VIRGINIA WRIGHT, Author | Updates

Idle Chit-Chat

VIRGINIA WRIGHT, Author — Mon, 2 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve never had a hard time with idle chit-chat while standing in line at the supermarket, or anywhere else I go! I’ve met many very interesting people over the years, in my travels around the United States and overseas. Sometimes it is a person who needs to lay a burden on someone else’s shoulder, or that a complete stranger will share moments of happiness, a loss, or confess something they couldn’t share with anyone else.

Nonetheless, I’ve never been sorry for engaging in a conversation with someone about their children, grandchildren, or life– PEOPLE ARE INTERESTING! Sometimes, just listening can help someone lift a burden or work through something they've known they had to do all along. Behind the hat, the make-up, the tired eyes or sad face, you may find…that you have something in common with the person standing there looking back at you. Just by opening up, letting go, being free, just for an idle moment, for a bit of chit-chat, you might find out.

Couldn’t we all take a moment to be pleasant for five minutes while waiting in line or sitting next to someone at an appointment? It doesn’t hurt to open up, give of oneself, and besides, you might make someone’s day, and who knows, maybe your own! Being “Kind” to people means so much to them!

I hope your day is filled with “Sunshine and Rainbows!”

-Virginia Wright

Tags: #beinggratefulforothers #bekind

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A few “Buzzzzzzzz Worthy” flowers that honeybees like

VIRGINIA WRIGHT, Author — Mon, 2 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Honeybee on Coltsfoot Flower

A few “Buzzzzzzzz Worthy” flowers that honeybees like… And when you see some of these wildflowers and weeds in your yard, preserve a patch for the pollinators.

Coltsfoot
Dandelion
Queen Anne’s Lace
Aster
White Sweet Clover
Echinacea

For a complete list of buzz-worthy plants and more information on honeybees, CLICK TO BUY “Buzzzzzzzz What Honeybees Do” by Virginia Wright.

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Alexa Bourne, Author - 2012 Blog Tour Interview

VIRGINIA WRIGHT, Author — Mon, 2 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Originally Posted on April 30, 2012

Hi Everyone, thank you for joining me as I host Alexa Bourne, author of Her Highland Champion, on my blog today. Alexa’s book is available from Decadent Publishing. So grab your tea, coffee, or favorite beverage and join the party for HER HIGHLAND CHAMPION, a brand new contemporary Scottish romantic suspense! Learn more about Alexa Bourne as she makes her last blog stop in April here today on the Virginia Wright Blog. Leave a comment and be in the running for a free copy of HER HIGHLAND CHAMPION, a $10 Amazon gift card, and a Scottish surprise! The more you comment, the better your chances of winning! Now, sit back and meet Alexa Bourne… {{{Giveaway Ended!!}}}

Thank you for stopping by.

Virginia Wright

HER HIGHLAND CHAMPION

Champion Excerpt:

She turned to the bedside. A man stood there dressed in dark green sweats, with both hands clenched around the silver bedside bar. He was handsome, with light eyes, dark hair cropped close to his head, and a firm jaw. It was his hands, though. They drew her attention. Clean skin, defined knuckles, large fingers. Hands rough from a hard day’s physical labor, and yet, she imagined, gentle enough to caress the afternoon’s sufferings away.

“It’s good to see you awake.” He smiled. “You gave us all quite a fright.”

Okay, the Scottish accent drew her attention, too. At once, it both melted away some of her fears and sparked a whirlwind of questions.

“Where am I?” Her throat scratched like sandpaper.

“St. Catherine’s Hospital.”

She swallowed hard. “Where is that?”

“Fort William.” He reached for something on the table by her bed and brought back a plastic cup with a straw. “Here.”

“Thank you.” The warm water coated her sore vocal cords. She handed the cup back to him.

Wait a minute. Fort William? The only Fort William she knew was in Scotland. “I don’t understand. How did I get here?” Ignoring the aches in her body, she pressed both palms to the sheets on each side of her and pushed herself up. The blanket fell away from her chest and a new chill surrounded her. “What’s going on?”

Her arms shook, and she collapsed back to the bed.

“Relax.” The man set his palm on her shoulder, as if to keep her flat against the mattress. The heat of his fingers seeped through her hospital gown and into her skin. “I found you unconscious on the beach in Glenhalish. I called for an ambulance, and they brought you here.”

“I was in Glenhalish?”

“Aye, on a three day tour of the Highlands. Do you not remember being there?”

“No.” She squinted and studied him. No memories surfaced. “Do I know you?”

He shook his head. “Only from the beach. I’m Malcolm Fraser.”

She opened her mouth and then closed it again. Her gaze drifted to her lap as tears burned in the corners of her eyes. Panic swelled in her chest and into her throat.

“What is it, lass?” he asked with such tenderness.

“Can you tell me my name?”

Buy Link

Heather Winchester’s Diary Excerpt:

Dear Diary….Good grief that sounds so ridiculous from a grown woman.

Today is the day I’m getting out of the hospital. The doctor says I’m good enough for now besides the fact that I can’t remember anything. I shudder to think about what it’s going to be like. I mean I’m leaving the hospital with a man I don’t know. Am I scared? Terrified is more like it. I mean, someone’s trying to kill me and I don’t know who or why. And it’s not like I can think back to the even that landed me in here. I’ve completely lost my memory. Okay, I do know I’m from the US and I know who my president is, but that’s about it.

Ugh. As I stare out the window down at the streets of Fort William, I can’t help the shiver running through me. Physically I’m feeling better. A few aches and pains, but that’s not what scares me. I’m like a baby, everything is new and strange and unfamiliar. If the man who tried to kill me came up to me now, would I even know?

