Kelly Fiore Stultz's Blog, page 9
July 31, 2013
Pinching Myself
26 Days Until TASTE TEST meets the world!
It’s real and it’s in my hands!
Life. is. SPECTACULAR.
I was sitting at my computer at my kitchen counter. This is where I work a lot of the time — my kitchen opens up to my living room and there’s a lot of natural light. And it has ready access to the refrigerator.
So, anyway, I’m sitting there surrounded by a brand spanking new copy of TASTE TEST, copy edits from my editor for JUST LIKE THE MOVIES, and some lemonade. I’m going through the edits, making changes to the actual word document, checking off what I’m getting done, and taking time every now and then to check email and Twitter. On Twitter, I find tweets to retweet or reformat to support my fellow authors. And all of sudden, it hits me.
This is it. This is my life now.
I mean, sure, I’ll be working 2 days a week teaching community college — I think I need that to get myself out of the damn house and not cooped up like a psychopath. And because I’ll miss teaching, truly. I like hearing myself talk . But other than that…this is my life. I’m a writer. I’m not doing this part time when I can fit it in between the rest of my life. It’s my focus. It’s my world. And it’s a dream I’ve had forever.
You may already know this, but most writers don’t get to quit their day job. Writing is not always the most well-paying job, and it’s certainly not the most reliable or stable. But recent events have allowed me to say that my writing supports my family and that I am, for all intents and purposes, a full time YA novel writer.
It’s an amazing feeling. I am blessed. I honestly didn’t know I could be this happy.
July 28, 2013
Happy Book Birthday Week, CANARY!!
My friend and fellow “Lucky 13″, Rachele Alpine is celebrating her book, CANARY, and it’s release by blogging as her main character in real-time at www.allmytruths.com. You can read more about Rachele Here and about CANARY Here.
Rachele also put out the call for other friends/authors/bloggers to join her in blogging about their truths, too. Although I’ve yet to have the privilege to read CANARY, I know it deals with some serious themes using both prose and verse. Therefore, I’m going to share my truths with you using verse. (I have an MFA in Poetry from WVU – not that that means anything…just sayin!)
My first truth is that I believe I can hide a lot more about myself in writing fiction, but when it comes to poetry, I really can’t hide my own heart. For example, when I fell in love with my husband, I wrote TONS of sappy poetry about him. At the time, I was working with the concept of “writing like art” — meaning, you try to write like the style of a visual artist, not about the art. Here’s a little ditty I wrote about our relationship back in 2003, partially inspired by a series of Henri Matisse’s gouache cut-outs.
It was a picnic like most picnics.
A checkered blanket.
Grass stains abound.
It was more like
a moment of silence,
the way we ate
from each other’s hands –
tongues and mouths
fluttering like wings
to mask the chew
and swallow.
Evidently, each candy
corn dissolves
into its own
syrupy puddle –
fetal nourishment
for the entire bowl.
After sitting
on my knees
for this long,
I can’t imagine
having to stand, run,
play Frisbee –
and of course,
you want to.
How can we be
expected to covet
smaller dogs,
the yipping of need,
their tiny expectance?
You want children,
a yellow Labrador,
a garden bathtub.
I want your head
in my lap, staring at my chin
as if it is the first chin
you’ve ever seen,
as if nothing is more
or more beautiful.
I used the Frisbee
to cap the fruit salad –
the stickiness
only helps my grip.
Tomorrow, we’ll discuss
the moment we met,
the way time
stood still
and all that.
Today, we’ll just
throw things
at each other.
Like yesterday.
And like tomorrow, too.
Matisse. The Codomas (Jazz), 1943. Stencil.
My second truth is that I think food is one of the most inspiring subjects in the world — and it’s probably why I ended up writing TASTE TEST as my debut. Here is probably my favorite poem of the ones I’ve written, inspired by the Spice Trade, the Orient Express, and the islands of Malacca.
Spice Voyages
We mostly believe it began in Spanish –
requests from a Queen, the prequel
to paella. Three ships we can name
and dozens we can’t – imagine
the blandest food you can,
then imagine it stale and rotting.
Of course this wasn’t the beginning
of sacrifice, but this is what
they voyaged and journeyed for:
1. sting on the tongue, a swelling,
rush of blood from the brain to the jaw
when all you want is water, but the only
thing that helps is bread. 2. a background
often mistaken as “chai,” “pumpkin pie,”
or “warm,” but really darts and settles
to the pot’s bottom, simmering and shimmying
out of its top layers of earthy lining.
