Brenda Whiteside's Blog, page 100

TACO NIGHT

Tortuga Thursday In 2012, on the plains of Northern Arizona, two families joined forces and began the trials and tribulations of building a small family farm with nothing in the bank but love.
Flour Tortilla TacosNo matter what problems have plagued us on Tortuga Flats Farm, there are two words that brighten up everyone - Taco Night! Even on the great days, which are far more plentiful than the plagued days, those two words are welcomed.

We do Taco Night once a week. If Lance had his way, it would be every other night. Here's our recipe for a great family night dinner:






2-2/3 pounds organic ground beef (we buy this from Costco, comes in 3 packages of 1 1/3 pounds per pkg)
corn tortillas
fajita sized flour tortillas
ground cumin
chili powder
pink salt
grated cheddar cheese
tomatoes, chopped
various lettuce greens, shredded or torn small
avocado, slightly mashed
sour cream
El Pato tomato sauce

This will make at least twenty tacos. Truthfully, it varies depending on how much meat you like in your tacos. We love leftovers. Yes, we even eat them cold the next day. We make half the batch with corn and half with flour to accommodate all of our tastes. I like corn, Lance likes flour and Frank and Christie like both.

Cook hamburger and season while cooking with cumin, salt and chili powder. The cumin is like the secret ingredient that Christie introduced me to. I've made tacos for years but never used cumin. Love it now. Start with a couple of level teaspoons and season to taste. Sprinkle on chili powder and salt to taste. If you've never used pink salt, be careful. It's saltier tasting (but better for you!)

Heat cooking oil in a skillet. Dip the corn tortillas in hot oil on both sides to soften and set them aside on paper towels. No need to do this for the flour tortillas.

Now pile beef and cheese on the tortillas and fold in half. Fry to the desired crispness on both sides. This is the hazardous duty job. Better wear an apron and glasses. When the meat or cheese slips out of the tortilla the popping begins. As they are done, set them on paper towels to soak up the extra grease.

Once cooked, you can pile on the garnish - tomatoes, lettuce, avocado, sour cream and El Pato. We happen to think El Pato is the best sauce for tacos. If you like salsa or some other sauce, feel free to substitute. But I would give it a try if you've never had it; that is if you can find it in your state. In Arizona, every store has it. When I lived in Minnesota, I could find it at only one store.

Be warned - clean up is a chore. Even if you clean as you go, Taco Night is messy. But oh so worth it!

Painful Path to Publishing is Rewarding by Susan Sheehey

  MUSE MONDAY
My path to publishing is much like many others. Sometimes it’s disappointing, other times it’s downright painful. But in the end, you stick with it, learn from mistakes, cling to the advice and suggestions of those who’ve gone before you, and continue to do what you love. Eventually, it will happen. It may not happen the way you expect, the path you take may lead you down avenues you never knew existed, and you’ll hear things that baffle you along the way. But writers don’t write to get rich. They write because they love it. Because they need it.After writing and querying for the better part of five years, I finally sold a manuscript. It took me three novels to get there, and finally Audrey’s Promise was the one for me. With each of one of these manuscripts, I received a tremendous amount of rejections, from both agents and editors. Every fiction writer, including established authors, can relate to this. Rejections hurt. Plain and simple. Writers pour their heart and soul into each page, toil over plots and character development, themes and symbolism, all in the hopes that an agent and/or editor will fall in love with it. Praying that it will mean as much to them as it does to us. A very well established romance author (who everyone has heard of, and she has shared this story at every conference I’ve seen her speak in), went through 20 manuscripts before she sold her first novel. Heart breaking to hear for those still trying to sell their first, but hang in there. There’s a point to this.For those of us who’ve received a massive stack of rejections, the vast majority will not provide a reason why they rejected it. If they respond at all, it’s their form letter with a generic, Thanks, but it’s not for me. A rare few will give a more specific reason, such as ‘the hero’s motivations didn’t speak to me’, or ‘good story, but not different enough.’I had a few respond with a very interesting critique that I didn’t know how to change. They told me the story was very good and they really liked the characters. However, the book had the backdrop of political campaigns, a very taboo topic in most fiction novels, especially romance. So they didn’t know how to market it. My novel was too much of a niche category, and therefore too risky.Publishers are a business, first and foremost. There’s a tremendous investment in each book they contract, so from a business perspective, I understand their aversion to stories that seem too risky or too niche. But this was a story that I had to tell and there was no way to avoid the political backdrop (as neutral as I tried to keep between party lines). While I respected the agents’ concerns and ultimately had to move on to another, I refused to change that portion. Risky on my part, yes. Many others would have simply shoved the manuscript in a drawer and moved on to a new story. But I knew this novel would work and would speak to many people. I queried Audrey’s Promise for a year before it sold. As frustrating and painful as the process was over that time, I wouldn’t have changed any of it. Because I learned so much from it. And that feeling when you get ‘the call’ (or in my case the email) is more than worth all of the struggles. I hope you enjoy Audrey’s Promise, and if you feel so inclined and have the time, please leave a review on Amazon and/or GoodReads. If you didn’t like it, that’s ok too. I’ve built up a much thicker skin from the publishing process, so I can handle it! Thanks again for your support!

