Thirteen Hour Cookies

Brought to you by Sarah Ballance, Survivor of Good Deeds and Cookie Walks

Cell phone photo of Sarah's cookies

Last week someone from church called asking me to make cookies for the cookie walk. (A cookie walk, for those of you unfamiliar, is a type of bake sale.) I said sure, no problem. (Famous last words.) Then I found out I needed to make ten dozen. Now, I'm all for charity, but do you have any idea how hard it is to accomplish 120 cookies in my house? I have a husband and six children. Even when my husband is at work, I've got at least five sets of hands reaching for anything fresh from the oven, and—lucky me—my kids are generous enough to grab double for the baby.

One hundred and twenty cookies. GAH!

But the news wasn't all bad. There happened to be a recipe in my inbox that was unbelievably simple and inexpensive. I read the whole recipe just like I learned to do in elementary school (remember those worksheets with directions to read the whole thing before you begin, and at the bottom of the page is the directive not to answer any of the questions?) and, convinced, declared it "the one." Preheated the oven, made a big batch, lined them on cookie sheets.

Then read the baking time. TWO HOURS! For one batch! I realize this may come as a surprise to you considering the size of my brood, but I do not have a commercial kitchen; my oven has its limitations. I lost track of how many batches I made, but I spent ELEVEN HOURS baking cookies, y'all. (This includes the batch I forgot to put peppermint extract in, rendering them useless.) But it doesn't end there! After losing a day of my life to these cookies, I wasn't even finished. They needed to be garnished with a ganache, and by 9:00pm I wasn't in a ganaching mood. I decided it could wait until morning.

HA!

Did I learn a lesson with my eleven hour cookie debacle? No, I did not. The next morning, I noticed the ganache required two hours of pampering before it was ready. I believe this was the (second) point at which I started firing off some unprintable e-mails to a couple of friends who were kind enough to share my outrage. (Or so they typed. In reality, they were probably peeing on themselves from laughter, and if that's the case I say they richly deserve their soaking. Hmph!)

Oh, but it gets better. Two hours later, my ganache wasn't setting. If ever a batch of Christmas cookies has been cussed, ladies and gentlemen, this was it. I finally gave up and just started dipping my little peppermints in chocolate and sticking them together, and for the most part they stayed. A few slid to one side or the other, but I corrected them as I went and, last I saw them on their tray, all was well. One hundred and twenty peppermint twisty cookies with a chocolate ganache, all Christmassy and DONE.

Sort of.

The cookies were such a hit, I now need to try them in orange. And maybe raspberry. And they didn't really look like cookies, but no matter. When it came to the bake sale, there wasn't a crumb left.

Cookies or not, they totally walked.

If you enjoyed Sarah's latest release, FAMILIAR LIGHT, you might be happy to know the sequel, TIDE OF LIES, is coming soon from Noble Romance. And if you like money, you'll definitely be glad to learn you can have a chance to win it every week. How? Simply subscribe to Sarah's blog **by email** and you're automatically eligible as long as you remain a subscriber. For full details, click here.

The Timeless Desire Collection

Noble Romance's new Timeless Desire collection turns up the heat with a selection of fantastic new titles for every taste. Here's a quick look at what this exciting new line has to offer.

A DANCE WITH BOGIE AND BACALL
by KevaD (sensual romance, ghosts, spirits)

Radio DJ Scott Kincaid's first caller of the night is a lady who died forty-nine years ago. The second wants to knock his head off. And he thought falling in love would be easy.

Maureen and Frank Johnson shared the kind of romance most people believe only exists in movies. Until a ballroom fire took Maureen's life.

Franci Johnson grew up hearing her grandparents' love story a thousand times and wishes to find the kind of undying love Frank and Maureen had once upon a time.

DJ Scott Kincaid just wants the ghost following him to go away. But Maureen thinks the hunky DJ might be just the answer to her granddaughter's dreams.

A DANCE WITH BOGIE AND BACALL: BUY LINK & EXCERPT

A MINUTE AFTER MIDNIGHT
Brita Addams (erotic romance, LGBT, m/m, same sex romance)

A fateful decision haunted Logan Chalmers for years. A high school reunion brings Reid Wright back to the old hometown, but will Reid even remember Logan or has he moved on to the bright future they were to share?

