Laura Trentham
Find me on
  • Home
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
  • Historical Books
    • Spies and Lovers Series >
      • An Indecent Invitation
      • A Brazen Bargain
      • A Reckless Redemption
      • A Sinful Surrender
      • A Daring Deception
      • A Scandalous Secret
      • A Wicked Wedding
    • The Laws of Attraction >
      • The Courtship Calculation
      • The Marriage Experiment
      • The Passion Project
  • Contemporary Books
    • Sweet Home Alabama >
      • Slow and Steady Rush
      • Caught Up in the Touch
      • Melting Into You
    • Cottonbloom Novels >
      • Kiss Me That Way
      • Then He Kissed Me
      • Till I Kissed You
      • Leave the Night On
      • When the Stars Come Out
      • Set the Night On Fire
      • Cottonbloom Novellas
    • Heart of a Hero >
      • The Military Wife
      • An Everyday Hero
    • Highland, Georgia Series >
      • A Highlander Walks Into a Bar
      • A Highlander in a Pickup
      • A Highlander is Coming to Town
  • Blog
  • Recipes
  • Contact

Wilted Bacon Salad

4/15/2015

1 Comment

 
My Falcon Football series has been described as FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS meets SWEET HOME ALABAMA. And, I have to agree! Football plays a part, but even more it's about life and love (and food!) in a small Southern town. As Alec, my hero in Book 3, MELTING INTO YOU, thinks "Old lessons from his mother surfaced. In the south, births, deaths, thank yous, and apologies all involved food."

Check out my previous recipe posts from the FALCON FOOTBALL series, Ada's Banana Pudding, Darcy's Chicken and Dumplings and Logan's Skillet Blackberry Cobbler, and Logan's Bacon-Basil Mac and Cheese.  This week I'm featuring a Wilted Bacon Salad. Enjoy!
Picture
AVAILABLE NOW!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
PRE-ORDER NOW!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
SLOW AND STEADY RUSH is a RT Book Reviews TOP PICK!!
"....marvelously funny, engaging, and memorable in a place where everyone knows your name."

"Laura Trentham writes an intricately woven story that throbs with rich emotion. I laughed, I cried, I loved Slow and Steady Rush!"
Bestselling Author of the Sweet, Texas Series
Candis Terry

"The instant chemistry and dynamic give-and-take...Trentham pulls the various elements together in time to deliver a sweet, satisfying story."
Publisher's Weekly
Picture
Wilted Bacon Salad
While fresh-picked straight out the the garden lettuce works best, you can substitute a mixed greens or buttercrunch lettuce

6-8 cups lettuce
Dressing:
4 slices bacon
1/4 cup water
1T sugar
2-3T vinegar

Cook bacon, crumble. Remove, but retain grease. Turn off stove. Sprinkle in sugar. Add vinegar. Add water. Toss with lettuce and crumbled bacon. Add toppings of choice. Serve immediately. Can be a side or meal.

Enjoy a snippet from SLOW AND STEADY RUSH - OUT NOW!
Ingrained training had him crouching low and moving across the short open field as if a sniper had him in his sights. He squatted at the edge of the bank and parted low-hanging willow branches. Leaning forward, he hung onto a ropey, pliable limb, his fisted hand stripping a row of leaves. His heart nearly stopped but then galloped out of his chest to match his bulging eyes.

Holy shit. It was a naked woman. A fine, naked woman.     

She stood hip deep in a slow-moving eddy with her back to him. Her face tilted to the sky, she shook wet hair and squeezed out the water. The feminine, graceful movements dried his mouth. Rivulets raced from her shoulders to the hollow of her lower back. Water bobbed around her ass, framing perfection. The beauty of the scene went beyond the erotic.

He was intruding on a private moment and needed to leave. He squeezed his eyes shut. Nothing but the whisper of the wind in the trees and the flow of the river filled the quiet.

He took a step back, cracking a dead branch under his boot, and froze. He’d be fired from the team if he were accused of voyeurism. Had she heard him? One eye opened and went straight to woman in the river. He tried his damnedest to look away, but hell, he was only human.

