Suzanne Elizabeth Anderson's Blog, page 20

Happy Autumn!

* All of these lovely pictures were taken on September 29th, Saturday, on a drive up to Echo Lake and then down to Idaho Springs via 106 from Evergreen, Colorado.

Win a $25 Amazon Kindle Gift Card & Audiobook of Mrs. Tuesday's Departure!

I am so excited about the new AUDIOBOOK version of Mrs. Tuesday's Departure which is available on Audible.com, iTunes.com, and of course, the ubiquitous Amazon.com. It is beautifully narrated by Rebecca Van Volkinburg who brought Natalie's story to life.



To celebrate, I am giving away a $25 Amazon Kindle Gift Card and one copy of the audiobook of Mrs. Tuesday's Departure, in your choice of format.



Enjoy!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It's Never Too Late

Last week I wrote about the evolution in publishing that has been brought on by ebooks and the accessibilty of self-publishing.



And then, I read an article about a woman who tried for 20 years to get published via the traditional route and finally self-published. 250,000 copies later, I'd say she was a terrific success.



Which is why I find it so disconcerting to read about Jodi Picoult and Sue Grafton discouraging writers from self-publishing. To me, it says that they just don't get it.

Crispy Gluten Free Waffles - Perfect for Freezing

We've been making waffles from 'scratch' for some time now simply because they are so incredibly delicious and better than anything you can get from a box. And best of all, after you've cooked the waffles, you can freeze them and pop them into a toaster on busy school mornings.



To make them gluten free, we simply substituted GF flour for regular and used a basic waffle recipe from The Joy of Cooking.



The blueberry syrup that adorns the waffles was made, by Mom, by combining a simple syrup (water and sugar) with a small container of blueberries, and then straining.



Here's the waffle recipe:



Sift together:



1 3/4 cups gluten free flour

2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar





In a separate small bowl combine:



3 egg yolks (reserve the egg whites, you'll fold them in later)



6 Tablespoons melted butter



1 teaspoon vanilla



Extras:



Add in a small handful of your favorite nuts, or chocolate chips, or dried fruit





Stir together the wet and dry ingredients. Then whisk the egg whites until stiff, and gently fold into the batter.



Ladle batter gently onto the waffle iron, cook until crispy.



Any leftover cooked waffles can be frozen and popped into a toaster for a wonderful busy morning breakfast.

Week-ending: A Commonplace Book

Real courage is when you know you're licked

before you begin, but you begin anyway

and see it through no matter what.




-Harper Lee

Out with the Old:The Re-Evolution of Publishing

More Essays on Writing from my Orangeberry Book Tour







When I think of tradition, I think of the comfort of the
tried and true. Traditional is comfortable because the way has already been
taken by those who came before, so you know what to expect.




Non-traditional is riskier. And there are likely to be fewer
gatekeepers, which means that anyone can enter onto the gates of the country
club.




Which is exactly why I think this is the best time in
history to be an author. Yes, indie-publishing has created a crowded field
where anyone can publish a book and there are no gatekeepers to pronounce who
is worthy of presenting themselves to readers. But for authors it means that
you now have more options. You can pursue the traditional route of agent and
publisher, or you can do it all yourself. Which is a wonderfully
entrepreneurial freedom in an industry which was for so many years dominated by
a few huge mega-corporations.




For readers, the blasting open of the publishing world means
that they not only get introduced new authors, they’ve enjoyed enormous price
reductions in the cost of paper books, and in the case of e-books, a daily
download opportunity of free books. When you, as a reader, look back at the
books you’ve read in the past year, how many of them were by new authors you
would never have considered if not for a free book offering? How many
indie-authors have you tried in the past year? How have these changes in publishing
changed your reading habits or the books you’ll consider reading?




As with any evolution in business that makes quantum leaps
in a few years, due to technological advancements (e-readers), there will be
bumps and bruises for both sides. But in the end, I believe the revolution that
we are now living through will ultimately be viewed as blood transfusion that
saved a dying industry.

