Seekerville Welcomes Guestblogger Tosca Lee & GIVEAWAY!

Hey all, Cheryl here, welcoming to Seekerville good friend Tosca Lee who is a great gal, awesome author and eater of all things yummy! Tosca has generously offered to donate two autographed books today to two lucky commenters.

If you haven't read Tosca's award-winning, critically-acclaimed debuts Demon, A Memoir, and Havah-the story of Eve, be sure to comment for a chance to win an autographed copy of one of these stellar Inspirational novels.

Tosca's style reminds me of a modern day C.S. Lewis. Her gripping prose is beautiful, deep, edgy and lyrical. If you don't happen to win the drawing, be sure to try out her books.

In addition to being a former model, beauty queen and avid fisher-woman, Tosca has been A Christy Award finalist and ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Silver Award winner—and received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. All well-deserved I say!

Now, for an exclusive interview with Tosca whose most recent adventure included Piranha fishing in the Amazon. LOL! Good news....she brought back a few for Seekerville's new aquarium. ;-)

Cheryl: I was chatting with a few of your characters the other day and Havah, the lead female of your second book, named the same and critically acclaimed, mentioned you've been busy with some exciting projects. Havah starting dropping big names such as Judas Iscariot, Ted Dekker and Oscar Meyer...as in the makers of bacon of which there is a mysterious shortage lately. In addition to gushing about what a gifted storyteller you are, Havah said you:

1. Have co-written a book with Ted and is happy to report that both of you lived to tell about it.
2. Have brought Judas back to life through the power of story.
3. Have consumed epic quantities of those delectable strips of pork while on deadline yet maintained your modelesque figure.


Can you confirm or deny any of the above? After all, Havah aka Eve did happen to be standing near a fruit tree when the statements were made.

Tosca: That Havah is a wonder woman--how she manages to grow and harvest food, take care of so many kids and keep up with the news is way beyond me! But then, I can't fault her for her taste in authors, can I? Well, if you must know, it's true. I did consume epic quantities of bacon while both writing about Judas and working on the Books of Mortals series with Ted Dekker. Last year while I was researching Judas in Israel, however, is a completely different story. Not a pork belly, chop, or rind to be found. By the end of my first week in Israel, I would have knocked off someone's grandma for a piece of sausage in the morning. I am a bad person.

Cheryl: LOL! No one who eats bacon and sausage is bad. Just smart. LOL! In addition to bad-to-the-bone bacon that's oh-so-good, what other yummy foods do you crave while on deadline?

Tosca: Cheetos. Buttered popcorn. Burgers. Fries. Pizza. Steak. Enchiladas. I crave all of these same foods when not on deadline, too. Oddly, chocolate (I prefer the dark variety) has an extremely long shelf life in my house.

Cheryl: Oh my goodness. You are making me drool. I know from experience that you make the best pea soup in the world. Care to share the recipe?

Tosca: Mmmm. Split pea soup. Here you go:

2 big cans chicken broth
1 onion, chopped
1 smoked ham hock or shank
1 bag (sometimes I do a double batch and use two) of dried split peas
marjoram and celery seed to taste (I do about a teaspoon of each)
pepper, thyme, crumbled rosemary and a dash of sage (in smaller amounts to taste)
Salt to taste (with the smoked ham hock and chicken broth, I find there's seldom need to add salt)

Bring to a boil and then simmer, letting the peas break up. Stir often to make sure they are not sticking to the bottom of the pot. You can actually burn this soup! When peas have started to break up, add chopped celery (I use nearly an entire bunch) and some finely-chopped carrot. You may need to add some water if the peas are making the soup too thick.

Simmer on low, stirring often, until peas are mush and the celery and carrots are soft. This soup freezes very well and gets better each time you heat it up!

Cheryl: Awesome! When you're not hovering over your keyboard weaving lyrical masterpieces into soul-brushing prose that is both breathtakingly poetic and edgy, you enjoy Piranha fishing in the Amazon, trips to Israel and other unique travels. Tell us about other adventures you like to embark on when you're not turning out those wonderful books?

Tosca: I like fishing, though I don't get to do it much! My favorite fishing memories: catching a 60 pound halibut in Alaska, and learning to fly fish in Maine. I like taking helicopters over scenic areas--Bora Bora, Kauai, or small planes (Alaska, Maine). I enjoy traveling just about anywhere, and tend to go on some of my more exotic trips with my mother (Transylvania, India, Greece, the Amazon). When I just need to get away for a few days, though I go west. My soul longs for cabins in the west and casitas in the Southwest.

Tosca in Alaska in Maine.



Cheryl: Sounds like your life is a constant adventure! Lots of story fodder for future books I'll bet. Tell us about your upcoming releases?

Tosca: Coming up: Forbidden, the first book in the new Books of Mortals series with Ted Dekker (September--available for pre-order now). Iscariot, the first-person story of Judas Iscariot, the infamous betrayer of Christ, in 2012.To pre-order Forbidden, go to: Forbidden on Amazon or visit any of your favorite online stores.

Cheryl: Where can readers find you online or sign up to hear about new releases?

Tosca: At http://www.toscalee.com--and from there you can click on a variety of links to join me on Facebook and Twitter. You can view several of my videos via links on my website, or by simply searching for me on YouTube.

Cheryl: Where can readers obtain copies of Havah and Demon in case they don't win the drawing?

Tosca: From any bookstore or online store. If you'd like signed copies, they are also available at www.signedbytheauthor.com.

Cheryl: Excellent! Bonus treat: Here is a link to a fabulous talk Tosca did at a church on creativity/fear/perfectionism.

Don't forget, you can pre-order Forbidden now on Amazon.

Tosca on Facebook (complete with Writer-Cam :D If you have not checked out Tosca's hilarious and down-to-earth-y Writer-Cam posts, you're missing out!

You can sign up for Tosca's newsletter here.

Tosca on Twitter

Read more about Ted and Tosca's co-writing project here.

Forbidden teaser:

For centuries perfect peace has reigned... until now.
Centuries have passed since civilization's brush with apocalypse. The world's greatest threats have been silenced. There is no anger, no hatred, no war. There is only perfect peace... and fear.

Until now.
FORBIDDEN: Book One of the Books of Mortals. An epic new journey that plumbs the depths of humanity--its darkest desires, its greatest hopes, its highest ambition.

Coming September 2011 from Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee.

To celebrate Tosca's first visit to Seekerville, we are having an enormous breakfast of bacon (turkey and pork) with eggs scrambled and fried in bacon grease. Sausage links and homemade butter yeast rolls with fresh-squeezed orange juice and Helen's special blend of coffee. For lunch we're having juicy steak enchiladas and Tosca's yummy split pea soup and soft drinks of your choice. For dessert, we have dark chocolate cakes, stamped with the Forbidden book logo with creamy caramel and dark chocolate filling swirled inside.

Enjoy! And don't forget to leave a comment for the chance to win an autographed copy of Havah or Demon autographed by Tosca.

Cheryl Wyatt & Tosca Lee