Joi Copeland – Falling in Love with Characters & Recipe for Romance – Part 1 of 1

Shannon here: Joi Copeland shares how she creates heroes for readers to fall in love with, plus a recipe for Dutch Apple Pie. Comment or answer the question in this post to enter the drawing for a Kindle copy of her latest Contemporary Romance, Silent Knight. Deadline: Dec 21st, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Joi:
I love writing. I love writing with a romantic twist. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. When asked how I come up with my heroes, the answer is pretty simple. I don’t have to look far or reach into my romantic mind. Each hero I create has an aspect of my husband.

My husband is a romantic. He is everything I’ve ever wanted in a spouse and more! First, he loves Jesus more than anything, and if that isn’t something that attracts women, it should! So each character who loves the Lord or who comes into a relationship with the Lord is based on him. Second, he is extremely good looking! Third, Chris showers me with unconditional love, respect, and honor. He is pretty quick to compliment me! My grandma used to say it was vital to marry a man who made you laugh, and Chris certainly does!

Chris loves me well. He is encouraging, uplifting, prays with me, supports me, and he challenges me to be a better person. This is how I create my characters. I know I’ve done a good job at writing when my editor tells me my hero makes her swoon!

Dutch Apple Pie

Ingredients
• 1 – 9 inch unbaked pie shell
• 8 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored, and thickly sliced

Caramel Sauce for filling
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

Crumb topping
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 425 °.
Caramel Sauce for Filling
1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer for 5 minutes.

Assembling Pie
1. Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with prepared sliced apples, mounded gently. Gently pour the sugar and butter caramel liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.
Crumb topping
1. In a medium bowl mix softened butter, flour, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Using a pastry blender cut ingredients together until a small pea size crumble forms. You can use your fingers to finish combining to get an even smaller crumb.
2. Sprinkle crumb over the apple slices and caramel sauce, making sure topping goes to the edges. Sprinkle with One Tablespoon of Sugar.
3. Place the pie on a foil lined baking sheet. (This will help keep your oven sparkling clean!)
4. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce temperature to 350° and continue baking for 35- 45 minutes, until apples are soft and topping is golden brown and crisp.

About Joi: Joi Copeland is married to a wonderful man, Chris, and has three amazing boys, Garrison, Gage, and Gavin. She lives in Denver, Colorado, but within the year, hopes to be living in Galway, Ireland.

Joi’s love of writing began at a young age. She wrote short stories for several years, and in 2009, she began writing her first novel, Hope for Tomorrow. Joi enjoys baking and hopes to one day make a recipe that will have consistent results, though she doubts that will ever happen! Learn more and connect:

Joi’s Website               Joi’s Goodreads                 Joi’s Bookbub

Joi’s Facebook                   Joi’s Instagram

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