Soda Ring Toss #EpSummerCarnival #Giveaway


Step right up to the Entangled Summer Carnival Soda Ring Toss Booth! A bottle of soda pop is great but let’s get real for as hard as that game could be there are a lot of other things we would love to win. The Entangled Lovestruck authors are sharing what (or who!) they would love to win with a lucky toss of the ring.  Let us know what/who you would want to win at the ring toss booth?
Message in a bottle: Gone are the days of hoping to win the giant pink panda, hanging from the rafters of the carnival game vendor. Now I want bigger and better! If I’m spending money and tossing a ring onto a soda pop bottle, I’m not looking to score a sugary drink or another stuffed animal. I have a house full of those already thanks to my little one’s Beanie Boo obsession. I’d much rather toss a ring and find a message inside the bottle—like a voucher for an all-inclusive, weeklong vacation on a private tropical island for my hubby and me!! That would be a prize worth tossing a few dozen rings for! I can almost feel the sand between my toes…the icy drink in my hand...

Hula Hoop toss: This would be a fun twist on the traditional soda pop toss. Instead of rings, I’m going to use hula hoops and instead of bottles, I’m lassoing people to join me and hubs on our private island vacation! And since I’m making the rules, I can win more than once. LOL. First up, Josh Holloway is snagged. Mmm. Do I need to tell you why? No, of course I don’t. Just look at him. (happy sigh). My second win is Giada De Laurentiis for hubs. I’m nice like that. Not only is she super hot and one of his favorites, but she can cook us some super yummy food while we lounge on the beach drinking margaritas and watching Josh surf shirtless! Does life get better than that? You betcha, ‘cause I’m not done winning yet! My last hoop actually snags 3 heads at once. Elon Musk, JK Rowling, and Jim Gaffigan are all coming with us because they are interesting, inspiring, and hilarious. Sounds like a great trip to me! Who would you hope to snag in a hula hoop toss?
If I get to toss a ring on someone, it's GOT to be my husband. Granted, sometimes that ring needs to go around his neck (after over 20 years together, that feeling is probably mutual) but they also make lovely rings for, um, other very specific regions. Granted, they're not so very much for tossing, but if I had ninja moves I could probably make it happen. Or injure him. Which brings us back to that ring he'd probably like to put around *my* neck...which could be freaking HOT with a fistful of hair. (I have a feeling I've gone off track, but now you're all left with a deeper understanding of my books, so there is that.)
I grew up in a small town and one of the things we looked forward to every summer was the County Fair with the 4H livestock, the quilting displays, the scent of corn dogs and funnel cakes in the air, and the carnival. The midway had thrill rides and games and offered a chance to laugh with your friends or hope that special someone took you on a ride or tried to win you a stuffed animal. 

The Soda Pop Ring Toss was always a favorite, but you usually missed the bottle, and if you made one, the best you could hope to win was a flimsy plastic toy or a cheap stuffed animal. Not that I’m older and wiser, I would have different choices for the prizes at the Ring Toss game. If I was at the carnival now and could choose what (or whom) I would love to toss a ring over and win, then I would have to choose Red Jamie from Outlander. I would then choose for him to lift me astride his trusty steed and wrap me in his muscular arms as he whisked me away to gallop along the Scottish Highlands while whispering lovely Gaelic words in my ear. 

Is that too much to ask for? Okay, I’ll rein it in a little and choose to toss my ring to win a night with Iron Man…er…I mean Robert Downey Jr. I just love that ridiculously cute smile of his. Wait, my current crush is Chris Pratt, so I mean I would probably have to choose him. Seriously, did you see that scene with him and the motorcycle in Jurassic Park, I could die, his grin is so hunky. Wait, maybe I should choose Thor, or Hugh Jackman. Yes, definitely Hugh Jackman…is it getting warm in here? Aw heck, I usually missed the ring anyway. 

Who would you choose?
Okay, Jennie. We may have a problem here because that handsome hunk of Scottish manliness was my first choice for the ring toss. I mean, who wouldn’t want to win Red Jamie (aka Sam Heughan)? Aside from his obvious ruggedly, devastatingly handsome sexiness, the man is loyal, protective, brave to a fault, honorable, and loves with a passion that has me melting from 200 years away! 

I’m afraid I just can’t give him up that easily. We’re going to have to have a Toss Off. Winner gets the Highlander! We’ll toss rings at his…um…well…maybe we’ll let him pick an appendage *ahem* Best 3 out of 5!!

Just on the very off chance I do not win my darling Jamie, my second choice of Ring Toss prizes would be Jason Momoa (and only by a very small margin…I mean really if I’m being honest I’d really love to just claim both of them. Can I do that? Am I making the rules for this game? I declare it approved!!) Have you seen the trailer for the Justice League? Jason as Aquaman? O.O

Give me a handful of rings – I’ll aim right for his…trident :-D And I’m going to win too. Jason and Jamie/Sam. Yes, I’m taking both. Because I’m greedy like that. And an excellent ring tosser ;-)

LOL. Anyone else duking it out to try and snag Jamie? Let us know what/who you would want to win at the ring toss booth?

