When Lois Winston, author of the Anastasia Pollack crafting mysteries, sent the callout for authors looking to participate in a dessert cookbook that would also include advice on love and writing, my first thought was, “sounds like a great fun, but I’m not really into baking.”

This doesn’t mean that I don’t have a sweet tooth. I do. In fact, I like to say that “all my teeth are sweet.” I’ve never met a cookie I didn’t like (gingerbread being the one notable exception) and I consider carrot cake a serving of vegetables. But baking … well, that’s what bakeries are for.

Then I thought about the Lemon Blueberry Pudding Cake recipe given to me by a golf buddy (after I’d admired her baking of same). It wasn’t exactly “my” recipe, but then again, aren’t all good recipes handed down and passed around? Sure, we might put our own tweak on it (and I did, the tip about coating the blueberries in cake mix is all mine), but the reality is, good recipes are a lot like good stories. And they’re always better we share them.

Lemon Blueberry Pudding Cake

Thankfully, Lois was still open to submissions when I came back with my “yes” and the result is my entry in Bake, Love, Write. Here’s the official promo copy to give you a taste of what’s inside the book:

What do most authors have in common, no matter what genre they write? They love desserts. Sweets sustain them through pending deadlines and take the sting out of crushing rejection letters and nasty reviews. They also often celebrate their successes—selling a book, winning a writing award, making a bestseller list, or receiving a fabulous review—with decadent indulgences. And when authors chat with each other, they often talk about their writing and their lives. Recipes. Writing. Relationships. In this cookbook 105 authors not only share their favorite recipes for fabulous cakes, pies, cookies, candy, and more, they also share the best advice they’ve ever received on writing, and their advice on love and relationships.

Authors represent a variety of genres, including mystery, romance, fantasy, paranormal, young adult, women’s fiction, new adult, non-fiction, and children’s books. Each entry includes an author bio, website (where applicable) and publication credits. So if you love the advice — or the recipe — you can check out the author and, maybe even buy their book(s)!

The authors, in no particular order, are: Brenda Novak, Lois Winston, Debra Holland, Dale Mayer, Shelley Noble, Caridad Pineiro, Diana Orgain, Lisa Verge Higgins, Lynn Cahoon, Jasmine Haynes, Jan Carol, Meg Bellamy, Bobbi Chukran, Melissa Keir, Amy Gamet, Kristy Tate, Terry Shames, Barbara Phinney, Kitsy Clare, Raine English, Cathryn Cade, Haley Whitehall, Shilpa Mudiganti, Melinda Curtis, Jessa Slade, Jill Blake, Daryl Devore, Molly MacRae, Elizabeth Rose, Helena Fairfax, Lourdes Venard, Jessica Aspen, Maegan Beaumont, Kay Kendall, Elizabeth John, Victoria Adams, Cyndi Pauwels, Alice Loweecey, June Shaw, Donnell Ann Bell, T. Michelle Nelson, Nina Milton, Pam DeVoe, Skye Taylor, Conda V. Douglas, Pepper Phillips, Judy Alter, Cadence Denton, Lesley Diehl, Erin Farwell, Regan Walker, Kaye Spencer, Barbara Monajem, Kathleen Kaska, Catherine Kean, Rose Anderson, Suzie Tullett, Deborah Hughes, Cynthia Luhrs, Judy Baker, Alicia Dean, Leslie Langtry, Janis Susan May, Mitzi Flyte, Ruby Merritt, Renee D. Field, Kathryn Quick, Susan Cory, Judy Penz Sheluk, Kay Manis, Kathryn Jane, Debra Goldstein, E. Ayers, Chantilly White, Sloan McBride, Triss Stein, Ana Morgan, Adele Downs, L.C. Giroux, Pamela Aares, Nancy Warren, Barbara Lohr, J.J. Cook, Lynn Reynolds, Cori Arnold, B.V. Lawson, Lynn Franklin, M.L. Guida, Irene Peterson, Sue Viders, Liese Sherwood-Fabre, Susan Santangelo, Sheila Seabrook, Elaine Charton, Sharleen Scott, Kathy Bennett, Jody Payne, Reggi Allder, Ashlyn Chase, Beverley Bateman, Susan Lohrer, Donis Casey, Barbara Leavy, Stacy Juba, and Karen Rose Smith.

You can find Bake, Love, Write on Facebook and on Amazon (print), Kindle, B&N, Kobo and iTunes  and, of course, on my BOOKS page.