Tag Archives: Texas

Mouthwatering and Flavorful Beef Brisket from “Texas BBQ Brothers” Author, Audrey Wick!

Delicious recipes straight from the kitchens of your favorite Tule authors.

Happy December, Tuligans!
There are a handful of delicious, original recipes in the back of my two BBQ Brothers books: On the Market and Off the Market and I thought a fun BBQ dish might be fun to share around the holidays.
In particular, this mouthwatering beef brisket might be something unique and an alternative to other meat dishes that may be expected around the holidays . . .

Beef Brisket

This isn’t quite as good as what The Hut makes using post oak wood, but it’s still a delicious version to serve at home. 

Ingredients:
1 medium-sized brisket, market trimmed

3 T. Worcestershire sauce

3 T. soy sauce

1 T. liquid smoke

½ t. seasoned salt

½ t. onion salt

½ t. garlic salt

½ t. black pepper 

Directions:
Put brisket on large piece of foil. Mix all other ingredients together. Pour over the brisket. Wrap tightly. Refrigerate for 24 hours. Then, bake at 250 degrees for approximately 5 hours. Slice and serve with The Hut’s barbeque sauce on the side. 

Want some rich and flavorful, homemade BBQ sauce to go with this brisket? Check out Audrey Wick’s BBQ-themed On the Market (Book 1 in her Texas BBQ Brothers series) for an original recipe! This and more are part of the back of the book, so happy reading…and happy eating!

Meet Tule Publishing’s First 10 Cowgirls as Part of our #Tule10 Anniversary!

Tule Publishing has hit a milestone 10 years and we’re celebrating all month long with showcasing some of our first 10’s! Learn more about our first 10 authors, meet our first 10 cowboys and cowgirls, and maybe find yourself wrapped up dreaming of the holidays with our first 10 Christmas stories!

We are so thankful for each of you for continuing to put your faith in us to continue bringing you amazing reads. You are a crucial part to our success and we couldn’t have made it to our 10th anniversary without you! We hope you stick around all month for more celebratory blogs and are looking forward to another 10 years – cheers!

Meet Tule Publishing’s First 10 Cowgirls

Big Sky Mavericks, Book 1
Big Marietta Fair, Book 2

Some dreams come with a big price tag.

Bailey Jenkins left her hometown of Marietta, Montana at eighteen, poised to take college and the rodeo world by storm–despite Paul Zabrinski. On the eve of her great escape, at the top of the Ferris Wheel at the Big Marietta Fair, he invoked his great-grandmother Hilda’s curse. “If you do this, Bailey Jenkins, I will hate you forever. And I’ll call on my great-grandmother to curse you. She was a Gypsy witch, you know.”

Fifteen years later, Bailey’s back–shattered, humbled by fate and bruised at the soul level but determined to rebuild–once she helps her parents get back on their feet. She didn’t expect Paul Zabrinski to meet her plane, but seeing him strong, handsome and successful is somehow fitting. After all, Bailey didn’t need Paul’s gypsy great-grandmother to put a curse on her–Bailey already had the worst luck on the planet.

Never say never.

One look at Bailey Jenkins–his first love, the woman he adored…and cursed–and every emotion Paul Zabrinski felt fifteen years earlier comes rushing back. The love of his life broke his heart and made him hate her…or so he thought. The line between love and hate is very narrow, with only so much room for forgiveness. But Paul Zabrinski owns Big Z Hardware and Construction. If anyone is capable of building a bridge for them to cross together, it’s him.

Carrigans of the Circle C, Book 5

For years Callan Carrigan has been her father’s right hand man, so when her dad’s will names city slicker Court McAllister the new owner of The Circle C Ranch, Callan feels betrayed on every level.

Then she and her sisters find their mother’s diaries, hidden from them by their father since their mother’s accidental death 18 years ago, and the shocking revelations explain a lot. Reeling, Callan seeks refuge in the local saloon, where it seems no one can reach her, until Court offers her a challenge.

