B Is For Bookshelves #atozchallenge

Posted on April 2, 2016 by Karyn Good

Bookshelves. Everyone’s got ’em. Whether you put books on it is a whole different story. Please tell me you put books on it! However you arrange things, the truly awesome thing about bookshelves is that no one has the same shelf. Literally no one else on the planet has the same compilation of things lining their shelves.

B Is For Bookshelves

What do our bookshelves say about us? I can’t say for sure, I’m not a psychology major. That you like to read? That you adore knickknacks? Have a thing for photos? Candles? My bookshelves are full of two of those things: books and photos. Candles and books don’t mix. Knickknacks scare me. I feel like I’m one step away from becoming a hoarder when I’m surrounded by them. Other people’s collections are symbolic of who they are, sometimes quirky, and often charming. I’m quite okay with other people’s knickknacks.

There are many ways to arrange books: alphabetically, by genre, size, colour. Some stack literary works on one side. Genre fiction on the other. Some of us mix it up. Below is a peek into one of shelves. I have to say I’m an arrange by size fan. Mostly. Kind of.

Bookshelf

Mostly ~~wine~~ book club books on this one. The Sanity Seekers have been around for nearly fifteen years. The same core group of seven or eight ~~drinkers~~ readers. I prefer to read book club selections in print. For no nobler reason than it’s easier to judge how much I have to read in a very short amount of time. Another confession – it’s easier to skim. Because some of the books we’ve read…yikes. From the very first book we shared, Chocolat by Joanne Harris, to today, I could not have survived with my sanity intact without my book club. Our current book?

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

These days when it comes to books some of us also have ebook shelves. Seriously, what did we do without ereaders?

My Ebook Shelf

Other bloggers waving at you from over here!

There you have it. A look at my shelves. What’s on yours?

Why My To-Be-Read Pile Is Smallish

Posted on March 22, 2016 by Karyn Good

Is Your To-Be-Read Pile Manageable?

An interesting question was posed on Facebook the other day: Is owning books as good as reading them?

Say what now?

Because why would you own a book you weren’t planning on reading? That’s like…I don’t know what it’s like exactly. I mean I have books on my shelves I haven’t read, not because I don’t plan on it. I want to read them, I just haven’t. Yet. Pride and Prejudice I’m looking at you. But good intentions matter, right?

Jane Austen

Then I remembered being invited to dinner years ago. I immediately gravitated to her lovely bookshelf. I’m always interested in a person’s book collections. I remarked on how careful she was with her books and asked how she’d like a particular one. Her response? She’d bought it figuring it would look good on her shelf. She was right. It did. It fit right in with the other books she had no intention of reading. And since she was and still is a lovely person we laughed about it. I mean not everyone is a reading nerd and that’s okay.

And books are beautiful. Check out any number of book related hashtags on Instagram: #bookstagram #booklover #bookporn #bookphotography, to see why others think so too.

All this love for books is heartwarming! Really it is. Buy books! Lots and LOTS of books. Buy my books. If you read them even better. Reading rocks! But I’ve heard of people who have downloaded hundreds and hundreds of books thanks to the wide range of free books, 99 cent books and the like. So again…

Is Owning Books As Good As Reading Them?

Who am I to tell people what they should or should not be doing? Some might be comforted by the all the possibilities. The reasons people buy books is as varied as the people themselves. For myself, I can’t face a toppling to-be-read pile. Knowing all those books are there waiting is to much pressure. As it is I’m freaking out because I’ve been reading Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert for months. I love it but non-fiction doesn’t sweep me away like my preferred fiction does, and these last few months I’ve needed the escape.

The Lake House by Kate Morton

This lovely book, The Lake House by Kate Morton, is one of the few books on my TBR pile. On my ereader waits Norah Wilson’s The Standish Clan trilogy which is set in the fictional small town of Harkness, New Brunswick. In Norah’s words these stories are sweet, sexy and romantic. And this trilogy is just the first of many series to come under the Hearts of Harkness banner!

The+Standish+Clan+Trilogy

There are a couple of other books waiting in wings. But right now I’m reading The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah for book club. And listening to Better When He’s Bold by Jay Crownover in Audible when I’m on the treadmill.

There are books I want to read but haven’t purchased. Books I’m considering purchasing. And release dates for books by authors I’m waiting for. But all in all, I like to keep my pile manageable. Otherwise I’d never get anything done.

