Low Sugar Cherry Cheesecake and a book by Nancy Lee Badger

Prepared in a Springform Pan

Removed with little finesse from the pan

This is a treat I discovered in my recipe collection but modified it to make it as LOW in SUGAR as humanly possible. It is so good that I shared it with family at a relative's birthday celebration. (we have all been vaccinated!)

Celebrating with family is slowly becoming normal so offering treats can be a healthy part of those get-togethers. Give it a try!

Nancy's Low-Sugar Cherry Cheesecake

9 or 10 inch springform pan or pie dish

10 rectangle blocks of graham crackers

7 ounces butter, melted

2 Tablespoons Splenda sugar

1 Tablespoon Splenda brown sugar

1 1/2 pks (12 ounces) Lite cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar-fee confectioners sugar (mix 1 Cup Splenda & 2 T. cornstarch)

1 carton (8 ounce) Sugar-Free whipped topping, thawed

1 can Cherry pie filling (low-sugar)

Make the crust by crushing in a bag or blending in a food processor the graham crackers into fine crumbs. Add Splenda and brown sugar and blend. Since I found it was hard to remove, I suggest first spray with PAM or place a round piece of parchment paper or wax paper in first) Pour into a bowl and add melted butter. Mix with a fork and pour into pan. Use the back of a small measuring cup to tamp it down. 

For the filling, blend the cream cheese and sugar-free confectioner sugar mix until smooth. Fold in the softened whipped topping until blended. Pour into the pan and spread evenly to the edge. Top with the cherry filling. Cool at least 6 hours. It can keep in the refrigerator for about 5 days.  

WITH EVERY SPARK

Is the 4th book in my Opportunity Falls series

It is available in ebook and print all around the world

AND I just finished revising all four books 

AND am working on a 5th, a novella

Find Buy Links HERE

Keep safe and enjoy Spring!

Nancy Lee Badger

A NEW RELEASE! With Every Breath

My Opportunity Falls series is getting larger, now that another release day is here!
With Every Breath is the third book in my Opportunity Falls series. The series started in New York, then followed two New Yorkers to New Hampshire. This book is set mainly in New Hampshire (with an important side-trip to Boston).

Book Blurb
A quirky college town, an injured hiker and his beautiful rescuer. Assumptions pull the new lovers apart. Barely surviving two stalkers, a murder on campus, heartache, and hypothermia, their race up a mountain during a snowstorm keeps the pace rolling in this hot, spicy adventure-filled romance.

FREE Excerpt 

“You live on the mountain?” Jacob asked.

“I rent a small cabin,” Destiny replied, then added, “My home is quiet and private. I enjoy my solitude. Plus, it comes with heat and hot water. I have a washer and dryer, so when I get you out of those clothes I can…” Destiny’s face burned with the heat of total embarrassment. She stopped, spun toward him, inhaled, and spoke a bit slower.

“What I meant is, you can change out of your clothes and I’ll throw them in the washer. I have a big robe that might fit you while you wait.”

He chuckled at her mortification, the first sign he seemed to understand his effect on her.

“I know what you meant. A hot shower and a chance to rest before I continue on will do me a world of good. I’ll be forever in your debt.”

He gave her a big smile, and her toes curled inside her boots. She couldn’t help returning the smile with a big one of her own. He suddenly gasped, his lungs sucking in air, as if they’d failed to get enough oxygen.

Rushing toward him, she batted at a few loose hairs tickling her forehead and placed a hand at the open ‘V’ of his shirt. He coughed, hard, as if his throat constricted more each second.

“Are you all right?” Should she slap him on the back? His backpack stood in the way, so she rubbed her hand over his chest hairs in a soothing, circular motion, while she debated what to do next. His eyes mirrored her concern. Why did she feel guilty all of a sudden?

“I’ll be okay,” he groaned, “I just need to catch my breath.” He closed his eyes. The tension between them thickened with desire, and for some reason it felt wrong. Jacob was obviously years older than the boys she dated, and he said he worked at the college. He wasn’t kitchen help, like her. He was highly educated, well-dressed, and sexy as Hell. More importantly, he was injured, and in pain.

Get over this silly infatuation and help the guy off the mountain. Drool later.

She reluctantly turned away.

Regular Retail Ebook Price: $3.99

SALE PRICE for April  $.99

Amazon     Amazon UK     NOOK

Amazon CAN       Amazon AUS

iBooks     KOBO    Amazon PRINT

and don't miss Book #1 and Book #2...

