Cocktail from Crystal Tide

It's that time again, the long awaited cocktail from Crystal Tide is finally here! Every Tides of Atlantis book will have its own mixed drink from Ramone's Party Cove. If you would like your very own drink recipe card, join the Amanda V Shane mailing list. All mailing list readers receive recipe cards prior to book releases and other fun things like free books!

Since this drink is so simple, the recipe card includes instructions for a Hot Pepper Infused Vodka and the sweeter Blackberry, Black Pepper Cocktail. I had a lot of fun looking through recipes and when I came across the sultry, purple blackberry, black pepper cocktail, I had to include it. It’s a perfect late summer drink and, if you’ve been following any of my social media lately you know that I’m all about purple right now to match the cover of Crystal Tide. ( Find me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to see if I can keep a Tide of purple flowing till release day!)

Here is a short excerpt from Crystal Tide to set the scene. Kay (Karina) Laurens is a post grad from Colorado. Xieran is Tides travelling immortal from Mt. Olympus:
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“Is this a martini?” She squinted at her glass. “Is that a pepper in there?”
Shaking the drink, she swirled the long red chili around in the icy vodka
“A Ramone’s specialty,” the blonde waitress chimed in but she was looking at Xieran. “We like hot and spicy here.”
She shifted to move Xieran’s drink across the table for him, giving him a generous view of her cleavage in the process. Karina cleared her throat. The waitress turned her way and shrugged.
“Careful,” she said, “it’s got a pretty good kick.”
Then she sauntered away, hips swaying.
Karina sniffed at the glass, grimaced, then took a sip and coughed.
 “Sorry,” she said, “I’m more used to keg beer and Boone’s.
Xieran took a drink from his own glass.
“I think you’re education has been a little lacking, Miss Laurens.”
She cocked her head at that then licked her lips. The spice from the pepper had already plumped them a bit.
“You know, you’re the second guy to tell me that lately.”
He narrowed his eyes. The idea of another man trying to “educate” her on anything didn’t sit well but he didn’t let on.
“You should come to Xieran’s Institute for Higher Learning.” He said.
Her eyes widened. He was having fun teasing her, trying to take her mind off of the horror she’d witnessed earlier. He’d ordered the spicy drink as a distraction as well. The way his words made the pulse at her throat flutter underneath the silken skin of her neck suggested that his tactics were working. She liked the idea of being under his tutelage too. Very much.
 “And what would I learn there?”
“All sorts of things,” he answered, reaching across the table to run his fingertip along her collar bone. “Fine things,” he said, delighting when her breath faltered, “grown up things.”
 
~The idea made her hot all over, or maybe it was the pepper in her vodka.
****
 
Muy Caliente!

Preorder your copy of Crystal Tide for only 99 cents today on Amazon (the price goes up after release weekend)