Emilie Richards's Blog, page 126

Gone Visiting. . .

Today I'm visiting my brand new grandson, and so glad to be!  Although going north in January?  I just pulled my boots out of storage.

For fun, why not do a little traveling, too, to the websites of three special women.  You won't need your boots, just a little time.  These writers have all given me "quotes" to use on my new novel, One Mountain Away, coming out in August.   They've read the book and said lovely things, and I appreciate so much the time and care they took.  So pack your bags and please visit:

http://www.dianechamberlain.com

http://www.sandradallas.com

http://www.sherrylwoods.com

You'll be glad you made the trip.  I'll be back by Friday's blog, if I can plow my way through snowdrifts to find my way home to sunny (more or less) Virginia.

Sunday Poetry: A Lovely Hum of Spirits

Welcome to Sunday Poetry.   If this is your first visit you can read about the purpose and inspiration of my Sunday poetry blogs here.

All that lovely warm weather, then suddenly winter.  I've saved Shoveling Snow for just the right moment, and this surely is the one.  It's an enchanting poem.  I may be a Floridian at heart, but even I know the beauty of shoveling that first snowfall each year.  Kirsten Dierking captures it perfectly for us.  What would you notice "inside the muffle and hush?"

Remember there are no quizzes here, no right ways to read or contemplate the poem we share.  Absolutely no dissecting allowed.  Just come along for the "read."  What line, word or thought will you carry with you this week?  If you'd like to tell us where the poem took you?  We'll listen.

Lists: I Really Want to Know. . . Don't You?

Drumroll, please.  Today's the first post in a new category at Southern Exposure.  If you like it I'll probably do this as often as I come up with new lists.  Because this category is ALL about lists. 

The fun part is that if you comment on this post and any other "Lists" posts this month, adding your own item to the list I've begun, you'll be entered in a giveaway for an autographed novel.   You can't enter on Facebook, or Goodreads.  You must come right here, click on comments and add your two cents worth.

Be funny, be serious, speak from the heart.  Just follow the topic.

Caution:  No politics or religion allowed.  While those may be my favorite discussions at the dinner table–going against everything my mother taught me–they are NOT appropriate for this blog and won't be accepted.  I also ask you not to be unkind.  You may think #3 below is unkind, but quite honestly, it's a real question.  I really don't know who these people are. 

So without further adieu, here's my first list.  There'll be a different topic each time. I'm already working on the next one.  Enjoy!

I Really Want to Know. . .

1–Why women in the twenty-first-century emulate their Chinese sisters of an earlier era and wear shoes that constrict and eventually reshape their feet and make moving freely more difficult.

2–Why homeowners pay for expensive gym memberships AND landscape crews to keep their yards mulched, raked, planted and mowed.

3–Who the Karadashians are and why anybody, other than their family/close friends/high school graduating classes, cares about what they do/think/wear.

4–Why fifteen states still allow texting while driving.  Of those states, why do twelve make no exception for school bus drivers.

5–Why reviewers praise novels about serial killers and disparage novels about love.

How about you?  Shall we try for a list of ten–at least?

Judging Other People's Books. What Do I Know?

Last summer I was asked to give input into a new literary prize in the making.   Input is easy to give.  I explained my take on several items in question and enjoyed the company of other writerly persons in the room.  I thought I was finished.

Then in November I received my judging instructions.

Now, I clearly remember saying that I didn't want to be a judge, that I wouldn't have the time, and while I had the interest, I might not be the best possible person for this job.  Odd as this may sound, I graduated from college with only one literature course.  My graduate education was in counseling and family studies.  I have always read mainly for pleasure, and usually I choose non-fiction or well-written commercial fiction as my books of choice.  Do I know anything about literary fiction?  Well, sure.  Do I know enough?  That is the question.

Still, wouldn't it be silly for the author of more than sixty novels to believe she's not qualified enough to judge someone else's work? 

So I changed my mind when push came to shove and said yes.  The major reason I agreed was the word "accessible," which came up in our discussion.  I was told that the book that wins should be accessible to readers, unlike some awards that pride themselves on books no one has read or could if they tried.  And I was told I would receive three books to start.  I could manage that, right?

I'm almost finished with my first book.  It's not something I would have picked up to enjoy on my own.  The experience is transforming.  I like this book. I like it a lot, but does it deserve a major award?  Can I articulate why if I recommend it?  Am I going to feel this way with every book I'm sent?  After all, no one is sending their worst efforts.  What constitutes a winner?  How much "heft" must it have to stand out from the crowd?

