Penny Watson's Blog, page 65

Beard Of The Day And Other Updates

My Etsy addiction continues! This fabulous illustration, titled LUMBERJACK, CROW & MISTLETOE, is by Ryan Fowler. He actually has a whole subsection of his Etsy store for Lumberjacks....Win! And of course, he's from Vermont.
I love the monumental beard on this lumberjack. And I especially love the grumpy look on his face. This print is just fantastic.
On the reading update: I agreed to a "reading challenge" for the month of September....only books on my TBR pile. I'm not allowed to buy anything new. So, I'm starting out with On The Fly by Jillian Brookes-Ward. This isn't a romance novel, but it sure is entertaining. It's totally from a man's POV....all he thinks about are fly-fishing and boinking. Hee hee!
If you're interested, I put together a new Etsy Treasury called "Hopeless Romantic"....check it out!
Happy Holiday Weekend!Penelope

Penny's Quesadillas

Here's another great recipe for summer. We make our quesadillas on the grill, or you can use your panini-press. This way....no oil! It's a healthier way to make quesadillas.



Penny's Quesadillas

Ingredients:

-scallions, chopped
-fresh cilantro, chopped
-fresh tomatoes, chopped (I use yellow and red cherry tomatoes from my garden)
-grilled chicken, chopped (toss some chicken tenders with lemon juice and olive oil & S/P, throw them on the grill for a couple of minutes, then shred them up for the quesadillas)
-avocado, sliced
-fat free sour cream
-shredded cheese of your choice
-extras if you like them.....cans of sliced jalapenos, green chilies, jar of green salsa, etc.
-tortillas (I use mini flour tortillas, sometimes whole wheat)

Put one tortilla on the cutting board. Sprinkle with shredded cheese, chicken, scallions, cilantro, tomatoes, avocado, and any other extras you like. Put a few dots of sour cream on top...this makes the filling creamy. Place another tortilla on top, then gently place on the grill or panini press. Grill until the cheese has melted and the tortilla is slightly brown....just a few minutes. (You can flip it on the grill....carefully with a spatula so all the fillings don't fall out!). It will cook fast! You can slice them into quarters to serve. For a yummy Mexican meal, serve with fresh salsa, guacamole, and corn and black bean salad. (Oh yeah....don't forget the Coronas and lime, too!).



Enjoy!
Penny

If I Self Pub My Book, Do I Get To Keep Sam Shepard And The House In Vermont?

I was watching the movie Baby Boom recently....remember the one from 1987? Diane Keaton plays a Manhattan yuppie who "inherits" a long-lost baby, loses her high-powered job in NY, moves to Vermont and buys a dilapidated old house, meets Sam Shepard, starts her own baby food business, and then becomes a great success. Her old company in Manhattan offers to buy her out. There is a kick-ass scene where she returns, victorious, to New York and meets with her colleagues who are trying to convince her to turn over the baby food business to them. 
As I watched this scene, I saw parallels between little self-pubbers who are "making it work" and the big publishing houses who are offering them contracts after the fact. Some of the little self-pubbers are saying yes and selling their book rights to the big guns. And some of the little self-pubbers are not. 
Here's the line that clicked with me from the movie.....
"To be quite frank, if the Food Chain can put Country Baby on every supermarket shelf in America, so can I."
If the big kahuna publishing companies can do it, so can I. I'm every bit as smart and determined as JC Wiatt in this movie. I only wish I could get that apple orchard in Vermont and Sam Shepard thrown into the self-pubbing deal. Sigh.
Dreaming of shoulder pads and adorable Vermont country doctors,Penelope

The Pumpkin After The Storm

We survived the hurricane with very little damage. A few branches down...that's it. In the meantime, my garden has gone to the dark side. It has escaped the confines on my little white fence, and is now spilling over onto the sidewalk. Morning glories, tomatoes, and gigantic pumpkin vines are all living in peace and harmony, like some crazed mutant plant. I even have mini pumpkins developing on the sidewalk....



