Sandra Brown's Blog, page 5

Let The Countdown Begin!

I don't count down the days to Christmas. Instead, I count down the days to Thanksgiving, because it's one of maybe a dozen days a year when I cook. Kind of like with writing, if you don't cook habitually, you don't acquire good cooking skills. Hence, the countdown. Not with anticipation, but with anxiety. Give me a chapter that needs work any day over preparing a meal.

I don't even attempt baking a turkey. A baster looks like something that belongs in a doctor's office, and an examination you dread. As for stuffing a cavity. . . No thank you. If I tried deep frying the bird Cajun-style, which is delicious, I'd catch the house on fire. So, I order a smoked turkey from Greenberg's in Tyler, Texas. These delicious turkeys are world renown and they arrive ready to serve except for carving, which my husband does. So I never actually have to touch the fowl except to eat it and the main course is taken care of.

That leaves only the side dishes, and heaven forbid they vary from one Thanksgiving to the next. The menu is etched in the stone of family annals. Which means the slicing, dicing, and chopping is the same dreary chore each year. I allow a day and a half for that alone. The cornbread for the dressing (I'm from the South, and it's dressing, not stuffing. See above.) must be made days ahead of time so it can get to the proper state of staleness...You get the idea. This one meal takes up a week of my life each year.

But on Thanksgiving Day, it's worth it. The family is so proud. I guess making the New York Times bestseller list doesn't impress like ambrosia. And they get so misty over sweet potato souffle. (From the recipes of Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House in Savannah)

In fact while I was writing this, my daughter called and asked what I was doing. I told her, and she said, (I swear) "You're going to cook? Sweet!"


Get more on Sandra Brown at SimonandSchuster.com

Correct Address for Doritos Commercial

My apologies! We sent out a newsletter about Michael's Doritos commercial and inadvertently transposed two letters in his email address.
You can reach Michael here!
And in case you missed the newsletter and are wondering what we're talking about, you can check out Michael's Crash the Super Bowl Entry here.

Texas Book Festival Recap

Last weekend I attended the Texas Book Festival.  Saw friends, including former columnist John Anders and his wife
Helen Bryant-Anders, who's a feature writer for the Austin Statesman.  She had just finished RAINWATER and wanted to talk about that.  But I had to share the stage, so to speak, with Ryan.
She'd also read his galley for [...:]

Don't Forget

I'm over at Sue Grimshaw's blog today chatting about Rainwater.  Stop by and comment–you might win a book!
Truth be told I'm in New York City getting ready to fly home after taping the segment for CBS's Early Show.  Thank goodness for iPhones!  And blogs you can write early and schedule to post at specific times!
The Texas [...:]

Being Web 2.0 is Hard Work

A year or so ago when my assistant, Amie, who’s the Internet guru of the office, came to me and said, “We need to talk about your blog,” I thought she was referring to a figure flaw.

“I agree,” said I. “Something must be done. Soon.” Long story short, I’m now providing blog entries. But not very faithfully, I’ll admit.

Amie persistently says, “You need to update several blogs. What’s happening in your life? Do you have anything for Facebook?”

See that’s the thing. Rarely is anything happening that I think my readers would be interested in knowing about.

Apparently I’m wrong.

I’ve been told by many to “Get a clue.” So I got a clue, and I’m doing blogs. And, honestly, it’s fun.

But here’s the hiccup: my readers will also expect a book late next summer. If I fail to keep you updated on the tantalizing details of my everyday life, it’s because I’m busy writing. It’s not that I’m ungrateful for your interest. Your continued support means more to me than I can express. I want to repay your loyalty with the best possible stories I can write, which take time, energy and concentration. Please bear with me if days or weeks go by without my checking in. I promise you’re on my mind.

Thank you!


Get more on Sandra Brown at SimonandSchuster.com

Miles to Go

Are you on Twitter? Simon & Schuster is continuing the 30 days of Rainwater facts. If you're on Twitter and would like to follow them, they are twitter.com/simonbooks .

You can see more production stills from the making of the Rainwater book trailer on Facebook. We hope to get them added to the [...:]

Newsletter Correction

In the newsletter we just sent out we put that I'll be appearing on CBS's The Early Show on November 5. It's actually November 4th! Our apologies!

Your Questions…Answered & More

I recently put out a call in the newsletter for fan questions. Many of the most frequently asked questions are answered … on the FAQ, but not every question ends up there. For that reason, I thought it might make an interesting blog post so here we go!
Sue asks: IS RYAN BROWN aka [...:]

Second "Get Caught Reading" Winner

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend!  In reality, right now I'm probably in my home office, in my sweats, writing while my husband Michael works on the book trailer for RAINWATER, and this post was actually written on Friday afternoon!
Our next "Get Caught Reading" winner is Anata and her stacks of books!
What a [...:]

Friday Winner and More on Banned Books

According to Random.org, Virginia C. is our random book winner from the banned book blog post.  Virginia please email me at sbrown at sandrabrown.net with your selection (one autographed book from my backlist).
One of my long-time favorite books is Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence is on the list of previously banned or challenged books.
Here's [...:]