S.R. Booth's Blog, page 18
December 4, 2013
Looking for a 'cozy suspense'?
The Scinegue series might be just what you're looking for.
Books 1 and 2, Scinegue (The Scinegue Series (Book 1))
and The Pledge (The Scinegue Series (Book 2))
, are available on Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Nobles and iBooks.
Book 3, The Forest, is in the editing stages and should be released early next year. Give the series a shot and let me know what you think!
Books 1 and 2, Scinegue (The Scinegue Series (Book 1))
and The Pledge (The Scinegue Series (Book 2))
, are available on Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Nobles and iBooks.Book 3, The Forest, is in the editing stages and should be released early next year. Give the series a shot and let me know what you think!
December 3, 2013
Can clean (or cozy) books be successful?
I'm counting on it! ; >)
I love to read and will read almost anything (almost) but over the years I've realized I don't like reading a book that leaves me feeling stressed or fearful. Life can be stressful enough without adding fictitious drama to it.
With the Scinegue series I've tried to write books about things that could really happen (probably wouldn't happen, but could) but without capitalizing on the violence and/or sex or just plain horror that sometimes really does happen in real life.
Okay, so I just lost a bunch of readers right there who are looking for just those things that I'm trying to minimize in my books. And that's okay. We all have different tastes. What I'm hoping is that there are others out there with tastes similar to mine. People who want to read stories that aren't squeaky clean with unicorns and rainbows (huh? guess that's how I picture something REALLY happy ; >) but clean enough that they aren't stressed out from the stories they read.
I've found myself getting a little emotional with the ending I've written for The Forest. I don't think I'm stressed out and I really don't think the writing will cause stress for anyone else but it is kind of involved. At least it is for me...
I can't wait to release The Forest so I can get some feedback on how others are affected by it. Will anyone be stressed by it? Touched? Bored?! (yikes! I hope not.)
I'm writing stories that I would like to read and that's what makes writing fun. I'm so happy to share them with others who enjoy them too!
I love to read and will read almost anything (almost) but over the years I've realized I don't like reading a book that leaves me feeling stressed or fearful. Life can be stressful enough without adding fictitious drama to it.
With the Scinegue series I've tried to write books about things that could really happen (probably wouldn't happen, but could) but without capitalizing on the violence and/or sex or just plain horror that sometimes really does happen in real life.
Okay, so I just lost a bunch of readers right there who are looking for just those things that I'm trying to minimize in my books. And that's okay. We all have different tastes. What I'm hoping is that there are others out there with tastes similar to mine. People who want to read stories that aren't squeaky clean with unicorns and rainbows (huh? guess that's how I picture something REALLY happy ; >) but clean enough that they aren't stressed out from the stories they read.
I've found myself getting a little emotional with the ending I've written for The Forest. I don't think I'm stressed out and I really don't think the writing will cause stress for anyone else but it is kind of involved. At least it is for me...
I can't wait to release The Forest so I can get some feedback on how others are affected by it. Will anyone be stressed by it? Touched? Bored?! (yikes! I hope not.)
I'm writing stories that I would like to read and that's what makes writing fun. I'm so happy to share them with others who enjoy them too!
December 2, 2013
My writing made me cry!
My current WIP, The Forest, required a major character to die and I cried while writing the scene. This is a first for me. Is that weird or does it just mean that I'm really getting into my story? I guess we'll see how I hold up on the revisions. Will I become calloused to this character's death or will it continue to effect me? ; >)
I'm big on happy endings. I don't like people to die in books, especially not characters I like but the way things worked out, this one had to go. So sorry dear character, it was fun getting to know you. I really, really considered calling in a miracle and bringing the character back in the end but that just wouldn't have fit the story. As sad as it was for me, this is the way it works out.
Do you ever 'save' characters that you thought were going to die in your stories? As a reader do you wish more author's would play the miracle card and bring characters back or does that ruin the story?
I'm big on happy endings. I don't like people to die in books, especially not characters I like but the way things worked out, this one had to go. So sorry dear character, it was fun getting to know you. I really, really considered calling in a miracle and bringing the character back in the end but that just wouldn't have fit the story. As sad as it was for me, this is the way it works out.
Do you ever 'save' characters that you thought were going to die in your stories? As a reader do you wish more author's would play the miracle card and bring characters back or does that ruin the story?
I made myself cry
My current WIP, The Forest, required a major character to die and I cried while writing the scene. This is a first for me. Is that weird or does it just mean that I'm really getting into my story? I guess we'll see how I hold up on the revisions. Will I become calloused to this character's death or will it continue to effect me? ; >)
I'm big on happy endings. I don't like people to die in books, especially not characters I like but the way things worked out, this one had to go. So sorry dear character, it was fun getting to know you. I really, really considered calling in a miracle and bringing the character back in the end but that just wouldn't have fit the story. As sad as it was for me, this is the way it works out.