If she agrees to be foreman at the Circle C for one year, he’ll deed the ranch back to her and her sisters. The deal seems too sweet at first—until Callan realizes Court has his eyes on something she protects even more than her family’s land—her heart.

Wildflower Ranch, Book 4

Australian cowgirl Bridie Willis travels to Montana to escape the pain of losing her father. Headstrong and determined, she plans to spend the summer alone photographing wild animals. Instead she finds herself saddled with a stubborn cowboy as a back-country guide.

Ethan Morgan has been shaped by a childhood spent on the run. Cautious, steady and conservative, he is tasked with ensuring the beautiful, risk taking cowgirl doesn’t ditch him or come to any harm.

But the biggest challenge Ethan must face is to accept how Bridie makes him feel. And the biggest risk Bridie must take is to trust in her heart.

Wildflower Ranch, Book 6

Headstrong cowgirl Peta Dixon has put her life on hold this Christmas to prove she can run her ranch as well as any man. There isn’t anything she can’t ride, fix, or stare down, and the only things to scare her are long hemlines and sky-high heels.

Self-made rancher Garrett Ross normally doesn’t take orders – he gives them. But when asked to step in to act as a temporary foreman on a Montana ranch over the holidays, he can’t refuse.

Yet when Garrett meets the beautiful and stubborn ranch owner, he realizes he’s signed on for a whole lot of trouble. Cynical and jaded, he has no time for feelings. And when Peta meets the man she’s to share her life with until Christmas, she discovers she no longer wants to be the person others expect her to be…

Will the rancher finally listen to his heart and admit he can’t live without a certain straight-talking cowgirl?

The Gallaghers of Montana, Book 5

He knows who she is…but she doesn’t

PI Mitch Hardeman is an expert at finding people, so when Glenna Gallagher disappears from the ranch where she works, her brothers hire Mitch to find her. He thinks his job is done after he tracks her down, but Glenna doesn’t know him, and she doesn’t remember her brothers or even her real name. Mitch must earn the beautiful cowgirl’s trust so he can bring her back home.

She doesn’t know who she is… but she knows who she wants

With traumatic amnesia caused by a bus accident, Glenna Gallagher knows nothing of her life before that day. She only knows she’s in danger, and that Mitch offers protection and the truth about her identity. But once home in Marietta, her memories are still missing. Can she convince Mitch that she doesn’t need to remember her past to know he’s the only man she wants? And will she regain her memory in time to save herself and the man she loves from the danger that follows her?

Blackberry Cove Cowboys, Book 1

When Kendall Kelly‘s career as the free spirited punk country crossover queen ends in a fiery ball of doom and humiliation, she has no place to go but back to her hometown Blackberry Cove, California, where she abandoned her secret husband years ago without so much as a note. She’s hoping to pick up the pieces of her shattered life and finally cut the last tie to the only man she ever loved.

As part owner of Kelly Family Farms, Damian Sloan has spent the last few years rebuilding the floundering business into a growing organic farm. He thought he’d moved on from his broken heart, but when Kendall barges back into his life—broken but beautiful as ever—he soon realizes he hasn’t forgotten. Or forgiven. Kendall threatens everything he’s built, but he can’t quite turn her away.

Damian and Kendall must put aside their differences for the success of the farm they both depend on. Maybe, in the process, they can rebuild what they tragically lost.

The Tremaynes of Texas, Book 4

What happens when a tenacious sheriff takes on a determined cowgirl and her champion bull?

It’s never easy to make it in a man’s world, and cowgirl Tori Tremayne has chased the same dream most of her life—producing a champion bucking bull on the pro rodeo circuit. With her prize bull Maximus, she’s so close to winning top prize in the finals this year she can taste it. She can’t afford any distractions, especially not the tall, dark and swoony sheriff she’s admired all her life.