Audrey’s Promise Back Cover Blurb:Audrey Allen is poised to become the youngest Texas senator, a position that fits her nickname, The Peacemaker. But she's unable to make peace with many in her hometown, where memories and grudges run deep from a decade-old tragedy. Ethan Tanner, an ambitious and tantalizing journalist, joins her at Thanksgiving for an in-depth look at the promising candidate. But he has an agenda of his own that's not entirely honorable.Ethan could stir up trouble for her budding career, or awaken the deep passions she's buried for so long. Will Ethan find that he values love more than getting the story?
Audrey’s Promise Excerpt:“I’ll be up front, Audrey.” Ethan pulled out a hand recorder. “What ghosts do you have in your closet?” The wink he threw at her didn’t disguise the seriousness of his intent, despite the playful tone.“Don’t you mean skeletons?” Miranda interrupted. “Nope, ghosts.”
“What’s the difference?” Miranda eyed the recorder.
“Skeletons are only scary. Ghosts from your past can truly haunt you.” “Aren’t you a little old to believe in ghosts?” Audrey asked with an infectious smile. “No. They make my job the most entertaining.” The light flashed in Ethan’s eyes and his grin became wicked. Audrey’s heart thudded against her sternum. It wasn’t fair to look that enticing.“Sorry to burst your pubescent bubble, but Halloween is over.” Audrey smiled through Miranda’s chuckle. But she couldn’t take her eyes off Ethan, assessing his resilience. Would he push and badger just like every other journalist? Were his cojones as big as he flaunted? Audrey’s Promise Buy Links:Website: www.SusanSheehey.comBlog: www.susansheehey.com/blog-ramblings-of-a-writer-on-coffeeFacebook: www.facebook.com/SusanSheeheyTwitter: @SusieQWriterGoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7189847.Susan_SheeheyAmazon Author: www.amazon.com/Susan-Sheehey/e/B00EBGWXDQ/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

