Terry Odell's Blog, page 17

WCW – Ground Turkey with Snap Peas

Ground Turkey with Snap Peas
Adapted from a NYT recipe

This ground turkey with snap peas recipe goes together quickly, and I love one-pot meals. The recipe calls for red pepper flakes. Feel free to omit, use less, or more depending on your preferred heat level. If you like “fancier” presentation, add more of the herbs, scallions, and nuts as garnish (just be sure to increase the amounts and set them aside). We tend to be “serve from the pot” people, so I didn’t bother.

Ingredients

3 T olive oil...

Memorial Day. What Are We Celebrating?

Memorial Day. What Are We Celebrating?

Today is Memorial Day, the culmination of a three-day weekend.

Sometimes I think being a writer has made me too much of a stickler for accuracy. I write fiction. That means I get to make stuff up. My own “rule” is Less Is More, and going in to too much detail either means you’re boring your readers or you’re opening yourself up for people to find mistakes. Or both.

What does this have to do with Memorial Day?

Do you know what we’re celebrating? Or are you j...

Friday Fotos – Back to the Christmas Markets

Friday Fotos – Back to the Christmas Markets

I’m working on my novel set against the trip we took to see the Christmas Markets last December. We were in Prague, then Vienna where we boarded our river cruise ship with stops along the way in Melk, Passau, Regensburg, and Nuremberg. To refresh my memory, I’ve been looking at my pictures, so I thought I’d share them with you for my Friday Fotos post. Some of you might have seen some of them already, but I hope you’ll enjoy revisiting my trip.

The ...

Another Social Media Platform?

Another Social Media Platform?

Social Media Platforms abound. I’m not one to jump on every new one that shows up. Or, to be honest, to abandon one that I’ve been using for a long time unless things get totally out of hand. Everyone’s threshold for “out of hand” is different, and that’s fine with me. I didn’t run away from Twitter when it became X because I filter my feeds there and never see all the hoop-de-doo people were complaining about. I follow a group of authors, and we play nice. And, at...

Use Your Senses

Use Your Senses

As writers, we’re encouraged to include all five senses in our writing. Most of us are guilty of relying too heavily on sight, with sound a close second, but we shouldn’t neglect the other three. Even so, it’s important to remember not to stop the story to insert sensory images. Otherwise, you end up with a checklist: Sight? Sound? Smell? Touch? Taste? These descriptions should tie into the plot as well as be grounded in the character. You can use them beyond adding descriptions ...

Friday Fotos – Crystal Grottoes Caverns

Friday Fotos – Crystal Grottoes Caverns

On our writing retreat to Boonsboro, MD, we took a side trip to the Crystal Grottoes Caverns. It was about a mile-and-a-half from the Inn Boonsboro, where we were staying, so we opted to walk. Their generous breakfasts almost demanded it. We arrived and were given a tour of the caverns with all of their formations. No camera this trip, so today’s Friday Fotos are brought to you by my iPhone.

Have a nice weekend, for those who celebrate.

Side note: De...

Backfilling the Story

Backfilling the Story

Backfilling is part of my writing process. While I was with my writing buddy, we listened to a podcast/webinar put on by the International Thriller Writers of an interview with Lee Child and his brother Andrew who is taking over the Reacher series. The subject was Plotting. Lee said he never plots. He doesn’t know what’s going to happen until he writes it. That made me feel good!

He also said plotting can lock you into a direction and you might miss opportunities for better...

Boonsboro Retreat

Boonsboro Retreat

Our Boonsboro retreat turned out to be a lot of fun. Of course, when air travel is involved, nothing goes exactly as planned. Karla, my writing buddy, lives in the Chicago area, so we did our best to coordinate our arrival times so neither of us would have to wait too long. Of course, “If you have time to spare, take to the air” held true as my flight had issues with the water supply to the rear galley. It had to be checked out. Of course, by the time they noticed it, we had pu...

Release Day for The Mapleton Mysteries

Release Day for The Mapleton Mysteries

 

It’s Release Day! The Mapleton Mysteries: Volume One is live. If you preordered it, you should find it on your reading device. (And thanks!) If you’ve been waiting, well, wait no longer! Get it here.

As I mentioned previously, this was a spur-of-the-moment decision. People like “one stop shopping” and this bundle gives you three complete novels in one digital volume.

You get Deadly Secrets, Deadly Bones, and Deadly Puzzles. Meet Gordon in his earliest da...

Retreating For A Bit

Recharging

One of my writing buddies and I decided we needed to recharge our writing batteries. So, next week, we’ll be at an inn in Boonsboro, Maryland. We’re planning a little sightseeing, taking advantage of some of the inn’s “girl time pampering”, and some face-to-face, real-time brainstorming. Maybe even a little writing. In addition to a complimentary breakfast each morning, this inn offers a wine and charcuterie service every evening. What’s not to like?

My companion on this trip is star...