Lizz Lund

Valentine's Day stinks - literally - after a shift at The Shrimp Shack, getting showered with a vat of marinara and being haunted by a messy ghost. The romance holiday looms large for Mina Kitchen - a forty-something single without a boyfriend in sight, and a catering disorder to beat the band. Everyone else is all set: even her Swiffer-addicted neighbor Vito (the ex-leader of the Moils, the Jewish-Polish Family from Bumville, New Jersey) has a significant other. Who knew? And then there's her best friend Trixie. She's got a steady boyfriend, and a full time job with plenty of OT, too. She's even quit smoking Except now she's a jelly junkie. Well, not just jelly - any sweet will do. What's a girl to do? Set her sights on handsome Chef? Or dare a flirt with juicy James? Who you gonna call? GumBuster Wait, that's just one of Mina's new part time jobs. Romance fills the air (or is that fried chicken?) but dates remain elusive as a series of mysterious thefts rattle the shop owners of Lancaster "Pee-Ay". Can mild-mannered Mina land a full time job, a boyfriend and save Trixie's waistline without getting konked by some creepy crook? Confection Connection is packed with laughs, mysterious thefts and a ghost - with a cherry on top - recipes. Set in Lancaster, "Pee-Ay" you'll discover quirky characters, hysterical dialogue and funny surprises simmering away.

Meet Mina Kitchen, a forty-something single who likes to cook - and cook and cook. In fact, her zest for whipping up trays of canap s is dwarfed only by her weird luck and mountain-lion size tabby cat, Vinnie. That, and her godmom's tendency for blackmailing new members into joining St. Bart's. Okay, maybe Mina's Swiffer-addicted neighbor, Vito, is a bit weird, too. As if all that wasn't enough, Mina's a Jersey girl transplanted in the midst of the Amish-flavored countryside of Lancaster, PA. Things get really complicated when she learns that her neighbor Vito is in a witness protection program, and her dry cleaner deals in prescription samples. Throw in a few mysterious flaming feces flingers and a fuse box labeled in Arabic, and you have a recipe for catering disorders. Kitchen Addiction will keep you smiling when you're not LOL-ing. Set in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, you'll find a surprising cast of characters, humorous plot twists, red herrings and actual recipes. Well, some of the recipes are real. The others you might to take with a pinch of salt, and some Tums.