UPDATE! The winners have been drawn! Kim T. gets Widow of Gettysburg, and Darci M. gets Return to Shirley Plantation and the pink goodies! Congrats to the winners and thank you to everyone for entering! Today we are celebrating the release of Carrie Fancett Pagels' new Civil War novella, Return to Shirley Plantation, with an authentic recipe, a give-away of her novella, a give-away of MY new release, Widow of Gettysburg, plus some extra goodies! Carrie's novella is the first in a Civil War anthology called Cry of Freedom. Carrie Fancett Pagels, Ph.D., writes “romantic historical fiction.” Represented by Joyce Hart, “Return to Shirley Plantation: A Civil War Romance” is Carrie’s first fiction release. Carrie contributed to “God’s Provision in Tough Times” releasing May, 2013. Previously a psychologist, Carrie lives in Virginia with her family. Carrie blogs at “Colonial Quills” and “Overcoming With God.” She has served in ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) leadership positions as Zone Director, Area Coordinator, and continues as co-chairman of a local group. Member ACFW, Romance Writers of America, Faith-Hope-Love RWA affiliate group and FaithWriters. Columnist/Board Member of The Book Club Network ezine. Loves God, history, and romance! So let's just give you a little taste of Return to Shirley Plantation before we sink our teeth into Carrie's recipe, shall we? I confess I've not had a chance to read it myself (YET!), but I see that authors like Julie Lessman, MaryLu Tyndall, and Laura Frantz have all given the story five stars. Here's a review by Lisa Norato, author of Prize of My Heart and Where Eagles Fly. She says:
I was hooked by the first line with the beautiful writing. The story itself quickly reeled me in with the conflicts of its two, endearing, main characters. Carrie makes history come alive with her words and brings her southern setting to life so that I felt I was right there on a gorgeous Virginia plantation in the midst of the Civil War. It is 1862 and thespian Matthew Scott is abducted from Ohio and the theater troupe he manages. He is conscripted against his will into serving with the Confederate army because of his father’s political leanings. He is not a soldier and feels lost and out of place as he follows the troops to Shirley Plantation in Virginia. There he meets the lovely Angelina Rose and begins to feel some hope and the stirrings of love. With her fair skin, Matt does not know Angie is a freed slave of mixed race. She was given an opportunity to leave the south and start a new life for herself, but she did not take it because she has been working as a seamstress to earn the freedom of her deceased sister’s illegitimate twins. Matt knows nothing of this. He only knows that he is falling in love with a mysterious woman, and there is something very suspicious about his father’s claims of having no family. A lot of story is packed into this beautiful, redemptive novella. It was a pure joy to read and reminded me of why I love reading historical romance novels!
When I asked Carrie to share a recipe related to her novella, she chose these all-cornmeal muffins, as the closest thing to Johnny Cake we can probably find. While Union soldiers (Billy Yanks) ate hardtack, Confederate soldiers (Johnny Rebs) ate Johnny Cake. :) Carrie's recipe, below, would be the perfect refreshment for your book club if you read Return to Shirley Plantation or other Civil War stories!
Stone Ground All-Cornmeal Muffins
Ingredients 2 cups goat’s milk buttermilk (add 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar to the goat’s milk. Stir. Let sit about 5 minutes to thicken slightly) 2 medium-sized yard eggs 2 cups stone-ground cornmeal 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon sea salt (1/4 cup bacon drippings) Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 415°F. 2. Mix the dry ingredients, whisk the eggs into the goat’s milk mixture, then combine all ingredients. 3. Mix with large spoon or spatula, do not overmix. 4. Pour some cooled bacon drippings in and mix gently. Grease your muffin pans with the remaining drippings. Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full. 5. Bake 15-20 minutes till tops are lightly browned. Don’t overcook. 6. Remove, cool slightly, slather with softened salted butter and honey then eat! Yummmmmm......!
Now for the Give-Away!
Carrie is graciously offering a PDF copy of her novella, a paperback copy of my Widow of Gettysburg, PLUS a gift basket of pink goodies, including two tall pink glasses, a sunglasses pouch, pink sticky notes and another pink surprise! Why so pinkalicious, you ask? In addition to simply admiring the color, after Carrie's mother died of pancreatic cancer, Carrie's two best friends both battled breast cancer-and BEAT it! To be entered into the drawing for the give-away, simply leave a comment answering this question: What is your favorite snack to have with a good book? (or movie, if you don't care to turn pages with messy fingers) For extra entries, follow Carrie on any or all of her social media outlets (below) and let me know that you've done so! Good luck to all of you--and please note that Return to Shirley Plantation is available now at Amazon for only $2.99. Facebook Author Page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Carrie-Fancett-Pagels/317053071710640?fref=ts Facebook Personal Page http://www.facebook.com/carriefancettpagels Twitter https://twitter.com/cfpagels Pinterest http://pinterest.com/carriefpagels/ GoodReads http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5548131-carrie-pagels LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=131454255&trk=tab_pro
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