Sheriff Gray Dalton has been in love with Tori since they were kids. He doesn’t want to change Tori or derail her goals, but he does want to combine their dreams—build a life and family with her while she continues to pursue her career and passion. Gray knows he has to shake Tori up so that he can step out of the friend zone she’s so determined to keep him in.

Can Gray prove to Tori that with him she can have it all—career, love and a family?

The Hartman Brothers, Book 3

She has a lot to prove and won’t get distracted by a cowboy again…

Barrel racer Ella James Sanders has one goal for her breakout year in Pro Rodeo—to make it to the National Finals Rodeo and prove to her hometown that she’s more than a girl raised on the wrong side of town. But her dream quickly crashes when an accident injures her and her horse, ending her rodeo season and leaving her in the care of the man who carelessly broke her heart years ago.

Cowboy and veterinarian Ty Hartman knows what it’s like to be rejected by those close to him. Ty’s loved Ella since high school, but she’s rejected him twice so he’s resolved to keep his distance and protect his heart…until an accident forces Ella and her horse into his life and he can’t step aside. As he cares for the feisty cowgirl, he feels himself falling for her again.

Can he convince this cowgirl that not only is he a man she can trust, but that he’s also a man she could love?

Texas True, Book 4

They’re made for each other, he just needs to prove it.

Pilot Nate Kershaw may be one of Whiskey River’s biggest players, but from the moment he met cowgirl Damaris Walker, he was smitten. After sharing a searing kiss years ago, she made her feelings clear so Nate doesn’t dare press for more than friendship. No other woman can win his heart, so when his beloved grandmother tells him her dearest wish is to see him settled down, Nate decides it’s the perfect opportunity to convince Damaris they’re meant to be.

After a devastating betrayal years ago, Damaris is still unable to trust or risk her heart—especially with a charming lady-killer like Nate. Against her common sense, she agrees to be Nate’s fake girlfriend and finds herself falling for him harder than she did two years ago.

When Damaris learns Nate has been deceiving her about his true feelings, her fears and trust issues reignite. Will Nate be able to convince Damaris to overcome the pain of the past and take a risk on forever—with him?

The Raffertys of Last Stand, Book 4

Sometimes the line between love and hate is blurry…

Cody Rafferty and Britt Roth may have grown up on adjacent Hill Country ranches, but they’ve always been oil and water. Britt knows it’s because Cody’s a tech nerd who doesn’t get the ranch life she loves. Cody knows it’s because Britt’s a single-minded cowgirl, who lives to complain about the technology he loves. Their families claim it’s because they were born within minutes of each other.

They’ve declared one truce in their lives—when Cody’s father was KIA overseas. Neither of them expected there would be another, but when Cody suspects a crash of his test drone spooked Britt’s champion barrel racing horse, endangering her life and future, he calls a second truce. Prodded by guilt, he steps up to take care of Britt and her beloved horse. Britt balks, but Cody’s hard to refuse even for a tough cowgirl. Forced together, they learn surprising things about each other neither ever knew.

Can these two lifetime adversaries learn to get along, especially when they realize that the sparks that fly between them aren’t fueled only by anger?

. . . . . . . . . .

Thanks for stopping by to meet the first 10 cowgirls of Tule Publishing! Here’s to a great year of #Tule10!

A BABY FOR THE BILLIONAIRE COWBOY – Release Day Blog Post Featuring Author Kris Bock!

Man holding pregnant woman in his arms and kissing her shoulder

Kris Bock has A Baby for the Billionaire Cowboy

One of the fun things about writing a series is how minor characters start to develop strong personalities and demand bigger roles in later books. Rhonda appears in book 1 as part of Ava Tomlinson’s knitting group – a group that also buys weekly lottery tickets intending to split the proceeds if they win. She’s something of a villain as she leads the group to turn on Ava, insisting that the winning lottery ticket should have gone to the group instead of Ava’s family.

