Kate Collins's Blog, page 177

Marooned on a island…love it or get me out of here!

In Geared for the Grave Evie Bloomfield wants to boost her chances for a promotion so she agrees to leave Chicago and head off to Mackinac Island to help her boss’ dad with his cycle shop.
Mackinac is a real island, an eight-mile chunk of land where Lake Michigan meets Lake Huron. It’s truly beautiful, no cars,  horses and bikes and a twenty-minute ferry ride from the mainland. When the lakes freeze...or as the islanders call it the ice makes…there is no ferry, very limited plane service and if the ice is think enough snowmobiles are the way off the place.
So want do you think, could you live here year-round?
Without cars it’s so quiet and the whole island is a throwback to the 1800s with vintage baseball, parades for every occasion, the town gazebo, dressing for dinner at the Grand Hotel, high tea, horse drawn carriages with men in top hats and formal attire and did I mention no cars.
It’s waking up to the clip clop of horses’ hooves on cobblestone and often the whole island cocooned in dense fog with the foghorns moaning out in the harbor. You’ll be in the best shape of you life with having to walk everywhere and the sunset over the Mackinaw Bridge will always take your breath away.

This sound amazing to many of us and like hell on Earth to others. There is no mall! There is no Walmart or big box store of any sort, no free wifi except at Horn’s bar and the library.
 Often your cell phone won’t work and you’ll be hanging over the end of the pier to get reception for the so important phone call. There are only 500 permanent residents so things get a bit confining in the winter when the way to get around is your snowmobile. Your kids go to a school with sixty other kids, there is no Dollar Store and it’s reeeeeally cold.

So what do you think? Are you a island person or a big city? Personally I think I’d fit in perfectly on Mackinc Island. It’s a writer’s heaven and I’ve always wanted my own snowmobile.
Hugs,   Duffy Brown
If you’d like to be part of my Street Team just email DuffyBrown@DuffyBrown.com for info or here’s the link for the info. 
 http://www.duffybrown.com/my-street-team.  
The next mailing of promo for Geared for the Grave and Thank You  
 
tote and a special bicycle keyfob that I’ve made goes out Nov 25th. 


Geared for the Grave First book in Cycle Path MysteriesBerkley Prime CrimeDecember 2, 2014

Suffolk Virginia Mystery Author Festival

by Maggie Sefton


Our Cozy Chicks Blog is read all over the United States and around the world.  Really.  :)  So I thought  I'd give a "heads up" to our readers who happen to live in my home state of Virginia that I will be visiting next weekend in Suffolk, Virginia----very close to the Norfolk and Portsmouth areas of Virginia and the Atlantic Ocean.

I was invited to participate in the Suffolk Mystery Authors Festival which will take place next Saturday, November 8th at the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts in the heart of downtown Suffolk, Virginia.  Several authors are participating, and there will be readings and workshops, as well as a reception and author signings.  There will also be a "Legends of Main Street Suffolk Ghost Walk" on Friday evening November 7th, which will be a guided lantern tour through the historic Cedar Hill Cemetery.  That sounds like a LOT of fun.

Of course, I can't return to Virginia without adding on a family visit.  The photo above shows my 16-year old granddaughter Natale playing volleyball for her James Madison High School volleyball team in Vienna, Virginia (Northern VA).  So-----naturally I will make sure I catch a few volleyball games during this short six-day visit.  I'll arrive in Northern VA in time to watch the end of the season conference Final game before I head south to Suffolk, Virginia.  After the Mystery Festival, I'll head back to Northern Virginia and catch a couple of the next round Regional volleyball sectional games.

Natale's team has an unbroken winning streak to date, so I think it's a good bet they'll play in the regional finals.  So---I made my airline reservations accordingly and will be cheering on the bleachers with my daughter's family.  )   Have any of you ever attended a high school volleyball or basketball game?  Spent an evening sitting on wooden bleachers and eating popcorn?  Or paced back and forth alongside a soccer field?  I've done all three.  Four daughters and now grandchildren.  How about you?  

FROM SOUP TO – SOUP NUT?

by Kate Collins

When you think of comfort food, is one of the first dishes that springs to mind tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich? It is for me. But then I’ve always loved soups, especially if they were homemade.  Unfortunately, I rarely took the time to make them because they were so labor intensive.
I’ve bought some organic varieties that I like but I’ve stopped buy anything with ingredients that: a) I can’t pronounce, b) are made in a lab, or c) with a sodium content high enough to turn the pond behind my house into the dead sea.


