This little gem is part of the ONE SCOOP OR TWO SERIES from Wild Rose Press and is my second sweet romance. It was published 5.20.2020, the day after my 60th birthday, so I consider it a very nice birthday present to myself! LOL
On the third day of his enforced vacation, Deacon Withers decided he’d had enough.
Doesn’t that line want to make you read on so you can discover WHAT he’s had enough of?? Hee hee. At least, that’s my hope.
Oh, and by the way, VANILLA WITH A TWIST was a 2020 HEART AWARD WINNER in the Sweet romance category in the Oklahoma Romance Writers Guild Awards! SWEET!
This weekend, my WIld Rose Press sistah Marilyn Barr is celebrating the SPUMONI FESTIVAL with a post and the release of her One Scoop or Two novella from WRP SMOOTHER THAN SPUMONI
Do you like your ice cream by the slice? If so, this weekend is the Spumoni Festival across the globe. From its home in Naples, Italy to its commercial center in New York City, USA, the tri-colored ice cream is celebrated. Flavor combination taste testing, largest cube contests, and fastest scooping races are just some of the fun activities at Spumoni Festivals. Even my small town in Kentucky is celebrating with an ice cream toss for prizes. How many times could you volley a scoop of ice cream from cone-to-cone in the late August heat? I know my number…it’s 5.
The festival ends on 8/23/2021 which is the release date for Smoother Than Spumoni. Allow me to introduce you to Susie Larkin, the dolphin shifter in the Strawberry Shifters spin-off novella. Dolphins can’t eat ice cream so what is the connection? Susie is the heiress to Larkin’s Dairy Dip on Seagrass Island and our main character in Smoother Than Spumoni, part of the One Scoop Or Two series. Susie may be pedaling ice carts on the beach this summer, but once she has her MBA – she is building a frozen confection empire.
Susie has her eyes on the prize and it is in the opposite direction of the fated-mate meat market. While her friends are batting their eyelashes at every shifter of age, Susie is studying dairy prices and flavor trends. She is laser-focused until she meets Frank Paulino, an intern from the Strawberry pack. Here’s a snippet from Smoother Than Spumoni that will melt your heart:
“You put your sign away before I could read your flavor choices. Do you have spumoni by chance?”
“I-I,” I stammer. A decade of childhood speech therapy is reversed in milliseconds. With each syllable, my face boils from heat not related to the sun. Where is confident, professional Susie? I need my educated side to wake up and say something intelligent. Like…like…
“What’s a spumoni?” Oh, my goodness gracious, say anything but that. Of course, I know spumoni is an ice cream flavor, I have been making ice cream since childhood.
“Spumoni is an Italian flavor combo of ice cream. My mom makes it all the time and I thought I could ward off homesickness with it,” he says with a shy smile. Awww, he misses home. Could he be any cuter?
Okay, my turn to talk but my mouth fails to work. Scoop something, scoop something. “Here is Neapolitan,” I say, pointing the scoop into the case. “It is almost spumoni.”
He crinkles his nose at me, and I swoon like a doofus. “Neapolitan isn’t spumoni. Where are the dried fruit, the nuts, the Italian flag?”
“Of course, the Italian Americans ditched the patriotism for marketability when they substituted chocolate for the vanilla portion of the flag.” Phew, now I sound more like myself.
“Exactly, you can’t begrudge an American their chocolate. It is an instant moneymaker. A chocolate dessert boosts our profits by five percent at the restaurant back home.”
“Our chocolate ice cream flies out of the case during the busy season. If I were in charge, we would be packaging it to sell in grocery stores. A safe flavor would be a soft launch though,” I say, waving the scoop at him.
Is spumoni related to Neapolitan? The answer can be found in 1870s Americana when spumoni was first brought from Naples, Italy. Spuma is Italian for foams and Spumoni is its plural form. The original recipe had three ice creams of cherry, vanilla, and pistachio, all topped with whipped cream (foam) mixed with dried fruit and nuts. The dessert was sliced like ice cream cake (still is in Italy and Argentina). (from National Spumoni Day Facts).
