NY York Times Best Selling Author Mary Jane Clark

New York Times bestselling author and former TV news producer Mary Jane Clark is out with her the second installment of the sinfully delicious “Wedding Cake Mystery” series, THE LOOK OF LOVE: featuring young, relatable heroine, Piper Donovan.
Reeling from the murderous drama surrounding the first wedding she catered for New York City soap star Glenna Brooks, struggling actress and wedding cake designer Piper Donovan is ready for some rest and relaxation. The perfect opportunity arises when the owner of one of L.A.’s most exclusive resorts offers Piper an all-expenses-paid trip to create a one-of-a-kind wedding cake made from the Monastery of the Angels’ famous pumpkin bread for her upcoming nuptials. Piper happily accepts the job offer, seeing it not only as a great career move, but also an opportunity to sort out her burgeoning feelings for handsome FBI agent, Jack Lombardi. A luxury spa and plastic surgery resort, Elysium caters to the rich and famous in need of a little ‘refreshing,’-a nip there, a tuck there, a little Botox, a little detox. But shortly following Piper’s arrival, word spreads of a gruesome murder in one of the private bungalows belonging to the resorts betrothed director, Jillian Abernathy. It seems someone wants to make sure the privileged beauty doesn’t get the wedding of her dreams.
Nestled neatly in the City of Angels, Elysium seems picture-perfect: the grounds, the staff, even the guests- but Piper soon discovers that just beneath the surface of this idyllic setting is a picture-perfect plan for murder.
The Inside Scoop: The Monastery of Angels is an actual convent located in the Hollywood Hills. Attached is the story and recipe behind their ever-popular pumpkin bread (RECIPE BELOW), which inspired the wedding cake in Mary Jane’s new book.
Talent: Like Piper Donovan, New York Times Bestselling author Mary Jane Clark has a mother who made customized cakes for the neighborhood kids when Mary Jane was growing up. Mary Jane has taken cake decorating classes herself. She is the author of twelve previous novels including Do You Want to Know A Secret, Do You Promise Not to Tell, Let Me Whisper in Your Ear, Close To You, Nobody Knows, Nowhere To Run, Hide Yourself Away, Dancing in the Dark, Lights Out Tonight, When Day Breaks, It Only Takes a Moment and Dying for Mercy. A veteran writer and producer for CBS News, Clark worked for almost three decades at the network’s New York City headquarters. Her books are published in twenty-three languages. She lives in New Jersey and Florida. www.maryjaneclark.com
TOUR IS SPONSORED BY WILLIAM MORROW PUBLISHER
Recipe for pumpkin bread is:
The Monastery of Angels Pumpkin Bread recipe for delicious pumpkin bread
3½ cups sifted flour
3 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1½ tsp. salt
4 eggs beaten
1 cup oil
2/3 cup water
2 cups canned pumpkin Walnut halves
Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Combine eggs, oil, water and pumpkin and mix well. Stir into dry ingredients. Turn into 3 greased loaf pans and top with a few walnut halves. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool before slicing. (Tastes best slightly warm, spread with butter.)
Makes 3 1-3/4 lb. loaves. —
Bob Pool http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/04/nuns-pumpkin-bread.html