A New Release! WITH EVERY KISS

I released my latest novel on November 3rd, 

With Every Kiss, an Opportunity Falls novel is available in ebook & print.

Fall in love amid the New England countryside with Abby and Mitch.

An artist bored with the city life and a Manhattan lawyer itching to escape his father’s control wind up in a New Hampshire campground. A coincidence? Not likely!

Excerpt:

Heat swept across Abby’s cheeks as Mitch’s words sunk in, words she’d heard many times, from many men. But, the location was quite different. Nothing like a soft bed surrounded by privacy. Although she trembled with anticipation for more than his kisses, she couldn’t make love out in the open.

Without responding to his statement, she glanced at the river valley. She forced her breathing to slow, and slipped sideways until she had a view of the entire valley, a view unobstructed by a dark, towering male body.

“Did you hear me?” Mitch said, his voice as dark and ominous as his gaze.

“I did, but this isn’t the place.” That sounded better than a definite no. She wanted to say no. Don’t I?

“I should have brought a sleeping bag. We could sleep under the stars,” he said, and stepped closer. He kept one palm flat against the rock beside her head, and the other on his hip. As if he dare not touch her.

She chuckled.

“What’s so funny? Star gazing is awesome, in these mountains.”

As if I’d waste time watching points of light in the sky when he could be beside me, over me, inside me.

She gasped at her crude thought, but when he stepped farther away, she immediately missed his heat.

“Better yet, I want you in my bed where our lovemaking will be comfortable and endless. This outcropping isn’t private enough or I’d take you up against this granite wall right now.”

Abby stared at him, and forced a sly smile. “You’re a gentleman.”

“Why? Because I don’t want an audience when I make love to you? People on the beach can see us.”

“Oh?” He’d rather take her in private than against a wall out in the open?

Too bad. A gasp escaped from between her swollen lips at the image. How could she change his mind?

Am I crazy to try?

Find all buy links HERE  

Interview with Author Kyle Newton

A funny thing happened when I recently attended the New Hampshire Highland Games  and Festival. I came face-to-face with a kilted young man whom I had talked with, briefly, one year ago. Many things have changed since our last encounter.



Kyle with  Loon Mountain in the background

Kyle Newton cut his long hair! More importantly, he published his first book Allegiance of a Soldier, and is well on his way to more books. (the second book in The Betrayer Series should be out by now). Compared to me, Kyle is youngun and seems to know my sons who were also at the games. You see, my family gets together in the fall to volunteer under the Information tent, so we meet lots of great people dressed in every color imaginable.

Kyle is a member of the Forbes Clan. Every Scottish Clan has their own 'tartan plaid' and it is such a pleasure to photograph men in their ancient garb. Kyle looks the part and I pulled him aside to get to know the real Kyle.

"I love to tell stories," he told me as we lounged in the shade and watched the thousands of visitors to the games. He also admitted he nearly failed his creative writing course in high school because he was writing his book!

Like me, Kyle was inspired by an author. He met Mary Carroll Moore at a writer's conference, and off he went! Since high school, Kyle has worked in retail to pay the rent, but his passion is writing stories.




The author at the New Hampshire Highland Games with his book

Lies of the King is the second book in his trilogy, and he found out quickly that promotion takes time away from writing. I gave him some ideas and I hope this will help increase sales, since the dream of all writers is to WRITE FULL TIME.

Book Blurb of Allegiance of a Soldier

A dying country rises from the ashes of war. Aran, one of Rairal's elite, and a war hero amongst his brothers-in-arms, views himself as a disgrace. A dark secret lingers within him, crippling his daily life. Hoping to find peace in nature, he is arrested by the King's men, and is promised death in prison. With friends few and far between, it becomes time to face difficult questions: Is it better to fight or hide? Is killing for King and country still considered murder? What if facing the past that haunts you is the only way to save your country's future?

 

Ebooks of Allegiance of a Soldier are available at:  

 

Amazon      Smashwords    KOBO

Print versions are available at:  LuLu

Where to find AUTHOR KYLE NEWTON:

Website    Facebook    Twitter

WIN an Ebook of Allegiance of a Soldier! I will personally send a Gift Certificate to either Amazon, KOBO, or Smashwords to one person who leaves a comment! MY GIFT TO YOU!

Winner will be chosen Nov. 5th

Nancy, an author paying-it-forward

Glad to be back in the city....

The Kancamagus River outside our condo

Wildlife is beautiful. While driving to and from New England, we spied many brown-eyed, sweet-faced deer. Their delicate beauty is awesome, but they were munching along with their 'friends' much too close to the highway.

