Summer Pleasures

No post about writing today. Nothing about books or reading. Just plain, ordinary summer living...

It's that time of year, the time when the sun is hot, the living is easy and the zucchinis are threatening to conquer kitchens everywhere. Got your attention, didn't I? A lot of you, I'm sure, are trying to figure out just what to do with that beautiful green veggie. And you're wondering why the heck you planted so many of them in the spring. And you're making a mental note not to do that again next year! Trust me, you'll forget about the zucchini glut by next spring. You'll plant five or six, or if you're like me, eight or ten mounds of the prolific plant again next spring. Trust me, you'll do it.

Fortunately, I love zucchini. Really, I love it. (No fooling!) In our house we eat a lot of zucchini, so I'm pretty inventive about how it's served. Lots of recipes...lots of 'em.

I love zucchini. And I love chocolate. Soooo...

Just sharing a summer recipe today. See? I told you, nothing about books or writing. Hope you enjoy!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

3 eggs
1 1/2 c. sugar
3 c. grated zucchini
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. olive oil
3 1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. dry cocoa
1/4 tsp. salt
3 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ginger
1 c. chopped nuts
1 c. chocolate chips

Combine eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil in a large bowl. Add zucchini and mix.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and ginger. Add to zucchini mixture and mix well. Add the nuts and chocolate chips.

Pour batter into buttered loaf pan. Place pan in a pre-heated 325-degree oven and bake for 75 minutes.

A box of books

Applause. Kisses. Squeals of delight. All over a box of books.

Oh, not just any old book. My book! The first shipment of Snowdance arrived and I am thrilled!

Now, it's a reality. I'm a published author. My book is out there. People are reading it. Reviewing it. Hopefully enjoying it. But to rave reviews or pans, my book has been published.

Does it get any better than this? :)

Enjoying summer

Watched the Pliedes meteor shower from our back porch.

Swung lazily in a hammock.

Went swimming in a lake.

Picked blueberries.

Ate so much zucchini I felt green. Then, I ate some more.

Read three romances, one right after the other.

Let ice cream drip down my wrist from a chocolate cone.

Walked barefoot in the grass.

Watched butterflies dance.

Excuse me? What kind of blog post is this? A summertime blog post, of course. Or really, it's a list of some of the things I've done this past week.

What have you been up to? Have you done any of the things I've done? Or have you been enjoying other summertime "stuff"? I'm curious. I want to know.

You see, I love summer, and all the laid-back summertime activities that come with the sultry, steamy days and nights of the season. Just thought I'd take a minute and share what I've been doing with you. And did you notice, the list doesn't have "wrote..." on it? Yeah, I've been slacking!

But yesterday I saw two Indigo Buntings! And a couple of hummingbirds! And I ate strawberries hot from the strawberry patch. Writing will keep. The birds and berries won't.

Hope you're enjoying the summer, too. Remember, soon the flowers will be covered by snow and snow just doesn't smell as lovely as lilies...

All things good

Happy Friday. Don't you just love Fridays? I know I do. The weekend stretches ahead, options open and beckoning... Yep, I love Friday. Especially when it's raining, like it is this very minute. I know, I know...I could get skewered for professing to love rain, especially on get-away day. But hey, we're parched here and rain is very, very welcome. I hate to see dry, rocky creekbeds. Bring on the rain!

Have been working on revamping Vineyard Mambo. Not really working hard, just a few hours each morning, but I figure it'll save me from the big, bad, mind-numbing edit just before the book is published. It's going well; I'm sewing up a few plot holes and, most likely, creating a couple that weren't there to begin with! Ha! I'll leave those for my wonderful editor to find. *Which she will, believe me. Nothing gets past that woman, thank goodness!*

What else?

Hmm...well, I just checked the Whiskey Creek Press "Hot Titles" list again. I know, it's a compulsion at this point. I just have to look when I log on. I just have to. Really.

Oh? Um, well, yes, Snowdance is still on the list. :)

Snowdance is in the top spot on the Hot Titles list!! Number One!!

Told you it was all good! Have a nice weekend!

Rainy Wednesday

Yes, we've got rain. Granted, it's been falling in fits and starts, but it's real, live, honest-to-goodness moisture falling from the sky. Rain. Yay!! I know in some spots rain isn't cause for celebration, but here, in our parched corner of the world, I am doing the happy dance.

Aside from the rain, this is a no-news Wednesday. It's been exactly a week since Snowdance released, a week filled with fun and laughter, but now I think it might just be time for me to buckle down and get back to work. I'm not writing anything new at the moment, just rewriting bits of the next novel that will be released.

Vineyard Mambo is a mystery, very different from Snowdance. I wrote it a few years back and I'm just now re-reading it and it's interesting to see the story unfold. I keep smacking myself on the forehead and muttering, "Why? Why did she do that?" or "Oh, yeah...that's right. I'd forgotten that part." It's like reading something for the first time, except that it's something I wrote! Very strange.

Back to the rain and writing. Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!

100th Post!

This is my hundreth post, which is fun and exciting.

And I'm here to share a bit of news that's got me flummoxed.

This past weekend Snowdance held constant at the number four spot on the Whiskey Creek Press "Hot Titles" list, which has been a thrill!

I just saw that it's moved, though.

Snowdance is Number Two!!

I'm out of my mind over the news!

One more thing...

No, it doesn't have to do with pickles.

Snowdance is Number 8 on the top ten list at Whiskey Creek Press!! Woo Hoo!!