As you can guess, America went wild for sliced spumoni even after the foam was removed for ease of eating. Imagine walking down a New York street with your slice of pizza in one hand and your slice of spumoni in the other. Having the foam would be a messy affair! The greater the popularity, the more the spumoni makers experimented. Chocolate was swapped out for vanilla to capitalize on America’s favorite flavor by 1880.
Spumoni is the grandfather to all tri-flavored ice cream, including Neapolitan. In 1885, you could purchase a slice of a Neapolitan Box which was three flavors of the day frozen side-by-side. They started with the traditional spumoni flavors but later added coffee, strawberry, and orange. With success came wild flavors like pineapple, black current, brandy brown butter, and tea. No matter what combinations were created, the classic strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate Neapolitan was the best seller. As the ice cream industry changed from slices to scoops around 1900, the Neapolitan box became the tri-flavored scoops we know today. (from Good Eats Ice Cream)
Today, spumoni festivals have taste testing of the wildest new flavors. How about Dragon’s Breath (cayenne chocolate), Unicorn (cotton candy), and Elf Ears (egg nog)? When my family visited a spumoni festival in Little Italy, my favorite was a floral combination of lemon thyme, strawberry rose, and orange blossom. My son surprised me by picking lavender, blueberry lemon, and orange crème as his favorite combination. I thought the Dragon’s Breath would have been a winner.
My mother and grandmother still serve their spumoni sliced with foam filled with pistachios, dried cherries, and chocolate chips. I’m the rebel who scoops hers. I also make mine with bourbon-soaked cherries. I do live near Louisville, Kentucky after all. While I have inspired you to drive to your local ice cream parlor, I need to get back to Smoother Than Spumoni. Here’s another snippet from Susie and Frank:
“Listen to me babble on about pasta and cheese prices while the rain has started falling,” he says, raking his fingers through his hair leaving a curl standing up. I must resist making a fool out of myself by smoothing it down. My hands twitch as I watch it wave at me from his head.
“No, the price of dairy is the driving force, beyond petroleum pricing, behind our price points in the ice cream world too,” I say to reassure him. I love studying commodities but somehow the subject becomes captivating when delivered in his soft, velvet voice.
“To take on the dairy industry for price points, you must really believe in your chocolate ice cream. I believe I’m sold,” he says. I’m too busy mooning over him to realize I’m supposed to be selling. We stand there for a moment with my scoop in midair. I am releasing the dry ice at the bottom of the case. Soon I will be the only frozen part of this operation.
Aww, nerd love. Will Susie and Frank put their ambitions aside long enough to give their relationship a chance? Once you finish that slice of ice cream, check out Smoother Than Spumoni, a sweet, new adult shifter romance with the summer lovin’ of Grease and the environmental conspiracy of the Pelican Brief.
Susie Larkin is a dolphin shifter and heir to the humble Larkin’s Dairy Dip on Seagrass Island, FL. Pedaling ice cream from bicycle carts on the beach is just a stepping-stone for this future CEO of a frozen confection empire—or so she hopes.
Frank Paulino Jr. receives his first taste of freedom from Strawberry, KY in a summer internship at Bart’s Oyster bar. His pasta creations save the restaurant when red tide poisons the fresh fish of the bay, making him the most popular werewolf on Seagrass island.
Frank and Susie uncover a conspiracy that threatens not only the wildlife of the area but also their lives. Can these two shifters put their ambitions aside long enough to give their relationship a chance, or will Frank pay the ultimate price to protect Susie and the island she loves?
They move quickly, efficiently, and silently, only stopping to check over their shoulders every few minutes. When the exchange is complete, the truck starts again. Even though it is dark, without headlights they navigate unerringly through the native swamp.
“That was weird. You thought it was weird right?”
