Edith Maxwell's Blog, page 221

Perfecting Our Author Presentations

Photo by Dale Phillips

A word of advice. If Hank Phillippi Ryan is offering a workshop in your area, run don’t walk to sign up. Readers of this blog know Hank as a wonderful writer of two different series. She launched her career with the Charlotte McNally series. Her Jane Ryland series followed, with the fifth (Say No More) coming out November 1. She is a lovely and generous person. She is also a terrific teacher.

 

One note, Hank is also an Emmy winning investigative reporter. Those of us in New England have watched pound away in interviews, and try to right some wrongs, for a long time. She is fierce. I greatly admire that she is juggling two careers with grace and aplomb.

Last Saturday Hank held a workshop for the New England chapter of Sisters in Crime which was entitled “Perfecting Your Author Presentation”. The first part of the day was about doing an author presentation. The second part of the day was about being interviewed. Today I’m going to talk about the morning session–perfecting your presentation. Hank’s advice for a good reading included preparation, practice, performance, and the pitch. I’ve mashed her information up with my editorial comments, so if she ever offers this workshop again, take it. I’ve left parts out.

Preparation: Think about what you are going to read. Don’t necessarily choose the first chapter of your book. Choose a section that gives listeners a flavor of the novel. Plan on two minutes worth of material, maybe three or four pages.

Create a script out of your reading. Print out pages with large type. Number your pages. Edit out parts that don’t make sense out of context. Get rid of long passages of description. Make it exciting. Add a little bit of context to the beginning–let folks know what the book is about, and a little bit about the characters they are going to meet. Just a little bit.

Practice: Practice your reading. Read your section aloud, time it, adjust it as needed. Then practice it again.

Performance: Like it or not, this is a performance. Charles Dickens used to travel around and do dramatic readings of his work. While no one is expecting this of you, they are hoping to be entertained. For many (most?) of us, this is terror inducing. Yesterday I talked about Hank’s “Be A Puffy Cat” advice. Make yourself big, own the space you are taking up. An actor friend of mine says that fear is excitement without oxygen, so remember to breathe.

Hank and I. Photo by Dale Phillips

 

If you are doing dialogue, turn your body when you read different parts, or add “he saids” or “she saids” to help the audience keep track. Practice it.

 

Slow down, and look up at your audience. See them. They want you to succeed, so looking at them is critical. If you can’t bear that, look just over their heads.

Remember to introduce yourself and mention the name of your book at the beginning of your presentation. This is really important, and shouldn’t be overlooked.

Always have a copy of your book with you. You can use it as a prop, or put it up in front of you.

The Pirch: Before you start your reading, you should introduction yourself, and mention the name of your book. Practice that, and don’t forget to do it.

Also, create a good one or two sentence “pitch” that folks will remember about your book. Make sure you use it.

Hank had us each do a reading (if we wanted to) and then gave us notes. It was a terrific exercise.

Now, back to my script…

Author friends, do you do all these steps? Readers, what do you like best about author readings?

 

Filed under: Julie's posts, Reading Tagged: hank phillippi ryan, Julianne Holmes, readings, Sisters in Crime New England, Sisters in Crime New England Chapter, workshops

Be A Puffy Cat

Tomorrow I am going to do a “write up” about a fabulous Sisters in Crime New England workshop Hank Phillippi Ryan held last Saturday. It was entitled “Perfecting Your Author Presentation”, and covered two topics. First, doing an author presentation. Second, tips for when you are interviewed. Much more on the content of the day tomorrow on the blog.

Today, I want to discuss my favorite piece of advice Hank gave us for when we are nervous wrecks about doing a reading.

Be a puffy cat.

Well, practice and be prepared. But be a puffy cat.

When a cat gets scared, she doesn’t shrink into herself and try to hide. She gets puffy, takes up more space, and gets ready to rumble. So, when you’re afraid, be a puffy cat. At the very least, think of a puffy cat, which will make you smile, and take away some of the fear. But I say, go for the visual image and try your best to create it. Breathe, and be a puffy cat.