Another intruder captured his attention. The water lapping the far bank rippled. Wide body, flat head. He mouthed a curse. Cottonmouth. Big one, too. A bite might not kill her, but it would cause excruciating pain. The snake swam straight toward his fine, naked woman.

He stood, thumbed the safety, and cupped the gun in both hands. He had one shot to get the job done. Not the first time he’d been in that position. His finger caressed the trigger. The gun’s report and the woman’s scream trampled the seductive beauty of the scene.

The woman fell and stirred up enough silt to darken the usually clear water. Bits of snake floated down the river. “My God!” she repeated as a litany, giving the snake remnants wide berth.

Shallow, fast-moving water eddied around her shoulders and concealed her curves as she scrambled backward on her hands and feet. Dark hair streamed into her face. She brushed it aside only to have the water push it back in front of her eyes.

He couldn’t let her panic and drown. Pushing willow branches aside, he called out, “You’re welcome.” He’d aimed for nonthreatening, but had landed closer to surly. Wincing, he rubbed his nape. Jesus, he was an idiot.

She startled and shielded her eyes against the sun. Her other arm curled over her breasts. “You could have shot me. What are you doing out here?”

Her voice shook, and he recognized the emotion. Fear. He followed her darting gaze to the near bank. Clothing hung from a low tree branch.

Her words jumbled out. “The state forest starts on the other side. You’re on private land. Were you spying on me?”

“Of course not.” Maybe he’d looked a little longer than necessary, but damn . . . what man with a beating heart wouldn’t? “That was a cottonmouth, by the way. You wouldn’t want to get hauled to the hospital like that, would you?” He tried a jokey smile and made vague gestures toward her nakedness. Her expression remained stony, turning his smile into a grimace.

“It looked like an innocent little water snake to me. I was in more danger of getting shot than bit.” She crouched. Water cascaded over her shoulders. Her arm pressed her breasts together, only the top curves visible. The hand not covering her breasts shooed him away like a dog. “Hello? Would you mind giving me a little privacy?”

What the fuck was the matter with him? He was acting like a perv.

“Of course. I’ll be on my way and let you get decent, ma’am.” He inclined his head and touched the brim of his baseball cap with a forefinger, playing the gentleman even as base impulses urged him to watch her nude body rise out of the water.

“Wait just a minute! We’re not done, mister.” Her voice, husky and melodious now that shrill fear no longer colored it, sent a tingle down his spine.

Halfway across the field to his truck, he stopped and tugged his cap lower and thought about the firecracker scrambling up the bank. He hadn’t seen her around town. Who the hell was she? A more important question forced itself into his consciousness. Was she still naked?

1 Comment

Logan's Bacon-Basil Mac and Cheese

4/10/2015

3 Comments

 
My Falcon Football series has been described as FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS meets SWEET HOME ALABAMA. And, I have to agree! Football plays a part, but even more it's about life and love (and food!) in a small Southern town. As Alec, my hero in Book 3, MELTING INTO YOU, thinks "Old lessons from his mother surfaced. In the south, births, deaths, thank yous, and apologies all involved food."

For the past weeks I've featured recipes from the FALCON FOOTBALL series, Ada's Banana Pudding, Darcy's Chicken and Dumplings and Logan's Skillet Blackberry Cobbler. This week is everyone's favorite comfort food with a twist... Logan's Bacon-Basil Mac and Cheese. I think we can all agree bacon makes everything better. Along with the recipe, stay to enjoy a snippet from CAUGHT UP IN THE TOUCH.
Picture
AVAILABLE NOW!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
PRE-ORDER NOW!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
SLOW AND STEADY RUSH is a RT Book Reviews TOP PICK!!
"....marvelously funny, engaging, and memorable in a place where everyone knows your name."

"Laura Trentham writes an intricately woven story that throbs with rich emotion. I laughed, I cried, I loved Slow and Steady Rush!"
Bestselling Author of the Sweet, Texas Series
Candis Terry

"The instant chemistry and dynamic give-and-take...Trentham pulls the various elements together in time to deliver a sweet, satisfying story."
Publisher's Weekly
Picture
Logan’s Basil-Bacon Macaroni and Cheese
Note: Logan sometimes goes crazy and uses cavatelli pasta.