Because I’d rather be reading.

What’s in your to-be-read pile? Is it toppling? A neat stack? Nonexistent? Come on, ‘fess up!

What I’ve Been Reading…

Posted on September 30, 2015 by Karyn Good

No surprise I love reading. I’m somewhat of a varied reader. How’s that for vague? I wouldn’t say I read all over the place, because I do prefer certain types of stories over others.

Happy endings. Please, please, please let it have a happy ending. I have read books for book club where only one person is left standing. I just…don’t even… want to go there. I recently had coffee with a rather new friend. We had a lovely time discussing many things including books. We’re both avid readers which made us instant friends who will never be at a loss for conversational topics. But I mentioned my love of happy endings and she looked at me in surprise, and said, “But not every story can end happyily.” To which I replied, “I know, and I don’t want to read those stories.” Which led to another discussion.

That’s it. That’s all I have. One requirement. Which, I think, still leaves a lot of open road. To that end, I’ve been reading.

When April Vogt’s boss tells her about the discoveries in a cramped, decrepit apartment in the ninth arrondissement, the Sotheby’s continental furniture specialist does not hear the words dust or rats or shuttered for seventy years. She hears Paris. She hears escape.

Once in Paris, April quickly learns the apartment is not merely some rich hoarder’s repository. Beneath the dust and cobwebs and stale perfumed air is a goldmine and not because of the actual gold (or painted ostrich eggs or mounted rhinoceros horns or bronze bathtub). First, there’s a portrait by one of the masters of the Belle Époque. And there are letters and journals written by the woman in the painting, documents showing she was more than a renowned courtesan with enviable décolletage. Suddenly it’s no longer about the bureau plats and Louis-style armchairs that will fetch millions at auction. It’s about a life. Two lives, actually.

With the help of a salty Parisian solicitor and the courtesan’s private documents, April tries to uncover the secrets buried in the apartment. As she digs into one woman’s life, April can’t help but take a deeper look into her own. When two things she left bubbling back in the States begin to boil over, April starts to wonder if in this apartment or in this life, she’ll ever find what she’s looking for.

I liked it! Because hello Paris! An abandoned apartment. A hoarder. Of cool stuff. Expensive stuff! If you love antique furniture, you’ll love this book. I also adoring this contemporary/history story mix idea right now. One taking place in the present and one in the past. I loved reading about Paris too! So win!

They don’t play for the same team. Or do they?

Jamie Canning has never been able to figure out how he lost his closest friend. Four years ago, his tattooed, wise-cracking, rule-breaking roommate cut him off without an explanation. So what if things got a little weird on the last night of hockey camp the summer they were eighteen? It was just a little drunken foolishness. Nobody died.

Ryan Wesley’s biggest regret is coaxing his very straight friend into a bet that pushed the boundaries of their relationship. Now, with their college teams set to face off at the national championship, he’ll finally get a chance to apologize. But all it takes is one look at his longtime crush, and the ache is stronger than ever.

Jamie has waited a long time for answers, but walks away with only more questions—can one night of sex ruin a friendship? If not, how about six more weeks of it? When Wesley turns up to coach alongside Jamie for one more hot summer at camp, Jamie has a few things to discover about his old friend…and a big one to learn about himself.

Loved this book! Which surprised me because I’m generally not a fan of the New Adult genre. Or sports stories. I can’t remember what influenced me to read it. But oh my gosh! It was super sexy. And super sweet! No alpha males in sight. So double win.

Justice isn’t always black or white.

Former CIA assassin Alex Parker works for The Gateway Project, a clandestine government organization hell-bent on taking out serial killers and pedophiles before they enter the justice system. Alex doesn’t enjoy killing, but he’s damn good at it. He’s good at dodging the law, too—until a beautiful rookie agent has him wondering what it might be like to get caught.

FBI Special Agent Mallory Rooney has spent years hunting the lowlife who abducted her identical twin sister eighteen years ago. Now, during an on-going serial killer investigation, Mallory begins to suspect there’s a vigilante operating outside the law. She has no choice but to take him down, because murder isn’t justice. Is it?

Sometimes it’s cold and dark.