I am an introvert who plays an extrovert in my professional life. I teach, do speeches, moderate panels, lead discussions, and try my best to participate fully in society. Then I go home, talk to my cats but no one else, and reacharge my batteries. Being a professional extrovert is exhausting, but necessary. I couldn’t do my work running a non-profit, teaching, or being an arts advocate if I couldn’t fake being an extrovert.

More and more, I realize that part of being an author requires being an extrovert as well. Meeting readers, doing readings, being on panels, doing interviews. Selling my books. That part of my life was made easier this past weekend, with one phrase offered by the wonderful Hank Phillippi Ryan.

I’m a puffy cat.

 

 

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Be A Puffy Cat, Hank Philippi Ryan, Julianne Holmes, Sisters in Crime New England

The First Scary Movie I Watched

It’s almost Halloween and movie theaters are full of scary movies. It made me think about the first scary movie I ever watched and, of course, I wondered what was the first scary movie the other Wickeds remembered watching. So what did you watch? Where did you watch it? Who was with you?

Sherry: I think I was in second grade when I saw The Ghost and Mr. Chicken with Don Knotts. We were in a little town in Iowa visiting friends. The movie theater on the quaint Main Street had a morning movie on Saturdays. Our parents dropped us off with money for tickets and snacks. My sister and I sat down and mayhem broke out around us. Kids were throwing popcorn, crawling under the seats, and yelling. It was like a scene out of a movie in itself. Things quieted down a little when the movie started. But the movie with its creepy organ music scared me!

Liz: Oh my goodness, Sherry – The Ghost and Mr. Chicken was one of my favorite movies ever! I remember seeing it on reruns all the time as a kid and I loved it so much. I don’t know if this qualifies as a scary movie, but I remember as a little kid sneaking in to the living room where my dad was watching Phantom of the Opera, and the mask thing scared the bejesus out of me! I think I got in trouble because I wasn’t supposed to be watching…

Edith: I’ve never heard of The Ghost and Mr. Chicken! Because my over-active imagination pretty much ruled my life as a child (my mother wouldn’t let me watch “Twilight Zone” because it gave me nightmares), lots of things scared me. I remember watching Journey to the Center of the Earth at a young age and being terrified by a scene where someone throttles a pet chicken. (Ahem – memories might be hazy.) And I’m sure that isn’t considered your basic scary movie. But there was a malevolence in the man’s act that really upset me.

Jessie: When I was in first and second grade my father used to travel occasionally on business. When he did so my mother used to let me stay up and watch movies with her. I remember watching The Seven Dials Mystery based on the Agatha Christie novel. It scared me but it intrigued me too. I think it may explain my career choice!

Barb: I’ve written before about my grandmother taking me to see Murder, She Said when I was eight. Though it’s not a horror movie, and is much more comedic than the original Agatha Christie novel, it scared the stuffing out of me. I think it was the atmospherics of the lighting of the black and white film–plus I was way too young for it. But just like Jessie–a career was born.

Julie: I hate scary, scary movies. But when I was a kid, Channel 56 had the Creature Double Feature. My sister Kristen, our friend Holly, and I watched it all the time. Horror movies from the 1930’s to the 1950’s. I specifically remember Claude Rains in THE INVISIBLE MAN. Not sure why that one stuck with me–probably it was Claude Rains. That and FRANKENSTEIN stick out in my mind as my first scary movies.

Readers: Did you see a scary movie when you were a kid?

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Filed under: Wicked Wednesday Tagged: agatha christie, Don Knotts, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Jules Verne, Murder She Said, scary movies, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, The Seven Dials Mystery

BIRTHING THAT SECOND BABY WHILE LIFE CONTINUES TO HAPPEN – Guest C. Michele Dorsey

We are so happy to have Michele Dorsey visit us on her book birthday! If you haven’t read No Virgin Island add it to your TBR pile immediately! And then grab a copy of her second book Permanent Sunset. Michele is giving away a copy of Permanent Sunset to someone who leaves a comment by midnight tonight!

