Valerie Comer's Blog

Welcome to the Advent season at Maranatha Inn!

For probably ten years, I’ve been noodling on a romance series that focused on the themes of advent, starting with Thanksgiving. I had a few different ideas of background, setting, and characters, but nothing quite meshed until about two years ago.

Then… boom! What if the characters were all in their fifties? What if the heroines had been Bible school friends way back in the day? What would bring this “single again” group back together decades later?

An inn wrapped in Christmas joy! And why not in Jewel Lake, where most of my recent series have taken place? Sure, the town is getting crowded (how is there anyone single left? LOL!) but there must be room for one more.

Then came the fun part of fleshing out the characters. How are women in their fifties single? Widowhood, divorce, or never having married. I decided on a mix of all three backgrounds. Ditto for their heroes. Do they have children? Grandchildren? Aging parents? Where do all these extra people live, and do they show up in person or do they remain in the background?

These heroines… what talents and skills do they bring to Maranatha Inn? What in their histories prepared them for their role in running an inn? And, oh, yes! How big is this inn, anyway? What does it look like? How is it laid out?

So many questions! Typical of how I begin noodling on a series.

About the series:
Welcome to Maranatha Inn, where six old college friends reconnect to highlight Advent traditions in Jewel Lake, Montana. They might all be single (again) after all these years, but romance isn’t on their Christmas lists, which are full of hosting holiday parties, bonfires, Christmas trees, sleigh rides, and more! Still, romance may just find them, anyway.

What will you find in Her Thankful Heart?

mature charactersstruggles with widowhood after a difficult marriageloss of children (distant past)reconnecting with an estranged adult childovercoming regreta chef and retired militarydifficulty in finding gratitude and joydeep Christian faithdeep friendships and a sense of communitylaugh-out-loud momentsbantera delightful, uplifting, advent-based Christian romance

About Her Thankful Heart:

Move across the country? Check.
Help a friend open a new inn? Check.
Make room in her life for gratitude and new love? Not. A. Chance.

Accomplished chef Pamela Whorley has arrived in Jewel Lake, Montana, and here she’ll stay for the next three months, hanging out with her college bestie and other friends of that era, then move on again. Alone, no matter how the sole guest at the inn tempts her heart to reawaken.

Granger Durand has plenty of regrets, starting with putting his military career ahead of his infant daughter. Fighting militants was easier than fighting his ex, but now his grown-up daughter seems ready to accept a relationship with him… on her terms. Which is why he’s staying at the Maranatha Inn, an arrangement that seems perfect until the new chef, a beautiful widow, refuses to be friends.

Granger’s two grandkids force a reluctant Pam to face memories of her own lost family, and his humble gratitude for new opportunities might encourage her to reacquaint herself with her fractured faith. But being thankful for everything that’s happened and opening up about it to her friends — not to mention Granger — might be asking too much.

Her Thankful Heart is available on Amazon, via Kindle Unlimited and in paperback.

Enjoy the Pinterest board for this series here.

Psst: If you want to see what’s next in the pipeline and how far along I am on my current project, keep an eye on the Coming Soon page!

The post Introducing… Her Thankful Heart appeared first on Valerie Comer.

Ta-Da!!!

I’m thrilled to introduce the Cavanagh Cowgirls Romance series! If you’ve been around a while, you’ll have met the Cavanagh Cowboys. Right from the beginning, the six rugged brothers were plagued by their twin sisters, who were only 13 when first introduced. As their series grew in popularity, I began eyeing those sisters and wondering what their future would hold. And I realized that two sisters only made for two stories, and I like at least three per series, so I introduced their half-sister, Vivienne, in the third story.

Yes, I’ve been planning the Cavanagh Cowgirls series for THAT long! I kept Emma on the fringes as a kitchen helper in the Sweet River Ranch series as I noodled on the shape of the upcoming sisters’ trilogy. When I happened upon the idea of Declan helping them start Happy Trails Stables, I knew I’d found their niche.

I scanned the bits I’d written about them through previous series, including in Topaz Treasure, part of the Pot of Gold Geocaching romance series, and saw that a young teen, Josh, had a thing for Alexia, but that she liked another boy, Danny.

Josh. Hmm. What if…?

And the basics for Take the Reins, Cowgirl, were in place!

The series blurb is:

If your sister doesn’t have your back, who does? The three Cavanagh cowgirls put their differences aside to open Happy Trails Riding Stables together, but there’s not much they agree on except this: romance was great for their six big brothers, but they don’t need that complication. All they need is Girl Power… and Jesus.

