by Mlissa | Oct 22, 2014 | Lone Star Sweets, New Releases
And she’s on sales for $.99! Limited Time ONLY! Then her price goes up, so get her NOW!
Life is about to get sticky for by the book businessman, Samuel Stevenson.
Raised in Texan society, groomed to take over his stepfather’s company, and the hope of every debutante mama this side of Dallas, he wasn’t supposed to fall in love with a thorn in the company’s side: Samantha Dawson, owner of The Sticky Cowgirl.
But, fall in love he did.
Now, his job is in jeopardy, his mother is beside herself, and Samantha won’t budge an inch. Will Samuel lose everything, or will the boot wearing, sassy mouthed rancher’s daughter show him exactly what he’s always wanted? (more…)
by Mlissa | Feb 10, 2014 | Blog Hop
Happy early Valentine’s Day!
There’s a lot going on with this blog hop we’re participating in and you don’t want to miss a second of it.
There are grand prizes and there are prizes at each blog stop. And there’s a fantastic grand prize of a Kindle Paperwhite (I have one and I LOVE it!) along with a New Adult romance bundle which features our wonderful host, Skye Warren’s Beauty series!
Leave a comment below to be entered to win!
For my part of the hop, I’ll be giving away a $25 gift card to an e-tailer of your choice (books, lingerie, naughty toys, etc…) and ebook copies of The Cupcake Cowboy, Love and Tattoos, Melting Jane, and my new release Slide Down On Me! Talk about a very Happy Valentine’s Day!
Leave a comment below, answering the following the question… What was the least romantic Valentine’s gift you’ve ever received (if you normally receive anything)?
I hope you’ll have a fun and enter all the giveaways!
by Mlissa | Jan 17, 2014 | Lissa Matthews, self publishing
I was told yesterday and have been told many times since Pink Buttercream Frosting that when people thing of me as a writer the things that come to mind have been cupcakes, BDSM, and emotion. It’s only been recently that the BDSM was dropped and honestly, that’s fine with me. I used to want to be an author of erotic BDSM romance, but that was dashed on the rocks by several scathing, mean, less than constructive reviews. My books are not the only ones to have received them and haven’t been the last.
And yes, that was years ago.
And yes, as an author, I’m supposed to look beyond that and keep plugging along. But I was new to all this. My publisher, Samhain Publishing knew what they were doing. Why would they publish a book that was so wrong? My writing of BDSM came from a base of knowledge and personal research that other writers of BDSM do not and will never have. It is more than the act and it is more than the command of a voice. To me. That’s the important part to remember. To. Me.
So, after Pink Buttercream Frosting and after Sweet Caroline and Cracklin’ Rosie, I changed. My writing 
changed. I was told ‘you don’t write that the way they want it’, ‘but that’s not what you write’, ‘you shouldn’t try to write that’…
Now, when people think about my writing, it is cupcakes still, thank you, and emotion. I can write emotion. I have felt every inch of emotional range since I began in this business from despair to elation and everything in between. I have made friends and lost them. I have had some wonderful editors and some…not. I have cried and laughed and if I can say anything at all about the experiences, I can say that I have grown a lot.
You must be wondering what all this has to do with Passionate Sprinkles Books, huh? In a long-winded, round about way, it has a lot to do with it. Just bare with me…
I had to come up with an imprint name for my self-published print books when I started the print process on The Cupcake Cowboy. I wanted something that I would use more than once, and I didn’t want to have to go back and use something different later. Many self-published authors have created imprint names and publisher names for their titles and I’ve been wracking my brain for about a year for something that fit me.
Whey my friend mentioned yesterday that when she thinks of me, she thinks cupcakes and emotion, I thought about all the times people have said that to me in the last few years, and I started toying and playing with words to see what I could come up with.
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Passionate means: having, showing, or expressing strong emotions or beliefs; expressing or relating to strong sexual or romantic feelings
Sprinkles…well, who doesn’t like sprinkles on their cupcakes, right? Or on top of a mound of whipped cream with a long-stemmed cherry? Rainbow Nonpareils (the small, sugar pellets), chocolate or rainbow jimmie sprinkles… There are even sprinkles of cinnamon on my lattes. I could coarsely grind coffee beans and use them as sprinkles (with a little coarse sugar, too). Sprinkles are sweet, decorative, pretty… Sprinkles are the extra measure…
Books would be self-explanatory 😉
What was come up with, and what I’ve passed by several other friends, was Passionate Sprinkles Books. They’ve loved it. So, this is going to be on the print books that I self-publish. It’s not sexy, but, it’s reflective.
And I know there are some readers who want to know if I will ever write in the same vein as Pink Buttercream Frosting again and all I can say is, Maybe.
~lissa
by Mlissa | Dec 1, 2013 | Hungry Hearts Holiday Hop
Happy Holidays!
It’s that’s time again, to hop along with some of the hottest, food lovin’ romance authors around. ‘Tis the season for joy and hope and giving, no matter which holiday you celebrate. For me, it’s Christmas. I love baking all times of the year, but at this time of year, it’s extra special. I love baking for friends and family, for anyone who enjoys receiving and indulging on delicious treats.
