Mollie Cox Bryan's Blog, page 29
October 11, 2011
Meet DeeAnn from Scrapbook of Secrets
Since my last post was a bit long, I thought I’d keep it short this time and tell you a bit about DeeAnn.
DeeAnn has been in Cumberland Creek for twenty-five years—and she’s still considered a newbie. She married a local man—her college sweetheart—who is the high school principal. She’s got two daughters, both in college. Fair skinned and freckled, she’s a large, muscular woman—with a baker’s arms and heart. There’s nothing she likes better than feeding people. She brings the most delicious snacks to crops. Her bakery is the only one in town. There are others on the outskirts of Cumberland Creek. As a baker, her focus has always been on bread, cake, and cookies. (Pamela’s Pie Palace has the pie market cornered.) In the first book, DeeAnn hires an intern who has a way with muffins.
A quote from DeeAnn:
“Classical tonight ladies?” Sheila asked.
“Hell no,” DeeAnn said, getting up to head for her bag, pulling out a CD. “Let’s hear some Stones.”
Blueberry Muffins from DeeAnn’s Bakery
DeeAnn’s intern whipped up a batch of these and forever endeared herself to her boss. When Annie was first offered one, she thought it was almost as big as her youngest son’s head.
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to 400°F .
Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.
If you’d like more recipes from Cumberland Creek, email me at molliebryan@comcast.net. I’ll send you more. Also, my monthly newsletter, “Paper. Story. Recipe.” will include at least one recipe—along with links to scrapbooking deals and my journaling tips. You can subscribe over there on my sidebar at my blog: http://www.molliecoxbryan.com
October 9, 2011
Five things I thought about during my morning run:
1. Want my Tess home. My day won't be right until she comes home. I know she's fine. The Pickerings are a wonderful family. I just miss her.
2. Gorgeous day. Go outside, friends. Walk. Run. Dance. Glory in the day!
3. Jen and I complaining about our aches and pains, like a couple of old ladies. But we are in pain because we are working out. And that's a good thing.
4. Hoping to get lots done on my book this week. But I need to finish my gingerbread tin article and get my newsletter updated, as well. And the girls are off from school tomorrow.
5. Can't wait for Thursday. My first official appearance as a mystery author–and I'll be on a panel with some wonderful people. Check out the festival.
Here's a bit about what I'm doing. I'll be signing pie books and giving away a copy of an ARC of Scrapbook of Secrets.
WHODUNIT? |A DAY OF MYSTERY MADNESS FOR MYSTERY FANS
When: Thursday, October 13 | 9:00 AM- 3:00 PM
Venue: The Library of Virginia
Fee and registration for lunch; panels are free of charge but require advance registration
If you are a fan of the genre, then don't miss this event that hosts a dozen of the best mystery writers in the business for a reader-friendly, interactive and fun day of discussion and insight. There will be break-out panels in the morning and afternoon to enjoy casual conversation and Q&A, and a lunch hosted by the venerable author and People's Choice Award nominee Donna Andrews. Book signings will be available throughout the day. This powerhouse lineup of talent includes Donna Andrews, Mollie Bryan, Meredith Cole, Ellen Crosby, Jan Neuharth, Alan Orloff, Brad Parks, Sandy Parshall, David L. Robbins, JB Stanley, Andy Straka, and Irene Ziegler.
Moderators are Art Taylor, Steve Weddle, Katherine Neville and Meredith Cole.
Panels:
9:30 – 10:30 – "What Comes First: Plot of Character?" — moderated by Art Taylor featuring Orloff, Crosby, Cole, Andrews and Bryan.
10:45 – 11:45 – "Professionals v. Amateurs" – moderated by Steve Weddle featuring Neuharth, Straka and Stanley.
1:30 – 2:30 – " THE CUTTING EDGE: What makes a thriller different from a mystery? " – moderated by Katherine Neville featuring Parks, Parshall, Robbins, and Ziegler.
Questions? 804.692.3900
October 6, 2011
Meet the Women of Cumberland Creek
My first novel, SCRAPBOOK OF SECRETS, will be published four months from now. I'm not counting the days or anything. Grin. But I think it's about time that I introduced you to the characters that have become like old friends to me. Seriously. Now that I'm working on the third in the series, when I sit down to write, it feels like I'm visiting old friends.
My Cumberland Creek Mystery series revolves around a group of women in a small but growing Southern town. They get together to scrapbook, eat, and as it happens, to solve murders.
The story is told from three main characters points of view. They are surrounded by a secondary group of women and men. There's also a third tier of characters I like to call my "walk-ons." I thought I'd introduce you to the main three characters and next week I'll tell you more about the secondary characters. The third group of characters shifts from book to book—but I'll get into that later.