Why read Take the Reins, Cowgirl?
• Twin power
• Teen crush to more
• Schoolteacher + farrier
• Horses!
• Boldness in Jesus
• Identity
• Visits to Saddle Springs

About Take the Reins, Cowgirl

He crushed on her twin. Now she’s ready to take the reins and pursue the man she wants.

Middle-school teacher Emma Cavanagh and her two sisters join forces to start a boarding stable and riding academy on the edge of Jewel Lake, Montana. Their brother hires Josh to run a farrier shop on the premises. Great — it sounds like high school all over again when Emma had crushed on Josh, who’d only had eyes for her twin.

Josh McDiarmid can’t believe his luck running into Alexia Cavanagh again, but she’s as indifferent to him as she ever was. Josh enlists Emma to help him get her twin’s attention. When a crisis hits at Happy Trails Stables, Josh realizes he’s pursuing the wrong cowgirl.

Emma takes the reins to show Josh what love and loyalty look like. How can he undo his mistakes and prove to her that he should have seen her all along?

Take the Reins, Cowgirl is available on Amazon, via Kindle Unlimited and in paperback.

Enjoy the Pinterest board for this series here.

Psst: If you want to see what’s next in the pipeline and how far along I am on my current project, keep an eye on the Coming Soon page!

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I’ve dipped my toes into Artificial Intelligence (AI) narration for one of my older series! I selected the Christmas at the Miss Snowflake Pageant three-book series (with copyright dates of 2014, 2016, and 2017) as an experiment.

Let me explain my thought process here, including the arguments for and against that I’ve seen all over the internet for the past several years as various AI narration programs have been rolling out. People are either very for it or very against it. Sometimes, we don’t realize how much we already use AI every single day. It’s already infiltrated our lives.

Negative: this is taking livelihood from a human narrator.
No. For me, for this series (and others), a paid narrator has never been an option. Audiobooks of this length cost anywhere from $2000-$5000 each (and up, honestly) to be professionally narrated. I have ten novels human-narrated, but I cannot afford that much money for each of the other titles in my backlist. And the way-backlist is not even on my “I wish” list.

For me, I didn’t choose between an AI narrator or a human narrator. I chose between AI narration or no narration. I know I have vision-impaired readers and busy readers for whom AI narration will make a positive difference.

Negative: next thing you’ll be using AI to write your books.
No. Never. My stories are straight from my strangely convoluted brain. While AI can, in theory, string a story together with all the requisite plot parts, it cannot CREATE from scratch. Even if it could, my brand means I write all my own books. Always will. When I stop writing (hopefully not for a long time yet!) then there will be no new books with my name on them. There won’t be fake products.

To me, when I see this argument, I’m always dumbfounded at the leap people make that if authors use AI for narration, it means they’d use it for creation. It’s not a natural progression from one to the other at all. Not for me, or for any authors I know. These are two absolutely separate items.

Negative: the voices sound like robots.
Not nearly as much as you’d think. I’ve just listened to the narration of all three titles in this series (More Than a Tiara, Other Than a Halo, and Better Than a Crown). I was pleasantly surprised by the accuracy of pronunciation and inflection. As good as a human? No. But much better than I expected.
Within Amazon’s Virtual Voice (VV) dashboard, authors have options to edit some things, but not others.
– Pauses. I could (and did) add longer pauses between scenes to give a heads-up that we’re changing point-of-view.
– Pronunciation. Within limits. Sometimes AI narration seems to take on a life of its own. One case in point: the word “does.” Usually it was pronounced correctly as “duz,” but when at the beginning of a sentence, it became “doze.” I could edit that. Hopefully I caught them all! Sometimes there wasn’t an edit that I could make stick, but honestly, those were few and far between.
– Enunciation/ emotion. This was/ is the biggest issue. So much of it sounded really good, but then suddenly there’d be a breathless exclamation (almost of glee) in a paragraph where the tone should have been somber. There was no edit button for that! Also, no edit button to emphasize words. There’s a big difference between “he shouldn’t have done that,” and “he shouldn’t have done that!”
– Content. There was no way to edit front or back matter from what the automatic program included within the audiobook.

Positive: Accessibility
This is the primary reason I’ve chosen to dabble in Virtual Voice. I have visually impaired fans who will now be able to enjoy three more of my stories than before, with the potential to roll out more. To me this is huge because I have vision problems myself. I can set my computers, phone, and Kindle to a large enough, bold enough font for me to read text, but not everyone can.

Positive: Convenience and Quality
Some readers have told me they set Alexa to read ebooks to them. I tried listening to a story that way and honestly, it was pretty bad! I think those readers will find this narration to be far superior.