Recently I’ve come across a few recipes that sounded so good, I went back to my kitchen to make them from scratch – and what a great idea that turned out to be. Not only did I enjoy chopping and slicing things other than victims in my mysteries, but also they were so incredibly good, I ate from the batch I made for several days and never got tired of it. So I decided it would be a crime not to share one of those recipes.
Okay, done with murder puns.
I found this recipe in Dr. Mercola’s Sunday newsletter (Mercola.com) with an explanation of why each of the ingredients is so extraordinarily healthy for the body. (We’re talking anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and heart healthy). But trust me, you won’t be making it for those reasons. You’ll make it for the delicious favor.  But as I do with every recipe, I made changes to reflect what I had on hand.
Just so you know, the original recipe called for a sweet potato but I had half of a small butternut squash that I needed to use. I also had a huge bunch of kale, so I chopped it up and threw that in, too, along with some chopped green pepper. If you’d like to make the soup more hearty, like a stew, I’d recommend adding pre-cooked chicken or my new favorite, organic chicken Italian sausage, (buy the pre-cooked kind) cut into rounds.
Be creative with it by adding your favorite veggies, but don’t leave out the original ingredients. I put an asterisk next to my additions. If you do try it, please let me know on Facebook or Twitter. I had to force myself to eat just one bowlful. It’s that good. My photo does NOT do it justice.
P.S. You will not taste a coconut flavor. You’ll just get a creamy sweetness from the coconut milk. P.P.S. Don’t worry about the fat or calories in the coconut milk. It’s so amazingly healthy for you that your body will thank you.
 What is your all-time favorite soup?


KATE COLLINS’ DELICIOUS COCONUT CARROT SOUP
Prep and Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
1 large onion, chopped4 cups broth (bone is best, but beef, chicken or vegetable will work)2 Tbsp. fresh ginger, sliced (I used my frozen supply)4 medium cloves garlic, chopped1 tsp curry powder or turmeric2 cups sliced carrots, about 1/4-inch thick1 cup sweet potato, cut into about 1/2-inch cubes *or butternut squash*2 cups chopped kale or other greens*½ cup chopped green or red pepper5 oz. coconut milkSalt and white pepper to taste
Directions:
Chop onion and let it sit for at least five minutes to bring out its health benefits.Heat ½ cup broth in a medium soup pot. Sauté onion in broth over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often.Add garlic and ginger and continue to sauté for another minute.Add curry powder or turmeric and mix well with onions.Add broth, carrots, sweet potato (squash), (other veggies, meat optional) and simmer on medium high heat until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.Add coconut milk.Add salt and pepper to taste.

You can process it in a food processor or  blender to make a smooth soup if you omit the meat. I preferred mine more stew-like. Serves 4. Can be frozen.

Living in My Car

by Leann

First off, I am not homeless. I have a wonderful new home that I adore. But yesterday, November 1st, was quite unusual. I knew a cold front was coming, but since I was alone while my husband was away on his annual hunting trip, I made sure to check the weather online and on TV. The forecast said snow in the high mountains of North Carolina (we are in western South Carolina) and the snow would probably only reach as far south as Asheville--and they would only get a "dusting."

Imagine my surprise when I awoke to a blizzard and there was already 2 inches
of snow on the ground. Heavy snow that would change to what they love to call a "wintry mix." I call it by its evil throwback name: sleet. This is SOUTH Carolina and I do not care for snow. A "dusting" is fine. But this? On November 1st? Do. Not. Like.

Then my husband came home from his trip with arip-roaring, sneezing, hacking cold. He hadn't been in the door more than thirty minutes when the power went out. I did learn this house stays cool in the summer but man, it gets cold fast in the WINTER. Yes. This is winter. If the weather people can call what we had a "wintry mix" then I can call November 1st winter.

My phone was low on juice and my beloved Syracuse Orange were playing. I was bummed. No computer, no phone, no TV. And did I mention my car wouldn't start on Thursday? So, I went out to show the sick husband what he would be dealing with in all his misery and low and behold, the car started. Sort of a pathetic start, but it was running. I grabbed my chips and
dip, cranked up the heat and settled back to listen to the game on satellite radio while my phone charged up. Nice, right?