Easy Vegetable Frittata

I've been doing a lot of egg dishes for breakfast since I'm trying to cut down on carbs as part of my never-ending quest to lose weight.



This morning I decided to cut out the usual bacon or sausage accompaniment  and go with a vegetarian version of a breakfast classic: the frittata.



Finely chop a couple handfuls of your favorite vegetables and lightly sauté in butter.



Meanwhile, whisk together 3 eggs and your choice of one half cup of: half and half, condensed milk, or skim milk. Pour egg/milk mixture into pan. Season with salt and pepper.



Place pan into 350 oven for ten minutes.



Serve immediately.

What are your long-term and short-term writing goals?

Another Essay on Writing from my Orangeberry Book Tour 








One of the best books I’ve read on goal setting is by Debbie Macomber’s   Knit Together: Discover God's Pattern for Your Life. In this short, readable book, Debbie outlines how she has used goal setting throughout her writing career to keep herself moving forward. This has been essential in times of obstacles to help her persevere, and in times of success, to raise the bar. It’s one of my all-time favorite motivational books.








What I’ve learned about goal-setting from this book and others like it are a few simple but crucial rules about effective goal setting: 1) write down your goals. It doesn’t matter whether you ever look at them again or not, but write them, get them out of your head and onto paper…this gives them a greater reality. 2) revise your goals. As you accomplish your goals, create new ones, so that you always have a sense of forward momentum and accomplishment.








With the publication of my second book, God Loves You. –Chester Blue, and my first children’s book, I find myself re-evaluating what my writing goals will be going forward. Writing Chester Blue has made me realize how much I enjoy children’s literature and wish to add it to the genres that I will continue to write in the future. Knowing how much books meant to me when I was a young girl, deeply motivates me to provide that joy for a future young reader.








Short-term Goals: In the next twelve months…I want to re-write and self-publish the rest my unpublished ‘back list’, which includes five children’s books and two women’s novels.








Long-term Goals: I’ve got the beginnings of a romance-foodie three book series I’d like to write next. And beyond that distant horizon (let’s say the next 12 – 36 months) I’d love to try my hand at historical romance since I’ve become such a big fan of the genre.








Most of all, the ultimate achievement of all of these goals is to find readers who enjoy my work enough to keep reading each book that I produce. Which is exactly the other side of every writer’s coin….we come to this avocation because we feel a burning desire to share a story, or perform on the written page. But like any performance, an author finds their sweetest satisfaction in discovering that their story is enjoyed and shared by an audience of readers. And like any other performer, we are only as good as our last entrance onto the stage! 

Be a Book Reviewer for Suzanne Anderson Books!

Book reviewers are some of the most important people for indie-authors. Because we don't have the same marketing budgets as traditional publishers, we have to rely on readers word of mouth and those all-important reviews on Amazon.com, Goodreads.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

If you are interested in being a reviewer please read the following and then send me an email at: henryandgeorgepress@gmail.com


Reviewer Guidelines:


You will receive a complimentary copy of the book, you may choose a paperback, ebook, or audiobook version.



You agree to post your review on Amazon.com Goodreads.com, within one month of receipt of the book. Your review must disclose that you have received a free review copy of the book. Please email me a link to your review so that I can share it on Facebook and Twitter.



Your only obligation is to write an honest review of your thoughts on the book.




I believe that book reviewers are so important that I've added a page to my blog just for future book reviewers to find me. If you look at the bar right below my name at the top of this page, you'll see the new page for reviewers!


Thank you!

Suzanne

Weekending: A Commonplace Book

Far better it is 

to dare mighty things,

to win glorious triumphs even

though checkered by failure,

than to rank with those poor

spirits who neither enjoy

nor suffer much

because they live in the gray

twilight that knows neither

victory nor defeat.




Theodore Roosevelt







I've been thinking along these lines recently, 

as I contemplate some big decisions. 

And being 50, I realize that big decisions are especially important.




My sage advice for those younger than me: 

if you dream it, dare it.  

Better to take a chance than to live with regret.