Positive: Cost
Instead of paying several thousand dollars per title to create an audiobook, authors can opt to use Amazon’s Virtual Voice for free. It does take time to listen and edit (as much as we can), but that’s minimal.

And for readers/ consumers? If you own the ebook, you can add the narration to any title for $1.99! You can also purchase the audio version on its own for a bit more. Authors have some control over pricing, within limits. Mine are set slightly higher than the corresponding ebooks.

Check out the Christmas at the Miss Snowflake Pageant in audio here!

I want to be very clear that I think human narrators are WORTH the money authors or publishers pay them. Becky Doughty has narrated my Farm Fresh Romance series, and they are far superior to the VV (Virtual Voice) experience. Narrators spend hours recording, editing, and mastering the files. They work hard to get the inflection and accents correct.

Most of the time, they’ll manage different, consistent voices for the various characters. Kids will sound younger, men deeper, women a bit higher, old folks a bit more quavery. They definitely manage accents a thousand times better than VV can!

But hiring a narrator requires a major investment per book, so an independent author generally chooses not to spend his or her income on audio, which may never pay out.

I keep talking myself out of narrating any of my own books in audio. The equipment and the space and the learning curve AND THE TIME it would all take seems like a big investment, as well. Would it pay off?

You tell me! Do you love author-narrated fiction? If I do any of my own, it will be the Montana Ranches Christian Romances. And that’s already a lot of titles, too!

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Ah… the final tale in the Sweet River Ranch romance series! It doesn’t seem that long ago since the first installment released! And I guess it was only a year and a half. #blink

Right from the beginning, I knew Jude and Kaci’s story, A Hidden Heiress for the Cowboy, would be last, and that Kaci would be a semi-mysterious character throughout. Hopefully I managed to build a little curiosity about her background over the previous five books! Now, all is revealed… after I figured out what she was hiding!

This story also brings a sense of closure to the over-arching story of Walter Sullivan (aka Grandfather). Because, of course, his daughter’s mother, Eleanor, has played a part in the series thus far, too, and their story needed a conclusion.

The series blurb is:

Hotel mogul Walter Sullivan got the surprise of his life when a woman showed up in his office claiming to be his daughter, and he discovers he has two additional grandsons he knew nothing about. How else to meld his newfound family with the one he knew but to buy a failing guest ranch resort in Montana and bring all six grandsons together to put the place on the map? And if they settle into the cowboy life and find romance in the bargain, it will be well worth the risk.

Why read A Hidden Heiress for the Cowboy?
• Hidden Identity
• Friends to more
• Struggles with wealth
• Pilot + Cowboy
• Identity in Christ
• Faith-filled content
• Elder romance

About A Hidden Heiress for the Cowboy

The friend zone was safe.
Going beyond? Not so much.

Once Jude Kline was okay with being friend-zoned. He was too busy trying to keep up with his suave new-found cousins on their grandfather’s ranch to worry about romance, and it was easy to be friends with Kaci. She didn’t demand stories of his past. Come to think of it, she didn’t offer her own, either.

Kaci Moore doesn’t want to be found. She finagled her way into a position on her grandfather’s old friend’s ranch, and now she’s just keeping her head down and doing her job. Friendship with the rancher’s misfit youngest grandson is innocent enough, right? They can only be friends… but Kaci finds herself longing for more, and it seems Jude might be doing the same.

Acknowledging her growing feelings will also mean acknowledging who she really is, and that’s not only revealing her real name. There’s more than one secret in her past, and Jude might land right in the middle of it all.

A Hidden Heiress for the Cowboy is available on Amazon, via Kindle Unlimited and in paperback.

Enjoy the Pinterest board for this series here.

Psst: If you want to see what’s next in the pipeline and how far along I am on my current project, keep an eye on the Coming Soon page!

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I’m a hard sell on romantic comedy. By which I mean, I love reading it, but usually consider it a win if it’s mildly amusing. This isn’t a jab at rom com authors at all. I have an oddball sense of humor that doesn’t line up with what a lot of other people consider funny.

Becca Kinzer’s novels? Are funny.

Not in a slapstick sort of way, nor in the dying-of-embarrassment sort of way. Just great interior dialogue and situations that get a tiny bit (or a large bit) out of control. I know that as a writer I like to inject some humor, but I’m under no illusions that I can be funny on purpose for an entire novel! Becca can.

The Synopsis

She’s a romance writer burned out on love. He’s her famous baseball star ex-husband. The last man she wants to be forced to work with is the one who broke her heart.

