Screenshot of my inbox this morning!!
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I hit 27,400 words on the Cupcakes (Etc) sequel on Friday and celebrated by testing some of Jade’s new cupcakes.
The cupcakes were so tasty – exactly what I wanted (and Jade needed). Yes, poor Jade. It’s been a rough couple of months for the Dowser.
Guess what was in the mail today? The Cupcakes, Trinkets & Other Deadly Magic paperback proof. It looks amazing!!
Unfortunately, Leiah uncovered a few more typos (GRR!!! & thanks Leiah!) in her read last week, so I’ll have to fix those and upload the text again before I can publish. But, never fear, the paperback will be available by the ned of the week.
And, yes, I know I need to remove my polish, but wouldn’t you rather I was writing? (That’s my excuse).
I also need to draw a winner for the final excerpt giveaway. I will do so before the end of the day.
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3600 words and counting…
The sequel for Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic got its first official words today. Actually, I’m still ignoring emails (etc) in favour of writing. I figure I have a good hour remaining in the work day. And yes, I have chocolate fuel on hand – 70% and 72% valhrona to be specific – and “local” Rainer cherries. Also new “jade” ink currently all over the fingers of my right hand.
So far so good … wish me luck!! May the muse be with me.
Update: The random number generator picked Johnnie-Marie to win this final giveaway – congrats! and I hope you enjoy the read!!
The following is a (approx.) 450 word excerpt from my new release, Cupcakes, Trinkets & Other Deadly Magic. Want to read more? Comment on this post to win an ebook with your email address (e.g. name AT gmail DOT com).
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I let my eyes drift over him like he wasn’t the absolute focus of my attention as I crossed around the baking display case. I murmured greetings to some of my regulars, and, as unhurried as possible, wandered over to the bistro table where my foster sister Sienna sat sipping a latte and nibbling on a mocha butter white cake Thrill in a Cup. I hated it when she paired similar flavors like that, but my sister did what my sister wanted. We both did. We were as similar in that attitude as we were dissimilar in looks.
I cleared my throat as I came around from behind to the front of the table. Sienna didn’t lift her dark eyes from the book of spells she was reading on her Kindle. I was momentarily distracted that such an ebook existed, and wondered where it could be purchased. Sienna seemed to be reading up on binding spells, which made sense given that was her specialty.
A breeze from the door — the unusual heat the day had provided was fading as the sun set — stirred a few of my trinkets and recalled my attention to the vampire.
“Sienna,” I hissed.
“What?” My sister glanced at me over the rim of her coffee. She’d skimmed off all the foam and was left with the creamy espresso underneath; her bored eyes almost matched the color of the liquid. “The coffee beans are burned.”
“The coffee is not burned.”
“Is too.”
“Sienna, there’s a vampire at the door.”
“What?” Sienna laughed and looked over my shoulder toward the door. “Where?”
“Right there! Tall, blond, and fangy.”
“You can’t actually see their fangs, you know. Ahead of time, I mean.”
“Sienna!”
“There is no vampire at the door, Jade.”
I looked over my shoulder. Indeed, the doorway was empty, and closed. The last customer to leave must have politely shut it behind them.
“Imagining things?” Sienna murmured, but her attention had returned to her book of spells. Spells that were above both our magic grades as far as I had seen with a glance. Which is why I rarely bothered to practice magic — it was mostly out of my reach. Sienna always liked to know, however, even if she couldn’t do.
“Right,” I murmured, tracking my eyes from the door along the French-paned windows. I’d had them especially built for the bakery when I opened last year. The mullions were painted white, as was the paneled wooden front door. I had been going for a French provincial look, but with the addition of the slat wood floor and the hodgepodge of trinkets hanging everywhere, I’d achieved more farmhouse than sleek old country.
The vampire was gone.
I was nowhere stupid enough to step out onto the sidewalk to look for him … okay, maybe just a quick peek. The sidewalk and street were empty of vampires, though. The sun was fully set, the last vestiges of reddish orange still tinting the sky to the west. It was suddenly chilly enough to see a puff of my breath. I folded my arms over my T-shirt-clad breasts, and a light breeze lifted my blond curls from my neck. At least it wasn’t raining.
