WEDNESDAY MORNING CHILL

Reflection of an Eagle Spirit

The hero of Eagle Dance is a Native American eagle shifter. 

Dyami has a spiritual guide within his soul 

and has been blessed with the ability to change from man to animal at will. 

The man often reflects strong attributes of the animal.

Native wisdom also honors the eagle for their opportunistic ways. It's not that they're skilled hunters (they are), but the go about gaining their needs in ways that are most efficient. This is a lesson for conserving resources. Work smarter, not harder.

The eagle reminds us to be victorious, brave and strong. We are do be these things with humility. Honor, respect and dignity are very important to those who have an eagle spirit.

Meditate for a moment. 

Does the great spirit send you an eagle?

Dyami Schafer, a Native American from a Michigan Chippewa tribe, leads a lonely life due to his large size and unusual appearance. When his nesting instinct sets in, he turns to Madame Eve and her 1Night Stand dating service to help him find his spirit mate. Or at least a woman who accepts him as an eagle shifter.

Amanda Collins never stopped loving the Chippewa boy she knew from her childhood. Maybe a night with a Native American man will help her forget the past and let her move on with her life.

Sometimes, it’s necessary to take a step into the past before dancing into the future. With the help of Madame Eve, will the Spirit of the Eagle carry Dyami and Amanda?

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Who Reads Romance?

 During any given period, women who read romance novels have a tendency to have twice as many lovers as those who don’t. People who read romance have sex 70% more often than those who don't.

The Romance Reader

In 2017, RWA commissioned

"The Romance Book Buyer 2017: A Study by NPD Book for Romance Writers of America."

A portion of the results can be found below. 

Who is the romance reader?

·        Female: 82%

·        Male: 18%

·        Average age of the romance reader: 35–39 years old

·        Ethnicity:

• 73% White/Caucasian
•  12% Black/African American
• 7% Latino/Hispanic
• 4% Asian/Asian American.

·        Sexual orientation:

• 86% heterosexual or straight
• 9%  bisexual, pansexual, or other bi+ identity
• 2% gay or lesbian.

Reading Habits

·        Most frequent readers are younger, aged 34 and below.

·        92% of survey respondents are print readers

·        64% are e-book readers

·        35% are audiobook users.

·        Tablets and smartphones are the most-used devices to read e-books.

·        Half of romance readers read romantic suspense,

• followed by erotic
• historical as the most popular genres.

·        Younger readers read more Young Adult, Erotic, and

• Paranormal Romance and less Contemporary Romance than older readers.

Acquiring Romance Books

·        Top responses for how romance readers acquire romance novels:

• borrow from a library
• purchase in brick-and-mortar bookstores
• acquire them from friends/relatives
• purchase in print via an online store
• purchase them as an e-book via an online store.

·        A higher percentage of readers buy from bricks-and-mortar stores than online,

• and 15% use a subscription service.

·        One-third of readers searched for new authors in the past six months.

·        Content is listed as a more important purchase influence than recommendations.

Further Insights

The future of romance is the younger emerging readership.

These younger readers are:

·        diverse in sexual orientation and in ethnicity

·        more male

·        frequent readers

·        listening to audiobooks

·        reading e-books on smartphones

·        consuming YA, erotic, and paranormal romance

·        shopping at a greater number of online retailers

·        extremely engaged on social media and willing to experiment with new authors

---

Source and Methodology

Source: The Romance Book Buyer 2017: A Study by NPD Book for Romance Writers of America
Methodology

·        Sample of 2,000 romance book readers

·        Survey fielded in December 2017

·        Quota for gender and age

• based on nationally representative sample of book buyers
• who said they were likely to read a romance book in the future

·        Screener question:

• Do you read romance fiction novels?
• This would include books where
• (1) there is a central love story and        
• (2) the end of the story is positive.

Permission is granted by Romance Writers of America to link to this page

and/or use portions of the statistics with proper citation.

Do not reprint or copy this information in its entirety. 
^†Source: NPD Books Romance Landscape:

A Study by NPD Book for Romance Writers of America.

 

Friday Night Fish

The only thing Flyboy Jr asked, was to have the pike he caught for dinner while he was home on the weekend.

Of course, Flyboy was happy to fulfill the request and added in some trout. After tast-testing spices, the guys decided on Blackened Seasoning.

I tossed some brussel sprouts, carrot pieces and roma tomato quarters with olive oil, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, & parsley then placed them on a stoneware pan to roast in a hot oven.

I love cooking with my honey.

While cooking up some rice pilaf, i thoght about which wine I "needed" with dinner.  I wanted something warm since the temp outside is still cold but i wanted it to compliment the meal. I selected 2018 Late Haervest Riesling from Chanteau Chantal. I picked up a couple bottles the last time we visted Flyboy Jr in Traverse City. I like how the sweetness of pear and apricot works with the spicy dish.

How do you like my favorite wine stopper?

Grandma's Irish Soda Bread

Grandma wasn't kidding when she said she believed we had a wee bit of Irish in us. Turned out, my DNA evaluation showed proof of the family tale. Gram with her gift of storytelling and cooking drew family members together. Nothing was better than Gram's bread. The smell of warm bread embodies LOVE.

Gram had a sweet tooth and loved breads. She would often toss a few raisins into her Irish Soda Bread, shhhh.... don't tell anyone. We all love Gram's breads and she would serve Irish Soda Bread with "Boiled Dinner". Corned beef (or ham, depending on the guests) with potatoes, carrots, parsnips, onion and cabbage. The bread would be used to sop up the delicious, savory broth. I preferred my slice of warm bread with  butter.

Any leftover Irish Soda Bread was turned into French toast the next morning.

TRADITIONAL IRISH SODA BREAD

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 cups buttermilk

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually stir in the buttermilk until the dough comes together in a slightly sticky ball.
3. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead gently a few times. Form the dough into a ball and then press into the prepared pan so that the dough resembles a large disk. The dough should reach the edges of the pan, but may spring back slightly.
4. Cut an X into the dough with a sharp knife, about 1/4 of an inch deep. Cover the pan of dough with another round cake pan turned upside down.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, covered, then remove the top pan and bake uncovered for about 10 minutes more or until the crust is dark golden brown.

A little Irish Soda Bread history:

I want to give you just a few interesting facts about Irish Soda Bread.  Don’t worry I won’t bore you it’s only a few!

• The cross that is slashed into the dough before baking was made to ward off devils and protect the house.  It also helps the center of the bread bake all the way through, so it’s very important not to skip that step!
• During the mid 1800s the Irish were making so much soda bread that baking soda almost doubled in price!
• Soda bread was served as an inexpensive way to put bread on the table.
• Real soda bread should only contain 4 ingredients: flour, buttermilk, salt, and of course baking soda.