I didn’t have future plans for Rhonda at that point, but she stuck around, grumbling and occasionally acting outrageous. In book 4, a sheltered young woman is lured into a relationship with her boss and winds up pregnant. When she runs away to an aunt and Last Stand, Rhonda volunteered to step into that role. I think she simply wanted more page time and a chance to show the heart of gold under the crusty exterior. She’s exactly the kind of person who would take in a girl running away from her wedding when every other family member is pressuring Daisy to marry. But she’s also the kind of person would be bossy, meddlesome, and exhausting as a housemate, encouraging Daisy to grab the chance at a job that comes with lodging at the Tomlinson’s ranch. And thus this tale gets off to a Cinderella start …

Quick Peek:

Xander spun her again and shifted so they were facing each other. Daisy felt like she was floating. The music, the soft night air, the semidarkness, the cicadas singing—they all combined to turn the moment into a dream. Maybe she was dreaming—she’d fallen asleep and she would awake to find—

“Daisy Mae!” The voice boomed from the building entrance.

Daisy flinched. She’d never gotten Auntie Rhonda to remember that she no longer went by Daisy Mae. Oh well, it was a small price to pay.

She smiled at the man, even though he might not be able to see her expression in the darkness. “Thank you for the dance.”

He gave a small jerk of a bow and headed back inside. Rhonda watched him go with a considering look as Daisy headed toward her great-aunt.

Rhonda turned the considering look on Daisy. “Oh, honey, you look like chewed twine. Here now, child.” She held out her arms. 

Daisy fell into them with a shudder of relief.

Praise for the Accidental Billionaire Cowboys series:

“I enjoyed myself so much with The Billionaire Cowboy’s Christmas. I had fun here, this is one of those unexpected windfall stories that was handled very realistically, but also with a good bit of laughter, confusion, family, and a town that just wants to celebrate one of their own making it big.” – Happily Ever After Romance

“I really enjoy this series. It is well written and the characters are very likable.” – GoodReads review

“I love returning to this little Texas town and the Tomlinson family. It’s like reconnecting with old friends. This is such a fun book series.” – BookBub review

Kris Bock writes novels of romance, mystery, and suspense. In the Accidental Detective humorous mystery series, a witty journalist solves mysteries in Arizona and tackles the challenges of turning fifty. Her Furrever Friends Sweet Romance series features the employees and customers at a cat café. Watch as they fall in love with each other and shelter cats. Sign up for the Kris Bock newsletter and get a free 30-page story set in the world of the Furrever Friends cat café, a printable copy of 22 recipes mentioned in the cat café novels, and an Accidental Detective mystery short story. In the future, you’ll receive fun content, announcements of new books, sales, and more.

About the author.

Kris Bock headshotKris Bock writes novels of mystery, suspense, and romance. She has lived in ten states and one foreign country but is now firmly planted in the Southwest, where many of her books are set. Her romantic suspense novels include stories of treasure hunting, archaeology, and intrigue. Readers have called these novels “Smart romance with an Indiana Jones feel.”  Learn more at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page.

Kris’s Furrever Friends Sweet Romance series features the employees and customers at a cat café. Watch as they fall in love with each other and shelter cats. Get a free 10,000-word story set in the world of the Furrever Friends cat café when you sign up for the Kris Bock newsletter.

Kris writes for children under the names Chris Eboch and M. M. Eboch. She has published over 60 books for young people, including ghostwriting for some famous mystery series.  Her novels for ages nine and up include Bandits Peak, a survival thriller; The Eyes of Pharaoh, a mystery that brings ancient Egypt to life; and The Well of Sacrifice, an action-packed drama set in ninth-century Mayan Guatemala, used in many schools.

Kris lives in New Mexico, where she enjoys hiking, watching the sunset from her patio, and hanging out with her husband and their ferrets.

