Please welcome guest blogger and author Valerie Comer.
Valerie writes: My novella, “Topaz Treasure,” is the first one in Rainbow’s End a 4-in-1 contemporary romance collection just out on May first. In the second chapter, my heroine, Lyssa, walks in the condo door full of news for her roommate, who’s cooking dinner. It was a lot of fun dropping the bombshell in the middle of Jeannie’s routine and watching asparagus land all over the floor when the spatula went flying! While you could guess most of the recipe from the novella scene, here’s the whole thing, right in the midst of asparagus season! I hope you enjoy it.
Place in large skillet or wok over medium-high heat:
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1.5 pound fresh asparagus*, ends snapped off
- 1/2 red pepper, sliced
Stir to coat, then add:
- 2 cloves garlic, grated or minced
- 2 tablespoons chicken broth
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Saute until beans are cooked through.
Add:
Dash of lemon juice
*Green beans may be substituted for asparagus
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Valerie Comer’s life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for stories of contemporary inspirational romance. Like many of her characters, Valerie grows much of her own food and is active in the local food movement as well as her church. She only hopes her imaginary friends enjoy their happily ever afters as much as she does hers, gardening and geocaching with her husband, adult kids, and adorable granddaughters. Check out her website and blog at http://valeriecomer.com.
Rainbow’s End (4-in-1 collection releasing from Barbour, May 1, 2012):
Join a geocaching adventure in the spectacular Lake of the Ozarks wilderness. Will four young women find the treasure they’re looking for … or something else entirely?
“Topaz Treasure” (first novella in Rainbow’s End) by Valerie Comer
Closet believer Lyssa Quinn steps out of her comfort zone to help coordinate the Rainbow’s End geocaching hunt her church is using as an outreach event. She’s not expecting her former humanities prof–young, handsome, anti-Christian Kirk Kennedy–to be at the Lake of the Ozarks at all, let along in a position to provide sponsorship to the treasure hunt. How can she trust someone who once shredded her best friend’s faith?
My novella, “Topaz Treasure,” is the first story in a 4-in-1 collection called Rainbow’s End written with Annalisa Daughety, Cara Putman, and Nicole O’Dell (Barbour, May 2012). Rainbow’s End is set around the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, with all the characters participating in a geocaching challenge set up as a church outreach event.
“Topaz Treasure” is the story of Lyssa Quinn, who’s the volunteer coordinator for the challenge. She’s shy about sharing her faith, and hopes canvassing businesses for sponsorship will help get her out of her shell. But at the very first business she walks into, a soon-to-open electronics store, she encounters her former college professor–young, handsome, and decidedly anti-Christian Kirk Kennedy. To her surprise, he’s interested in the geocaching hunt and, apparently, in her. How can she trust someone who once shredded her best friend’s faith?
Buy Rainbow’s End: (site includes links to 7 different stores/versions)
http://valeriecomer.com/rainbows-end/
Connect at:
- Website: http://valeriecomer.com
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/valeriecomer.author
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/valeriecomer
- Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/valeriecomer
- Blog: http://valeriecomer.com/blog
- Blog: http://romancingamerica.com
