Guest Post: Noble Romance Author L.J. LaBarthe

Guest Post: Noble Romance Author L.J. Barthe.

 

Come and hang out and chat with me today over at JS Wayne’s blog!

My Writings.

Novels.

TBC.

Novellas.

Life and Nothing But. When Michael Lee takes a job as a tutor to Lord Henilworth’s children, the last thing he expects to find is the love of his life. However, from the moment he first meets Nick, the gardener of Castle Henilworth, he cannot deny the attraction. Believing it to be one-sided, Michael tries to bury himself in his work, but living in the same village and working in the same place make it impossible to completely avoid Nick. Gradually, Michael overcomes his shyness, and, when Nick makes his own interest clear, everything seems to be going Michael’s way. However, ghosts of the past and a racist attack threaten the fragile happiness Michael has found. Will Nick’s love really be enough? Buy it: Here.

Short stories.

The Ties That Bind. While Lucas researches the loves and life of King Richard the Lionheart, he discovers that his own love for Matt is mirrored in the love between William, a retainer to the king, and King Richard himself. It’s a love for the ages: both Richard’s and theirs. Buy it: Here.

Anthologies.

Erotica Apocrypha. All mythologies have them—those dark, twisted, horrible elements that are just Eros turned inside out. From the Biblical to the Norse, the familiar to the esoteric, the twelve stories in this anthology reinterpret and re-imagine these themes. Join us as we explore the known to make it new, and tease the erotic out of the darkness. Buy it: Out in September 2011.

Something Happened on the Way to Heaven. Archangels. Guardians Angels. Cherubim. Angels of death, wrath, vengeance, love, peace, and hope. Fallen Angels. Nephilim. The lore of angels is wide and varied, from battles lost and won to duties fulfilled and failed, from men raised up to their ranks, and angels banished forever from the heavens. They can be fierce warriors and gentle guides, heralds of joy and tragedy. They are beings of fearsome power and the highest of servants. But what else can angels be? What happens when they soar too high or dive too low? Are they flawless in their servitude or cursed and blessed with free will? Let your mind soar, and bring us your tales of what happens when angels stray off course… Buy it: Out in August 2011.

A First Time For Everything. From true love’s first innocent kiss to finally getting down and dirty on the kitchen floor, there’s a first time for every sort of cherry to be popped. Whether discovering the ravenous thrill of sex or the heartwarming power of romance, these men are going to take the plunge and try something new—something romantic or kinky, daring or safe, passionate or relaxed, even comforting or scary—all in the name of love. The First Time for Everything Daily Dose package delivers 30 M/M stories about all kinds of first times. Buy it: here.

To Have and To Hold. A wedding day is full of magic! Whether you’re the groom, the best man, a friend, or a bystander, the love in the air is impossible to resist. These stories give you a glimpse of the many forms of love: love at first sight or a love for the ages, wedding bells or engagements, or that inexplicable something that makes you think “I do,” the men in these stories are all touched by its spell. Feel your heart melt with a daily dose of romance from To Have and To Hold. Buy it: here.

Out of print.

Desperate Adoration: An Anthology Celebration of Love and Life. Put together by J. P. Barnaby to raise money and awareness for victims of violence. My story, Art of Living, is a snapshot from the very long lives of two Archangels: Michael and Gabriel. Michael is feeling the weight of his responsibilities and wondering if there is any hope. Gabriel takes him to see lives being lived to the fullest, hope in landscapes and humanity.

Adelaide Festival of Arts: Northern Lights.

The Adelaide Fringe Festival and Arts Festival are on at the moment and there is a lot to see and do around town. Most of it is, unfortunately, out of the price range of this blogger, but there’s some really nifty stuff on for free. Like the Northern Lights.

People ask ‘Why Northern Lights? Shouldn’t it be Aurora Australis?’ But the point is that it’s northern because it’s on North Terrace. See? North-North Terrace. It’s a play on words.

The Northern Lights takes place on North Terrace every night from 9pm to 2am. The SA Government has paid the bill to continue the lights until the end of March and the end of Daylight Saving. The display is put on by artists from the critically and internationally acclaimed group ‘The Electric Canvas’. They transformed seven of the oldest buildings on North Terrace into canvases for their art – produced by light displays projected onto the buildings. It is the largest light display installation of its kind ever seen in Australia.

Even though each of the buildings has stood for well over 100 years, this special event has allowed people to see Adelaide’s cultural boulevard in a new light. Buildings in order of appearance:
Elder Hall
Bonython Hall
Mitchell Building
The Art Gallery of South Australia
Mortlock Wing – State Library
South Australian Museum
The Institute Building.

