Sloane Taylor's Blog, page 42

BOOKS ARE FOR EVERYONE

by Dianna Gunn

I didn't have access to a lot of things growing up. Living in suburbia with two parents who didn't drive made it impossible to access, well, everything. We had to spend half an hour in transit or an hour walking to reach the nearest grocery store. Free or affordable programs for youths of all kinds were at least as far. I never even learned how to swim. The lessons we could afford were simply too far away.

Photo by Ed Robertson on UnsplashThere is, however, one thing I always had: books. I had bookshelves of my own lined with books for kids. My parents had a pair of bookshelves that stretched all the way up to our (admittedly low) ceiling. There were hundreds of stories to choose from, most of them science fiction or fantasy stories I could use to escape my dreary reality.

My world descended into chaos when my parents split and my dad was diagnosed with cancer, and those books became my lifeline. Sometimes I read lighthearted, comedic stories with guaranteed happy endings for pure escapism. Other times I read the darkest, most gruesome books I could find so I could look at my life and say "at least I'm not the characters in this book".

Both types of stories served their purpose: they kept me alive. And I was lucky. I accessed most of those books for free from my own relatives' libraries. When I got bored of the books my family had to offer, I went to the school library or sometimes directly to a favorite teacher for a personalized recommendation. I was able to immerse myself in hundreds of worlds without spending a dime.

Many kids weren't so lucky. Their parents didn't have books in the home, their school libraries were inadequate or even nonexistent, or their nearest public library was an hour or more away. They struggled for every book they read, until they either found a way to buy their own books or gave up on reading altogether.

The problem isn't limited to kids either. I know many adults, especially other adults in their 20's, who have tiny or nonexistent book buying budgets. And all across the western world, our public libraries are under threat. Library funding in my home province was cut by 50% this year alone. The loss of libraries combined with stagnant wages and the ever-rising cost of living are making books inaccessible to millions of people.

As an author, I need to make money, but as a person who grew up in poverty—a person who, let's face it, still lives in poverty—I never want money to be the reason why someone doesn't read my book. Everyone deserves access to books, and not to sound egomaniacal, but everyone deserves access to my books.

So I've come to a compromise: my novel, Moonshadow's Guardian, is sold for $4.99 on most major ebook retailers, but it's also now available on Gumroad with Pay What You Can Pricing. That means you can pay five dollars, one dollar, or no dollars at all to read Moonshadow's Guardian. Because in my world, books are for everyone, regardless of how much money you have.

Here's a brief intro for you.

All Riana has ever wanted is freedom. Unfortunately, that’s the one thing her kind cannot have.

Bound by the curse in her demonic blood for millennia, Riana has tried several times to bend the rules and live out her life in the mortal realm. Now her consistent rule breaking has drawn the attention of Loki, God of Mischief, the main tormentor of Riana’s kind. But instead of punishing her, he offers her the escape she has always desired. All she has to do to is save the kingdom of Moonshadow from a mysterious magical plague.

Armed only with the inherent power of her own blood and Loki’s pet dragon, Riana is determined to fight for the right to create her own destiny.

However, when her mission forces her to destroy the last remnants of an ancient culture, Riana must ask – what is freedom really worth?

Moonshadow’s Guardian is a tale about the meaning of belonging, and the struggle to create a future not defined by your past.

Along with Gumroad, Moonshadow's Guardian is available at Amazon and Kobo
Dianna L. Gunn is a freelance writer by day and a fantasy author by night. She knew she wanted to be a writer since she was eight years old. Dianna wrote her first novel for Nanowrimo at eleven years old. As an adult,Dianna quickly discovered writing books is not an easy way to make a living. So she decided to broaden her horizons, seeking another career that still allowed her to work with words.

Her freelance writing career started when she became a marketing intern at Musa Publishing in September 2011 and quickly became a staff writer in charge of multiple imprint blogs. Since then she has worked with a variety of small businesses and non-profits to improve their online brands and create long term marketing strategies. Some of her most notable work has been for the tech education non-profit STEAMLabs and natural dog care company ProPooch . She is dedicated to helping her clients build successful brands and making their dreams come true.

Need help creating awesome content for your business? Send an email to diannalgunn@gmail.com explaining what your needs are, and she will help you.

When she isn’t helping her clients bring their dreams to life, Dianna can be found working on her own dream of being a successful fantasy author.

Dianna blogs about writing, creativity, and books at The Dabbler .

Learn more about Dianna on Facebook and follow her on Twitter .

PERK UP YOUR TASTE BUDS

The internet is flooded with recipes for spinach dip with each one claiming to be the best. I’ve tried many of those recipes and found them all to be about the same which was just okay at best. Then my niece Lauren came for dinner with her family and brought her version for our appetizer. It was delicious! Studs and I both give Lauren’s recipe 5 spoons, our highest rating for recipes. I’m confident you’ll love it too. 

Lauren’s Spinach Dip 1 cup mayonnaise, no imitations 16 oz. sour cream 1 – 1.8 oz. pkg. dry vegetable soup mix 4 oz. can water chestnuts, drained and chopped 5 oz. chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained 1 round loaf sourdough bread 
Gently combine all ingredients, except bread, together in a glass or ceramic bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Set in fridge anywhere from 5 hours to overnight. 

