​Happy Thanksgiving to all who are celebrating today! I hope you're having a happy day with your loved ones. I'm watching the Thanksgiving parade this morning and then I'll be spending the holiday at my parents' house with family and lots of good food, but I wanted to pause for a minute to express how thankful I am.

For my family and friends who are so supportive and whom I love very much. I don't know what I would do without you.

For Dreamspinner Press taking a chance on a new author this year and making my dreams of being published come true.

For the authors whose books I read, for creating such wonderful worlds and characters and inviting me to get lost in them for a while.

For readers - all readers, but mine especially. Thank you for taking a chance on my books, for reading them, reviewing them, for talking about them and spreading the word. I appreciate it so much.

What are you thankful for this year?

I'm having a hard time believing that we're moving into late November - I still feel as if it's weeks earlier but I keep reminding myself that there's a reason it's gotten so chilly outside! Thanksgiving will be here soon and then the holiday season (and release day for The Artist's Masquerade in the middle of it). It's also time for another update post, I think.

The Prince's Consort has been out for over a month, and I want to thank all of you who have read it. You've made my day! The Artist's Masquerade is through the editing and proofing stages and seems on track for release next month. I don't have pre-order links yet, but as soon as I do, I'll let you know. There is an excerpt from The Artist's Masquerade up on the website. You can find it here. I'm so excited for this book and I'd love to know what you think.

I'm busy putting together blog posts for the tour I'm doing for The Artist's Masquerade next month. There will be posts, excerpts, an interview - lots of good stuff. So look out for that next month. I'm also writing the fourth Tournai book now. I haven't gotten quite as far as I would have liked because of everything else I'm working on and because the beginning of a book always goes a bit slower for me since I'm still figuring it all out, but I know it'll pick up as I go.

I haven't been reading as much as I normally do lately because of writing/editing/promo for the books, which upsets me because there are so many books I want to read. But here are a few books I've read in the last couple of months and really enjoyed:

Stygian by Santino Hassell - I read this Halloween weekend and it was absolutely perfect. The creepy atmosphere of the old southern mansion, the paranormal aspects that subtly sneak in. Loved it.

Groom of Convenience by Vicktor Alexander - Vicktor was here on the blog with the cover reveal for the second book in this series, which I'm looking forward to after reading book one. This is an intriguing Alt-historical world with engaging characters and a light, fun plot.

Tournament of Shadows by SA Meade - A historical set in a time period and location that isn't usually seen in historical romances with lots of intriguing espionage.

Chaos Station by Jenn Burke and Kelly Jensen - The first in a science fiction romance series that had me wondering why I waited so long to read it. I'm eager to read the rest of the series and find out what happens to these guys.

Only a Kiss by Mary Balogh - The latest in her Survivor's series, which I really enjoy because the characters aren't typical of historical m/f romance.

Vespertine by Leta Blake and Indra Vaughn - a second chance romance between a rock star who's a recovering addict and a priest. Such a wonderful, emotional story.

And soon I'll be thinking about holiday romances, my preferred reading material in December. What have you been reading lately?

When autumn arrives, I get excited for so many reasons, some of which I've already shared with you, but a huge one is autumn baking. I love to bake, but what I bake is often seasonal. I bake lighter treats (and less often) in the heat of summer, for instance, and in autumn much of my baking involves pumpkin. Not all of it - I like apple cinnamon muffins in the fall too, and some things, like brownies and chocolate chip cookies, defy seasons - but I do love pumpkin baked goods. I probably make pumpkin bread most often (and I'm talking maybe a loaf each week). So I thought I would share my favorite pumpkin bread recipe with you today. The original recipe comes from the Williams-Sonoma Thanksgiving Entertaining cookbook, but I don't exactly follow the recipe from the book. This is what I do:

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup white or yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup fat free plain yogurt
1 cup pumpkin puree 

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly butter a 5x9 inch loaf pan (or spray with cooking spray).

Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, combine eggs, both sugars, oil, yogurt, and pumpkin. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the dry ingredients in two batches, mixing until just blended after each. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake for about 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for about ten minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely.

