Jess Riley's Blog, page 16

Ah, Summer...

I am writing this with a bulging belleh, the result of gorging myself on the first watermelon I've eaten this summer. Oh, and raspberries from the farmers' market. And a grilled cheese on seed-studded bread spread with dijon mustard sandwiching two slices of caraway-flecked cheddar and thinly-sliced tomato I bought for $1.50 from a chain-smoking old man.
It was a Beefsteak.
I still have a tub of shredded summer squash in the fridge, which shall be transformed into a mountain of zucchini "crab" c

GCC Presents: Samantha Wilde

Today on the Girlfriends' Cyber Circuit I'm pleased to present author Samantha Wilde, currently touring to promote her debut novel THIS LITTLE MOMMY STAYED HOME .

About the Book: Joy McGuire has gone from being skinny and able to speak in complete sentences to someone who hasn't changed her sweatpants in weeks. But now with a new baby to care for, she feels like a woman on the brink and as she scrambles to recapture the person she used to be she takes another look at the woman she is: a stay-at-ho

Aunt Selma & Patty-ing it up in "My Vacation Slide Show"

We've been back from Victoria, BC for a few days, and I still feel keyed-up. It was absolutely jam-packed and amazing, and the highlight of it all was reuniting with my birth father & sibs and meeting a slew of wonderful aunts and uncles and cousins I've never met in person before. So much happened that I don't quite know what to share, so I'll let my camera winnow the chaff and direct the show.

These funky, freaky, fantastic masks were hand-carved by a local tribe, on display with the Royal BC M

Leaving on a Jet Plane

We're leaving for Victoria, BC tomorrow. Strange to be celebrating the Fourth of July weekend in another country. No fireworks, but maybe someone will have some leftover Canada Day confetti we can throw at each other on Saturday.

I'll update from the road, hopefully with pictures after I bribe J to learn how to upload them to my laptop.

Thumbs-up: The Hangover, lavender shortbread (I may visit the lavender farm from which I got the recipe), J's fabulous parents who are watching Daisy, the Twilight

GCC Presents: Sheila Curran

It's time again to showcase another talented member of the Girlfriends' Cyber Circuit: Sheila Curran , author of the newly released novel Everyone She Loved . I was lucky enough to snag an advanced review copy, and I can't wait to read it on my trip to Victoria.

I love the premise of this novel, and I'll let Sheila herself tell you about her book's backstory:
"Books are born in strange places. This one was conceived in the front seat of a car.

No, not that kind of conception. My friend Julianna was d

Blame it on the Heat

Are you just dying in this heat wave? It's been in the nineties in Wisconsin this week. My house is so hot it feels locked in a car parked on John Goodman's taint. On the sun.

I'm sitting here waiting for a breeze, wearing a nice, gorilla sheen.

First, a bit of news: passport success! After waiting three hours in the line to get into the line that waits for the line to speak with a passport agent. We leave for Canada next Friday. Our luggage will be leaving with us, but with three layovers, it ma

Not Just for Hippies and Libertarians

Yesterday I indulged my inner Off-the-Grid Homesteader when we attended the Midwest Renewable Energy Association fair. I'm not going to run off and join a compound in Idaho, but I did geek out a bit over some of the exhibits, including super-smooth bamboo flooring samples, solar ovens, straw-bale homes, and my next car--a hybrid Honda Civic.

Hey, look! This button is labeled "invisibility cloak."

I've always wanted to drive my toaster. Do you see the man in the background? The handwritten sign on

Two Tickets to Paradise (Man, I hate that song)

Lots of things, lots of things! We are in the midst of planning a trip to Victoria, British Columbia in early July, and because a) I am a flaming idiot -or- b) I was simply too busy to notice, our preparations have recently become more complicated.
You see, as of June 1st, you need a passport to go ANEEE-WHERE beyond the United States. We were bopping along with our birth certificates and photo IDs, blissfully unaware that the requirements had just changed...when I finally discovered this teeny

Well, it's no Tilted Kilt...

My dear bloggy friend Jules tagged me for a meme, and just in time, because I was about to post some bullshit about the weather and things I've been doing to procrastinate (weird cooking, weeding, reading, beading...just kidding about the beading). So this is the deal about the meme:

"Sometimes you can learn more about a person by what they don't tell you. Sometimes you can learn a lot from the things they just make up. If you are tagged with this Meme, lie to me. Then tag 7 other folks (one for

I'm Feeling a Bit ... Bookish

People have been asking me lately when the next book is coming out. Especially the fine lady on a certain reader review / book lover social networking site who felt I was excessive in my use of naughty words. Last night I had a dream just for her, in which every other line of my next novel was the word "fuck."
I tell people I am working on my next novel, and in my head, I am. But it's so damn easy to get distracted in these early stages. Particularly when you are homebound, warily watching const