Camy Tang's Blog, page 118

The frustration of being sidelined

For the past four days, I’ve had a low-grade headache just kind of hovering behind my forehead, but yesterday it exploded into a full-flown migraine. It was awful. My head was pounding too much for me to be able to sleep it off, and my stomach was upset so I couldn’t take any medication.



Luckily, I had taken a couple Tylenol and willow bark with some soymilk before my stomach rebelled, so I wasn’t totally without drugs. The only thing I could do was lie in bed with the windows darkened and a cold compress on my head and eyes. However, the pain was too much and I couldn’t sleep, but it was also heartily boring lying in bed in pain, so I put on an audiobook and listened to that in the dark. I went through three cold compresses before the headache died down.



Even after I got up, I still had a low-grade headache and my head felt fragile, like glass. I tried doing work and couldn’t--I was in too much pain, and I was afraid that looking at the computer screen was making my headache get worse again, so I stopped.



But I was so frustrated because I have so much work to do! I’m working on blurbs for my Love Inspired Suspense editor, which I should have had done a couple weeks ago, but some personal problems kept me from working on them sooner. I also need to be working on a manuscript due October 15th.



I am also taking an online history class, my first academic class in years. Originally, I would have had my manuscript done before the class started, but the manuscript deadline was extended because my synopsis wasn’t approved earlier, so the deadline is now October 15th, and so I have the class at the same time as the manuscript writing.



Perhaps my migraine was triggered by the stress of the past month. I had some personal problems and excessive stress about the amount of work that piled up.



I’d had such a nice, neat schedule for myself that got completely sidelined. Deadlines were changed, extra work piled up, unanticipated problems arose. Now my online class time is packed with two other projects that were supposed to be finished before the class started.



I am feeling better today, although I still have a low-grade headache. However, I am not tired and feel full of energy--my head just feels a little fragile from the pounding it took yesterday.



Please pray for me that I can get all my work done. I need God’s help to not only get it done, but also to not be frustrated by all the problems I’ve had. Thanks, guys!

Who’s reading Young Adult novels?

I was on the Girls, God, and the Good Life blog yesterday with a link to a very interesting article and an unofficial poll:



Camy here! I came across this article in Publisher’s Weekly today about a study that showed 55% of YA Books are bought by adults. I thought that was interesting, although not really surprising.



Click here to read the rest of my blog post and join the discussion! What do you think about the results of this study?

Love Inspired chat right now!

From 8-10pm EST. I hope you’ll join us! No need for a password.



http://chat.eharlequin.com/flashchat.php#

Love Inspired chat tonight!

From 8-10pm EST. I hope you’ll join us! No need for a password.

Love Inspired Harvest Festival at Harlequin.com

This week is the Love Inspired Harvest Festival at Harlequin.com forum boards! Games and prizes and authors dropping by to chat! Come join us! If you’re not yet a member of the Harlequin forum boards, it’s super easy to sign up! If you have problems, just message me or Love Inspired Books on Facebook for help!



http://community.harlequin.com/showthread.php/609-Love-Inspired-Spotlight-Love-Inspired-Harvest-Festival

Savory Steel Cut Oats with Spring Vegetables in the rice cooker

This all started because I made vegetable risotto in my rice cooker, although I added more veggies than the recipe indicated, which added more water to it, which made the rice mushy.



Several months ago, I tried making a savory steel cut oats recipe from The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook, but didn’t much care for it because it had too much honey in the recipe, and I didn’t like the taste of the olive oil, steel cut oats, and honey together. But I liked the texture of the steel cut oats, so I decided to combine the veggie risotta and steel cut oats recipe.



I did a combination of the risotto recipe from the cookbook and the savory steel cut oatmeal recipe. Here it is:



Savory Steel Cut Oats with Spring Vegetables in the rice cooker



1 tablespoon butter

1 minced garlic clove

1/2 diced onion

1 cup chopped leafy greens--I used kale, you could also use spinach, chard, beet greens instead

1-2 small carrots, finely diced, or 1 large carrot finely diced

1-2 small summer squash or zucchini, finely diced

1-2 small tomatoes, diced

(Note: You can pretty much add any veggies you like, although I’d suggest you chop them up well so they’ll cook thoroughly. If you like them more crunchy, you may want to chop them less fine and see if that gives them a harder texture, but I haven’t tried that.)

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 cup steel cut oats

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cumin (I actually used more than a 1/2 teaspoon, I just kind of shook it in)

Dash of cayenne pepper



I threw the butter, garlic, and onions in the rice cooker and hit the start button, then closed the lid and let it cook while I cut up all the veggies.



Then I added all the veggies, gave it a good stir, and added the rest of the ingredients. I stirred it all and reset the rice cooker. I put it on the regular rice setting.



After cooking, I stirred it again and then covered it and let it steam for 10 minutes before eating.





It ended up needing a little more salt for my taste, but for those of you who don’t want too much salt in your diet, you can omit the salt entirely.



I thought it tasted pretty good. It had a texture similar to rice or risotto in that it was sticky, but it had that nice steel cut oats texture. The veggies and spices made it a good savory side dish, although I ended up eating it for breakfast.