When Mallory starts asking questions, The Gateway Project management starts to sweat, and orders Alex to watch her. As soon as they meet, the two begin to fall in love. But the lies and betrayals that define Alex’s life threaten to destroy them both—especially when the man who stole her sister all those years ago makes Mallory his next target, and Alex must reveal his true identity to save the woman he loves.

The last couple of months I’ve been reading Toni Anderson’s Cold Justice series. I’ve really enjoyed these books! I’m on No.4! Smart, chilling, and very realistic. The characters are intelligent and respect each other. The plotting is awesome sauce!

So, that’s what I’ve been reading. How about you? What has you turning the pages these days?

The Big Book Theory

Posted on July 21, 2015 by Karyn Good

Book buying theory: you get the one that fits your mood, your life really, at that moment in time. It’s not incredibly complicated. (Or you buy it because you need to read it for book club.) We all have a method of choosing what book we need. A system we use to whittle down the choices. Stories come in all shapes, sizes, and styles. We might go big, It might be small. Slow moving. Or rocket fast. Spicy or sweet. Happy. Sad. True. Or complete fantasy.

I need at least one book on the go at all times, for sanity sake.

So…I was in the bookstore the other day looking for some epic reads for our camping holiday. As I scanned the tables of books at Chapters (my local bookstore) I noticed a book I’d seen on Twitter by an author I follow. A suspense kind of book, which I love. Very interesting title. Attractive cover. I picked it up to read the blurb and goodness gravy the thing had to weigh 5 pounds. Not quite, but close. but it was Big. BIG, I tell you.

Not even Stephen King’s reassurance that it was a fantastic read and one should not be put off by the sheer number of pages convinced me to buy it. And it turns out it was the second in a trilogy so I need to read the first book, well…first.

Still, I feel kind of wimpy for basing my decision on page length instead of whether I’d enjoy the actually story in those many pages. I mean I read big books. Because hello, Kristen Ashely. She writes long stories and it’s kind of nice knowing you’re in it for the long haul. That you’re going to be engaged for awhile and you don’t have to worry about the story ending too soon. I’ve read Exodus by Leon Uris. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugnenides. I read Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet. Heck, I was probably qualified to build a catherdral after that one. And I thoroughly enjoyed every one of them. I love picking up a Nora Roberts’ book because I know I’m going to sink in, relax, and enjoy.

I just don’t like them all the time. I’ve gotten into the habit of reading shorter books. Past paced, moving quickly, lots happening all at once kind of books, which I also love. And some big stories come in shorter books. I wasn’t in the mood for lengthy. I was looking for something else.

I made my selections that day and here’s what I ended up with: a romantic suspense (I think it was – warning; there is a lot of sex in this book. A LOT. Just so you know.); a colouring book which I adore; and 2 young adult books, one of which I’ve started.)

Do you read big books? Do you care how long the story is if it’s something you think you might want to read? How do you pick books?

5 Reasons To Make Reading An Absolute Priority This Summer

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Karyn Good

Besides the obvious, which is because we want to!

1. You can do it for free! And who doesn’t love free! If funds are tight it’s mandatory. Or you can save your money for mojitos and margaritas. Or the fabulous day trip you’ve been planning (don’t forget to pack a book). Get a pedicure! You can pick up print books from the library shelves, or borrow ebooks. God bless libraries. I consider them an essential service! They give you the opportunity to try a book you might not chance buying. You might discover a new-to-you author. Their backlist. Then there’s no stopping you.

2. You can be an Extreme Reader and not risk your life! This one’s pretty self-explanatory. Unless you need me to tell you not to walk and read. Or maybe that’s only my clumsy self.

3. You can do it on the beach. In a hammock. In the park. In the shade. In a hotel room. In the airpost. Waiting for the ferry. On the bus. In your campsite. Any where. Any how. Any way. You might make a new friend over discussing the books you’re each reading. Also, reading is sexy. So…you know, it might help you score. Do the kids still use that word?

4. Reading has absolutely zero calories. If you’re interested in that kind of thing. Or concerned about calories. But where’s the fun in that. It also pairs well with wine. Popcorn. Veggies and dip. Fresh berries. Reading is very versitile in that regard and I’m sure Gordon Ramsey would concure. Do it while eating pizza, burgers, or Chinese food. I’m a firm believer that a book look tattered and torn when finished. Unless you get it from a library. Or a friend. Then you might want to keep the crumbs to yourself.

