and I can’t make out any city lights. For all I know, there’s a power outage in the area. Even the CB has been quiet for a while. Everyone in their right mind is off the road and asleep in their bunks. Everyone except me.

Licking my dry lips, I reach for the water bottle just as a shadow bursts through the snow. “Whoa!” Grabbing the wheel with both hands, I brace for impact.

Shaking when none comes, I suck in a breath as the tail end of a deer disappears into the shadowy storm. “Stupid, fricking deer! Holy crap! If I wasn’t awake before, I sure as hell am now.”

As the snow swirls in the glow of the headlights, I figure several inches have fallen on top of what may have been tire marks in the road. I don’t even want to think when it was plowed last. At this rate, I probably won’t see one until tomorrow.

The wind howls continuously around the cab of the tractor and bangs against the doors. With each new gust, the trailer slides slightly, giving in to the force. The blowing wind sings a wolf melody, the howling tune mournful—a beautiful yet deadly blizzard accompanied by the music of the wind—Mother Nature’s way of easing the cruelty she sometimes gives so freely.

Snow like this can play tricks on a man’s vision. Even knowing this, when I see a figure in the middle of the road, reaction takes over reasoning. White and flowing, it moves toward me, and then silver-blue eyes bore into my soul, making me yearn for sweet oblivion. In that swift moment, I swerve, my mind screaming out the name of the woman who left my world three years before.

Sandi!

MuseItUp_Publishing

Friday, October 25, 2013

5 Days of Halloween

Night of the Harvest Moon: Harvest Moon Heart: by Maxine Douglas

“A harvest ball on the night of a full yellow moon? And Drac wants me to attend? What the hell is he thinking?” Jasper Reynolds tossed the invitation onto the lone shackled chair in the cold, stone basement; his only means to keep the innocent safe from his rage. Drac knew what havoc the full moon brought forth. The night the wolf appeared and would be capable of doing unspeakable things during those dark hours, leaving Jasper utterly helpless and unaware of the carnage he’d done. . . .

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Friday, October 11, 2013

Knight to Remember -- Chapter 1

A Time Travel Romance by Maxine Douglas

In 15th Century England, The Black Knight a/k/a Sir Reynold, has fallen from grace with his childhood friend, Queen Isabel, and is in a no-win situation. He must compete against his friend, and blood brother Thomas. If he wins, Sir Reynold will be banished from Heartsease; if he loses, Thomas will be stripped of his knighthood…

Courtney Parker is a 21st Century seamstress at the Bristol Renaissance Faire. Unlike other reenactors, she performs her profession year-round, making costumes for others. She's always loved the story of the mysterious Black Knight of Heartsease and has looked forward to it every year. But this year’s different…

Issie Cummings, the Ren Faire’s potion shopkeeper, will stop at nothing to gain what escaped her centuries ago...Sir Reynold Loddington’s love and body.

Will Reynold be able to turn back the hands of time and right what went wrong—or will he find himself banned from another country and the woman he loves?

Chapter One

England, 15th Century

“Black Knight, pledge thy loyalty and love to me and no other!” Queen Isabel Trenowyth demanded.

“I cannot, Your Grace,” the Black Knight replied, ignoring her haughty tone while holding back his jet-black Andalusian from prancing too close to the queen and her court. “My heart belongs to another.”

“Another? Thou wearest the colors of this kingdom. My kingdom.” Isabel snorted, her proud face suffused with rage. “Thy heart canst belong to no other in this time or in any other time.”

“Thou speakest the truth. I wear the black and gold colors of Heartsease as a knight by my own pledge, sworn to protect the castle walls and its people, nothing more, Your Grace. I cannot give my heart to one who on a whim hast so many knights on bended knee.” The Black Knight backed his snorting stallion a little farther from the anger of Queen Isabel. He’d vowed to protect Heartsease and its lands for longer than the queen’s reign; he’d never promised to be her lover.