I’m lucky to have Malcolm. He seems like a decent man. He must be. He saved my life. I owe him everything and I can’t even pay him back. My gut tells me I’ll be safe with him even if he’s reluctant to have me around. Maybe it’s Scottish pride that’s making him continue to help me. As kind and sweet as he’s been since finding me unconscious at the loch’s edge, I can still feel some tension coming off him. I hate to interrupt his life, but at this moment, he’s all I have. I hope I’ll be able to repay him at some point. I’ll start by being as little trouble for him in his bed & breakfast as I can.

Speaking of the Kierlain House, I better get changed out of this flimsy hospital gown. The nurse says the doctor will be in to check on me and sign my release papers soon. Then I’ll be totally dependent on a man I hardly know in a country that’s not my own.

Wish me luck. Something tells me I’m going to need it.

Maybe I’ll write some more tonight when I’ve had my 1st glimpse of the Kierlain House and Glenhalish. From the way people describe the village, it sounds like it might be just the place for me to relax. I’ll let you know.

Copyright © 2024 Virginia Wright. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
#virginiawright #influencer #author #romancewriter #mainewriter #foodie #googlerestaurantreviewer #localguides @googlemaps - Virginia Wright Local Guide Level 8 in #GoogleMaps - #internetinfluencer
#creativeinfluencer #writer

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Guest Post | Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes

VIRGINIA WRIGHT, Author — Mon, 2 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Originally Posted on April 28, 2012

Welcome! I’m very excited to have guests “Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes” on my blog today. For those who are not familiar…Bill is an actor who plays Doug on Days of Our Lives. Susan is an actress who plays Julie on Days of Our Lives.” As far back as I can remember, my grandmother and mother watched Days of Our Lives. I was only 7 years old when the show was released in 1965, but as my grandmother and mother watched, I too watched Days of Our Lives into my adulthood. Please read the post by Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes about their new book, “Trumpet.” Comments are open. Thanks for visiting!

-Virginia Wright

Book: TRUMPET

Authors:

Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes

Publisher: Decadent Publishing

Hello, Susan and Bill Hayes. Welcome!

(1) Can you tell us where the inspiration for TRUMPET comes from? We chose to tell a story of theatricals, because that’s what we are. Real-life characters from history showed us the heights and pitfalls of reputation, today called celebrity. Actors of the Regency age lived in a profligate time, before Victorian restraint made society “polite.” For example, since 1985, we kept a magazine article on Giovanni Battista Belzoni, whose life was amazing. Our heroine, Elizabeth Trumpet, a remarkable creature herself, just had to meet him. Lots of adventurous story spooled out of that.

(2) What was the hardest part of writing TRUMPET? Choosing which historical moments were indispensible. We adored our heroine Lizzie and stayed with her for a long eventful arc, from sixteen-year-old innocent to wise maturity. The parallels to our own time are very great, the runaway disaster that fame can be was just as true then as now. The years of our story—1803 to 1821—were times of war and conflict. Our Trumpet family lives and loves through experiences the modern reader understands perfectly. Of course, we plunged into research, read over a hundred books, traveled all over the world to touch in person the places we describe. But that wasn’t hard. Over seven years we grew more and more connected to the age, and it was electrifying.

(3) When and why did you first become interested in writing your genre? Historical fiction is the fiction of choice in the Hayes house. It was a challenge to see if we could do it. After our first book, LIKE SANDS THROUGH THE HOURGLASS, a double memoir, we knew we were a good team with pen and paper—excuse us, computer and keyboard. Creating a whole world together, Lizzie’s London and worlds beyond kept us keyed up and on fire. We highly recommend writing a book as a bonding experience for the long-married. We have been together for forty years, and writing TRUMPET was sweet icing on the cake of our life.

(4) How do you plan your stories? And what tools do you use on a frequent basis? Bill wrote back-stories for every character, some covering several generations. Susan loves to study portraits in museums and find the faces of the people we are writing about. She has a collection of several hundred photos now. Our tools are imagination, memory, melding two voices into one, and editing each other without ego. (That’s big, my dears.)

(5) How important do you think it is for female readers to identify with the heroine in your book? We think every woman who has loved the wrong man passionately, lost her place in the world, found another, took a chance, protected her family, had to work to buy bread, turned defeat into victory, faced an uncertain future with a smile—in short, every woman who breathes—will embrace Lizzie Trumpet, understand and cheer for her.

(6) What three features would you say are vital to a good story? Truth, wit and change. We love good dialogue and really got into the scenes, reading them aloud together. Our characters are people we have known well, and we can hear them talking in our dreams sometimes. Really! So, there’s truth. Wit? We love humor, because life is largely funny—especially for actors with their large egos and strong grasp on unreality. As for change, all drama is based on it. Circumstances change people, so our ladies and gentlemen move through plots that are guaranteed to make them twist and develop.

(7) Trivia:

Favorite game: We are both into Spider Solitaire; it is a fascinating, frustrating challenge!
Favorite fruit: Susan – peaches; Bill – berries, dipped in chocolate.
Favorite vegetable: Susan – artichoke; Bill – forget the veg, go straight to the chocolate.
Dream date: Susan – Leonard Bernstein; now quite unavailable. Bill – an 18-year-old blonde tapdancer.

Thank you for joining us today, Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes. It’s been a pleasure to talk with you.

Virginia Wright

Excerpt:

“Elizabeth, you must perform. I will teach you a style of acting that is revolutionary. You have seen my work. You understand the art I worship.”

