Hello and Welcome!
Thank you for joining me today. The website has a whole lot of information about my books, but right now I want to get personal. Each month I hope to share some insight as to what inspires me, and what I am up to when I’m not writing.
Dear Friends,
July 4th! Holy firecrackers. If you are reading this after the holiday I hope you had a blast! 😊
The weather has been extremely hot and steamy, although that’s not new to South Carolina. It seems like it lasts longer and gets hotter more often.
I’m not going to use the word age. As far as I’m concerned it’s a three-letter word. Therefore I shall substitute it for “mature.” For those on the “mature” side of life, parts start to wear down or wear out. Not much different than a car. I have a friend who needed both hips replaced. She said the doctor told her she was “riding on her rims.” Now she has two chunks of titanium on each side. In many ways we are lucky we have those options. This week I had an option to fix my vision. I needed cataract surgery. No fun, but I am on the mend. So for any of you who have gone through it, I feel you!
I trust many of you are getting back to a more normal way of living. Let’s pray we never have to go through something like that again. Now we can actually laugh about hoarding toilet paper. Talk about counting squares!
Most of you know that I have become one of those “Cat Ladies.” I refrain from inserting the word “Crazy” but give me time. I have some fun news. Miz Boo, the three legged maniac, is going to be featured on the Chewy.com social media bulletin board. I can honestly say I love that little hooligan to the moon and back.
As far as book stuff, this month’s contest will be a signed Advance Reading Copy of my Christmas novel, Santa Cruise. The official on-sale date is October, but I wanted to offer a little Christmas in July. I am very excited about this book. It features four friends from college who meet up at a reunion and they plan the unthinkable: go on a singles cruise. Lots of madcap adventures on the high seas. But before that is published, I’m launching a new series about a brother and sister who have shops in a large art center. The first book is called Hidden and will be out in September. It’s splashed with mystery, suspense, a bit of woo-woo, and of course romance. It has a very interesting cast of unique characters I hope you will grow to love.
That’s my news for now. Be safe, be kind, stay cool, and have fun.
All the best,
Fern
P.S. I LOVE bacon. I make a salad with a pound of bacon but I’ll share that recipe another time. With summer Bar-B-Ques I thought you might try a different take on potato salad. You have to turn on the stove for that one, but the dessert recipe I included is No Bake!
German Potato Salad
- 5 slices bacon (diced and cooked until crisp)
- 2 tablespoons bacon drippings
- 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon prepared mustard
- 1/2 cup cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 4 cups sliced cooked potatoes – look for thin skinned like red or fingerling
- Boil already-sliced potatoes until they are cooked through. Set aside.
- Cook the bacon and keep the drippings. Set it aside to cool.
- Heat bacon drippings in a pan large enough to add the potatoes.
- Blend in flour, sugar, salt, and mustard.
- Slowly add vinegar and water, stir until smooth.
- Continue cooking over low heat, until thickened.
- Add potatoes and heat through, slowly add crumbled bacon-save a few tablespoons for garnish.
- Serve warm or room temp.
No Bake Cheesecake
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- ⅓ cup white sugar
- 4 cups frozen whipped topping, thawed
- 1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
- ½ pint sliced fresh strawberries – sprinkled with sugar – set aside
- Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
- Fold in whipped topping.
- Spoon mixture into graham crumb crust. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Once the cheesecake has set, garnish with sliced strawberries.
If you’re like me, technology can be a little confusing. Okay, a lot confusing, so here’s a little more info to help you navigate.
We put all my books from 2020 on the 2020 page and all the upcoming releases on the 2021 page.
The SERIES TAB explains each series and the books in the series. There’s a tab about me, Mary Kuczkir—yep that’s my real name; recipes, and my furry friends.
Thank you! Enjoy!
