Introducing “Sweet Dreaming” – Merchandise For the Natural Gifts Series

December 3, 2014 ~ Gina Briganti ~ 13 Comments

Once upon a time, writing and blogging introduced me to photography and graphic design. I’ve been enjoying that journey for some time now, and have started creating designs to go with my books. Today I introduce to you the first design:

I’ve added this design to a variety of products, including a:

and the ever handy

I have a lot of other items, so if you’re looking for something specific, let me know.

As always, thank you for the time you spend with me. It wouldn’t be the same without you!

Gina

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Dana Cooks…Mini Pumpkin Pie Muffins

November 25, 2014November 24, 2014 ~ Gina Briganti ~ 19 Comments

In my Natural Gifts series of uplifting paranormal romances, one of my characters is a celebrity cookbook author. Today I’d like to share a lovely fall recipe from the fictional Dana Carapelli-Jacobs’ cookbook series, Dana Cooks For The Holidays.

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It’s a cool fall afternoon, and I miss Carter, Jenny, and Jason coming through the door with the stories of their day. Thank goodness I will see them soon for the Thanksgiving holiday.

I think Carter and Jenny miss us, too, which is why I thought it would be sweet to send them a batch of goodies from home. Both kids love pumpkin pie, which inspired me to bake a treat they can pop in their mouths while they run from one class to another. As Jason often says, “No plate, no fork, perfect.”

I’m thrilled with these muffins. The middle tastes like pumpkin pie, and the walnuts I sprinkled on top of them right before putting them in the oven gained a warm, roasted flavor.

I’m especially happy that these easy, sweet treats are bursting with fall flavor, but do not contain any refined sugar, gluten, or dairy products.

Mini Pumpkin Pie Muffins

Ingredients: Remember to use organic ingredients if you can.

1/2 cup coconut flour (Well-stocked grocery stores have this now, as well as health food stores)
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup pumpkin purée
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
6 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup raw honey
3 tablespoons walnuts, chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Combine the coconut flour, pumpkin pie spice, and baking powder together.

In a separate bowl, mix the remaining ingredients, except for the walnuts, until well blended. Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin purée mixture, and mix well until smooth.

Fill each mini muffin cup 3/4 full; the batter will rise a little.

Bake for 11 to 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the largest muffin comes out clean.

Makes one dozen mini muffins.

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As always, thank you for reading,

Gina

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Gina Briganti is Interviewed by Rita Lee Chapman, Author of “Winston: A Horse’s Tale”

October 23, 2014October 21, 2014 ~ Gina Briganti ~ 2 Comments

I truly enjoyed getting to know Rita, and reading her charming story about Winston. My review of Winston, A Horse’s Tale is on Amazon and GoodReads. Have a look at it if you’re interested in the horse’s view of life. I’m definitely happy that I read it.

Rita was looking for authors to interview a few months ago, so I looked into her, and her books, and found yet another reason to enjoy the self-publishing journey and community. I connected with Rita and away we went with the interview you can now read on her site. Rita’s interview included some new, fun questions I haven’t been asked before. I hope you enjoy reading my interview with Rita.

As always, thank you for reading,

Gina

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A New Author Interview With Yours Truly

October 9, 2014October 7, 2014 ~ Gina Briganti ~ 2 Comments

Jaideep khanduja is a fellow author whose books include

and

He took the time to ask me a few questions that I found fun and interesting to answer. I hope you enjoy reading them.

http://pebbleinthestillwaters.blogspot.in/2014/10/author-interview-gina-briganti-author.html

As always, thank you for reading,

Gina

The Author Reads From Chapter 7 of “The Dreaming”

October 1, 2014September 9, 2015 ~ Gina Briganti ~ 5 Comments

I have so much to celebrate! Desert Sunrise has received its first review, and I’m excited to say that it was five stars!

Also, I took the opportunity to thank Ann, one of my longtime supporters, by asking her what her favorite part of The Dreaming is so that I could read it on video for her. She told me that the visits with Dana and Lucy were her favorites, along with the sequences in the Dreaming. I chose a scene from chapter 7 where Dana and Lucy have lunch, and Dana tells Lucy about the strange dreams she has been having.

Though live readings by authors are becoming less common now, I hope to preserve part of the fun with my video reading.

Do you have a favorite part of The Dreaming or Desert Sunrise that you would like for me to read on video? Tell me about it.

Thank you for reading, watching, and listening,

Gina

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An Excerpt From Desert Sunrise for Release Week

September 23, 2014September 9, 2015 ~ Gina Briganti ~ 2 Comments

H.M. Clarke (Winter’s Magic: Act One) kindly shared an excerpt from Desert Sunrise. Thank you, Hayley.

Would You Give Back, or Erase, Your Natural Gift?

