Feast your eyes on the cover of Misfortune Cookie! Another outstanding design from Rae Monet!
In other news – Mystic Hero is done (well, the first draft) and is in the hands of my beta readers.
But don’t think I’m sitting around doing nothing. Next up – completing Lachlan’s Curse. I hope to finish the first draft by the end of November.
Wish me luck!
I never thought I’d be typing these words – the first draft of Mystic Hero is finished! It’s not pretty, but it’s done and will be heading to my beta readers shortly. Whew! Just in time for NaNo (which I usually unofficially participate in), so I can finish my other manuscript – Lachlan’s Curse.
To celebrate, I’m sharing a recipe I recently re-discovered. When I was a teen, my mother used to whip up a loaf of beer bread and, man, was it delicious. And super simple to make. After my sons were born, I made it a time or two (using non-alcoholic beer) then I kind of forgot about it.
I’m not sure what triggered the desire for beer bread. Maybe it was the stew I was making at the time. After a quick search of the internet, I managed to find one that replicated my mother’s recipe at Food.Com. If this one doesn’t tickle your fancy, there are dozens of variations out there in cyberspace.
A note about flour. This recipe uses either all-purpose flour or self-rising. If you use self-rising, omit the baking powder and salt.
Also, I don’t actually sift my flour (you can if you want to). Instead, I stir it first (in the bag), then scoop it into the measuring cup and gently level it off. This is the proper way to measure flour. Never tap the measuring cup against the counter or scoop flour directly from the bag using the measuring cup. If you do this, your baked goods will resemble a dense brick. Don’t say I didn’t warn you first!
Enjoy!
Classic Beer Bread:
Ingredients:
3 cups flour (see note above about proper scooping) OR self-rising flour
3 tsp baking powder (skip it if you use self-rising flour)
1 tsp salt (skip it if you use self-rising flour)
1/4 cup of sugar
1 – 12 oz of beer (I used Sam Adams because that is what hubby had stashed in the cellar. If you don’t want a strong beer taste try something paler)
1/4 to a few tablespoons melted butter (Mom never used butter so you can skip it. But try it. You might like it).
Oven temp: 375 degrees
Grease the bottom of a 9″ loaf pan.
1. Combine all the dry ingredients with the beer.
2. Put in the loaf pan. (I’ve heard of people mixing ingredients right in the pan, but I don’t see how without making a big mess).
3. If using melted butter, pour over the top (this will make the crust crispy).
4. Bake 1 hour. Remove from pan and cool about 10-15 minutes. Try not to skip the cooling step. Otherwise the bread will fall apart when cutting (Not that it stops my husband or older son!)
Anyone else love beer bread? Have any variations to share or other simple bread recipes?
Writers get asked a lot of interesting questions . One of the more popular ones is – “where do you find the time?” Often followed by comments like “I would write, if I had the time.”
Well, guess what? People do have the time, they just aren’t using it to write. Sugar Jamison covered this topic on Monday (over at the 7 Scribes site), so I am not going to elaborate on finding time. See her excellent post here.
Instead, I’m going to share my twenty years experience as a work at home employee of a large national company. These tips and tricks can apply to writers as well as anyone.
1. Get up in the morning, like you would on a work day for an outside employer and bathe. Yes. Get out of your pajamas and wash yourself. Go to your designated work space and report for duty.
2. Remember to eat breakfast. Again, in case you haven’t heard this before: it’s the most important meal of the day.
3. Develop a mindset that this is a job. Create the same mental head space/attitude you would if an employer was paying you. Writers – if you are under contract – yes, you have an employer who is paying you. If you are aspiring to publication, best develop a solid work ethic now. It will serve you well when you land that contract.
4. Have a schedule. For example, I will write from the hours of 9:00 – 12:00. Or midnight to four am. Whatever fits. And during this time, I am working. No social media, no television, no phone calls, etc.
5. Tell yourself – “I do NOT have all day to get it done.” See # 3 & #4. You don’t have all day. I know it seems that way, but if you want to work at home (doing any job, not just writing) you have to be professional and get your work done during scheduled hours.
6. Dirt doesn’t matter. Leave the dishes, killer dust bunnies and monster laundry piles alone. Believe me, they aren’t going anywhere. You can deal with them later. Like you would if you went to a day job outside of your home. If you are bothered by these things, sorry, but you have to get over it. Or find a place to work outside of the home.
7. Take a lunch break. See #2. Eating in important to the body and brain’s function.
8. Drink lots of water. Why? So you don’t sit in your chair until your muscles atrophy. Every time you take a bio break, drink some more liquid.
9. Exercise. Especially important if you are staring at a blank screen or hating your job. Take 10 to 30 minutes and walk (or whatever exercise does it for you – lifting your arm to aim a remote doesn’t count).
10. If you aren’t writing a story, you should be plotting your next one. Use every minute allotted to writing time to advance yourself.
11. Fake it till you make it – if your day’s writing is crappy – who cares! It can all be fixed later. That’s what editing is for.
12. Schedule down time. All work and no play, make a writer grumpy and not very good at their job. Granted, if you have a full-time job (like many of us do), then allow yourself a day of rest (or even a few hours). I did this recently – see here.
13. Have fun. Remember, you’re doing this because you wanted to be a writer!
Anyone else have any tips to share?
I am so close to finishing the first draft of Mystic Hero, I can taste it!! And no, it’s not ready for anyone to read yet.
While I finish, I’m sharing some of my favorite fall photographs taken over the last few years.
Most of these are from Old Sturbridge Village. My happy place! Enjoy!
