M.J. Fredrick's Blog, page 19

Thinking About Coming to #RWA? Good Places to Eat in San Antonio

In San Antonio, we LOVE food. You will NOT go hungry if you come to RWA. You might go broke trying all these different places, but not hungry.

On the river:

Casa Rio is the Mexican restaurant you see featured in so many San Antonio Riverwalk pictures, with the colorful umbrellas. Tourists like it.  It’s not too badly priced, between $10-$15 a plate.

Mexican Manhattan is one of my brother’s favorites. I’ve never been, but I’ve heard good things. Prices average around $15.

Dick’s Last Resort is a rowdy restaurant with barbecue and more. Most meals are between $15 and $20.

County Line Barbecue is good. I LOVE their cole slaw. It’s fairly casual, and between $15 and $20.

Saltgrass Steakhouse is my favorite steakhouse in San Antonio. I’ve not gone to the Riverwalk location, but whenever we go out for steak, it’s to Saltgrass. I like the prime rib. Prices between $15 to $30

In the mall:

Fogo de Chao is our special occasion restaurant, a Brazilian steakhouse where the waiters walk around with spits of meat and carve it off for you at the table. About $50 a person, and you might end up in a meat stupor. But it’s a nice treat.

There’s a food court in the mall as well, on the lower level, and a few restaurants like Tony Roma’s and Hooters.

A hop, skip and a jump away:

Shilo’s is a sandwich shop within walking distance on Commerce. My husband loves their reuben sandwiches. I love their homemade root beer. They’re also open for breakfast. I can’t find prices, and I haven’t been there in awhile, but it’s yummy.

Rainforest Cafe–If you’ve never been to one, it is fun, and atmospheric, but if you’ve been, well, it’s just like the others. Around $20 a person.

Rosario’s–my very favorite Mexican food restaurant. This is more than a hop away, though. It’s about a mile and a half away, down Alamo Street, and it is usually very busy, but so worth the wait! Parking is terrible, but food is good. I love love love the enchiladas suizas. So rich and tasty. Also, wonderful drinks. Around $15  a person.

Blue Star Brewery is a microbrewery in the King William area. It’s about 2 miles away, and doesn’t have a big menu, but has delicious beer and good food. About $15-$20 a person.

Guenther House is my favorite place for breakfast. I always take my out of town company for the delicious biscuits. It’s across the street from the Blue Star, in the home of the founder of Pioneer flour, so all of their food are flour based–biscuits and gravy, pancakes, waffles. My mom loves their pecan coffee, I love their biscuits. They have a small indoor seating area, and an outdoor area. Not many tables, though, and not really set up for large groups. Still, a definite stop to make!

The Tower of the Americas has a happy hour nightly, from 4:30-7, with drinks and appetizers. I believe if you say you’re going to the happy hour,  you don’t have to pay to go up in the tower. I’ll double check with that. Drinks are no more than $7.

Goals for the Week of MLK

 

We are having perfect weather here this week, so no heaters, but this was too funny not to share!

Company’s here this weekend. We did a big dinner Friday night, went to the shooting range yesterday, then another big dinner last night. We’ll have a big dinner tonight at Mom’s, then tomorrow maybe head out of town to Gruene. I told you it was my favorite place.

I’m not getting a lot of writing done, but am trying to think about the story as much as possible, trying to work it out. I’ve never done so much back-and-forth writing. You know, add to the end, go back to the beginning, add to the end, go back to the middle. It’s maddening.

This week:

1) Enjoy the rest of the visit

2) Faculty meeting

3) Jump Rope for Heart day–lots of money counting involved

4) Work on Starfish Shores. I’d wanted to finish this week but that’s just impossible. Good thing the other writers need the deadline pushed back, too!

5) Read Rita books

6) Try to figure out how to add books to Google Play

7) Exercise. I’m a nervous eater. I think I ate steadily yesterday from 4:30 to 8.

