posted on May 9, 2013 by Sharla Lovelace

The Reason Is You

thereasonisyouHi!  Thanks for having me!

It’s a crazy week for me, with the mass market paperback of THE REASON IS YOU coming out on Tuesday.  It debuted last year in trade paperback, and as much as I loved that cover, I love this one even more.  Soooo much fun, and I’m tickled to death that Bojangles the Rottweiler made the cover.

Now, I was going to talk about the two hot men in my book.  Because they are simply delicious and worthy of praise.  I even have buttons for them.

teamalexThey’re worth it.

But then I realized that I think I talked about them last year when the book debuted, and maybe I should go a different route.

So let’s talk dessert.  Because that runs a close second to hot men, in my opinion.

I love food.  Like—way too much.  Like—I plan my day around what we’re going to eat that night.  Now, that being said, that does not mean I like to cook. teamjason

No.

Cooking, no.  Baking?  Yes.

I don’t do it as often as I’d like, which is probably a good thing, but I love the smell of things baking and bubbling and filling the house with yum.  I love that look my dog gets when it’s all just too much and she’s about to go postal on me from the sheer drool-worthy aromas.

So, when I was writing THE REASON IS YOU, and Dani and her daughter Riley go into this boardwalk restaurant, Ella’s, I had to go there.  And I had to go with dessert.  Here’s a little snippet…

Just inside heavy double-oak doors was a giant framed chalkboard that looked to weigh a thousand pounds and sported several specials in different colored chalk. The floor appeared to be the original planking, and stainless steel buckets lined the wall, filled with napkins and wrapped silverware. A waitress snagged a bucket and nodded for us to follow her.

“We’re just getting something to go,” I said, pointing at the menus under her arm. “Could we just—?”

The perky little blue-eyed blonde glared at me as she handed us the menus.

“Thanks.”

I opened one and we perused with our heads together. Bread pudding. Key lime pie—yum, but already had pie. Already had lots of things, but somehow still ended up with my nose in the dessert section. Giant brownie volcano. Sopapilla cheesecake.

“Oh, now that has possibilities.” I pointed at what was likely death by butter.

“I recommend the banana pudding.”

The voice came from behind and over my head, and I spun around to see Jason walk past us and up to the counter.

Riley’s eyebrows shot up. “Who’s that?”

“Satan.”

“He’s hot.”

“Like I said.”

 In the last year, I cannot tell you how many book club events I attended that made both of these dishes!  It so inspired me, that I got recipe cards made up for the sopapilla cheesecake.   Are these cute or what?

slrecipe They are 3×5 and will fit beautifully in your recipe box.  And I’ll give one away today with a bookmark and some other fun swag, including a signed totebag (see below), maybe I’ll throw in some of those buttons up there for you to pin on it!

Isn’t this awesome in all its redness?  totebag

So….back to the food.

Have you ever had sopapilla cheesecake?  I make it for every holiday, every event I have to bring a dish to, and every event my husband has to bring a dish to.

Dani says it’s death by butter, and she’s right.  It’s not good for you.  But it’s reallllllllyyyyyy good.

Thanks for letting me share with y’all!  And come by the Berkley Jove Author Chat tonight….I’ll be giving away a copy of the book!

xoxo

~ Sharla

Sharla Lovelace

Sharla Lovelace

Sharla once hunted for crab in a Honduran jungle, and explored an unknown cave on her belly through a rabbit hole. Not in the same night.

Now, she lives in Southeast Texas with her family, an old lady dog, and 19 cockatiels. If you wonder how she writes with all that noise—the birds actually have their own house outside. THE REASON IS YOU is her debut novel, and she is hard at work on a second.

When she’s not writing or doing the family thing, she’s working full time or stalking her Twitter feed.

Other random facts:
- Once owned a bookstore
- Used to scuba dive
- Has a freakish fear of tall bridges

Sharla used to be cool and fearless when she was young. Now she can just say she hates bridges. And writes books. Yeah, that part’s pretty cool.

You can find Sharla at her website www.sharlalovelace.com
...her group blog at www.womenunplugged.wordpress.com
...and www.twitter.com/sharlalovelace
...and www.facebook.com/sharlalovelace

http://www.sharlalovelace.com

9 thoughts on “The Reason Is You”

  1. So happy to be here today, and I want to hear what you think about the cheesecake (of course) and the recipe cards! And with Mother’s Day coming up and families getting together, what are your favorite “go-to” dishes? I’m making the cheesecake because my brother in law will disown me if I don’t. What are you making this weekend? 🙂

  2. Barbara Thompson says:

    I’ve never had sopapilla cheesecake, but it sounds good. I’m not a good cook, but I do like to bake. My Mom and I are meeting the family half-way to celebrate birthdays and Mother’s day. Mom will make some homemade Amish bread and we will make some chocolate candy.

    1. Mmmm Amish bread is so good. My best friend makes it. 🙂 Enjoy!

  3. Sharla Long says:

    I love cheesecake and used to make it quite a bit, never the sopapilla, but all other kinds. I seldom bake now as my 14-year-old daughter has taken that over! She just made unicorn poop cookies of all things!! We will do Mother’s Day the same as we do most of our holidays, the hubs and I and our kids. I used to always make Pistachio Pudding for holidays, it is easy and delicious!

    1. I used to make pistachio pudding years ago…. You have me thinking to dig that up again. 🙂

    2. Sharla congratulations you are the winner of the swag pack!!! Please email me your mailing address at sharlals @ yahoo . com! Love to give to another Sharla! 🙂

  4. Tina says:

    I have tried sopapilla cheesecake and it is amazing!!! My go-to dessert, though, are black bottom cupcakes. It is hard to beat the chocolate and cream cheese combo.

    1. Tina that sounds amazing. I want that recipe!!

  5. Sharla Long says:

    Thank you! I am so happy to have won!

Leave a Reply to Barbara Thompson Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Latest from our Blog

Mahoney & Squire – Military Women’s Fiction – Meet The Characters

Have you met the men and women of Mahoney & Squire, my high-stakes, high-octane military action adventure series? Let me introduce you! Captain Kathryn “Kate” Mahoney, USN Call Sign “Scarlett” Ambitious, strong-willed, patriotic, and assertive, Kate Mahoney is often derided as a “bitch” by the old school naval aviation community. She struggled through dysfunctional relationships,… Read More

Read More