When you are ready to serve, slice the top off the bread and pull out a fair amount of the interior dough. Tear those pieces into chunks for dipping into the mayo mix. 

This dip is also terrific spread on crackers, celery sticks, and other crunchy veggies. 

May you enjoy all the days of your life filled with good friends, laughter, and seated around a well-laden table! 

Sloane

Do You Hear What I Hear?

from Catherine Castle 

The other morning while having breakfast my husband said, “Listen. Do you hear that?” 

"What?” I asked. 

“That whoosha whoosha sound.” 

I listened intently. “Nope. All I hear is the ticka ticka ticka of the refrigerator in its thaw cycle.” 

“No,” he replied. “It’s definitely a whoosha whoosha.” 

I cocked my head toward the fridge. “No it’s ticka ticka.” 

“Wait,” he said. “It’s changed. It’s now zzz zzz zzz, like the vibrating sound my toy football players used to make on their metal field. 

“That’s more of a rooma rooma rooma noise.” I replied. 

“No. It’s zzz zzz zzz,” he insisted. 

Breakfast was on hold and the cereal got soggy in our bowls as we argued back and forth while the sounds of the thawing cycle of the fridge changed every few minutes. Neither of us heard what the other heard. Finally, the debate ended with a ka-thunk at the end of the defrost cycle. Silence filled the kitchen. 

“I don’t hear anything now.” I spooned up a serving of mushy bran cereal, anxious to get back to my breakfast before it dissolved any more. 

“Tick tock tick tock,” hubby said as the Mickey Mouse clock second hand rounded the clock face. 

“I hear that,” I said. It was the only sound we agreed on, and it’s one that is universally known to represent a clock. 

Now, I know men are from Mars and women are from Venus, and we are different in sooooo many ways. But I always thought hearing was hearing. After all, our ears, male or female, are built the same way. We have the same little ear canals connected to the same parts of the brain. I knew, even when I couldn’t hear the sounds, what the writers meant when Batman and Robin fought the bad guys and cartoon balloons appeared on the television screen screaming BAM! POW! SOCKO! 

 But that morning in the kitchen I had a revelation: I wasn’t to blame when I couldn’t get a mechanic to understand me! All those years I failed to fully communicate with male mechanics wasn’t because I lacked something. 

When my husband describes a funny sound in our car, the mechanics all nod their heads knowingly. But when I describe the odd sounds, the male mechanics look at me like I have two heads. I always wondered why I could never get my point across to them, no matter how many times I repeated the explanation of the sounds. 

Now, I know why. Apparently, men lack the finite hearing of a woman. They don’t hear things right. A rattle rattle, clatter clatter, boom boom boom probably sounds like chicka chicka, sissa sissa, thunk thunk thunk to them. And anyone with a pair of ears can hear that there’s a world of difference between the two sounds. 

Hummm. Maybe I need a female mechanic. She’ll get it. Unlike a guy. 

What about you? Does your man hear the same things you do? And I don’t mean when someone speaks to you. That’s a whole ’nother blog post. 

May your Holidays be happy and bright! 

Catherine

Take your mind off the sound discrepancies between men and women with a copy of Catherine’s award-winning romantic comedy that has a touch of drama. You’ll laugh as Mama searchs for a husband for her daughter. 
One date for every medical test—that’s the deal. Allison, however, gets more than she bargains for. She gets a Groom for Mama.
Beverly Walters is dying, and before she goes she has one wish—to find a groom for her daughter. To get the deed done, Mama enlists the dating service of Jack Somerset, Allison’s former boyfriend.

The last thing corporate-climbing Allison wants is a husband. Furious with Mama’s meddling, and a bit more interested in Jack than she wants to admit, Allison agrees to the scheme as long as Mama promises to search for a cure for her terminal illness.

A cross-country trip from Nevada to Ohio ensues, with a string of disastrous dates along the way, as the trio hunts for treatment and A Groom For Mama.


Amazon Buy Link
Multi-award-winning author Catherine Castle has been writing all her life. A former freelance writer, she has over 600 articles and photographs to her credit (under her real name) in the Christian and secular market. Now she writes sweet and inspirational romance. Her debut inspirational romantic suspense, The Nun and the Narc, from Soul Mate Publishing, has garnered multiple contests finals and wins.

Catherine loves writing, reading, traveling, singing, watching movies, and the theatre. In the winter she loves to quilt and has a lot of UFOs (unfinished objects) in her sewing case. In the summer her favorite place to be is in her garden. She’s passionate about gardening and even won a “Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club.

Learn more about Catherine Castle on her website and blog . Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter . Be sure to check out Catherine’s Amazon author page and her Goodreads page . You can also find Catherine on Stitches Thru Time and the SMP authors blog site .

CHRISTMAS BRUNCH IS SERVED

After we entertain Christmas Eve, we tear through the house cleaning up before the kids and grands come for brunch Christmas Day. This meal is wonderful because so much can be prepared well in advance and stored in the fridge until it’s time to cook. 