It looks a stem. It tastes Christmas.
3. an ochre ache that makes everything,
somehow, feel more rounded.
The way it settles into, not onto,
the way it dyes your pinched fingers
and plots its sunny course
beyond all expense, and is, still,
often reined to pilafs and curries.
And this could continue
forever, like waking from a dream
where your world is both spinning and round,
where the fear of falling off
pales in comparison to the fear of never stopping,
of no destination being the final one
and treks only lead to missions or expeditions.
In the cabin of ships, paper playing cards
and biscuits were safe
because of an ending, a way to reconcile
where things begin.
Then cayenne, clove, saffron,
the mysterious balms Cleopatra smoothed
on her wrists, the spark of something
considered Indian or Oriental.
Who could have guessed what tastes
would be responsible for,
the way their spherical peppercorns,
cylindrical twists of cinnamon bark
could support nothing we knew already
and introduce a craving that was sexless
and completely satiable? It began,
as many things do, with a Queen.
It ended at the point formerly known as “edge,”
when we’d believed in a place
where only perish could exist,
and we passed it, and couldn’t help but keep going.
July 27, 2013
THIRTY DAYS!!! Another TASTE TEST giveaway!
30 Days Until TASTE TEST meets the world!
This week’s giveaway is one I’ve really been looking forward to holding because I am SUCH a makeup hog. This week, I’m giving away a TASTE TEST-themed Makeup Bag with TASTE TEST Lip Balm, TASTE TEST Tissues, and a bareMinerals DeLISH Lip Gloss Palate, with the delectable flavors Jelly, Pink Sugar, and Vanilla Spice.
Same deal as last time — click on the Rafflecopter link below, follow one of the directions to enter, and have fun! Winners will be announced next Thursday, August 1st.
July 20, 2013
TASTE TEST Necklace Giveaway!
37 days until TASTE TEST meets the world!
As we approach the release of TASTE TEST, I’ll be running weekly contests here for some of my favorite TASTE TEST swag. This week, it’s a sterling silver necklace with a knife/fork pendant. There’s a couple ways to enter — just check out the widget below! A Winner will be selected on 7/27 — and then there will be a brand new giveaway for next week! Enter today!
July 16, 2013
Don’t Stop Believin’
Courtesy of IMDB
I don’t even know what to say.
It took me a while to get into Glee. Once I did, about midway through the first season, I developed a serious crush on Finn Hudson. I had to reconcile that with the fact that he was supposed to be in high school and I was a high school teacher — totally creeped me out. But the fact that I was 30 and he was really 29 made me feel A LOT better.
This past weekend, Cory Monteith, the actor who played Finn, died of alcohol and heroin related complications. I’m not sure if they’re calling it an overdose or not yet. But clearly that’s what it is.
Accidental overdoses are the reason overdoses happen. People don’t ordinarily shoot/take heroin to get dead — they do it to get high. I think that’s what Cory was doing. I can only imagine what kind of pressure he was under. As a recovering addict, he must have felt that his sobriety was linked to stress. I think most addicts feel that way. But that pressure to be Finn — clean cut, super-nice, hot in an adorable way Finn — must have been a conflicted split personality for Cory. He must have felt that duality in so many ways — and maybe heroin was another way to seperate and define himself.
I can’t claim to know what it’s like to be a heroin addict, but I can relate to the position his family and his girlfriend are in. I spent almost ten years loving a family member who was irrevocably addicted to opiate medication — Oxy Contin, specifically — which has most of the same qualities of heroin, save the expense and the fact that it’s an Rx. This family member has been sober now for three years, but he is the exception to the rule. To EVERY RULE about addiction.
The stories my family member has told me about his times shooting up Oxy Contin have made me sick and grateful — equally so. He recounted times he’d overdosed — three, specifically — where he woke up on the floor with the needle still in his arm. It was better that I didn’t know this at the time. It was better that his sobriety came without my influence, or any family influence. It’s true when they say that the addict is the only one to convince themselves to get clean.
My family member is sober and alive and flourishing and he is as rare as something precious. It takes far, far more commitment and strength to be sober than to be using. It’s why up to 92% of people who get treatment for crystal meth addiction end up relapsing. The drug is like a blanket. It’s like money. It’s like a lover. It makes you needed and warm and feeling free. It makes you the best and worst version of yourself.