About a year ago, I blogged about “birthing a book”(http://cmicheledorsey.com/blog/131727) and predicted that No Virgin Island, my first mystery, would have siblings. Today, Permanent Sunset joins the Sabrina Salter family. I had no idea how difficult writing that second book would be, although there were many colleagues who tried to warn me. But I wouldn’t listen. For those of you who have gone through the adventures of pregnancy, followed by the agony of labor and delivery, you may recall that once you see that beautiful little creature you’ve birthed, all memories of the pain you suffered bringing it into the world are instantly erased. So it is with birthing a book, it seems.

Books are never written in vacuums. Permanent Sunset was created, written, edited, and re-edited while my husband and I excavated layers of debris from the 33 years we had lived in our home, which we were now selling in an effort to downsize our lives and our possessions. Anyone who has gone through this exercise can tell you that it is not as simple as sorting into three piles:  sell, throw, or keep. There are emotions attached to so many items. What was I supposed to do with my mother’s wedding gown? The rock painted green by my son who insisted in nursery school that his mother was going to have a real sham-ROCK for St. Patrick’s Day? My father’s formal Navy cap and epaulets?

I became a little unhinged with the rush of emotions flowing on my daily trips to donate stuff at Savers. What I hadn’t expected was that there would be a collision with the feelings I was experiencing while simultaneously writing my second book.

Who was Sabrina Salter? She certainly wasn’t satisfied to be merely the person through whom the story was told about a lavish island villa and the family that is nearly destroyed because of it. Sure, she had a life and had experiences in No Virgin Island that defined her at the time, but she now faced new circumstances, which were revealing an emerging Sabrina. Sabrina refused to be stagnant. The woman was becoming a handful for me.

When Sabrina resisted pressure from her business partner, Henry, to add an opulent villa to their management company, I found myself cheering for her. When she caved, I was disappointed and ready to scold her. I endured her smug satisfaction when it turned out she was right and Henry had been deadly wrong, but was a little disappointed in her.

Sabrina’s tragic motherless childhood had her questioning everything she did, for without role models or a library full of self-help manuals, she was ill equipped to handle the challenges that a powerful and wealthy family present when one of their own has been murdered. She agonized over every decision, doubting herself while trying to muster the courage to figure out what is “normal.” I was having enough trouble trying to make decisions in my own life and now Sabrina was asking me to make hers.

I hadn’t planned on my second baby being so difficult. I thought I knew Sabrina and Henry, and even Neil Perry, her sort-of boyfriend, pretty well. When even Neil began to surprise me with his secrets, I knew this second baby would be no more predictable that the first.

Once we’d nearly emptied our house and had a signed purchase and sales agreement, my husband faced a serious health challenge. Again, ripples of fear and doubt raced through me, while I continued to resist being drawn in by the perils of my second baby. I had enough on my plate.

But it turns out, that’s not how writing goes. Until I learned to stop fighting my characters efforts to draw me in because I was trying to deal with what was going on in my own real world, I would never be able to tell their story. I began to tell my husband I was “going on in” when I set off to write.  What I meant was that I was surrendering to Sabrina, Henry, and Neil and shutting out the rest of the world. They could give me what they had. I would feel their pain, joy, confusion, and anything else they would give me. I was ready to accept them all as gifts and birth this second baby.

Once I yielded, the story flowed. The house sold. The husband was okay.

“Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.”

― Steven Pressfield

C. “Michele” Dorsey is the author of No Virgin Island, a Sabrina Salter mystery published in 2015 by Crooked Lane Books set on the island of St. John in the US Virgin Islands. She is also a lawyer, mediator and adjunct professor of law. Michele finds inspiration and serenity on St. John and on Cape Cod. Permanent Sunset, the second in the series, will be published in October,  2016.

Readers: How do you feel when you are ready to read a second in a series book? Writers: Did you feel the way Michele did about your second book?

