Kate Collins's Blog, page 303

The Right Brain Method

By Kate Collins

I wanted to share with you my new project – teaching a creative writing class to women victims of domestic violence. I started two weeks ago and have had a lot of positive feedback already. My goal is to get them out of their left brain thinking, awaken their imaginations, tap into their creativity, and let them script new images of, and roles for, themselves.

Truthfully, I'm doing this as much for my sake as for theirs. As a former teacher, I've always loved helping others learn; I feel passionately about fiction writing; I'm finding new purpose in my life; and it's a way to honor my husband's memory. In his long career as a lawyer, he was a strong women's advocate.

I started with simple right brain exercises and will slowly move them toward story writing. Today I plan to have them do some sketching, such as to draw an object upside down, and to design their private room of peace and happiness, wall by wall. The women are responding eagerly and even loved their homework assignment.

I'm crossing my fingers that their enthusiasm and interest stay strong. If you have any tips or advice, please send them my way. This is a brand new experience for all of us and I really want it to turn out well.

Have a great week.

Resisting the Resistance

by Leann

This past week has been tough. Besides nursing my husband back to health and comforting my precious cat--who died yesterday afternoon--I hurt my back last weekend. Could hardly walk. But in the back of my mind, I was thinking, "This is from stress. Your body reacts before your mind. Listen to what it is telling you." Pretty hard to listen when your back is screaming, but I did think about it.

Yesterday morning, I came to the realization that I have been fighting a world that does not acknowledge those of us with "invisible illnesses." And I need to stop. I cannot enlighten the masses. Pretty narcissistic of me to think I could. I can only focus on recovery. I can only take care of me and stop worrying about what other people think. Everyone has their own invisible demons, mine just happen to be three rotten, energy sapping illnesses.

The cue that this unconscious insight was worming itself to the surface is evidenced by renewed excitement about the book I am writing. Although my writing days are shorter in length and fewer per week, I look forward to making my story people do their job and solve the mystery. They don't require much validation, they don't move in circles, resisting the resistance. They simply require my help to bring them to life and to be smart. That's some good fun.

RIP Indigo--Himalayan, bossy, beautiful, intuitive, smart and my constant companion from 1995-2011. She is playing with a sewing measuring tape, her favorite toy, on the Rainbow Bridge.

My Summer Projects

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

[image error] Every summer I think I'm going to get a LOT done.

HA!

Well, I still have high hopes for this summer.  And if you think about it, it won't REALLY be summer for another 17 days, so I'm good, right?

Revamping the living room, painting my office and the enclosed porch.  Building some shelves (or at least revamping the ones I've already got to make them look more "cottagy" (which means rip off the backs and put in white beadboard)). I've got to paint the molding in the bathroom, too.

Oh, and I need to finish a book that's a little behind AND a short story that's nearly done but I can't seem to figure out the end.  Plus I'm working on two other writing projects I'd like to have done by the fall. (And can I squeeze in some time to stop and smell the roses somewhere, too?)

My summer is pretty well booked.

What projects have you got on your to-do list ... and is there any possibility you'll get them all done?

Unlucky in Death

by Guest Blogger Gemma Halliday

First off, thanks so much to the fab Cozy Chicks for having me! I love all of your books, so I'm honored to be hanging with you today.

Secondly, this is the first day of my two week Hollywood Confessions Blog Tour, so please check out my website for more tour stops, as I'll be giving away cool prizes (including gift cards, free books, cameo appearances, and Hollywood Headlines swag) at each stop!

As I mentioned, I'm a big fan of the mysteries written by the lovely ladies on this blog, as well as cozy mysteries in general. While I do enjoy a police procedural or a legal thriller from time to time, the idea of an average person getting thrown into the middle of a murder investigation is the type of story that really floats my boat. Maybe it's the idea that this sort of wild adventure could actually happen to someone like me. (I'll admit, the summer when I was ten, I prayed daily that I would find a mysterious stranger, a la Nancy Drew, to investigate.) Or maybe it's the amateur element that makes it more interesting - someone getting to the truth of the matter without the aid of DNA or forensics. Whatever it is, as a reader, I heart cozy series.