I am expecting that at some point, a person who is walking his dog will see the insane pumpkin patch and start helping himself to the cornucopia. Free pumpkins for everyone!
My mom's visit is over. ☹ We have enjoyed apple picking, shopping, a visit to the plant nursery, and looking over old photo albums....

School starts in about a week....woo hoo! I'm sad to see summer vacation over, but I'll be glad to get back to writing. Here is a tiny snippet of a botanically-inspired paranormal romance I am writing called L'Araldo Di Primavera....enjoy!







Twenty years ago....
            When Flora LaGuarda was five years old, she discovered an overgrown, weed-infested garden hidden behind her Papa's tool shed. A rusty gate creaked open as she approached, which she found quite welcoming and polite. Vines of bittersweet tugged at her anklets and milkweed pods exploded, showering her with silky fluff. She touched a thorny rose, and all at once the baby buds swelled, then burst, releasing a heady fragrance. Within seconds magenta blooms weighed heavily on the bush, the lush flower heads nodding in the sunshine. Flora turned to find Papa behind her, leaning thoughtfully on a rake.             "Hmm," he said.            "Hmm," she replied.            He pulled off his faded Red Sox cap and scratched the small scrub of hairs on the top of his head. "Well, looks like you got a green thumb, Flora LaGuarda. Just like your Grandma." He slapped the hat across one thigh, dislodging a cloud of dust, then set it back on his head and nodded to her. "Time for lunch."            Flora ran out of the garden, leaving a path of lush green growth in her wake. The gate banged shut behind her, and a clump of moss fell from the sign at the top. L'Araldo di Primavera it read.***

Ciao!Penelope

And A Happy, Beardy Morning To You!

From the Boston Globe, Sunday August 28, 2011....."Sam Worthington: Actor Wants To Be Much More Than The Quiet Action Hero" by Lynda Gorov.....

"He's chatty and freckly, and, well, hairy. Wildly hairy. Chin-length shag. Thick reddish beard. Neck, chest, forearms, hands, all covered in hair."



Feeling wildly fantastic about bearded Aussie actors,
Penelope

In Ecstasy Over Etsy

I appear to have developed a wee little shopping problem, courtesy of Etsy, the most kick-ass online shopping site in the world. (Thanks a lot, Heather).
Anyhoo, in case you haven't discovered this incredible spot, I will pass on the unhealthy addiction. Here you go..... Etsy

Penelope's Top 10 Coolest Etsy Discoveries For The Week!


1. Japanese paper-wrapped pencils....great for back-to-school!


2. Glass pumpkin


3. Weenie Dog Coin Purse


4. Beautiful necklace by Lindsay, aspiring romance writer!

5. Block print of old-timey typewriter

6. Beer soap


7. Your Beard Is Good Key Chain

8. Funky cover for your Kindle!

9. Fantabulous Bag! Love this!

10. Romantic Earrings


Happy Shopping!Penelope

Penelope's New Inspiration: Liam The Lumberjack

Thanks to my diabolical friend Heather, I am now the proud owner of Liam The Lumberjack. This sweet little dude was an Etsy purchase, from the LicoriceWits shop. Note the fine beard/stache combo, curly chest hair poking through his plaid shirt, and friendly owl. Also note (see below) his cute tushy.


I'm going to re-decorate my office and use Liam as inspiration. I was so inspired by all the lumberjacky items at Etsy, I made my own collection, For Girls Who Love Lumberjacks. See it here. 

Happy Plaid Wednesday,Penelope

What I Learned Over Summer Vacation: The Meaning Of Life

Summer is almost over. I managed to pack in three vacations, a visit with Mom, a nervous break-down, cleaned the garage, read some fun books, and got a bumper crop of pumpkins. You're probably wondering how the whole mid-life crisis thing is going. Well, it's going pretty well as a matter of fact. I finally figured out the meaning of life, which has two parts.

