Orphan Black is the New Black

BBC America has a fantastic line up of shows for the mystery and thriller fans, whether you’re looking at historical set police procedurals like Copper or Ripper Street, detective mysteries like Sherlock, or over the top police drama like Luther, but the most inventive and off the hook so far and my favorite has to be Orphan Black. I think Orphan Black also most clearly represents all the elements in the other shows that take a refreshing dramatic departure that makes the BBC line up such a powerhouse.

For those who have not seen Orphan Black, it’s a ‘future is now kind of black thriller/mystery’, in that you quasi know the villains, but are mostly finding things out as the main character discovers then, with little explanation like you get these days with so many shows. Plus it’s got the sci-fi element down with dark science gone bad. The premise revolves around a street smart foster child grown up named Sarah, who’s coming home to her foster brother, and former foster mom, in hopes of getting back her young daughter. In doing so she sees a woman who looks just like her jump in front of a train and kill herself. Sarah is already on the run from a drug dealing ex and ever the opportunist, sees a chance to steal the identity of her dead ringer along with her bank account. Except she gets snagged in the life as well – her doppelganger was a cop, up on charges for shooting a civilian and seeing a shrink for tottering on the brink of madness. And with good reason. Beth, the cop, is a clone. And in becoming Beth, Sarah learns she’s a clone as well. She meets (so far) 4 additional versions of herself, including two who are also trying to figure out why they are clones, and who’s trying to kill them. True to form, they’re not what you’d expect as clones, once being a control freak soccer mom Alison, and the other, an off-beat hipster science student named Cosima.  

Someone is trying to kill the clones. Sarah just wants Beth’s cash, but to get it, she has to play the long con of being Beth and that brings her into the orbit of the other clones, and the conspiracy that created them and is now trying to destroy them. The more she tries to dig out, she digs in. The more she tries to escape, the deeper she goes. Meanwhile she’s keeping up the façade of Beth, and most times barely maintaining the front.

She has a partner cop named Art who is just the right mix of surly and suspicious, who knows things are not right in paradise. She has Beth’s boyfriend Peter, who’s also not what he seems. But best of all, she has Felix, her foster brother, a modern day painter version of Freddy Mercury with better teeth and the same level of creative panache and droll wit. Felix is her loyal partner in crime, and even helps her fake her death, identifying Beth’s dead body as Sarah, and helping her detonate the powder keg that becomes the story of Orphan Black.

The Canadian produced mystery is not always factually correct, in fact the first episode was supposed to be NYC, but it bombed on accuracy, and is now simply set in “the city” which could be anywhere USA. What they nail with absolute deft brilliance is storytelling and character – my GAWD do they get character. You are dropped into the madness with Sarah, what she knows you know, and occasionally just a smidge more but not enough for things to get laborious.

It’s refreshing to watch not only because you have no idea what will happen next, and really, it’s a complete rollercoaster where insane plot twists and turns are concerned, but because no one is info dumping constantly and ruining the magic. It’s modern day Perils of Pauline with a very likeable, very capable, street smart female protagonist in a creepy here and now that could very well exist in the shadows of today’s mad science. Cloning is the premise, but mother daughter sister relationships are explored, as well as modern day family concepts, and motherhood (both biologic and there for the long haul). Sarah’s especially enjoyable because she’s not tied up in emotional drudge with a male lead. She’s happy enough to use Beth’s boyfriend to get what she needs, but deftly keeps him at arms length, instinctively knowing that he’s a complication her long con can’t afford.

This is the kind of story I enjoy reading, the kind of heroine I favor, and I wish more books and more TV took this vigorous approach to story-telling. Now I am known for favoring more action than not, and everyone knows I love weird stuff and mad science, but still, there is a vibrancy to this that so much pre-produced drama lacks and I think it’s because we spend too much time out of the gate trying to explain every detail and nuance thus numbing the audience into a coma, and too much effort on rubber stamp clichés that act in all too predictable a manner. I think BBC America has nailed it with this brilliant Canadian science fiction mystery/thriller and that Orphan Black is worth anyone’s time if you’re the kind of person who enjoys a wild, and sometimes frantic ride through a story filled with complex, conflicted and not always on the game characters.

 

 

Coming Soon: In the Flesh

Well, I suppose you could say it took long enough, and you'd be right. But timing *IS* everything so lets say I'm being fashionable as opposed to dallying, and call it a day.

Here's the update on my soon to be released Contemporary Paranormal Romance Novella: IN THE FLESH. (note - cover not trad romance. book more horror-esque w/some gross and creep factors. release date - w/i a few days.)

Buried Secrets. Lost Love. Unspeakable Evil.
~50pgs

Investigative reporter Angel Malone lost her professional reputation and the love of her life, FBI Agent Colt Lannigan, chasing down a missing persons story riddled with conspiracy and dead ends. Now she’ll risk the only thing she has left to prove a mass murderer is behind the disappearances – her life. All she has to do is break into an abandoned insane asylum and steal the proof before the killer turns up.

Angel thought she was ready for anything. But with Colt's reappearance and the raw heat of their attraction surging back to life, and the evil madness hidden in the bowls of Parker Sanitarium, she realizes this sick and twisted game may have an higher price. Unsure if Colt’s an ally or an enemy, she’ll take the fight to the front lines, and brave mad science, magic and ravenous ghosts all in the name of truth and a second chance at love.

Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe EVER ('cause it can be any kinda chip!)

Here it is, the best *INSERT YOUR CHIP FLAVOR HERE* cookie recipe. (SECRET RECIPE ALERT - I developed this through experimentation with the toll house cookie recipe on the backs of the nestle chips. This is seriously road tested.)

The preferred home favorite is White Chocolate Macadamia. Second runner up - plain White Chocolate. Third - Chocolate Chip.

All of them fab. Here is the secret why: you will increase the vanilla, add an extra 1/4 cup flour, and heap the teaspoon of salt just a smidge, instead of using the exact recipe on the back of toll house chip bags. I did a fair amount of test kitchen work to get these proportions. The additional vanilla and slightly heaping the teaspoon of salt is done to enhance the sweet flavor. Believe it or not, salt can do that - heighten the flavors of other items. And vanilla is notorious for accentuating the flavor of all chocolates. The additional 1/4 cup of flour gives more body but preserves softness, and prevents the evil flat cookie spread BUT doesn't yield hard and heavy like any more flour often does.

So: Here we go. Your waist line will hate me but your tummy will bless my name and erect monuments in my honor.

OVEN: 375 - preheat

INGREDIENTS

Dough:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt ( very slightly heaped, not flat cut - so mound it lightly in that tsp)
1 tsp baking soda (not powder, but soda - like Arm n Hammer)
3/4 cups white sugar
3/4 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract (not imitation. don't cheap out here.)
1 cup (aka 2 sticks) butter UNSALTED!!!!! must be sweet cream or nothing!

Chips:
White chocolate macadamia - 1 12 oz bag Nestle premier white morsels, and about 3/4 cup cracked up macadamia nuts. Here's the skinny - yes, Giradellie has a finer taste, however they also have a lower melting point and caramelize and burn quicker so this brand is out if you want good cookies. For the nuts, I get them loose at the grocer, a little over a cup whole, put in a glad bag and hit with the meat mallet. Or rolling pin. Don't make dust of them, just smash to medium and small bits.

White Chocolate = 1  12 oz bag Nestle premier white morsels.

*NOTE: these are not so much white chocolate as white chips. Don't think to hard on it, trust me, your taste buds won't care about the details here.

Chocolate Chip - 1 12 oz bag Nestle semi-sweet chocolate morsels.

