Royal Wedding

Like millions of people, yesterday I spent my day in England. Glued to the TV, I followed the crowd to the wedding of bonny Prince William and the lovely Kate Middleton.

I woke up at 5:00 am and settled on my sofa with a cup of coffee. Did you notice how they decorated Westminster Abbey with little trees that gave an outdoor feeling to the somber church?

The entrance of the children with Pippa Middleton deserves a Best Picture of the year and Pippa herself was stunning from front and back.

Now the bride stole the show as it should. My mother was a fashion designer and I consider myself a self-proclaimed expert in fashion. The bridal gown was exactly what I expected Kate to wear, simple but so elegant, the lace of the top lending a touch of endearing old-fashioned to the perfect bell-shape line of the skirt. I loved her hair down and flying with the veil when she turned to smile at the crowd.

It was funny to see Harry turn around to peek a look at the bride and whisper something to his brother, probably: “Lucky bastard, she’s gorgeous.” William stoically avoided to turn his head but then smiled to his ears when she reached his side.

I was hoping the groom would forget to be a stuffy prince and kiss his bride right after the vows, but the Archbishop never gave permission and the regal grandma wouldn’t have approved a display of bad manners, American style, right in her church. So the newlyweds acted properly and curtseyed to the queen after signing their wedding contract. With the crowd I clapped hands and waved as they passed in their carriage.

As a multipublished romance writer, I know a thing or two about happy ending and I can assure you, their smiles revealed genuine happiness. When they appear on the balcony to greet the crowd, Kate couldn’t hold a: “WOW” We all read her lips. Notice he gave her a quick peck on the balcony, then decided what the heck, and gave her a second longer kiss. Way to go, Your Highness.

Wishing them a long happy life together.


Blurb:
Fyodor Vassilov is a Russian widower, surgeon and officer. Duty demands he provide a mother to his four little boys and marry a woman who loves children and a big family.
Jillian Burton is an American pediatrician on a mission to improve medical conditions in Belarus.
She blames herself and her ex-husband for their son’s death, and has lost her illusions about men and marriage.
When they work together for six months in his hospital, their fascination with one another shocks them both. Can attraction and love overcome guilt, duty, and a clash of cultures?

“Mona Risk writes heroes with heart, heroines with spunk in stories and settings that are simply unforgettable!" -- Roxanne St. Claire, Killer Curves, National Bestseller.

If you like to travel and love to read, come and enjoy my international romances. I will take you around the world through stories that simmer with emotion and sizzle with heat.

BABIES IN THE BARGAIN winner of 2009 Best Romance Novel at Preditors & Editors and winner of 2009 Best Contemporary Romance at Readers Favorite.

Rx FOR TRUST, winner of 2010 Best Contemporary Romance at Readers Favorite and 2011 EPICON.

Rx IN RUSSIAN just released by TWRP
http://www.monarisk.com/

The Wild Rose Press 5th Anniversary

We are celebrating 5 years!

Five days and more than $500.00 worth of prizes.
April 27th - May 1st on the Wild Rose Press yahoo groups.

Join us for a celebration in the garden.

The Wild Rose Press Yahoo group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thewildrosePress/

How to Win...

For chances to win more than $500.00 worth of prizes all you have to do is party with us. Everyone who participates will be entered into the prize drawings. Non-stop fun from Wednesday, April 27 - Sunday, May 1st. Join the fun and help us celebrate 5 years in the garden.

An American Pediatrician
A Russian Surgeon
A man with four adorable sons who badly need a mother
Can attraction and love overcome guilt, duty, and a clash of cultures?

“Mona Risk writes heroes with heart, heroines with spunk in stories and settings that are simply unforgettable!" -- Roxanne St. Claire, Killer Curves, National Bestseller.

If you like to travel and love to read, come and enjoy my international romances. I will take you around the world through stories that simmer with emotion and sizzle with heat.

BABIES IN THE BARGAIN winner of 2009 Best Romance Novel at Preditors & Editors and winner of 2009 Best Contemporary Romance at Readers Favorite.

Rx FOR TRUST, winner of 2010 Best Contemporary Romance at Readers Favorite and 2011 EPICON.

Rx IN RUSSIAN just released by TWRP
http://www.monarisk.com/

Easter

Happy Easter

to

our family and friends

For the first time in my life I will celebrate a quiet Easter Day with my husband.

Last night we attended the midnight Mass, cracked colored eggs and ate the Easter cookies.

The children and grandchildren didn't come from the north and the extended family is staying home.

One of our friends was rushed to the hospital on Friday.

My mother is no longer with us.

We will make it an easy day and enjoy walking on the boardwalk or reading on the beach.

Wherever you are,

Happy Easter.

Cannelloni Recipe

If you'd like to cook a delicious gourmet meal for Easter, try my Italian Cannelloni Recipe. I served it last night as I entertained twenty guests to celebrate the recovery of a friend who had a recent surgery. In addition, I cooked grape leaves(Middeleastern), moussaka (Greek), spinach spinakopica, (Greek) eye round roast, baked potatoes, ragout oakra, rice with vermicelli, and salads. Cannelloni Recipe 1- Prepare the mix: Mix together in a blender or mixer-- 3 eggs-- 1 ¾ cups of 2% milk--1 Tsp of butter-- 1 cup of flour.

2- Prepare the pancake: Use an electric skillet or any other type but adjust the stove temperature to 400o-- Melt ½ a Tsp of butter in the skillet at 400o-- Measure ¼ cup of the mix and pour over the melted butter --Spread evenly in the skillet --Remove when cooked and slid in a plate-- Repeat until the whole mix is made into pancakes-- You usually get 13 big pancakes with one dose of mix. I like to cut the pancakes in half.