She took a step closer. “Since I was a child, watching my father on stage, I longed to be there with him.” Jack watched Lizzie struggle to go on. “You have just described the dream of my life. There is nothing I want more, but…Mr. Faversham—Jack…I am not free.”

He reached for her hands and pulled her down beside him on the stump. “Explain why you are not free.”

In a long and tearful soliloquy, Lizzie told her story of the past year. She was too candid for propriety and too wrought-up by his presence to withhold anything. In this soulful state, she was so beautiful and vulnerable that Jack had to fight to keep his hands off her.

“You need, as in a play, an ailing uncle to leave you a great inheritance,” Jack suggested with sympathy.

“Indeed, I have just been offered ‘protection’ by a gentleman.”

“It must be Dampere, the creature! I guessed as much! That’s why I broke in upon your privacy in such haste. Listen to me, Elizabeth. I promise you a weekly income, not of shillings, but of pounds. From the sound of it, your first concern is caring decently for your family. Join me and you will be able to provide for your father and aunt and whoever else you are carrying on your lovely back.”

The emotional girl looked at him as though he were a god.

Jack turned on his serpent-of-Eden charm. “Why take up with that toad Dampere? Come with me and live your passion while you keep your reputation. I can turn you into a real princess, Pocahontas—a princess of the stage.”

That did it. Dazzled, Lizzie said something irrational that meant yes: “The honor…do all I can…prove your faith.” It was the grateful garble of a person saved.

Satisfied to have gotten his way, Jack sealed the bargain by taking her head in his hands and kissing her full on the mouth. “Gad, we’ll be good; I know it.” He bowed and strode to his hired horse. “I have urgent business in the city. Be glad, Elizabeth. I certainly am.”

He leaped into the saddle and cantered away. Actually, he was off to a backstage intrigue at Covent Garden. Waiting in his dressing room, another would-be actress, of no performing ability whatsoever, was ready to audition what talent she did have on the chaise lounge.

Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes Blurb

Brilliant and sassy Elizabeth Trumpet fantasizes starring on the London stage, but to become an actress in 1803 is tantamount to losing her virginity in the most debasing way.

After watching her mother die and her father lose his mind, the courageous sixteen-year-old must find a way to save her family. She scores her first acting job as a fencer – the deadly skill she learned from her brother training for the military. Blessed with talent and a rare singing voice, Lizzie pursues her career, learning from theatrical characters high and low.

When reckless actor Jonathan Faversham sets eyes on Miss Trumpet, he knows he’s found the partner of his life. But Faversham carries ruinous baggage from a dark past. Entangled in lust and ambition, Lizzie gives him her heart and they reach the heights together. Until Lizzie gets more applause than he…

From the magnificence of Regency palaces and the Theatre Royal Covent Garden to the sun-baked pyramids of Egypt and the arms of a real-life Samson, Lizzie is never far from trouble. As her brother rides to glory with Wellington in the Napoleonic Wars, great events threaten her survival. Danger lurks behind stage curtains, when a madman sets fire to take her life and she lifts a sword in revenge.

Will this once innocent girl, with her rise to stardom, be remembered for her art? Or for her shame?

Lizzie watched Faversham until she could see him no more. A freshening breeze lifted the leaves of the oak tree. She touched her tingling lips and thanked God for escaping a sordid life. He is my savior. Now I won’t have to do as Octavia does.

Buy Link:

https://www.amazon.com/Trumpet-Bill-Hayes/dp/1613332572

Copyright © 2012-2025 Virginia Wright. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

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Cooking Tip | Preserving Jam

VIRGINIA WRIGHT, Author — Mon, 2 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Originally Posted on December 16, 2013

This article, “Preserving Jam Cooking Tip,” originated from a photo post I saw on my friend’s Facebook page. Many people use various methods for canning and freezing. Still, it is essential to follow food safety guidelines, such as using sterilized jars, inspecting the mouth of the canning jars for chips before canning, and adhering to the cooking times recommended by experts, as these precautions will help prevent the risk of botulism.

Years ago, my mother canned. However, she didn’t have all the information on canning safety that we have at our fingertips these days, thanks to the internet. My grandmother and great-grandmother also preserved food, without any known major issues that I’m aware of. However, to err on the side of caution, it is always advisable to follow the safety tips for canning and freezing provided by experts.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation is an excellent website with a wealth of cooking tips.

Disclaimer noted, I continue with my story…

…On Facebook, I saw a precious photo of my friend, Sue Curry, with her granddaughter, Rosalind, making jam and putting it up in canning jars. Sue and I go way back, as we were school friends in Belfast, Maine, where I was born and grew up.

Rosalind

This past week I put up Strawberry Jam, I didn’t use paraffin wax over the top of it, but I remember my mom using it as a kid. Which prompted my question to Sue, “Do you use paraffin wax?

Sue said,” Cook your jam according to the Certo instructions. Then you ladle the jam into the jars; turn them upside down for five minutes, then right side up.” Voila! Jam processed. Now, that's what I call a time-saving cooking tip! No Paraffin Wax used.

If you try this time-saving method, consider doing a small batch in case your lids don’t seal, so you don’t waste a lot of ingredients. I say it's worth trying – I give this tip a thumbs up.

