Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Launch Party Kick Off!

Bourbon Punch

Today we are launching our first book from Mystery and Horror, LLC. Since our authors are scattered through several countries we couldn't get together for a launch, so we're doing the party in the virtual world. For the next ten days we are going to PARTY. 
Now, in the virtual world, all party food is calorie free. So for those of you who want a little more bang, I'm going to post a few recipes that I only bring out on special occasions. 
Being from Kentucky, bourbon is a part of our heritage. This particular recipe has been handed down from my great-grandmother and is a perfect refreshment for a hot summer day. Of course, it is a ladies' recipe and for the gents you might want to leave a bottle of your favorite bourbon around so they can add a little extra kick.

Bourbon Punch

1 Quart Cherries, pitted
3 T. Rose’s Lime
1 Quart iced tea
3 T. brown sugar
1 Pint bourbon
1 1/2 Quarts ginger ale
Thin slices of lime (optional)
Ice

Soak the cherries overnight in bourbon. (If you don't have cherries, you can substitute 1/2 cup of sour cherry juice for the fruit.) Steep your favorite tea in hot water. Sweeten the tea with the brown sugar, chill for an hour, and then drain the bourbon from the cherries into a punch bowl. Add the Rose's lime juice and mix.  Add ginger ale and stir. Add ice and garnish with lime slices just before serving.

Now if you used cherries instead of taking a shortcut with cherry juice, you have a quart of bourbon drenched cherries. You could always eat them, but my great-grandmother's solution was to turn those cherries into a warm rich cherry-chocolate brownie pie. If you'd care to try a slice, here is the recipe:

Cherry-Chocolate Brownie Pie

1 cup melted butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup baking cocoa
1 quart pitted bourbon soaked cherries
1 package chocolate chips

Mix butter, sugar, and eggs until smooth. Add vanilla, salt, flour, and cocoa and stir until well blended. Stir in the chocolate chips and cherries and mix until the cherries are coated in brownie batter.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Divide the brownie batter into two buttered 9 inch pie tins and bake 25-30 minutes or until almost set. Do not overbake. Serve warm from the oven with a drizzle of chocolate syrup.

Now, don't you wish you were here to have a slice of this pie and toast the book with us?

Strangely Funny is available in print, Kindle, and other ebook formats.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Strangely Funny Stories and Authors


Yesterday I promised that I would reveal the names and story titles of all the stories selected for our first anthology. This is a lineup that is sure to leave you laughing. So here goes:


The Best of Taste 
Once Upon a Gnome 
The taste of Copper 
by Alex Azar
Indricotherium 
County Water 
by David Bernard
Something Plucked this Way Comes 
Tom & the Roadside Cafe 
by Kimberly Colley
Criticus Ex Machina 
Happy Anniversary 
by Laura Huntley
Window Watching 
by Joseph Jude
Ruby 
Deadbeat 
by John Lance
Jake Blossom, Pixie Detective 
A Proper Job for a Lad
Tommy and the Trolls 
by James McCormick
One Scareful Owner 
What were You Drinking  
by David Perlmutter
No More Blue Pills 
The Homunculus Caper  
Aunt Bessie and the 'It' 
If You Can't Trust a Rhyming Demon, Can You Trust a Demon not to Rhyme?
 by David Seigler
Turtle 
We Bring Them Back. For You! 
I Must Be Your First 
Down for the Count 
by Ted Wenskus

As you can see it is quite a cast of characters. The stories are pretty good too.  

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Counting Down to Release of Our First Anthology



On August 1st Mystery and Horror, LLC will release Strangely Funny, the first of three anthologies planned for 2013. Now we are in a wild race to release date, and have tons of work to do every day for the next month. Along with the countdown to publication there is a sense of excitement as the date approaches. We will be talking more about plans for the online release party.

Starting in August, the Mystery and Horror blog will have a new author profile each day. In conjunction with the online launch party we will be hosting on our Facebook page, Sarah and I are going to be doing a blog tour and giving away books. We may even show up on Blog Talk Radio, but more on that later. I can't tell you everything today. You wouldn't have a reason to click that like button on our Facebook page. Of course, if you just can't wait to buy a copy, visit our pre-order page and reserve one now.

Don't think that Sarah and I will be the only ones excited about our first release. Several writers in the anthology are planning their own events. Those too will be listed on Facebook, so check it out. If you want to know who those writers are, come back tomorrow and I will post a list of story titles and authors to this blog.