Bring On Lemons

In All Eyes on Alexandra , young Alexandra Crane is terrible at following her family in their flying Vee. She can’t help it that the world is so full of interesting distracting sights! When it's time for the Cranes to migrate to Israel's Hula Valley for the winter, Alexandra is excited but her family is worried. Will Alexandra stay with the group, and what happens if a dangerous situation should arise? Might Alexandra—and the rest of the flock—discover that a bad follower can sometimes make a great leader? Based on the true story of Israel’s annual crane migration. Print Length: 32 Pages Genre: Children's Picture Book Publisher: Kar-Ben Pub ISBN-10: 1512444391 ISBN-13: 978-1512444391 All Eyes on Alexandra  is available to purchase on Amazon , Barnes and Noble , Target ,  Thrift Books , and IndieBound . About the Author, Anna Levine Anna Levine is an award-winning children’s book author. Like Alexandra Crane, the character in her latest picture boo...

Here is a delicious chicken soup recipe you can make quickly and easily in your Instant Pot - easy to make and since it's all made in one pot, the clean up is even easier than the prep!!! You can easily substitute noodles or rice for the dumplings - so first I'll give you the soup recipe and then at the end the dumpling recipe and you can decide how you want to do it. I used a 6qt Instant Pot but you could easily use a larger instant pot and increase the ingredients proportionately. Ingredients: 1 T olive oil (or whatever cooking oil you like) 3 good size boneless/skinless chicken breasts (cut into cubes) salt pepper 1/2 C diced onion 1 C chopped celery 4-6 C sliced carrots 2 C frozen peas Directions: Set your instant pot to saute and once the indicator reads "HOT" go ahead and add 1T olive oil (or cooking oil of your choice). Then add 3 boneless/skinless chicken breasts that have been cut into cube size pieces. Stir them into the oil a bit then...

The new year is fast approaching and I have two exciting book blog tours to announce through WOW! Women on Writing. Please contact me today to reserve your copy and participate in one or both of the tours. If you've never participated in a tour, feel free to inquire and I'll be happy to explain how it works - you don't even have to have your own blog! Send an email today to participate - email address: crystal@wow-womenonwriting.com or crystaljotto@gmail.com Be sure to include the following: * The email address you'd like your ebook(s) sent to - and indicate the title, titles, or "both" *The name and url for your blog, or a note letting me know you do not have a blog *A date you would prefer as your first choice, as well as a 2nd choice - this will be the date your review will be posted to your blog/this blog and social media. (Jane Bertrand's tour runs 1/7-/2/7 and Neill McKee's 1/28-2/28) Including posting to a blog, it would be fabul...

Hank and Norm were living the good life: two friends with plenty of money, homes in a lovely California retirement town, and no problems except for the boredom that felt almost fatal. Then Mai came into the picture, the love of Hank’s life during his CIA days in Saigon, desperately needing his help to save the son he’d never known he had. Boredom was over, as Hank and Norm hit the road, following the few clues Mai could give them in search of a man who desperately wants not to be found. What they find is a slew of lies and hidden truths, strange characters, improbable danger that has them fighting to survive, and the happy lesson that their lives are far from over. Paperback: 240 pages Publisher: Terra Nova Books (June 1, 2018) Language: English ISBN-10: 1948749009 ISBN-13: 978-1948749008 ASIN: B07HFJ4WKY Son of Saigon is now available to purchase on Amazon as an e-book and print, Barnes and Noble , and IndieBound .   About the Author: David Myles Robinson grew ...

Hank and Norm were living the good life: two friends with plenty of money, homes in a lovely California retirement town, and no problems except for the boredom that felt almost fatal. Then Mai came into the picture, the love of Hank’s life during his CIA days in Saigon, desperately needing his help to save the son he’d never known he had. Boredom was over, as Hank and Norm hit the road, following the few clues Mai could give them in search of a man who desperately wants not to be found. What they find is a slew of lies and hidden truths, strange characters, improbable danger that has them fighting to survive, and the happy lesson that their lives are far from over. Paperback: 240 pages Publisher: Terra Nova Books (June 1, 2018) Language: English ISBN-10: 1948749009 ISBN-13: 978-1948749008 ASIN: B07HFJ4WKY Son of Saigon is now available to purchase on Amazon as an e-book and print, Barnes and Noble , and IndieBound .   About the Author: David Myles Robinson grew up...

Thank you WOW! Women on Writing for inviting me to participate in the book blog tour of My MacArthur by Cindy Fazzi - I was absolutely excited to read this book and review it! The year is 1930. The place: Manila. Douglas MacArthur is the most powerful man in the Philippines, a United States colony. He’s fifty years old, divorced, and he falls in love at first sight with a ravishing young Filipino woman. He writes her a love note on the spot. Her name is Isabel Rosario Cooper, an aspiring movie actress. One glance at his note and she thinks of him as my MacArthur. MacArthur pursues his romantic obsession even though he’s breaking numerous taboos. She reciprocates his affection because he could open doors for her financially struggling family. That MacArthur happens to be handsome compensates for the fact that he’s as old as her father. When MacArthur is appointed the U.S. Army chief of staff, he becomes the youngest four-star general and one of America’s most powerful men. Out...

