Giving Thanks - Apple and Pumpkin Cake

So, I imagine an awful lot of people in the USA are taking it easy today after partying hard yesterday. I hope every person was able to connect with the emotion of the day in some way and to do something special to give gratitude for the many gifts in their life.

For me, "fall," or autumn (as we know it on this side of the pond), is all about processing the harvest from our abundant garden. With half a dozen apple trees, I'm always looking for new ways of consuming the 1,000 plus apples we regularly get. And with the fall-out from Halloween, I got creative and created a recipe for apple and pumpkin cake.

Basically, take your favourite fruit cake/banana bread recipe and add a small dish of pumpkin, cut into small cubes and steam for around five minutes to soften. I then add thinly sliced apple (including the peel) and steam for a couple of minutes more. Add the spices of your choice - mine are cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Cook slightly lower and longer - the texture will come out a bit more puddingy, and it will not keep as long because it will be quite wet.
Scrummy!

Don't Stop Believing

As a reward for being a wonderful fan, if you pop over to Amazon in the next couple of days, you get to download this completely novel novella at the pre-release price of only 99p/99cents.

On Friday it will put on a pound/dollar for a week, then up to the normal price.

Grab your preview copy here - and if you like it, I'd really appreciate a comment on Amazon - especially if you are a Journey fan - that would Rock Like A Journey Concert!

Here's the blurb:
A failing marriage. A union separated by distance. An accidental encounter. Can the Edinburgh Fringe Festival work its magic?

Kathy’s life is a mess. Sure, the job’s great and her home is to-die-for, but she spends way too much time on the midnight train to catch a few fraught hours with her musician husband, Jimmy. 

While he’s away, Dan-next-door looks dangerously attractive.
On paper, Jimmy has it all. A talented wife, a successful rock band and nights in smart hotels. The gig at Edinburgh’s hottest arts festival is the culmination of years on the road, but the lack of harmony in his marriage makes him feel like a failure. He and Kathy fight to stay together, but events conspire to break them apart as they interact with colourful characters drawn to the Fringe.

In this rock-music-inspired tale, three love stories intertwine as each player is forced to take stock of their lives and discover what is truly important.

Any minute now ...

Ok, I just can't hold this in a minute longer.
My writer friends call their novels bookbabies, and right now, I feel like my waters are breaking.
Here's a huge clue. ===============================>

Just in case there's anyone out there who hasn't figured what a huge Journey fan I am, the title of this blog comes from my days as a Pitch Doctor on the ABNA forum. My catch-phrase when something worked well was "it rocks like a Journey concert."

Ok. Back into hiding. It is my very first NaNoWriMo after all and I have another 2K words to write.