Do you ever 'save' characters that you thought were going to die in your stories? As a reader do you wish more author's would play the miracle card and bring characters back or does that ruin the story?
I'm big on happy endings. I don't like people to die in books, especially not characters I like but the way things worked out, this one had to go. So sorry dear character, it was fun getting to know you. I really, really considered calling in a miracle and bringing the character back in the end but that just wouldn't have fit the story. As sad as it was for me, this is the way it works out.
Do you ever 'save' characters that you thought were going to die in your stories? As a reader do you wish more author's would play the miracle card and bring characters back or does that ruin the story?
November 30, 2013
I've finally joined Facebook. Now I'm not really sure to do with it. ; >) I'm guess I'll figure it out as I go but if you have any helpful tips I'm all ears. Come visit my page S.R. Booth.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/SR-Boo...
https://www.facebook.com/pages/SR-Boo...
November 28, 2013
Turkey in a Paper Sack
This really isn't a recipe site but since it is Thanksgiving and I have an easy—and delicious—recipe for turkey, I thought I would share.
Turkey in a paper sack only sounds odd until you've had it. The paper sack keeps the turkey moist and you can remove the sack for the last few minutes of cooking time if you'd like to crisp up the skin. (And yes, the paper sack is a sack you might get at the grocery store (preferably without any printing on it) And no, the sack doesn't catch on fire in the oven. (I guess a disclaimer goes here not to take my word about that. But in all the years I've done it I've never had any issues.)
This year I have a 16 pound organic Turkey. Prep is easy, wash and pat dry with paper towels, butter the turkey all over, add salt and pepper and put it in a plain paper sack. Fold down the top, securing it with paper clips or even staples and set in a baking pan. That's it!
Preheat the oven to 325 F and find the recommended cooking time for your turkey's weight. For 16 pounds I'm trying 4 hours. Then I plan to take it out of the paper sack and put it back in the oven to finish baking (if the internal temp hasn't reached 165 degrees F) and to add the pretty, brown crispiness to the skin.
I'm always leery with poultry. It's not worth taking a chance of eating undercooked turkey and possibly getting sick. Always make sure your bird is fully cooked.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Turkey in a paper sack only sounds odd until you've had it. The paper sack keeps the turkey moist and you can remove the sack for the last few minutes of cooking time if you'd like to crisp up the skin. (And yes, the paper sack is a sack you might get at the grocery store (preferably without any printing on it) And no, the sack doesn't catch on fire in the oven. (I guess a disclaimer goes here not to take my word about that. But in all the years I've done it I've never had any issues.)
This year I have a 16 pound organic Turkey. Prep is easy, wash and pat dry with paper towels, butter the turkey all over, add salt and pepper and put it in a plain paper sack. Fold down the top, securing it with paper clips or even staples and set in a baking pan. That's it!
Preheat the oven to 325 F and find the recommended cooking time for your turkey's weight. For 16 pounds I'm trying 4 hours. Then I plan to take it out of the paper sack and put it back in the oven to finish baking (if the internal temp hasn't reached 165 degrees F) and to add the pretty, brown crispiness to the skin.
I'm always leery with poultry. It's not worth taking a chance of eating undercooked turkey and possibly getting sick. Always make sure your bird is fully cooked.
Happy Thanksgiving!
November 27, 2013
Galic
Have you ever heard of a garlic allergy? It's real and can be dangerous. I hear about milk and gluten allergies/intolerances on a regular basis but it took some digging to find information on garlic allergies/intolerances. Once I did, I realized that many people are bothered by garlic. And garlic is in oh, so many foods.
Years ago my youngest daughter experienced a migraine headache. She lost her peripheral vision and was lying on the floor crying in pain. My husband and I were scared to death. At the time we didn't know what was wrong with her. We made a doctor's appointment, got some Tylenol into her and she fell asleep. When she woke up a couple of hours later she was fine. We cancelled the doctor's appointment at that point (long story).
When it happened again we were able to make the correlation to some foods we were eating both times that contained a lot of garlic powder. We cut the garlic out of her diet (not completely, we still ate things like jarred pasta sauce which probably contained some but I did not cook with it) and she never had another migraine.
Now, years later, I've been letting a little more garlic slip into our foods since it didn't seem to be bothering her. But it looks like it is. And it might be bothering me too! It's so hard to make a connection between reactions and foods, especially delayed reactions but I think we might have done it again.
My daughter has been occasionally having trouble breathing during sports. Trouble to the point that it feels like her throat is closing up. First thing you think, or at least most people think, is asthma. She was treated for asthma before, though, and it did nothing. Not even the emergency inhaler helped.
