When I dreamed up the kinky little town of Bayou Gavotte, Louisiana, I assumed it had the standard kinds of fetish clubs – BDSM, vampires, and so on. That’s how it started out, anyway. Then I happened upon a book about unusual sexual practices. One of the chapters dealt with playing with food. Sometimes the play was related to sex, sometimes not—but it all involved making a mess for fun.

Oh, wow, I thought. A food-fight club! Bayou Gavotte needs one of those.

So I wrote Back to Bite You, a novella with a hero who inherits a food-fight club that he hates, and a heroine (who happens to be a hereditary vampire) who loves the place and bakes banana cream pies for the customers to play with.  (For a great banana cream pie recipe, see yesterday’s post at EmbracingRomance.)  

Back to Bite You is the prequel to the already published Bayou Gavotte series. It’s both a romance and a mystery, and today and tomorrow it’s FREE at Amazon! I would love it if you would download a copy—and let all your friends know, too.  

I have a question for you all. Since kink is a big thing nowadays, what do you think of it? Does kink liven up a story or just make it weird? Is spanking erotic? (I can see how it might be.) How about pony-riding? (Um, not to me, but some people love it.)

IS THIS LOVE...OR MURDER?

When vampire Mirabel Lane goes to Bayou Gavotte to hide out from the mobster she just dumped, the last thing she expects is to inherit a house. No, make that the second to last thing. What she really doesn’t expect is to fall for the previous owner’s gorgeous grandson.

A HUNK WITH A MISSION.

When Gerry Kingsley goes to Bayou Gavotte to check out probable gold-digger and possible murderer Mirabel Lane, the last thing he expects is to fall in love with the irresistible twenty-something vampire.

A SINISTER HISTORY UNCOVERED. 

No, what he really doesn’t expect is to unearth―once and for all―his family’s dark, convoluted past.

I’m supposed to be blogging to promote my new release (left) but I’m tired of talking about the book and posting excerpts, so today is recipe day instead: red beans and rice.

Disclaimer: I’m not from Louisiana. I’m not even from the South, but I’ve lived here for ages and have spent quite a bit of time in Louisiana, getting addicted to Louisiana food. Still, if this recipe for red beans and rice is a bit off, you now know why.

2 cups red beans. I like small red beans best, but kidney beans are fine, too. Soak them overnight or at least for several hours, then drain.

2 Andouille sausages, sliced (or more, if you like lots and lots of meat with your beans). If you don’t like too much hot pepper, you can use other kinds of sausages. (Gasp!) Once all I had in the house was one Italian sausage (a kind that contains mozzarella cheese as well as meat, spices, etc.) and one chicken and apple sausage. They worked just fine. If the sausages aren’t laced with hot pepper, you can always add Tabasco or Crystal hot sauce. Actually, you can add them regardless, but with care, because usually the Andouille sausage is quite, quite hot. Ahhhhh. I love hot pepper. :)

Veggies: 1 onion, chopped, a few stalks of celery, chopped, and 2 cloves garlic, crushed.

Optional veggies: Use at least some of these in whatever quantity appeals to you: green pepper, red pepper, and leek, all chopped. I like the red pepper because it adds color, and the leek adds a nice touch of flavor.

Herbs: Parsley and/or cilantro, chopped. Parsley is somewhat standard for this dish; cilantro is an interesting addition, but it may not appeal to everyone. I’ve seen thyme in some recipes, but I keep forgetting to try it.

2 bay leaves – but be sure to remove before serving.

Tomato sauce – ¼ to ½ cup

Salt, pepper, and Tabasco or Crystal sauce to taste.

Sauté the onion, garlic and celery. Add the sliced sausage and other chopped veggies and sauté some more. Then add the beans, tomato sauce, bay leaves, and water to cover, and cook forever. Alternatively, you can cook the beans by themselves for a while and then add them to the veggie and sausage mix. I usually add the parsley and/or cilantro about the time I put the rice on to cook.

Cook whichever rice you like according to whichever method works for you. I usually steam basmati rice the Persian way, but I also use brown rice sometimes.

Season the beans to taste and serve over rice with lots of French bread and butter. Yum!

And, since I don't have a picture of this delicious meal because as usual I forgot to get out my camera, here's the ghost cat, Pause, instead. 

Wooooooooo.....

Photo credit: Shayda
Someone who comments will win a signed copy of Sunrise in a Garden of Love & Evil. :)

The novel was to be a stand-alone and nothing more.