There is a beautiful YouTube vid made of the display which really doesn’t do it justice, but does give you an overall feel for the beauty of the display. Well worth a look.

Taldy-Kurgan, Russian food in central Adelaide.

One of Adelaide’s best kept secrets is Taldy-Kurgan, a Russian cafe in the Adelaide Central Markets. They have the best piroshki I’ve had in ages, and honey dough sweets that are to die for. You can buy a full meal there, from breakfast meals to dinner meals and the food is hot and plentiful. The cafe is run by a Kazakstan family and service is polite and efficient.

A review in the Adelaide Advertiser from the 18th August, 2004, says:

“All-day Russian breakfast for $7.50 is a fluffy omlette dotted with bacon, dill and onion plus three salads.” Dishes around $6.50

Last time I ate there, I got two beef and onion piroshki for $6 total, and they lasted me two meals. The opening hours of the cafe are Market day from 7.30am; Unlicensed; No bookings, Kids welcomed. You can reach them/find them Ph: 0404 451 648; Stall 3 Central Market, Grote St, ADELAIDE 5000. The cafe is also part of the Central Market Tour.

And if you’re interested in cooking food that features in the Markets, you can download the pdf of the Central Market Cookbook.

Also of interest is the 101 food secrets in Adelaide, which you can find over here.

Cocolat. Because the World Loves Chocolate.

My love for Cocolat really knows no bounds. Ever since they opened a cafe in the city, down the east end of Rundle Street, I’ve been having long, yearning thoughts about their ice cream. Particularly their hazelnut icecream. And as it’s stupid o-hot right now (seriously, weather people, it’s November, what is this?!) and the temperature is merrily climbing into the high 30’s celsius, god, doesn’t ice cream sound great?

Yeah, I thought so too.

Last time I was at Cocolat, Rian was visiting for our birthday. Because it was our birthday, we felt perfectly in our rights to engage in the indulgence of every culinary whim we had. Which resulted in Rian eating more Cocolat cake in one sitting than I’d ever seen a person do and me eating more Cocolat ice cream than I thought I’d ever do. The main reason of my lack of faith in the consumption of ice cream is due to two things: lactose intollerance and being a sufferer of the horrible toothly/jaw infliction, TMJ. I was fully prepared to suffer for my greed, but I didn’t. You cannot imagine how overjoyed this made me unless you suffer the same problems.

The polite server (and they’re all polite in Cocolat, which is a great change from spotty brats who look as if they’d rather be snogging behind the back of the sports shed or down the end of the school oval or listening to My Chemical Romance than working,) told us that the icecream was essentially a gelati, apart from the fruit based ones which were sorbets. That made sense as to why the lactose intollerance didn’t kick into gear and wave in greeting as it announced it’s triumphant return performance to my post eating day. Not that you can tell when you’re eating the ice cream, mind you. It’s rich and creamy, flavourful and has a delicate texture on the tongue. The choices of flavours are also incredible – it was so hard to decide what flavour to eat. Next time, I want to try the cookies and cream, and perhaps the Kinder Surprise. Yum.

I should also point out that their cakes are to die for and their signature confection, Guilt, is one of the most gastronomic delights I’ve ever eaten. But it’s hot, and I’m hot and I really want a tub of Cocolat’s hazelnut ice cream bigger than my head right now, so that’s why I’m concentrating on their ice cream. Just before anyone asks.

Cocolat has a reputation in Adelaide for desert excellence, and the Rundle Street cafe is licensed – they have a wide variety of wines, a lot of them stickies of course, and chocolate martini’s which we didn’t try, although now that I know that, I suspect our return to Cocolat next year will include the consumption of a chocolate martini as well as cakes and ice cream.

From the website, a brief history of Cocolat.

Cocolat was established in 1992, and is a family owned and operated South Australian business. Specialising in the art of chocolate indulgences and wicked deserts and known formerly as Death By Chocolate, Cocolat has a reputation for making exclusive and yummy cakes and chocolates. All of our products are made from the finest ingredients and handmade in our Balhannah kitchen in the Adelaide Hills.

Cocolat has four outlets in Adelaide: Balhannah (83 Main Road, Balhannah), Adelaide Airport (Level 2, Andrew Thomas Cct, Adelaide Airport), Hyde Park (Shop 3, 160 King William Road, Hyde Park) and the city (281-283 Rundle Street, Adelaide). Cocolat products can also be purchased from the fine foods section of Burnside Village.

Although there is no information about whether take home packs of their ice cream are available, just about every other one of their products are available for purchase and take home enjoyment.

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