What would you like to tell readers about yourself?
* Hi everyone! I have an official street team, Cait’s Classy Chicks, that launched the day of my latest release! To join, click here
* As a child, I entertained myself for hours playing pretend, but not with dolls and such. I created stories and pictured them in my mind, sometimes even acted them out, my well preserved secret until now. I spent years after leaving school trying to figure out my niche. Not being a literary enthusiast, I never thought my childhood pastime would lead in this direction. In life, one door closes and another opens, so I’m told. This was true for me. I lost my mother, my best friend, to cancer. After a year without her, I picked up her favorite hobby…reading. After one book, a romantic suspense, I was hooked. In the past, I’d fall asleep after a few minutes of reading. Now, books rank up there with a good red wine. It didn’t take long for my childhood muse to come back in adult version urging me to put the scenes in my head on paper. Why do I write romantic suspense? I love writing and creating the meet-cue (the point where the hero and heroine meet) to the blossoming of the romance. Add a suspenseful plot or a good mystery to the equation and the perfect book is born to curl up to and lose yourself in, taking you away from reality, troubles. I hope I have provided you with the escape similar to the ones I conjured in childhood and rediscovered as an adult, and I hope you enjoy reading my books as much as I have loved creating them. Cait’s debut novel, Kidnapped Hearts, won awards in the categories of Best Happily Ever After and Best Suspense. Cait lives in Virginia with her husband and three daughters.
What are you going to tell us about today?
* My story Breaking All Barriers and a comfort food recipe.
* A bit about Breaking All Barriers: Businessman Cole Dunbar breaks away from inventing the latest gadgets when the woman who has broken through his protective walls turns up missing. A deadly storm and a sex trafficking ring have Cole racing against time and breaking all barriers to find Dina Wright. But does Dina need saving?
Now... Can anyone say comfort food?
* Before all hell broke loose in Breaking All Barriers, Vince had planned to cook his famous chili for his best friend, Dina, her love interest Cole, and Dina’s roommate, Monique. They planned to eat chili and watch movies while they waited out the deadly storm hitting New York City. Eh, sometimes things don’t go according to plan, but here’s the recipe for you to enjoy!
3 pounds boneless beef chuck, cubed
2 large onions
3 green peppers
2 teaspoons of moist garlic
3 28 oz cans of tomatoes-diced or whole
2 cubes of beef bouillon
1 large can of red kidney beans
A dash of Salt
A couple shakes of pepper
1/3 cup chili powder
½-1 teaspoon of granulated garlic
Jalapenos-the number depending on how hot you like it.
Thickening—either flour or cornstarch—*always mix with water before adding to soup. Otherwise, the broth will turn out lumpy.
Add more oil to the pot, if necessary. Add the chopped onions and peppers. Add another teaspoon of garlic. Cook until the onions are golden and the peppers are tender.
Once done, add tomatoes with juices, chili powder, kidney beans-no need to drain, jalapenos, and return the beef back to the pot. Add salt and pepper and thicken the broth a little with either flour or cornstarch—*check the note above. Drop the beef bouillon into the pot.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered for 2-4 hours. Stir often, making sure you’re mixing the ingredient off the bottom of the pot so nothing sticks.
I test taste the chili in about an hour and add more salt, pepper, garlic, or chili powder according to your taste.
* A little tidbit of about how I came up with the name:
* Years ago, my then boyfriend—now husband—would make the chili extremely hot. It took me two beers to get through one bowl, hence the name Two Beer Chili.
* Hope you enjoy! ~ Cait
* She wanted this, them together, him, forever . “Yes,” she said around the thick ball of emotion lodged in her throat. The expression she couldn’t name moments ago shined deep within his eyes… belonging . “I want you.”
* His deep voice combined with the sexual undertones of his hot gaze spread warmth over her entire body. “What?”
* “Explain why I want you so damn bad, I can’t think of anything else, but you? Explain why I want to take you until you cry out my name?”
A look into the story
* There’s just one problem—the sexy Dina Wright who lives down the hall. He can’t keep her out of his thoughts and fantasies. When he sees her frightened on a New York City street, he tosses aside his reservations and kisses her.
* Dina is high on life. Not only is she starting an advertising agency and her best friend returns to NYC, an honest-to-God hunk is sending her spine-tingling looks.
* Despite past betrayals interfering, the budding romance picks up momentum, but Mother Nature spins her wrath. Amidst the chaos, Dina vanishes.
* Cole can’t sit still while the FBI investigates. He takes matters into his own hands and breaks all barriers to find her.
* An invisible death-grip tightened his throat. The road and buildings warped. Sound faded. Cole’s fear came to fruition, the worst moment of his life.
* He needed eyes on Dina now!
* Cole forced his legs to move faster into the darkness. The small amount of glow, seeping around the trailer from the junker’s headlights, gave him a visual to the only other intact car, parked next to the overturned truck.
* The cloud pattern shifted and the moon brightened the darkened sky. Beyond the downed trailer, demolished truck, past the crinkled unmarked car, hope soared, clenching Cole’s heart and stealing his breath. He stopped and stared, not sure if he could believe his eyes.
* The moon spotlighted Dina standing in the middle of the wreckage, staring at the road, her body shaking. Fright and pain visible in her profile felt like a bullet to his chest, forcing the wind out of his lungs and weakening his muscles.
* Her gaze left whatever caught her attention and she peered over her shoulder. Their gazes locked. In that moment of time, no one else existed, not the swirling bright blue and red lights approaching or the loud sirens demanding attention.
Buy Breaking All Barriers here...
Wild Rose Press | Amazon | Nook | Kobo | iTunes
Find Cait Jarrod here...
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Thank you for joining us here today, Cait Jarrod! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your story.
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