Author Archives: Lily Graison

It’s getting that time of year again. I can’t believe we’re a week away from Thanksgiving and a little over a month from Christmas! Where did the year go? Like most everyone, I love trying new recipes but finding them is the hardest part. I have 2 to share with everyone today. These dishes go fast around here so double up the recipe like I do. *wink* Chocolate Éclair Cake 1 (1 lb.) box graham crackers2 sm. pkgs. instant French Vanilla pudding3 1/2 c. milk1 (9 oz.) container Cool Whip1 Container (store bought) Chocolate Frosting Mix pudding with the milk. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Blend in Cool Whip. Line the bottom of your pan with graham crackers then pour a layer of pudding mixture over graham crackers. Repeat until all ingredients are used.(Just like you do a banana pudding) End with your graham crackers on top. Refrigerate for 2 hours then spread your frosting on top. Note: If you’re inpatient like I am….put the pan in the freezer until it sets. Once its firm, take the lid and foil off the icing and microwave for 1 minute. Stir the mixture and pour it over the graham crackers, smooth until pretty. Refrigerate. It’s best eaten the following day. It gives the crackers time to soften. Serves 12 to 14. (If you have a really deep dish, (I have a 9×13 deep dish) you can double the ingredients and make a monster pudding. You’ll need it. This never last very long. LOL) Butterscotch Rum Cake Ingredients:1 pkg. Yellow Cake Mix (Duncan Hines)1 pkg. Butterscotch Pudding3 large eggs1/3c. cooking oil1/2c. water1/2c. Rum (Spiced Rum) Rum Glaze:1 stick butter1/4c. water1 cup sugar1/2 cup Rum (Spiced Rum)1 1/4c. walnut pieces-chopped (Pecans work for this too) Directions:– Pre-heat oven to 325. Lightly grease … Keep Reading! →

The recent storms making their way across the country did not miss us here on the east coast. They rolled through last night about 7pm, along with the first tornado warning. I called my daughter, told her to bring my grandbabies over here and we rode it out amongst cracks of lightening and sheets of rain. There were 6 tornado warnings in 4 hours and every ‘cell’ that came through took the exact same path so, 6 times we had to brace ourselves. The last one, around 11pm had a center of circulation headed right for us and…we heard…something. We have a lot of traffic on the road out front and big tractor-trailer trucks fly down our road and that’s what we thought we heard…only, there was no traffic and the noise got louder. I made my son come downstairs and we all just sat and listened to this…noise…rumble by and waited. I don’t normally get scared of storms but last night, hearing that rumble, my heart rate increased until I felt dizzy. LOL Luckily, whatever it was, left and the warnings stopped. The rain didn’t. It beat against the house for hours. Rain, I can handle. Spooky sounding wind, not so much. There were several confirmed tornados that actually touched down, one only 6 miles from the house. From the news report, it hit a food prep plant, with 800 employees inside, and tossed a car inside. Another, 30 minutes from here, destroyed a few homes and a barn, killing 3 horses in the process. No human deaths, that I know of. All in all, it was a little bit too close for comfort. It’s still cloudy today, the wind is strong enough to toss my flowering Mimosa tree every direction but up and the clouds threaten more rain. … Keep Reading! →

This past Saturday, I was able to be a part of an annual event held in this area. Dr. Robert Hart has spent the last 30 years rescuing and restoring Carolina life of the nineteenth century, recreating an entire village, Hart Square—the largest collection of original historic log buildings in the United States. Dating from 1782 to 1873, the seventy log structures—chapels, barns, houses, shops, and more—are all furnished, and around 220 volunteer artisans demonstrate the period techniques of flax breaking and hackling, spinning, weaving, herb dying, open-hearth cooking, broom and shoemaking, shingle riving, wheelwrighting, tinsmithing, and moonshining. It is ‘Living History’ at it’s finest. I’ve had the pleasure of spending the last year participating in local living history events but this was by far, the best. This was the first time I’ve attended this event and I hope it won’t be the last.   We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day. It was cool but not cold and the sun shining off the pond, which the buildings surround, was awe-inspiring. We spent the day touring the buildings, while dressed in our period (1860’s) clothing and answering questions about that time period, and the way of life to anyone who asked. My daughter was able to attend with us and wore the period Wedding Dress I made for her. She was the ‘Belle of the Ball’ and could barely walk 10 steps without having to stop to have her picture made.   She was lovely, as usual, and I was quite proud of the dress I’d spent so much time making her turned out so well. She was able to share her knowledge of the time with those who asked and she enjoyed the day as much as we did. I was able to gather a lot of … Keep Reading! →