Following the rejection of the man he'd loved for most of his life, Reid moved away to seek his fortune. The hurt and anger allowed him to move on, but years later, only thoughts of Logan could bring him back for the reunion – that, and timeless desire.

A MINUTE AFTER MIDNIGHT: BUY LINK & EXCERPT

AN EVENING AT THE STARLIGHT
Brita Addams (sensual romance, second chances)

John has a hard time forgiving and forgetting, and his wife Christie's tired of trying.

Doe and Royal's love story reaches through the years and gives hope to a young man who's lost hope in his relationship. An Evening at the Starlight and a tale of a once in a lifetime love that wouldn't die might be exactly what John needs to move past the hurt and cherish the love he has.

AN EVENING AT THE STARLIGHT: BUY LINK & EXCERPT

ANCIENT MAGIC
J.S. Wayne (erotic romance, magic)

More than two decades have passed since the Hodans invaded the peaceful kingdom of Jurav. In their zeal for conquest, they have mercilessly rent the Juravian national character asunder, starting with the temples of their gods.

Varath's uncle raised him to one day assume his father's mantle—command warden of the Temple of Noradi, the most beloved goddess of the Juravian pantheon and the deity of heart, hearth, and the fires which burn in both.

Melody would have been High Priestess to Noradi, and her own family has groomed her with equal care against the day when the Hodan hordes will be expelled and she can assume her rightful place as the most powerful figure in the entire nation . . . and as Varath's bride.

When Varath departed to serve in the Hodan army, Melody saw it as an unconscionable betrayal. Now Varath has returned to take his father's place as the sole guardian of a temple where no one dares enter, and he has made overtures to claim the other half of his bequest: Melody herself. But can Melody see past the deceptions and lies his rebellion has forced and learn to love the man who seems to have turned his back on his own people?

ANCIENT MAGIC: BUY LINK & EXCERPT

DESIRE DAMNED
KevaD (erotic romance, m/m, military, same sex romance)

Satan wants the warrior Taka to bow before him. But Taka bows to no one except his gentle lover Har.

For thousands of years the two men have been doomed to a life of torment. While one walks the earth, the other suffers under the devil's lash. Their only respite is an occasional night; a random, beautiful, love-filled night, knowing that with the dawn one of them must die in battle and return to Satan's wrath.

On the war-torn fields of Gettysburg, the two lovers are reunited once again. But this time something beyond Hell's reach has happened. Something so wondrous, Satan may finally get his wish.

DESIRE DAMNED: BUY LINK & EXCERPT

FAMILIAR LIGHT
Sarah Ballance (sensual romance, second chances, thriller)

Seven years of longing comes down to just one night.

Laney Kent returns to Barrier Shoals hoping to reunite with her first love, Bridger. She anticipates his reception might be chilly, but what she doesn't expect is to become the victim of a deadly obsession … or that this night with Bridger could be her last.

Bridger Jansen tangled a lot of sheets trying to forget about Laney, but his heart knew what the rest of him refused to admit: he could love no one else. He's determined not to forgive her for leaving him without explanation, but when he fails to protect her from a viscous attack, the person he can't forgive just might be himself.

FAMILIAR LIGHT: BUY LINK & EXCERPT

IMMORTAL
Bryl R. Tyne (erotic romance, LGBT, m/m, same sex relationships)

Found abandoned as a child and taken in by the Nevsky clan, the man Ivis now feels the call of the water, the sea, but Sefton and his family, one of the most influential vampire bloodlines in Russia, isn't about to let Ivis go. As Ivis' powers grow stronger—powers unknown to him—Sefton's instructed to detain Ivis at all costs to tilt in his clan's favor the balance of power in an endless struggle between the Bogdanov water gods and Nevsky vampires. Sefton's left with a choice: power or love. Which is the greater desire?

IMMORTAL: BUY LINK & EXCERPT

LOVE THROUGH TIME
Lucy Felthouse (erotic romance, ghosts, spirits)

Westbury Manor is a stately home with a fascinating past, and when book conservator Emily Stone starts uncovering it, she's startled by what she finds . . . .

Emily arrives at Westbury Manor with a job to do. She's to clean and conserve all of the books in their impressive library, preserving them for future generations. Not long into her stay at the house, she bumps into the night guard, George. She'd expected an old, balding guy with a comb over, so the hunky chap she actually meets is a very pleasant surprise. The introductions complete, George leaves Emily in peace to get on with her job. But when a falling photograph sets off a chain reaction of ghostly events, Emily and George are thrown together in order to find out who—or what—is causing them. Their investigation uncovers a tragic past, a lost love, and a stunning secret.