Thanks, Sue and Rosalind…

-Virginia Wright, Romance Author, Food Writer, Recipe Developer, Foodie & Queen of Recipe Adaptation

Cookbook $7.10 @Amazon

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Recipe | Christmas Cookies | Pecan Puffs

VIRGINIA WRIGHT, Author — Mon, 2 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Christmas Cookie | Pecan Puffs Recipe

Summary: This is a great cookie to make for the holidays. Quick, simple, and delightful! Goes great with coffee or hot cocoa. You can freeze cookies after they have been cooked and rolled with powdered sugar. Take out several hours before guests arrive. Yields 40

*****************************************************************************

Ingredients

2 cups butter
4 cups all-purpose unbleached white flour
4 tsp. pure vanilla
8 tbsp. powdered sugar
3 1/2 cups ground pecans or walnuts
powdered sugar for rolling cookies in

Instructions

Cream butter and other ingredients together. Roll the dough into small balls. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake approximately 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove the cookies from the oven and roll them in powdered sugar. Let cool. Roll a second time. Excellent Christmas cookie.

Notes

These cookies puff up when baking, so allow a little extra space between cookies on the baking sheet.

Recipe Contributor: Virginia Wright
Originally Posted on December 16, 2013
Copyright 2013-2025 Virginia Wright. All Rights Reserved.

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Desserts | Cookies | Flourless Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chunk Cookies by Virginia Wright

VIRGINIA WRIGHT, Author — Mon, 2 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Recipe: Flourless Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Summary: For those of us out there who want a peanut butter chocolate chunk cookie

but want or need to watch our wheat intake. This flourless cookie is a delicious alternative to traditional chocolate chip peanut butter cookie recipes, minus the flour. I’m a cookie person; I love a cookie hot out of the oven with a cup of coffee. This has become our family's go-to cookie! It’s delicious and easy to make, plus it's flourless.

Ingredients

2 tsp. pure vanilla
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1-cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. sea salt
1-cup chocolate chunks (or chocolate chips)
3/4-cup walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup raw crystallized sugar to roll cookie balls in (optional)

Instructions

Mix all ingredients in order given. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes to facilitate easier handling. Roll dough into balls; dip all sides in raw sugar (optional).
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place balls on a cookie sheet and flatten with the tines of a fork.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
Take cookies out of the oven and place the whole cookie sheet on a cooling rack and let cookies cool on the baking sheet for ten minutes–this prevents crumbling. Then remove to the wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

Buy Recipes From Maine Cookbook by Virginia Wright

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Recipe | Cake | Wicked Good Whoopie Pies

VIRGINIA WRIGHT, Author — Mon, 2 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Testing Whoopie Pies

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar, and eggs
In a separate bowl, mix cocoa, flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
Add the flour mixture two cups at a time. After each addition of flour, add 1 cup of milk. The batter will be thick.
Line a baking sheet with Parchment paper and spoon a heaping tbsp. of batter on the baking sheet, spacing your whoopie pie batter 2 inches apart.
Bake in a preheated oven at 375°F for 10 minutes.
Test Whoopie Pie with a wooden toothpick in the center; if it comes out clean, it’s probably done.
Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.
Frost one side of a whoopie and put the cover on.
Wrap in wax paper, then cover with plastic wrap or place in a sandwich bag.

Milk – Filling #1 Instructions:

In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, and milk; stir in the vanilla extract and continue mixing until well blended.

Egg Whites -Filling #2 Instructions:

In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, salt, and egg whites; stir in the vanilla extract and continue mixing until well blended.

Cooking time: 10 minutes

My rating 5 stars: ★★★★★ 1 review(s) Yes, Authors Cook!

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Recipe| Cake| Dark Red Velvet Cake Recipe

VIRGINIA WRIGHT, Author — Mon, 2 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Recipe: Dark Red Velvet Cake for Valentine’s Day
Originally Posted on February 13, 2012

Summary: This Red Velvet Cake Recipe lends itself well to use at Valentine’s Day. Simply buy your cupcake papers (I bought cupcake papers with red hearts on them), and fill 3/4 of the way. Frost with your favorite cream cheese icing recipe!

Ingredients

1 tbsp. baking soda
2- 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. baking cocoa
1 ½ cups sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 ounces red food coloring
½ cup butter, softened
2/3 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1/3 cup sweet milk (regular milk)
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

Instructions

Combine cocoa, flour, sugar, salt, food coloring, and vanilla with butter.
Beat in buttermilk; add eggs beaten with the sweet milk. Mix ingredients well with an electric mixer.
Add vinegar and baking soda, stir thoroughly.
Place in two greased and floured cake pans or cupcake papers.
Bake at 325 degrees approximately 25-30 minutes, or until cake tests done.
Cool and frost with cream cheese icing.
Top with chocolate chips and/or chopped walnuts.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 25-30 minutes

Number of servings (yield): 8

My rating: 5 stars ★★★★★ 1 review

Good Luck with your recipe! Visit often to see what we are cooking up next, because Authors cook!

-Virginia Wright

Author, Food Writer, Recipe Developer, Foodie & Queen of Recipe Adaptation

Cookbook $7.10 @Amazon

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Condiments | Honey Topping Recipe

VIRGINIA WRIGHT, Author — Mon, 2 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Cream Cheese Frosting

This is a simple recipe that you can make with your kids. Who doesn’t love carrot cake? If you don’t, you’ll miss out. However, for those who do, the next time you make Carrot cake, try this simple recipe for a delectable topping. There are advantages of having beekeeping as a hobby — the HONEY. My paperback book, “Buzzzzzzzz What Honeybees Do,” is an educational, non-fiction honeybee–bekeeping primer for children and adults. If you'd like to test the waters and see an abbreviated version of my book, Buzzzzzzzz is available on Kindle as an eBook for only $1.99. I will tell you that the eBook version does not read the same on all eReaders. Enjoy your recipe!