Two hours later, the power came back on. No doubt wires and trees heavy with that darn ice and snow were the problem. It's nice to know I have a place to live when times get tough--and I have to say, it was better than that rent house we lived in for two years! :-)

Sunday morning the temperature is supposed to be 28 degrees. In weather forecaster language perhaps that means it will be about 60 and sunny. That's what I'm hoping for, anyway.

Ellery's Mystery Cozy Contest

Hosted By Ellery Adams

It's the first of the month! Instead of my usual contest, I wanted to do a contest related to a theme in my upcoming Books By the Bay Mystery, Lethal Letters, which hits the shelves on November 4th. 

In Lethal Letters, two of the characters are young women who've been friends since they were little girls. They've exchanged letters for all the years of their friendship and Olivia, who has reason to read one side of the correspondence, is deeply moved by what she discovers.

We so rarely receive letters in the mail these days, so I thought it would be fun to think about this old-fashioned and very personal form of communication. 


So here's the contest: Tell me who recently wrote you a memorable letter. Why did it resonate with you? 

I'll pick a random name from the comments and inform the winner here and on FB. You'll receive this wonderful "secret scroll" necklace. The letter actually opens and this wonderful quote is hidden inside. Keep it or give it to a friend! 

I'm a wedding crasher!

by Lorraine Bartlett / Lorna Barrett / L.L. Bartlett

Last weekend, Maggie and I attended the Novelists Inc. writers conference in St. Pete Beach, Florida.  OMG -- every time I go, my head wants to explode because I've learned soooooo much. I take copious notes, and even do some work at the conference.

For instance, I knew I wanted to get my new book, With Baited Breath, up for preorder, but I was afraid.  Don't ask me why? Maybe because the last time I tried this it was a tremendous failure. Listening to some very successful authors talk about it, I was spurred to try it again.  And now it's available for preorder for Kindle, Kindle Worldwide, iBooks, Kobo, and Nook. It'll be published on January 6th.

I wrote my newsletter (longhand), which went out yesterday.  (Missed it?  You can find it here.  Want to sign up for the next one, click here.)  Everything was energizing and exhausting at the same time.

I even finished one short story while on my working vacation, and began another.  The finished one is a Halloween story you might want to check it out since today is Halloween.  It's called Spooked! and it features my series character, Jeff Resnick.   Click any of the links for a description.  Kindle, KindleWorldwide, iBooks, Kobo, Nook, Smashwords.

On Friday afternoon, the hotel began setting up for a wedding in the courtyard.  The weather was absolutely perfect.  All the doors to the rooms overlook the courtyard. About 6 pm, the DJ started cranking up and it was LOUD. Mr. L and I went out to see what was going on, just as the bridal party was being introduced.  This wasn't like most weddings I've been to.  Next up was bridal couple dancing to John Legend's All of me, and EVERYBODY was singing along.  Not just in the wedding, but those of us on the balcony. Then we watched the Father-Daughter and Mother-Son dances.  Dad and daughter were sweet, but mom and son started out with a slow dance, and then the music changed three times and you would have though you were watching Dancing with the Stars, they did a risque routine that had everyone laughing.

Through out the evening we popped out of our room to join the festivities.  People were dancing and singing on the balcony and having a lot of fun.  Below us were three ladies dancing their hearts out.  Mr. L and I even danced a few of the slow numbers.  It was wonderful, and so much fun to watch the bride throw the bouquet and then the garter catch.  We missing the cutting of the very small cake, but it was surrounded by VERY TALL pink cupcakes and my mouth was watering, wishing I could have one.  The people dancing often looked up and waved to us.  At 10 pm the party ended (well, for those of us on the balcony--they moved it to another part of the resort and we heard music playing for another two hours).

When I returned home, I read on the author loop that some people were upset that the resort hosted a wedding in the courtyard.  What party poopers!  They could have enjoyed themselves as much as those of us on the balcony did... We had almost as much fun as those at the wedding and we didn't have to get dressed up, either!

Have you ever crashed a wedding?

Howl-o-wieners!

Submitted furfully by Mary Jane Maffini aka Victoria Abbott

With only one more day left in Universal Cat Month and I thought I could sneak in a bit about dogs: in this case my dachshunds who are very catlike in their behavior. They cuddle. They like to lie on the sun. They take over the bed.  The usual.  Depending on what's going on, they might want you to think they were cats. 