“Yeah, I want to know what is in those barrels.”
“Let’s leave it alone. We have been gone for months and have no idea how this area has changed. Let’s go home and ask our parents or Wilson.”
“Why? When one look at the label will answer all our questions? Besides, the truck has already left.”
“They could return.”
“As shady as they were acting, they aren’t coming back. Come on—”
“No way, Susie Q. We are going home.” Her voice shakes as she lays down her ultimatum. She can’t abandon me here in case I succumb to Red Tide on the swim home. However, tears have already started rolling down her cheeks. My bestie is terrified.
“You are right. Let’s go ask,” I say calmly. Why upset her more when I can bring a braver companion tomorrow? Surely a demon-slaying werewolf won’t be scared of a few barrels?
Marilyn Barr currently resides in the wilds of Kentucky with her husband, son, and rescue cats. She has a diverse background containing experiences as a child prodigy turned medical school reject, published microbiologist, special education/inclusion science teacher, homeschool mother of a savant, certified spiritual/energy healer, and advocate for the autistic community. This puts her in the position to bring tales containing heroes who are regular people with different ability levels and body types, in a light where they are powerful, lovable, and appreciated.
When engaging with the real world, she is collecting characters, empty coffee cups, and unused homeschool curricula. She is a sucker (haha) for cheesy horror movies, Italian food, punk music, black cats, bad puns, and all things witchy.
I won’t go into details, but every day there was a new issue or problem either with my family or my career. I wondered if things could get worse. But then, yesterday, they got immeasurably better!
Last night I was informed that my sweet romance VANILLA WITH A TWIST won the Sweet category in the Oklahoma Romance Writers Guild Awards!
Gobsmacked is too tame a word for how I felt when I watched the You0tube virtual event and heard my name called!
So, it really was the perfect ending to a week I want to forget!
If you haven’t read the book, here’s a little something about it:
Tandy Blakemore spends her days running her New England ice cream parlor, single-parenting her teenage son, and trying to keep her head above financial water. No easy feat when the shop’s machinery is aging and her son is thinking about college. Tandy hasn’t had a day off in a decade and wonders if she’ll ever be able to live a worry-free life. Engineer Deacon Withers is on an enforced vacation in the tiny seaside town of Beacher’s Cove. Overworked, stressed, and lonely, he walks into Tandy’s shop for a midday ice cream cone and gets embroiled in helping her fix a broken piece of equipment. Can the budding friendship that follows lead to something everlasting?
Intrigued? I hope so.
I’m off to do Sunday chores. Hope your day is as happy as mine.
Today’s backlisted book isn’t that old, but since it isn’t new, either, I figured it would be a goodie to add.
If you like ice cream, summer vacations, and sweet romances, VANILLA WITH A TWIST ( One Scoop or Two series) is for you. Set in the fictional New Hampshire seaside town of Beacher’s Cove, this novella was a pleasure to write – especially since I had to do a lot of research on ice cream flavors…hee hee
Tandy Blakemore spends her days running her New England ice cream parlor, single-parenting her teenage son, and trying to keep her head above financial water. No easy feat when the shop’s machinery is aging and her son is thinking about college. Tandy hasn’t had a day off in a decade and wonders if she’ll ever be able to live a worry-free life. Engineer Deacon Withers is on an enforced vacation in the tiny seaside town of Beacher’s Cove. Overworked, stressed, and lonely, he walks into Tandy’s shop for a midday ice cream cone and gets embroiled in helping her fix a broken piece of equipment. Can the budding friendship that follows lead to something everlasting?
Excerpt:
For a few moments, she regarded him with a look his mother would have called insightful. The corners of her eyes narrowed, she dipped her chin a hair, and she pulled her mouth into another appealing pout he was tempted to kiss.
“I bet,” she said after a long, drawn-out sigh, “you were the kind of kid who took apart clocks and fans and vacuum cleaners to see how they worked.”