 

Filed under: Book Birthday, Guest posts Tagged: C. Michele Dorsey, Crooked Lane Books, Michele Dorsey, No Virgin Island, Permanent Sunset, Sabrina Salter, selling a house

The Colors of Fall

By Liz, wondering how it got to be October already

Can you guys believe it’s already fall? I can’t. This year went by way too fast. But it is, and I’ve been thinking a lot about this season.

Most people know I’m a beach/summer/warm weather junkie. If I could have sunny and 80 degrees every day, I think I’d go for it. That said, it might be a little less known that I actually love fall. It’s more than a close second favorite season – it’s tied with summer.

There are a few reasons for this. I’ve always loved Halloween, so there’s that. And having gone to college in Salem, Mass., home of Halloween central, I’ve come to recognize the entire month of October as its own season. I love everything about it – the costumes, the haunted houses, the scary movies, the hot cider and pumpkin everything. It’s just its own atmosphere, and it’s addictive. 

But there’s more to fall than just Halloween. It starts with that tiny chill in the air, even on the still-warm days. The leaves are turning those rich, vibrant colors. You don’t need the air conditioner, but you don’t quite need the heat either. Hot soups are back in season. If you have a fireplace, you’l probably use it. The air feels…fresh.

I worked at Mann’s Apple Orchard in my hometown, Methuen, back when I was in college. The fall season was the absolute best time of year to be part of that scene. At the time, it was a small, family-owned place – it’s since expanded to a much bigger operation – but back then, we were a little family. Sunday was apple crisp baking day. We sold more apple pies in October and November than we could ever count. People came from all over to pick up maple candies, fudge and handmade apple butter. Hot apple cider was always on tap. And everyone had more good cheer than Christmas time. I loved going to work and just being part of that.

Spring is the season of rebirth, but fall is its own new beginning. Albert Camus says, “Autumn is a second spring, when every leaf is a flower.” There’s just something about driving down a street lined with brilliant colors, leaves spiraling down. The nights are turning darker a little earlier. There’s energy and urgency in the air.

Now, if we could just skip winter and go right to spring…

Readers, what’s your favorite part of the fall season?

Filed under: Liz's posts

The Pitfalls and Pratfalls of Writing a Humorous Cozy Series — guest Vickie Fee

Today we welcome guest Vickie Fee the author of the Liv and Di in Dixie mystery series. I think the Liv and Di in Dixie idea is so clever and fun! Thanks for stopping by Vickie! Vickie is giving a way a mug (pictured front and back) a bag of coffee and a copy of her latest novel It’s Your Party Die If You Want To. Leave a comment below for a chance to win!

Here’s a little bit about the book: Between a riverboat gambler-themed engagement party and a murder mystery dinner for charity, Dixie, Tennessee party planner Liv McKay is far too frenzied to feel festive. Add to the mix her duties at the annual businesswomen’s retreat and the antics of a celebrity ghost-hunting diva, and Liv’s schedule is turning out to be the scariest thing about this Halloween—until the ladies stumble across a dead body in a cemetery…

Morgan Robison was a party girl with a penchant for married men and stirring up a cauldron of drama. Any number of scorned wives or frightened philanderers could be behind her death. As Liv and her best friend, Di, set out to dig up the truth, they’ll face the unexpected and find their efforts hampered by a killer with one seriously haunting vendetta…

If you’ve read the first or second novel in my Liv and Di in Dixie mystery series, you may think they’re humorous – or not. But if you scan through some of the reviews on Amazon, you’ll see a number of readers describe them as funny, fun, humorous. A few reviews have even dubbed them laugh-out-loud funny. Of course, a recent GoodReads review commented there was a bit of humor, but she wished there’d been more.

One of the risks of writing humor is that what’s funny to one person isn’t necessarily funny to another.

