Fast Fudgy Oatmeal Cookies

Fast Fudgy Oatmeal Cookies 

(From the kitchen of Kelli A. Wilkins)

These yummy cookies are tasty, and even a bit healthy! 

(recipe makes about 20 cookies)

Ingredients: 

2 cups quick-cooking oats 

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour 

2/3 cup cocoa powder 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon baking powder 

3/4 teaspoon salt 

1 1/2 cups sugar 

2/3 cup milk (or vanilla almond milk) 

2/3 cup canola oil 

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1/4 teaspoon almond, chocolate, or vanilla extract 

3/4 cups chocolate chips 

1 cup dried chopped cherries or raisins (optional) 

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350F. 

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients (oats through salt). Set aside. 

In another large bowl, beat together sugar and milk until smooth. Then add oil and extracts and beat until well mixed. 

Fold in half of the dry ingredients until well-moistened. Then fold in remaining half.

Just before the mixture is completely combined, add chocolate chips and/or dried fruit. 

Drop a generous 2 tablespoons of dough onto cookie sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. 

For crisper cookies, flatten the dough slightly. For more chewy cookies, leave dough unflattened. 

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until cookies are firm and risen. Ovens vary, so keep an eye on your cookies! (It’s okay to take them out a minute or so early.) 

Let cookies rest on baking sheets for 5-10 minutes and then transfer to wire rack to finish cooling. 

Enjoy! 

Kelli A. Wilkins is an award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 20+ romance novels, and 6 mystery/horror ebooks. Her romances span many genres and settings, and she likes to scare readers with her horror and mystery stories. She released The Route 9 Killer, a mystery/thriller set in Central NJ, in 2023. Visit her website www.KelliWilkins.com for a full title list and social media links.

A New Year and New Adventures

A new year has started, I turned another year older, and there are new adventures ahead. I'm excited and nervous at the same time.

There is nothing like the feeling of holding your book in your hand. A lot of work goes into writing all the words between the front and back covers. Weeks of writing and sometimes those weeks turn into a year, then there are rounds of edits, not one or two rounds maybe three or four. Submit to your publishing editor, contracts to sign, more edits, cover art, promotion (my least favourite), release day celebrations, more promotion (again, my least favourite). I'm sure I'm missing something in between. But my point is that writing a book is a lot of work.

The photo above shows my library of books, with the exception of Cherry Red as I don't have a physical copy of that one (I inserted a picture of it). This will be the last time you see those covers. I now retain the rights to my library of books, but the covers belong to my publisher(s). All cover art has been removed from my social media and over the next few weeks, I will be designing new covers for each book (with the exception of Trickster). I just wanted to share one last photo of these covers, which I'll miss as I've been lucky to have had some beautiful art work. I'll also be working on new digital versions of my books to be available for purchase soon.

I had hope to blog twice a week, but with working on my book library and taking on a new writing venture, AND constantly chasing my two dogs, I don't think I'll have time. I'll try to share something at least once a week, but there won't be a set day.

I wanted 2024 to be a little calmer and slower than past years, but I'm excited to begin a new adventure with my writing...and I'm a little nervous too. I'll share more as my journey continues.

Setting Goals for the New Year

Setting Goals for the New Year 

By Kelli A. Wilkins 

Greetings! 

It’s January, and almost everyone is talking about making changes and setting goals for the new year. And why not? We have brand-new calendars hanging on our walls filled with unexplored months yet to come. Every day brings hope, possibilities, and opportunities to make this year really great.

But do you find yourself gazing at your calendar and wondering, “How is it 2024? Where did last year go? I had all those plans…”

If so, don’t stress out. It’s perfectly fine to look back at what you achieved last year—then start thinking about your goals and plans for this year. Where do you begin?

First, set aside an hour or two to think about what you want to accomplish in the next few weeks and months. Identifying your goals and setting reasonable action steps now will help you get on target. But don’t take on too many things at once. You don’t want to overwhelm yourself. List your top 3 to 5 goals for the first half of the year.

When you write down your goals, begin your sentences with a specific, positive statement, such as: “I will (goal) by (date).” Then decide how you’re going to do it. Keep in mind that a goal has a specific endpoint and a defined set of results. If you have reached your goal, you’ll know it.

For instance, if your goal is to paint the living room by February 1, you have an end date (February 1) and you will be able to see your results (the room will be a different color). Next, make a list of what you need to do to get started, such as choosing a paint color, buying supplies, and clearing the room. Having a plan/roadmap will help you chart your progress and stay on track.

It’s best to work on goals in small steps. Spend an hour (or two, tops) on one project a day, or even once a week, depending on your schedule. Don’t go overboard and expect instantaneous results—everything takes time.

When I want to get organized/clear out stuff (usually in the spring and fall) I go through the house room by room, wall by wall. I pick a room, then focus on one wall per day.

For example, my guest room has a computer desk and dresser on one wall. I start by taking everything off the desk and start sorting: I keep only what I need on the desk and make piles to file or recycle. Then I polish the desk and move on to the dresser. I clear off the top, go through the drawers, and keep what I truly need/want/love, and get rid of the rest. I repeat this process as I go around the room, then I tackle the other rooms in the house the same way.