Additional materials
2 big reliable cookie sheets - aluminum is best. I always think the darker non stick are weird. There is a wide selection of cookie baking sheets and I like Quaker Oats Baking 101 for the explanations of the differences, though I am partial to air filled aluminum despite the questionable description.

2 mixing bowls, one big, and one not so big but big enough to hold all the flour.

Directions

Warning - I am an old school baker. My results are universally loved so the methods are not questioned. Whether you can cook or not, if you follow this, you will succeed and be deemed a Kitchen God/Goddess. So even if it sounds silly, do it.

PREP
You will need two bowls. Your big bowl is your wet and all ingredients bowl. The smaller is for your flower, salt, and baking powder.

Prior to baking, take out the butter and eggs, and let warm to almost room temp. A little before you are going to cook, dump butter sticks into your mix bowl for wet ingredients (yes, wet, we'll get to the rest), and cut up a bit with a knife. This is science in action - by increasing the surface area, you increase the speed it will soften.


Put flour in smaller bowl. Add salt and baking soda. Mix dry with a dry fork, until it looks blended. Set aside.

The butter should be nice and soft. If not, let it get there, and not with the use of a microwave. You can set it n ear the stove if you need a hurry up. Cream it smooth so it is well blended.

Add brown sugar and blend well into the butter. When that is evenly mixed, add the white sugar and mix again until well blended. Crack in the two eggs, hit two or three times to break yolk with your mixing spoon. Then before blending further, add the 2 tsp of vanilla extract. Now, blend it all together. Mix so that it's sloppy, wet, and brown. And well blended.

Add the dry to the wet. Mix. Slowly at first, almost like folding. It helps, I've found, to spin the bowl periodically while mixing. Like a sit and spin. Yes. Really. Not kidding here. It's an easy way to evenly mix. Pretty soon you will have cookie dough at which point everyone eats some. It's only human nature. Go ahead and grab some, but no more than a teaspoon.

Next, mix in your select additives. If you are doing chips n nuts, pour in chips, empty nuts and any nut dust on top of that, then blend.

When well mixed, you are ready to drop your cookies. Some folks use one of those little cookie dropper things that look like an ice cream scoop. That's cool. I don't own one. I use two teaspoons. Mound a teaspoon (not huge, a gentle mound) and use the other to scrape the batter into a drop onto your cookie sheet. Repeat until they are filled.

BAKING
7-9 minutes depending on your oven.
You want the edges to be faintly gold, and the tops to be high with another light dusting of gold.
On average, 8 seems to work, but occasionally I have to add an additional minute. Years ago I owned an oven that 7 on the dot was the exact magic time.

REMOVAL
Take the sheet out and set on stove top. For about 30 secs let the cookies sit. Then, using a metal spatula, or one that is VERY CRISP EDGED AND FLAT, remove cookies and place on a flat plate to cool. or a flat cold surface. It's important to take care as the cookies are very soft.

If the bottoms are unbrowned and white, put them back in for another minute.

Let cool, if you can manage, repeat baking process.

EATING
consume with insulin at the ready. ENJOY!!!!!

60 Seconds to Sin: Microwavable Single Serve Chocolate Chip Cookie

File this under: Holy Crap, this REALLY works. No Lie.
And also stick it in: My Hips Say No but My Stomach says GET IN MY BELLY!!!!

This is a single serve deep dish chocolate chip cookie that really serves 2. It takes about 7 minutes to mix, and usually 60 seconds in the microwave on high to cook. Yes. 60 freaking little itty bitty seconds. This cookie is sin in a dish. The recipe came from Linda Blesser on Facebook and I had to try it in the test kitchen because I did not believe it would work. But it did. And I tweaked the recipe just a smidge because I'm a nut for chip cookies, have my own recipe, and generally can't leave well enough alone. For full on chocolate chip cookies, or any kind of chip cookie base, see my basic  chocolate chip cookie recipe.

This is a very easy desert to make fresh for two, and I bet if you had kids, an easy way to make a quick desert for them, without having to do up an entire batch of cookies, because really, then you'd be obligated to eat them all, right? Right!

First: some recipe notes:
*DISH SIZE/TYPE: For dish I used one of the medium sized ramekins, so about 2 cup sized, flat bottom. It is microwave safe and allowed me to press the cookie flat. A pyrex 1qt glass container will work too but give a thinner cookie. So in that case do 40 seconds, then go up to 60 if it still needs to cook more.

*CHIPS: any kind, even peanut butter. Yup. It's that flexible. I prefer the white chips.

*TOPPINGS: deep dish cookies call for toppings, so ice cream, and, for the adults, Godiva Chocolate liquor and/or Butterscotch schnapps. Or Baileys. Be creative.

Basic Ingredients:
1/4 cup flour

a little less than 1/4 teaspoon salt. (about 2/3rd of the 1/4 teaspoon)

1 large egg YOLK (if you use extra large, add enough flour to compensate. since you're off script, you'll need to eye ball that yourself)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla (I usually add 2 since I have my own chip cookie recipe that heaps in vanilla)

1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar

1 Tablespoon White Sugar

1 Tablespoons Butter, softened. DO NOT USE MARGARINE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. EVER!

Basic instructions:
Just as with chocolate or white chip cookies, soften the butter and blend in the sugar. In a different container, separate white from yolk. Mix vanilla and egg together, toss in salt, and add to the butter sugar mix. Once well blended, add the flour and mix together, then the chips. 

It will seem like they won't all go into the mix, and you may have to toss a dusting of flour in and then sort of press in with your hands, and then press into the dish so that the edges touch. that is why a flat bottomed dish works well.

For your first one: TEST your home nuke (microwave). Start with 40 seconds. Take it out. it should be puffy and the top a little bit dry looking like a finished cookie, but if it is still soft and falling on itself, give it the next 20 seconds. On a dry day 60 seconds will do the trick. On a humid day or if the wet ingredients are very wet for what ever crazy reason, you may need 10 seconds more in 1 or 2 increments.

So once you establish that time, which is on average 60 seconds, you are looking for a cookie that is slightly firm when removed, not sinking in on itself. It needs a minute or two to "set up" but should be soft inside, yet not uncooked. You'll know it needs 10 seconds more if you see it has yellowish insides that seem wetter than the top. Then go 10 secs n check, 10 secs in check. You'll need no more than 20 additional seconds, but as I said, most likely 60 will be your sweet spot.

Let it rest for like a minute or two. Use this to get out the ice cream and booze. Then, have at it. (if it's for kids, leave off the hooch, okay?)

I think this recipe is so easy it should be illegal.

Sewer Corn: Local Grown in Troy NY

File this under: Only in Troy (NY).

Let me preface: Troy, NY, my adopted home town, is nuts. Things happen here that happen no where else on the planet. Nor should they. Troy has what peole call "Character", as well as all other kinds of monkeyshines. Currently I reside in Brunswick, on the eastern border of Troy, though if the postal service had it's way I'd be considered Troy. We call it the 'disputed lands', and leave it at that.

Anyway, a few weeks back driving our local route out of the city (Troy) we noticed corn growing wildly. Brunswick is heavily agricultural, so that was not weird. But we were solidly in Troy, and the corn was not growing in the park, in someones front yard, or even in dirt. No, it was growing out of the sewer drain. So, Troy, known for so many things like South Troy (It's own universe that is ready to fight you), a history of 2 police forces that dueled it out for supremacy, and the creation of disposable collars, now can boast, in addition to it's fantastic Farmers Market, locally produced urban farmed Sewer Corn.

Gives new meaning to the phrase "Locally Grown."  You are what you eat, folks. (Note: for locals this is the sewer on the Northeastern corner of Ingals and Oakwood Ave.)

