It's Mardi Gras in the Big Easy and two boats have sunk in the main channel of the Mississippi River, denying river passage both in and out of New Orleans. When NOPD homicide detective Tony Nicosia's partner is stabbed during a Carnival parade, the Chief assigns him a new partner with the unlikely name of Marlon Bando. To make matters worse, Tony's wife Lil is demanding that he retire; a woman named Venus who is half his age is making a serious play for him; and a killer is on the loose. Wyatt has problems of his own: his ex-wife's wake; a new client that wants proof that he isn't a passeblanc; beautiful twin sisters named Desire and Dauphine; and a voodoo curse likely cast by Marie Laveau herself. City of Spirits, Eric Wilder’s newest full-length novel, coming soon. Get ready for a ride!

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How to Buy eBooks from an Indie Bookstore - GalleyCat.

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Apple eBook Announcement Rumored This Month - GalleyCat.

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It was windy and 72 degrees today in Edmond, Oklahoma. What a way to end the year that included drought, the hottest year in history, and a big earthquake (well, at least for Oklahoma). We survived because, like the rest of the United States, Oklahoma is tough and resilient. Hey, and the Iraq War is finally over! Amen.

Happy New Year!

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Free App Adds Explosions to Your Book Trailer - GalleyCat.

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Top 25 List: Beth's Favorite Reads of 2011 on AbeBooks.

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Sell Your Writing for a Tweet - GalleyCat.

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   The ghost of a little girl, Confederate gold, and romance in antebellum east Texas. Read Ghost of a Chance (ebook) for 99 cents, only online at Barnes & Noble. Check it out.

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   Murder, lust and voodoo in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Read the ebook Big Easy, now for 99 cents on Smashwords and Amazon. The sequel, City of Spirits, is coming soon.

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How to Make Your Writing More Visible Online - GalleyCat.

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   Just received this pic from a friend in Kansas, along with the note below. Yes, the big cats are moving south.

Email post: Evening tour roughneck on Duke Rig 7 claims this picture came from his cousin’s trail camera near Lewis , Kansas . That is the tri pod deer feeder in the background. Don’t know the validity of the story but it’s a great shot nun the less. Fish and Game won’t know doubt tell us there are no big cats in Kansas !

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Kindle Fire Ranks as Top IPad Challenger: IHS - Bloomberg.

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Put the Muppets in Your Book Video - GalleyCat.

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   Big Billy was a Texas oilman and restauranteur in Dallas. BBLTC is a collection of his Texas recipes and a few stories about the eccentric wildcatter. Download it for free at Smashwords.com. Happy Thanksgiving.

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The Mercedes SLK 55 AMG on Route 66: Road of Hope - Classic Driver - MAGAZINE - features.

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Rundown shacks part of native culture - KFOR.

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GRAPHIC: Mountain lion found hit by car - KFOR.

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Yup! Like I been saying.

Worried (as we all should be) about the plight of honeybees, my Louisiana buddy David Beatty offers a solution:

      This time of the year honey bees are looking to stock up on 'sugar' to help them to survive over the winter.  I'm sure you know that we have lost so many of our honey bees that our human food crops are in danger.  Some farmers even rent bee hives to help pollinate their crops.  Having said that, it is time to feed the bees.  How to do it.

Look around your yard or apartment grounds and find a plant, with flowers, that has bees feeding.  Then set a shallow dish in the plant with 'bee food.'  As time goes by, it might take several days, the bees will start feeding on the bee food you put in the dish.  Now, you can slowly move your 'feeding station' to a more convenient location so you can keep it supplied with bee food.  I like to move mine to my front porch.  There, it is out of the winter weather and easy for me to keep supplied with bee food.

Now, to make bee food.  Place equal parts of sugar and water, 1 cup to 1 cup of water, in a pot and boil for about 1 minute.  This will drive off all the nasty stuff your water company puts in your water to make it 'healthy' for you to drink.  The bees will love it.  I put in a little red food coloring to help attract the bees.

If this works for you as it has worked for me, be prepared to use up to 10# of sugar a week because these little suckers can suck up the sugar water.  Pictures attached.  It is a lot of fun to watch them, they will not sting and will let you watch them and get very close to their feeding.

Enjoy and let me know if you try this, the bees and our food source will thank you.

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Flavorwire » 10 Utterly Terrifying Books for Your Hallowe’en Reading.

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My friend Dave Beatty, from Livingston, Louisiana, sent me this story and pics from his yard. Enjoy:

            The flowers are Confederate roses.  Some people might be led to believe that the Confederate rose is a rose that is native to the South. It is, in fact, a hibiscus that hails from China.

One story relates that the Confederate rose was in bloom during a particularly bloody battle of the Civil War. A slain soldier fell beside a Confederate rose, and his blood spilled into the ground at the base of shrub. The flowers, which had started out white in the morning, absorbed the slain soldier's blood throughout the day, so that by evening they had turned a deep, rosy red.

That sort of story makes for interesting reading, but the flowers do, indeed, live up to the specific epithet, "mutabilis," which means "variable or changeable." All are large and showy and look somewhat like a large, delicate rose. Some are single, and many are double. On some specimens, the flowers that open early in the morning are snowy white, but by evening they have turned to deep rose.

