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Another Whodunit

My morning meeting asked to delay till afternoon, so I took advantage of the extra time to put a coat of paint on my dresser, then jump in the shower to scrub off the paint. When I came out, this is what I found:

 

It was almost dry, so the prints are very clear. I decided to leave them.  The dresser is almost 100 years old, with a not so great finish (did my best decades ago, but it was always so-so, which made paint the best solution this time), so two cute little pawprints seemed fitting.

But who did it? The cats were nowhere to be found and I needed to get to my meeting. I was sure there would be tell-tale prints on the floor leading to the culprit, but nope.

It would have to wait until I returned and I had to hope I wouldn’t be greeted with white pawprint all over the house.

Finally, after examining everyone’s paws, the culprit was found:

Continue reading Another Whodunit

Annie Short Stories: Not So Much A Whodunit, More Like A Shedunit

THE VICTIM

 

THE CULPRIT

 

Her attorney says she was framed.

 

 

Making sure her job is done.

The full story:

 

I was sitting on the exercise ball that I use for my office chair. I was participating in a chat about my newest novel, Underway, and Emma Kate came in and was meowing at me. I ignored her. At my peril.

She reached up and stuck a claw into my exercise ball, and that’s all they wrote. LOL

Can’t be mad at her, she’s 17 years old and wants what she wants and usually gets what she wants.

New ball will be here on Thursday.

Meanwhile, she retreated to the bedroom to sulk because I yelled at her.

In my defense, one does tend to squeal when one is falling on one’s ass.

#annieshortstories

Cross-Posted: Food In Fiction, Underway Recipes

Cross-posted from What’s 4 Dinner Solutions.

One of my favorite things is recipes in fiction novels. I’ve featured quite a few of them here. 

So when I began to write my own fiction, I wanted to include recipes. Run Aground (Book 1 in the TJ Wilde Trilogy – for sale here) featured Smashed Potatoes and Lemon Piccata Chicken

My newest book, Underway (Book 2 in the TJ Wilde Trilogy) features two recipes.  Tahini Walnut Rolls (recipe here) and Sausage and Grapes below.

Underway is on sale now, here. You can read Chapters 1 and 2 here.

From 2015:

…I decided to experiment with flavors I would have never thought of on my own. Facebook and blog friend Michael F, shared a recipe on Facebook from Italy, in Italian no less, and the photo intrigued me. I let google translate the recipe (which was a hoot) and went about putting my touches into it.

It was so unusual, my most reliable recipe testers politely declined my dinner invite. Totally understandable. But I will tell you I was pleasantly surprised how well this turned out. If you like pork and apples, this has a similar flavor palate. It was also quick and easy to prepare. I’m glad I decided to experiment.

All right, if you’re up for something new and different, here you go, tonight’s featured recipe.

Sausage and Grapes

  • 8 links Italian sausage (I used spicy, but you could use any style sausage you favor)
  • 1/2 sweet onion, finely diced
  • 2 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 cup green seedless grapes, washed, dried and halved lengthwise
  • 1 cup red seedless grapes, washed, dried and halved lengthwise
  • salt and pepper to taste (I used none, didn’t need it)
  • angel hair pasta
  • freshly grated Parmesan

skillet

Slice sausage links into four pieces each, add to skillet and fry on medium high for about 10 minutes. Add onion and fennel seeds, cook another 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are translucent. Add grapes, stir until well mixed, cover and let simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes while pasta cooks.

Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain well.

You can toss with the sausage mixture, or serve separately. Serve with Parmesan.

The pasta was my addition. When I asked Michael what would be a good side, he suggested eggplant or roasted potatoes. Roasted zucchini spears would probably work well, too.