5. Reading helps you chill out. Have stress? And who of us doesn’t? Books can take you away from your day-to-day troubles for a little while and help you relax. So go ahead, let a good book sweep you off your feet. Fall in love with a fictional character. Live in a fantasy world for a few minutes. Go back in time. Help solve a mystery. Play detective. Blush over the sexy bits. Get chills and thrills and crime.

You can set yourself a summer reading challenge. Do a group read with friends. Or family. Like my sister, mom, and I are reading The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. I’ve pre-ordered Kristen Ashley’s Ride Steady (Chaos #3). I want to read Searching for Sunday: Loving, Learning, and Finding the Church by Rachel Evans Held. Maybe J.R. Ward’s The Bourbon Kings. HelenKay Dimon’s Playing Dirty. Oh, who am I kidding, there are too many to mention.

Read! Nothing goes with summer like a good book! What books are you looking forward to reading this summer? Also, share your recommendations!

Warm Winter Recipe and Book Recommendations

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Karyn Good

Sexy Suspense

These days the sun is coming up sooner and staying longer. There is an end to winter in sight. But not an end to needing recipes that make our lives easier and yummier. One of our favourite comfort foods are Sloppy Joes. So here’s our version!

Sloppy Joes

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 cup of onions, chopped
1/2 cup of celerly, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup of roasted red peppers
3/4 cup of catsup
1/4 cup of water
1 tbsp of brown sugar
2 tbsps of mustard
2 tbsps of vinegar
2 tbsps of worcestershire sauce
Shots of garlic flavoured hot sauce to taste
6 – 8 hamburger buns

Directions:

In a dutch oven brown the ground beef, set aside. Next brown the onions, celery, and add garlic in when onions are nearly transculent. Add the beef back in along with the roasted red peppers and the rest of the ingredients (except the buns!). Simmer for half an hour.

Spoon meat mixture onto buns and enjoy!

While your heating things up in the kitchen, you can be thinking of what books to by next.

Dying Embers by B.E. Sanderson

Available on Friday, February 13th

But Emma Sweet is tired of being a good girl. When she catches her husband cheating, she hits on the perfect plan to pay back all the men who ever broke her heart. Revenge isn’t as simple as seducing her old lovers and tossing a match, but watching them burn is deliciously satisfying.

The one time in her life Agent Jace Douglas wasn’t a good girl, she lost her family. Now she would rather run far and fast when it comes to fire. Too bad for her, she can’t walk away from a case where fire is the killer’s signature. Jace needs to face her fears and catch this murderer before the flames of her past—and the smoldering heat she feels for Detective Ben Yancy—reduce her life, her career and her self-control to ash.

One More Second Chance by Jana Richards

Available Now

Dr. Alex Campbell has an agenda—finish his contract to provide medical services in Maine, pay off his medical school debt, and head back to his real life in San Diego. But when he meets Julia, all his carefully laid plans are put in jeopardy.

Julia Stewart, Lobster Cove’s high school principal, swears she’ll never let another man drag her away from the home she loves. Her aging parents need her, and the Cove is where she wants to raise her daughter. When her mother’s illness brings her and the big city doctor closer together, panic sets in. Her marriage taught her men don’t stay.

Can she put aside the heartaches of the past and trust Alex enough to accept the love he’s offering? Or will her fear of abandonment mean she’ll send him away forever?

Shift Happens by J.C. McKenzie

Available Now

Andrea McNelly’s job as a government agent is not asking questions, but then a routine assignment turns into a botched assassination of a Master Vampire’s human servant. Answers become a priority. Her search to discover the truth is riddled with obstacles, the largest being an oversized Werewolf who resembles a Norse god. Andy can’t afford the distraction he offers, because if she fails, she faces eternal enslavement.

Wick’s job is to monitor Andy, but he prefers more intimate activities, none of them G-Rated. His choices, however, are often not his own. His ability to help Andy is limited by his bond to the Master Vampire.

Facing many trials and challenges along her path to redemption, Andy learns the value of her freedom might be set too high.

Share the love and the book recommendations! What’s your favourite winter comfort food?

The Winter Not-So Blues: Reading, Writing, and Photographs

Posted on January 30, 2015 by Karyn Good

Sexy Suspense

Off The Grid will be touring around in February and the first part of March on a review tour.