On the second day, they wither and fall from the shrub. On other shrubs, the opening blossom may be pink, turning to white or even a darker pink as it ages. Either way, many buds are waiting for their day in the sun. At any time, as many as three different colors may show at one time as the flowers fade or darken to their various hues. On some single-flowered specimens, flowers are red and remain so for the duration of their bloom. Some are pink and gradually turn a darker shade of pink as they age.

And the fox, well it is just a fox that is eating corn I put out for deer, turkey and birds.  Yes, some foxes do eat corn.  I guess they started eating corn when they couldn't catch any chickens in the hen house.

I hope you enjoy these little trips through David's yard.

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Cook Me Something, Mister - Louisiana Life - January-February 2011 - New Orleans, LA.

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   Though born in Oklahoma, my wife Marilyn spent much of her childhood in Gurdon, Arkansas. Her dad logged while her mother took care of their six children. Like many families in the south at the time, they had help from a black woman—for an enjoyable read, check out The Help by Kathryn Stockett—that spent much of her time at their house.

A railroad track winds through the little town, and for years, the locals have reported seeing strange lights on the tracks. One late October night, Hattie, encouraged by sisters Sharon Ann and Marilyn, and a shot or two of their dad’s bourbon, told them the real story behind the Gurdon Lights. The Gurdon Curse, as told to me by Marilyn, is her recollection of exactly how Hattie told it to her and Sharon Ann on that spooky night, so many years ago in southwest Arkansas.

The ghost story, just in time to give you a few chills for Halloween, is free in ebook format at Smashwords.com and Barnes & Noble. I hope you’ll check it out.

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Most Famous PG Underwear Scenes in Cinema | Screenwriting for Hollywood.

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   Mama makes a breakfast muffin that is sticky, gooey and totally decadent. She rarely cooks them except in the morning, so mostly only her family and closest friends have had the pleasure of trying them. Since each muffin contains probably a million calories, this is likely a goodly thing. If you ever eat one, you may get permanently hooked. On the addiction scale from one to ten, these muffins are a ten. Enjoy, but try not to eat the whole pan.

Ingredients

·         ½ c sugar

·         1/3 c butter

·         1 egg

·         1 ½ c flour, sifted

·         1 ½ t baking powder

·         ¼ t salt

·         ¼ t nutmeg

·         ½ c milk

·         6 T butter, melted

·         1 t cinnamon

·         ½ c sugar

Directions

Cream ½ c sugar and 1/3 c butter, and then add the egg. Sift dry ingredients, except cinnamon and the second ½ c sugar. Stir in milk and creamed mixture. Fill 12 muffin holders and bake in 350° oven for 20 to 25 minutes. When muffins are done, dip in the melted butter, and then in the sugar and cinnamon. Serve the muffins warm and make an effort not to eat more than one before you leave the kitchen.

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Mom who sold $31 in pot seeks reduction to 12-year sentence | Tulsa World.

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   Mama has a potion or spell for just about anything, and also has an enormous sweet tooth.  She grows many of the ingredients for her potions in her lush backyard. Even though her blackberry bush requires little attention, she watches it like a hawk until the delicious berries are harvested. Once they are, her friends are usually the lucky recipients of this delicious dessert. Try it and enjoy.

Ingredients

·         3 pts blackberries

·         ¼ c water

·         1 c sugar

·         1 ½ t butter

·         2 c flour

·         3 t sugar

·         1 t salt

·         1 egg

·         3 ½ t baking powder

·         Milk

Directions

Combine blackberries, water, sugar and butter. Let mixture sit. Sift flour, sugar, salt and baking powder into bowl. Add egg and mix well. Add enough milk to make batter stiff. Bring blackberry mixture to a boil. Drop batter, a spoonful at a time, into boiling mixture. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes.  Mama serves her dumplings with whipped cream, but vanilla ice cream is also good.

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Facebook to Introduce a ‘Read’ Button - GalleyCat.

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The mirliton is an aggressively-growing vegetable that thrives in south Louisiana, and dominates Mama’s backyard. An itinerant cheapskate, the voodoo mambo can’t stand to see a single plant go to waste, and compensates by creating many mirliton recipes. Here is one of her favorites.

Ingredients

·         4 tomatoes, finely chopped

·         2 mirlitons, finely chopped

·         1 green chili pepper, deseeded, and finely chopped

·         1 onion, finely chopped

·         1 ½ cups flour

·         ½ bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped

·         ½ bunch fresh mint, finely chopped

·         Salt and pepper to taste

·         Vegetable oil

Directions

Combine all ingredients, except flour, in a bowl. Add enough flour to make a thick batter. In a frying pan, heat oil until hot. Drop the batter, by spoonfuls, into the oil, and fry until browned. Turn once to brown on both sides. Remove fritters with a slotted spoon and drain on absorbent paper towels. Enjoy.

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Route 66 Pet Adopt-a-thon hits Amarillo : News : ConnectAmarillo.com.

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Facebook Marketing App For Writers & Publishers - GalleyCat.

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