The Tasty Summer Reads Blog Hop

I'm joining in a fun blog tour of sharing summer recipes and a little bit about ourselves as authors. Thank you to Rae Rivers, author of "The Keepers: Archer" published by Harper Collins Impulse. She tagged me in her Tasty Summer Reads Blog Hop.

I'm in the middle of winter here in the southern hemisphere but what's the harm in sharing some refreshing recipes? We've had a very mild winter this year with only one week of frost and ice in our taps. I keep on waiting for the cold to arrive. It will probably smack us in the face with a snowfall in spring like it did about ten years ago in the town where I live. It doesn't snow often here so it's quite an occasion.

The recipe we share should coincide with our book release coming up. Interestingly enough, my book starts off right in the middle of African summer which can be scorching hot. Lisa agrees to pose as her boss's fiancee for his family New Year celebrations and while suffering heat exhaustion, she also falls for her handsome, playboy boss against her life plans. But Lisa's heart is much harder to win than Dan could ever realise as he begins to discover just how right she is for him, more than any other woman.

I don't have an exact release date but my book is due out near the end of this month. I can't wait.

Anyway, I'm going off topic. I think a refreshing homemade lemonade would have cooled Lisa down after she suffered heat exhaustion. Maybe she would have finished the whole jug seeing everyone else could swim in the pool while she had to sit under the awning. But Carine, Dan's mom, would have gladly made her another. See a recipe below. Now, I'm going to answer a few questions.

1)When writing, are you a snacker? If so, sweet or salty?
I generally don't snack much when I write. If I do, it's mostly sweet things like dark chocolate, chewing gum, or maybe dried apricots.

2) Are you an outliner or someone who flies by the seat of their pants? Are they real pants or jammies?
I'm a pants person - hate planning too much. Or could you say jeans or skirts? I don't like staying in my jammies all day. They're sacred to me. And besides, I'm not too keen on greeting an unexpected visitor in my pyjamas.

3)When cooking or baking, do you follow the recipe exactly or wing it?
The more I've baked, the more brave I've become to experiment. Oftentimes, I don't have the ingredients on hand or can't even get hold of them so have to improvise. So yes, I have learned to change things. If the mixture looks too dry, I add more liquid, or if it's too wet, I add more dry ingredients. One thing I don't change is the baking powder. Most recipes ask for far too much sugar or cinnamon so I lower that or even cut out the cinnamon altogether. I have even posted my own paleo recipes on Fast Paleo but they're not great. I don't think I would have the patience to actually keep a food blog but have considered it.

4) What is next for you after this book?
I'm working on two books at the moment. I have another book coming out in September - it's a follow-on from Wedding Gown Girl - Elaine, the bridesmaid's story. That truly was an absolute blast to write!

5) Last Question...on a level of one being slightly naughty to ten being whoo whoo steamy, where does your book land?
Probably in the tame old one. But there's plenty of steam in the hearts.

Recipe warning!

My kids love this lemonade and it's so easy to make. Not exactly healthy with all the sugar but the Vitamin C loaded inside would come in handy.

Lemonade

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup lemon juice (the freshly squeezed type is even better)
3 cups water, extra

Method

Combine sugar and water in a small pan, stir over low heat without boiling until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and simmer, uncovered, for two minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and stand for 30 minutes. Strain the lemon mixture into a large jug and add extra water. Refridgerate until required. It makes four cups.

I'm only tagging Zee Monodee (although she's already been tagged) for this one and tagging back to Rae Rivers.