Dish The Pie With Monique & guest...Chicki Brown #AfricanAmericanRomance #AuthorInterviews & Death By Chocolate

Dish The Pie With Monique and Chicki Brown

Please help me to welcome my good friend and author of African American Contemporary Romance, Chicki Brown to Dish The Pie. Chicki and I have known each other for a long time, way before either of us was ever published. I'm thrilled to have Chicki here to share her favourite pie recipe with us, and to tell us a little about her Stafford Brothers series. 

Hello and welcome, Chicki. I want to hear about your series, but let’s hold up for a minute cos you know I have to ask...

Do you like desserts? What is your favourite and would you share the recipe with us?

Chicki: I love dessert more than real food. My favourite is Death By Chocolate (or anything chocolate, for that matter.

Monique: I hear you on the loving dessert more than food. I hear you, I hear you, I hear you. Okay, guys, I know this is why you all really stopped by, so here is the recipe.

  

DEATH BY CHOCOLATE CAKE

Ingredients 

Photo: Baby Kato

Serves

12-16

4 eggs

1⁄2 cup oil

1⁄2 cup water

8 ounces sour cream

1 (18 ounce) box chocolate cake mix

1 (3 1/2 ounce) box instant chocolate pudding mix

12 ounces milk chocolate chips

Created by Crystal Swan for Dish The Pie With Monique

Directions

Beat 4 eggs, water, oil, & sour cream until smooth.
Add the box of cake mix and pudding stirring until smooth.
added chocolate chips, mixing just until blended.
Pour into greased bundt pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes.
Ice with chocolate icying.

Monique: Chicki, have you ever eaten pie for breakfast? If so, what was it?

Chicki:  I have an annual tradition, the day after Thanksgiving and the day after Christmas I have sweet potato pie, a cup of tea and a slice of whatever cake is left over for breakfast.

Monique: I’ve never had sweet potato pie, but it sounds divine for breakfast! 

Monique: When was the last time you laughed?

Chicki: A few minutes ago while I watched a music mashup of President Obama “singing” Drake’s Hotline Bling. Hilarious! I love to laugh, because as the Bible says, “A merry heart does good like medicine.”

Monique: Amen to that! I must check out the mashup. I can imagine how funny it must be.

Monique: What’s your idea of romance? What do you consider romantic.

Chicki: Romance is doing anything that pleases your partner, and it’s different for everyone. For me it might be going somewhere special with my man (the beach, dinner, a walk in the park) and then coming home and spending undisturbed time together. Whether we’re just talking or making love (or both), that’s my idea for a perfect romantic evening.

Monique: Hubba-Hubba...

Monique: Where would you be more at home? The countryside, suburbia, or the city? 

Chicki: I’m not a city girl or a country girl. Since I was born and raised in the suburbs, stepping out my front door onto concrete or into a cow pasture would both disturb me tremendously.  I like a grassy yard away from the traffic but close enough to the nearest mall that I can be there in ten minutes. 

Monique: I’m a suburbia girl, too, although I did grow up on a plantation...which is probably why I prefer the suburbs!  

Monique: Which type of music do you like? Do you have a favourite artist? Does your music tastes ever change?

Chicki: You’re talking to a music fanatic here! I love almost all music (with the exception of country, opera and heavy metal). My favourite artists from back in the day are Luther Vandross, Prince, James Brown, Gladys Knight and Smokey Robinson. My current pop faves are John Legend, Ed Sheeran, Jill Scott, Kem. I also have my favourite gospel and jazz artists. 

I write listening to smooth jazz, because I can’t concentrate if there are vocals. 

Monique: Hey...I love country! Jazz is just so wonderful. I can’t work with any noise. I think I might have a non-existent attention span. Thank you so much for spending time with us today, Chicki. Have a great New Year! Oh, and tell us about your Stafford Brothers series.

Chicki: The Stafford Brothers were born into a closely-knit family and raised and educated among Atlanta’s elite. But the six sons of one of Atlanta’s most successful doctors have not always walked in their father’s footsteps. Charles, Jesse and Vic, Jr. followed the medical path. Marc and Greg took different routes. Nick isn’t sure which way he wants to go. The brothers have challenges to face, secrets to keep and stories to tell.

Stafford Brothers UK | Stafford Brothers US  | Paperback 

What Amazon readers are saying about the Stafford Brothers series:

“Each brother, though handsome (this is romance, after all) is distinct in appearance, demeanor, and character. I have no problem distinguishing the sweetness of Charles (Till You Come Back To Me) from the granola-loving-tree-hugginess of Marc (A Woman's Worth ) from the impulsiveness of Greg (Don't Stop Till You Get Enough) and now the steady soberness of Vic.”

“The Stafford family, richly steeped in the world of medicine, consists of a heap of unique, strong, attractive--did I say hunky?--men.”

“Love how a real man stepped up to the plate and showed how to love the woman who touched his heart.” – Marc in A WOMAN’S WORTH

“Charles shows himself to be as upstanding as he is a gifted surgeon, making Adanna a goner.” – TILL YOU COME BACK TO ME

“Greg is by far the most damaged of the brothers, and that makes him very interesting.” – DON’T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH

“Chicki Brown drops us into the moment where we meet both Greg Stafford and conflict. No teasing. Just get ready, because this guy's secret is a complicated one.” – DON’T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH

“At times, I thought Vic was clueless, but that's the mark of a nicely-drawn character.” – Vic in I’M LOSING YOU

Contemporary women’s fiction/romance author Chicki Brown has been featured in USAToday. She was the 2014 B.R.A.B. (Building Relationships Around Books) Inspirational Fiction Author and also the 2011 SORMAG (Shades of Romance Magazine) Author of the Year. Chicki was also a contributing author to the Gumbo for the Soul: Men of Honor (Special Cancer Awareness Edition). 

Nia Forrester, Beverly Jenkins, Eric Jerome Dickey, Lisa Kleypas, J.R. Ward and Suzanne Brockmann are among her favorite authors.


A transplanted New Jersey native who lives in Atlanta, Georgia, Brown still misses the Jersey shore.

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