Bargain with Lucifer was the story of Lucifer Deveraux, handsome, spoiled, and willing to marry a stranger to inherit a multi-million dollar Trust only to have his scheme ironically backfire when he falls in love with his pretend wife. When he takes Julie too his Louisiana home, San Souci, all Hell breaks loose as his ex-girlfriend, Clarice, now married to his brother Michel, once again begins a campaign to win him back. The story ends with Clarice attempting to kill Luc and ending up accidentally killing herself, sending Luc back to Dallas and into psychoanalysis to determine how much of the tragedy was his fault and how much just plain bad luck.

After completing the story, I showed Bargain with Lucifer to my cousin, also a writer. She read it, and said, “I only have one question: "What happens to Michel?" Of course, I had to write a sequel to answer her question. So…Brother Devil emerged…

Brother Devil explores Michel’s psyche and his violent relationship with Luc. All his life, Michel Deveraux has been bested by his older brother Lucifer, especially where women are concerned. Frustrated and jealous, and terribly naive, he was easy prey for a vengeful ex-girlfriend who married him to punish Luc for jilting her.

When Michel finds himself a widower at the age of twenty-eight, the shock of his newly-found freedom sends him into sexual overdrive and excesses his brother would have envied, if Luc--now recognizing his own weaknesses--wasn't seeing them repeated in his younger sibling.

The women of Orleans parish may have called Luc a devil and Michel an angel but now the angel is falling fast...

...and he’s enjoying his downward spiral to the limit!







Icy Snow Blackstone's Brother Devil will be released by Class Act Books (www.classactbooks.com) on August 15, 2010. Bargain with Lucifer was released in January, 2010. http:://www.classactbooks.com

In Icy Snow Blackstone's Bargain with Lucifer, Luc Deveraux needs a wife to gain a five million dollar Trust. Julie Richmond needs a husband to keep herself and her young daughter from poverty. When the two met accidentally in a Houston 7-Eleven, Luc thinks he's found the answer to both their problems. At first, Julie turns down his suggestion, but later, in his hotel suite, she becomes more receptive to the idea:

“It’s a pretty complicated story.” Luc began. “I’m going to skip all the background stuff, I can tell you that later.”Briefly, he looked away, as if trying to gather his thoughts. He gave her a sheepish smile. “You know, this is more difficult than I thought. I’m not certain where to begin!”


“I'd suggest the beginning, but something tells me that isn’t the right spot.”

“Non.” He hesitated a moment longer, then took a deep breath. “My brother, Michel, and I were born in Paris. We lived there until my father was killed in a racing accident.”

“Racing. Horses?”

“Automobiles. His car was struck by another one and hit a wall. He was burned to death.”

“That must have been awful for you!” Julie’s hand went over his. Once again, she quickly removed it.

He nodded slightly. “My gran'pere, Jean-Luc Deveraux, brought us to live at San Souci, his plantation in Louisiana." Luc's voice got very soft. "Three months later, my mother died. Gran’pere raised us.”

He couldn’t sit still and tell it, got up and began to pace beside the table while Julie continued to watch him.

“Gran’pere spoiled me, I admit it. Let me have everything and anything I wanted. At the same time, he was totally strict with my brother. As a result, there's always been rivalite between Michel and me. When I was twenty-four, I left San Souci but Gran’pere insisted Michel stay behind and help run the plantation.” He paused to look down at her. She’d picked up the sandwich and was nibbling on it abstractedly while he talked. “Then, I got this letter. A little belatedly, Gran’pere decided to let me know the contents of my father’s will. Papa, it seems, didn’t want me to commit the same sins he had. He established a Trust for me. I’m to get it on my thirtieth birthday, which is ten months from now.”

Julie set down the sandwich and reached for the glass of milk.

“He wrote me that there's a stipulation on the Trust. If I’m not married, settled down, and starting a family by that time, I can kiss the whole thing goodbye! It'll all revert to Michel. No way am I going to let mon petit frere get his hands on my money! So I told him--” He stopped and had the grace to looked ashamed.

“Oh no!” Julie set down the glass, looking up at him in disbelief. “You didn’t!” She didn’t wait for the affirming nod of the bronze head. “You did! You told him you were married!”

“Oui, and a year later, that we had a baby. I must have been insane.” He pulled out the chair and sat down. “Now, he wants me--all of us--to come home.”

“And you’re up the proverbial creek without a paddle.” She began to laugh. “Oh, that is good!”

“I’m glad you find this so amusant.”

“It is.” She brushed one hand over her mouth, stifling the smile that was forming. “So you want me to pretend to be your wife so you can get your money?”

“Non.”

“No?"