LOVE THROUGH TIME: BUY LINK & EXCERPT

SAVIOR
Jess Anastasi (sensual romance, angels/demons)

Cadmiel, the Angel of Destiny, knows better than anyone does what a bitch fate can be. Five hundred years ago, the only woman he ever loved was killed, shredding his soul and leaving a void in place of his heart. Now Archangel Michael comes to him with a shocking and forbidden proposal. He wants Cadmiel to travel back in time and save Emilyn. Though Cadmiel wishes beyond all reasoning to do as the archangel asks, messing with time goes against his own beliefs and the very foundations of angel lore. But Michael doesn't give Cadmiel a choice and thrusts him through time and space, back to 2012.

The first time Emilyn saw the gorgeous man, she was affected on a level she couldn't comprehend. Cadmiel isn't like any other guy she's ever met, and he makes her wish love at first sight were true. But there are forces at work she never dreamed real. In the space of a day, she goes from normal, every-day college student, to a pawn in an apocalyptic war between angels and demons.

Emilyn's very life is in Cadmiel's hands. Will he risk the future of the entire universe to save her, or let her die and destroy himself in the process?

SAVIOR: BUY LINK & EXCERPT

TIME TO LIVE
H.C. Brown (erotic romance, BDSM, m/m, same sex relationships)

Seth Bannock is living a lie. Nothing in his life is working out. He likes women . . . he respects women . . . but when he tries to kiss a woman and she does that tongue thing, he wants to spew.

Confused by his body's reaction to the men at his gym, Seth seeks help from the only gay club he knows—Floggers. Is the man crazy? Seeking answers, the sweet, vanilla virgin marches into the BDSM club to speak to the owner Rio Knight.

Realization that he has been on the wrong team all his life comes in the form of a six-foot-seven Adonis by the name of Matt Duffey. Instantly attracted to the leather-clad alpha male, Seth must leave his old life behind and embrace his newfound sexuality.

Seth thought his life had complications before he met Matt, but nothing comes close to the rollercoaster ride in the big dom's arms.

TIME TO LIVE: BUY LINK & EXCERPT

Can't decide? Check out the whole collection by clicking here.

Posted by Sarah Ballance, who cordially invites you to subscribe to her blog for a weekly shot at a $10 gift certificate to Noble Romance. To subscribe or for full details, click here.

Noble November Blog Tour - FAQ and $25 Giveaway TODAY!

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FAMILIAR LIGHT - A Timeless Desire Novella

by Sarah Ballance

I'm not quite sure how it happened, but I have another release RIGHT around the corner and, well, shucks, isn't it pretty? In just four days, on October 17, my new romantic suspense novella FAMILIAR LIGHT will be available from Noble Romance as part of the Noble Romance Authors November Blog Tour.

Today, I'm here with a sneak peek: a blurb and ... wait for it ... an exclusive excerpt. Yup, that's right - it's not even on my website yet! (Okay, so sometimes procrastination pays, LOL. "Exclusive" has a nice right to it, no?" *Grin*) This story has been getting MAD props through my Six Sentence Sunday offerings, so check it out, wouldya?

FAMILIAR LIGHT

Seven years of longing comes down to just one night.

Laney Kent returns to Barrier Shoals hoping to reunite with her first love, Bridger. She anticipates his reception might be chilly, but what she doesn’t expect is to become the victim of a deadly obsession . . . or that this night with Bridger could be her last.

Bridger Jansen tangled a lot of sheets trying to forget about Laney, but his heart knew what the rest of him refused to admit: he could love no one else. He’s determined not to forgive her for leaving him without explanation, but when he fails to protect her from a viscous attack, the person he can’t forgive just might be himself.

EXCERPT

"Can I help you?" The gruff question trickled through the cavernous space like water leaking through pipes. He seemed to materialize from the shadows as he strode toward her, the rise of heat from the concrete floor keeping him just out of focus.

But her heart knew.

She swallowed a hard knob of regret. "Bridger?"

He couldn't have heard her—not with the way she clung to his name, as if saying it out loud would be to lose another piece of him. But his step faltered, and the recognition in that interrupted cadence brought the burn of tears to her eyes.

No regrets.