Annie
Annie Chamovitz is 36-years-old and has "retired" from the rough and tumble world of Washington, D.C., investigative journalism. She and her husband Mike moved to Cumberland Creek from Bethesda, Md., a posh suburbanish city. Her family is the only Jewish family in town. When the book opens, she is a stay-at-home mom to Sam and Ben. After being in Cumberland Creek about a year, she is finally invited to a weekly scrapbooking crop. She goes to the scrapbook gathering—reluctantly. Visions of frilly stickers and glitter paper dissuade her. Soon, she is part of the group, finding she loves the "puzzle" aspect to scrapbooking. Soon enough, she also gets sucked back into freelance journalism.
A narrative bit about Annie:
The first time Annie was asked the most popular question new residents were asked, which was "What church do you attend?" she grimaced. She felt violated. She was used to moving in an urban community in which such questions were not asked.
My favorite quote from Annie:
"I don't need my husband's permission, Detective, just his support. This is the twenty-first century," she said.
Vera
Vera Matthews has just turned forty. She is the owner of the only dancing school in town. She has never quite resolved her longing for the stage. So, among other things, she delights in changing hair color and make-up palettes. She is married to her college sweetheart, Bill Ledford. She grew up in Cumberland Creek, went to college in New York City, and danced professionally for a brief period of time. Because she's childless, she makes scrapbooks for her students and herself.
A narrative bit about Vera:
It wasn't as if she kept secrets from her dearest friends. Some things were too private to talk about at a crop. After all, crops were primarily for scrapbooking. Oh yes, there was the social aspect that one couldn't deny. But nothing deep or heavy should be broached.
My favorite quote from Vera:
"I may be a bitch, but I work too hard for my money to go and have some pop psychologist to charge me to tell me about the psychological aspect to a hobby. For godsakes. Some people just sap all the fun out of everything," Vera said, taking a bite of the cake.
Beatrice Matthews
Beatrice Matthews is Vera's eighty-year-old mother and is not a scrapbooker. She is a quantum physicist and has conversations with her dead husband, who appears in ghost form throughout the book—but only to her. She grew up on Jenkins Mountain, one of the many mountains surrounding the town of Cumberland Creek. At the beginning of the book, Bea is stabbed.
A narrative bit about Bea: Now this knife in the neck business concerned her. Who would do such a thing? And what would have happened if it had not been lodged just exactly where it was? She could have died—or worse, been paralyzed, at the mercy of the likes of Vera and Sheila, two mid-life fools if ever there were.
My favorite Beatrice quote: "Your Daddy bought it for me and taught me how to use it. I feel safe with it here next to me in my nightstand. So over my dead body will I get rid of it. In fact, you can bury me with my gun in one hand and Leaves of Grass in the other," Beatrice said.
You can pre-order the book on Amazon. And if you'd like some recipes from Cumberland Creek, give me a holler and I'll send you a pdf file. Also, I have a newsletter available, Paper. Story. Recipe. Please sign up for it in my side panel for the latest updates, news, scrapbooking deals, and hopefully, a bit of inspiration
Meet the Women of Cumberland Creek
My Cumberland Creek Mystery series revolves around a group of women in a small but growing Southern town. They get together to scrapbook, eat, and as it happens, to solve murders.
The story is told from three main characters points of view. They are surrounded by a secondary group of women and men. There’s also a third tier of characters I like to call my “walk-ons.” I thought I’d introduce you to the main three characters and next week I’ll tell you more about the secondary characters. The third group of characters shifts from book to book—but I’ll get into that later.
Annie
Annie Chamovitz is 36-years-old and has “retired” from the rough and tumble world of Washington, D.C., investigative journalism. She and her husband Mike moved to Cumberland Creek from Bethesda, Md., a posh suburbanish city. Her family is the only Jewish family in town. When the book opens, she is a stay-at-home mom to Sam and Ben. After being in Cumberland Creek about a year, she is finally invited to a weekly scrapbooking crop. She goes to the scrapbook gathering—reluctantly. Visions of frilly stickers and glitter paper dissuade her. Soon, she is part of the group, finding she loves the “puzzle” aspect to scrapbooking. Soon enough, she also gets sucked back into freelance journalism.
A narrative bit about Annie:
The first time Annie was asked the most popular question new residents were asked, which was “What church do you attend?” she grimaced. She felt violated. She was used to moving in an urban community in which such questions were not asked.
My favorite quote from Annie:
“I don’t need my husband’s permission, Detective, just his support. This is the twenty-first century,” she said.
Vera
Vera Matthews has just turned forty. She is the owner of the only dancing school in town. She has never quite resolved her longing for the stage. So, among other things, she delights in changing hair color and make-up palettes. She is married to her college sweetheart, Bill Ledford. She grew up in Cumberland Creek, went to college in New York City, and danced professionally for a brief period of time. Because she’s childless, she makes scrapbooks for her students and herself.