After finding other people online who are bothered by garlic I finally started seeing symptoms like delayed reaction of up to 24 hours or more and throat closing up; hard to breathe. Hmmm...sounds pretty familiar. I've cut the garlic completely from my cooking (I'll still use jarred pasta sauce if it doesn't seem to bother her) and she hasn't been having trouble breathing at her sports practices.
Until yesterday. She asked me if I would bring her home after school before practice because she was having trouble breathing! Thankfully with garlic on my mind, the first thing I asked is what she had for lunch. Lasagne. A nice mom organized a team lunch and made lasagne for everyone. I don't know what she put in it but I'm thinking odds are good that some garlic was involved.
When I got my daughter home I had her take a Benadryl (I would have had her take some clay but I thought it was probably too late to help) and her breathing seemed to get better, at least it never got worse or felt like her throat was closing up.
Unfortunately, all of my thoughts here are guesses, maybe deductive reasoning. I'm certainly not willing to give my daughter garlic on purpose just to see if causes her throat to close up! But if it does happen again and we're able to trace it back to garlic—or if she's able to avoid garlic well enough that it doesn't ever happen again—I'll be pretty satisfied that garlic is the culprit.
I mentioned that garlic might be bothering me, too. A few years ago after being under A LOT of stress, my health crashed. Mostly endocrine stuff but if you're familiar with it, that affects your whole life. I'm better now. Not perfect, but a lot better. But sometimes I still get very 'achy' all over. It seemed to be very random. I could never pinpoint a certain thing that caused it. Until I read other people's reactions to garlic. All over pain was a reaction! It's only been a couple of days since I started avoided garlic so even though I haven't been hit with the pain in the last could of days, I can't say for sure garlic was causing it. If the pain stays gone unless I'm exposed to garlic I think I'll have my answer.
I know this is boring to a lot of people but I felt it was important to share our reactions to garlic just in case someone else is having problems with it and hasn't made the connection yet. It's frustrating for me to have problems with it because I love garlic and I know it's supposed to be so healthy but I'm so thankful to have a possible answer to our problems. Without other people sharing their stories I still might not have made the connection.
This is not medical advice.
Years ago my youngest daughter experienced a migraine headache. She lost her peripheral vision and was lying on the floor crying in pain. My husband and I were scared to death. At the time we didn't know what was wrong with her. We made a doctor's appointment, got some Tylenol into her and she fell asleep. When she woke up a couple of hours later she was fine. We cancelled the doctor's appointment at that point (long story).
When it happened again we were able to make the correlation to some foods we were eating both times that contained a lot of garlic powder. We cut the garlic out of her diet (not completely, we still ate things like jarred pasta sauce which probably contained some but I did not cook with it) and she never had another migraine.
Now, years later, I've been letting a little more garlic slip into our foods since it didn't seem to be bothering her. But it looks like it is. And it might be bothering me too! It's so hard to make a connection between reactions and foods, especially delayed reactions but I think we might have done it again.
My daughter has been occasionally having trouble breathing during sports. Trouble to the point that it feels like her throat is closing up. First thing you think, or at least most people think, is asthma. She was treated for asthma before, though, and it did nothing. Not even the emergency inhaler helped.
After finding other people online who are bothered by garlic I finally started seeing symptoms like delayed reaction of up to 24 hours or more and throat closing up; hard to breathe. Hmmm...sounds pretty familiar. I've cut the garlic completely from my cooking (I'll still use jarred pasta sauce if it doesn't seem to bother her) and she hasn't been having trouble breathing at her sports practices.
Until yesterday. She asked me if I would bring her home after school before practice because she was having trouble breathing! Thankfully with garlic on my mind, the first thing I asked is what she had for lunch. Lasagne. A nice mom organized a team lunch and made lasagne for everyone. I don't know what she put in it but I'm thinking odds are good that some garlic was involved.
When I got my daughter home I had her take a Benadryl (I would have had her take some clay but I thought it was probably too late to help) and her breathing seemed to get better, at least it never got worse or felt like her throat was closing up.
Unfortunately, all of my thoughts here are guesses, maybe deductive reasoning. I'm certainly not willing to give my daughter garlic on purpose just to see if causes her throat to close up! But if it does happen again and we're able to trace it back to garlic—or if she's able to avoid garlic well enough that it doesn't ever happen again—I'll be pretty satisfied that garlic is the culprit.
I mentioned that garlic might be bothering me, too. A few years ago after being under A LOT of stress, my health crashed. Mostly endocrine stuff but if you're familiar with it, that affects your whole life. I'm better now. Not perfect, but a lot better. But sometimes I still get very 'achy' all over. It seemed to be very random. I could never pinpoint a certain thing that caused it. Until I read other people's reactions to garlic. All over pain was a reaction! It's only been a couple of days since I started avoided garlic so even though I haven't been hit with the pain in the last could of days, I can't say for sure garlic was causing it. If the pain stays gone unless I'm exposed to garlic I think I'll have my answer.