“Of course, there are other willing knights of Heartsease who would give me the pleasure I request. It is what thou hast refused me all these years which I seek. I have offered thee everything, and now thee shall have nothing.” Isabel waved him off like a finished piece of meat. “The tournament shall continue.”

A sneer marred her otherwise beautiful face. “Ruin him, Sir Thomas!” Queen Isabel commanded of the Black Knight’s opponent.

Sir Thomas backed his gray mount away from Queen Isabel until he reined in solidly beside the Black Knight. The line had been drawn, and the Black Knight knew Isabel would not take lightly a refusal from two of her knights.

“My Queen, I cannot. I have given my life to protect the people of thy kingdom. Heartsease is the place of my birth and that of my family before me. Our alliance to thy father before his death is long and unquestionable. It will continue as such. On this day, I refuse to take the Black Knight’s life to ease thy pride and bruised heart,” Sir Thomas replied, loudly enough for half of Heartsease to hear him.

“Thomas, thy protection of me is admirable but not needed,” the Black Knight rebutted under his arnet to his childhood friend and then turned to the queen. Her furor over Thomas’s refusal was evident and so would be her vengeance. He couldn’t allow Thomas to face her wrath. “I refuse Sir Thomas’s protection and challenge him to Joust a’ Plaisance.”

Queen Isabel thought for a moment before coolly signaling for the Chief Marshall to approach her. A wicked smile crossed her lips as she whispered into his ear. A look of dismay soon turned to pleasure as the Chief Marshall faced the Black Knight and Sir Thomas.

“These are the queen’s terms of the challenge set forth. If the Black Knight loses, he will remove the coat of arms signifying his alliance with Heartsease and be banished from these lands for all time. If he should be the victor, then Sir Thomas will be stripped of knighthood and work the land as his father before him. In addition, the Black Knight shall do the queen’s bidding day and night as Queen Isabel so chooses.”

A hush fell over the list as all in attendance waited for the Black Knight’s answer to the cruel request. If he accepted this challenge and lost, he’d be forced to leave his homeland forever. This was the place of his birth and the birth of his beloved Catherine. His victory would bring shame upon Thomas and his family and devastate them, and he’d be at Isabel’s mercy for the rest of his days. Either way, he was doomed. The queen left him without a true choice.

The Black Knight backed his black steed, turned, and then trotted around the list toward William, his young squire. Passing along the rail, he paused long enough to take up the lace-and purple-ribboned offering from Catherine, the beautiful daughter of Heartsease’s dressmaker. He leaned in toward the raven-haired, blue-eyed young woman, his heart already hers. She smiled and tied the token around his lance, making him her champion.

“How can I help but not fail, Catherine,” he whispered to the lovely but plainly dressed maiden.

“I know not, but thou wilt find a way to right this wrong,” she said, a trusting smile brightening her worried face. Touched by her faith in him, he rode off to the east end of the list, doom flittering down his spine. The only honorable way out would be to lose, even though it went against his nature, and he could possibly lose Catherine as well.

“Sir Reynold?” William queried.

He gave his squire a confidant smile, seeing the fear in the boy’s eyes. “I will not allow the queen to dictate my life any longer, my young friend. If I must leave my home and country to save Thomas’s family name, I will.” Reynold dismounted and handed the reins to William.

“The queen would rather see thee dead, sir,” William commented, leading the stallion alongside Reynold toward their tent.

“Beware what thou sayest, young William. In this court, even the ground hast ears,” Reynold cautioned his bold squire, placing a hand on the young man’s shoulder. “Lest thou take care in those words, or it could be thee riding Abraxas and carrying a lance against thy father instead of me.”

“What of my cousin?” William tethered Abraxas to a post outside their tent. “What will become of Catherine if thou art no longer here to protect her?”

“Catherine knows I’d not bring shame on thy family name. I will find a home and send for her when the time is right.” Reynold walked into his tent to prepare for his joust against Thomas, his blood brother and childhood friend. “Wherefore Isabel hast chosen this course now is beyond my knowledge, Will. Her jealousy runs deeper since her father’s death.”