It's actually pretty tall. It is growing up through the vent and that fuzzy thing that pops out of the top of really tall cornstalks is just making it's appearance. I estimate several feet of stalk well below the grate. NYC grows alligators, but upstate, we are more tame, and sustainable.

ENJOY TROY!!!!!

Chicken "Curry in a Hurry"

 I love fast, easy, tasty cooking, especially if it's paired with bold flavors and even some health beneifts. And I love curry. That's how I ended up with my infamous “curry in a hurry” go-to recipe. It is a fast one pot meal that takes additions and substitutions well, cooks in a jiff, and always comes out perfect.

This tastes fantastic, and is disgustingly healthy. It is also budget friendly, easy, and makes you look like a Iron Chef to your guests. If you like Curry, you will love this dish. Enjoy!

The main ingredient is Seeds Of Change Madras Simmer sauce (which by happy coincidence is organic and lower in sodium than many other curry sauce alternatives). I discovered this at Fresh Market and tried it on a lark and discovered that alone it's pretty tasty, but when jazzed up with a few more select additions, it really took flight. Plus it makes curry a fast affair that mimics scratch made. This serves 4 adults and more if you add more veg to the mix. I have found it in local food co-ops, in healthfood stores, and speciatly grocers like Fresh Market. If you can't find it local, try on-line. Even WalMart.com sells this little jar of wonderful.

Ingredients:

1 lb skinless boneless chicken roughly cubed (you can use tofu also, just alter cooking temps)

1 red pepper, cut in chunks

1 green pepper, cut in chunks

1 fresh Jalapeno pepper diced, no seeds, or two tablespoons of jarred jalapeno rings (optional)

About ½ cup frozen greens (I use chopped mustard, takes collards, turnip or spinach, or bok choy too)

About two tablespoons olive oil (I never measure, I just coat the pan by eye and go to work)

1 full jar Seeds of Change Madras Simmer Sauce

Optional ground red pepper to taste to get it hotter if you want. If you add the jalapenos it will be pretty spicy, and this is from someone who eats heavily spiced foods.  When I serve to guests who say they eat spicy, just the jalapeno is enough to set tongues to wagging. But in the hot weather, adding that extra 1/2 teaspoon or teaspoon ground red pepper takes it up to a blissful level of taste and tingle that's a perfect fit for the summer swelter.

 Also optional: any other veg you have around.  Frozen works especially well here. I’ve added everything from Snow Peas and Scallions, to Cauliflower and Okra. When it comes to the veg portion, you can get very creative. Just keep in mind cooking times (things like snow peas or scallions add more toward the end). Also keep in mind how far sauce will stretch.

Instructions:

In a non stick pan or skillet large enough to hold all the above ingredients so they are not heaped over each other (this will be a 12” – don’t skimp), throw in the olive oil, the veg, then the chicken, and cook over medium-high heat until the chicken can be cut with a dull spatula and is cooked mostly through. This is about 15 minutes give or take, depending on your flame and pan.

The peppers should just begin to soften.

Pour in the simmer sauce, spend a few minutes mixing to coat everything evenly. Keep the heat up for another five minutes or so, then reduce to medium and let simmer. You want the sauce to reduce (cook down so that it’s not as fluid). You will need to periodically stir. I find a spatter guard helpful at this point (it is a screen that goes over your pan to prevent oil or sauces from splattering all over).

Cook like this until sauce is thicker, but not caramelized (burned a little).

Serve plain, with naan, pita, or as I do: with basmati brown rice.

Pairs well with a nice full bodied, juicy red wine and a deck overlooking something scenic, or with a TV tray, recliner and e-reader.

*Naan is an Indian flat bread made in special ovens. You can get it frozen at Indian and some Asian grocers. It is a total bad carb fiesta and indecently yummy.

Platform technology and something really usefull

There is a HEAP BIG TON of stuff now on author platform. So I decided, let me check stuff out on my blog and see what platform it reveals. Which lead me to the conclusion my author platform is as follows: Food, booze, monkeyshines, and the occasional foray into weird science and Internet gossip. I am not certain if that is meaningful, but there it is.

I did find something recently that is VERY MEANINGFUL for writers, experienced and aspiring. Or rather something from someone: Kowloon by Night, the site and the blog of editor/writer Adrien-Luc Sanders.

He edits for Entangled Publishing, and on his blog he's posted a raft of his editor tips dispersed via twitter feeds from 2011. You should visit here, and stay a while. Read the whole post collection of tips. It will take a bit but it's so totally worth the time. First, it's funny. Damn funny. Second, it's helpful. Third, it's irreverent and occasionally absurd (the best part).

He also has a fascination with Kowloon, the walled city of Hong Kong and has a great section on it. Also has links to wish list and cattle calls. Check it out, lots to read, and you won't be disappointed.

Mom's Mac-n-Cheese

So many resolutions at the new year center around eating better. Here's a recipe for those who want to eat good. Damn good. Dave's mom makes AWESOME mac-n-cheese. Great for feeding crowds, a 6 qt crock pot favorite. If you're looking for something to stick to your ribs and make you tingle to your toes (in a way that makes you want to dial 911 for cardiac life support), then this is the one you want. (BIG THANKS to Mrs. C for yet another batch of fantastic yummie stuff!)

(Dave's) Mom's Mac-N-Cheese

3 lbs. elbow mac. cook until done let sit in the water do not drain yet.

3 lb block of hunter's Cheddar (this is a very sharp Cheddar cheese)
1 lb block of regular Cheddar (this is the mild or regular Cheddar)
1 lb Colby
1/4 lb of butter
flour as needed (see below)

Boil up the macaroni till it's about 3x it size. Yep. Puff it up real good.

Shred all cheese and set aside

Melt 1/4 lb of butter in a large pan, add flour by the tablespoon stirring until you get a flour/butter paste like consistency...add milk and stir until blended, creamy and smooth.

When macaroni is cooked, pour any water that is now left in the mac off, add the cheese and stir in the milk/butter sauce until you get the thickness you want...a little bit towards soupy is ok...pour into baking pan etc. ..cover with MORE shredded cheddar and pepper to taste...bake at 350 until golden brown on top

Optional:
Seasoned or plain breadcrumbs on top.

For group serving:
Crock pot it after you bake. Yum!!!!

Ghost Hunters v. Mediums, round 1 (Insider's view: A Haunting Affair)

Ghost Hunters have a different approach to connecting with the spirit world than psychics. Evidence is gathered in abundance via technologic means and then reviewed, and even then, it's preferred for example, with Audio, to have three independent listeners agree on what they're hearing for the event to be considered legit. (also called 'the law of three').

In the case of audio, older tech is better per some experienced ghost hunters. It's believed that an analog tape recorder provides a better 'medium' for capturing spiritual noise, and that digital, while reliable, somehow falls short. However, today's technology allows recordings to load into a computer program, where background noise can be cleaned up, and sound mapped into visual waves, making it easier to identify alleged spectral communication. It's not unusual to have things show up at subsonic levels that are then manipulated, cleaned, and exposed to the naked eye/ and ear. Documentation of this is then determined proof of life, so to speak, where as the Medium only has their word.

In A Haunting Affair many ghost hunters have already debunked the lodge, however, the owner believes there's still a haunting taking place. The ghost is able not only to communicate to the psychic Emma, but brings on several hair raising contacts not unlike a poltergeist. Just like no two mediums are a like, no two ghost hunters, or hauntings are alike, so it allowed me to bring in a unique angle to the ghostly activities in the book.

Insider's View: Immortal Protector

When life becomes art, or something like that...

Immortal Protector had a lot of action scenes, that including more than a few places getting wrecked.