1 PACKAGE NEUFCHÂTEL CHEESE

1/3 CUP PURE HONEY

1 TSP. PURE VANILLA EXTRACT ( MEXICAN VANILLA IN RECIPES IS MY FAV!)

Mix ingredients, and voila! This tasty yet simple topping recipe is perfect for your carrot cake and pairs well with freshly made cinnamon rolls. If you would like more topping, double the recipe.

NOTE: When you can, buy honey from a local beekeeper. Some manufacturers, so I am told, sell a honey blend (honey mixed with corn syrup). They do this to stretch the honey. If you buy locally, from a local beekeeper, chances are you will get PURE HONEY. You have every right to ask… get only the best!

Virginia’s Cookbook:

Ayuh, Another Downeast Cookbook: Recipes From Maine is chock-full of unique and delicious Game recipes for the wildlife food enthusiast. The recipes include everything from bear to raccoon, clams and lobster, chowders, sauces, and wild goosegrass greens. These recipes are brought to you from Registered Maine Guides of The Maine Professional Guides Association, members of Maine Lobstermen’s Association, as well as Bangor Daily News columnist and TV personality, Bud Leavitt. I have deliberately left the inevitable imperfections that occurred when reproducing the original manuscript, (which was initially compiled 35 years ago) as I feel, this adds to the charm of the cookbook. I hope that you, too, will embrace its authenticity and that you and your family will enjoy these recipes for many generations to come. Enjoy! -Virginia Wright

Follow on Amazon.com

Originally Posted on August 12, 2012

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Condiment | Spicy Honey Butter Recipe

VIRGINIA WRIGHT, Author — Mon, 2 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Authors Cook!

Summary: This is a delicious, quick, and easy honey butter recipe with a dash of spice.

Ingredients

1 cup softened butter
1/2 cup pure honey, more or less–
1/4 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar (also called powdered sugar)
1/8 tsp pure vanilla extract or (Mexican vanilla to give your recipe a unique taste)
1/2 tsp Organic Korintje cinnamon or (add just a dash of your favorite cinnamon to your taste)

Instructions

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and blend until fluffy, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Voila! This is a delicious, quick, and easy honey butter recipe with a dash of spice. The whole family can enjoy this spicy butter on their hot, fresh, and out-of-the-oven biscuits. Store butter covered in the refrigerator. It will firm up; remove it from the fridge and blend it again.

RC: VW © Virginia Wright

Good Luck with your recipe! Visit us often to see what we're cooking up next!

-Virginia Wright

Romance Author, Food Writer, Recipe Developer, Foodie & Queen of Recipe Adaptation

Virginia’s Cookbook:

Follow on Amazon.com

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Buzzzzzzzz What Honeybees Do by Maine Author, Virginia Wright

VIRGINIA WRIGHT, Author — Mon, 2 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Buzzzzzzzz What Honeybees Do

Learn the basics about honeybees, where and how they live. Children and adults will learn from this educational, nonfiction, beekeeping book for beginners. Teachers, use "Buzzzzzzzz What Honeybees Do" as a honeybee primer in the classroom —it is easy to understand and answers the questions: Do all honeybees sting? What do honeybees do with pollen? How do honeybees make honey? What is pollination? Do all honeys look and taste alike? Where do honeybees live? What can we do to benefit the bees? What kind of flowers do honeybees prefer? With over 2,000 words packed in this 26-page book, Buzzzzzzzz What Honeybees Do can be used in conjunction with your current school curriculum to teach kids about honeybees and beekeeping basics. Real photographs of the honeybees, comb, hives, flowers, and even one of a bee's tongue! Written by beekeepers!

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WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY DAY 2023

VIRGINIA WRIGHT, Author — Mon, 2 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Originally Posted on August 19, 2023

In honor of World Photography Day, I take the opportunity to share my enthusiasm for photography each year through a few of my favorite photographs that I have taken during my travels.

As a travel blogger, I focus on nature photography, including animals, bees, bugs, butterflies, insects, and other natural wonders. As a food enthusiast, I also capture photos of the delicious food finds I come across. One of my most popular photographs, as a Level 8 Google Maps Contributor and Master Reviewer, with over 14 million views, is of my lobster roll picture from Tracey’s Seafood, a small roadside takeout in Sullivan, Maine (which has garnered an impressive 247,457 views on Google Maps).

Lobster Rolls, Tracey’s Seafood, Sullivan, Maine

Please visit my Instagram Gallery: http://www.instagram.com/virginiabrownwright to look at a few of my personal favorites. I update as nature allows. Give me some love (Heart) if you like a photo, and I’d love to have you follow me.

Enjoy!

-Virginia Wright, Author, Illustrator, & Nature Photographer

http://www.amazon.com/author/virginiawright

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Find Maine Writers - Virginia Wright, born and raised in Maine.

VIRGINIA WRIGHT, Author — Mon, 2 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I'm a Maine girl; I was born and raised in the state of Maine. Although I don't currently live there all year round, Maine is my happy hunting ground, and it is where my feet are firmly rooted in my heart. I'm a member of the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance (MWPA). You can find my profile here. I'm a multi-genre author, and my latest release, A Christmas to Remember, is my first romance novel. It made Amazon's Best Seller list on the very day of its release, in the category of Medical Fiction (2021).

SEARCHING FOR A PARTICULAR PROFILE

Are you looking for a particular Maine Writer? The quickest way to do this is to Google "Find Maine Writers [insert writer's whole or last name]", and that writer's FMW profile should appear high in the search results.

Search here by genre.

Click to find ALL MY BOOKS.