Rom-com writer Gracie Parker hasn’t written a bestseller since she and her husband, a major league baseball star, divorced five years ago. On thin ice with her publisher―and with a looming deadline―Gracie couldn’t have picked a worse time for a painful injury that has her flat on her back. At this point, she’d accept help from anybody . . . except her first love and ex-husband, Noah Parker.

The baseball season has just ended in massive disappointment for Noah. He’s facing the stark reality that he gave up everything for a career that’s let him down and that it might be too late to get back the one person he should’ve held on to. So when Gracie’s nephew calls, saying Gracie’s looking for a tenant for her next-door rental, it feels like it’s meant to be.

All Gracie cares about is turning in her manuscript on time, which is directly at odds with Noah’s attempts to win her back, even if she is slightly charmed by his kindness. But can people ever really change? Then Noah throws a curveball that could give Gracie the extension she needs, but it will mean working directly with Noah, something she’s not sure she can face. With no other choice, and everything on the line, Gracie must decide if it is too late for a second draft of their own love story.

My Opinion
First off, I’m not keen on sports novels. Noah is a famous baseball star. While that’s important to the story, sports scenes are thankfully a very minor part of the story.

Second, my experience as an independent author of Christian romance often causes eye rolls when I read about author characters. They so often are a one-hit wonder! But Gracie’s big sales are in the past (incidentally achieved when married to a baseball player and writing baseball romance) and now she is struggling in a major way.

Enter Noah, who not only takes care of her after her accident but steps back into his former role as muse and idea-bouncer, though Gracie doesn’t want him for those roles or any other. He picks up a scene she wrote and said the couple couldn’t kiss in that position seated on the steps. Of course, she isn’t willing to test it with him, but he calls on Gracie’s nephew and his would-be girlfriend to prove to Gracie that what she wrote is impossible.

This was by far the funniest scene in the story and it definitely got some verbal laughs from me, not just a smirk or a quiet snicker! The dialogue as well as the interior monologue as well as the couple’s attempts to act out Gracie’s scene were, frankly, hilarious.

As post-divorce romances go, this one was fairly believable as readers come to understand the details of Gracie and Noah’s marriage and downfall. Highly recommend.

If you enjoy the kinds of stories I do, sweet and funny, I recommend you pick up a copy of First Love, Second Draft. It releases April 815 2025.

I requested an ARC (advanced reader copy) from Netgalley.

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3 reasons I enjoy Pepper Basham’s contemporary romances:
1. They’re funny without being silly
2. The characters are interesting and unique
3. Faith plays an intrinsic role

I could think of more, but that’s a good start, and they represent why I asked for an ARC of Some Like It Scot. (She also writes historical novels, but regardless of author, those aren’t my thing. Seems I like modern amenities in my stories as well as in my life!)

The Synopsis
She lives her life on the fly. His heart is double-knotted to home. Can two different souls create a life together?

Popular travel writer and podcaster Katie Campbell roams the world collecting other people’s stories. She’s built a career as “Miss Adventure,” known for saying yes to anything new–country, food, or experience–and predictably finding those adventures taking a downward turn into misadventures.

Offered the chance to explore her ancestral roots through a three-week Edwardian experience, Katie finds herself immersed in the beauty and eccentricity of Scotland. In her period attire, with traditional foods and activities, the opportunities for misadventures are endless, especially with the presence of a maniacal macaw, a jealous co-worker, and an all-too-surly Scotsman.

Reclusive and protective Graeme MacKerrow doesn’t venture far from his island home. A stoic Scotsman, Graeme’s comfort zone has always been family, and after his sister’s death, he’s even more determined to save the MacKerrow ancestral home and keep those he loves close. The sudden intrusion of a six-foot-one American lass, famous for her traveling misfortunes, was far from his plan.

As this world of folklore, community, and woodworkers-in-kilts tempts Katie to discover her own story, could this one grand series of misadventures lead her directly to where she belongs? And would a settled-in-Scot ever risk loosening his grip on what’s familiar to allow a wanderlust writer a home in his heart? How could their very different worlds share the same page of life’s story when “home” is in two very different places? But maybe home–and the future–isn’t quite what either one imagined it would be. Maybe home is less about a place . . . and more about a person.

My Opinion

Let’s start with: I loved this story. The heroine, Katie Campbell, is a 6’1″ American travel writer who’s continually bumbling into scrapes. This allows the rom com part of the story a natural flow. She’s made an entire brand around being Miss Adventure, and three weeks in Scotland ensconced in an ancestral manor house for an “Edwardian Experience” provides plenty of scope for adventure (of the mis kind and other). Start with her not fitting the period gowns provided for her due to her height and curves, and following on with a near drowning (the not-so-funny part), facing her greatest fear (sheep — or is it highland cows?) and Katie is bumbling from one escapade to the next.

