Dreaming with Fire

The Perfect Hero

2012-03-05T14:50:00.000-08:00

I've been asked many times why I chose to write about firemen. The short answer is:

Enough said, right? Firemen are hot. Any other questions?

But of course that's not the real story. I first got to know a few firemen when I went to dinner at a firehouse with a friend of mine; it was one of the most fun evenings of my life. Not because they were all hunky and handsome, though a couple of them were. But because they were genuinely good guys with all sorts of different backgrounds and many interesting stories to tell. They were wonderful hosts and quite humble considering their job involves risking their lives. They weren't shouting from the rooftops about what studs they were. But somehow that made them even sexier in my eyes.

These firefighters had a great sense of humor, verging on goofiness. They were kind and considerate, they combined adrenaline-fueled machismo with down-to-earth get-the-job-done practicality. Several had science degrees, and all had the smarts to handle the complex technical requirements of firefighting. They had a sense of purpose and team spirit and dedication, but it wasn't all serious. They played pranks and teased one another and generally let out steam.

Okay, so I left with stars in my eyes. Later, it occurred to me that writing a romance about firemen on their home turf, not only out on the firelines, might be a lot of fun. And so it was. I've now written three books starring firemen and I feel that I'm just scratching the surface. Their hotness, in the end, is only one part of their appeal.

Not that it hurts, of course.

So what do you say .... are firefighters the perfect hero or what?

Avon Authors Valentine's Day Recipe Ring

2012-01-27T10:10:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! I'm thrilled that my very first post on my new blog is for the Valentine's Day Recipe Ring. In my debut series, starting in May, the heroes are sexy, smoking hot firemen -- so I checked in with my secret source, a Fire Captain in California.
"Do you do anything special for Valentine's Day at the firehouse?"

"Uh ... Most of us are guys, so nah, not really." Then he started talking about ice cream. Again. Apparently firemen love ice cream. (Fire ... ice ... makes sense to me.)

So if you want to melt a fireman's heart on Valentine's Day, you can always bring lots of ice cream to your local firehouse -- and you can never go wrong with a batch, or several, of these Fireman's Favorite Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookies.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/8 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
6 (1.4 ounce) bars chocolate covered English toffee, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium bowl combine the flour, salt and baking soda.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars. Mix until smooth. Add the vanilla and the eggs and beat well. Gradually add the flour mixture until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and chopped candy bars. Mix until combined.
Drop spoonfuls of dough onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes. Immediately remove the cookies from the sheet and let them cool on racks.

Since this is my first blog post, I'm celebrating in style. If you leave me a comment, I'll put you in the running for a 2012 FDNY Calendar of Heroes and signed coverflats of my first two books, coming May and June from Avon Romance. (See those gorgeous covers to your right?)

By the way, part of the proceeds from this calendar go to the non-profit FDNY Foundation ... yet another reason to love firemen.

I hope you'll consider signing up for my mailing list. I'll be giving away ARC's of The Fireman Who Loved Me and other fun goodies over the next few months.

For your next fabulous recipe, click on the pretty Avon Authors graphic to jump to Caroline Linden's page. Thanks for joining the Avon Authors recipe ring!

Checking 123

2012-01-16T10:48:00.001-08:00

tester!