Ruby Frost

After almost 3 years of working on this book the day has finally arrived. Ruby Frost (book #4) of The Frost Series is finally out in print and as an ebook. I really hope people enjoy Bianca’s latest adventure into Everafter.

 

Bianca Frost is back in Everafter for another spellbinding adventure!

To defeat Baba Yaga she has to train with all four Fairy Queens; Titania, Mab, Eirwyn, and Blodeuwedd. The old crone is determined to steal Rose and David Frost’s baby so that Baba Yaga can train her in the dark arts and destroy good magic once and for all. Bianca, Ming, Maggie, Terrance, and Prince Ferdinand have to use all of their wits and resources in order to defeat this powerful, evil witch.

But at what cost?

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Ruby Frost Excerpt

*taps the microphone* Is this thing still on? Testing…1,2,3….

Hi everyone!

I know I don’t blog as much as I used to and I apologize for that. I’ve been writing as fast as I can and working on Ruby Frost. I’m almost finished with the third draft of the novel and I really hope you enjoy Bianca’s next adventure in Everafter. There is so much more going on. You will meet a whole bunch of incredible characters and also a new villain. So I sincerely hope it’s worth the wait. I want to make sure I give you guys the best book possible.

 

Anyway here is an unedited sneak peek at Ruby Frost, featuring your favorite Wonderlandian, Maggie Hatter. 😉

 

“There are clocks everywhere,” Maggie said as she looked at her surroundings, with a mixture of awe and fear. She wrinkled her lightly freckled nose as though she had just smelled something foul. “I don’t like it. All this…tick-tocking. It’s unsettling.”

Bianca chuckled and shook her head. She knew that bringing Maggie with her to the real world was going to make things a bit complicated. Maggie Hatter, daughter of Alice and Maddox aka the Mad Hatter, had never been to school. Sure, she knew how to read and write (thanks to her mother) but other than that she had no interest in education whatsoever. But she was curious as to where Bianca went every morning. And it was that curiosity that got Maggie to wake up early and get dressed. She had to borrow some of Bianca’s clothes, which were a little big on her. Bianca was shorter and curvier than Maggie, who was tall and slim like her father, but she just shrugged and borrowed one of Bianca’s belts and that helped keep everything in place.

“Please behave. I only have a few months left to go and then I’ll graduate,” Bianca whispered as she guided Maggie through the busy hallways of her school.

“I promise. You don’t have to worry about me. Although that girl over there should worry about her teeth. Why does she have all that metal in her mouth?” Maggie whispered.

“They’re called braces and people use them to straighten their teeth.”

Maggie looked horrified. She covered her mouth to keep herself from crying. She composed herself and twirled a piece of her blond, curly (and sometimes matted) hair.

“Why? What did her teeth do? Do they put your teeth in prison for misbehaving? If so, then I want to know what sort of shenanigans the teeth around here like to do,” Maggie said.

Bianca rolled her eyes and tried not to laugh. “Just…shh. Okay?”

“Shh? Easy for you to say. You probably know where all the teeth go to have fun,” Maggie muttered.

They stopped in front of her locker. Bianca unlocked and opened it. She took out her math book and a few notebooks. She handed one to Maggie in case she wanted to take notes during class. Maggie arched an eyebrow and quirked her lip a tiny bit.

“What am I supposed to do with this?” Maggie asked, holding the notebook between her index finger and thumb as though it were a skunk.

“Take notes?” Bianca suggested.

Maggie tossed the notebook back inside the locker and slammed it shut. “I don’t think so. I’m here to observe and see what is so dangerous of about this high school. So far there is nothing here that is disconcerting. There are no jabberwockies, no Bandersnatch, no card soldiers. I’m starting to think you were exaggerating,” Maggie said.

“Trust me. I wasn’t exaggerating. Some of these people are horrible and vicious,” Bianca said.

Maggie crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

(c) Liz DeJesus 2017

 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Cake

What better way to celebrate Autumn than by baking this delicious treat! My mom always makes some Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Cake on Thanksgiving and seriously, it’s so yummy it doesn’t stay on the table very long because everyone has eaten a slice. 😀 So I figured I’d share the recipe with you guys. Enjoy!

*If you don’t have a food processor, use the canned pumpkin option.

Prep: 45 minutes Bake: 60 minutes Cool: 30 minutes Oven: 350 degrees F.