Graeme MacKerrow, the hero of the story, is focused on tradition and family. His twin sister has passed on, and Graeme has custody of his precocious young nephew, Lachlan, who worms his way into Katie’s heart nearly immediately. Graeme’s parents and brothers are also very involved in each other’s lives, and his mom takes Katie under her wing when Katie stumbles into her bookshop during a knitting and book club meeting.

Katie’s never felt at home anywhere since her grandparents’ deaths years ago, despite having inherited their North Carolina home. But with all her traveling, is she actually running FROM something or TO something? She would have said “neither,” but it becomes apparent that is not quite so. The “Edwardian Experience” is a three-week stint, and then Katie will be moving on. But for the first time in her life, she wonders if home is perhaps not a place, but a person, and if her person just might be Graeme.

I haven’t mentioned all the times Graeme saves her from one calamity after the other, each humorous and charming, but also forging a relationship with every misadventure. I truly gave a sigh as I turned the last page, and I sincerely hope Graeme’s two brothers get their own stories down the road. I could do with another armchair visit to Scotland with Pepper Basham!

If you enjoy the kinds of stories I do, sweet and funny yet deep, I recommend you pick up a copy of Some Like It Scot. It releases April 8, 2025.

I requested an ARC (advanced reader copy) from Netgalley.

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My sister-in-law used to make these amazingly delicious gooey clusters with Golden Grahams every Christmas. I loved those things, but when I gave up sugar seven years ago as a newbie Trim Healthy Mama, those clusters slid over to my do-not-consume list. Cue the sadness.

I’ve found a variety of very tasty THM/ keto treats over the years, but I still eyed my SIL’s clusters with longing when I saw them. I actually haven’t indulged! Go me.

I bought a bag of Cinnamon Toast Catalina Crunch keto cereal, but the honest truth was that, as cereal, it didn’t really appeal to me. I wanted them to taste like Golden Grahams, and they did not. However!!! The gears started grinding. In those forbidden treats, Catalina Crunch might be a decent substitute.

Truth was, the recipe required quite a few adjustments. It was practically brand new by the time I’d subbed this and changed that, but I’ve made these Choco Caramel Treats several times now, and they definitely deliver everything you might want in a sweet, gooey, tasty morsel for a Christmas party or Valentine’s Day!

Wait a sec. Do you enjoy reading fiction? I’m an author of Christian contemporary romance with over 50 titles released on Amazon in ebook and paperback. If you enjoy stories with engaging characters, strong communities, deep faith, and great food, would you please check out my novels? There are a couple of covers in the sidebar, or click on the Books tab above to see everything. Thanks!

(And here’s my obligatory disclosure that any product links might be affiliate links. Clicking on them doesn’t cost you a penny more, and I get a small percentage of any sales.)

Ready? Let’s get started!

Recipe: Choco Caramel Treats — THM XO

Servings: 16

In a small saucepan on the stove, melt:
• 2 tablespoons butter

Cook on low for about five minutes, or until gently browned. Then add:
• 3 tablespoons allulose*
• 1 teaspoon blackstrap molasses
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Bring to a very light boil while stirring occasionally. Then turn to very low (2 out of 10 works on my stove) and set the timer for 10 minutes. WALK AWAY. DO NOT STIR. DO NOT TOUCH.

While the caramel sauce is forming, lightly oil a 7×7 pan**, or a similar size, and measure the other ingredients.

In a medium mixing bowl, place:
• 1 cup Cinnamon Toast Catalina Crunch keto cereal
• 1 cup whole puffed rice, unsweetened

In another bowl, place:
• 1/4 cup sugar-free chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup Max Mallows*** (about 5 mallows, snipped into fourths

When the timer goes off, add to the caramel sauce and stir vigorously until blended:
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Pour the caramel sauce over the cereal mix and stir. Then add the chocolate chips and Max Mallows. Stir (the chocolate and mallows will melt a little, but not much) and press into the prepared pan. Chill. Cut into 16 pieces when firm.

*Allulose — while you may certainly experiment with other sweeteners, in my experience and from everything I’ve read, allulose makes by far the best texture of caramel sauce. Erythritol is likely to crystallize.

**I have a couple of sets of Glass-Lock Pyrex that I use for many, many things. The 7×7 pan is what I use here.

***Max Mallows: I’m sure other Max Mallow flavors would work just fine, but I use the Burnt Caramel flavor and love them. ALSO please remember that these are sweetened with xylitol, which can be fatal to dogs. Make absolutely certain to keep these out of your pup’s reach!

