Blog

What’s a great way to ring in the new year?  How about an official unveiling of the cover for Guardians of the Chosen?Stay tuned for an announcement when the next book will be available on Amazon!

Happy New Year!!

Here we are, the first week of December and the countdown to Christmas is well underway.  Between Black Friday, Black Friday Weekend, Cyber Monday which somehow transformed into Cyber Monday Week, merchants everywhere are providing as many opportunities as possible to help you with your holiday shopping.

While I was reviewing my Christmas list earlier today (yes, I realize that means I was checking it twice), I wanted to make sure that I had the appropriate gift matched to its respective recipient.  The last thing I wanted was for someone to receive a gift they wouldn’t appreciate.

Then I found myself thinking about Tori and Piper and the gifts God gave to each of them.  In the beginning, neither of them knew how to fully appreciate their gifts and instead of being thankful and sharing them with those around them, they tried to hide them.

Tori’s gift of second sight enabled her to find the spirit of her sister Aubrey, which is giving Tori, her sister and her parents the opportunity to be a family again.  It’s also allowing Tori to be both the voice and the source of peace for the spirits of the victims who would otherwise remain unheard.  Once she realized how many people she could help and not to be afraid, she learned to embrace her gift and share it with others.

And when we were introduced to Piper, we saw that she had a very colorful personality – but we had no idea she was hiding a secret as to just how colorful she really was!  It wasn’t until she saw Tori in danger that we discovered Piper can see auras and knows if someone is evil without even speaking to them!  Wouldn’t that be a nifty gift to have?  Like Tori, Piper learned that sharing her gift with those who appreciated it, made her feel more thankful to have it.

So, taking a cue from my two favorite girls, my goal this Christmas is to think about the gifts God has given to me, find ways to honor Him, be thankful and share them with others.

Merry Christmas!

If you read my July 12th blog entitled, ‘Bacon LOVES Bourbon (Yes, it really does)’, you may recall my comment about an experiment I was trying by dedicating a portion of my herb garden to a few scorpion and golden habanero pepper plants that I started from seed back in February.

After I planted the little seedlings in my garden and I saw how well the plants were growing, I decided to add a couple jalapeño seedlings to the mix as well.  Needless to say, as you can see from the picture, my experiment was a fortuitous success!

So in honor of our lovely Tori and her passion for spicy, hot food, I dedicated this past Sunday as ‘Cooking Therapy Day’ and set the house on culinary fire.  By the time the dust settled and I finally surrendered, the fridge was fully stocked with ‘Scorpion Pepper Salsa’, ‘Sting of the Scorpion Tail Chili’, ‘Jalapeño & Parmesan Dressing’ and last but not least, a sweet and spicy batch of ‘Golden Habenero, Bourbon and Pear Jam’.  All of which got a hearty two thumbs up from my family – and a plea for a glass of milk to extinguish the fire!

And for my faithful readers and fellow foodies, as a sneak peek into book three, there will be a night when Ben officially debuts the ‘Sting of the Scorpion Tail Chili’ which of course means, the recipe will be in the back of the book for you too!

I promise it will be worth the wait.

I can almost hear the chiding sound of my mothers voice, thinking back to when I was a kid when it was more fun to play with my food than to eat it.  After all, when your mom takes perfectly delicious mashed potatoes and then ruins them by adding fresh chopped parsley because, “it’s good for your colon,” what kid would really want to eat that?

Fortunately, as I’ve gotten older, my palate has become more evolved.  I now love mashed potatoes; I have come to appreciate the fresh clean taste of parsley (just still not combined together – I do have my limits), and I still love to play with my food.

In my spare time, when I’m not spending time with my family or writing my novels, I’m more than likely in the kitchen cooking, or somewhere nearby, thinking about cooking.  Bottom line, I’m a big foodie.  I love to try out new recipes and new foods from different cultures – short of eating bugs or anything gross like that.

I have learned a few culinary lessons along the way of course, for example one time when I was in Scotland.  I was enjoying this wonderful little pub and its great atmosphere, when our very friendly, ruddy-cheeked waitress suggested we try their special of the day called ‘Haggis and Neeps.’  Being in a foreign country and wanting to try their local cuisine, I thought, sure, why not?

A short while after we’d been served our food, our waitress came by to ask how I liked the special and I had to admit, I wasn’t sure.   So, I curiously asked, “Well, it’s certainly something I haven’t had before!  What exactly is this?”

If you’ve seen the movie ‘Brave,’ try to hear the waitresses reply in the beautiful brogue of a Scottish accent, “Neeps are a Scottish turnip and potato dish that have been boiled and mashed. Aren’t they delicious?  Oh, and the Haggis is a savory pudding of sheep’s innards, vegetables and spices, stuffed into a lamb’s stomach and simmered for hours in a rich, flavorful broth.”   Gulp – really?  She couldn’t have led with that whole sheep’s innards thing?

Needless to say, it was a lesson learned and a very good lesson learned.  It taught me not to be afraid of taking chances when trying new foods, however do take the time to ask if you’re not sure!

So, for those of you who have been asking me about the food dishes I incorporate into my writing as well as the recipes I include in the back of my books, yes, all of the recipes I reference are tested and ‘Vicki approved’.  In fact, several of them are among my favorites that I cook at home all the time.  If you haven’t tried the cedar plank grilled salmon and wild mushroom risotto yet, I would seriously consider trying it this weekend.  It’s delicious!  (The recipes are on my ‘Featured Recipes’ link by the way…hint, hint).

And for the rest of you who are curious about what will be in book three?  Let’s just say, I’m about half-way through the book now and Tori and Ben just had a delicious dinner by the fire with a rich, savory dish that cooks in the crockpot all day and literally falls off the bone when you scoop it up. I made the dish at home last weekend and my family loved it!  You will too!

So, get off the couch, get into the kitchen and PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD!!

The ancient Greek aphorism, “Know Thyself” by Socrates, was based upon the belief that the unexamined life was not worth living.  He challenged other philosophers of his time to achieve self-knowledge before knowing anything else.

Unfortunately, some people today seem to take that challenge far too literally and use it as their platform to over inflate their own sense of themselves, instead of considering the possibility that the true interpretation to know thyself should be more focused on how those around us see us.  It’s like a mental blind spot and in all honesty, don’t we all have one?

In chapter two of ‘The Enlightenment,’ Tori and Ben, now cadets at the FBI academy, are fully immersed in the rigorous training program and are discovering how challenging it is to conform to the rules and restrictions of what it takes to be an FBI agent.

While Tori wrestles with that inner turmoil, she continues to discover new things about her recently acquired gift of second sight, including dreams of temptation and the purest darkness she has ever felt.  Those waking images leave Tori feeling isolated and conflicted – wondering, “Am I really strong enough to do this?  Is it because I’m the only one left in the lineage of Ramiel and there’s no other choice but me?  Is there evil inside me, is that why I keep having these dreams?  Do I really know myself at all?”

What about you?  Do you ‘know thyself’?

Do you think anyone really does?