8 oz. (½ pound or about 1 ¾ cups) macaroni
3 tbsp butter
¼ cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp dry mustard
¼  tsp pepper
2 ½ cup milk
3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
3-4 slices bacon
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

Directions:
  1. Preheat the oven to 375.
  2. Boil the pasta until al dente.
  3. Cook bacon, crumble.
  4. In  a pan over medium heat, melt the butter.
  5. Add flour, salt, dry mustard, and pepper. Whisk constantly for three minutes forming a roux.
  6. Add the milk in a thin stream, stirring constantly with a whisk. Continue to stir until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes.
  7. Remove from heat and add 2 cups of the cheese, stirring until melted. Pour the cheese sauce over the cooked pasta. Add crumbled bacon and toss.
  8. Add half the pasta to a two-quart casserole dish Sprinkle on half of remaining cheese. Add the rest of the pasta. Sprinkle on basil and the rest of the cheese.
  9. Bake for 25 minutes, until the mac and cheese starts getting a brown on top.

Snippet from CAUGHT UP IN THE TOUCH...Come meet Logan aka "Mountain Man"

“Sorry, ma’am. Didn’t mean to startle you. Are you having problems?” Mountain Man rested his forearms over the top of her door. His wrists were thick, his hands huge. The black under his fingernails was a workingman’s polish, and fresh red scratches zagged over the back of his hands. As he repositioned the frayed blue and white baseball cap shadowing his eyes, the muscles along his forearm jumped. Dark brown hair flipped into almost curls around the edges.

The sunlight emphasized the thinness of his cotton shirt, one shoulder seam pulling apart across the broad expanse of his torso. His masculinity wove around her, at once disconcerting, yet easing her illogical, escalating panic.

“My car won’t start.” God, she hated the little-girl, tinny sound of her voice. She cleared her throat and tried again, forcing a practiced steel into her words. “It’s been acting funny since I hit Birmingham.”

Mountain Man assessed the parking space she’d pulled out of and pushed the brim of his hat up a couple of inches with his forefinger. He squatted, and she slid out of the car to watch. He swiped his fingers through a puddle on the blacktop and rubbed. Then he smelled his fingers. He turned toward her, still in a squat. “Looks like a coolant leak. Your AC been working?”

“Not well. And, my temperature gauge flashed red just before the engine died.”

“Pop the hood, and let me take a gander.”

She pulled the lever on the dashboard and joined him at the front of the car “Are you a mechanic?”

“I’m a handyman, remember?” Again, he graced her with a panty-melting grin before leaning over the engine compartment to jiggle hoses.

His scent filtered through the humidity to her. Not the stench of unwashed male she expected. Underlying the clean sweat and grease was a mystery that hooked her closer, until she was leaning over the hood too, close to his shoulder. The one with the ripping seam. She swallowed, her throat stiff as if a noose had tightened. Usually, panic accompanied the feeling, but not this time. This time a covey of birds beat their wings in her stomach.

He turned toward her, one hand on the edge of her raised hood. His eyes were brown, but not a plain brown or even a deep, intensive one, but an electric brown with sparks of gold. They danced over her face. His voice came out gruff, almost a whisper. “I understand your problem.”

She massaged the taut cords of her neck. For a heartbeat, she wondered if he referred to her or her car. Hope lilted her question. “You do?”

“Yep. One of your hoses is cracked. Probably due to the heat.”

She swayed on her heels and dropped her face, pretending to study the hulk of metal and plastic under her hood. No matter her degrees and successes, sometimes she was a complete and total idiot. Like now. This redneck mountain man could never understand her. Her hair swished forward, strands sticking to her cheeks, hiding her face. “Can you fix it?”

He left her standing over the puzzle of her engine. He hadn’t even offered to call a tow truck. She felt oddly abandoned.

