Terry Odell's Blog, page 227
July 4, 2013
Friday Field Trip — Wildflowers
After a wet spring, we’ve had a bumper crop of wildflowers. Hubster took a walk on one of the trails near our home and captured a few.
Indian Paintbrush
Blanket Flower
Primrose
Sticky geranium
Thistle
Senecio
Penstemon
Potentilla
Have a great weekend, everyone!
July 3, 2013
Happy Fourth of July
Have a safe and happy Fourth of July.
I’ll be back tomorrow with my usual Friday Field Trip.
Meanwhile, there’s a new contest at Booklover’s Bench — a $25 gift card and 5 e-books could be yours.
July 2, 2013
What’s Cooking Wednesday — Lemonade Pie
Book Club friend Kathy Perry has another quick and easy pie recipe for you this week.
Lemonade Pie
Ingredients:
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (6 oz.) lemonade concentrate, partially thawed
1 carton (8 oz.) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 graham cracker crust (9″)
lemon slices and or mint for garnish (optional)
Instructions:
In large bowl, combine milk and lemonade. Fold in whipped topping; spoon into crust. Chill until ready to serve. Garnish as desired.
July 1, 2013
In the Interview Room — Jennie Marts
Today I welcome Jennie Marts’ to Terry’s Place. Jennie is a debut author and her first book is entitled Another Saturday Night and I Ain’t Got No Body. She loves to make readers laugh as she weaves stories about love, friendship and intrigue. Jennie is giving away a FREE Kindle copy of her book to a random commenter so please leave your thoughts or comments below. You can comment on the book, thequestions,orshe loves to hear from fellow Cheetos lovers! (You have until Friday to comment. Winne...
June 30, 2013
Can Proofreading be Automated?
If you’re not subscribed to my newsletter, you’ll be missing some exclusive sneak peeks, giveaways, and a contest. My Booklover’s Bench colleagues have donated some great prizes. Sign up on the nav bar.
Image from shirt.woot.com
I’ve been talking about editing, critique partners, and beta readers lately. Extra sets of eyes on a manuscript are part of the editing process. Coincidentally, I was approached to try out an automated grammar checking...
June 27, 2013
Friday Field Trip — Hubster’s Travels
Hubster went to Philadelphia for a scientific meeting, and then went up to central New York to visit with family. He’s sharing some of his pictures.
Hobart Willam Smith campus
Hobart Willam Smith campus
Odell’s Pond HWS campus
(Not sure if this is a relative)
Flint Creek Falls, Phelps NY
Odell Building, Phelps NY
Different Odell. Came up from Westchester County, which is apparently the “core” of Odells in the US.
Skaneateles, NY
Skaneateles, NY. Where Hubster grew up.
And, it wouldn’t be a Hubster post...
June 26, 2013
Don’t Overdescribe
I’ve never been big on long passages of description. When I write, I normally leave all but the essentials out, then go back and layer things in if I think it’s too sparse. I also try to make sure descriptions help move things forward and are true to the character’s POV.
Nothing irritates me more than having a character describe someone’s outfit down to the fabric and designer. Unless that character has a reason to be able to know a su...
June 25, 2013
What’s Cooking Wednesday — Parmesan Veggie Salad
Fellow Booklover’s Bench author, Maggie Touissant, is sharing a great summer recipe this week.She adapted the recipe to be lower in fat and calories, but if you want to indulge with a ‘full fat’ version, who am I to stop you! (And if it’s hot where you live, and you don’t want to turn on the oven–having lived in Florida 30 years, I avoided the oven whenever possible), I’d suggest you can toast the pecans in a dry frying pan on the stovetop–just watch them; nuts burn very fast.
Yummy Parmesan V...
June 24, 2013
Grab and Go
Today I welcome Kathryn Jane to Terry’s Place. Kathryn has worn many different hats in her life, and among her favorites are, author, pet wrangler, horse trainer, and teacher.
In the wake of Oklahoma’s tornadoes and Colorado’s wildfires, I’m betting many people are thanking God or their lucky stars, for being spared – while others are still reeling.
And I understand.
I once faced the possibility of emergency evacuation, and let me tell you, sitting down and making a plan saved my sanity. I had t...
June 23, 2013
Beta Readers
Also, it’s my turn to post an excerpt at Booklover’s Bench this week, so if you’d like a look at a snippet from Saving Scott, head on over.
I’ve been working on polishing my manuscript for Jinx’s story, still untitled, which is the 5th book in my Blackthorne, Inc. series. I tried something new this time: I used beta readers. I first learned about these “first readers” back when I was reading Highlander fan fiction,...