FOOLISH OR FEARLESS by Alison Henderson

FEARLESS FRIDAY It's Fearless Friday and my guest Alison Henderson has quite a tale for you. Please elaborate, Alison!  Ten months ago I stepped off the edge of a cliff. Or more to put it more accurately, I jumped. In the space of a few short months I changed nearly every aspect of my life…on purpose.
In July of 2012, the day job I had loved for sixteen years began to devolve. My beloved boss and mentor died in March of that year, and his son and daughter took over the day-to-day operation of the business. They immediately began to make changes, as was their right as the new majority owners. However, the first major change involved dismantling my position, removing the aspects I’d found rewarding, and leaving only tasks that sucked every ounce of pleasure out of coming to work.
I won’t go into the gory details because, thank God, they are no longer important, but within weeks I knew I had to leave. I rarely slept, my hair was falling out in handfuls, and a particularly unpleasant encounter gave me a prolonged episode of cardiac arrhythmia. I hadn’t planned to retire for a few years, but with the support of my husband we moved the timetable ahead, and I took (very) early retirement December 31st.
I had spent most of those last six months on the job trying to decide what I wanted the rest of my life to look like. I knew I wanted to continue writing, but I also wanted to stretch my creative wings and learn some new skills. I majored in Art History in college and have always been a very visual person, so I decided to try my hand at cover design. I taught myself Photoshop and began by designing several covers for a friend who was getting ready to self-publish a series of romantic suspense novellas.  Working with her was a wonderful experience, and we were both thrilled with the results.
Buy Link: http://tinyurl.com/kqskn69Although I adored the cover of my first book, the next two were a bit disappointment, so I decided my next project would be to design my own cover and self-publish my fourth book. Unwritten Rules, released in September, was a first for me in many ways: my first contemporary, my first romantic suspense, my first self-designed cover, and my first foray into self-publishing. I got editing help (a must) but did everything else myself. What a learning experience!
For a normal person that would be enough novelty for one year, but not for me. After twenty-three years in Minnesota, my husband and I decided to move to Carmel, California. Did we do the easy thing and move into the vacation condo we’ve owned for a couple of years? Yes and no. We moved into the condo, but only while the new house we bought is being remodeled from the studs out. It is scheduled to be finished by the middle of December, and I can’t wait to move in, unpack everything we brought from Minnesota, and finally settle into some semblance of a normal life.
So much change in such a short period of time has been challenging for my husband. He’s still struggling to adjust to the all the changes, from the effects of the time zone change on his TV schedule to having to find a new barber. Some days I wonder if I should have been more cautious, taken more time to consider and evaluate my options. I’m a thinker by nature; I don’t usually make rash decisions. But for some reason, this felt like the time to take risks. I’m an eternal optimist, and my heart tells me everything will work out for the best. I hope I’m right. Only time will tell if I was fearless or foolish.
If you’re curious about the ups and downs of my big year of change, I took a page from Brenda’s book and started my blog The Second Half (http://alisonhenderson.blogspot.com) in January to chronicle the challenges and opportunities of re-inventing yourself after fiftyAlison Hendersonhttp://alisonhenderson.blogspot.comwww.alisonhenderson.com  

Farm in Hibernation

Tortuga Thursday In 2012, on the plains of Northern Arizona, two families joined forces and began the trials and tribulations of building a small family farm with nothing in the bank but love.
Hummingbirds have left for the winterThe hot water heater has quit again. This has happened twice before and the repair guy has been able to fix it. Frank has worked on it a couple of times too. The problem is the age of the unit, and we know one of these days it will die for good. When the home warranty plan expired, we purchased another year. Glad we did. The cost is $57 a month. We more than made up for it the first year. The stove, refrigerator and the hot water heater all needed repairs. This is our first problem this year but it could be a whopper.

The greenhouse has a winter crop of cauliflower, broccoli, dill, onions and various herbs. Right now the dill is outshining everything else. We need tons of dill for next years pickling.

The bees have gone elsewhere tooWith farm activities in hibernation status and my writing schedule ramped up , I'm going to take Tortuga Thursdays to every other week.

One thing about winter is the lack of spindly legged creatures. And flies. I really hate flies.
I miss tomatoes but not the worms









Praying mantis still hang out in the greenhouse

This past week I spent too many days in Phoenix to come up with a recipe to post. No time to take pictures. So I'll leave you with a picture from earlier in the year of Christie's spaghetti and a salad with our garden greens.

