Andrea Laurence Talks About Her Debut Release

Please join us as we welcome our friend Andrea Laurence to hear all about the release of her debut book and as she shares one of her favorite recipes!
We are so excited to have her stop by on her blog tour!

Andrea Writes:

Hey everyone. Thank you for having me here today. I'm very excited to make the rounds on my blog tour and get the word out about my debut release – What Lies Beneath. I'm running a contest for the blog tour. The details are at the bottom of the post, but be sure to comment to get an entry for a beautiful pink sea-glass locket.

This book marks a new beginning for me. I'm beginning my life as a published author. That's a huge milestone. A major shift from my day job and degrees that are in totally different fields. But writing was something I always wanted to do and now I can finally start working toward making it my full-time reality.

They say the average adult changes careers seven times in their lifetime. Seven. That's quite a lot. It's actually kind of scary to think about making such large career shifts. But I guess I've done it too. After college, I was a database administrator, then an HR generalist, then a technical writer, then a process engineer. I'm still a process engineer, but now I can add romantic fiction author to the list. I'm in my early thirties, so I have a lot of time to make additional changes before I hit retirement.

In my book, What Lies Beneath, my heroine gets to make a fresh start. She's in a plane crash and doesn't remember her life before the accident. She also doesn't remember the career or training she had. So she's given the opportunity to start over. She has enough money to have the luxury of trying a field that might not be immediately lucrative so she won't starve if she fails. My heroine chooses to design clothes. That is where her natural passion lies, so she takes the opportunity to try it and see what happens.

Life, money and circumstances often change what direction we go in our lives. Perhaps you have to skip or put off college and start working. Maybe you go with a practical, well paying job instead of a less reliable dream. Maybe you want to be a ballerina, but you're short, uncoordinated and have a large bosom. When I was very young, I wanted to be a cartoonist. Then I wanted to work with whales and other marine life. My mother, ever the pragmatist, encouraged me to get a job that pays the bills and save the whales on the weekends. While that didn't steer me in the direction of my dreams, it did afford me the ability to write in my spare time and eat well until I the day I become a full time writer.

If you could start over and have any career, with no obstacles like money or lack of talent, what would you want to be? Dream big!

WHAT LIES BENEATH
April 2012, Harlequin Desire #2152

She’s Awake. So Why Can’t She Remember?

They say she’s Cynthia Dempsey, fiancée of media mogul Will Taylor. But try as she might, she can’t recall their high-society life or the man sitting by her hospital bed. Though her body certainly remembers him. Even as she senses the distance between them, the electricity when they touch is undeniable.

Will can hardly believe Cynthia’s transformation. Gone is the ice queen who betrayed him, and in her place is a woman who seems genuine and warm. But can he risk his heart again, not knowing what might happen when her memory returns?

Here are the links to purchase the book immediately!
Amazon/http://www.amazon.com/What-Lies-Beneath-Harlequin-Desire/dp/0373731655/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325126957&sr=8-1
Kindle/http://www.amazon.com/What-Lies-Beneath-ebook/dp/B006Y9YT58/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1325126957&sr=8-1
Barnes & Noble/http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/what-lies-beneath-andrea-laurence/1106936643?ean=9780373731657&itm=1&usri=andrea+laurence
Nook, http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/what-lies-beneath-andrea-laurence/1106936643
Books A Million/http://www.booksamillion.com/p/What-Lies-Beneath/Andrea-Laurence/9780373731657?id=5122490914849

Blog Tour & Contest! Don't forget my blog tour contest! Receive an entry for commenting (one per blog) and a second for signing up for my newsletter (http://eepurl.com/e3O5k). The winner will receive a pink sea-glass heart locket pendant and a personalized autographed copy of What Lies Beneath.

Small Print: The winner will be chosen at random after the conclusion of the blog tour – Friday, April 27th and announced on the Writing Playground blog (http://www.writingplayground.blogspot.com//). The winner will have 7 days to contact the author at author@andrealaurence.com with her mailing information or the prize will be forfeited and re-awarded.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Yield: 16 cookie bars

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 30 minutes

2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips
10 ounces caramel candy squares, unwrapped
3 tablespoons heavy cream
Fleur de sel (or other sea salt), for sprinkling over caramel and bars

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch square pan; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

3. Using an electric mixer, mix together the melted butter and sugars on medium speed until combined. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and mix until smooth. Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix on low, just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

4. In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine the caramels and heavy cream. Microwave on high until the caramels are melted, stirring every 20 seconds. This will take about 2 minutes.

5. Press half of the cookie dough into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Pour the hot caramel over the dough cookie dough and spread into an even layer, leaving some empty space around the edges. Sprinkle the caramel with the sea salt. Drop the remaining cookie dough in spoonfuls over the caramel and gently spread the dough with a spatula until the caramel is covered. Sprinkle the bars with additional sea salt.

6. Bake the cookie bars for 30 minutes, or until the top of the bars are light golden brown and the edges start to pull away from the pan. Cool the bars on a wire rack to room temperature, then refrigerate for about 30 minutes to allow the caramel layer to set*. Cut into squares and serve. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

*Note - I recommend cooling the bars overnight. Yes, it will be torture, but they set up better the next day.