Today marks the start of a series of holiday recipes – hooray! These posts will involve some of my favourite things: baking, holidays, eating and books. And not only that, I also get to invite old author friends, have a chat, and catch up with all their writing news, soI’m really delighted to welcome back author J.Q. Rose today. Some of you might remember her brilliantly fun interview here a couple of years ago (if you haven’t read it yet, you’ll find it here. Do check it out!)
J.Q. is here today to tell us about her fab new murder mystery and to give us her recipe for…well, let’s let J.Q. tell us all about it!
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| Pumpkin Time |
Hello Helena. Hello Readers.
What a pleasure to be with Helena this week. I‘m looking forward to sharing a Pumpkin Dump Cake recipe with you. Not exactly an attractive name for a dessert, but it is delicious. The recipe is easy and quick to put together.
Every time I take it to a potluck (covered dish dinner), I receive compliments and requests for the recipe. So this will be a perfect dish to take to holiday gatherings, as well as serve to your family and friends at home.
Pumpkin recipes are very appropriate for this time of year. And the dessert is so good, you’ll even make it in the spring!
Pumpkin Dump Cake
1 x 29 oz.(812 grams) can pureed pumpkin
1 x 12 oz. (340 grams) can evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 cup (200 grams) sugar
1 tsp. (5 grams) salt
3 tsp (15 grams) cinnamon
1 box yellow cake mix (NB: fellow UK readers – we won’t find this ready-made mix easily here. We’ll have to make our own. It’s basically a sponge mix. Here’s a recipe!)
1 cup (200 grams) chopped pecans or walnuts
¾ cup (140 grams) melted margarine
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F / 180 degress C / gas mark 4
Mix first 6 ingredients until well blended and pour batter into a 9 x 13 inch (23 x 32.5 cm) greased pan.
Sprinkle cake mix on top and cover with pecans.
Pour melted margarine over top.
Bake 50 minutes.
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Deadly Undertaking
A handsome detective, a shadow man, and a murder victim kill Lauren’s plan for a simple life.
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I must admit that my main character, Lauren Staab, in my new mystery is not a cook. Deadly Undertaking, just released in October by Books We Love, is her story. Lauren’s refrigerator only contains milk and bagels, and she stocks it with beer for her boyfriend, Chip DeYoung. Cooking is not a priority because her day is filled working at the family’s funeral business as the bookkeeper and Jill–of-All-Trades. She also visits her mother who was stricken with Alzheimer’s Disease and is now in the Memory Care Unit of the nursing home. One day, however, Lauren wants to settle down and have her own home. She faces obstacles to this plan.
Back of the Book:
Lauren Staab knew there would be dead bodies around when she returned home. After all, her family is in the funeral business, Staab and Blood Funeral Home. Still, finding an extra body on the floor of the garage between the hearse and the flower car shocked her. Lauren’s plan to return to her hometown to help care for her mother and keep the books for the funeral home suddenly turns upside down in a struggle to prove she and her family are not guilty of murdering the man. But will the real killer return for her, her dad, her brother? Her mother’s secrets, a killer, a handsome policeman, and a shadow man muddle up her intention to have a simple life.
Welcome home, Lauren!
About J.Q.
After writing feature articles in magazines, newspapers, and online magazines for over fifteen years, J.Q. Rose entered the world of fiction. Her published mysteries are Sunshine Boulevard, Coda to Murder, and Deadly Undertaking. Blogging, photography,
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| Mystery author J.Q. Rose |
Pegs and Jokers board games, and travel are the things that keep her out of trouble. She and her husband, Gardener Ted, spend winters in Florida and summers up north camping and hunting toads, frogs, and salamanders with her four grandsons and granddaughter.
Connect with
J.Q. Rose online at J.Q. Rose blog
J.Q. Rose online at J.Q. Rose blog
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Thanks so much for dropping in to share your recipe, J.Q. I can’t wait to try Pumpkin Dump Cake. It sounds delicious! And I love the premise of your novel. Every time I think about it, I chuckle.
Have a great holiday season, and congratulations on your new release!
Helena Fairfax 
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