I dropped my hands and smoothed them over my spotless apron. The sidewalk was teeming with after-work shoppers. Strollers competed with teacup pets, the dogs even pricier than the kids. But then, my customers could afford the price tags of both. I held the door open for one mother fresh from yoga and decided that I needed a class before dinner myself.
What the hell was a vampire doing in Vancouver? And why the hell had he wound up at my door?
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Comment below to win an ebook copy of Cupcakes, Trinkets & Other Deadly Magic!!
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Gertie’s Cupcakes…
I’m not too sure that I want to share Gertie’s cupcake photo, because her version of Charm in a Cup looks so much better than mine ever do. Nice frosting job, Gertie!
Gertie just emailed this photo and note a few minutes ago and I couldn’t wait to share it. She wrote, “I made sure to eat two, the second one was yours. Let’s just say I was your cupcake-eating proxy, shall we?”
Hmmm, they look rather yummy, not sure I’m all over the proxy idea!
I’m beginning to really, really need to bake more cupcakes all for myself … I’m thinking about some Rapture in a Cup. I’m also getting a feeling there might be some reader payback going on around here … not sure I need the encouragement to bake more than I already do.
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Michelle’s Cupcakes…
On Saturday, after Michelle H had grabbed a copy of Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic, she emailed to let me know she had baked to help me celebrate my new release. I baked Love in the Cup (see post below). I was so stoked, not only that Michelle had bought my book and let me know about it, but also that she’d taken the time to share her baking with me. Actually, I was blown away. And – on top of all of that – she, and her assistant bakers, Noah and Jesse, designated this plate just for ME!!
Those, Michelle informs me, are Pink Lemonade Cupcakes and Orange Dreamsicle Cookie bars. And I’m totally all over that one in the middle with the PILE of chocolate icing!!
Thanks so much to Michelle, Noah, and Jesse for sharing your creations with me. You made my evening.
Rumour has it that a bunch of readers have felt compelled to bake (or, at minimum, indulge) while reading, and Michelle suggested that I put together a blog scrapbook of the results. I think this is a great idea.
So, if you bake, or buy, or get someone else to bake for you, while reading Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic I would love to see and post your pictures!! You can email me at info [at] madebymeghan.ca
I find myself all out of cupcakes … and I only ate two of the Love in a Cups!! I shall have to whip up another batch myself.
Finally! It’s the ‘official’ release day for my new urban fantasy, Cupcakes, Trinkets & Other Deadly Magic. YAY!!
Synopsis: If you’d asked me a week ago, I would have told you that the best cupcakes were dark chocolate with chocolate cream cheese icing, that dancing in a crowd of magic wielders — the Adept — was better than sex, and that my life was peaceful and uneventful. Just the way I liked it. That’s what twenty-three years in the magical backwater of Vancouver will get you — a completely skewed sense of reality. Because when the dead werewolves started showing up, it all unraveled … except for the cupcake part. That’s a universal truth.
And what are the early reviewers saying?
“Witches, werewolves and vampires…oh my! Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic is a fun-filled trip into a world where bad magic can get a good witch down and power isn’t always accessed through hard work and determination … sometimes it’s stolen.” – Headshot Heather from doubleshotreviews.com
“This was a fun, action filled urban fantasy that will also have you running to bake cupcakes! … and I loved the unpredictability of not knowing what would happen next.” – Sarah from Sarah Elizabeth’s Bookshelf
“The mystery and suspense build up to a riveting and mind-blowing conclusion that shows Doidge as the brilliant riddler that she is. A definite five star even without the mouth-watering cupcake teasers. More please!” – Cindi Clubbs from Mommasez…blog, www.ccclubbs.com(review on Amazon)
“Complete with witches, werewolves, vampires, and necromancers, this novel will keep readers laughing and turning the pages as Jade tries to figure out the truth behind the deaths surrounding her—the deaths that all point to her. ” – 4 stars, Shana from A Book Vacation
Buy Now
Amazon – on all stores including: USA, CANADA, UK
KOBO (all stores)
Barnes & Noble – NOOK
Coming – very – Soon
iBookstore (52 stores)
Sony Reader
Etc.