We’ve expanded our furry family again. This is our newest kitty, Ariel. Isn’t she a sweetie pie?
We adopted her from Mary’s Kitty Korner (a wonderful organization dedicated to saving cats). She is still getting used to living with us. She spends her days with older son, in his spacious room receiving chin rubs and playing catch the laser dot. She’s also been exploring the house and getting to know our other two kitties.
Next time you want a new pet, please consider adopting an adult cat or dog from a rescue group.
Today I am shamelessly borrowing my friend’s plum torte recipe and passing it along to all of you.
If you don’t like plums, no worries. The recipe works just as well with other fruit like cherries, peaches, pears or apples. And it freezes too.
Enjoy!
The notes in ( ) are mine.
B-girl’s Plum Torte
You’ll need:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter (and do use unsalted butter. It’s not as good with salted butter)
1 cup unbleached flour (I used regular all purpose flour and it came out fine)
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 eggs
24 halves pitted purple or prune plums (see note above – other fruit works too)
Topping: sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon
9 inch springform pan
Cook Time: 1 Hour, @ 350 degrees
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients Assemble!
1. Cream the sugar and butter. Add flour, baking powder, salt and eggs. Beat well.
2. Spoon the batter into the springform pan (I have used cooking spray or Cricso on the bottom to keep it from sticking).
3. Place the plums skin side up on top of the batter. Sprinkle lightly with with sugar and lemon juice. Sprinkle about a teaspoon of cinnamon or however much you like.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Remove and cool; refrigerate or freeze if desired. Or cool to lukewarm and serve plain or with vanilla ice cream or whipped topping.
5. To serve frozen torte, defrost and reheat briefly at 300 degrees.
Be sure to share!
I’m happy to report that Mystic Hero finally crossed the 60,000 word mark. That means the end of the first draft is in sight! Unlike the previous books in the series, Devlin’s story is a bit different.
He’s got issues. Big ones. And just like in real life – everything that can go wrong, does. We Scribes have mentioned a few times the importance of being mean. And I totally agree with that. The most satisfying tales always involve some emotional pain and the eventual triumph over that pain.
Normal people generally steer clear of conflict. And most people don’t enjoy watching others suffer. At least not in real life (and I know the glut of reality shows probably says otherwise), but I think the big exception is in entertainment. Movies, TV, books – they would all be booooring if there wasn’t some kind of challenge to conquer.
And really, in fiction, we have to be extra tough on our characters. One of the things I realized so far about Devlin’s journey is that I wasn’t being hard enough on him emotionally.
Sure, it was easy to throw bad guys his way. Since I write paranormal, they are often extra weird or super creepy. But I also realized that I was shying away from his substantial internal demons. And that is short-changing the reader. I know when I pick up a romance I want to go on an emotional ride with the hero and heroine.
How does one overcome this problem?
1. Don’t let your characters have what they want. At least not until the very end. Dangle the prize in front of them and take it away a few times. Again, think emotional stakes. What will they lose if they don’t change?
2. Make them earn the payoff in the end. This means, the character has to suffer. They have to doubt themselves, question their choices and reach a low point (or two or three) before they can transform.
3. Bring them to their darkest place and throw in their worst fear in for good measure. And I don’t mean lock them in a dark room. Not unless your hero or heroine has a phobia of the dark and the only way to save the day is to overcome that fear.
4. If you get stuck – ask yourself again – how can I make things worse for this character? Never better. At least not until the very end
One caution – There’s a fine line between being too sappy or preachy (no one wants to read an ABC After School Special – at least I know I don’t!) and creating an emotionally satisfying and believable experience.
What are your tips for character “bashing”? And what books do a great job of torturing the poor hero and heroine?
Now’s your chance to snag a free Kindle e-book of Mystic Ink!
To read the first book in the Mystic series for FREE, click here.
Enjoy!!
Yay Friday! I hope your week went well.
Recently, I had an attitude adjustment. Every blog about writing or by writers, eventually, touches on the topic of professionalism and treating writing as a job.
I am not going to dispute that wisdom. If you’re in it for the long haul and you want to be published (or stay published), then you have to realize that writing isn’t sitting around waiting to be struck by genius. There comes a time in every writer’s day, month, year (take your pick) when you have to do the deed. You know, sit at your computer and write stuff – whether you feel like it or not.
Kind of like being an employee at a day job. I have a full time job. I also consider writing a job and when I am actively working on a story, I do it after the paid job.
Which brings me to the attitude adjustment. For the last few weeks, I’ve written my 2,000 – 3,000 words a day from Monday – Friday (after my day job ends) and I’ve taken the weekends off!
And by off, I mean, I don’t even turn my laptop on. For the last several years, my trusty laptop has been on 364 days of the year. The only day it got off was Christmas day because family comes over.
So far, it’s been therapeutic. I don’t feel all – “Ugh, I have to write today.” I admit, I’ve been getting a little grouchy about writing. Like it was a ball and chain. Until I realized that even with my day job, I take time off and I sure don’t feel guilty about it. Why should writing be different than any other profession?
That doesn’t mean I won’t write on the weekend. I will. But it’s also nice to know that I don’t have to feel guilty for taking a day trip with my family or grocery shopping so we can eat all week. Or read a book. Or just veg and pet my cat.
BTW- Mystic Hero is over the 55,000 words mark, well on it’s way to first draft completion in the next week or two. Yay!
See? It’s all about attitude. If you find yourself in a rut or so stressed out you can’t think straight it might be time for an adjustment!
Anyone else feel the need to take time away? How do you veg?
Casey Wyatt 