GIVEAWAY

Don't forget to check out the authors and their books below!


The Hometown Hoax by Heather Thurmeier


Find it online:

Author Info:

The Three-Week Arrangement by Sarah Ballance, on sale for just 99¢!


Find it online:

Author Info:

Romancing the Ranger by Jennie Marts


Find it online:

Author Info:

Truly, Madly, Sweetly by Kira Archer


Find it online:

Author Info:

And be sure to stop by the other carnival booths for more fun and giveaways and each day stop by the Facebook event page to chat with the authors.

Fortune Teller Booth Summer Carnival #EPSummerCarnival


Welcome to the Otherworld Fortune Teller Booth! Otherworld is all about sci-fi, fantasy, and the paranormal, and we are talking about the one question we have always wanted to ask a fortune teller. Nina Croft, Lisa Kessler, Jess Anastasi, and Jody Wallace are here to share their questions, and we would love to hear some of yours. So be sure to leave a comment, and don’t forget to enter the giveaway below!
I know a lot of people go to see fortune tellers to ask about their love life, but it's one thing I would never ask about. Of course I'd like to hear that I'm going to find (or have found) Mr. Right and we're going to live Happily Ever After for ever and ever... but what if that's not what the fortune teller told you? What if the fortune teller told you that you'll meet Mr. Right, but then he'll walk off a bridge while playing Pokemon Go and you'll spend the rest of your life alone except for a monkey you trained to fetch snacks from the fridge and walk your pet iguana, Frank? I mean, having a trained monkey would actually be kind of cool, but I don't know the first thing about having a pet iguana!
First I'd check to see if the fortune teller had monkey paws. I've heard things about asking questions or getting wishes granted by monkey paws. Then I'd probably ask for the easiest three ways to stop the apocalypse. If there's no apocalypse on the way, maybe the fortune teller will have to give me another chance. Kind of like when you order the dark chocolate cocobits milkshake and they're out of dark chocolate cocobits so you get regular chocolate instead. The tricky thing would be if there's more than one apocalypse on the way, or if the easiest solution to the apocalypse is, “Get rid of all the humans.” Which is why I'd ask for three ways! No, not a three way, I'm happily married person, three WAYS, in case one of them involves more death and destruction than the apocalypse itself.

Fortune tellers are so tricky!

I’ve never been to a fortune teller. I suspect carnivals are more of an American thing than British, but I probably would have steered clear of fortune tellers anyway, because I really don’t want to know my future. But maybe one question I would like to know is…will we encounter intelligent aliens in my lifetime? I’d love to meet aliens, find out that there are other sentient beings out there in the universe. And if they’re stunningly gorgeous, straight-out-of-a-sci-fi-romance, totally ripped aliens, all the better. 



If it hadn't been for a fortune teller, I might not have ever published a book! I never planned on being a writer until I met a palm reader in New Orleans! I was in town for a trade show for work and while wandering around the French Quarter I decided to get my palm read. After the reading as she walked me to the door she said, “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”
“Are you a writer?”

“No.” I shrugged. “I write, but just for fun.”

She smiled and told me, “You’re going to be a famous writer someday.”

I left with my head spinning. While I waited for my plane in New Orleans, I jotted down plot ideas for NIGHT WALKER on cocktail napkins and six months later I had the first draft of NIGHT WALKER written!

GIVEAWAY
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Atrophy by Jess Anastasi, on sale for just 99¢!

Find it online:

Author Info:

Angeli by Jody Wallace, on sale for just 99¢!

Find it online:

Author Info:

The Descartes Legacy by Nina Croft


Find it online:

Author Info:

Moonlight by Lisa Kessler


Find it online:

Author Info:

And be sure to stop by the other carnival booths for more fun and giveaways and each day stop by the Facebook event page to chat with the authors.

Entangled Summer Carnival Pie Bake-Off #EPSummerCarnival


Step right up! Step right up! Get those taste buds ready for the Pie Bake Off booth hosted by the lovely Entangled Bliss authors. Each author specially baked a pie sure to delight. Check out the video and let us know which pie are you dying to eat? You can grab all of the recipes below.


Summer Berry Berry Pie

Hi, all! Jennifer here!

Thanks for stopping by the Bliss Pie Bake-Off!

For me, nothing says summer like a fresh fruit pie! My pie I've chosen for this bake-off has fresh raspberries, blueberries (a NJ fruit), strawberries and blackberries. YUM!
I admit that pie crust usually intimidates me, but the recipe for the crust that is included is super easy (especially if you have a food processor) and is great to work with since it rolled out really nice and even. And that rarely happens for me, so I will definitely make this crust again!