I know this is boring to a lot of people but I felt it was important to share our reactions to garlic just in case someone else is having problems with it and hasn't made the connection yet. It's frustrating for me to have problems with it because I love garlic and I know it's supposed to be so healthy but I'm so thankful to have a possible answer to our problems. Without other people sharing their stories I still might not have made the connection.
This is not medical advice.
November 24, 2013
Have you ever read this book?
The Mood Cure: The 4-Step Program to Take Charge of Your Emotions--Today
was such an interesting book!
I'm not saying it will hold the answers to everyones problems but...it might ; >)
was such an interesting book!I'm not saying it will hold the answers to everyones problems but...it might ; >)
November 23, 2013
Pancake Covered Apple Slices
Not health food but healthier than many options.
I made this for the first time this morning and it was delicious!
I peeled, cored and sliced one organic apple then whipped up my favorite pancake recipe. I know everyone has different tastes so use a recipe that you like but make sure to use healthy ingredients. I use organic flour, healthy(ier) sugar, melted butter in place of the oil, Himalayan sea salt, organic baking powder, cage free eggs, and whole milk. (In a perfect world I would have used sprouted wheat flour, fresh free-range eggs (from my own chickens!), raw milk, raw butter, and maybe something like maple syrup in place of the sugar.)
Use a fork to dip the apple slices in the batter and cook in a combination of refined coconut oil and butter. (Okay, I used quite a bit of oil and the pancakes came out with an almost deep fried taste and texture. So good!)
I cooked the first batch a little too hot and the batter around the apple was still, well, batter. I reduced the heat and the rest came out perfect.
The apple slice was a sweet and tender surprise in the middle and I think some cinnamon could be added to this with very good results!
Oh, and it was really quick to make this! I'm already thinking about trying another fruit in place of the apple. Maybe peach slices when they're in season.
I made this for the first time this morning and it was delicious!
I peeled, cored and sliced one organic apple then whipped up my favorite pancake recipe. I know everyone has different tastes so use a recipe that you like but make sure to use healthy ingredients. I use organic flour, healthy(ier) sugar, melted butter in place of the oil, Himalayan sea salt, organic baking powder, cage free eggs, and whole milk. (In a perfect world I would have used sprouted wheat flour, fresh free-range eggs (from my own chickens!), raw milk, raw butter, and maybe something like maple syrup in place of the sugar.)
Use a fork to dip the apple slices in the batter and cook in a combination of refined coconut oil and butter. (Okay, I used quite a bit of oil and the pancakes came out with an almost deep fried taste and texture. So good!)
I cooked the first batch a little too hot and the batter around the apple was still, well, batter. I reduced the heat and the rest came out perfect.
The apple slice was a sweet and tender surprise in the middle and I think some cinnamon could be added to this with very good results!
Oh, and it was really quick to make this! I'm already thinking about trying another fruit in place of the apple. Maybe peach slices when they're in season.
November 22, 2013
Comparing your book to a best seller
Is there ever a time when it's okay to use the "If you like the 'so and so book' you've got to read 'my book'?". I personally like the reference to another book—as long as it's a book I've read or am at least familiar with. I think it gives me a good idea of what I should be able to expect from the new book that claims to be similar.
But how similar does a book need to be to make that claim? Just because it's in the same genre with a best seller doesn't mean the names should be linked. But when should they be linked? Is it the style of writing or the content that matters the most? And then you come to the next potential problem, knock off books written simply to ride on the coat tail of another book's success. Similar is one thing, I'm not looking for the same book written slightly different.
I've considered using a comparison of Left Behind for Scinegue. Not because of the writing style but because of the subject matter. Both books have very normal, imperfect characters who stumble upon a supernatural situation and have to make some life changing decisions. None of the characters have superpowers or special abilities. Both books contain a lot of very real human doubts and uncertainties. But I don't think I will make that comparison anywhere other than here on my own little blog. I think it would come across as presumptuous. Maybe once Scinegue is on some best seller lists I'll reconsider. Maybe not...
But how similar does a book need to be to make that claim? Just because it's in the same genre with a best seller doesn't mean the names should be linked. But when should they be linked? Is it the style of writing or the content that matters the most? And then you come to the next potential problem, knock off books written simply to ride on the coat tail of another book's success. Similar is one thing, I'm not looking for the same book written slightly different.
I've considered using a comparison of Left Behind for Scinegue. Not because of the writing style but because of the subject matter. Both books have very normal, imperfect characters who stumble upon a supernatural situation and have to make some life changing decisions. None of the characters have superpowers or special abilities. Both books contain a lot of very real human doubts and uncertainties. But I don't think I will make that comparison anywhere other than here on my own little blog. I think it would come across as presumptuous. Maybe once Scinegue is on some best seller lists I'll reconsider. Maybe not...
