Guest interview: Cindy Sample & Outrageous Hot Chipotle Cake

  

Today I'm pleased to welcome my friend Cindy Sample, a fellow L&L Dreamspell author who brings humor and romance to her murder mysteries. Having been an avid reader from the age of four, Cindy's third-grade career ambition was to become a detective just like Nancy Drew.  At sixteen, she realized her inherent klutziness could be an impediment to becoming a private eye or super spy.  Her new mission was to be a mystery writer.

With a degree in history and a family to support, Cindy put aside her literary longings for a weekly paycheck, landing a job as a receptionist with a real estate office.  Her career path eventually led to the position of CEO of a nationwide company.

After one too many corporate mergers, Cindy found herself plotting murder instead of plodding through paperwork. DYING FOR A DATE, Cindy's debut novel, was voted the # 1 Romance in the 2010 Preditors and Editors Readers Poll. Rave reviews are already rolling in for her latest release, DYING FOR A DANCE.

Let’s say a couple of your characters are raiding your fridge right now, are they disappointed or excited about what they find? My refrigerator contents are about as eclectic as my favorite books. I have nutritional items like tofu and probiotic yogurt which are probably well past their expiration date. Protein shakes (in chocolate, of course) and chocolate whipped cream because… it exists.

Chocolate whipped cream--really? I need to spend more time browsing at the grocery store. But it’s stretching your boundaries time--is there a food you’d love to learn how to cook or a different genre or type of book you’d love to try to write? I have a mild case of ADD so while I love perusing cookbooks I never want to spend the time to chop, dice, or make anything that requires more than four ingredients. Although I have no patience for cooking, I have more than enough for writing. And you don’t get published without patience. I love writing mysteries, especially my series since it concentrates more on humor than homicide. It’s a thrill when people tell me how entertaining my books are. I would like to write something a little deeper and darker in the women’s fiction arena. I’m playing around with a plot line right now. I can’t reveal anything other than the title which I love – THE TANGO LESSON.

3.    If you could borrow one person’s zest for writing and/or life, whose and why? I admire several women who have taken their personal experiences, dosed them with humor, and provided wonderful articles, books, and screenplays.  My two favorites are Anne Lamott and Tina Fey. They are both brilliant in everything they write and produce.

 

Please share one cheesy “writing is like cooking” thought. Well, in my case, I throw in a lot of ingredients (the characters), add some spices (that would be the romance), stir it up and let them all simmer together until it’s cooked to perfection.  Sometimes the entrée is as much a surprise to me as it is to my readers.  Then the dessert would be something so delicious it just knocks them out of their chairs! 

Hot out of the oven: What inspired your latest book, and what ingredients do you hope make it a tasty treat for readers? My latest book, DYING FOR A DANCE was inspired when I took up ballroom dancing and discovered there is a wonderfully sleazy side to competitive ballroom dancing. My character, single mom Laurel McKay, is almost as klutzy as I am, so it was no surprise when she stumbled over a dead body while taking foxtrot lessons to learn a choreographed wedding routine for her best friend’s wedding. The grand finale includes an international ballroom competition with Laurel hot on the heels of the killer!  Also since I’m a firm believer in feeding the client, or now that I’m an author, feeding the fans, I love promoting with food, I bring dead body cookies and home-made two-inch chocolate stilettos to all of my book events.  I just purchased an eight-inch life-sized shoe mold and I can’t wait to use it for a contest!

What’s cooking? Can you share a bit about your next project? My next project will move the action from the California gold country to Kona, Hawaii. I’m planning on exploring coffee plantations (love that Kona coffee), vanilla plantations and macadamia nut farms. Not only will I be sampling coffee and nuts, since the title is DYING FOR A DAIQUIRI, I’ll be forced to sample a few daiquiris in search of the perfect recipe, which will definitely be included in the back of the book. 

Hmmm...do you need a research assistant? Well, we're almost done but first I have to ask, if you were marooned on an island and Pots & Pens granted your wish for only one book and one food, what would you choose? Everyone who knows me will get this answer right.  Chocolate, of course. And since this is my fantasy, dark chocolate salted caramels. I can’t imagine being stranded with only one book.  How about James Michener’s HAWAII. It’s long enough to entertain me yet again and hopefully will have useful tips on how to get off this island!

   

Recipe Row: What favorite recipe do you have for us today? I have a recipe that requires more than my usual four ingredients, but it is well worth it. I don’t have a photo handy because it’s our traditional Christmas Eve dessert, so you’ll just have to imagine it. 

OUTRAGEOUS HOT CHIPOTLE CAKE

10 oz. semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped

7 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces

5 large eggs, room temperature

1 cup sugar

½ tsp chili powder (you can add more if your taste buds can handle it)

Dash of cayenne pepper

1 tsp. cinnamon

Pinch of sale

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line the bottom of a 9 ½ inch spring-form pan with parchment paper.  Grease the sides and bottom with cooking spray.

Melt the chocolate and butter together over a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring occasionally until smooth.

Whisk the eggs and sugar in a large bowl then slowly whisk in the melted chocolate. Add salt and spices and taste, adjusting spices if needed.

Pour into the pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes clean.  Cool completely then dust with powdered sugar or serve with whipped cream. If you’re eating it at my house, you get the chocolate whipped cream. 

