Making Up For Lost Time - Softcover

Kallmaker, Karin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1931513619 ISBN 13: 9781931513616

Publisher: Bella Books, 1998

Synopsis

When three love-starved lesbians decide to make up for lost time, the recipe is romance. And with Karin Kallmaker cooking, you know the result will be hot, spicy and mouth-wateringly delicious!!!

Master Chef Jamie Onassis has used every penny she has to buy a beautiful country inn she plans to turn into a five-star restaurant. Unfortunately, the inn turns out to be a " handyman’s special" and, without the skills or capital to make the necessary repairs, Jamie risks losing everything.

Home and garden expert Valkyrie Valentine is a rising star among the do-it-yourself set. A seemingly perfect homemaker, Valkyrie seems destined to become the next Martha Stewart – as long as no one discovers her embarrassing little secret: she can’t cook.

Reporter Sheila Thintowski is a woman on a mission. Ever since meeting the dazzling, dynamic Valkyrie Valentine, she’s been determined to interview her― up-close and extremely personally. Sheila suspects that Valkyrie’s hands-on skills extend well beyond home improvement – and she’s looking for some private lessons.

Delicious recipes and chocolate-as-sublimation await the reader in Karin Kallmaker’s uproarious farce of cooking that doesn’t stay in the kitchen.

About this title

About the Author

Karin Kallmaker‘s novels span lesbian romance, lesbian erotica and lesbian science-fiction/fantasy. More than five dozen short stories have appeared in anthologies and standalone collections. Her writing career began with the venerable Naiad Press, continues with Bella Books and includes more than two dozen novels in print. In 2008, she joined Bella Books as the press’s first Editorial Director. When she isn’t writing books she is thinking about books.

In previous lives, Karin worked as a non-profit accountant for a senior housing association and a low-income housing lender, and had a brief stint as a document processor on an oil refinery. She is the mother of two teenagers and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her partner. She is descended from Lady Godiva, a fact which she will tell anyone who will listen,and she likes her chocolate real and her iPod loud.

From the Inside Flap

Jamie started to tremble again. She scooped up some of the soft, slightly runny chocolate on her index finger and offered it to Val.

Val slowly and deliberately took Jamie's finger in her mouth, licking the chocolate away. Her tongue lingered longer than necessary and Jamie knew that Val must feel her quivering.

Val reached for the bowl of chocolate, but Jamie said, in a voice barely audible, "Let me."

She offered more chocolate to Val, but as Val drew close to accept it, Jamie swept it across Val's mouth and cheek. "We could paint with it."

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Jamie found that she could reduce her stress level by simply ignoring all the work going on around her. She knew that Jan and Stan were on their last day, having been brought on primarily to help with the largest demolition and rebuilding. Well, Val had found other uses for Jan, Jamie reminded herself, then gave herself yet another lecture on cattiness, a trait Aunt Em had deplored.

She found it best not to look at the new fireplace in the dining room, or even to go up to the master bedroom. She d never thought of it as a master bedroom, but it would soon sport a large bath with a clawfoot tub and, according to Val, a bay window with an ocean view and a small pellet stove with that provided extra heat and the romance of a small, clean flame to fall asleep by.

She supposed that when Val was done it would be her own room, and that she ought to be taking more of an interest in what was being done to it. She d picked the Shaker patterns she liked and helped decide on the tables, benches and chairs. Val had access to some fabulous pricing, too. She had never dreamed of anything as extensive as Val s vision, nor thought she could afford it. But the bank had been willing to make a small capital improvements loan, and so far the interest payments wouldn t bankrupt her because she hadn t had to borrow as much as she had thought. She had good security to offer in the Waterview, so the interest rate was a bit easier to swallow.

Still, she kept her head down, tried to ignore Val s charm, enthusiasm, hips, eyes, and she made a lot of chocolate.

Chocolate soufflé, chocolate ice cream, chocolate blackout cake, chocolate raspberry mousse, chocolate cream pie, chocolate pastilles, chocolate dipped orange peels, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate hazelnut pie on chocolate chip graham cracker crust, chocolate cherry buckle, milk chocolate chip pie, pound cake with chocolate custard cream filling, Hungarian chocolate, chocolate bark, praline chocolate clusters--and just for a change she d pop a Snickers miniature in her mouth with her afternoon cup of coffee. Thank God she could sell all the chocolate she was making after having a small sample herself.

Chocolate versus Valkyrie Valentine, Jamie thought. Until now she d have said chocolate would win versus anything.

She finished swirling together the ingredients for a hearty quiche--the morning breakfast special--and pulled out her latest chocolate muffins. An inspector was due any minute to check the fireplaces and upstairs wallboard. All the inspectors had formed a habit of starting in the kitchen where Jamie usually just happened to have a tasty something and a cup of coffee handy.

Sure enough, muffins and coffee disappeared upstairs with Val and inspector. A friend of Jeff O Rhuan s was making a clatter in the stairwell, running new electrical wiring while the walls were missing. Val had been pleased to find a licensed electrician, and Jamie kept him supplied with food throughout the day. She had just finished pressing a big slice of quiche on him when she realized that Liesel was right--Aunt Em would be proud of the way things were changing and what Jamie was doing. Feeding people, making herself happy. For she was happy.

It was a happiness with limits. Obviously someone to share this happiness with would be nice. A little passion, a little laughter--it would be very nice. Kathy was right out, she believed that now. The problem was reminding herself that Val was right out, too.

She had a sliver of chocolate bark.

....Additional samples from this novel can be found at the author's website....

Edition details

• Publisher: Bella Books
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1931513619
• ISBN 13: 9781931513616
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 206