For one scene, the hero, Gideon, an Immortal Soldier, fights a demon in the heroine's house. For the setting I used my friend's house, a few blocks over from mine. It was a nice little brick cape off the local park and golf course. A slice of suburbia that bit the dust.

I never told her about this, only that I had a surprise for her in the book, but it was up to her to figure out what it was.

She was psyched when she found it and to this day, when out at bars, still tells people a demon and immortal soldier destroyed her first house.

It's a great reader reaction, and perfect sales pitch.

Insider's view: A Haunting Affiar

This is the first of posts that I've had up over the the Kindle Boards pages, all inside peeks into the books I've written. I'll be posting them here on the blog, and I'm starting w/the most recent book: A Haunting Affair
*****************************************************************

A Haunting Affair features a psychic with a shady past. For the psychic part, her skills come from using psychometry along with Tarot cards, and an element of spirit communication.

I've read Tarot for over 20 years now, professionally, personally, for charity, and when I owned a metaphysical shop. So that part was easy. Same with psychometry, where you hold an object and pick up the vibrational energy to help stimulate psychic connection. Where I was lacking was the spirit game. Mediums hold purview over that realm, so to mediums I went. I attended a group Medium event with a very popular local Medium I knew professionally, a smaller version of what John Edwards does. I then did some research by reading 3 John Edwards books, and watching a few documentaries. In the end, Emma (the psychic) winds up working for a world famous medium, and is developing spirit connection as the book opens.

Mediums are fascinating, and use a variety of techniques, including spirit guides (spirits who they work with on a regular basis) and acting as a conduit for spirits trying to get through. One of the things I noticed is that the Medium was rarely aware of the meaning of the message when they were the conduit. It seems even working with guides, the dearly departed aren't as cooperative, or logical as we would like them to be. It's something that Emma struggles with and factors into the story through out the mystery's unfolding. What gave me the idea for incongruous communication came from the group medium event I attended, where a friend was given a message so out of context no one could figure how it fit, and all we could assume was that either the medium was making it up, or the spirit was communicating in terms only they understood.

Was it a scam artist con job or a true spirit communication from the great beyond? Hard to tell. And that's the struggle the upright ex-cop Sam has to figure. Sooner or later he'll need to trust Emma if he wants to get to the bottom of things, but trusting a former con artist isn't easy. In the end it will come down to a tough choice and defining moment for a Hero with everything to lose and gain.

Up to no good...as usual

Lately I've been doing mini-trivia kinds of posts over at the Kindleboards, on each of my three books. They're like blogs, so I'm going to post them over the next few weeks, and keep it updated as not everyone searches the kindleboard book bazaar (as I was recently informed!!!!! :-)   ) I've hadreader feedback that folks are really enjoying more of an 'inside baseball' kind of scoop. The posts range from what got me going on the book, to strange facts (like how it was a friends house that was trashed in a demon fight in Immortal Protector and now that's a fav bar tale of the same friend), to the influence of League of the Superfriends and The Mighty Isis. (Yes, it's true. None of this is made up. Some days it would be nice to say fact is indeed not as strange as fiction, but in my life the two seem to be tied at any given moment)

Here are the links to the individual threads if you want to read them in one stop shop fashion. You can save to your favorites to continue following the thread, or just pop back here periodically for updates. I'm not on a particular time table, but I try to shoot for at least every week to two weeks on the boards. I'll be adding the updates over the next week or so to this blog.

A Haunting Affair

Immortal Illusions

Immortal Protector

Enjoy!!!!

Haven - Crazy Lives in Maine

I really like the show Haven. Last year it was a refreshing breath of strange, as opposed to recycled strange, passing strange, and strangely arranged, in that it took small town Americana on a ride to the heart of the twilight zone.

You'd expect no less from a product based on Stephen King storytelling (It's loosely based on a story called the Colorado Kid).Yet it delivers so much more.

It's certainly innovative, I think, but not pretentious, and unapologetic about how it lays things out and leaves things hanging, giving enough finish and enough open ended to keep you coming back for more. Stuff happens, weird stuff, and even beyond weird crazy psycho stuff too, and somehow life perseveres. People gossip and feud, run out family dramas, and commit petty crimes (and large crimes). Life as you know it continues amidst the cyclone of crazy. Plus, it's full of camp & quirk, the kind you can only get in a remote, seaside town shoved along the upper east coast. You have hanging threads that pick up and drop, not like Lost (where it was a cluster-fox trot), but with enough skill to tantalize and tease and make you think about things well after the episodes are over.


Central to it is an enigmatic female FBI agent with a murky past that turned positively pitch black with season two. She's what's missing in television heroines, strong, capable and not a raging bitch. Intelligent, but not too smart for her shirt.

The most recent episode, #3 of season two, called Love Machine, made me look twice at my dryer and all the other electronic devices in the house.

If you have not tried Haven, and want something different to freshen the viewing schedule, give it a try.

Here's the quickie wickie def on it, and it's quite good, but no where near complete.
Shrewd and confident FBI Special Agent Audrey Parker (Emily Rose) has a lost past and an openness to the possibility of the paranormal. When she arrives in the small town of Haven, Maine, on a routine case, she soon finds herself caught up with the return of The Troubles, a plague of supernatural afflictions that occurred in the town at least once before. If that was not enough to draw her in, she also finds a link that may lead her to the mother she has never known.

Available Now: A Haunting Affair

It's official: my third book A Haunting Affair is available on Kindle, Nook and Smashwords.

 When the cold case from hell heats up and the body count rises, no secret is safe, no matter how well hidden - and no heart's safe, no matter how sheltered.

A Haunting Affair is set in a creepy lodge in the Adirondack mountains and is a contemporary paranormal/gothic romance. For more details read the previous blog post or follow the links above.

Gothic goes Mountain...blurb from A Haunting Affair

Contemporary Paranormal Romance, Gothic tone, set in the Adirondack mountains. No Sasquatch, but does have ghosts, psychics, a high body count and a few hot men. Tentative release date: July 2011

My first indi pubbed release is not too far off, so I decided to post the back cover copy. Yes, I know, still need to update the website and all. Will get there. This is my summer of Island Time, so I'm taking the as it comes when it comes approach.
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Ex-cop turned private security consultant Sam Tyler made a deathbed promise to uncover the truth behind the murder of his friend’s wife at a remote Adirondack lodge, and his sense of duty won’t let him fail. When he realizes the case is at a dead end, and the lodge is haunted, he fast concludes his only hope of making good on that promise is Emma Bishop, a psychic with a shady past. He’s a man who believes in hard evidence and stone cold proof, but with too little of either, he’s ready to take his chances with Emma.

Emma grew up with con-artist parents, but went legit when she hit eighteen. She knows the action at Holloway Lodge is a dangerous game, but one she needs to play if she plans to build on her already formidable reputation. Falling hard and fast for Sam Tyler is an unwanted complication she never sees coming. Not only is he a former cop, he’s looking for happy ever after, and she sees love as the ultimate liability.

The dead demand justice and she can’t turn away, even with a murderer drawing a target on her back. As old secrets and fresh bodies turn up, Emma and Sam race against time to bring the truth to light. Neither plans on the attraction they share kicking into overdrive, but with danger and passion heating to the flash point, life, and love are put to the ultimate test.

My Girls

There are all kinds of witty things I can post on, but I'd rather post on kitties. It's a dreary, rainy Monday, cold for June even in the frigid north east. Kitties are fun and furry and always make the day a little brighter.

Here are my two ladies, recent additions to our house. The orange one is Bizzy (short for busy body kitty, she is the nosiest cat ever, into everything, and our little explorer girl.) The tiger is Val (short for Valentine). She was a feral, named for Valentine's day, and it was a perfect choice: she loves everyone and has an amazingly sweet temperament. (Biz makes up for that).