PUMP UP THE JAM by Keri Neal

MUSE MONDAY Please welcome my guest, Keri Neal to Discover Yourself for Muse Monday.
Gone are the days when I can sit in peace and quiet in front of my computer and just write. There’s too much going on around me at any given moment. Even my thoughts are too noisy; I tend to mumble to myself when I write and that creates a further distraction. Every floor creak, every outside noise is like nails on a chalkboard to my internal voice that makes the lovely words on the page. I came upon my solution to this problem quite by accident a few years ago.
When I was writing “Split” back in 2010, I had a very interesting problem: a main character that wouldn’t shut up. Her name was Grace. At 3 a.m. she was bitching about her sister, in the shower she was fighting an inner monologue, during lunch she was insisting she was not crazy. Oh, did I mention this character was a psychopath? She was also a serial killer and suffered from multiple personality disorder. A fun character to write for, but exhausting to have living in your head. I digress…my point is I couldn’t get the words on paper fast enough. A great problem to have, but hard to keep in line.
Grace was particularly loud one afternoon, so I grabbed a pair of headphones and blared the loudest music I could find. Suddenly my thoughts began to ebb and flow with the beat. My fingers tapped silently across the keyboard and alas, I’d found quite peace in the music. As I experimented with different music, I discovered the louder the better. Nothing with a melody to get trapped in, but something with a breath and a heartbeat. Dubstep seems to be the most effective, strangely. But I tend to only bust that out when I’m suffering from writer’s block.
Now all my books have a soundtrack that has been coordinated with each scene, POV, and plot. Sometimes I won’t have any idea what I’m going to write about, but I’ll sit down and slip on those headphones and the words will just flow. Poetic beats set to rhythmic instruments. Pump it up!
THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME GUEST BLOG FOR YOU TODAY, BRENDA! NOW IF I MAY, I’D LIKE TO PROMOTE MY NEW RELEASE. “HOPELESS” IS BOOK TWO IN THE FLIGHTLESS SERIES:
Synopsis On her seventeenth birthday, Jade is filled with hope for the future. She and her boyfriend Pen are in love, she is finishing her final year of high school, and she is finally safe from the Fallen, who wanted her blood to fulfill an age-old prophesy. Pen is not as comfortable with the truce they made to protect her, so he makes a new deal with the Arches and leaves Jade alone.
But not for long.
A new Guardian is assigned to protect Jade. Blake is rude and offensive, his methods unconventional. Because of his dedication to her she trusts him with her life. Best of all, he knows about the Surge—her telekinetic ability—and is eager to teach her how to control her power. With Blake’s help, Jade learns she can defend herself, with or without the Arches protection, against the evil forces that want her blood.
Then . . . Pen comes back.
He doesn’t like the idea of someone else looking out for Jade, but an army of evil is on its way to destroy her, and Jade needs all the help she can get.
Buy Links Paperback (Amazon) http://www.amazon.com/dp/1492272221?tag=itstwiate-20Kindle http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GC3NYN4?tag=itstwiate-20
Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/342191Nook http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hopeless-keri-neal/1116958200?ean=2940045278843&cm_mmc=AFFILIATES-_-Linkshare-_-W1PQs9y/1/c-_-10:1Kobo http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/hopeless-5Apple iBooks https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ibooks/id364709193?mt=8Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18192519-hopeless?from_search=true

Click here to enter: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/ZjQ4ZjgzMzU3NGY2ZTIyODFlOTBjNTY0ODRjOGY4OjI=/

ENTERING THE SCARY CAVE OF WRITING by Judy Ann Davis

FEARLESS FRIDAY
Joseph Campbell, American writer and mythologist said, “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”
For me, the cave I feared to enter was the fiction world of writing. I graduated with a journalism and communications degree, so writing news or feature articles, ad copy, technical information, or grants for education and industry was never a problem.
An avid reader, I always loved fiction, and I toyed with writing it in my spare time. I joined a local writer’s group. When I finally gathered enough courage to send a manuscript to an agent, I received a letter that was less than inspiring and certainly not encouraging. I was heartbroken. Although family, writer friends, and others had told me to disregard one man’s comments and keep submitting my work, it took me ten years to gather enough courage to try again.
With my heart in my shoes, I submitted a short story called “The Season of Withered Corn” to a small publication in Loveland, Colorado. There was nothing more exciting than to receive a letter several weeks later from the magazine editor with a check and the words, “We really enjoyed your writing. Do you have more stories you can send us?” A whopping, ten-dollar check was enclosed. But it was the first step into the fearful cave to find the treasure.
Since then, I have written four books and many short stories that had been published and won awards. I framed the first dollar from that Colorado check and have it in my study where I write. It’s a constant reminder that a rejection slip or email only means someone didn’t like your work—not the whole world.
Judy Ann Davis is the author of KEY TO LOVE, published by The Wild Rose Press, now available in digital and print. http://www.amazon.com/Key-to-Love-ebook/dp/B00DNO9S8K She also has a collection of nineteen short stories, UP ON THE ROOF AND OTHER STORIES, published by Whiskey Creek Press, coming out this month. Visit her on her website: www.judyanndavis.comor on her blog: www.judyanndavis.blospot.com]