I am desperately saddened by Cory Monteith’s death. I keep thinking about it and about how shocking it is to me, how I never saw it coming. I know there are millions of fans who feel like I do. And yet — maybe that is the point. Addiction hides within our society. It isn’t just about junkies on the street, begging for a fix. It’s high school students and parents and bankers and lawyers and celebrities. Addiction isn’t always crack pipes and needles. Sometimes it’s swallowing pills. Sometimes it’s what your doctor told you to do. Sometimes it starts out as medical care and ends up as the opposite.
If there is anything to be learned from this, let it be that our heroes are fallible and our friends aren’t transparent. Be aware of what people are and how they cope. Be empathetic. Be supportive. Be there.
RIP Cory. We’ll miss you.
July 14, 2013
The World’s Best Fried Chicken
43 Days until TASTE TEST meets the world!
Said chicken, mid-fry
So, I realize I’m making a bold claim here. But, really and truly, this is the best fried chicken I’ve ever tasted. There are several crucial factors that make this the case.
1. The bird — a free-range chicken from our friends at Open Book Farm, who I’ve written about before here.
2. The brine — my chicken parts bathed in a sugar & salt brine for about 6-7 hours in the fridge.
3. The breading — a light but flavorful mix of flour and spices.
Here’s what I did to get such amazing results, like these:
The Finished Product!
1. The Chicken: I cut mine into parts, only deboning the breasts because I prefer them that way.
2. The Brine: I mixed together a gallon of warm water, 1/2 cup raw sugar, 1/4 cup kosher salt, a palmful of black peppercorns, a bay leaf, a teaspoon of celery salt, and a couple shakes of crushed red peppers. I quickly mixed it, dropped in the chicken pieces and stowed it in the fridge for the morning and afternoon.
I don’t know what it is about this brine or this chicken. I’ve brined turkeys before and I’ve never really noticed a distinct flavor or difference. With this brine, though, the meat was completely penetrated.
3. The Breading: I mixed a cup of milk with a tablespoon of vinegar in a pie plate. This works in a pinch when you don’t have buttermilk. In a large freezer bag, I added a few cups of flour, about a teaspoon each of onion powder, garlic powder, and smoked paprika, and a couple teaspoons of salt. I bathed each chicken piece in the sour milk, shook it with the flour mixture and dropped into my pan (a high-sided skillet with about 1 1/2 inches of vegetable oil.)
Like I said, this chicken was phenomenal. Fried chicken isn’t easy to cook and get right. Honestly, I hate cooking chicken as a general rule. I can never get the consistancy to be what I want. That being said, this time I nailed it. I should tell you that it is advisable to always use a meat thermometer in instances such as these — I didn’t use one, I just eye-balled it, but that isn’t really the best method.
Seriously, try brining your meat. It makes all the difference!
July 12, 2013
Submission Stats
45 Days until TASTE TEST meets the world!
This post originally appeared on the Lucky 13s website @ www.thelucky13s.blogspot.com.
Courtesy of www.allposters.com
Being “on submission” is when you or a representative for you (read: agent) sends your manuscript (or book proposal for some non-fiction/option books) to an editor or publisher for consideration. That consideration, of course, would ideally lead to a purchase and publication of said manuscript (be it a digital or print publication – it’s all the same in this case.)
Being on submission can do crazy things to a normally normal you. It can kill your appetite and make you lose weight, or it can make you eat an entire red velvet layer cake in one sitting. It can provide you with dog-like hearing, creating a Pavlov-like reaction to any email/voicemail alert on your phone or computer. It can make you read every entry on Publisher’s Marketplace for any editor or publisher or genre of book that you think is even remotely close to being like your book, so that you can then create some kind of weird (and wildly inaccurate) analysis related to the potential purchase of your book.
The submission process can make you crazy.
Courtesy of www.gifsoup.com
It can also make you a published author. (YAY!)
Courtesy of www.gifsoup.com
But, aside from writing the book, you have very little control over the process itself.
As someone who has been on submission, I know the spectrum of these emotions and I found myself interested in the experience other authors — more specifically, other 2013 debut authors — had when they were on submission. I set up an informal survey about submissions on the Luckies message board and the following is the raw data I compiled from my very generous fellow Luckies who were willing to participate and answer questions.
