To Bead or Not To Bead - Guest Post, Recipe and GIVEAWAY!

To Bead or Not to Bead (Glass Bead Mystery Series) by Janice Peacock

About the Book

To Bead or Not to Bead (Glass Bead Mystery Series) 

Cozy Mystery 4th in Series Vetrai Press (June 29, 2018)

Print Length: 187 pages 

Digital ASIN: B07CZ4B5Q7

When a wealthy theater owner is killed by a falling art glass chandelier, glass beadmaker Jax O’Connell’s boyfriend, Detective Zachary Grant, quickly determines it was no accident. Jax and her friend Tessa try to carry on with a charity fashion gala at the theater, but with only a few days before the big event, they have to scramble to keep things from falling apart. The emcee quits, and to make matters worse, Tessa’s daughters are suspects in the murder. As the chaos unfolds, Jax discovers new suspects at every turn, including an edgy glass blower, an agoraphobic socialite, and a hunky former-cop-turned-actor. Can Jax piece together the clues to find the killer and uncover the dark secrets behind the victim’s family or will it be curtains for her?

Here’s a breakfast conversation between Jax, the main character in the Glass Bead Mystery Series, and her neighbor Val. Val isn’t always the best cook, but provides much a lot of comic relief in my cozy mysteries. This time around Val’s French toast is to die for! I’m sharing Val’s recipe with you today.

Excerpt from To Bead or Not to Bead, Book Four in the Glass Bead Mystery Series

by Janice Peacock

As we passed around plates of food, I noticed Val helped herself to several pieces of French toast.

“I thought you were on Sleeping Beauty’s Diet. Does she allow you to eat French toast?” I asked.

“Oh, that was a dumb diet! You know how they get you to lose weight?”

“By eating fewer calories than your body burns?” I suggested. It seemed like a logical guess to me.

“Perhaps, but what they wanted me to do was sleep. Like all the time, I mean, literally stay in bed and

sleep.”

“Sounds fantastic to me,” I replied. I never wanted to get out of bed in the morning.

“Not me! I’ve got to get moving every day. If I don’t, I get all down in the dumps. I had to move on to the

next diet.”

“And what’s that?”

“The Weekday Diet.”

“And that is…” I prompted.

“I can only eat things that begin with the letter of the day of the week. So, it’s Friday, and I can eat

French toast,” Val said.

“Oh, lucky you. Looks like French fries, fajitas, and figs are also on your menu,” I said, counting items

on my fingers.

“I’m not sure what I’m going to eat when I get to Saturday and Sunday.”

“Steak and sausages?”

“I suppose…”

“Sangria and soup!” I suggested.

“Good job, Jax. Way to help me with my diet,” Val said, digging into her breakfast.

“No syrup?” I asked.

“Not until tomorrow.”

Val’s Stuffed Cinnamon French Toast

Ingredients:

 1 pound loaf of cinnamon bread (I like Cinnabon, but any cinnamon

bread will work)

 The stuffing:

o 4 ounces of softened cream cheese

o 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

o ½ teaspoon vanilla

 The dip

o 3 eggs (the eggs pictured are from my backyard chickens)

o 2 tablespoons of milk

o ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

 Syrup (optional)

 Powdered sugar (optional)

1. Mix cream cheese, sugar and vanilla is a small bowl. I like to use a fork

ensure the ingredients are well-mixed.

2. Spread the cream cheese mixture on one slice of cinnamon bread, then

put another piece on top of the cream cheese mixture to make a sandwich.

3. This a good time to pre-heat your pan to medium heat. I like a cast iron

frying pan with a little non-stick spray, but any large frying pan will work.

4. Whisk eggs, milk and cinnamon in a wide, medium bowl.

5. Working quickly, dip your bread and cream cheese sandwich into the egg

mixture, making sure to coat all sides and edges. Put it in the pan. Depending

on the size of the pan, you may be able to squeeze a couple of these in at time.

6. Cook for 1 minute on each side or until golden brown. Monitor for

doneness at 30 seconds—you don’t want them to burn. If your bread is thick,

you can place another frying pan on top of the sandwich to press it down.

7. Serve onto plates, cut in half, and add syrup or powdered sugar, if desired.

Done! Enjoy your breakfast, and I’ll thank Val next time I see her.

About the Author

Janice Peacock decided to write her first mystery novel after working in a glass studio full of colorful artists who didn’t always get along. They reminded her of the odd, and often humorous, characters in the murder mystery books she loved to read. Inspired by that experience, she combined her two passions and wrote High Strung: A Glass Bead Mystery, the first book in a new cozy mystery series featuring glass beadmaker Jax O’Connell.

When Janice Peacock isn’t writing about glass artists who are amateur detectives, she makes glass beads using a torch, designs one-of-a-kind jewelry and makes sculptures using hot glass. An award-winning artist, her work has been exhibited internationally and is in the permanent collections of several museums. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, two cats, and seven chickens. She has a studio full of beads...lots and lots of beads. Author Links

Webpage – www.janicepeacock.com, Facebook – www.facebook.com/JanPeac, GoodReads – www.goodreads.com/JanicePeacock, @JanPeac on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest

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