5)

Thinking about Coming to #RWA? Day Trips from San Antonio

 

One of the things my husband and I love to do is day trips. We head an hour or two out of town, poke around, then head back to sleep in our own bed. There are a lot of fun day trips to take from San Antonio. Here are some of our favorites:

1) The coast. Head south on 281 for a couple of hours and you end up in Corpus Christi. We like to head across the bridge and go to Mustang Beach.  We like to eat at Snoopy’s, just off the bridge on South Padre Island Drive.

2) Fredericksburg. It’s a sweet little town about an hour and a half north of San Antonio (take I-10 West and take a right at the sign and drive for another good while.) It’s a German settlement in the Hill Country, with lots of cute shops and a wonderful bakery along the main street. We like to eat at Wheeler’s or The Buffalo Nickel. My mom and I go every chance we get! Also, there are a lot of wineries in the area, and you can go on a tour. If you’re not up for a tour, there are at least three places on the main street that offer wine tasting. There are some microbreweries, too.

3) Austin. Traffic is bad, no matter what time you go, but there’s a lot to see–the capitol building, Sixth Street, Stubbs, Barton Creek, lots of places to hear music. We like to eat on South Congress, but parking is always premium, and be prepared to wait for a table.

4) Lockhart. You can get there either going east on I-10 or north on 35, then exiting and traveling a bit. Lockhart is known for its barbecue (we like Black’s) but the center of town has some cute little shops, too. Not nearly as many as Fredericksburg, though.

5) Shiner. To be fair, the only reason we went here was to tour the brewery, which was WAY smaller than I expected. The tour is free, less than half an hour (and it takes a good 90 minutes to get to Shiner), but you get 5 free beer samples. We went two days in a row.

6) Johnson City. This is the birthplace of LBJ, and you can tour his ranch. There are also little shops around, and wineries. Mostly I remember seeing longhorns out that way.

7) Bandera. They call it the Cowboy Capital, but then Pleasanton says it’s the Birthplace of the Cowboy. Who knows. Bandera has a few antique shops and a museum and barbecue. The Medina River runs near there, but the last time we went, it was dried up.

8) Bastrop. This is a town east of Austin, not too far from Lockhart. Be sure to visit Historic Bastrop, a collection of cute little shops. It’s smaller than Fredericksburg–at least the historic part is. It’s right on the Colorado River, so there are water activities, too. We went in January, so not a lot of that! Also, if you travel a bit to the north, you can see the damage from the largest forest fire in Texas. It was pretty stunning to me, since we don’t have a lot of fires in Texas!

9) New Braunfels. The oldest bakery in Texas lives here, and it’s goooooood. There are antique shops as well as Schlitterbahn, the ginormous water park, the Guadalupe River, on which people like to go tubing. We don’t usually eat here because our favorite place is the next town over.

10) Gruene. My favorite. If you’re my friend on Facebook, you know I’m almost always heading to Gruene. The town has changed a LOT since we started going there. It used to be a main street with little shops, a dance hall and a few restaurants, including The Gristmill, a giant restaurant overlooking the Guadalupe River. Now it has new shops, too, which I haven’t visited, lots of restaurants, though our favorite remains The Gristmill. It also has the oldest dancehall in Texas, which was in the movie Michael, and upon whose stage I have sung

Next week: Places you want to eat in San Antonio!

Thinking About Coming to #RWA? Some Things to Do in San Antonio

San Antonio has so much to offer, lots of sightseeing to be done. I’m struggling right now, though, with my dad and stepmom coming in this weekend, trying to find something to do. They’ve been here at least a dozen times, you know, and we’ve done a lot of the major things.

Here’s some things you might want to try if you come to San Antonio for RWA.