MENU Breakfast Soufflé Hash Browns Fresh Fruit Salad Mini Croissants Christmas Cookies & Leftover Desserts Mimosas 
Breakfast Soufflé 1 lb. (½kg) ham, bacon, or breakfast sausage 9 eggs, lightly beaten 3 cups (750ml) milk 1 tsp. (5ml) dry mustard Diced green, red, and/or yellow pepper to taste ½ lb. (57g) sharp cheddar cheese, grated ½ lb. (57g) Swiss or Gruyere cheese, or a combination of the two, grated Diced onion to taste Freshly ground black pepper to taste 4 – 1 in. (2.54cm) slices Vienna or French bread, cubed 
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). 
Dice ham or bacon. If you use ham, set aside in the bowl you use for the eggs. Fry bacon to the crispness you prefer. Drain on paper towels. If you use breakfast sausage, fry meat until no longer pink. Be sure to break up any clumps. Drain meat in a colander while you continue to prepare the soufflé.
Add all ingredients, except bread, to eggs. Stir well. Gently stir in bread. 
Pour mixture into an ungreased 9 x 13-inch (33 x 22cm) glass baking dish. Bake 1 hour or until a knife inserted in the center has no egg clinging to it. 
This dish can be assembled one or two days ahead of time. On serving day allow the soufflé to sit on your counter 1 – 2 hours before you bake it. 
Leftovers are excellent from the microwave. 
Hash Browns If you need to increase the hash browns recipe for a larger group of people, it’s best to sparingly add more garlic powder. As is this recipe serves 6. Leftovers reheat beautifully. 
3 russet potatoes (about 1½ pounds), peeled 1½ tsp. (7.5ml) garlic powder, not salt Freshly ground pepper, to taste ¼ cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil 
Shred potatoes on the large holes of a box grater or use the coarse grater disk on a food processor. Transfer them to a bowl of cold water. Allow them to soak for 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and then rinse under cold water. You do this to remove the starch that makes hash browns gummy. 
Transfer shreds to a kitchen towel. Gather together ends of towel and twist over sink, squeezing firmly to wring out as much liquid as possible. This step creates crisp hash browns. Transfer potatoes to a medium bowl and toss with garlic powder and pepper. Be sure to evenly distribute the seasonings. 
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes, press down to form a thin layer and cook for a minute or two. Stir and then press down again. Cook until a dark golden crust forms, about 5 minutes. 
Turn potatoes in sections. This is easier than trying to turn the food as a whole. Continue to fry until hash browns are crisp and browned all over, 5 minutes or so. Transfer to paper towels to absorb excess oil. 
Fresh Fruit Salad 1 banana, peeled 1 pear, cored 1 tbsp. (15ml) lemon juice ¼ pineapple, peeled, cored, and diced 1 kiwi, peeled and sliced 10 seedless red grapes, halved 10 blueberries 10 raspberries, optional 
Slice banana into bitesize pieces. Scoop into a medium-sized bowl. Dice pear and add to bowl. Sprinkle lemon juice over fruit to stop it from turning brown and mix well. 
Gently fold in remaining fruit. 
Spoon into a glass bowl, cover with cling wrap, and chill until time to serve. Leftovers are still good the next day.
Mimosas 1 bottle sparking white wine or champagne, cold 1 carton orange juice, cold Tall slender glasses 
Fill glasses half full with wine. Tip the glass slightly as you pour to retain the fizz. Top off with orange juice. Don’t stir. That will destroy the bubbles. 
May you enjoy all the days of your life filled with good friends, laughter, and seated around a well-laden table!

Sloane

CREATING A FESTIVE HOME

from Emma Lane

I love to create festive bouquets for any season, but my personal favorite is Christmas. The holiday colors are vibrant and a joy to bring together in stunning arrangements. So let’s talk a little about how you can create masterpieces for your home and as hostess gifts. The work isn’t hard. It simply takes a little patience. 

It looks easy, but the greenery for bouquets is more complicated than you might think. I'm fortunate because there is a veritable forest in my front and back yards. I deliberately refrain from trimming the evergreen shrubs out front until the holidays. That gives me a very fresh start to my bouquet which is difficult to match with store bought greenery. If you have any type shrub in your yard it will work. If not then you are forced to purchase them. I strongly recommend you visit your local nursery for the foliage you want. 

There’s a combination of old-fashioned yew shrub because it holds the needles for a good while. I add cuttings from a blue spruce just because I love the tinted color. Then my secret choice for Christmas is clippings from a juniper shrub for its heady, wintry seasonal fragrance. I once made a bouquet using only juniper but quickly learned why that wasn’t a good idea. They dry out rapidly and lose the rich green color most desired. So, tuck them in to smell good but toward the back. There are plenty of other types of evergreen shrubs for possible Christmas decorations. By all means, bring them inside and test their worthiness.

