Summertime Kick-off: Barefooter Style

If there's anything the Barefoot Girls know how to do, it's how to find fun in anything with the help of a little creativity, a lot of style, and some ribald humor thrown in for good measure. But, when it comes to Mean Greens, their famous "kicks you in the pants and makes you want to dance" margarita, the fun's already in the glass, and there's no better way to celebrate the arrival of summer than to kick off your shoes, Barefooter-style, and mix up a batch for your Memorial Day festivities!

However....it's a secret recipe. So secret and coveted, everyone on Captain's has been begging and bargaining for it to no avail for years. Per Keeley, the Queen Bee of the Barefoot Girls:

"Mean Greens were the Barefooter’s specialty – a powerful margarita made of top-shelf tequila, Grand Marnier, fresh lime juice, a dusting of lime zest, a splash of homemade lemonade for sweetness, and two secret ingredients that would go to the grave with the four women."

If you read Barefoot Girls you probably wanted the recipe, especially if you enjoy margaritas. So, how are you going to make your own? Here's a great top-shelf margarita recipe

Featured on She Who Blogs Behind the Rows!

Thrilled. That's the word that fits best. I've been featured on this excellent blog and we're hosting a giveaway (so come and get you some)!

Amanda, the "she" who blogs behind the rows in the name of this blog (images come of vast libraries that smell deliciously of old mouldering books, one of my favorite scents) is an outstanding book blogger who loves books and writes very well-written and well-thought-out reviews on them. She's a fan of writers the way I am - overjoyed to meet Anne Rice recently at the RT Convention and grabbing a photo op with her. I, too, would go numb with excitement meeting Anne, the writer of one of my favorite vampire series (and many other wonderful novels). As much as I'm a writer myself, I'm a reader first. That's where it all began and where the heart of my writing lies: in reading and being transported by stories. I only hope I can do the same for others with my own...

So, want a free copy of Barefoot Girls? Hop on over to Amanda's blog and sign up (and check out the interview while you're there if you're interested)! Here's the link: http://www.behindtherows.com/2012/05/book-feature-barefoot-girls-by-tara.html

Happy weekend!

Top Ten Reasons I Love Elin Hilderbrand's Novels

I just finished reading Elin's latest book, Silver Girl, and said to myself, "Wow!" Honestly, when I picked it up, I was pretty convinced that I was chasing a dream by assuming I would continue to enjoy her books. 

Why? 

Because she writes, exclusively, summer beach-reads set on Nantucket. Now, I adore Nantucket. If I could afford to live there, as she does, I would do it in a heartbeat. I also love beach-reads and anything summer-oriented (one of my favorite seasons in New England, where the winter can be brutal, the spring often too cool, and the fall glorious but fleeting). 

But I thought, how much more can she milk this thing? The answer: she doesn't milk anything. She writes great books that, yes, happen to be set on Nantucket and do happen to be beach-oriented, but they are truly excellent reads. If you looked at my bookshelf, you'd notice that I have pretty much every book she's written. 

Having read the body of her work, I think I'm one of her biggest fans (Oh, no! Visions of Kathy Bates with an ax! No, not that kind of fan!). She keeps me as a fan for many reasons. Silver Girl, one of her best books yet, is one of them. Elin has clearly grown as a writer and