I find that "heft," for want of a better word, is what I'm searching for.  Don't ask me what it means, but hey, I'll know it when I see it, right?  Or maybe I'll know it after I've seen it and the book continues to haunt me.  Or when I find  myself unable to put it down, not because it's filled with cliffhangers, as so many fabulous works of commercial fiction are, but because the concept, the prose, the vision is so glorious I want to bathe in it.

Does such a book exist?  And doesn't the fascination with a book, it's style or lack of it, it's purported genius, depend a great deal on readers' own lives and tastes, and what they bring with them when they open it for the first time?

All of us make choices in the books we read, don't read, like, don't like.  I'm having a good time analyzing my own.  Do you know yours?

Just to be clear, if I have any question whether a book deserves to go on to the next round, it will.  Let the next group of judges weigh in.  I will have done my part to get it there.

And in other business?  Congratulations to Donna Maine, the winner of a Pepper Martin mystery by Casey Daniels, last week's giveaway.  Donna, yesterday was definitely your lucky day.

 

Sunday Poetry: Of Time and Vinyl

Welcome to Sunday Poetry.   If this is your first visit you can read about the purpose and inspiration of my Sunday poetry blogs here

I had a poem in place for today, a poem about shoveling snow.  Then the warm spell came.  I've walked my dog most of the week just wearing a hoodie, and I'm about to go out for a nice stroll in the sun.

No snow to shovel here or in many of the places we expect it.  Another time for that poem.

Instead today's poem, Bike Ride with Older Boys, by Laura Kasischke,  is a powerful ode to choices made that I've been saving for a while.  It's a story, with a reminder that endings depend on so very little.  What events in your life might have ended very differently?  Do you replay them in your head and wonder?

Remember there are no quizzes here, no right ways to read or contemplate the poem we share.  Absolutely no dissecting allowed.  Just come along for the "read."  What line, word or thought will you carry with you this week?  If you'd like to tell us where the poem took you?  We'll listen.

Author Casey Daniels and Wild Wild Death

Emilie: A big welcome to Casey Daniels on her return visit to Southern Exposure.  As part of the interview Casey has volunteered to give away a copy of  A Hard Day's Fright (the book which precedes Wild Wild Death) to one lucky commenter here.  U.S. addresses only, please, to keep Casey out of long post-Christmas post office lines.  Share your thoughts  and random.org will choose a winner next Tuesday night.

Casey, it's always a pleasure to see you here, so take it away, and tell us a little about the book. 

Casey: I can't think of a better way to kick off a new year than with a new book, so I'm happy to announce that Wild Wild Death, book #8 in the Pepper Martin mystery series, is now available.

I'm always excited about sharing one of Pepper's adventures with readers. After all, she's the world's only private investigator for the dead. That means there's always something interesting (and possibly dangerous) happening in Pepper's life, and always a ghost tagging along for the fun.

This time, it's a trip to the great Southwest. You see, Pepper's been downsized from her job as a tour guide in a historic Cleveland cemetery, and she's got some time on her hands and is looking for a little excitement. It's a perfect example of Be Careful What You Wish For, when an odd package arrives in the mail. It's a ransom note along with a watch that belongs to her friend, cute and scruffy paranormal investigator, Dan Callaghan. If Pepper doesn't bring the bones of a long-dead Indian who is buried in Cleveland to New Mexico–and fast–the kidnappers say Dan is going to be killed.

Wild Wild Death takes Pepper to New Mexico and southern Colorado, a part of the country where I've spent some time. Like me, she's bowled over by the beauty of the place, and intimidated by its wildness. If that was all she had to think about, it wouldn't be a bad little get-away, but once she arrives, the bones get stolen, and bodies start dropping like the desert temperature once the sun goes down.

Pepper has to deal with kidnappers disguised as aliens, a too-hot-to-handle Pueblo police chief and one clever murderer–one whose idea of Boot Hill has nothing to do with Jimmy Choo.

Emilie:  Tell us about the Pepper Martin series.  How is Pepper different from the rest of us?
 
Casey:  Well, Pepper sure is different from me in that she's always fashion forward (I prefer to work in fuzzy slippers and sweats).  She's different from most people, too, because she can see, hear, and talk to dead people.  In fact, she's the world's only private investigator for the dead.  Not that she's thrilled about it, but ghosts are pretty persistent, and the ones she meets usually threaten to haunt her forever if she doesn't help tie up the loose ends of the business holding them here so that they can cross over.
 
Emilie: Over the course of the series, how has Pepper changed?
 
