Terry Odell's Blog, page 9

Friday Fotos – Winter

Friday Fotos – Winter

Winter in the Rocky Mountains has its own beauty. Growing up in Los Angeles and then moving to Florida for over 30 years, snow was an unknown. Here, at 9100 feet, we get our share.

Have a great weekend to those who celebrate.

New! Find me at Substack with Writings and Wanderings

Double Intrigue
When your dream assignment turns into more than you bargained for
Shalah Kennedy has dreams of becoming a senior travel advisor—one who actually gets to travel. Her big br...

WCW – Garlicky Chicken with Anchovy-Lemon Sauce

Garlicky Chicken with Anchovy-Lemon Sauce

(Don’t let the anchovies scare you. They’ll “melt” down and add flavor, but not “fishiness.”)

Ingredients
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs (4 to 5 thighs)
1 t coarse kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
6 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
¼ c extra-virgin olive oil
5 anchovy fillets
2 T drained capers, patted dry
1large pinch chili flakes (amount to suit your taste)
1lemon, halved
Fresh chopped parsley, for serving

Instructions
Preheat oven ...

Manuscript Progress

Manuscript Progress

Over the weekend, I finished my read-through of the printout of the first draft. I suppose that means I’m now on my second draft, but I don’t keep track of that. If I did, I suppose every time I made my changes to each chapter as I went over them, it would be yet another draft. Counting “drafts” serves no purpose for me,. I save the manuscript every day with a new file extension, so I suppose I have a new draft every day.

I’ve transcribed my markups, so my draft file (saved ...

WCW – World Central Kitchen

WCW – World Central Kitchen

No recipe this week.

I grew up in Los Angeles. After elementary school, we moved to one of the many canyons and were used to the vagaries of Mother Nature. Wildfires, then the winter rains and flooding because the fires destroyed the vegetation holding the earth back. Earthquakes. Santa Ana winds making the first week at school after summer vacation miserably hot.

When I was in high school, the Bel Air fire wrought its havoc, not in our canyon, but along the route the...

My Writing Process – More From the Writing Front

My Writing Process: More From the Writing Front

The manuscript is done. But not really. Yes, I reached “the end” of the manuscript, which is a major part of the writing process. Yay! But, as I mentioned last week, there’s still a lot more to be done. I wrapped it up at around 76,500 words.

Now what? I have 19 days before I have to send it to my editor. My process is to print it in my ‘fool the eye’ (and save paper) format. Different font, single-spaced, two columns, print on both sides of the pa...

Friday Fotos – Croatia

Friday Fotos – Croatia

While I’m sitting here watching the snow fall outside, I’m browsing my images from a trip to Croatia, where it was much warmer.

If you’d like to see more of the pictures I took in Croatia, I have a gallery here.

New! Find me at Substack with Writings and Wanderings

Double Intrigue
When your dream assignment turns into more than you bargained for
Shalah Kennedy has dreams of becoming a senior travel advisor—one who actually gets to travel. Her big break comes whe...

WCW – White Chili

WCW – White Chili

This white chili is a family favorite, easy to do, and perfect for this cold winter weather we’re having. If you’re a long-time visitor to Terry’s Place and this looks familiar–I dug through my archives and found I first posted this in 2017.

White Chili

Ingredients:
1 medium sized onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 t ground cumin
2 whole large chicken breasts, skinless, boneless, and cut into 1 inch
chunks
1 can (15-19 oz) white kidney beans (cannellini), drained
1 can (15...

WCW – White ChiliThis white chili is a family favorite, e...

WCW – White Chili

This white chili is a family favorite, easy to do, and perfect for this cold winter weather we’re having. If you’re a long-time visitor to Terry’s Place and this looks familiar–I dug through my archives and found I first posted this in 2017.

White Chili

Ingredients:
1 medium sized onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 t ground cumin
2 whole large chicken breasts, skinless, boneless, and cut into 1 inch
chunks
1 can (15-19 oz) white kidney beans (cannellini), drained
1 can (15...

From the Writing Front

From the Writing Front

A quick update from the writing front. After several discussions with my editor, in order to have an April release date for the new book, my deadline has been moved up to February first, not the 15th. That’s two weeks sooner. On a positive note, I’m getting much closer to “the end” and think I can swing the new date.

I’m currently at about 71,500 words, 70 chapters (don’t panic; they’re short!)

On a not-so-positive note, I’ve hit that point in my process where it’s Is this...

Friday Fotos – Cover Potential?

Friday Fotos – Cover Potential?

I’m getting close to “the end” of the current manuscript, and I need to look at potential cover images. I found an acceptable “hunk” to stay in keeping with my Blackthorne, Inc. covers, but I need a background. Here are some that might have potential. Ultimately, my cover designer will work with them. No matter how many times I remind myself to take more vertical images for better cover potential, I forget.

If you want to look at the other Blackthorne covers, they...