Another aspect of rural life was evident at the condominium we stayed at in Lincoln, New Hampshire while volunteering at the New Hampshire Highland Games & Festival. The multi-unit, three floor building is nestled beside a large river, yet we were still surprised by the sign on the dumpster (each visitor is required to take all trash to the dumpster before check-out)

The sign is self explanitory and you will agree I had a right to send my adult son out with the next bag.

(and I love the last sentence) Now that I am safely ensconced within the Raleigh city limits in North Carolina, I can laugh at my fear. Are you laughing at me? They would not have posted the sign without reason...would they?

*all photos by Nancy Lee Badger

Cautious author, Nancy Lee Badger

Sounds, Sights, & Smells of the Scottish Games

I was reading my local newspaper the other day and a back page article caught my eye. Seems a local girl, Waverly Noble from Raleigh (NC), has spent half her eleven years learning to dance in the Scottish tradition.

It got me to thinking about the Scottish Highland Games and festivals that pop up around the area. I wish I could attend them all, but time and money seem to factor in when deciding where to go and what to see.

My boys, Eric and Robert

Highland dance, with the young women in beautiful kilts and socks, their hair in tight buns, and their hands on their hips, is a sight to behold. I raised two boys, so watching the girls perform is always a treat without the worry. Being a soccer mom was easier.

Have you ever attended a Scottish festival? If not, then you have missed out on the sounds, sights, and smells.

• Sounds such as a lonely bagpiper performing before a competition judge
• The sound of many marching bands as they march together playing Amazing Grace
• The happy sounds of kids petting sheep or a Highland cow
• The sight of muscular brutes tossing a telephone pole (the caber) end over end
• walking through a historical village and seeing how the Scottish lived long ago
• Seeing men of all sizes and ages strutting about in their Scottish finery. Yum!
• The smell of Haggis
• The delicious smell of baking meat pies 
• sheep

I will be heading north next month to again volunteer with my family at the 37th Annual New Hampshire Highland Games and Festival. It will be held at the Loon Mountain ski Area in Lincoln. If you plan to be in the area, it is well worth a stop, but get there EARLY. 30,000 people+ are expected!

Stop in and see me at the Information Tent.

For more information about the Games,

please click on NHScot.org

Family Diaries & a 1925 Meteor Sighting

Rediscovering old, musty journals of long-dead family members was a treat. You never know what you will find!
Nancy

Dec. 8, 1885

Cold & pleasant. H* gone to Hardwick. Wm** don’t know where to go, but goes to the Bend this afternoon pleasant & cold. I iron, cut R*** a shirt, sew some. H comes home.
*H might be her son Harvey by Joseph Bean **Wm is her 2^nd husband William Folsom. ***R might be her son Russel.
Lodema Kingsbury Bean Folsom (age 58)
*she remarried after Joseph Abner Bean died fighting in the Civil War

Dec. 8, 1925 South Fairlee, VT
32˚ a. Cloudy, some sun at noon, spit snow p.m.  F.* & R. go to woods with both horses. I wash, mop, and help H. with barn chores, saw. Write to Willard J. Fisher, Harvard College Observatory about meteor.** Write to John C. Badger about our branch of family.
*F is her husband Frank (actually Benjamin Franklin Badger) R is her son Ralph.  **newspaper clipping attached earlier where she wrote to paper about seeing the meteor on Nov. 5

Eva Bean Badger (age 62)

Dec. 8, 1932 Pittsfield, NH

Doctor calls to see Paul. Says he is overtired.
*Paul is my late father-in-law
Lester Bean Badger 

Dec. 8, 1971 Peterboro, NH

Tommey ‘17* 24˚. Sunny. Change my bed & wash. Vac & dust mop all around. L** writes, does dishes & dusts. Cloudy in p.m. After naps L writes & I fold & put away clothes. Address some more cards.
*This is Dorothea Sawyer Badger, their daughter-in-law & it is her birthday. (my late mother-in-law) Her nickname is Tommey Sawyer. **L is his wheelchair-bound wife, Lillian Robinson, my husband’s grandmother.
Lester Bean Badger

TIME MARCHES ON

The dairies and cash expenditure booklets came to us through my husband's family, and when our son visited the other day, he and I started sorting them. The astonished look on his face as he read the writer's name and the date, made me realize we'd found treasure!

I want to share these snippets of daily life, mostly in northern New England, and far from the 'easy life' we live today. Enjoy! Comments welcome.