Well, I surely had no problem imagining that--I can almost taste it! Thanks for joining us today. You can find out more about Cindy at:  http://cindysamplebooks.com/

AND she's offering a giveaway for DYING FOR A DATE. Just comment on this post or on The Writers' Lens by Friday, Dec. 23, to enter the contest for a free ebook.

Guest interview: Diana L. Driver

It’s my pleasure to introduce Diana L. Driver, who “writes the kind of stories you’d like to read.” Her books cross the genre lines from Young Adult adventure/suspense to Mystery to Romance. She’s currently working on a Cozy Mystery and a Norse Fantasy based on the myths and legends of the Northern Traditions, including Runelore.

Diana's Mayan books initially attracted me, but I've since discovered her expertise ranges from history to quantum physics to conspiracy theories--gotta love it! We now blog together on The Writers’ Lens.

So, Diana, if you were marooned on an island, and Pots & Pens granted your wish for only one book and one food, what would you choose? One Book – The Boy Scouts Outdoor Field Guide! I know nothing about foraging for food, building a shelter, or which plants might or might not be poisonous. And, if Pots and Pens were to offer me a choice of one food it’d be cherry cheesecake!

Taking a survival guide—that makes perfect sense. And yum, I love cherry cheesecake! Have you also got a favorite literary feast or treat? I’d have to say the “A Martha’s Vineyard Mystery” series by the late Philip A. Craig. Each book is set in Martha’s Vineyard and I love not only the setting, but his characters and plots. My sister lives on Orcas Island, Washington and (except for the murders), Philip Craig knew his island personalities. 

It’s stretching your boundaries time. Is there a food you’d love to learn how to cook or a different genre or type of book you’d love to try to write? I’m currently working on an historical fantasy series which is turning out to be extremely challenging and very much a stretch of my boundaries. I’ve been reading and rereading old manuscripts just to get a feel of Norse thinking and priorities during the 700’s. Then, of course there’s all the background information that’s needed to make the book feel authentic. 
 

Hot out of the oven: What inspired your latest book, and what ingredients do you hope make it a tasty treat for readers? My latest book, The Maya, People of the Maize, is a companion book to my novel, Ninth Lord of the Night. I think of it as a sample of Mayan information that encourages the reader to explore further the various aspects of the Mayan culture. Just as Ninth Lord of the Night offers the reader a full course of mystery and suspense with a touch of paranormal, The Maya, People of the Maize offers the reader a solid background from which they can choose to continue learning about this fascinating culture.    

Since I love ancient Mesoamerican cultures, those were certainly a tasty treat for me! At Pots & Pens, we know too much salt can ruin an exquisite meal, and the perfect dessert tempers earlier mistakes. What ingredients can destroy a book through overuse or salvage a book despite its flaws? Any overused writing technique will detract from a story, but if the plot is exciting and the characters are well-developed, then I can forgive a lot. Stephen King wrote in one of books, that “It’s not the teller, it’s the tale.” I agree with that. 

Recipe Row: I see you’re getting prepared for that desert island with today’s recipe—very clever!

New York Cherry Cheesecake!!

Crust:

2 cups (200 grams) of graham cracker crumbs

½ cup unsalted butter, melted

¼ cup granulated sugar

Filling

32 ounces cream cheese, room temperature (use full fat, not reduced or fat free cream cheese)

1 cup granulated white sugar

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

5 large eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream (double cream)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Topping

1 can Comstock pitted Cherries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in center of oven.

Grease, or spray with Pam, a 9 inch (23 cm) springform pan. Place the springform pan on a larger baking pan to catch any leakage while the cheesecake is baking.

 

For Crust: In a medium sized bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and about 1 inch (2.5 cm) up the sides of the springform pan. Cover and refrigerate while you make the filling.

For Filling: In bowl of your electric mixer place the cream cheese, sugar, and flour. Beat on medium speed until smooth (about 2 minutes), scraping down the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well (about 30 seconds) after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the whipping cream, vanilla extract and beat until incorporated. Remove the crust from the refrigerator and pour in the filling. Place the cheesecake pan on a larger baking pan and place in the oven.

 

Bake for 15 minutes and then lower the oven temperature to 250 degrees and continue to bake for about another 60 - 90 minutes or until firm and only the center of the cheesecake looks a little wet and wobbly. (The baking time can vary due to the differences in ovens, so make sure to check that the cheesecake is firm with only the center being a little wet and wobbly.) Remove from oven and place on a wire rack.

Remove from oven and carefully run a knife or spatula around the inside edge of pan to loosen the cheesecake (helps prevent the surface from cracking as it cools).

Let cool completely before covering with plastic wrap. Refrigerate several hours, preferably overnight. Top with one can of Comstock’s cherry filling (undrained) and serve

Tips:  Sometimes the surface of the cheesecake cracks.  To help prevent this from happening do not over beat the batter, especially when creaming the cheese and sugar. Another reason for cracking is overbaking the cheesecake.  Your cheesecake is done when it is firm but the middle may still look a little wet. Also, make sure the springform pan is well greased as cracking can occur if the cheesecake sticks to the sides as it cools. 

Learn more about Diana and her books at her website