If you want to eat more than one in a sitting, I won’t tell anyone! But this size is perfect when there are other treats available, as well.

Friends, I’m a Christian author of contemporary romance. I write cowboys, farmers, and small-town dwellers in my green, clean romances. My characters farm, garden, and cook from scratch (sometimes even THM!). Readers love my characters and my communities. Maybe you will, too! I have over 50 titles in 10 series. It would mean a lot to me if you’d check out my books page. You can purchase my fiction in ebook from Amazon or borrow in Kindle Unlimited. Paperbacks are available at many online retailers, and some of my titles are in audio.

Won’t you give them a peek? Thank you.

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It’s been about a year since I discovered soaked bread, and it has revolutionized our meals. That’s not hyperbole. Trim Healthy Mama (and some other way-of-eating plans) are proponents of bread products that lower the glycemic impact of grains. The three methods I’ve heard of are: sourdough, sprouted, and soaked. All three of these methods makes a whole grain flour more digestible to our guts.

Sprouted Bread — I love sprouted bread, and most of the Silver Hills flavors are “on plan” if you can find them. I can buy several varieties locally, as well as bagels, hamburger, and hot dog buns. Depending on where you live, there are other brands available. You’re looking for an ingredients list that begins with a whole grain flour and has two-or-less grams of carbs per slice. The biggest cons of sprouted bread for many people are availability in stores, the expense per loaf (easily double many other types of bread), and the expense of sprouted flour for those who prefer to bake their own.

Sourdough Bread — Sourdough is all the rage, am I right? I’ve been making sourdough bread and bread products for decades. However, since discovering soaked bread (which I wish had a sexier name!), I’ve all but broken up with sourdough.

Why? Sourdough is GREAT is you are using your starter often, at least a couple of times a week. But for many empty-nesters or small families, that’s not practical. It takes a few times of feeding starter if it’s been inactive before it is bubbly enough to make bread that rises well… which makes So. Much. Dough that it makes vast huge amounts of bread products. I’ve been known to bake six loaves of bread, bagels, wraps, crackers, and more in one day because there’s so much to use up. Then… guess what? The freezer is so loaded with breads that it takes two people months to go through… and then the process begins again.

What of just having small, manageable amounts of bread in the freezer that you can eat in a week or two? That don’t get freezer-burned because they’re quickly consumed? That don’t take up an entire freezer on their own?

The cons of sourdough, to me, are many. The pros? Delicious, healthy bread. If you want to know more about baking your own sourdough products, I recommend Around the Family Table Blog. Glenda Groff is a THMer and noted sourdough expert. I’ve used many of her recipes and loved them.

Soaked Bread — Until early 2024, I didn’t really know this was a thing or how to implement it. Then I came across this recipe at Eat Well Spend Smart. I’ve made it dozens of times over the past year and made many variations, including rye bread, buns, and cinnamon rolls. But today’s recipe for Sunflower Oat Soaked Bread, my most common variation, is the bread I used to make, now implementing the soaked method. I love the flavor of the oats and sunflower seeds, especially when toasted!

Wait a sec. Do you enjoy reading fiction? I’m an author of Christian contemporary romance with over 50 titles released on Amazon in ebook and paperback. If you enjoy stories with engaging characters, strong communities, deep faith, and great food, would you please check out my novels? There are a couple of covers in the sidebar, or click on the Books tab above to see everything. Thanks!

Soaked bread has all the benefits of sprouted or soured bread, but doesn’t require babysitting a starter and getting it to perform. Soaked bread is made with every day, grocery-store brand, whole-wheat flour — as inexpensive and readily available as possible.

Ready to start baking?

Recipe: Sunflower Oat Soaked Bread — THM E

Makes 2 sandwich loaves (**Please note that some of the photos in this post were taken on a day I doubled the recipe.)
Bake 375º for 35 minutes

12-24 hours before (or overnight), mix the following in a stand mixer, or mix by hand:
• 4.5 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup regular rolled oat flakes, uncooked
• 1/2 cup oat flour (with more in reserve)*
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 3 cups water (temperature unimportant)
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Mix until all the flour products are wet. Cover and leave on the counter for 12-24 hours. I run the Bosch mixer for a couple of minutes to incorporate the liquids, then put the lid on it and leave it on the counter until morning.

In the morning, add the following:
• 1 scant tablespoon instant OR active dry yeast
• 1 scant tablespoon salt
• 1-2 tablespoons honey (I actually don’t measure this, just use a decent dollop)

Knead for 8 minutes. If you have a Bosch or a Kitchen Aid, let it do the work. Add oat flour* as needed (maybe up to one cup? But probably less) to get the correct consistency. You want the dough to hold together and no longer be sticky. You are NOT trying to see how much flour you can make the dough absorb. If you’re unfamiliar with kneading bread, maybe seek out a tutorial elsewhere.

