Terry Odell's Blog, page 213

What’s Cooking Wednesday — Hoppin John

This is a repeat of a previously shared recipe, but it’s something we make every year on New Year’s Day, so if I can repeat cooking it, I figured I could repeat sharing it. Happy New Year Everyone! (And don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter — If you don’t know why, scroll down to Monday’s post.)

When we first moved to the south, I read about a New Year’s Day traditional dish, Hoppin’ John. My kids call it Johns Hopkins. There are probably countless variations, but the idea was to serve som...

In the Interview Room — Judy Alter

Today, for the last post of 2013, I welcome Judy Alter to the Interview Room. Judy had a good career as a western writer, but the idea of writing a mystery haunted her. Now she has five, spanning two series.

You can invite anyone, alive or dead, to dinner. Who would you invite and why?

Wallace Stegner, because I think perhaps he understood the American West better than any other writer; Deborah Crombie, because she’s a lot of fun and I love her Scotland Yard mysteries; Julia Child, because she’...

Why Resolutions Fail

What I’m reading: A Highlander for Christmas, by Christina Skye
Good news for my newsletter subscribers. In addition to giving away a Nook, I’ve got some very special authors joining me with giveaways. You can win books by best-selling authors Allison Brennan, Kathleen O’Brien, Shelly Thacker, and Roxanne St. Claire, as well as fellow Booklover’s Bench authors Terry Ambrose and Nancy J. Cohen. How’s that for a star-filled lineup? (Oh, and I might toss in something myself!) But you can’t enter...

Friday Field Trip — Jason’s Year in Review

Although I put Friday Field Trips on hold through the end of 2013, I thought I’d share a link to one of my favorite guests — Jason Odell — (Yes, we’re related!) and his own year in review.

And a reminder: Scroll down to yesterdays posts for some great deals and news of things to come.

Enjoy! And have a great weekend, everyone.

Boxing Day Gifts

Photo from combatfitness.net

Boxing Day—not a day for big, sweaty guys duking it out in the ring—as I once thought when I would come across it in books. Now that definitions are available with the click of a mouse (or a touch of the finger if you have an e-reader), here’s what a quick jaunt through Google reveals:

Boxing Day is traditionally the day following Christmas Day, when servants and tradesmen would receive gifts from their bosses or employers, known as a “Christmas box”. Today, Boxing...

Happy December 25th

Here’s my annual “not-really-Christmas” post. Hope your day, regardless of what you celebrate, is a good one.

Also, I just found out that Hidden Fire is now live as an audio book. You can find it at Audible.com now, and it’ll show up via Amazon and at iTunes soon. Something to listen to while you’re traveling for the holidays.

In the Inteview Room — Elaine Cantrell

Today I welcome Elaine Cantrell to Terry’s Place. Elaine is a social studies teacher who writes romance novels and collects vintage Christmas ornaments in her spare time.

Are you a plotter or pantser?

Mostly, I’m a pantser. I know the beginning and the end, but the part in between is a little murky.

Is the setting for your books real, totally made up, or based on a real place?

Most of my settings are based on real places. For example, in my romantic suspense novel Never Trust a Pretty Wolf, I use...

Looking Ahead

What I’m reading: Don’t Say a Word, by Barbara Freethy

Happy Holidays from my house to yours

I imagine most of you are bogged down with holiday preparations, travel, taking in guests, being a guest, etc. It’s also a time when we start to look forward to the next year. I’ve been thinking about next year, and thought I’d share a few things that I’m planning.

First, this blog has some great guests lined up for the first quarter of 2014. There’s always a list of recent and upcoming guests in the si...

Men are Not Women With Chest Hair

The Blood-Red Pencil is rerunning a post I did for them a while back about some of the differences between the hard-wiring of males and females, and the challenges authors face when writing from the point of view of someone of the opposite sex.

Reminder: there are still a couple of days to get Saving Scott for the reduced price of 99 cents. You can find it at Amazon, B&N, and Kobo.

And, I still have a few coupons for the audio version of What’s in a Name? If you want one, let me know in the com...

What’s Cooking Wednesday — Spicy Herb Quinoa Salad

Today’s recipe is one I modified from one I found in an AARP magazine. Feel free to play with it as I did. It called for cilantro, which I don’t like, so I used basil. Arugula is another green I often substitute for cilantro. Or use parsley, or any herb of choice. Feel free to kick up or reduce the heat with more or less jalapeno.

Spicy Herb Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:

1 c quinoa

2 c. water, stock, or broth

1 cucumber, peeled & diced

1 c. tomato, diced (I used well-drained canned fire-roasted tomatoe...