Nancy

Spinning yarn

Nov. 30, 1887

I go to see G, have a minute to spin 2 skeins. Beautiful day, would like to go.
Lodema Kingsbury Bean Folsom (age 60)
*she remarried after Joseph Abner Bean died in the Civil War

Nov. 30, 1923 South Fairlee, VT

Began raining middle of night and poured all day. R. & H. got breakfast & all churn 33# butter. I help & clean up things. Lester*, Lillian, & Paul drive up from Windsor in the rain, get here at noon. Awfully glad to see them. I mend & c. an keep H’s room. Nice letter from Jessie.
*Lester is her son, Lillian is Lester’s wife, & Paul is my late father-in-law
Eva Bean Badger (age 60)

Nov. 30, 1937 West Fairlee, VT

24˚a. Pleasant. R.* goes out with rifle in a.m. I sweep & dust mop. Jessie, May & daughter Rachel drive in just before 11, find me ironing curtains. They help me get them up. They bring tripe, angle (sic) cake, pt. oysters & crackers. Also grapes, go with venison, potatoes & pie & bread so we have plenty to eat. Have nice visit. Company leaves about 3:30. So glad to see our dear friends.
*R is her son Ralph.
Eva Bean Badger (age 74)

Nov. 30, 1971 Peterboro, NH

We get meals & that is about all. Get nice letter from Paul. 40˚ max. (note on this date printed in diary says “Have you ordered your diary for 1972?’ Have it.
*Paul is my late father-in-law.
Lester Bean Badger (age 78)

LOVE TO THE RESCUE: release day & a great book review

LOVE TO THE RESCUE, the continuing mountain saga that I started with last fall's DESTINY'S MOUNTAIN, is now out!

BOOK BLURB

The clashing relationship between tomboy Josie Miller and fellow paramedic-firefighter, Pete Miller, escalates after he realizes Joe is not just one-of-the-boys. Pete has a sketchy history and has earned a reputation for one-night stands in the small town of Parmenter, New Hampshire nestled between the Mercy River, the mountains, and the small college. Since he arrived a year ago, Josie suspects he is hiding something. Something too horrible to share, even with her. Working side by side, Joe loves her job, and Pete.

They respond to accident calls, medical emergencies, and fast-moving forest fires amid sparks of another kind. Joe’s clumsiness and baggy uniform work against her when she yearns to be the kind of woman Pete wants like the pretty blonde they must rescue after her car hits a moose.

Outside influences come to play when the sister of Pete’s alleged victim shows up and accuses him of something even worse…her sister’s recent death. Once on track to be a doctor, the sister’s betrayal and lies caused Pete to run far away and keep women at a distance unless they agreed to share his bed…and nothing more.

Pete plans to skip town while Josie worries she has given her heart to a monster. A suicide note, some well-landed fists, stolen moments of love, and a desire to listen to their hearts lead these two heroes toward a climax filled with tension, pain, bloodshed, and atonement.

BOOK REVIEW

Now out from Babs Book Bistro. Check it out!

LOVE TO THE RESCUE is now available for download from Red Rose Publishing.

EARTH DAY 2011

In high school, back on the first Earth Day-April 22, 1970-I remember a class or two meeting outside and reading about this new 'holiday' and it opened my eyes. We were recently allowed to wear jeans in school, and spring blouses were sheer and colorful. Flowers were everywhere. Spring came a bit late on Long Island, about 30 miles west of New York City, but I had a feeling something good had begun.

Many years later, while working at a hardware store in New Hampshire, I organized an Earth day celebration in the local schools. Our store advertised a coloring contest and asked schools to prompt the kids to color the page and have them posted in our store windows. Then we chose three prize winning schools. I personally delivered a wheelbarrow filled with planting supplies to the to three schools.

The contest motivated the kids and teachers to get invloved in every step AND they learned that winning something that helped everyone-not just themselves-was a great feeling of accomplishment. The contest made our small hardware store a part of the community as well.

Earth Day might be filled with hardship for others.

Plant some flowers or, as in our area, help a family pick up trash after the tornado. Whatever you do, give back to family, friends, neighbors, or Mother Earth. Taking part and helping others will make you feel good. I promise.

Nancy

Review: DESTINY'S MOUNTAIN

THE ROMANCE STUDIO recently reviewed my second novel published by Red Rose Publishing. Here is just a snippet:

I absolutely love how two people have that certain gaze when their eyes contact each other, and know they are the one they want. Destiny's Mountain demonstrates that kind of story with two believable and refreshing characters. They touch upon the reader's heart and make them want to root for them, from the first page to the last....

Please visit The Romance Studio for the complete, spectacular review!

The Romance studio


Nancy Lennea