Nonstick spray for baking

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 ¼ cups granulated sugar

¾ cup packed brown sugar

1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

1 ½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

6 oz. bittersweet or semisweet baking chocolate, chopped into chunks (1 ½ cups)

1 1 ½-lb. pie pumpkin, shredded* or one 15-oz. can pumpkin

¾ cup butter, melted

6 eggs, slightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. With the nonstick spray for baking, generously coat a 10-inch square tube pan without removable bottom or a 10-inch flute tube pan. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl set aside ½ cup of the flour. In a large bowl combine remaining flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. To the reserved ½ cup flour, stir in chocolate chunks; toss to coat.
3. In another bowl combine pumpkin, melted butter and eggs. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stir until combined. Add chocolate mixture. Stir until combined. Pour batter into tube pan.
4. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Gently remove cake from pan; cool 30 minutes.

Makes 12 to 16 servings.

Once you make our yummy treat snuggle up with a fun book!

Here’s a sneak peek at First Frost:

Bianca got out of her car and ran inside the house. She called for her mother as she searched for her upstairs in all of the rooms. Nothing. She quickly ran downstairs and was ready to go down to the basement when a strange turquoise light caught her eye. She looked out the kitchen window; she couldn’t believe what she saw. Her mother was throwing what Bianca could only describe as balls of turquoise fireballs at a woman wearing a black hood. Bianca couldn’t see the woman’s face, but she could see her pale hands and slender fingers.
Bianca tried to make sense of it all. She kept expecting to see a special effects crew to come out from behind the trees and tell her that it was all part of an elaborate prank. But no such thing happened. All she knew was that a strange turquoise flame was coming out of her mother’s hands.
She knew that her mother sometimes read old dusty books on witchcraft, but she didn’t know she had actual powers. She thought about all the little quirks her mother had. Things that Bianca thought were essentially Rose. Her mother talked to plants and trees. She would sometimes stare off into space as though she were looking at something in another world. Something only she could see. She read tarot cards to random people and would tell them things about his or her life as though she were reading an open book. Bianca always thought she just made really lucky guesses. She chose not to believe in this other world and everything it stood for. Magic represented a life out of the norm, and Bianca desperately wanted to be normal. Just like everyone else.
Bianca pulled herself out of her thoughts. As she looked at the blue and green flashes in the backyard, she quickly realized that this was something she couldn’t escape. Normal was no longer a part of her world. Normal was no longer an option for her.
Bianca didn’t know what to do. She was frozen in place. She was afraid to distract her mother for even a second. She ducked behind the screen door; at least this way she could still hear what they were saying to each other.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t come?” the witch shouted. “Oh, I knew you’d be back,” Rose replied.
Bianca slowly lifted her gaze and peeked above the screen. She saw her mother standing behind the shed on the left side of their backyard. The witch was still too far away for her to get a good look at her, but Bianca could tell that she was on the far right corner of their yard.
“Where’s the book?” the witch demanded.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Rose replied with a smirk.
“Don’t be coy with me. You know very well what I’m talking about.”
“Sorry. I can’t help you.” Rose’s breathing was becoming more labored and she was drenched in sweat…obvious signs of exhaustion, but Bianca could tell by the look on her mother’s face that she wouldn’t give up.
“The wards in the museum are impressive. I couldn’t get past them. But maybe…she’ll know where the book is,” the witch said as she looked in Bianca’s direction and threw a sickly olive-colored fireball at the screen door.
Bianca shrieked and jumped out of the way. The screen door fell off its hinges and landed on the kitchen floor with a loud thud.
“Bianca!” Rose screamed.
© Liz DeJesus 2015

Kindle

Nook

One door closes and another one opens…

Today is a very bittersweet day for me. Musa Publishing will be closing their doors today. I am eternally grateful for everything they have done for me over the past 3 1/2 years. I am the author I am today because these incredible people believed in me and my work. I cannot forget to thank Kathy Calore Teel who was the Euterpe (YA) head editor at the time I submitted First Frost to Musa Publishing. So from the bottom of my heart thank you for seeing the magic and whimsy that so many others didn’t see at the time. And of course thank you to Celina Summers, Jeanne De Vita, Kerry Mand, Kelly Shorten, and Dominique Eastwick for all of their hard work and sacrifice in order to make Musa Publishing a success (because even though they are closing their doors they are doing it with grace and with their heads held high). So thank you so much for everything.

This is how I’m feeling right about now.

While I am heartbroken about Musa Publishing, I can’t help but be excited about the next chapter that’s opened up right now. My dear friends at Indie Gypsy have graciously accepted the Frost Series. So worry not, Bianca Frost fans, you will get to see what trouble she gets into next. They will release First Frost, Glass Frost and (the long awaited) Shattered Frost. Release dates, covers and other exciting news will be coming soon.

As one door closes another door opens…here’s to the next chapter for everyone. Looking forward to what the future will bring. 😉