She stood, trembling, as the fifty feet between them dwindled to ten. When he was close enough for her to make out the stubble lining his jaw, his legs stopped moving, but his gaze tore over her. The impassioned glare was without direction, a harsh reflection of the hard lines edging his face. The warm brown eyes she remembered were now a bitter shade of espresso.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

The words, tense with fury, sent her backpedaling against the concrete wall. Too late, she realized she no longer knew this man. They were kids when they'd parted ways, too naïve to realize they'd never keep those breathless promises. At least she'd been that way. His tone suggested otherwise.

They were alone in the deeply shadowed belly of Barrier Shoals Light. And for the first time within those walls, Laney tasted fear.

"Was I supposed to wait for you?" he asked.

Seven years had passed since her weak-kneed promise to return to him. She didn't have an answer for that.

He took another step, boxing her against the curvature of the rock. He stood close—so close, she had to tip her head to meet his eyes.

And she summoned courage to do it.

"Was I?" he asked, his voice softer now. He leaned closer. The stifling heat morphed into sexual innuendo, his skin slick with sweat, daring her to touch.

She was one careless thought away from taking him up on that unspoken suggestion. Her fingers itched to claw through his hair, to draw him closer until the distance between them evaporated. Memories of frantically grasping for purchase against the stone wall besieged her, curling fear into boundless adrenaline. "Did you?"

Her words coaxed a slow grin from his sensual mouth. "Was I supposed to?"

Wait for me, Bridger I'll be back.

The thought came from nowhere, peeling away seven years to their last night together. He'd held her, caressed the hair from her face, and kissed every salty inch of her skin. Stay. A single word. A plea from a man who asked for nothing—and yet owned it all. Every piece of her was his.

She'd just taken too long to realize it. And those eyes . . . . They bore into her, dark with the kind of passion that made anger futile and sex magnificent.

She remembered the latter well.

"Can we talk?" she asked. Lame. But in that moment, all that mattered.

He ran his index finger along her jaw—a slow, teasing exploration he abandoned in short order to toy with a strand of her hair. Dipping his head so his lips grazed her ear, he said, "To think I have anything to say is to assume I still give a damn, Laney. And I think I left that behind a long time ago."

His words were so much at odds with his actions she failed to reconcile the two. Lack of awareness might also be blamed on the hand curling at her nape, the gentle touch drawing her against his chest. Or the heat of his mouth lingering on her flesh, following the coy path his finger trailed across her jaw. Every nuance of touch electrified her, each moment captured in a single thud of her heartbeat.

He stood so close she saw only snapshots of memories, each one triggering another landslide of emotion. His mouth closing over her skin. His fingers laced through hers. That wicked grin he wore as he held her captive with his touch, her wrists pressed overhead against the sand. The dark shadow of his profile blotting out the dance of moonlight on water, their heavy breaths intoxicated with salt air and lust . . . and a promise she failed to keep.

"If I were less of a man," he said, "I'd tell you what you wanted to hear. We'd have a good time, and then I'd walk. Let you spend the next few years wondering what the hell you did to lose me."

"Bridger—"

"But no one deserves that. Not even you." His tight smile brought hard lines to his jaw, but no trace of forgiveness. Holding fast to her gaze, he stepped away, taking twenty degrees of Fahrenheit with him.

Laney shivered. He may have put distance between them, but the narrow darkness in his eyes clutched her throat. She'd mistaken the flat, slated glare for fury, but it wasn't anger . . . it was hurt. She'd hurt him by not coming back. And that was far worse than his wrath.

"You should go."

She opened her mouth and closed it. Every reason she counted for coming back begged her to stay and stand up for what they once had, but there was one thing missing from her fight: a leg upon which to stand.

So, with nothing left to say, she went.

Now y'all KNOW it doesn't end there . . . find out what happens next in FAMILIAR LIGHT, coming Monday, October 17th!

Sarah Ballance

Noble Author Page | Website | Blog

Psst: Subscribe to my blog *by email* and you are automatically entered to win a weekly prize--winner's choice of a $10 gift certificate to Noble Romance or $5 to Amazon. YES, it's really that easy, but full details are available by clicking here.