2013 Debut Submission Data
Basics:
Number of Participating Authors: 27
Number of Young Adult (YA) Manuscripts: 24
Number of Middle Grade (MG) Manuscripts: 3
Genres:
YA Contemporary 10
YA Science Fiction 5
YA Fantasy 3
YA Historical 1
YA Historical Fantasy 1
YA Paranormal 3
YA Urban Fantasy 1
MG Fantasy 1
MG Contemporary 1
MG Adventure 1
Submission Data:
Out of 27 authors –
Submission to sale in 2 weeks (or less) – 11
Submission to sale in 1 month (or less) – 6
Submission to sale in 2 months (or less) – 2
Submission to sale in 4 months (or less) – 4
Submission to sale in 6 months (or less) – 3
Submission to sale in 9 months (or less) – 1
Additional Factors*:
Number who had written one or more MS prior to writing their 2013 debut – 14
Number who used beta readers – 7
Number who participated in writing workshops/groups – 6
Number who’ve been on submission and not sold in the past -3
Number who revised their MS for sale based on publisher input – 2
Number who are on submission currently – 5
(* Not all authors whose data was used for the above statistics are reflected in these additional factors.)
Some (Very) Basic Data Analysis
Point #1:
Arguably, the most interesting statistic is the sale of manuscripts in two weeks or less — 11 people received offers for publication in mere days of their MS being pitched to an editor, and 17 people in total received offers within one month.
I struggled a little with this when it became clear in the data – I didn’t want to make it seem like it was easy to sell quickly, nor did I want to devastate authors currently on submission who have been out there, living in submission limbo, for far longer than a month.
So what I want to say is this –
1. Take solace in the fact that agents are pitching well and editors are reading quick! There aren’t MS’s languishing on desks — they’re getting read, and that’s great news. A “no” may suck, sure, but a “no” is better than a “forgotten.”
2. Sales that happen that quick prove that editors know good writing when they see it and they know what they want. So much so, that they snap it right up when it comes across their desk.
3. Editors are buying books, people! And fast! How fantastic is it that our colleagues are getting picked up so quickly?!?! It means that there is hope for all of us in this business! (Sorry, that was a lot of exclamation points.)
Point #2
The secondary factors (writing groups, additional manuscripts, beta readers, etc.) were added at the suggestion of a Lucky, who made an excellent observation: while this data is a snapshot of our experience, it isn’t the whole story.
On the survey, the participating authors shared anecdotes about their careers as writers. Many Luckies had other manuscripts in various levels of completion sitting in drawers or hard drives. Some tried to sell those MS’s in the past, but weren’t able to. Some Luckies revised for years before submitting their work to an agent. Lots of Luckies dealt with rejection in different phases of their careers. There are so many other facets to this writing life.
As one Lucky so eloquently put it – and I’m paraphrasing here, “Yes, I sold my book in less than a week, but I also worked on writing it for years. Then I worked on revising it for a year. It wasn’t an actual one week process, just a one week sale.”
Point #3
There are five Luckies currently on submission right now — which brings up another point: just because you’re a published author once doesn’t mean you’re going to be a published author again. Until you have a proven track record of both sales and productivity, you will mostly likely be going through the submission process again.
Moreover, if you want to write something different than your debut — say, changing from YA to MG, or even from YA contemporary to YA paranormal – may require you to work with other publishers or editors, again requiring a submission the “good old fashioned way.”
***
There is no one size fits all career or submission experience. Your experience will be yours — but I can promise you that we’re all rooting for you, whether you’re on submission now, hoping to be soon, or still just dreaming of that great book idea that you know will be a best seller!
July 10, 2013
Eating Well: 4th of July Brisket and Yahoo Wahoo!
47 Days until TASTE TEST meets the world!
Protein. It’s a complex and essential part of the human diet. This protein can certainly be meat, but protein also shows up in a variety of other food sources — nuts, eggs, seafood, legumes, etc.
But, today I’m talking about two sources that have blown my mind in the last week — red meat (brisket cut) and wahoo, a thick yet mild white fish.
Mom and Dad’s Brisket
My parents are excellent amateur chefs. My mom does all the interior work and Dad does everything outside (read: grilling). Last week, my parents tried making brisket for the first time and it was PHENOMENAL. Sort of like my vlog from last week, they used a chili-based dry rub. I believe it was an America’s Test Kitchen recipe — in fact, I know it is. They are the only cookbooks my parents use
The other elements of the meal (also delicious) included:
Traditional Cole Slaw
Mac & Cheese (using the TASTE TEST recipe!)