Come join the party at The Romance Reviews for a chance to win great giveaways including books and gift certificates, play games and meet authors. The Grand Prize is a $100 gift card.

*****

On the homefront, January was filled with books and writing. The sun is rising earlier and setting later. But there is still much writing to be done and many books to be read. The weekends are for reading the paper, omfort food, and shoveling snow. It is for digging in and perserving against harsh conditions. At least, in my neck of the woods. Although to be fair, the conditions have been rather pleasant for January.

Over my Saturday morning cup of tea I open the Weekender section of my local paper and head to the Books page. I check out the best sellers in hardcover and paperback. Then I read the article of the week which is usually an interview with an author. I love learning where other writers get their ideas, what their process looks like, and I love it when they share their opinions. On occasion they are forced to defend their writing.

One such interesting article stayed with me. It was an interview with Val McDermid, a crime novelist who addressed the notion of female crime novelists and the voilent subject matter of their books. Or more to the point, the suggestion that because she is female, it is somehow wrong for her to write about such matters. These questions arose, perhaps in part, due to the backlash against the overwhelming number of faceless female victims in books in which their only role is to be beaten, violated, and then hacked to pieces.

What I found interesting, however, was her perspective on the psychology of females writing crime fiction.

“It’s because of the way society conditions us growing up. We’re told that there are bad men out there who will hurt us given half the chance. We are brought up to imagine our victimhood even before it happens to us. I don’t think there is a woman alive who hasn’t walked down a street late at night and heard footsteps, who hasn’t immediately thought about the terrible things that can happen to her. So when we come to this subject (violence), we have imagined it already. We have lived it in our heads. Men don’t grow up with that sense of themselves in the world.”

I know know I have walked and listened and wondered. Now I’m wondering how much my gender affects my writing, perhaps not when it comes to my vicitms but when it comes to the villains in my story. To this point, they are one hundred percent male. All dominant personalities in positions of power with violent tendancies. Not that women can’t be all those things. But maybe the things I’ve been conditioned to fear and protect myself against manifest themselves in these characters. Something to think about…and maybe think about mixing it up a little!

How about you? Any book recommendations with regards to crime fiction? Have you read any books with a fascinating female villain?

Set in McDermid’s hometown of Edinburgh, The Skeleton Road centres on a Cold Case investigation. A skeleton is discovered, hidden at the top of a soon-to-be renovated Gothic building. Detective Karen Pirie is tasked with identifying the decades-old bones and soon finds herself unearthing a series of past conflicts, false identities and secrets that have long been buried.

This month I’m happy to be visiting the Laughing Ladies Literary Book Club who’ve chosen OFF THE GRID for their January read. I’ve had a blast oming up with discussion questions and anticipating more questions about the characters and the setting and the inspiration behind the book. I’m also hard at work writing the third book in my Aspen Lake Series. Mike and Grace’s is coming along. For me, the hard part of writing is getting down the first draft. I love revising. Taking the bare bones of a story and turning it into something someone might want to read someday.

I love taking photos. I’m not very good at it and definitely fall in the amateur department. But I decided to take part in a photo challenge this year. You can read more about it here. There is a prompts to help you out every day. Here’s a sampling of mine and you can find me on Instagram @karyngoodauthor.

Prompt: Circle
So…me in a circle.

Prompt: Morning
My desk!

Hope the weather is being kind to you. And if you’re being subjected to nasty weather and storms I hope you have plenty of good books to keep you entertained.

Grouchy Pants

Posted on May 14, 2014 by Karyn Good

Ugh. Why are they always a perfect fit?

What’s that? You don’t care? Come back when I’ve got it together?

Fair enough. No one wants to hear about my grumpy business.

But what to do when one cannot even tolerate one’s self?

First, acknowledge your grumpy! Okay, done that.
Get moving! Next on my list.
Smile!
Clear clutter! It’s easier to throw stuff away when you’re feeling evil.
Listen to (upbeat) music!
Talk to a friend! Hi, there!
Write down the good stuff! Like how it’s FINALLY sunny! Yay! Or how I went out to lunch and didn’t have to cook!

Read a book!

What a good idea! I’m busy reading through Vivian Arend’s Takhini Wolves series. Must say I’m enjoying them!

What’s your favorite method of getting rid of the grumps!

