Cookies and Margaritas with Sharon Kleve

The holiday celebration of food and fiction continues with a delightful cocktail hour with Sharon Kleve, another fellow Passionate Cook, who has just released a new Christmas novella at the perfect time.  Help yourself to a blackberry margarita and join us for a chat about writing and good food!

Tell us about your new publication.

I've written a series of books called, 'The Corny Myers Series.'  Josey's Christmas Cookie is my second Christmas story but it's my first stand alone book.

Was there a special inspiration behind it?

All I can say is; I love animals. I know for certain they'll be in all my books. A sad, homeless dog seemed perfect for a lonely, workaholic girl.

Do you have a favorite passage you’d like to share?

It's where Josey meets the dog of her dreams.. ha ha!

A glob of drool hit the top of my shoe. He let go of my pant leg and licked the goo off my shoe. I wanted to say, "gross," but instead I said, "thank you."

I was hooked. His fur was a reddish brown and soft as silk. Not caring about drool or dog hair, I sat down on the floor next to Cookie, wrapped my arms around his neck and finally felt at peace.

I know exactly what you mean!  When I got my sweet puppy (although this is quite some time ago), we knew we were right for each other from the start.  I’ve never felt that kind of love at first sight with a person.  What’s next for you in your writing?

The fourth book in The Corny Myers Series, "A Bunch of Blarney' is with my publisher and I'm working on the fifth book in the series. I've started a Valentine’s story, yet to be named.

I hope there’s chocolate in it!  Could you tell us the name of a writer you’d like to invite to dinner and what would you serve her/him?

I would love to have, the one and only, Janet Evanovich over for dinner. I'd serve her my Lip Smacking Pork Roulade. It just so happens this particular recipe was chosen to be in the Passionate Cooks, All Romance Cookbook. My recipe, pictured below, is on page 110 and is available here.

Describe a favorite drink that makes life a true pleasure. 

I'm a true connoisseur of margaritas, so I'd also serve Janet Evanovich a couple of Mouth-Watering Blackberry Margaritas. One's never enough…

12 oz. Agave Tequila
6 oz. fresh squeezed lime juice
3 oz Agave nectar
3 oz water
¼ cup blackberries, frozen will work if they're not in season.
A pinch of rock salt

Shake vigorously and pour over crushed ice.

Makes about 6 servings, depending on the glass size

Janet is one lucky writer, but I think we can all enjoy a luscious fruity cocktail at week’s end.  I will definitely be trying this recipe.  Thanks so much for sharing, Sharon, and best of luck with your series.

Sharon Kleve was born and raised in Washington and currently lives on the Olympic Peninsula with her husband.  She loves romance. She loves reading romance, living romance, and especially loves writing about romance. She gets no greater feeling than watching her characters come alive in each other's arms. Most of all, she loves giving her characters the happily ever after they deserve—with a few bumps and bruises along the way. One of her favorite things to do is picking up a new book and sinking into the story, immersing herself in the emotions between the characters. She hopes to inspire her readers the same way her favorite authors have inspired her. When not writing, she can usually be found either curled up in her recliner with her cat and a good book, or in the kitchen baking sourdough bread or bagels.

You can buy Sharon’s books here:

Amazon US
Amazon UK
Barnes and Noble
Smashwords

Find out more at Sharon’s website, blog, Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads