Karen Grey's Blog, page 2

The Making of a Book Cover 2.5

I hadn’t planned to write a holiday novella but Hot Steve unexpectedly turned into such a compelling character that I decided he needed a story. An idea for a New Year’s Eve themed story spanning the final decade of the 20th century planted itself in my head, and Like It’s 1999 snuck it’s way onto my writing schedule for 2020 (I mean, what else did I have to do with my time…?)

Luckily I was able to talk my intrepid (and busy) cover designer Lana into fitting me into her schedule. This time when I gave her the basics, she started the process by sending me a sketch she found to get the ball rolling.

I loved the idea and shared my Pinterest boards for both characters to give her specific faces to work from. Steve had been tougher for me to pin down than I’d expected since he loomed so large in my imagination. He wasn’t visually specific for me until I started looking at hot 80’s icons (and their preppy sweaters).

Alice is based in part on one of my college roommates, who also emigrated to the U.S. in elementary school. Visually, one Korean actress in particular (Han Ye Seul) really caught my eye. It’s as much about the sparkle in her eye as her beauty.

When Lana sent her initial sketch of Alice and Steve, the characters’ body language just wasn’t communicating what it needed to. That is: “I’m interested, but I shouldn’t be.” The grumpy poses said “why do I have to deal with this person?” (Alice’s boots and pony tail were perfect, however!)

So I sent her back to the drawing board with some other ideas, especially with regards to Steve’s posture and Alice’s shirt (cold weather and more 80’s).

That was the ticket because the next sketch delivered.

A few tweaks to the placement of title, sub-title and tag line and we were done!

Like It’s 1999 releases in ebook only on December 9, 2020. Pre-order now and it’ll arrive in your inbox on release day!

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APPLE CIDER DOUGHNUT CAKE

(and preferably, baked goods)



A recipe for National Doughnut Day!

Based on a recipe from Bon Appetit, I basically just changed up the directions a bit to make things go a bit quicker. There are a lot of steps, and it does take a chunk of time (as well as some whisking elbow grease) but the final result is worth it: a not-too-sweet super-moist cake with just the right blend of spiced-cider goodness.

Cake Ingredients:



½ cup butter1 ½ cups apple cider½ cup sour cream1 teaspoon vanilla1 ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons flour2 tablespoons cornstarch1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder½ teaspoon baking soda½ teaspoon salt½ teaspoon cinnamon¼ teaspoon nutmeg2 eggs¾ cup sugar



Topping ingredients:



1/3 cup sugar½ teaspoon cinnamon¼ teaspoon nutmegBig pinch salt1 tablespoon butter

Directions:

Note: You’ll need to use a heatproof measuring cup for the cider.

Bring the cider to a boil in a saucepan and then reduce the heat to keep an active simmer. You’re aiming to reduce the volume to ¾ cup which can take 10-15 minutes. Begin pouring the cider back into the measuring cup at about 8 minutes and increase the heat if it hasn’t begun to reduce. Once it has reduced to ¾ cup, pour off ¼ cup into a small bool and allow the remaining ½ cup to cool in the measuring cup for 5 minutes, then whisk in the sour cream (instead of measuring the sour cream in a separate container, add it to the cider until the total reads 1 cup) and the vanilla.

While the cider is simmering, preheat the oven to 325°. Lightly butter a 9×5” loaf pan, then line it with parchment paper, leaving several inches of overhang on the long sides, and butter the paper.

(prepped loaf pan)

Melt the ½ cup of butter and let cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. In a large bowl, vigorously whisk eggs and sugar until pale and frothy, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in cooled melted butter, continuing until fully combined and no spots of fat remain. Don’t wash the saucepan; you’ll need it to melt the butter for the topping.

(frothy eggs and sugar ready for melted butter)

Whisk dry ingredients into egg mixture in 3 parts, alternating with sour cream/cider mixture. Batter will be on the thin side.

Pour into prepared loaf pan, set the pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in the center of the oven for about one hour, until deep golden brown and tester comes out clean. Transfer loaf pan to a wire rack, poke the top with holes and pour 3 tablespoons of reserved reduced cider over it (saving 1 tablespoon cider for the topping). Let cake cool for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk dry topping ingredients together in a small bowl. Melt 1 tablespoon butter and then mix with final tablespoon of reduced cider.