If you don’t have an electric mixer, go ahead by hand. I have done it many times. Have a little oil for your hands. Have oat flour ready to sprinkle in as needed. Set the timer for 8 minutes, and get to work. Don’t skimp on the time LOL. Use the oil on the countertop and on your hands to keep the dough from sticking. Add oat flour if it is too sticky. Again, seek out a tutorial if you’re unfamiliar.

When the dough is of desired consistency and elastic in feel, place it in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Let it rise until double in bulk. Depending on the temperature in your kitchen, this may be anywhere from 1-2 hours. If your kitchen is really cool, place the bowl in your oven with only the oven light on.

When the dough has roughly doubled, weigh it. This is optional, but I do like having fairly even loaves, so I usually weigh. Then tear it in half and weigh each part, adjusting until they are close to the same weight. (Photo shows four loaves, so obviously you’re dividing it in to four parts if you doubled the recipe…)

Lightly spray two loaf pans. In my opinion, metal pans are superior as the crust browns better. You do you.

Then press each blob of dough fairly flat into a rectangular shape, making sure to squeeze out any bubbles you find. Roll up tightly, pinch the ends, fold them under, and set in a prepared loaf pan.

Squish the dough out as flat as you can, pressing into the corners. Now do the other loaf, then cover them with the damp tea towel again.

Once the dough is rounded over the tops of the pans by roughly half an inch, turn your oven to 375º and set the rack low in the oven, so the top of the bread pans will be at about halfway up. When your oven is hot, take a thin, sharp blade, and score the top of your loaves to about 1/4″ deep. This helps prevent blowouts on the sides of the loaf, which can happen if pent-up gases have nowhere else to go.

Others will tell you what internal temperature bread needs to ensure doneness. I have never taken bread’s temperature in my entire life. I set the timer to 35 minutes then reach in and knock on a loaf. If it LOOKS done and sounds hollow, I take it out of the oven. I then tip the pans to remove the bread and place the loaves on a cooling rack.

The hardest part? Waiting until the loaves are completely, totally, at room temperature before cutting into them!

Once the bread has cooled, I generally slice it all, bag, and freeze. It is easy to break several slices off the frozen loaf, and the slices thaw quickly on the counter or in the toaster. Enjoy!

*Oat Flour is simply ground up rolled oats. You can buy it, or whiz dry oats in your blender to make your own flour.

Friends, I’m a Christian author of contemporary romance. I write cowboys, farmers, and small-town dwellers in my green, clean romances. My characters farm, garden, and cook from scratch (sometimes even THM!). Readers love my characters and my communities. Maybe you will, too! I have over 50 titles in 10 series. It would mean a lot to me if you’d check out my books page. You can purchase my fiction in ebook from Amazon or borrow in Kindle Unlimited. Paperbacks are available at many online retailers, and some of my titles are in audio.

Won’t you give them a peek? Thank you.

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Until recently, I equated Amy Clipston with Amish romance, which is not my thing. We can possibly blame my Mennonite upbringing for that. I’m not sure. When I discovered she had also written several contemporary romances (I don’t actually consider Amish to be contemporary, no matter when it is set, but that’s another story), I thought I would give one a try. Thomas Nelson was offering With This Ring for review via Netgalley, and I asked for a copy. I read it just after the new year, when I was finally done with my 2024 Christmas reading spurt!

The Synopsis
Dakota thought she had left her dreams of happily-ever-after behind, along with the pain of a broken engagement to her high school sweetheart, Hudson. Now, as the proud owner of Fairytale Bridal Shop in the picturesque town of Flowering Grove, she’s built a life and a business on helping brides find their perfect dress for their own fairytale weddings. But running a small business is not for the faint of heart, and when her ex-fiancé unexpectedly returns to town with a mission—to put a stop to his sister’s wedding—Dakota’s problems go from bad to worse.

Hudson Garrity should be living his dream. After selling his software company, he’s single, handsome, and rich, but an unexpected call from his baby sister has him flying down to his hometown, determined to protect Layla from yet another big mistake. Though he’s single-minded in his effort to derail the nuptials, he instead finds himself thrown into family chaos and roped into helping his sister with her plans . . . bringing him once more into contact with Dakota Jamison, the one who got away.