We adopted them, one on a Saturday and one on a Sunday, at a Pet Adoption clinic, a few months back after our 19 year old kitty passed to the summer land.

Bizzy was marked as 'cranky' and 'danger/beware' on her cage. I think it was the red hair that did it. We are cranky and dangerous too, so figured she'd be a good fit.

Val loves sleeping upside down when she's not trying to love and groom everyone in sight, or beating up the cat toys.

They never fail to make us smile and we're lucky they picked us of all the humans that came by Petsmart that weekend!

Of course, you know this means war

It's hot. It's after Memorial Day. That means gardening. And war. Me. The woodchuck. The plants hang in the balance.

This year I went small, last year not at all, but my new strategy involves whiskey barrels (yes, once again whiskey saves the day). Previously I'd planted in them, now I doubled up, so the top barrel half is raised waist height for me (I'm 5'9"). Fingers crossed this will keep the critters out of my stuff. As an added protection, I planted a Shepard's crook into the barrel half, and hung a planter off it filled with the woodchuck's favorites: petunias and flat leaf Italian parsley. The main barrel has cherry tomatoes, more parsley, basil, Greek oregano, and German thyme. Very international. Smells amazing! Especially in the rising heat.

The barrel of sage must not be on his tasty treat list. Each year it remains in the same spot, untouched, growing bigger and bigger. The bees and butterflies are loving it this year, and the blooms are out of this world purple. At sunset they seem to glow.

But let this not be a lull, more so a call to arms. I'm ready, if there is any foray by the critter across the borders, I will get the have a heart trap and we will tangle.

On other notes, A Haunting Affair is almost ready for release. It's in production now for formatting, and I'll be updating the website to have all the relevant information. Very exciting, a garden and a new book. A good way to venture into June.

TIP FROM THE TRENCHES: Cooling Down Self Editing Hell

If you write, and ever get a chance to take the Self Editing Class with Angela James, do it. Better, if you ever get a chance to work with her directly, grab with both hands!


Been in edit hell for a while. I've had at this manuscript multiple times so it's easy to numb up and miss things when surgical precision is most needed. To aid the scalpel sweep that produces my final line by line read through copy, I used a TIP from Editor Angela James and it worked to highlight weak spots quick: Grammar check on Word. I know - that's like 'so Mickey mouse' - except, it isn't. You won't accept most suggestions, since voice comes through in style and style isn't always on the 'up and up' as far as the check is concerned. It's a quick way to zero in on potential trouble spots, and worth it as one of your first, and one of your last round pre-flight checks.

I had format issues that this sussed out which is why I gave it a try, but I also found it caught some weak sentences, as well as confusing text, faster than another line by line read through. Employing it gave me a much better copy to do my last line by line read through, too, a big plus. It helped my adverb hunt (Stephen King in On Writing has an excellent explanation of why to avoid overuse of adverbs.). In the end it forced a few re-writes that made better sentences, and gave me a chance to cut more junk words. A Haunting Affair is a category sized contemporary paranormal romance. Its length and story demand tight pacing and economy of words. I like words, and often use way too many. So I know my weak spots. But this made finding them faster and trust me, after so many times at the wheel, I was ready for a co-pilot. After going through the last process, I had my final line by line read through copy and was able to get through that edit round in half the time it would have taken if I'd not tried this tip.

So on this leg of the revision journey in addition to weak sentences I hit the low hanging fruit of:

1. Extraneous activity w/dialogue. Dialogue makes things move fast when you read. Attribution is key, but motion for the sake of motion doesn't enhance the story. So cut a bunch of that.

2. LY - adverbs - kept some, junked most

3. Overuse of low value words: Just, Really, Very, etc.

4. Passive voice and extraneous description

5. Weird format errors achieved though multiple revisions w/track changes.

6. Name change justification and name consistency

7. Flagrant spelling errors (My personal favorite - I am inventive w/letters and do not follow rules, only whim)



What's left:

■25 more pages to 'The End'

■Changing a key item to something more timely and recognizable

■Tim's last pass on copyedit for spelling or misused words





Then:



Off to the format guy (who also did my cover)



.

Make it So - The Impossible becomes Possible

I read this fantastic book recently: Where Good Ideas Come From - The Natural History of Innovation , by Steven Johnson. I found it as a recommendation on a blog. It’s a science writer’s analysis of Innovation and what drives it. I read it because samples were intriguing, and because I wanted to really think about how I can be innovative – in my writing, in my career, in my life. I first purchased it on Kindle and read it in one sitting because I couldn't stop (crack for the mind, got to love that). Then I purchased the hardcover.

So, you’re thinking egg head bore snore, right? Wrong. There are many ideas he considers, but I want to talk about something Mr. Johnson calls Adjacent Possibilities, and relate it back to the revolution in publishing, the changing power structure between author and producer, because it really fits. And because if you have this framework in place to funnel thoughts, you might wind up popping out of your usual track and making some quantum shifts. At the very least, you’ll get wheels turning in a different way.

Adjacent Possibilities, basically, are the things that exist to make other things happen. Without electricity, for example, would the lightbulb work? Nope. We had to have some other things in play prior to the lightbulb making a meaningful entry onto the scene. If the curtain call came prior to understanding some basic electrical principals, the lightbulb would be a dismal failure. Or at least, an un-self actualized failure. Let’s bring that in focus for the writer. An idea must have the right time. If the idea is there, but it’s missing solid adjacent possibilities to help maximize or enable it’s impact, then it remains an idea, and sometimes a failure. Failures aren’t bad, they’re actually good, but that’s a discussion for another blog. Back to Adjacent Possibilities. Let’s talk about the prototypical mass publisher, Guttenberg, and what publishing and book release was prior to his appearance.

Bibles were hard to make. Time consuming. Expensive. So not a lot of folks had bibles. But some did. They were around. In circulation. But man, did you need to lay it in to make one happen. (Think Publishing of 5 years ago). Guttenberg’s around, and he’s an idea man, but he’s missing something: an adjacent possibility that when it appears, will change his life, bank balance and the world for ever after. Fast forward to the revolution in printing that allowed for mass production: the printing press. Enter the adjacent possibility. Guttenberg sees this and thinks, 'man, I can DO something with this technology'. He takes an existing product, a book called the Bible (an existing manuscript), and applies the adjacent possibility of this revolutionary new technology (e readers, e publishing platforms for author direct publishing, and the net/social media platforms that make marketing easier, faster and far more direct), and wham! Now bibles are getting out there, into the hands of many. These bibles are not as pretty in production value as the first bibles, but they’re bibles. Guess what? His audience is hungry for them. It’s this vast untapped demand. They like the price, the immediacy, it works for them. So both bibles exist in tandem now, but his is out and about, and here’s the turning point: publishing was never the same again.