3- Prepare the filling: 1 lb of ground beef-- 1 small onion-- 1 tsp all spice-- Salt and pepper-- 1 cup Ragu tomato sauce --Darken and cook the ground beef, onion and spices, until well cooked. Add the sauce and simmer till the meat is done. Set aside.

4- Rolling the cannelloni: Use a clean plate to transfer a half-pancake on it. Add one Tsp of ground meat over the pancake and roll it over to form a cannelloni. Repeat with the rest of the pancakes. With this dose of mix you can prepare 26 small cannellonis or 13 big ones. 5- Cooking: Spray the the pan with Pam. Brush the bottom with tomato sauce. Arrange the cannellonis in a 9x13 pan in two rows. Pour enough tomato sauce to cover each cannelloni. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese or Romano cheese. Bake at 300o for 20 minutes. Bon appétit.

Here is adinner scene from my latest novel Rx IN RUSSIAN:

“Dinner time,” Babushka called as she carried in a big platter covered with stuffed cabbage rolls.

Fyodor set his glass on the table and rushed to take the load from her hands. “It is too heavy, Mama. Give me that.” The last time he had given her a physical, he’d noticed an irregularity in her heartbeat.

“Do not pay attention, Dr. Jillian. My son always acts as if I am a fragile old woman.” She shrugged and relinquished the plate to Fyodor. “Careful, do not spill the sauce,” she warned, waggling her finger at him as if he were still her little boy.

He laughed, not one bit offended, and winked at Jillian. “My mother should have been a general like my father. She is so good at ordering people around.” Jillian smiled, obviously amused.

“How do you expect me to raise your little devils if I am not tough?” Babushka protested. “They are turning into good children, well-disciplined. I do not spoil them like you do.”

“Oh Mama, I hardly see them.” He placed the basket of bread Andrei handed him on the table. “I am starved. Can we start eating?”

“Of course. Dr. Jillian, sit here. Fyodor, on her right. Alexander, next to your papa. Andrei, next to Dr. Jillian. I will keep Igor and Sergei at my side to help them eat cleanly.”

Amazingly, the independent and assertive Dr. Burton smiled and obeyed as quickly as his kids. “Please, Mrs. Vassilov, will you call me Jillian?”

“Da, da. Jillian. You call me Babushka, like everyone in the building. Give me your plate, dear.” His mother served Jillian generously and kept on chatting without taking time to breathe. “We have stuffed cabbage today. I hope you like it. Later you will taste my homemade dessert, rice pudding. Fyodor, give me your plate.”

“Not so much.” He laughed at the mountain of cabbage his mother piled on his plate. “I will help myself. Take care of the children, Mama.”

His mother gave each of the children their share of the meal and cut the cabbage rolls into small pieces for the toddlers. “Fyodor works very hard at the hospital. He should be home more often. If only he could find—”

“No hospital talk, please.” Fyodor raised a hand. “We are here to relax.” Knowing his mother, she would soon embark on her favorite subject—finding a good wife for her son.

RX IN RUSSIAN available at The Wild Rose Press, ebook and print.

A Fan's message on Facebook

A reader, or rather a fan, read my new book, Rx IN RUSSIAN, and left this message on Facebook on my wall.

~Oh boy!!!! I started Rx in Russian last night around 10pm and didn’t go to bed until 4am. Woke up at 7am took my kids to school and finished the book. I love medical romances. Maybe because I'm in medical field myself? Anyways my theory is: if the book keeps you awake at night, there are no words to describe how good it is. I enjoyed it very much. Thank you Mona, but I was hoping to read an epilogue maybe 5 years or so later, but still the book was lovely and I enjoyed every sentence of it.~

An epilogue means a next book for a series! I guess we all write to hear words like that.

Dear Fan:

You made my day and my night. I am going to sleep with a big smile tonight!!!

And I promise you I will start thinking, plotting and outlining my next medical romance right away. Actually, I already wrote the first chapter of a new medical last week. I haven't given it a name yet but my heroine will be named Ashley after you.

Blurb for Rx IN RUSSIAN:

An American Pediatricin / A Russian Surgeon

A woman who lost a son and frantically avoids marriage and family

A man with four adorable sons who badly need a mother

Can attraction and love overcome guilt, duty, and a clash of cultures?

Wednesday April 12

I am blogging about setting and inspiration at Savvy Authors. Please join me to discover how the setting influences the characters. http://www.savvyauthors.com/vb/content.php?1079-SETTING-Traveling-Inspiration-by-Mona-Risk

I am still at Autumn Jordon' blog, blogging about Russian gifts: lacquer boxes and Matryoshka dolls at Autumn Jordon's blog, AJ's Notes http://tinyurl.com/6czfe5c

Tuesday April 12

My new release Rx in RUSSIAN is available in print and ebooks at The Wild Rose Press.

Today I am blogging about Russian gifts: lacquer boxes and Matryoshka dolls at Autumn Jordon's blog, AJ's Notes http://tinyurl.com/6czfe5c

And I am presenting the beautiful Baltique amber stones on the Pink Fuzzy Ladies: http://pinkfuzzyslipperwriters.blogspot.com/ Come and enjoy two special posts.

I hope you will get my book as soon as possible and send me a review. Since my book is set in Belarus, I will pick from among the reviews two lucky winners and send them a Belarusian gift: A Belarusian handmade box or a Russian genuine amber pair of earrings I bought from Minsk. I will upload their pictures in my next blog. My offer is opened for a month, until May 5th, 2011 to give you time to read my novel and write your review. I will be very grateful if you follow my blog.