A Christmas Story – Open Hearts

Posted on December 22, 2013 by Karyn Good

Merry Christmas! Here’s a sweet story I wrote one year as a Gift of Writing for my writing group, The Saskatchewan Romance Writers. This year I’m sharing it here on my blog. I hope you enjoy it.

Open Hearts

For Abigail Kelley working retail at Christmas equaled worst job ever. Small talk? With strangers? Not her strong suit. Even on a good day and good days were harder to find than Waldo. But a girl had to eat and she’d already proven she was a glutton for punishment. Besides it worked nicely with the whole ‘sucker’ theme she had going on this year. Broke, adrift, and one blinking engine light away from over and done.

She glanced at her watch. Ten minutes until closing time on December 23^rd. The supersized big box store across the street was crammed to the rafters with late night shoppers. Not a soul crossed the street to browse at Adornments and Jewels with its swaying antique sign and out-dated window display. No one crossed the threshold where the dusty tiny bell waited to announce eager shoppers, or any shopper, and the scarred counters shined in preparation for inquisitive customers. Indeed, it was quiet as a mouse.

The quiet didn’t bother Abby, in fact, she preferred it. But noise equalled customers and paying customers equalled commissions. A pay check meant no more blinking engine light. No more blinking engine light meant the open road and finding her way back to the place she left her self-respect. She swiped her polishing cloth over the gleaming countertop glass as she leaned in and wondered over all the pretty baubles. Her mom would love the vintage silver locket. Maybe next year…

The tinkling of the bell startled her and she tripped as she turned to face the door. Clumsy as always. She stuck her dust rag out of sight and shoved a bunch of curls out of her eyes and got her first glimpse of the shoppers.

Continue reading →

Hots Drinks and Book Review

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Karyn Good

It’s December and that can mean chilly nights. In fact, today there is a Winter Storm Warning for my small part of the Canadian prairies. Nothing warms a cold winter day or night more than a book, BUT while your reading you might choose to sip a warm beverage. I’m a fan of several hot drinks.

I love the peppermint tea from David’s Tea. My husband and I drink this in the evening some nights and the scent is so fresh and addicting. I also love hot chocolate, see below. Who can forget about hot apple cider this time of year? I love making a big batch for guests in my crock pot. Chai tea lattes! And it’s always fun to add a snip of Bailey’s, Kahlua, or Peppermint Schnapps to the various mixes.

Now for the book part. My book club the Sanity Seekers read The Paris Wife by Paula McLain for our November selection. I picked it. Since it was my pick I figured I should review it.

I’m always intrigued by books of fiction based on real people, events, and well fact. Hadley Richardson was Ernest Hemingway’s first wife. The story is told in Hadley’s point of view which peaked my interest as much has been made of Hemingway’s women. Their time together was short but huge at the same time. There were parts of this book that fascinated me. I thoroughly enjoyed McLain’s style and her writing. I’ve read other fiction based on fact but none that read as smoothing or believably as this. I loved the setting of Paris in the 1920’s. Loved the parts that talked of writing. But reading about their relationship and how they lived their lives was hard work at times particularly towards the end. And parts of the book dragged along. There was no temptation to stay up late and read all the way through, but the necessity of having to put it aside for a while and think about what you’d read. There is no happy ending for these two although I like to think Hadley found hers with her second husband, I wonder if Hemingway ever truly did. If he came close I’m betting it was with Hadley. But that’s probably the romantic in me.

I would definitely recommend this book.

Now about that hot chocolate. Although I haven’t been much for experimenting in the past, I’m trying to eat less of certain foods and cut others out altogether. Like cow milk and refined sugar. Which creates challenges when craving hot chocolate. It’s actually easy enough to replace the milk with coconut milk or almond mild, but the hot chocolate mix is another story. Until I found the following recipe in our local paper:

Hot Chocolate Recipe

6 to 7 medjool dates
1 tbsp raw cacao powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch cayenne pepper
2 cups hot water

Method: Mix all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Adjust quantities to suit taste. Serves 2 Adapted from Ashley Clark: www.naturallyashley.com

I used hot almond milk instead of hot chocolate. It was wonderously thick and frothy but very sweet. If I were to make it again I think I’d use less dates and more cacao powder. Also, from using the medjool dates in my smoothies as a natural sweetner, I put them in the blender first with a little liquid and puree as I find they don’t blend up well and the end result is chunky.

Which hot drink is your favorite? Read any good books lately?