Fast forward to today’s digital publishing revolution. The technology and convergence of so many adjacent possibilities (The internet, social medial, Print on Demand, Amazon, e readers, B&N, a recession causing a new awareness of cost containment in a buying public, blogs, instant exchange of information) has created an evolutionary leap no one could have predicted. In fact, I’m not sure where this will head, and what the final iteration will be but there is one fact we can’t escape: THIS IS A GAME CHANGER. The power structure is shifting, what will it become? Right now, large entities are slow to catch up so indie pubs are enjoying unprecedented opportunity. Will that change once the NY pubs figure out a way to maximize electronic and personal marketing strategies? Will top authors do the same? For example: Amazon gives passive publicity by rankings. Depending on price, or free, you can increase a chance of getting into a TOP RANKING. 99 or Free. I’m noticing more big name authors giving up freebies and 99 cent work. Will the combination of price and name squeeze out spots for the indie author, the way they did in the traditional model of ‘we have only so many slots for books, so we’re going with reliable producers vs. the unknown with the off the wall idea’? Or has the indie author carved a place that the large machine will never be able to remove, or duplicate in response? What about trad publishers like Harlequin opening up digital only press affiliates like Carina Press? What will happen when/if trad publishers give more digital % royalty to authors? Will we see more digital bidding wars for authors in the future? (already several indies have been picked up by agents and a few courted by publishers). What role will small press mainly digital publishers play, like Samhain Publishing, and how might that change? What will be the new measures of success? Will Print on Demand save bookstores, or be another coffin nail?

There are millions more questions. Like, as an author, why would I go with a traditional publisher vs. going it myself? As a publisher, how will I recruit and retain productive authors and what do I need to change in the existing model to stay not only competitive but out of bankruptcy?

I don’t know the answers. But I do find it all amazing. We are in the midst of a revolution.

For some additional thoughts on innovation and the ways to support and develop an innovative state of mind, read Steven Johnson’s book Where Good Ideas Come From - The Natural History of Innovation and visit his blog. You will not be dissapointed, and I bet it may trigger your own personal revolution.

For more on the state of the indie publishing revolution, check out Joe Konrath’s blog and step off from the many links there. I liken him to a war corrospondant. He's on the front line, reporting as the salvos fly, and has more voices speaking there than I could ever capture. He also has links to each side the revolutionary front, trad and indie. 

For cutting edge info on where digital publishing is headed, follow anything Angela James writes. She's a former Samhain editor and the current head at Carina. If anyone knows digital and impact to the industry, it's her. (She's on twitter, and facebook)

Now if I were really tech savvy, I'd give all kinds of link backs but since I'm barely beyond chisle and stone tablet some days, the links in the post will have to do. To those I referenced, thanks!

Welcome traveler - the future is NOW

I found this great spot I bet TONS of folks knew about already: Goodreads. I finally have a place I can post book reviews in a quick manner, and a place to find more books to read. And I dig the list of recent reviews because it’s such a mixed bag you don’t know what you’ll run across while exploring.


What does all this mean? It means I’m coming out of the cave and discovering technology. Uh oh. That can only hint at much trouble to come.

Personally I get bogged down sometimes by all the tech floating around. Maybe because I’m working on a computer all day for the day job. Not sure. But I have decided it’s worth it to judiciously connect here and there, because there's a ton of cool things and people to find. I see some folks are plugged in everywhere. Impressive. They’ve figured out the secrets of bending time. Not to post resolutions, I want to bypass written records of intentions as much as possible this year, but, I’m shooting for balance. Balance in work/home, balance in organic/tech, balance in busy/and chill. That means balance in off and on line, because on line is a place curious travelers can lose themselves in, like visiting the fairy realm. Time is different, fluid and trippy. So back to Goodreads: it makes it easy to shop and easy fits in with the 2011 master plan of balance. There, master plan. Way better than ‘annual resolutions’. So props Goodreads, and my favorite authors and those yet to become favorites, reviews coming at you!

Rosemary Bread Recipe

By popular demand, here is the homemade rosemary bread recipe. I made this after reading The Search by Nora Roberts. The heroine had a friend who made her the bread and homemade minestrone soup too. And I thought, mmm, sounds good. Then I got busy in the kitchen and made both. I have the recipe home made minestrone as well.  Will post that one at a later date. It's the easiest soup recipe ever. (and I am not kidding!) But for now, here's the bread.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 1/2 tablespoons rosemary
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• Optional: 1 full heaping teaspoon of either garlic pepper or garlic powder
• 3 cups bread flour
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 egg, beaten (optional)

Directions

1.     Dissolve the sugar in warm water in a medium bowl, and mix in the yeast.

2.   Optional: grind 1 1/2 tblspoons rosemary, add other seasonings, set aside. This releases the oils and reduces the woody spikes of the rosemary.

3.   When yeast is bubbly, mix in salt, butter, 1 tablespoon rosemary, and Italian seasoning. Mix in 2 cups flour. Gradually add remaining flour to form a workable dough, and knead 10 to 12 minutes.

4.     Coat the inside of a large bowl with olive oil. Place dough in bowl, cover, and allow to rise 1 hour in a warm location.

5.     Punch down dough, and divide in half. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly grease paper. Shape dough into 2 round loaves, and place on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining rosemary. Cover, and allow to rise 1 hour, or until doubled in size. (Optional tip: if you toss a little bit of corn meal down and then put the bread on that, you bake up a nice bottem.)

6.     Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

7.     Brush loaves with egg. Bake 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. The egg wash makes them golden and helps the crust form. (Optional: you can also toss ice cubes into the oven, or an oven safe dish while baking to get a thicker crust. it's an old breadmaker's tip, the steam helps a crust form.)

New Stuff from the New Book

There's this program where you put in text and it says who you write like. So I popped in an excerpt from the book I just finished writing in June. It's a contemporary romantic suspense in a gothic setting with paranormal elements.(Ghosties and psychics and a creepy old great camp in the Adirondacks, old cold murder case with very much alive killer out for more blood, and serious heat between two people who couldn't be more wrong for one another. Plus lots of lies and even more secrets.).

According to the ghost in the machine, I write like Stepehen King. So I guess for my target, I hit the mark. Here's the link to the site so you can test your own stuff, and below is the raw, unedited excerpt I used as a sample. Don't know that it's King-esque, but hey, that's cool too!
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His touch was firm heat and sparked up the slow burn that had been building all day night in his presence. She hated being close to him this way. All her senses went wild, and all her better thoughts and intentions go into the trash. Emma put her hand on his broad chest. Stifled the urge to let it roam and instead pushed back lightly. “You brought me here. You might want to trust me. I’m not a con anymore.”

Sam didn’t release her. Instead he grabbed her other arm and pulled her close. Slanted a piercing gaze at her. Made her want to be held forever, even though she was spitting mad at the same time. “I’m trying to do the right thing. It’s hard when you don’t know what that is. I’m in unfamiliar territory.”

The moment spun out between them as tension and desire escalated. Her heart was so loud hammering against her rib cage. He must have heard it. Did he see what he was doing to her? Did he care? She drew an unsteady breath and met his gaze head on. “We’re both out of our element.”

The smile he flashed was boyish and at odds with the predator lurking in his eyes. “Do you forgive me?”

He was sexy as hell right now. And he was hiding something. “Do you trust me?”

“I do.”

“Then prove it. Tell me what’s really going on.” That would do the trick. If he told her, then he was worth her time and bother. If he held back, or worse, lied, she’d do the job she came to do, but other than that, write him off. She didn’t have time for players. “Tell me what you’re holding back.”

“Keith isn’t haunting the lodge, Emma.” Sam’s wide chest rose enticingly as he took a deep breath. “He’s haunting me.”

Amaretto Cake

For all those Amaretto lovers on Facebook - You KNOW who you are!!!!

Amaretto cake (4 Miniatures, or one regular 6 cup size)
(from Better Homes and Gardens New Baking Book)

¾ cup butter
3 eggs
1 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¾ cut granulated sugar
¼ cup amaretto (for cake)
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
½ teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup cold water
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons light-colored corn syrup
½ cup amaretto (for syrup)

1.Allow butter and eggs to go to room temperature. Generously grease and flour six 4 inch fluted tub pans or 1 6 cup fluted tube pan (the bundt cake pan)

2.Beat butter till creamed, then add the sugar and cream until mixture is fluffy. Can use a motorized hand mixer for this, unless you are old school (like me) and have a killer arm.

