Hello, food and book lovers, and welcome to another super-tasty edition of Friday Feast. This week, a sexy outback romance, a delicious cake, and an even more delicious book giveaway!

But first, news from Us Heins Weren’t Meant To Play Golf. This week marked the first round of my golf club’s premier ladies competition, the Goblet. It also coincided with me coming down with a filthy cold but, being the dedicated golfing fool that I am, I dragged myself out to play. Probably should have stayed in bed because while my front nine was quite good, by the time I hit the turn my cold ‘n flu tabs had worn off and I was knackered. The only positive is that I’m not coming last but maaaaan, am I close!

Enough of that. It’s time for something uplifting, sweet and maybe just a bit sexy too, all of which we’ll find with my guest today, contemporary romance author Joan Kilby. Originally from Vancouver but now a staunch Melbournian, Joan has published over 30 novels. In an exciting move, Joan has joined with fellow authors Sarah Mayberry and Karina Bliss to release The Outback Bachelor Ball series, with Joan’s book Win Me as the lead title.

This series looks fabulous, not to mention hot! Take a look.

WIN ME

She’ll do anything to get him to see her as a woman…

Feisty, fearless Ellie McFarlane has tried forever to get cattle station manager, Rick Drummond, to notice she’s not another cowhand. So when her gal pals talk her into glamming up for an Outback Bachelor and Spinster ball she’s eager to prove she’s all woman, all the time, and leave her boneheaded cowboy eating dust.

Sexy wrangler Rick is crazy about Ellie just as she is but her father – his boss – told him long ago that his daughter was off limits. Even though she’s all grown up now, Rick still feels it’s his job is to protect her, not seduce her. Plus, he’s finally got an opportunity to buy back his family farm which means moving far away.

Ellie’s transformation from Cinder-Ellie to belle of the ball has Rick’s jaw dropping – and all the other cowboys falling at her feet. Ellie tries to revel in her new-found sex-pot status but without Rick it’s a hollow victory. Has Rick left it too late to claim the only woman he’ll ever truly love…?

Doesn’t that sound fun? What a hoot! And you can be assured you’re in expert story-telling hands with Joan. Win Me releases October 20th but you can pre-order it right now from Amazon.com, Amazon.au, Amazon.uk, Amazon.ca, iBooks, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. Want to read a sample? Joan has a very tasty excerpt on her website. You’ll love it, and while you’re there check out the other two titles in the series, Karina Bliss’s Woo Me and Sarah Mayberry’s Wait For Me.

All set? Excellent. Now please give a warm welcome to Joan because she has something veeeeery nice for you!

Girlfriends and Cake – Best Friends Forever

Thanks, Cathryn, for having me on Friday Feast.

Cooking and baking are among my favourite hobbies, right up there with eating. Probably like a lot of people, I learned to cook by helping and watching my mother. Mum was an awesome baker. Mouth-watering smells of homemade bread, cookies, cakes, pies formed a sensory backdrop to my childhood. Mum even made cookies or brownies on weekday mornings so we would have something yummy in our school lunches.

The recipe for coffee cake I’m sharing today was Mum’s. Australia has tea cake but the Canadian equivalent – a delicious, quick and easy cake that’s best served warm – is coffee cake. It’s quite a bit richer than a tea cake so anyone who’s avoiding sugar and butter, look away now.

My mum and a group of her friends formed a diet club and called themselves the “Fat Ladies.” Mum would always make this cake when it was her turn as hostess. She and her friends never lost any weight – and were unabashed and unconcerned by the fact – but they had a lot of fun. I remember the gales of laughter coming from the kitchen during their get-togethers. And now, when I have friends over, I make Mum’s coffee cake.

This idea of women friends having fun together has special significance with my latest release. In Win Me, my heroine, Ellie, and her two best girlfriends have a reunion at a Bachelor and Spinster Ball. Not that Ellie has much time to cook – she’s got a hot cowboy to wrangle. In a case of life imitating art, writing friends Sarah Mayberry, Karina Bliss and I had a wonderful time collaborating on The Outback Bachelor ball series. I only wish we could have sat around a kitchen table and eaten coffee cake while we discussed our stories instead of relying on email and Skype.

I’m not sure where Mum got this coffee cake recipe from but I’ve copied it down from her hand-written recipe card complete with vanilla stains, butter spots and a smear of cinnamon. These are the original amounts but Mum (and I) always doubled the recipe because, well, nuts and cinnamon and buttery deliciousness! And because I love the topping so much I always increase those amounts by another third. Any leftover topping can, of course, be eaten straight from the bowl. I also add extra cinnamon because you can never have too much cinnamon. The batter doesn’t seem like it’s going to be enough but somehow it rises and fluffs up around the topping. And it’s all about the topping!

I’m giving away a copy of Win Me (Book 1, The Outback Bachelor Ball series), any e-format, anywhere in the world.

What’s your favourite recipe that you got from your mother or grandmother?

Nut Coffee Cake

Topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon (or to taste)

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

3 tbsp butter

Batter:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

2 tbsp butter

2 tsp baking powder

1 egg, beaten

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup milk

2/3 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Prepare topping: Melt butter and combine with brown sugar, nuts and cinnamon

Prepare batter: Combine flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla and beat till light. Gradually stir in dry ingredients alternately with milk. Spread half the batter into a greased 8 X 8 inch pan (20 X 20 cm). Sprinkle on half the topping. Spread the rest of the batter on and sprinkle on the remaining topping.

Bake at 180 C for about 30 min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let sit for 10 – 15 minutes. Eat while it’s warm.

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That sounds unreal, Joan! I am so giving this one a try. I love easy recipes that are disproportionately tasty to the amount of time they take to make. They’re real keepers.

Now, my Feasty lovelies, you heard Joan, we have a…

GIVEAWAY!

For your chance to win an ebook copy of Win Me, book 1 in The Outback Bachelor Ball series, simply share the favourite recipe that you snaffled from your mother or grandmother. An aunt, godparent or family friend will also do.

I have so many I don’t know where to start! There’s my mum’s pavlova, my grandmother’s buttery scones, my godmother’s cream puffs… I’m a bowerbird when it comes to recipes and the list is huge. What about you? Share and we’ll pop you into the draw.

Please note: Giveaway closes midnight Tuesday AEST, 20th October 2015. Open internationally. Rah!

If you’d like to learn more about Joan and her books, please visit her website. You can also connect via Facebook, Twitter using @JoanKilby and Goodreads.