A new gluten-free Cookie Lady recipe!

Grandma’s Valentine Abduction is available starting February 28th. You can pre-order today. Grandpa's New Year's Relocation: sale ends soon!

In this post, I’m testing the new Cookie Lady recipe. Book two in The Ninja Grandparent Placement Mysteries is set around Valentine’s Day, Lovey Dearheart’s favorite holiday, so heart-shaped cookies were a must.

Once again, I am the perfect person for the test kitchen. My cooking skills are weak. If I can make these, anyone can! This recipe looks much easier than the January filled cookie, although the New Year’s Resolution cookies in book one do have a sophisticated look and flavor. They are worth the effort.

As with most good cookies, we start with butter. Add salt, baking powder, cream of tartar or arrowroot powder, and sugar.
The liquid ingredients are vanilla, almond extract, and eggs. Buzz this until well mixed.

Last mixing step - add the flour. I use gluten-free flour. The recipe calls for a dash of almond flour, but I didn’t have any. I used a gluten-free mix. Wheat flour also works fine. The recipe instructs to not make the dough too stiff.

Before you can roll the cookies, with the dough being a bit gooey, you need to chill it. I put it in the refrigerator, covered, for an hour. You could leave it overnight.

Roll and cut the cookies using a heart-shaped cookie cutter.

This dough was still fairly soft, but didn’t stick to the mat. That’s partially due to scattering a bit of flour before rolling. If you want a delicate texture, don’t add too much flour! I wasn’t sure how to attach the sprinkles. I baked a tray of plain hearts, then tried dipping the warm cookies in sprinkles. Big fail. 

The next tray, I dipped the raw hearts in sprinkles, then baked. They stuck much better, especially on the ones I moistened with a touch of water. But perhaps a frosting might be the way to go if you’re serious about your cookie decor.

My awkward attempt was a success. Pretty cookies. Delicate texture. Subtly almond flavor. If you are actually a competent cook, yours might look like the photo!
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The Cookie Lady’s treats come with a touch of magic. Will her Valentine’s Heart cookies bring love to Brie’s holiday? Find out in Grandma’s Valentine’s Abduction.

Catch up with the series with Book One: Grandpa’s New Year’s Relocation, available in the usual places, plus Now Available in Colorado Springs at an independent bookstore! 
https://bookshop.org/shop/basecampbooksandadventure
https://www.facebook.com/basecampbooks/
https://www.instagram.com/basecampbooksandadventure/​

Because life just has to be extra interesting.

What’s happening with the Rose Creek Mystery series? They will no longer be published by Encircle Publications. When the small press changed its business model, we had an amicable parting of the ways.

At the same time, I began a self-publishing adventure with my daughter’s press. The third book in A Rose Creek Mystery series, The Body in the Hayloft, was released by Top Hat Cat Publishing LLC in December 2025. The fourth book is planned for release later this year.

So what happens to books one and two? Eventually, hopefully sooner rather than later, both will be released by Top Hat Cat. But we’re juggling so many projects right now, this has been placed on the back burner.

The good news is, you can find Book One: The Body in the Cattails, in paperback format for only $7.99 from Harlequin.

I’m truly going to hustle to get Book Two: The Body in the Cornfield, released via Top Hat Cat as soon as I can. But I want to give it a careful review first. A lot was going on in my life when Cornfield was released. I’m sure it can use a revision.

Book Four: The Body in the Chuckwagon, is still in development. I thought it would be the final book in the series, but my characters may demand more space to continue telling their stories. We’ll see . . .

If you’re a writer looking for a hybrid publisher, you can’t go wrong with Encircle Publications. You will pay for the services, but I can vouch for this outfit being honest folks. Deirdre creates the most amazing book covers. (When my books were published by Encircle, it was operating in a traditional publishing model.)

But when you have an ambitious, tech-savvy daughter who is also an artist, it’s an obvious choice for me!

Get your copy of The Body in the Cattails from Harlequin Worldwide Mystery. Hang in there for the return of The Body in the Cornfield.

Book Three: The Body in the Hayloft, is available via Kindle Unlimited, in exchange for a review via BookSirens, and in paperback and ebook from Amazon.

Support your local independent bookstore! If you are in the Colorado Springs area, you will find paperbacks of the entire series at Basecamp Books and Adventure.

Visiting the Iconic Denver Restaurant Casa Bonita

Casa Bonita is not merely a restaurant. It is an event. An adventure. The pink building is a Colorado landmark.

Generations of Colorado residents were heart-sick when the world-famous restaurant declared bankruptcy and closed in 2021, a victim of the pandemic. It’s a part of our shared experience. Our heritage. Like the mountains to the west, it seemed to occupy a permanent place in the landscape.

No ordinary restaurateur or entrepreneur could afford to purchase the building and restore it to its former glory. This was not a mere Mexican restaurant. It’s nearly a theme park. The future dimmed just a little at the thought of such a great loss.