For Hudson, coming home means revisiting his painful childhood, repairing a strained relationship with his sister, and coming face-to-face with the woman he never stopped loving. For Dakota, it means confronting the tender memories she buried deep within her heart. As Layla’s wedding date draws close, the two reunited lovers begin to question if what went wrong between them really happened the way they remembered it at all. Will they continue believing the lies they’ve told themselves, or will they remain forever entangled in the threads of what could have been?

My Opinion

As the story opened, I felt sorry for Dakota. There had been a flood in her bridal shop, her insurance didn’t seem to be coming through, and she was struggling to recoup her losses. Tragic circumstances, for sure. Her bright point is her teenage niece who helps in the shop after school and shares her teen drama with her favorite aunt. But it’s still a pretty doom-and-gloom situation. Even the small fixer-upper she’s scraped to buy is in a major state of disrepair. In her brief memory of her high-school sweetheart, Hudson, early in the story, we only see bitterness. Perhaps to be expected.

We switch to NYC, where Hudson and his partner are wrapping up the sale of their software company and considering future options. He’s lived the dream for the past decade, going from a disadvantaged orphan to a mega-rich businessman. And… there’s no evidence this hasn’t all gone to his head. When his younger sister calls, all excited about her recent engagement, Hudson decides to return to the small town where he grew up to stop Layla’s wedding. He only hopes not to run into Dakota again.

Of course, he does. She’s in the wedding business. But Hudson… I tried to like him, but I really struggled. He is so pompous, certain he knows what is best for his sister, their aunt, and everyone else. He is exceptionally rude to the girl’s fiancé. I just… couldn’t, with Hudson.

By this stage, Dakota’s niece has some ideas for helping rebuild the bridal business, but she shuts the teen down. Dakota knows best and is sure the girl’s ideas won’t work. But the situation becomes more dire.

Hudson and Dakota run into each other a few times and it becomes apparent that their memories of their long-ago breakup are different. Which version is correct? That question kept me reading when I nearly didn’t.

The writing was solid. The descriptions excellent. The small town came to life around me. I adored Dakota’s teen niece. Readers who love the “rich man swoops in to save the day” trope may love With This ring.

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And… it’s time to create and post my business goals for the new year! These aren’t fly-in-the-sky resolutions but my guideline for the upcoming year. For the most part, I keep my personal goals out of the public mix, unless they intersect with my business goals. Real life is likely to interfere somewhat in 2025 with Jim now retired.

By the way, if you’re ever curious how the year is going and what is “coming soon” that link is kept quite up to date as I progress through various WIPs (works in progress).

I plan to write 3 complete novels in 2024 (and finish the started one) and release 3 plus 1 novella

Writing Goals for 2025 (200,000 words)
• A Hidden Heiress for the Cowboy (60,000 words — Sweet River Ranch Romance 6) (about 11% complete in 2024)
• Her Thankful Heart (50,000 words — Christmas at Maranatha Inn Romance 1)
• Her Hopeful Heart (50,000 words — Christmas at Maranatha Inn Romance 2)
• (Untitled) (50,000 words — Cavanagh Cowgirls Romance 1) (series name will likely change)

Publishing Goals for 2025 (190,000 words)
• A Hidden Heiress for the Cowboy (60,000 words — Sweet River Ranch Romance 6)
• Her Waiting Heart (30,000 words — Christmas at Maranatha Inn Romance 0)
• Her Thankful Heart (50,000 words — Christmas at Maranatha Inn Romance 1)
• Her Hopeful Heart (50,000 words — Christmas at Maranatha Inn Romance 2)

Other Publishing Goals for 2025
• Sweet River Ranch Romance box set 4-6 (fall 2025)

Communication Goals for 2025
• Blog here at least once a month, including more THM recipes, since they attract new visitors. Also more book reviews!
• Send email newsletters every second week (sign up here)
• Post to my FB Readers Group several times a week (join here)
• Post on my Facebook page 1-2x a month. (follow here)

What about you? Did you meet your goals for 2024? What does 2025 look like for you?

I’ve been posting my annual goals to my blog for quite a few years, if you’d like to have a look. Before 2009, my reporting was a bit haphazard, so after poking around for a while, I decided “back then” wasn’t relevant! Still, if it would amuse you, here’s the list:

2024 goals | 2024 in review
2023 goals | 2023 in review
2022 goals | 2022 in review
2021 goals | 2021 in review
2020 goals | 2020 in review
2019 goals | 2019 in review
2018 goals | 2018 in review
2017 goals | 2017 in review
2016 goals | 2016 in review
2015 goals | 2015 in review
2014 goals | 2014 in review
2013 goals | 2013 in review
2012 goals | 2012 in review
2011 goals | 2011 in review
2010 goals | 2010 in review
2009 goals | 2009 in review

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