Thank you Norma,
for hosting Little Rainbows and me on your blog today, we’re delighted to be
your guests. Let me start by wishing you and your readers a very happy St.
Patrick’s Day.
With today being
March 17th and therefore St. Patrick’s Day I thought it would be a
great opportunity to share a recipe for the perfect Irish coffee.
Since Little Rainbows is set in Ireland it
was almost unavoidable that my characters would enjoy a glass of this Irish
speciality at some point during the story.
“He placed four glasses on the counter and put a spoonful of dark
brown sugar in each. The Jameson’s glowed golden in the low light. As soon as
the hot coffee hit the alcohol, the powerful smell of hot whisky filled the
room and Heather felt her mouth water. Soft cream on top and the Irish coffees
were done.”
I
could almost end this post with that short excerpt. There really isn’t a whole
lot more you need to know about Irish coffee. Just to ensure you’ll prepare
yours in the best possible way, here’s how it’s done:
Ingredients:
25ml/1fl
oz Irish whiskey
1tsp
brown (raw cane) sugar
1
heaped tbsp (lightly) whipped pouring cream
1
hot double espresso with a small measure of hot water to fill the glass
Method:
Use
warmed coffee glasses and add the whiskey
Add
the sugar and dissolve in the whiskey
Add
the coffee and stir well
Pour
the lightly whipped cream carefully over the back of a spoon. The cream should
float on top of the coffee-whiskey mix.
Traditionally
Irish coffee is served as an after dinner drink or to warm you up on a cold
winter’s day. Personally, I can’t think of a good reason not to enjoy this
treat on a regular basis. Sláinte
Little
Rainbows Promo Information
Title: Little Rainbows
Author: Helena Stone
Pairing: MF
Genre: BDSM,
Contemporary
General Release Date: 20th March
Publisher: Totally Bound Publishing
ISBN: 9781784304584
Available
on Early Download: 20th Feb
Heat Rating:
Burning
Book Length:
Super Novel
BLURB:
When Jason Hudson and Heather
Staunton first meet they are young and sure they are wrong for each other. As a
result they spend a summer admiring each other from a safe distance.
Twenty years later Heather is
coming out of mourning, having lost her husband and Dom eighteen months
earlier. Jason, now the owner of an exclusive sex resort on the west coast of
Ireland, struggles with the loss of his desire to dominate.
Jason’s resort is about to
celebrate its first anniversary and party planner Heather has been hired to
create the perfect celebration. Their reunion comes as a big surprise to both
of them.
Old and familiar attraction,
battles with new and conflicting emotions as Jason and Heather work together to
organize the ultimate BDSM event. Overcoming the issues between them isn’t the
only obstacle Jason and Heather face. In the background lurks a threat both to
Heather’s independence and Jason’s livelihood.
EXCERPT:
There it was, her opportunity to kick-start her
life again. And, as restarts went, it made quite an impression. The hotel or
club—she wasn’t quite sure how to label the building—looked rather grand at the
end of the long drive. The Atlantic Ocean, throwing up a spray in the distance,
only enhanced the picture. Even on this bright summer’s day she could see small
rainbows in the watery mist the waves were producing. It would be easy to
confuse this place with any of the up-market tourist traps the west coast of
Ireland was peppered with. This could be any other posh resort catering to
Americans trying to find their roots and golfers looking for an opportunity to
try the links courses littered along the coastline. The heavy gate blocking the
entrance told a different story. She knew too much about this place, its
purpose and what happened behind those gates to confuse it for anything except
what it was, a dream from the past and—if everything went according to plan—the
start of the rest of her life.
She’d been looking at the building, the grounds,
the gate and the little buzzer on the intercom box for a few minutes. If
anybody on the inside happened to be keeping an eye on the entrance through
those security cameras, they would have decided she was either scared or crazy
by now—and they’d be right. She was apprehensive. Her hands were clasped
together, her fingers worrying her wedding ring. After eighteen months of
virtually living like a hermit, coming here felt like diving in headfirst.
Still, if she’d had any doubts about leaving Dublin, that surprise visitor two
weeks ago and his shocking proposal had taken care of those.
The
bastard. She refused to even think his name. It still
bothered her he’d had the nerve to show up at her door like that. Where would
he have gotten the idea she’d be open to his suggestions? It had been clear
that he’d expected her to embrace his offer—or should she call it an order—with
open arms. His delusions of grandeur must have gotten the better of him, or
he’d confused her with someone she clearly wasn’t. She didn’t get it. Even
before her self-inflicted confinement, she’d made a point of staying away from him.
Why would he think she’d changed her mind about him just because she was on her
own? She didn’t know but lingering on that memory right now didn’t serve any
purpose. She didn’t want him in her thoughts, especially not now. It would only
make her more nervous than she already was.
She’d thought this place would be the perfect
setting for her return to the BDSM world she’d been ignoring for well over a
year. Now that the moment was close, now that she had to take this last step
out of her confinement, the first step into her future, she couldn’t help
second-guessing herself. Was she really ready to move forward? Could she do it
on her own? She’d never been a part of this lifestyle without her husband and
his loving support.
With a sigh she lifted her hand and pressed the
little button. She’d come this far. She hadn’t driven the five hours from
Dublin only to turn away at the last hurdle. If she gave up now, it would be
the end of the business they’d built together. If she chickened out of this,
there would be no way of ever going back on her own terms. Going forward scared
the shit out of her but going back frightened her even more. She could do this.
She’d promised she would take this step. Breaking her word was not an option,
no matter how scared she was.
Author
info:
Helena
Stone can’t remember a life before words and reading. After growing up in a
household where no holiday or festivity was complete without at least one new
book, it’s hardly surprising she now owns more books than shelf space while her
Kindle is about to explode.
The
urge to write came as a surprise. The realisation that people might enjoy her
words was a shock to say the least. Now that the writing bug has well and truly
taken hold, Helena can no longer imagine not sharing the characters in her head
and heart with the rest of the world.
Having
left the hustle and bustle of Amsterdam for the peace and quiet of the Irish
Country side she divides her time between reading, writing, long and often wet
walks with the dog, her part-time job in a library, a grown-up daughter and her
ever loving and patient husband.
Find Helena Here:
Thank you for hosting me today. I'm probably a bit late, but Happy St. Patrick's Day.
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