Next are the luscious red berries. They grow on a native shrub named winterberry (ilex, a member of the holly berry family) in slightly swampy terrain. No, don’t go wild crafting unless you wear high waterproof boots! Fortunately, our brilliant horticulturists have propagated this shrub for home gardeners. Consider planting them in your yard. You must have a male and female to get berries and it takes patience. They are not fast growers, but well worth the effort. Plant toward the back of the garden. The bush itself is not all that attractive until the Fall berries appear. Then you begin a vigil to pick them before the flocks of robins descend during migration. Cedar Waxwings love them too, but they are so beautiful I give in just for the pleasure of watching. Winterberries are frequently found for sale at late Farmers’ Markets and in craft and florist shops. They will dry out but seldom fall off unless bumped or roughly handled. 

You all know about poinsettia, the official Christmas potted flower. It’s the brackets that have the color. The flower itself is the small yellow center bloom.  I personally find them boring, but one day an idea came to me. I cut them as if for a cut flower bouquet. Here are a few photos to better explain.

Once I bought a pink one and lightly sprayed it a tinted blue, as a blue bouquet was what the customer needed, pairing it with sprayed-gold milk weed pods. 

The last one is a pale pink mixed with dried dock and milk weed pods, the red berries tucked in here and there with a brass colored vase. I’m particularly fond of this one. Christmas bouquets need not always be red to be lovely. 

I wish you all a beautiful healthy and happy holiday season!

Emma

Enjoy the holiday season with one or both of Emma Lane’s sweet Regency Romances collections. Here is a brief intro for you.

 

Families can be troublesome, but a next door neighbor can sometimes be even worse. Caroline is a strong-willed young lady and refuses to be bullied by a handsome duke. Four sweet Regency romances to get you in the mood for the season.

 Amazon Link

Winter storms swirling snow and unexpected guests on the eve of Christmas, the pungent fragrance of fresh pine boughs, springs of mistletoe hung with red ribbons, and a stolen kiss underneath the kissing ball comprise scenes of Christmas in the country. Ice skating anyone? Have a cup of wassail and toast your toes in front of a warm fire while you enjoy four short stories of sweet Regency Christmas romances.  

Amazon Link

 

Emma Lane is a gifted author who writes cozy mysteries as Janis Lane, Regency as Emma, and spice as Sunny Lane. 

She lives in Western New York where winter is snowy, spring arrives with rave reviews, summer days are long and velvet, and fall leaves are riotous in color. At long last she enjoys the perfect bow window for her desk where she is treated to a year-round panoramic view of nature. Her computer opens up a fourth fascinating window to the world. Her patient husband is always available to help with a plot twist and encourage Emma to never quit. Her day job is working with flowers at Herbtique and Plant Nursery, the nursery she and her son own. 

Look for information about writing and plants on Emma's new website. Leave a comment or a gardening question and put a smile on Emma's face.

Stay connected to Emma on Facebook and Twitter . Be sure to check out the things that make Emma smile on Pinterest .

CRUNCH TIME DINNER

from Tina Ruiz 

Nothing goes to waste in my kitchen. If I have leftover Italian or French bread it becomes the base for a dinner. And what a dinner it is – easy – quick – delicious. Can’t beat that if you’re on a busy schedule or tight budget. 

PIZZA BREAD

½ loaf Italian or French bread

1½ cups spaghetti sauce, possibly more

½ lb. Genoa salami or pepperoni, sliced thin

3 or 4 slices fresh tomatoes

1½ cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Split the bread in half lengthwise.  Smear spaghetti sauce on the white part of the bread. Lay meat slices on top. Scatter on mozzarella and then Parmesan.

Place the bread on a cookie sheet then pop them into the oven until the cheese melts, and VIOLA, dinner is ready! 

A nice treat after the pizza bread is a dish of vanilla ice cream topped with Kahlua or your favorite coffee liqueur.  No whip topping, just the ice cream and liqueur.  It is sooooo good and really hits the spot.

Here’s a brief intro to my children’s Christmas book your little ones will enjoy.

Blitzen was born at the North Pole, but he is unable to fly. Because of that, he is taunted and called names by the other reindeers. Rudy saw what was happening, and he decided to teach Blitzen how to gain some confidence. And with a little magic powder from Santa, Blitzen is not only able to fly, but he becomes part of Santa's famous team.



Amazon Buy Links E-Book - Paperback
Tina Ruiz was born in Germany, but her family moved to Canada when she was in grammar school. She began writing children's stories when her own were little. Through the years Ruiz wrote twenty-seven books. Most of those stories went into readers for the Canada Board of Education. Two did not. Mayor Shadoe Markley is a story about a ten-year-old girl who becomes Mayor for a Day through a contest at school.

Little did Ruiz know that story would “change the world.” The book came out at early January 1988. By the end of that same month, everyone was calling the mayor's office at City Hall, trying to get the forms to fill out so their children could participate in the contest. Thirty years later that same contest is still runs at full speed. And not only in Calgary, but all across Canada. The Mayor's Youth Council is now in charge of the celebrated contest and invites Ruiz to attend and meet the lucky winner. It's usually followed by a hand-written thank you card from the mayor himself. Recently Ruiz was invited to be part of the Grand Opening of Calgary's New Library where the mayor shook her hand and introduced her to the attendees.

Tina has worked in television and radio as well as being a professional clown at the Children's Hospital. She lives in Calgary with her husband who encourages her to write her passion be it high-quality children's books or intriguing romance.