Set the wire rack inside the baking sheet. Using the parchment paper overhang, lift the cake out of the pan and set it, still on top of the paper, on the wire rack. Brush all sides of the cake with the warm butter/cider mixture, then sprinkle the sugar mixture over the cake, using the parchment to rotate the cake and coat all the surfaces. Move to a serving plate or storage container and let cake cool completely before slicing.

Print the recipe here:

perfect as dessert or with your morning coffee!

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The Making of a Book Cover 2.0

Honestly, I don’t remember why or when I decided that Ben Porter needed to be an underwear model a la Marky Mark in the 80’s Calvin Klein ads. Maybe it was just so I could do the research. Very arduous research, as you can imagine.

But, to the cover. This time around I knew my genre–Romantic Comedy– and I didn’t have to find a designer because Lana at Bookcoverology did such an amazing job with the cover for WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR. And I had a slightly better idea of how the process should go.

For instance, I now know how useful a Pinterest board can be. For book one, I emailed her folders of images. This time I could just collect them on boards. (I know people have been doing this for years but I’m not a particularly visual person so I never got the Pinterest thing. Now, I get it.)

In addition to the actor/model Ben Porter, FORGET ABOUT ME is about Lucy Minola: an Italian-American vet tech with a gorgeous full figure. She wears scrubs at work, of course but her curves come out of hiding when a co-worker helps her find a vintage red dress to wear to an opening night party.

Then there’s the dog that brings them together. If you’re not an animal person, you’ll probably hate this book. Between the dog training and the veterinary hospital scenes, animals are all over it. Puck–the stray that shows up on page one–is especially important, so of course he needed his own board. Benji from the movies series of the characters’ childhoods was an inspiration, then I just went nuts pinning expressive terrier mix faces.

Another important element is the mixtape. When Lucy was a carefree teen, she was obsessed with mixtapes and making them for Ben was a key feature in her seduction of him back when he was just her big brother’s best friend. (You can get that story in the FREE ebook SIGNED, SEALED & DELIVERED by subscribing to my news or joining my FB group Wicked Smaht Retro Romcom Readers).

Finally, for some reason the image of the Coppertone ad where a dog is pulling on a girl’s bathing suit would not leave my mind, so that went in an inspiration board, too.

Then I sent that all to Lana and came up with this first sketch.

I loved a lot about this. Probably top of the list was how Lana incorporated the Coppertone image idea by having Puck tug on Lucy’s sexy dress. There were a few small adjustments like making Lucy’s hair curly and switching locations of the tag line and sub-title. My PR advisor suggested a more intense yellow background to make it pop even more. I’d wanted the mixtape on the cover–maybe with the tape in a heart the way the phone cord was in WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR–but Lana felt it would get too busy. (Instead she created this image, which is on the back cover and at the top of every chapter.)

We did have a question about Ben. Should we see the bare chest that he’s so famous for? So Lana made the above changes and tried losing his shirt.

However, that didn’t work so well in the stylized illustration style we’d chosen for the series (see the Mukai drawings and Aha video inspirations in my first post about the cover of book one).

So I looked further for poses that might give us a hint of Ben’s torso and sent these guys to Lana.

And she came up with this lovely version.

On October 22, you’ll be able to have your very own copy in ebook, paperback (available for pre-order now) or audio format! You can even buy a signed paperback directly from me here: https://karenwhiteaudiobooks.com/shop/

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GRANOLA CRUNCH CRUMBLE

(and preferably, baked goods)

Adapted from Melissa Clark’s The Crunchiest Summer Fruit Crumble recipe, which I futzed with until I got the topping less floury and more buttery/crunchy. I also added nuts, but you can leave them out if you want. I’ve made this with various combinations of peaches, blueberries and blackberries but can’t wait to try it with apples and/or pears this fall.

TOPPING INGREDIENTS



½ cup butter½ cup flour½ cup rolled oats¼ cup almond flour¼ cup brown sugar¼ cup granulated sugar¼ teaspoon salt1 teaspoon ground cinnamon¼ – ½ teaspoon each ground ginger, cardamom, allspice and/or nutmeg½ cup pecan or walnut pieces (optional)



FILLING INGREDIENTS



2 – 4 tablespoons brown or granulated sugar2 tablespoons cornstarch5 cups fruit: berries and/or peeled, cubed stone fruit



(Also recommended: ice cream or whipped cream or yogurt for serving)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°. Melt butter and allow to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together flours, oats, sugars, salt and spices. Add the butter and stir with a spatula until mostly distributed (it’s okay if some chunks are larger than others. Stir in the nuts if using.