Tags: #MaineAuthors #VirginiaWright #ACHRISTMASTOREMEMBER #RomanceAuthor

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Recipe | Wild Greens | How to Cook Dandelion Greens & Recipes

VIRGINIA WRIGHT, Author — Sun, 1 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Originally Posted on December 17, 2013

How to Cook Dandelion Greens & Recipes
By Virginia Wright

Recipe: How to Cook Dandelion Greens

Summary: There are various ways to cook dandelion greens, an edible weed. This post includes two options: plain with butter or olive oil, and tossed with bacon. When I make these recipes, I use dandelions from my yard that have not been treated with any chemicals. Additionally, I use organic butter, organic extra-virgin olive oil, organic hot red pepper flakes, and uncured, nitrite- and nitrate-free bacon with no artificial preservatives.

Ingredients

Dandelion Greens
Bacon
Hot Red Pepper Flakes
Salt
Pepper
Butter
Olive oil

Instructions

Gather, wash, and cook greens.
Drain cooked dandelion greens well.
Serve with butter or a drizzle of olive oil.
Dash of salt and pepper, to taste.
For serving dandelion greens with bacon and hot red pepper flakes, follow the directions for cooking dandelion greens.
Cut the bacon into 1-inch pieces and cook until well done.
Add drained dandelion greens to the bacon, and toss.
Add a sprinkle of hot red pepper flakes.
Dash of salt and pepper, to taste.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

The number of servings (yield): This depends on the quantity of greens you gather.

Cut up bacon into small 1-inch square pieces, fry until done. Take your 4 cups of well-drained dandelion greens and place them in the frypan with cooked bacon and grease; toss.

Serving Suggestion: Serve dandelion greens hot, with a sprinkle of hot red pepper flakes, and a dash of salt and pepper.

COOKBOOK:Ayuh, Another Downeast Cookbook: Recipes From Maine Advertisement

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Recipes From Maine’s TV host, Executive Sports Editor, and Outdoor Columnist Bud Leavitt found in ‘Ayuh, Another Downeast Cookbook’ by Virginia Wright |Maine Author

VIRGINIA WRIGHT, Author — Sun, 1 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Originally Posted on September 4, 2020

As a cookbook author and restaurant reviewer, I photograph everything I cook and eat. I currently have over 14 million views and growing daily of my 350 photographs on Google Maps. Check out my cookbook, ‘Ayuh, Another Downeast Cookbook.’ There are many wild game and seafood recipes, along with recipes from Maine Guides, Lobstermen, and a couple of recipes from Bud Leavitt. Bud was a Maine-based executive sports editor and an outdoor columnist who previously worked for the Bangor Daily News. Bud also hosted a fishing and hunting television show, called The Bud Leavitt Show. He took me under his wing a tad, trying to publicize the cookbook I had written. I will never forget his generosity, as he not only gave me two recipes for my cookbook but also wrote an article about me and ‘Ayuh, Another Downeast Cookbook‘ in the Bangor Daily News. He also handed off my manuscript to another writer who put one of the recipes in the newspaper from my cookbook, it was a surprise to me as I didn’t know he had done it. I had a great curiosity as to how it ended up in the newspaper. So, I wrote the writer and she told me that Bud had given her my manuscript. The cookbook did not get published until thirty-five years later; still, I felt Bud smiling down on me. R.I.P. Bud Leavitt!

-Virginia Wright

Ayuh, Another Downeast Cookbook by Virginia Wright https://www.amazon.com/Ayuh-Another-Downeast-Cookbook-Recipes/dp/1490950818

Available on Amazon!

What people are saying:

Sherry Ellis VINE VOICE5.0 out of 5 stars Unique Cookbook Featuring Wild Game of MaineReviewed in the United States on May 9, 2018Ayuh, Another Downeast Cookbook is a compilation of recipes that feature wild game and fish of Maine. Some of the unique recipes include smothered venison, barbecued rabbit, Swiss moose steak, coon cacciatore, and partridge stew. There are also recipes that aren’t quite so adventurous. These include deviled crab, clam chowder, and lobster salad. There is a nice collection of sauces as well.

The recipes are easy to follow and well organized. The sketches of wildlife sprinkled throughout the book are cute additions that add to the charm of the layout. This is a good cookbook for those looking for something different, or for those looking for ideas on what to do with the kills from a hunt.

Deanie Humphrys-Dunne 5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful, unique cookbook! Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2018We’ve all read cookbooks, but Virginia Wright’s new cookbook is unique. You’ll find interesting, delectable things that are out of the ordinary. For example, you can make moose, rabbit, venison, as well as wonderful sauces, chowders, fish salads or desserts. This cookbook has something for everyone. The author spent many years gathering her favorite Maine recipes that you’re sure to love. Get your copy today and start your wonderful cooking adventure of DownEast favorites.

* I was given a gift of this book and chose to review it without compensation.

Review by children’s author, Deanie Humphrys-Dunne

Launa McNeilly 5.0 out of 5 stars I love the sauces and seafood recipes as well Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2018This book covers so many different meats! I love the sauces and seafood recipes as well. We are fortunate to have friends who will give us a package of their hunting bounty, and it’s so nice to be able to pick up this book and have a cookbook that tells you how to cook it. I recommend this book to anyone who hunts for wild game and also to those who love Maine seafood. Kudos to Virginia Wright for giving us recipes for when we want to cook on the wild side or when we want to ma ke sure we are preparing that expensive seafood the right way.

#cookbooks #maineauthor #ayuhanotherdowneastcookbook

#NewEnglandFoods #MaineRecipes

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VIRGINIA WRIGHT, Author — Sun, 1 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Be the first to hear about my new book releases & giveaways. I'm VIRGINIA WRIGHT, an Amazon bestselling author of A CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER. I write characters that feel real and that readers can relate to, cry about, get mad at, and grow to love. JOIN MY MAILING LIST.

