I know April Showers brings May flowers is the proper statement but this month me and several author friends are going to shower you with fun tips to make the best of this Corona Virus Pandemic, crafts and or recipes plus there is a big giveaway at the end so read on and enter! Today’s guest is Judythe Morgan.

Judythe: What to do when a pandemic lurks outside?

I’m hunkered down with my hubby and college aged grandson. Here are my four tips on how to survive while staying home.

Play Wii Sports

I’ve become a Pro Wii bowler. Golf, not so much. I can’t get the hang of the swing, but tennis. Ah, tennis makes me long for the days of a full court instead of six feet in front of my television.

Re-learn Yo-yo Tricks

I found an old yo-yo that had before the age of technology and relearned tricks: walk the dog, the elevator, the creeper. You don’t have to worry about social distancing. No one is coming near you when you’re swinging your yo-yo. I think I may ask Santa for a fancy one that lights up or whistles this year.

Cook ala Chopped Episodes

I do enjoy cooking, but this COVID-19 isolation has me scrambling for necessary ingredients. I’ve become creative. If you discover leftover ham in your freezer, you might like this one too.

Crock Pot Cabbage and Ham Soup

1 box chicken broth

1/2 large yellow onion, chopped

1 tsp celery seeds (or 2 stalks of celery chopped)

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. chili powder

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 ham bone – I used leftover Christmas ham I found buried in the freezer

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed – I used leftover fresh-cooked pintos

1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 bay leaf

1 tsp dried thyme leaves (or three sprigs fresh)

1/2 small green cabbage, shredded into 1/2″ strips – I used fresh Brussel sprouts cut in half

1. Add 8 cups of chicken broth to crock pot along with ham, beans, bay leaf, celery seed if used, and thyme to the pot.
2. Cook bacon then remove to drain. Save to garnish soup bowls when served.
3. Add onion and fresh celery (if you had it) to drippings and cook until softened.
4. Add cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper.
5. Cook 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low.

Serves 6-8 and is delish when severed with Beer Bread or Cornbread.

Escape with a Book

Reading has always been my escape from this crazy world. COVID19 has made it even more my favorite thing.

This recipe and these ideas to fight boredom while social distancing have nothing to do with my book Promises to Keep.

But then, I believe reading should take us away from reality and give us a happy ending. That’s what Promises to Keep will do.

In the story Debra and David must struggle through advesity to claim the love they both deserve. Our adversity is this COVID 19. Like Debra and David, we’ll make it through, too.

Stay Safe and Stay Healthy. Enjoy Promises to Keep.

Title Promises to Keep

Series Promises Series

Author Judythe Morgan

Cover design: Jim Peto

Publisher: The Danfield Press

Genre/heat Military Romance/clean and wholesome

Pages 151

Blurb

David Sands lost his wife three years ago. He promised to sell their condo and donate the proceeds to their foundation that support families of MIA and POW soldiers. He hasn’t.

Debra Hughes was his wife’s best friend and business partner. Debra and David have been friends for years. She promised to look after David after his wife’s death. Only her feelings for David complicate her promise.

They’ve comforted each other in their grief and must now work together to close out his dead wife’s estate. Friendship grows into mutual attraction. Will keeping their promises open their eyes and hearts to a future together?

Buy links

Amazon Kindle:  https://www.amazon.com/Promises-Keep-Judythe-Morgan-ebook/dp/B07K5Y4F79/

Amazon Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0990883531/ 

Barnes & Noble Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/promises-to-keep-judythe-morgan/1129916388     

Excerpt/heat rating: Clean

David Sands bypassed the elevator and took the stairs two at a time hoping to slip unnoticed into his Until They Return (UTR) office in the Cabot Enterprises building.

“You’re late.” Alex Cabot fell in step beside him when David exited the stairwell door. The unspoken again hung in the air.

“I got a late start, and traffic was heavier than I anticipated.” He walked into the office he’d shared with Shirley and swung his briefcase onto the reproduction desk he hated before he met Alex’s gaze.

“And you stopped at Old Gray again, didn’t you?”

“There was that.”

David braced for the oft-repeated lecture about his lengthy stops at the Knoxville cemetery. Although they had been best friends since their duty days in Vietnam, and he knew Alex meant well, he could never quit visiting his wife’s gravesite.

Alex slid into the chair in front of David’s desk. “I want you to join Lily and me for dinner tonight.”

The muscles in David’s neck went stiff. He rolled his shoulders. “Alex, I—”

“That wasn’t a request.” Alex’s words snapped with the voice of authority.

David’s shoulders drooped. The dinner discussion would undoubtedly be about selling the contents of Shirley’s condo. How was he going to let go of the last physical things they’d shared while her toothbrush was still on his bathroom counter?

~~

David pulled into the Cabot’s sloping driveway, killed the engine, and rested his hands on the steering wheel. His feet remained glued to the floor mat as he glanced up at the deck overlooking the river. He and Alex had spent many hours working on the redwood space suspended above the sloping riverbank.

Lily and Alex’s daughter Beth stood between her father and Jay, her husband. Beth, also David’s goddaughter, smiled and waved down at him.

David smiled back. His smile faded when he spotted the woman on Alex’s other side—Debra Hughes, Shirley’s former business partner. What was she doing here?

He and Debra had been adversarial from the moment he addressed her as Debbie. For Shirley’s sake, he’d learned to get along with the woman. After Shirley’s death, he and Debra forged a tentative relationship. Gradually, their focus shifted from remembering Shirley to truly enjoying each other’s company. The friendship abruptly cooled a year ago.

Since then, they hadn’t spent much time together. And, when they did meet at the occasional family gatherings, their encounters were stiff and stilted.

Things changed abruptly. Don’t kid yourself. You know exactly why things changed. Kissing someone will do that.

Meet Judythe

Judythe Morgan was an Army brat then Army wife which means she’s traveled a lot. She’s been a teacher, an antiques dealer, former mayor’s wife, and sometimes-church pianist. Mommy to an Old English sheepdog named Finnegan MacCool and a Maltese named Buster, there’s always a wild adventure brewing.

Her diverse experiences make her life full, her characters vivid, and her stories authentic and award-winning. Sign up for her free newsletter at www.judythemorgan.com to keep up with her latest news and subscriber-only sneak peaks.

Backlist:

PROMISES Series

Chance brings two men and one woman together at Eighth Army Headquarters, Yongsan, South Korea during the 60s. Fate binds their lives together forever. The PROMISES series books chronicle their stories from the turbulent Vietnam War through the decades that follow. Each book is a standalone story.

Love in the Morning Calm https://www.amazon.com/Love-Morning-Prequel-Pendants-Promise-ebook/dp/B00DQ1AEPQ/

The Pendant’s Promise https://www.amazon.com/The-Pendants-Promise-ebook/dp/B007ZU71N2/

Until He Returns https://www.amazon.com/Until-He-Returns-PROMISES-Book-ebook/dp/B0784KJC33/

Promises to Keep https://www.amazon.com/Promises-Keep-Judythe-Morgan-ebook/dp/B07K5Y4F79

Now for the prizes! Judythe is offering a Amazon gift card $20 towards the grand prize and an ecopy of any book from her back list to one lucky winner. Plus we have two grand prizes and lots of individual prizes.

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