Line a rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper (this really helps with the mess). Spread the topping mixture on the paper, in the general shape and size of your baking dish. Don’t wash the bowl!

Bake until fragrant, 15 minutes. It won’t look much different, so don’t overdo it. Allow to cool on a rack while you prepare the fruit.

In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons sugar and the cornstarch. (The topping is quite sweet, so I don’t recommend adding too much to your fruit.) Put the fruit in the topping mix bowl and fold in the sugar/cornstarch mixture. Pour filling into either a 8×8” square baking dish, or a deep-dish pie plate 8 – 9” in diameter.

Carefully slide the pre-baked granola on top, filling in gaps as best you can as needed. Bake 45-50 minutes, until fruit is quite bubbly. Let cool a bit before serving.

If you have any leftovers, have them for breakfast.

just enough for breakfast

You can print the recipe here:

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Big Box of Books & Swag Giveaway

Romance Fans!

For a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card in addition to ten signed paperback plus assorted author swag, all you have to do is fill out the form in this link, which will sign you up for the participating authors’ newsletters. (You can unsubscribe at any time, of course.)

Entries close September 23rd and the winner will be announced September 25th, so enter now!

Just click this link to enter: http://bit.ly/LENB082020

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SLICE & BAKE PECAN SANDIES

(and preferably, baked goods)



(check out them golden brown edges)

I don’t like to have my oven running for hours in the summer, so slice-and-bake cookies seem like the best way to go. Plus, if you make a batch and freeze half, or a third of it, then you get to have no-mess cookies on another day! These do require overnight refrigeration, so be sure to plan ahead.

INGREDIENTS



2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature1/3 cup sugar½ teaspoon salt1 teaspoon vanilla2 cups all-purpose flour1 cup pecan piecesTurbinado sugar for sprinkling (optional)



DIRECTIONS

Beat butter, sugar and salt together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Add flour and salt and mix at low speed, until dough just comes together. Add pecans and mix until incorporated and broken up a bit.

Divide dough in two or three chunks. U, using wax paper to form into logs 2” thick. Wrap tightly in wax paper or plastic and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to back preheat oven to 350˚F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.  Keep log of dough refrigerated until ready to use and then cut into scant ¼” slices. Place on baking sheet, about ½” apart.  If you choose, sprinkle a pinch of Turbinado sugar on the top of each cookie.

(good to have a dog standing by to catch any crumbs)

Bake 14 – 16 minutes, until lightly golden around the edges and on the bottom. Cool on sheets for a few minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Store in airtight container between sheets of waxed paper. Keeps for at least 3 days.

NOTE:

If you don’t like or can’t get pecans, you can experiment with other mix-ins. Things to try are other nuts (e.g. walnuts, pistachios, peanuts), zests (orange, lemon), dried fruit (cranberries, chopped apricots, candied ginger), seeds (poppy, sesame), herbs (thyme, rosemary) and/or mini chips (chocolate, peanut butter). You can also try subbing out all or some of the flour for gluten-free varieties.

I’ve tried thyme with lemon zest and dried cranberries with orange zest. The latter was prettier and tastier, though the former was very light and a nice addition to a cheese platter.

You can print the recipe here:

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Summer Swag Giveaway

at romancebooks.blog

Rack up the entries by following authors on Goodreads. Winners get their choice of summer swag like these cute shirts!

Summer Swag “i read kissing books” tank



Summer Swag “#booknerd” tee shirt



So don’t delay–the giveaway closes July 30th.



Enter now at romancebooks.blog.

(If you’re not already on Goodreads, it’s easy to sign up. It’s a great way to keep track of books you want to read, learn more about authors you love and make book friends who share your interests.)

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Visiting Boston, virtually

On the What I’m Looking For Goodreads page a reviewer wrote, “I’m ready for a visit to Walden Pond!”**

As it’s challenging for people to travel right now, I thought others might enjoy some internet travel via my Pinterest research boards for the Boston Classics series. What’s cool about all the spots below is how little they’ve changed over the years. Surrounding buildings popping up have shifted skylines, and some businesses have disappeared, but the feel is the same.