1. Live In The Moment.

2. Get A Williams-Sonoma Panini-Maker.

I know this sounds odd, but bear with me. Let's start with #1. Initially, I was convinced that the answer to my mid-life crisis was something huge and monumental. I needed to go to Alaska and see a glacier. I needed a vintage Porsche sports-car with racing stripes. I wanted to move to Hawaii and live in a grass hut on the beach. I was mulling over these options on the day I decided to take my daughter to an organic farm to pick flowers. It was a sunny and gorgeous New England summer day. Breezy and light. And my daughter and her friend ran around a field of luscious flowers, laughing and singing and dancing with the butterflies. (See post for photos).

I stood watching them, and I found that I had tears streaming down my face. I realized something profound. I didn't need to go to the Great Wall Of China, or see a volcano in Hawaii, or buy an over-priced sports car to feel better. I just needed to focus on the small things. Really focus. Instead of thinking about my to-do list for the day, or the fact that my car registration was expired, or that I had a mound of laundry to fold on my bed.

Live in the moment. Enjoy the breeze and the sunshine. Go pick flowers with my daughter. And not rush her. Not rush us. Enjoy that simple moment because that's what life really is. Not the big moments, which are wonderful and exciting, and definitely have their place in our lives. But more importantly, the small moments we have each and every day. The ones we miss because we are too busy picking up the dry-cleaning. Most of our lives are the small moments. And taking the time to enjoy them, savor them, appreciate them, is a gift we should embrace.

After making that profound observation, I decided to put my new attitude into action. When my daughter asked me to stop at the pet store on the way home from camp--for absolutely no good reason--instead of automatically saying "No...sorry honey I have to get home to cook dinner," I said...."Yes." She was delighted. We meandered around the pet store, visiting with the turtles and puppies and finches and frogs. That night we had pizza for dinner.

When my husband said "Let's go to Newport for the day" I didn't answer "No, I have too many chores, and what about the dog, and the drive is too long" instead we jumped in the car and drove to the beach and had a blast with the kids and the neighbors were happy to walk our dog. I was being spontaneous. This was something new and different and sort of scary.

When I complained about my hideous commute into Boston this summer, while driving my son to his camp, my husband said "Try to enjoy it." Enjoy it? So with both kids in the car, fighting traffic on Huntington Avenue, we played the license plate game. And people-watched. And picked out our dream cars. And God Christ Almighty, I actually did like it.

And after I signed up Natty for soccer and skating, and Cristian for swimming, I decided I wanted to take a class, too. So I'm taking stained glass window design, and a glass-blowing workshop this fall. Me. Taking a class for fun. And Natty and I are taking a cooking class together....Dessert Party. Hee hee.

Which brings me to Part #2 of The Meaning Of Life. The Williams-Sonoma Panini Maker. If I'm living in the moment, and making chocolate brownies with Natty, how am I supposed to cook dinner and do the laundry and take care of all of the mundane details of life that suck the joy out of my day and crush me under a to-do list from hell? Well, I decided I have one hour a day to do that shit. One hour. That's it. Pay bills, make the beds. Whatever. After that, if I want to take a yoga class or write a romance novel, or play with the weenie dog, then that's what I'm going to do.

And the undisputed answer to this dilemma is the Williams-Sonoma Panini Maker! I shit you not! It's the greatest invention of all time. I can make dinner for the whole family in five minutes. I can make breakfast sammies, lunch for the kids and neighbors and a quick dinner before swim practice. Veggie sammies with grilled vegetables and fresh basil from the garden and yummy melted cheese. Plain old grilled cheese for the kids. Carnivorous stuff for the hubs. I use that damned appliance every single day and it rocks. Anything that saves me time and still provides a nutritious meal for the family frees me up to do fun stuff. And it's all guilt-free.