Stay connected with Tina Ruiz on her Facebook group Tina Speaks Out .

The Entire Taylor FamilyWishes You and YoursHappy Thanksg...

The Entire Taylor Family
Wishes You and Yours

Happy Thanksgiving

A Child’s Narrative

from Elliott Baker 

I do not have an advanced degree in psychology. I am the proud owner of a BA in history which was chosen as the least onerous way I could spend four years. I figured it would involve mostly reading and I liked to read, even then. So, if you need an expert to entertain someone’s thoughts, you may need to stop here. 
Like you, I can look out and see a pretty messed up situation. And like you, I think about it. Since I am a writer, I naturally see things as stories, narratives. It occurred to me that we are acting in a child’s narrative. Sally and I have three children and five grandchildren and I have loved and watched each closely. ADD runs in our family, so I have had more occasion to think about their paths. In my view, children are not immoral, they are amoral. That their actions might hurt someone else, or even themselves in the long run does not occur to them. They mostly don’t say to themselves, “that’s bad, but I’m going to do it anyway.” They say, “I want this. Now.” 
Image by akos147 from Pixabay We are living in a child’s narrative. This narrative’s   defining characteristic is ‘Me and not me.’ With rare   interruptions, the child sees the world in shades of   black and white where the adult has run into blue   and red and knows the world to be more complex   than that. The fact that we add a year’s chronological   age every year doesn’t guarantee that our maturity or   awareness grows at the same pace. Many of us get to   the end of this particular narrative without gaining   much in the way of awareness. If I believed that 80   years is all we have to accumulate greater awareness,   I’d be angry, frustrated, and fearful, but since I choose to trust that we have every moment we need to evolve, I don’t entertain fear as often as I might. That is, right up to the point when I buy into the hypnotic, seductive, child’s narrative with all its resentments and anger and sadness. The child within me grabs hold of its ‘Me and not me’ perspective as it leaches all of the colors from the world leaving only black or white. And I am left feeling frustrated and frightened for myself and those I love. 
What can I do? Observe first without judgement. Not so easy, but it can be done. Survey the problem and parts of it fall away, but not all. There are action steps to change. 
I don’t have to act in this particular play that my ego (child within) is thrilled to produce. Each moment is about choices and the more balanced the mind, the better the choices. Fear is not balance. The child’s narrative (ego) is in business to disconnect you from everyone and everything in order to maintain the illusion of control. Control is the aim of the ego, pure and simple. If the child can control everything, including the adults around him or her, he will be safe. Not true, of course, but that is the child’s underlying motivation. Add in the desire for immediate gratification, and you have the child’s narrative. It’s a story, like any other, but now that I see it, it isn’t the story I want to play in. 
So, what can I do? Aren’t I chained to this reality, to this narrative? Not so much. Oh, there are chains all right, but take a good look at them. Do it now. Look at the chains of thought that bind you to anything. Who made those chains? I did, for me. So, can I just make ‘em disappear? Yeah, wouldn’t that be nice. Thing is it took some time to lay down our part in the narrative and it will take some time to dematerialize those chains. Not as much time as our ego wants us to believe, but some. How do I do it? 
Not by fighting a war. Every strike at an opponent, while it feels so good in the moment, only solidifies the narrative. Remember, we want to change narratives. At least I do. I’m tired of feeling sad about the chances for my beloved grandchildren to find a satisfying life. 
The child’s narrative is a habit we have accepted. Is it possible to change destructive habits? You bet. There are plenty of folks who have beaten horrible addictions. Like the lion in the Wizard of Oz, they aren’t any stronger than you or I, they just decide and do not turn back. 
How do I change this habit, this narrative? 
When I was in my twenties, I worked as a life guard in a resort in upper state New York. There was one guy there who was so cool. He got all the girls, and was just, for lack of a better description, cool. I aspired to be cool so I watched what he said and did that was so attractive to the opposite sex. He spoke in a very, to me, cool way by adding the word ‘like’ before his sentences. “Like, why don’t we go grab a drink.” Every sentence was preceded by the word ‘like.’ Aha, that’s his secret. As I said, he was cool. So, I added the word into my vocabulary and used it profusely. 

My mom had occasion to visit and we went to a Broadway show. Actually, I remember the show, George M with Joel Gray. Great show about George M Cohan. I digress. Afterward we went out to eat. I was talking about something, and she said, “Like what?” I repeated whatever I thought she hadn’t caught or understood. (My mom’s a real smart person and her hearing is fine, so I should have caught on earlier, but it took me a few times.) So, I repeated what I had said, and she again said, “Like what?” I said it again and she echoed “Like what?” Ah. Finally got to me. By that time, I had gotten over how cool this guy was, but my speech hadn’t reflected that awareness. 
“I say it a lot, huh?” She just smiled. “Sounds pretty stupid, huh?” Again, she just smiled. (Did I say how smart she is?) Well, I’ll just stop saying the word like. Not so easy. Habit. She helped me. Every time I said “Like,” she’d say, “Like what?” Took me all that night and the next day. 
Unfortunately, we don’t have someone saying “Like what?” every time we replay a habit, so they aren’t as easy to change and often take more than a day and a half. Some years later, when I found the less than useful vocal addition, “You know,” had crept into my speech, I decided to delete it. Once again, not so easy. So, I had a choice between listen to the ego, “It’s too hard, you can’t do this. You don’t have anyone to help you.” Or create my own “Like what?” to pry that habit out of there. “I did this once before; I can do it again.” Hah.., (Damn, a semicolon. How pretentious can you get? It was an accident. Windows did it.) 
The first few times I actually heard myself saying “You know,” (And there were plenty I didn’t hear.) I was pretty frustrated. I then realized that I wasn’t even hearing it most of the time. So, I began listening for its unwelcome appearance. I decided the first thing was not to get angry at myself as that didn’t seem to speed things up. Just observe. At first, I would hear myself say “You know,” maybe five or six times a day, and each time I would be determined to catch it before I said it and not say it. I managed to ditch the anger and frustration, and I told my ego to go sit on the bench. I was doing this. But it was like that illusive cricket that managed to get into your bedroom. Every time you think about it or move toward it, it quiets down and you can’t find it. Then it starts up and you can’t sleep. 
Finally, as I was about to say something to someone, my brain paused for me to act. I chose not to say, “You know.” Victory. I did it. Not so much. Two sentences later, there it was. Crap. Still, what I could do once I could repeat. Took me some time, but I stopped saying, “You know.” 
A visual would be if you ran a pencil along a school desk until you’d made a nice trough. Not that you would ever do that. Once the trough (habit) is dug, the pencil goes along easily. Well, yes, but a straight line is boring and I’m, uh, someone, is much more creative than that so let’s make a Y. At first it’s hard to get the pencil out of the rut (habit) I’ve, we’ve dug, but once it jumps the moat, the leg of the Y is created and then with a little application, it’s easier to push the pencil along the new trough (habit) than the old. Will and persistence. And ditch the anger. You might not be able to get to forgiveness, which is way more powerful, but we can just set the anger aside. Remove our attention from it. Not every time at first, but once we get the hang of it, it can be done. 
Why should we devote our attention and energy to creating a new narrative, a more adult narrative? The simple answer is it hurts less. And if enough of us refuse to live in the child’s narrative, the script will change. And we and our grandchildren will be in a richer story with greater possibilities to create a more satisfying and happy life.
Award winning, international playwright Elliott B. Baker grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. With four musicals and one play published and done throughout the United States, New Zealand, Portugal, England, and Canada, Elliott is pleased to offer his first novel, Return, book one of The Sun God’s Heir trilogy.

A member of the Authors Guild and the Dramatists Guild, Elliott lives in New Hampshire with his beautiful wife Sally Ann.

Learn more about Elliot Baker on his website . Stay connected on Twitter and Facebook . Like Elliott's Author Page on Facebook to learn all his latest news.