The recipe is pretty simple, and the results are delicious. Plus the whole house smells amazing while the pumpkin bread is in the oven, which I adore. I love to eat the pumpkin bread warm with butter or maybe a little nutella like in the picture above (but then, nutella is pretty fabulous on anything!). It makes a lovely treat on a chilly fall day while I'm curled up with a book.

​Do you have any seasonal foods you enjoy making?

Today fellow Dreamspinner Press author Vicktor Alexander is here sharing the cover for The Servant Duchess of Whitcomb.
​

Title: The Servant Duchess Of Whitcomb
Series: (Scandalous Whispers of The Remmington Realm, 2)
Author: Vicktor Alexander
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
ISBN-13 978-1-63476-279-3
Pages 304
Genres: Historical, Interracial, Transgender/Intersex, Sci-fi/Fantasy, Romance, Regency, Military, Action, Intrigue

Buy: Dreamspinner ebook| Dreamspinner paperbook

Scandalous Whispers of the Remmington Realm: Book Two
Orley Garrick is known throughout Angland not only as the man with two dukedoms but also as the hero who survived a brutal kidnapping at the hands of Nafoleon’s army, never once betraying the secrets of His Majesty. Still haunted by his memories, Orley pushes his crippled body to dangerous limits, all in an attempt to run from the demons of his past.
 Until he meets Chester Boland, a maid in his friend’s household. Orley is besieged by desire for this gorgeous male woman, and by a connection he cannot ignore. But there are those within the Remmington Realm who take issue with the Duke’s choice—especially given Chester’s Tafrican lineage.
 Having stared death in the face and won, Orley proposes they steal away and elope. However, before they can begin their new life, they uncover dangerous secrets that go deeper than they could ever imagine—involving those they trust the most.
 Orley and Chester must discover exactly how deep these secrets run before their enemies make sure Chester is removed from Orley’s arms… forever.