Traditional Baked Beans
This was an amazing meal and reminded me why I love red meat — it’s so versitile! I mean, you can make a shredded, slow cooked pulled dish (like this one) or a rare filet. Either way, it’s delicious.
Seared Wahoo atop Goat Cheese Gnocchi, Roasted Tomatoes, Braised Spinach, and a Saffron Lobster sauce.
Similarly, fish can be equally versatile — and delicious!
The other evening, Matt and I hit up Tuscarora Mill, one of my absolute favorite restaurants in Leesburg, VA. I should preface by saying that I never order fish. Seafood, yes. Often. But fish — almost never.
Then I heard the description of the wahoo dish (see above.)
Guys, it was phenomenal. Seriously. Every element, from the mild taste and meaty texture of the wahoo to the light, yet substantial sauce…I really can’t do it justice. Of course, the mojito and calamari we had were amazing as well!)
An OG Mojito!
Calamari with Lemongrass Aioli
In all, this post is really just a reflection of something I already knew — that trying new versions of old favorites can make new favorites! I can’t wait to try cooking brisket and wahoo at home!
June 28, 2013
Testing, Testing — My First Vlog Attempt!
60 Days until TASTE TEST meets the world!
So, one thing I’m doing – or going to do, anyway — to promote TASTE TEST is creating these vlogs/videos of cooking demos and recipes. I finally bought a web cam this weekend and, so, I made this video of the dry rub I used on pork ribs last night.
Look, this is FAR from polished — but it’s totally me. Watching it, I was like, “well, it doesn’t really get more authentic than this.” If you wanna know how I act in real life, this is it.
Alright. Here it is. My first attempt at a video. I hope you enjoy! Click on the the link below and, if you decide you want the recipe, look below
Dry Rub Recipe
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp onion powder
2 tsp turbinado or raw sugar
2 tsp salt (preferably kosher)
1 clove garlic, grated
Mix all ingredients and rub on your choice of meat or vegetables.
June 23, 2013
Super Swag Sunday, Yo!
The 2nd Annual
SUPER SWAG SUNDAYis finally here!!!
When: June 24th thru June 30th
Where: laurisareyes.blogspot.com
Why: For a chance to win lots of cool promotional items signed by 55+ of today’s best middle grade and young adult authors!
Every day for seven days, Laurisa’s blog will spotlight some of the most amazing new books for kids and teens! Monday June 24th thru Saturday June 30th visitors will be able to enter for chances to win one of 6 Swag Packs containing everything from signed bookmarks and postcards, to pins, pencils, totebags, stickers, key chains, lip balm, charms and more all donated by 54 of today’s top middle grade and young adult authors! Most of it is autographed!
On the last day, SUPER SWAG SUNDAY , one last MEGA SWAG PACK will be given to one very lucky winner! This pack so far includes everything listed above PLUS:
1- hardbound copy of THE UNWANTEDS signed by author Lisa McMann
1- TEST TASTE charm bracelet
1- TOUCHING THE SURFACE T-shirt
1 – LOVE AND LEFTOVERS charm necklace
1 – SEND ME A SIGN guitar pick
1 – paperback copy of EVERTASTER: THE BUTTERSMITH’S GOLD signed by author Adam Sidwell
1- hardbound copy of THE SCORCH TRIALS signed by author James Dashner
1- paperback copy of THE ALWAYS WARS signed by author Margaret Peterson Haddix
1 – OyMG! T-shirt
1 – Original Artwork Print from FISHTALE signed by author Catherine Masciola
1- LOSING IT water bottle signed by author Erin Fry
1 – hardbound copy of LOSING IT signed by the author
1 – paperback copy of HYSTERIA signed by author Megan Miranda
1- hardbound copy of STARTERS signed by author Lissa Price
1 – poster of THE BINDING STONE signed by author Lisa Gail Green
1 – DRAGONWITCH pencil
1 – signed Margaret Petersen Haddix PIN!
1 – MONSTERS (Ilsa J. Bick) Back Pack & Advanced Reader Copy
1- Paperback copy of DESMOND PUCKETT MAKES MONSTER MAGIC signed by author Mark Tatulli
1 – DC SUPERHERO Totebag
1 – paperback graphic novel TERRA TEMPO
Just a few of the very cool MEGA SWAG PACK goodies!
Where is this all taking place??? LAURISAREYES.BLOGSPOT.COM Stop by every day from June 24th – 30th
for plenty of chances to win!
See you there!