A narrative bit about Vera:
It wasn’t as if she kept secrets from her dearest friends. Some things were too private to talk about at a crop. After all, crops were primarily for scrapbooking. Oh yes, there was the social aspect that one couldn’t deny. But nothing deep or heavy should be broached.
My favorite quote from Vera:
“I may be a bitch, but I work too hard for my money to go and have some pop psychologist to charge me to tell me about the psychological aspect to a hobby. For godsakes. Some people just sap all the fun out of everything,” Vera said, taking a bite of the cake.
Beatrice Matthews
Beatrice Matthews is Vera’s eighty-year-old mother and is not a scrapbooker. She is a quantum physicist and has conversations with her dead husband, who appears in ghost form throughout the book—but only to her. She grew up on Jenkins Mountain, one of the many mountains surrounding the town of Cumberland Creek. At the beginning of the book, Bea is stabbed.
A narrative bit about Bea: Now this knife in the neck business concerned her. Who would do such a thing? And what would have happened if it had not been lodged just exactly where it was? She could have died—or worse, been paralyzed, at the mercy of the likes of Vera and Sheila, two mid-life fools if ever there were.
My favorite Beatrice quote: “Your Daddy bought it for me and taught me how to use it. I feel safe with it here next to me in my nightstand. So over my dead body will I get rid of it. In fact, you can bury me with my gun in one hand and Leaves of Grass in the other,” Beatrice said.
You can pre-order the book on Amazon. And if you’d like some recipes from Cumberland Creek, give me a holler and I’ll send you a pdf file. Also, I have a newsletter available, Paper. Story. Recipe. Please sign up for it on my blog's (http://www.molliecoxbryan.com) side panel for the latest updates, news, scrapbooking deals, and hopefully, a bit of inspiration
October 4, 2011
And the winner is…ME!
The Internet is still a place of magic for me. For some, it's a science—but like so much in life, it's about perspective. There's new magic in town and it's Pinterest. It's a virtual corkboard. I can waste hours there—but I try not to. I found a really cool scrapbooker on the boards and that is where this story is going. I "pinned" one of her pages and the next thing I knew, she was thanking me over Twitter. See? Magic.
So I checked out her blog and WOWEEE. Very cool. (http://www.shimelle.com/) For any of you who think that scrapbooking is old-fashioned, you need to check out her blog.
Like a lot of these cool, crafty types, she has a lot of cool crafty friends. Even artists— like Julie Kirk, who blogs http://notesonpaper.blogspot.com/. Another interesting, beautiful blog. She also has a wonderful Etsy shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/juliekirk
Yesterday, I received a delightful package in the mail from Julie. I won a contest on Shimelle's blog for one of her sweet vintage collages.
Not only did I receive the prizes, but she also stuck some beautiful, imaginative things in the package. Thanks, Julie and Shimelle, for the inspiration and the magic.
October 2, 2011
Five things I thought about during my morning run:
1. Pounding the pavement. I missed exercising at all yesterday–busy day. I was in such a funk by 6 p.m.
2. Okay. I'm not sharing specifics–don't want to spoil the read for anybody. But running has just given me a very faint and brief outline of the next three chapters on my WIP. All I have to do is sit down and write.
3. But today I really need to clean and organize. My two least favorite things.
4. I REALLY need new running shoes.
5. Working up a sweat during the cool, gray morning. Must be one of the best things, ever. Tis the little things.
September 29, 2011
Five things I thought about during my morning run:
1. Gray marbled sky with bits of sun escaping around the edges.
2. The girls having half of day today and all day tomorrow off.
3. Digging my WIP. Calling it Scrapbook of Legacy. For now. One of my characters is finding interesting things in her backyard as they dig in the ground for a pool.
4. Yoga with the new teacher is different. But it's always different with new people. I think it's good to try out a variety of kinds of Yoga. Unfortunately, nobody else from the other class is showing up. Bad form, people. So not what Yoga is about, right?
5. Okay. Got my run in before the downpour. Whoosh.
September 26, 2011
Stephen King and Imagine the Worst Possible Thing
So a good friend and I traveled to Fairfax, Va. on Friday to see Stephen King. It's an almost three hour drive and, most appropriately, it was a raining, dismal day.
I have to admit that I've not read much by Mr. King. There I said it. Now, let me explain. I read several of his books in high school, then I moved on to college, where literature grabbed me by the guts. Stephen King? Just a genre writer. And I simply didn't have time for him. Oh, youth.
Here I am in my forties (a-hem) and what am I doing with all of my "literary" talent? Writing mysteries. I have a whole new respect, love, and admiration for genre writers—particularly highly successful ones like King. He is a household name and very few writers can claim that.
