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Sherri Stewart

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE NOVEL

September Field Trip to Paris

September 2021
Let’s take a Fall field trip to Paris where cafés abound!
Sherri Stewart
Although the castles and famous sites were awesome and I completed my research for the sequel I’m writing, what I and my tired feet will remember the most are the cafés.
 
Life happens in cafés. For the price of a coffee, the table is yours for as long you want. Mostly outdoors, you’ll find them on every block, on every corner. Sometimes the chairs all face outward so patrons can people watch. The atmosphere is all French, the price is minimal, and chatter and laughter abound.
 
Stop for breakfast and have a pain au chocolat, a café au lait, and a jus d’orange. For lunch try a croque monsieur. For dinner, choices include soupe à l’oignon, pizza or steak frites. Contrary to popular belief, I found the waiters friendly and attentive.
 
 
Vanilla Crème Brûlée
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/9039-vanilla-creme-brulee
  • Yield 4 servings
  • Time 1 hour

 Ingredients

  • 2 cups heavy or light cream, or half-and-half
  • 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  • 5 egg yolks
  • ½ cup sugar, more for topping
 
  • Heat oven to 325 degrees. In a saucepan, combine cream, vanilla bean and salt and cook over low heat just until hot. Let sit for a few minutes, then discard vanilla bean. (If using vanilla extract, add it now.)
  • In a bowl, beat yolks and sugar together until light. Stir about a quarter of the cream into this mixture, then pour sugar-egg mixture into cream and stir. Pour into four 6-ounce ramekins and place ramekins in a baking dish; fill dish with boiling water halfway up the sides of the dishes. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until centers are barely set. Cool completely. Refrigerate for several hours and up to a couple of days.
  • When ready to serve, top each custard with about a teaspoon of sugar in a thin layer. Place ramekins in a broiler 2 to 3 inches from heat source. Turn on broiler. Cook until sugar melts and browns or even blackens a bit, about 5 minutes. Serve within two hours.
 
A Song for Her Enemies
https://amzn.to/3tPLjmR
She has the voice of an angel, but the devil is listening.
 
OCTOBER 12th- Hot Off the Presses, USA Today Best-selling authors’ Collection, including the suspenseful offering of Mary Alford: Dangerous Pursuits.
Crisp Days. Cold Nights. Dangerous Pursuits.
  

The chill of fall brings with it a hint of peril in Dangerous Pursuits, a clean and Christian suspense anthology featuring some of today’s most popular female authors.

Start your fall off right with 15 gripping tales of Clean and Christian suspense from today's most popular ladies of mystery and suspense. Join Mary Alford Lisa Harris, Therese Heckenkamp, Cynthia Hickey, Gina Holder, Ronie Kendig, Loree Lough, Dana R Lynn, Shirlee McCoy, Dana Mentink, J. Carol Nemeth, Cara Putman, Sharee Stover, Terri Reed, Lenora Worth, and featuring a special bonus book by author Ann Malley, as we take you on a dangerous journey filled with mystery and suspense that will keep you turning pages until the very. Last. one.

Just .99 cents until October 12th.
 
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3hBqkA3
Barnes and Noble: https://bit.ly/3hCJUvH
Apple: https://apple.co/3v1Pw6C
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3d2uDRO
Meet Mary Alford 
Mary is the USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of more than fifty novels. Her books have been finalists in the Selah Award, the Daphne du Maurier Award, and the HOLT Medallion Contest. As a writer, Mary is an avid reader. She loves to cook and can’t face the day without coffee. She and her husband live in the heart of Texas in the middle of 70 acres with two very spoiled cats and one adorable rescue dog. Mary is very active online and would love to connect with readers on Facebook and Twitter or any social platforms listed at www.maryalford.net.
 