Walden Pond

When I lived in Waltham and Arlington, biking to Walden Pond was a favorite escape. We took the girls just a few years ago (they’re the ones responsible for putting the cell phone in Thoreau’s hand – neither would’ve been there in 1988, of course).

Boston Common & Public Garden

When I was teaching acting at Emerson, lunch on a bench here was a regular habit. It’s the setting for the classic children’s book, Make Way For Ducklings, and my kids are among many who’ve had their photos with the statues celebrating the book.

The Charles River

Kate and I share a love of biking around the Charles.

Harvard Square

Site of the “juggler incident,” also something Kate and I share a memory of.

Menotomy Rocks Park

For my family this is a favorite outing whenever we visit friends in Arlington, MA. You won’t find this spot in What I’m Looking For, but it’s an important setting in the next book in the series, Forget About Me (aiming for a release this fall, fingers crossed). If you can’t wait, it and the characters in book two are featured in the short story Can’t Get Used to Losing You in the collection Vintage Love Stories.

**Thanks for that review Anne P. and everyone else who has supported the book in that fashion. If you’ve read the book, please add your own review on Goodreads, Bookbub, Amazon, Kobo and/or Apple books! If you haven’t read the book, I hope these photos will tempt you to take a trip back in time to Boston in 1988.

And, if you’ve read this far, you get one more link to check out: the inspiration for the male main character in Forget About Me. He plays Romeo in What I’m Looking For, but before returning to Boston he was a model, like these guys.

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RELEASE DAY GIVEAWAY

WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR by Karen Grey



Available June 23, 2020 in print, audio and ebook wherever books are sold.



What reviewers are saying:

“This is my first book by Karen Grey and I’m hooked.” —Rellim Reads

“This story was bodacious! Totally Tubular!” —Live, Laugh, Love and Books

“I felt like I was in a time warp and I loved it.” —Betty Loves Love

“Ah, the 80’s…pagers, answering machines and waiting days for a call, oh my!” —Kathryn, Goodreads

 “Will and Kate are a wonderful pair. Ms. Grey shares allows both their fears and affection to shine across the pages, giving What I’m Looking For a strong story and satisfying conclusion.” —Jen, That’s What I’m Talking About

“Set in the 1980s, this funny yet warmhearted character-driven tale checks all the boxes for classy contemporary romance while providing the longed-for “something different” readers seek out. It’s smart. It’s sexy. It’s sophisticated romance at its best.” —Lea Hensley, Audiogals

WHERE TO FIND IT



AUDIO

Libro.fm (use the code KARENWHITE for a 3 for 1 book deal), Downpour or Audible

PRINT

The Ripped Bodice (click below) or any indie bookstore via Indiebound or Bookshop.org (or just ask your local bookstore to order it) and Amazon.

EBOOK

Kobo, Apple, , Barnes & Noble, Google

RELEASE DAY GIVEAWAY

To celebrate the release of my very first full-length novel, I’m giving away three digital copies (ebook or audio, your choice). To be entered, just comment below with your favorite movie from the 1980’s. I’ll pick three winners at random on Saturday, June 27th at noon.

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#LOVEAUDIOBOOKS MONTH EVENT

June is Audiobook Month, the time when we celebrate how much we #loveaudiobooks. However, this has been no ordinary June. I’ve been doing as much as I can to listen to black leaders in my current home town, which is particularly in need of a great deal of healing.

I do have a book coming out, however. I also have an amazing group of narrator friends who’ve inspired me with their creative endeavors beyond audiobooks. Earlier this spring, when we were unable to gather for our annual audiobook conference, I had the idea to bring this group of super cool women together to talk about what inspires them, what drives them, what they love about telling stories in multiple formats.

So we’re doing that. And you’re invited. We’re calling it:

STRAIGHT FROM THE AUTHOR’S MOUTH



THURSDAY, JUNE 25th at 8PM EST.

We’ll just be nine women chatting about books and creativity, but we’d love to answer your questions. (If you want to find out more about how you can connect with any of us and/or buy our books, it’s all on this page.)

If you’d like to join us, just fill out this Google Form, then look out for an email from karen@karenwhiteaudiobooks.com with your Zoom invite.

The event is free, but if you’re able to make a donation to ProLiteracy, we’d love it. This non-profit makes the work of literacy organizations across the country possible, and has lost out on fundraising opportunities because of cancelled events during the current health crisis, so any amount you can give will help them help others. You can find out more here.

Space is limited, so sign up soon!

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