“It was more washing machines and lawn mowers and anything with a motor, but yeah. I was.”
She shook her head, her own lips forming a lopsided grin. “Your poor mother.”
“She survived.”
Tandy rolled her eyes and shot her hands to her hips. “So it’s working again?” She thrust her chin at the ice cream machine.
“For now.”
“Okay, well, I can live with for now. And you think you know the real reason it’s been acting up?”
“I definitely do. But like I said, the water to the machine needs to be shut off to fix it.”
“Okay. Well, we close at nine.”
“I’ll come back a little before then. Get things ready. Is that okay with you?”
“I guess it’ll have to be.” She bit down on the inside of her cheek as her brows pulled together. “And you’re sure you want to do this?”
“If I weren’t, I wouldn’t offer, Tandy.”
Why her reluctance to have him help was such a turn-on was something he considered while he waited for his ice cream.
So, this happened yesterday. I’m so excited to be a finalist – and I’m in a category with other Wild Rose Press authors, so that makes it’s even more wonderful!
Tandy Blakemore spends her days running her New England ice cream parlor, single-parenting her teenage son, and trying to keep her head above financial water. No easy feat when the shop’s machinery is aging and her son is thinking about college. Tandy hasn’t had a day off in a decade and wonders if she’ll ever be able to live a worry-free life.
Engineer Deacon Withers is on an enforced vacation in the tiny seaside town of Beacher’s Cove. Overworked, stressed, and lonely, he walks into Tandy’s shop for a midday ice cream cone and gets embroiled in helping her fix a broken piece of equipment.
Can the budding friendship that follows lead to something everlasting?
I’m so excited and honored that VANILLA WITH A TWIST won the July Book of the Month contest over at LoveRomanceReads.
I’m not gonna lie – I campaigned hard to win because I knew that the win came with a chance to do a Facebook Messenger chat and I wanted to be able to promote the entire One Scoop or Two Series of books from Wild Rose Press.
The live FBMessenger chat will take place next Thursday, July 23, at 8:30 pm EST. This is the link and you need to join the Love Romance Reads Romp to participate, so click on, ask to join, and you’re set: LRR
If you want to read the book before the chat, I’ve included the buy links below. It’s a novella, so you should be able to get it read in just a few lazy afternoon hours.
Hope to see as many people as we can fit in the room next Thursday. Happy reading!
Tandy Blakemore spends her days running her New England ice cream parlor, single-parenting her teenage son, and trying to keep her head above financial water. No easy feat when the shop’s machinery is aging and her son is thinking about college. Tandy hasn’t had a day off in a decade and wonders if she’ll ever be able to live a worry-free life.
Engineer Deacon Withers is on an enforced vacation in the tiny seaside town of Beacher’s Cove. Overworked, stressed, and lonely, he walks into Tandy’s shop for a midday ice cream cone and gets embroiled in helping her fix a broken piece of equipment.
Can the budding friendship that follows lead to something everlasting?
I’m so stoked to be featured for the day on the SWEET TEA MAFIA facebook group this week!
The event is to help promote the ONE SCOOP OR TWO BOOKS currently out by the Wild Rose Press Authors and will happening on Friday’s on the group page. Here’s the lineup:
I hope you join me this Friday, July 10, starting at 9 am EST. I’ll be live all day talking about…stuff, hee hee, and giving away a prize or two ( or three!!)
“I can’t pay you in cash,” she said, oblivious to the effect she’d had on him, “but at least let me treat you to anything on the menu. There’s never a wrong time to have ice cream.”
He chuckled.
“How about a free cone every day you’re in town? I’m assuming you’re on vacation?”
His head bobbed once in answer.
“It’s the least I can do for your help, Mr…”
“Deacon. Deacon Withers.” Ingrained manners forced his hand out.
She gazed down at it for a beat, and he wondered at her reluctance. When she finally took his hand, she said, “Tandy Blakemore. Vanilla with a Twist is my shop, and you just helped me fix an ongoing problem and prevent a dispensing disaster. This machine is the only one that does flavor twists.”