When I’m writing, I’m aware some people will find the books humorous and some not so much. But there are other elements in the stories — Southern charm, sass, colorful characters, family ties, some parties, since my protagonist is a party planner — and even a few dead bodies and a little mystery. So when I complete a manuscript I’m optimistic that I’ve thrown a little something in the pot for everyone.

Since becoming a published author, I’ve encountered a less obvious peril of writing a humorous series: People who think the books are funny for some reason assume the author is also funny. It was initially terrifying for me at in-person events when I realized people expected me to be funny.

I can be mildly amusing at dinner parties with a small group of friends who know me well and have managed expectations, depending on how much we’ve had to drink.

But a stand-up comic, I’m not. With strangers the best I can usually manage is funny in a socially awkward, hopefully endearing in a nerdy, but not pathetic way. And that’s my best trick.

With the recent release of my second book, I have several in-person events lined up in the next month or so. Just thinking about it gives me sweaty palms. My husband, who knows me well, has told me many times this year since the release of the first book how proud he is that I’ve pushed myself so far outside my comfort zone to promote the books. There’s a reason for that. It’s called fear. My fear of not selling any books is greater than my fear of embarrassing social situations.

So I’ve developed a couple of strategies to help me through personal appearances.

(BTW, envisioning the audience naked does nothing to allay my fears. If anything it makes me feel even more uncomfortable).

Any time I possibly can, I love doing events with other authors. Being part of a flock or gaggle, or even a pair, is far less intimidating for nerds in the wild than flying solo.

This provides the added advantage of hawking each other’s books. I can gush about another author’s book in a way that would seem egomaniacal if I said such things about my own book.

In addition to safety in numbers, I keep one card up my sleeve. I rehearse one   funny answer to a fairly common question. If no one actually asks me that question during the Q & A, I play like a politician and work their question around to my prepared answer. Not being a stand-up comic, I’m still working on my delivery. But the audience generally cuts me some slack for being such an obviously socially awkward book nerd — which actually gives me some street cred as an author.

Vickie Fee is the author of the Liv and Di in Dixie mystery series from Kensington. She blesses hearts and makes Jack Daniels whiskey balls that’ll scorch your tonsils. Her latest book, It’s Your Party, Die If you Want To, came out last week. Book Three in the series, One Fete in the Grave, will be released in May 2017. Find Vickie at www.vickiefee.com

Readers: What about the rest of you, do you have any tips for handling nerves, speaking in public, embracing your inner nerd, or overcoming social awkwardness?

Filed under: Guest posts Tagged: goodreads, humor, Liv and Di in Dixie, party planner, Southern charm, Vickie Fee, writing humor

Reading A Few Old Friends

By Sherry — Fall seems to have settled in to Northern Virginia

I’ve been reading a few old friends, books I loved when I was in high school, some of them I read over and over.

Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart

I must have read this book a gazillion times and was delighted to find it in the library. It was originally published in the mid-fifties. Here’s the blurb: A governess in a French château encounters an apparent plot against her young charge’s life in this unforgettably haunting and beautifully written suspense novel. When lovely Linda Martin first arrives at Château Valmy as an English governess to the nine-year-old Count Philippe de Valmy, the opulence and history surrounding her seems like a wondrous, ecstatic dream. But a palpable terror is crouching in the shadows. Philippe’s uncle, Leon de Valmy, is the epitome of charm, yet dynamic and arrogant—his paralysis little hindrance as he moves noiselessly in his wheelchair from room to room. Only his son Raoul, a handsome, sardonic man who drives himself and his car with equally reckless abandon, seems able to stand up to him. To Linda, Raoul is an enigma—though irresistibly attracted to him, she senses some dark twist in his nature. When an accident deep in the woods nearly kills Linda’s innocent charge, she begins to wonder if someone has deadly plans for the young count. I loved re-reading this and was surprised how much I remembered. I guess that’s what happens when you read a book over and over. The story still translated well and didn’t seem too dated. And yes, I’ll probably read it again.