Casey:  Wild Wild Death is book #8 and there have been plenty of changes since Don of the Dead, book #1.  For one thing, though she's still not all that crazy about it, Pepper's finally making peace with the fact that she can communicate with the dead.  She's also growing up.  She was pretty shallow back in the day, but then, nobody can blame her.  Before her cosmetic-surgeon dad went to prison for Medicare fraud, Pepper had quite the spoiled life!  She's self-sufficient now, and she can handle whatever the Universe throws at her, whether it's the undead or an on again/off again boyfriend who refuses to talk about the fact that she can see dead people.
 
Emilie: Do you foresee more books in the series?  I hope so, because I look forward to every one.
 
Casey:  Thanks!  Book #9 will be out in September.  It's called Supernatural Born Killers, and after Pepper's trip to the Southwest, she'll be back in Cleveland solving a very Cleveland crime!  You see, Superman was created in Cleveland, and Pepper is up against some comic book fans who are a little more than obsessive. 
 
Emilie: I grew up watching Superman on TV and reading the comic books, so will look forward to that.  Meantime, tell us about your wonderful graveyard trolley tours in Cleveland.  Any chance readers of this blog will be able to take one in the near future?
 
Casey:  I've had so much fun with these tours!  I work in conjunction with local libraries and we do a Pepper Martin Tour of Cleveland.  We visit a whole bunch of the sites mentioned in the book, along with a host of historic cemeteries, some that have been featured in the books and some that are just too delicious not to tour!  This fall, Bouchercon, the World Mystery Conference, is coming to Cleveland, and I'll be leading a tour as part of the conference.  So far, I've got six cemetery stops planned including Lake View Cemetery (grand and glorious) and Monroe Street Cemetery, scene of Pepper's fifth adventure, Dead Man Talking.  For more information about Bouchercon, check out http://bouchercon2012.com/
 
Emilie:  Finally, what else are you working on, and when can we buy it? 
 
Casey:  In addition to writing the Pepper Martin mysteries as Casey Daniels, I write the Button Box mysteries as Kylie Logan.  They're about a woman who owns an antique button store in Chicago.  Book #1 was Button Holed, out last September.  Book #2, Hot Button, will be released in June.  In addition, I'll be starting a new series next year.  I'll save the details for another interview, but I can tell you that the books are going to be set on the Lake Erie islands, and it's going to be a whole lot of fun!
 
 Emilie: Thanks for sharing more about Pepper and the gang.  I'm looking forward to this one a lot.   Readers, if you don't have a wonderful little indie in your neighborhood, you can buy Casey's book online at Amazon, B&N, or Books-A-Million.  And all U.S. residents, don't forget to comment for a chance to win Casey's A Hard Day's Fright. 

CHUSday's Giveaway and Thanks

Many thanks to all of you who participated in the CHUsday giveaways here at Southern Exposure.  We learned about your new recipes (and mine) and some of you won silly kitchen gadgets and autographed books.  Now the final winner has been chosen from the forty-two entries that came in beginning in August.  I faithfully recorded each one and my old buddy Mr. Random Dot Org chose number twenty-four.  The winner, Tina Huneycutt, has been notified and actually won once before.  I think she has the lucky gene. Congratulations to Tina.

Speaking of brand new recipes?  For my New Year's dinner, I made gnocchi from scratch, and what fun it was.  I gave myself and a daughter-in-law gnocchi boards for Christmas, but a fork works, too.  If you're interested, click on the blog and watch the King Arthur Flour chef make them.  There's even a video, which helped me roll them the correct direction.  I used MUCH less flour in mine (1 and 3/8th cups as compared to the 2 it called for) and they were light and delicious.  The recipe made enough to freeze some for another time.  I used my own frozen basil pesto, with shrimp to go along with it instead of the parsley pesto from the website.  But doesn't that one sound good, too?  I feel another new dish coming on.

I hope everyone's been prodded into trying new recipes, clearing out useless cookbooks and opening forgotten ones filled with wonderful new possibilities.  Cookbook Hoarders United isn't going to disband.  I'll post occasional CHU blogs in the coming months as I try new recipes.  I hope you'll continue to let us know what you've tried, too, and how you liked it.  There can't be enough good recipes in the world, so why not find more?

Tune in tomorrow for a special treat.  I'll be interviewing Casey Daniels about her latest Pepper Martin novel, out today.  Who knows what she'll say?

Sunday Poetry: The Sky is Molting

Welcome to Sunday Poetry and 2012.   If this is your first visit you can read about the purpose and inspiration of my Sunday poetry blogs here.