So, that's what I learned over summer vacation. How about you?

Penelope

Consistency In World-Building: Don't Mess With True Love, Sucka

I've been pondering the strong opinions folks have concerning JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series, and why there are such feelings of betrayal by some of its readers. When this series started out, it created some rabid, truly enamored fans (I was one of them). But over the course of time, some folks got very disgruntled (me included). Some people felt the series had jumped from romance to urban fantasy. Some folks felt the heroes were getting gypped by being paired with wishy-washy heroines. Some folks were pissed with inconsistencies with time lines and world-building details.

My introduction to paranormal romance was Christine Feehan. I read the entire Dark series in chronological order. Some readers totally dig the caveman mentality/lifemate thing, and some readers think she is way too melodramatic and over-the-top. But one thing I'll say for Christine is that she is consistent. Those damned Carpathians have one lifemate, and that's it. They don't turn gay half-way into the story. They don't have menages. They don't identify a lifemate, then walk away. From the very first book, Dark Prince, she sets up her world-building details for this race and she sticks to her guns for the whole damned series. (Which is 22 books long so far). This concept of having one lifemate, for all of eternity (they are immortal) is incredibly romantic. Which is why I suspect most of her fans love these books. It's not for the bloody vampire fights, for Christ's sake. It's because no matter what else is going on in the world, our lives, the book, we know that the male hero of her story will move heaven and earth to be with his mate, to protect her, to love her. Period.

When the Brotherhood series started, it had that same vibe about "mates"....the heroes became obsessed with their mates, released yummy smelling scents (hee hee), fed them by hand, worshipped them, etc. There are definitely more layers of complexity and gray areas in the Ward series, but the fact that a very basic world-building detail (indisputable mating of one male vampire to the heroine) has been bobbling around, is a problem. A very big problem. Because romance fans want something they can count on. Even if it's a big-ass, scarred vampire with a tortuous past loving his mate beyond anything else in this world. We can get through the torture, the pain and suffering, because we know in the end, the hero will find his salvation through love with his mate.

I don't have a problem with series growing and changing over the course of time. Some of Feehan's heroes have been beta males, some are warriors and some are not, some are brutally dominant, some are more thoughtful. But the basic premise for the Carpathian people....one lifemate, no cheating, no second chances....stays consistent throughout the series. It's the glue that holds it together, and why Feehan fans remain steadfastly loyal. If you create a paranormal series with certain world-building details, and your readers totally buy into that whole thing, then you can't start messing around with it. Cause folks will be all.....what the....????

By the way, Feehan's 22nd installment of the Dark Series, Dark Predator , is coming out Sept. 6. Zacarias' story!

Here's hoping everyone has a super-duper weekend!
Penelope

Sexy Cajun, Mackenzie Ragin', and Spanky Pagin': Three Super Quickie Reviews

The Red Hot Cajun by Sandra Hill

Genre: Contemporary Romance

The bad: The ending was a bit too fast, story slightly overstuffed.

The good: Sexy, delicious hero, hilarious Cajun family, loved the awesome romantic ending and epilogue. Made me feel like I was in the steamy bayou!

Grade: A-


The Many Sins of Lord Cameron by Jennifer Ashley

Genre: Historical Romance

The bad: No real plot, just ridiculous storyline involving a love letter from the queen.

The good: Fabulous characters, especially Cam, another kick-ass Mackenzie brother; a sexy and emotional story. Jennifer Ashley excels at not only creating wonderful heroes, but also strong, interesting heroines. I love that! Bravo!

Grade: A-


Operation: Spank Me by Christina James

Genre: Erotic Romance

The bad: Way too much sex! Book could have been easily 50% shorter. Terms like "drenched p*ssy" used repeatedly.

The good: Surprisingly engaging story. Loved the Vermonty stuff, loved the roses, the story was compelling and sweet. A nice happy ending, although a bit rushed.

Grade: B


All my best,
Penelope