I was talking to a writer friend and the discussion of book reviews came up and if they had any real effect on book sales. For those of you who don’t know how book reviews work, authors, or their publisher, will send an authors book to a review site. Everyone does it this way. Occasionally, a review site will request a book for review and they’ll get put into the sites database that way but that’s neither here nor there. My friend has always been leery of reviews for her books. I have to, to a certain extent. They make me queasy. LOL The thought of purposely handing one of my books over for someone to tell me what they think is scary. What if they hate it and tell the whole world? But on the up side, what if they love it and then tell the whole world? I think all of my books have been reviewed, some books by several review sites. I’ve almost always gotten decent reviews, some very good actually. A Touch of Heaven, my very first published book with Linden Bay Romance won the 2005 Reviewers Choice Award from eCataRomance.Com. Not bad for a newbie, huh? But back to my point. I promise I have one! The impact reviews have. I’m not entirely sure they ‘produce’ sales but I’d love to be proven wrong. Getting ‘reviewed’ is something every author does, whether they enjoy the process or not. I’ll admit there are times I break out into a cold sweat waiting for a review of a brand new book. Waiting to see how the ‘public’ will view it. So, dear readers…do you read book reviews? Do they influence your decision to buy certain books? Do you frequent book review ‘websites’ actively looking for new books … Keep Reading! →

I’ve been in a slump as of late. I blamed it on the fact its summer time. BBQ’s, the sun always shining and the lure of the backyard swimming pool. Of course, all of those are just excuses. I don’t spend every daylight hour outside. I doubt I spend over 4 hours outdoors any given day. One thing about the south…it’s HOT down here! One can’t stand being outside for very long. I decided I just needed a change. Change is always good so, I moved my laptop downstairs and thought, I’ll just write from a new location. It didn’t work. The constant traffic of my family was too distracting. That along with normal household chores. Not that I enjoy cleaning but when I’m procrastinating instead of writing, washing a few dishes seems like a better plan to me. So, I came back to my office the other day. And still nothing. I wasn’t sure what to do then. The words were all there, just waiting to be written, but—nothing was happening. My desk is L-shaped and the long side sits against the wall. My laptop sits on the short side, allowing me to see out the windows and see the lovely flowering Mimosa tree and the butterflies it attracts. I moved to the long side of the desk, facing the wall. I shut my door and opened word to see what would happen. Nothing again. LOL THE GATHERING is less than 10,000 words from completion but I’m so sick of the story, I could scream. Why? I don’t know. I just am. I don’t even want to read it, let along write it. If you don’t follow me on Twitter and Facebook, then you’ve probably missed the fact that I’ve been plotting out a 4 book series set in … Keep Reading! →

School is out for the summer, my niece and grandbabies will be here almost constantly, and the flow of water they carry in from the pool leaves my carpets wet and me complaining, while everyone ignores me, as usual. The sun is shining brightly today, its 91 degrees outside and my desire to be outside, playing in the sun with everyone else, is strong. As it will be tomorrow and the day after that. I’ve said many times I wished I lived somewhere cold year round. Maybe then my muse would be able to concentrate longer, but that isn’t to be. Living in the south has its advantages, though. These wonderful sunny days for one. The nights are just as fantastic. Sitting on the back deck, sipping a cool drink while the stars number in the thousands overhead and the crickets, cicadas, and frogs serenade you while a warm breeze tickles your skin. Sigh. No, I don’t think I’d give it up. While my productivity may go down in the spring/summer, I know I wouldn’t be happy anywhere else so if I’m not around as much, just imagine me in the pool. I’m sure that’s where I am! All material &copy2005-2012 to Lily Graison

A nasty flu bug got hold of me and laid me up for a while. I’m just NOW starting to get over it. Of course, I’m so behind now I’ll never catch up. I’m off to the Dr. today…for a totally unrelated thing. Still a pain in the backside. The website is back up! It was all my fault. I don’t know the difference between a Megabyte and a Gigabyte, apparently. I do now! It shouldn’t happen again. *wink* The website Contest is still going on. You have until the end of the month to enter for your chance to win a Print copy of WICKED: JADE BUTTERFLY! I received a shipment of them in the mail yesterday. I can’t wait for someone to get a hold of it! All material &copy2005-2012 to Lily Graison

I’ve broken my website. I upgraded a few days ago to get more space and ever since then, the site has been down. A bandwidth issue of some sort and I can’t for the life of me figure out what I’ve done. I’m in contact with tech support so hopefully we’ll be back ‘online’ soon. I realize there’s a contest winner announcement due and I’ll get to it as soon as I can ‘see’ the website. Just hang with me for a little while longer until I can find out where I goofed. Lily All material &copy2005-2012 to Lily Graison