On the stage at George Mason University, he was entertaining, funny, down to earth, and as you would imagine, a bit well, um, creepy. But what do you expect from King, right?
He spoke about how his inspiration for his stories. He told anecdotes about what it's like to be a famous writer. He also surprised me a bit by his answer to this question: How do you feel about censorship? Of course, I assumed he'd say, "I'm appalled by any of it." But instead he said (and I'm paraphrasing): "Parents should have some say in what their kids read. Taxpayers should have a say in what books are in the public school libraries. But they shouldn't be assholes about it." Very sensible. Yet, a little shocking to me. It leaves the door open for so many possibilities, like which taxpayers get to decide what my kid reads. (That, my friend, is probably the fodder of another blog post.)
But in any case, as a writer, the most important thing I heard him say was about his philosophy as he approached each story. It's a philosophy his mom taught him. During moments of stress or anxiety, think about the worst possible out come—and that probably won't happen. So whatever else happens, it' s got to be better.
So when he sits down to write, he starts with the question: What is the worst possible thing that can happen in this situation?
Here I am—a debut novelist— and just being in his presence was sort of mind blowing. Of course, I am fraught with anxiety over this next big step in my career. It's a long and twisty road from cookbook writing to mystery writing. My brain flips through the many ways in which I might fail. But I'm going to hang on to those words of his—not just in my writing, but in my life. The worst possible thing that can happen to me has nothing to do with the success or failure of this book. I'd be seriously disappointed if it completely failed. But, as for me, I'll be okay—no matter what—I am rooted in the firm love of my family and friends. With that, I can take whatever comes my way.
Stephen King and the Worst Possible Thing
I have to admit that I’ve not read much by Mr. King. There I said it. Now, let me explain. I read several of his books in high school, then I moved on to college, where literature grabbed me by the guts. Stephen King? Just a genre writer. And I simply didn’t have time for him. Oh, youth.
Here I am in my forties (a-hem) and what am I doing with all of my “literary” talent? Writing mysteries. I have a whole new respect, love, and admiration for genre writers—particularly highly successful ones like King. He is a household name and very few writers can claim that.
On the stage at George Mason University, he was entertaining, funny, down to earth, and as you would imagine, a bit well, um, creepy. But what do you expect from King, right?
He spoke about how his inspiration for his stories. He told anecdotes about what it’s like to be a famous writer. He also surprised me a bit by his answer to this question: How do you feel about censorship? Of course, I assumed he’d say, “I’m appalled by any of it.” But instead he said (and I’m paraphrasing): “Parents should have some say in what their kids read. Taxpayers should have a say in what books are in the public school libraries. But they shouldn’t be assholes about it.” Very sensible. Yet, a little shocking to me. It leaves the door open for so many possibilities, like which taxpayers get to decide what my kid reads. (That, my friend, is probably the fodder of another blog post.)
But in any case, as a writer, the most important thing I heard him say was about his philosophy as he approached each story. It’s a philosophy his mom taught him. During moments of stress or anxiety, think about the worst possible out come—and that probably won’t happen. So whatever else happens, it’ s got to be better.
So when he sits down to write, he starts with the question: What is the worst possible thing that can happen in this situation?
Here I am—a debut novelist— and just being in his presence was sort of mind blowing. Of course, I am fraught with anxiety over this next big step in my career. It’s a long and twisty road from cookbook writing to mystery writing. My brain flips through the many ways in which I might fail. But I’m going to hang on to those words of his—not just in my writing, but in my life. The worst possible thing that can happen to me has nothing to do with the success or failure of this book. I’d be seriously disappointed if it completely failed. But, as for me, I’ll be okay—no matter what—I am rooted in the firm love of my family and friends. With that, I can take whatever comes my way.
September 21, 2011
Mom's Brownies
Okay, so as I'm going through my old columns, keying them in and so on, I ran across a mention of my mom's brownies. Now I am suffering from an intense craving for them. Because I am nursing a horrible sinus infection, I simply don't have the energy for baking. But I thought if I shared the recipe with you, it might help alleviate my longing. Well. It's worth a try. I love these brownies—they are perhaps the most moist I've ever eaten. Of course, that's the Hershey's Syrup making it's magic. Enjoy!
Preheat oven to 350.
Melt one stick of butter (or oleo, as mom says).
Mix it with one cup of sugar and four eggs.
Mix in one cup of flour and one 6-ounce can of Hershey's Chocolate Syrup.
Grease a 13 x 9 pan.
Pour the batter in.
Bake for 25 minutes.
After it cools, sprinkle powdered sugar over it.
Sign up for my newsletter for more recipes. You can sign up on the sidebar panel. Also, I've a group of recipes available from Cumberland Creek Scrapbook Crop. Email me at molliebryan@comcast.net if you'd like a copy.