Find Kris: Kris Bock at Tule Publishing | Website | BlogTwitter | Instagram | TikTok | FacebookGoodReads Author PageBookBubAmazon US page or Amazon UK page

DIAL M FOR MUD CAKE – Release Day Blog Post Featuring Author Kaz Delaney! (Plus Giveaway!)

Chocolate cake with candles for Dial M for Mud Cake book cover.

A belated Happy 4th to all my U.S. friends and readers! There’s a reason for mentioning that a month too late – you see, my latest Rosie Hart adventure was set with July 4th as a background. And as I created a fun celebration, I once more so envied that little town of Airlie Falls and their close-knit community. How much fun would it be to live there… Sigh… 

So, about this story: I was quite young when I first saw Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder – maybe too young – because it terrified me. Few would argue over Hitchcock’s ability to provide suspense – certainly not me, the proof being the fact that the story has stayed with me for all those years. I can still see Grace Kelly in that low-lit bedroom…

Suspense and terror aside, as I grew older, I came to appreciate the story-line, and it was basically from that idea my own story was born. My series, the Hart of Texas Murder Mysteries, is way more light-hearted than anything Hitch would present, yet right from the start I had a title in my head, my spoof of the original – Dial M for Mud Cake – hoping I could find the story it represented. 

It took six books, but in this last, the 6th, I found it – and was enormous fun to create. And every day I opened that manuscript it made me smile. Of course, in the way things should go, my story bears little resemblance to Hitchcock’s story other than a telephone call and an order for murder. Basically, that’s where Hitch and I parted ways.  However, it was those two things that led to the creation of a scene I had so much fun with – and will share in a moment.

Despite the fun, it wasn’t all straightforward. I knew I wanted my poor heroine Rosie, to be confused by the strange order for the mud cake. After all, as a baker, that would usually be a straightforward event for her. But that’s also when my usual modus operandi went off script. You see, normally, Rosie would be hunting down a murderer, often trying to clear the name of someone close to her.

This time there was no body, just someone who mistakenly thought Rosie to be a professional assassin who required the words Mud Cake as code for the hit. So, for Rosie  – and myself – everything was upside down. Rosie wasn’t, at first, searching for a murderer, but a potential victim. A stranger. Not seeking justice for a dead person but trying to keep someone alive! To make it worse, I added a ticking clock. The deed had to be completed by the 4th of July, or matters would be taken into other hands. Rosie couldn’t let that happen. While ever that customer thought she was the assassin, the victim had a chance of survival. 

And all this while helping to plan and execute the town’s extravagant plans for the Independence Day celebrations, try to curb the wild and ridiculous spending of the Fab Four who have discovered the home shopping channels (because surely nonagenarians wouldn’t really need a three-man tent and a bucking bronco – and that was just for starters!), as well as – you guessed it, also trying to prove her suspicion that the murder of an elderly heiress is connected to her own misguided cake order. 

But let’s go back to that first phone call. Keep in mind that Rosie thinks this is a regular—if slightly odd—order for a mud cake. 

 

Waving away Miz Lipskie’s warning whisper, I strode into the airy study just off the foyer. The voice on the other end wasn’t what I’d expected. It was low and muffled, and I’d barely said hello before the order came through—just as Miz Lipskie had said. 

“I want to order a mud cake.”

“Yes sir, we’d be delighted to help you.” Actually, I was taking Miz Lipskie’s word for it that it was a male because the voice was so stifled it was hard for me to tell the exact gender. Still, she’d spoken to him several times and apparently been barked at, so obviously she knew. 

There was a long pause before he replied. “We? I thought you worked alone?”

“Well, I do, but I have an assistant who helps me in the day-to-day running of the business.” 

“Sheesh! Everyone’s a corporation these days! Even you people!” I was about to let that pass when he threw in his next comment. “Your number was passed on. What? You got a club or something? What’s with two of you working the same area? I thought you guys were pretty hard to find!”

I accepted the guy’s reference as a gender inclusive description, but frowned over the comment. “Two of us? Two bakers?”