A book review by guest reviewer Michelle DelPonte About the Book: Susan Jordan awakens at her Santa Fe apartment, cloudy and disoriented. Her clothing is unfamiliar. Where has she been? Her nose crinkles as she smells his scent. Jack's back! Rubber filled legs brace against the stone cold tile floor as she reaches for the pile of mail haplessly setting on the table. Dozens of letters! Jack Monroe never stops. Susan wishes he would just leave, take his advice and go back to Detroit. He's gaining too much control! He's taking over! Paperback: 232 pages Publisher:  Silver Leaf Books LLC (September 10, 2018) Genre: Mystery ISBN-10: 1609752376 ISBN-13: 978-1609752378 ASIN: B07FMX9HLH The Suicide Letters of Jack Monroe  is available for purchase in print and as an ebook at Amazon , Barnes & Noble , and IndieBound .     About the Author:   When I was a child growing up in the Detroit area, I thought I wanted to be a painter, and then...

About the Book: Susan Jordan awakens at her Santa Fe apartment, cloudy and disoriented. Her clothing is unfamiliar. Where has she been? Her nose crinkles as she smells his scent. Jack's back! Rubber filled legs brace against the stone cold tile floor as she reaches for the pile of mail haplessly setting on the table. Dozens of letters! Jack Monroe never stops. Susan wishes he would just leave, take his advice and go back to Detroit. He's gaining too much control! He's taking over! Paperback: 232 pages Publisher:  Silver Leaf Books LLC (September 10, 2018) Genre: Mystery ISBN-10: 1609752376 ISBN-13: 978-1609752378 ASIN: B07FMX9HLH The Suicide Letters of Jack Monroe  is available for purchase in print and as an ebook at Amazon , Barnes & Noble , and IndieBound .     About the Author:   When I was a child growing up in the Detroit area, I thought I wanted to be a painter, and then as a teenager the idea of being a musician intrigued me, th...

Thank you Providence Book Promotions for allowing us this opportunity to participate in the book blog tour of The Last Weekend Of the Summer by Peter Murphy. What a fabulous book! A little bit about the book before my review... Synopsis They have been coming to their grandmother Gloria’s lake cottage since they were babies. Now Johnnie and Buddy have families of their own and C.C. has a life full of adult drama and adventure. And this trip – the only stated purpose of which is to bring the family together for the last weekend of the summer – seems full of portent. Gloria has been hinting that there’s more on the agenda than grilling and swimming, and when the three siblings learn that their estranged father will also be in attendance, it becomes clear that this weekend will have implications that last far beyond the final days of the season. A touching, incisive view into the dynamics of a family on the verge of change and filled with characters both distinctive and utterly ...

Happy Harvest Time! Here I am in my little corner of the cornfield here in lovely Wisconsin. The nights are getting cooler and we are in the middle of many things, one of them being chopping hay and right around the corner will be the corn. I've been busy canning spaghetti sauce, corn, tomato juice,  ketchup, salsa, and applesauce. Next up comes the pears, more apples, pumpkin, and then we can start the process for sauerkraut. This is a busy yet rewarding time of the year. I'm first going to give you the recipe for this delicious caramel apple cake with cream cheese frosting and then I'll also give you the recipe for my homemade applesauce as well as the homemade caramel. You can absolutely make the recipe with store bought ingredients though - so don't be intimidated! This cake embodies everything fall to me - enjoy it with a steaming latte in the wee hours of the morning and start your day off on the right foot! Hugs, ~Crystal Caramel Apple Cake (aka Apple...

Thank you WOW! Women on Writing for including us as a blog stop on the book blog tour of Jo Ann Simon's   Rose Colored Glasses - it truly is a pleasure! Head over to JoAnn's blog for more reviews and information about this fabulous memoir!  Dear Tom, I'm back on Anna Maria Island... missing you. But walking down these beautiful beaches reminds me of us and makes me feel a little less far away from you. And that encourages me as I am writing our story. Hopefully this will help other people who are feeling our pain too. I love and miss you every day, darling. Love, Me When he first saw me, Tom said that he would spend the rest of his life with me. To my surprise, he actually did. He was the love of my life. We shared a story that felt like a dream. Every moment was an adventure... and then Tom became ill. As his mysterious symptoms persisted we were hurtled through a maze of fear, tests, doubts and sorrow. But while doctors toyed with diagnoses--Lyme d...