FREE: A Cup of Cozy--Short Mysteries from the Authors of Cozy Mystery Magazine

A Cup of Cozy is available for free on Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/377046

And the Winner is. . .

We took the comments you left and results from the poll and the winner is. . . 

The one change you will see is a suggestion made in comments by someone who asked that the background be toned down behind the title and subtitle. I figured out how to do that using Pixelator for Mac and, boom! Here ya go!

Thanks for participating in this selection process. It was great fun! We'll announce the release of the ebook soon. . . Very soon. . .

Help Us Choose a Book Cover (Poll)------>

The holiday season is almost here, and what better way to celebrate cold days and even colder nights than by curling up with a hot drink and a good story? Yeah, we think so too! 

Some of the authors here at Cozy Mystery Magazine have decided to put together a compilation of short stories that we'll be giving away for free. Yes, FREE! But we need your help. Tell us, dear readers, which cover art appeals most to your eye, then cast your vote in the Poll (upper right corner of sidebar). Wanna leave a comment instead? Great, we'll add those votes to the final tally too! 

Happy voting!

Poll closes Sunday, November 3, 2013 at 11:59 PM.

Cover #1

Cover #2












Cover #3

Cover #4

Recipe Review: Chicken & Bacon Roll Ups

8 lasagna pasta, cooked and drained.

1 pound bacon, diced, cooked and drained, reserve 1/3 cup for topping

1 small red or yellow onion

6 cloves of garlic, crushed (I used pre-packaged minced garlic)

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

2 cups (16 ou.) Alfredo cream sauce

Filling

1 cup ricotta cheese

½ cup sour cream

6 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup parmesan

1 tablespoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons onion powder

salt and pepper (to taste, your preference)

Topping

Reserved Bacon

1/2 cup parmesan

1/2 cup mozarella (I was out, so I peeled a single string cheese to cut cals)

Add 8 pieces of lasagna pasta to a large pot of boiling water. Cook pasta 2 minutes less than the directions on the package. It will finish cooking in the oven. Drain pasta in strainer and lay pasta onto paper towels to dry off excess water.

Shred chicken breasts. Set aside.

Cut and fry bacon. Add diced onions and crushed garlic 3 minutes prior to baking being finished. Drain bacon mixture onto a plate with paper towels. (It will catch the excess fat.)

In a medium size bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, 1/2 cup parmesan and seasonings. Divide and spread the filling onto the cooked pasta evenly--a generous 4 tablespoons or so seemed enough. Add the shredded chicken onto each pasta. Sprinkle the bacon mixture on top of the chicken and cheese mixture. 

Assembly

Spread ½ cup of cream sauce on the bottom of a medium baking dish. Roll the pasta and put seam side facing down into the sauce that is in the baking dish. Cover the roll ups with the rest of the cream sauce. Top with reserved bacon, mozzarella and parmesan. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 25 to 35 minutes. Let it rest after taken out of oven for 5 to 10 minutes.

Original recipe here, with great step-by-step pictures! http://www.lovewithrecipe.com/recipe/479.html

Slow Cooker Tropical Chicken

Review: I used one pound of chicken and had leftover red onion mixture. I used this to spread on top of a london broil to marinate overnight (no pineapple, no coconut, just the red onion mixture). This steak was DEE-licious! If you reserve some of the red onion mix to top the steak in the last few minutes of grilling, it makes for great fajitas!

1 Red Onion, Chopped Roughly

1 bunch Fresh Cilantro, Leaves Only

½ cups Lime Juice

2 cloves Garlic

1 teaspoon Chili Powder

1 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Pepper

1 teaspoon Paprika

½ teaspoons Cayenne Pepper

Thai Kitchen Light Coconut Milk, about half the can, more is fine.

1 can (about 20 Oz. Size) Crushed Pineapple In 100% Juice

6 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

Combine all ingredients except the pineapple, coconut milk, and chicken in a food processor and process until chunky. Pour half of the mixture into a crockpot (I really like to use the crockpot liners—cleanup is so simple), nestle the chicken breasts into it in one layer, and pour the remainder on top. Top with the pineapple with the juice and coconut milk.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours. When it’s done, you should be able to just stir the pot and the chicken will shred automatically. Serve hot over rice, a baked sweet potato, or riced cauliflower!

http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/slow-cooker-cilantro-lime-pineapple-chicken/

SkinnyTaste Light Coconut Cupcakes

I tried this recipe from Skinnytaste.com yesterday. Gina’s recipes have never failed me and this one is no exception. These were not overly sweet (except those Cadbury eggs!) and are delicious even without the candy on top. 