As a writer, they present one unique challenge… how to make it believable that this amateur, every-woman continually stumbles on dead bodies. As much as I prayed for a Nancy Drew-esque encounter, I've never personally stumbled on a dead body. Honestly I've never even seen a dead body outside of a funeral home. And while I might suspend my belief for a moment that an average person could possibly just be in the wrong place at the wrong time once, it's pretty hard to imagine them being unlucky enough to do that six, seven, or eight different times as a series goes on. So, the first challenge I always encounter when starting a new mystery series is how to hold onto the amateur element I love so much while still making it plausible that this character is so very unlucky in death.

In the first mystery series I ever wrote, the High Heels Mysteries, I'll admit I went with the "unlucky" theory for book #1. But to sustain the multiple dead bodies that kept coming into my main character's life, I gave her an on-again,off-again boyfriend in the L.A.P.D. who acted as her window into a lot of the cases she investigated in future books. Granted, she was still a bit more unlucky than your average person, but hopefully not too unbelievably so.

For my second mystery series, the Hollywood Headlines Mysteries, I thought long and hard about how to create built-in bodies. After rejecting a of couple early ideas, I decided to go with newspaper reporters. And, just to make things fun, I put a twist on the job, making the heroine of each book in the series a reporter at a Hollywood tabloid, building in not only access to deadly stories, but scandals, sensation, and juicy gossip as well.

The first book in the series, Hollywood Scandals, follows Tina Bender, the gossip columnist at the infamous L.A. Informer tabloid as she receives a threat from one of her stars that reads, "If you don't stop writing about me, you're dead." In book #2, Hollywood Secrets, Cameron Dakota, the Informer's staff photographer and paparazzo extraordinaire is witness to a movie star kidnapping. And in my latest release, Hollywood Confessions, the Informer's newest reporter, Allie Quick, investigates the death of reality TV show producer whose concept of the word "reality" is a little on the creative side. Hopefully with each of these I've blended the element of the "unlucky" amateur with just enough believability to create a plausible, fun adventure that every woman can still relate to.

Since my brand spankin' new release, Hollywood Confessions, is the 3rd book in the series, today I'm giving away an Amazon.com or BN.com gift card (winner's choice) worth $15 so that one lucky winner can either download the first two books in the series (priced at $.99 and $3.99), or purchase the first book in print (priced at $12.99). All you have to do to enter is post a comment below about one of YOUR favorite cozy mysteries. I'll pick a winner at the end of the day and post her/his name at the end of the comments!

Thanks, and happy reading!

~Gemma Halliday
http://www.gemmahalliday.com

HOLLYWOOD CONFESSIONS
available now in:
Paperback Print
Kindle
Nook
Ebook

Ellery's Mystery Cozy Contest!

It's that time of the month again - your chance to win a $10 gift certificate to Mystery Lovers Bookshop.

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:"There had to be other avenues Tricia could explore, but right now she couldn't think of any so she concentrated on the ma tter at hand."

Ellery's hint: This mystery is one of a series set in a very bookish town. And in honor of the kitty in this book and my two new fur babies, Sherlock Holmes and Doc Watson, three lucky folks will receive ASPCA kitty keychains (pictured left).

June's Gift Card Winner

Congratulations to FIRSTOFMAY, this month's B&N gift card winner!

Please send an email to cozychicks@gmail.com with your email address to claim your electronic gift card from B&N.com.

Thanks so much for your comments and for supporting all of us here at the Cozy Chicks blog!

Rhubarb Love

by Lucy Arlington

Before I get into the food portion of my post, I want to share with you the excitement I felt at receiving the cover of my first novel, Buried in a Book, this month. It surpassed my expectations, and I love it! What do you think of it?