The response was a low chuckle. “Sure, if that’s what you want to call yourselves. No skin off my nose. I just want the job done.”

He had a funny way of expressing himself that I found confusing but I did understand he wanted cake and that was something I could deliver. “I can do that. Now if I could just have some details? I ne—”

“Just the basics, right? I was told you’d only require the basics.”

“Well, I guess if you consider name and address, and your requirements to be basics, then I guess that’s what we do.” What was with this man? “But how about we start with the cake. Like, do you want chocolate mud? Caramel mud? Strawberry mud? White chocolate mud?”

“I thought you’d just do the job! What’s with the twenty questions?” He sighed. “So what? What’s your most popular? Simplest? I want that.”

“Chocolate. Now sir, what about cream? Do you want fresh or—?”

“Fresh? Hey, hey, stop right there! I don’t want the details, right? That other broad told me you were the best, so I figured you’d just get on with it. Geez—I got a weak stomach.”

This was the craziest order I’d ever taken. He was upset by cream? “Lactose problem?”

The response was a roar of laughter. “Hey, you got a sense of humor! I like that!” The laughter turned into a coughing fit and I waited it through, wondering why I had the feeling it wasn’t genuine. “Just no mess, okay? I don’t like mess. Now, I was told you’d do it for ten. Is that right?”

“Um, I’d usually charge fifteen for a layered cake, there’s a—”

“Fifteen! Where am I supposed to get that kind of money?” 

I didn’t actually hear a phone slam down, but I kind of sensed it. One moment he was there, and the next he wasn’t and I was left with a dead line. What in heavens…? 

When I turned, Miz Lipskie stood in the doorway, arms folded and wearing an I-told-you-so expression. “Tell me I’m not the only one who thinks that man is a bit strange!”

“No, Miz Lipskie,” I began slowly, my mind whirling, “I don’t think you are.” 

 

I had such fun with this and subsequent scenes with this mysterious caller. And imagine Rosie’s shock when she, later, finally understands that he’s not just quibbling over $5, he thinks it’s an extra $5000. $15,000 for a mud cake? Even she concedes she’s not that good.  😊

I so hope you grab a copy and have fun with this story.  It’s a nice tangly mystery coupled with all the fun and color of a fun July 4th celebration. 

Now, I began this chat talking about movies – and mystery. Do you have a favorite mystery movie – or even a favorite mystery television series?  I’m a sucker for all those wonderful 80s series – Murder She Wrote (I still watch them!) Columbo, Diagnosis Murder, Matlock – and adore all the slightly more current UK series – Vera, Foyle’s War, Silent Witness, Midsomer Murders, Mrs Bradley Mysteries etc. Share with us your favorite – or if you’re not a mystery fan – your fave movie or TV show, and go in the draw for a randomly drawn $10 Amazon gift card and a free ebook from the Hart of Texas Murder Mystery Series.  

About the author.

Headshot of Kaz DelaneyAward winning YA & children’s author, Kaz Delaney, and her alter ego, have currently sold 73 titles between them over a 26 year career.

Her books have won many awards, among them the prestigious Aurealis Award for best paranormal and ARRA (Australian Romance Readers Association) awards. Her novel ‘Dead, Actually’ (Allen & Unwin) was nominated for a Davitt Award, (Best crime novel, Sisters In Crime) in the YA section.   Dividing her time between teaching and writing, Kaz formerly tutored Creative Writing for CSU’s Enrichment Program as well as teaching and creating courses for the Australian College of Journalism.

Having always had a love of cozy mysteries, Kaz is having so much fun writing her Hart of Texas Mystery Series for TULE Publishing, that she worries it’s not legal!

With their family grown and gone, Kaz lives with her wonderful husband at beautiful Lake Macquarie, Australia, a place she describes as a strip of land between the ocean and lake.  Like Rosie, Kaz loves to bake and grow vegetables and unlike Rosie, manages to make a mess of every crochet task she undertakes.