The Plan Man, Still No Moola But Fun

When I started this blog, I didn't intend on it to be entirely about farming. From May to October, that's what consumes us. Farming is Lance's endeavor, and we're along for the ride. But it's a great deal of work, too much for one man, so we'll be mightily involved until he's self-sufficient. It's what we want to do. We went into this communal living project to combine our talents and still be able to pursue our individual goals. I have to say, growing and eating our own food is rewarding. We're looking ahead to year three, and there are still a lot of things we need for the farm. We're lucky we have neighbors that are happy to loan Lance the attachment for the tractor. He can keep it for days at a time. We're lucky we were able to get a two year no interest loan that enabled us to get the material for the watering system and greenhouse. In fact, we have enough to build the second greenhouse and add on to the drip system. But the list of needs is still long. We'll eek it out somehow. I'll clue you in on how we do as this next year progresses.
Pirate Pickles and Relish - gourmetPirate Pickling Co. is part of the plan. We have the product. We have the "look". There are a lot more hurdles to get over in order to sell our product on a larger commercial basis. This is just a test year while we get all the needed licenses and certification. But we can sell it direct and we're working on that. Found the table for the markets, had a banner and business cards made, and this weekend Lance will be putting it out there locally.
Now that harvesting and pickling are done, Frank and I can get away occasionally as finances allow. As I write, we're at an RV park in Laughlin, NV, actually, a ways from the main area and on the reservation at a casino called the AVI. I told Frank I would take him to a movie and dinner for his birthday here. There wasn't a movie we wanted to see. We checked out the dinner restaurant and choked on the prices. We ended up at the casual restaurant and had prime rib for $9.99. It was okay. I gave him $10 to put in the slots, he turned it into $70 and we headed back to the RV to watch a movie on TV. I couldn't get him to play his winnings. He's saving it for our next trip.
One short health note: still thankful for the Indian Medical Center since we can't afford insurance. The dermatologist found two spots to biopsy. They were benign but showed evidence of pre-cancer cells. He gave me a cream to put on twice a day for four weeks that will inhibit these bad cells from growing. I'm to put it on all sun exposed areas over the next few months (small areas at a time). It can react on my skin like I've been burned. I can handle that if it prevents future problems. Thanks again to my great grandparents for getting on the Indian roster that allows me this care. 
"Docos"I promised to start posting recipes we use on Tortuga Flats Farm. The first one is what not to cook. As part of our goal to be self-sustaining, Lance is hunting and occasionally dragging Frank along. They came up with the idea to make Docos (dove tacos). Dove is gamey tasting and it seemed like a good idea. DON'T try it. We ended up feeding them to the dogs!

Promo, Promo...Back to Writing

MUSE MONDAY
What a week it was! Amanda in the Summer was free on Amazon for five days which required me to spread the word. I appeared on thirteen blogs and tweeted up a storm. Totally missed writing my Tortuga Thursday blog.

The point of free days is to get your name out, get the book seen and lead readers to the author. I became a ratings maniac checking my Amazon rank every few hours. The higher the rank, the more books are downloading. The thing is I have no real idea of what the ranking means. I know there are thousands of free books offered on any given day. To break the top 100 is supposed to be a big deal. And I did break it several times getting as high as 86 in over all free Kindle downloads. I actually made it to number 6 in women's contemporary. That one threw me since my publisher classifies the book as mainstream historical.

So how many books did I give a way? No idea. And I won't know for probably a month or better. It takes Amazon a while to report numbers to my publisher who will then post the results on their on-line author pages.