You can pre-order Buried in a Book here.
But this is Lucy's Cozy Cuisine so I'd better get on with my recipe. A few weeks ago we were having company for dinner and I put together a mouthwatering menu: chilled vichyssoise, seared yellow-fin tuna, quinoa pilaf, and grilled vegetables. For dessert I was planning to make a lemon-yogurt panna cotta served with berries.

As I was shopping for the ingredients, I found everything I needed (a rarity in Bermuda markets) and was intent on following the plan. Until I spied the most beautiful fresh red rhubarb. I hadn't had rhubarb since…I couldn't remember when. My mouth watered at the thought of that tangy unique flavor baked into a pie. Immediately I tossed out the panna cotta idea and purchased several stalks, and the morning of the dinner turned it into a scrumptious pie.
My mission as a cook is to create delectable food with a more healthy slant, but when it comes to pie, all caution is thrown to the wind. As my husband said when he savoured morsel after morsel, "This is the best pie you've ever made!" I hope it's the best pie you ever make. Enjoy!
Rhubarb Sour Cream Pie
1½ cups flour¼ tsp salt¼ cup each cold butter and shortening, cubed1 egg yolk1 tsp lemon juice or vinegarIce water
FILLING:4 cups chopped rhubarb1 egg1½ cup sugar1 cup sour cream⅓ cup flour
TOPPING:½ cup flour½ cup brown sugar¼ cup butter, melted
1. In bowl, mix flour with salt. Using pastry blender, cut in butter and shortening until mixture is in fine crumbs with a few larger pieces. 
2. In liquid measure, beat egg yolk with lemon juice, mix in enough ice water to make ⅓ cup. Drizzle over dry ingredients, stirring briskly with fork to form ragged dough. Press into disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
3. On lightly floured surface, roll out pastry to ⅛-inch thickness. Fit into 9-inch pie plate. Trim edge to leave ¾-inch overhang. Fold overhang under and flute edge.
FILLING: Arrange rhubarb evenly in pie shell. In bowl, whisk together egg, sugar, sour cream, and flour until smooth. Pour over fruit.
TOPPING: In small bowl, mix flour with sugar. Drizzle in butter and mix with fork until crumbly. Sprinkle over filling.
Bake in bottom third of 450°F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce he
at to 350°F. Bake until edge is puffed, filling is slightly jiggly, and topping is golden, about 40 minutes. Let cool completely on rack before cutting.

Early Announcement. . .and Movies!

by Maggie Sefton




Only one more week until my new release, UNRAVELED, comes out! I know I'm early, but I'm excited! This book is the 9th in the Kelly Flynn Knitting Mystery Series. NINE!! Wow. . .can you believe it? Sometimes I have to pinch myself. I know, I know. . .I'm getting ahead of myself. The book isn't available until next Tuesday, June 7th, but I just thought I'd slip in an "early announcement" at the beginning of my blog today. Next week, I promise to give some hints of what's happening in the next installment of Kelly Flynn's Adventures. So. . .stay tuned, folks!


Now. . .for a quick rundown of some of the movies I've seen recently:





LIMITLESS---I really enjoyed this movie. There's a fascinating "premise" that comes at the start which you find yourself easily accepting: a new "wonder pill" developed that allows the user to access 100% of his/her brain capacity when taken daily. Considering we only use 20% or so of our brains approximately, that's a fascinating concept. And it leads to a fascinating story-- watching a depressed slacker (Brad Cooper) turn into an intellectual wonder boy. But, there's more going on. Check it out.


THE LINCOLN LAWYER---Michael McConaughey has really nailed the "lawyer" role in films. Of course, he's had some pretty good scripts to work with, such as most of John Grisham's thrillers. This one has an intriguing plotline and excellent characters. Smooth-talking lawyer finds himself outsmarted. . .almost.


HANNA---This has got to be one of the best action/adventure flics I've seen lately. It's right up there with SALT. Maybe, better. Mainly because the premise is more unusual and the young girl playing Hanna is SO good. An actress I haven't seen before. The character Hanna is fascinating, and that's an understatement. And the action does not disappoint. The script is inventive and the European locations chosen really contributed to the mystery and suspense. The director didn't resort to "stock" European scenic settings and set-ups. Oh, no. These locations are decidedly different. Definitely deserves an A+ for creativity and execution. And the actors chosen (including Cate Blanchett) are perfect.