“I’m glad I could help. And while a free cone sounds nice—” He cleared his throat, surprising himself with his next words. “—how about you have dinner with me instead?”
Wariness flew back into her eyes. As intriguing as her open smile had been, this hesitant reaction was even more so.
“I’m sorry. I can’t. The store is open until ten. Tourist season, you know?”
“You have to eat sometime.”
She shook her head again. “True, but…sorry. Now, about your ice cream? What flavor did you order?”
He hadn’t met many people who could so summarily dismiss him and still smile while doing so.
“Fudge ripple with chocolate jimmies.” The woman who’d originally waited on him had one all ready to go and handed it to Tandy.
“For services rendered,” Tandy said as she gave it to him. “And with my sincere thanks.”
Enjoy an ice cream on this hot day. Remember, like Tandy says: “There’s never a wrong time for ice cream.”
If you’re looking for some great summer reading, look no further than the Wild Rose Press. Their newest series – ONE SCOOP OR TWO – is already chockfull of fabulous stories that can be read on a hot and lazy afternoon while eating an ice cream cone.
Today, I’ve got WRP sistah, D.V.Stone with me, talking about how she came to write her addition to the series, RAINBOW SPRINKLES. Once you read about this story, I guarantee you’ll want to add it to your summer 2020 tbr list!
Here’s D.V….
How could I not write a book about Ice Cream?
Once upon a time in the state of confusion called New Jersey, my husband and I decided to buy a local ice cream shop and grill. We made our own super-premium flavors, including our signature New Jersey Black Bear. This was a vanilla base with raspberry chips, and truffles sprinkled throughout and swirled with raspberry jam. I enjoyed working the grill and creating upscale fare.
Unfortunately, like my main character, Gloriana Jones, we struggled with many things a small business owner does. This included a once in a century type of storm in August of 2000. Fourteen inches of rain fell in the space of eight hours. Power went out, roads flooded, and we shut down.
Now, to be fair to Gloriana, her bad weather was prolonged. Unlike Gloriana, we lost our business a few years later. We didn’t have a Nathan James business consultant or a cast of characters, both natural and supernatural, to help. Ah, live, and learn.
Regardless, the experience and learning have shaped the rest of our lives. I told my husband after he returned to previous work, “there’s nothing sexier than a man with a steady paycheck.” As of today, my Peter is a retired man.
The moral of the story? Grab for the dream. It may not work out, but if you don’t, you’ll always regret never having tried.
I hope you will enjoy this taste of Rainbow Sprinkles.
After the storm come the rainbows.
Blurb
Retired and widowed Gloriana Jones is forging on with the plans she and her late husband dreamed of—bringing joy and happiness, one ice cream cone at a time, to Lake Unami. But bad weather is drowning her dream. A trip to Upstate NY is bittersweet for Nathan James. He is excited to see his first granddaughter but without his wife he’s lonely. When his car breaks down, he heads to the only light he can see, an ice cream shop. With aid from a heavenly source, electricity sparks, but will the two weather the summer storms and find love a second time? Or will their hopes and dreams melt away?
Excerpt
“Do you mind if I wait until the tow truck gets here?” He plucked the wet shirt away from his chest with the long fingers of one tanned hand. “It must be electrical, even the radio stopped working.”
“No, you’re welcome to hang around as long as you need.” Gloriana riffled through a cardboard box under the counter, pulled out an extra-large t-shirt, and tossed it to him. “Here you go. The restroom is through there.”
Mr. Gorgeous beamed a perfect toothy smile. “Thanks. I’ll be right back.”
When he disappeared into the hallway, and the door clicked shut, Gloriana fanned her face. What the hot fudge was wrong with her? “Coffee. Make coffee.”