White cake mix is notoriously dry, so yellow would work nicely as a replacement, though these cupcakes weren’t dry, neither were they overly moist, probably my one very minor negative. Update: I froze half this batch to thaw right before serving at Easter dinner. They thawed inside a zip-loc gallon bag and were very moist, moister than those we ate as soon as they were cool enough to frost and eat Friday night.

2 egg whites

1 cup canned light coconut milk

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 tsp coconut extract

18.25 ou. White Duncan Hines Cake Mix

Extra ingredients for decoration:

1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes

Cadbury Mini Easter Eggs or Jellybeans

Combine first four ingredients and mix well. Mix in cake mix until smooth. Pour batter into prepared cupcake tins, filling about 1/2 way up. Bake at 350 for 22 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached. Don’t over bake! Yields 24 cupcakes.

For frosting:

8 ou. cream cheese

3/4 c. powdered sugar (10X)

2 tsp coconut extract

When cupcakes are cool, frost them. On a plate, spread out the coconut and dip/roll the frosted cupcake until it is covered. Decorate with the eggs or jellybeans and sprinkle a little more coconut on top for effect.

For original recipe: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/03/skinny-coconut-cupcakes.html

12 Cozy Mysteries of Christmas Contest!

12 Cozy Mysteries of Christmas – Nancy Drew

Ever since I was a young girl, I’ve loved to read. Especially Nancy Drew and Trixie Beldon. By the time I graduated High School, I had almost a complete set of Nancy Drew mystery books, eagerly awaiting each Christmas morning to see whether I’d receive another one.

Christmas, with all its surprises, is much like a mystery to me. What’s in that package? Will they like the gift I’ve bought them? So many clues to follow. With a mystery story, the wonderful entertainment of a ‘whodunnit’ can last much longer than one day. With each turn of the page, your mind races: Will the culprit catch them before they solve the crime? Will the character be injured? What happens next?

Your heart beats along with the main character’s as you try to figure out who the guilty party is before the hero or heroine. Much like a Christmas present, you sigh when it’s over and realize what a wonderful gift you’ve received.

‘Tis the season for a great whodunnit!

If you love cozies as much as we do, then you’re in for a holiday treat! From December 12 – 23, we’re giving away one cozy mystery EVERY DAY!

So light the fireplace and grab a cup of hot cocoa, because you just may have a free cozy mystery coming your way!

HOW TO ENTER

There are two ways to enter:

1. Create a Pinboard entitled My 12 Cozies of Christmas. Fill it with 12 Spyglass Lane titles that either you want to read, or have already read and love! Be sure to use the #12CoziesofChristmas hashtag in the description of each pinned book cover. One pinboard will automatically enter you in each daily drawing!
2. Tweet about Spyglass Lane mysteries. Simply Tweet about the giveaway or one of your favorite Spyglass Lane Mysteries or authors and include the #12CoziesofChristmas hashtag along with the www.spyglasslanemysteries.com link. You may Tweet as many times as you want each day! Only Tweets sent out the day of the giveaway will be considered for that day’s drawing.

Follow us on the Spyglass Lane blog, Twitter @SpyglassMystery or Facebook for the latest info on the 12 Cozies of Christmas giveaway! Each day, we’ll reveal which Spyglass Lane cozy mystery we’ll be giving away.

GIVEAWAY INFO

1. Each day, we will reveal which Spyglass Lane mystery will be given away that day
2. A “giveaway day” runs from 12AM EST to 11:59PM EST.
3. There will be one winner per day
4. Winners will be announced the following morning
5. A Pinboard (see rules above) counts as one entry each day of the giveaway. Tweets (see rules above) only apply to the day in which they were originally Tweeted. For example, if you send 10 Tweets on Thursday the 13th, you will be entered 10 times in that day’s drawing. But those Tweets will not apply to the next day’s drawing.
6. Winners will be chosen via Randomizer.org, with Tweets and Pinboards each assigned a unique number
7. Winners will be announced via our blog, Twitter @SpyglassMystery or Facebook. Winners will be contacted via email or social media. If a winner does not hear from Spyglass Lane, they may contact us at SpyglassLaneMysteries (at) gmail (dot) com.
8. Winners will receive their prize in the form of a Smashwords coupon that they can redeem at Smashwords.com. Smashwords accommodates all ereader devices, though it may require the device to be directly connected to a computer for proper download.
9. The same person may win more than once!
10. There is no entry limit
11. Participants are expected to play nice! Inappropriate behavior (including but not limited to foul language, bullying, trolling, arguing) will not be tolerated and Spyglass Lane reserves the right to exclude such people from these and future giveaways

Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Just got back from a biz trip, so we'll pick up with our series on the dreaded rules of writing next week. 

Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken is an easy dish overall. Prep requires a little more work than usual because you need to prepare the chicken breasts by pounding them flat and toast the panko crumbs ahead of time.

2 tsp. taco seasoning mix
1/2 cup panko

2 tsp. canola oil

Add oil to skillet. Saute panko crumbs until toasted and golden. Remove from heat and toss with taco seasoning.

Preheat oven to 375.

1 egg
2 oz. reduced fat cream cheese
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (we used 2%)
1-2 jalapeño peppers, seeds and ribs removed, minced (for more heat, leave in a few seeds)
2 chicken breasts

Combine the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and jalapeños. In separate bowl, crack egg and whisk lightly

Pound chicken breast flat until they are a consistent thickness (this helps them to cook more evenly). Divide cream cheese mixture between breasts (see pic) and roll the chicken around the mixture. Use toothpicks to secure.

Dunk each breast into egg, then panko crumbs, covering completely, and place on shallow dish covered with aluminum foil sprayed lightly with oil. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until juices of chicken run clear when pierced with fork. Don't overcook or chicken will be dry.

Enjoy!

Milkcases, candy stores, little old ladies and murder? What could they possibly have in common? They’re all inhabitants of a street called Spyglass Lane in a town called Mystery.

I first moved to Mystery when I was about ten, and discovered a wonderful series of books about a girl name Nancy Drew. I loved the town of Mystery and as I grew older, I met many good friends. Agatha Christy, Arthur Conan Doyle, Dickson Carr and his alter ego, Carter Dixon. Sometimes I ventured to the outskirts of town and met strange, new friends such as Mary Stewart and Victoria Holt. At first I was a little unsure of whether or not they belonged in Mystery, but soon the whole town welcomed them.

One day a new street was constructed or whatever they do to make streets. The signpost said Spyglass Lane. Being of a curious nature, I checked it out and found just what I’d been looking for.

I’m Frances Devine and I’m an author who loves to write, among other genres, cozy mysteries. One day as I was having lunch at my local senior center, I had a call from my daughter. She gave me news that would change my life. A new cozy mystery line was being formed by a well known faith-based publishing house.

I was pre-published at the time, although I did have one historical romance proposal out there on a publisher’s desk. But the chance to write a mystery? I didn’t have to be told twice. I went home and wrote a chapter by chapter synopsis and three sample chapters over the weekend and sent it off, breathless with fear and hope. God is good. Soon, I received an email from the editor with an offer for a contract. This was the beginning of a couple of years of extreme joy as I wrote my three Miss Aggie mysteries with one of  the best editors in the world.

Sadly, the joy didn’t last forever. The new line couldn’t withstand the sinking economy. Although the first two books of my series, The Misadventures of Miss Aggie had made it to print, book three didn’t. At least not in its original form. Some of the authors in the line didn’t see their contracted books published at all.

But you simply can’t keep a good mystery writer down. Last year, we had the opportunity to be part of a new e-book venture sponsored by MacGregory Literary Agency, and since the rights to our cozies had reverted back to us, many of us jumped at the chance to see a new home for our mysteries. So Spyglass Lane Mysteries was formed. Our books are thriving in their new home and can be found on Amazon, Smashwords, and Barnes and Noble. In fact, they’ve done well enough that our fearless leaders have given the go ahead for new books.

You can find out about the books and their authors at www.spyglasslanemysteries.com with links for purchasing depending upon your type of electronic reader.

If you love mysteries with humor and romance, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. I’ve read nearly all of them and intend to grab the ones I’ve missed. Fortunately for my insatiable appetite for more cozies, most of them are priced at 99 cents and occasionally a freebie is offered. My three titles are Miss Aggie’s Gone Missing,Miss Aggie Cries Murder, and Rest in Peace, Miss Aggie.

Oh yes, besides authors and readers, we also allow editors, publishers, designers and agents on Spyglass Lane. We all get along quite nicely.

Frances Devine, author of ten published novels and three novellas, grew up in Texas, where she wrote her first story at the age of nine. She moved to Southwest Missouri more than twenty-five years ago and fell in love with the people, the hills, the fall colors, snow, and Silver Dollar City. Frances attended Ozark Technical College and Southwest Missouri State University when she was in her fifties. She is the mother of seven adult children, has fourteen wonderful grandchildren, and is eagerly awaiting her fifth great-grandchild. Frances has always loved to read and considers herself blessed to write in one of her favorite genres, cozy mysteries, of which three have been published in both print and electronic versions.