Meet author Michael DeCamp
I’m a life-long resident of Indiana. I began my writing career by writing short stories (check out Cutters Notch Interludes), but eventually wrote my first novel, Abandon Hope, introducing the world to the strange, small town of Cutters Notch. In 2020, I published my first nonfiction work, Loving Out Loud: Learning to Love in a Hate-Filled World. I enjoy cycling, traveling, reading, and podcasting (Cutters Notch Podcast).
I’m married to my best friend, Nancy. We have two grown daughters and a ferocious miniature Australian shepherd. You can reach me through my website (www.authormichaeldecamp.com) or my email (michael@authormichaeldecamp.com).

Tell us about your Nozomi’s Battle.

Hope Spencer, still recovering from her own ordeal (Abandon Hope), is desperate when her best friends, Josh Gillis and Danny Flannery, are abducted from their beds in the middle of the night.
While Josh and Danny struggle to escape, Hope is in despair, unable to assist them the way they assisted her. She seeks the aid of her elfin friends from the Arboreal Realm where she meets Queen Agahpey Hesed, the mother of her three new, odd friends, Gavin, Gronek, and Smakal.
Meanwhile, another seemingly unrelated drama is unfolding at the Notch Inn Motel and the Robbins Stone Limestone Mine, both owned by Mabel Robbins.
Rick Anders, the new interim sheriff, is tracking down leads and juggling emergencies. Danny Flannery looks manhood square in the eyes. Josh Gillis is faced with a desperate choice. And Hope Spencer finally comes face-to-face with her disturbed father. Through it all, the evil specter laughs and slurps up the flavors of human pain in the tiny town of Cutters Notch, Indiana.
Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/Nozomis-Battle-Michael-DeCamp-ebook/dp/B08L5HSWWC
 
Tell us about where you live.
 
Indianapolis is a moderately-sized city that sits smack dab in the center of the State of Indiana. Once dubbed “India-no-place” by a prominent politician, it is anything but that. Called the “Crossroads of America” because so many interstates intersect there, Indianapolis is one cool town.
Here are some of the highlights you should experience during a visit:
Drive west on 16th Street to see the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home of the Indianapolis 500. While there, visit the IMS Museum to see the racecars from decades past to current day and get a ride around the track. If you’re really lucky, you might even meet a driver.
Downtown, you have your choices. Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts is on the south edge. Both Bankers Life Fieldhouse, where the Indiana Pacers play and Victory Field, home of the AAA Indianapolis Indians, are also nearby.
Just west of downtown is White River State Park, flanking the banks of its namesake river. There you’ll find the NCAA headquarters, the Indianapolis Zoo, and the Indiana State Museum, and the Eiteljorg Museum all along the downtown canal. The Eiteljorg is focused on Native American and Western Art.
Just to the northeast side, you’ll find Mass Ave and the brand new Bottleworks District with its boutique hotel and a myriad of shopping, dining, and entertainment venues.
Plus, don’t forget that Indianapolis has one of the premier children’s museums in the country. Look for the dinosaur attacking the building at the Indianapolis Children’s Museum.
Mike’s Big Wacky Cake Recipe
NOTE: Double the following recipe for a 9x13 cake pan
  • 1 ½ cups flour
  • 3 Tbsp. cocoa
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. white vinegar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 5 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 1 cup water
Mix dry ingredients in an 8” square pan. Make 3 holes in the mixture and put vinegar in one, vanilla in one, vegetable oil in one.
Pour water over all and mix. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes.
Our family has two preferred icing flavors for the Big Wacky Cake: Peanut Butter or Caramel. The Caramel you can buy in the icing aisle at the store, but here is my wife’s simple recipe for the peanut butter icing: Combine a jar of your favorite peanut butter with a jar of vanilla icing from the store. Mix to your taste and preferred consistency.
 