Just thought I'd share.

What's next?

Yesterday someone asked, "What's next? You've had your first novel published, so now what?"

What's next?

Hey, I thought I could settle back for a bit, enjoy the feeling of supreme happiness that swept over me on August 1st.

Next?

All right, I'll spill it. The "next" thing on my list, the most pressing thing in my mind, is pickles.

Yeah, pickles.

Yesterday we made 14 pints of bread-and-butter pickles. This weekend? Dill spears. I'm not sure that's what everyone does when they've just published their first novel, but in our house the "next" thing is pickles.

Who knows what we'll do after my second book comes out? But now, pickles.

Oh, and although I haven't tried doing this yet, I've got a recipe for fried pickles. Oh? You'd like to see that? Sure, here it is:

Fried Dill Pickles

1 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup ice water
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons dill pickle juice
3 cups drained dill pickle slices, 1/4-inch thick
vegetable oil for frying

Combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add wet ingredients and whisk together until batter is smooth. Cover bowl and chill for 45 minutes.

Heat at least 2 inches of oil in a deep pan or fryer. Dip pickle slices in batter, coating evenly, then fry in hot oil. Drain pickles on paper toweling. Serve immediately.

Launched!

Well, it's finally happened. My first novel has been published. Snowdance became available yesterday! What an amazing feeling!

I'm lucky to have wonderfully supportive family and friends. For the cards, gorgeous flowers and fun emails, I thank you all. You helped make my big day truly memorable. My darling husband took me out for a day of adventure, and we had a fabulous time. I will never forget the beautiful sunny August day that my first novel was released. Never.

Now? Now back to writing. I've just begun reworking the novel that comes out in March, called Vineyard Mambo. This one is very different from Snowdance. It's a murder mystery and not nearly as introspective. I'm enjoying fine-tuning it, although I've just started so who knows how I'll feel when I hit chapter 30?! Anyhow, now that Snowdance is out I'll have to get back to work. I'm also writing a new novel, so life is never dull!

Thanks for sharing my big moment with me. :)

P.S. - Wendy, thanks so much for being so supportive. Your cheerful emails have done so much to calm any pre-release jitters! You are a great friend!!

Sixteen Hours and Counting...

until Snowdance is released.

Think J.K. Rowling is wondering how I'm feeling right now? ;-)

Release week Monday

Umm...it's Monday. Not just any Monday, either. It's release week Monday! I couldn't be more thrilled!

Snowdance goes on sale this Wednesday! Can you believe it?!

Through thick and thin

Writing friends. Two words that bring warmth to my heart and a smile to my face.

On a sticky, steamy Sunday morning, I'd like to give you a glimpse at a group of women I hold dear. I won't identify them so you'd be able to track them down and find them; I'd just like to give you all an idea how important is is for a writer, or this writer, at least, to have supportive writing friends.

I'll begin at the beginning...

A few years ago I enrolled in an online writing course. I'd been writing forever, had had a few things published and had even completed some long works. But I'd not summoned up the courage to send anything of any length off to a publisher. I had, however, enough curiousity about this online course to sign up.

The class consisted of a whole slew of folks from across the globe. All had one thing in common: they wanted to write. Some already wrote, others aspired to write. Some would find out, by the end of the class, that writing wasn't their forte. Others would leave inspired, having sought and found their muse. The point is, everyone enrolled in that course was looking for something. Me? I was looking for courage.

Yep, courage. Those of you that know me personally are probably shaking your heads and laughing now. Courage? Me? You know I'm the kind to bite the devil's backside and giggle when he roars, so how could I be looking for courage? All I can say is, everyone needs a boost now and again. Me? I needed that shot of courage regarding my writing.

Why? Well, I haven't mentioned that by the time I'd signed on for the course, I had two completed manuscripts written. Yes, two full-length novels, locked away in our safe. No one had read them and the way I was going, no one ever would. Heck, novels don't get read in dark, lonely safes, do they?

I was lucky. In that course I found not only the courage to unlock the safe, pull the manuscripts out of hiding and send them off to a publisher, but I found a great group of friends. They've been my constant companions through rejection, submission, publication. They've shared their lives, writing, families, friendship and love for the past few years, and I've treasured every minute of it. Without their encouragement and support it may have taken years before I swallowed hard, took a deep breath and sent out my books. They commiserated with me when I received my first rejection letter. They screeched joyfully when I got my first contract offer.

How could I not think of them this week, when it's just hours from now that one of the books I pulled from the safe is going to be released? Yes, Snowdance was hidden in the safe, and it'll be available this Wednesday. The other book was Vineyard Mambo, available in March 2008.

As I sit here on this hot, hot morning and contemplate what is happening to me, and what will happen to me this coming week, my thoughts naturally go back to that first writing class. I smile and consider the joys of friendship found between the lines of weekly writing assignments. I am so thankful for having met these women.

So dear Manda in Indiana, Nashville Vickie, Karen in Virginia, Aussie Judy and California Robyn, thank you. You're incredible women, and I am forever grateful for the way you've been behind me through this writing adventure. I hold each of you in a special place in my heart, and am eternally glad we met in Eva's writing course.

When I signed on for the course, I hoped for courage. I found it, but I found something else just as important as courage. I found friends who understand my dream of being a published author, friends who have such big hearts and unflagging faith they never let me lose sight of that dream. I found friends I hope will be friends for a lifetime. Or two. :)