“I want you to marry me, Mrs. Richmond. It has to be legal. There mustn’t be any question, any way I can lose that money.”

Marry him? The smile faded from Julie’s face. I don't know about that.

"It won't be forever." Seeing the doubt on her face, Luc went on, “Just until I get the Trust. A few months later, we'll get a quiet divorce. I’ll give you a settlement that’ll keep you comfortably, and I’ll set up an account for your daughter.”

He knew by her change of expression that he’d struck the center of the target, her most vulnerable spot. Merry. The little girl had gotten to him. Luc had no desire for fatherhood and didn’t really like kids but he wanted Merry to be secure, didn’t want her mother ever to be placed in this kind of predicament again.

“How much money are we talking about?” Julie picked up the glass of milk.

“Five million dollars.”

He tried to dodge the spray of milk as Julie choked, and began to cough.

“F-five mil--oh!” She cleared her throat, and subsided into a couple of hiccoughs as Luc pulled out his handkerchief, and began to mop the drops of milk spattering the tabletop.

“I-I’m sorry,” Julie said. “It’s just that--well, it startled me a little. My God, I can’t even imagine that much money!”

There was a splash of milk on his sleeve, soaking into the dark navy wool. Luc pressed the handkerchief against the stain. “Will you help me, Mrs. Richmond?” He didn’t look at her as he said it, didn’t want to appear to be begging.

“Do I have a choice?

“But, of course." Refolding the handkerchief, he returned it to his breast pocket. “Le Bon Dieu gave us all free will. You can say non.”

“I think some of us have a lot more free will than others,” came the rueful answer, “and it begins with a dollar sign.”

“Well?Do we have a deal?” He held out his hand.

“I guess we do.” She placed her own within it.

Briefly, they sat there, smiling at each other, Luke holding her hand, shaking it slowly.

“Tell me, were you named for your grandfather? For Jean-Luc?”

“No.”

“Well?”


“Well?”

“Well--” She was waiting for an explanation.

“My father had an ironic sense of humor, Julie. He named me and my brother after les archanges.”

“Archangels? Michel--that’d be Michael, and-- Who?” For a moment, she stared at him, the blue eyes widening as she understood. “Oh, God, you mean--”

“Oui," Luc nodded. “My real name's Lucifer.”

Julie swallowed loudly and looked down at the hand still tightly holding hers.

“Does this mean I’ve just made a deal with the devil?”

“I’m afraid it does,” Luc answered.


(Bargain with Lucifer is available at Class Act Books; the sequel Brother Devil is scheduled for a May, 2010 release.)

WHAT A TANGLED WEB WE WEAVE, WHEN FIRST WE PRACTICE TO DECEIVE...

Like his namesake, the Prince of Lies, Lucifer Deveraux is a Deceiver par excellence. Learning he has to be a settled, married man by his thirtieth birthday or lose a five million dollar Trust, he invents a wife and family; for five years he's deceived his grandfather into believing this. He's fooled every woman he's ever met into thinking he doesn't care for anyone but himself. Even his brother Michel is convinced that Luc seduced and abandoned the woman Michel now calls his wife. The truth is Luc is an insecure man-child who's afraid to love anyone, because all the people he's ever cared for have suffered tragic, violent deaths, and that fact has twisted him from a gentle, loving boy into a selfish, hell-bent womanizer.

Now, he's back at his grandfather's Louisiana plantation--with a woman who married him simply so he can get his inheritance. He'll divorce her as soon as the money's in the bank, giving her a tidy little settlement. The only trouble is...he's falling in love with his pseudo-wife, so much so that they're going to have a baby...and he wants both of them, as well as Julie's little daughter, to stay in his life.

There are several obstacles to Luc's happiness, some so dangerous the shaky sham marriage, desperately trying to transform itself into a real one, may not survive. One is Luc's inability to say those simple words, I love you, Julie. His brother has formed a strong emotional attachment to Julie and her daughter. The third is much more of a threat. Luc's former girlfriend Clarice is now Michel's wife, a fact both brothers have long since come to regret. Clarice never forgave Luc for jilting her, and now that he's back at San Souci Plantation, she's determined to win back the one man who dared to walk out on her. No one, including a pregnant wife, had better get in her way, because Clarice will stop at nothing--not even murder--to get what she wants.

Bargain with Lucifer is Icy Snow Blackstone's sixth novel. It was released today by Class Act Books. It is a contemporary romance, set in the bayous of Creole Louisiana. The sequel, Brother Devil, continuing the story and focusing on brother Michel, is scheduled for a May, 2010, publication.