Deep Summer by Gwen Bristow

I bought this book in high school. It’s the first of a trilogy and I used to have all three. Through all my moves I managed to hang on the this one my favorite of the three. It was originally published in 1937. My copy is from the 11th printing in 1972. Here’s the blurb: For his service in the king’s army during the French and Indian War, Judith Sheramy’s father, a Puritan New Englander, is granted a parcel of land in far-off Louisiana. As the family ventures down the Mississippi to make a new home in the wilderness, Judith meets Philip Larne, an adventurer who travels in the finest clothes Judith has ever seen. He is a rogue, a killer, and a thief—and the first thing he steals is Judith’s heart. Three thousand acres of untamed jungle, overrun with jaguars, Indians, and pirates, wait for Philip in Louisiana. He and Judith will struggle with their stormy marriage and the challenges of the American Revolution as they strive to build an empire for future generations. This one has been harder to read because of all the slavery but Bristow does a good job of making each character fully-fleshed. Perhaps that is why I have it difficult to re-read.

Hunter’s Green by Phyllis A. Whitney

This is another book I read and read again. Here’s the blurb: When Eve North returns to Athmore after three years’ separation from her husband Justin, she finds the great estate-and Justin himself-vastly changed. Eve too has changed. She knows now the mistakes she made in her marriage in the past, and she now dares to win back the love of her own husband. Like another Eve, she wanders into the gardens of Athmore, unsuspecting. Yet she has reason to fear. Justin’s brother Marc had once before placed her in a compromising position in that place of secrets-the green velvet room. Justin had believed Marc and never forgiven her. Now Marc waits for her at Athmore. Then, too, she has been warned that Justin has made up his mind at last to divorce her in order to marry Alicia Daven-the cool, serene Alicia whose quiet assurance comes from generations at Grovesend, and who has always taunted the American Eve with her tempting of Justin. Old Daniel-just before he is sent to his death-tries to warn Eve. Eve finds herself entrapped on a chessboard of evil, unsure of her next move, yet aware that the black rook will move again-this time to destroy her. I haven’t re-read this yet. One thing I remember is that when they find a body, they grab a mirror and hold it under the person’s nose to see if any breath fogs the mirror. I’m looking forward to reading it again.

I also remember reading a lot of Victoria Holt. I just found out when looking up her books for this post that Victoria Holt is a pen name for a prolific writer, Eleanor Hibbert. I remember some of the titles, The Shivering Sands, The Secret Woman, and The Pride of the Peacock among others. I found two books at the library that I haven’t read but look forward to reading.

Readers: Do you read old favorites? What titles have you re-read?

 

 

 

 

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Deep Summer, Gewn Bristow, Hunter's Green, Mary Stewart, Nine Coaches Waiting, Phyllis A. Whitney, The Captive, The India Fan, The Pride of The Peacock, The Secret Woman, The Shiverings Sands, Victoria Holt

The Promise of An Orchard

By Sherry. It feels like apple picking weather here in Northern Virginia

Today we continue to celebrate the release of Seeds of Deception by Sheila Connolly, the tenth book in her wonderful Orchard Mystery series. Here’s a little about the book: The New York Times bestselling author of A Gala Event returns with newlyweds Meg and Seth Chapin who should be worried about writing thank you notes, not taking a juicy bite out of crime…

With the bushels of time they spent organizing their wedding, Meg and Seth didn’t have a chance to plan a honeymoon. But now that winter has arrived, there’s not much to do at the orchard. So with their shared love of history and all things apple, they pick Thomas Jefferson’s orchards at Monticello as the perfect getaway.

While they enjoy the beautiful sights, there’s a rotten addition to the agenda when Meg’s parents discover their handyman dead in the backyard. With a bitter police chief eyeing Meg’s father as a suspect, Meg and Seth have to cut their honeymoon short to find the root of the problem.

Orchards are wondrous places full of change, new beginnings, and falls full of fruit. Wickeds, have you visited any orchards? Do you have a favorite memory from one?