As the title says, we’re having a cookie hop. Each blog will feature a favorite holiday cookie and each blog will have a rafflecopter form for you to fill out to be entered to win a variety of prizes: Harry and David Truffles, books, gift cards, and Hungry Hearts Holiday Author swag.
In addition to the Hungry Heart Holiday Hop prizes, the incredible Amanda Usen will be featuring Hungry Hearts authors n her site and giving their books away to lucky winners. Visit Writer.Chef.Romantic to get in on the fun.
The dates and authors are:
Ava Miles: Tuesday, December 3
Christi Barth: Wednesday, December 4
Kimberly Kincaid: Thursday, December 5
Lissa Matthews: Friday, December 6
This has been such a fun hop to be part of and I was so excited to be asked if I wanted to participate. I love food, love being in the kitchen, love baking and cooking. I find everything about it delicious and fun and to be able to incorporate that love into writing romance… It’s such a blessing.
Now, cookies are not my strong suit, but these cookies, these big, soft molasses cookies? They. Are. Awesome. And I didn’t screw them up! I’ve so far made two batches and both are gone. I won’t deny that I had a few, but with two teenagers in the house… ‘Nuff said.
Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup molasses
4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup coarse sugar, decorating sugar, or granulated sugar
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and molasses. Combine the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Fold in pecans. Shape into 2-in. balls and roll in coarse sugar. Place 2-1/2-in. apart on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake 13-15 minutes or until tops are cracked. Cool on pan for 2 minutes before placing on wire racks to finish cooling. Yield: 2 dozen.
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home
Now, don’t forget to visit the Hungry Hearts Holiday Hop’s Facebook Event page and don’t forget to fill out the Rafflecopter form below to be entered to win…
');
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Jackson Dawson had known only one way of life: ranching. That is, until he went to college in the city. There, he was introduced to a whole new world of people, food, and way of life. He never dared to imagine that he could do or be anything other than a rancher’s son, but with his mother’s words ringing in his ears and his sister’s encouragement, he took a chance. And in the process, found himself and met the woman of his dreams.
Pastry Chef Cass Jamieson’s only desire had been to own a bakery. After a stint in pastry school, she quickly learned that trying to make your dreams come true wasn’t easy. She was dejected when her bakery closed and soon returned to the classroom as a teacher to eager young bakers with the same stars in their eyes that had once been in hers.
So, when the stubborn, determined, and hot as summer in Texas cowboy walked into Cass’s pastry kitchen, it turned her life and libido upside down. When he seeks her out for heated kisses and her thoughts on his cake bakery idea, she gives in to the lust, but gives cautious business advice born of experience, only Jackson didn’t see it that way.
Who will bend first in this battle of wills involving sugar and spice and everything naughty and nice? Come take a ride with The Cupcake Cowboy and find out…
Warning: Uses of frosting that frosting was never intended for. A dirt road showdown. A lesson in milking cows. A whole truck full of mouthwatering cupcakes (some with liquor). A little family drama. And dreams on their way to coming true…
Buy Links: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | All Romance eBooks
by Mlissa | Nov 29, 2013 | Holidays, self publishing
…And people are or have been out shopping. Gravitating toward the best sales EVER! The stores open earlier, the crowds are larger, the discounts deeper… And yet, I stay at home. I like a deal just like everyone else, but I’ve worked retails and restaurant and service on holidays, I’ve been away from my family, and I’ve worked the day after holidays… Once you’ve done that, something about flocking to the stores loses some of it’s luster.
I wasn’t always such a bah-humbug about it. I loved going to the stores the day after Thanksgiving as a kid. I didn’t know what it meant for those working though… Yes, I’ll pay more. Yes, my visit to the store isn’t going to make a difference one way or the other to anyone working or not. It’s just my personal preference.
There are online deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This Saturday is also Small Business Saturday… I’ll take part in all that. I am, afterall, a small business myself and as such, I’ve dropped the prices on my self-published titles to $0.99 through Monday at midnight, including my new releases Love and Tattoos and The Cupcake Cowboy. If you haven’t read these or tried some of my others, now’s your chance!
At All Romance eBooks, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon, the following titles are newly marked down for the holiday shopping weekend…
Do you shop small, local businesses? They can be more expensive than chain stores, I agree. I love the feel of them though, the personal touch, and the uniqueness of their stock. Of course, it’s also Rivalry Weekend in college football so any shopping I do will be done before noon! Priorities people! I’ll also do several handmade and food gifts. I love baking for people. What bugs me is that people look down their noses at it as being cheap, but when you really think about it, it’s not cheap at all. If you’ve gone to the grocery store to shop for anything, you know food isn’t cheap. It’s more difficult nowadays, yes with so many on different eating plans and diets and so many allergies. But even then, the possibilities are endless.
I like small and thoughtful, something that means something. Of course, there are always those who are difficult to make and shop for. Those who have everything, or buy everything all through the year, or who change completely and you don’t know them anymore or what they like… People talk about gift cards being impersonal, but c’mon now… Who honestly doesn’t love a gift card to their favorite stores? I know I do!
So, while you’re shopping, pick up my books that are on sale, gift them to someone, or to yourself… I’ve gifted books a ton and I know people who love to read, always love that!
For me, I’m going to refill my coffee and head into writing. The Sticky Cowgirl comes out in January!
~lissa
