Abingdon and Heartsong Author Myra Johnson

Gina here: I love this theme because I love science. Well, actually I don't love science. And math...well, it's just blech! However, the art of adding a little bit of this to a little bit of that, along with a dash of something-something to create Waalah-Yum-O totally fascinates me. Have you ever checked the back of a cookbook and seen all the things you can substitute for those items you don't have? I'm the queen of substitution. (Although my family prefers chicken to really be chicken. How weird are they?)
Writing is much like cooking. Raising children is much like cooking. Cleaning house is much like cooking. Okay, that's stretching it.
The point to my ramble is that as we go through life we meet people who season us, who give us zest, who preserve us through the winter, and who change us from dullish cucumbers into dillish pickles. About a year or two ago, I met a group of ladies who've become God's ingredients into making me a better writer: The Seekers. I could spend blog post after blog post sharing what I've learned--and like about--each of them.
One of those ladies is here with us today: Myra Johnson. Not only does Myra write tender-hearted Christian romances, but (please hear me squealing with excitement) she lives in Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plain, and the waving wheat does sure smell sweet, right behind the rain! Yes, that is one of the few songs I can sing and do motions to at the same time. Yay, me!
Take it away, Myra.

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First of all, my thanks to Gina for inviting me to contribute a guest post today! Gina told me this is recipe week and that I could blog about almost anything as long as I included a recipe.


Oh, good grief. Gina apparently does not know that the kitchen is NOT my friend. I avoid cooking at every possible opportunity! In fact, for several years now I have been trying to coax my semi-retired husband into learning a few cooking skills. Without much success, I hasten to add. He’s pretty good at boiling spaghetti and heating up sauce from a jar. He can grill a tasty burger or steak (if I provide the seasonings or marinade). But anything involving reading a recipe and its, “Uh, honey, how do I do this?”

The thing is, life changed dramatically after I sold my first book last year. I suddenly had real deadlines and a whole new array of responsibilities—edits, revisions, page proofs, book promotion, all in addition to trying to write the next book. Which means it’s not as easy as it used to be to break away at 5:00 or 5:30 p.m. and then decide what’s for dinner. So we keep things fairly simple, usually a one-dish meal or something we can grill on the George Foreman. The microwave is also my friend.

But as the holiday season approaches, even non-cooks like me can’t escape the lure of at least a modicum of baking. Something about the advent of Thanksgiving and Christmas (yes, I know it’s still a little early, but you know how time flies) brings to mind the aromas of frosted cookies, pumpkin pies, and other assorted sugary baked goods sure to wreak havoc on your waistline.


A long-time holiday favorite around my house is a Danish coffee cake recipe given to me by a friend and pastor’s wife some 37 years ago. It’s decadently delicious (which means it’s probably not good for you)!

Crust: Blend 1 cup flour, ½ cup butter, and 2 tablespoons water as if making a pie crust. Roll into two long strips 3 inches wide and ¼ inch thick. Place on cookie sheet.

Top layer: Mix ½ cup butter and 1 cup water, bring to a boil and add 1 teaspoon almond flavoring. Remove from heat and beat in 1 cup flour stirring by hand continually to prevent lumps. Cool slightly, then stir in 3 eggs one at a time beating well by hand. Spread over crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes. Spread with powdered-sugar icing and top with nuts, candied fruit, or other toppings as desired. (For Christmas I like to arrange green and red candied cherries in the shape of poinsettias.)

Best when served in front of a toasty fire with a cup of hot spiced tea, steaming cocoa, or maybe some hazelnut decaf! (Are those Christmas carols I hear in the background?)

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About Myra: Myra Johnson’s roots go deep into Texas soil, but she’s proud to be a new Oklahoman. Empty-nesters now, she and her husband share their home with two loveable dogs and a snobby parakeet. Her debut novel, One Imperfect Christmas, is a September 2009 release from Abingdon Press. She also writes for Barbour Publishing’s Heartsong Presents line. Autumn Rains, winner of the 2005 RWA Golden Heart for Best Inspirational Romance Manuscript, releases this month, to be followed in 2010 by Romance by the Book and Where the Dogwoods Bloom. Myra and her husband have been married since 1972. The Johnsons have two married daughters and five grandchildren.


Myra’s books:

One Imperfect Christmas: Natalie Pearce loves Christmas so much she’d gladly make it a year-round celebration—until her mother suffers a massive stroke while taking down the decorations. Natalie’s guilt over not being there to help her mom soon builds a wall that separates her from the rest of her family, including her husband, Daniel, and their teenage daughter. As the next December approaches, the last thing Natalie wants to be reminded of is another Christmas season. Only her family’s tenacious love and an unexpected Christmas gift from her mother can help Natalie mend the broken pieces of their lives.

One Imperfect Christmas is available (or can be ordered) through any major bookstore, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders. Since Cokesbury Books is the retail arm of Abingdon Press, readers can probably find the best discounts in your local store or at the Cokesbury Website.

Autumn Rains: Healy Ferguson knows all about prisons, both the real and the emotional kind. Paying your dues to society doesn’t always mean you’ve paid your dues to yourself, and often the price you exact on yourself far exceeds the crime. Valerie Bishop is caught in the emotional prison of post-traumatic stress disorder, unable to venture more than a few feet out her back door. Shadowy moments from a night she can’t remember bombard her without warning, keeping her trapped between the painful past and a future seemingly without hope. But God promises to repay the years that have been lost; for those who trust in Him, He promises refreshing, life-giving rain. Will Val and Healy trust to see God’s perfect plan, or will they choose the chains that hold them back?

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Gina here: Thanks, Myra, for the fabulous recipe. Before you leave, can you tell our readers how they can find you?
Excellent question! My Website is http://www.myrajohnson.com/.
I also blog at http://myra.typepad.com/, http://seekerville.blogspot.com/, and http://romanceyourspouse.com/.
My Facebook fan page can be found at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Myra-Johnson/67707395198?ref=ts.
To follow me on Twitter, look up http://twitter.com/MyraJohnson.

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Thanks, Myra!
Dear Readers, if you’d like to be entered to win one of Myra's books or a collection of Inkalicious recipes, just leave a comment on this blog. Please leave an email address so we can contact you if you're the winner (include spaces or brackets around the "@" sign so Net spiders, etc, can't phish your address). We'll pick two winners at random on Oct. 11. Remember, all comments left today will also be entered in our grand prize drawing on November 1st.

Serious Question of the Day: Who's been the salt, chocolate chips, or vinegar in your life and made you a better cupcake for it?

Non-Serious Question of the Day: It's your last meal of your life and you HAVE to eat something. Would you choose a plate of Goolash or an entire rhubarb pie? And if you aren't sure what Goolash or rhubarb are, just imagine something icky that my mom...umm, your mom fed you when you were a child.