Ever heard of “Shepherd-explore,discover, read”?

The best way I can describe it is – a book discovery site that focuses on promoting currently active authors, their books, and books they recommend. I found it through a discussion thread on the Author’s Guild website.

Shepherd asked me to write five short book reviews – any book, any genre, older titles welcome. They only asked that the novels I chose were similar to BridgeKeeper, comps if you will. In exchange for publishing my reviews, they posted my book along side the others with buttons to purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.org. My recommendation page includes links to my website and the BK book trailer. Pretty sweet.

These are the five novels I reviewed – good comps for BridgeKeeper.

It’s an interesting way to shop for books. You can search my name, L.S.Moore, or BridgeKeeper, or any of the five books I recommended. Of course, you can search more generally for any title, author, genre or age group. The books aren’t ranked or limited to new titles, or best sellers. They’re presented with reviews by authors who love them. Each authors page has a catchy title that defines their theme. It was a relief to be able to include older books in my list. New release comps for BK are hard to find!

The founder’s name is Ben Fox. He describes himself as a “serial entrepreneur who loves to read.” Here’s a podcast interview with Ben on Writerscast – the voice of writing with David Wilk. Ben says that what he’s trying to do is re-create, online, the experience of wandering through your favorite book store. You won’t find New York Times or Kirkus reviews – just short, personal thoughts from authors about books they love.

Check out Shepherd and let me know what you think.

My thanks to The Story Center’s Local Author Fair!

I had a great time in the Young Adult room rubbing elbows with fellow local authors and fans! The lovely staff at Mid Continent Public Library made us all feel like NYT best-selling authors. We had a nice crowd of book-lovers, and the afternoon flew by. Many happy teens will have ghost stories under their trees on Christmas morning!

KD’s Books in Lee’s Summit, MO invited me to a party!

I’ve never seen so many happy witches in one place in my whole life! Books were flying off the shelves at KD’s Books like magic. Including BridgeKeeper! I almost sold out.

The friendly, knowledgeable staff got the party rolling with snacks, drinks and their own great costumes. Three dressed as the witchy sisters from Hocus Pocus were a big hit with the kids. They made me, and a crowd of customers feel very welcome.

If you haven’t visited downtown Lee’s Summit, Missouri, you need to go! There are blocks and blocks of cute shops, great pubs, and restaurants. Don’t miss this gem of bookstore! Check out their website. KD’s Books hosts events and book clubs for adults and kids year round.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Grandpa’s cranberry salad has been on holiday menus in my family for decades. It’s fresh, fruity, simple to throw together and delicious. It only takes a bit of planning. Make it on Wednesday and refridgerate it overnight to set the Jello. It’ll look gorgeous on your table! Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours! Laura

Grandpa’s Cranberry Salad

Plan to refrigerate overnight before serving

1 3oz package of cherry Jell-O
1 cup boiling water
1 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
1/2 cup sugar    
1 Tbs lemon juice
½ cup chopped pecans
1 cup raw cranberries
1 whole orange with peeling
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained well
1 cup celery
1 apple, cored

Coarsely chop and then pulse cranberries, orange, celery, and apple in food processor, (or finely chop by hand). Put mixture in a mixing bowl, add sugar and lemon juice, stir and let stand for 15 minutes. Dissolve Jell-O in boiling water. Add Jell-O and all remaining ingredients to the chopped mixture and stir well. Put the salad in your favorite serving dish. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Serves 6-8.