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Guest Author | Eric VanRaepenbusch Interview & Giveaway

VIRGINIA WRIGHT, Author — Fri, 30 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Originally Posted on November 24, 2012 ***GIVEAWAY CLOSED***

Welcome! Eric, I’m so happy that you are joining this event, “The Seven Weeks to Christmas Author Interviews & Giveaways.” Thank you so much for taking the time to come talk to us about your books.

I also wanted to thank you for your generous offer to give away a couple of copies of your books to commenters of this blog. What a wonderful Christmas gift to our winners!

Eric and I met online about two years ago, another author told me about his blog: http://www.happybirthdayauthor.com/ where authors are celebrated on their birthday. BTW, awesome idea Eric. I contacted Eric, and he scheduled an interview with me. So, I felt it was only fitting, to reciprocate, and interview Eric as he has been super busy and turned out a book or two of his own. Please join me in welcoming author and illustrator of four books titled Three Ghost Friends series, Eric VanRaepenbusch.

With that said, I will let Eric tell you more…

-Virginia

Author Bio:

Eric VanRaepenbusch is a stay-at-home dad, blogger, and read aloud extraordinaire. He creates memorable reading experiences by celebrating children’s author and illustrator birthdays. His blog, Happy Birthday Author, shares his family’s reading experiences to encourage other families to read together. A speech pathologist and mother of three boys described his Three Ghost Friends series as, ”This series is a must-have for a child’s library! Learn About Colors is the perfect length and uses predictable text, which keeps little ones engaged. The subject of mixing colors is now ingrained in my kids’ heads as a result of Three Ghost Friends!”

1. When did you publish your first book?

I published Three Ghost Friends: Learn About Colors as an eBook at the Apple iBookstore for iPad, iPhone, and iPodTouch in January 2012. It became available for Kindle in August 2012. Then, in September 2012, I was so pleased to have a print version of the book available on Amazon!

2. Could you give us a description of what the book is about?

Three Ghost Friends: Learn About Colors begins with the Three Ghost Friends eating a strawberry, banana, and a blueberry. One ghost friend turns red, another turns yellow, and the third ghost friend turns blue. Initially, they are quite shocked to be primary colors, but quickly realize it is quite fun! The Three Ghost Friends have fun until something unexpected happens while the ghosts are playing (I’ll give you a hint. It has something to do with color mixing and secondary colors). The Three Ghost Friends learn that mixing colors can be fun too, but all the playing makes them very tired! In the end, the Three Ghost Friends think of a way to change back to white and keep smiles on their faces.

3. What was the feeling like when you held your published book in your hand for the first time?

It was a big accomplishment. For years, I had been celebrating and admiring children’s authors and illustrators on my blog, Happy Birthday Author. I saw how each author’s books made an impact on my children as I read to them before bedtime. I made it my goal to publish a children’s book that families could experience together. To be honest, I was nervous when I published my books. Lots of questions went through my head – Would parents buy my book? Would they like it? I will never forget when parents sent me videos on Facebook of them reading my books with their children. It felt so awesome to know that a child enjoyed something that I created.

4. Please tell us about your latest book? Where can viewers purchase it?

There are now four Three Ghost Friends books available as eBooks and print books. In addition to the Three Ghost Friends: Learn About Colors there is Three Ghost Friends: Learn About Opposites, Three Ghost Friends: Learn About Shapes, and a Halloween book that did quite well, Three Ghost Friends: Learn About the ABCs – Halloween Edition.

All of these books can be purchased on Amazon in print or as eBooks for the Kindle. The print books qualify for Amazon’s 4-for-3 promotion which allows you to get the whole series at a significant discount!

Three Ghost Friends eBooks are also available at the Apple iBookstore for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch.

5. Where online can people find you?

You can find out more about the Three Ghost Friends series, available with over 50 activities and printables for toddlers and preschoolers. The materials can be used before, during, and after reading all the Three Ghost Friends books and they are all FREE of charge!

Three Ghost Friends is also on Facebook and Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/ThreeGhostFriends

https://twitter.com/3ghostfriends

I also have a very popular Three Ghost Friends Pinterest Board that is loaded with tons of Ghost related food, crafts, and fun!

http://pinterest.com/evanraepenbusch/three-ghost-friends/

Virginia, thank you so much for the interview! I am so excited for your latest book too!

Thank you , Eric! Thanks for stopping by my blog. I enjoyed having you here. I wish you much success with your books. Happy Sales!

-Virginia

Comments are now open!

Tags: #EricRaepenbusch #Author

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How to Bake a Chocolate Soufflé by Carly Ellen Kramer | Author Interview

VIRGINIA WRIGHT, Author — Fri, 30 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Originally Posted on March 3, 2015
Interview By Virginia Wright

How to Bake a Chocolate Soufflé by Carly Ellen Kramer is a food fiction novel. And I thought it would be a perfect fit to have Carly as a guest author, since I am a foodie. Also, because I love all recipes, especially old heirloom recipes.

Thank you, Carly, for stopping by and sharing information about your book. Also, for giving away a signed copy of your book to one of our commenters.

Good Luck! A winner will be chosen from all those who comment the week of March 18th.

Hugs, -Virginia

About the book

Forget what your English professor told you – life stories are not written in college.