BRIDESMAIDS---Okay, you all know I love, love, love the action/adventure flics, but I occasionally do see a "chic flic" or light romantic comedy. I'm kind of picky, though, so not all of today's offerings entice me. Some look too brainless for words. . .like totally! BRIDESMAIDS, however, is a total winner. It is Laugh Out Loud Funny. No kidding. And the actors are perfect for these roles. Kristin Wiig does a fantastic job as the struggling/well-intentioned, but screwed up Maid of Honor. This movie takes Chic Flic where it hasn't gone before. These bridesmaids get in some outrageous scenes, again---Laugh Out Loud Funny. I've heard guys like this movie as much as girls. I'm not surprised. Check it out, folks.

A Memorial Day

by Kate Collins

Today I'd like to use this space as a tribute to loved ones who are no longer with us. If you'd like to add your special names to my list, please do. I'd appreciate it.

In memory of my beloved husband. I miss you, dear heart.
In memory of my mother and father.
In memory of my sweet cats, who were like children to me.
~~~~~~

Before She's Gone

by Leann

As some of you may know, one of my cats became very ill, very quickly. Not my on again off again diabetic cat, Agatha Christie. She is very healthy for the first time in a year and a half. Off insulin, but will probably be back on--that seems to be her pattern. But she's a whopping 7 pounds now and is even playing again.

Not so for my oldest cat, Indigo. She's a non-papered Himalayan, my boss cat, my beauty and almost 17 years old. She came into my life at six weeks of age when my second child went to college and I was feeling just how lonely that empty nest can be. How she saved me from feeling sorry for myself. I still missed my kids so much, but the laughter, the joy and the chance to take care of a kitten saved me from serious depression. That's what pets do--save us from ourselves.

She joined me in all my craft activities and loved making quilts the best. The Cats in Trouble mysteries would never have been written if not for her inspiration. When I was writing, she lay by the keyboard and purred, content to be near me. I loved when she stuck her head through the opening in the sewing machine the best--her cute little brown smudged face begging me to play. So we did. Often.

She came with attitude, though. When she was spayed, she became very angry when I brought her home, refused to eat or drink and made me believe she was seriously ill. On the weekend of course. Off to the emergency vet clinic we went and you all know how much that costs. After a thorough check, the vet told me there was really not much wrong with her. She was a little dehydrated and they took care of that. His official diagnosis? Pissed Off Cat Syndrome. Yup. That's what he told me. My instructions were to hold her, feed her with a bottle or syringe and the extra attention would bring her around. What a wise man. He was right.

I added two cats, both rescues, after her, but she always remained top cat. When the dog came along four years ago, she put her in her place, too. My labradoodle is scared to death of Indigo to this day.

But she hated whenever I went away and would always resort to her old sickness-Pissed Off Cat Syndrome. No eating, no drinking, just pouting (and tearing up every roll of toilet paper she could get her paws on.) Same thing happened when I took her to the vet. She wanted me to know vet visits were unacceptable. Thank goodness she was blessed with wonderful teeth. Not once has she needed her teeth cleaned.

Sadly, when I went away for a conference at the end of April, I returned to find her more thin than usual and very mopey. This was more than Pissed Off Cat Syndrome. Unfortunately my husband has been ill and needed surgery. This meant more time away from her. She has dropped weight dramatically and she and I both know she is dying. I could take her to the vet she hates, put her through a million tests, but in my heart, I know that will only prolong the inevitable. She wants to be here, with me. I wouldn't hesitate to take either of the other tw o cats, but not Indigo. This is how she wants it. So I give her sips of water, a little kitten milk, brush her, pet her and whisper that I understand. She will have it her way--as usual, as it should be.

But, God, I will miss her so.