January is also the perfect time to let go of things that no longer serve you, such as clutter, bad habits, old clothes, or worn-out relationships. Simplify as much as you can, and you will make room for new opportunities and new events in your life.

Cheers to 2024! Let’s make the most of it!
Kelli A. Wilkins

Kelli A. Wilkins is an award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 20+ romance novels, and 6 mystery/horror ebooks. Her romances span many genres and settings, and she likes to scare readers with her horror and mystery stories. She released The Route 9 Killer, a mystery/thriller set in Central NJ, in 2023. Visit her website www.KelliWilkins.com for a full title list and social media links.

Bee Sunny

I designed this little bee sitting within a sunflower. I also placed a tiny sunflower in his hands. I love how it looks as though he is wearing a sunflower costume. This piece turn out so well, I think I'll design more animal flower art. My daughter loves this design so much, she wants to get it as a tattoo, lol.

Dog Diaries #5

The next installment of my dog diaries was to talk about separation anxiety, but I’m interrupting the schedule to talk about a major event that happened last week. 

During the holidays, Rambler ate a stuffed dog toy. There were three Santas. Keefer was playing with Santa #1 and Rambler had the other two. I saw him lying on #2 and he was chewing #3. The Santa’s had thick stuffing and a small squeaker inside. I bent to take Santa #3 out of his mouth, and he swallowed before I could grab it. I immediately took #1 from Keefer, not that he would eat it, he just tears things apart and spits them out. But I didn’t want Rambler to steal it. When I looked for #2, it was missing. 

Fast forward two weeks as we waited for Rambler to ‘pass’ the Santa(s), but I knew this wouldn’t happen because the toys were four inches long and two inches thick. He wasn’t vomiting or having any issues pooping until a few days later I saw blood in his stool. I knew we had to do something fast. 

We called our vet, but because they were booked until the 25th, they gave us a referral for the animal hospital or the animal emergency. I contacted the animal hospital and got an appointment for x-rays two days later.

 
I told the vet surgeon I was certain he had swallowed two Santas because we searched the house everywhere for #2 and couldn’t find it. Sure enough, the x-rays showed the shape of two Santas. We were very lucky they were still in his stomach and not near his intestines. Surgery was scheduled for the next day.

After a three hour surgery, the vet doctor gave us a bag with the two Santas still intact, which I am going to burn in our fire pit.

Rambler’s incision is quite long, but the doctor put stitches on the inside so he can’t lick anything. Rambler is recovering well. He had to wear a onesie for a few days, which was cute, but it had eight snaps that had to come off and on each time I let him out to do his business. He isn’t allowed to play, jump, or go for walks for two weeks. It’s going to be a long two weeks.

A week after surgery, Rambler is back to himself, driving me and Keefer crazy. It’s difficult to stop him from jumping, but the incision looks good. I let him and Keefer play in the snow this morning but had to stop him when he started running.

This wasn’t just a stressful situation for Rambler, but for our whole family. We were very worried about him. I can’t thank the vet surgeon and her staff enough for making this scary situation a little easier for us. The care Rambler received was exceptional. And we’re taking him back there to be neutered once he is over a year old.

My advice to anyone reading this who has dogs is…if a toy fits in your dog’s mouth, take it away. No stuffed animals or small toys are permitted in our house again. We learned a very valuable and expensive lesson the hard way.

Updated Websites

This week has been very stressful (I'll explain next week) so my hopes for Tuesday and Thursday posts flew out the window. During the few free minutes I had, I worked on my book website as well as my art site.

Since receiving the rights back to ten of my books, I had to remove the book covers, and decided a quick redesign of the site was needed. I also spruced up my art blog.

Here's the links if you want to check them out. Let me know what you think!

http://www.darlenefredette.com/

https://darlenefredette.blogspot.com/

Contract End

I hope everyone had a magical holiday and that the new year is off to a good start!

My new year started with a big change. I recently ended my contract with my New York publisher. I've thought about doing this for a while. Three books were due for renewal in June, and I decided to request my complete title list be returned. 

Why did I do this? A couple of reasons pushed my decision to end my contract with this publisher.

The company has grown, which is good, but the professionalism has declined. Let me add that this is not from all the staff. My editor has always been great to work. I wouldn't have worked with anyone other than her. The vice president was also great to work with. She helped with publishing a few of my books and made ending my contract seamless. I've always been professional, so I won't point fingers. I'll just say, the ten years I've been with them have been good, but it's time for a change.

As well, due to a health issue, I'm retiring from writing full length novels. However, this does not mean I'm done with writing. I still have stories in my head and I'll find some way to get them out. I mentioned in a previous post that I am pondering ideas and doing research. So you haven't heard the last of my stories.

If you've been wanting to grab one of my books in eBook or print and haven't yet - what have you been waiting for? lol - be sure to place your order soon as they will only be available for a short time.

I plan to keep my book info on my website, but I have to remove the covers as they are property of the publisher. I might make temporary covers, or I might wait until I know what I'm doing with these stories.

This is my first big step in the new year and I'm happy with my decision and ready to move forward with my stories and writing.