Kate Collins's Blog, page 269

Ellery's Mystery Cozy Contest

By Ellery Adams
It's that time of the month again - your chance to win a $10 ecard to the bookstore of for choice! 

I'll give you one line from a contemporary cozy and you have six days to email me the title and author at elleryadams@verizon.net.
Please DO NOT POST the answer. You can certainly post a comment, but no title or author name in the comments, okay?
Here's the line: "Theodosia clapped a hand to her mouth, horrified but unable to look away."
Ellery's hint: This heroine wouldn't agonize over brewing me a fine cup of Mango Ceylon. 
Good luck! 

The Deb Baker Diet Experiment

by Deb Baker/Hannah Reed

I've been thinking a lot about why we eat three meals every day, and how that might be the main reason so many of us can't lose weight. I mean really, look at breakfast - eggs, bacon, toast, hash browns, oj,  lunch - 2 slices of bread, with chunks of meat and several slabs of cheese, maybe with a side of soup,
dinner - meat, a starch, another starch, on and on.

We make such a big deal out of these three events. What if we just sat down for one meal in the evening? I'm not saying stop eating the rest of the time. Just don't sit down at a table and attach so much importance to it. And eat only one thing at a time. I've thought this through, and I'm going to try it. But first, I have to eliminate all temptation from reach by either tossing it, gifting it, or donating it.

Then to the store, shopping list to include eggs, almonds, yogurt, veggies, berries, whatever I've planned for dinners, and the makings for soup. Cuz I think soup is an important ingredient to success. I'm going to make a big pot and eat soup at least once every day.

Here's my unscientific soup creation that can be tailored to suit your own tastes
 _______________________________
In a large pot, heat 2-3 T of olive oil
Add:
2 large chopped onions (I like white onions)
2 cups of something else or a mix, chopped, like carrots, mushrooms, peppers, celery or broccoli
Saute until soft, about 10 minutes
Add:
14 cups of low-sodium chicken broth (or veg broth or seafood broth)
2 14-15 oz cans of tomatoes (think I'll use the fire roasted ones)
1 - 2 cups any type of beans - cannellini for me this time
1/2 head of cabbage, chopped up
garlic - love the stuff, maybe 3 T.
other herbs - haven't decided yet but since I have fresh growing in pots maybe basil or oregano

Simmer until the cabbage is done
Salt and pepper to taste
Maybe a dash (or two or three) of hot sauce
 ___________________________________

This will make a humungus pot, and as you can see, I'm only limited by my imagination. Every week can be a new soup adventure.

The plan:
no eating by the clock, at least until dinner.
When I get up in the morning, I'm not hungry right away, so I'm not eating.
Once I really am hungry, I'll eat a hard boiled egg or yogurt or 10 almonds.
When I'm hungry again, I'll eat something else around 100 calories.
When I need something more substantial, I'll break into the soup.
That will hold me for a while.
Still haven't sat down for a 'meal', eating while I work or paging through a magazine or checking facebook.
Later, I'll have celery or berries or....will decide at the time, with a cup of tea.
Then the evening meal. Whatever I usually eat. With a glass of wine.

Will it work? Will I lose that ten pounds around my middle that hasn't come off no matter how hard I've tried?
What are your thoughts? It's a healthy plan, right?

Sharing the Love (I Mean Recipe)

by Lucy Arlington

I love to cook and bake. And I’m always on the lookout for new recipes. At the grocery store, I thumb through magazines by the checkout, drooling over photographs of delicious looking cakes, cookies, pasta dishes and one-dish dinners. In bookstores, the first section I browse through (yes, even before fiction!) is the cookbook section.
But my favourite way of discovering a new dish is by eating it. I’ll be a friend’s house, or a party, or even a restaurant, and if I’m tasting a delicacy that I want to make myself, I will do my utmost to obtain the recipe.  I am fortunate that most of my friends are more than willing to share. And unlike some people, I have absolutely no qualms about sharing my recipes either. To me food is about love, and love is about sharing.
The recipe I am sharing with you today was given to me by a dear friend who discovered it herself not too long ago. She and I often exchange ideas for meals and other dishes. This bread is a wonderfully healthy addition to any meal. Served with a salad, it pretty much completes a light dinner. Enjoy.
Spinach and Cheese Braid  








500 g spinach1 tPreheat oven to 400F.
Cook spinach, drain well and finely chop. Heat butter in pan. Add leek and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally until leek is soft. Add spinach, cook, stirring, about 5 minutes or until any liquid has evaporated. Cool.
Sift flour and baking powder into a medium bowl. Stir in parmesan, pepper, basil, three quarters of the feta, spinach mixture and enough milk to mix to a soft sticky dough. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Divide the dough into three equal pieces. Shape into foot long rolls.
Braid the rolls together on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining feta. Bake for 40 minutes.
========================
Starting next month, I'll be sharing a few recipes from The Cozy Chicks Kitchen.


But wait, there's more!