Meet Carol Nameth
A native North Carolinian, Carol always loved reading and making up stories since childhood, and she began writing in junior high school. She worked in the National Park Service and served in the US Army where she was stationed in Italy. That’s where she met the love of her life, Mark Nemeth, also an Army veteran. They’ve lived in various locations including North Yorkshire, England. They now live in West Virginia, where in their spare time, they enjoy RVing and traveling to research for Carol’s books. She also enjoys reading and crocheting. They have two grown children, a daughter-in-law, a son-in-law, and three amazing grandchildren as well as a lab fur baby named Holly. Carol is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and is an Amazon Bestselling author. She writes Christian romantic suspense, both historical and contemporary. Filled with suspense, drama, faith and romance, Carol’s stories will keep you turning pages until the very end
You can find Carol on her webpage https://www.jcarolnemeth.com/ where you can sign up for her monthly newsletter.

So what happens in Charles Town, West Virginia?

I live just outside where a lot of history has taken place. Charles Town was named after and founded by Charles Washington, the youngest brother of George Washington. There are five Washington home properties within Jefferson County, the county where Charles Town is the country seat. Happy Retreat, Charles’s home still stands and is occupied as a private residence today. Harewood Home is also a private residence and was owned by Samuel Washington, another of George’s brothers. George had a cabin near Summit Point which is now enclosed within beautiful Hillbrook Inn.
The abolitionist John Brown and his band of raiders were captured in nearby Harpers Ferry in 1859. They were tried in the Jefferson County Courthouse in Charles Town and found guilty of treason, murder and fomenting of slave insurrection. Brown and his six raiders were hung on the land where the Gibson-Todd House was later built in 1891. Charles Town was occupied by both Northern and Southern troops during the Civil War at alternating times.
The Spirit of Jefferson newspaper was first issued in 1844 in Charles Town by James W. Beller. It’s the oldest newspaper in West Virginia still being published.
The prime income in this part of West Virginia other than Civil War tourism is farming. There are apple orchards everywhere. Corn, wheat and soybean are the primary crops.
Our town has a ghost walk that’s quite popular. My daughter went on it and she says she won’t go on it again.
I highly recommend a visit to the nearby town of Harpers Ferry (7 miles away) where the National Park Service maintain and showcase historical buildings in their original Civil War state and make them available to the public. There are museums and a visitors’ center where rangers can answer questions.
This is just a small taste of our historic town. If you’re ever in the area, stop by. We’re near so many old towns and historic battlefields such as Antietam at Sharpsburg and Gettysburg which is about an hour and a half away.

Tell us about your new book, The Peaceful Valley Wounded Soldiers’ Anthology.
 
Welcome to Peaceful Valley Rehab Center where wounded soldiers come to rehabilitate. Dr. Alex Hunter, a disabled veteran himself, returns home after years away serving in the military. Turning his family inheritance into a rehabilitation center, he gives these war-weary men and women the help they need to heal. Along the way, not only does Alex find love, but love comes calling for others too. This faith-filled short story series will keep you turning pages to find out what happens next. https://amzn.to/2Kb6QRa

What food is reflective of West Virginia will whet our appetites?
Apple Butter
Apple butter is a staple food in this area and is enjoyed on toast in the morning. With all the orchards in the area, apple recipes are the thing. In the fall, semi-truck loads stacked with crates of apples can be seen headed to the warehouses.
  • 6 pounds tart cooking apples, cored and quartered (18 cups)
  • 5 cups apple cider or apple juice
  • 1 cup cider vinegar
  • 4 cups sugar
  • 2 tsps ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp ground cloves
  • ½ tsp ground allspice
 
Preparing:
In a kettle or Dutch oven combine apples, cider or juice, and vinegar. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover; simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Press through a food mill or sieve. Measure 16 cups pulp. Return pulp to kettle. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 1 ½ to 2 hours or till very thick, stirring often.
 
Water-Bath Canning:
Prepare butter a above. Spoon hot butter into hot, clean jars, leaving a ½ inch headspace. Wipe rims; adjust lids. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes for half-pints or pints (start timing when water boils). Makes 8 to 9 half-pints.

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