It had a slightly Southwestern flavor to it. I think adding corn kernels would have been tasty. If you don’t like that style, you could probably omit the tomatoes and switch the cumin to something else to make it less Southwestern.



I would definitely make this again. I rather like eating savory steel cut oats for breakfast, and this ensures I get some veggies with breakfast. I might try adding cheese into it before eating next time.



If you want to buy The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook, links are below. Despite not liking their savory steel cut oats recipe, I’ve really loved this cookbook. So many of the recipes are fantastic and I love being able to cook so many things in my rice cooker. It’s incredibly convenient.



Amazon: The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook

Kindle version: The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook

Barnes and Noble: The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook

Nook version: The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook

BooksaMillion: The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook

Kobobooks: The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook

Review: A London Season

A London Season by Joan Wolf

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Completely enjoyed this story written in the old fashioned style. Characters are likable and conflict is adequate. Ending is predictable but satisfying.



View all my reviews

Meet the hero and heroine from Stalker in the Shadows

I'm over at the Love Inspired Authors blog today and I've posted pics of the actor and actress that I based the hero and heroine off of for Stalker in the Shadows:



http://loveinspiredauthors.blogspot.com/2012/08/meet-hero-and-heroine-from-stalker-in.html

Writers - New one-on-one email coaching services

My wrists are feeling pretty good, so I'm going to be open to scheduling some one-on-one email coaching services. However, because of book deadlines, I won't be able to start any coaching until October.



If you know you want to take some coaching from me and you're okay starting later this year, let me know so I can schedule you.



In addition to Synopsis one-on-one coaching ($35) and Characterization one-on-one coaching ($35), I am also adding Deep Point of View one-on-one email coaching for $45 and Self-Editing one-on-one email coaching for $45.



All my one-on-one coaching lasts four weeks, which gives you a bit more time to get in your homework for the lessons and revise them and resubmit them for additional feedback if you desire.



The structure of my one-on-one coaching is the same as my worksheets, but with the addition of my personalized feedback on your specific manuscript. Only one manuscript/character per coaching session, please.



Again, I will not be scheduling any coaching until October, and if I fill up my slots, I might need to schedule you out even further. However, we can communicate about what works well for both our schedules.



Each coaching session is 28 days (4 weeks). You can work at your own pace and turn in the exercises/homework at your leisure. However, once the 28 days is ended, I cannot give any more feedback on your homework. The 28-day coaching service can start on any day of your choosing.



Click the links below for more information on my one-on-one email coaching services:



One-on-One Self-Editing Coaching ($45)

One-on-One Deep Point of View Coaching ($45)

One-on-One Synopsis Coaching ($35)

One-on-One Characterization Coaching ($35)

Writers: New!! Self-Editing worksheet and price drop on Characterization and Deep POV worksheets

NEW SELF-EDITING WORKSHEET!



After Katie commented on my blog about my Self-Editing class, I realized that I could just offer a self-editing worksheet for those of you who wanted to take my online class but couldn't because of timing or cost. So here it is!



Self-Editing Worksheet

$20



You've finished your novel! How do you make sure you have a good character arc, strong story structure, good pacing? How can you smooth over rough writing patches, eliminate episodic writing, or increase emotional intensity? My Self-Editing worksheet combines a variety of techniques that I have taught in online workshops into one place, with tips to help you refine and polish your manuscript.



By the end of the worksheet you'll have:



1) A good large-scale view of your story structure and character arc, and knowledge about how to fix any problems in that area



2) Tips for how to revise more emotion into your writing



3) Tools for solving pacing issues



4) A deeper look at technical writing errors to look for in your writing



5) An understanding of your own strengths and weaknesses in terms of critiquing yourself



This 69-page worksheet consists of lessons, homework, and fun exercises for you to do various types of self-editing on your manuscript. You’ll learn lots of simple techniques to help you revise and tighten your manuscript to be the best it can be.



Note: If you've bought my Deep Point of View worksheet, there are some of those Deep POV tips here in this worksheet. However, the Deep POV worksheet goes into more detail and depth whereas the Deep POV tips in this worksheet are not as extensive. If you're on the fence about if you should get the Self-Editing worksheet or the Deep POV worksheet, the Self-Editing worksheet includes about 60% of what's in the Deep POV worksheet as well as my other self-editing lessons.



Update: I forgot to mention that if you've already bought my Characterization worksheet, this Self-Editing worksheet has the majority of what's in that worksheet, in addition to other self-editing lessons and tips. So basically, if you've already bought both my Deep POV and Characterization worksheets, this Self-Editing worksheet will have a lot of the same stuff.



If you've taken (or are currently taking) my Self-Editing online class, no need to get this worksheet--it includes all the lessons from class. The only difference is that the class includes my specific feedback on your manuscript.



Click here to buy my Self-Editing worksheet for $20



PRICE DROP ON CHARACTERIZATION AND DEEP POINT OF VIEW WORKSHEETS!



In honor of my brand spankin' new Self-Editing worksheet, I have dropped the prices of my Characterization and Deep Point of View worksheets from $15 each to $10 each. So if you were wavering about if you want to get them or not, now's the time!



Click here to buy my Characterization worksheet for $10



Click here to buy my Deep Point of View worksheet for $10