Thanks to Book Smugglers, Marianne’s upcoming book PEACEMAKER has been mentioned in the 10 SFF Books to Look Forward To in 2014 in KIRKUS magazine.

Not only that but the Night Creatures series is mentioned, and so is Marianne’s boutique collection, Glitter Rose.

Peacemaker

Glitter Rose

Okay, so I’m going to try something a little different over the next week or two. It occurred to me that most of those amazing dessert recipes you find are really just a few simple recipes thrown together. So let’s do just that. I’m going to give you recipes for three sweet, simple goodies and at the end, put them all together for something special.

First up, we have ridiculously easy, and oh-so-chocolatey Brownies.

What You Need:

• 1 ¼ cups of butter
• 4 eggs
• 1 ½ cups of plain flour
• ½ teaspoon of baking powder
• 2 cups of caster sugar
• 2 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1 cup of cocoa (use the best quality you can)

How It’s Done:

Pre-heat oven to 170 degrees C. Melt the butter in the microwave, being careful not to burn.

Add to a large mixing bowl – I used my electric mixer with a stir attachment, but these could just as easily be done by hand, probably with less mess (see pic below!).

Add cocoa, then sugar and eggs – one at a time. If using an electric mixer, give a quick blitz for a few seconds between each addition. Stir in the flour. If you are using an electric mixer, remember to use the spill guard, or, like me you’ll end up with flour everywhere.

Bake for aprox. 30 minutes in a greased slice tin – I used a pan about 15cm by 25cm. Remember, brownies don’t spring back quite like a cake when tested, so be careful not to overcook. Allow to cool on a rack for 20 minutes, then slice and serve…although they’re pretty delicious served warm!

 I served mine with a sprinkling of icing sugar, strawberries from my garden and a little chocolate sauce. 

5 steps to Surviving your first day of High School (from a woman who did it ‘back in the day’)

In Queensland, for a few more years at least, high school begins in grade 8. The leap from primary to high school can be a culture shock you may be having nightmares about, but here are a few ways to battle the nerves and get yourself through that first day with minimal fuss.

Keep in mind, you’re a young adult now and your parents don’t need to be responsible for every aspect of your preparation any more.

#1 Dress to succeed – check the uniform policy and make sure you have everything you need (if you need socks, be sure to tell someone).  Make sure everything fits, is clean and that you’ll know where it is on the first day.

#2 Sleeping beauty- sounds clichéd, I know, but eat a healthy meal and go to bed at a reasonable hour the night before, so you can wake up and be happy to start the day.

#3 Alarming – if you have to set an alarm, be sure to place it across the other side of your room so you have to physically get up to turn it off. Oh, and give yourself plenty of time to get ready, especially if you have siblings who will be getting ready for their first day at the same time.

#4 Book ‘em Danno – unless you’ve been told otherwise, your first day will be mostly about getting a feel for the school, getting your time tables, meeting your teachers and dealing with trivial things. No matter what happens, make sure you’re prepared to do some work. Pack either a binder with loose leaf pages in it or a notebook. Oh and remember a pen that works.

 #5 Munch that Lunch – pack a lunch that will be low GI, (keeps you fuller for longer) healthy, and remember your water bottle, because an dehydrated brain has to work harder to think. You can also make this ahead of time to avoid unnecessary stress on the morning of your first day.

When all is said and done it all comes down to you. Hold your head high, act and think positively. Because what you put out there, you are sure to get back.

 Good luck!!!!

These aren’t chewy cookies; they’re soft and have a great nutty flavour which will never disappoint!

Ingredients:

• 250 gram butter
• 125 gram finely chopped hazelnuts
• 200 gram sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 375 gram flour

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and prepare baking sheets.
2. In a mixer add the melted butter, sugar and egg. Mix until fluffy. Once it’s foamy, add in the flour and continue to mix.
3. Fold in the chopped hazelnuts, gently. Using a piping bag, create any shapes you like. I used a cookie press and made them in a flower shape!
4. Allow these to bake for about 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Enjoy!

Some Quiet Place is like no other YA Paranormal book I’ve ever read, and that’s very exciting! No werewolves, no vampires, none of that! Kelsey Sutton has introduced a new and refreshing topic in this genre, which everyone should take the chance to read.

I was offered this book for review, and when I said yes, because of the beautiful cover, I had no idea what I was getting myself into (I’ve already seen the cover or the sister book, and it looks just as amazing!). If you have this book sitting on your shelf right now, unread, I recommend pushing it to the top of your TBR pile. If you don’t own it yet, I recommend purchasing it RIGHT AWAY!

Some Quiet Place revolves around a girl named Elizabeth, who was in an car accident at a young age, and only walked a away with a few bruises and scratches. She hasn’t been the same since.

Elizabeth hasn’t told anyone, but she has the ability to see emotions and elements in human forms. She can’t feel any sort of emotion; not happiness, not excitement, not sadness or even anger. Not even Fear who is constantly sending horrific scenes into her mind whenever he touches her.

Elizabeth isn’t sure why this is happening to her, but it doesn’t matter how hard she tries, or pretends, she can’t feel anything.

Some Quiet Place follows Elizabeth on her journey to discovering herself, dealing with the loss, having her mother scared of her, having her alcoholic father beating her, and her relationship with Fear.

Where can I sign up for the Fear Fan Club? I absolutely love him.

When Fear is first introduced, he seems mysterious, and I wasn’t really sure why he was always around Elizabeth. My guess was just that he was interested and had never met anyone like her who couldn’t feel emotions.

But throughout the story he becomes more of a friend to her than a nuisance, which he seemed to be at the beginning of the story. He even opens up about his feelings towards Liz. When she’s in danger, he risks his job as a emotion, and his life as well, just to protect her.

Fear is like no other boy in YA Paranormal genre, and nor is his relationship with Liz. He isn’t just a normal guy, who knows  how good he looks, but instead he is insecure about being an emotion instead of a human.

Overall, Some Quiet Place had me addicted! There are other books I’ve read where the main character “had no feelings”, but nothing like Liz. Kelsey Sutton did an amazing job breaking our (the readers) hearts and not Elizabeth’s. Suttons writing was enticing and intricate! Loved it, and I can’t wait to read her other books.