Love Bytes says hello and welcome to author C.S Poe who is joining us today to talk about her new release “Joy”, part of Dreamspinner Press’ States of Love series.

Welcome C.S 🙂

Hello, everyone! I’m C.S. Poe and I’m so happy to be visiting Love Bytes Reviews for the third stop on the blog tour for Joy. Part of Dreamspinner Press’s States of Love line, Joy takes place in beautiful northern New Hampshire.

 

The story follows Gideon Joy, a young man with laughable bad luck, stranded in Coos County after hitting a moose and totaling his car. An important element of the story is local cuisine. Like many dishes in the area, they are Irish in origin and over generations of tweaking, become something wholly unique to New Hampshire. Below is a recipe for Corned Beef and Cabbage, as well as an exclusive excerpt. If you try cooking this yourself, let me know what you think!

 

Ingredients:

3 lbs corned beef. (Each package of beef comes with a spice packet.)

5 carrots, peeled and cut into 2″ sections

5 or 6 potatoes, peeled and cut into 2″ chunks

1 onion, cut into quarters

1 green cabbage, outer leaves removed, and cut into quarters

1 turnip, peeled and cut into 2″ chunks
Directions: Open packages of meat, rinse off, and cut outer layer of fat from the meat. Place in crock pot or large cook pot with at least 1″ of water covering it. Add the packet of spices, put lid on, and put heat to medium. Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Do not boil.

After 30 minutes, dump out water and cover meat with fresh hot water, again about 1″ above the meat. Bring to a low simmer for 3 hours. Be sure the meat stays submerged the entire time.

About 1 hour before dinner, add the carrots, potatoes, and onion. 30 minutes before dinner, add cabbage.

When ready, remove the meat and slice across the grain. Take out vegetables and place in serving bowl all together. Place the meat in the bowl. Spoon some of the cooking liquid over them and serve.

 

Enjoy!

“What’s this?” Silas asked when I handed him a take-out container.

“Lunch.”

He glanced up from his name on the box. “I only order a sandwich,” he murmured.

“Yeah. About that…. How is it you haven’t gained three hundred pounds or died yet?”

“Finally!” exclaimed one of Silas’s coworkers, unwrapping his food. “We tell this guy that every day. Fluffernutter sandwiches or corned beef and cabbage. That’s all he eats.”

“That’s not true,” Silas said.

Was Silas blushing?

Jesus Christ, I think he was.

“What’s that thing my daughter always says?” the coworker muttered. “Oh. Hashtag, picky eater.”

I snorted and crossed my arms, tilting my head to catch Silas’s expression. “George had to run out, so I helped with lunch.”

Silas looked up.

“I made you fish tacos,” I continued. “Tilapia. Do you like that? George didn’t have shrimp. And the salsa is canned, but….” I shrugged. “I just thought you’d like to have something different.”

Silas went back to staring at the carton. I wasn’t sure if the silence meant he was thoroughly disgusted by the idea and desperately wanted his marshmallows, or if this was—normal silence. I noticed over his shoulder that several of the other construction guys were watching us with varying levels of interest.

That was odd.

“So I’m going to leave,” I stated.

Silas cleared his throat. “Thank you for lunch.”

“Sure.”

The guys muttered and exchanged a few dollar bills between one another.

I made a hasty exit toward Eatery’s car. I’m not sure why I was suddenly feeling… whatever I was feeling. All I did was give a guy tacos. Sure, tacos pave the way to anyone’s heart, but I wasn’t trying to—

Oh my God, was I trying to flirt?

Was I flirting with tacos?

I got into the car and banged my forehead against the steering wheel. Silas was so not the kind of guy I usually went for. He was too rugged and too innocent and getting ten words out of him was like fucking pulling teeth. And yet here I was, all jittery and nervous and hoping he’d like what I made him. Two days ago I’d been angry at him—angry for hitting his car and angry he showed no sympathy and angry he’d even existed. It made him ugly to me.

And how crazy is that? Now that the blind rage had subsided, Silas was really attractive. And pretty nice. Maybe even a little into me? I mean, jury was still out on that, because he was a hard one to nail down, but he definitely wasn’t as straight as an arrow.

I started the car and pulled away from the work site.

I had to remember I was just passing through.

I had no intention of staying in New Hampshire for longer than it took to pay for our repairs.

But still. I wanted Silas to like my cooking.

And I sort of hoped he thought I was cute.

 

4/3/17 – C.S. Poe’s blog

4/4/17 – The Novel Approach

4/5/17 – Love Bytes Reviews

4/6/17 – Sinfully Gay Romance Reviews

4/7/17 – Boy Meets Boy

 

C.S. Poe

xo

Blurb:

Down on his luck is Gideon Joy’s default state. He doesn’t know why he expected anything different on his cross-country trip, but not surprisingly, the hits keep coming—literally this time. Gideon strikes a moose with his car in New Hampshire, not only totaling his own vehicle, but damaging one belonging to local construction worker Silas Bright. He has no choice but to stay in Lancaster and take a job that’ll pay for the repairs. And in a town so small, Gideon’s always running into Silas. What starts as annoyance between them soon blooms into something much more romantic. But when Gideon’s notorious bad luck rears its head yet again, how many disastrous dates will Silas be willing to weather before realizing Gideon’s not worth it?

Despite Gideon’s desire to remain in the quaint community that has accepted him as one of their own, past fears of inadequacy threaten the very joy he left Los Angeles to discover. If he’s to find a happily ever after with Silas, Gideon must learn that sometimes it’s okay to not be the best. And true happiness might be waiting in a small town nestled among the great White Mountains.

 

States of Love: Stories of romance that span every corner of the United States.

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C.S. Poe is an author of gay mystery, romance, and paranormal books.

She is a reluctant mover and has called many places home in her lifetime. C.S. has lived in New York City, Key West, and Ibaraki, Japan, to name a few. She misses the cleanliness, convenience, and limited edition gachapon of Japan, but she was never very good at riding bikes to get around.

She has an affinity for all things cute and colorful, and a major weakness for toys. C.S. is an avid fan of coffee, reading, and cats. She’s rescued three cats, including one found in a drain pipe in Japan who flew back to the States with her. Zak, Milo, and Kasper do their best on a daily basis to sidetrack her from work.

C.S. is a member of the International Thriller Writers Organization.

 

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