If it wasn’t Halloween tomorrow, I could wait for this but we’ve been to a dachshund costume party. If you can’t post about this week, what can you do?


 


There’s something about forty-four dachshunds all in costumes that makes you forget everything else. Think chaos.  Dachshunds might be short but they’re very fast and lively.  Hey! Is that the real Superman.  I think it might be. 

They were all moving so fast, it was almost impossible to get pix of all of them.  A ‘class shot’ is out of the question. But we did get some of a very shortlegged Dracula. Did you know that Dracula barks?   


Aside from the banana  ...






.... there was a very speedy bride (that dress had quite a workout) and her groom (too fast to capture). They did get first prize.  




Here's our beautiful friend Coco making a very fetching and convincing pink rabbit.






And tiny ten-pound Gogo made a great vet, although her hat did fall off.





My own little jesters had fun and wagged tails, but every now and then they took refuge under a chair. Until someone offered them a treat, which was quite often.  So much for the dachshund diet (not going well at all).

Does this jester costume make my butt look fat?


Never mind. The event was great fun and I won a prize!  Thanks to the organizers. I'm excited about the next one.  I am often lucky that way.  But the luckiest part was being able to join other people who are also besotted by their dogs. Lots of people don’t put clothes on dogs. Our dogs love outfits. Hats, not so much. Cameras? Not at all. But there’s often a treat if you look at the camera, sooooo ….The pooches are ready for Halloween:
So are the granddogs:  Peachy (aka Walter) and Big Money, a two-pound Yorkie (or a Very Big Bee)  All ready for the big day.



















MAYBE IT'S SOMETHING ABOUT CANDY?
The only thing I don’t like is that this day only rolls around once a year. And yes, I know we couldn’t do this with cats. 
What about you? Halloween? Or no? Costumes? Send pix! 

Remember Your First Bike!

 Geared for the Grave is about Evie Bloomfield talking over running a bike shop on Mackinac Island. I love bikes. For me it was the first taste of real freedom 
To say my parents were frugal is the understatement of the century. They kept things forever, till it wore out and then they found a use for it as something else. This explains the baby changing-table turned into a TV stand, the stained Christmas tablecloth as a tree skirt and that my brother rode a girl’s bike so when he got too big for it, it got passed down to me.
Before you start feeling all teary-eyes for brother dear when he got the next size bike it was boy’s bike and that got passed down to me! We were definitely a no-frills kind of family. My cousin had a new red bike...a girl’s bike with a basket that had flowers on it! And I had brother’s blue bike with the ugly bar across the middle. I hated that bar! This was also my fist encounter of bike envy.
The thing is...boy’s bike or girls...I still remember the day I had wheels! I could go places on my very own. This was my first taste of real freedom. I had control over something without having an adult peering over my shoulder.I remember well that first bike trip to the little town where I could get a forbidden Coke and candy bar and pass it off as a trip to the library. Not that it was a lie I did go to library I just stopped for the treats before!
And the thing is this feeling of freedom still comes when I ride a bike. Okay, I have a car but there’s something about the openness of a bike, the no need for gas and that the way you get somewhere is under your own steam. I now have a girl’s bike...an old one I got thirty-years ago but the basket is new. Fact is, I got the basket when I went biking on Mackinac Island with my daughter.
Mackinac Island is made for biking! With no cars it’s the best biking ever. You are king...or queen...on a bike on Mackinac because you are the fastest thing around. There are no cars and no matter how show you are, you’re faster than the horses!
In Geared for the Grave Evie Bloomfield takes over the failing bicycle shop though she’s from Chicago and never ridden a bike. She also tries to find a killer though she can’t find her keys in her purse.
So what about you? Did you have a bike growing up? What kind was it? Fond memories? Do you ride a bike now? Let me know about you and your bike and I’ll give away three Geared for the Grave totes.
Happy peddling.Hugs, Duffy
Geared for the Grave First book in Cycle Path mysteriesDecember 2Berkley Prime Crimewww.DuffyBrown.com

A Halloween Treat

by Maggie Sefton



I've got news!  Since this is the week leading up to Halloween, I have a new E-Short
Short Story which will be available in E-book format on Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com, and Smashwords (which offers Ebooks for Apple iBooks as well as Sony and Kobo E-readers).