Edith: I’ve gone apple picking every fall for years. Lately I only have to go a mile away to the fabulous Cider Hill Orchard, where I stopped in yesterday for fresh eggs and cider, and where I take my young friends on our days together. I used to live across the street from Long Hill Orchards in West Newbury, and they had a late fall apple to die for. The variety is Spartan, and the flavor is so rich and winey, the texture perfectly crisp and not too watery – but alas they don’t pick them any more! I’ve searched for that apple at other orchards with no luck. So I might have to plant one.

Liz: Love orchards. I worked at one in college – Mann Orchards in Methuen, Mass. There was just something about the atmosphere in there that made fall come alive, from the smell of the apple pies to watching the bakers make the homemade apple crisp. I have some great fall memories from working there.

Sherry: My grandfather had a wonderful orchard on top of a hill at his farm in Novinger, Missouri. I loved walking through it and climbing the trees. It was ever changing bare branches, bud, blooms, tiny apples, trees laden with apples. My grandfather would graft branches from one tree to another to create new varieties. Their back porch was always full of bushel baskets of apples. It was a magical place.

Jessie: A neighboring town to mine, across the border into Maine, has many orchards. My favorite of these is Kelly Orchards where for many years my family has purchased  a crate of apples with which to make cider. We have an antique cider mill and invite friends and family for a potluck event every year at which we turn the 14 bushel of apples into gallons and gallons of cider. It is one of my favorite things to do each October. Everyone helps to grind, press or bottle and everyone takes home fresh, sweet cider.  That being said, my very favorite orchard of all has to be Old Orchard Beach, Maine!

Barb: When they were young, we always took our kids apple picking. Our favorite spot was Tougas Family Farm in Northboro, MA. There was a lot of good-natured arguing, and cautioning, and carrying a tired child up from the bottom of the orchard–along with the apples. But it remains one my happiest fall memories. My son and daughter-in-law have continued the tradition with our grandchild. Last weekend they went apple-picking and did a corn maze and a hayride, and best of all–made an apple pie afterward.

Julie: OK, I wasn’t sure if I should admit this or not. The closest I’ve ever come to apple picking are stopping by a farm stand on the North Shore, getting a bag of apples and some cider donuts. Pitiful, I know. (I write about a town called Orchard for heaven’s sake.) Working on changing that this fall, though I’ve heard the drought has been tough on the apple crop.

Readers: Have you been to an orchard? Apple or some other fruit or nut?

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Filed under: Book Birthday, Wicked Wednesday Tagged: apples, cider, Cider Hill Orchard, cider mill, cider press, City of Novinger MO, Kelly Orchards, Long Hill Orchards, Novinger Missouri, orchards, Seeds of Deception, sheila connolly, Spartan, Tougas Family Farm, West Newbury

A Delicious New Book by Sheila Connolly

By Sherry — I’ve been baking in Northern Virginia but not because it’s hot out!

Happy Book Birthday, Sheila! Today we are celebrating the TENTH book in Sheila’s fabulous Orchard Mystery series, Seeds of Deception! To celebrate I decided to try making a couple of recipes from Sheila’s earlier books. Since I’m not the greatest cook in the world, I decided I’d share the good, bad, and ugly of the whole process.

The first recipe I made was the Toffee Crunch Blondies from A Gala Event, the ninth book in the series. After reading the recipe and seeing ingredients like chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and toffee bits, I decided I had to try this one!

What better way to keep the book open than to use a couple of Granny Smith apples? This recipe was easy to follow. Of course I forgot to set the butter out so I put it in the microwave for 15 seconds. It might have needed a bit more.

I mixed it all up and stuck it in the oven for the recommended twenty-five minutes. The house smelled like heaven!

Sheila says in the instructions for the book: Try not to eat them all at once. My husband couldn’t even wait for them to cool completely. But there were some left at the end of the evening — perhaps because I made a pie too.