Other Links
Cupcakes (Etc) is my fourth novel, and I’m pretty excited about it!! To celebrate I baked, of course. Because I was in a pink sort of mood – for the first time in my life, actually – I chose Love in a Cup, a dark chocolate cake with strawberry buttercream frosting.
Oh! Love in a Cup smell(s)(ed) SO good!! … and moments after the ‘photo shoot’??
Updated recipe: April 18, 2016
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Original post:
Heather from Doubleshot Reviews requested the recipe for the “dark chocolate cupcakes with dark chocolate cream cheese icing” AKA Lust in a Cup from my new novel, Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic. These cupcakes are also known as Jade’s – the lead character – favourite cupcake.
Since Heather demanded my immediate compliance asked so nicely, I decided to share the recipe with you, my lovely blogger readers, as well. Now it is true that Heather just gave Cupcakes, Trinkets & Other Deadly Magic a five star review, but she requested the recipe AFTER she posted her rating on Goodreads, so I swear there was no bribery going on!! Ahem. Diverting attention to the recipe >>>>>>
Official release day tomorrow! I’m baking some Love in a Cup to celebrate. I’ll promise to post pictures!!
Update: A bunch of people knocked themselves off the list by buying Cupcakes (Etc) already, but that worked to Catherine’s benefit (somehow, perhaps) because the random number generator just picked her to win an ebook copy!! YAY!
The following is a (approx.) 450 word excerpt from my upcoming release, Cupcakes, Trinkets & Other Deadly Magic. Want to read more? Comment on this post to win a prerelease ebook (eARC) with your email address (e.g. name AT gmail DOT com). A new winner will be randomly selected every Wednesday throughout June. An excerpt and chance to win will be posted every Wednesday in June.
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I took the customer’s credit card and rang through the order. Customers could run their own cards, but I thought it was better service to do so myself. He was talking to me again. I pulled my gaze from the vampire, who was moving back to the front door, to acknowledge him.
“Sorry? My mind was elsewhere.”
“I said that I own the law firm up the street. We just renovated.”
Oh. Nice. He was the reason I’d been woken before eight in the morning for the entire week. I always attempted to nap after I baked in the mornings.
“Great,” I replied as I handed him his card. “I hope you enjoy the cupcakes.”
His smile faltered. Perhaps I, a lowly baker, was supposed to be more impressed with his lawyer status. Then I felt bad for being uncharitable … it was just that the vampire currently testing the wards on my front door was starting to freak me out.
“Oh. Okay then,” the lawyer guy said. “Till next time.” He grinned, and I took a brief moment to notice he was rather cute. It wasn’t like the vampire was currently slaughtering my customers. I could pause for a moment to exchange smiles with a cute, potentially rich guy — leases on West Fourth Avenue weren’t cheap — who had nice straight teeth and an adorable dimple.
“Till then,” I called after him.
The lawyer didn’t even notice the vampire as he exited the bakery. But then, he was looking back at me. I was accustomed to men — even some women — staring. This time, I was pleased it meant the lawyer didn’t inadvertently make eye contact with the alpha predator in the doorway. The vampire was all but blocking the entrance.
He caught my gaze. I flinched. I couldn’t help it. His magic coated his pale skin with an icy aura. He lifted his hand to press against the invisible ward guarding the door, which stood open despite it being early spring. It had been unseasonably warm all day, but the weather could be temperamental in Vancouver. The runes etched in the doorframe glowed in response to the vampire’s touch. Runes were how Gran anchored her magic, though not every witch used them. I wondered if the vampire could see such things, or if he simply felt the magic blocking him from entering uninvited. I felt the ward magic shiver in response, but the vampire wasn’t trying to break through. He was simply … tasting.
The idea scared the shit out of me.
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Comment below to win an exclusive prerelease copy of Cupcakes, Trinkets & Other Deadly Magic!! New winner every Wednesday in June!!