Saturday, December 13, 2014

#TNTConfidential 12 Days of Christmas Day 2 #GIVEAWAY : Freddy MacKay & Snow on Spirit Bridge #ChristmasStories

 Four words: Freddy MacKay and Caramel Popcorn. Day 2 of #TNTConfidential is here with another awesome author, yummy food, and a cool prize!




Every Christmas my mom's house is imbibed with the smell of caramel popcorn. It's also a staple gift that many people expect from us—and I do mean us, I'm somehow included in that equation. So to spread the cheer, I thought I would share the recipe.

Caramel Popcorn
1 c brown sugar – firmly packed
1 stick of butter
¼ c of corn syrup
dash of salt
1 tsp of baking soda
pan of popped popcorn

*pre-heat oven to 200oF


In a pot over medium heat, add the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and salt. Stir occasionally at first. In another 9x12 pan, you should have freshly popped popcorn waiting. As the ingredients melt, begin to stir constantly. When the mixture in the pot becomes foamy/bubbly – no, I don't the temperature. I've always been done by how it looks. It's how I was taught – add the baking soda. Stir it in rapidly. Once the baking soda has been added, pour mixture over the popcorn, toss, then put it in the oven. Mix the caramel popcorn every 15 minutes for the next hour.

Make sure once the hour is up you take the popcorn out of the pan and put it in a ziplock bag or something similar. That way you can break up the popcorn so it doesn't stick together or get stuck in the pan.

Now, onto my Christmas story!




Cover Art by Catherine Dair

Snow on Spirit Bridge 

Alone in Japan, Finni is struggling against the constant distrust, avoidance, and xenophobia he experiences every day. He misses home. He misses his family. Nightmares come all too frequently because of the stress, and well, Christmas is just not Christmas in Japan. Not how he understands it.

Distressed by how miserable Finni is, his roommate, Mamoru, offers to be Finni's family for Christmas. Little does he know how much one agreement would change everything between them, because both of them kept secrets neither ever dreamed were true.

Genre: Gay Fantasy

Snow on Spirit Bridge is a labor of love for me. I knew when the other Mischiefers and I discussed writing Christmas stories this year I wanted something different. My brain wanted something fantastical, because Christmas it a time when magic happens – whether it's real or not – and so I went hunting for mythology that I thought would be interesting. That led me to Japan and a story based in Tokyo. Christmas is a time for family in Western cultures but in other places of the world, it is viewed very differently. I have spent Christmas in Thailand myself and found it to be a surreal experience, so once I put my mythology together with my own personal experiences we got a story about family, love, and Christmas, even when you're far away.

Pre-order Links
Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QSUJPOS
Bookstrand - http://www.bookstrand.com/snow-on-spirit-bridge 
Are - https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-snowonspiritbridge-1693188-148.html



About Freddy:

I grew up and went to college in the Midwest where I currently reside with my family. I spend most of my time playing sports and running around outside. And honestly, that much has not changed since I was little, except who is included my activities. I also have a healthy geocaching addiction. It's so much fun! I enjoy spending my time traveling when I can, and I hold the view that a person should continually to learn about new things and people whenever possible.

My contemporary LGBTQ book, Incubation: Finding Peace 2, won 3rd Place - Best Gay Erotic Fiction in the 2012 Rainbow Awards. In 2013, Internment, won 3rd Place - Best Gay Fantasy in the Rainbow Awards.

Keep in touch with Freddy at:
Email: freddy.m.mackay@gmail.com
Website: http://freddysstereograph.weebly.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/FreddyMacKay
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/FreddyMacKay

a Rafflecopter giveaway

5 comments:

  1. Wow, what an extraordinary way to look at Christmas, Freddy. Very cool. Sounds like a great tale. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Once the decorations and the tree is up it really wonderful to sit back and enjoy a nice cup of tea and admire the great job you have done making the room look wonderful or better than before at least!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Freddy! I also love how your story came about. That is very cool and unique. I'll have to try your popcorn too! Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Probably matching the right gift or making something to suit the person I am giving the gift to, just so its something that want or surprised that it was something that wanted :) I wonder if you can use a non-dairy alternative for the popcorn, I will have to invesitgate :)

    Seasonal greetings and thank you for a chance to win Freddy's book

    ReplyDelete

I adore comments! Don't be shy and tell me your thoughts.