HALLOWEEN SCARE is a short short story (a little over 7000 words) and features the characters from the Kelly Flynn Knitting Mysteries.  The characters sent me this "E-short" a while ago, and I knew it didn't fit into an upcoming Kelly Flynn mystery.  Instead, it's a short episode in the lives of the characters.  Of course, this short scene takes place around Halloween, so it's only fitting that I release it this week.

I have a feeling the characters are going to keep sending me these short scenes which take place in between the individual Kelly Flynn Mysteries which come out in June of each year.  Now that E-books and Independent or "indie" publishing is available, there's a perfect spot for these "E-Shorts" as I call them.   That's why I released WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE? a couple of weeks ago.   It's a closer look at the cast of characters in the Kelly Flynn mystery novels.  New readers are always discovering "Kelly World."  :)   I hope you enjoy the first of these short episodes---HALLOWEEN SCARE.

Meanwhile---an update:  I just returned from a great conference in St. Pete's Beach, Florida, called Novelists Inc.  It's a once a year opportunity for novelists to come together and discuss what we're each doing with our fiction.  Trying new way to reach readers like self-publishing, developing new fiction projects, and finding professionals like graphic designers to help us with our fiction projects.

Of course, the setting was wonderful and the weather perfect---sunny and 81 degrees.  However, most of us were inside the lovely TradeWinds Resort because our conference sessions started each day at 8:30am and went straight through the day.  We even had late night Night Owl sessions going until 11:00pm.  Believe me, folks----don't think for a moment that we novelists are cavorting around and enjoying those beautiful surroundings.  Nope, not us.  We're in chilly air conditioned rooms trying to absorb as much as possible from the experienced conference speakers.    I'm posting some photos on Facebook.  Here's a view from my balcony.    

8 Little Kittens Who Lost Their Mittens

by Kate Collins

If you didn't see my Facebook post, this bears repeating because it's a remarkable story about a heroic little calico cat and a heroic young man who is my son. What follows is his story with photos:









"This summer, I was feeding a very sweet, very malnourished stray cat for most of the summer. I named her Mabel.  She was skittish and refused to come inside, even when the temperature dropped. Then one day she stopped coming. Unfortunately, I'd made an appointment at the vet for the next day to see if I could get her adopted. Mabel had other plans. 

About a month later she showed up on my porch. I was outside enjoying the weather and there she was. But she looked different. I couldn’t tell how exactly, she had changed. Her shy disposition disappeared as she came into my apartment and had a look around. It was strange to see her again, but I was happy to know she was still alive. She ate herself silly, relaxed a bit, and took off again. These visits continued for about a week. Mabel would show up, come inside, investigate, eat and leave. 

Two months later I heard a loud cry from outside my window. It was six in the morning during a bad thunderstorm. I had decided to sleep with the windows open that night to hear the storm come in. When I heard the crying again I quickly dressed and went to the living room. I opened my sliding glass door and saw Mabel, soaking wet, meowing her heart out. 

Then behind her I saw the reason why. There was a very small kitten following her. She led the shivering kitten to my door and disappeared back into the storm. Thirty minutes later she came back, with another kitten. Every thirty minutes Mabel went back into the storm, until, one by one, she had led eight little four-week-old kittens to my door. 

So I sat there, drying off kittens, wondering what in the world I was going to do. In that moment when I stepped outside and I looked into that cat’s eyes, there was an exchange of information. She had successfully communicated to me that she needed help. And somehow, over the weeks and months that I had cared for her, she had come to know that I would. Mabel had struggled for hours to bring her kittens to safety, and I owed it to her to make sure they end up in a good loving home. 

All eight kittens are now healthy, dewormed, free of fleas and vet-approved. They immediately took to the litter box. At first they were shy, and could barely walk, but now they are all loving adorable kittens, climbing up my pant legs as I sit here typing. They are perfectly adoptable, and ready for a home. 

I would like to thank Kate Collins for allowing me the means and opportunity to take care of this little family of refugees. This is has been a great experience and there is no way I could have done it without her help. Thank you!"
Kate here. If you know anyone in the Indianapolis vicinity, please spread the word or post on your FB page. My son is determined not to  turn them over to a shelter but instead find homes for them and their brave little mother. 
Isn't this a remarkable story? I'm so proud of my son for taking 9 cats into his small apartment (and he has a rescue cat of his own.) 
Have you ever rescued an animal?