Poetry about the new year?  As I searched for the right poem to share, so many I encountered were written at least a century ago.  But Fragments for the End of the Year written by Jennifer K. Sweeney and published in 2009, spoke loudly to me.  It's created to be exactly what she claims, fragments and revelations.  I found each sentence absorbing and thought provoking.  I hope you do, too.

Sweeney is "struck by an overwhelming need to go to Iceland."  What is your "overwhelming need?"  Will you accomplish it in 2012?

Remember there are no quizzes here, no right ways to read or contemplate the poem we share.  Absolutely no dissecting allowed.  Just come along for the "read."  What line, word or thought will you carry with you this week?  If you'd like to tell us where the poem took you?  We'll listen.

Gratitude List for the New Year–Don't Forget the Small Stuff

Last Friday I blogged about how important gratitude is in the lives of children.  Research shows children who are raised to be grateful for the world around them are, among other things, happier, most socially connected, and better students. 

Gratitude isn't just important for children, of course.  Adults who kept a gratitude journal for just three weeks reported a variety of improvements in their lives including lowered blood pressure, an increased sense of well-being, and a surge in compassion and forgiveness.  There's more about this in a wonderful article, Why Gratitude is Good, from Robert A. Emmons, by way of the Greater Good Science Center, and the article page is chock full of additional resources for you to enjoy, as well.

I've been considering my own gratitude list.  It's easy to stop with the obvious, and I almost did.  Friends, family, pets.  Jobs at a time when so many people need them.  A roof over our heads, even if it leaks occasionally.   For me personally, the many readers who've taken time to tell me they appreciate my books.

I decided to dig a little deeper, and I hope you'll join me.  So here's the start of my list, the smaller things I usually don't note and would like to now.  Some are seasonal, but I hope to do this all year long.

1:  People who take the time and effort to put lights and decorations on their houses.

2:  Salvation Army bell ringers, who stand outside in the cold to remind us of the real message of the season.

3:  The pleasure of giving and receiving handmade gifts.

4:  Hearing my children's happy memories of past Christmases.

5:  The loyalty of my small Ohio writer's group, who today are visiting one of our members who suffers from early-onset Alzheimer's and may not know them anymore.  And my wonderful memories of her, which are still very much intact.

6:  Christmas letters that help me stay connected and catch me up on news.

7:  My next door neighbor who can always be counted on to get my paper or mail in a pinch.

8:  Audiobooks

9:  Cutting up fabric and sewing it back together, otherwise known as quilting.

10: The fun of writing this blog, which never seems to get old.

Why not add your own "small" things by commenting here?  What haven't you realized you should be grateful for?  Please feel free to share anything, not just holiday related gratitude.  Whatever you share may trigger new reasons to be grateful for the rest of us.  We would appreciate that.  Meantime, a Happy and Grateful New Year to all.

CHUSday and Leftovers

Okay, in unison now. Gr. . oa. . n. All that food. Turkey, ham, shepherd's pie, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans in every incarnation. Fruitcake, Christmas cookies, latkes and applesauce. Are you full yet?

And now we have leftovers!

I love taking whatever's left of a turkey and making gumbo. Turkey gumbo, well, its even better than chicken, richer, deeper flavor. I add the leftover gravy and any broth I have left from the giblets. If you "really" want my recipe, you'll find it if you go to my book page and click on Rising Tides. Iron Lace has the broth recipe. Just think turkey and go from there.

No turkey at our house this year, and the leftovers we have belong to my daughter-in-law, who patiently cooked the feast. But waiting at home are the remnants of Christmas morning chili puff casserole ready to be reheated after we trek back. No one loves leftovers quite as much as the cook who created the original.

We're nearing "leftovers" for CHU (Cookbook Hoarders United), too. It's been great fun. Some of you have participated by sending in comments for recipes you tried. We've had monthly winners and now we're heading toward our final prize, a $50 B&N gift certificate, another silly kitchen gadget–an egg scoop for rescuing boiled eggs–and an autographed novel for the grand prize winner.

You still have a few days to enter. Everyone who comments with recipe name, where you got it and how you liked it, by December 31 at midnight will be entered. Remember the recipe must be new to you–one you hadn't tried before. If you're already entered, enter again and increase your chances.

Now, excuse me while I go upstairs and raid the refrigerator. There's a honey-baked ham calling me. Sweet potatoes and my daugher-in-law's fabulous tomato pudding. And there's family around the table. Really, does it get better than that?