**I made the pie dough a day before to make it more simple for me.

If you all are interested, here is the recipe from http://www.jocooks.com/

Ingredients


Pie Crust
  • 2½ cup flour
  • 1 cup cold butter, cubed
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 6 to 8 tbsp ice cold water
Filling
  • 5 cups of mixed berries, sliced strawberries, raspberries, blueberries
  • ¾ cup light brown sugar
  • ¼ cup cornstarch
  • 1 tsp orange zest
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 egg white for egg wash
Instructions
  1. Place the butter in freezer for 20 minutes.
  2. In a food processor add the flour, salt and sugar and pulse a couple times.
  3. Add the butter to the food processor and pulse a few times until the mixture resembles peas. Add the ice water one tablespoon at a time and continue pulsing. The dough should start to hold together.
  4. Remove dough from food processor and place it over your working surface. Form the dough into 2 discs, cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour up to 2 days before using.
  5. Preheat oven to 425 F degrees. Coat a deep-dish pie crust plate with nonstick baking spray.
  6. Place berries in a large bowl. In a small bowl combine brown sugar, cornstarch, orange zest and extract; mix well. Add to berries; toss to coat.
  7. Take out the pastry discs from the fridge and roll out a disc so that it's 12 inches in diameter and place it and arrange in your pie dish. Brush the pie crust with egg white so that it doesn't get soggy.
  8. Pour the berry mixture into the pie crust.
  9. Roll out the other disc so that it's 12 inches in diameter as well and cut it into lattice strips. Arrange the lattice strips nicely over the berries and brush with remaining egg white.
  10. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown.
  11. Let it cool before serving.


Peanut Butter Pie

9"x11" glass baking dish
1 1/2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips (divided into 2)
2 tsp milk
1 T corn syrup
1/2 c confectioners super (divided into 2)
1 c butter or margarine + 2 T
12 oz whipped topping (i.e. Cool Whip)
1 c peanut butter
1 c brown sugar
Graham cracker crust

Layer 1 - The Crust
Prepare baked graham cracker crust per directions on packaging. Set aside to cool. (Feel free to use a standard pie crust or Oreo crust - all work great for this recipe!)

Layer 2 - Chocolate Base Layer
  • Melt the following in a small saucepan:  3/4 c chocolate chips, 1 T butter, 2 tsp milk
  • Add 1/4 c confectioners sugar
  • Stir/blend
  • Remove from heat and spread chocolate sauce over bottom of crust. Set aside to cool completely.

Layer 3 - Peanut Butter Filling
  • Melt 1 c butter in microwave, then stir in 1 c brown sugar
  • Allow to cool for 10 minutes
  • Pour mixture into blender and stir in 1 c peanut butter until well blended
  • Fold in 12 oz whipped topping
  • Pour filling over cooled chocolate layer

Layer 4 - Chocolate Topping
  • Melt the following in a small saucepan:  3/4 c chocolate chips, 1 T butter, 1 T corn syrup, 1/4 c confectioners sugar
  • Mix well
  • Spread carefully over the peanut butter layer

Refrigerate until cool (great frozen as well!). Cut and serve!

Lemon Ice Box Pie

Ingredients

-1 8oz. container of Cool Whip
-1 14oz. can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
-1/3 cup of Lemon Juice
-1 Graham Cracker Crust

Directions

Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl. When evenly mixed, pour into graham cracker crust. Cover and chill for 1 hour.
Cherry Pie

This pie crust recipe is simple, but the trick is the prep. You don't want to over-mix & the time in the fridge is essential to making the flakiest crust. (Also, credit for this crust goes to my neighbor from my hometown, Luella Crowther. It was the first time I ate all the crust on my piece of pie, because YUM!)

2 C flour
*1 C butter (softened enough to work with)
1/2 C water
dash of salt

*shortening also works

Add butter to flour and work in by hand until you have pea-sized bits. Scatter liquid over surface. Stir until just mixed with a fork and roll into two dough balls. Place balls in plastic wrap, pull up edges and press dough into a disk. Refrigerate for at least one hour before rolling out. (Fridge up to 5 days, freeze up to 3 months)

Pound bottom crust dough with rolling pen. Roll out and form into pie pan.

1 Can of cherry pie filling (I search for the kind without corn syrup, because allergy fun!)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
1 T sugar

Mix and put on the bottom crust. (Fair warning, I like my cherries on the sweeter side with a little tart. If you prefer more tart, skip the sugar & vanilla)

Roll out second crust & cover. Flute edges & put in vent holes. Cover edges with foil, so they don't get too done. Bake at 375 for 45-60 minutes.

GIVEAWAY
Don’t forgot to check out all the authors books below.
Wedding Date For Hire by Jennifer Shirk, on sale for just 99¢!


Find it online:

Author Info:

Her Unexpected Detour by Kyra Jacobs


Find it online:

Author Info:

Wife for the Weekend by Ophelia London


Find it online:

Author Info:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Newsletter


The Bad Boy's Baby by Cindi Madsen



Find it online:

Author Info:

And be sure to stop by the other carnival booths for more fun and giveaways and each day stop by the Facebook event page to chat with the authors.