Madeleine LaBlange, Annie Anderson, and Audrey Navarro shared formative years as roommates at Chicago’s Catholic haven for women, the historic Abbott College. If only they could have predicted the collisions between their carefully crafted life plans and the realities they discover beyond campus…

Madeleine harbors dreams of becoming a concert pianist while Dr. Reynold Fenwick, her mercurial graduate school mentor, harbors fantasies of Madeleine. Will pursuing her dreams be worth the cost? Will an evening in Budapest change her life forever?

Annie plans to build a perfect family with her perfect husband in the cutthroat news media industry, until an abrupt tragedy shakes the foundations of her marriage. What happens when she feels pulled between the two men she loves most, her husband and her father?

Audrey leaves her religious, restrictive parents behind and aims for Chicago’s downtown skyline, dating recklessly and staring down each grueling workday one Chicago Dog at a time. Will an island respite lure her away from her corporate future? When she finds herself in the arms of an unexpected lover, will she have the courage to stand up for her own evolving sense of self?

Follow the journeys of these remarkable women, and cheer them on as they navigate life, love, and chocolate soufflé.

Includes over a dozen decadent new recipes from Crowded Earth Kitchen!

Recipe

chocolate soufflé

Mrs. Baptiste’s Chocolate Soufflé

Grease four single-serving ramekins with real butter and dust with sugar. Set aside.

Set a metal mixing bowl over the top of a pot containing one inch of softly boiling water. The bottom of the mixing bowl should not touch the water in the pot. In the mixing bowl, melt ½ cup of dark chocolate chips. Stir well. Add three room-temperature egg yolks and ½ teaspoon of pure vanilla extract to the bowl and mix well. The mixture will harden a bit – don’t worry, this is normal.

In a separate mixing bowl, exorcise six egg whites – beat the Devil out of them! As you beat the egg whites, add ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar and 1/3 cup of white sugar, a little at a time. When the egg white mixture forms stiff peaks, fold into the chocolate mixture. Be careful not to mix the air right out of the egg whites!

Pour soufflé mixture into prepared ramekins and bake in a preheated 375-degree oven for 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Excerpt

“After a bit of English – to – French improvisation, I realized that Mrs. Baptiste

didn’t tell me to ‘exercise’ the egg whites. She told me to ‘exorcise’ the egg

whites, or ‘beat the Devil’ out of them!” Laughter ensued. “On my second attempt,

that is exactly what I did. I beat those egg whites until I thought my arm was going

to disconnect at the shoulder. If anyone would have seen me toiling away in my tiny,

ill-equipped kitchen, I’m sure they would have laughed out loud. I worked up a

sweat. I honestly thought I pulled a bicep. But do you know what? That soufflé was

fantastic!” Several women in the audience began to laugh.

“The reason I’m sharing this story is because dreams are like that.”

“You can hold onto a dream, go after it with a halfway decent effort, and end up

with a fairly respectable result. Heck, that’s what most people do – ‘exercise.’ But

what if your dream is so big you can barely hold it in your arms? What if your dream

is so fantastic that it seems almost implausible? What if ‘a fairly respectable

result’ isn’t good enough? Well, then you take your Abbott College education, you

take the ambition and the values to which Dean Riley referred, and you go after your

dream like the Devil itself is on your heels! ‘Exorcise!’” The room erupted

“That brings me to my next point, the one nobody really wants to talk about.

Sometimes, the monster under the bed is real.”

~How to Bake a Chocolate Soufflé, page 5

~~~

Author Biography:

Carly Ellen Kramer

Carly Ellen is a food traveler and writer who loves incorporating delicious recipes into her stories. She is happily entangled in a long-standing, unashamed love affair with Europe, whose narrow roads and great cathedrals never fail to keep her Train stations, corner bistros, and old museums serve as her collective Carly Ellen has a minor obsession with French boulangeries, and is sublimely happy with a fresh baguette and cup of espresso in any cobblestoned square. How to Bake a Chocolate Soufflé is her first novel.

Author Links:

Amazon (Paperback and Kindle):

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Carly+Ellen+Kramer

Crowded Earth Kitchen: (Author Signed Copies): www.crowdedearthkitchen.com

Goodreads (Ratings, Reviews, and Author Information):

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8597207.Carly_Ellen_Kramer

Tags: #Author #CarlyEllenKramer #ChocolateSouffléRecipe

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Recipe | Vegetables | Crazy for Kale | Kale Chips Recipe

VIRGINIA WRIGHT, Author — Fri, 30 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Originally Posted on December 20, 2013

Authors Cook!

Recipe: Kale Chips

Summary: Simple Recipe for Kale Chips. I love Kale! This is a recipe I am going to try when the weather gets cooler.

Organic Kale
Organic Olive oil
Sea Salt
Organic Garlic

Instructions

Bake in a 275-degree oven.
Take the ribs off the kale, cut them into nice-sized chunks.
Spray with olive oil, then lightly salt, add a touch of garlic to them, and put them on a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes, turning halfway.
I think you could probably try sprinkling garlic powder or salt in place of the garlic if you had no fresh garlic. Carol said they were crispy, light, and tasty. Also, she commented that she would make them this way again.

I was scrolling through my Facebook timeline today and came across a message that Author Carol Englehaupt had posted, telling us what she had fixed for supper. As a side, she made Kale chips. I love kale; I steam it and then add butter, salt, and pepper. Love! Carol said Kale chips were a simple recipe to make, and she shared. She didn’t say to use “Organic” ingredients, I built that into the recipe because I eat organic wherever I can find it. Thank you for sharing, Carol!

Carol Englehaupt, Author: http://www.amazon.com/C.-L.-Roth/e/B00A5CQH82/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Tags: #Recipe | #Vegetables | #CrazyforKale | #Kale Chips |#CLROTH

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