A THANKSGIVING FEAST TO BEHOLD

Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays. Every year Mike and I had at least twenty people for a sit-down dinner. We cooked the meal and the guests supply the appetizers, deserts, and wine. It was a wonderful time to reminisce, over-indulge, and have fun. There comes a time when life must change. Two years ago I passed the turkey baster on to my daughter Dru. She's a wonderful cook and it’s great fun to be her guest. 
 MENU Roasted Turkey Stuffing Mashed Potatoes Candied Sweet Potatoes Broccoli Stir-fry Canned Corn Cranberry Sauce Gravy White wine – Chardonnay 
Roasted Turkey Turkey 8 tbsp. (114g) butter2 leeks including some green, chopped 2 large onion, chopped 15 baby carrots, chopped 4 tomatoes, chopped 1 tbsp. (15ml) dried thyme 1 tbsp. (15ml) dried marjoram 1 large bay leaf Bacon strips to cover breast Chicken stock Disposable pan Cooking rack Cookie sheet – for stability 
 Place unopened turkey on a cloth lined cookie sheet and thaw in refrigerator 7 hours per pound or one day for every four pounds of frozen turkey. So, if you have a 20 pound (9K) turkey it will take 140 hours or a least 5 days to thaw in the fridge. 
Thanksgiving MorningIf the turkey isn’t completely thawed, set in a large pot of cold water to complete. Dispose of packet inserted in cavity. Rinse well, then pat dry with paper towels. 
Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). 
Cooking Times10 – 18 lbs. (4.5 – 8kg) 2 - 2½ hrs. 18 – 22 lbs. (8 – 10kg ) 2½ - 3 hrs. 22 – 24 lbs. (10 – 11kg) 3 - 3½ hrs. 
Melt butter in a large frying pan. When the foam subsides, lay turkey, breast down, and brown first one side then the other until skin is golden. Be careful moving the turkey around, it’s heavy and awkward.
Set disposable pan on cookie sheet. Scatter chopped vegetables onto pan bottom. Insert cooking rack. Place turkey on rack breast up. Lay bacon slices over breast to cover well. Pour in enough chicken broth to cover the pan bottom by 1 inch (2.54cm). Cover turkey and pan edges with aluminum foil, crimping sides well. 
Remove from oven at the predetermined time. To test if the bird is done, use a paper towel or pot holder and shake hands with its leg. The leg should move freely. Tent with foil and allow to rest 30 - 45 minutes before carving. 
Remember – turkey, like all other meat, continues to cook long after it is removed from the oven.
Stuffing Stuffing is a winter food for us. I make a huge batch and freeze the unbaked extra in serving-size containers. Throughout the winter I’ll serve it with pork or chicken.  1 package bread stuffing cubes, plain or seasoned ½ lb. (250g) breakfast sausage in a tube or bulk 8 tbsp. (1 stick) (114g) butter, melted 1 rib celery, chopped ½ medium onion, chopped 1 egg, lightly beaten 1½ tsp. (7.5ml) dried sage 1½ tsp. (7.5ml) dried thyme 2 cups (450ml) chicken stock, maybe a little more 
Empty bread cubes into a large bowl. 
 Fry sausage in a medium-sized skillet, breaking meat into small chunks, until no longer pink. Add sausage and its juice to bread cubes. 
Melt butter in same skillet. Add celery and onion when the foam subsides. Sauté 3 – 4 minutes until translucent, be careful not to let it brown. Add vegetables with all their juices to bread cubes. Mix well. Pour egg onto stuffing. Sprinkle sage and thyme across the top. Mix well. 
 Stir in chicken stock until mixture is very moist, but not soupy. 
To Bake as a Side Dish Spoon mixture into an ungreased baking dish. Do not pack it in. Cover tightly with foil. Refrigerate stuffing until you are ready to bake it, but no longer than two days. 
To Freeze Spoon mixture into freezer bags, label, and pop in freezer no longer than 3 months. I use several small bags that serve 2 at a single setting. No matter which route you take, remove stuffing from the refrigerator/freezer early in the day to allow it to come to room temperature. 
Preheat oven to 350° F (180°C). Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until the top is brown. 
Mashed Potatoes 1 small russet potato per person Chicken stock Butter Sour cream  Milk Pepper 
The Day Before Pour 1-inch (2.54cm) chicken stock into saucepan. Peel and quarter the potatoes, then place in saucepan. Add tap water to cover by 1-inch (2.54cm). Put a lid on pan and bring to a boil over medium heat, then lower temperature to a strong simmer. Cook approximately 25 minutes. Test for doneness by poking a fork into a potato. It should insert easily. 
Drain potatoes. Mash well without adding other ingredients. Cool completely in a glass or ceramic bowl. Cover and refrigerate. 
Thanksgiving Day Remove potatoes from the refrigerator early in the day to allow them to come to room temperature. When you are ready to serve, microwave potatoes until hot. Stir in butter, sour cream, milk, and pepper to the consistency you prefer. 
Candied Sweet Potatoes 32 oz. (1kg) can of sweet potatoes½ cup (50g) brown sugar firmly packed 8 tbsp. (114g) butter  2 handfuls mini marshmallows 
Preheat oven to 375° F (190°C). 
Drain potatoes in a colander. Cut large pieces in half. Lay potatoes into a 13 x 9-inch (33 x 22cm) glass baking dish. 
Sprinkle brown sugar across the top, then dot with butter. 
Bake 20 minutes. 
Scatter marshmallows over the yams and bake for 15 minutes or until marshmallows are brown. 
Broccoli Stir-fry 4 mini carrots sliced on an angle ½ cup (50g) olive oil – possibly more ½ medium onion, sliced 1 in. (2.54) piece gingerroot peeled and cut into strips 1 head broccoli trimmed and cut into florets ½ small sweet red pepper cored, seeded and cut into strips ½ small yellow pepper cored, seeded and cut into strips 2 large garlic cloves pressed ½ tsp. (2.5ml) red pepper flakes 2 green onions sliced on an angle, include green 5 mini Bello mushrooms, cleaned and sliced into thirds 1 tbsp. (15ml) lime or lemon juice 
Have all ingredients prepped and, on the counter, before you begin cooking. 
In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium high heat until it begins to shimmer. Add onion, carrot and gingerroot. Sauté until carrot is almost soft. Test by inserting a toothpick into the carrot. Remove as many gingerroot pieces as you can find. Don’t worry if some are left in the pan. 
Add broccoli, red and yellow peppers, and garlic. Sprinkle on red pepper flakes. Stir constantly to ensure broccoli is well coated with oil. Add more oil if necessary. Squeeze on lime or lemon juice. Sauté 2 - 4 minutes, but be sure broccoli and peppers still have crunch to them. 
Blend in green onions and mushrooms. Sauté until mushrooms are heated through. Serve quickly. 
Serves 4 – 6 so adjust accordingly. 
From the corn through the gravy you’ll see just how lazy I was on holidays. And I’m not ashamed. 
Canned Corn 1 can of corn per 4 people butter 
Drain corn, then pour into micro wave safe bowl. Lay 2 or 3 pats of butter across the top. Micro wave for 3 minutes, stir and serve. 
Cranberry Sauce 1 can of sauce per 6 people 
Lay sauce into a serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerator until ready to serve. 
Gravy 1 jar of gravy for 4 people Juices from the turkey pan 
Pour the gravy into a saucepan. Stir in ¼ - ½ cup (58 – 57g) of juice from the roasted turkey pan. Go easy so you don’t thin the gravy too much. Heat through and serve.
Have a happy and safe holiday!Sloane

12 HOLIDAY MOTIVATION TIPS

to get you started on time for the upcoming season. 
from C.D. Hersh

The holidays are nearly on us, and with them come extra work decorating the house, the lawn, the trees, baking all those Christmas cookies and goodies, shopping, cleaning, holiday parties to attend and give, and scads of other things that can take you away from your WIP. This year give yourself a head start with a little motivation to sit down at the computer and keep writing. Start planning now for a successful holiday writing season.

