First Flowers

Happy Monday! It is for me, anyway, because I feel worlds better than I did a few days ago. It's sunshine-y, my horses have new shoes, and it's a whole new week, one that is hopefully flu-free.

Yesterday, I walked up to the front of the property, and the well house, to observe what is the annual first sign of spring: the wild daffodils blooming. From here on, it's the pears, the honeysuckle, the redbud, the daylilies, the hosta, the salvia, the roses....Spring is starting.

 

 

"Vainglory"

It feels like it's been weeks since I started up my laptop, but it's only been a few days. Time flies when you're not having any fun at all, I guess. I've had the flu, and have been couch-ridden, overindulging in nose spray, Family Feud, and been subsiding on rice cooked in chicken broth (the rice was good, at least). I'm happy to say that today I feel...less corpse-like, if nothing else.

In other news, I've got a short story, "Vainglory," published in The Opening Line this month, as part of their Seven Deadly Sins issue. Vainglory is an archaic word meaning excessive pride in one's accomplishments. The story features characters from my December submission to the mag, "Cold Again." You can click HERE to download the issue for free.

Workshop Wednesday - Buzz

See, there's a bee. Get it? I'm lame.

This post popped up on my news feed today, and reiterated a lot of the things I've been reading and telling myself lately about advertising. Because that's an unfortunate reality of the writing game in this market: you can't wait around for people to do it for you. You have to promote yourself. This is hard for me, in particular, because I never want to feel like I'm imposing on anyone. It's also hard because advertising isn't inherently successful. A lot of advertising feels like shouting into the ether: "Heyy!! I wrote this book! You might like it! Check it oooout!!" We all know this isn't effective, but most do it anyway, because it's hard to connect all the dots and, like the post described, get your message to the right consumers, not just all consumers in general.

That said, the best form of book advertising is still word of mouth. A personal recommendation from a friend is always more reliable than one of those revolving sidebar ads on Goodreads. People trust friends' taste, and people love being able to chat with each other about a shared experience. The more a book is shared, the more successful it is, the better able the author is to keep producing quality work that readers want to share. It's all a big cycle. So for this Workshop Wednesday post, I'm turning the tables a little bit. Today, I'm talking about a way readers can support the authors they like. Initiating buzz.

Books take hours and hours to write. That's countless cups of coffee, cans of soda, bottles of eye drops, and butts gone to sleep in hard chairs. It's a private, personal anxiety; writers strive to get every detail just right, and then have to spend even more hours hacking the finished product to pieces before it's ready to sell. It's a process, often a silent one, and more than anything else, writers want to feel like all their hard work is speaking to someone.

The question posed to me was, "People need to read you. This is so good. How can we get the word out about you?"

If you've ever wondered that yourself, here's a few ways you can:

- Tell a friend. Tell lots of friends. Let them borrow a book, tell them where to find the author's work, etc. If you like a book, talk about it. People will listen.

- Leave a review. On Goodreads, on Amazon, on Barnes & Noble. Leaving an honest review can help other online shoppers make a decision about purchasing or sampling the book. It's also a great way to tell the author you enjoyed the book and still stay anonymous if you want to.

- Reach out. Authors love to hear from readers, and most authors can be found either through Facebook, Twitter, blogs, or even personal email.

- Ask local bookstores if they carry your favorite authors, and see if there's a chance of having the books shipped to the store. I know most independent booksellers and Barnes & Noble can order my books and hold them at the counter for readers.

I love discovering new writers. I just read The Photograph by Virginia Ellis per a recommendation, and I really enjoyed it and am already sharing it. Books are, in so many ways, organic. They can bring people together, create dialogue, inspire other authors. And no author can leave an impression with his or her art without the love of readers.

Breaking Ground

...on something new.

 

// Marriage hadn’t civilized him; it had pulled her into the wolf pack. //  

Weekend Sowing

Confession: I've seen none of the films that were up for the Oscars last night. Uncool confession: I didn't watch the awards. Downright dorky confession: I wrote and watched Captain America on FX instead. Feel free to X out this browser and write me off as a hopeless case for pop culture awareness.

Just had to get that out of the way.

Saturday was my mom's birthday, and Mom - she's pretty fantastic. She's gone from being a horse show mom to being my biggest fan when it comes to storytelling, and I always hope she knows how much I appreciate her. I made her this pie, which is easy, and delicious, and not on anyone's New Year's diet. And yesterday, we started working on her new veggie garden, the makings of which were her birthday gifts. We started seeds in these little peat pots.

I thought the seed packages were really pretty. Pay no attention to how weird my thumb looks - fingers are not for photographing.

 

 

 

 

Two-Layer Ice Cream Pie

I promised this recipe two days ago, but I realized I needed to taste it first! I don't want to post stuff that tastes like dirt. Thankfully, it was a big hit. And I thought it was quite yummy to. Just goes to show, sometimes things you concoct in your head can turn out well.

This is a super easy recipe. To start, you need a good old fashioned glass pie plate and a package of some kind of sandwich cookies. I'd use Oreos if you can, but the gluten-free alternative works great too.

Drop your cookies in the food processor and pulse them until they're in crumbs. Not too fine - you still want some chunks in there. Then, pour them into the base of your pan, press them down, and work them up the sides as high as you can.

Then, pop the pan in the freezer for 20 minutes or so.

When you take the crust out, it's time for the first ice cream layer. Your ice cream needs to be good and melty, so make sure it's been sitting out for at least a half hour, maybe more. Haagen-Dazs chocolate peanut butter was layer one. Spoon the gloopy, melted ice cream into the center of the crust, trying to keep the layer a consistent thickness. I used about three-quarters of a pint.

Put back in the freezer. 20-30 minutes.

Next, drizzle on some melted chocolate sundae topping. I used milk chocolate fudge sauce.

Put back in freezer 20-30 minutes.

Then comes the fun part. Spoon a pint of melted vanilla ice cream into a bowl. Add to it four Reese's cups and one Butterfinger bar, chopped into bite-sized pieces. *Note - the Butterfinger is pervasive. If you prefer, use half or a quarter of the bar to cut back on the taste. Or you can leave it out. But it's delicious, so there's no need to.* Fold candy bits into ice cream and work the mixture with the spoon until the ice cream is liquid. The more melted, the better. Pour the liquid ice cream mix onto the top of the other layers. It should run out to reach the sides of the pan and completely cover the other layers.

Back in the freezer, 30 minutes.

Almost done - remove from freezer and spoon on Cool Whip. Use the spoon to make the peaks pretty. Garnish with chocolate chips, or cocoa powder.

Put back in the freezer and let sit overnight - it'll be ready to serve the next day.

And that's eat. Super easy. No baking involved. Guaranteed to please.

Happy Saturday

...and welcome, March. Here's hoping it keeps that whole "in like a lion" thing on the DL.

I've got a box of ten books on their way to new homes. And I've got an ice cream pie recipe to share later - I've got to taste it before I can recommend it. Cheers to the weekend.