3.Stir in ¼ cup amaretto, lemon peel, and vanilla. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition and scraping bowl often. GRADUALLY add flour mixture to egg mixture, beating on medium-low speed just until combined.

4.Pour into pan(s)

5.Bake in 325 degree oven 20 – 25 minutes for 4 inch pans and 40 – 45 minutes for the 6 cup pan , or until toothpick near center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks. Remove after about 10 minutes (should fall out easily). Cool the rest of way on wire racks. When cool, pierce generously with tines of fork.

6.For syrup, in medium saucepan combine the ½ cup granulated sugar, the water, brown sugar and corn syrup. Cook and stir over medium heat until bubbly and most of the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in ½ cup amaretto. Cool for a few minutes, up to 5.

7.Dip fluted top and sizes of small cakes into syrup. Spoon or brush any remaining over tops of cakes. FOR 6 CUP: spoon or brush syrup over top and sides of cake, reusing syrup on the tray.

Chill. If wrapped or in container and chilled can last up to 3 weeks.

Now, picture this cake, warmed, with a small side of Bryer’s All Natural Vanilla Ice Cream, and an amaretto sour chaser? Yes. MMMMMmmmmmmm!!!!!!!

Writer Myth, Writer Magic

I had a weird week, so I decided to take a break from my ‘normal’ every day world, and do a full day of being a writer. Immersion therapy. I needed to freshen up, and get going with finishing my current book. Only 6 – 10 chapters to go, so really, what was the obstacle other than life itself?

I took a day off from work, woke up with a plan and set it in motion. Feed the Muse. Part of the menu? Visit a local café in downtown, a very bohemian place with outstanding atmosphere, tea and cofee to die for, and cupcakes. Yes. BIG CUPCAKES. Flavour Café & Lounge is in a brick brownstone, filled with local art, a lot of yummy stuff, a bunch of off beat things, a fab couch, and just a good overall vibe. I grabbed a spot at a big table in the second room, sipped my Mayan Chai tea, sugared up on my enormous cupcake (This was my lunch. I had to feed the muse, right? Well the muse is a damn picky eater!) Got the lap top out, and went to work.

The goal was to get out of my normal environment and cause a jolt in the creative pattern, get the juice going to get the words on the page. Now what is weird, writing in a café has NEVER held appeal for me. In fact, it’s been sort of standing joke. Only tortured literary writers go to cafes to write. They write long epic stories that go no where, and lament the unbearable lightness of being. They write poetry no one gets. They drink lots of coffee but it never perks them up. These are the folks who write in cafes. Besides, writing in the café, that is the stuff of writer lore. Like part of our writer collective unconscious. A story carried from generation to generation of writer since stylus found clay tablet. The writer’s myth. Not the writer reality. Or the writer truth. And yet, I decided to do it anyway. Falling back on some primal author instinct, and I had to wonder why?

If the draw was so strong, then beyond the cliché, there must be fire beneath the smoke. Always up for a challenge, I put it to the test. And I have to say, I understand now why it is such an enduring part of the author's mythic schema: because things got going, words got down on the page, the story trotted along nicely, and I got a sugar rush that could power ten space shuttles and a runaway bus.

The café is busy at a steady pace, people in and out, at tables, at the couch, talking, eating, working on computers or cell phones, but I found it a soothing blend that allowed me to drift out of the heavy reality of the world, and relax into my storytelling. This writer’s myth, it is passed on the way it is passed on because it has merit and bears fruit.

Now, I got it going on for about an hour, when life came to call. Had to meet with my contractor about renovations. So I drove back up the hill, had some fun picking out what would be done to the master bath, and then decided I’d had such success earlier– let me try the writing in a café experiment, but this time in another café. This was an uptown café, or more appropriately, a suburban glam café. Set in a strip mall, very chic décor, nothing rogue going on. I had a cup of decaf, not so great. I sat in an overstuffed chair with a candle at my table, but somehow, the atmosphere was thin. I did get words on paper, the right ones too, and the story marched on, but I suspect I was working off the previous buzz. I found the surroundings a distraction I had to work through.

Part cliché, part mythic act, writing in the café taught me a valuable lesson today: In finding a place that is not the normal place you create, yet one that allows you safe passage into the headspace writers enter when they need the words to flow, the spark of creation ignites. I imagine for some writers, Flavour would be a bad fit, and the place up the hill, Nirvana. I learned too, that on coming home, the perceived block wasn’t an obstacle anymore. I bet you can get the same in a library, a park, a corner bar. But the café has that enduring mystique, and it stands as marker for all those other places that are not your normal haunt, but carry a certain allure, charm and cache, and allow you to duck, if only for a few hours, the slings and arrows of the normal mortal world for a far more satisfying adventure in the land of your story.

There is merit to our writer’s myth, and sometimes we need to go into that innermost cave of creativity via an entrance located in a café off the beaten path, where the tea is always hot and the cupcakes always at the ready.

Guest Blog: Keeping It Real

Author Carol Storm guest blogs on a slice of writers life, keeping writing real, visceral and engaging to your reader. Enjoy!!! And when you're done, check out Carol's blog The Storm Report or, go to Facebook to find and friend her.

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KEEPING IT REAL
By Carol Storm

First off, a huge thank you to Ursula for inviting me – and what a fabulous place to spend St. Valentine’s Day!

Have you ever heard the saying about giving a man (or a woman) enough rope to hang themselves? For me the hardest thing about writing erotic romance is that we have so much freedom! We can write about passionate, beautiful, uninhibited men and women. We can create characters that think sex, talk sex, and have sex nearly all the time . . . and yet, when we want to grab our reader by the heart (and not lower down on the anatomy) we have to dig . . . deeper.

We have to keep it real.

Let me show you what I mean. I set my new work in progress, BUCCANEER’S BRIDE, at the decadent, pleasure-filled court of King Charles II of England. It was a time and place where the king and the high nobility could wallow in sexual pleasure not only in private, but in the public eye. And bold Anthony Hawkins, my buccaneer hero, is very much a part of that world.

But is that all there is to the Hawk? Here’s my first draft opening:

“Anthony Hawkins had been too long without a woman. After seven years of plundering the Spanish Main, he was back in England – with an invitation to the royal court at Whitehall Palace. The Hawk’s newly-won gold would open doors. He pictured the king’s wanton women, all willing and waiting.”
Now that’s a pretty sizzling opening, if I do say so myself. It promises the reader pleasure and passion – but it really tells us very little about the Hawk. Let’s try to dig deeper:

“Anthony Hawkins had been too long without a woman. After seven years of plundering the Spanish Main, he was back in England – with an invitation to the royal court at Whitehall Palace. The Hawk’s newly-won gold would open doors. He wanted an audience with King Charles. He wanted an end to all the killing. But the king cared only for pleasure, and the hardened buccaneer knew all too well the need for pleasure – the need to forget. He pictured the king’s wanton women, all willing and waiting.”

This opening isn’t as short and snappy as the first one. But now the Hawk is a more interesting character. Instead of being just a fool with money to spend, he’s a man who’s seen a lot, suffered a lot – and who has a goal to end the suffering of others. His own lust is still very much a part of the picture, but now there’s a conflict between indulging mindlessly (like the king) and finding a way to make his sex drive lead to something more than pleasure.

And of course, that’s where our heroine comes in!

If there’s one thing I’ve learned through all my writing, it’s that you have to keep writing and writing and rewriting. It’s the only way to open yourself up to all the emotions your characters feel. When they feel, they become real, and then the reader wants to hang on for the whole ride . . . and savor every minute of the incredible, fantastic sex!