He stopped at an old blue and white Ford pickup parked in the shadow of a huge oak tree. Instead of climbing in and driving off with a grin and a wave, he flipped open a white, metal utility box in the truck bed. Clanging metal accompanied his search. He made a satisfied exclamation before trotting back toward her. “Duct tape. I always keep a roll handy. You mind hanging on to my hat?”

Without giving her a chance to answer, he pushed the ball cap into her hands, dropped to lay on the ground, and scooched under her car. With his knees bent, his legs stuck out from under the bumper.

An embroidered flying falcon on the side of his cap had lost half of its thread, and she picked at the fraying brim. She shuffled her feet apart and flapped her blouse to catch the slight breeze ruffling her hair. The occasional rip of tape punctuated the unidentifiable song he hummed.

His shimmy reversed itself, and he emerged with new brown stains on the front of his shirt and a glossy smear along his cheekbone. He rubbed his fingers along the edge of his shirt dirtying it further, and ran the back of his wrist over his forehead, wiping away a rivulet of sweat.

“You’ve got some grease on your cheek.” She pointed like a three-year-old.

He brought the edge of his T-shirt to his face and scrubbed it clean. At least she assumed that’s what he was doing, because she couldn’t tear her gaze away from his torso.

Michael, the boyfriend she’d broken up with six months earlier, had kept his chest waxed to show off the contours he worked hard for in the gym. Mountain Man did not wax. Curly brownish hair trailed from his partially revealed pecs straight into the waistband of the gray boxer briefs peeking out of his jeans. And, for all the time her ex-boyfriend had put in at the gym, he had never built the solid, thick muscles of the man standing close enough to touch.

Mountain Man didn’t lift weights for an hour then push papers around a desk for the rest of the day. Maybe he chopped wood or moved bales of hay or broke horses. She’d watched a documentary on real-life working cowboys one sleepless night and had unusually erotic-laced dreams when she’d finally drifted off.

3 Comments

Letting Go by Jessica Ruddick

4/7/2015

1 Comment

 
Picture
Today I'm thrilled to be hosting a cover reveal for Jessica Ruddick's debut release with Entangled. Jessica finaled in the Golden Heart with me in 2014 and is a wonderful person and talented writer. Without further ado, check out her absolutely gorgeous cover and the amazing blurb of LETTING GO releasing May 26th, 2015!!


Blurb:
How long do you hold on?

Cori Elliott likes order. Her schedule, her social life...even her GPA is perfect. Then she finds out her high school boyfriend's death wasn't an accident—it was suicide. The devastating revelation is enough to fracture her perfectly structured life, sending Cori in a downward spiral of self-doubt and impulsive decisions.

And right into the arms of Luke Evans.

But Cori's life isn't perfect anymore. In fact, it's all coming apart. The only way she can save herself is to let go of everything--including the girl she used to be. Even if it means losing the one guy who might just be perfect for her in the process...

Add to Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23302058-letting-go?from_search=true

About the Author:
Jessica Ruddick is a 2014 Golden Heart finalist for her new adult novel, Letting Go, which was inspired by her own college experiences. She lives in Virginia and is married to her college sweetheart—their first date was a fraternity toga party (and nothing inspires love like a toga, right?). When she doesn’t have her nose in a book or her hands on a keyboard, she can be found wrangling her two rambunctious sons, taming two rowdy but lovable rescue dogs, and battling the herd of dust bunnies that has taken up residence in her home. To learn more about Jessica, please visit her website at www.jessicaruddick.com.

Author Links:

Website  │  Twitter  │  Facebook  │  Goodreads


Picture
1 Comment

Logan's Skillet Blackberry Cobbler

4/1/2015

3 Comments

 
The past two weeks I've feature recipes from my recent release SLOW AND STEADY RUSH, Ada's Banana Pudding and Darcy's Chicken and Dumplings. This week you are in for a treat in more ways than one. Not only am I including the recipe for Logan's Blackberry Cobbler but you get a sneak peak at  CAUGHT UP IN THE TOUCH, releasing July 21st and available for preorder. It features a chef and the woman tasked with wooing him away from Falcon, Alabama.
Picture
Picture
SLOW AND STEADY RUSH is a RT Book Reviews TOP PICK!!
"....marvelously funny, engaging, and memorable in a place where everyone knows your name."
Picture
Logan’s Skillet Blackberry Cobbler