Within walking distance

1) The Alamo. It’s RIGHT by the conference hotel. Be aware it’s smaller than you may expect. The complex was much larger at the time of the battle, extending across the street from where the Alamo sits. It’s likely to have a long line to get in, because, like I said, it’s not very big. But it doesn’t take long to go through.FREE
2) The Tower of the Americas. Ride up the elevator for a great view of the city. Warning: If you’ve been on the Space Needle, the view isn’t nearly as stunning, but you can see miles and miles of Texas. $15 a person, but free if you go to the restaurant. And the restaurant has an excellent happy hour.
3) The Institute of Texan Cultures. A museum dedicated to the history of Texas. When I was in college, I dressed up and showed people how to spin wool into yarn and how to weave. $8
4) The Riverwalk–lots of restaurants and bars, and you can ride the barges for about $8 a person. The tour is a good deal, because the guide will give you some San Antonio history.
5) La Villita–some little shops in an historic area of town

A little farther afield (but still downtown–you can take a streetcar for a very low price)

1) The King William district–stately old homes, many renovated. You can tour the Steves Homestead if you like.
2) El Mercado–a great place for souvenirs, many of them brought from Mexico.
3) The Buckhorn Saloon and Texas Ranger Museum. I haven’t been here since it moved, but my aunt and uncle went last year and enjoyed it.

Farther yet:

1) The Missions. The Alamo is technically not one of the missions, since it never operated as a church. Of the missions, San Jose is in the best shape, followed by Concepcion. San Jose is farther.
2) Sea World. Has a water park, but you have to pay extra.
3) Fiesta Texas. Has a water park. This is important because it will be HOT.
4) Splashtown–is a water park.
5) The Zoo. It is awesome. Also, it will be crowded.
6) The Botanical Gardens.
7) Sunken Gardens–right next to the zoo, free, lots of stairs. Not very big, but a nice way to spend a morning.
8) San Antonio Museum of Art–quite large, in a beautiful old brewery. Also, it’s on the San Antonio river, the not-crowded part.
9) Natural Bridge Caverns, which is a little out of town on the north side.

Have I got you interested yet?

Later this week: Day Trips and Places to Eat!

Thinking of Coming to #RWA? Some Things to Know About San Antonio Part 1

 

Next week registration for the annual RWA Conference. I’m so excited RWA will be coming to my hometown this year. I thought I’d fill you in a bit on what to expect in beautiful San Antonio.

 

It is going to be HOT. It’s July in South Central Texas. We’ll probably start most mornings in the mid-70s and end in the upper 90s. Just be glad it’s not August. August for Texans is like January for northerners. We try not to go outside, and pray the power stays on.
Our public transportation system is not the best. You should be able to get around downtown okay, but if you’re wanting to get away from the center of town, it won’t be too easy. San Antonio spreads all over the place. If, for example, you want to go Sea World or Fiesta Texas, which are on the far north side of town, plan on driving at least half an hour.
There are a LOT of places to eat. A. Lot. I remember going to the Dallas conference in 2004 and not being able to find anything outside of the hotel. NOT a problem in San Antonio. You have everything from the Food Court in the mall to an assortment of restaurants on the Riverwalk to restaurants in South Town…you will NOT go hungry.
San Antonio is family-friendly. If you’re bringing the family, there are many options to entertain them while you’re at the conference!
Lots and lots of history makes San Antonio what it is. The Alamo, La Villita, El Mercado, The Menger Hotel–all of them have a story. That’s just off the top of my head!
You probably won’t encounter a lot of cowboys. Hurts, I know. Most of the cowboys are south or west of the city. You’ll probably see airmen and soldiers, but they’ll likely be very young, and with their moms and dads on a visit to the city.
The San Antonio River will probably make some of you laugh. By Texas standards, it is a river. By, say, Tennessee standards, it’s a creek.
There are a lot of places to visit that are a good day trip, if you come down early. The coast is a couple of hours, Fredericksburg an hour and a half to the north, outlet malls about an hour west.
We have a decent minor league baseball team, and they’ll have home games against Corpus Christi early in the week.
No matter what you like to drink, you can find a place to do it in San Antonio. The Tower, microbreweries, on the river–plenty of places to meet up for a cool drink and great scenery!

Later this week: Places to See, Places to Eat, and Day Trips!

Goals the Week of Company

My dad and stepmom are coming to town Friday for the long weekend. I have lots to do between now and then! I worked in the yard a lot yesterday, and did some basic house-cleaning. Need to do more today.

1)  Finish novella revisions

2) start blogging about San Antonio attractions for people who are thinking about coming to SA.