****


Carol Storm is the author of HUNTED WITNESS and HIALEAH HEAT, both available from PHAZE books, and GLORY AND THE CLEVER CAT, available from NOBLE ROMANCE. Visit Carol’s blog at THE STORM REPORT

Best Spam of 2009: INTERNPOL wants YOU!

2009 was quite the year, and looking back, I've had more than a few 'best of' experiences. I'll post them as I get to them, but the all time favorite for now, is this Spam entry - a plea from INTERNPOL (not Interpol, the infamous police agency, but Internpol, which I'm not sure what is, but seems to be very busy at something). I do think it's highly creative, though, and may pinch some elements for my own brand of fiction.


I'd love to give it a lead in, but wouldn't even know where to start. So here it is, for your reading pleasure: BEST SPAM EVER 2009 (rec'd by me. You might have better stuff. There is some creative scamistry floatin around the bandwidth).
************************************************************

FROM INTERNPOL POLICE FORCE UNIT.
EMAIL( xxx@xxx.com
OR(yyy@yyy.com

Attn:
You are welcome to desk of Chief Hon,Peter Williams ,International Interpol Police Force Investigating Unit Benin Rep.

We are Working towards a corruption-free world by promoting and defending integrity, justice and the rule of law’ Mission statement of the International Anti-Corruption Academy,We cover West African Countries.

This is official notice to you that we have been mandated by His Excellency Mr. President Dr Thomas Boni Yayi to monitor and follow up your payment of 3.5 Million Five Hundred Thousand United State Dollars $3.5Million with western union Benin Republic office.

We came to understand through our investigation team that you have been trying to claim your funds for a couple of months now and you are yet to receive your funds due to corruptions in western union office. It was based on this that His Excellency Mr. President mandated us to handle your payment and make sure that you receive your funds without any delay as he is trying to rebulid the good image of this country with our foreign conterparts all over the world.

Our duty is to put a stop to all corruption frequently occurs at local or national level with the help of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) whom we work hand to hand with to get hold of all the hidden and Idenitify thiefs local and international level.

The Interpol Police Group of Experts on Corruption (IGEC) aims to develop and implement new initiatives to further law enforcement’s efficiency in the fight against corruption.

It is a multi-disciplinary group with members from all regions of the world, coordinating and harmonizing different national and regional approaches. The International Anti-Corruption Academy will be the world’s first educational institute dedicated to fighting corruption. It will allow law enforcement professionals and other to learn from the world’s foremost authorities in anti-corruption training, research and investigation.

We need your absolute co-operation right now so that you can receive your total amount of $3,5Million which is now in custody the Interpol Police Force Unity office Benin Republic.

In view of this development, you are requested to confirm and furnish us with your full names, postage address and telephone numbers to enable us proceed with process of your fund delivering to you through our diplomatic International Interpol Police Force Unity Immunity service as consignment to your door step.

We have 186 member Countries. Created in 1923, it facilitates cross-border Police co-operation, and supports and assists all organizations, authorities and services whose mission is to prevent Internation Crime.

Interpol aims to facilitate International Police Force co-operation even where diplomatic relations do not exist between particular Countries.Action is taken within 72hours the limits of existing laws in different Countries and in the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Interpol constitution prohibits any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character. Interpol as Leadership The President of Interpol Police Force and the Secretary General work closely together in providing strong leadership and direction to the Organization...

Interpol Police Force, in partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), is working towards the recovery of funds and return of stolen assets. This project allows Interpol to actively engage national law enforcement bodies in co-ordinated efforts to trace, seize, confiscate and return public funds to victim countries and Indivduals.

Be rest assured that upon receipt of the above information and the deliverying fee of $155USD. ,we will proceed in delivering of your consignment to you immediately. For security reasons endeavour to indicate this ( CODE NUMBER ) ( BJ/XXL14160) this code shows that you are the rightful owner of the consignment box..
Below Interpol Police accountant officer name where you should send the money.
Receiver Name....... MR AUSTINE PRINCE
City.........Cotonou
Country.:Benin Republic

Question.:Who is great?
Answer.:God
Amount.............$155USD.
MTCN....................


Yours Faithfully
Mr Jecob Jones.
Contact Person
Chief Hon,Peter Williams
E- mail (xxx.xxx)
Inspector General of fraud International Interpol Police Force Unity.
CONTACT INTERNPOL POLICE FORCE UNIT FOR THE DELIVERING OF YOUR TOTAL FUND.

Spicy Shredded Beef - Slow Cooker Recipe

Thought I'd post my newest Hell Beef recipe. It is fast and easy, and super tasty, especially on a cold day. Even better after a day in fridge, or when defrosted as left overs. Perfect for the busy holiday season. Will make your house smell FANTASTIC!!!!!




HELL BEEF
Slow Cooker recipe for a spicy shredded beef suitable for burritos, soft tacos or plain as a meat main dish.

Heat Category Varies: this incarnation is about a 5 – 7 depending on how used to spicy food you are.

Difficulty level: Very Easy

Tools: 5 -6 qt crock pot , food processor, ladle and medium bowl for reserve use

Serves: 4 – 6 people. If cooking for 2 makes about 3 servings. Freeze unused portions in meal servings for ease in defrosting. (ex: 2 people get 3 servings, one that day, and 2 to freeze for 2 add’l meals)

Time: 7-8 hours

Ingredients
(2) Large Jars store brand salsa – Hot, thick and chunky (want less spice, go medium) You will need at least enough to come ¾ up the way of the roast. So if it’s bigger, use more.
(1 or 1 and 1/2) 7 oz (aprx) can of Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce (Goya is best)
(1) 3 – 3.5 lb Top Round or Bottom Round Roast (don’t substitute, these shred like a charm)

Steps
1. Put about a jar and a half of salsa and all of the chipotle peppers and sauce in food processor, and pulse until you have ground down all the large bits and the mix is a uniform sludge. (the more chipotle, the more smoky/spicy warm the mix will be. I usually go for one and a half)

2. Throw this in the crock, and taste PRIOR to adding raw meat. (Saftey first!) If you want to spice more, add red pepper in ¼ tsp increments. Otherwise, let it be.

3. Throw in the roast. The liquid should come up almost ¾ of the way to the top, if not a wee bit more. It’s okay as it will get very watery as it cooks. You need the larger pot to accommodate the liquid without having to ladle out during the cook process. If you want more liquid, puree the other 1/2 jar of Salsa and throw in.

4. Crank to high and cook for 1 hour, medium 6. Or just use High to 6 hours or so. (if you are home during this, mid way flip the roast. It’s optional, not critical)

5. At hour 7 or there about, you pull the roast out to cut and shred. These style of roasts shred along the long grain, so first, cut across the long grain, if possible into three sections. This will give you a 2 – 3 inch sized shred piece.

6. Once cut, take a fork and knife and pull beef apart into shredded clumps. Not too thick because you want folks to be able to wrap in soft tacos, and for it to cook all through with the sauce.

7. Before you put back into crock, ladle out about 1/3 of the liquid into a near by bowl. Add the shredded meat back in. Mix with liquid so that it just barely reaches the top of the meat shred pile. You should have some sticking up, a very thin layer of beef rising just above the fluid level. Add or subtract as necessary, and put the lid back on.

8. Cook for one additional ½ hour with lid on. Toss reserve liquid.

9. Pull lid off after ½ hour and let it cook uncovered for about half hour. This reduces the liquid again.

10. Tong out beef into a separate container to serve or put in fridge.

To Serve:
Can be very juicy, so if necessary, drain. Use tongs as it allows you to drain as you take from the serving bowl. This is a great crowd pleaser.