UNFORGIVEN: New Release & Contest Announcement

News and shameless bribery from Sarah Ballance

Welcome, friends and literate people! I've got some awesome giveaway information to dish (naturally, at the END of this post) but first I want to share an exclusive excerpt from my new romantic suspense, UNFORGIVEN, which kicks off a brand new series for me here at Noble Romance. It also happens to be Noble's #3 bestseller at press time, so while I'm doing my happy dance, you can all look at this:

UNFORGIVEN | Packing Heat #1

Riley Beckett's past just came back to haunt her . . . and this time, he's got a gun.

When Gage Lawton finds his brother shot dead on his back porch, every shred of evidence points to one person: Gage's former lover, Riley. He and she didn't part ways on good terms, and he's not planning to rekindle anything now--not when he's got a revolver pointed at her head and a finger on the trigger.

A year after Riley swore she and Gage were over, he returns in a hail of gunfire. One look into those achingly familiar blue eyes and she knows how wrong she was to let him go, but now far more than their heated past stands in the way. A twist of fate puts them in the crosshairs of a killer, leaving Riley with two slim options: trust her greatest betrayer or face a murderer on her own.

EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT:

"Get on the floor, and keep your head down. Once I start this truck there's no turning back, and we're in for a rough ride."

Was there any turning back now? She almost laughed, but his serious expression wiped the thought away. Without a word, she slid to the floor and tucked her knees to her chest, hugging them close. The large opening of the shed faced the side yard, and from their position near the rear of the property they weren't far from the crest of the next hill.

If her daddy's gun was in the hands of a killer, they just might need that hill. The rifle was accurate at a distance far past the cover of the far slope.

"I hope I can still feel my way down your back path," Gage said, peering into the night. "Because I'm not going to hold this maniac's hand by using the headlights." He looked down at her and grinned. "Fortunately, I had a refresher trip this afternoon."

"Lovely. Thanks for the reminder."

He shrugged and turned the key. "How could you forget? Now, hang on."

She didn't have a chance. The instant the engine caught, the truck tore out of the shed. They took a hard right, away from the house, the suspension absorbing several rough bumps as they slid sideways over the thick, unkempt grass near the rear of the yard. From her vantage point Riley could see only the black sky outside the truck, but it wasn't hard to figure out where they were by the feel of the terrain under the tires. Old ruts on the path caused several unforgiving jolts, each one slamming her against the door and glove box with increasing intensity.

Gage didn't let up. He kept a white-knuckled grip on the wheel, and—judging from the scream of the engine—the pedal to the floor. The ride was relentless, but the angle of their ascent told her they had to be near the top of the hill. Any second now they would crest it and be out of the sights of the killer behind them—

With a horrific blast, the back window imploded. All sound seemed to fall away with the raining glass, and for a split, surreal second the world was mute. It wasn't until the truck slowed and took a sudden, thoughtless turn to the left that Riley tore her eyes from the gaping hole. The steering wheel jerked erratically, fighting the lay of the land.

Only one thing hampered the wild rotation.

With horror, she realized it was the cumbersome weight of Gage's body.

Click here to read more. (No, I insist.)

FREAKING AWESOME CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT

Now that you've read my excerpt (or skipped ahead to the contest part - seriously, you think I didn't see that? Uh huh...) I've got a killer giveaway to tell you about. Every Friday I'm giving away a gift certificate--winner's choice of $5 for Amazon or (wait for it...) $10 to Noble Romance. Want to know how to enter? All you've got to do is (1) wait out your 18th birthday, then (2) subscribe to my blog by email. I do love my Wordpress and Networked Blog followers, but I need your email address for this one. To kick things off, I gave out $20 this week, and there's another BIG prize coming.

BIG PRIZE COMING

First of all, those of you who skipped ahead to right here need to back up a paragraph. We'll wait while you read. ... ... ... Okay, all together now? Here's the deal. On Friday October 7 someone is going to win a big ol' e-gift certificate (winner to be contacted Oct 7 with the announcement to be made Oct 10). Guess how you enter? Yep, that's right. (Are my readers clever or what?) You must subscribe to my blog by email in order to win. Subscribing is easy. Just head to my blog and take a gander at the top of the sidebar on the left. Fill in that little box, and don't forget to confirm your subscription.

Well, you know. Unless you don't want a chance at some e-cash.

I'm still doing that happy dance no one in their right mind wants to see (not sober, anyway) so I'll thank you once again for putting UNFORGIVEN near the top, and I'll spare you the rest.

Want even more UNFORGIVEN? Check out the Six Sentence Sunday featured spots on my blog!