By Carla Neggers | December 18, 2020
When we were growing up in small-town New England, my six brothers and sisters and I would spend hours sledding on the hills behind our 18th-century house (a work-in-progress!). We’d come in pink-cheeked, usually with snow in our boots and cold, and inevitably our mother had a big pot of hot chocolate simmering on the wood stove. What a way to warm up!
I’ve made lots of hot chocolate since then, for adults as well as children. I’ve used mixes but prefer to make it from scratch. Since my father was Dutch, I’ve tended to use Droste cocoa. King Arthur Baking Company, its head… Read More
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By Carla Neggers | December 11, 2020
On a chilly winter evening, Joe and I love to have a pot of mulled wine simmering on the wood stove. Not only is it delicious as we read or warm up after snowshoeing or cross-country skiing, it fills the house with wonderful scents.
Here’s the recipe included in my Swift River Valley novella, “Christmas at Carriage Hill.”
Ingredients
2 bottles of dry red wine
1-2 orange(s), sliced into “circles”
1/3 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup brandy
1/4-1/2 cup sugar (to taste)
8 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
2 nutmegs, cracked into pieces
Preparation
Combine all the ingredient… Read More
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By Carla Neggers | November 15, 2019
Do you like to read a series in order? I don’t always start a series at the beginning, but once I’m into the characters and their stories, I love going back and reading the books in order, especially starting with the first one. Now the first books in my Sharpe & Donovan suspense series and my Swift River Valley contemporary romance series are on sale for just $1.99.
Saint’s Gate
Two people, isolated by their pasts. An obsessive killer who will force them together. Welcome to the Sharpe & Donovan Series!
Secrets of the Lost Summer
Beneath the surface lie the greatest tr… Read More
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By Carla Neggers | July 20, 2019
Does summer in the city appeal to you? I spent my first summer in Boston after my junior year in college and had a great time. Long walks in the evening, 4th of July fireworks, ice cream shops, harbor dinner cruises (well, one), Beacon Hill window boxes and countless other bonuses of a city summer. We love our hilltop house in Vermont and our excursions to Ireland and Maine, but our July, August and September visits to Boston are special, and not just because our grandchildren live there! Not something I thought much about that first summer in the city…
Some of my books set entirely or partiall… Read More
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By Carla Neggers | April 6, 2019
In “monk mode” writing here on my hilltop and getting back to normal after my nasty neck and shoulder injury, and what a treat to have fun news to celebrate! Stone Bridges popped onto the USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists its first week on sale. Many thanks to all the readers who pre-ordered and stopped at their favorite place that sells books, whether online, an independent, a box store or a spin-rack at the grocery. Best of all are the comments from readers who enjoyed this uplifting story set in picturesque small-town New England. Thank you!
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By Carla Neggers | March 12, 2019
Time’s been slipping away as I recover from my shoulder injury, and I just realized Stone Bridges will be in stores in two weeks. I’m so excited! It’s the latest standalone installment in my Swift River Valley small-town New England series. Pre-order your copy from your favorite bookseller today! Click here for handy links.
Be sure to let me know what you think when you’ve had a chance to read Adrienne and Adam’s story. I had a great time writing it, mostly here on my New England hilltop. Check back for more info. I’m running behind with everything given … Read More
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By Carla Neggers | November 13, 2018
November is flying by! Be sure to check out this month’s contest. We’re celebrating the start of the holiday season with a special giveaway inspired by readers. TEN lucky readers will receive a signed copy of the paperback edition of A Knights Bridge Christmas. ONE grand prize winner will also receive a limited-edition Swift River Valley mug.
This is the only place you can find “Christmas at Carriage Hill” in print (it’s available on its own digitally). In this fun novella, Dylan McCaffrey’s long-lost English cousin and the RAF pilot she’s trying to get over arrive in little … Read More
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By Carla Neggers | July 9, 2018
As anyone who reads my New England settings can probably tell, I’m a huge fan of blueberries, especially wild blueberries. Yesterday we picked up our first pint of locally-grown cultivated blueberries. So good! I’ll be making muffins and cobbler through the season. Click on the underlined links for printable recipes! And here’s the one for muffins…my mouth is watering already…
BLUEBERRY MUFFINS
Ingredients
1 cup wild blueberries (fresh or frozen; I also use cultivated blueberries)
2 cup all-purpose white flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoo
…
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By Carla Neggers | June 28, 2018
A fun Q&A I had up on my website for a while and just updated. Enjoy!
What’s the most important thing you learned as a reader?
I learned that I love to read! As a kid, I’d clean out shelves in the library and read everything I could get my hands on. Reading opened up the world to me. Nowadays, I love to sit by the fire on a chilly, rainy day at home or on the Maine or Irish coast and read one book after another.
What’s your guiltiest pleasure?
I’m not big on guilt but when the local berries are in (as they are now), I have been known to have strawberry shortcake for dinner. Two helpings. Okay, two-and-a-half h… Read More
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