Hi, my name is D. V. Stone. I am a multi-genre author of two independently published books. Felice, Shield-Mates of Dar is a fantasy romance. Agent Sam Carter and the Mystery at Branch Lake is a mid-grade paranormal. Recently, Rock House Grill was released by Wild Rose Press. I also host Welcome to the Campfire and A Peek Through the Window, both weekly blogs. Here’s a little more about me.
Born in Brooklyn, D.V. Stone has moved around a bit and even lived for a time on a dairy farm in Minnesota before moving back east. Throughout her wandering, she always considered herself a Jersey Girl. She met and married the love of her life, Pete—a lifelong Jersey Man, and moved this time to Sussex County. They live with Hali, a mixed breed from the local shelter and their cat Baby.
Today I’ve got a great treat for you. Fellow Wild Rose and One Scoop or Two sistah JULIE HOWARD is here, talking about her addition to the fun series, Sea-Salt Lavender for Aphrodite.
Don’t you just love the cover!!??
I’m going to turn it over to Julie to tell you all about it..Julie...
Thank you, Peggy, for hosting me and my latest release on your blog today. I’m very excited to see this new book come out. As you know, it’s part of the One Scoop or Two series published by The Wild Rose Press just in time for summer reading.
I like to think of these books as “beach reads,” although I’m not sure how many of us will have an opportunity to go to the beach this year. Regardless, we can bring the beach to us. Isn’t that the beauty of reading books – they take us to new and different or favorite places in our imaginations. Reading this series is one way of going to the beach without getting sand in every crevice.
The central coast of California is one of my favorite places to go. It’s usually less crowded, has interesting rock formations, and has great tidal pool areas. I’ve never been one to lay on a beach. I love to stroll right at water’s edge and let the waves lap at my ankles. I watch for whales and seals and those little sandpiper birds that dart about and peck at tiny morsels at the shoreline. I set this book in a fictional central coast town and, all the time I was writing, my imagination gave me a mini-vacation to this favorite place of mine.
I’m a little sorry to be done with the story, but now more than ever am looking forward to the day when I can truly visit the central coast in person. I can almost taste the salty air.
Here’s more about this new release:
Sea-Salt Lavender for Aphrodite
A case of murder with sweet complications
Rosella Rivers enjoys the perfect life, loving her new ice cream food truck business featuring exotic flavors. But her beach view parking space is not so lovable when she finds an acquaintance stabbed to death in the boardwalk bathroom.
Detective Mark Pruitt knows murder is bad for small-town Olympus Bay. He must find the suspect before he strikes again. When he first sets eyes on Rosella, the only witness, he is smitten. However, there’s no time for romance when danger lurks.
Together he and the lovely ice cream maker must discover the killer before he turns his sight on Rosella.
Excerpt:
The echo of a drip-drip-drip resonated from within. Rosella glanced around, wishing a man would pass by, someone she could send inside on her behalf. On this side of the structure, though, the beachfront was hidden from view and the building backed by sand dunes. Unless someone needed to use the facilities, they wouldn’t approach.
“Mick?”
A distant chime from the town clock made her heart sink. Ten a.m. Opening time. She had to get back to her truck. A fresh round of anxious yips sounded. She scooted to the corner of the building and peeked toward her truck. Aphrodite stood at attention, straining at the leash. The dog barked twice at spotting her and renewed efforts to break free of the tether.
She returned to the doorway. “Mick, I’m just going to step inside since I’m a little bit worried, just to make sure you’re okay. Let me know if I shouldn’t come in.” No response sounded. “All right, coming in.”
The odor hit her first. Heavy, sweet, sickening. Then her eyes registered the scene. Mick lay face down in the middle of the tile floor, a steady stream of deep red blood winding its way toward a drain.
Julie Howard is the author of the best-selling Wild Crime and Spirited Quest series. She is a former journalist and editor who has covered topics ranging from crime to cowboy poetry. Now she edits an online anthology, Potato Soup Journal, and spends many delightful hours writing her books.
Peggy Jaeger, Author 