Here are a few tips on how to motivate yourself to write during the holidays.

1.     Start your holiday motivation by spending part of one day each week doing some holiday activity that fuels your creativity. If you celebrate Halloween get those decorations made and put up. When that’s accomplished start making Thanksgiving decorations for your table, bake those pies and fruitcakes, begin making Christmas cards, build a gingerbread house, plan what Christmas cookies you’re going to bake, build a snowman with the kids (use snow or craft paper or pillows), or begin your shopping. You’re only limited by your own imagination.

2.     Plan a couple of writers’ plotting and cookie exchange parties for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Have each participant bring 2 dozen home baked cookies (which you mixed up while writing with your tape recorder – more later on this) and exchange cookies and plotting ideas. And yes, this can count toward one of the writing goals.

3.     Make a holiday advent writing calendar. Choose a series of 25 clear writing goals for the holiday season and write them down on holiday themed paper. It doesn’t matter if it’s a chapter a day, 100 or 1000 words a day, perfecting that blurb or synopsis, or looking up a new editor or agent to submit to in January. Drop the goals into a bowl and pick one each day. Not knowing what you are going to do will keep the excitement alive, much like opening the doors on the Advent calendar does for children. If your family already has an advent calendar when you set it up add your goals to the calendar. Let the family number your advent goal papers so you will be surprised when you open them. This way the family can see what you need to accomplish and help keep you on track.

4.     Let Santa’s “writing elf” reward you with a little gift under the tree, or holiday snack set next to your easy chair, for each goal or week of goals you complete. Shop for your own rewards in advance, involve the family and let them choose or make the gifts for you, or do both.

5.     Head to Panera’s (or some other location that has a fireplace), grab a seat next to the fire and write until the heat overtakes you. If you work on your steamy love scenes it might not take long for you to get overheated. Then call it a day and have a Chai Latte while you watch the flames flicker.

6.     Leave the decorations off of the Christmas tree and put a few ornaments on every time you write 100, 200, 300, or 400 words—you choose the limit. Store the decorations in a pretty basket by the tree to make them easily accessible. If you plan a Christmas party and need the tree decorated quickly this could spur your word count to grow rapidly.

7.     Do a fun holiday related activity with the family with the understanding that the next day, or hours, are yours for writing.

8.     Write a Christmas story during your holidays. Inspiration is all around you during the season, from music to snow, if you’re lucky enough to get it. Writing holiday themed stories now beats putting the tree up in July, like Dolly Parton does for inspiration when she creates Christmas songs in the summer.

9.     Work hard in the time you’ve allotted and stay focused. This means no email, no web surfing, and shutting the office door.

10.  Use your crockpot … often. Winter’s a great time for simple soup, chili or stew meals topped off with crusty loaf of bread. Make double batches and you’ll have leftovers for another day. Some soups are better reheated.

11.  Write with a tape recorder and transcribe it after the holidays are over. A mini tape recorder fits in your pocket and is easy to use. Some cell phones even have to ability to record voice notes. All those times you have while you wait for the kids’ Christmas concerts to start (because we all know you have to be there hours in advance), waiting in line for thirty minutes at the checkout counter while holiday shopping, or mixing dough for Christmas cookies can count as writing time.

12.  At the end of the holiday season, if you met all your goals give yourself a BIG reward. You deserve it!

Share with us in the comments what ideas you have to motivate you through the holidays to keep writing.

Here's a brief intro to our romantic shapeshifter series. We hope you'll click the link to read the blurbs.

Amazon  The Turning Stone Chronicles Series page
The Promised One (The Turning Stone Chronicles Book 1)

Blood Brothers (The Turning Stone Chronicles Book 2)

Son of the Moonless Night (The Turning Stone Chronicles Book 3)


The Mercenary and the Shifters (The Turning Stone Chronicles Book 4)


C.D. Hersh–Two hearts creating everlasting love stories.
Putting words and stories on paper is second nature to co-authors C.D. Hersh. They’ve written separately since they were teenagers and discovered their unique, collaborative abilities in the mid-90s. As high school sweethearts and husband and wife, Catherine and Donald believe in true love and happily ever after.

They have a short Christmas story, Kissing Santa, in a Christmas anthology titled Sizzle in the Snow: Soul Mate Christmas Collection , with seven other authors.

They are looking forward to many years of co-authoring and book sales, and a lifetime of happily-ever-after endings on the page and in real life.

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