Orley prided himself on being a man of honor, integrity, and character. As a matter of fact, his grandfather, Charles Edrick Garrick I, the former Duke of Whitcomb, had more than once given him lessons and lectures on the way a gentleman was to behave. Anyone can strut around and use his physical strength to try and prove his brawn. But it takes honor, patience, gentleness, character, integrity, fortitude, knowing when to fight, knowing when to walk away, knowing when to love, how to love, and when to let go, and most importantly, knowing when to use your physical strength and when to be humble, that makes you a man.
Orley had always believed those words from his grandfather, had in fact lived by those words for his entire life. He’d only strayed from them when he’d served in His Majesty’s military and on those rare occasions when he’d allowed Blaine, Heathcliff, and Quincy to talk him into traveling down into the Lower East End to partake of the wares of the light-skirts. And while his grandfather’s words usually guided him, right now he was seriously considering doing something illicit.
He couldn’t believe the images that were passing through his mind. Flashes. Quick, as if they were memories like his time spent on the battlefield rather than the salacious, hopeful yearnings of a desirous, dry, fruitless attraction. However, the longer he spent in the company of the object of his mind’s current musings, the more it seemed his “dry, fruitless attraction” was soaked in hope and possibility. And perhaps it was for that reason that rationality and his grandfather’s words of character, honor, and integrity grew softer and softer until they were suddenly silent. All he could concentrate on was how lovely Heathcliff’s maid was. How round the male woman’s derriere was. How slim his shoulders were. How graceful his neck was.
How full his lips were, and how much Orley desperately wanted to kiss them.
“I think I would really like to know your name,” he heard himself saying.
The maid’s eyes widened, and he gasped softly. “Me, Your Grace?”
Orley chuckled. “Of course you. There is no one else in the room but you and I, and I assure you that I already know my own name. Unless it has changed in the time I have been asleep. It hasn’t, has it?”
The maid giggled and covered his mouth, shaking his head. Orley found himself even more enchanted. When was the last time he’d heard someone allow themselves to be so free that they just giggled? His life was constantly surrounded by danger, drama, gossip, backstabbers, and intrigue. He had a very small group of people he could trust, and they didn’t often have the time to smile, much less giggle. Being around someone who could giggle was a relief. It was like a bright ray of sunshine. Orley absolutely had to have the maid’s name.
“No, Your Grace. Your name hasn’t changed.” The maid glanced away for a moment, as if embarrassed, and then looked back. “My name is Chester.” He executed a flawless curtsy, and Orley rose from the bed and bowed low, smiling at Chester’s gasp. He knew Chester was surprised that a member of the gentry, and a duke no less, would bow to him, but he would soon learn that Orley was unlike every other duke out there.
“It is an honor to meet you, Chester. I am extremely happy to be in your presence and very happy that you will be serving me, and now….” Orley stepped close to Chester, looking down into the young woman’s hazel brown eyes. His heart was pounding, and his leg, for the first time in years, was not throbbing in pain—perhaps that was because only one thing on his body could be throbbing at a time, and his cock already had that covered. “I would very much like to kiss you.”
“Y-you would?” Chester stammered.
Orley nodded, lifting his hand to brush his fingers against the side of Chester’s cheek.
“Is that okay, Chester? I find you to be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my entire life, and I would really like to kiss you. May I?”
“You’re asking me?” Chester looked confused. “I was told that men of your standing didn’t ask, that you just take.”
Orley shook his head, saddened by what Chester thought of men of the ton, but he knew Chester’s assumptions came as a result of dealing with “men” of a certain ilk. He would be speaking with Heathcliff about those matters later that week, but at that moment, all of his energy and attention was focused on Chester.
“Of course I am asking you. You always have a choice. Not just with me, but with every single man in the world. You do not have to do anything you don’t want to do. At least, that is the way it should be in a perfect world. So if you don’t want to kiss me, we don’t have to.” Orley would be disappointed, he would be haunted for days, perhaps a fortnight, by the fullness of Chester’s mouth, but eventually he would get over it.
Chester nibbled on his bottom lip and then grinned. “I would love for you to kiss me, Your Grace.”
Orley wanted to let out a loud yell of triumph, but he held back and lowered his lips to Chester’s full, pillow-soft mouth. He was fully expecting the surge of lust that spread through his limbs. Maybe he was even expecting the tingle that spread through his fingers and toes. However, the lightheaded feeling that drowned him in peace and yet simultaneous excitement, and the way his heart sped up, were completely unexpected. He growled and pulled Chester to him, as close as he could possibly get the woman. He felt a bit like a ravenous beast, wanting to devour Chester whole.
He lifted his lips to take a breath, opened his eyes, and gazed down into Chester’s dazed ones. Chester smiled slowly up at him. Orley grinned back, rubbing his hand up and down Chester’s back and already preparing for the next round of kissing.
So he was surprised when he went to lower his head for another kiss and was met with nothing but air and the sound of his bedroom door closing.

​

About Vicktor Alexander:

Vicktor “Vic” Alexander wrote his first story at the age of ten and hasn’t stopped writing since. He loves reading about anything and everything and is a proud member of the little known U.N. group (Undercover Nerds) because while he lives, eats, breathes, and sleeps sports, he also breathes history and science fiction and grew up a Trekkie. But don’t ask him about Dungeons & Dragons, because he has no idea how to play that game. When it comes to writing he loves everything from paranormal to contemporary to fantasy to BDSM to historical and is known not only for being the Epilogue King but also for writing stories that cross lines and boundaries that he doesn’t know are there. Vic is a proud father of two daughters one of whom watches over him from Heaven with his deceased partner Christopher. Vic is a proud trans* and gay man, and when he is not writing, he is hanging out with his friends, or being distracted by videos of John Barrowman, Scott Hoying, and Shemar Moore. Vicktor has published numerous bestselling novels and has a WIP list that makes him exhausted just thinking about. He knows that he will be still be writing about hot men falling in love with each other, long after he is living in an assisted living facility, flirting with the hot, male nurses.

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For the month of November (and wow, it's already November!), Dreamspinner Press asked their authors to share favorite holiday recipes on the DSP blog. Today, it's my turn, and I'm sharing a favorite family dessert recipe that we make every year at Christmastime. I know it might be a little early to think about the holidays (or maybe not - Thanksgiving is in a few weeks! How did that happen?), but it's never too early for delicious dessert recipes, right? Find my recipe at the DSP blog here.