The Cozy Chicks Kitchen needs some review love.  If you've read and loved our cookbook, please consider writing a review on Amazon, BarnesAndNoble.com, and other review sites.  Do that, let us know where you've posted it, and we'll send you a Cozy Chicks goody bag, complete with a bonus recipe card and cookie cutter.  Tell us where to find the review by writing to us at cozychicks(AT)gmail(DOT)com.  Thanks!

44 Plays for 44 Presidents

While our wonderful Kate Collins finishes the last part of writing her manuscript--rewrites, copy edits and even more edits--we are fortunate to have Julie Hyzy, who writes two cozy series, join us for a few weeks. Many of you are probably familiar with her White House Chef series as well as her Manor House Mysteries. We welcome Julie while we await Kate's return. (We do miss our Kate!) 
++++++++++++++++++


I'm a White House geek. But you already know that. What's fun is that there's a new show about the presidents that's out there - one I was fortunate to see. Let me tell you about it.

Our youngest daughter, Biz (short for Elizabeth), has always loved being on stage and with few exceptions, every one of the productions she's been part of have been excellent. Her most recent performance involved being part of an ensemble cast in 44 Plays for 44 Presidents .

Because I thoroughly enjoy anything having to do with U.S. presidents and stories involving the White House I was very excited when she told us she'd landed a part -- actually, many parts. There were nine actors in the cast and they were amazing - jumping from role to role while moving props and delivering powerful lines. It wasn't just a play, it was choreography at its best.

The show was wonderful. Each president's story is presented in brief -- some scenes are hilarious, others heartbreaking. This is a high-energy-chock-full-of-fascinating-trivia production. I learned a lot, and even better, I began to question what I thought I knew. I'm doing more in-depth research into the presidents' lives than I'd done before, and that's a good thing, both for my books and for myself, personally.

Why am I telling you this? Because 44 Plays for 44 Presidents is part of a yearlong festival. The goal is to present the play 44 times in 2012 culminating in an election-night composite video production featuring one scene from each of the performances. It sounds like fun, doesn't it? Take a look at the website link. It's possible - if you live in the United States - that a production will come to a theater near you. I can't recommend it highly enough and I hope that if you're lucky enough to catch a performance, you'll let me know.

Btw: in order to generate interest in the production, my daughter helped organize an effort to have all presidents' portraits done by burgeoning artists in the college's community. The portrait of Teddy Roosevelt above it the one Biz contributed to the collection. She said she used vibrant colors because of Teddy's vivacious spirit and love of life.

Here's a link to the show's Facebook page. As of this writing (it may change), Biz is in the banner picture, on the far right with her arm in the air.

At a mystery conference earlier this year, we got to talking about being involved in theater as kids (and sometimes as adults). From what we could tell, a very high percentage of mystery writers and readers had taken to the stage at some point. Did you ever participate in school productions? Community theater? Professional productions?

My Little Dazzlers

by Leann

While I am away at the Malice Domestic Convention in Bethesda, I am scheduling this post ahead of time and thought I'd share a few pictures of my beautiful granddaughters. They were both lucky enough "dress up" in some cute duds and model for the online store zulily.com. The ads appeared last week, and I have to say, Maddie, the four-year-old had a wonderful time. Morgan, the baby, maybe not so much, but the one they added to the site was cute, cute, cute. Maddie will, I am sure, encourage her sister in the near future!

Here's my precious little pumpkins showing off some cool duds;




And here is one of my favorite pics of them--not done by any professional. Just the two of them caught in the act of having fun!
Oh ... and by the way, Grandma had to buy that pink dress for Maddie and one very much like it for Morgan! Love it!

An Old-Fashioned Girl

[image error] by guest blogger Sofie Kelly

My mother had a heart attack before Christmas. (She’s doing well now and thank you to everyone for your good wishes.) The morning after she was moved out of Coronary Care over to the rehabilitation unit, I bumped—literally—into the mother of a boy my daughter had gone to elementary school with. She was the physiotherapist on the floor.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

I explained about my mother and the heart attack. She smiled and pointed to the right hand corridor. “That’s her in 2026, isn’t it?”

[image error] “Yes,” I said, feeling very confused. My mother is a tiny woman with a British accent and we don’t have the same last name. “How did you know?”

She shrugged. “I met her when she came in. She has the same old-fashioned manners that you and your daughter have.”

That wasn’t the first time someone has remarked on my mother’s manners. She was born in England. At almost ninety years old she’s still very proper.
[image error]
It also wasn’t the first time someone had commented on my daughter’s manners, and as a mom it is wonderful to hear that my child is polite and respectful to other people. But I am taken back, a little, by the term, “old-fashioned.” I heard it from more than one teacher when we went to our first parent-teacher night at the high school last fall. “She always says please and thank you. She has lovely, old-fashioned manners.”
[image error] Old-fashioned. The term doesn’t really feel like a compliment. Somehow for me, old-fashioned manners conjures an image of curtsies and sweeping bows, not using the words please and thank you, holding the door open, or sharing your bag of pretzels. Then again, I was raised by that impeccably polite little English woman, and I do know how to curtsy.

