Terry Odell's Blog, page 123
January 24, 2017
What’s Cooking Wednesday – Shipboard Cuisine
No recipes this week, just some pictures of the meals aboard ship. The first 2 days are “at sea” so things are very laid back. Internet access exists, but is slow. Also, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are shore excursion days with Jason and his photography group, so I’ll be AFK most of the time.
January 23, 2017
Rocking That Customer Service
Because I’m not sure what internet capabilities I’ll have on the cruise, before I leave, I’m scheduling this post. So, I’m not really here, just virtually here.
From time to time, I receive unsolicited emails asking me to take part in marketing campaigns. Normally, I disregard these, as their ambiguity makes it relatively clear these are mass emails and the company hasn’t researched me at all. Like the one from a book marketing company wanting to push one of my books at a convention. Trouble...
January 22, 2017
Hitting the High Seas
When this is posted I’ll be on a week-long Caribbean cruise. A lot of you know our son, Jason Odell, is a gifted photographer and gives lots of “photo safari” classes all over the country. When he decided to do one in conjunction with a Royal Caribbean cruise, Hubster and I jumped at the chance to join the group.
Now, I’m not going to be one of his group with mega-deluxe camera equipment. I’ll be taking a Nikon Cool Pix and my iPhone. I figured I could use the opportunity for book research. G...
January 19, 2017
Starting Anew
I’m over at Booklover’s Bench today, talking about starting a new series, recurring characters, and what readers like or don’t like. I’d love your opinion.
There’s a giveaway, too. An autographed copy of In Hot Water (US only, but a digital copy will be substituted if the winner lives outside the US.
You can enter here, but if you leave a comment on the Booklover’s Bench post, you’ll have an extra chance to win.
Also, Nowhere to Hide is 30% off at Kobo Jan 19-23. Use...
January 17, 2017
What’s Cooking Wednesday – Pork With Parsnips
Until I got married, I’d never tasted a parsnip. Mom never cooked them. When Hubster said he liked them, I asked his mom how to prepare them (sauteed in lots of butter), and added them to my list of good stuff. Hubster found this recipe in a cookbook our daughter gave him a few years back, and it’s a keeper. (If you’re not a parsnip fan, you could use carrots, I suppose.)
Sautéed Pork with Parsnips
Ingredients:
3 T. extra-virgin olive oil
10 oz. parsnips, peeled and cut into inch pieces
2 sh...
January 16, 2017
Character Interviews – Gordon Hepler
I’ll be starting a new approach to guest interviews. Instead of interviewing authors, I’ll be interviewing characters. I figured it was only fair to include an interview with one of mine, and my editor suggested I put Gordon Hepler from the Mapleton Mystery series in the hot seat.
A little background: Gordon Hepler is a real person. When I lived in Orlando, my job (and my writing–back then, everything was done snail mail) took me to the Post Office a lot. I became acquainted with most of the...
January 15, 2017
Visit Me at Writing From the Peak
Today, I’m revisiting “R.U.E.” If you’re not familiar with that acronym, hop over to the Writing From the Peak blog today. Heck, even if you are familiar with it, I’d appreciate it if you’d stop by and leave me a comment.
January 11, 2017
Social Media Potpourri
I’ve mentioned a lot of these over the course of my blog, but some of them bear repeating. Understand these are MY opinions, and I’m a crotchety old lady, so feel free to take them with a grain of salt. I have to remember that my preferences and what I’ve found to work are based on my sample size of one.
Twitter
It’s supposed to be social. If you’re an author and your only tweets have mentions of your books, it’s likely you’re turning off more people than you’re engaging. Twitter analytics sh...
January 10, 2017
What’s Cooking Wednesday – Rinktum Ditty
Way back — okay, way WAY back, when Hubster and I were newlyweds, I ran across this recipe and the name intrigued me. We hosted a small New Year’s Eve party and I think the whole idea for giving the party was so I could try the recipe. I don’t think I made it more than a couple of times until this year, when I served it alongside the baked meatballs for our family holiday gathering. (Confession: I took the photo when the sauce was cold, so it looks “solid” instead of “saucy.”
Rinktum Ditty
In...
January 9, 2017
Daily Author Interview
Yesterday, I “appeared” on Blog Talk Radio. If you’d like to listen, it’s here.
It should also be at TuneIn