Renovations were certainly needed. And I’ll just say it out loud here. The menu was infamous. Be honest. The food was terrible. As my son-in-law noted, it didn’t matter what you ordered; your plate would be drowned in orange nacho cheese sauce. There were only a few options. None of them good. Except maybe for the sopapillas. But you didn’t go there for the food.

Who could possibly come to the rescue? This had to be a labor of love.

Casa Bonita was featured in a 2003 episode of the animated TV show South Park. When they learned the landmark was going away, Colorado natives and South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker began the effort to purchase the restaurant in the fall of 2021.

Casa Bonita reopened in June of 2023. Matt and Trey were determined to do some upgrades. I am happy to report that they succeeded.

My family went this month to celebrate a granddaughter’s birthday. All of us had been to the restaurant years ago. We were eager to see the changes.

It looked almost exactly the same! Except cleaner. This is a good thing. We were going for nostalgia. It would have been tragic if the South Park boys had remodeled the interior into something unfamiliar. And the exterior is the same pink, with the fountain and the bell tower on top.

I’m happy to report that one important thing changed: the food was vastly improved. Previously, you picked up your chosen tray of slop before entering the restaurant from a pass-through window. This time, we were seated and given menus! The choices included vegetarian and gluten-free options. Our table had the sort of lighting that allowed you to see what you were eating. Always a good sign.

One other thing changed. Matt and Trey are determined to pay Casa Bonita employees a living wage. So the price was a bit daunting. But this isn’t a restaurant you pop in on for a quick lunch. It’s a special-event sort of experience. Out-of-town company, birthdays, anniversaries, that sort of special. Cliff divers, puppet shows, a live mariachi band, Black Bart’s cave, and more. All those folks have to be paid!

One caveat: we went on Superbowl Sunday. I imagine the restaurant was not as busy as may be typical. Not being a fan of crowds, my family was happy with the extra elbow room.

Will we go again? Certainly! Do I recommend Casa Bonita? Absolutely.
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Make reservations well in advance. It’s that sort of popular.
Casa Bonita

Will Casa Bonita inspire my fiction writing? My co-author and daughter Merida Bass agrees, the Casa Bonita experience deserves to be included in a future Ninja Grandparent Placement Mysteries novel. Currently, the series is set in Colorado Springs. One of our lonely grandparents in need of a family could wind up at the famous restaurant in nearby Denver!
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Grandpa’s New Year’s Relocation is available now at Basecamp Books and Adventure, and in the usual places online. Grandma’s Valentine Abduction is coming soon! Available for pre-order now.

Today is Lovey Dearheart's favorite holiday! Who is Lovey Dearheart? The heroine of Grandma’s Valentine Abduction, book two in the Ninja Grandparent Placement Mysteries.

A mysterious ninja kidnaps another lonely senior citizen and places her with a family in need of a grandparent.

Lovey Dearheart, a sixty-nine-year-old dance instructor and retired Las Vegas showgirl, has never been lucky in love. Has she escaped the unwanted attention of an obsessive fan only to be whisked away by a ninja?

When Lovey goes missing, her sultry dance class for senior citizens at the Happy Marmot Community Center becomes gym receptionist Brie Bramble’s responsibility. Twenty-five-year-old Brie tries to twerk her way into the role of the missing elderly woman, with disastrous results. To make matters more complicated, Brie has close encounters with a ninja her PI father never seems to see.

The seniors pay Thorne Bramble peanut brittle to find Lovey. His investigation takes him into the lair of a donut-loving mastermind who counsels incels in the art of seduction. Colorado Springs’s finest PI teams up with his daughter to crack the case.

Can Brie and Thorne locate Lovey Dearheart before she becomes the permanent Valentine for a family of musical theater fanatics?

Catch up with Brie and her bumbling PI father, Thorne Bramble, as they begin their adventure in Grandpa’s New Year’s Relocation.

Grandma’s Valentine Abduction is set for release on February 28! Includes a gluten-free Cookie Lady recipe that works just as good with regular wheat flour.
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Happy Valentine’s Day. Or Galentine’s Day, or maybe even Pal-entine’s Day! They’re all about love.

Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine published my short story, Real Cowgirls Like It Hot, in their November/December 2025 issue. Due to printing issues, I just now received my author copies. Better late than never!

My name is on the cover, which is quite an honor. The cover image is, ironically, what I see outside my window right now. No, not Mount Everest. My mountain view is of Pikes Peak, currently hidden by clouds, but usually visible. I'm referring to the snow.

We finally got a decent amount of snow. Between that, and the cold temperature, a serving of Hot As Hades hot sauce might be advisable.

Stay warm, and cozy up with a good short story or novel.

Keeping up with slang words and phrases is a never-ending task. Writers who like to sprinkle their work with the latest lingo need to use words correctly. Here's one I thought everyone had heard of, but I was wrong: splooting.

The puppy we adopted is the King of Splooting. I've seen photos of cats, bears, dogs, squirrels, and other creatures splooting, and now I have my own entertaining splooter.

​According to our veterinarian's website, splooting is a real thing. Full description here.

In the "full sploot," the animal lies on their belly and spreads their hind legs out behind and the front legs in front of them. A flying Superman pose.

Puppies and kittens are more flexible, and more likely to sploot. Strider is just five months old. He's a big boy at over twenty-five pounds, but has puppy attitude. 

He was born in Montana, so I suspect his motivation for ridiculous amounts of splooting is to cool off. He prefers to lie on the hardwood floor, although he has a bed, a blanket, and a towel.

How do writers learn new slang? I follow social media pages for national parks and particular animals. The rangers and the fans of bears and eagles spice their posts with humorous observations, often containing slang terminology.

Bison (American buffalo) are NOT fluffy cows, despite tourists thinking of them as such. Zoomies describes when a cat or dog runs around wildly, full of energy. Toe beans are the pads of the animal's feet, particularly felines and canines.

I'm learning canine terminology with the adoption. And I'm learning how cute these little fur beings can be!

Free! Free! Free! Winter Bash Saturday December 20! Winter Bash is now free for all attendees. Register now to save a spot at the combination party and book signing.

I'll be there with my Rose Creek series, including the December release, The Body in the Hayloft. My co-author will have advanced copies, available only at Winter Bash, of Grandpa's New Year's Relocation. 

We'll have all our current releases, including two wonderful children's picture books with original art (no AI!) and two books in the YA series, The Tapestry Tales.

​Plus many other Pikes Peak Writers authors! Find a gift. Treat yourself. Enjoy a book-themed party.

Grandpa's New Year's Relocation doesn't release until December 31st, but you can get a copy early at the Pikes Peak Writers combination party and book signing.

This Saturday, December 20th. Just in time for Christmas and Chanukkah. 

Looking for gifts? My daughter Merida Bass will have her cute children's picture books. Original art. No AI! And her childhood friend C. S. Gieck will drop by to sign copies of the book she authored, and Merida illustrated, The Jelly Monster.

Winter Bash sounds like fun! Check it out here.

Pikes Peak Writers members attend free! Register for this fun event. Space is limited. https://pikespeakwriters.regfox.com/ppw-winter-bash-and-book-signing

Join the party. Meet Colorado authors. Book karaoke! Book exchange! Snacks!

A couple days before Thanksgiving, we took a family trip to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Specifically, we wanted to see the Lego exhibit. But no trip to the museum is complete without seeing other displays.

The Brick Planet: A Magical Journey Made with Lego Bricks was amazing. Each giant construction included data on the number of hours, and number of bricks, required for assembly.

Next up was the Secret World of Elephants. I annoyed the grandchildren by calling them “oliphaunts” like Samwise Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings. When my husband and I became enthralled with a film depicting women African elephant caretakers, our group headed for different regions inside the museum.

Space or Prehistoric Journey? I opted for the dinosaurs! We met up eventually to go to an early dinner at an Indian restaurant, Spice Room.  The decor included elephants, which we all appreciated more after learning about them at the museum. 

The real joy of this trip was getting family together for a fun day. 

Now it's back to work! Did you catch my character being interviewed by The Wren? Emily Crockett, owner of Rose Creek Reads in my cozy mystery novel The Body in the Hayloft, chats on Substack: ​crockettwhatspineisyours.substack.com/p/off-the-page-with-emily-crockett

Coming soon, and available for pre-order, is a humorous mystery already getting great reviews: Grandpa's New Year's Relocation. The crazy story my daughter and I both believed in is hitting all the right notes with readers!

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I have lots to be thankful for and plenty to anticipate in the month of December. 

December 1st: The book birthday for The Body in the Hayloft. The third book in the Rose Creek Mystery series is available now for pre-order.
Bookstore owner Emily believes cats and mysteries go together, and she just might be right. During an equestrian workshop at the Double C ranch in northeast Oklahoma, a pampered Persian housecat leads Callie to a woman in a hayloft. The Rose Creek Reads book club springs into action, investigating the meaning behind the woman’s mysterious final words.

December 20th: I make a rare in-person appearance at the Winter Bash. My writing group plans to share a table, offering our published novels, children's books, and adult coloring books.
Meet over twenty local authors, including me, Merida Bass, Jeff Schmoyer, and Deborah Brewer.

December 31st: The book birthday for Grandpa's New Year's Relocation. The first book in the Ninja Grandparent Placement Mystery series, co-authored with my daughter Merida, will be available at Winter Bash.
A mysterious ninja kidnaps a lonely senior citizen and places him with a family in need of a grandparent. Barry Strong, a seventy-year-old bodybuilder and widower, isn’t ready for romance. When his New Year’s Eve dance partner leads him away from the party, he attempts to resist her charms. Until a bag drops over his head.

​Whew! I have a lot happening in December!