Any fruit can be substituted in this iron skillet cobbler.
¾ cup brown sugar
1 stick of butter/margarine + 2 tbsp for top
2 pie crusts (can be store bought or homemade)
Blackberries (or other fresh fruit)
¾ cup white sugar

1.     In large iron skillet, melt butter and combine with brown sugar.
2.     Lay one piecrust over sugar/butter mixture.
3.     Fill with fruit. (Can be fresh blackberries, raspberries, etc. Or, thinly sliced apples or peaches.)
4.     Top with white sugar.
5.     Cover with piecrust and dot top with butter.
6.     Cook at 350 for thirty minutes.
PS. Logan recommends putting a cookie under skillet to catch any drips.


And now, as a special treat, much like Logan's cobbler, a snippet of CAUGHT UP IN THE TOUCH. Meet Logan and Jessica...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Allow me, ma’am.” He held the door open, and she had to brush by him to make it through the opening. Anger boiled through the ice, animating her face. The woman looked like she wanted to punch his two front teeth out.

She kept an inch of space between them, but the air carried her scent. Clean and citrusy and delicious. He followed her into the bustling kitchen. Laughter overlay the clang of metal and thunk of dishes.

“How about a quick tour?” He gestured toward the prep area.

Her eyes narrowed and darted over his face. She harrumphed and looked around. “I’ll admit I’m curious.”

Two of the Falcon football players stopped their work at the stove to give him a wink and a thumbs-up behind her back. He sent them a brisk shake of his head and mouthed, “Extra laps.”

Her head whipped around, and he forced a smile. Usually never at a loss for words, he stumbled a bit before finding his groove describing the inner workings of Adaline’s, herding her toward the dessert station. She examined the trays. “Not a huge selection.”

“No, but what we have is outstanding. We use seasonal fruit in the cobbler. It’s my grandmother’s recipe. Today is blackberry. My favorite. Here—” He grabbed a clean spoon and scooped up a bite, raising it to her mouth. She startled and bumped his arm. The dark sugared mash fell off the spoon and down the front of her pristine shirt, leaving a berry-colored skid mark straight down the curve of her right breast.

“Damn…I mean, dangit, I’m sorry.” He grabbed a damp rag on the counter and wiped over her breast, smearing the stain and dampening her shirt. Her breast was full and soft and peaked under his attention. His mind fired off a cease and desist order which his hand ignored. An ungentlemanly urge to drop the rag altogether and stroke with a bare hand hammered.

She plucked the rag from him and pushed his hand away. “Allrighty there, Mountain Man, lay off. Nothing but some bleach is going help at this point.”

He expected disdain and maybe anger. Instead, humor lilted her voice, and a small smile tipped up one corner of her mouth, softening her face as she smoothed down the stained shirt. Heat whooshed through his body. The combination of attraction and embarrassment flashed him back to his adolescence, and he shifted on his feet, feeling suddenly gangly and uncomfortable in his own skin.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Out now from St. Martin's Press, SLOW AND STEADY RUSH.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

3 Comments

    Laura Trentham

    Author of Historical and Contemporary Romance


    Archives

    September 2020
    October 2019
    June 2019
    July 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    March 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    November 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014

    Newsletter

    Want to know when I have a NEW RELEASE, SALE, or other news? Sign up for my newsletter!

    Thank you!

    You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

    Categories

    All
    Abbott Brothers
    An Indecent Invitation
    Author Interview
    BadGirlzWrite
    Caught Up In The Touch
    Contests
    Cottonbloom
    Cover Reveal
    Craft
    Excerpt
    Golden Heart
    Historical
    Leave The Night On
    Military
    New Adult
    Paranormal
    Recipes
    Release Day
    RWA14
    Slow And Steady Rush
    Teaser Tuesday
    Whatcha Working On?
    What We're Reading Wednesday
    Writing Process
    Young Adult

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly