Bridge to Magic by Alex Thornbury



Here in Australia we celebrate Christmas in the summer. For someone who was raised in the northern hemisphere, I still cannot get my head around that strangeness. Another interesting fact of the Aussie festive season is that our favourite and traditional desert for Christmas is the pavlova. The tradition is said to have started in the 1920s when the famed ballet dancer visited Australia and New-Zealand and one ingenious hotel pastry chef created the desert in her honour.

There are as many recipes for this dish as there are Aussies. Amongst them, my absolute favourite is the Cherry and Coconut Pavlova. For us here, who walk upside down relative to our Northern cousins, December is the season for fresh cherries down in the cool south, and coconuts up in the hot northern tropics. So what better way to celebrate turning the seasons on their heads than by combining cherries and coconuts into a tropical Christmas dessert? This is what I will be making this Christmas in the sweltering heat of the summer.

The credit for this recipe must go to www.delicious.com.au.



Ingredients

  • 6 egg whites
  • 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
  • 1 1/2 cups (330g) caster sugar
  • 2 tbs cornflour
  • 1 tsp white vinegar
  • 1/3 cup (30g) desiccated coconut
  • 300g jar good-quality cherry jam, room temperature, stirred to loosen
  • Fresh cherries & baby mint leaves, to serve

Coconut cream

  • 500g sour cream
  • 100g thickened cream
  • 100g coconut cream (cream taken from the top of the can. Reserve remaining cream for another use)
  • 80g icing sugar mixture
  • 2 tbs Malibu or coconut essence

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Draw a rough 18cm x 33cm rectangle on a piece of baking paper and use to line a large greased oven tray.

2. Place egg whites and cream of tartar in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk on medium speed to soft peaks. With the motor running, add 1 tbs sugar every 30 seconds and continue whisking until well incorporated. Whisk for a further 5 minutes or until the mixture is thick and glossy and the sugar has dissolved.

3. Add the cornflour and whisk until combined, then whisk in the white vinegar. Fold through coconut. Place the meringue into the centre of the rectangle and, using a palette knife, spread the meringue into the shape of the rectangle with waves and swirls on top.

4. Reduce oven temperature to 100°C. Bake the pavlova for 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes or until dry to touch. Turn off the oven and let cool in the oven overnight or until cooled completely.

5. For the coconut cream, whisk the creams and sugar in a stand mixer to soft peaks, then fold in the coconut liquor. Refrigerate until ready to use.

6. Place meringue on a serving platter and spread with cream mixture. Drizzle with loosened jam and scatter with extra fresh cherries and mint leaves to serve.


The Bridge to Magic
The Sundered Web 
Book One
Alex Thornbury

Genre:  Fantasy
Publisher: Shadow Lore Publishing
Date of Publication:  21st February 2023
ISBN:  978-0-6454970-0-7
ASIN:  B0B9GCXY5K
Number of pages:  369
Word Count: 105,000
Cover Artist: Alejandro Colucci

Tagline:  When only the wrong paths remain, do you walk or get left behind?  

Book Description:

An award-winning debut for lovers of traditional fantasy and the readers who crave the dark, disturbing and original.

Men thought they had won the war against magic, when a demi-god had sundered their realm and banished magic and its keepers to the deadlands. But then another terror was born. Nothing can survive the approaching Blight. Terren, the last refuge of mankind, now stands alone in its path. Only the bridge across the great chasm offers any hope of escape… for some.

Elika has long feared the bridge to the Deadlands. It had taken her parents, and the lives of more poor fools than she could count. What’s there for them anyway on the other side but more suffering and death? Though the gods had abandoned them, the king and his priests will stop the Blight. They just need to destroy every echo of magic, the source of the Blight. Then she discovers that the biggest echo of magic is hiding inside her, and through her it seeks to enact the will of its own.

Accused of being a mage, she is hunted and hated. Many doubt her loyalties. Her gang turns against her. The one man she thought she could trust and love, abandons her. Everything she knew about her past shatters, as long-buried secrets about her true birth emerge. Worse still, she may not even be human. She must race to find a way to purge herself from magic’s hold. But as time runs out for the city and her magic only grows in power, can she sacrifice herself to save the last of humanity and all that she loves?

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There was a time before the bridge was forged, but those stories had been mostly forgotten. The dark history of that bygone age was now buried in the archives of the priests. Only the echoes of it remained on the tongues of minstrels and drunks. Elika had heard them all and each tale seemed more terrible and unimaginable than the other.

Those were dismal times of endless wars—men against magic, magic against men. The time when even the storms and rains were at the mercy of magic and its fickle moods. It might snow in the summer, or the hot winds might carry sand upon them, burying entire cities. Honest travelers feared to ride through the forest, lest the trees attacked them. A farmer might wake up to find his river flowing the wrong way or dried up altogether. Those days were gone and might have been forgotten, but for this stark reminder before Elika’s eyes.

And who had not stood before the dark bridge in their last moments, facing that choice they all must one day make?

Like that hoary, old codger in the ale-stained uniform of the city’s Blue Guard who had stood before the bridge for nigh on an hour; unsteady on his legs, his sour breath steaming in the crisp, winter night, drinking deeply of the cheap gin, which was as likely to kill him by morning as what he now faced. He took a long swig out of his bottle as he braced himself for the unknown fate ahead.

Elika sat huddled in the doorway of an abandoned house, watching him, needing to know whether he would reach the other side or die crossing. Her ears filled with the howling winds rising from the great chasm, and she did not need to imagine what he was thinking, staring as he did at the monstrous bridge and the lifeless bank beyond, for she was thinking the same—surely it is better than what remains at our back. Better than what approaches.

She clutched the cloak tighter around herself against the biting gust of wind trying to rip it from her. She had scavenged the woolen cloak some days ago from a dead beggar, and it still smelled of his mustiness. She pulled up her knees to her chest and clamped her icy hands under her arms.

The stone wall was cold at her back. Her breath steamed. She waited and watched the old guard take another wobbly step toward the bridge, seeking courage in his gin-dulled mind. He took another gulp, stared at the empty bottle in surprise, then threw it aside with a foul curse. The bottle hit the frozen ground and rolled off the edge of their world into the chasm, to fall for eternity in that endless darkness.


About the Author: 

Alex Thornbury is an award-winning author. She grew up in Cheshire UK, and developed deep love of history and fantasy thanks to the many castles she visited as a child. Though she grew up to be an Alchemist by trade, she never stopped fantasising about other worlds, dragons and epic battles.












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Bah Humbug Mate by Delta James – Deck the Halls with Books Holiday Extravaganza




Pecan Shortbread Cookies

Heat Oven to 325 degrees F 

Ingredients:

2 cups butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla (I use a skoosh more)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1-1/2 cups chopped pecans (closer to 1-3/4 cups)

4 cups flour

 

Directions:

·       Cream butter, sugars and vanilla until light and fluffy

·       Beat in eggs

·       Set aside

·       Combine remaining ingredients and add to butter mixture

·       Mix well

·       Roll into 1 inch balls OR use cookie scoop to place on cookie sheet

·       Flatten with a glass or cookie press, dipped in sugar

·       Bake 8-15 minutes depending on your oven and desired texture—chewy or crisp

·       Place on cooling rack

·       Cookies are fragile; store in air-tight containers

Bah Humbug Mate
Mystic River Shifters 
Book  Seven
Delta James

Genre:  Paranormal Romance
Date of Publication:  11/22/23:
ASIN:  B0CGY63Z4K
Cover Artist: Wicked Smart Designs

Book Description: 

Will a charade under the mistletoe lead to a real love story?

Dash Samuels, a grumpy reindeer shifter, is faced with an ultimatum: marry by Christmas Day or lose his cherished family inheritance. The holidays are his least favorite time of the year and now he needs to find a mate? Panicked, he devises a plan to hire a woman to play his fake fiancée, until the inheritance is secured. But what he never anticipated was the whirlwind of emotions that would follow.

Noel Brooks, a spirited dreamer struggling to make ends meet, agrees to Dash’s unconventional proposition out of necessity. The holidays are her favorite time of the year. As they embark on a charade filled with misunderstandings, holiday traditions, and undeniable chemistry, their carefully constructed façade begins to crumble, revealing the cracks in their hearts.

Dash needs to get from a grumpy humbug to a believer if he is going to catch his fated mate before it is too late.

Bah Humbug Mate is an enchanting story that reminds us that sometimes, the greatest gifts come wrapped in unexpected packages – and that true love is the ultimate holiday miracle.


Bah Humbug Mate Excerpt
A Mystic River Shifters Holiday Novella

“What do you mean I need to be mated by the winter holiday? Are you kidding me?” Dash said as he paced back and forth in the attorney’s office.

“Look, Dash, I didn’t write the damn will. Well, I guess technically I did, but your grandmother was very particular. She was very angry you left the herd. So, if you want to inherit what I agree is rightfully yours, you need to be married by the holiday deadline.”

“Which is?”

“December 24.”

“You aren’t serious.”

“I’m afraid I am. Your grandmother took these kinds of things seriously.”

“For heaven’s sake, Blitz, where the hell am I supposed to find a comely, female reindeer-shifter in the next…” he glanced at the calendar on the wall “twenty-three days?”

“Honestly, I don’t know, and there are provisions that will have you tied to this girl for at least ten years.”

Dash plopped down in the chair. “A decade? I have to spend a decade with some girl I don’t even know?”

“You know lots of girls,” said Blitzen.

“And none of them I’d want to marry.”

“Dude, for that kind of fortune, I’d marry Godzilla.”

“Do you have her number?”


About the Author:

Delta James is a USA Today bestselling paranormal and contemporary romantic suspense author, whose goal is to captivate readers with stories about complex, curvy heroines and the dominant alpha males who adore them. For Delta, romance is more than just a love story; it’s a journey with challenges and thrills along the way. 

After creating a second chapter for herself that was dramatically different than the first, Delta now resides in Florida where she relaxes on warm summer evenings with her loveable pack of basset hounds as they watch the birds, squirrels and lizards. When not crafting fast-paced tales, she enjoys horseback riding, walks on the beach, and white-water rafting. 

Her readers mean the world to her, and Delta tries to interact personally to as many messages as she can. If you’d like to chat or discuss books, you can find Delta on Instagram, Facebook, and in her private reader group 
















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Release Day Blitz – Slither by Nikki Rae



Slither
The Shadow and Ink Series 
Book Two
Nikki Rae

Genre: Dark Paranormal Monster Romance
Publisher: Nikki Rae
Date of Publication: December 14, 2023
ASIN:  B0CNSFBY1V
Number of pages: 340
Word Count: 98,921
Cover Artist: Nikki Rae

Tagline: Some cycles repeat for a reason, but is this one worth fulfilling?

Book Description: 

Plunged into darkness after an eerie ritual, Corbin finds herself torn between the reality of her life with her mother and the nights she spends with Six. Even though she wakes alone every morning, the nights they spend together are worth it. Suspicion and unease surround her, drawing Jordan closer and closer while Six disappears deeper into the shadows.

Obsessed, Corbin sketches only him. As his monstrous image becomes clearer, etched in ink and gold, the pair and Jordan are enticed into a sensual world meant to feed him.

Six is reluctantly forthcoming with information about his origins and the mystical connection between the three of them. He has no control and little concern for the human world he affects with his mere presence—even when no one can stop the consequences.


Excerpt 

“You’re here.” I wasn’t sure whether it was for my comfort or his, but I was relieved nonetheless.

Yesss. I heard it directly in my ear. I smelled fire on him. Leaves, earth, and flames. Alwaysss.

A breeze wafted through my hair, tickling my shoulder. His presence calmed me, and I felt like for the first time all day, I wasn’t holding my breath. I wasn’t waiting to hear or see him. I wasn’t constantly anticipating when and in what way Six would appear because he didn’t need to. He was with me as much as any other vital organ.

In the span of one summer, I had gone from hearing his disembodied voice and believing I had lost my mind to accepting that all of it was true. Now when I thought of us together, it made no sense how we had ever been apart. Why I would try to push him away, defy some ancient law of nature?

“Can you come closer?” I whispered, staring straight ahead, out the window. “I won’t look.”

I sat on the edge of my bed and it wasn’t long before I felt the mattress sink in on either side of me.

A soft breeze moved the curtain. A car drove down the street.

I kept my promise and didn’t direct my gaze anywhere but the sky outside my window. I could feel him parting my hair, strands swaying on their own until I felt his mouth against the back of my neck again. From the corner of my eye, I watched the shadows grow into lengths of multiple arms that pulled me toward him, completely supporting my weight.

I am right here, my love.

Bands of scales wrapped around my middle, draped themselves over each thigh. Little by little, my head inched upward so all I could see was the pink canopy above my bed. I felt the trace of claw marks just beneath my chin, the strong hand around my throat.

Are you pleased with your gifts, little one?

I nodded against him, surprised even now at how solid he felt behind me. “Thank you, Six.”

I have so much more to give you, he cooed.

Before I could stop anything, I fell backwards, into a stain shaped like him. Legs splayed open, my arms were also restrained above my head, but he surrounded me at the same time. The darkness was weighted, warm. I wasn’t afraid to let it creep across my field of vision and obscure everything in sight.

So many ways I could please you, my flower. My lace of light.

Warmth traveled up my back, throughout my chest and down into my belly. His tone left no question as to what he might mean, so I decided to feed into it.

“Show me, then.”

It came out more of a challenge than I’d intended, but I liked how it sounded.

An echo of whispers met me and I realized it was laughter. Always demanding your proof.



About the Author:


Nikki Rae is the head editor of Metamorphosis Editing Services and a writer who lives in New Jersey. She is an independent author and has appeared numerously on Amazon Best Seller lists. She is the author of The Sunshine Series and concentrates on making her imaginary characters as real as possible. She writes mainly dark, scary, romantic tales, but she’ll try anything once. When she is not writing, reading, or thinking, you can find her spending time with animals, drawing in a quiet corner, or studying people. Closely.










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