Next I decided to make Apple Cream Pie from Picked To Die, the eighth book in the Orchard Mysteries. My husband is chief pie maker at our house, but I wanted to do it myself. That meant a store bought crust instead of homemade. And yes, I forgot to take the pie crust out to get to room temperature so it was back to the microwave. This recipe is also really easy — the most time intensive part is peeling the apples. (I’m guessing Sheila has one of those cool apple peeler/corer devices.) I used my vegetable peeler.

The recipe says to: Prepare your apples and pile them into the shell. I may have been a little over enthused with the piling part of the instructions. My pile turned out to be a small hill.

I think because my pile was so high that the top apples got a little browner on top than they might normally. But the pie tastes delicious, a fabulous combination of tart and sweet! I know what I’m having for breakfast tomorrow!

Read A Gala Event and Picked to Die to find the recipes. I can’t wait to read Seeds of Deception and see what happens to newlyweds Meg and Seth (they are on their honeymoon in Western Massachusetts) and to get more recipes!

Readers: Have you ever made a recipe from the books you read? How did it turn out?

 

 

Filed under: Book Birthday Tagged: A Gala Event, Apple Cream Pie, baking, Book birthday, Picked to Die, release day, Seeds of Deception, sheila connolly, Toffee Crunch Blondies

Writers in the Big Easy

by Sheila Connolly, who’s still reeling from a week in NOLA

At last I get to dither on about the glories of New Orleans and Bouchercon, where most of the Wickeds were gathered a couple of weeks ago. If you don’t know of it, Bouchercon is an amazing writers conference by any standard, raised to another level by its location in NOLA this year.

While it is always a joy to gather with other writers—our tribe!—I also wanted to treat myself to some sightseeing, so I stayed an extra day. Way back in 1970 I visited New Orleans with a group of college friends, and I wanted to see how my memories compared with today’s reality.

I was shocked to find that I had absolutely no memory of where we had been, or at least how one place connected to another. I remember vaguely where we stayed (with the parents of one friend, in the Garden District), and that we rode a streetcar, and we visited the zoo, but the French Quarter was kind of a blank to me, with brief flashes of recognition. On this trip I found myself standing in front of Preservation Hall, where I know I went to hear the music, but I couldn’t remember the façade facing the street. (I do remember being very hot, though!)

So I decided to reset my memory files and enjoy the New Orleans of today. Despite the 90-degree heat and the 80% humidity, I did. I walked almost everywhere in the French Quarter. I ate lots of things (beignets!). I took pictures. I visited a church, a cemetery, a convent; I waved at the mighty Mississippi. I loved every minute of it.

Once again it drove home how different places can be, and how much that matters to a writer. I’ve visited many major cities in this country and abroad, but New Orleans has its own strong character (at least in the French Quarter—I didn’t venture beyond that). Certainly most cities have their own identity, but few seemed to me so “in your face” as New Orleans, where the sights and sounds and smells and even the air itself assault you from all sides.

One thing I noticed was the plaques on many buildings—celebrating authors. Tennessee Williams wrote here, William Faulkner lived there. The tour guide I was following around counted off more names: Anne Rice, of course, plus O. Henry, Truman Capote, Sherwood Anderson, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and more. Standing where they stood, looking at their views, the streets where they walked (and most likely the bars they visited), it made perfect sense that they would have been drawn to the place. Even if you write about the Arctic Circle, you cannot walk away from New Orleans unaffected.

My books are set in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Ireland—all places where I’ve spent time and know fairly well. I wouldn’t even try to write about New Orleans without spending some serious time there soaking it all in. Five days was not enough. Now, how do I get back again?

My next Orchard Mystery is due out tomorrow, October 4th. It’s set in western Massachusetts, in February. That’s about as far from New Orleans as I can get. Massachusetts has its apples, but New Orleans has—bananas in Jackson Square? It’s another world.

Coming tomorrow! Seeds of Deception (Orchard Mystery #10). Yes, that’s snow on the cover–a nice change from NOLA.

 

Filed under: Bouchercon, cozies, New Orleans, Sheila's Posts