“Some say that Isabel hast consulted the stones. They say the stones have foreseen thy failure and disappearance from Heartsease, Reynold,” Will said in a hushed tone, as if afraid to be heard by anyone but himself. “Father is fearful that Isabel plays with the darkness of life to rid thee of thine. Her witch is powerful in the black arts.”

Reynold handed his arnet to Will, shook his head, and took a deep breath. It confirmed his own thoughts. “I have heard the same words whispered behind tankards of ale. It is more than my life she yearns to rid me of, it is my will to refuse her advances and physical pleasures.”

Reynold pulled himself into the saddle and waited for Will to hand him his shield and cronel-tipped lance. Much was at stake in this event. At the other end of the list, his oldest and closest friend waited for their time at the joust.

They all had grown up together—Thomas Astley, Catherine, Isabel, and he. Thomas was the son of a farmer, and his cousin, Catherine, was the dressmaker’s middle daughter who was more of a tomboy than a girl. As a child, Isabel hadn’t known the difference in their positions in life. Her father, King David, had allowed her to play with the children of Heartsease. She’d been a big-hearted girl, filled with passion and love. Reynold had been the king’s eyes and ears even as a boy, up until the king’s death when Isabel was but an enthusiastic girl of sixteen. Something inside her changed that day—something dark and evil.

At one time in Reynold’s life, he had thought he loved Isabel. These past years with her ruling cruelly as queen made him realize that Catherine, and not the selfish woman Isabel had become, had his heart.

After years of fulfilling the promise he’d made to Isabel’s father as he lay dying, Reynold continuously refused the provocative suggestions Isabel presented him on a regular basis. He’d promised the king he’d defend Heartsease and look after Isabel, not become a bed toy for her to play with like so many others. Isabel proved to need no looking after; she had plenty of willing knights to defend her honor and visit her private quarters.

The sound of trumpets brought him back to the present and the task awaiting him. His plan was a simple one that he’d have to conceal from Will. If he didn’t, the young squire would find a way to inform his father of Reynold’s planned deception.

Reynold spurred Abraxas ahead and entered the list at the east end at the same time Thomas did from the west end. They’d been through this many times before on the practice field. Abraxas stomped in eagerness to charge, and Reynold spurred the stallion forward.

Galloping toward Thomas on the opposite side of the tilt, Reynold felt the jolt of the lance against his chest. He’d hit Thomas but not enough to knock him off his mount.

Gathering himself, he repositioned the lance and charged toward Thomas again. As they met in the middle of the tilt, Reynold lowered his weapon at the last moment and felt the jolt of Thomas’s lance hit him squarely in the chest, causing him to teeter in the saddle. The cheers of the crowd echoed inside his arnet, vibrating in his ears.

One more pass, and it would be over.

Ignoring Will’s questioning look, Reynold spurred Abraxas around and charged his lifelong friend for what he prayed would be the last time. When the two passed, Thomas lifted his lance, missing Reynold by inches. Knowing in that instant Thomas was no fool, Reynold fell sideways, allowing Abraxas to drag him to the west end of the list.

The pain shooting through his body was nothing compared to the satisfaction of knowing Thomas would continue his life as a knight. His plan may not have worked to perfection, but his honor to Thomas was held intact. Reynold would find a new life—a lonely one but a life nonetheless.

“Whoa! Whoa!”

The words came through the blackness trying to take claim to his mind. Abraxas suddenly halted, and Reynold felt himself lifted off the ground. Someone took his foot from the stirrup and pulled the arnet from his head.

Focusing, he gazed into the eyes of his raven-haired love. He had indeed found his place, at last, in Catherine’s arms. . . .

Find your knight to remember.

MuseItUp / Amazon / Amazon UK / Amazon DE / Amazon Japan

2 pounds ground pork	2 tsp powdered ginger
1 tsp salt	1 tsp sugar
2 oz almond slivers (blanced)	raisins