Looking Out the Window: Sharon Srock Announces the Second Book in Series, The Women of Valley View: Terri

Sharon shares an excerpt, gives us her mother's recipe for pumpkin bread, and tells us her favorite Bible verse. She'll give away a print copy of Terri. To enter to win leave a comment and an email address.

Sharon's Mom

Nourish the Body -- Pumpkin Bread

2 & 2/3 Cups flour
3 Cups sugar
1 & 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
4 Eggs
1 Cup oil
2/3 Cup water
2 Cups pumpkin
1 Cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)
Preheat oven to 325. Spray your bunt pan with Pam Baking spray, set aside.

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl to completely combined. Pour into pan and bake for 1 hour. Since oven temps vary, after an hour touch the top of the cake, if it doesn't feel done to you give it 5-10 more minutes. Insert a toothpick, if it comes out with moist crumbs attached, you're done.

Loosen the cake from the pan and invert onto a serving dish.

For the frosting, mix up enough powdered sugar, a splash of milk and a teaspoon vanilla. You can add more milk, in small amounts, until you have a thick, but pourable consistency.  Drizzle over warm cake.

Yum! Sounds like something good to nibble on while reading a book.

Nourish the Soul
Sharon's Favorite Bible Verse
Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.

About The Women of Valley View: Terri
Despite a bustling day care center and a new foster child, Terri Hayes hungers for a family of her own. Then a plumbing mishap leaves her homeless and questioning God’s plan. Steve Evans’s gracious offer of his basement apartment as a temporary solution is an answered prayer.
Steve is a successful writer and a good father, but Terri is horrified when Steve’s book research leads him to a harsh confrontation with the parents of her foster child.  She needs to distance herself from Steve, but her efforts fall short as his two scheming daughters plot to make Terri their new stepmother.

Will harsh words and sneaky plans drive Kelsey’s family further apart and put a wedge between Terri and Steve? Or does God have another plan in store?

Excerpt
Terri Hayes chewed her bottom lip and prayed. Outside her windows on this sunny Friday afternoon, the Oklahoma summer persisted in spite of the September date circled on her calendar. Her hands sweated, and she clasped them behind her back. She would have raked them through her hair, but she wanted to telegraph calm and collected, not the nervous anticipation churning like ocean waves in her stomach. The weeks of preparation, the evenings spent in class, the hours of prayer, all came down to this.

The curly black head of her visitor disappeared under the kitchen sink. Terri heard grunts and clanks as the woman shifted and examined the contents of the cabinet. Her visitor stood and yanked the top of her crisply tailored suit back into place, her stern face thoughtful as she scribbled notes on a clipboard.

Despite Terri’s desire for calm, her lip chewing graduated to nail biting. Had she missed something? “Ms. Wilson, I…”

Cindy Wilson held up a hand. “Please, Ms. Hayes, I prefer to conduct my investigation uninterrupted. We’ll discuss my findings when I’m done.”

 Terri swallowed her comments with a nod and trailed behind the imposing African-American woman whose job it was to poke and prod into every corner of Terri’s home. She ran through her own mental checklist as they proceeded from room to room. Outlets covered, medicines locked away, cleaning supplies stored out of reach, covers on all of her trash cans. A second perusal of Ms. Wilson’s expression produced no further insight. Pass or fail? Terri shook her head. I wonder if this woman plays poker.

Terri opened the door to the larger of her two spare bedrooms. The odor of fresh paint drifted out to greet them. This was the pride of her summer. She motioned her guest inside, aching to point out the highlights of what she’d worked so hard to accomplish, but she held her peace in the face of Ms. Wilson’s strident and silent inspection. More notes on the clipboard, murmurs, and hums. Approval or disapproval? How can I tell?

Inspection completed, Terri followed her visitor back to her sunken living room and made an effort to gain some control over the situation. “Have a seat, Ms. Wilson. I have iced tea or soda if you’d like something to drink”

“No, thank you.” Ms. Wilson sat on the sofa and studied her notes. Her pen tapped an annoying beat as she read. Terri took a chair across from her and waited in helpless anticipation.
“It says here that your decision to apply to our program was motivated by a television show. Can you clarify that for me, please?”

Terri clasped white-knuckled hands in her lap. “It was a documentary. I cried for the whole hour. It broke my heart to see so much to be done and so few people willing to make a difference.”
“So this is an emotional decision on your part?”

“Yes…I mean no. I—”

Wow! A great excerpt

Bio
Sharon Srock lives with her husband, Larry, and two dogs in Rural Oklahoma. She is a mother, grandmother, and Sunday School teacher. Sharon has one and three-quarters jobs and writes in her spare time. Her favorite hobby is traveling with her grandchildren. She is a member of the ACFW and currently serves as treasurer for her local chapter. Sharon’s debut novel, The Women of Valley View: Callie released in October 2012. The second in the series, The Women of Valley View: Terri releases in April 2013.

Buy Links:
Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/d9kwdcc
Barnes and Noble: http://tinyurl.com/cud7xb6
Pelican book group: http://tinyurl.com/cd5zqar

Connect with Sharon here:

 Blog: http://www.womenofvalleyview.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SharonSrock#!/SharonSrock
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/SharonSrock
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6448789.Sharon_Srock