3) start organizing tax info

4) keep working on Starfish Shores novella

5) format Something to Talk About and load it on all vendors

6) put out a newsletter to let people know about STTA

7) exercise

8) cook. I’m only cooking twice a week lately. I need to do better!

9) Figure out what to do with the company.

10) Look into publishing my books on Google Play

11) Breakfast duty!

12) Get started on the Rita books, which I bet will arrive tomorrow.

Wish me luck!

I Have Something to Show You

Once upon a time, there was a story that a certain writer loved very much. After writing several romantic suspense stories, this one was a straight contemporary small-town romance. The writer had been watching a lot of Gilmore Girls and reading a lot of Robyn Carr and the story fairly flew from her fingers. Oh, she loved the characters, the wounded hero, the plucky heroine. She based the hero on Jeffrey Dean Morgan and the heroine on Lauren Graham.

But she couldn’t find a home for it. New York didn’t want it. The small presses who already published her work didn’t want it. She did a lot of research and finally found a press who would take it. This press was small, and new, but had nice covers and decent distribution.

At the same time, self-publishing was taking off, but the writer was wary, and decided to go with the small press. Her editor was super nice, the publisher, too, and she liked having that buffer between herself and the reader, since she wasn’t quite confident enough in her skills.

But when she got her cover, she almost cried. The publisher had beautiful covers, but this one was two naked people, not at all indicative of the type of story it was. She broached the topic with her publisher, who dismissed the concern, and the book didn’t sell.

The writer didn’t quite learn her lesson, and submitted a romantic suspense to them. This one, at least, got a great cover, but no sales. I mean, over the course of 2 years, less than 50. Probably less than 30.

 

Then after the first of the year, the publisher was bought by Kensington and the authors were given a choice to go over to Kensington (and be in the “Big 5″) or get their rights back. After some consideration, I chose the latter.

I got new covers, and I want to make some changes to Guarded Hearts and get STTA reformatted, but here is my new cover for Something to Talk About.

 

Much more eye-catching, don’t you think?

Goals the Week of Back to Work

Going to be a weird week. We go back to an inservice, but the first two hours are a health fair (except I don’t have insurance in the district, so I’ll be wandering around aimlessly). Then Tuesday I’m in the gym because they’re kicking off Jump Rope for Heart. Also, I’ll be getting used to Josh not being here. Fred will be back at work too, after almost 2 weeks off. I predict lots of vegging in the evenings. AND it will be cold (for here) early in the week.

1) Get cracking on this Starfish Shores story. It’s like walking through molasses.

2) Finish revising novella.

3) I got my rights back to two books, so in my spare time, I’ll go through one of those.

4) Make a launch party plan.

5) Go to the dentist.

6) Get back into the swing of actually teaching–not practicing for a program.

7) Maybe start rewatching SoA as a reward if I get writing done.

But…They’re Bad Guys

I loved watching Sons of Anarchy. I did. I might even watch it again. It was a completely new world to me, a new genre. And Jax is admittedly beautiful. I’m looking forward to next season, which will be its last, to see where Kurt Sutter is going to take Jax.

The other day, on the sidebar of my Facebook page, I saw an ad for Sons of Anarchy clothing–motorcycle jackets, t-shirts declaring “Reaper Crew” or “What Would Gemma Do?” (which I might have actually liked the first two seasons) “Property of the Sons of Anarchy,” “Mrs. Jax Teller.” I guess I don’t understand who would wear these. I’m a fan of the show, but these guys are BAD guys. Murder is second nature to them. Maybe I’m over thinking this, but I sure wouldn’t want to wear something that makes these guys into heroes.

Am I overthinking this?

Happy Anniversary to US

 

27 years ago today I married my honey. We met in high school, dated on and off, were engaged for something like 18 months, and married when I still had 2 years of school to complete. No one thought we’d last, and we probably wouldn’t have if Fred wasn’t so easy-going. We were BROKE the first few years, but we managed. I was laughing the other night while he was playing a video game on his new PS3. When we dated, we’d go to the arcades a lot and I’d stand around watching him play. Now I sit on the couch (not really) watching him play. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Except us, lol. Here’s us in Bastrop earlier this week.