The question is will this give a way help me? Will more people know who I am? Will more readers look for my books. Will I actually sell some copies of Amanda in the Summer? Will I sell more copies of my other books?

Can I get back to writing, please?

Living with an Impatient Muse

  MUSE MONDAY

A favorite corner that pleases my museMy muse has been testy lately. Okay, so I don't have an actual muse that I can point to or introduce to you. She's me, the inside me, that is chomping at the bit to write a new chapter in any one of the books I've put on the back burner for a few days. Which means I'm testy with myself.

I can't blame me for losing patience with me when I'm only doing what I have to do for all those other facets of writing.

First off, I'm a finalist in the Hot Prospects contest with my current manuscript, Southwest of Love and Murder. The judges sent me their comments which I can use to improve my pages before the final judges choose the winner in the Romantic Suspense category. The judges are editors from large publishing houses and I'd really like to impress them with my writing. I'm laboring over the improvements. Tedious and eye-bugging work.

Secondly, on Tuesday Amanda in the Summer starts a run of five free days on Amazon. Just being there isn't enough. I have to spread the word which means I've been writing guest blog after guest blog and reaching out to dozens of sites to mention the free days. If editing and re-editing the pages for the contest is eye-bugging then this sort of promo is doubly so. I'm pretty tired of staring at the computer.

I'm looking at the end of this week like a rabbit would a carrot dangling in front of her nose. But I have the sneaky suspicion that I will no sooner make it to the end when I'll get an email from my editor with the second round of edits for The Art of Love and Murder.

Oh be still my muse, er, me.

Be sure you go to Amazon tomorrow to download a free copy of Amanda in the Summer. http://tinyurl.com/mb5cwly

Never Give Up by JoAnne Myers

FEARLESS FRIDAY

Please welcome JoAnne Myers to Fearless Friday. We'd love to hear your story. Take it away, JoAnne.

For as long as I can remember, I have had an artistic flare-whether that be for writing, painting, sewing or drawing. I recall as a child how much I enjoyed drawing. The writing came later. My seventh grade English teacher was Mrs. Henderson-a young mother and wife. She gave us a writing assignment and after gifting me with an A+ told me I should consider writing as a career. She meant as a journalist. I did not take her advise and become a journalist (one of my many misgivings). My mind went toward other things as many young girls dream of-a husband, home, and family of my own. I put my love for writing and painting on hold for years. I unfortunately married a man who like my mother never encouraged me to be artistic. It was not until my children were grown and I no longer had a husband, that I went back to my first love-art. I got a late start, but was always encouraged my children and others to partake of artistic endeavors. I now have four books under contract with Melange Books, and three publishing houses vying for my biography true crime novel, “The Crime of the Century.” 

So my words to you all is no matter what road you choose, never forget your passion and always keep it close to your heart. Don’t let anyone or anything stop you from enjoying your natural talents. You might need to put art on a temporary hold, but don’t ever, ever give up. 


“Murder Most Foul,” available here: www.melange-books.com/authors/joannemyers/MMF.htmlHere is the link to buy it directly from LULU:
http://www.lulu.com/shop/joanne-myers/murder-most-foul/paperback/product-21183493.html
BLURB: When two dismembered torsos wash up on the banks of the local river in the small industrial town of Pleasant Valley, residents are horrified. Between contradicting statements, police ineptitude, lust, lies, manipulation, incest, the motorcycle gang The Devil’s Disciples, crooked cops, and a botched crime scene, everyone becomes a suspect.The young beautiful Jackie Reeves, a registered nurse, believes the killer is a man from her past. She contacts the dangerously handsome FBI Agent Walker Harmon. An arrest is made, but Harmon and Jackie believe an innocent man is being railroaded by local cops. Determined to find the truth, before anymore killings, Agent Harmon and Jackie are forced to run a gauntlet of deep trouble and turmoil, which marks them for death.
My website:http://www.booksandpaintingsbyjoanne.com

My website Blog: http://www.booksandpaintingsbyjoanne.com/page2Buy Link to Poems About Life, Love, and Everything in Between: http://www.amazon.com/dp/147837022x