So what do you think? Are manners old-fashioned? Does anyone else know how to curtsy?

And by the way, my new book, Copycat Killing comes out on Tuesday. If you pre-ordered a copy, thank you.
================================
[image error] Sofie Kelly is the pseudonym of award-winning young adult writer, Darlene Ryan. Darlene’s latest teen novel is Cuts Like a Knife, a Junior Library Guild selection. Sofie writes the New York Times bestselling Magical Cats mysteries. The next book in the series, Copycat Killing will be available May 1st.  Leave a comment and you could win a copy!

Visit Darlene's web site.

Visit Sofie's web site.

Out of the Office

By Heather
As I write this, it’s Wednesday afternoon, and I’m getting ready to leave tomorrow morning for the Malice Domestic conference.
Six of the seven Cozy Chicks, and both honorary Cozy Chicks (Dru Ann and Lucy), will be at Malice (we’re going to miss seeing Deb this year!). We’ll have to see about getting a group picture if we can.
[image error] Malice is such a great conference for readers and writers. I try to remember not to act all fan-girly when I meet an author I admire, but most of the time I just can’t control it. Authors, to me, are like rock stars. And I’m a groupie. Elizabeth Peters will be at Malice this weekend—not sure I’ll be able to control myself if I run into her. Just warning everyone now.
Anyhow, I’m not sure if I’ll have internet service at the hotel—it entirely depends on whether I want to pay an arm and a leg. We’ll see how desperate I get. So technically, I’m out of the office until Monday.
I hope everyone has a great weekend, and check my Facebook page for pictures (hopefully I’ll get post them while I’m there, but it’s all dependent on that arm and a leg thing) of all goings-on.
Until then, tell me which author you’d love to meet in person, and I’ll randomly choose a winner from the comment section to send someone a gift from Malice...

Six Years Ago...A Miracle at Malice

Ellery Adams

Six years ago at about this time, I wasn't getting ready to attend the Malice Domestic Conference.
Yes, I was supposed to attend. In fact, it was to be my first Malice. I was on my first panel and was invited to attend the New Author's Breakfast. I was so excited.

I was also 33 weeks pregnant and had just been told by my doctor that I was already dilating and he forbid me to travel.

Heartbroken, I contacted the Malice folks and canceled my trip. I also stopped mowing the lawn, running the vacuum, and carrying heavy groceries.
And even though I listened to my doctor (for once) my little girl decided to enter this world prematurely anyway. I could have been sleeping in an Arlington hotel when she arrived or safe at home with my husband, son, and father.

It was one of those middle-of-the-night emergencies that had me praying my most fervent prayers, but Sophie was strong and feisty and is now the apple of my eye.

Now Malice falls every year on her birthday and every year for the past 5 years I've missed her birthday. This year, we got lucky and it's falling on Monday. I'll be home to bake her a cake, give her a present, and show her the baby album I made for her. And I can tell her how the story of her was more beautiful and wonderful than any I could ever write.

Happy Birthday, my darling girl!

Did any of your children (human or four-legged) surprise you with how they arrived?

Something Wicked This Way Comes (?)

by Deb Baker/Hannah Reed


It started happening after dark, here on nine isolated, wooded acres. The first clue that something large roamed - long, deep scratch marks in the wood deck. Like something powerful had tried to rip through it, perhaps preying on a smaller animal.

The next night one of my garden sneakers was missing from the porch. I looked everywhere. It's gone.

So is the other one now.
What the heck is going on? Gulp!

Maggie's Mea Culpa

I'm sorry, faithful Cozy Chicks Blog followers & readers.  I'm on the road and wasn't able to post early this morning as I've been doing since June 2006.  :)  I'm here in Northern Virginia at the home of old and very dear friends who I grew up with in Arlington.  You've heard me speak about Nancy & Diane (sisters) who are the closest thing to sisters I've every had.  Well. . .I arrived Monday right before dinnertime, and believe it or not----we've been going nonstop ever since I arrived.  I grabbed some good sleep Monday night (after getting on 3 hours Sunday night before catching 5:30am airport shuttle, and I'm planning to hit the hay in a few minutes after I post this blog.  :)  
Again.....apologies for not posting in my usual timely manner.  But----I'll make it up to you next week with news of my new E-book release in Barnes & Nobles' NookFirst program.  I'm really excited about it.  Meanwhile. . .I'm back home in Northern Virginia across the Potomac River from Washington, DC.  My old hometown.  Memories, memories.   It's always good to be home.  Today, Diane and I were all over Arlington and McLean areas of Northern VA----in some of the most truly stunning homes I've seen in quite a while.  And gardens filled with Spring's flamboyant display of azaleas, dogwoods, cherry tree blossoms, flowers which that early warm temps had brought into bloom.  Gorgeous.   [image error]