Give (or Get) a Blue Springs Mystery Author for Christmas this Year for only $9.99
(offer good Nov. 18 - Dec. 31, 2008)

 
Jeffrey Leever’s mystery thrillers Dark Friday and Even in Darkness are available in our new books section at a special holiday sale price of $9.99 each. Both books are trade paperbacks (larger than a mass market paperback and easier to read) and normally retail for $14.95 each. Through a special, limited-time arrangement with the author, Parkside Books is able to offer the discounted price of $9.99 through the end of the year. Even better – each copy on our shelves is signed by the author!

Few booksellers, even those online, can offer these books at a price this low this holiday season – much less signed copies. Take advantage of this special sale before the year ends. Jeffrey (www.jeffreyleever.com) lives in Blue Springs and his novels are great stories for both adult and young adult mystery/suspense readers. (We reviewed his most-recent book, Dark Friday, in our June newsletter.) Autographed books make great gifts and even fit in most Christmas stockings.

This Month’s Spotlight

By Beth King

Sleighride by C.J. Winters

 

What could be more pleasant on a December day than a sleigh ride through the Vermont countryside?  The horse is frisky, the sun is bright on the snow, and the company is agreeable.  In this romantic adventure C.J. Winters sends her likeable characters into the past, via a sudden snowstorm and a conniving horse. 

 

Why were Kama and Rey, lawyers in the same law firm, chosen for the fateful visit to a country tavern in 1811.  The mystery deepens when they are drawn inexplicably to two of the people closely connected with the tavern.

 

I enjoyed the twists and turns of the story.  Just as I thought I had a handle on where the characters were going, Ms. Winters through in a curve that sent me off into a new direction.  All of the threads in the story are neatly knitted into a warm story that left me contemplating my own ties to the past and wondering what it would be like to go back into history to investigate.

 

This is a great read for a cozy winter evening.  

 

                                 Coming in January

 

 

Book Signing Event, January 17, Noon to 3:00 p.m.

Science Fiction Authors

  M. C. Chambers, David Schibi, and Eric T. Reynolds.

 

 

What are the Holidays without a cookie or two?  Here’s one of my favorites.  These little cookies can be crunchy or soft. I like them a little soft. The recipe makes lots and lots of the little critters and you will have plenty on hand to serve with a spot of tea or cup of coffee. They add just that touch of sweetness.

Peppernuts

2 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup shortening or margarine
2 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 1 tablespoon boiling water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon anise flavoring
5 to 6 cups flour or enough to make a stiff dough


Cream together sugar, corn syrup, sour cream, and shortening or margerine. Add egg yolks, salt, baking soda, vanilla extract, all spice, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and anise flavoring. Mix well. Add flour. Mix thoroughly and chill overnight. Roll pieces of dough into snakelike rolls about 3/8 inch thick. Cut each roll into small nutlike pieces. Can be rolled into small "dime size" balls. Bake in 350-degree oven about 6 minutes. These will be dry and crunchy like nuts. If you make the pieces a bit larger they will flatten out and remain soft in the middle. Store in airtight containers.


Happy crunching...

 

Beth and Marilyn