Kate Collins's Blog, page 339

Will Write For Cheese

By Guest Blogger Avery Aames

I began my writing career as a television writer, and I was lucky enough to sell an idea that was turned into a TV series, but that opportunity did not open other doors for me.  [Long story.:]  Although I was eager to become a staff writer on a TV show--I was more than willing to write someone else's idea--that didn't happen either.  So I focused on screenplays.  I wrote a number of them.  I won awards.  But I did not get a screenplay produced.  A couple of years l...

Crime Happens

By Heather

Crime happens. A lot. Though, honestly, it hasn't happened much at all in my life (admittedly I've been really blessed). And though it hasn't necessarily been in my life, it's been on my mind since I was wee little. I loved reading the paper, poring over crime stories. It was like I was destined to write mysteries or something.

I'm still completely fascinated by crime. The psychology behind it. The desperation. The fear. The violation. The aftermath. How perfect to weave all that in...

The Ultimate Symbols of Summer

First, the winners of last week's Save A Cat/Dog Contest are:

Julia - the cat key chainCharlene - the dog key chain
Congrats and well done to everyone for adopting a pet. I plan to have more ASPCA-beneficial contests in the future. (Julie and Charlene, send me your mailing address at jbstanleyauthor@comcast.net so I can ship your key chains).
Today, I'm keeping the post short. I wanted to share my five favorite things about summer.
1. The pool! Here's my son jumping off the diving board.
2...

Revisiting Old Friends

I'm not much for reading a book more than once. Even a really great book. The way I look at it, there are Soooo many books I want to read, how will I ever get through them all, let alone go back? But I'm making an exception today. I'm revisiting Anne George's southern sisters in Murder Gets a Life . And they are as much fun this time around as the first time.

Mouse and Sister are like old friends!

Do you have any books you feel that way about?

Revising Old Friends

I'm not much for reading a book more than once. Even a really great book. The way I look at it, there are Soooo many books I want to read, how will I ever get through them all, let alone go back? But I'm making an exception today. I'm revising Anne George's southern sisters in Murder Gets a Life . And they are as much fun this time around as the first time.

Mouse and Sister are like old friends!

Do you have any books you feel that way about?

Hot and Humid

Wow. . .I don't know about the rest of you, but here in the Washington, DC/Northern Virginia/Suburban Maryland areas, we're having late summer "Dog Days" weather. And it's still June. Temps are in the high, high 90's with humidity to match, giving us a Heat Index of over 100 degrees. Up as high as 103 or more. Whew! That's hot!
Now, I was in a nice air conditioned convention center in Washington, DC, on Saturday, signing at the Penguin publishers booth for the American Librarians...

The Amazing Burger/Meatloaf Recipe Exchange

Last Monday, so many of you talked about your unique meatloaf recipes that I wanted to follow up with a recipe exchange. I thought I'd introduce a brand new meatloaf based on one of my favorite dishes, a Cuban delight called Picadillo.

Because Picadillo isn't made as a loaf, but rather a loose mixture. I adapted my recipe by taking out the water. After I had it mixed, my husb and decided he was in the mood for burgers, so I took out the tomato paste, shaped the meat mixture into 5 patties, sla...

My Heart was Speeding. What's That About?

by Leann

For me, the Word Cup is over. We are eliminated. It's just a game, my husband says. But if so, why did I have such a visceral reaction to what happened Saturday. Why was my heart beating a mile a minute during the contest against Ghana? Why was my stomach fluttered like crazy? All this for a game I never watch but every four years? What the heck was going on?

My nerves got so bad, I couldn't watch the rest of the game after Ghana went ahead in the overtime. Now that I've had time to po...

Pool's Open!

By Lorna

The pool is now open, and I'm playing lifeguard.  Mind you, I'm not even a very good swimmer,  although--brag, brag--I was very good at the whip-kick back in my high school days.  And one day was even called upon to demonstrate it for the entire class (of about 40 kids). 

And how did I learn this kick so well?  My gym teacher, who was about 8 months pregnant at the time, got sick of trying to explain the maneuver, and made me get out of the pool, grabbed my legs and demonstrated the p...

Dinner Time?

By Heather

What time do you eat dinner? Around here, dinner is usually ready around 6:30. It has worked worked well for us for many years, but lately we've had to adjust dinner time to a very early 4:00-4:30 because cross-country practice is at 7PM, and as all runners know, it's never a good idea to run on a full stomach—or an empty one either.

One of my favorite things is a sit-down family dinner—and obviously I go to great lengths to preserve that tradition. Even eating at 4 in the afternoon...