September 21, 2014September 9, 2015 ~ Gina Briganti ~ 2 Comments

My dear friend and fellow author Melissa Barker-Simpson (Hands of Evil) hosted this post for the release of Desert Sunrise, book two of my Natural Gifts series. In this post, five of the characters from the series answer the question of whether or not they would give their gifts back, or erase them, if they could.

If you’re new to the series, you can catch up by reading the first book in the series, The Dreaming.

Thank you, Mel, for always being wonderful.

And as always, thank you for reading.

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What Lucy Thinks About Haus of Pizza (Palm Desert, CA)

August 6, 2014September 9, 2015 ~ Gina Briganti ~ 6 Comments

What Lucy Thinks About Haus of Pizza (Palm Desert, CA)
By Lucy Shannon*

This post is dedicated to my lovely blogger friend Sherri, because she is lucky enough to live closer to Haus of Pizza than I am.

I’ll start with my rating, because there isn’t any point in having you wait for it. I give Haus of Pizza 5 out of 5 stars. They have definitely earned it.

Picture this: you walk into a pizza restaurant when it’s a blazing 120 degrees Fahrenheit outside, and you are met by a nice cool dining room that smells like heaven. See? Good stuff, from the minute you walk through the door.

I’ve been frequenting Haus of Pizza for years now, which means their quality is consistent. That’s another tough one to pull off. Suppliers change, staff changes, and so on, but the quality doesn’t.

Before I give you the mouth-watering details of what makes Haus of Pizza amazing, let me tell you how to find them:

Phone number: (760) 340-9040.
Their address is 72-795 Hwy. 111, in the city of Palm Desert.
Website is: http://hausofpizza.net/
Hours: 11 am to 9 pm, Monday through Saturday and 5 pm to 9 pm on Sundays.

Now, let me ask you, do you expect their pizza to be the best item on the menu? I didn’t when I first started eating there, but now I know that they named their restaurant exactly the right way. Their pizza is among the best I have ever tasted. The crust is an amazing sourdough. The sauce is perfectly seasoned and proportioned. Best of all, their cheese is excellent! The cheese is the right thickness, the right texture, and the flavor is incredible.

All of their toppings are top-notch. I can say this because I’ve eaten all of them over the years. The meatballs, pepperoni, and sausages are particularly good. I’ve eaten the vegetarian pizza when I was in the mood for it, too. I was not disappointed with the mushroom, olive, onions, bell peppers, and tomatoes they topped it with.

Don’t be afraid to order a small. The pizza is filling.

But what if you’re not in the mood for pizza? I know that happens, at least for some people. We all know someone who can live on pizza, don’t we? Well, the rest of us are well taken care of if we order the hot sandwiches, a pasta dinner, or even a side order.

Favorites: Hot meatball and cheese. The bread is crusty, the meatballs melt in your mouth and burst with flavor, their great sauce is poured on, and their fabulous cheese…it’s tough to order anything else.
Joelle’s Delight is my personal favorite. It’s named for the founder’s granddaughter, who is one of the duo who make the Palm Desert location as good as it is. When she was a little girl, she asked for the combination of eggplant, meatballs, and cheese served hot on crusty bread. I’m so glad they listened.

Outstanding Side Orders

When the food is this good, you look for ways to make the most out of each visit. For me, that meant ordering side orders so I could sample more of the menu. Remember, I needed to tear myself away from the pizza and Joelle’s Delight. Try ordering the ravioli (which comes with beef or cheese, so be sure to tell them which one you want) with garlic bread and a small order of pizza bread, and 2 meatballs or sausages as a sampler menu. You will not leave hungry.

All the Pasta Dinners You Could Ask For

Dinner comes with soup or salad, and garlic bread. Be sure to tell them you want marinara sauce if you don’t want meat in your sauce. You can’t choose wrong, but I will tell you that the ravioli, manicotti, and panzerotti are worth a special trip all by themselves. If you haven’t heard of panzerotti, it is described on their menu as pizza dough filled with seasoned meats and cheese deep fried, and covered with meat sauce. They only serve this one on Wednesday or Thursday, so plan accordingly.

Haus of pizza serves a dessert, but try as I might, I have not ever had room after dinner to try the cheesecake.

Haus of Pizza serves all the usual beverages, along with beer, and wine.

I hope you enjoyed your virtual trip through Haus of Pizza. I’d love to hear what you think of it if you’ve been there.

*Lucy Shannon is a character in my Natural Gifts series of uplifting paranormal romances. You meet her in The Dreaming (Natural Gifts Book 1). She is a restaurant critic with a column and the main character’s best friend. Lucy Shannon will be falling in love this September in her own book, Desert Sunrise (Natural Gifts Book 2). Haus of Pizza is a real restaurant and if you’re in the area, you must give it a try.

As always, thank you for reading.

Gina